#drummer!calum is NEXT LEVEL

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Insecure!Ashton Masterlist

Appetites (ao3) - ashton_cuddles94 luke/ashton M, 3k

Summary: Luke had always been skinny, and always had what he thought was a normal appetite.

Ashton loved Luke, but didn’t realise how much the blonde boy ate, until he started piling on the pounds.

Come As You Are (ao3) - HPFangirl71 luke/ashton E, 4k

Summary: Naked Luke keeps giving Ashton boners...

I Need You (ao3) - lmmp luke/ashton T, 1k

Summary: Ashton starts feeling like Luke doesn't love him anymore. Luke had been hanging out with Calum, and ignoring him. So, out of sadness, Ashton beings to relapse cutting.

Insecure (ao3) - ashton_cuddles94 T, 1k

Summary: Ashton has gained some weight on tour and is feeling insecure.

i promise you (until the end of time) (ao3) - jbhmalum calum/ashton T, 2k

Summary: He's not usually one to panic too easily. He has his moments, but he considers himself level headed where he needs to be, likes to think logically before coming to any conclusions. It's always better to think things through and see what can be done about the situation.

But usually the situation doesn't involve Ashton fucking disappearing on him.

i think they're cute, though (ao3) - cliffakitten luke/ashton T, 2k

Summary: Honestly, there should be some kind of warning for shit like this: Your amazing, adorable boyfriend has recently bought glasses and looks fit as fuck, you're going to want to do unspeakable, dirty things to him. Please attempt to control your imminent hard on. -- Or Ashton has new glasses and Luke really wants to fuck him in them.

Jet Black Heart (ao3) - Icanloveyoumorethanthis luke/ashton T, 7k

Summary: Luke and Ashton are ready to move in together. But once they buy a house, Ashton starts acting weird. Luke tries his best to understand what happened to the love of his life. Meanwhile, they have to deal again with the ninja.

Let Me See You (ao3) - tinyglitterrose michael/ashton T, 2k

Summary: “You are the most beautiful, most attractive man I have ever seen, Ash. And I want us to work on you seeing that the same way, okay? I want you to grow comfortable to be shirtless around me, around other people. And then I want you to become confident of your thighs, baby. I want you to be able to take your pants off in front of me and be proud of those wide beautiful muscled pieces of legs you have. I want you to freaking dance naked in the shower, while I’m standing next to you, okay?”

or Ashton is feeling insecure and Michael, the awesome boyfriend he is, makes him feel better.

London (ao3) - ashton_cuddles94 M, 2k

Summary: Ashton is becoming stressed due to the band's recent move to London and it's affecting his body image, causing him to gain weight.

Maybe you were the ocean, (when I was just a stone) (ao3) - LoserLucas (planetsandstars) luke/ashton G, 1k

Summary: It’s only much later, when they’re lying in Ashton’s bed and Ashton is half holding Luke and attempting not to hurt himself where he had his surgery, when he tells Luke how he’s been feeling.

Or Ashton has been feeling sad and insecure ever since he had his surgery.

"Please Don't" (ao3) - LarryLashton98 E, 3k

Summary: Ashton wakes up disorient, tied to a chair, and drenched in gasoline. The other boys are there, but they don't seem keen to help...

Pretty Baby (ao3) - FayeHunter luke/ashton M, 1k

Summary: Luke's been ready forever. It's unusual for Ashton to be the one dragging his feet

Reflections (ao3) - punchinginadream luke/ashton M, 4k

Summary: Ashton doesn't like his body. Luke decides to fuck him in front of a mirror to show him how beautiful he really is.

Softer (ao3) - ashton_cuddles94 M, 1k

Summary: @/twitteruser: "I'm not really into 5sos, but the pudgy drummer is so cute".

"Pudgy?", Ashton thought to himself, putting his phone down in his bunk.

He placed a hand on his stomach, not expecting his fingers to sink in as much as they did. His eyebrows shot up in concern.

"Have I really gotten that soft?"

This Is Our Fate, I'm Yours (and Yours and Yours) (ao3) - leapin_lizards ot4 T, 59k

Summary: Ashton doesn't want a soulmate. Ashton doesn't want any soulmates, let alone more than one. That's what's set up for him, after all, written into his skin by destiny. But one early morning he sees a boy on a bus, and the weeks following bring change: the boy on the radio feels like home, and Ashton's troublesome roommate may be bringing home with him.

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Drummer!Cal

-is very thoughtful in interviews. Always engages theories and questions and anything about production. Takes his time to consider the process for the music and the fact that several writers are at the table in the band and it’s not so much about getting every idea out perfectly the first time but about collaborating and making every idea the best version of itself. 

-However, comma, the second Calum steps out onto that stage and climbs onto the riser and his foot is thumping away at the bass drum, it’s all over. He literally becomes an animal on the drums. One show, he breaks not just one, not two, but three drumsticks. The guys make a joke that all the tour budget is going towards replacement sticks. 

-The thing is, on stage, Calum’s not really Calum. It is Calum, but it’s not Calum. His awareness is different. All he can think about is the music, the thump under his feet and the sticks in his hand. Literally nothing else matters. Doesn’t matter if he dropped his sandwich that day on the walk back to the bus. Doesn’t matter if he got lost exploring the city and missed ten minutes of sound check. Doesn’t matter if in the middle of FaceTiming or video chatting with his S.O. that his laptop dies and it takes him nearly ten minutes to find the charger again. Nope, none of that matters on that riser, on that stool, during the set. 

-A lot of photos of Calum drumming of him smiling. Hard. The eye crinkles are out in full effect and he’s just so damn happy to be playing music with his bros. Videos will show him almost dancing on the drum stool, swaying along as his biceps bulge beneath the sleeves of his shirt. 

-Speaking of shirts, they don’t last long. Calum got too excited once, caught the arm of long sleeved shirt on one of the bolts to his drum kit and there went that long sleeve tee shirt into a muscle tee. Ocassionally, Calum opts for a mesh shirt while performing. Yes, that mesh shirt. 

-Back to performing, he gets into it into it. Calum will stand from the stood, sticks in hand, mic pressed to his lips, pointing out to the crowd, “You’re not loud enough for me tonight. I need you to scream!” And the crowd, roars. It’s still not loud enough, so with his index finger and middle finger he motions for the crowd to get enough louder. They do. “Nah, nah, nah, I said I want you guys to scream for me tonight!” Calum won’t let a crowd off the hook until he’s positive someone’s lost a voice in the crowd. 

-Even though Calum is mostly smiley on stage, a few interesting pictures surface, mostly from the tour diaries. A drum cam is set up and Calum plays to it all the time, pointing with his fingers or stick. He’ll turn to it, tongue out, rocking out to the song. The screenshots float around after every show of anyone get the famous Calum photo drumming: Calum, standing from the stool, pointing to the crowd, two fingers motioning with his tongue out. It happens at least once a show. Always more though. 

-And then in interviews, if he’s asked about what fuels his performance style and if they comment on the energy levels being different, Calum usually responds with, “Shows are different. People came out to have a good time, to have some fun. I want to make sure they had a good time and had some fun with me that’s all. In interviews it’s more relaxed.”

-If his S.O. visits while he’s on tour, he always tries to get them to settle down on the stool and give the drums a whirl. “Oh, you can do it, I know you can.” And they give it a whirl, always because it’s Calum with those big brown eyes that look like the night could swallow them up and they’d happily go into that good night. And as Calum hangs back, teaching them a thing or two, he plants a kiss to their cheek. And maybe sticks get forgotten and hands explore bodies under t-shirt until someone bumps up against the symbols and the crash sounds and the drum lesson ends for the day. 

-Backstage before a show, Calum’s running drills on his pad, along the wall, on the cases of their clothes and even he knows how annoying it is, so he always steps out from the room to do it. Literally everyone is like, by god my dude, it’s your instrument no one’s mad. But to be honest, Calum likes the alone time. It kind of reminds him of right before a big football game, his blood would thump in his veins and he’d find himself floating. But not in a spacey way, like he was losing focus, but floating from everyday Calum who doesn’t talk much, keeps quiet into the man that shines on stage that’s an animal on the drums, that’s completely transformed--a showoff, cocky. But through it all, Calum knows it can go at any moment. He can blink and it’s all done. So he tries to make each show unique. He tries to make each show worth coming too. 

-There’s nothing better than looking out at the crowd, singing back the words you wrote, jamming out to progression and chords and beat that you made. And the sight almost always produces a tear or two in Calum. Because, godamn he’s so goddamn lucky to be doing this with his life. And he never wants to take it for granted. And sure whenever he gets a moment to talk during a set or joke with the audience, he makes a joke about how his skills aren’t that great and that he’s blessed to see such a full crowd. And it happens, without fail, at every show because at every show, Calum is floored at the outpouring of love and support by fans. 

-People compliment Calum about his drumming and the joke about all the ripped sleeves/shirts, about the times halfway through a set he’s quickly shedded his shirt and let all see the tattoos and sweat glisten down a toned chest, and Calum always turns blushy. He accepts the compliment and dodges it all at the same time. And though him and Ashton joke about the rhythm section holding the whole band together, Calum is quick to offer praise to Luke and Michael as well. Because he knows without his other three brothers, Calum alone, as the drummer, is nothing but noise. He is a storm alone on a sea if Ashton, Luke, and Michael aren’t there playing and writing alongside him. He’s grateful for the three of them. 

-And when the stage hand leads him up to the riser in the dark, only the light of the flashlight in hand, guiding them, Calum lets himself go. The wood in his hands and between his fingers feel like extensions of himself and with one hand on the stage hands back, they go-half jogging together towards the drum riser, the stoll, the crowd waiting eagerly and maybe even desperately for them, for him that night. They run towards paradise. And the thing about paradise is that it don’t always last forever, but as long as it happens, is all that matters. 

@notinthesameguey @calumscalm @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles

Works Cited Page

H, A Collection of the Muse, 2020.

A Happy Bub, 2018. 

[heartcal]

“who do you believe?”; l.h.

Disclaimer: i didn’t want to write sierra as a bad person because i personally cannot see that, and i know there’s some discourse about her within in the fandom but i don’t want any of that here! so i named the girlfriend after a girl who bullied me in elementary school lol (but another disclaimer: i do not want to see any hate towards the boys’ s/o! pls don’t send any asks that talks bad about them, i will not answer them!)

thank you for requesting! :^)

a/n: while transfering this from microsoft word, the formatting kept screwing up for some reason so if there are some janky paragraphs, i apologize! not too comfortable with this one compared to my previous fic (this feels rushed) but it is long and i did not mean for that to happen lol. enjoy!

if there are any mistakes, please tell me!

pairing(s): not really a mention of luke hemmings x reader but it’s mostly luke hemmings x named gf (rachel/oc) (gender neutral but if i slipped up, please let me know!)

summary: having known luke for years, it was bound to happen eventually. the crush you developed happened before you could stop it, and you did your best to keep it a secret. you told no one, did your best not to show it, so what do you do when his girlfriend finds out?

genre: angst, and mostly angst >:^)

warnings: swearing, luke’s gf being mean, bullying?

wc: 4,057 (she’s a long one)

my masterlist!

You don’t know when it happened, or frankly how it happened, but one thing is for sure: you don’t want to feel this way.

Was it when he bought you a stuffed animal version of a pet you had as a kid, one that you remember so fondly and still tear up about it to this day? Or was it when he would always bring back a certain candy you can only find in its country of origin, and bring as much as customs would allow? Maybe it was when he printed out every photo he could find from the beginning of your friendship to the present day (at that time) and made a scrapbook for your birthday since you cherish memories?

Whatever memory it was, you want to track it down and destroy it. It wasn’t fair that you developed such strong feelings for your best friend, knowing he doesn’t feel the same since he’s taken.

It’s not that he isn’t attractive – far from that because if anything, you wish you could draw just so you can draw him because there’s no way someone can look that good – but it’s more of the fact that he’s your best friend, someone you hold dear to you.

You two grew up together; saw each other’s worst phases, styles, and embarrassing moments (it was well documented towards the middle of the scrapbook). He was with you when you went through bad break-ups, and you with him. Throughout school, you two were inseparable, and when the band got big he made sure to keep you close and to never lose contact. It was hard in the beginning but you two managed.

Now finished with college, you’ve taken on the role of working with the team when they’re on tour and helping plan aesthetics for the next album. He offered the jobs after you struggled to find a job after graduation, and in the end, you enjoyed being with the guys and doing the tasks needed.

Tonight, the band was set to play their new album to an intimate crowd. It was to welcome back old fans and welcome new fans, introducing both sides to a new sound they worked hard on. You couldn’t be any more proud.

You sat on the couch as the guys walked around the room, pepping themselves up and hyping each other. You had finished doing your tasks with the crew and spent your free time watching the band prepare as the audience began to fill in the theater seats.

A nudge on your arm makes you direct your eyes from Michael styling his hair with a nervous expression to the person on your left.

“What’s up?” you asked, smiling at the curly-haired individual.

Luke shrugs, glancing around the room before his eyes land back on you. He has a small smile on his face as he leans back onto the couch, “Nothing.”

You scoff, shaking your head with a smile, “Yeah, sure, ‘nothing,’” you mimic, tilting your head to the side, “I doubt that.”

“What do you want me to say?”

You give him an incredulous look, crossing your arms as you turn to face him. You can tell he’s nervous, like the rest of the team and the band, but he won’t admit it. He’s always wanted others to view him as strong and unbothered, especially when those around him feel off.

He mirrors your position, a smirk on his lips because he knows you’re about to lecture him.

And he’s right.

“Your band has a new album out in a couple of days—an album you guys have worked hard on even when your management gave you shit, mind you—and you’re about to perform a majority of the songs in front of 500. Are you not nervous?”

He shakes his head, smugly smiling as he returns to his position leaning against the couch, watching Ashton dry the wet ends of his hair.

“Liar,” you mumble, uncrossing your arms and taking your phone out to check the time.

“Alright,” Luke sighs, giving in, “maybe I’m a little nervous, but I’m not a wreck.”

He’s still a liar. The success of their last album was astounding, so creating an album to reach that level and hopefully top it was hard enough. Playing it in front of an intimate crowd who may or may not like it was tough.

Luke isn’t cocky. He’s a humble man, but he likes to joke around in stressful situations. He’s used to concerts, so he doesn’t have any anxiety when it comes to performing. But when he is nervous for any reason, he won’t show it. He’ll act cool, completely collected with his head held high in confidence. If he needs to relieve the stress, he’ll either do it himself with a strong pep talk, or he’ll go to you.

“What are you nervous about?” You ask, wanting to make him feel better.

“Will they like it? Will it even chart? Is it too bold?” he continues listing out his insecurities about the album and the performance, finally lifting everything off his chest.

And you listen. The way his eyes stare into yours with slight confidence, covered by worry makes your heart sore. Luke’s kept everything inside and now that he’s listing his grievances, it makes you wonder just what else you can get out of him that he’s kept buried inside.

