Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ashton doesn’t know what possessed him to buy a Macbook.

Maybe it was the fact that he’d never been able to afford one before, due to their ridiculously high prices. Thanks to the raise that he recently got at work and his frugal nature, he had finally been able to buy a new computer to replace his old one, which had begun to fall apart. Admittedly, he was getting ahead of himself when he chose to buy this overpriced machine that he doesn’t even know how to use.

It’s not that Ashton is technologically challenged—okay, so he definitely is and it takes him ages to get used to new things—but he isn’t an old man, either! He should easily be able to figure how to use a computer, even if it’s totally different from the one that he’s used to using. Thing is, he can’t figure out how to do anything on it and it’s frustrating as hell.

For what’s probably the fifth time in the last ten minutes, Ashton grumbles at the computer in his lap, calling it useless and saying that he hates it more than he hates ducks. As if the computer heard him, the program that he’s trying to use crashes again, causing Ashton to groan out loud.

“If you hate it so much, why don’t you get a refund before it’s too late to exchange it?”

Upon hearing a voice from outside of the warzone, Ashton turns his head around to find Calum standing on the other side of the couch, a glass of water in his hand and an amused expression on his squishy face. However, Ashton isn’t in the mood to pinch his roommate’s cheeks. Right now, he just wants to punch the computer screen and watch his fist go through it—of course that’s the last thing that he’ll do, though. He wasted his own money on it, after all.

Sighing, Ashton glances back down at the bright screen in front of him. “I can’t do that, Cal. If I give up now, the computer wins.”

His answer makes Calum snort. Ashton knows that it’s a childish way of thinking, but he doesn’t care; he needs to figure out how to use this thing, he needs to fix every problem on his own just to prove that he can. That’s the kind of person that he is and it frustrates him, but in his eyes, being stubborn is much better than giving up and admitting defeat.

“Maybe I can help, then,” his friend offers. “What’re you trying to do that’s making you pull your hair out?”

Although it’s nice of Calum to offer help, Ashton politely declines by shaking his head.

“It’s fine, I can do it on my own,” he stubbornly insists.

Calum knows all about Ashton’s stubbornness, so he doesn’t try to persuade him. “Fine, but when you inevitably fail, try not to turn into the Hulk and throw it out of the window, okay? I’ll gladly take it off your hands, if you don’t want it.”

Before he leaves the room, Calum reaches over and ruffles Ashton’s already-messy hair, making the older boy whine pathetically. Soon enough, Ashton is alone with the enemy once again. He stares at the computer and it stares back at him, silently challenging him to make a move first. It’s not fair; all that Ashton wanted to do was add more music to iTunes so that he could put it on his phone, but the program either freezes or crashes as soon as he opens it up. He has no idea why or what he’s doing wrong, but it eats away at him a little more each time that it happens.

Since Ashton is a stubborn goose, he searches for solutions on google and tries some of those, but none of them work. Most of them were ridiculous, anyway; like, there’s no way in hell that Ashton’s going to delete all of his music just to fix this, so whoever suggested that can suck it. After browsing thread after thread, grumbling at his computer some more, and literally almost pulling his hair out, Ashton decides that there’s only one more solution that could possibly solve it.

It’s time to call technical support.

When he picks up his phone and dials the number, he tells himself that it doesn’t count as giving up or admitting defeat. Technically, he’s still doing this on his own, but now a professional will give him a few tips that he can either accept or reject. It’s his choice, really.

Surprisingly, it only rings a couple of times before someone answers his call.

“Hello!” they chirp into the phone, sounding far too cheerful for someone who’s working at half-past midnight. “Thank you for calling Apple’s technical support. My name is Luke, how can I help you?”

Although he’s far too cheerful, this ‘Luke’ guy has a rather nice voice, if Ashton’s being honest with himself. It’s a deep voice, but not extremely so; in fact, he sounds as if he could be around Ashton’s age. It’s just a guess, though, since voices can be deceiving. Either way, Ashton likes it—but he can’t bring himself to appreciate it at the moment, since he’s in such a bad mood.

Ashton clears his throat before replying in a slightly irritated tone. “Yeah, um—I’m calling about this Macbook that I bought about a month ago and, well, I suppose you already know that I have a problem with it, so… basically, my iTunes randomly stopped working. Like, I can’t get the damn thing to open and when it does, it freezes. Sometimes it just crashes. I know that it’s my computer’s fault because iTunes opens just fine on my roommate’s laptop. So, do ya think you can help me out?”

“Of course,” Luke instantly replies. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? It’ll help me figure out what the specific problem is and what needs to be done to fix it.”

Ashton nods before remembering that he can’t be seen. “Sure, ask away.”

“Alright. So, when exactly did the program start to malfunction? Or, when did you notice it?”

“Yesterday, I think? Yeah, I tried to open it yesterday but it didn’t work, so I figured I’d try again later. But, it hasn’t been working all day and tonight I tried to fix it on my own, but I couldn’t, so… I guess that’s why I’m calling you now.”

“I see. And has this happened with any other programs?”

“Nope, just iTunes.”

Luke quietly hums to himself for a moment before saying anything else. “Well, it appears that the problem may be with the program itself, not the Macbook. Do you know if your iTunes is up to date? If you’re running an older version, it’s possible that that could be the cause.”

“Oh…”

Does Ashton feel a little stupid right now? Perhaps. Is he currently remembering all of the times that iTunes had notified him about an update, but he clicked ‘cancel’ because he’s an impatient fool who convinced himself that he never had time to wait for it to finish? Yes, he definitely is remembering all of those times and he should be embarrassed.

“Sir?” Luke says, because Ashton had gone silent for countless seconds.

“I… think that that could be the problem, yeah,” he admits. “I haven’t updated it in a while, so.”

“Ah,” Luke replies, and he sort of… chuckles? As if he could hear Ashton’s embarrassment over the phone. “Well, let’s try that first. Since you can’t exactly open the program to update it from there, I’m going to walk you through the steps to updating it a different way. Is that alright with you?”

What a weird question to ask, since it’s not as if Ashton has a choice. But, he supposes that technical support has to be this nice to their customers in order to keep their jobs. Anyway, he decides that the only thing he can do now is continue listening to Luke, so he does.

“Yeah, okay. Where do we start?”

All that it takes is ten minutes, maybe even less than that. Ashton carefully follows each direction that he’s given and Luke is incredibly patient with him, which has to be difficult, considering that Ashton has almost no knowledge on how to navigate through his Macbook. Luke doesn’t make him feel stupid, though; not even when Ashton asks the most obvious questions. Maybe it’s the persona that he’s forced to have while he’s working. Maybe he’s just a really nice person.

“It opened!” Ashton gasps after Luke instructs him to try opening iTunes again, once the update has finally completed. “It hasn’t frozen or crashed yet, either. It usually does by now…”

“How about you try playing some music for a few seconds,” Luke suggests. “Just to make sure.”

Ashton does as he’s told and browses through his vast collection for a few seconds, before clicking on a random song. Just as he’d hoped, it plays smoothly and Foo Fighters fills his ears with joy. He listens to half of the song before pausing it to confirm that it works, though he supposes that Luke had been able to hear it himself.

“Well, I guess it works now,” Ashton says in a much happier tone.

“Yay! I’m glad to hear that.”

Yay? Is this guy serious? If so, then that’s way too cute. Ashton doesn’t mean to giggle aloud but he can’t help it; however, Luke ends up giggling as well, so Ashton highly doubts that he was offended.

“You have good taste in music,” Luke says all of a sudden.

Ashton stops giggling and replies with, “Hm?”

“The song that you just played,” he elaborates. “I, um, I like that song, too. Foo Fighters is awesome.”

“Hell yeah they are,” Ashton instantly agrees, the excitement in his voice quite noticeable. He just loves talking about music. “They’re definitely in the top ten of greatest bands ever, probably in a spot right behind Nickelback.”

Luke gasps—at least, that’s what it sounds like over the phone. “You like Nickelback?”

“Of course,” Ashton answers, albeit a little defensively. And, honestly, he’d probably still defend this band on his deathbed and when he no longer has the ability to hear, but he’ll always recall what they sounded like. He doesn’t understand the fad behind hating them, either. “Say what you want, but Chad has one of the greatest voices in all of rock history. Seriously! Just listen to one song, any song, and you’ll fall in love with his voice before the song is even over.”

“I know, I’m already converted,” Luke interrupts, which comes as a surprise. “They’re, like, one of my favorite bands of all time! And I swear that I’m not being sarcastic or anything. I really love them a lot.”

This time Ashton is the one who gasps, rather impressed. “Really?”

“Mhm!” Luke confirms, chuckling. “None of my friends like them, though.”

“Get better friends!” Ashton suggests. It makes Luke laugh again, and Ashton has to say that it’s a rather nice laugh that he wouldn’t mind hearing often. But that’s a pretty weird thought, so instead he focuses on talking about Nickelback with someone who appreciates their talents as much as he does.

