"My parents were never really there for me. Even when I was little, they were always too busy to do anything with me. I don't really know why they bothered having a child when all they cared about was money if I'm honest."
Ash's lips turned up slightly at the edges in a small smile, but his eyes were sad and distant. Our hands were locked together underneath the table and I could feel how his were cold and shaking in contradiction to my warm and steady ones.
"Sometimes I really do think that the adults are worse than their kids. Just know that we're here for you sweetie, and if you ever need someplace to stay, you're always welcome here." My mum spoke in that kind motherly tone and gave Ash a pitiful smile, taking a sip of her Manuka honey tea.
My father nodded in agreement, his hands wrapped around the large brown mug sat on the table. "Of course you're welcome here. As long as you sleep on the couch."
"Dad." I whined, drawing out the letters and tilting by head back.
"Certainly, Sir. And thank you so much for the offer Mrs Skyter, but I would hate to be a burden."
"No such thing! River has an appetite of two and so does his father, so I'm used to preparing a lot of food. One more mouth wouldn't make much of a difference."
Groaning, I flopped down onto the table, my head hitting the wooden surface with a loud bang. "Ow."
"Are you okay son? Do you feel lightheaded?"
"I'm fine mum! Thank you. But Ash and I are going to head upstairs and chill there for a bit, okay? Thanks." Without a second of hesitation I pulled him up by our interlocked hands and dragged him towards the stairs, desperate to get out of there.
Ash stumbled behind me, struggling to keep up with my unexpected running while also trying to talk to my mother. "O-oh! Thank you so much for dinner ma'am, I'll help next time."
"Ah, don't worry about it Ash. You're too sweet. Enjoy your alone time!"
"And keep the door open at least three inches!"
I slammed the door shut behind us and leant against it, sliding to the floor, panting. "I am so sorry about them. That was so embarrassing."
Ash was towering over me and chuckling before he knelt down in front me, taking my hands in his own. "I though they were lovely, Sky. Compared to my parents, they're great."
Sighing, I pulled him onto my lap, his thighs almost crushing me from how heavy they were. Although, I couldn't bring myself to care as I rested my my head against his strong chest.
"Aww, isn't this sweet. Feels a bit odd though; I'm not used to being the one in this position."
"Yeah yeah, whatever you have to tell yourself Mr 'I'm so dominant'." He scoffed, flicking my forehead lightly yet still making it hurt. "Anyway, I'm going to do my beauty routine really quick. Make yourself comfortable and pick a game you want to play."
After shoving him off my lap I pulled the door open once again and snuck into the bathroom, retrieving my night creams and a hairband from the mirrored cupboard above the sink. I slipped the piece of fabric over my head and began applying the cream swiftly.
Once I was done I returned back to my room, pushing the door shut almost completely just to spite my father, and waddled over to my bed. Ash was sat looking at his phone with a few retro game boxes scattered around, including things like Pac-Man and Bubble Bobble.
"Oo, good choices. But which are you going to pick first." His body jolted and his eyes widened upon seeing me, but his look of shock soon turned to confusion.
"What the hell do you have on your head?"
Rolling my eyes, I sat down next to him. "Tsh, it's a hairband you uneducated swine."
He blinked a few times before nodding his head slowly, clearly still confused as to why I was wearing it. I decided not to explain and just picked up the assortment of games before holding them out for him to choose one.
Humming, he slid out Pac-Man, waving it around in front of my face with a devilish smirk. "I have a little twist I want to try out, but only if you want to as well, baby."
Unsure of what he meant, I gestured for him to continue, tilting my head to the side.
"So, I was thinking that the first to complete five games gets something from the other person, and that thing can be whatever the winner wants."
"Ah, I see. The good old gaming bet. I'm down."
"Really?"
"Hell yeah! I know exactly what I'm gonna get you to do."
A dark laugh escaped Ash's lips as he slid the Pac-Man disc into the old Xbox 360, handing me one of the three controllers laid on the shelf underneath the TV. "Don't be so cocky, kid. Although, you'll definitely have lost it by the time I'm done with you."
