Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Twenty-One

Lauren’s POV 

I woke early the next morning more excited than I would ever admit to have some alone time with Ashton.  Taking a quick shower and blowing out my naturally wavy hair, I threw it into a familiar bun on the top of my head.  I layed out a few options for outfits and texted pictures of each to Cassie for her opinion.  Moments later my phone was buzzing in my hand. 

Bae:  Go with the jeans and the cute cardigan.  Casual but fucking hot.

Giggling at her response, I nodded in agreement, putting on the outfit.  I heard the doorbell sound and eagerly looked myself over in the mirror one last time before running down the stairs in time to see one of our maids open the door, revealing a very adorably dressed looking Ashton. 

“Is uh- Is Lauren here?” he muttered, peering into the house some. 

I quickly ran over to the door, giving Mariah a ‘I got this’ look, before turning to face Ashton.  “Hey.”

“Hi,” he grinned, shoving is hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Come in,” I moved to the side, holding the door open to him further as he hesitantly stepped into the foyer.  “I just need to grab my bag and then we can get going.” 

He gave me a small nod, not moving further than the small rug that covered the doorway.  “Your house is,” he paused for a moment looking around some more.  “Wow.”

“It’s overdone.” I sighed, walking over to the closet.  “Do you want a tour?" 

“Oh, uh.. sure, why not,” he cracked a small smile, starting to slip off his shoes.

“You don’t need to take off your shoes,” I giggled at his actions.  “Trust me, this house may look like royalty owns it, but it’s just me.”

“Well you are a princess, remember?” he chuckled, fixing his shoes back on his feet before walking over to me.

“You wont seem to let me forget,” I grinned, pointing towards the living room.  “This over here is the living room.  No one really uses it anymore, but the couch is comfortable.”

He gave me a small nod as his eyes scanned across the spacious room in front of us, landing on the piano in the corner.  “Do you play?” 

I shook my head, quick to respond.  “No, I wish.” 

He slowly walked over to it and sat down on the bench, pressing down on a few keys, creating a beautiful harmony.  He began playing a slow, beautiful melody until one of his fingers landed on a key that was completely out of tune, causing us both to cringe.

“We haven’t tuned this piano in years.”

“I can hear that,” he giggled.  GIGGLED. 

“Up until the unfortunate out of tune key, you sounded really good,” I smiled as he stood from the bench and bowed.  Rolling my eyes at his actions, I turned on my heels and motioned for him to follow me down the hall.  “And that’s the dining room we only use when my parents bring over associates or clients,” I said pointing to my left towards the cloth covered table and chairs. 

I pressed on, pointing out the kitchen, offices, guest bedrooms and the entertainment room before finally making it to my bedroom.  Honestly, I wasn’t super sure if he should be allowed to see my room.  Not that I had anything to hide, but it still felt personal.  Shaking the thoughts from my head, I opened the door, stepping inside.  “This is my room." 

He leaned causally against the doorframe, looking around my room in complete silence.  “It’s very…pink?” he questioned giving me a confused look.  “And insanely clean.  Do you even live in here?”

Note to self: shouldn’t have shown him my room.  “What’s wrong with pink?” I countered, crossing my arms.

“It’s just not very you..” he shrugged, stepping in a bit further. 

“And how would you know that?  Maybe my favorite color’s pink.” 

He gave me a skeptical look, shaking his head slightly.  “Listen I know we’re new at this whole friendship thing but there’s absolutely no way your favorite color is pink.”

“What makes you say that?” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear, use or own anything pink all the time I’ve known you.”

I huffed at his accuracy but refused to give in.  “I’ll have you know I’m wearing pink socks right now.”

He rolled his eyes at my words and sighed.  “Is there a room in this house that’s actually for you?  Because no matter what you say it’s clear this room wasn’t.” 

I sighed and nodded, brushing past him and out of the room leading him down to the first floor, to a door I’d made him walk past before.  Opening it slowly, I turned on the light and headed down the stairs suddenly becoming extremely anxious about Ashton being so close behind me.  When we reached the bottom I turned on the last light switch, which illuminated the wooden floored room as the speaker system in the corner came to life.

“Your own studio?” he questioned, stepping into the middle of the floor to get a feel for the space.  “Now this is what I pictured your room being,” he grinned, as he looked at all the trophies I had lining the walls and different pictures Cassie had taken of me at performances throughout the years.

He walked over to the speaker system slowly and pressed play, allowing the Sam Smith song I was dancing to earlier fill the studio.  “Well, aren’t you going to dance,” he questioned with a smirk causing my cheeks to suddenly get flush. 

“No.” I shook my head furiously, stopping the music from playing.  “You promised me coffee.”  Grabbing his hand I tugged him back up the stairs and away from my studio.

“Why are you so weirded out about dancing in front of me?” he asked as we stepped up the final stair.

“I’m not.” 

“Just yesterday I walked into the studio and you froze like you'd seen a ghost," he chuckled before continuing.  "Do I make you nervous?” cocking one of his eyebrows up, he sent me a proud smile making his dimples pop. 

Swallowing hard, I tried to regain my composure before my bright red cheeks and pounding heart gave me away.  “No.” 

He gave my hand a small squeeze, reminding me that I was in fact still holding his hand, before letting it go and throwing his arm over my shoulder, leading us towards the front of my house.  “It’s alright to admit that my presence gets you a little flustered.” 

Groaning at his comment, I slid out from under his arm and opened the front door, letting the cold fall air cool down my burning red cheeks.  “Where are we going?" 

“There’s a nice place a few blocks down right on the edge of Central Park?  They make those fancy drinks you like,” he spoke from behind me as I made my way down my front steps and onto the sidewalk.

“My drinks aren’t fancy.” 

“Well they’re not exactly coffee either,” he chuckled, catching up to me.

“Espresso is a coffee bean,” I shook my head giving him a small grin.

“You’re a coffee bean,” he countered quickly before realization of what he just said struck.  “I mean- I… I need to stop hanging out with my brother so much,” he mumbled, running a hand over his face. 

“Your brother’s cute,” I smiled, remembering the short, curly headed boy that resembled a smaller version of Ashton.  “So is your sister,” I paused for a moment, unsure if I should say what came to my mind next.  “And you’re not so bad yourself,” I mumbled, proud of myself for actually saying it.

He glanced down at me as his cheeks turned a deeper red and a smile spread across his face, causing me to grin.  I had made Ashton Irwin blush.

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