breathe// 5SOS

35

Ashton

"Hey poppet, you hungry?"

"A little bit,"

Ava, Calum and I were walking down to the canteen for lunch, because we were just having sandwiches for tea. Viola wasn't feeling very well, and I didn't want to spend lots of time cooking.

"Marcus called and we talked more. He's really nice and supportive,"

"He sounds lovely," Calum agreed, "this sounds positive,"

I passed Ava a tray and we got in line, panic flooding her face.

"What do I say?"

"Ask for the chilli,"

"Okay,"

Calum and I both went for a chicken salad, and Ava ordered the chilli, stuttering with her order. Public speaking was something we still wanted to work on, but I felt like everyone got nervous to order.

We sat down with our food, Ava frowning at the two of us.

"Why didn't you get a big meal? You have a hard day,"

"This is enough, and it's healthy," Calum nodded.

"This isn't?"

"It is, but we would like to eat more salads,"

"Oh, okay. Are you going to the gym together too?"

"We are in the new year, perhaps at the same time you're with Luke. We need a fresh start,"

"Okay. You two do a lot together,"

"We trust each other. It's a personal topic for both of us, just as it is for you,"

"You are lucky to have each other," she said, Calum giving me a goofy smile.

"As much as I joke about how annoying you are, I am grateful,"

"Is it weird working together?" she asked.

"No, it makes our dream job even better. We know each other as if it was ourselves, so we don't have to communicate as much and it keeps the atmosphere calm,"

"Do you go on holiday together?"

"We used to. We used to go out a lot together,"

"Then you got me and I'm a big responsibility so you couldn't,"

I pulled a face at her, not impressed by the sudden tone in her voice.

"Let's not say that," Calum said, "is your lunch nice?"

"Yeah",

"And what are you doing after?"

"Calling Marcus,"

"Are you sure he's okay with that? He might have things to do,"

"Yeah, he can't everyday, but he said we can today,"

"Good, have you talked to him about anything?"

I didn't expect her to tell him immediately, but it was important that she spoke about her past with him. He could say or do something to upset her, but he could also get her to speak. She rarely spoke about it anymore, and I knew it bothered her sometimes.

"Not really. I didn't know if I was allowed,"

"Of course you are. We would need to tell him another day anyway because if he was around and accidentally did something that made you freak out, he would start to panic too,"

"Oh yeah. I told him about my medicine,"

"As long as you are comfortable telling him, I don't mind,"