"Sorry, Mr. Irwin, but no one has dropped a phone off today," the lady at the front desk said. "But if you give me your ID then I will notify you if anyone brings a phone in."

I groaned, scribbling down my student number on a clipboard, and left the office with Michael, hanging my head low.

"It's okay, the phone wasn't that great," Michael said, placing a hand on my back.

"Still," I muttered. "What if someone took it?"

"It'll come back to you. You know what they say, if you love something, let it go. If it was truly yours, it'd come back to you."

I glared at Michael, and I saw that he was dead serious about what he said.

"You and Harry both are dorks, but I guess that's what makes you you, no matter how weird you two are."

Michael smiled before patting my shoulder.

"Hey, I'm gonna go head on out. See you later!" He handed me my Stats book that I didn't even realize he had, and then ran off, leaving me alone in front of the office.

I began making my way to Stats class. Once I got there I pressed my back against the wall next to the door where it doesn't swing open and hit you in the face. I didn't have any source to tell the time, so I peered into the classroom to see if I could catch the clock.

The classroom was empty. Not even the substitute teacher was in there. I saw the clock at the back of the class, and it read fifteen after three.

Just another five minutes.

I stuffed my Stats book into my backpack, because I really didn't feel like looking at it.

So while I'm sitting here being a loser my mind kept drifting to Luke.

First he hugs this girl named Aleisha, then he kisses my injured spot because kisses heal? Seriously, who believes that?

It's impossible to figure out what Luke's thinking of. I mean, when he was a bit drowsy he was talking about Aleisha, but then he starts showing some sorts of... what's that word? I don't know, but you get the picture.

The bell finally rings and people start to pile into the hallways. I scanned through the chaos to find Ben. I tried to keep myself close to the wall so I wouldn't be in anyone's way. Yet, no matter how close I was to the wall people still managed to bump into me. Then someone actually made me fall over, but I was caught in someone's arms. I looked up at the person.

"Careful. Wouldn't want to hurt that head of yours. You need that for later." I didn't say anything as he helped me stand up. We waited until the hallways cleared up before we began to make our way to the student parking lot.

"So, how well are you in Stats?" I asked him, because if I'm going to trust him with helping me keep my grade up I need to know if he at least understands it.

He shrugged, "I'm pretty good at it. Then again, I did take a summer class for Stats so I'd be prepared, so you can count on me."

"You better be good, because I refuse to fail this class." He laughed, but I was dead serious.

We passed the football field and walked over to my car. I opened it up and threw my stuff in the backseat. Ben did the same before climbing into the passenger seat. I started the car and reached into my pocket for my phone that I didn't have.

I forgot I lost my phone. It doesn't feel right. I feel so incomplete without it.

I've never lost my phone before. I'm usually so careful, but lately I've a bit careless. First, I get hit in the head. Then, I fall asleep in the car and didn't wake up until the following morning. Now, I lose my phone.

Is senior year going to be like this for the entire year? A year of bad luck with a sprinkle of very good luck (which is called Luke 'Sexy Beast' Hemmings)? I mean, if this year could just take all the bad stuff away and add more Luke into my life, then that'd be more than great.

I could hear the shouting from the football field, since it's not even far away from the student parking lot. Even though there were other cars in front of me and football players scattered all over the field, I was able to locate Luke. He was kicking the ball to one end and managed to get past other players without them catching the ball. He kicked the ball and it went past the goalie and into the goal. Right after Luke was being crushed into giant hugs.

My lips curved upwards when I saw Luke run his fingers through his hair. Somehow it still stayed intact. He used his shirt to wipe his forehead, and my eyes traveled to his stomach.

Get out, Ashton. You're a pervert who's going to be a pedophile in a few months.

Once the car was warmed up, I put it into reverse, got out of the parking spot, shifted into drive, and began driving to my house. Then I remembered something I was supposed to do.

"Hey, you don't mind if I go pick up my brother and sister, do you?"

------

"Wait, explain! How does this work?"

