The Runaway | Ashton Irwin AU

Part 8

        

        

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[Charlie's POV]

Oh how times have changed. This town used to be almost like hell for me. In my teenage years, I wanted nothing more than to be noticed. I'm no longer afraid to say that I'm attention seeking, but really who isn't in one way or another?

It was as if every single person in high school wanted nothing to do with me. Like they wouldn't give me the satisfaction because somehow they knew what I was aiming for. It hurt though, back then, and it still hurts now. But as I've said, things have changed.

The girls that had scowled and spoke about me in hushed tones to their friends, were now fawning at my feet to get back into my good graces. It was like high school had never happened, like I was a totally different person than who I used to be. But I wasn't. I was still being talked about and I was miserable. Why did I come back to this town again?

I never realized how fake people could truly be until I moved out to Los Angeles and now it was like I had a fake detector built right into my person. With each passing day and each person I talked to, that detector sounded out. No one in this town truly wanted to know me. They wanted to know Atlas Rose.

Atlas was not me, and I was most definitely not her. It was like a switch would flip in my brain and she would turn on and whoever I was before that moment was gone. I may have said that I was attention seeking, but Altas, she was that tenfold. She was charismatic and loud. I don't know how it came out of me sometimes. I hated wearing this mask: a bubbly, giggling girly girl with a life made of gold. I couldn't imagine someone like that in the real world, and yet somehow I was supposed to be her.

It was an unbearably tiring job to be someone your not. But people seemed to eat that shit up and if I want to be able to truly become the person that I want to be in the music industry, then I would keep on faking it now. Hopefully one day in the future I will be respected enough to be able to release the type of music that I want, but knowing what the album already sounds like, I doubt I'll get any bragging rights whatsoever.

Of course my manager had to book a show here in my hometown. Like I wasn't embarrassed enough as it is for making the music that I am, now I was expected to sing it in the town I grew up. However, I have decided to throw in a little bit of my own music into this performance. If I was going to sing, then I planned on taking full advantage of not having my manager or any of the other normal people from my team that like to order me around. It made me excited and immensely scared. What would people think of the difference between the label's music and the music that I had written myself? I wouldn't know until I tired.

My feet carried me quickly down the sidewalk, knowing that it was already getting pretty late. My mother had miraculously let me out of the house on my own and I had no intention of coming back anytime soon. I wasn't sure where I was going I just let me feet carry me in whatever direction they thought best. This Century's newest album, Soul Sucker, pulsed through the headphones I was wearing, the melodic voice of Joel Kanitz making the walk that much more peaceful.

The sun was peeking out just above the tops of the buildings giving everything around me a warm red glow. The tiny smile that hung subconsciously on my lips dropped the second I heard the muffled sounds of my name being called. I pulled an earbud out, whipping around to see a group of girls walking my way. With the distance between us, I had to squint to see if I knew any of them, and of course I did.

I sighed heavily. What could they possibly want from me?

One of the girls spoke once they were close enough. "Oh my god, Charlie, it's so great to see you! How have you been?"

I mustered up the biggest fake smile I could before I answered as sweetly as possible. "I've been super great! How about you?"

"Oh we've been fine," Another girl waved off the question. "How is it living in LA? Have you met any celebrities?"

"Uuh," I hesitated, looking between all their gawking expressions. "I've met one or two."

Another girl, I believed her name was Jenny, squealed loudly and I couldn't help but cringe slightly at the noise. "Oh my god, have you met Harry Styles?"

"No," I rolled my eyes. "More like Pharrell, but it was just for a second."

"Pharrell?!" Another one spoke up. "That is so cool! You're like super famous now!"

I laughed a little, feeling uncomfortable with the conversation, but not really knowing how to politely tell them to leave me alone. "Not really."

They laughed, telling me that I totally was. I tried to be as nice as possible, wishing for this moment to end, but that didn't seem too feasible in the near future. I sucked in a breath of air the second I saw him appear from around the corner on the opposite end of the street. Ashton's head was hung low, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black jeans as he walked swiftly down the sidewalk toward us.

My heart speed up for an unknown reason as we made the slightest bit of eye contact. I wanted nothing more than to have him save me from the group of girls that were still huddled around me, still talking like I was actually listening. My eyes followed after his tall frame as he crossed the street, heading toward a beat up old truck.

He fumbled with his keys slightly before finally unlocking his truck and yanking the door open. He noticeably hesitated before he turned back to look in our direction. I gave him a wide genuine smile, which he returned with a slight wave before he got in his truck and drove off.

It was pitch black out when I finally made it back to my house and away from those girls. Somehow they had coax me into getting a drink with them. We ended up at the Windy Mesa, which is where all the locals went and would be the place where I'd be performing this weekend.

I had changed a lot since being back here, even though it had only been a short amount of time. I had wanted nothing more than to be noticed by these people that I grew up with and now that I finally have their attention, I wanted nothing more than to hide away. There was one person though, that nagged at my thoughts ever since I saw him earlier. Ashton. Would he come to the show on Saturday? I felt stupid. I should have invited him when I saw him a few hours ago, but it was too late now, I would have to leave it up to fate.

I waved tiredly to my parents as I came in through the backdoor, both were sitting peacefully on the couch watching some talk show. I really envied my parents sometimes, they had the relationship that most dreamed of. I've seen and heard about so many people living in broken homes, but I've never experienced that torment and seeing my parents in this moment, I hoped to never have to go through something like that.

It took less than a minute to get up stairs and into my room. I pulled my clothes from my body as I headed toward my closet, pulling an oversized circa 2008 Fall Out Boy tour shirt over my head, leaving my legs bare. I flopped down against the cool duvet covering my bed, finally able to relax. All the tension that the group of girls had brought on me started to melt away with each passing second, my mind clouding over as I fell into a peaceful dreamstate.

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A/N: Sorry this chapter is so boring and quite shitty, the next one will be better. I've decided to add a little kitten into the story as well, so you'll be seeing him pop up within a few chapters. :P

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