AN: So now I know what water sports are...

Dedictaion: CXNTRAST [Thanks for making a cover for the story (: I sincerely apologize for not responding sooner.]

I slipped through the back of the hotel without getting noticed somehow. I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I looked awful anyway. It'd be hell for me if anyone was to take a picture and have this horrid day live on forever.

And to make matters worse, it started sprinkling the moment I stepped outside, and then the rain was falling harder to the ground.

I ended up walking around for five minutes with my head hanging low and my eyes fixed to the ground. Soon my hair was completely wet and so were my clothes.

"What a great way to start the day," I grumbled as I went towards a brick wall. "Officially the worst day in my entire life."

I pressed my back against the wall and slid down, keeping my head low so no one passing by could see the tears in my eyes. I tried to keep myself from emitting any sobbing noises. I wasn't very successful.

Memories of the times Luke and I actually got along and whenever he made my heart beat faster came into my mind. At least I was on good terms with him then, but now I'm nothing but some famous person to him.

I let myself fall for Luke and now here I was, sitting on the concrete ground with a broken heart while it's raining cats and dogs. I didn't care of what would happen to me next. I just... wanted to be gone. Disappear forever.

I've never experienced a broken heart like this before. I was never rejected. I was the one who rejected others that confessed to me, but no one that I have genuinely liked has ever rejected me. I guess I now know how those I rejected felt when I turned them down. How they were able to deal with it puzzled me, but they must've been emotionally strong, because I could barely handle it.

My entire body was drenched at this point and I looked up at the grey and cloudy sky. I closed my eyes as the rain hit my face and slid down my cold skin. I guess I was glad that it was raining right now. No one would be able to tell that I was crying.

"Oh, look who it is," someone said and I peeked over at the person, surprised to see who was talking to me.

"Why are you here?" I asked Chelsea. She was wearing a black coat and skinny jeans with boats that went up to her knees. She had an umbrella with her and her eyes were covered by her large sunglasses.

"I'm just out and enjoying this lovely day," she said.

"But it's raining."

"What, am I not allowed to be out here when it's raining? I like this kind of weather. Anyway, where's your umbrella?"

I looked down at the ground. "Forgot it."

"Then go find a roof to stay under, Irwin. Shouldn't you be in the comfort of your hotel with your bodyguard?"

My heart felt like it got stabbed just from the mention of that word: bodyguard. That's what Luke was always going to be, but I wanted him to be more than that.

"Did something happen?" questioned Chelsea, her tone of voice sounding as if she was worried.

"You don't really care," I mumbled, standing up and running my fingers through my damp hair. I looked down at her and gave her a sad smile. "I'll be fine."

"Don't you want to talk about it to someone?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I just want to be alone. Anyway, I'll be going elsewhere now. I'll see you around, I guess."

As I was walking away, the rain had stopped pouring on me, even though it was still raining around. I looked up and saw the umbrella over my head, and my eyes followed towards the handle where Chelsea's hand was gripping.

She was standing right beside me and her eyes were fixed on the ground. I couldn't help but wonder why she was doing such a nice gesture like trying to keep me dry from the rain even though I was already drenched from top to bottom.

Then her voice, softer than before, spoke, "I think my driver is about to arrive soon. Do you want to come over and dry yourself up? You'll get sick if you stay out here any longer. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Turn it down now and I won't ask ever again."

My eyes blinked a few times as I thought about her offer. Sure, I told Chelsea that I wanted to be alone, but really I just wanted to get away from Luke. Maybe spending time with someone other than Luke whom I've been stuck with for a few days was a good idea.

"Okay," I answered. "I'll go with you."

------

Chelsea and I weren't ever on the best terms. In a way, she and I were like frenemies, but she couldn't tolerate me like I could with her.

Even though I had already showered, she said that the rain water was dirty and insisted that I took a shower. She led me to the guest bathroom and said that she'll bring me a pair of clothes from her brother's closet (just to see if his clothes would fit me).

Once I had finished my shower, I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist. There were a new pair of boxer shorts, a Nirvana shirt, and black skinny jeans provided for me on top of the guest bed and I went over to them, pulling each article of clothing on.

After I was dressed, I left the guest bedroom and heard some noise coming from the kitchen. I went in there and saw Chelsea sitting at the island counter and there were two mugs sitting on top of the marble counter.

"I made hot cocoa," she said as she gestured towards one of the mugs. "Take one. Today will be the only time I'll do something nice for you."

"Uh, okay," I awkwardly spoke, sitting down at the footstool on the opposite side of the counter of where she was.

"The clothes fit, I see," she commented.

"Yeah, they do."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what was the world famous Ashton Irwin doing out in the rain?"

"I do mind."

Chelsea huffed. "Whatever. I didn't want to know anyway."

I sighed, finally deciding to tell her. "I just... got in a fight with my bodyguard, that's all."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "And you were outside because of that?"

I nodded.

"So you thought running away would solve everything? You're kind of stupid for thinking that, you know?"