"I've told you this part a million times," Ben laughed.

"I know, I know, but... explain!"

Ben took another piece of paper that was scribbled with a bunch of numbers. "Take a look at this, and maybe you'll understand."

I studied the sheet of paper, trying to figure out how in the world Ben got the numbers he got. I leaned in closer to the paper and squinted my eyes (as if THAT'S going to help me understand this at all).

"This is, like, trying to learn Spanish for the first time all over again," I frowned. "This is a foreign language."

"You'll understand this section by the end of the hour," Ben assured me, patting my back. I let my head fall against the piles of paper face-first.

"My brain's fried," I groaned. "I cannot concentrate. I've been stuck on this problem for hours."

"We've only been going over this for fifteen minutes," Ben corrected. I glared up at him.

"Like I said, HOURS! How do you understand this so quickly?"

Suddenly I hear knocking at my door, and I immediately jumped out of my seat and sprinted for the door.

I sprung it wide open and saw that it was Liam, Niall, and Zayn.

"We're here to hang out!" Niall exclaimed, flinging himself onto me.

"He really wanted to come over," Liam told me. Zayn nodded in agreement, and I did in understanding.

"Well, I'm still working, but if you want to play FIFA, the game console's all set up."

"How 'bout we go watch Ashton fail?" Zayn asked. Niall pulled away from me and jumped.

"That's almost as good as FIFA!" He grabbed my wrist and began dragging me to the dining room table where I was having the tutoring with Ben. I heard either Liam or Zayn close the front door as they made their way to where everyone else was. "Where's Michael?"

"No idea. He abandoned me after we went to check if my phone was found by anyone," I pouted. Suddenly I heard footsteps, and then Lauren and Harry showed up in the room as well.

"Oh, there's a new guy," Harry spoke up.

Ben got up and walked over to my brother. "Yeah, I'm a new guy. My name's Ben."

"I'm Harry," my brother spoke, sticking out his hand for Ben to take. Then Ben looked over at Lauren as she introduced herself and did the same gesture as Harry.

"And these three idiots," I began, pointing at my three friends, "are Liam, Zayn, and Niall. Liam's the one with brown hair, Zayn's the one with raven hair, and Niall's the wannabe blond."

"Hey!" Niall yelled. "I just so happen to like blond hair."

"Okay, you two, go do your homework. If you need help, I'll be up there soon to help." Harry and Lauren nodded before scurrying off. Ben took his seat again, and I sat down beside him. Niall, Liam, and Zayn sat on the other side of the dining table and just stared at us keenly, but I tried to ignore them.

"Back to that one problem," Ben cleared his throat. I let out a frustrated groan, but glued my eyes onto the paper anyway.

------

After two hours we finally got somewhere. I understood that thing now. After two hours. Two. Freaking. Hours. Somewhere within that time period Zayn had left to pick Harry up from school.

Ben said he had to get home. I offered to drive him, but he said he could walk. We all said bye to him and I opened the front door for him. Once he was out, I closed the door and returned to the dining room and slumped into my seat. I let out a tired sigh before bringing myself forward and resting my head against the table.

"FIFA?" Niall asked as he poked at the top of my head. I looked at him as he attempted to do some puppy pout.

"Sure, but I'll join the game later. I'm not in the mood for it right now."

Niall shrugged, "I'll just beat Liam in the game."

"Don't get too cocky, Niall. You might feel embarrassed after I beat you."

"Is that a challenge coming from you, Payne?" Niall smirked.

"Not for me, Horan." The next thing I knew Liam and Niall sprinted into the den. They scramble around the console, getting the game set up. I laughed as I shook my head. I'm friends with a bunch of little kids.

I hear someone knock- no, bang- on the door, and then someone continuously pressing the doorbell. I don't even have to think to know that it's Harry. I head over to the door and open it, and it reveals Harry and Zayn.

"Ash! You're not studying anymore!" Harry exclaimed. Before I could say anything and without him giving me another word he and Zayn pushed past me and into the den where they greeted Liam and Niall who were seriously concentrated on the game. I was about to close the door until it swung open. I let out a squeak as I saw whom was before me.

