Precious

"I put a spell on you, and now you're mine!"

Cold gusts of wind had started to blow in the October night making Lia grateful for the warm and cozy sanctuary of her apartment as she watched leaves get carried away outside her window. Hot cocoa, her favorite plush Chanel blanket, and the Sanderson sisters seemed to be a perfect remedy for the Halloween night. Winifred's singing had brought temporary comfort as she lazily watched Hocus Pocus on the couch. With no intentions to socialize whatsoever tonight, Lia declared to spend the evening alone in a much needed quest for solitude.

Loud laughter had erupted outside her window making her brown eyes shift her attention to the rowdy group of teenagers seemingly ready to get into mischief. The smiles on their faces made her lip curl in disgust as she turned back to the television, not in the mood to watch other people be happy. Just as her favorite part of Billy the zombie rising from the grave on, Lia was startled by the sound of knocks pounding at her door.

"Yo midget open the door!" A familiar accent called out followed by chuckles.

"Yeah open the door Lia!"

"Right now young lady!"

"Now!" The voices obnoxiously shouted still banging on her door as Lia groaned.

"This isn't happening..." She whined at her solitude being interrupted, stubbornly she kept her eyes glued to the television. Outside the door she heard the group of voices scoff irritation continuing their knocking.

"We know you're in there!"

"No I'm not." She retorted back rolling her eyes.

"We can hear you watching Hocus Pocus dipshit."

"Am not."

"Don't make us break down the door like last time." Luke warned causing the small girl's eyes to widen knowing they were not in fact bluffing. Already on probation with the landlord because of their previous antics, Lia quickly jumped off the couch.

"Okay I'm coming jeez!" She snapped as she walked over to the door begrudgingly open it. Lia scoffed upon seeing the four young males in her doorway with cheesy grins on each of their faces.

"Took you long enough grandma."

"Shut up Ashton, and need I remind you my neighbors pretty much hate my guts because of you all."

"What on God's green earth are you talking about woman, we're all simply angels." Ashton smiled sweetly as the four boys posed angelically.

"Yeah angels of death." Lia argued rolling her eyes scanning each other their bodies and the costumes they donned. Her eyebrow raised seeing Luke was dressed as Lestat from Interview With the Vampire, Calum was Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ashton was Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and Michael was only wearing his normal clothes.

"Michael what exactly are you supposed to be?" She questioned in confusion while he simply held a box of Lucky Charms that had been splattered with fake blood and a plastic knife embedded in it.

"I'm a cereal killer, get it?" He grinned causing her to crack a small smile.

"Clever Michael."

"You know you can't dress up as yourself right?" Luke teased causing her stomach to churn. Lia knew the boys were dressed up with intentions of attending Katy Perry's Halloween bash. It had all they had been talking about for the past two weeks, fangirling that they had been invited practically. Of course being best friends with a well known pop rock band meant Lia was obligated to tag along; and normally such an occasion would be an honor, had it not been for the circumstances in her life currently.

"Luke I'm not dressing up because I'm not going to the party." Lia explained in apathy watching the boys' smiles fade as they all shared knowing glances at one another. Luke sighed as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"L, I know you're still heartbroken over the breakup with Cade, but you can't keep isolating yourself like this. It's not healthy, you deserve to be happy again." He whispered igniting nausea in her stomach at the mention of her now ex's name.

"Luke I'm not ready..."

"No more wallowing Lia, you can't let that prick ruin your life." Ashton interjected in annoyance earning daggers from the other males aware it was a touchy subject for their good friend.

"What?" The messy crimson haired male retorted holding his hands out. "No offense L, but that guy is like legit textbook definition of a douche-canoe." He added to which the others gave a chorus of mumbling and shrugs of agreement.

“Yeah...you're not wrong."

"He was a drongo, not sure what you saw in him."

"Ultimate douche-canoe."

"Okay, I get the point." Lia snapped crossing her arms over small frame awkwardly.

