Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Eight

(Lauren’s POV) 

This day couldn’t have gotten any worse. After I had left home, not saying another word to my mother after I had entered the bathroom, I almost missed my bus, I had gotten lost on campus and missed my first class of the day. Not to mention, I left my wallet at home, so there goes any hope I had of at least some coffee. The only bit of hope I had left was that, maybe, meeting up with Ashton wouldn’t be so bad today. But, this is Ashton we’re talking about, so there’s really no point in hoping for that.

But, until then, I had a class to teach, so I had to keep my composure for another hour and then to hell with the world. Granted, I was teaching a group of six-year-olds, so it wouldn’t be too difficult.

Walking into the studio I saw the group of children waiting patiently by the barre as their mothers sat on the opposite side of the room, chatting amongst themselves.

“Alright ladies and gents, whose ready to begin?!” I turned to my little stereo and plugged in my phone, playing some soothing music for the kids to do their beginning stretches with. They were all beginners, so they did struggle with some balance and remembering what stretches were what, but otherwise they were all doing extremely well. 

The class was very short, and amongst all of the fun and laughter, I had lost track of time and class was already over.

“Awesome job everyone! That’s it for this week, you all did so well!” I clapped my hand together and gave them all a wave as they began to pack up their things and make their way out of the studio. As I was putting the last of my things in my bag, I felt a slight tug at my skirt. Looking down, there beside me was one of my favorites, Emma, “Hey, what’s up, Em?”

“Ms. Lauren, I was a video this weekend of a person spinning on their head! How did they do that? Can you do that, CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT?!” Emma was one of the most enthusiastic students in this class, she was always asking questions and curious and wanting to know more and more and that’s what I loved about her.

“No, I can’t. But, yea, some people can. Where did you see that?”

“A Taylor Swift video”

“Good choice, kid. I like your style.” I laughed, messing up her hair as the two of us walked out of the room and to her mother who was patiently waiting outside for her. “I’ll see you next week, and remember to work on your pliés! I don’t want you falling behind!” with a wave and a skip, she and her mother were out of the building and out of sight. Just as fast as they had left, I was slipping my headphones in and making my way back to campus.

I could honestly ditch this meeting if I wanted to. I mean, I would expect Ashton to do the same. Just as I was about to turn around and head home, I remembered what our professor said yesterday. Ashton’s scholarship depended on his grades. That was such a foreign thought to me, but, then again, I’ve never had to worry about money in my life. So, as much as I don’t want to be near Ashton right now, I would feel even worse if it was my fault he didn’t pass this class.

Pulling out my headphones, I began walking down the hall of practice rooms. Just follow the sound of drums… I don’t hear any fucking drums. Then, just as that thought ran through my head, I could hear the loud crash of a symbol from the very end of the hall. It wasn’t hard to find him after that. Walking into the room, at the very back, Ashton was enthusiastically playing the giant set of drums in front of him. I don’t think he even noticed my presence he was so focused. Dear lord his arms—NO. STOP IT. I shook my head, trying to keep my own focus in check.

“YOU’RE REALLY GOOD!” I yelled over the noise he was making, to which he immediately stopped playing, his head popping up and looking towards me.

“Oh, uh, hey… How long have you been here?” he ran one of his hands through his hair, trying to steady his breath at the same time.

“Only a minute. But, seriously, that was really good! Did you compose that yourself?” He nodded, laying his drumsticks down as he stood up, walking around the set and towards me. I shifted where I was standing, my body suddenly feeling uncomfortable with him getting closer to me.

“Yea, it’s just something I’ve been working on, uh… So, this thing?”

“Right, um… So I have no idea what we’re supposed to do, do you?” Raising my eyebrow, I looked up at him, hoping he had made more sense out of this than I had. His confused look told me all I needed to know.

“Not really. I mean, I think I’m looking a little too into it? I think we just need to find the similarities between what we do, you know? And then… reflect upon it? I honestly have no idea.” I nodded, completely getting where he was coming from with this.

There was a minute of silence between the two of us, which became uncomfortable really fast. “So… Should we, like, compare or whatever?” This was honestly one of the most awkward moments of my life.

“Sure, uh…”

“I mean, it’s obvious that I need a beat to dance. Well, not NEED, but it certainly helps. Um… And, much like music, dancing has brought people together for generations….” And that’s how it went for the next hour. Awkward conversation and forced laughs, but we had gotten a pretty good start on our project, which was all I really cared about.

“I think that’s enough for now, I’ve got to get going.” Ashton stood up, shoving his things into his bag before turning to me, “We got a good amount done, should we do this again next week or what’s your schedule?”

“It’s pretty hectic… Next week sounds good though.”

“Alright, I’ll see you around then.” Slipping my own bag over my shoulder I gave a quick nod and wave as we each walked out of the room and in opposite directions.

_ _ _ _

Homies, question time: What would you do for Lauren and Ashton's ship name? We've got one, but we want to know what y'all think!