Jasmine had told me that it was three thirty, so that meant sixth class ended not too long ago.

I was walking to my locker and grabbed the textbooks that I needed, which were my Econ, Stats, and Spanish books. When I closed my locker, Jasmine suddenly popped out of nowhere and I jumped, nearly yelping.

"Would you like to go get ice cream with me?" Jasmine questioned, her eyes filling up with hope. "I just thought you'd like to have ice cream."

"Sure, sounds great," I smiled. I'm a sucker for ice cream. Even my friends know that I can't resist an opportunity to get myself a good, tasty ice cream.

As we were passing the football field, I noticed that it was empty today. There were no sweaty footy players running around. I remembered that they have a game today, and since they're not here that probably meant they're playing at the rival school. Well, good, because there are certain people whom I don't want to see, specifically Mason and his group.

I pulled my keys out of my backpack as we were approaching my car. I unlocked the car door, so we could climb in. Jasmine took the passenger seat and put her bag on the floor. I climbed into the driver seat and started the car.

"Anywhere specific?" I asked Jasmine as I waited for the car to warm up.

"There's one not too far from here," she said. "I'll give you the directions." I nodded and we sat in the car in silence. I decided to turn on the radio, and Chris Brown's 'Forever' was playing.

I noticed Jasmine pull her phone out from her bag. She began texting someone.

gettin some ice cream rn said her text. I'm a nosy person. Sue me.

I put the car in reverse and drove out of the spot. I shifted it into drive and left the parking lot.

------

"Right there. That's the one."

I parallel parked in front of the ice cream parlor. Once I shut off the car Jasmine got out. She waited until I got out before she linked her arm around mine and led me to the entrance of the parlor.

When we went inside we were immediately greeted by a waitress who was shorter than I was. She looked like she was about five feet six.

"Table for two?" she chirped, a smile bright on her face. I felt Jasmine's hold around my arm tighten.

"Yeah," I answered. She nodded before collecting two menus. She took us to the back of the parlor and led us to an empty table. When I looked around I noticed the tables that were around us were filled up with a bunch of couples. Am I missing something here?

"Here are your menus," the waitress said as she handed us our menus. "My name is Jenny, by the way, and I'll be serving you two today. The couple's order is near the back."

Couple's order?

"Oh, we're not dating," I informed her. Jenny blinked at me, and then gasped.

"Oh, my God! I am so sorry! I just thought that you two were, because your arms were linked together, and- oh, my God, you two look so cute together. You should date!"

Yeah, except the problem is I'm into guys. And I already have someone I like.

I glanced over at Jasmine, who was blushing madly. She picked up her menu and hid her face behind it.

"It's kinda funny, because here we have Couple Friday, which means if a couple comes in here on a Friday, then whatever they order is on the house, as long as they finish their order."

"Oh, wow." I glanced through the menu.

"Can we just say we're dating?" I heard Jasmine say. I looked up at her. "Y-you know, just for the free ice cream. Free stuff's good!"

"Um-"

"Yeah, I'll pretend you two are together for today," Jenny smiled, "because you two are so cute together, and you really do look like a couple! Oh, I don't even know your names!"

"I'm Jasmine."

"Ashton."

"Jasmine and Ashton? I shall call you two Jashton! Or Ashmine. I can't pick! I'll just get you two started off with a drink."

"Water," Jasmine and I said together. We looked at each other before laughing.

"God, you two are so adorable. Okay, I'll be over there, getting your water. When you're ready to order, call me over." Jenny winked at the two of us before skipping off.

Well, that was weird. I looked at Jasmine.

"I-I didn't know t-today was C-Couple Friday, I swear!" she began, stumbling over her words a bit. "I just wanted ice cream, that's all!"

"Hold on, Jas, I'm not accusing you of anything," I laughed. "I guess it was a good idea to pretend we're a couple. I mean, you're right: free stuff's always good." I flipped through menu and I heard Jasmine let out a relieved sigh. "So, what do you want? I think we should get this one, Taste of Sweet Vanilla. What do you think?"

"I think that's perfect," she smiled.

Jenny returned to our table, holding two glasses of water.

"All right, two glasses of water for the lovely 'Jashton'. Have you decided on what you'll be getting?"

"We'll get the Taste of Sweet Vanilla," Jasmine ordered.

"Awesome, that's my favorite one! Okay, so do you want any additional toppings to that? Nuts, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, et cetera?"

"No, I think we're fine," I said, closing the menu and handing it over to Jenny. Jasmine gave hers to the waitress.

"Okay, your couple order will be arriving soon. Give it ten minutes, top!" She walked away and I leaned back into my seat.

"So, Jas, tell me about yourself. I don't know much about you other than your name's Jasmine Dorhauer, you're a Junior who attends the same school as I do, and that you work at a Chinese restaurant as a delivery girl."