"Come on babe you can't skip out on Halloween. Let's go have some fun." Calum offered kindly.

"Pleaseeeeee." All four Australians had pleaded with her as if they were children begging their parents for ice cream. She scoffed noting the pouty faces they had and how they acted more like their shoe size sometimes.

"I don't even have a good costume guys." She reasoned. "Especially one suited for a celebrity party."

"Oh don't ya worry about that girly, we got ya covered." Ashton winked suddenly holding up a brand new packaged costume. "We knew you'd tried to stall, so we dropped by the halloween store." He explained as she studied the contents of the bag.

"And of all costumes, you conveniently picked a slutty evil mermaid." Lia noted raising her eyebrow at him.

"What, did we?" Ashton gasped holding his free hand to his mouth. "I could've sworn we told the owner just a regular mermaid costume, that cheeky bloke tsk-tsk." He added slyly smiling innocently back at her. Lia narrowed her eyes while Luke, Calum, and Michael attempted to hold in their laughter.

"Right...likely story Mr. Irwin." She replied lowly eyeing the costume for several seconds in hesitation before ultimately giving a sigh of defeat. "Fine...give me a couple minutes to get ready then." Lia added in umbrage turning on her heels, purposely ignoring the cheers of victory behind her.

Before the boys could say anything else Lia had swiftly retreated to her bedroom to change. Stripping herself of her previous clothing, she had then slipped on the black scaled latex dress. Glancing in the mirror she bit her lip at the sight before her. The latex dress hugged her figure perfectly while the corset like top part had conveniently pushed up her cleavage. The dress ended at her feet with an illusion of a fin tail. Lia had to admit that the boys hadn't done that bad picking it out. Maybe she could pass of as Ariel's evil distant cousin or something.

She had then applied some makeup as quickly and best as she could, opting for a smoked out look complete with dark lips. Undoing the elastic from the top of head she allowed her ebony dark tresses to fall down past her shoulders. Deciding her wavy hair would be suitable she lastly put on the decorative necklace that came with the costume followed by a pair of black heels. A blush had tinted her cheeks seeing herself dolled up after so long. Lia felt out of her element ever since Cade left, nervously her stomach twisted again.

”You’re b-breaking up with me?" She whispered in shock as she backed up into the balcony railing staring up at Cade's eyes. Eyes that once captivated and looked at her sweetly, now seemed void of any emotion, his body language foreign to her.

"It's just not working for me anymore Lia, we're moving separate paths let's be honest with each other." Cade reasoned in exasperation while tears had began to build in her eyes. She knew their relationship had been rocky, especially when she started her internship at Capitol. Her time had been devoted mostly to that but Cade was understanding, despite his demanding sports career as well. They seemed to always make it work though, seeing each other each chance they got. She knew she was in love with him, she knew he could possibly be the one. Cade made her feel things no one else had done before. Her life felt brighter ever since she came to LA and attended that exact baseball game with the boys that changed her world forever.

Yet somehow she barely recognized the person in front of her.

"Cade whatever it is, whatever is bothering you we can fix it. Please just tell me what you want me to do. I'll change my job if that's you want, just-"

"Stop Lia." Cade interrupted solemnly. "I want different things out of life okay? Please just...don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Harder than it has to be? I'm in love with you!" She cried out in disbelief at how cold he was being towards her. Running a hand through his short dark hair, he only sighed looking at the ground.

"But I'm not."

Just like that, the best part of her life was gone. Someone she would've gave her life to happily, left her high and dry. How silly and naive of her to believe someone would ever do the same. Feeling tears start up in her eyes again, Lia whimpered before blinking them again. Before she could ruin her makeup already she forced her to gain some composure. Maybe this had been a sign she needed to suck it up and trek on. There was nothing she could about it now, and deep down she knew Luke had been right: she couldn't remain isolated anymore.