Somehow, Ashton ends up talking to Luke for what seems like hours. They take turns guessing each other’s favorite Nickelback songs, discussing other bands that they both enjoy, and listening to random songs on Ashton’s iTunes—you know, just to make sure that it works properly now. As a matter of fact, they’re so deep in conversation that Ashton temporarily forgets why he called in the first place.

That is, until Luke suddenly asks him, “So, is there anything else that I can help you with?”

Puzzled, it takes Ashton a moment to remember that he’s talking to technical support and not a lifelong friend. “Oh! Right, uh, I think that that’s it? Looks like it’s working just fine now, so… sorry if I’ve been babbling.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Luke says to reassure him. “I’m required to ask that, y’know, just in case you need more help. Or else I could get fired.”

Ashton giggles. “Well, they’d have to be stupid to fire you. You’re really good with this… computer stuff, or whatever. I’d probably still be cursing at this thing like some sort of angry caveman, if you hadn’t helped me out.”

“I’m glad that I could be useful, then,” Luke says with a laugh.

There’s a silence between them for a moment, aside from Nirvana playing out of the speakers of Ashton’s Macbook. To be honest, he doesn’t want to say goodbye yet. He’d been having so much fun just talking about the things that he loves, even though he was speaking to a complete stranger. Maybe that’s what made it so interesting, though. He talks to Calum every day and there probably isn’t a single thing that they don’t know about each other; so talking to someone new and hearing different opinions than what Ashton is used to, has been quite refreshing.

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end.

“Anyway, uh, thanks again for the help—and thanks for being so patient with me, I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to these things.”

“It’s no problem at all, sir! Don’t hesitate to call again if you need help with anything else.”

“Ashton,” he mutters. “You can call me Ashton. ‘Sir’ makes me feel like an old sergeant or something.”

Luke ends up laughing again, which kind of makes Ashton feel a bit warm inside? “Alright. Thanks again for calling, Ashton.”

When they finally do hang up, Ashton turns up the volume of his music and rests his head against the back of the couch, glad that he’s been relieved of one of the many stressful things in his life right now. His mind begins to wander and he thinks back to the long but intriguing conversation that he had with Luke only minutes before. It was the first time in his life that he ever had to call technical support in order to fix a problem, so he wonders if it’s normal to have an hour long conversation about music with one of the technicians. Probably not.

But he has a feeling that he wouldn’t mind doing it again, if it meant being able to talk to Luke.

***

Less than two weeks later, Ashton has another technical issue with his computer.

This time it isn’t his fault, he’s absolutely sure of it. Since he isn’t in the mood to try and fix it himself, he doesn’t think twice about picking up the phone and dialing technical support again; especially since the problem is stopping him from doing a quick google search.

Unlike the first time, it takes a little longer for someone to answer.

“Hello!” says a familiar voice. “Thank you for calling Apple’s—”

“Hi, Luke,” Ashton says, cutting him off. When he doesn’t receive an immediate reply, only then does he consider that Luke might not even remember him at all. For some reason, that possibility makes him feel a little sad.

However, it fills him with joy when it turns out that Luke does remember him. “Oh, hey! How are you doing, sir—I mean, Ashton?”

Ashton chuckles softly before letting out a long sigh. “Not so great, actually. I’ve run into another problem, though I guess that’s obvious. Basically, I updated my Macbook earlier today and ever since then I haven’t been able to connect to Wi-Fi. I’ve restarted it a couple of times, but… no luck. Any idea on what I could’ve done wrong?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Luke tells him as soon as he’s finished explaining. “Unfortunately, many people are having the exact same problem as you. It’s an error with the update and we’re working on a solution, so as soon as we fix things, you should be able to connect just fine.”

“Oh. Well, that’s a bummer.” Ashton sighs again, disappointed that he won’t be able to browse the web tonight—which also means that he won’t be watching any porn, either.

“Yeah… I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience,” Luke says, and he sounds genuinely upset.

“Eh, it’s no biggie. It’s not like it’s your fault, y’know?” Ashton pauses before asking, “By the way, are you okay? You sound pretty glum.”

Luke stutters his reply. “Oh, no, I—I’m fine, yeah.”

Ashton can easily tell that the opposite is true, though. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that not everyone took the news as well as I did?”

“Definitely not,” he answers, laughing a little; though it sounds a bit forced.

And really, Ashton pities him. He can’t imagine how often Luke must have to deal with assholes yelling in his ear because they expect things to always work perfectly. Ashton is smart enough to understand that people like Luke are simply there to provide technical support; he’s not the one who created and administered a defected update. So there’s absolutely no reason to have an attitude with someone who’s only trying to help.

“Well, you just have to try not to let it get to you. But, I know it can be hard sometimes. I’ve had plenty of experience with rude people.” Ashton has to stifle a laugh before continuing. “Okay, so, about a year ago I worked at this restaurant as a waiter. I used to have to deal with all sorts of ridiculous people, but my favorite was a woman who asked for no-calorie water.”

“What?” Luke says in disbelief.

“It’s true! She told me not to put ice in it because she didn’t want any calories. When I brought her diet water to her, she sipped it and then glared at me as if I’d murdered her entire family, then she yelled ‘I can taste the calories!’ and claimed that there was melted ice in the drink.”

Luke laughs at least ten times harder than Ashton had expected, which certainly gives him an ego boost. But he’s really glad that he could make Luke laugh, like, genuinely laugh despite his horrible day. When Luke finally manages to calm down, he says that he has a silly story of his own to tell.

“The most ridiculous customer that I’ve had to deal with was this guy who screamed into the phone the whole time,” he says, still chuckling a little.

“Yikes.”

“I know. Anyway, I ended up arguing with this guy for over an hour, I think, because he insisted that his computer was broken and so I should fix it immediately. He never specified his problem or anything, just kept insisting that it was broken. Finally, he yells into the phone something along the lines of, ‘it was working perfectly before I threw it out of the window!’ because apparently he tossed the computer out of his window during a drunken rage. I’m sitting there trying so hard not to laugh because, like, this guy doesn’t understand why his computer isn’t working… after he literally threw it out of a window.”

This time both of them are reduced to uncontrollable laughter and Ashton has to repeatedly wipe the tears from his eyes. He can’t remember the last time that he laughed this hard, but it’s such a great feeling and it leaves him feeling fuzzy inside.

Once they’ve quieted down, Ashton is still smiling when he speaks again. “Feel better now?”

“I do,” Luke says, and he sounds much happier, too. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. You see, I specialize in telling dumb stories to make people laugh, so it’s a given.”

“Is that so?”

“That is so, yes.”

“Does that mean you’re a comedian, then?”

“I suppose it does. Although there would only be one person in the audience, aka my roommate,” Ashton shamelessly admits.

“Well, I think you’re pretty funny. If you had a show, I’d definitely attend,” Luke says with earnest.

“Okay. Two people in the audience.” As expected, Luke laughs. “Anyway, I’m not actually a comedian. I work full-time at a pet store and part-time as a drummer, so most of the feedback that I get on my jokes comes from dogs. The parrots just mock me.”

Luke snorts, catching Ashton’s pun. “Ah, but what does it mean to be a part-time drummer?”

“It means that I fill in whenever a band lacks a drummer,” he explains. “So it’s kind of like being a part of multiple bands, even though I’m usually only needed for a single show.”

“Makes sense,” Luke says, but then he hesitantly adds a moment later, “I, um, I play guitar but mainly as a hobby.”

That really sparks Ashton’s interest, so it’s only natural that he would pry further. “Really? How long have you been playing?”

“Um, about nine years? Yeah, my brothers began teaching me when I was ten.”

Ashton whistles, impressed. “Wow. I bet you’re really good, then. I’d definitely like to hear you play something.”

For some reason, Luke laughs. “I’d love to, but I don’t think that it would be appropriate to bring my guitar into work.”

“Oh.” Ashton feels his cheeks begin to heat up, since he totally forgot that Luke is at his workplace. It wouldn’t be the first time, though, and he briefly wonders why that is. “Well… what kind of music do you like to play, then? We can start there instead.”

Essentially, that turns out to only be the beginning of their lengthy, in-depth conversation. Ashton and Luke exchange their own life experiences with music and, apparently, Luke grew up with the hopes of becoming a rock star. A small part of him still holds on to his childish dream, but he claims that he made a more realistic decision when he decided to work for Apple. Ashton doesn’t know what it takes to work for one of the largest companies in the world, but he thinks it’s impressive that Luke is only nineteen. He’s also currently attending Sydney University in hopes of getting a degree and being promoted to a better position within the company, though he jokes and claims that it could actually be a waste of time, since he won’t need it when he becomes a famous rock star.

Deciding that it’s only fair, Ashton tells Luke his own situation. He talks about how he wanted to be so many different things when he was younger, most of them having to do with saving lives because he wanted to be a superhero; so he strived to become a fireman, then a veterinarian, a paramedic, and a lifeguard. Obviously none of those things stuck with him for long, but playing music has always been a constant in his life. It’s something that he can see himself doing forever, and he knows that someday he’ll be able to find a permanent band and share his beats with the world.

