final round - lrh

three.

Waking up, I let out an immediate groan due to the fact that I know I'm not in my bed and currently my back and neck are suffering the consequences of choosing to sleep on a couch as opposed to my bed.

I try to stretch them out but I don't have much room to do so as it hurts too much to even try. Groaning once more, I turn around, only to come in immediate contact with a male chest making me gasp at the suddenness.

However, I'm quickly put at ease as I remember Ashton, Declan, and I had fallen asleep down here and Declan took it upon himself to take up the other couch completely.

Ashton and I settled with sharing this one but I in no way planned on sleeping down here. I truly planned on going back upstairs but I guess I passed out before I could do so.

Declan, Ashton, and I had decided to come down and watch some dumb movie about a cartoon character trying to find his best friend who got lost on another planet. I don't think I paid attention to one minute of the movie but Ashton and Declan were laughing from start to finish.

    I tried watching it and paying attention, I really did. However, the main character had the most annoying voice that made me want to leave the room but I knew I wanted to be down here with them. It was a rare opportunity of being able to be with Ashton and Declan in such peace.

    Had Declan not been absolutely infatuated by the movie, maybe we could've done something fun but every time one of us tried to speak he'd immediately shush us. As a result, I decided to start a poke war with Ashton on Facebook and luckily he abided as he gave equal attention to our poke war and the movie.

    I must've fallen asleep during the movie because I remember telling myself I'd get up as soon as it ended. Clearly, that never came as I had let my own tiredness take over me.

I'm shocked to see that Ashton had fallen asleep here, especially due to how close we are to one another. Wouldn't he have wanted to go somewhere with more space and that's a bit more comfortable?

    I turn around once more and come face to face with Ashton as he sleeps with such peace. Ashton looks relaxed as the features on his face are soft and unbothered.

I notice that he seemed to have stripped off his shirt at one point in the night and thrown a blanket over us. Due to this, I can't help but let my eyes trail down to his chest that has become so toned over the past year. However, what I don't fail to notice is all the marks that were never there that now seem to cover every inch.

The ones that especially capture my attention are two circle scars that rest on his shoulders, and a bigger scar the size of a finger resting on his rib cage. It breaks my heart to see them as I can't imagine the pain he endured while obtaining these scars.

My curiosity gets the best of me as I trace over the marks on his body with my finger, touching them gently in order to keep him from waking up.

    However, my plan to keep Ashton asleep fails as I watch him peek an eye open and smirk gently. My eyes don't meet his as I don't tear my gaze from his chest that's vandalized with marks from war all over it.

    "Morning," he says in the most gentle voice.

    "Morning," I repeat, my eyes glued to his chest.

My thoughts continue to be filled with terror as I think about how he got all of these. I know he'll never tell me for my own sake, but it truly hurts looking at them. Especially because he didn't have a single scar before he left for war.

I feel a huge knot in the center of my throat due to my emotional pain pouring through me as I lay here with Ashton. I try to swallow it back but it truly feels as if someone is choking me.