However, before you can give him your insight on this particular problem, “Luke!”

His head immediately turns to the door, the worry in his eyes fading out into sheer happiness and adoration. Something you’ve always wanted to see directed towards you.

Luke stands arms wide as he captures his girlfriend in his arms for a hug. Her arms wrap around his waist as his arms go around her shoulders, dipping his head down to kiss her on the head.

“I can’t believe you made it!” you hear him speak with excitement, expressing more words of happiness as he guides her to another part of the room.

You don’t miss the way her eyes glare in your direction, and you’re not afraid to give her a look back.

Rachel was nice when you met her. You actually liked her, despite your crush on Luke, and you were rooting for the two. But, a couple months ago during a stressful week, she turned on you. Her attitude towards you shifted, almost as if you had disrespected her and her bloodline. She would always act as if you weren’t in the room, and when plans were made with the boys, she would “accidentally” leave you out. It was embarrassing for you when you’d find out your friends went out, calling you to find out why you didn’t come. Due to the embarrassment, you would go along with it, making up some excuse as to why you were absent.

None of the boys, to your knowledge at least, have caught on to her antics, and you honestly hope they don’t. Whatever it is you did to her, you want to find out for yourself so you can fix it.

With a sigh, you stand from the couch, stretching your arms briefly before wandering to Calum, who stood in the shower room connected to the dressing room.

“Hey,” you greeted him with a warm smile.

He smiles back, finishing his drink before tossing the plastic cup in the trash. He grabs his bass, which was placed on the counter, and holds it out to you.

“You want me to see if it sounds out of tune?” you jokingly ask.

He nods, “Yeah, I feel like one of the chords might be flat.”

You chuckle as you pluck a random chord. His instruments are always tuned before it’s time to play. One of his pre-show nervous ticks was the constant doubt of his instruments being playable.

“It’s fine, Calum.”

The doubt shows on his face as he brings his guitar back to himself, putting it on and checking the chords himself, but it doesn’t last long as Ashton’s voice calls everyone to the center of the room.

Walking with Calum to where the rest of the crew was, you notice how attached Luke was to Rachel. Joint at the hip, arms wrapped around each other; it was annoying.

“Show starts in ten,” Ashton gains your attention, holding up a cup as Michael hands Calum a similar cup before doing the same to Luke. The three follow the drummer’s action as he continues, “let’s make this show fuckin’ awesome.”

The crew cheers, dying down quickly as Michael gives his thoughts, “We worked our asses off for this album, I don’t have any doubts about it. We got this, guys!”

The cheers resume as those with a drink take a celebratory sip before placing their empty cup on a surface near them.

Calum leaves your side to join Michael while Ashton heads to you.

“You excited?” he asks, putting his right arm around your shoulders with a large smile.

“Yeah!” you return the smile, “What about you? Nervous like the others?”

He shakes his head, crinkling his nose, “I’m not too nervous. I’m just happy to play again.”

You’re about to ask him what song he was the most excited to play, starting to get into the conversation but yet again you are interrupted by Rachel.

“Hey, Ash,” she greets him, Luke following close behind her as his arms make their way back around her shoulders again.

“Hi, Rachel,” Ashton nods his head at her – his eyes dance to Luke briefly before returning to Rachel’s, “didn’t think you’d make it.”

“Couldn’t miss your big show,” she smiles, looking up at her boyfriend as she pats his stomach.

Luke laughs, gently pushing her hand away from him, “I’m surprised, too—“ he grabs the guitar a crew member hands him, left arm lifting itself from Rachel’s shoulder as he slips the strap over his head, “—because her schedule did not look clear enough, but here she is.”

“Three minutes,” a different crew member rushes out, patting Luke and Ashton’s shoulders before rushing to tell the others.

“See you after,” Luke shifts his guitar away from Rachel before leaning down to kiss her on the lips – something you wish you didn’t see – and turning around to head out of the dressing room.

Ashton gives you a quick hug, “Excited for the lights,” he mumbles in your ear before turning to Rachel to give her a side hug.

It doesn’t go unnoticed how Rachel’s eyes glared at you by Ashton, but he doesn’t mention it as he heads out with the other guys towards the stage.

As a majority of the crew follow them out, you stay behind to clean up the empty cups and other trash, trying to occupy yourself as Rachel too stayed behind.

Her eyes followed you as you moved about the room, carrying the small plastic bag with you as it fills up with cups and wrappers. You could feel the glare burning into your side and back as you paid her no mind.

When it was just you two left, the bass from their opening song was heard and felt as you finished picking up the garbage.

“For how long have you liked Luke?”

You froze. Your head whipped towards Rachel, wide-eyed as you glanced around the room to make sure it was just the two of you.

“What…what are you talking about?” You can feel an extreme warmth rising up from the bottom of your back, all the way to your face, nervousness clouding your brain as she stares you down.

“Luke—,” she crosses her arms and moves to the couch, “how long have you liked Luke?”

“I don’t—I,” you stutter, your stomach dropping as you realize you’ve been caught.

His girlfriend knows you like him.

“Cut the bullshit,” she spits, “I can see it. You’ve been friends with him for years, you obviously caught feelings for him.”

You shake your head, standing up straight to give off the illusion of confidence. Turning your back to her and towards the door, “I don’t have to talk to you.”

You opted for walking out of the dressing room and go watch the band from the side of the stage, but you made a quick stop in the bathroom to splash cold water on your face.

You did what you could to avoid her during their performance. You knew she was watching you, seething at how you ended the conversation so fast.

Rachel wanted to break you down, find the reason why you like him and separate you two for as long as it takes to make him fall in love with her. She finds you a problem in their relationship because of how close you and Luke are, because of how long you’ve known each other. A threat to her and her relationship.

An hour and a half later, the show is finished and the whoops and cheers from the crowd indicate the album was very well received. That thought swept the interaction with Rachel from earlier under the rug as the boys’ adrenaline spread throughout the crew.

Ashton was first to greet you, sweaty and ready to envelop you in a hug but you’re quick to avoid it, ducking down just as his arms closed around the space where your head was. He laughs it off, heading for his next victim.

Next was Calum, who grabbed a drink from Andy and gulped it down. He had a smile on his face after, only growing wider when he saw you. “I think they liked it!”

“Bass in tune, huh?” you return, patting his back as he passes you to go to the next person.

Michael is the third, taking off his hat (which made you question why he was so worried about his hairstyle that he spent at least fifteen minutes playing with before the show). He stops in front of you, phone in hand as he takes a picture of the two of you: a tradition he started a few tours ago as a joke.

Finally, Luke makes his way towards you, ready to ramble about the show but is brisked away by Rachel. He doesn’t even glance over at you after he’s taken away towards the hall.

Entering the dressing room where the rest of the boys sat, you saw Michael talking animatedly on the phone, Calum laying across the couch with an arm over his eyes, and Ashton wiping off excess sweat with a towel. He was the first one to notice you.

“Ready for that hug?” he asks as you approach him.

“Why not.”

You hug each other, smiling as you pulled away. In the distance, over the cool-down music, you hear Luke’s laughter in the hall. Knowing he’s with Rachel makes you wonder if she’s told him about her suspicions, and that thought alone makes you clam up all over again.

Ashton immediately notices, tilting his head as he asks you what’s wrong.

“Nothing,” you quickly reply, eyes focusing on him.

He notices how jittery you seem, but he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable so he says nothing.

“Guys,” Andy comes in with his camera in hand, “we need to take a few photos.”

The three agree and follow the photographer out. You move to the snack table for a bottle of water, but before you can take a sip, someone clears their throat in the doorway.

You roll your eyes immediately because you know who it is. You don’t pay her any attention and instead take the sip of water you need.

“We need to finish that conversation you oh-so rudely ended,” Rachel moves into the room, keeping her voice down as she crosses her arms.

“We don’t need to finish anything.”

She scoffs, “I asked you a question, and you were so quick to avoid it. I think you’re proving a point.”

“What point?” you turn to look at her, “I know you don’t like me but I don’t know why, can we start with that?”

“Like I said before, I know you like Luke. He’s my boyfriend, and I don’t like how he’s close to you.”

“We grew up together,” you state, standing tall as you glare at her, “of course we’re going to be close.”

“Well I don’t like it,” she huffs.

You shake your head with a sigh, closing the lid to the bottle as you turn your back to her. You were getting angry at the fact that someone who didn’t know Luke as long as you did was hinting that you should stay away from him.

“Stop hanging out with him.”

A curt laugh escapes you before you can stop it, “Are you jealous of our friendship?”

“No,” she smirks, “but I know you’re jealous of our relationship.”

She’s right; you’re only a little jealous of their relationship, but it’s not something you want to risk your friendship with.

You open your mouth to defend yourself, but you’re caught off-guard when nothing comes out. The one opportunity to make her believe you don’t like her boyfriend and you can’t say anything.

Giving up with sinking shoulders, you glance at the door before looking back at her. Grimacing at her knowing smile, “How did you find out?”

She hums, “It was easy. I love him, so I know what it looks like to look at someone you love. You made it so obvious, I’m surprised no one else found out!”

You grit your teeth. You did your damn best to make sure no one, especially Luke or Rachel, know how you feel about him.

“I’m not intimidated by you,” she walks closer to you, arms uncrossing as her hands move to her hips, “but I won’t deny the fact that you and Luke have chemistry.”

“What will it take—” you place the bottle back on the table, “—for you to leave me alone?”

“Do the same to him.”

“What?”

“Leave him alone, unfriend him,” she shrugs, “simple as that.”

“That’s ridiculous,” you walk around her to the door, ready to end the conversation.

“Do that or I’ll tell him,” with a harsh tone she walks towards you, grabbing your arm to stop you from walking.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Okay,” another voice from the doorway makes the two of you jump, “that’s enough.”

Ashton walks into the room, grabbing Rachel’s hand and removing it from your arm.

“W—” she stutters out as she watches the tall man move to stand in front of you.

“I came back for my drumsticks—” his eyes shift to the object sticking out of his bag before dropping down to Rachel, “—but instead I find you, what, threatening a good friend of ours?”

Rachel is speechless while you’re frozen. It was embarrassing enough for one person to find out about your crush on Luke, but now Ashton might know and you want to go into hiding.

“Let it go,” you tug on Ashton’s shirt to get his attention but he doesn’t move.

“Telling someone who’s known your boyfriend longer than your relationship to just abandon him is low, Rachel. Don’t think the way you’ve been treating our friends has gone unnoticed.”

You hear more footsteps approaching the room, and now you wish the ground can swallow you up. You don’t want all this attention on you.

“What’s happening here?” Michael says as he peeks into the room, Luke behind him as Calum leans against the other side of the doorway.

“Nothing—,” Rachel tries to deflect but with four pairs of eyes on her, it becomes too much. Tears start pouring out, and you’re in disbelief.

How can she be the one crying after she was the one who was rude to you?

Luke immediately rushes in, creating a beeline right to her side to wrap her in his arms.

His eyes dart to yours, an emotion on his face of something you’ve never seen, but you know it’s not good.

“What did you do?”

You’re taken back by his tone and the way his angry eyes stare you down. It hurts because instead of staying neutral and finding out what exactly happened, he immediately chose a side: a side of someone he’s known for only for a short amount of time.

“Mate,” Ashton speaks up for you, “I think you’re asking the wrong person that.”

“No,” Luke’s voice raises, eyes moving from yours to stare into his band mate’s, “I’m asking the right person.”

You swallow the lump in your throat, your eyes welling with tears as the weight of everything happening within the last ten minutes starts to bring you down. Your eyes move away from the ones boring into yours, and with a tremble in your voice, “I didn’t do anything. She’s the one who started—.”

“Bullshit!” Luke’s roar cuts you off, “Absolute bullshit, because if she started it, then why is she the only one crying?!”

The two other guys move in to the room to mediate the situation.

“Luke, calm down,” Michael’s hands raise to the motion of ‘calm down’ as he tries to get Luke’s attention.

“There’s gotta be more to the story,” Calum moves to your side, checking on you briefly.

“Don’t,” Luke states as he watches Calum grab your shoulders to move you out of the room.

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Ashton questions. He watches Luke soothingly rub Rachel’s back, wiping her tears with his free hand.

“My girlfriend is crying and you two were the only ones in here,” Luke replies, gently grabbing Rachel’s arms so he can look directly into her eyes, “what happened, babe?”

“I asked them—,” Rachel sniffles, continuing her façade, “—if they needed any help cleaning the room earlier and they yelled at—at me and told me to go away. Then after the show when you guys went for your photos, I came here to apologize to her, even though I didn’t do anything wrong.”

She was selling it; the tears, the sniffling, the stutters, and hiccups. A great actress who knows what she wants.

“That’s not true,” you inhale, your ears feeling warm and ringing, “she has had a problem with me lately and I don’t know why!”

Luke scoffs, shaking his head, wrapping Rachel in his arms again.

“C’mon,” Michael mumbles, wanting to leave the room.

Ashton turns around, watching your face go from pleading to blank as the tears fall from your eyes. He turns his head to face Luke, “You’re unbelievable,” he grabs your shoulders and starts to move you out of the room, “let’s go.”

Michael is already out of the room, the tension too much for him and ruining the after-show vibe. Calum is waiting by the door ready to help lead you out. Ashton has you turned around, pushing you towards the door.

“Wait, Luke,” you mumble, getting out of Ashton’s hold and turning back to face Luke.

He doesn’t look at you, sighing as he rubs Rachel’s head as it’s against his chest.

“Please,” you plead, begging him to look at you and when he does, you ask, “who do you believe?”

“What?”

“Who do you believe, Luke,” you gulp with a sniffle, “me or her?”

For a moment, you think you see hesitation. His jaw tenses as he stares you down, his best friend for years and someone he turned to when times got tough. He then looks down at the girl in his arms, someone he loves crying into his chest.

He sighs again, this time soft, before looking up to meet your eyes. He does notice the tears, the pain etched on your face as his other best friends watch them. “I believe Rachel.”

“This is fucking stupid,” Ashton mutters as he gently grabs your shoulders again to lead you out of the room.

You let the tears fall freely, not meeting any of the boys’ eyes as you kept your head face down.

You’ve lost your best friend. He chose someone else over you, a lie he chose to believe.

Whatever it was that made you catch feelings for your best friend, you wish you can find it and destroy it, along with any other memory you’ve made with him. After tonight, you want him erased from your cherished memories.

---

part two!

[mashtonasfuck]

Eyes Open

based on this anon message.

calum hood x reader (x ashton irwin)

warnings: smut, masturbation

word count: 1.2k

okay, so apparently I have no self-resolve at all, and what was supposed to be a 600 word blurb is now a 1.2k oneshot. I tried really hard to keep this gender neutral and it’s my first time writing anything reader insert. I hope you like it anon - this was so much fun! As there always seems to be when I write cashton, this contains smut! (Also, there may be a part 2 on the horizon)

You can find my masterlist here

This work must not be reposted anywhere - I do not give my permission for it to appear anywhere other than on my blog, or on my ao3 page.

