Everything Will Change

''Still going to Michael's place?'' Ashton asked as I was sneaking out of the window. I thought he was asleep but I was wrong.

''Eum, yeah,'' I answered. ''Why?''

''You went yesteday. I'm starting to believe that you two are more than friends with benefits, you know? You seem to miss him a lot,''Ashton said happily.

''Shut up Ash,'' I replied laughing. ''You know that I don't relationships. I don't like Michael. I only love what he can give me.''

''How could I forget that detail?'' Ashton teased. ''Enough talking, you go do whatever you need to do. We're still going to surf again tomorrow after the job, right?''

''Of course! I had fun the other night. I'll see you tomorrow Ash, good night,'' I said before jumping out of the window.

I lied to Ashton. I wasn't going to meet with Ashton. I was going to do something evolving Michael that could get me into major trouble. But it was so tempting that I accepted Michael's offer. It might get me in trouble, but it was worth the risk.

*****The Previous Night****

''I wish I had money to buy all the weed in the world,'' I said as I took a puff from my second joint that night.

''Poor little Luke,'' Michael teased. ''If only you had money like I do.''

''Don't be mean Mickey or you won't get any tonight,'' I replied.

''Relax Mr. Grumpy, I think I have an idea,'' Michael said. ''An idea that could give you free weed all summer long.''

''Whatever it is, I'm in,'' I replied. I would honnestly do anything for free weed. I guess you can call me an addict.

''Okay, so I get my weed from this guy, Jake. He hands me free weed as long as I sell some for him. He gets the money and he pays me back in weed. I could send him a quick text asking if you could help me sell it. And he would pay you back the way he does with me. What do you think?'' Michael proposed.

''So you want me to sell weed?'' I wondered.

''Yup. It's not that difficult. You just need to make sure you don't get caught by the cops. And if you ever do, don't ever mention Jake's name or he'll send a bunch of people after you. So, are you in?'' Michael replied.

I thought about it a little. The risks of getting into trouble were high. Was I ready to risk to get arrested? What a stupid question, of course I am. I'm ready to live dangerously if that gives me free weed for the entire summer.

''Yup, I'm in,'' I affirmed.

****Back to the Present****

Jake agreed to me helping Michael sell drugs for him. That is why I found myself walking into a dark alley where I was supposed to meet with some guy. I didn't know his name, he didn't know mine. We just both knew what each other looked like.

I knew this would be easy. I just had to wait for this guy to show up. He would give me the money and I would give him his stock. That's simple. Being in a dark place in the most dangerous neighborhood of town would make this whole thing even easier.

I waited 10 minutes until I spotted someone walking towards me. He was tall and fat. He was my guy. I was a little nervous, this was my first time doing this after all. It would get easier with time.

''You have the money?'' I asked quietly when he was just a few inches away from me.

He nodded and handed me a large amount of cash. I checked if it was the correct amount and if the bills were fake. Everything seemed just fine.

I grabbed a small bag from my backpack and handed it to him. He nodded and smiled.

''Same place next week?'' He asked quietly.

''Yup,'' I answered.

I thought we would leave, but he didn't. He was not moving and his eyes seemed to be fixing something behind me. Maybe that was just a side effect of him being high.

''Shit,'' he whispered.

He dropped the bag of weed on the ground and ran away from where he came from earlier. What was that? Why did he just ran away without his order? This was just weird.

As I picked up the bag on the ground, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I pushed the hand away immediately. I turned around and saw someone I wasn't expecting to see.

''You, young man, are in big trouble,'' the officer said as he handcuffed me. ''You thought you could do illegal stuff like that and not get caught?''

''I don't know what you're talking about, dude,'' I replied, not caring at all that he was a figure of authority and that being rude towards him could cause more problems.

''I would remain quiet if I were you. I'm bringing you to the police station. We'll see what we'll do about you when we get there,'' The officer said.

I soon realized that all of this was real and that I should do as he says. All I wanted to do was to punch Michael. He said that it would be easy and that I wouldn't get into trouble. I should not have listened to him.

The police officer grabbed my arm and leaded me to his car. He opened the door and roughly pushed me into the backseat. What a jerk.

I tried to look confident as he was taking me to the station. I was trying to hide the fear building inside of me. I was scared. This had nothing to do with all the kinds of trouble I've got myself into before. I was being arrested, having no single idea about what would happen to me.

We reached the station ten minutes later. The officer took me out of the car, once again roughly, and led me inside of the station where I was put in a cell. Why was this happening to me?

Would they call my father? Would they put me in jail? Would they send me to juvie? So many questions were popping into my mind. I was going crazy.

Another officer came back five minutes later and asked me a few questions. He seemed nicer than the previous one.

''Your I.D. tells me that your name is Lucas Robert Hemmings and that you are 17 years old, is that correct?'' He asked.''

I could have messed with him, but I decided that being serious was the right thing to do at the moment.

''Yes,'' I replied.

''The report said you got caught picking up a bag of marijuana in the Gibson Alley. It says that you were probably selling in to another guy who ran away from the scene. Is that correct?'' He asked.

The world probably kept playing into my head. That means the officer didn't exactly caught me selling drugs, he just assumed I was.

''You don't have any proof that shows that I was selling it,'' I replied.

''Well, if you weren't selling them, care telling me what you were doing in that alley? What explains the 200$ that we found in your jacket's pocket?'' The officer wondered.

I thought about it and came out with a believable story.