Fluffing her hair one last time and inhaling a deep breath, Lia grabbed her cellphone and exited her bedroom. She was not surprised to find Luke and Calum fighting over the remote, Michael most likely texting his fiance, and Ashton eating her all Halloween candy.

"Okay...I'm ready." Lia spoke shyly catching all of their attention causing them to each whip their heads in her direction. Her cheeks tinted seeing their baffled reactions while sizing her down.

"Holy shit." Ashton mumbled through the chunk of chocolate in his mouth.

"Damn girl, you clean up well." Luke smirked impressed with a nod.

"You look stunning Lia." Calum smiled softly making the small girl further blush in embarrassment.

"Thanks Luke, thanks Calum."

"Shall we get going then? We're gonna be late if we don't get a move on." Michael informed pointing at his watch. The group gave a nod before turning off the television and swiftly heading out Lia's apartment. As they walked to Calum's car Lia could've swore she felt a pair of eyes on her the whole time.

"Think I'll get to kiss Katy Perry tonight?" Calum grinned wiggling his eyebrows when reached the driver's, earning a soft slap in the face from Luke.

"More chance of getting struck by lightning my friend." Luke winked getting into the passenger side as Calum only sulked. Lia giggled to herself watching her friends interact, still amazed that four Australian rock stars wanted to be friends with a simple nobody like her. They may have pushed her buttons on the daily, but Lia knew she was grateful for them. At least one good thing had come from interning at Capitol.

"Operation Get Over Douche-Canoe has officially commenced." Luke declared pumping his fist into the air.

"Do we really have to keep calling him douche-canoe?" Lia sighed as the four males nodded.

"Yup."

Well...almost grateful.
______

The short drive through Hollywood Hills was of course made up of loud music and roasting each other. Lia rolled her eyes smiling and watching Luke, Ashton, and Calum argue over the GPS, but couldn't deny she appreciated the distraction.

"Ashton stop being a backseat driver!" Luke snapped in umbrage while trying to focus on the road, despite him not being the one driving.

"I'll stop when you stop acting like a drongo!" Ashton countered.

"Shut up fruit loop!"

"Both of you shut up." Calum interjected rolling his eyes.

"Come at me mate!"

"Ashton knock it off."

"Stay out of this Michael!"

"Oh for god's sake all of you shut up!" Lia added just as the car had approached the gigantic white mansion. "Finally."

"Dear god Katy Perry's house is massive." Luke whispered in shock upon seeing the many people surrounded the property that respectively decked out in Halloween decor. Lia bit her lip nervously at the thought of being around so many people.

"Now boys, we're going to be responsible with our drinking yes?" Lia questioned raising her eyebrow while the group rolled their eyes but nodded.

"Yes mom." Ashton retorted helping her out the car while she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

"Alright, let's the par-tay started!" Calum beamed and began to dance awkwardly earning stares from the rest of the group.

"Please don't do that again, ever." Ashton cringed while the group snickered making their way to the mansion, Lia only gave a comforting pat on Calum's shoulder. Poor boy just could never get his shine on. Music blared from the large speakers the closer they got tingling Lia's ears. Given the golden okay from security, Lia was thrust into a full fledged Halloween bash. Her eyes immediately widened upon discovering all the familiar faces. Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth!

"Holy shit." Lia whispered still in amazement at being in such close proximity. She could hear Luke chuckle behind her before his hands had cupped her shoulders.

"Remember to have fun tonight, you deserve it." Luke gave her a smile before had walked off to greet his girlfriend Sierra.

"Well what are waiting for? Let's fucking go!" Calum cheered before Lia felt herself being pulled towards the core of the chaos. In the blink of an eye drinks were flowing in each direction, costumes of every type passing by. Lia had slowly begin to forget her heartache and be present in the moment with her favorite people. The boys had went above and beyond to make sure she had a good time and not be depressed. For the first time in a while Lia felt normal again and not like a zombie, actually interacting with other humans. Not to mention Demi Lovato called her 'adorable,' she was certain if were to go tonight, she would die happy.

