The Time of Our Lives
An Ashton Irwin AU Fanfiction
Chapter 2: May 20, 2012
Summer
I woke up to slamming doors and running water, as I had for the last week. Ash was routinely the first one to shower, and the bathroom was right next to my room. He always sang as he bathed himself, and every day it was always a different song from a different band than the day before. That morning, the selection was 'I Miss You' by Blink-182. I smiled and mouthed the lyrics before pushing back the covers and climbing from my bed. I'd been living in the Irwin household for a week and was already starting to settle into a routine. I'd wake up to Ashton's voice, go down to the kitchen and sit with Lauren while she drank coffee and I ate cereal, I warmed Harry's bagel in the toaster and spread cream cheese on it so that he could eat in the car, and I sat in the passenger seat while Ash drove everyone to school. Then we would pull up to the high school parking lot with the backseat void of Harry and Lauren, and he would step out of the car, waving and saying goodbye as he entered the building. I would drive home and shower, change into clean clothes, and watch the news with Anne before she went off to work.
And then I had the house to myself for six-and-a-half hours. I usually went into the music room and sat at the piano, trying to gather the nerves to play it. I hadn't touched piano keys since I had come to Australia. It was something my mom and I used to do together, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So I would stand and leave after staring at the instrument for an hour.
But today, as I sat down on the glossy black bench, I placed my right index finger on a key and pushed down. A deep note rang out. I pressed another key. A slightly higher-pitched note sang to me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and slowly began to play a song that my mother had written for me when I was born. She taught it to me six years later. My eyes welled with tears and I dropped my hands into my lap. I pushed the cover shut and leaned my elbows on it. I buried my face in my arms and cried softly. As I lifted my head and took a deep breath, I ran a hand through my unruly hair. I stole the tears from my cheeks and turned without standing. Ash stood in the doorway to the music room holding an acoustic guitar. His faced was etched with concern.
"Why-" I sniffled. "Why aren't you at school?" I asked and my voice cracked.
"I came back for this. Mikey dropped me here. The boys and I are filming a video after school and Luke broke one of his guitar strings and can't fix it in time, so I'm loaning him this one," He held the guitar a little higher. "Why are you crying?" He leaned the guitar against the wall and came closer.
"Um…" I trailed off, hurriedly wiping the tears from my face. Ashton knelt in front of me and gently grasped my wrists. He put them in my lap and wiped his thumb across my cheeks, making me want to cry harder. "I don't really know," I whispered.
"That was beautiful, what you were playing,"
"It was my mom's. She wrote it for me,"
"Do you miss her?" He asked softly.
I nodded.
"Maybe that's why you were crying," He smiled gently.
"Yeah, maybe." I nodded again.
"Look, Summer, I gotta get back to school, but do you wanna do something later? The boys wanna go out to dinner after practice and were hoping you'd wanna come, too."
"Um, yeah. Sounds fun." I grinned. He flashed his dimples at me before leaving.
Ashton
That evening, I left the boys in the running car on the street and went into my house, where I took the stairs two at a time and walked up to Summer's door. I took a deep breath before rapping my knuckles against the wood. The door opened a second later.
"Hi," Summer smiled at me. She was wearing a black and white Ramones t-shirt, ripped dark-wash jeans, and black Converse. Her copper hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and strands whirled around her face, which was makeup-free.
"Hi. You ready to go?"
"Yup," She stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind her. Together we walked down the stairs and into the front room, where Anne was sitting on the couch.
"Hey, mum. We're leaving." I said to her as I opened the front door. She stood, came over, and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back, and then she pulled away and turned to Summer. The boys honked the horn outside. Anne embraced Summer and then stepped back.
"You guys be safe. Don't take anything from strangers," She warned us with a joking smile.
"We'd probably be the ones handing stuff out," I told her, and she gave me a look. "Bye," I said with a chuckle as I stepped out into the chilly night. Summer soon followed, and we made our way to the car. The boys waved when they saw her, and she waved back.
I opened the driver's side door, and started to get in, but I looked at Summer over the top of the car and said, "Oh, and by the way, it's a bit cramped so you might have to sit on Calum's lap," I smiled at her, and she laughed.
"Well good. I hoping to," She chuckled as she climbed into the passenger seat. The four boys were smushed together in the back.
"Hello," Summer swiveled in her seat to look at them.
"Hey, Summer How are you?" Luke spoke first.
"Just fine, Lucas. Thanks for asking. And yourself?"
"We're all swell back here, your majesty. Try not to mind us all squished back here," Michael said sarcastically.
"I won't." Summer beamed and sat back in her seat.
We went to In-n-Out for dinner, since most of us couldn't afford an to eat at an actual restaurant. We all ordered double burgers and chocolate milkshakes, except for Luke who ordered a triple burger and a vanilla milkshake. We ate outside, even though the temperature was dropping and the season was nearing the end of fall, the inside was too crowded, so we went outside. Luke and Michael shared a plastic bench, I sat with Calum, and Summer stretched out across another seat. We laughed a lot, poked fun at each other, and even broke out into song a few times. Summer had smiled through all of it.
