Rachel's P.O.V.

I woke up reasonably early. Skylar was already washed and dressed and was sitting on her bed on her phone, while Tricia was still asleep.

"Hey, how long have you been up?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes.

She shrugged.

"A while. I went for a walk a while ago" she told me.

I just nodded, pulling the covers off of me and climbing out of the bed, tiredly. She raised an eyebrow as ran a hand through my messy hair, trying to wake myself up a little.

"I saw Ashton while I was out" she added.

I froze ever so slightly.

She was studying my reaction carefully, so I tried to keep my face expressionless.

"Oh yeah? What's he doing up so early?" I asked, not meeting her eye.

She shrugged.

"I don't know, I don't think he slept too well. We should hang out later maybe. You know, me and you and the four boys" she suggested, her voice casual.

I nodded.

"Yeah sure. We could go do something? It is Friday after all" I agreed.

She smiled.

"But hey, I gotta get to class. I'm not finished till around four today. I'll ring you when I'm done and you can sort out what we're doing with the boys?" I mumbled.

She nodded.

"Yeah, sounds great" she replied.

"Okay, perfect. Right I better go get a shower" I told her quickly, before heading into the bathroom.

I really didn't want her to ask about what had happened with Ashton yesterday. I genuinely wasn't feeling awkward around Ashton or anything. And I really didn't want things to change between us. We got along so well - he was an amazing friend. I just didn't want her to start asking how I felt about him because I wasn't sure I was even ready to think about that myself. Also, I didn't want her mentioning Louis either. If Harry found out about me and Louis he'd kick his ass, no joke. He may not be the most considerate person all the time but he was very protective over me. Always had been and probably always will be.

I spent longer than usual in the shower, just letting the hot water run over me, distracting from my problems. When I finally got out I got quickly dried and dressed. Skylar was no longer in the room so I assumed she had wandered off to arrange what we were doing for the boys. Tricia was still asleep, it was still pretty early so I had enough time to blow-dry and straighten my normally curly hair.

Once I was ready, I headed out of the room, clutching my phone in my hand.

Waking out of the door, I called Ashton.

If he was outside that early in the morning, he obviously wasn't doing okay.

It only rang twice before he answered.

"Hello?" he asked, groggily.

Wow, he sounded tired.

"Morning sunshine" I replied, teasingly.

"Oh, hey Rach. What's up?" he sounded slightly more cheery.

"Oh nothing, just figured I'd see how you were. Skylar mentioned that she saw you earlier.." I trailed off, heading towards the café to buy a cup of tea to go.

I could hear him sigh.

"Oh yeah-yeah, Skylar. I saw her.." he confirmed, his voice getting weirdly nervous.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked, pulling some money out of my pocket to pay for my tea.

"Oh, I just woke up early so I figured I'd go for a walk" he told me, though he didn't sound too convincing.

I would have pressed the issue further, but I didn't have much time before class started and I really didn't want to be late.

"If you say so.." I mumbled.

When he didn't reply, I sighed.

"Right well I better get to class now Ash but Skylar wants to meet up later so I guess I'll see you, yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah" he replied.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

"Bye" was the last thing I said before hanging up.

I sighed once I had and ran my hand through my hair. It was a habit I had but it felt weird doing it when my hair was straight.

That phone call had been unusually awkward. I really didn't want Ashton to feel any different around me. I mean, yes, he had kissed me. But I really didn't want things to change. I didn't want him to feel weird. It wasn't his fault who he fell for, and I fully understood that.

Maybe if we just hung out, the awkward air would just fade away?

I wasn't able to focus on my classes all day, my mind kept wandering to Ashton and Louis. Honestly my life was so crazy right now.

On one hand I had Louis who I had clicked with from the first time I'd met him. And although it was nearly a year later that we got together, we had always been really close. Louis was sweet and funny, He got me. Honestly he made me feel like I was in a movie when I was with him. Everything from his sweetly annoying over-protectiveness to his fantastically complex piano playing. He was just over all amazing. And let's face it, even though his jealousy was completely unnecessary, it was great that he cared that much.

And on the other hand I had Ashton. The guy I'd nearly slept with at my first real college party. The guy I could call at anytime when I just needed someone to talk to. He was funny and goofy. And I always felt comfortable around him. I could be completely myself around him. As weird or crazy as I wanted, knowing he wouldn't judge me. Sometimes he was so nervous and shy around me. It was adorable. But did I like him as more than a friend?

I honestly wasn't sure how I felt about Ashton. His kiss had left me so confused.

Walking out of my final class of the day, I checked my phone. I had a text from Louis which I opened quickly.


'Meet me in the theatre at 11.30 tonight? I have something to show you'


I smiled as I read it, quickly sending a text agreeing to meet him then. Spending a bit of time alone with him would definitely be good for me.

Once I had text him, I called Skylar to see what it was she had planned for us to do.

I had a feeling it would be a busy night.

Notes