——————————————————————————

“Baby, Ash is about to call.”

Calum’s words were muffled against your neck as you rode his thigh, knot building in the pit of your stomach. 

You whimpered as he pulled away from marking you up and moved his hands down to your hips to still your movement, wrecking your orgasm. You whined as he went to push you away, clinging onto him as his computer received the call from Ashton. Calum sighed before wrapping an arm around your waist and reaching across his desk to tap the answer button. Ashton’s face filled the screen, the drummer groaning as he saw you perched on Calum’s lap.

“I swear to god, you two better not be fucking right now.”

Calum laughed at Ashton’s before replying -  

“Nah, that was earlier mate - were you looking for a show?”

Ashton huffed at Calum’s words, a light flush covering his complexion. Calum raised an eyebrow at the older man on the screen as he shifted in his seat. Your boyfriend smirked, tapping on your leg and gesturing to Ashton keeping his voice low.

“You wanna give Ashton a show, baby? Wanna show him how pretty you look when you cum?”

You glanced at the computer screen before nodding at Calum and he grinned, turning you around to face Ashton. The drummer threw you a confused look and you smiled shyly at him.

“Ashton,” your boyfriend’s voice was firm as he called for the other man’s attention, “I wanna show you how pretty my baby is when they cum.”

You whimpered as Calum slipped a hand under your shirt and tugged at one of your nipples, using his other hand to pull himself free from his shorts. You glanced at the computer screen to see that Ashton had pushed himself away from his desk and had a hand down his trousers. You clenched your thighs together as arousal pooled in your abdomen, Calum huffing before using his legs to spread you open. Ashton groaned at your lack of underwear and lifted his hips to push his jeans down his legs, toying with the edge of his shirt before pulling it over his head. Calum smirked at the older man’s reaction before lining himself up and pushing into you. You moaned as he stretched you open, reaching a hand down to touch yourself. Calum growled as he noticed your movement, gripping your wrist and moving you both forwards to place your hand on the desk.

“Both hands on the desk, baby - wanna make you cum just by fucking you. Keep your eyes on Ash.” You nodded at your boyfriend’s words, locking eyes with the drummer on the screen.

“Tell me if those pretty eyes close, Ash - they know they don't get to cum if they don’t obey the rules.” The drummer smirked at you, spitting into his hand and wrapping his fingers around his dick.

You whined at the sight, clenching hard around Calum. Your boyfriend hissed at the feeling before lifting you off him slightly and slamming into you. You moaned loudly as Calum thrust into you at a fast pace, trying to keep your eyes on the drummer through the screen. Ashton was clearly trying to keep pace with Calum’s thrusts into you, the man’s breathing heavy as he fucked into his fist. Calum snaked a hand up to your nipples, flicking at the bud before tugging on it harshly. You whimpered at the pain, feeling Calum smirk into your neck as he gently bit down on your skin. You whined as he ran his tongue over the spot, moving your hips in time with his thrusts. Calum growled, bunching your shirt up and pushing it over your head and down your arms, exposing your body to Ashton. The drummer moaned as he took in the sight of your torso and the marks that littered your body from the night before. Your boyfriend pushed your back down as he slid the chair backwards, stretching your body out as you kept your hands flush on the desk. The new angle made it feel like Calum was splitting you open on his cock and you arched your back as he hit the sensitive spot inside you. He wrapped a hand round the back of your neck, pushing you back down so your eyes were level with the computer screen.

Your moans grew louder as your orgasm rushed towards you, Ashton watching you intently as he got himself off.

“Cal. Please. Need to - Can I?” You babbled at your boyfriend, and he grunted, gripping your hip tightly before pulling almost all the way out before slamming back into you.

“Cum for us, baby. Show Ash how good you are.”

Your moans grew louder as Calum continued to fuck into you, fighting to keep your eyes on the drummer as he brought himself nearer to the edge. Your orgasm barrelled into you, body spasming as Calum fucked you through it, sweat dripping from his body as he approached his own climax. Your vision was blurry as you kept your eyes trained on the computer screen, Ashton swearing before he came all over his chest. You whimpered as Calum continued to fuck into you, bringing you to the edge a second time before he released his load into you. Your boyfriend collapsed on top of you, chest heaving as he tried to bring his breathing back down to normal. You squirmed underneath him, cum leaking out as he softened inside you. Through the computer, you could hear that Ashton was breathing heavily as he came down from his high, the drummer slowly wheeling himself back towards his computer and grabbing some tissues off his desk to clean himself up. Calum snaked his hands around your waist, pulling you with him as he sat up. You whimpered at the feeling of him still inside you, shifting slightly in his lap as he rested his head on your shoulder to look at Ashton. The drummer was watching you both with a soft smile on his face - one that Calum returned before pressing a kiss to your neck as you slotted your fingers with his.

“Maybe next time we can do this in person?” Ashton’s voice was hesitant as he spoke, the older man clearly not wanting to overstep. Calum smiled against your skin before looking at Ashton.

“Think that sounds like a great idea, don’t you baby?” He squeezed your body gently as he spoke, knowing that you’d thought about asking Ashton to join you in the bedroom. You groaned as you felt Calum’s dick stir inside you as he thought about sharing you with his best friend.

“I’d like that a lot, Ash.” You admitted quietly, Calum smirking at the drummer over your shoulder. Ashton flashed his bandmate a grin as he pulled his diary towards him and flipped it open.

“What are you guys doing tomorrow?”

——————————————————————————

Any questions, advice or constructive criticism? Shoot me a message here 

Taglist: @pxrxmoore, @queer-5sos, @irwinkitten, @kindahoping4forever, @5sosnsfw, @loveroflrh, @mysticalhood, @adoringlrh, @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles, @koalacal, @maluminspace, @calumsmermaid, @punkrockpreferences, @irwindoll

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[clumsyclifford]

you did so good with favorite place, how about trouble is for malum? ik that's not on the prompt list but all that I know is I just can't say no to you, funny how things never change...

i literally read this ask and then hit myself in the face several times before sitting in silent awe because this prompt. this prompt. your MIND. holy fuck. im going to make a prompt list of all time low lyrics to write fics to but just know (THIS IS A PSA!) that at any time i will be accepting prompts in the form of atl songs/lyrics god you have APPEALED TO MY WEAKNESS MEGHNA HNFKVLMFVJ;DVM

-

“Come to my room?” Calum offers, and it’s not a trap so much as an invitation to something Michael should refuse, but Michael takes one look at Calum and he’s already gone.

“Okay,” he says.

Luke and Ashton shrug to each other and then bid their adieus, with the promise that they’ll be back before four a.m., smashed, no doubt. Michael follows after Calum as they take the stairs to the second floor, where his and Calum’s hotel rooms are side-by-side. It’s so unbelievably rare that they get to have their own rooms, and Michael doesn’t know why he’s not taking full advantage of the solitude.

(Okay, he knows. He fucking knows.)

Calum’s room looks exactly like Michael’s, but reversed. Michael takes a seat on the bed, even though he knows that’s basically implicating himself. But Calum grins at him, not exactly victorious but too knowing for Michael’s liking, and sits next to him.

“Your room’s backwards,” Michael observes, terrified that the room will fall silent and Michael will look over and make the mistake he keeps making.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Literally,” Michael says. “My room looks like this, but, like, everything on the opposite side.”

“Fascinating,” Calum says. “We should look into the furnishing of hotels.”

Michael rolls his eyes. “You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah,” Calum says. “So are you, though.”

“I’ve done nothing but be delightful since I got here.”

“I mean in general.”

“I’m lovely!”

“You shouted at me for playing your electric before you got to soundcheck two nights ago.”

“Well, you shouldn’t touch my stuff. You’re not lead guitarist, are you?”

Calum scoffs, although he sounds amused. “I almost was.”

And isn’t that a throwback. “Fuck,” Michael says. “You were.” It’s funny; in all the times he’s brought up in interviews and 5SOS tour videos that he was almost the drummer of the band, he’d failed to remember that as a result, Calum had almost been the lead guitarist. 

“Good times,” Calum says thoughtfully. “The pre-Ashton era.” 

Michael laughs. “Don’t shit-talk Ash while he’s not here to defend himself.”

“The pre-Michael-on-lead-guitar era,” Calum rectifies. He nudges at Michael’s ankle with his own foot, and Michael’s heart rate spikes. “You’d have probably been a good drummer, you know.”

Michael feels hot, and hopes his face doesn’t reflect it, although that’s a pipe dream. “What do you mean?”

“Dunno,” Calum says, shrugging. “You just learn fast. And anyway, drummers are hot.”

“Are you calling Ashton hot?”

“I’m calling you hot,” Calum says, point-blank.

Michael’s heart stops. “Cal,” he says.

Calum turns his head, and against his own better judgement Michael does too. They’re practically nose to nose; another couple centimetres and they’ll be kissing. Michael tries to suppress that thought, but it surfaces unbidden and won’t go away.

“Yes?” Calum says calmly.

Michael tries to say stop it, or we shouldn’t, or we already tried this and it doesn’t work, but nothing will come out.

He knows Calum thinks he’s hot. Calum knows Michael thinks Calum is hot. But they did try it, and they keep trying it, and Michael keeps hurting when he realizes it’s never going to be more than this — a kiss here and there, a quickie before a show.

The worst part is that it feels wrong without it. He and Calum have been blurring the lines since they knew how to draw them. It shouldn’t feel normal, to kiss Calum, but it would feel worse now not to. And Michael tries to kid himself that he’s trying to get rid of that habit, but he’s not. He won’t. It’s part of him. Calum is a part of him, and Michael is cursed to never say no.

Calum keeps waiting, unmoving, probably waiting for Michael to say something or do something — Calum pushes him to the edge but never over it.

“Cal,” Michael says again, trying to make it sound commanding, defensive, but it comes out more like a plea, desperate and needy. Calum bridges the centimetres and puts his lips on Michael’s, slowly, like he’s giving Michael a chance to move away, which is a fucking joke. Michael wouldn’t move away if his life depended on it.

As soon as they kiss, Michael feels like his heart has burst, or maybe his entire chest. He leans back as Calum leans over him, gentle at first. Calum enjoys pretending that he’s willing to give up control of the kiss, but Michael knows Calum too well, and he doesn’t want to be in control of the kiss, anyway; he just wants to be part of it, and keep doing it, and not break it. Ever. But just to call Calum’s bluff he traces his tongue against Calum’s lower lip, and Calum immediately retaliates, pushing his tongue between Michael’s teeth and skimming the roof of his mouth. Michael’s grip on Calum tightens. He wishes he didn’t enjoy kissing Calum this much. It would make it much easier to give it up.

It feels impossible, monumental to try and end this, but Michael does his level best; he puts a hand against Calum’s chest and pushes, and though he doesn’t push hard, Calum gets the message and pulls away.

“Okay?” Calum asks. Michael almost melts at that, because for all that he acts like a predator chasing prey, Calum would rather die than go any further than Michael is willing.

“No,” Michael says. “I mean, yes — but no. Calum. Do you — do you see the problem here?”

Calum blinks. “No.”

“This is unsustainable,” Michael says. “You can’t — we can’t just — just be friends who make out.”

Calum frowns. “Why not?”

“It’s not fair.”

“Fair to whom?”

“To me,” Michael says flatly. His heart is starting to ache again, and he doesn’t want to be cross with Calum, because he’d been just as enthusiastic a participant of the making out as Calum had been, but still.

“I don’t understand,” Calum says carefully.

Michael sighs. “I don’t want to be your fuckbuddy, Cal. You know I like you, and this is fun, and all, but it’s not — I can’t move on if you’re always…” Kissing me. Looking at me. Here.

“Oh,” Calum says. “You like me?”

“Is this your idea of a joke?”

“No.” Calum looks puzzled. “I like you too, you know.”

“I’m glad my best friend of seven years likes me.”

“Romantically,” Calum clarifies. “Like, I’m in love with you.”

If Michael weren’t sitting down, he’d have fallen.

“What?”

“Is that how you like me?”

Michael blanches. “Of course I’m in love with you. Wait, what the fuck? You’re in love with me? Then what the fuck are we doing?”

“I thought you were humoring me,” Calum says.

“I thought you were humoring me,” Michael returns. He feels shaky, and the next second steady. “Since when are you in love with me?”

“Uh,” Calum says, “since I fucking kissed you for the first time? When we were sixteen? Are you joking?”

Michael laughs out loud, and leans forward to rest his head against Calum’s shoulder. “Holy shit,” he says. “This whole time I thought you were just being nice.” 

“You’re fucking stupid,” Calum says. “I did repeatedly call you hot, right? I’ve been flirting with you since we started the band, right? I’m not just imagining that? Hey, since fucking when are you in love with me?”

“Since you kissed me when we were sixteen,” Michael says, unable to contain the giggles. “I hate you. I hate us. Will you marry me? No. Wait. Will you be my boyfriend? Best friend with benefits? I don’t even know what we are anymore.”

“Yes,” Calum says. “To all of those questions, but I’m not marrying you unless you give me a proper proposal, what the fuck. I’m a gentleman.”

“Noted,” Michael says, giddy. He picks his head up and says, “I’m going to kiss you now. But like, because I’m in love with you.”

“I’ll allow it,” Calum says. And then he kisses Michael, and Michael has no trouble letting him, because Michael could never say no to Calum, and now he never has to.

[bebewheezy]

I’ll Never Give You Away

Notes: hi guys this is my first series i’m posting on here! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it :)  also this is dedicated to @mukeillusions​

word count: 1,334

Elizabeth’s POV I woke up to a stiff neck and a large hand shaking my shoulder. I hated sleeping on flights, even if I had my bear of boyfriend to practically lie on throughout the entire ride.

“Hey love, we’re about to land, better sit up,” Luke spoke softly into my ear.

“Why the fuck did Jamie have to decide to have her wedding on an island almost 3,000 miles away?” I grumbled as I removed my head from Luke’s neck.

“You’re the one who planned the entire event,” He chuckled as he grabbed my hand. “You have no one to blame but yourself, darling.”

“And I have a bone to pick with you too, sir, waking me up just before my least favorite part of flying,” I tapped my finger on his pixie nose.

“I know, and I’m sorry, love, but I figured you’d want to look out the window as we descend,” He pointed towards the window I had closed no less than three hours ago so I could sleep peacefully. “Cal mentioned before we left that you can see the whole island while landing.”

“I can’t believe Delilah’s man brought her to a tropical island getaway before mine did,” I teased while opening the blind. “And here I was thinking you were the most romantic one of you four boys.”

“First off, we’re men, not boys. Second, Ashton definitely has me beat on being the most chivalrous.”

“You’re right, I should’ve accepted his date offer three years ago when he first met me, then maybe it could be me getting married this week,” I sighed dramatically while Luke frowned at my statement. “I’m kidding honey, we both know I would’ve dumped his drummer ass for you within a week, I was so smitten.”