Lia was not sure how much time had passed and how many exact drinks she consumed so far. All she knew was that she had to relieve her bladder, immediately.

"Cal, I'm gonna use the bathroom!" She called over the music to Calum who barely heard her as he conversated with Adam Levine. Shrugging, she began her way in search of a restroom. Lia maneuvered through the massive crowd feeling anxious at wondering where exactly a bathroom was. She attempted to go left only to reach the kitchen. She tried going right and wound up in another lounge room.

"Ugh! This is impossible!" She groaned feeling the pressure in her bladder increase. It took several more tries before the universe granted her mercy and led her to a bathroom. Carefully Lia did her business making sure to absolutely not touch the very expensive surrounding her. Knowing full well she could not afford to be a liability especially when you're prone to clumsiness. Immediate relief washed over when her bladder was empty again, quickly she washed her hands and prepared herself to head back into the madness. Lia once again navigated her way back to where the boys were, but of course reality came crashing down before her. Lia felt her body freeze at the scene before her, her eyes unable to tear away from the very person responsible for her pain. How could he be here, of course he had to be here. The nausea crept back up watching Cade flirt with another female so carefree yet was suffering. His hands holding the woman the way he used to hold her. His lips kissing her the way he kissed her.

Feeling eyes on him, Cade's attention had shifted in her direction. A brief expression of guilt had seemed to go through him when their eyes locked. Lia remained still as the brief moment vanished, his cold eyes retreating back to the female next to him. A sharp pain flowed through her chest as she willed herself to stay composed. But the task grew far too impossible as a lump formed in throat, eyes burning again. Lia's lip trembled before she turned on her heel with the intention of running. Her feet carrying her much faster before in a desperate attempt, but before she could reach the corner a figure had swiftly blocked her. Lia gasped as the figure clasped both her wrists. Familiar dark eyes glaring at her.

"You will not run and you will not shed another tear tonight, is that understood?" Ashton spoke calmly yet his tone contained authority Lia had not experienced before. "You will not let him win Lia."

Lia nodded slowly doing her best to abide by the Australian. Ashton let go of her wrists but kept ahold of one hand.

"Come on, let's get away from here." He suggested to which she eagerly allowed him to drag her away from where Cade was. She soon found herself being pulled towards the dancefloor, her eyes looking up at Ashton hesitantly.

"Dance with me."

"I'm not a good dancer Ash." She whispered in embarrassment. Ashton simply rolled her eyes before pulling her small to frame to his.

"Ya don't have to be good silly goose." Ashton teased just as the intro of 'Undercover Martyn' by Two Door Cinema Club began to play.

"Ash..."

"Just focus on me alright, it's okay." Ashton assured moving along to beat when it picked up. Lia awkwardly tried to move along with him, not entirely sure what the crimson haired male was trying to do. Lia figured it was just his way of attempting to distract her nothing more. A small giggle escaped her lips as the eccentric Australian swayed to the rhythm, not completely professional, but still impressive. Lia raised her eyebrow watching 'Alex' bust a move on the dance floor.

"Look at me I'm so lit."

"Stop, please." Lia giggled again once again forgetting about her ex. It wasn't long before the both of them were rocking out not caring who looked at them crazy. Lia felt her cheeks hurt from smiling so much as his hands held her hips moving her.

"Ya know ya do look pretty hot in that costume." He noted casually.

"You're just saying that." Lia lightly teased back.

"Nah, I'm serious. Ya look amazing." Ashton replied in sincerity while the corner of his lips turned up in a small smile. Lia was slightly speechless at how calm he seemed to be with her. As long as Lia had known Ashton he was usually the hyper one out of the four guys, always talking. An extremely sarcastic bugger but for the most part, Lia always enjoyed his company.

"T-thanks Ash." Lia blushed with an equal smile.