Afraid that he’s made the conversation a little too heavy, Ashton lightens it up with a joke that has Luke laughing for a solid thirty seconds. It seems that Luke will always laugh at Ashton’s jokes, no matter how lame they are, and it makes Ashton feel prouder than he probably should.

Overall, they mainly just listen to songs on Ashton’s iTunes and it sort of turns into a game. Luke will suggest a song made by a band that they both like to see if Ashton has it, and most of the time he does. It’s much more fun than it sounds, especially since Ashton is currently unable to use the internet. However, in the midst of their silly game and light banter, Luke notifies him that the Wi-Fi problem has been fixed and instructs him to restart his laptop. As soon as Ashton successfully connects to it, he can’t deny the small part of him that wishes it hadn’t worked.

“Sorry that it took so long to get fixed! You shouldn’t have a problem with it now, though,” Luke says with confidence. “So, can I help you with anything else?”

For a moment, Ashton considers lying because he had been in the middle of telling Luke a particularly hilarious story, which involves one of the parrots at the pet store who always dances when Ashton plays Slipknot. Instead, he lets out a small sigh and decides that it can wait.

“No,” he mumbles, but then he clears his throat and repeats, “No. But thanks for your time and for… for helping me out.”

Luke says that it’s no problem at all and he thanks Ashton for calling. He hangs up soon afterwards, so Ashton does the same.

“Who was that?”

Ashton whips his head around to find Calum standing in the hall, and it definitely surprises him because he hadn’t noticed his roommate’s presence.

“What are you doing up?” Ashton asks him instead of answering the question. “It’s… almost three in the morning?” He finishes his sentence with uncertainty because, in all honesty, he hadn’t even noticed the time himself. He and Luke must have talked for much longer than he thought.

“Had to piss,” Calum says with a yawn, and he lifts a hand to rub his tired eyes. “But then I came out and heard you talking to yourself, wondered if you finally lost it. So, who were talking to? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” Ashton answers. He then proceeds to mess around on iTunes in hopes that Calum will simply go back to bed.

Unfortunately for Ashton, Calum struts into the living room and plops down right next to him on the couch.

“Was it your mum?” he asks.

“No, it wasn’t my mum. She wouldn’t even be awake at this hour,” Ashton grumbles, though mainly because Calum was leaning against him to get a peek at his computer screen. He’s always been rather nosy, yet he claims that Ashton is the nosy one. And, okay, so that’s slightly true—but Ashton doesn’t like it when other people are nosy in return.

“That makes sense… so was it Penelope?” Calum guesses next, and he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Ashton frowns despite the blush that threatens to make its way on his cheeks. “She doesn’t even have my number!”

“You should give it to her, then.”

“Sexual relations with co-workers are against the rules.”

“Since when do you follow the rules?” When Ashton doesn’t answer, Calum moves on. “Okay, so it was Jaime.”

“Nope.”

“Angel?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Was it Brian?”

Ashton opens his mouth to deny it but then he quickly closes it again, his lips set in a straight line. This is basically his default expression whenever that particular name is mentioned, so Calum isn’t surprised at all.

“Of course it wasn’t Brian,” he mumbles at last. He then lets out a long, exhausted sigh. “I blocked and deleted his number, remember?”

“Good,” Calum mumbles back. He rests his head on Ashton’s shoulder and exhales an equally exhausted sigh. “You’re way too good for him, y’know.”

Ashton merely hums indifferently. This wouldn’t be the first time that he’s heard those words from his best friend, though he can’t say that he completely believes them. The situation was simple: he and Brian had been a thing for a handful of months, but then Brian’s ex came back into the picture and, well, now Ashton is the ex. Despite what Calum says, Ashton feels like it’s partly his fault. He’s the one who pined for Brian even though he knew that the guy wasn’t completely over his ex… or the ones before that, either, to be honest. Brian had a very difficult time when it came to letting people go, so he had a bad habit of venting about his numerous exes to Ashton. Every single time, it never failed to make Ashton feel like an inadequate piece of shit.

It was only a matter of time before Brian left him, he supposes. Ashton isn’t the best at keeping everyone satisfied with him.

“So… was it some sort of phone sex hotline? I won’t judge you.”

“What? No!” Ashton practically squeals, bursting into laughter at the same time that Calum does. “I wasn’t having phone sex, okay, now stop guessing because I’m not gonna tell you...!”

“Fine,” Calum huffs, but then he goes on to say that Ashton really should get laid soon because he always does weird things when he’s lonely; such as talking to mysterious beings on the phone at early hours of the morning.

In order to drop the subject once and for all, Ashton pinches Calum’s cheek and promises that he’ll ‘tone down’ his weirdness. Although he gets his hand swatted away, his plan seems to have worked rather well.

“Anyway, now that my internet is working again… wanna watch stupid shit on YouTube?” Ashton suggests.

Calum arches a brow. “It’s three in the morning, though.”

Ashton simply shrugs. “Never stopped us before.”

When his friend smiles, Ashton knows that he’s won.

***

Ashton has another problem. The funny thing is, it has nothing to do with his computer but he wishes that that was the case.

The actual problem is that it’s been a month since Ashton has had to call technical support, meaning that it’s been a month since he’s talked to Luke. Yes, it sounds rather pathetic to yearn for contact with someone that he’s only talked to twice, but Ashton has very logical reasons for it.

First of all, conversations with new friends stimulate his highly complex mind—wait, can he even refer to Luke has a friend? Whatever, he’s been doing it in his mind for the past few weeks, so it’s too late to stop now. Secondly, Luke totally thinks that he’s the most hilarious person in the universe, which is a definite bonus. Why wouldn’t Ashton want to talk to someone who appreciates his wonderful humor? Lastly, the topics that they discuss are quite artistic in nature, which is another thing that stimulates Ashton’s massive mind; plus, he has a feeling that it’s mutual.

In truth, most of that is bullshit.

He just wants to talk to Luke because the guy has a nice voice, he seems like a nice person, and Ashton craves attention because he’s incredibly lonely. It’s easy to get attention from someone who has no choice but to give it to him. Of course, he refuses to say any of this aloud.

The unfortunate part of it all is that there’s absolutely no reason to call Luke. Like, Ashton’s Macbook has been functioning perfectly for the past month, so why would he need to contact technical support? It’s as if the only way that he’ll talk to Luke again is by faking a technical issue, which is even more pathetic than missing Luke’s attractive voice in the first place. There’s no way that Ashton would stoop so low!

Less than an hour later, Ashton stoops that low.

This time he decides to make the call in his bedroom, since Calum had caught him the previous time. ‘Caught’ is such a strange word to use, though, because it’s not as if it’s a crime to call and ask for help. Ashton seriously did need assistance both of those times, but since this time is different, he prefers it if no one else has to know about it.

Thus, Ashton hops onto his bed and dials the number with nervous fingers, impatiently waiting for an answer.

As soon as Luke’s deep voice seeps into Ashton’s eardrums, he feels some type of way that probably shouldn’t even be described. Yeah, his fascination is much worse than he originally thought. However, while Luke is repeating his usual greeting, Ashton uses this moment to compose his thoughts.

“Hey, you,” he says once Luke has finished. Apparently he didn’t compose his thoughts enough, because that was corny as fuck. Maybe even a little creepy.

Unlike the last time, Luke recognizes his voice immediately.

“Ashton,” he says with fondness. Like, actual fondness. Ashton can sense it in his voice and it is definitely fondness, okay. But even more so, he sounds surprised to hear that it’s Ashton. “It’s been a while, how are you? Is Lenny the parrot still rocking out to Slipknot?”

Ashton shamelessly giggles, quite impressed that Luke remembers the silly story from the last time that they spoke. He even remembered the parrot’s name, which shows much more dedication than some of Ashton’s actual friends have shown in years.

“I’m fine. But yeah, he is! I haven’t been able to play it for him recently, though. The little radio broke and my manager hasn’t replaced it yet…”

It was totally Ashton’s fault, but he leaves that little detail out of it.

“Oh no,” Luke says, and he actually sounds sympathetic. God, how does he even exist? “I’m sorry to hear that. Well, I can’t fix the radio for you, but I can do my best to help you with whatever problem that you have now. What’s up?”

Ashton completely forgot about that already. There isn’t an issue with his computer so he told himself that he’d come up with one, except he never actually did. Picking up the phone and calling technical support was more or less a ‘heat of the moment’ decision, so he’s basically fucked unless he can come up with something on the spot.

So, that’s exactly what he does.

“Oh, right. Um…” Ashton momentarily stares at his bright computer screen before getting an idea. “Okay. So my problem isn’t as huge as the last two times but, basically—and please don’t laugh at me—I can’t… figure out how to change the wallpaper on my Macbook, so I’ve been using the default one.”

Honestly? That’s about as lame as it gets, so Ashton greatly expects Luke to laugh at him or tell him to stop bullshitting around. But, Luke does none of that. In fact, he sounds quite serious when he speaks up again.