“Was? Baby you still are smitten with me, I’ve got you wrapped around my finger,” He leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine.“I could say the exact same thing for you,” I planted a small kiss to his lips then began to turn my head towards the window, only for Luke to groan then grab my face and bring our lips together once more. “I’m trying to enjoy the scenery, you bear, now let me go!”

Luke released my jaw and rested his head against my chest as I turned to the window. We were almost to Oahu, I could just make out the green of the mountains almost touching the fluffy pale clouds looming over the island. Delilah and Cal’s descriptions didn’t give the gorgeous land justice. I had always longed to visit Hawaii, and I never thought it would happen until now, and I was beyond grateful to be beside my best friends and loving boyfriend for it. I gripped Luke’s hand a little tighter in excitement and anticipation for the part I hated most of traveling, landing in a giant craft that seemed to defy gravity.

“It’s okay baby, we’re flying with the best airline and we have the best pilot ever, nothing’s gonna happen,” He reassured me with a small peck to my shoulder.

“I know, it’s just anxiety and the fact that I never thought I’d be able to visit Hawaii,” I whispered as I continued to gaze out the small hole.

Oahu had grown a lot closer in the short amount of time I wasn’t paying much attention. Now I could see the bright teal of the ocean, the crisp white of the beach and the coral reefs hiding beneath the salty water. The clouds were now level with the wing of our plane and cast shadows of all different shapes below. Right as I was starting to forget about my nerves, a patch of turbulence hit, making me slightly jump in my seat and the seat belt sign flashed, initiating that we were about to land. Luke, being more in tune with my emotions than I was, wrapped his lanky arm around my shoulders and brought me closer to his side for comfort. I’m not positive on when my fear of take off and touchdown began, sometime when I started travelling with the guys more with their tours, but Luke was always there to keep my stable during the worst parts of travelling.

After a few more gruesome minutes of being jostled in our seats, the captain announced that we had finally arrived in Honolulu.

“We made it!” Michael, who was two rows ahead of me and Luke, practically shouted as he jolted out of his compact seat. Even though the wedding party had splurged and flown first class, the flight was just long enough to be on the verge of being unbearable.

“Mikey sit down,” Kris, his fiancée, said as she tugged on his sleeve. “We’re still on the runway, you can’t get out of your seat.”

“But we’re in fucking Hawaii!” He exclaimed right before he was yanked back down by Kris.

“I think Mike’s more excited about being here than the actual bride to be is,” Luke chuckled as he pointed to Jamie’s sleeping figure next to Ashton.

“I’m so elated for her. I can’t believe my best friend is going to be married in five days,” I said softly. “Oh my god they’re gonna be the first couple to have 5SOS children, Luke we can’t let that happen. Our kids will be so much cuter with your curls and everything else but your horrible personality.”

“You happen to like my horrible personality,” He grumbled as I laughed at him. “But I agree, we gotta be the first ones to make the next generation of 5SOS, we should start practicing tonight.”

“Are you ever not horny?” I giggled as he buried his head in my neck and placed sloppy, open mouthed kisses to it.

“For you? Never,” I laughed again and let him continue his escapades for a few more seconds before pulling away.

“We’re in public, mister, try to have a little self control?” I grabbed his stubble covered cheeks in my hands.

“I can’t help it I’m dating the most gorgeous girl in the world. Who also occurs to be a hot piece of ass.”

“You two are disgusting, we’re in public ya know? The whole fuckin’ plane can hear your raunchy conversation,” Calum interrupted as he stood up once the plane stopped moving.

“And for the record, you guys aren’t going to be the first ones with 5SOS generation two,” Delilah popped her head full of brown curls over the seat in front of us. “Cal’s dick is so good I’m surprised I haven’t gotten pregnant already.”

“Now who’s being inappropriate in public?” I stuck my tongue out at the younger girl as she reached over to swat my arm.

“Please be nice to each other,” Luke pleaded from his seat next to me. 

“If we have to listen to you two quarrel this whole week we’re not bringing you on the next tour,” Calum added. Delilah and I glanced at one another with knowing looks. Their tours easily lasted three months at least, neither of us would last being away from the boys for that long without one visitation.

“When do we ever really argue? It’s merely playful banter between friends,” I smiled.

“Is that what you’re calling it now?” Cal retaliated and turned to his girlfriend as Delilah and I nodded our heads. “ Alright, c’mon love let’s get off this fuckin’ plane.”

“I don’t get why you two don’t get along very well,” Luke spoke as we stood up to depart the airplane. “You’re both so similar I figured you’d be fast friends.”

“I tried being her friend when Jamie first introduced us, but she just doesn’t seem to like me,” I sighed as Luke grabbed my small hand and began to walk to baggage claim. “Do you think we’re gonna have to deal with paparazzi here? The airport is so small I guess I thought no one would recognize any of you.”

“Only one way to find out darling.”

[tirednotflirting]

sleepyhead - c.h.

right now i’m a few glasses of wine in and i’ve finally got the guts to post fic for the first time ever so here is a lil blurb thing i wrote in between studying for different finals last week when thinking of soft morning cal was distracting me from primate anatomy.

word count: ~1.9k

she woke up to the smell of cigarette smoke tickling at her nose. after a second breath, she caught a whiff of fresh coffee and rain on the brick walls of her building. knowing he must be out on the covered balcony, she listened closely for the sound of rain, wondering if it had stopped yet, and also picked up his quiet humming of a song she couldn’t quite figure out. a slight breeze blew into the room, causing her to pull the thick comforter up from where it rested at her waist and let her eyes finally flutter open as thoughts of sleeping later drifted off.

the room was dark for 9am, she observed after rolling over to grab her phone and seeing the time. her weather app told her that the storm was to continue well into the evening so if his plans for the day had included anything outside, they would likely need to be put on hold. she lifted her body from the mattress and finally caught sight of him out on the patio, the half-opened door giving her a view of him sipping from his favorite mug with the same hand that held his cigarette as he wrote something in a journal resting against the small glass table she had bought during the summer.

“your balcony has a nice view,” he had said one afternoon in june, soon after they had become friends who actively sought out each other’s company rather than waiting for the next time the world brought them together through mutual friends. “you should get a table out here when you’re more settled, would be a great morning coffee with a book spot.” she bought the table after he mentioned it a second time.

she thought of their initial meeting one another earlier in the year as she glanced up to check on him every couple of minutes as she went through her school inbox on her phone.

it was a grad party back in may for lianna, a friend a couple years her senior. it was out on some trendy rooftop place downtown her parents had rented out. lianna was the kind of girl who knew every kind of person, including the girlfriend of a drummer called ashton irwin. the couple had come along and brought with them ashton’s bandmate, calum. they blended in well with the ucla media studies crowd in their dress and overall low key attitude to the lights and sparkles and fruity drinks that came with downtown la in late spring.

she was a photography major and had met lianna when she got approval to take a senior level course that spring, despite only being a sophomore. she got on well with everyone at the party, all of them being her (now former) classmates and her face was growing achy with how much she was smiling as everyone told her their postgrad plans. she had been taking a social break and was standing at the bar, trying to flag down the bartender, her short stature failing her at that moment. she felt a presence to her left as she huffed in frustration, along with a deep “need some help?”. she turned and saw a man that she remembered recognizing when she had seen him walk in with a gorgeous couple earlier in the night. he was in a band, plays bass, lianna had told her over the tops of their wine glasses. he’s australian, and has a very cute dog, had also been added by the tall red-haired girl.

“yeah, thanks. guess he can’t hear me,” she replied, a tired smile returning to her face. a similar one spread across the curly-haired boy’s lips. “what are you drinking?” he asked, looking down to her as his hand lifted to grab the attention of the bartender, who immediately noticed the man. she took a moment before answering to admire the tattoos that she could see dancing across his forearm as his rolled sleeve pushed up to his elbow.

“the rosé.”

he lifted his chin in a short nod and recited the order as well as his own to the bartender. she pulled herself up into one of the stools at the bar to give her heeled feet a rest and to reduce at least a little bit of the difference in height between herself and the man.

“i’m calum,” he introduced himself, reaching a tattooed hand out into the somewhat limited space between the two of them.

“bennie,” she smiled lazily, her smaller hand accepting his as a glass of pink wine is placed beside her.

she set her phone back to charge and finally pushes back the covers. she reaches to the floor at the end of her bed to pick up a cardigan to throw on over the t-shirt she stole from him to wear when he got in the night before. he would always tease her for taking one of his ratty band t-shirts every time he ended up at her place after the airport rather than his own but never enough for her to toss it back in his duffle.

california in winter could just barely be called that, but the storm was bringing through something they would all call a cold front. he looks up from his writing as he hears her bare feet padding closer to the open door and gently shuts the leather journal, his pen marking his place.

he takes another drag of the cigarette, turning towards the street to blow away the smoke. “lovely weather we’re having today, huh?”

she scoffs at his sarcasm as she pulls out the seat across from him. “la is so happy to have you home that the whole city is crying tears of joy.” 

“hush, ben.” he rolls his eyes but smirks nonetheless at her words.

he takes a moment to admire the girl that’s come to be one his best friends as she reaches forward to pour coffee from the French press he had made into a second mug. sleep had pulled most of her hair from the braid she had done up when they were eating pasta in the kitchen the night before. her eyes were dark around the edges due to the college-student style of exhaustion she always seemed to be and the eyeliner she had claimed she didn’t really need to wash away before bed. seeing her in his clothes made him feel warm in a way he didn’t really understand but always pushed away the thought of.

“ah, you’re right.” she says after a sighing as she takes her first sip from her mug. “she’s actually crying because you’re leaving again in a few days.”

the smile on his face drops as he reaches a foot out to tap against her leg. “hey now, yes i’ll be leaving but then you’re down for that party in the city for new years, right?”

she’s already down to the bottom of her mug (the French press was doing a shit job at retaining any heat and she was going to need to just go back into the kitchen and make more). “if you’ll still have me, yeah. which i hope you will because i’ve definitely already bought the flight.”

“bennie, you were supposed to let me get that.” he says to her with furrowed brows, a small pout forming.

she stands and holds a hand out for his mug so she can go in and make a second cup for the both of them. “okay, well you already got me a room and since your label are the ones hosting the party, you’re basically paying for all my drinks too. so i-“

“it was gonna be your Christmas present, love.” he sighs, handing his mug over.

“the room can be the prese-“

“bennie,” he cuts her off and places a hand at her hip to stop her as she tries to scoot around him to get back inside for coffee and to get away from the conversation. she looks down at where his chipped black polished fingers are placed. “just wanna be able to do something nice for you. i know you worked your ass off this semester and that you’re avoiding the fam for the holiday so i just wanted to treat you.”

she studies the mugs in her hands to avoid his gaze. calum turns his chair to face her so he can wrap both arms around her waist. she huffs and sets the mugs down on the table, letting her hands fall to his shoulders as she looks down to his patient brown eyes.

she takes a deep breath as she moves one hand to the back of his neck, her fingers twirling around the curls there. “and i appreciate it. and i’ve been feeling all warm and fuzzy ever since you asked me to join for this. i think i just convinced myself that letting you do too much for me would make it seem like i was taking advantage. don’t ever want you to feel that way about me.”

his bottom lip juts out further after hearing her think that he could ever even for a moment have some kind of ill opinion of her. “wouldn’t dream of thinking that, darling. i invited you to a party clear across the country, just wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”

she feels something flutter inside her when he calls her by pet names and talks about taking care of her but she pushes the thought away. “we should talk more when planning, huh?”

he laughs and shakes his head at her as he opens his legs so she can stand between them as he pulls her closer, his arms moving to wrap more fully around her waist. he lets his head fall against her stomach. “i’m still exhausted.”

she runs a hand through his hair. “it’s called jet lag, ace. go get back in bed. let’s finish the season of peaky blinders we fell asleep in the middle of last night and then we can go pick up duke.” 

he hummed his agreement with the plan for the rest of the morning before turning his head to place a kiss to the inside of bennie’s wrist. as she wanders past him, mugs and french press gathered into her arms, he puts out the last of his cigarette in the ashtray he brought over after she yelled at him for using one of her favorite mugs for the purpose. she’s already back in the kitchen, filling the kettle before setting it back on the stove and digging through her cabinets for the dark roast she’s decided she wants to make for her second cup of the day.

she comes back to her room several minutes later with two steamy mugs to find calum asleep again, her pillow tucked against his chest. she could almost coo at him cuddled under the blanket, chapped lips pouted out as he softly snores. she chuckles quietly to herself as she sets the mugs on her desk before gently climbing back into bed and pulling the pillow away from his arms. it’s only now that she notices the door is still open, the rain still falling at a steady pace and the breeze sneaking its way across the room. as she lays her head against the pillow that now smells of whatever new cologne he picked up on the road, an arm reaches over her body, pulling her against his warm chest. 