"Hey," Luke greeted. He walked in, used his foot to close the door, and then wrapped an arm around me, forcing me into the den. The next thing I knew Harry was pushing me back out, leaving Luke staring at us with a confused look

"I forgot. Can you grab some snacks?" he whispered. "I ate all of the ones in the cabinets last night. Take Luke with you."

"I have more in a different cabinet-"

"I ate those ones, too."

"Why are you eating all my stuff?"

"Because I was hungry. What kind of a question is that? Now go!" He ran off into the den and then dragged Luke out. He shoved him towards me and we nearly fell, but Luke held me in his arms and somehow managed to keep us from falling. "Be safe, kids." Then he announced to the other guys that Luke and I were fetching snacks. Luke released me and then I grabbed my keys off of the wall.

"Let's go, Luke," I said. I made my way out of the house and Luke followed. I yelled into the house before closing the door, "Liam, you're in charge! Make sure no one goes crazy! That goes double for Haz and Ni!"

"Why aren't I in charge?" I heard Harry complain. I decided to ignore him, so I locked the door. I saw Luke was waiting at my car. I unlocked the door and we both entered the car. I started the engine and just waited for the car to warm up before driving out of the driveway.

"Ashton?" Luke asked quietly. "I'm not intruding or anything, am I? I sort of just invited myself over."

"No! You're not intruding. You can come over any time." In truth, I'd rather have Luke invite himself. I'd be all awkward if I tried to. "So, Harry forced us to go buy snacks since he's such a fatass and ate all of mine from the cupboards. If you don't mind, you're going to help me pick out the snacks. Maybe some that you like?"

"Okay..." With that I put the car into reverse and began driving to buy the snacks.

The drive there was silent. Every once in a while I'd glance over at Luke. He was always looking out the window, as if he was deep in thought.

Either he was staring out into the blue or at his phone, texting whoever was on the other end. Probably Calum. Or Aleisha.

I rolled my eyes. I'm not saying I'm jealous or anything, but I see nothing special about her. She just seems like some clingy blonde girl. Luke can do so much better.

My mind kept drifting off to that kiss on the head. Luke did say it was for healing reasons, but still. Does he actually believe that? Is he really that naive to think a kiss would make all of the pain go away?

Well, if it did, then I wouldn't mind getting hurt on any day. Shower me in his kisses!

Shut up, me.

We reached the store, which I was very glad about, and we climbed out of the car. Luke quickly ran over to me and walked beside me to the store. Once we passed the automatic sliding doors I immediately headed over to the snack aisle, the keys jingling in my hand.

When I turned around Luke was still walking, but slowly this time.

"Help me pick out a snack!" I told him. I was standing in front of the goldfish crackers, because who doesn't like those? Usually those are the first to go once I step into my house, because my friends are hungrily grabbing at them.

I grabbed the goldfish crackers and held them in my arms as I continued down the row to look for more snacks.

"How many snacks are you getting?" Luke asked when I grabbed a stack of pringles.

"As many as we can carry," I told him. "I need to refill my snack cabinet. Now, could you pick out your favorite snack?"

"Uh, I don't have a favorite..." I gaped at him. "They're all the same to me."

"What about oreos? They're a lot different from Cheetos!"

"About the same to me." I frowned.

"Just pick one. Anyone. I want to have at least one snack you're willing to eat." I watched as Luke scanned the shelves. He would reach out for one, but withdraw his hand. "Any."

"I'll be fine with what you pick." I rolled my eyes, and then grabbed a box of Cheez-its.

"Here, take this. If anyone asks who got these, we say you did." He hesitantly nodded and held the box like it's got some disease on it. It's like he's never seen a snack box before.

As I picked out the snacks I piled them up on Luke. For the record, I had asked if it was okay if he held the snacks, and he said he was completely fine with it.

"Maybe we should go now? The guys are probably waiting for us," Luke suggested.