“That’s okay, I know that it can be a bit tricky sometimes. Do you have the picture that you want to change it to?”

“Yep,” Ashton lies. He doesn’t plan to change his Green Day wallpaper anytime soon, but Luke doesn’t need to know that.

“Okay. I’ll begin walking you through the steps now. Is that alright?”

“Yes, sir!” he replies in a dramatically deep tone. Luke chuckles softly and starts giving him instructions.

They complete the task in less than five minutes. Ashton really wants to punch himself for not coming up with a better excuse, since now Luke has no reason to continue talking him. Therefore, the best thing that he can do is improvise.

“Wow,” Ashton gasps, pretending to be impressed. “That was much easier than I thought it would be… thanks, Luke.”

“No problem,” he says as usual. “So, what picture did you change it to? Um, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“One of Green Day! It’s a really cool picture of them on stage.” Ashton exhales a dreamy sigh, circling the cursor around Billie Joe Armstrong’s face. He’ll be able to meet the legend someday, and when that day comes, he’ll be ready.

“That’s sick,” Luke says, and then he quickly adds, “Ah, I mean sick in a good way. Like, uh, that’s pretty awesome.”

Though he can’t be seen, Ashton fondly rolls his eyes. “I can understand slang, Lukey.”

“Oh.” Luke goes silent for several seconds before repeating curiously, “Lukey?”

That was probably going too far and Ashton must sound like a total creep now. He doesn’t get a chance to explain himself, though, because Luke begins to laugh a bit.

“Well, like I said, your new wallpaper sounds pretty sick, Ash.”

If Ashton’s heart flutters upon hearing the nickname that he’s been given, he’ll never be the one to admit it.

“So, um, w-what about you, then? What’s your wallpaper?” he asks, stuttering a little as he attempts to redirect the conversation.

“Mine is Green Day as well.”

Ashton gasps. “Really?”

“No, I’m just kidding,” Luke replies, laughing—which is totally rude. “My wallpaper is actually from a show that I like, that’s all.”

“And what show is that?”

“Um… Friends,” he mutters, sounding a bit embarrassed. “I watch it sometimes, so…”

“So do I!” Ashton exclaims, though it’s only half true. He’s watched a handful of episodes with Calum but, other than that, he wouldn’t call himself a huge fan. But it seems that Luke is a huge fan, and for certain reasons, Ashton sees that as a valid reason to pretend to be as well.

Just as Ashton had hoped, Luke gets very excited that they seem to have found another thing that they have in common, aside from their similar music tastes. As a result, they end up talking about Friends for quite some time, though Ashton lets Luke do most of the talking since he knows much more about the show. However, discussing it kind of makes Ashton want to watch more episodes, and he decides that he will sometime that upcoming weekend.

Eventually, Ashton asks, “Wanna hear something funny?”

“Obviously,” comes Luke’s witty reply.

“Okay, so, this might be a bit inappropriate but do you remember the last time that we talked? Well, my roommate overheard so he kept pestering me about who I was talking to at three in the morning, and at one point he assumed that I’d called a sex hotline. Can you believe that?”

Luke laughs before Ashton even finishes, though the sound is quickly muffled, presumably by his hand to prevent any of his nearby co-workers from hearing.

“Well, did you?” he asks between the giggles escaping his lips, his tone hushed and secretive.

Ashton is slightly offended. “Of course I didn’t! I was talking to you the entire time, you jerk.”

Although Luke starts to laugh again, he insists that he was only joking.

“Besides, I’ve never called a sex hotline in my entire life,” Ashton goes on. “But now I’m kind of curious about how they work.”

“What do you mean?” Luke asks.

“I guess, like, what happens when you call one? When someone answers do you just go…” Ashton dramatically deepens his tone before continuing, “Hey there, mysterious but sexy voice on the other end of the phone. I’ve been a very bad boy.”

“Oh, god, please don’t ever use that creepy voice again,” Luke groans.

Ashton finds his reaction quite amusing. Just to mess with Luke a bit more, he says in a rather sultry voice this time, “So… what’re you wearing, Luke?”

“Um… jeans?” he answers, sounding more than a little confused. “And a blue shirt with the Apple logo on it… it’s the uniform, so.”

Ashton lets out an exasperated sigh, though he ends up giggling at this boy’s obliviousness. It’s kind of cute. “No, that’s—y’know what, never mind. It was a dumb joke, anyway.”

“Oh?” Still confused as ever, Luke goes silent for a moment before it finally clicks. “Oh… oh! Wow, I—oh my god.”

Ashton may not be able to see his face, but it’s obvious that Luke is flustered now. It’s evident in the way that he laughs nervously and struggles to come up with an immediate reply, which makes Ashton feel just a little bad for him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” he says, trying not to snicker.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Luke blurts out. “You don’t… make me uncomfortable. Like, not at all. I, um, I actually really like talking to you. A lot.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. Really,” he insists, going from flustered to confident. “And I promise that I’m not just saying that because you distract me from my occasionally stressful job, either.”

Ashton huffs out a laugh, but he can’t deny that he’s the one feeling a bit flustered right now. From the few times that they’ve spoken to each other, he can tell that Luke is a pretty hard worker. In other words, he probably doesn’t normally talk to his customers for several hours straight about random topics that have nothing to do with technical issues. Therefore, Ashton is a special case, and by extension that means that Luke thinks he’s special. So, yeah, Ashton definitely has a reason for the butterflies in his stomach.

“I really enjoy our conversations as well, Lukey,” he murmurs at last. “I mean, it’s not often that people let me rant to them about awesome music one minute and then about the evil parrots who bite my fingers the next.”

Luke chuckles softly and, after that, there’s a temporary lull in their conversation where neither of them know what to say. However, it feels more like a comfortable silence instead of awkwardness, so Ashton doesn’t mind it so much. But, just as he’s about to come up with a new topic to talk about, Luke speaks first.

“Well, um, is there anything else that I can… can help you with?”

It’s the question that usually signals the end of their phone call, which is why Ashton unconsciously frowns upon hearing it. That frown quickly shifts into a little smirk, though, when his mind hatches a sudden idea.

“Yes, actually. There is,” he claims. “I was just wondering if you could help me pick songs for my new work-out playlist? I’m getting pretty bored of my usual one.”

Luke seems to agree with that plan, because Ashton can tell that he’s smiling when he says, “Of course. It’d be my pleasure.”

***

Talking to Luke becomes a normal thing for Ashton.

Of course, it would be strange if he simply dialed technical support just to say hello, so each time he comes up with a new excuse for calling—and each time, the excuse gets lamer and lamer. For instance, some of his recent excuses were that he couldn’t figure out how to get pictures from his phone onto his computer, he didn’t know how to open up a text editor document, and the worst one yet: he couldn’t figure out where he saved an image that he’d downloaded from google.

All of those things are quite simple to figure out, and even if Ashton didn’t know how to do them, he could’ve easily googled the solution. However, the entire point of his efforts is to seem as technologically ignorant as possible, that way Luke will have no choice but to help him. The funniest part is that Luke has to have caught on by now, there’s no way that he couldn’t have figured out that Ashton isn’t as ignorant as he claims to be. Yet, every single time that Ashton calls with another silly excuse, Luke helps him without question.

Perhaps it’s because he’s nice. Or, perhaps it’s because he really wants to talk to Ashton, too.

Somehow, their calls evolve from a weekly thing to something that they do every other day, which eventually turns into daily calls. Well, technically they’re nightly calls since Luke’s shift starts late at night and ends early in the morning. It’s not often that people call for actual help during those hours, so Ashton is free to talk to Luke for as long as he pleases. This usually results in them talking from the beginning of Luke’s shift to the very end of it, when Ashton can barely keep his eyes open but he manages to keep his mouth moving. Luke always has to force him to go to sleep during those nights, though Ashton attempts to resist by claiming that he’s only trying to keep Luke from feeling bored and lonely. Then Luke will promise that they’ll have a longer conversation the next time, as long as Ashton promises to get some proper rest because he has to work in a few hours.  

It always works out for the both of them, in the end.

As a matter of fact, talking to Luke most nights (he doesn’t work on the weekends) has become such a normal thing for Ashton that it surprises him when one night, Luke doesn’t answer.

“Hello,” says a voice that Ashton definitely does not recognize at all. “Thanks for calling Apple’s technical support. How can I help you?”

Although this new person hasn’t said their name, Ashton knows two things for sure: one, they’re obviously not Luke. And two, they sound bored as fuck, as if they’d much rather be somewhere else at the moment.

“Um… Luke?” Ashton says anyway, still hoping that he’s wrong.

“Err, no,” the voice says, “he isn’t here. Are you a friend of his or something? Because I’m sure he’d answer if you called his personal phone instead.”

“Oh, no, I just—he’s usually the one who helps me with my tech issues and… stuff.” Ashton cringes at his poor explanation, but that’ll have to do for now. He’s still a bit shocked that, for once, it appears that he won’t get to talk to Luke tonight. That kind of makes him sad, to be honest.