“thanks, love,” are the last words she hears before letting her tired eyes drift shut.

~~~~~

thnx for reading if you did and come say hello (i like new pals) and lemme know if i should ever give this kinda thing a shot again. happy saturday !

[new2fivesauce]

Please Don't Regret Me- 1. Intro

Warnings: mild swearing maybe

575 words.

《《》》

Nelle Padilla was there when Calum, Luke, and Michael got their brilliant idea of starting a band. She was there to record their YouTube videos, come up with band names, find and add Ashton Irwin to their lineup. Michael Clifford truly believed that if it weren’t for Nelle their band wouldn’t have found its way to One Direction and thus start a phenomenon. When they decided to drop out of school to pursue their music career, it was by Calum Hood’s suggestion and their manager’s eventual approval that Nelle become their assistant. 

Nelle was, of course, hesitant. She wanted to complete her schooling and go to college. She only did the things she did for the band seeing as Calum was basically her brother and it was a way to hang out with him once his band became a full-time job. It was terrible persuasion that eventually got her to say yes. She figured These boys are fucking useless without me and it has yet to be proven otherwise.

Luke Hemmings was the only member of the band that didn’t have that tight connection with Nelle though and sometimes that made it awkward. There was no intense liking or disliking… They were just acquaintances with the same friends. He didn’t quite understand how the others, except Calum, had gotten so close with Nelle and how much they loved her.

Nelle was a military brat. Born in the States, but had traveled most, if not all the world, by the time she was five. When she was six, her family decided to settle in Australia for whatever reason and she happened to move in next door to the Hood family. Calum and Nelle instantly clicked. Their parents swore they were destined for great things… Great things meaning marriage and a dozen kids. But after an awkward first kiss between them at the age of 12, they decided that they were better off just telling people they were just friends. Their relationship was on sibling-level and Calum seeked Nelle out for approval for almost everything, including his friends.

She had met Ashton before all the others. Bumped into him at a book store and she thought he was cute. He had crater deep dimples and hazel eyes, his smile could be seen from a mile away. They kicked it off pretty fast and Ashton developed a hard crush on her, but it never went anywhere. He was the first person she thought of when 5SOS was looking for a fourth member and drummer.

Michael Clifford and Luke she had met through Calum. Her automatic bond with Michael made Luke feel like he wasn’t cool or good enough for her so he kept his distance. It wasn’t intentional, but Michael was very possessive of Nelle. Luke wasn’t sure if it was because initially Michael had a crush on her and was trying to get her to like him or just because Michael was just that soft of a person. He would take anything under his wing and take care of it to the point of suffocation. 

Nelle never signified that she was suffocating though. She was stuck in this dilemma of was it the band’s fault or not.

And that was why Luke hadn’t expected her to leave. He didn’t understand why her departure kicked his ass. He realized too late that the main constant in his life other than the boys was Nelle. She made being a band sustainable and bearable. Luke didn’t want to believe it, but maybe he did actually like her.

Next Chapter - 2. Hotel Management

[sleepy--cal]

hitched pt.1 | ashton

word count | 7.6k  →  fake dating, tinder, romcom au

synopsis | Ashton lies about having a plus-one for Michael’s wedding, sending his friends into an excited frenzy, and him? Scrambling to make those lies come true.

a/n | i’ve never written anything for the 5sos community before so here is my hello :3 Warning: excessive swearing bc the author has a potty mouth

★

When Ashton thought about it way back when, he really thought he’d be the first to settle down. To tie the knot. To get hitched.

But the first 5SOS wedding is coming up in August and it’s not his. It’s Michael’s - as in feet-on-the-table, milk-mustache-wearing, fortnite-until-dawn-playin’, doesn’t-wake-up-until-2pm, stray-cat-lookin’ ass Michael.

Luke has his plus-one. Sierra. Even Calum’s weekends have been spent chasing after this girl that Ashton has yet to be introduced to. Yet here he himself is at 2 months shy of 25 years of age, and he’s so fucking single he’s pretty sure he and Virgin Mary could be featured side-by-side on an expert level of a spot-the-difference game.

In fact, the last time a female even stepped foot into his mancave of an apartment was before he’d broken it off with his ex-girlfriend over a year ago. And when his ex had moved out, she’d brought all of her stuff with her and when Ashton says ‘all of her stuff’, he means all of her stuff. There’s no longer a toaster oven in his kitchen, only a microwave that he uses to heat up pizza pockets and poptarts. There are no bowls to eat from because he eats his food straight off his only pot like an 18th century caveman. There’s a lacy bra hanging off the doorknob to his bathroom but even that was a gag gift from Calum for Christmas two years ago. It’s fucking sad.

So Ashton doesn’t think it’s his fault, okay, when his phone pings and he comes face to face with the link to RSVP to Michael and Crystal’s destination wedding and the first question that comes up is “Do you have a plus one?”

Ashton scoffs.

He doesn’t know what it is - either the internalized compulsive need to one-up his friends or you know, casual demonic possession but he physically cannot control his goddamn thumb as he checkmarks the little “yes!” next to the question from hell. The panic doesn’t settle in for a little bit, even when he’s staring blankly at the ‘thank you for your response!’ message that pops up after he submits the form.

It’s only when he picks up the phone to an ecstatic Michael less than a full minute since he indicated he wanted steak instead of fish for the wedding dinner that he well and truly has his ‘oh shit’ moment.

And of course, when one person in the band knows something, everyone fucking knows. Which is how he finds himself stuck in a 4-way facetime call with every single 5SOS member and their dogs.

He can see all of Luke’s pores from how close his face is to the screen.

Everyone speaks all at once.

“Ash you’re what?!”

“Mate, why the hell didn’t you tell us?”

“I seriously had to find out from you RSVP-ing to my fucking wedding?!”

Ashton winces as he pulls his phone further from his face. “Guys it’s not that big of a deal.”

Michael scoffs at the same time Calum screams. “Not that big of a deal?! Dude!”

“What’s her name?” Luke demands like he’s asking for tonight’s weather forecast and not the name of Ashton’s fake fucking girlfriend.

“Chernobyl,” Ashton says. What the fuck.

“Chernobyl?” Luke repeats, his nose scrunching up in deep thought.

“Isn’t that the name of the nuclear power plant that-”

“It was a joke!” Ashton snaps, cutting Michael off. “I was kidding. It’s an inside joke between us.” He bullshits. “Um-”

“Aw, you two have inside jokes already!” Luke coos instead. Calum falls for it immediately, cooing alongside Luke and if Ashton’s ego wasn’t so big, he would’ve hung up the call already.

“So what is her name then?” Michael probes curiously. Ashton wants to kill Michael.

“Uh,” Ashton says intellectually. Favourite cartoon character. His grandmother’s name. The name of his childhood stuffie. The street he used to live on?? Ah, his neighbour’s cat! “April! I- yeah, it’s April.”

“Aww! Ashton!” Calum says dreamily like he’s Ashton’s mom finding out about his girlfriend and not his punk rock band member.

“She’s twenty-two,” Ashton’s fat mouth adds unnecessarily, because apparently, Ashton Fletcher Irwin is a closeted masochist and likes his grave deeper than most.

★

When management had approved of the band’s 6-month hiatus in preparation for Mikey’s wedding, Ashton never imagined he’d be spending it alone on his living room floor downloading Tinder.

But as he watches the progress bar slowly fill with green, it dawns on him that this is probably the worst decision he’s ever made in his entire life and that he should probably get psychologically evaluated for compulsive lying.

He isn’t even sure if Tinder is the right app for this, because he’s not looking for a hookup. He’s looking for a very specific 22-year old April who happens to live in Los Angeles, is open to sharing a fake inside joke with him about the tragic 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and won’t think he’s a serial killer when he asks on the first date if they want to accompany him on an 11-hour flight to Bora Bora as his plus one for his best friend’s destination wedding.

Ashton groans, falling backwards onto the carpeted floor. “Fuuuuuuck.”

The only thing that answers him is the mocking ping from his phone telling him the download is complete.

The carpet is rough under his cheek as he turns to grab at his phone, the ‘Let’s get started!’ page of the app staring innocently back at him.

It’s afternoons like these that makes Ashton wish he wasn’t such an insufferable idiot.

In no time at all, Ashton has his profile set up - his name (just Fletcher), age (24), and a couple of long-distance unrecognizable shots of himself because there’s no way in hell the tabloids are about to catch him on Tinder.

He spends the next 30 seconds swiping right furiously on every single girl that pops up because Michael’s wedding is in four months and the fitting for the groomsmen suits are tomorrow and he seriously has no time to be picky right now. He literally needs his 22-year old April yesterday.

He’s about to max out on his swiping limit for the day when a loud knock on his door startles him out of his thoughts. From his spot on the floor, he peers around the corner at the front door and when the lock doesn’t jiggle after another ten seconds, he groans and gets up to see which one of his not-bandmates have decided to show up unannounced.

When the door swings open, Lauren is staring at him from the other side with a giant luggage behind her and a raised eyebrow.

“Lauren!” He greets enthusiastically without missing a beat.

She rolls her eyes at him anyway and pushes her way past him and into the apartment. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“I did not. I even have a poptart in the microwave for you.” He insists as the front door swings shut with a bang.

Yeah... he should really get tested for compulsive lying.

“Here, let me grab that for you,” Ashton says, hauling the gigantic suitcase Lauren had brought with her, ignoring her sarcastic as you should! as he goes off to dump it somewhere in his room. While there, he shoves his dirty clothes underneath the bed and smooths out the bed sheets so Ashton can at least pretend that he’s somewhat gotten his act together since Lauren had last visited.

When he reemerges, Lauren is relaxing on the couch with a poptart in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Lauren!” He roars as he does a running dive over the back of the couch. Lauren shrieks as she drops the poptart and stumbles to the floor, carrying the weight of her brother on her back as she tries to keep the phone out of his reach. “What did I tell you about touching my things?!”

“I see Tinder, Ash!” She screams back, knocking the cushions off the couch as she shoves a sharp elbow into his cheek. “I have to tell mom!”

“Like hell you will!” He shouts as he makes a grab for the wrist holding his phone hostage. “Give me my phone back!”

“Screw off!”

“I made you a poptart!”

“So?!” Lauren retorts. “I-”

They both freeze at the sound of a loud ping. Ashton can only watch helplessly as Lauren’s eyes dart to the phone in her hands, her expression going from angry cat to sparkly eyed in two seconds flat. “You have a match!” She squeals.

“What?”

Ashton takes advantage of the distraction to snatch his phone back. Immediately, Lauren is peering over his shoulder as he swipes on the notification, watching as the words ‘It’s a Match!’ displays itself on the screen.

Underneath the words are two circular pictures - one is of the blurry ass photo of himself that he’d chosen and the other is a photo of a pretty brunette beaming shyly at the camera from behind a teacup.

‘You and Luna have liked each other!’ Tinder informs him.

Lauren shrieking into his ear is probably the single loudest thing he’s ever heard in his life, and as the drummer of a band, that’s saying something.

“She’s pretty!” Lauren squeals. Two seconds later, she mellows down as she clears her throat and punches him hard in the shoulder. “I guess you have pretty good taste. Proud of ya, Ash.” She grins.

Ashton doesn’t know how to tell her about his blind and desperate swiping spree that he went on seconds before she showed up at his doorstep, or about why he’s even on Tinder in the first place so he doesn’t and just lets CompulsiveLiar!Ashton strike again. “Thanks Laurie. Her bio’s what really got me.” He says.

He has no freaking idea what Luna’s bio says.

“Let me stalk!” Lauren exclaims and snatches his phone back before he can say anything and because Ashton can’t help but admit he’s a little curious too, the pair of them huddle on the couch together, looking at Ashton’s phone like it holds the answers to the future, which, for Ashton, it seriously might, just not in the way his sister might be thinking.

“Luna, twenty-two years old,” Lauren reads aloud. Ashton’s eyebrows shoot up at her perfect age. She scrolls further down. “Hey, she went to UCLA! I wonder if I’ve passed her on campus before.”

“Majored in developmental psychology,” Ashton reads next. “Holy shit.”

Lauren glances at him suspiciously. “I thought you’ve read all of this before.”

“I have!” Ashton says defensively. “I’m just doing a dramatic reading for your sake.”

“God, please don’t.”

They spend the next half hour combing through every bit of Luna’s bio, from the three photos she has of herself and one of her dalmatian to her biography that simply reads ‘wine and pizza and I’m all yours! Protip: +25 bonus points if you have a dog. +75 bonus points if I get to meet ‘em.’

“Borrow Luke’s dog! You have to!” Lauren begs.

“I can’t borrow Petunia!”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t! Luke might ask questions.”

Lauren squints at him. “Are you embarrassed that you’re pimping yourself out on Tinder?”

Ashton snorts and crosses his arms. “First of all, I’m not pimping myself out. Second of all, no.”

“Just tell him it’s for me then,” Lauren urges, nudging his shoulder. “Tell him I’m trying to impress my Tinder date with a cute puppy and that I’d feel safer going if Petunia was with me.”

Ashton thinks about it for a moment. Luke does have a soft spot for Lauren after all, considering the fact that Luke had always wanted a younger sibling but ended up being the baby himself in both his own family and the band, which, in Ashton’s opinion, fucking hilarious but Lauren did have a point. There’s no way Luke would say no to Lauren and her safety on a random ass Tinder date in the middle of downtown Los Angeles.

Plus, he really needs this whole Tinder shit to work out. For Mikey’s wedding. And if he gets +100 bonus points for showing off a dog that isn’t even his? Sign him the hell up.

“Okay, well, I can see your thinking face.” Lauren says nonchalantly. “So while you text Luke about Petunia, I did you the favour of sending your first message to Luna.”

Ashton chokes on his spit. “You what?!”

The sound that Lauren makes when Ashton throws himself on top of her to grab his phone back is inhuman. But the sound that Ashton makes when he sees the message is worse.

I’m told I remind people of a puppy. If you get to meet both me and my dog over pizza and wine, do I get double the bonus points? 🐶

★

His neighbour’s goddamn cat is staring at him when he wakes up to drink coffee on the balcony the next morning.

“April,” Ashton greets slowly as a warning. Previous first-hand experience has told him that the stupid orange cat did not give two shits about piping hot coffee and would lunge at him for the cup if Ashton so much as blows the steam in her general direction.

As a safety precaution, he moves a little farther away because he’s not sure if his sore neck can take a hit from the crazy cat if she lunges, especially since he was forced to fit his 6 foot long body on his two-seater couch last night, Lauren having taken over his bedroom for her beauty sleep as soon as it hit 10 o’clock.

That, and, uh, the fact that Luna had messaged him back less than five minutes after Lauren had ditched his ass in the living room and left him to his own devices. How was he supposed to continue a conversation he didn’t even start?

And seriously? If anyone in the band was the most puppy, it was Calum. What’s he supposed to do? Bring Calum too and get triple the bonus points?

Thankfully, Luna seemed to think Lauren’s bullshit was cute, replying with a “oh, definitely! 😂 guess I’ll have to double the amount of puppy treats on me”, teasingly followed a minute later by a “what breed of doggos will Oreo and I have the honour of meeting?”

And that was precisely what had kept Ashton up all night.

If you look at Ashton’s most recent search history, you’d find the following: Most popular breed of dog Most popular dog breed in Bora Bora Best looking dog breeds Most popular breed of dog for girls Golden retrievers German shepherds Golden retrievers vs German shepherds