"You underestimate my skills, Mister Know-it-all. While you were out partying, I was sat in here playing games with Lila and Harry into the early hours of the morning, so if you think winning will be easy, you have another thought coming." The familiar theme tune filled the room and excessively bright colours sprang to life on the screen, seemingly even more blinding due to how dark it was.
Ash went first and scored 138,256 points; it was a decent number, but I knew that I could do better. So after another fifteen minutes and multiple shouts of sorrow and joy, I won with a great score of 172,422 points.
"What! No! You cheated." He swiped the remote from my hands and began wiggling the joystick around, and I wasn't exactly sure why.
I raised an eyebrow and leant back on the bed, a smug smile on my lips. "You saw me play that entire game, lover boy. There's no way I cheated with you right next to me."
He let out a growl like groan and flopped back onto the plush covers next to me, his eyes closed and his lips pulled into a tight line. "I can't believe this. I had such a good thing for you to do too."
"Oh? Do tell. I'm intrigued."
"Nah, I'd rather not."
"Well, as the winner, what I want you to do is do anything I tell you to do for the rest of the day. That includes answering my question."
Ash rolled onto his side and whined like an annoyed child. "That's mean. But fine! I was going to ask you to wear your prom suit since I never got to fully appreciate you in it. We didn't even get to dance."
Smiling, I curled up next to him, my back pressed against his chest. "Aww, that's cute, but I'm pretty sure you have another reason other than just not getting to see me."
He hummed, nuzzling his head into my hair and snaking his arm around my waist. "You know me too well, Sky."
I laughed and nudged my foot into his thigh, resulting in him wrapping his leg over my torso, and pressed a soft kiss to his hand.
"We can dance now if you want to? Although, I refuse to wear the suit when my parents could walk in at any given moment." He was the one laughing this time, the pure sound making my heart swell with happiness.
"Sure baby, lets dance." I squealed as he swiped me up in his arms and placed me down on the floor, our bodies pressed as close together as possible.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started playing the song, 'Habits of My Heart' before dropping it on the bed and engulfing me in his strong hold.
We swayed to the rhythm somewhat badly, but neither of us cared. All that mattered in that moment was that we were happy, blissfully so, and felt complete being with each other.
However, before I even realised that the song had ended, half an hour had passed and my legs were starting to ache. I broke us apart and dragged Ash down onto the bed with me, climbing on top of him with my legs splayed at either side of his body.
One of his eyebrows raised and his lips morphed into a smirk as he placed his hands on my hips, lifting the hem of my shirt with his thumbs. "What was that for, hm?"
A whine slipped passed my lips and I snuggled up close to his body, slightly embarrassed due to the position but too tired to care. "Sleepy, Minnie. Wanna sleep."
"Fuck you're too cute." Ash brushed his fingers through my hair and I sighed approvingly, leaning into his touch and whimpering when he tugged at the roots.
"C'mon baby, don't fall asleep on me. I've got to go home-"
"No! Don't leave. Wanna cuddle." He groaned in response, attempting to lightly push me off his body even though we both knew he didn't want to. "Stay here, Ashy. We can- we can do stuff!"
He laughed loudly and stopped fighting to move, finally giving up and allowing his head to fall back onto one of the few pillows at the end of the bed. "Yeah well, even if I do stay there's no way your dad is going to let me sleep in here with you."
"You underestimate my power, Minnie. I- wait! I forgot about the deal!" Realisation hit me and I scrambled to my feet, almost falling off the bed in the process, before yanking him onto the floor. "Take your shirt off."
"What?"
"I said take your shirt off!"
Without questioning any further, he unbuttoned the thin material and slid it off his shoulders, dropping it next to him on my command. He looked up into my eyes and placed his hands on his thighs, not saying another word.
Slowly, I knelt down in front of him and just watched him for a moment. The way his chest would rise and fall with each breath, how the seven freckles dotted over his ribcage connected to make a daisy-like shape, the fact that his stomach was defined enough to leave him with a subtle set of abs.
I think I lost the point I was trying to convey.
Ash was beautiful, both inside and out. He was the most stunning person I had ever seen and one of the weirdest I had ever met, and he was mine.
"Not to sound ungrateful for the fact that you're checking me out, but I'm getting a little chilly so could you please get to the point?"
My throat closed up when three words surfaced in my mind.
