"Friends with benefits..."

"Shush."

"Friends with benefits..."

"Shut up."

"Fuck buddies with fucking benefits."

"SHUT UP, MICHAEL!" This day couldn't get any worse. Probably the only thing good about today is when Luke told me he's gay. At least I have a shot.

"We should get goldfish crackers," Luke suggested. "I mean, last time I remember Harry and Niall wanted to have those."

"Good thinking, Ashton's fuck buddy," Michael said as he skipped off to the snack aisle. I groaned as Luke pulled me close to him.

"Why the hell did you tell him that?" I glared up at Luke.

"Tell him what?" he asked, shrugging innocently. "It's just a bit of fun."

"Telling Michael we're friends with benefits isn't fun."

"It is for me." Then I felt Luke's hand start to slip down from my shoulders to my back to my waist to my-

Then I smacked his hand and he retracted it, rubbing it with his other hand.

"Michael's waiting for us," I informed him. "We better go." Then I walked off to the snack aisle where Michael should be it. Luke ran after me until he was beside me. I saw Michael standing in front of a bunch of goldfish crackers, most likely trying to decide which one he wanted. "Just get the original one."

"I want to get the rainbow ones," Michael said, staring between the choices. "You know, for Haz, because he's gay."

"You're an idiot. He's pansexual."

"I'm still getting the rainbow goldfish crackers for him." He placed the crackers into a basket I didn't even know he had and carried it off to search for more snacks. "Oreos are a definite yes!"

"You're like a teenage girl, except you don't shop for clothes. You shop for snacks."

"I'd go commando if it means getting free snacks." I laughed at that, even though it was the one of the dumbest things I've heard him say. I could sense Luke behind me, and I began walking with Michael.

"Ashton!" I raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar high pitched voice. I turned around, and- oh, God.

"Oh, speak of the slut," Michael whispered.

"What do you want, Jasmine?" I questioned. "I'm a bit busy right now."

"Your friend, Liam, interrupted our date yesterday," she said.

Date?

"What date?"

"The concert one, silly." She tapped my nose, letting out this annoying giggle. "The date where you and I were supposed to fall madly in love and run off together, forgetting about the concert and your friends." Suddenly Luke wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him. He rested his head on my shoulder and I looked at him as he glared at Jasmine.

"He's taken, you know," Luke said deadpanned.

"Oh, really?" Jasmine scoffed. "I don't see his girlfriend anywhere."

"Who said anything about him having a girlfriend?" My eyes went large. Is he implying what I think he's implying?

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, anyway.

"Yeah, what are you talking about? Ashton is nowhere near gay." Then she looked at me. "I knew that blond kid yesterday wasn't your boyfriend."

"What blond kid?" Luke questioned, looking at me. Jasmine grinned.

"I knew it. You're single. Therefore, you're mine."

"BITCH, YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM ASH OR ELSE LUKE HERE IS GONNA WRECK YO FACE!" Michael yelled.

"I wouldn't do that," Luke clarified.

Michael groaned, "Mate, why you gotta ruin it?"

"C'mon, Ashy. Let's leave these two idiots on their own." Jasmine grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of Luke's hold.

"Wai- Jas! I'm busy!"

"Rearrange your schedule and make time for your girlfriend."

"You're not my-!" I was yanked away from her and Luke pushed me behind him.

"He means he doesn't want to go," Luke said through gritted teeth as he glared at her. "I won't mess your pretty little face up, but if you touch Ashton again I will not hesitate to hurt you regardless of the fact you're a girl. I suggest you move your thirsty ass out of here and keep a radius of twenty feet away from Ashton."

"Y-You can't take away what's rightfully mine," Jasmine snapped.

"You can't claim what was never yours."

With that, Jasmine huffed and stormed off.

"Jealous fuck buddy is jealous!" Michael exclaimed. I shot him a glare and he closed his mouth shut. Then I turned back to Luke.

"Thanks, Luke," I said, "but don't you think that was a bit harsh?"

He looked up, like he was thinking about it. "No, no I think that was okay."

"Day four and you two still aren't together," Michael whispered in my ear. I smacked him right in the balls and I heard him grunt as he doubled over. I took the snack basket from Michael and began searching for snacks.

"Luke, pick a snack, any snack," I told him. He obviously doesn't have a favorite, but Harry would still eat it. Except Niall would eat most of it.