Ashton sighs as he sips on his coffee. In the end, he’d narrowed himself down to either a golden retriever or a german shepherd, not because he thought he resembled either of those two breeds at all but more the fact that both seemed to be the most popular dogs with the ladies (in general, not in Bora Bora because that one yielded zero search results when he tried). But before he could decide which one, he’d finally passed out on the couch last night close to 4am in the morning.

A loud meow comes from his right.

“What?” Ashton asks grumpily as he looks over at April. She’s staring back at him with a stinky look on her face.

Then, he gets an idea.

“Hey April,” He calls out. “Meow once for golden retriever and twice for german shepherd.”

The bitch meows three times.

★

Lauren is laughing so hard, she has to bang her fist on the kitchen table multiple times to control herself. “Golden retriever german shepherd mix?!”

“Stop laughing!” Ashton hisses. “Eat your pancakes!”

“You mean the pancakes that I made?”

Ashton pauses. “Drink your coffee!”

Lauren’s still laughing. “I can’t believe you said a mix! Now she definitely knows you spent all night thinking about it.”

You left me out to die last night!” Ashton accuses, pointing a finger at her. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You replied this morning anyway! You could’ve waited for me to wake up.”

Ashton’s mouth opens and closes a couple times but nothing comes out. So he changes the subject because he’s mature like that. “I have to get ready for the fitting.”

Lauren snickers. “Sure.”

Calum and Luke swings his front door open right as Ashton emerges from his bedroom shamelessly in a 5sos tour hoodie and black jeans. They both give him a once-over, both looking confused.

“I thought we were going to get fitted for suits?” Luke says, eyebrows scrunched together. “Or is there a band gig tonight that I don’t know about?”

“A band gig,” Calum replies seriously. “At the wedding boutique. I thought you knew! If we perform for the boutique staff, Mikey gets a 30% discount.”

“Budgetsos,” Ashton butts in.

They finally notice Lauren when she snorts from the kitchen counter.

“Laurie!” Luke beams as the both of them go over to bear hug her and inspect what she’s eating. They don’t question why she’s eating pancakes out of a pot. Lauren offers some of her food and Calum takes it immediately, chomping over her fork for the bite. Luke takes her coffee instead.

“So you arrived here last night and you didn’t even ask us to come hang out? I thought we were friends,” Calum pouts, helping Lauren clean out her plate even though she didn’t ask. He looks like a puppy begging for scraps. “And I’m like 300% sure we make better company than Ash.”

“Hey!”

Before Ashton can say anything else, Lauren is looking over at him mischievously. “Sorry,” She snickers. “I couldn’t. Ashton and I were too busy last night setting up a daaaaaate for him.” She drags out.

Ashton chokes on his coffee. Holy fucking shit.

Luke turns to her immediately with a gleam in his eyes. “So you’ve met April?!”

“Yes!” Ashton interrupts loudly between coughs, voice raspy from the coffee in his goddamn airway. He ignores Lauren’s face that goes from evil to confused in two seconds flat. “Lauren’s met April! They both, uh, seriously love dogs and that’s all they could talk about I couldn’t get them to shut up, like at all.”

“No fucking way! Is she here?!” Calum asks, eyes wide and head whipping around in both directions so fast his curly hair looks like it’s taking flight. “Where?! Is she in your room? I want to meet her!” He asks, already sprinting into Ashton’s bedroom before he’s even finished his sentence.

“She’s not there!” Ashton hisses, running after him. “She left this morning! She had, like, you know... work! It’s a Tuesday.”

Calum visibly deflates and Ashton almost feels bad for a minute before he remembers that he can’t introduce Calum to anyone anyway, because he doesn’t actually have anyone.

Luke bounds over next, immediately taking notice of the odd state of his room - Lauren’s open suitcase at the foot of his bed, a fuzzy purple towel thrown over his bathroom door. Luke picks up a random bottle of face cream out of the many that are lying on his bed covers. “This looks like Lauren’s stuff. Didn’t your girl stay over last night?”

“Uh,” Ashton stutters, pulling an excuse out of his ass. “Yeah, they ended up having like… a girls night?”

Calum snickers. “So you got banished to the sofa?”

“Chicks before dicks!” Lauren shouts from somewhere in the kitchen.

Luke pats Ashton on the shoulder sympathetically but Ashton doesn’t feel any less shitty. There’s absolutely no way Lauren doesn’t know he’s lying now. He sighs. “Come on, guys, I have to change into better clothes. Can’t let you guys one-up me.”

“We’ll wait for you outside!” Luke waves as Calum shuts the bedroom door behind him.

When Ashton reemerges from his bedroom in a button-up and slacks this time, Luke and Calum are listening intently at whatever’s coming out of Lauren’s mouth. Ashton manages to catch the tail end of what she’s saying, something to do with hawaiian pizza and rosé wine.

“Yeah, they’re totally in love,” Lauren smiles. Luke’s smile is even wider than Lauren’s. Calum looks like he’s ready to take notes. “Kind of weird to watch my brother act all lovey-dovey in front of me, but I guess it’s kind of sweet. I can really tell she’s the one, you know?”

On their way out, Lauren pulls Ashton aside with a smile that’s way too wide and whispers, “You owe me an explanation when you get back and also your life.”

★

They make it to Rosie’s Bridal Boutique after 45 minutes stuck in traffic. It’s located in a cute little yellow brick building in the middle of the suburbs surrounded by more greenery than Ashton’s ever seen in his life. On the way there, he manages to evade Luke and Calum’s curiosity by blasting All Time Low at a ridiculous volume with the windows rolled down, letting the violent wind and the voice of Alex Gaskarth constantly try and outdo each other.

Unfortunately, Ashton knows he can’t evade shit for long as they pull up to the boutique and see Michael’s beaming face plastered to the window from the second story of the building.

“Mikey!” Calum greets as soon as the elevator door opens, bounding in like a puppy (Ashton will never stop saying that because it’s true goddammit) to drape himself all over the husband-to-be.

Michael’s already in a little bow tie and a black suit that’s getting wrinklier by the second, no thanks to Calum. He does a little wave despite the weight on his arm, “Hey guys!”

“Shut up,” Luke says as he pulls Michael in almost violently for a hug. “You’re gonna pull a ‘hey guys’ on us when we’re about to be your groomsmen?”

“Best man!” Calum shouts.

“Shut the fuck up,” Luke threatens again, voice muffled from where its pressed into Michael’s shoulder. “Get in here,” He complains to Ashton who willingly obliges and throws himself into the man pile.

The boutique staff giggle at them from where they’re standing around the room holding various pieces of Michael’s suit.

Ashton’s about to crack a joke about how Crystal’s going to be blown away by seeing Michael go from boxers filled with holes to a 4-piece suit when he swears his phone pings louder than the combined pings from the phones of Lauren and all her friends during a girls sleepover.

It’s suddenly awkward. For Ashton. Just Ashton.

Ashton knows it’s coming, but he still flinches when Michael asks, “Is that April?!”

“According to Lauren, they were being lovey-dovey last night,” Calum swoons teasingly.

“And she staaaaaayed the night,” Luke drags out.

Ashton wants to murder all of them.

Michael whistles. “You know it’s serious when the sister and the girlfriend meet.”

“Can we not talk about this right now?” Ashton complains. “We’re getting suits fitted for Michael’s wedding, guys. Be a little respectful.”

“Michael literally started this conversation,” Luke points out.

“Can I just try on my suit now please?” He says unnecessarily loudly.

Immediately, the boutique staff jump into action, pulling suits protected by plastic bags seemingly out of nowhere and ushering Ashton into an open changing room where a lady comes over with bright green measuring tape. The other boys grumble at the change in topic but oblige, spreading out and opening their arms to let the staff take their measurements.

“So I was thinking either a classic all-black colour scheme for the boys,” Michael says, tapping his chin. “Or a fancy navy blue instead. My handsome self in a full suit and you guys in suspenders. That would be hot. What do you guys think?”

“Did Crystal say anything about what she wanted?” Luke asks as he’s examining the suit they’d brought over to him.

“Nope,” Michael replies, pulling on his bowtie. “Said you guys were all mine.”

“Awww,” Calum says jokingly, grinning over the shoulder of the staff person attending to him. “That’s so sweet, Mikey. I love you too.”

Ashton snorts. “Don’t go cheating on your girl with Michael, you homewrecker.”

“Oh, yeah!” Calum exclaims, suddenly perking up. Ashton has a bad feeling in his stomach. “You haven’t met my girl yet, have you?”

“Uh, no,” Ashton replies, unsure. “Not yet.”

The smile that grows instantaneously on Calum’s face almost blinds him. “And I haven’t met April yet! So you, me, our girls! Double date, tomorrow night! You can’t say no Ash, I know you don’t have anything to do tomorrow and you’re the only one that hasn’t met her yet.”

Fuck. “Fuck!” Ashton says, laughing nervously. “I wish I could man, but I have to take care of Lauren.”

Michael snorts from where he’s lounging on the couch. “Lauren’s an adult now. Stop being overprotective. You’re probably smothering her with your axe body spray and protein shakes anyway. I bet she’s gonna go on a date herself as soon as you’re gone.”

“If you’re so worried, she can always come over and hang with me and Sierra,” Luke shrugs. “Sierra’s been talking non-stop about those sugar cookies Lauren gave us last time. And Petunia loves her, seriously.”

Ashton panics. “Well definitely not tomorrow!” Because who the fuck is he gonna show up with? Their PR manager? “Uh, what about like, next week? Or next next next next week?”

Calum ignores the second part of his sentence entirely. “Next week then!” He exclaims excitedly.

Fuck!

“I’m going to try this thing on,” Ashton says quickly, grabbing the suit closest to him before he’s all but throwing the curtain closed. As soon as he’s alone, he throws the suit aside and then can’t dig his phone out of his pocket fast enough. When he presses the home button, it shows he has one message from Tinder, from Luna. He opens it hastily.

So according to Google, you’re intelligent, athletic, playful, affectionate, and loyal? 🐶😂 Sounds almost too good to be true.

‘So let me prove it to you! May Petunia and I take you and Oreo out on a brunch date this weekend, my lady?’ He types back quickly, adding ‘my lady’ to hopefully charm the pants off her. He hopes it isn’t too soon for that. Petunia isn’t even his freaking dog.

He’s so busy chanting please say yes over and over again in his head while clutching onto his phone that it startles him when his phone pings loudly again.

Luke, Michael, and Calum start hollering from outside.

Sounds great! 😊 I’m free Saturday. Where to?

★

As soon as Luke drops him off back home, he runs up six flights of stairs back up to his apartment because if he has to wait more than ten seconds for the slow ass elevator, he’s going to lose his mind.

He scares Lauren off the couch when he barges through the front door screaming her name.

“I have a date on Saturday!” Ashton whispers through his heavy breathing, wide-eyed and sounding both smug and scared at the same time because fuck yeah, I scored this date myself but also fuck! I scored this date myself.

“What? With Luna?” Lauren asks, equally as wide-eyed from where she’d fallen to the floor. “How? You were only gone for like 3 hours!” Then her tone switches from surprised to demanding so fast, Ashton gets whiplash. “And who the heck is April?!”

Ashton straightens up immediately and clears his throat. “Yeah, so, uh, long story.”

“I’m on summer vacation right now. Cough it up.”

Ashton goes to the fridge instead where he pulls out a beer because there’s no way he’s about to tell Lauren what’s probably the most embarrassing story of his life while sober.

And then they sit on the couch like they had yesterday when he matched with Luna on Tinder except this time, Lauren’s face gets less and less impressed the more he talks.

“So what you’re telling me,” Lauren starts slowly. “Is that you’re standing in a grave that’s 10 feet deep right now because your pride and ego are bigger than your brain?”

Ashton winces. “Can’t you sugarcoat it a little bit?”

“No!” Lauren explodes, almost knocking the beer out of his hands. “Are you even interested in Luna? What if you guys go on your date on Saturday and she’s completely into you and you’re just using her so you can one-up your friends and feed your male ego?” Ashton opens his mouth to say something but Lauren doesn’t let him. “And also!” She snaps. “What if she recognizes you when she sees you? Your face isn’t exactly clear in your Tinder photos. Your face is going to be all over the news Sunday morning, I swear to God!”

“Hey, just because I’m famous doesn’t mean I can’t date.” Ashton defends.

“Yeah, but does she know? What if she doesn’t know who you are and you two get caught on your date and suddenly, her face is all over the internet too?”

Ashton winces. ”Okay, you’re right.” He pauses. “You’re also right about me leading her on.”

“Thank you,” Lauren says grumpily, crossing her arms.

“But I mean,” Ashton says in a small voice. “I’m also not opposed to finding someone new?”

Lauren sighs. “How about you and Luna go on that date on Saturday, and if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. You both wish each other well and both go on your merry ways.”

“...And if it does?”

“Then don’t get mad when I say I told you so!”

★

The days that lead up to Saturday are almost too slow.

On Wednesday, Luna had finally asked for Ashton’s number, texting him a cute puppy emoji to let him know the text was from her. On the same day, Luna had gone from calling him Fletcher to Fletch with no explanation, causing his heart rate to spike for a good twenty minutes before Lauren slapped him back to present-day reality.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ashton found himself frantically googling pet-friendly restaurants that served both pizza and alcohol. For bougie ass downtown Los Angeles, it was fucking difficult. But he’d managed to find one thirty minutes out of the city centre that had a nice outdoor patio and a menu for dogs. When he texted her the address, he got a ‘thank you for finding a place!’ back from Luna and it made his heart skip a goddamn beat because his ex had never thanked him for something like that.

On Thursday morning before the sun had even risen, Ashton had startled himself awake when he remembered he needed Petunia for Saturday. Squinting at his phone in the dark, he’d sent Luke a frantic text, reading: ‘Michael was fucking right Lauren’s going on a date on Saturday!!!!! Can you do me a huge favour and let her borrow Petunia for the day I don’t trust her SKETCHY ASS TINDER DATE’. And then Luke had texted him back not two minutes later, not even about Ashton texting him at ass o’clock, but about who Lauren was going on a date with, if Ashton knew him, why he was sketchy, and if he needed to kick anyone’s ass. He spent the next hour trying to convince Luke that they didn’t need to follow her on her date. In the end, it had turned into a she just needs Petunia goddammit Hemmings go back to bed.

By the time Saturday finally rolls around, Ashton is fucking winded.

Lauren’s still in bed (still in his bed, mind you), half asleep and bleary eyed and watching him dig around head first in the closet, mumbling to himself.

“Dude,” Lauren groans, breaking the silence for the first time since Ashton had barged in with no explanation. “This is too much action for eight in the morning,”

“Brunch is at ten and I still need to pick up Petunia!” He hisses, head popping out of a pile of clothing a moment later with two shirts in hand. “The black button-up or the blue polo?”

Lauren groans again. “What colour pants are you wearing?”

“Grey.”

“Black button-up.”

Ashton flings the blue polo back into the closet before Lauren can even finish her sentence, pulling his sleeping shirt off immediately afterwards.

“Ash, ew!” Lauren grumbles, flopping backwards onto the bed and throwing the covers over her head. Her head pops back out a moment later. “Just make sure to roll up the sleeves so you don’t look like you’re coming from a freaking business conference. And don’t button up all the way!”

“Got it!” He says hastily as he’s running out the door. “Thanks Laurie, love you, see you, bye!”

He’s already sweating by the time he gets into his car, the summer heat already at a sweltering 25 degrees celsius and rising despite it being so early in the morning. But even though it feels like Satan’s armpit, he pulls on a hoodie anyway because he’d rather die than have Luke see him dressed up in a button-up for supposedly no goddamn reason. It’s a little past 9am by the time he pulls into Luke’s driveway, Luke already standing there with an excited Petunia pulling on the leash.

He throws open the car door. “Petunia!” He greets, out of breath for no reason.

Petunia yips, panting happily and immediately trying to clamber all over Ashton’s lap as he bends down to pat at her head.

“I don’t know how useful Petunia’s going to be if Lauren’s date turns out to be a creep,” Luke says worriedly, still tugging on the leash to get Petunia to calm down. “Are you sure you don’t want us to follow her?”