Say it you coward; he feels the same way.
"Ash... I need to tell you something."
I could practically hear the cogs in his head start turning as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion; he clearly had no clue about what I was going to say.
"Wait, are you okay? I haven't done anything wrong have I? Oh god, are you hurt? Who hurt you? Tell me and I swear to God I'll send them straight to the hospital-"
"Ash! No, you didn't do anything wrong. And no, no one hurt me. I just wanted to tell you that I... I, well..."
A shaky breath left my lips when I felt his bare arms around my trembling body, the contact making my mind spin until I almost couldn't take it anymore.
"I love you."
Some might say that two months wasn't enough for you to realise that you loved someone, but I would have to disagree. In my opinion, it didn't matter how long it took for you to realise, because once you had, it was obvious.
Love wasn't just some foolish made up thing people wrote songs about, it was real. But, if I'm honest, I think I was already in love before we started dating.
"You... love me?" I felt my heart break slightly as his eyes filled with tears, and the way his voice heightened in pitch, almost as if he didn't believe what I was saying, just made it even worse.
"Yeah, Minnie. I love you." Pausing, I shuffled closer to him so that our knees were touching as we sat cross legged on the soft carpet of my bedroom floor. "Do you love me?"
The silence that followed my words made me panic, but as soon as the tears started falling, I knew why he hadn't said anything.
"Yes- yes, I love you so much, Riv. So much." That was enough for my eyes to cloud with tears, some of them dripping down my cheeks and leaving wet streaks where they ran. "Fuck, I didn't mean to cry. It's just that no one ever said t-that to me before. No one who actually meant it anyway."
So we sat there for ten minutes while Ash was half naked just crying to each other, repeating the words 'I love you' over and over again until they didn't even sound like actual words anymore. And you know what? I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Something about the soft melody from when we were dancing still playing in the background and the faint sound of the Pac-Man theme tune made the moment even more perfect. Even when you matched those noises with the occasional thud of my blinds hitting the window and the creak that came from a certain point in the floor of you pressed down too hard, it still took my breath away.
That night we slept on the couch together and, even though it was really cramped and uncomfortable, we managed. I'd have to thank my dad later for making me kick Ash out of my room; we would have been a lot more comfortable if I hadn't had to sneak down at midnight to be with him.
We woke up the next morning faced with my mother ushering me back into my room before my father saw us together, only for her to call me back down again a few minutes later for breakfast.
The weeks passed by quickly now that we had each other, but I made sure to meet up with Lila, Harry and James every other weekend as well as spending majority of my school time with them.
Speaking of Lila, she was dating Scarlett now, and the pair could always be found sneaking around playing pranks on anyone and everyone. Although, neither had been in a good relationship before meaning that they were still a little unsure of what to expect, but they were each giving it their all.
Harry and James has grown closer too, but I could never tell if they were involved romantically or not. Despite the fact that Harry was apparently straight, I had caught him glancing over at James on more than one occasion, and he was never very subtle about it. It could just be me looking into it too much, but they would make a good couple.
Thorn returned back home a week after he came to visit, yet he still kept in contact with all of us, and every now and then we would managed to meet for a coffee somewhere in between towns. It was nice now that he was back in our lives again. For some reason, it felt more complete with him.
I hadn't seen much of Alec and Cole recently, but I know that Ash kept in touch with them and I'm sure James did. They met up every now and then, but they were doing just fine with a few new friends.
All together, life was going pretty well.
And even though I don't know for sure that Ash and I will last forever, just as I don't know that Lila and Harry will always be there for me, what I do know is that even if this is all just another high school story made to end, the memories we made together will remain and the lessons I learnt will stay with me until the very end.
So here's to the crazy people who made my life bearable, and here's to the stupid rumour that changed my life forever.
âââââ â â
It's done. Seven months of work over just like that. I will admit that a few tears were shed when I finished this book, mainly because I'm going to miss all the characters so much.
However, do look out for any special chapters in the future as well as a updates about new books I'm publishing hehe.
Well, that's all for now. Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with me from the beginning and anyone who started reading during or after the book was complete!
You all inspire me to continue with what I love, and I hope that you can find inspiration from me, too.
So thank you for the last time.
- Storm ð¹