''Well, I met that guy at a party three days ago. He seemed to be a pretty nice guy so I gave him my number and he did the same. He called me tonight from a confidential number saying he wanted to meet me in that alley and that he had something to propose me. So I showed up and he did as well. He wanted me to sell drugs for him. I kept saying that I didn't want to, but he was very persuasive. That is why he put $200 in my pocket, so I would accept his offer. I was about to say yes, but I didn't get to because he ran away when he saw the policeman, dropping the bag of weed on the way. The officer saw me picking it up and must have assumed that I was selling it to him,'' I explained.

Even myself believed in my story. I hoped the officer would as well.

''So you're telling me you never intended to sell weed to this guy?'' He asked.

''No, this wasn't what I was doing,'' I lied.

''I believe in your story. I won't investigate any longer since it's your first time being arrested. But I have one condition.'' The officer said.

''What is your condition?'' I asked nervously.

''You must tell me who is your friend. What's his name?'' The officer asked.

I didn't really know what to answer, but one name came into my mind. I didn't hesitate in saying it out loud.

''Michael Clifford, his name is Michael Clifford,'' I answered.

I knew I would be in so much trouble for giving Michael's name, and the he probably would get into trouble as well... but at the moment the only person I cared about was myself.

''Thanks son! You can call your parents and ask them to pick you up and pay for your $300 caution. Since you happen to already have $200, they'll just have to pay $100,'' The officer said.

I forgot about that.

''Eum, I don't speak to my parents anymore. I live with my 20 years old step-brother,'' I lied.

''Okay, if he can pay for your caution, it is fine,'' he said. ''Use the phone in your cell to call him.''

Luckily, I remembered Ashton's number by heart. I knew he would be pissed off for being waken up at 2am. He certainly would be mad after him, but he was my only hope. I hoped he would understand.

I dialed his number, hoping he would picked up his phone. I was about to lose faith when I heard his sleepy voice.

''I don't care who this is, this better be important if you're waking me up in the middle of the night,'' Ashton said.

''Eum, it's Luke. I need your help,'' I replied.

''What did you do, Luke? Where are you?''Ashton asked.

''I'm at the police station. I can't get out unless you come and pay $100 for my caution so I can get out. I'll explain everything later, please, just please come pick me up,'' I pleaded.

''Shit, Luke. Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. And you better tell me everything when I get there. See you soon,'' Ashton said before hanging up.

Thanks God, he was coming. I don't what I would have done if he hadn't agreed to help me. I'm lucky to have him in my life, he's a nice guy.

Fifteen minutes passed before Ashton was finally there. He didn't seem happy. He looked at me and I could feel that he was very disappointed in me.

''You're free to go kid. But I'm warning you, if any of my men ever spot you doing suspicous activies, you won't get out of it so easily, understand?'' He asked.

''Yes. Thanks officer,'' I replied.

Ashton didn't even speak to me. I followed him to his car, feeling very bad. The silence was broken when we got on the road.

''I thought you were at Michael's. What the fuck have you beein doing tonight Luke?'' Ashton asked.

''Eum, I was selling weed,'' I replied. I didn't want to lie to Ashton any longer.

''You were what? How did they even agree to let you go that easily?'' he asked angrily.

''Yeah...I kind of invented a big story and might have put Michael in trouble with it. They believed I wasn't selling anything, so they let me go,'' I answered.

''I can't believe this. So you're saying I had to pay $100 I was saving for school because you are stupid enough to sell weed?'' He asked.

''I'm sorry Ashton, I-I didn't know who else to call. I even was suprised that you accepted to come to the station to get me out of there,'' I answered sadly. ''I'm going to pay you back, I promise.''

''Therer was no way I was going to leave you there. And this isn't just about money, Luke. There could have been bigger consequences to yours actions. You could have been sent to juvie or stuff like that. Damn, what were you thinking?'' Ashton said.

''I know I'm stupid okay? I was only thinking about the rewards I would get by selling weed. I never though I would get caught. I'm sorry, I'm freaking sorry that my stupid self made you lose a hundred dollars. I'm sorry,'' I replied. ''You won't tell the parents, will you?''

''Even though I should, I won't. You sure are stupid, but I still care about you. Just...promise me you won't do anything like that again? You could have get hurt Luke. Please, promise me this was the last time?'' Ashton demanded.

''I promise,'' I replied.

Not a word was said after this. It was complete silence, an uncomfortable one. I'm glad Ashton won't give up on me. I would deserve it. I'm not a good friend for him.

When we finally reached the house, I felt that I had to speak again.

''Thanks again, Ash. I really appreciate what you did for me tonight,'' I said, looking at him in directly in his beautiful eyes.

''It's no problem Luke. I'm here for you. Just don't do anything silly ever again,'' Ashton replied smiling.

''I'm going to pay you back someday, I promise,'' I mentionned. Where would I find that money, I had no idea. Maybe I could find a part-time job for the time I had left in Florida.

''I don't want money, Luke,'' Ashton replied.

''How am I going to make it up to you if I can't pay you back?'' I wondered.

''Kiss me,'' Ashton replied.

Did I hear that right? Did Ashton Irwin really asked me to kiss him? I wasn't going to refuse his offer.

I cupped his cheek and leaned in so I could plant my lips on his. They were just the way I thought they were: soft and sweet. Ashton kissed me back. It wasn't an intense kiss, it wouldn't lead to a makeout session. It was sweet and tender, and it felt good.

Ashton was the one to break the kiss, too quickly for my own good.

''Thank you,'' he said smiling as he got out of his car.

I could feel an unknown sensation in my stomach. I could not stop smiling. I could not stop thinking about how good his lips felt on mine.

Wait. Did kissing Ashton really made me feel that good? What was that supposed to mean? I didn't know what was happening to me, but I couldn't deny those butterflies in my stomach. And honnestly, they felt great and new.