I saw Luke walk over to a Cheez-it box and then dropped it inside the basket.

"This was the first snack that I picked out," he smirked, winking.

It took me a while to figure out what he meant. He remembers that?

I just smiled and went back to searching.

"Let's get more goldfish crackers," I suggested. "Niall will probably eat all of the first batch once we show it."

"Yeah, okay." Luke and I went back to the goldfish crackers. I looked at Michael and saw he was still leaning forward, his hands right in between his legs.

"Stop messing around, Mikey, and get some snacks," I laughed. He wheezed a bit before straightening himself.

"Kiss it better then," he joked. I twisted around and stared at him in disbelief.

"Ashton isn't going to be doing that," Luke said, pulling me back to the goldfish crackers.

"Luke!" I glanced over at Luke and saw another guy staring at him.

"Hey, Calum!" Luke exclaimed, running over to his best friend. The two bumped fists and gave each other a brief hug.

"I haven't seen you since the game yesterday! Where've you been?"

"I went to One Direction's concert with Aleisha."

"What?! You two went without me?! Some best friend you are!"

Luke laughed, "Another time, Cal." Calum's eyes landed on me and he waved.

"Hey, Ashton! What happened to you yesterday? You were at school in the morning, but you didn't show up at Art."

"Oh," I croaked, "about that-"

"It was Mason again," Luke said. "He even took Ashton's phone battery. You're helping me get it back, right?"

"I'm in," Calum shrugged. "Seriously, what's the deal with Mason?"

"I've no idea, but we're not letting him bother Ashton again."

"Why are you guys making choices without my consent?" I interjected. Michael appeared beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. He seems to look a lot better now.

"You should come to our friend's surprise party!" Michael exclaimed. "I don't think we've properly met before. I'm Michael."

"I know," Calum said. Michael raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I just- I've heard people call you Michael, so I just... I know your name."

"Right... Anyway, help me pick out some snacks. Leave these two lovebirds together." Michael pointed between me and Luke. Calum's eyes went wide.

"You two are together?! Since when?!"

"Since never," I answered. "We're not together."

"Not yet." I glared at Michael.

"I will not hesitate to punch you where no man should be punched." Michael raised his hands in defeat, stepping away from me.

"What's up with the bruises on your guys' faces?" Calum asked, looking at Luke and then at me. "Did you two get into a fight?"

"Not with each other," Luke replied. "Some midget was beating Ashton up and I jumped right in, and then he got plenty of good swings at me." His laugh was weak. "I'm feeling a lot better now. I can barely feel a thing."

"That's good to hear." Calum patted Luke on the back, not realizing that he was slightly wincing. I really wanted to push Calum's hand off and go to Luke's aid. "Hey, Michael, is it really okay for me to go to your friend's party? I mean, I don't know you guys all that well."

"Yeah, it's fine," Michael beamed, taking the basket from me. "Plus, it's the perfect opportunity for you to meet everyone. Come on, let's go gather some snacks." Calum nodded and the two headed away from me and Luke.

"Maybe we should get chips and salsa?" Luke suggested. "A party isn't a party without chips and salsa."

"I like your thinking," I smiled. "Let's get 'em!" I grabbed Luke's hand and led him to where the chips should be. I was a bit surprised and happy when his fingers laced with mine.

He and I got to the chip aisle and looked for the Tostitos, because I like those kinds the best, and so does Harry.

"Tell me when you see the Tostitos," I told Luke. He nodded, our hands separating, and we began to search the shelf. I scanned each shelf for a minute until I finally spotted what we were looking for. "Found it! Top shelf! Let's get the scoop one."

Luke was by my side again, looking at the chips. "It's all the way in the back. Can you reach?"

"Are you implying that I'm short?" I glared, although it was more of a playful one. "I'm six feet!"

"Yeah, short in my standards." I puffed my cheeks and reached for the bag of Tostitos. It was right at my fingertips, but then arms wrapped around my thighs and carried me up.

"AH! Luke!" I yelled. "I can get it myself!"

"Just in case," he chuckled. I grabbed the chips and then Luke lowered me to the ground.

"Now, time to get the salsa!" I skipped over to where they should be with Luke right behind me.