“Mate, we’re both over six feet tall.” Ashton retorts. “If we follow her around, we’re both going to look creepier than her date.”

Luke squints. “How are you not worried?”

“I am!” Ashton insists. He’s lying out of his ass. “But Petunia’s a bulldog. No offense but her reputation is already scarier than any face we could ever pull.”

“Just make sure Lauren picks up the phone if you call!” Luke’s voice trails as Ashton opens the car’s passenger door and ushers Petunia inside. She settles nicely into the seat, looking up at Ashton with more love and adoration in her eyes than her owner ever did. “And take this bag!” He says, shoving a plastic bag that’s almost overflowing with the amount of shit that’s in it. “It’s Petunia’s food and toys. Tell Lauren to feed her and make sure she’s hydrated and-”

Ashton climbs into the driver’s seat and shuts the door on him.

“-And don’t forget to bring Petunia back by dinner! I swear to god, Irwin!” Luke screams through the glass. “Love you Petunia!”

The entire ride to the brunch place, Petunia just sticks her head out the window, tongue flying in the wind as she bops her head to the classical music Ashton had put on to calm himself the fuck down. The closer he gets to the restaurant, the more he feels himself getting a stomach ache. He doesn’t even remember the last time he’d felt this nervous for a date but if this doesn’t work out and he ends up going to Mikey’s wedding by himself, Calum might cry on his behalf and Luke might force him to be his and Sierra’s plus-two and as the oldest in the goddamn band, he’s not sure if he can handle that kind of humiliation.

But if this actually does work out with Luna, then he’ll just tell her the truth after Mikey’s wedding. That would be fine, right? Assuming nobody asks why the names Luna and April don’t match up.

Ashton groans. This is an entire goddamn mess.

The brunch place is packed by the time he pulls into a spot fifteen minutes before his reservation. There are dogs everywhere and Petunia’s so excited to see other beings of her kind that she’s resorted to pacing in circles impatiently in the passenger seat.

“Hold on Petunia,” Ashton groans, cutting the engine and throwing a hand over his eyes. “I’m nervous. Give me a minute.”

And because she’s the most perfect dog to ever exist (don’t tell Calum he said that), she stops pacing and starts licking gently at his hand. For once, Ashton doesn’t mind the slobber. He grins, looking down at her. “Okay, fine. Out we go then, baby.”

Before he slides out of the car, he pulls off his hoodie and puts on his sunglasses, thankfully fitting right in with all the other bougie people in their sundresses and designer purses who have time to wake up early on a Saturday for a brunch date with their dogs. He and Petunia bypass the ridiculous line, ignoring all the people who start cooing at Petunia. Thank fuck he’d made a reservation.

“Fletcher for two?” He says, trying to make his voice sound more like Fletcher Nobody Irwin and less like Ashton from 5SOS.

He tenses for a moment when the hostess pauses mid-greeting to eye him up and down. To throw her off, he gestures at Petunia who’s busy sniffing at a dandelion. “This is Monster Truck.” He introduces.

It’s then that the hostess looks at him again, decides that anybody who names their dog Monster Truck probably isn’t anybody famous and gestures behind her. “Follow me, sir. Your table is right by the water.”

Ashton lets out the breath he’d been holding when he and the hostess round the corner and he sees the only empty table on the patio, meaning Luna had yet to arrive. He picks the seat with his back facing the majority of the restaurant’s patrons. The hostess plucks the ‘reserved’ sign off the table, hands him the menu, wishes him a good time and then leaves him alone which Ashton is thankful for because he’d rather be left alone to have his panic attack by himself.

Petunia sits dutifully by his feet, drinking the water that the hostess had generously poured into a clear glass bowl for her.

Ashton is so busy trying to calm the hell down that he doesn’t notice the giant dalmatian sniffing at him from behind until its nose bumps right into where he’s most ticklish. He jumps at the same time a voice behind him squeaks, “Sorry!”

His heart has time to throw itself wildly against his chest bone exactly 1 time before he’s whipping around in his chair and coming face to face with stunning pale blue eyes. “Luna?” He breathes out, his eyes catching hers just as the words leave his mouth. Wow, okay. Jesus fuck, her Tinder photos had not done the colour of her eyes any justice.

Her unsure face transforms suddenly into a smile. “And you must be Fletcher?”

He almost does a double-take at the name before he remembers that oh yeah, he’s supposed to be Fletcher I-Eat-Brunch-With-Sunglasses-On Irwin and making a good impression right now because Mikey’s wedding. “Yeah, yes! That’s me.” His palms are sweaty and he can’t tell if it’s because they’re sitting on an outdoor patio is 30 degree weather or if it’s just his pretty date making him more nervous than his ex had ever made him.

It’s at this moment that Petunia (god bless her soul) decides to come lumbering over from her water bowl, her panting, drooly, smiling face looking up at Luna like she hung the stars (which, in Ashton’s opinion, is very fitting for her name).

“And this must be Petunia!” Luna exclaims, bending down to pat the bulldog’s head. Luna’s hand is so small it’s practically dwarfed by Petunia’s giant head. “It’s nice to meet you.” She says to Petunia and oh my god, Ashton could melt right then and there.

Instead, Oreo decides to try and sniff his crotch as Ashton tries to stand. He makes a strangled sound as Oreo’s nose digs into the front of his pants. “Holy crap,” He blurts, because he apparently has no brain-to-mouth filter. “Petunia has never reached that high before.”

“I am so sorry,” Luna squeaks again, blushing up to her ears. “Oreo, behave please! This is my first date with such a handsome guy,” She jokes shyly, pulling the dalmatian back by the leash.

It’s Ashton’s turn to turn bright fucking red. Holy shit. He feels like a 15-year old virgin all over again.

“He must smell the golden retriever german shepherd mix in me,” Ashton jokes back.

She pauses and then looks up at him for a moment before she bursts into laughter. “Oh, that’s right!” She says as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a cookie shaped like a bone. It’s wrapped in plastic and tied together with a pink ribbon. She holds it out to him shyly. “I did promise you a treat. I hope you like gingerbread?” Oh, wow.

“Is this for me or for Petunia?” He teases as he takes it, because he wants to see her blush again.

She giggles and Ashton feels like his heart might fall out of his chest. “For you.”

Ashton can feel the heat creeping up his neck. He stands again, without Oreo all up in his crotch this time, and for a second he has to pause because holy shit, Luna is tiny, the top of her head just reaching his shoulders. And then she looks up at him, smiling, which kicks him back into gear, stumbling around the table to pull her chair out of her.

“Thank you,” She mumbles, cheeks still red. Oreo follows her as she sits down, folding his legs underneath him right next to Petunia who he sniffs a couple times before turning to Petunia’s water bowl to stick his face into. Petunia doesn’t look like she minds.

“So,” Ashton starts as soon as he’s settled back down. It’s when he pulls up the menu to his face that he realizes he can’t see the tiny font through the dark tint of his sunglasses. Shit. “Uh.” Luna’s looking at him expectantly from over the top of her menu. “You studied psych in school?” He asks, diverting the conversation by pulling the topic straight out of his asshole.

She smiles so much that her eyes disappear into little moons. “You remember that from my bio?”

“That, and the dogs and the pizza and the wine,” He lists off, grinning on autopilot when she does and trying not to make it obvious he’s trying to find the right time to take off his sunglasses. What the hell kind of expensive ass sunglasses are these anyway? “Psych’s very cool.”

Oreo yips.

“Yeah, Oreo’s pretty cool with me studying psych too,” Luna jokes, reaching down to rub at Oreo’s head. “What about you? What do you do?”

Ashton freezes. Lauren’s words from yesterday start ringing in his head. It’s now or never. Now or never.

His heart is hammering in his chest as he slowly, inconspicuously slides the sunglasses off his face, getting ready to launch himself over the table and towards the car park if she starts screaming.

When nothing happens, he looks back up at her. She’s still staring politely at him even though his sunglasses are completely off now and his bare face is exposed for the world to see and lit up from the glaring sun. Those pale blue eyes blink back at him.

Nothing. Ashton inhales sharply. She… doesn’t recognize him?

“I’m a drum teacher,” Ashton blurts, the words flying out of his mouth before his brain even knows what he’s saying. Okay, too close! Too close to real life, Jesus Christ. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to make any connections.

“No way! Drums?” She says, looking surprised. Her expression melts into a wide smile. “That’s really cool! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten my hands on a drum kit before. Maybe you could teach me sometime.” She compliments genuinely, looking at him shyly. She reaches up to tuck her hair behind her ear and for moment, Ashton’s fucking smitten. He forgets all about the fact that he’s the drummer of the band that released Youngblood, multi-platinum certified and #1 on the Billboard Top 200. For today, he’s just a regular fucking guy out for brunch and Luna’s attention is all on him. He feels like a sponge, trying to absorb as much of it as he can.

Thankfully, the waiter that’s serving them chooses that moment to swing by and introduce himself with too much enthusiasm for this early in the morning, looking like serving brunch to people with too much money is his life calling.

“And what would this lovely couple like to order today?” The waiter sings eagerly.

Luna stutters. “O-Oh, we’re not...”

Ashton doesn’t even bother denying the waiter. “The blueberry pupcakes for Petunia and just the steak and eggs for me, please,” He says, smiling before glancing up at his date. The waiter pretends to swoon at his charm. “And for you, my lady?”

Luna laughs at the subtle reference to their tinder conversation, a rosy blush decorating her cheeks. “The Poochini for Oreo, please, and I’ll take the prosciutto flatbread. Thank you.”

The waiter leaves with promises of their food soon.

“So, the prosciutto flatbread?” Ashton jokes. The look on her face says she already knows where this is going.

“It’s the closest thing I can get to pizza here,” She says with a serious face before she bursts into giggles not two seconds later.

Fuck, Ashton’s in love.

★   

| TBC |

[lukeysgirl]

Relentless | Calum Hood Series Pt.1

                                              Part O N E 

Request: Being the cousin of Ashton Irwin was exciting, especially when invited to their tour to hang out with his best friends. You found yourself becoming fond of Calum Hood, who finds you annoying from your constant appearance. But what would happen if you stopped giving him that attention?

Word Count: 3k+

A/N: ah, the first part of my very first series!! I hope you all enjoy and please do reblog a ton so more people can enjoy it! Thank you all for the support and I truly hope you enjoy xx OH also!! depending on how many notes this first part gets, ill resume this series steadily

Parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. [DONE]  

                                              I M A G I N E 

LONDON, 13:05 P.M.

“Are you sure this is really okay, Ashton?” You mumbled, uncertainty playing at your voice as you tightly held the latch of your luggage. Your cousin, Ashton Irwin, looked back at you, giving you a smirk before he kept looking forward. 

“I wouldn’t have spoke with your principal if I thought it wasn’t okay,” Ashton announced as the two of you walked around the large airport. Guards surrounded the two of you as you spoke. Nervously clutching on your luggage, you take a big gulp and sigh. You even tightened your grip on one of the straps of the book bag you were wearing. 

“You’re right, but..” You paused, still unsure about everything. Accidentally distancing yourself and losing track of your thoughts, Ashton quickly took initiative and grabbed your luggage for you. “Ash–!”

“Y/N, stop worrying so much, alright?” Ashton spoke softly, with confidence written all over his wide smile. “Besides, I think this is a great opportunity for my favorite cousin to see the world! Especially when you get to see it with me and my best mates!”

“Mm, you’re right!” You chirped, your heart fluttering once more when hearing about travel with his best friends. You knew about 5 Seconds of Summer and were extremely fond of the boys as well as their music. 

It was nothing you’d brag about, but you grew up listening to their music. Living next to Ashton as a kid made it so easy as to listen to their rehearsals in the garage. You used to sneak over and hide outside of the garage as they played, becoming familiar with their tunes and memorizing lyrics. Soon, Ashton found out about your sly ways and rather than forcing you to avoid the band, he actually invited you to watch all of their rehearsals. 

“Try and have fun, okay?” Ashton cooed, patting your head with his large, calloused hand. This was a familiar feeling to you, as he always touched you this way whenever you were anxious or somber. It always recharged you when you were out of battery. “You’ve been with us before– we’re just 4 stupid boys in a crappy band always making the most out of every day.” 

“You’re not stupid!” You exclaimed, looking at Ashton sternly. He solely returned with a smirk and sly eyes, not believing in your statement whatsoever. “Not that stupid, anyways.” 

“We still haven’t matured completely so you’re gonna have to forgive us,” Ashton admits, having you snort as you guys reached the exit. As you did, you saw, first-hand, all the girls that crowded the pick-up area. Ashton had warned you about them, but you didn’t expect it to be so intense. 

“Ashton!”

“Ashton can we have a photo please!?”

“I love you so much, Ash!” 

Ashton smiled at them fondly, returning your luggage to you so he can take photos with them. You understood, smiling as you watched your older cousin interact with the people who loved him as much as you did. 

It always tickled your curiosity about the life of a celebrity. What was it like to be idolized? To be adored so much by people who don’t know you as much as your family did? Watching Ashton interact with them now, all content and eager, it makes you see how far that boy has come. 

Your mind then struck you with the thought of the other boys. Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford and… Calum Thomas Hood. 

Before you could even think, a guard politely touched your back, indicating for you to walk toward the black Jeep that had just pulled up. You nod, feeling your luggage get taken from your touch. A guard took it and began carrying it towards the jeep while the rest of the guards protected you from the many fans surrounding you. 

“Mm, everything okay, loser?” Ashton asked, poking the tip of your nose to grab you from your distant mind. You shook your head and smiled, rolling your eyes before entering the back of the car. 

“Shut up, dork,” you joked, receiving a playful nudge on the shoulder before Ashton closed the door. He pushed your side a bit, slightly squishing your body with his before he moved a bit away from you. “Ungh, you’re so obnoxious sometimes!” 

“Yeah yeah, shush,” Ashton chuckled, patting your head once more before turning towards you to converse. “Are you excited to see the other guys? It’s been years since you’ve seen those losers.”

“I am, actually,” you respond fondly as the car pulled away from the airport. Your stomach filled itself with butterflies just thinking about seeing the other 3. You always wondered how they grew up to look like and become. Surely you’ve seen recent photos, but there’s nothing like seeing someone in the flesh. Especially the boys you grew up with for a long while. 

“Luke and Michael are anxious to see you!” Ashton cheered, leaning his phone towards you so you can see the messages on the screen. “They haven’t stopped texting me about it since I left to come get you. They wanted me to update on everything. Just to make sure your flight was good, of course.”

“Mm, they’re so kind,” you reply with a small smile. You then looking down, feeling a bit of blood rush to your cheeks. You felt yourself grow shy, but you were itching to ask. “What about Calum?” 

“Eh,” Ashton started, putting his phone away. He crinkled his nose a bit and scratched the back of his head, in some sort of fake track-of-thought. “He didn’t really think much of it. When I told him, he just nodded and continued using his phone.” 

“Oh…” You mumbled, looking down at your feet distantly. Disappointment surged through your veins, but you didn’t want to show it. Covering your feelings with a wide smile, you nudge Ashton’s shoulder with yours. “Oh well, I’m ecstatic to see them!” 

The driver pulled over at the Lanesborough Hotel, one that you’ve heard so much about. Ashton calls it the bait for all ‘IT’ celebrities. Several maintenance came from the beautiful hotel, opening the door for you and Ashton as the two of you escaped the car. 