“Well, earlier he called in sick, which means that he won’t be able to do that this time,” the voice explains, and Ashton might be wrong, but he senses a bit of sarcasm in that tone. “But whatever, I’m sure that I can help you with your problem much better than he could. So, what do you need?”

Would it be weird if Ashton hangs up without another word? Probably. And since he’s one of those people who value manners, he decides to go through with his original plan of having a ‘technical issue’. Thus, he uses one of the excuses that he’s already used on Luke, and pretends to be clueless when the guy begins helping him. It’s not as fun as when Luke helps him, though, because Ashton can still hear the boredom in this guy’s tone, not to mention that he isn’t as patient and he doesn’t say ‘yay’ when they’ve solved the issue. Ashton is actually glad when he finally hangs up.

However, immediately afterwards, he begins to worry about Luke. The bored guy said that Luke had called in sick, which is the first time that this has happened for as long as Ashton has known him. He tries to convince himself that it’s just a cold and that Luke is probably fine, but Ashton’s evil mind forces him to consider all of the other possibilities as well, such as Luke facing a serious illness and it’s a battle between life and death. That’s probably not the case at all, but this is the kind of shit that goes through his mind when he has no way of reaching Luke aside from his work number. But, Ashton felt that it would’ve been too creepy to suddenly ask for Luke’s cellphone number, no matter how much he sometimes wanted to.

Consequently, he has no choice but to wait until Luke feels better, whenever that’ll be.

The next night, Ashton struggles with whether or not he should call. If the bored guy from the previous night answers, then he knows that this time he really would hang up instantly. As rude as that would be, Ashton only wishes to speak to Luke. The problem is that he has no idea how severe Luke’s illness is, so he doesn’t know whether or not Luke will be absent tonight as well. Another thing that sucks about this situation is that it’s Friday, meaning that if Luke isn’t there again, Ashton will have to wait until Monday to finally talk to him again. It’s rather pathetic, but Ashton doesn’t want that at all.

Hence, after mentally arguing with himself for over an hour, Ashton picks up the phone and dials technical support before he can change his mind. His heart is thumping in his chest as he waits for an answer, and each second that passes by feels more like a year. Telling himself not to be nervous doesn’t change the fact that he is.

Finally, someone answers.

“Hello!” says the cheerful, perfect voice that Ashton had been yearning to hear.

“Luke!” he says with much enthusiasm, just before Luke was about to finish his usual greeting.

Luke replies with just as much enthusiasm. “Hey! I was hoping that it would be you. How’s it going? Oh, and I’m really sorry that I wasn’t here yesterday night… when Michael told me that someone had been asking for me, I just knew that it was you.”

Ashton’s mind gets stuck on the part where Luke admitted that he’d hoped it was Ashton who was calling. Like, that’s just about the sweetest thing that anyone’s said to him in a while. It also feels great to know that Luke looks forward to talking to him, perhaps just as much as Ashton looks forward to hearing Luke’s voice. And like a schoolboy with a crush, it makes Ashton’s cheeks heat up and puts a wide smile on his face.

“Ash? You there?”

Crap. He must’ve zoned out much longer than necessary, so he quickly answers, “Yeah, yeah, I’m here. And, uh, who’s Michael?”

“My co-worker,” Luke explains, “he filled in for me yesterday.”

“Oh! You mean the bored guy.” Ashton wrinkles his nose at the memory. “Well, he didn’t seem that enthusiastic about it.”

Luke laughs a little. “Yeah, um, sorry about that. I swear that he’s not a total asshole or anything, he was probably just bummed that he had to fill in for me on his night off. Did he help you with your problem, though?”

“He did, yeah…” Ashton trails off before asking what he’s wanted to ask from the beginning. “So, like, are you feeling better now? He told me that you were sick so I was kind of… worried.”

More like very worried, but Ashton manages to be subtle about it.

“Oh, I feel great!” Luke claims, but then he lowers his voice significantly and adds, “Okay, so, the truth is that yesterday was my brother’s birthday. We went clubbing and I was gonna have just one drink before leaving early for work, but… well, things didn’t go exactly as I’d planned? I was greeted with a nice hangover this morning, but it’s gone now.”

Oh.

Well, now that Ashton knows the truth, he’s not quite sure how to feel about it. On one hand, he can totally see why Luke would call in sick, since it obviously wouldn’t be good to show up to work drunk. But, on the other hand, it also means that Ashton had been worried for nothing. Like, okay, he’s the one who jumped to conclusions and assumed that Luke had been suffering in bed; but, he really wishes that he could’ve known that there wasn’t anything to worry about. Oh well, he’s glad that Luke wasn’t in any serious pain, aside from his imminent hangover.

“Sounds like you had a lot of fun,” Ashton says. “Although now I’m curious to know what type of drunk you are… would you be the guy doing headstands on the dancefloor?”

“No, no, I’m the opposite of that,” he says with a laugh.

“Yeah? How would you describe your inebriated self, then?”

“Hm… I guess that I’m the ‘fun’ drunk. Like, I’m the guy who’s chill with everyone when I’m drunk—even my worst enemy, if I had one. So if you go out one night and you see a guy clinging to literally everyone, that’s probably me.”

Ashton giggles at the mental image, though it isn’t much of one since he doesn’t know what Luke looks like, and that’s something that he’s always wondered about. “But, how will I be able to tell that it’s you? I haven’t the slightest idea of what you look like.”

Luke hums for a moment as if thinking to himself. “Well, for starters, I have blond hair that apparently defies gravity. At least, that’s what I’m told by people who don’t understand the art of quiffs. I’m also told that I’m shaped like a noodle, mainly because of my excessively long legs, and… oh, and I have a lip ring. Does that help?”

“A little,” Ashton says, but to be honest, he’s thinking less about what Luke looks like in general and more about the fact that Luke wears a lip ring. Like, if that isn’t hot as fuck, then he doesn’t know what is. Now, he’s even more intrigued. “What else?”

“Um… I have light blue eyes, a pointy nose, and I’m always wearing skinny jeans that suffocate my legs?”

That silly description is about as much as he’s going to get, so Ashton accepts it.

“What about you? What do you look like?” Luke asks, sounding even more curious than Ashton had been.

Ashton decides to make a game out of it. “Guess!”

“Fine, fine… um… you have brown hair.”

“Nope. Mine is more of a dark blond and it’s very curly. Guess something else.”

“Hm. Okay, I think that you’re very, very… short.”

“I am not short!” Ashton gasps, offended; but Luke argues that that’s exactly what a short person would say. “I’m not a short person. Like, at all. In fact, I’ll have you know that I’m six feet tall!”

Luke whistles as if impressed. “Wow, that is pretty tall… well, I’m still four inches taller than you, so that makes you short in comparison.”

Ashton begins to whine that Luke is being completely unfair, but Luke simply laughs at him. He then asks if Ashton has a thick mustache and wears a red hat, and when Ashton denies it, he seems a little disappointed. Apparently, he’d been trying to guess if Ashton resembled the fictional character Mario this whole time, which shows that he clearly isn’t taking this seriously at all. So, Ashton gives up the guessing game and decides to describe himself to Luke instead.

“So you see, I look nothing like Mario,” he finishes. “Anyway, based on how you described yourself earlier, I imagine that you must be pretty hot.”

“Oh,” is all that Luke says at first, since Ashton totally caught him off guard. “Heh, thank you… how’d you come to that conclusion, though?”

“Easy. I have what’s known as a hot-person radar,” Ashton answers, which has to be the lamest thing that he’s said yet. Luke gets a kick out of it, though.

“Well, so do I,” he claims, going along with it. “Except mine’s more of a… cute-person radar.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. And based on how you described yourself, I’d say that you’re definitely cute… um, although I already knew that.”

“How?”

“Because you have a cute personality,” Luke answers as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. “I mean, even if I hadn’t talked to you for as long as I have, I think that it’s obvious enough.”

Ashton has to temporarily move the phone away from his ear and bury his flushed face in one of the pillows on his bed. Their mutual flirting has to be as corny as it gets, but it still manages to stir the butterflies in Ashton’s stomach and make him blush to the point of being unable to function. Aside from how comfortable he is when talking to Luke, the simplicity of their developing relationship is what he likes the most. Ashton enjoys simple things, especially after dealing with complicated people and things that leave him stressed out. In contrast, Luke calms him and makes him feel like he can be his true self all the time.

“Ash?”

Whoops. Looks like he spaced out again. Ashton lifts the phone back to his ear and shifts around on the bed, getting a bit more comfortable.

“I hear ya,” he mumbles.

Somehow, Luke knows exactly what just went on. “Are you… blushing?”

“Shut up,” Ashton mutters, but he giggles afterwards because he’s still quite flustered. He hates that he turns into a giggling little schoolboy when he’s flustered, and he hates that Luke figured this out some time ago.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Luke says, teasing him further. “Hm… I wonder how red your face is right now.”