Once we got the salsa we went to the snack aisle. Michael and Calum had stuffed a lot of snacks into the basket. I noticed we now had four boxes of goldfish crackers- two original and two rainbows.

"New rule," Michael began, "Only gays can eat the rainbow ones."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What kind of a rule is that?"

"A good one." Michael then pointed at the two rainbow goldfish boxes. "This box is for Larry and this box is for Lashton."

"You guys can eat the regular goldfish crackers," Calum added, "but finish your rainbow ones before you do."

"No, I'm not accepting that."

"Drinks!" Michael yelled.

"Huzzah!" Calum shouted. I put the chips and salsa into the basket and then the two ran out to find drinks.

"Ashton, let's go," Luke whispered. I looked at him.

"Hm? To where?" I asked.

"Anywhere but here." I looked around, trying to figure out why he was so determined to get out.

Then I saw that Jasmine was still here, and she had a group of friends with her. They were looking around, like they were searching for us.

Right when one of them exclaimed "There he is!" to the rest of the group, Luke took me outside and to the side of the building. He pushed us behind a large dumpster, probably one of the most cliche hiding spots ever. Yet somehow the girls still couldn't find us.

My back was against the wall and Luke pressed his body to mine, covering most of me from anyone's sight. He peered around the dumpster, probably checking if the girls were coming.

"Damn, we lost them!" I heard one of the girls groan.

"Split up. That guy isn't taking away my man!" Jasmine said, no doubt. The sound of heels hitting the ground faded and Luke released a sigh.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered. "She just doesn't know when to give up."

"I hear ya," I said.

"I wish you never ordered Chinese food, because then you wouldn't meet Jasmine and she wouldn't be a pain in the ass. Never again are you ordering Chinese food."

"Okay, now you're being ridiculous." I pushed my way past him and walked out into the open.

"No!" Luke pulled me back in and we nearly fell. I glared at him, but he jerked his head forward, motioning for me to look straight ahead. Across the street there was one of the girls, looking right at us.

Damn, she saw me.

She tried to get across, but there were too many cars coming by, so in the end she whipped out her phone.

"C'mon!" Luke grabbed my hand and took me deep into the alley. Luckily there was an opening that led to the back. There was a parking lot, most likely for employees, and a path that led to the other side of the building. Luke began going down that way with me right behind him.

"Where're we going?" I asked.

"We're going back into the store," he answered, "get Calum and Michael, and get away from here." Luke suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Crap, they're out there, too." He turned around and we were back to where we were. The girl was still out there, but this time she shut her phone, waiting for her friends to arrive.

Even if she'd try to chase us, we'd still be faster. How the hell can anyone run in heels?

We stayed at the back and I saw Luke take his phone out, bringing it up to his ear.

"Cal, hurry up and buy the stuff so we can get out of here," Luke ordered. "Ashton and I are at the back of the store. Have Michael drive there to pick us up." He then hung up his phone, and I don't know why, but I laughed.

"You're being a bit dramatic about this," I told Luke. "You're acting as if we're in some movie where the main character is trying to escape some bad guys."

"Shush, let me pretend I'm in a movie." I chuckled at that. We heard heels clicking, and Luke then peered around the corner, but as he did Jasmine appeared right in his face. Her posse appeared behind her and they just stared at us.

"Trying to steal Ashton from me, aren't you?" Jasmine smirked. Luke pushed me behind him and then started backing up so I was in between his back and the wall. "Step aside."

"As if," Luke spat. "I'm not stealing anything from you."

"So you're handing him back to me?"

"He's not an item. He belongs to no one."

"Except he's my boyfriend."

I snapped, "I never agreed to that, you sl-!"

"Quiet, baby," Jasmine cooed. "I'm in the middle of a disagreement."

"Just go," Luke hissed. "Ashton does not belong to you." Jasmine stepped closer and then firmly grabbed Luke by his chin with her left hand.

"What happened to your pretty face? It's all bruised." She feigned a pout before it turned into some evil grin. Then the sound of a loud slap cracked through the air. I gasped at the noise of a hand contacting a cheek.

Jasmine just slapped Luke.

"Oops. My hand slipped."

I tried to step out from behind him, but he didn't give me enough room to get out.

Damn it, Luke! Why do you keep getting hurt?!

However, Luke didn't seem the least bit fazed. He returned the favor by smacking Jasmine back, but the sound was a whole lot louder.