"Yeah, let's bring these to the front," I said. As we were making our way to the checkout counter, I heard a bunch of kids laughing and feet stomping against the ground. The sounds grew louder and then suddenly something ran into me and I was falling backwards.

"Ashton!"

------

Everything happened so fast. One moment I was up and walking to the counter and the next I was directly under Luke, his legs straddling me. All of the snacks were scattered across the floor. He had his hand at the back of my head, probably to protect the spot where he hit me. Nonetheless, it was hurting.

"Are you okay?" Luke sounded panicked when asking that.

I gulped and managed to nod, despite the pain in my head, "Yeah..."

He let out a sigh of relief and pulled me into a hug, his hand never leaving my head. He stroked my hair, whispering in my ear, "Everything's okay. I won't let anything happen to you."

I heard a lady scolding someone and some kids crying. Then a man with a mustache stepped by us, leaning down. He had a tag that was labeled 'manager'.

"Are you two okay?" he asked us. "Do I need to fetch the paramedics?"

Luke pulled away again, his blue eyes looking into my brown ones. "Is your head okay?"

"It's thr-throbbing a bit."

"Did you hit your head that badly?" asked the man. Luke just looked more guilty when the guy said that. "I'm quite glad this lad was there to prevent the impact between your head and the floor. You would've gotten an even worse head injury."

As I sat up Luke moved out of the way to help me up. My head started pounding right then and I placed both of my hands onto my head. Luke's first reaction was to pull me into his arms.

A lady ran up to us and tried reaching out to help. "I am so sorry about my son! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered, although I wasn't so sure myself. I felt Luke nestle his head on top of mine and pulled me closer to him.

"I'll pay for the snacks! At least those are still in their containers."

"No, it's okay. Apology accepted. No harm done."

"But your head-"

"It wasn't your son's fault," Luke interrupted surprising both me and the lady. "It was my mistake. But the least you could do is help me take these to the front."

"Oh! S-sure!" Luke carried me over to the counter and told me to hold onto it as he picked everything up. I told him I was fine, but he refused to hear any of it.

So I watches as Luke, the lady, her son, and the manager clean up everything from the floor. Some bystanders pitched in to help, and others made sure I was fine.

The manager said to me and Luke that the snacks were on the house. He insisted that I keep all of my money in my wallet, no matter how many times I refused his offer. What a day this has turned out, huh?

Luke was hesitant at first to let me drive, but I told him I could manage. He said he'd drive, but then I asked if he had a license. He didn't say anything after that.

What a dork, I laughed in my head.

He even said he'd carry all the bags and that I cannot argue with him. According to him, penguins are right ninety-nine percent of the time. He said if I argued I'm defying the laws of physics, which is completely irrelevant in every single way, but I didn't say anything, because he's just so freaking cute when he's like this.

We got to my place and Luke carried all of the snacks inside. I had to open the door for him, since his arms were filled with snacks.

He brought them inside, announcing loudly, "We're back!" Niall and Harry scurried over to Luke and took all of the bags to the den, leaving Luke with only the Cheez-it box. I laughed silently at them as I made my way to the den. But then Luke placed his hands on my shoulders and kept me in place.

"Before we join them," he whispered, "there's something I need to do first."

And that's when he planted a kiss on my head. "Do you feel better, Ashton?"

I was blushing madly and my breathing even hitched. Luke must've noticed, because he snickered. He placed the box of Cheez-its in my hands and walked into the den where Liam was going against Zayn on FIFA.

I decided that maybe no one wanted to eat the Cheez-it snack, so I decided to put it in the snack cupboard. When I opened the cabinet, I was not expecting what I saw.

A cupboard completely stocked up with snacks, unopened and untouched. Just like how I left them when I last went shopping for snacks.

I stared at the full cupboard, trying to process everything.

"That curly-haired Brit," I growled through gritted teeth. He lied to me, just so I'd have alone time with Luke!

I'm going to thank him by killing him.

Then, I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Harry Edward Styles!"