"Oh, okay." She shifted around in her seat. "Well, there's not much to talk about. I mean, I'm not a very interesting person."

"If you tell me about yourself, I'll bet that you're wrong." She rolled her eyes.

"Nah, I'll let you figure me out." Jasmine grinned. Her phone rang in her bag, and she pulled it out. She looked at the caller name before standing up and excusing herself from the table. She walked off and I dug my hands into my pockets.

At a table that was in front of me, there were a bunch of people sitting together, but the ones who really caught my attention were these two people, one guy and a girl, who were sitting next to each other. They were feeding each other ice cream that they had before them, and just laughed when some would get on their face.

The thing that stood out to me was the girl looked more in love with the guy than the guy was with her. I don't know but every time she turned away and started talking to her friends, he'd zone out with a sad look on his face.

That poor guy. He's not happy with his relationship at all.

Jasmine returned to the table minutes later, and I welcomed her back. I took a large gulp of my water and set it down.

"My friend's been bugging me lately," she said to me. "Sorry. If she calls back, I'll just ignore her."

"Nah, it's fine," I said, waving my hand. "My friends bug me all the time. But they can't now, because my phone's missing its battery. The idiots that locked me up in the closet still have my phone battery hostage, but whatever. I can always get a new one."

Jasmine nodded before taking a sip out of her water cup. I looked around the parlor and saw that every table was filled up with a group of people or a couple getting all lovey-dovey. Except one table. There was only a boy there, swirling a spoon around his melted ice cream. I looked up at the boy's face, and I nearly jumped out of my seat.

Harry?!

I almost didn't recognize him. I mean, his clothes were different from this morning. He even has a bandanna wrapped around his head.

"Jas, will you excuse me for a moment?" She nodded, and I scurried out of my seat and over to Harry's table. I slid into the seat across from him, and he let out a surprised gasp as he looked up at me. "Hey, Haz!"

A smile appeared on his face. "Ashton!" Harry exclaimed as he got up from his seat and over to me, wrapping his arms around me. I returned the hug, and then we pulled away. He went back to his spot and pushed his liquid ice cream aside. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it's an ice cream parlor, so I'm obviously going to learn how to ride a horse," I said sarcastically. He flicked some ice cream from his spoon and at me, but failing horribly when it got onto the table and never reached me. "Wow, what a loser! You can't even hit me!"

"Shut it, Irwin, I got this!" He picked up the ice cream bowl and carried it over to me. I let out a laughing scream as he pretended to pour it over me.

"No! Haz, stop!" I exclaimed in between my laughter. He ended up gulping down the rest of the dessert before throwing his arms around me. We stopped moving around and just remained in place, taking in heavy breaths.

"So, did you come alone?" Harry asked. "Because I don't want to pay for this."

"Did you order from the couple's order?" I quizzed. He shook his head, and I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're on your own, mate. But you can come join me and my supposedly date."

"You're here with Luke?"

"No, with this girl named Jasmine. And before you say anything, we're not together. We're pretending to be a couple just so we can get free ice cream." I glanced over at the table that Jasmine was sitting at, and saw that our ice cream had arrived. "Our orders here. Come join us."

Harry eagerly nodded as he placed eight dollars on the table. We went over to Jasmine and my table and he sat across from Jasmine as I sat next to her.

"Jas, this is Harry," I introduced. "He's a friend of mine."

"And by friend, he means best friend," he adds. I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jasmine." She reaches her hand out to him and he gladly takes it, and then kisses her hand. She giggled and I smacked Harry's hand.

"Whoa, get your own date!" I exclaimed jokingly, wrapping an arm around Jasmine. I felt her tense up in my hold, so I dropped my arm. "Which reminds me, why'd you leave school today?"

"I had a doctor's appointment that I didn't even know of," he shrugged. "Did Michael give you spaghetti? I asked him to."

"Yeah, he did, but I never finished it. I just gave it to Zayn. So, why are you here?"

Harry began eating the ice cream that Jasmine and I ordered. Speaking of her, while Harry and I were talking she was on her phone. Texting her friend probably.

"I was just feeling a bit down. You know, with the whole Louis leaving the band. I thought ice cream would cheer me up, but I guess what I needed was my best mate."

I smiled, picked up a spoon, and began eating the ice cream. "Glad I could lighten your mood."

"No, it was my friend, Nick. Forget you, Ashton." I scoffed as Harry started laughing. I flung some ice cream at him and it hit him right in the face. My mouth made an O shape as I got up from my seat and grabbed a napkin.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think I'd actually get you!" I wiped the ice cream off, but then he pushed his cheek against mine, getting some ice cream on me.

"We're even! No more!" I sat back down and wiped the vanilla off my seat.