"Y-Yeah, but..." I couldn't face him after what he said.

"Do you want to continue with this fight you two are having?" Chelsea questioned as she grabbed a mug and blew into the drink to cool it down. I took a mug for myself and just left it sitting in front of me.

"N-No," I answered honestly. "But I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"I could make a suggestion, but it might be too much for someone like you."

I began to listen intently, leaning against the marble counter.

Then she said, "Suck it up, march your famous ass to the hotel, and apologize to him. It may not even work, but it's worth a damn shot."

I gaped at Chelsea, completely stunned by her words. For once, her advice made sense, but the problem is I have never apologized to anyone in my life and even if my first apology was going out to Luke, I wouldn't know how to start it. Do I just say it or do I have to add some sentimental speech to it?

Chelsea took a sip from her hot cocoa, stood up, and went over to the kitchen exit. I turned myself around in my seat and saw that she was halfway through the exit before she faced me.

"You can leave the mug in the sink when you finish," she told me. "I'm going to go get a plastic bag for you to put your other clothes in."

Once Chelsea left, I turned myself back to the counter and stared into the mug with my untouched hot beverage. I picked up the mug by the handle and felt the heat of the drink on my face. The hot cocoa smelled nice, too. At least there's one good thing about her: She makes really good hot cocoa.

I drank a little bit of the hot cocoa, the drink that was now cooler temperature-wise going down my throat. The taste was rich, very delicious. Since it wasn't hot enough to burn my tongue or throat, I gulped down the rest of the drink until the very last drop.

I placed the now empty mug into the sink, filling the item up with tap water. By the time the water had filled to the top, I heard footsteps and I twisted around to see Chelsea walking in with a plastic bag in one hand and a large coat in her arm.

"Here," she said, thrusting the bag towards me. I took the object. "Now, the weather forecast said the rain should stop in about ten minutes, so you can leave by then. I need to go to a photo shoot. Lock the door on your way out, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled.

Chelsea threw on her coat and left once again, this time the sound of the front door opening and closing.

The place was now dead quiet, except for the sound of the rain pitter-pattering outside. I slowly exited the kitchen and went into the living room, taking a seat on a comfy recliner chair. I brought my legs up to my chest and turned a bit on my side. I stared down at the ground, my mind going blank for a while before it decided that it was a good idea to think of Luke.

I wondered what he was doing right now. He was probably searching for me, but that's his job. I didn't want to be found by him though. It was a selfish thing to even think of, but that's how I felt at the moment.

The rain continued pouring until a few minutes later it started to fall lighter. I got up from my spot on the recliner and went over to the window. It looked as if it was sprinkling right now, so I concluded that it was safe for me to leave.

Going back towards the guest bedroom, I entered the bathroom there and put my soaked clothes into the plastic bag that Chelsea gave me. Since the bag had a hand grip attached to it, I tied a knot to secure my clothes inside the bag. I held that to my side and went back into the living room.

I approached the front door and opened it. I positioned the bag with my clothes in between the door and the wall so it wouldn't close. I stepped out and felt the light rain hit me. I guess it was okay for me to go back to the hotel. I wasn't entirely sure how to get back, but I guess I can figure it out by recognizable places.

So I locked the door to Chelsea's house, held my bagged clothes over my shoulder, and started walking down the street, not sure if I was even going the right way.

I guess I should've asked Chelsea for directions, but it's too late now. She's already gone and I can't exactly call her since I have no phone. Hell, I can't contact anyone, so I'm pretty much on my own until I find my way back.

As I continued my journey back to the hotel, I noticed that there weren't many people around and the number of cars passing by seemed to dwindle into smaller numbers. I gulped, because I had a very bad feeling something was going to happen.

My senses were confirmed when I gasped as I felt something sharp press against my back, but not to the point where it would pierce through my skin. My eyes stared forward as they went wide, my mind processing what was happening.

"Listen to me, boy," whispered a voice. "You will follow my orders and you will remain silent. Do not turn your head around and keep your hands at your side at all times, or else I won't hesitate to kill you. Got it?"

Without saying anything, I stared down at the ground and hummed in understanding.

So this way was how everything was going to end for me. I was going to be taken away and no one was ever going to find me.

Well, I could honestly say that at this point I didn't mind at all.

I listened to the person as he guided me to enter an alleyway. Once we were deep enough, we stopped walking and he drew the sharp object from my back.

"Dare struggle and I will hurt you," he growled. "Badly."

I gulped as the man forced my hands behind my back, tying them together at the wrists. Then I felt a cloth wrap tightly around my mouth. Tears were pricking at my eyes, and when I closed my eyelids one of the tears trickled down my cheek. Soon a blindfold made its way over my eyes, soaking up the unshed tears that I made.

Before the stranger could secure the blindfold, I was suddenly shoved towards a wall and I fell to the wet ground. My upper arm began to hurt from being crushed in between the concrete and the weight of my body.

