Expect the Unexpected ON HOLD

I could see Ashton watching me out of the corner of his eye as he drove. It was silent for a minute, and I could practically feel the awkward before he spoke up,

"So, Violet. What were you doing at the shop with all those snacks? Getting ready to throw a massive party?”

I felt my cheeks grow red and I looked down at my fingers as I answered,

“No… those were all for me.” I couldn’t stop the embarrassed giggle that escaped me at the end of that sad sentence. Ashton chuckled at me, and I felt like fainting. I had heard that chuckle in keeks and on YouTube videos for the past four years, and now I was hearing it in all it’s glory in real life.

“Had a hard week?” Ashton grinned at me, glancing in between me and the road. I chuckled,

“Something like that.”

“Aw, wanna talk about it?” Ashton asked, and though he was still smiling I could hear genuine concern in his voice. And even though I found that as cute as fuck, there was no way in hell that I was gonna tell him about my ‘bad week’.

“I’d rather not.” I answered him, grinning in order to ease any tension that might arise from my secrecy. It seemed to work as Ashton giggled (oh fuck me) and went back to concentrating on the road. I looked out the window and realized that I had no idea where we were going.

“Ashton, where are you taking me?” I asked. Ashton grinned at me before answering,

“You’ll see. Don’t worry babe, I’m 95.3% sure that you’ll like it.” I rolled my eyes,

“Oh yeah, and where’d you get that statistic?” I asked sarcastically, fighting the smile that was threatening to take over my features. Ashton raised his eyebrows,

“Oo, sassy. I like it.” he smirked.

“Ashton!” I whined, setting him off in a fit of giggles. I couldn’t help but join in and we both continued laughing as small rain droplets began to hit the window. I was glad that I had a hood now. I looked out of the passenger window again and noticed a familiar shop pass by as we slowed down. I looked around and smiled as I realized that I recognized this street. A light bulb went off in my mind as I remembered Ashton asking me about my favorite places yesterday. Ashton caught me smiling and giggled as he said,

“I guess you know where we’re headed now then?”

I smiled brightly at him, “Yeah, I do. I’m so excited!” I couldn’t stop the little happy dance I did with my arms as Ashton laughed and pulled over to the curb. He turned the car off and turned to face me.

“Don’t move.” he commanded before getting out of the car and running over to my side of the car, pulling his hood up as he went. I unbuckled my seatbelt as he opened the door and offered me his hand. I took it and let him help me out of the car.

“Here babe, don’t want you getting sick.” he said as he stepped behind me and brushed my hair to the front of my body before pulling up my hood. I smiled at him gratefully as he shut the car door and locked it before linking his arm through mine and walking with me down the street. There were a few people out, but not many due to the poor weather. I smelled the place we were headed to before I saw it, and I couldn’t help my smile when Ashton pulled me through the door of my favorite pizzeria.

Cause let’s be honest, who doesn’t love pizza?

Ashton slipped his hood off of his head and I did the same, running a hand through my hair in an effort to sort it out. Ashton just kind of shook his head like a dog, and I covered my face, laughing as water droplets flew off of his curls. He sent me a grin before walking up to the bored looking hostess. She looked like she was about my age and she was chewing her gum obnoxiously loud.

“Table for two please?” Ashton asked. The girl looked up at him and her eyes widened in recognition.

I guess she knew who Ashton was.

“Of course, right this way.” she suddenly perked up, grabbing two menus and gesturing for us to follow her. I grimaced as it looked as though she were deliberately swaying her hips from side to side as she walked in front of us. Ashton took notice and covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his giggles.

“Here you are,” the hostess stopped next to a booth. I slid in one side while Ashton sat across from me, still struggling to control his laughter as the hostess bent down and handed us our menus, exposing much of her cleavage in the process. I was now also struggling not to laugh as she gave us a toothy smile before heading back to her station. As soon as she was out of earshot Ashton and I burst out into laughter. I put my head on the table as I laughed and I felt Ashton hit the table with his hand a couple of times. After a while we both calmed down, breathing heavily and still chuckling a bit as we eyed our menus. I glanced over it briefly before putting it down on the table and crossing my legs in a pretzel on the seat. Ashton glanced up at me from his menu.

“What are you thinking of getting?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. I shifted in my seat before answering,

“I’m gonna be honest with you right now. I’m a simple girl. I always just get cheese. I don’t like to overcomplicate things.”

Ashton eyes widened at me and his face split into a large grin.

“No way! I only get cheese too! This is amazing!” he cheered. I laughed at his boyish excitement, still chuckling when a waitress approaches us, notepad in hand.