“Well that’s too bad, ‘cause you’ll never see it!”

“Aw, don’t be cruel,” he pouts. A moment later he mutters, “Shit,” though for an entirely different reason.

“What’s wrong?” Ashton asks.

He can hear Luke fumbling around with something for a few seconds before he speaks again.

“Nothing, just—I’m getting another call, for some reason. It’s supposed to automatically redirect to someone else since I’m already talking to you, but…” Luke trails off and begins fumbling with something once more. “Sorry, but can you hold on for a minute? I shouldn’t be gone for too long, I just have to get someone else to take it.”

“Sure, take your time.”

“Okay. Um, don’t hang up?”

Ashton giggles. “I won’t, Lukey. I promise.”

“Good,” he says, and Ashton doesn’t miss the obvious sigh of relief. He puts Ashton on hold, the stereotypical elevator music playing through the receiver. However, less than ten seconds have passed before Luke picks up again. “Oh, and try not to miss me too much, okay?”

Ashton lets out a groan to stop himself from laughing. “Seriously, Luke?”

Luke merely laughs, that charming little laugh that Ashton can’t seem to get enough of, and he puts Ashton on hold again—but, not before promising to return shortly.

Ashton holds him to that promise.

***

While fixing breakfast the next morning with Calum, Ashton goes over all of the key points in his and Luke’s conversation from the previous night. This is typically how his morning starts off after a fun night on the phone, so it’s nothing unusual.

After about the fifth or sixth time that Ashton called technical support, he decided to tell Calum about Luke since there was absolutely no reason to hide it. His roommate had teased him at first, insisting that ‘technical support’ had to be a code word for sex hotline. But, Calum eventually said that he was happy that Ashton had made a new friend and was having fun doing whatever it is that he does, and that was that.

However, Ashton began to talk about Luke more and more because he certainly is a schoolboy with a crush, and he knows that Calum has to be getting tired of hearing about the charming boy who works for Apple, but he’ll never ask Ashton to shut up about it because it’s something that makes him happy.

Once a nice amount of vegemite has been lathered onto Ashton’s crispy toast, he joins Calum at the table to finish telling him about how Luke had described himself. He puts an emphasis on Luke’s supposed lip ring and Calum snorts, knowing that Ashton has a thing for piercings.

“That’s great and all that he finally told you what he looks like, but what if he’s a catfish?” Calum asks, shoveling more cereal into his mouth.

Ashton arches a brow before bursting into laughter. “Calum, we’ve been talking on the phone for a few months now. I’m pretty sure that if Luke was actually a fish, then… well, none of this would have been possible.”

“Oh my god,” Calum groans, and he kicks Ashton’s foot beneath the table.

“Hey!” he whines, “What was that for?”

“I wasn’t talking about an actual catfish.” Calum starts to laugh, but when he sees that Ashton is genuinely confused, he sighs. “Okay, so, you obviously have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

Ashton shakes his head and bites into his toast, his voice muffled when he speaks. “Nope. No idea at all.”

“Right. Basically, a catfish is like…” Calum pauses to think for a moment, his hand idly stirring the cereal in circles with the spoon. “A catfish is someone online who pretends to be someone else to trick people, since it’s easy to lie and claim to look a certain way. For all you know, Luke could actually be a fifty-five year old pervert—if ‘Luke’ is even his real name.”

Ashton is already frowning before Calum finishes his explanation. “Well that’s a shitty thing to assume about someone. What makes you think that Luke is lying to me? He wouldn’t.”

Calum merely shrugs. “I’m just saying that it’s a possibility. After all, you’ve never seen him with your own eyes. Did you tell him what you looked like, though?”

“Of course I did,” Ashton huffs indignantly. “I told him that I was tall, kind of muscular, and that I had dark blond curly hair. Y’know, things like that.”

Calum slowly nods. “Okay, so maybe you’re the catfish, then.”

The extra hard kick that he receives in his shin was well-deserved, so Ashton doesn’t see any reason to apologize for it.

***

Since it’s Saturday, Ashton’s shift at the pet store ends much earlier than usual. Instead of hanging around the nearby café or venturing into the music store across the street from his workplace, he decides to go straight home to get a bit of rest. He hadn’t stayed up that late when talking to Luke the previous night—at least, not as late as he usually does—but he’s tired regardless, so a quick nap is definitely in order.

Unfortunately, Ashton doesn’t fall asleep as soon as he’s lying cozily in his bed. His body may be tired but his mind is still wide awake, hopping from one thought to the next and refusing to give him a break. Most of all, he thinks about what he and Calum had discussed earlier that morning. In all honesty, Ashton just thinks that his roommate is being overly suspicious of Luke to protect him. Even if they did know each other in person instead of over the phone, Calum would probably still be suspicious of Luke. That’s just how he is, so Ashton tries not to worry too much about what was said during breakfast.

Ashton is Ashton, though, which means that he ends up worrying anyway. No, he doesn’t think that Luke is a fifty-five year old pervert or anything like that; but, he really does yearn to know what the guy looks like. Luke’s wonderful voice combined with the description that he gave Ashton makes Ashton think of him as some sort of other worldly prince; his blond hair probably flows in the wind while he gazes up at the sky, which matches the color of his eyes, and his long legs shame even the most professional models across the globe. Just looking at his beauty probably brings great satisfaction.

All of that is just a fantasy, though. Ashton wants to know what the real Luke looks like. He wants to know if Luke’s nose is as pointy as he says it is, he wants to see the expression on Luke’s face when he laughs at one of Ashton’s silly jokes, he wants to see it all.

Maybe his own desire and curiosity is what drives Ashton to pick up his Macbook and open Safari. It’s definitely not because he doesn’t trust Luke or he’s afraid that Calum is right. He just wants to see Luke’s beautiful face and he knows that it’ll match his beautiful personality.

“Just a quick search, that’s all,” Ashton mutters to himself as he types ‘Luke Hemmings’ into google.

He clicks on one of the first results that he’s given, which takes him to a Facebook page that lists a handful of people with similar names. After scrolling down for a bit, Ashton comes across one who claims to live in Sydney, Australia. He nearly changes his mind and exits out of the browser as soon as he sees it, but instead he pushes himself to click on the user’s icon.

A minute later he finds himself staring at a small album of pictures. Most of them are of a black dog, apparently named Molly, and some are blurry as if Luke had been chasing her to try and get a picture but she refused to cooperate. However, the rest of the pictures feature a scrawny boy with golden blond hair, bright blue eyes, and an epic fringe. A few of them are selfies, but the majority of the pictures were taken with friends and family.

Overall, he appears to be a normal, dorky teenage boy with a cute smile and a love for batman, since he’s wearing the costume in a couple of the pictures. His page hasn’t been updated since 2011, though, so who knows what he looks like in the present.

Ashton decides not to pry any further and exits out of the browser, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. It’s still possible that the Luke he’d seen wasn’t the same Luke that works for Apple, even though he seemed to be the only Luke Hemmings located in Sydney and just so happened to be blond and blue-eyed—there’s also the fact he owned a dog. The Luke that Ashton has been talking to for the past few months mentioned a pet dog once or twice, but he never gave a specific name or told Ashton what the dog looked like. So, it definitely is possible that everything is just one big coincidence.

Whether that really was his Luke or not, Ashton still feels like he shouldn’t have snooped around like some creep. Yeah, he’d only been curious to know what his crush looked like, but it still makes him feel weird. Besides, he knows that he won’t want to stop talking to Luke no matter what the guy looks like, and if someday Luke decides that he wants Ashton to see him, then that’ll be his choice. Who knows, maybe they’ll even be able to meet in person.

Ashton really, really wants to meet Luke in person and talk to him face to face. In fact, he can’t think of anything that he wants more.

Actually, he can. Kissing Luke is probably the only thing that he desires more than anything else, and he’s known that for a while but he hasn’t been able to admit it to himself until now. God, he wants so badly to just kiss Luke and hold his hand and talk about music with him while sitting in the park downtown. He’d say something silly and Luke would laugh, allowing Ashton to hear that perfect sound with his own ears instead of through the phone. Such a privilege would truly be amazing.

The chance of any of that happening is so low that it may as well be zero, so Ashton rolls over and shuts his eyes, forcing himself to sleep at last.

***

Something amazing happens when Ashton is talking to Luke one night.

It’s been a few weeks since the Facebook search that he’d conducted, and Ashton’s desire to be with Luke has only grown stronger. Not much has changed between them, though. They continue talking on the phone with each other almost every night, they shamelessly flirt like the two adorable dorks that they are, and Luke’s voice is the last thing that Ashton hears before he falls asleep.

The only change worth mentioning is that Ashton no longer has to come up with an excuse when he calls technical support. As soon as Luke answers, they either pick up their conversation from the previous night or dive straight into a new one. Ashton figures that there’s no point in pretending when he’s sure that Luke knows the truth. Besides, not once has Luke implied that he minds it.

However, things go a little differently one particular night.

“Hey,” Ashton murmurs when Luke picks up.

