Chapter Twenty Four P2; Not Edited

"It was horrible, Ashton," is all I said when the vivid details of the dream came back into my mind. The horrible memory of me getting chased by the blue dyed boy by the name of Luke Hemmings.

"Calum, are you okay?" Ashton asked when I started to tremor with fear. The images of Luke's solid blue eyes were alive in my mind and that made me shake even more. "Breathe Cal." My breathing came out short and I knew I was having a panic attack.

"I c-can't breath," I said with short breaths and I knew the flower crown boy was freaking out to the max because I saw him pacing back and forth, biting his fingernails with anxiety. "Where is Michael?" I asked, catching my breath before it starts going crazy again.

"He went to work," Ashton answered suddenly and made me furrow my eyebrows in confusion as I tried to catch my breath. Work? I didn't know he had a job. I shook those thoughts away and I knew that I needed to breath before my body shut down.

"Don't hate me." Ashton said and I watched him bite his lip, making me confusion. I watched the boy bend down and I felt something warm against my lips, looking up I saw Ashton with his eyes closed and his lips pressed against mine. He was kissing me, oh Michael is going to hurt him.

"What was that?" I asked, surprising myself when my breath calmed down and I was fine. "Please do not tell Michael about this."

"I wouldn't dare," is all Ashton said with a small smile. "I kissed you because I heard that stops panic attacks."

I nodded and then a frown appeared on my face on how he would know that. As if he could read my mind, he started to tell me where he learned all these things. "My mom was a doctor and my dad was a paramedic when I was younger." I watched the boy furrow his eyebrows as he continued to tell me about his past. "They taught me things that would be useful and it was, until they split up and my dad married Michael's mom."

"That must of been hard to deal with your parents splitting up," I said with a frown. I would never imagine what it would be like to deal with that certain situation. "It's okay. I needed to get out of there. I didn't like living in a broken home were no one could hear my cries."

I didn't know what to do, until I hear sobs coming from his direction. I quickly ran over and wrapped him into a warm embrace so that he could calm down in my arms. "They said it was my fault that the divorce happened." My heart broke for the boy, it will did. No one should go through that.

"Why?" I saw him tense when I said those words but then he soon relaxed. "Michael and I were a apart of a gang before my dad got remarried and my mom didn't like my lifestyle at the time. I mean, who wouldn't like to see their only son come home every night with blood staining their shirt and drunk most of the time."

"Michael was getting promoted within the group and I was basically the runt of the gang, in which I took the pain the most." I watched Ashton relive a memory that he wanted to forget so bad, but it looks he won't for a long time. "One night the gang decided to beat me up to the point were I was half dead."

"Oh my god." I put my hand in front of my mouth as my eyes grew wide when the dirty blonde boy showed me some old scars from that night. "Did anyone find you before the pain got worse?" I asked, hoping nothing serious happened to him.

I saw Ashton look down at his lap. He wasn't telling me something, but what? I sat there waiting for him to speak his mind and finally he did. "I don't know how you're going to feel about this, but Luke was the one who saved me."

What?

"What?" I coughed loudly as I tried to regain my posture before. "You mean that giraffe helped you? The one that just tried to kill you?" My mouth grew wide in shock at this new information. "I never knew that you three were in a gang." I muttered, feeling betrayed that Michael never told me about his past life.

"Luke wasn't bad back then. I mean, he had anger issues but something changed him." Ashton informed me, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion because the blue haired boy has changed a lot. "I don't know if it's right for me to tell you what happened without everyone being here."

"Everyone? What You mean?" I asked him and he sighed. "I mean the main supporters of the gang," That made me curious about who in the school was actually apart of this gang. "Ryder was in the gang as well." My eyes shot up at hearing Ryder's name and Ashton laughed at my reaction. We continued to talk not knowing someone was watching are every move, waiting for nighttime to strike.

______

I might finish this book tonight, shall I?

- Kirsten & Claire.