Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Nine

Ashton’s POV

The afternoon with Lauren wasn’t half as bad as I thought it would be.  A little awkward, but not bad.  She went on a few rants about dancing that I had to pretend to understand, but overall our project was getting done, and to be honest that’s all I cared about.

“Hey Ashton, it’s about time you showed up!” I heard my boss, Chase, yell from behind the bar. 

I nodded in his direction before heading into the back to drop off my bag and coat, replacing it with a stupid apron instead.  Working at a diner was not my ideal job by any means, but it paid some of the bills, which was enough of an incentive to keep coming back.

“Table two has yet to be served if you want to get on that,” Chase gestures towards the table near the back of the diner with his spatula in hand.

“I’m on it,” I huff, walking my way over to them with a pitcher of water and two glasses.

“Welcome to Becky’s Diner, my names Ashton-“

“Spare us the speech,” Calum interrupts me, pulling me out of my welcoming routine. 

I glared at Calum before looking across the booth at Luke who was smiling wide, holding in his laughter.  “What are you two doing here?”

“We were in the area, wanted food, knew you’d be here, and Michael may have told us about your plans with Lauren today,” Calum’s eyebrows raised at the last part of his sentence making me roll my eyes.

“How was it?  Did you guys kill each other?” Luke questions, sitting up straighter in his seat.

“Obviously, if I’m still here, we didn’t kill each other,” I shook my head in annoyance.  “Now can I get you guys something to eat?” 

“You know, Lauren is one of the hottest girls on Campus,” Calum says, completely ignoring my question.

“I know.  Have you seen her legs? Fuck,” Luke lets out a groan, running a hand through his hair.

I clench my jaw shut, trying desperately to remain calm and not hit either of them while I’m clocked in.  Placing their glasses down on the table, I start to fill them with water.  “She’s just a girl.”

“Just a girl?” Calum quotes me before scoffing.  “The only reason you don’t like her is because she’s rich.” 

“That is not the only reason.” 

“Okay, lay another on me,” he retorts, catching me off guard.

“Well,” I pause for a moment, trying desperately to think of something else to say.  What do I hate about Lauren?  “She’s just so typical.”

“Typical?”  Luke chuckles, shaking his head.  “Ashton, let’s be real, you’ve known her for two years, but I don’t think you’ve actually ever had a full on conversation with her.”

“I just did, for over an hour,” I retort, trying desperately to win this argument.

“And you’re still here,” Calum counters, making me wince.  I know they’re right and it’s pissing me off.

“Okay so maybe she’s not as stuck up or snobby as I thought she was, but that doesn’t mean anything,” I grumble. 

“Oh hey Lauren!” Luke grins, looking over my shoulder while waving.

“Ha. Ha Ha.” I fake a laugh, rolling my eyes.  “That’s such a lame joke, what are you five?”

“Hey, Luke,” I hear her voice from behind me, making me freeze.  You’ve got to be kidding me.