“Hey…” he replies, “What’s wrong?”

Despite the mood that he’s in, Ashton can’t help but smile. It amazes him that, even though he’d only said a single word, Luke is able to tell when he’s genuinely happy or not. Sure, it could’ve been that Luke is simply guessing, but Ashton highly doubts that.

Ashton exhales a tired sigh. “Nothing, it’s just… just a bad day, is all.”

“You can vent to me, if you want,” Luke tells him. “I’m listening.”

Ashton has never been the type of person to complain about his problems, mainly because he’s afraid of what people will think of him. But he trusts Luke and he’s comfortable enough to talk to him about basically anything, so he doesn’t hold back this time.

He tells Luke about his shitty luck that morning, starting with his burnt toast and then the fact that he stepped in a rain puddle that was much deeper than he’d thought, so he had to go back inside to change even though he was already a bit late for work. Then he’d received the scare of his life while driving to work when some asshole nearly rammed into him from behind, then they had the nerve to flip him off as they sped past. Next, someone finally bought Lenny the parrot today, and although it’s obviously a good thing, Ashton knows that he’s going to miss playing music for the little guy.

All of those things are merely small contributors to Ashton’s shitty day, though. What really put him in a horrible mood is the call that he received from his ex-boyfriend just a few hours before. Since Ashton had blocked Brian’s number, he’d used a different phone to make the call, which is why Ashton hadn’t suspected a thing when he’d answered. He blames himself for not hanging up as soon as he heard the bastard’s voice; maybe he wouldn’t feel like crap right now, had he done that. But, he’d wanted to know why Brian was even bothering to contact him after all these months, so he’d stayed on the phone and endured the same bullshit that he’d already heard so many times before: Brian insisted that he still ‘cared’ about Ashton, that he wanted to be friends. It’s obvious that he’s only thinking about himself and not about the pain that he caused Ashton when he dumped him for someone else. So, Ashton hung up.

“I’m still angry and I still think that he’s a dick, but… I also feel like I’m overreacting?” Ashton pauses, trying to reword what he means. “Like, it could’ve been much worse. He could’ve cheated on me instead of breaking up with me. So, maybe I shouldn’t complain so much.”

“I disagree,” Luke says, and it comes as a surprise. “If you’re upset then you’re upset, and you have every right to be. Just because he could’ve treated you worse doesn’t mean that his actions should be excused, y’know? He really is a dick and you deserve better.”

Ashton ends up smiling even wider than the first time. “It’s kind of funny, because Calum has told me similar things... I guess it’s about time that I finally listen, then. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, it’s my job.” Luke purposely tries to make his voice sound sexy and heroic, making Ashton laugh.

“My hero,” he replies, his own tone high-pitched to mimic a damsel in distress.

Luke chuckles at his silliness. “So, feel better now?”

“Somewhat, yeah.” Ashton shifts around on his bed and pulls the blanket up to his shoulder, curling into himself. “Calum usually offers me cuddles to cheer me up, but he’s spending the night at his parents’ place because his sister has temporarily returned from London.”

“I’ll cuddle you, then.”

Ashton’s eyes widen a little and he does what he always does when he’s flustered, which is to giggle and hide his reddened face in the pillow, even though Luke obviously can’t see him.

“And how do you plan to do that, hm? Sneak out of your office when no one is looking and travel all the way here?”

“Yeah, that’s basically what I had in mind,” Luke says, and although it’s just a joke, he almost sounds serious. “I mean, I’d do it if you wanted me to.”

Yeah, he definitely sounds serious, and Ashton’s heart begins to race. Knowing that Luke would willingly drop everything just to be able to comfort him makes Ashton feel happy beyond belief. He’d absolutely love to have Luke there with him, to feel his warmth and take in his scent. He’d love to wrap himself around Luke and hold him closely for as long as he can, because being with Luke is all that he wants and he knows that that won’t change anytime soon.

“Lukey?”

“Hm?”

“If you were here with me right now, what do you imagine that we’d be doing?”

Luke simply hums for a while, giving the question some generous consideration. “Honestly? We’d probably argue about whose playlist we’d listen to first, but then we’d decide that there are more important things to do, such as marathoning Spongebob episodes on your Macbook. Oh, and we’d cuddle while watching it.”

Can a more innocent answer possibly exist? Ashton doubts it, and he has a feeling that he fell for Luke just a little bit more.

“I think I really like that plan,” he says. “Will there be snacks?”

Luke snorts. “Of course, marathons can’t exist without them. I’d even let you hold the bowl of popcorn.”

“Aw, how sweet of you. Never before have I been given such a special privilege.”

“Well, I only reserve such privileges for the most special people.”

Ashton gasps dramatically. “Are you flirting with me, Huke Lemmings?”

“Depends,” he answers slowly.

“On?”

“On whichever answer you’re hoping for.”

Ashton has to admit that that was pretty smooth. He chews on his bottom lip for a moment, contemplating on what he should reply with, before deciding to simply be honest.

“Well, I was hoping that you’d say yes,” he murmurs, trying really hard to keep his voice steady. He’s much too excited for his own good.

“Then yes, I am flirting with you. Thanks for noticing,” Luke says at last, somehow sounding both confident and bashful at the same time. Ashton doesn’t know how that’s possible, but he also doesn’t know how someone like Luke can possibly exist, either. He’s just too smart, nice, witty, and good.

“God, you’re too much,” Ashton says, barely above a whisper. He then lets out a sigh of longing, still wishing that Luke really was there to cuddle him and keep him company. “I wish that I really could do all of that with you…”

It almost feels as if the world has paused as silence engulfs them. It’s not an uncomfortable one, though, and Ashton assumes that Luke is lost in his own thoughts as well. However, the silence is broken when Luke speaks in the softest tone.

“Maybe you can.”

Ashton furrows his brows in confusion. “Maybe I… can?”

“Yeah,” he says, clearing his throat before speaking again. “If you seriously want to, then… maybe we should? Like, we could actually meet each other and hang out and… stuff. Um, only if you wanted to.”

“I do!” Ashton springs up into a sitting position, his hand clutching the phone much tighter than necessary. But he has a very good reason, and that reason is that Luke is suggesting they meet in person. “I want to meet you, Luke… I really, really want to meet you.”

Luke’s reply is a bit delayed, likely due to shock. “Oh… really?”

“Yes!” he exclaims, not even trying to hide his excitement this time. “I’ve wanted that for a while, actually, but I never thought that you would, too. So, um, do you…?”

“Yeah,” Luke replies instantly, “Yeah, I-I do… I really want to meet you, too, Ash.”

If Ashton smiles any wider than he is in this moment, he’ll definitely injure his face. But of course he doesn’t care about that, he doesn’t care about anything aside from the fact that he’ll actually be able to meet Luke. He’ll be able to see Luke with his own eyes and talk to him face to face, just like he’s been wanting to for so long. It’s unreal to think that this is actually going to happen after he was so sure that it never would.

“How will we do it, though?” Ashton asks. He’s now pacing back and forth in front of his bed, far too thrilled to stay seated or stand still.

“Um… first I can give you my actual number and we can start from there? If that’s alright with you.”

Ashton giggles. “Of course it is, silly. I’ve, uh… I’ve wanted to ask for your number for some time now, but I figured that that would be too weird?”

This time Luke is the one to laugh. “And I’ve wanted to give it to you, but I didn’t want to seem arrogant or make any assumptions, since you never asked for it…”

“Oh my god,” Ashton groans in frustration. “Why are we such idiots? We could’ve done this so much sooner.”

Luke’s adorable squeal when he laughs puts a smile back on Ashton’s face. “At least we’re doing it now?”

“Yeah, that’s true…” Ashton falls back on the bed and stares up at the ceiling, already trying to think of what he’ll say when he first lays eyes on Luke. Hopefully it won’t be anything stupid, since he knows that he’ll be nervous. Hell, he’s nervous just thinking about it.

After Luke’s number is safely stored in Ashton’s phone, they begin brainstorming to come up with a setting for their date. Because it definitely is a date, Ashton decides, and it’s difficult not to roll around on his mattress as he squeals like a teenage girl. That’s exactly what he wants to do right now, but he manages to contain himself.

“I think I know where we can go,” Ashton says, just as an idea pops into his mind. “There’s a little coffee shop a couple of blocks from where I live. It’s not Starbucks, but… it’s good, nonetheless. What do you think? Would you like to get coffee with me?”

“I’d love to,” Luke answers, and Ashton can tell that he’s beaming with joy. “How does Sunday sound?”

Ashton nods before remembering that Luke can’t see him yet. “Sunday is perfect! I’ll make sure to text you the address of the place. So, um, I guess I’ll see you then?”

“Mhm. It’s a date.”

Ashton really does squeal like a teenage girl this time, but only once his face is buried in the pillow. Somehow, Luke hears him anyway. It’s okay, though, because Ashton is far too giddy to be embarrassed, so he doesn’t mind it when Luke teases him a little.