"Truce, got it." Harry and a smile on his face as I went back to eating the ice cream. "Now, help us with this ice cream. Finish it so that way it'll be free."

------

In the end I talked to Harry more than I did with Jasmine. I think she and I were still attending the concert together, and I had yet to tell Harry and the others about that.

Harry told me that he had walked here after the doctor's appointment, so I offered to take him home, but he said he'd rather hang out with me and Jasmine. A grin formed on my face. I was glad that Harry was back to his old self.

At some point while we were talking Harry's happiness suddenly drained and he slumped a bit in his seat.

"Are you okay, Haz?" I asked. He gave me a nod before taking another bite of ice cream.

"I'll think I'll go home," Jasmine said as she stood up from her seat. "I'll meet you at the concert. See you tonight, Ashton." She waved at me before leaving.

Harry raised an eyebrow as he sat up straight. "I thought you were gay? You can't just turn straight all of a sudden. Wait, are you bi?"

"I'm not answering anything regarding my sexuality," I said, passing Jasmine's leftover water to Harry and he began to drink it. "I'm just going to the concert tonight with her, that's all."

Harry abruptly set the cup down and started coughing like mad. Panic washed over me as I ran over to his side and tried to relieve his cough.

When it finally calmed down he looked me in the eyes. "What?! But- Luke!"

"He's going with someone else." Just thinking of that was not okay with me, but it is what it is.

"Is it with that blonde girl? What's her face... Alexis!"

"Aleisha."

"That's what I said."

"Plus, Jas rescued me from dying in a closet."

"You came out?"

"You dork, I meant literally." I leaned over the table a bit. "So these three guys from the football team were chasing me during lunch and they locked me up in a closet all the way to the end of sixth class. Jas overheard them and came to my rescue, not knowing it was me in there. Oh, and I got my phone back, but it's missing its battery, so I still can't call."

"Aw, I was happy there for a moment that you got your phone back. But hearing that you still can't call, my happiness is gone. And why do all the exciting stuff happen when I'm not around?"

"That was not exciting! I thought I was going to suffocate in there!"

"Hey, are you ready to- whoa." My and Harry's eyes landed on Jenny, who was looking back and forth between us. "I could've sworn there was a girl here."

"There was," I answered. "She just left." I then pointed at Harry. "Can I still pretend he's my date?"

"Yeah! I'm a much better date than Jasmine is," Harry beamed as he messed with his hair a bit. Jenny rolled her eyes before taking a seat next to me.

"I thought you and Jasmine were together at first, but after you told me that you two weren't I thought that there was a possibility that you were gay."

"What if I told you he was?" Harry suddenly asked. Jenny's eyes went to him and I threw a balled up napkin at him. "What? I'd rather have you with Luke than with Jasmine. I ship Lashton, okay? Don't do that to me."

"Oh, so you are gay?" Jenny questioned me. "And you already have someone in mind?"

I rested my elbows on the table and hid my face behind my hands. "You're a fucking idiot, Harry."

"Actually, I'm glad you're gay." I dropped my hands from my face and blinked at Jenny. "I am a HUGE fan of gay guys. I mean, I don't know if it's just me, but all the cute guys in this world are gay. I know I'll never have a chance with a gay guy, but I don't care, because two guys being together is just the cutest thing ever. Even cuter than a hetero couple."

"Ha! I did the right thing by outing you to her!" Harry exclaimed.

Jenny then turned her chair around so she was looking right at me. "So, tell me about this Luke guy."

"I think you should get back to work," I said, trying to get out of talking about Luke. "It wouldn't be good if your boss saw you sitting here slacking off. Plus, Harry and I have to be somewhere."

"Speaking of somewhere, have you heard of the One Direction concert?" Harry leaned forward in his seat and stared at Jenny. She nodded. "Do you have tickets?"

"If you want me to give you tickets, then no. Then again, I don't have any. As much as I'd like to go, I can't get any tickets."

"That's okay. You can get in for free." She widened her eyes at Harry.

"How?"

"I'm friends with the guys from the band. I can probably pull a few strings and get you in for free. Also a backstage pass."

"Harry, I don't think that's a good idea," I began, but Jenny cut me off by slapping her hand over my mouth.

"That'd be so cool! I'll meet you at the park then? Write your number on this napkin. Here's a pen!" Harry scribbled down his number and passed it to Jenny. She hopped out of her seat and began jumping in place. "Thank you so much! I'll definitely be there! Oh, and if you're done with the ice cream, I can just take it away."

"But it's not-"

"It's fine if you don't finish. Again, thanks, Harry!" She ran off with the almost finished ice cream in her hands. I was going to give her a tip, but I guess I can give it to her at the concert.

I looked over at Harry, who had a smug look on his face. He noticed I was looking at him. "What?"

"Just this morning you were crying over a guy," I spoke, "and suddenly you're hitting on girls?"

