Status: Completed!

When I'm With You, I'm at Home

You say sometimes its like I hardly know you.

Ashton's POV

I stepped outside, on to the hot pavement. Of course the first thing I heard was Johns moms voice. "Ashton," She called. "How did you like your party?"

I sighed, but quickly put on a friendly smile. "It was-" I stopped, once I spotted John sitting by the edge of his pool. He was staring at me. His expression was clear with disappointment. I quickly brought my gaze back to his mother. "It was fun."

"That's fantastic." She clapped her hands together, excitedly. "Oh, I'll be back. I have to go check on the chicken, on the stove." She said, and scurried to the glass sliding door.

"John?" I mumbled. I kept my eyes on the flowers on the ground. My mother had flowers planted all along the fence. She planted new ones almost once a month. She never was quite a gardener; she killed any plant she bought.

"What?" John snapped, as stood up from the side of the pool.

He was shirtless, of course. He had baggy swim shorts on, with white flowers spread along the dark red fabric. His eyes were covered by his black ray-bands. Which actually made talking to him easier, since I didn't exactly have to look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't mean for things to turn out this way. Last night was a mistake, though. But I don't want that to change things. I still want to be friends, like we use to."

John took in a deep breath, causing his chest to puff out. "I want us to be that way to. But it's going to be a challenge, for me."

I nodded, understanding where he was coming from. "But we can try?"

"Yes, we can." John agreed. "But could you tell me why last night was such a terrible experience?"

As I opened my mouth it hit me. I realized I never told John about Brian. Not only will this be hard for John to handle because I moved on; I have a new guy in my life. But then there’s the fact that John and I slept together.

I rubbed my fingers across my forehead, preparing for his reaction. "John, don’t get angry. Well, I know you already are, but this, this will only make things worse."

His eyebrows furrowed together, lines appearing in his forehead.

"Back in California, I met someone." I started slowly. "I have had a boyfriend for almost three years, now."

At my confession, John stumbled backwards, as if I just punched him in the gut, or slapped him in the face. His face was flush, white.

"I'm really sorry. I know I should have told you sooner." I said. "This is all my fault."

"Who is he?" He muttered, placing his hands on his hips.

"His name is Brian." I began. "He's in a band; he plays bass."

"Bass, huh." John said, breathing in. "Is he good to you?"

I immediately dropped my head down. His question was more difficult than expected. I didn't want to keep anything more from John, but then again, something's are better left unsaid. "Of course." I lied. "He treats me great."

"Because I already don't like him." John stated. "If he was an asshole, I'd kill him." John said it so serious, but I could hold back my laughter. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm serious!"

"I know, but it's sounds so funny coming from you." I laughed.

He rolled his eyes, almost smiling. "I would like to meet him."

That caused me to freeze. I stopped laughing, and my smile quickly faded. "Why?"

"I want to make sure he's right for you."

"You don't need to. It's fine."

"But I want to."

"He's on tour right now, so you can't."

"Eventually, he wont be on tour." John stated.

"Yeah. Maybe then." Lie.

I never want John to meet Brian. What if John saw through Brian's act? And I'm sure Brian would want to know more about John. I never told him about my past with John. Brian would never let me come back home if he knew.

"So tell me all about it?" John said, forcing a polite smile.

"About what?"

"Brian and your life in California."

"Are you sure you want to hear about it?" I questioned, feeling a bit uneasy about sharing.

"Yeah. Go ahead, tell me all about it.”

"Well, I once moved there I started to taking a couple classes. And that's how I met my best friend."

"What’s her name again?" John asked, while he lifted his leg over the fence. John hopped over the fence that separated us, carefully avoiding my mother’s flowers. And now he was standing at my side.

“Carson,” I said. ”She’s my age. She’s a great friend. She’s supportive, smart, and I always can count on her for advice, even though I never take it.”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me about her.” John nodded. “When you actually returned my phone calls.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are we really back to this?”

“No, but why?” He asked. “Why did you stop talking to me?”

“Its not like I wanted to.” I muttered, crossing my arms against my chest. “I got really busy.”

“Everyday, huh?” John snickered. “It wasn’t because of Brian?”

“John, please. I was busy okay.” I snapped.

He was right. It was because of Brian. Early on in mine and Brian’s relationship, he became very possessive, and I became very scared. He forced me to quit my job at a coffee shop, because he didn’t like the boy I worked with. After that, things continuously got worse.

“Okay, sorry.” He said. “Does Carson like him?”

“Yes.” I mumbled. “They get along pretty well.”

John breathed in, and began walking over to the patio table. I followed him, pulling out the chair across from him, and taking a seat. “Why don’t you tell me about you?” I smiled. “How is the band, and the guys?” I asked. As he began to speak, I felt relieved. I’m not good at making up excuses on the spot.
♠ ♠ ♠
So this is kind of a boring chapter, basically a filler.

Thank you for the comments on the last chapter-

smoke-and-fire

RoRo15

AhoyyLaneyy;


Maybe more comments? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for reading :)