After our meal, we went to a secluded area of the port. We carried rocks that we had found with us and we made our way down the small boardwalk. We stood at the edge and skipped rocks across the surface and pushed each other into the frigid water. Michael was the first one to be shoved in. Then Luke. I jumped in willingly, and finally Michael and Summer were the last ones standing on the wooden dock. Luke, Calum and I called to Michael, telling him to jump in. He shook his head and tried to push Summer in. She shrieked and leapt out of the way, running behind Mikey. Moving forward, she placed her arms on his shoulders and pressed. He fell into the water.
A few seconds later, his soaked head broke the surface. He laughed with us. Summer backed a few paces down the dock, pulled her Ramones shirt over her head, leaving her in her bra, kicked her Converse away from her feet, and ran at the water. She jumped at the edge, and tucked her feet under her, throwing her arms in the air with a yell. She hit the surface with a splash spraying us with water.
The five of us stood on the dock, shivering. Summer clothed herself and perched herself on the edge, dangling her still bare feet in the water. Luke sat next to her, and then me, and then Calum and Michael. We watched the sun as it slid below the horizon, knowing that the other side of the world would be waking up soon. I heard Summer take a deep breath before going quiet. We all sat in silence. That is, until Calum pushed Michael back into the water.
Summer
"I had fun tonight," I said to Ash as we let ourselves into the dark house. From the outside, it looked like none of the lights were on.
"Yeah, me too. Who even thought of going to the bay?" His brow furrowed.
"I don't know," I chuckled and shook my head.
A light flicked on in the shadowy room. Anne sat in a chair with a book spread across her lap.
"Where were you?" She inquired.
"At dinner," Ash told her.
"For seven-and-a-half hours?"
"We were gone that long?" I glanced at the clock. "Eleven-thirty," I mumbled. "I guess so,"
"I'm sorry, mum. Really. We lost track of time, that's all."
Anne gave him a look.
"And, besides, it's Friday night. We wanted to have fun. And Summer's been cooped up in the house all week," He gestured to me and I looked at him.
"Well, um, that's true, but, um, I don't wanna…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"Just go say goodnight to your brother," Anne said tiredly to Ash, who nodded and bent to kiss his mother on the cheek. He then bounded up the stairs, and I followed slowly after him.
I stood in the doorway to my room and listened to Ashton as he spoke softly to Harry. I smiled and stepped into my room, closing the door behind me. Taking two large steps, I jumped onto my bed and began to unwind the millions of bracelets from my left wrist. I rolled over onto my stomach, digging my elbows into the mattress, and studied the ragged scars that had, over the years, replaced the smooth skin on my wrist. I nodded at them; a silent agreement to keep them covered up.
I rolled from the bed and stumbled over to my dresser, pulling Batman boxer shorts and a white tank top from the drawers. I changed rapidly, chucking my still damp garments into the dirty-clothes basket. A soft knock sounded on my door and I moved to answer it. Anne stood in my entrance way.
"I forgot to give this to you when you came in," She handed me an envelope.
"What is it?" I took the small package from her grasp.
"Well, since I don't open others' mail," She laughed. "Guess you'll just have to find out," She shrugged and smiled at me before turning and going back down the stairs. I chuckled lightly and stepped back into my room without closing the door. I sat on my bed, folded one leg under me, and looked at the envelope. It was addressed to me, but the return address wasn't written. My brow furrowed, but I didn't open it. I stuffed it into my sock drawer and plucked Bram Stoker's Dracula from my bookshelf. I settled back into my pillows and opened the novel in a random spot. I'd read the classic enough times that I didn't have to start at the beginning anymore.
I'd been reading for about fifteen minutes when I finally heard Harry's door close and Ash's boots shuffle down the hall to his room. Since his room was across from mine, he noticed me reading and came to stand in my entryway. I noted my page; I never dog-eared my classics, and set the book down. I met his eyes and waved awkwardly at him. He waved back and entered my room haltingly. He took in his surroundings with wide eyes that flicked erratically over every surface. My walls were blank and painted purple, my posters of Nirvana, All Time Low, Blink 182, The Beatles, the Ramones, the Rolling Stones, Avril Lavigne, The Pretty Reckless, Anti Nowhere League, Sex Pistols, the Misfits, Green Day, etc., were plastered onto my ceiling. Purple Christmas lights were strung around my wire-frame bed stand, a white electric guitar signed by Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day was propped against the wall, and sheer white curtains hung from the window. My bedspread depicted a variety of different vinyl covers, ranging from Nirvana to Elvis, and the black and white sheets named those albums and bands. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as Ash observed my room. When he was finished, he turned to me with an easy smile.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He smiled. "Just wanted to say goodnight. So… night."
"Good night."
He grinned one last time and turned to leave. "Oh!" He remarked, and faced me again. "Um, remind me to give you a tour of the school before you attend, okay?"
My stomach filled with butterflies at the thought of going back to school. "Okay." I nodded, forcing a smile.
"Okay." Ashton left, closing the door behind him. I groaned and threw myself down onto the pillows; I had completely forgotten about school. I tried to calm my nerves by telling myself that it was going to be just like school in Perth, but this time with Ash, Michael, Calum, and Luke's aid and support. It didn't work. How could I know that it was going to be just like Perth? Well, I didn't.
I also didn't sleep at all that night.