I flipped myself onto my back and lifted my head up to see what happened, what had stopped the man from taking me away. Then I saw what did- or rather, who did.

Luke used his foot to harshly push the man towards the wall so his front collided with it. The man let out a grunt and then Luke grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back.

Luke whispered something to him, probably a threat of some sort, because the man nodded and dropped to the ground the moment Luke had let go of him. Luke kept one foot on his back as he whipped out his phone, dialing a number and saying something into the device. Once he finished, he put his phone back into his pocket. He warned the man to stay down or else he'll hurt him even more than he already did.

When my bodyguard looked over at me, I froze on place and I couldn't bring myself to look away from him. His hair wasn't up and it was sticking to his forehead, sweat and raindrops sliding down his face, and he was wearing his bodyguard suit.

He stepped closer to me and then knelt down in front of me. I felt my heart wanting to explode out of my chest when his hand reached up to the cloth around my mouth and pulled it down.

"You're stupid, you know that?" Luke said and I finally gathered the strength to look down at the ground. He pulled me up onto my feet and walked behind me, unbinding my hands. "Why did you run away?"

I remained silent, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to burst out into tears again, and responding to him was going to make me do just that.

"What did you think you'd get out of leaving the hotel?" Luke continued, every word just making my heart break more. "Answer me."

I shook my head without saying anything to him. Luke groaned and spun me around so I was facing him. I tried to avoid looking at his face, but he placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head up so my eyes were looking into his.

"Don't make my job any more difficult than it needs to be, okay?" he said and I felt my eyes well up with tears.

This is only his job; to him, I don't mean anything except some famous person. He said so himself- our relationship is strictly bodyguard and celebrity.

The moment police sirens sounded from afar, Luke placed his blazer over my shoulders and walked past me.

"We should really get going now," he said. "You got a radio interview to attend to, remember? Michael's waiting for you at the hotel, and he isn't happy about you running off."

I followed behind Luke and I didn't like how things were between us. I wanted to fix things and I tried to reach out to him, but something made me hold back before my fingers could touch his dress shirt. I couldn't bring myself to do it- not now anyway.

So I withdrew my hand and remained silent the rest of the way back to the hotel, my confidence in wanting to speak up coming and leaving every once in a while.

------

Time seemed to have dragged on on our way back, but we finally got back to the hotel suite. Luke opened the door and let me inside and I was soon bombarded by questions from Michael not a second later.

"Where did you run off to?!" he scolded and I kept my eyes on the ground. "You have a radio interview in two hours and you decide to go off on our own! You look awful, too! Go clean yourself up and we're leaving immediately. We don't have time for breakfast, sadly."

Michael pushed me towards the bedroom and closed the door once I was inside. I just looked at the closed door for a while before sighing, turning myself around seeing Luke sitting on the couch with his phone in his hand.

When his eyes met mine, I froze in place and gulped slightly as my heart sped up. Luke let out a heavy sigh as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and stood up.

My heart was pounding in my chest as he approached me and he placed his hands on my shoulders. I didn't know what to expect, but I guess I had high hopes that he'd do something else other than pull his blazer off of me.

Without looking at me, he put the jacket onto him and then moved past me. I stepped aside and he went straight for the door, his hand positioned above the door handle and twisting it.

"L-Luke," I mumbled and his movement to leave the room stopped as he looked at me. He raised an eyebrow, his face completely blank and I found myself without finding anything to really say. "I... I-I-"

He shook his head. "Just do whatever you need to do, Ashton."

... He's calling me by my name again. He's definitely mad at me.

Just before he could leave the room, I shouted, "Luke, w-wait!"

I gripped at his shirt and pulled him back, making Luke look over his shoulder and at me.

This was it. I had his attention for the time being and I have to say it now.

"I... I'm s-so..." I was trying to apologize for earlier, but I for some reason couldn't bring myself to do it. It was so much harder for me to do than I thought it would be. Tears welled up in my eyes and a large lump formed in my throat as my hand dropped from his wrist. I tried to force myself to say it again, "... s-sor..."

"Do you really think apologizing is gonna cut it?" he snapped. "It isn't going to change what happened. The past is in the past, and the past cannot be rewritten."

I found myself completely speechless, and my vision becoming even more blurred as Luke tugged his arm away from my hold and left the room.

Once the door had shut, I collapsed onto my knees, my hands balled into fists on top of my thighs. My head hung low and I just felt so heartbroken.

Luke was definitely serious about what he had said this morning, about how he wanted us to only be strictly business. I didn't know what else I could do to make him go back to the Luke before. He as being hostile towards me and I hated that.

A tear fell from my eye and hit the back of my hand, more following after as I let out choked and quiet sobs.

Today has been the worst day in my life and the very first time in my entire life that I have ever hated myself to the point that I now wish that I never existed.

------

AN: This chapter wasn't all smiles, but oh well. Hopefully things will be happy and fluffy soon.

Anyway, thoughts? Comments? Predictions?

I hope this chapter was decent enough and worth the read and your time (: Until next time! x