"Just being honest love, don't need to thank me." Ashton answered just as the music drastically slowed down. The tune of "You Are Mine" by Mutemath had flowed through the air, a stark contrast to the previous beat. Lia and Ashton had seemed to share the same expression of uncertainty.

"So...this is kind of awkward." Ashton chuckled. "We can stop now if you want."

"It's umm fine." Lia assured allowing his hands to remain on her hips while her arms had rested on his shoulders. The pair slowly rocked side to side in a comfortable silence as her mind began to wander off involuntarily.

"It's my fault." She whispered after a while causing him to look at her in confusion.

"What's your fault?"

"Cade. I pushed him too hard, I cared too much, I loved-"

"God damn it, stop." Ashton sighed in exasperation. "Stop thinking, you did nothing wrong."

"But I should've not pushed so hard."

"Are you listening to yourself right now? It's not your fault Lia that he's an insecure jackass. Any man is lucky to be loved by you. I mean my god, are you completely oblivious to how fucking amazing you are?" Ashton exclaimed seemingly unaware of what he just said. Lia inhaled a deep breath once again speechless staring up at him. Realization had filled his eyes looking back at her, yet both of them hadn't let go. A strange sensation filled her body almost as if they were in auto pilot, Ashton's face coming and closer to hers until soft lips were touching hers. Lips so soft and difficult to pull away from, hands holding her so gently.

What seemed like an eternity but only a number of seconds, they finally pulled apart. Feeling herself come back to reality, a gasp left her lips at what they had just done. Her eyes blinked in shock watching him also contemplate what just occurred.

"I..." Ashton began but dropped his sentence as he suddenly walked off. Fear filled her body wondering if she had just done something terribly wrong. Why had he kissed her, and why had she kissed back? Lia shook herself before taking off in the direction Ashton had went. Her eyes scanned the crowd looking for him, needing an explanation. Frustrated at not seeing him anywhere in sight, Lia sighed and continued to search further and further away from the party. Lia found herself outside the mansion scoping the large driveway, gasping when the black tall hat caught her line of vision. Quickly sprinting to where Ashton was walking, she panted.

"Ashton!" She called out making his walking cease. "W-what was that back there?"

"I don't know Lia...I'm...I'm sorry if I took it too far." He replied lowly hesitant in taking another step. Lia fumbled on words looking at him, only taking small steps to where he stood.

"D-did you mean what you said earlier?" She whispered meekly.

"Of course I did."

"You think I'm amazing?"

"I think you're as amazing as the sun shining on the sea." Ashton whispered this time. A smile had formed on her lips while trying to speak.

"But you've never said or acted..."

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want to risk fucking things up between us. I value your friendship, you're one of the few people that still see us as just four normal Australian boys. I would've liked to tell you earlier...but when I finally got the courage, that's when you ended up with him." Ashton explained in disappointment and distaste. Lia was bewildered at his confession, never guessing that Ashton Irwin felt that way about her. If she were honest, she could admit there were brief flirty moments between them, but it never led to anything else. Yet his words on the dancefloor repeated in her head.

"Then why didn't you say anything now?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Because it wouldn't be right to put all of that on you when you needed to heal. But seeing him make you pick yourself apart like this, I can't seem to fight the urge to whisk you away and show you how precious you are." He answered quietly. Lia peered right into his dark eyes with trembling hand and watery eyes, a different occasion this time.

"Will you whisk me away then?" She whispered as he only nodded. Lia smiled through tears wrapping her arms around him connecting their lips. A kiss of such tenderness she didn't know could exist.

"I'll take ya anywhere ya want to go."

"I don't care where we go...as long as it's with you." She smiled as they kissed again before he took her hand in his, both pairs feet of beginning to move again. The large mansion becoming further away with each step, Lia not her lip looking down at their interlaced hands. Her eyes widened immediately noticing the red inflamed flesh.

"Ash...why are your knuckles bleeding?" Lia questioned with a raised brow.

"No reason."