The Best Mistake

Ashlyn.

Kat said that it was cool for me to leave my car there for the night. Her parents had complained about me being in their parking spot, but like Kat said- when do they not complain?

Jas' car finally came into view and parked at the end of the driveway. Jas and I hurriedly made our way to the car. "Here, you can sit up front. I'll sit in the back, okay?" Jas said. Before I could protest or even ask why, Jas had gotten into the backseat. Brushing it off, I got into the passenger seat.

"Ashlyn?" I heard a drunken voice ask from the backseat. I blinked a few times, before slowly turning around- not missing Levi's apologetic smile as I did so. Nash was sitting directly behind Levi and giving me a confused look. He suddenly grinned widely- and I automatically thought of my dream. "Sit back here with me!"

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea," I answered carefully.

"Why not?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. He actually looked completely harmless and... cute.

"We're already driving and Jas is back there," I said.

"Nash, just go to sleep," Levi said sternly.

"No! I want Ash to sit back here!" Ash? Normally, I hated being called that. But coming from Nash, anything other than 'princess' sounded amazing.

"Stop kicking the back of the fucking seat," Levi growled angrily.

"Levi!" Jas scolded him. "Calm. Down. He's drunk. Be nice." The way she said it... sounded off. Kind of like a warning. Like the world would end if he continued being rude. (Which was a bit ironic, seeing as Nash is usually rude.) Nash momentarily stopped kicking the seat, before he opened the door. Levi slammed on the brakes and we came to an abrupt stop. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Get back in the car Nash; please?" Jas called to him. Nash was now standing outside, with his arms childishly crossed. In any other circumstances, I would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked.

"No!" he said. "Not until Ash sits with me."

"I'll sit in the backseat," I mumbled, unbuckling my seat belt and getting out.

"Are you sure?" Jas asked as I opened her car door. She reluctantly got out.

"Yeah," I answered.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking guilty.

"It's not your fault," I said, smiling weakly. "I just wanna get home." She nodded and finally got in the front seat as I slid into the back. "Alright, I'm back here. Get in the car."

Nash's face broke into a wide grin again and he nodded, hopping in the car. "Look, Nash shouldn't be that bad tonight..." Levi trailed. "But whatever you do, do not scream at him or show any anger toward him, okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Okay. But why not?" I asked.

"Just... don't," he said, before driving off. I quickly pulled my seat belt on and Nash's head fell into my lap. I saw Levi glance in the rear view mirror every now and then.

"Aaaaaash," Nash said in a sing-song voice.

"Naaaaash," I said.

He giggled- yeah, Nash Carter actually giggled. "That rhymed," he said through his giggles. Momentarily forgetting that this was the guy who'd threatened my life a couple nights ago, I couldn't help but laugh slightly. It was contagious. "You're pretty, didja know that?" I heard Levi laugh from the front seat.

"Um, thanks," I said. Even though it was the alcohol speaking, I couldn't help but feel my cheeks burn. He giggled again, before turning to lay on his side, facing away from me. I couldn't figure out where the hell to put my hands, seeing as Nash was laying across the entire backseat. Hesitantly, I rested one arm one the side of the door and my other hand went to Nash's head, slowly running my fingers through his hair. Just like I'd thought, his hair was insanely soft.

Nash made a noise- it sounded like a cross between a whimper and groan- but I assumed it was a good thing since he didn't argue. Maybe he'd fall asleep? After a couple minutes his breathing was steady, so I figured he was sleeping. I raked my fingers through his hair softly, all the way to the back of his neck, when I noticed something standing out on his pale skin. I moved his hair a little more and bit my tongue to hold back a gasp as I saw what his hair covered.

A mixture of dark purple and blue, was a bruise on the side of his neck, maybe the size of my hand- maybe even a little bigger. It looked new, and as I softly grazed my fingers along it, it felt swollen.

Nash suddenly grabbed my thigh and I thought I'd hurt him so I quickly drew my fingers back. But even as neither of my hands were touching him anymore, he still gripped my skin. I could see his jaw clench. "Um.. Levi?" I asked in a small voice.

He looked through the rear view mirror at me, before glancing in the backseat quickly. I heard him curse quietly. "Is he hurting you?" he asked.

"Not really," I said. I wouldn't be surprised if it bruised, but in all honesty it only hurt slightly. "Why? What do I do?"

He looked hesitant to speak, and I was suddenly aware that Jas was now looking at me with a concerned look on her face. "You're gonna have to not do anything," he said.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"I'm guessing he's having a bad dream," he said, nonchalantly. But I heard the slight panic in his voice. "And when Nash has bad dreams, trying to wake him up from them or disturbing him is a terribly fatal idea."

Before I could ask what he meant, Nash suddenly let go, letting his palm rest where he was just clutching for dear life. I couldn't question anything further because I saw that we were at my house. Gently, I lifted Nash's head off of me and got out of the car. Muttering a quick 'thanks' to them, I practically ran inside- ignoring the pain in my left leg.