The Chase ▹ Ashton Irwin

CHAPTER SEVENTY

I woke up the next morning at the usual time, excited because after today I won't have to go to school for a whole 2 weeks. I'm getting pretty sick of school to be completely honest. It was weird, because I used to love school. Going to school always seemed to be so eventful and exciting to me, and now I can't wait for it to end. Oh well, only about 7 more months. Great.

I decided on wearing a pair of jeans and a light pink top. I know, it's weird, that I live in the desert and I'm wearing pants, but the weather here can be werid. For some reason I felt as though it would be cooler today. I mean, it's December, right? I checked my phone, and smiled as the screen lit up, a text from Ashton.

"Hello this days gonna be a good one, i can feel it :)" he had texted me. I chuckled, and replied to him as I walked down the stairs to get some breakfast.

"love the positivity babe" I sent. My mother was downstairs when I got there, and I made sure to slow my pace down before I made it into the kitchen. I haven't talked to her since our little argument yesterday.

"Hey," I said quietly, walking right into the pantry to avoiv her gaze.

"Morning," She replied. "You almost ready?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna eat something first." I said. She seemed quieter than usual, as I probably did as well. Fuck, oh well.

...

When I finally pulled up to my school, I was glad to get out of my mom's car, because the ride was very awkward. My mother didn't talk much, and neither did I. We exchanged a goodbye, and that was pretty much it. I sighed, as I slung my bag over my shoulder, because I was getting sick of all this bullshit. As I came into the courtyard, I saw that a lot of people were already here. I scanned the area, my eyes coming onto Jessie near the middle of the open space. She flicked her hair over her shoulder, batting her eyelashes as she laughed with some jock-looking people. Abby, Annie, and Amanda were there as well, doing the exact same thing. It disgusted me, to be honest. They all looked to fucking fake.

I shook my head, and looked over to the tree. My face lit up as my gaze met Ashton's, and he waved me over to the group. He wore a dark navy blue crew-neck, rolled up skinny jeans, and his big black glasses. That alternate style he seems to posses was actually very attractive on him. I liked it.

"Brooke Anderson!" He said happily.

"Ashton Irwin!" I said back, crashing into his body and wrapping my arms around his torso. I pulled away as I quickly pecked his lips, him smiling down at me. I stepped to the side and wrapped my fingers around his, and looked to the rest of the group. Natalie, Calum, Luke, Michael, and Sydney were all here; I guess I was the last one to get to school.

"Hey girl!" Natalie said, giving me a quick one-armed hug. I said hello to everyone else, and looked up at Ashton as he tugged at my arm.

"I got something for ya," he chuckled, taking his hand away from mine to dig through all the loose papers in his back pack. He pulled out what looked like a box, wrapped up in newspaper and a bright red bow on top. I felt my eyes widen and a smile form on my face as he handed it to me. "I really hope you're not Jewish."

I laughed as I took it into my hands, and it was a medium sized box, probably about 4 or 5 pounds. Nothing huge. "I also couldn't find wrapping paper." he said with an embarrased laugh. I shook the box, a just a faint rattling noise came from inside. I had no idea what it was, but the makeshift wrapping paper and the embarassed look on Ashton's face made my heart fill up with joy. It was adorable.

"Ashton," I said. "You didn't have to get me anything!"

"Yes I did!" Ashton replied. He looked down at me and smiled as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my body to his. "You're my girl, aren't you?"