“Welcome back, Mr.Irwin,” one of the maintenance boys greeted, having Ashton nod his head at the polite gesture. “I hope your trip went well?”

“Mm, it was quite nice,” Ashton said, nodding at the polite worker before he went off to assist in carrying your luggage. You held your backpack tightly as you rushed to Ashton’s side. You watched as the maintenance workers placed your luggage on a trolley before waiting for Ashton’s guidance. 

Ashton nodded in approval before gesturing for you to follow. Guards swarmed you once more, new faces intimidating you as they helped you cut through the crowd of fans that packed the lobby. You glanced behind you to see guards surrounding the maintenance with your luggage as well. It was so strange to see how famous people are treated. 

“I hope you aren’t scared of heights,” Ashton said casually, walking down the luxurious red carpet that led to a huge elevator. He pressed the up button, seeing an elevator soon appear as it opened its doors to you. Entering, you quickly get behind Ashton as the guards, maintenance, and trolley enter the place. A few of the guards stay outside to ensure no fans enter. 

“Heights?” You repeat, bringing the topic back after the transition into the elevator. Ashton chuckled, pressing the Penthouse level before the doors closed and the elevators soon began to take you up. 

“We sorta live on the top floor of the hotel,” Ashton admitted. “We’re only gonna be there for like, two more days, but still. We could get you another room at the lower level if you’d like.”

“You sound like the pretentious manager of the place, Ash,” you giggled. You soon caught yourself and snapped your neck over to the maintenance that held your trolley. “N-no offense to your boss, of course, I’m sure they’re not entirely pretentious!” 

“Dummy.” Ashton patted your head, reassuring you as the elevator slowly reached a stop. Everybody allowed you and Ashton to leave first, having Ashton guide as you all followed. The door to the Penthouse suite was just a few steps forward, having you watch Ashton swiftly fish out his key card from his pocket. 2 guards were stood by the door, one at each side as they watched Ashton approach them. 

“Are the boys inside?” You whispered at Ashton as the hallway was holding a destructive silence. 

“Mm, they are.” With that, the drummer dipped his card into the slot, receiving a green light of confirmation before twisting the doorknob. Letting it open, Ashton held the door and gestured you in. You stood froze, nervous to even dare take a step in. Ashton chuckled, gently pushing your back as you tripped inside. 

You were introduced to another life, seeing a large window with a fantastic view of most of London. Leather couches were ornate with gold pillows and fuzzy blankets. They were set in front of a TV inches longer than the Wall of China. To the left held a kitchen suited for a chef that aced the culinary arts with more than a simple PhD. To the right held a doorway that probably led to a hallway of things unknown to you. 

“Boys!” Ashton called, scaring you back to reality as he urged you to enter the suite. You stood in awe, taking in everything as your luggage was placed delicately inside the suite. A few moments later, you hear the shutting of the door while Ashton popped up next to you. “My cuzzo is here! C’mon out, you lazy lads!” 

Quick feet were heard trotting down the stairs, having you question how many floors this suite actually has. You look over at the hallway, listening as the noise became louder from that direction. You then got a sliver of a face that got larger and larger as it got closer. 

“Holy shit, is that–?” Michael chirped, surprise painted all over his face as he stared at you intensely. You eye him up and down, seeing how pale and fairly thin Michael remained. But he was much bigger than before, there was more muscle. He was also much taller, which became slightly intimidating with those forest-green eyes of his. 

“Mikey? Oh my gosh–” you began, having been cut off as Michael grabbed you into his arms and gave you a tight squeeze. It was a big, warm hug, the ones you recalled this big dummy gave you all the time when you guys were younger. Even the scent of Michael Clifford remained, the scent of pizza and cheap cologne. 

“Y/N, how the fuck did you grow this big?” Michael gushed, holding your shoulders to push you back and eye you. “Holy shit, look at you!”

“I’m only like, a year younger than you, loser,” you joked as you reached up to touch Michael’s platinum hair. “Same goes to you, punkrocker. You seriously gotta keep away from the bleach, my dude.”

“I try, but the colors call to me!” Michael said wistfully, looking distantly at the ceiling as though he was a Broadway actor. You then look over to the blonde that was just a few inches behind Michael. 

“Luke?” You asked, shocked when he nodded his head. “Holy– look at you!” You ran over to the tall, lanky boy who was no longer a boy. Entering his arms, he gave you a tight, genuine hug. Pulling back a little bit, you looked up at Luke, who was smiling fondly at you.

“It’s been so long,” Luke responded, his voice deep and very hoarse. Your eyes widened at this discover, patting his chest as he held your arms. 

“Your voice!” You exclaimed, pointing at his Adams apple as he smiles widely. “It’s so deep and not so fetus-like anymore! Holy shit, Luke!” 

“Yeah, Daddy Long Legs over there really did grow some!” Michael pointed out, having your snort at Luke’s nickname. Luke rolled his eyes, letting you go before nudging Michael’s shoulder. 

“Fuck off, your legs are just as long and skinny as mine,” Luke pointed out, sassily turning away as Michael burst into laughter once more. You giggled, happily amused by your childhood brothers. It was absolutely breathtaking to see them transform from boys to men. It felt good, though, to see that their goofy personalities remained untouched. 

“Where’s CalPal?” Ashton wondered, hanging his arms over the boys’ shoulders as he looked over at Luke. 

“He’s upstairs, being stubborn and Skyping Mali,” Luke informs, rolling his ocean eyes. 

“He was being real stubborn though,” Michael said. “He was like ‘fuck off, leave me alone’ and what not. I don’t even know why– he hasn’t seen you in years!” 

“Mm, yeah, but he did find me quite annoying…” you awkwardly mutter, scratching your temple. “Don’t you remember that small crush I had on him when we were in middle school?”

“Aha, yeah!” Michael joked, rushing over to you as he put his arm over your shoulder. “But you were so cute and young– it wasn’t your fault that you fell for such a dashing boy like Cally.” You blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed to recall these memories. 

“Mm, let’s go find him, yeah?” Ashton suggested, receiving a nod from everybody before Michael began to guide you to the hallway.

He still held you, talking about all the exciting plans he had while you joined them on tour. You felt happy listening to them, but you couldn’t help feeling worried to see your first crush. It’s been years since you’ve seen Calum. You wondered as to how well he grew and if he still is the same, kind Calum as before. 

“Yo Calum!” Ashton shouted from behind as we reached the roof of the place. So this was the penthouse, you thought as Michael guided you over to the lounge. There were comfy-looking beach chairs propped around with umbrellas around the huge pool. Next to that was a barbecue area as well as a huge Jacuzzi. There was a bartender at the mini bar, shaking up a few drinks as he greeted you all. 

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” Your eyes darted over to the back of one of the occupied beach chairs. You saw a head of black hair, having it become a better view as Michael led the both of you closer. You became inches from the chair, looking from behind and above. You saw a small Mali in Calum’s phone screen, but heard nothing as it was muted by headphones he plugged in. 

“Stop being damn stubborn and say hi to Y/N!” Michael insisted, slapping the back of his head. Michael then escaped behind you as Calum let out a deep, frustrated sigh. 

“Gimme a sec, sis,” Calum spoke, his voice still as nasally as before. But it was much raspier than before and much deeper than it was a few years ago when you guys were younger. You watched as the tall boy removed his headphones and rose from the chair, stretching his arms a bit to adapt his legs to standing. 

Although you were looking from behind, you noticed the muscles built in Calum’s legs and his back. His biceps were quite huge, seeing a sneak peak of one of his tattoos as he stood. He was draped with a simple white tanktop and black basketball shorts. He was even wearing sandals due to the Spring, almost summer, heat. 

He dramatically turned around, having your heart stop immediately from the sight of Calum’s front. He held a stern, dull face, but still had you swooning over it. His chiseled jawline complimented his plump lips and chubby cheeks, seeing small freckles sprinkled randomly around his face. His big nose led up to those deep, almond eyes that took you back to the years when you saw the boy learning to play the bass. 

Your eyes danced down towards his torso, his shirt teasing you of his juicy pecks and ink. His toned body made you bite your bottom lip, having your eyes go down a little more to see the front of his legs. Though he was still a bit skinny, he had more muscle in him as well as his incredible tallness. His legs were super hairy, too, but that was expected from a man. 

Calum Hood was definitely no longer a ‘boy.’

“What?” Calum scoffed at you, breaking you from your fantasizing. Your eyes crawled back up to meet his, having blood quickly rush to your cheeks from the contact. His lips remained with this pout full of distaste. 

“Calum…” You said softly, awestruck from seeing your first crush glow up into a piece of irresistible ass. “It’s been so long… just, hi.” You were breathless, your words flowing unsteadily in the presence of the Maori boy. 

“Hi, just stay out of my way, okay?” Calum responded, his monotone voice plain and bored before he turned back and returned to his seat. He quickly plugged his headphones back into his ears, crossing his legs as he held his phone up. “I’m back, sis.” 

“O-okay…” you whispered, unsure as to how to take Calum’s response. Michael and Luke grabbed you into a hug. 

“Don’t mind him, he’s always this sour,” Luke informed, the two boys attempting to comfort you. And as much as you appreciated it, you couldn’t help but feel your heart sink down to your stomach. That once sweet Maori boy, the boy with the nasally, broken voice and shitty acoustic guitar. That boy who once wore the baggiest uniform and biggest smiles. That kind boy who once held words that nobody but you has heard before. That very boy that you fell deeply for was gone, and you couldn’t help but feel something break inside. 

The Calum Hood you knew years ago was no longer the Calum Hood you just met in the flesh. 

I really hope you all enjoyed this part. Let me know if you guys like it > ASK. Thank you all <3 

Gabby xx

[bebewheezy]

hi! i’d like to request an ashton fic where ash and the reader go clubbing as friends and he get’s really jealous when a guy would come up to her so he’d basically scare them off 🥺

Notes: this is low key shit lol i’m sorry it’s so cringe but enjoy anyways my loves :)

word count: 1211

The flashing lights illuminated the dark and crowded club I was in with my friends. I couldn’t remember why we had come here, some sort of celebration, probably to signify the end of another tour for them. I was on the middle of the dance floor, squished in between Sierra and Calum’s giant sweaty body, but I was just as drenched. Her and Crystal had managed to convince me to actually wear a dress tonight, which I rarely did, and with how tight it was hugging every curve of my body, I could feel a number of unwanted eyes on me as I was drunkenly twirled around by my two closest friends.

“I’m gonna go get a drink, do you want to come with me?” I yelled to Si as I halted our, no doubt, embarrassing excuse of dancing.

“Yes! I need more vodka,” She giggled while we snuck away from Calum and the rest of the horde.

I was beyond parched, Sierra and I had been dancing together for almost the entire three hours we’d been here before Cal joined us. Knowing I’d have a bad hangover the next morning if I kept going, I went against my irrational side and ordered an ice water to sip. Right as our drinks arrived, Luke came up behind his girlfriend, eliciting a squeal of joy from her, and she downed her glass faster than she should’ve, then tried to pull me back onto the dance floor.

“I’m gonna hangout here for a bit, Si,” I sat down on the bar stool closest to me to rest my aching feet and squeezed her arm. “I need a break, go have fun with Luke.”

“Whatever you say, Y/N/N.”

I was by myself at the bar, I couldn’t find any of the others in our group who tagged along, and I was too tired to go searching for them to make the slight feeling of anxiety from being alone go away. I was only going to be here until I finished my first water, then order another and I’d be back on my way to Sierra or to find Michael and Ashton sitting at the table they snagged when we first arrived. My mind wandered to Ashton, in my still drunk state. We’d been good friends for as long as him and Sierra had known one another, I knew all of them thanks to her, and we’d occasionally flirted while clubbing or smoking a joint at one of Calum’s notorious parties, but lately it felt deeper than casual flirting between two friends. I always had a soft spot for the drummer, but I didn’t know if his feelings were mutual.

Before I could delve more into my dreamy thoughts of the raven haired boy, I felt an unfamiliar arm snake around my waist. When I looked up, I was met with more unfamiliar features. I knew men had been watching me all night, but I didn’t think any of them would have the guts to actually approach me, guess I assumed wrong.

“Hey pretty thing,” His voice slurred.

“Hi,” I shakily said. “Do you think you could let go of me? I’m happy to have a conversation with you, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch me.”

“Pretty thing’s got some spice to her, yeah?” He spoke into my ear. “I like that in my women.”

I pushed him off of me, causing him to stumble backwards a bit, but his arm was still clutching my waist, and I fell off my stool with him. I stumbled into him more, and my heartbeat started racing. I turned my head away from him and closed my eyes, trying to think of a way to get myself out of the potentially dangerous situation without causing a scene, but before I could act on anything, I was being pulled away and into someone’s chest.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to my girlfriend?” Ashton’s normally giddy voice sounded pissed, and filled with venom.

Girlfriend? She’s been sitting at the bar alone for the past twenty minutes, some boyfriend you are,” The stranger scoffed.

Ashton didn’t respond, only tucked me closer into his large body and started walking away from the scene, with the man still on the floor, staring up at us. Once we got back to the table, he sat me down in between him and Michael, easing my nerves to know I was hidden between the two bulky Australians. As the night went on, I clung closer to Ashton, feeling comfort in the way he scared off an unwanted stranger, but also called me his girlfriend.

“Hey, Y/N, are you feeling alright now?” He ducked his head to be level with my ear.

“Yeah,” I softly spoke while burying my head into his shoulder.

“Do you wanna head home soon? I was gonna order an Uber once Calum came back to let him know I’m heading out.”

“Yes please,” I responded. Ashton pulled away from me slightly to take out his phone and get us a ride back. My mind back to daydreaming about the man in front of me, how his gorgeous hazel eyes looked concerned every time they had met mine tonight, how he made me feel safer just by being around me. Calum came into my peripheral vision while Ash put his phone away.

“Cal, Y/N and I are gonna head out,” He said as he stood up with me.

“Okay, have fun mate,” He winked at Ashton as we started to walk away. He grasped my hand and led me out the hot and overcrowded club, out into the much appreciated cool night air. Having my hand being clasped in his only made my swirling head worsen, I couldn’t deny the attraction I had for him anymore, I needed to either confess or let my emotions consume me.

“What was that about? With Cal before we left?” I asked once we arrived at a small bench to wait on. I made the mistake of looking into his soft eyes, they changed into ones of embarrassment and worry after I asked him my question.

“I should’ve told you this a while ago,” His gaze fell to his boots instead of looking at me, and my heartbeat spiked in anticipation. “I like you Y/N, a lot, so much that I think I’m in love with you.”

My breath hitched in my throat, he just admitted to what I had been feeling for almost two years. I wasn’t sure if my feelings were as strong as love, but I knew I wanted to grow to love him the same.

“I like you too, Ash,” I said as my left hand reached out to cup his cheek and pull his forehead against mine. “I don’t know if I love you yet, but I can definitely see that happening in the future.”

His hand went behind my neck, and Ashton crashed his soft lips against mine. It was the best kiss I ever experienced, there was undeniable chemistry between us, and it fueled us as his tongue slipped into my mouth for a moment, before he reluctantly pulled with a smirk on his beautiful face.

“Let’s get you home, baby.”