Me. // Lashton

twenty-four

From the first strand on, the next followed quickly and soon, Luke stood in the bathroom, surrounded by his before so gorgeous blonde locks.
Tears were burning in his eyes, but he didn't allow himself to cry. He was already weak and pathetic enough, crying over a bit of hair would make him look even more ridiculous.
So instead of crying and doing what his body wanted, he leaned with his hands against the sink and stared at himself.

'Oh god..', a voice was suddenly heard from the doorway.
Ashton froze in shook, his hand over his mouth as he looked at Luke. Surrounded by his own hair, the now short haired boy stared at him through the mirror.

'What have you done?', he asked, walking towards his boyfriend, still shocked about the sight infront of him.
Luke only shook his head and rushed past Ashton, leaving him back with the cut off hair.

'Fuck', Ashton mumbled and left the bathroom to follow Luke. He was speechless and his mind and heart were racing as he walked through the hallway and into the guest bedroom.

'Lu-', he tried, but he was interrupted almost immediately.

'No, leave me', Luke demanded, unclear about the actual meaning behind the words.

'Luke', Ashton tried again and this time, the blonde let him speak.

'Why did you cut off your hair? I thought you loved it?'
The confusion was audible through the drummer's words and he was overwhelmed by the situation. He had smelled the alcohol on his boyfriend already and he doubted that Luke had been sober when they had talked on the phone earlier.
Just like he had expected, Luke didn't answer and just looked down on his feet.
Sitting down next to the blonde, Ashton carefully wrapped his arms around the singer, but he was pushed away.

'I don't need pity, okay?', Luke slurred in a slightly aggressive tone.

'I'm not pitying you Luke, but if you expect me to sit here and watch you destroy yourself, then you're wrong. We'll get you help, because I can't take this any longer', Ashton said, stood up and left the room, but not without taking another brief look at Luke. The way the singer sat there, silently sobbing and his hair a pure mess, Ashton knew that Luke was way too far gone.
They finally needed professional help.

***

Another couple of hours later, Ashton checked in on Luke, only to find the boy sleeping on the floor. Having no idea why he slept on the floor when right next to him was a bed, Ashton had lifted him up and laid him onto the bed. He carefully pulled the covers over Luke's slim body and turned the lights off. He left the door open in case Luke needed his help and went to bed himself, leaving his door open aswell.

The next hours were silent in the Irwin-Hemmings household and while Luke was busy with sleeping his rush out, Ashton turned and twisted in his bed.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a few hours of peaceful sleep. That was why he stood up at some point to make himself a cup of tea, hoping the warm drink would relax him enough to maybe still catch a couple of hours of sleep.

Minutes passed and Ashton sat on the working surface of his kitchen, dunking the teabag in with his spoon, only to watch it rise back to the surface.
His eyelids were heavy, but his inner chaos would prevent him from resting anyways, so he stayed in the kitchen for another half an hour, sometimes sipping on the hot drink.
He repeated this monotonous movement a couple of times, until his attention fell on a newly turned on light source.

Ashton furrowed his eyebrows and carefully hopped off the counter, setting the cup down on it and slowly walking towards the light. It wasn't long, until he heard quiet sobs again and it dawned on him, that Luke must've woken up.
The bathroom was only a few steps away, but he stopped, unsure of what to do.
Should he go in or did Luke need this right now.

'Oh no', a heartbreaking sob took the responsibility of making a decision from Ashton and he stepped into the bathroom, finding Luke kneeling next to his hair on the floor.

'Babe', Ashton mumbled and kneeled down aswell, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. Luke turned around to look at his boyfriend, his tear filled eyes letting him hardly see anything, but he seeked comfort in knowing that Ashton was there.

'I cut them off..'
Luke's voice sounded broken, so horribly broken and it made Ashton realize how bad it was.

'I know you did.'
The drummer pulled him into his arms and he fell against his chest tiredly. They moved to the next wall of the room and leaned against it.

Luke curled up inbetween Ashton's legs, as the older man stroked the blonde's short hair, occasionally placing a kiss on top of his head.