thirteen
After a long day of doing absolutely nothing... I finally called Ashton around three and decided to come over.
Once I walked into his room, he was laying on the bed listening to The Killers. I smiled and took a seat at the foot of the bed like usual.
"Amber? Seriously?" I chuckled.
"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "We're friends, that's all."
"It didn't look like that was all."
"Well it was, we're friends with benefits," he snapped. I just rolled my eyes and laughed a little bit.
"Alright, let's get to work," I pulled out the painting from behind his tv stand. I took a minute to admire the work we had done. I smiled and turned to look at Ashton.
"Look at what we've done, it's amazing," I smiled and brought the canvas over to Ashton.
"It's pretty amazing," he chuckled. I took a seat next to him and rested the painting on our laps. He draped his arm over my shoulder and smiled.
-
"We're finished!" I laughed.
Ashton was sitting on his bed in the corner of the room. He smiled at me as he read the essay.
"We're finally done!" I smiled. I stood up and rushed over to Ashton. "After hours and hours of work," I laid down on the bed next to him and looked up. "We're finally done." I started to feel my eyes fluttering shut. "And I'm so exhausted," was the last thing I said before I felt myself fall into a deep sleep.
-
My eyes slowly opened to find Ashton staring at me while I was curled up next to him.
"You know, watching people sleep is kind of weird," I laughed. He just rolled his eyes.
"You were asleep for like 3 hours," he said.
"Sorry, I was so tired," I yawned.
"It's fine, but you'll have to leave soon," he chuckled. I just nodded my head and stood up. I fixed my hair in the mirror.
I turned around to find Ashton changing his shirt.
"I'm assuming Amber is coming over?"
"Yeah, sorry, I didn't think you were gonna be asleep for so long." He said quickly.
"You could have woke me up," I chuckled.
"You looked so peaceful."
It was quiet between the two of us for a few minutes. I was gathering all of the paints and brushes while Ashton was cleaning himself up.
"Didn't know you hung out here so much," I heard a voice call from the doorway. I turned my head to see Amber holding her coat while leaning against the door frame.
"Sorry, I was just leaving," I mumbled. I kept my head low as I picked up my bag and stood up.
I felt a large hand grip my arm. I turned my head to see Ashton looking at me.
"Do you need a ride home or something?"
"No, it looks like you have something to take care of," I said quickly. I nodded my head towards Amber who was now sitting on the bed. "I'll walk."
"It's cold," he whined.
"No it's fine, I promise."
He let go of my arm and walked over to his closet and pulled out a flannel. He handed it to me and told me to put it on.
"How many of these do you have? I think at least 4 are at my house," I giggled as I put on the gray flannel.
"I'm waiting," the both of us hear Amber say.
"See you later Shan."
"See you later Ash."
-
Within a few hours, I had heard the familiar sound of my ringtone. I looked down at the caller ID to see it was Ashton.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Hangout with me," he groaned.
"Isn't Amber over?" I chuckled.
"No, I kicked her out a few hours ago."
"Well, that's no way to treat a lady."
"Amber is far from a lady," he laughed.
"Well, you shouldn't just kick her out Ash," I insisted. "You can't just kick out you're friend with benefits? Did I get that right?" I giggled.
"Yes, you did," I could almost hear his smile through the phone. I sighed.
"Fine, I'll hang out with you, pick me up in 20 - wait.. this isn't going to be some drug deal like last time? Right?" I laughed.
"Nope, just two friends hanging out."
"So we're friends now? I didn't know you did the whole "friends" thing without having benefits attached," I smirked.
"I don't, but you just happen to make a great friend sweetheart."
-
Twenty minutes later I found myself sitting next to Ashton in his large pickup truck.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked.
"I am taking you to my favorite place in the city," he said. He started driving down the street. Within 5 minutes we were parked in front of the local record shop. I smiled and got out of the car.
"I love this place," I said. "My dad took me to hear a few times, we picked up a couple albums for our collection."
"Collection?" Ashton said.
"Yeah, it's huge."
"Shannon Montgomery you better not be joking," he said sternly.
"Ashton Irwin, I would never."
We made our way into the shop. A tall, older man approached us.
"Sal!"
"Ashton!" The two of them gave each other a quick hug and Sal took a look at me. "I know that face anywhere! How are you, Shannon?"
"I'm good," I smiled.
"I haven't seen you in months," he mentioned. I nodded my head and looked back at Ashton. "I see the two of you have become aquatinted." We both nodded our heads and smiled. "Well, take a look around, see if you can find anything you don't already have."
The two of us searched the store for hours. We looked through almost every record in the store. I had probably grabbed 3 or 4 that I had been wanting. I quickly paid, said goodbye to Sal and the two of us were on our way.
"So Shannon, take me to this record collection of yours," Ashton insisted. I nodded my head.
Once we reached my house I let the two of us inside, I said hi to Luke who was sitting on the couch once again, he must have been back from his parents.
I grabbed Ashton's hand and pulled him up the stairs and down the hall. I stopped the two of us in front of a door and turned around so my back was to the wood, my face was only inches away from his.
"Okay..." I started. "You may have a heart attack when I open this door. Nobody and I mean nobody has seen this collection besides my Dad, Luke and I. Not even my own mother has been in here. It is reserved for only those who appreciate great music."
"It's that big?" I nodded my head.
"Can I trust that you are a music fanatic like my dad and me?"
"Yes, yes you can." He chuckled. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Ashton stepped inside and just smiled. The room was lined with bookshelves covered in records. He took a seat in the chair in the middle of the room which had a record player next to it. He just stared at the alphabetized records that lined the walls. He just sat in silence for a solid minute.
"This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life." He smiled. "Come here, come admire this with me."
I walked over to him and took a seat next to him in the huge chair.
"How much money is this worth," he said. His voice sounded almost breathless.
"Around 20,000 dollars," I said. He almost flinched. He just stared at me for a few seconds before speaking again.
"You are the coolest person I know Shannon."
-
Sorry for the dialogue.
This was kind of a filler but I'm excited that Shannon and Ashton's friendship is working out. :)