REHAB [5SOS]

DOUBLE

DOUBLE

Ashton

Ashton hated the idea of going to rehab.

He wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not, but he was having a conversation with Niall out loud as he drove himself.

"Niall, what the hell is rehab going to do for me?"

No answer.

"Honestly, I don't think it's going to do much for me. The asylum already got rid of you, there's really no need for this."

Again, silence.

Ashton hit the steering wheel in frustration, causing the horn to beep. "Damn it, answer me!"

It sucked, because feeling lonely and abandoned by his favorite person in the world was a sign of improvement.

Niall wasn't real. He'd never been real. He wasn't coming back.

Ashton had to remind himself every day.

He hated it.

Sometimes, he wished he'd just stayed crazy and kept Niall. If only Niall hadn't told him to kill his fiancé and that stupid bastard she was cheating with, then they could still be together.

Had Niall been jealous of Lauren?

Ashton shook his head. It wouldn't do any good thinking about that now. Niall was gone.

His anger drained away, leaving Ashton hollow.

He parked in the lot and walked into the rehab center. The check in process was easy: he had the papers from the asylum.

Ashton shuddered at the memory of the asylum.

Ashton followed his escort to his assigned room. Empty. He picked the bed against the wall and dumped his bag on it.

Sitting on he edge, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sighed.

He was scared, because all of his memories of Niall were starting to fade. His hair, his eyes, his smile, his laugh. As much as Ashton wanted to move on past Niall, he really didn't want to forget.

Niall's smile flashed behind his eyes.

He winced at the potency of the memory.

His best friend...

"Er, excuse me?"

A deep voice interrupted his trip down memory lane. Ashton opened his eyes and looked at the source of the voice.

All he could think was that there was a lot of hair.

"Hi, sorry, not to bother you. Just, I've been standing here for five minutes, and yeah, I didn't know if you were sleeping, or awake, or I don't know, maybe meditating? Is that offensive? Sorry, I just, yeah, I didn't want to interrupt, but I didn't want to scare you either. I'm here, by the way. I'm me. Yeah, okay, sorry, I'm just gonna, yeah." The boy snapped his mouth shut and readjusted his curls in their headband.

Ashton nodded. "Yeah, sorry, just thinking," he said. He stuck out a hand. "I'm Ashton."

The boy took his hand. "Harry," he introduced. "Er, I'm guessing you just got here? I mean, your bag is still zipped up on your bunk. Not that I was looking at your bag or anything. I don't steal, I promise, that's not why I'm here. Yeah, um, I guess you and I both just got here." He fiddled with the hem of his sweater. "Yeah."

Ashton nodded slowly, confused. "Right. Nice to meet you, Harry."

"You too." He scratched the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I'm really weird. I don't... yeah. Well we're all weird, we're all here. I mean, you're not weird, or maybe you are if you think that's a good thing, but-"

"Dude, relax," Ashton said, eyes wide at how much Harry rambled. "It's totally fine." Harry visibly relaxed, and Ashton grinned. "So, Harry, other than rambling, why're you here?"

Harry was quiet. "You're going to think I'm insane," he whispered.

Ashton cracked up, laughing hard. "Hilarious," he said to himself, smiling. "Try me."

Harry shuffled his feet. "Well... I don't want to scare you off. I mean, not that we're friends yet, but yeah."

Ashton grinned. "Go on, just tell me."

He glanced at him before staring down at his feet. "I'm here because my best friend Louis left me."

Ashton's eyebrows wrinkled. "He left you? And you're here?"

Harry shook his head. "No, no, you don't understand." He took a deep breath. "After I started taking my medication, Louis started acting... different. He hung out with me less and less, and eventually he just... disappeared," Harry said sadly.

Ashton's brow knit together. "I still don't get it. Why are you here?"

Harry sighed, sitting down on the edge of his bed, head bowed.

"Because Louis wasn't real."