"Hey, don't be jealous. I can give you some lessons if you'd like."

"Dork. Let's just go." As I was standing up, I looked behind me and saw that the guy was looking in our direction. But when his eyes met mine, he quickly looked away, turning his attention to the girl that his arm was around.

Harry and I waved goodbye at Jenny, and then we walked out of the parlor. We got into my car, and I drove us to my place.

------

"Ashton, you did it again! You forgot us- Harry!" my siblings cut themselves off when they saw Harry follow after me. They pushed past me immediately began playing with his hair. "Why did you wrap up your head?"

"Because this is swag," Harry answered, pointing at the bandanna.

"What's that?"

"It's a word that you'll never use again," I snapped, glaring at Harry. "And I'm sorry for not picking you guys up. I got caught up in a mess." They didn't seem too pleased with my answer, but accepted it anyway when they scurried away. Harry took a seat on the couch. I dropped my backpack on the ground and sat next to him. "Shouldn't you be at the park rehearsing before the concert?"

Harry glanced at a clock that was hanging on the wall. "Concert's at seven," he said. "I need to be there two hours prior to the event. You're coming with, by the way."

"Do I have a choice? How in the world are you going to get there if I didn't drive you? Besides, it's already four thirty."

"Let's just chill for fifteen minutes before we go."

"I want to sleep." I threw my legs over Harry's lap and rested my head on the armrest. I felt something touch my shoes and I looked down and saw Harry untying my laces. "Harry! Tie them!"

He did, but he tied my laces together, that idiot.

I groaned and pulled myself up just so I could fix my shoes.

"Ashton, could you help me with- oh." My eyes darted towards Lauren, who was taking in the image before her. I could tell from where she was standing it looked like I was sitting on Harry's lap. "I came in at a wrong time."

"No! Lauren, you didn't! I was just tying my-" The next thing I knew Harry had his arm hooked around my back and where my knees were bent, keeping me in place.

"It's fine," Harry began, holding me closer to him. "Now, what was it you needed?"

Lauren just stared at us for a moment before walking over to us and explained a problem on her homework she didn't understand. Harry helped her out with the question, still holding me.

Once Lauren left, I whacked Harry and squirmed out of his arms. "Don't do that again."

"Help Lauren out? Sorry, but she needed-"

"You know what I mean." I scooted farthest away from Harry and crossed my arms, trying to look angry.

"But now whom am I going to cuddle with?" he pouted. "I don't have anyone else. I'll become a very depressed person."

I laughed, but then put on a serious face (or tried to). "Are you trying to guilt trip me?"

Harry's eyes looked around the room, and then back at me. Then he whispered, "Is it working?"

"No," I stated, earning a frown from the curly Brit.

"Then... no?"

"Whatever you say. Let's just get to the park already. There's nothing to do here, and we might as well just get there on time." I stood up and grabbed my backpack from the ground and dumped all of my school stuff out, only leaving my useless phone, car keys, and concert tickets inside. I slipped the bag over my shoulders. I went into the hallway and to Lauren's room and then Harry's to tell them I was going out for a few hours and I'd be back. I also told them to behave and stay away from the kitchen.

"What about dinner?" Lauren asked me.

"Just order pizza," I told her. "Use the twenty that's left in the restroom." When she didn't answer, I went back out to Harry, who was waiting by the door.

"You're the best older brother ever, leaving your two siblings home alone," Harry teased.

I just shrugged. "They behave, and I know they won't kill themselves, as long as they stay away from the kitchen. I told them to order pizza for dinner."

"I'm surprised that after all these years you still haven't gotten in trouble."

"I always make it back home before my mom does. Besides, she's rarely at home anyway, and she doesn't know what happens in this house."

"Like every single moment that you and Luke had in this very house." I cocked an eyebrow at him. "God knows what you two did. Like, you two could've gotten freaky on that couch we were just on."

My face went bright red. "Just shut up and get in the damn car!" I pushed Harry outside and he nearly stumbled. He got off with a light punishment; he deserved to fall and mess up that pretty face of his.

Sometimes, I wonder how I'm even friends with this guy. He's such an idiot.

I made sure the front door was shut and secure before I headed to my car. When I unlocked it Harry got into the passenger seat. I tossed my backpack at him, and the strap whacked him in the face. I bit back a laugh as I sat in the driver seat and started the car.

For the rest of the car ride Harry was blabbing on and on about how awesome the concert was going to be. His mind didn't seem to be on that Louis guy, thank God. I'd much rather have an annoying Harry than a sulking one. Well, Harry is one of my best friends, so of course I'd want him to be happy.

But while he's going to be having fun performing onstage, I'm going to try and enjoy the whole thing with Jasmine. I just hope I don't run into Luke while he's with Aleisha. I wouldn't be able to stand the sight of them being together.