“Hey folks, welcome to Linguino’s Pizzeria, I’ll be your server today. My name is Maria. Can I start you off with some drinks?” she looked up at us after her well-rehearsed mini speech.

“I’ll just have a coke please.” Ashton said. Maria made a note in her little booklet before turning to me.

“And you dear?”

“The same please.” I chirped. Maria nodded and gave us a smile, telling us she’d be back shortly before leaving to attend to the other customers. Ashton smirked at me from the other side of the booth.

“Well Violet, we seem to have a lot in common,” Ashton leaned forward on his elbows before continuing, “now tell me, what would you rate the game FIFA on a scale from one to ten? Go!” His face was mostly serious, but still showed traces of his smile as he stared at me. I wrinkled my nose as I answered,

“Zero. I don't like FIFA. I’d much rather play a game with an actual story. Like ‘Journey’ or ‘Assassins Creed’.” Ashton leaned back in his seat and gave me a satisfied smile.

“Good answer.”

The rest of our dinner went on quite like this. With us just getting to know each other and sharing a couple of laughs, probably annoying all of the other customers around us. After Ashton and I fought over the check (he eventually won and ended up paying, but I insisted paying the tip) we exited the restaurant. The hostess gave Ashton a large smile and waved as we left.

“Come back soon!” She called. Ashton and I both giggled as we stepped out onto the pavement, pulling our hoods up again. It was raining even harder than before and we jogged back to the car, laughing as we tumbled inside, pushing our hoods off our heads again as Ashton turned on the vehicle and turned up the heater. I put my hands in front of the vent in an attempt to warm my cold fingertips. Ashton chuckled at me before speaking up,

“Here, let me help.”

He took my hands in his and rubbed them, before bringing them up to his mouth and breathing warm air across my skin. I felt myself blush as he grinned at me and kissed the back of my hand before letting go of them. I put my hands in my lap and fiddled with my fingers. I saw Ashton studying me out of the corner of my eye before he reached his hand up and tucked some stray hairs behind me ear. I turned to look at him as he did this, giving him a small smile. He smiled back before pulling his hand away and shifting the car into gear, pulling out into the street again. It was quiet as we drove, but not awkward. It was a comfortable silence. I leaned my head against the cold window and watched as my breath left fog on the glass. I doodled shapes into the fog as we drove, not paying attention to where we were going. When the car suddenly came to a stop I finally looked at our surroundings. We were at a lookout over the city. I’d only been to this place once, almost a year ago now. Kids my age called it ‘Heaven’ but I didn’t like that name. I had yet to come up with a new one though, so until I did I reluctantly referred to it as Heaven.

Ashton kept the car running for a second as he looked out of the front window, his face twisted in contemplation before he smiled to himself and put the car in reverse. He did a little five point turn so that the back of the car was now facing the lookout and the front was facing the road. I shot him a confused look before he grinned at me and turned the car off. He unbuckled his seatbelt and crawled from the front seat into the backseat. After a bit of fumbling I saw him push both seats down so that there was more floorspace. He had one of those cars where the trunk is open and connected to the rest of it, and I could see a pile of t shirts and blankets lying on the floor. Ashton leaned down and pressed a button on the back door and the trunk popped open. He pushed it all the way open and the sound of rain filled the car. He turned back to face me and grinned widely, gesturing for me to join him. I unbuckled my seatbelt and crawled back towards him, almost falling on my face as I sat next to him.

He pulled a large blanket from the pile at our feet and scooched towards me, wrapping it around both of our shoulders. He then grabbed another blanket and draped it over our legs. We sat watching the city as the rain poured down around us. I still felt myself shiver as a cool breeze blew through the car. Ashton took notice and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I relaxed in his hold, feeling more safe than I had in a long time. I found myself feeling brave as I slung my legs over Ashtons, and he grinned down at me before resting his head on top of mine.

We listened to the sound of the rain, completely wrapped up in each other, and in that moment I could have sworn that we were the only two people in the entire world.

Notes

Hey guys! It's Internet Kid here again!

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, this is like, my perfect date. And I am would be totally down for a cuddle session with Ashton on a rainy day.

Feel free to subscribe and vote on this story as you see fit. I'd appreciate some feedback from you guys in the comments in regards to these most recent chapters.

Be sure to check out my other fanfic called "Falling For Your Eyes". (Here is the link for your convenience.) http://www.onedirectionfanfiction.org/Story/56918/Falling-for-Your-Eyes/

Later lovelies!