Jasmine let out a loud shriek and I just gaped. I can't believe Luke just did that!

"YOU CAN'T HIT A GIRL!" she screamed at Luke. "THAT'S AGAINST THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!"

"Except you're not a girl," Luke retorted. "You're some weird species of a slutty, thirsty bitch."

Jasmine was about to yell back, but then the screeching of tires against asphalt pulled everyone's attention to the car that just appeared around a corner.

"Okay, we're here!" Calum exclaimed once he rolled down the window. "Get in!"

The first thing Luke did was lift me into his arms and carry me past the girls whose eyes were still glued to the car. They didn't snap out of their fazed state until they saw Luke put me in the car.

"Step on it!" Luke demanded to Michael who didn't hesitate to obey. The tires screeched again we sped out of the place, leaving a bunch of dumbstruck girls behind.

"What was that about?" Calum asked. "Did you run into the girls' room again, Luke?"

I glanced over at Luke when he didn't answer. His arms were wrapped around his stomach and he was groaning. His head was lolled to the side, pressing against the window. I was confused at first, but then my eyes widened as I moved closer to him.

Shit, he got punched in the stomach last night... and he carried me.

"Luke!" I sat in the middle seat and placed my hand over his stomach.

"What happened? Did he pull a stomach muscle, because Ashton was so heavy?"

"He got punched and kicked in the guts, numbnuts!" Michael explained in a loud voice. "The guy yesterday punched and kicked him there!"

"Oh, shit! Are you okay?"

"Does he look or sound okay?"

"... No..."

"There you go, smart one." Calum glowered at Michael before turning his attention back to Luke.

"Ashton?" Luke spoke in a soft voice. "My tummy hurts."

Shit, he sounds like a little kid and it's ridiculously adorable. I want to so badly hug him, but I'll hurt him again if I do.

"I know, Luke," I sighed, "but it'll pass. Don't worry." I moved myself back to the window seat and told Luke to move to the middle seat so he could lie down. He did, but as he was slowly lowering himself he was wincing. My hand went back to his stomach and rubbed circles over it, and then Luke rested his head on my lap.

"Kiss it," Calum said to me. "You're supposed to kiss his stomach."

"Wait, right now?!" I exclaimed. "He just got himself situated!"

"He always said kisses heal, and he claims that the technique works." I looked over at Luke and he was whining a bit. But... do it now? In the car...

I lifted his head from my lap, muttering an apology. Then I hovered over him so my face was just above his stomach. I pushed his shirt up a bit to reveal his bruised and cut stomach.

If the police were to look inside the car, Michael would for sure get pulled over and receive a ticket. Neither Luke nor I are wearing a seatbelt.

I began to lower my head and my lips barely brushed his stomach.

"Calum, stop staring," Luke groaned. "It's making me uncomfortable."

"Oh, sorry!" Then Calum turned himself around. "Looking forward! Got it!" I rolled my eyes before proceeding. Luke let out a small whimper when I placed my hand near his bruise and cut. Then I placed kisses over his stomach.

At first he groaned, but then his breathing started to even out, and then he relaxed. Luke's hand slipped into my free one and our fingers interlocked.

"Are you better yet?" I said in between the kisses. I looked at his face and saw him nod slightly. Then I pulled away and fixed ourselves so that way I was in my seat again and his head was back in my lap. I smoothed out his shirt, but still caressed his stomach as the car ride continued.

And I still didn't put on a seatbelt.

"You shouldn't have carried me, you know. I could've walked just fine." Luke just mumbled, not wanting to respond.

The entire trip to Liam's house Luke was just breathing softly, but he never fell asleep. He'd occasionally open his eyes once in a while to look up at me. He let me run my fingers, the ones that weren't locked with his, through his hair. It wasn't in its usual quiff, so I wasn't worried about ruining his hair.

"All right, weirdos, we're here," Michael announced. "Now, get out." Calum was the first to scurry out of the car while Michael followed. He said to me before he closed the door, "Take your time."

"Okay," I responded, and then he closed the door. I opened the door by me to let the air circulate. "Luke, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, gimme a moment, please." I rubbed his stomach again in random patterns. After a minute he asked me to help him sit upright, and so I did. Then I helped him out of the car and into Liam's house.