Perhaps he’ll even be able to get revenge when they meet each other in person.

***

In Ashton’s opinion, Sunday couldn’t arrive fast enough. It was only three days away, but each day between then dragged on slower than any day that Ashton has ever had to experience. In fact, he complained about it so much that Calum knew just what he was about to say before he even opened his mouth; then he’d tell Ashton that, no, time can’t move any faster. And yes, he can shut up about it now.

When Sunday finally does arrive, one would think that Ashton would be relieved. However, he awakens extra early that day and spends the entire morning stressed out and excited at the same time. He’s stressed out because he’s supposed to be meeting Luke around noon but he hasn’t mentally prepared himself for it, nor can he decide which bandana to wear; in the end, he chooses not to wear one at all. On the other hand, he’s excited for obvious reasons. Like, so excited that he could burst, which definitely wouldn’t be a good thing, so he tries not to.

With only half an hour to spare, Ashton stares at his reflection in the mirror and spins around one more time, making sure that the outfit he chose is absolutely perfect. He definitely isn’t dressed for the red carpet, but he’s wearing one of his favorite pairs of jeans, a clean t-shirt, and a jacket that he thinks is pretty stylish; in other words, casual but chic. Well, more or less.

Once Ashton is sure that he looks presentable, he grabs his phone and dashes out of the bedroom, briefly stopping in the living room to get approval.

“How do I look?” he asks, feeling quite pleased with himself. But, Calum completely ignores him and continues to watch the soccer match on the television screen. To get his roommate’s attention, Ashton walks around the couch and blocks Calum’s view.

“Ash, you’re making me miss the game!” Calum whines, trying to maneuver his head to see the screen.

“How do I look?” Ashton repeats with a grin.

Calum squints and carefully takes in his appearance from head to toe. “Decent. Now move outta the way.”

With a subtle frown on his face, Ashton steps aside at last. “Decent? That’s all?”

Calum glances at him again before returning his attention to the screen. “Okay, very decent. Like, in a goodly decent way.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense!”

Since Calum returns to silently staring at the screen, Ashton supposes that he won’t be getting any further feedback. So, he sighs.

“Right. Well, I’m going now.”

Without looking away from the screen, Calum asks, “Do you have your phone with you?”

“Of course.”

“And the key to the front door?”

“Yep.”

“A taser?”

Ashton frowns again. “What?”

Due to a commercial break, Calum finally looks in his direction again and studies him for a moment. “Maybe I should go with you.”

“What?” Ashton repeats for emphasis, and this time he lets out an amused laugh. “You’re not joining me on my date, Calum.”

Calum merely shakes his head and stands up from the couch. “But what if this guy turns out to be a serial killer or something? I should be there to have your back, y’know, just in case he tries something.”

Ashton lets out an exasperated sigh. “How many times do I have to tell you that Luke is none of the things that you accuse him of being? You know what, I don’t have to listen to this.”

Since he doesn’t want to be late because of a stupid argument with his roommate, Ashton makes his way to the front door—and of course Calum follows him, still insisting that he may be in grave danger.

“Just listen for a sec! Okay, so, I watched this documentary about serial killers the other night, and—”

“Oh god, not this again. What did I tell you about watching creepy documentaries?”

“Nothing,” Calum says, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. “You said not to watch anything to do with ghosts. You never said that I couldn’t watch videos about other things, though.”

“Fine. From now on, no more videos about other weird shit, either.”

“But Ashton—”

“No buts!” Ashton uses a stern tone to show that he’s serious, and it basically works since Calum stops being a nuance. “Look, Cal. It’s sweet that you’re worried and all, but just because I met someone online—or on the phone—doesn’t mean that they’re automatically a horrible person. Also, I’m your elder and I can do what I want, okay?”

Calum continues to pout and glare at him until Ashton reaches up and pinches one of those squishy cheeks, making his roommate whine and swat his hand away. It doesn’t look as if he’ll keep arguing, though, so that’s good.

“Alright, fine, I get it,” Calum grumbles. “Just… be careful? Oh, and I have soccer practice this afternoon so I probably won’t be here when you get home. But send me a text when you make it back safely?”

Ashton smiles and nods his head. “Will do! Now, let me go or else I’ll be late for my date.”

After bidding farewell to his worried mother-slash-roommate, Ashton practically skips down to the sidewalk and begins walking the short distance to the coffee shop, his nervousness already making him sweat a little.

Just before Ashton is out of earshot, Calum shouts to him, “Look both ways before you cross the street!”

***

It doesn’t take Ashton long at all to walk the two blocks to the coffee shop.

Since he’s ten minutes early, Ashton takes an empty seat by the window and tries his best not to look awkward. He certainly feels awkward, though, and it’s probably because it’s been so long since the last time that he went on a date; although it’s been even longer since he’s gone on a date with someone that he actually really likes. So, it’s safe to say that he’s beyond nervous, and it gets even worse when he begin to consider the possibility of Luke not liking him. It’s one thing to talk to each other on the phone and another thing to speak face to face, so what if Luke decides that talking to Ashton isn’t as fun in person? What if he doesn’t like the way that Ashton looks or smells or something? What if Luke ends up hating him?!

Ashton has to take a deep breath and force himself to calm down, not wanting to lose courage before their date has even begun. He tells himself that none of those irrational thoughts will actually become a reality, and that he’s only psyching himself out by dwelling on them. His nervousness doesn’t go away, though, so he picks at his fingernails to pass the time.

As soon as the clock strikes noon, Ashton begins to worry a little when every person who walks into the shop turns out not to be who he’s expecting. He knows that he should be looking for someone tall, lanky, and has blond hair that apparently defies gravity, but no one fits that description and it’s killing him inside. In fact, he’s so busy imagining all of the possible reasons that Luke would be late, it’s no surprise that he doesn’t notice when someone approaches his table.

 “Um… Ashton?”

Startled, Ashton nearly jumps out of his seat. When he glances up, he finds himself staring into two wide eyes that stare back at him with the same amount of curiosity and interest. Ashton is instantly overwhelmed by the softness of those pupils, but once he manages to snap out of it and realize that they’re also blue eyes and that this person has blond hair as well as a very point nose, his heart skips a beat.

“Luke?” he guesses, although who else could is possibly be?

A beautiful smile forms on Luke’s lips—probably one of the most beautiful smiles that Ashton has ever seen in his entire life—and he nods, confirming that it really is him. Ashton really does jump out of his seat this time and, fuck, Luke really is tall. Maybe it’s his hair that adds the extra inches, maybe not. None of that matters because Ashton is in shock at how fucking gorgeous Luke is. Like, he’s literally rendered speechless so he kind of just stands there, smiling like a fool.

The fantasy Luke that Ashton had been imagining all this time does not do justice to the real Luke. Hell, Luke’s description of himself is nothing compared to his actual appearance, and Ashton almost wants to kick him for claiming to look like a noodle. He’s actually quite broad, especially those nice shoulders of his. If there’s anything that Luke got right when he jokingly described himself, it’s his deliciously long legs and the sexy lip ring that he’s currently sucking on. God, Ashton really wants to suck on it for him.

It’s also in this moment that Ashton realizes that he really had found Luke’s old Facebook, since he can see the resemblance between the Luke standing in front of him and the adorable boy in the pictures. He has the same little nose and that cute chin dimple, but now his face is more defined and his cheek bones are causing Ashton a lot of pain. Puberty sure did him a colossal favor.

“I, um, I’m really sorry that I’m late,” Luke begins, speaking so fast that Ashton nearly misses what he says. “I left home on time but I’d forgotten to put fuel in my car the night before, so I had to stop at a service station except there were a lot of people there?  It took forever before it was finally my turn and, just… yeah, I’m really sorry.”

Ashton hears all of that, but his response is delayed when he gets lost in Luke’s eyes again. “Oh! Well, that’s—I mean, it’s totally fine. I wasn’t even waiting that long, honestly. Heh, yeah…”

He trails off then, unsure of what to say next without somehow embarrassing himself. But he reminds himself that this is Luke, the same person that he’s been talking to for months. Nothing has changed except for the fact that they can see each other now, so there’s no reason for him to be as anxious as he is. Thus, after taking a deep breath, Ashton sticks out his hand.

“It’s nice to finally meet you… formally.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Luke says, but he only glances down at Ashton’s hand before looking back up, a hopeful yet nervous smile when he bashfully asks, “Would it be okay if I… hugged you instead?”

The sweet request takes Ashton by surprise, so all that he can do is nod with a dumbstruck expression on his face. A second later, Luke closes the distance between them and wraps his long arms around Ashton’s waist, hugging him gently. It’s over almost as soon as it began, but it was absolutely amazing. Plus, Ashton learns that Luke smells like the cool air outside, a hint of cologne, and something truly sweet that he can’t quite put his finger on. Overall, it’s a pleasant scent that Ashton can definitely get used to, and he hopes that his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel when he sits back down again. Luke sits in the chair across from him and one of the baristas take that as a sign that they’re ready to order, but once that’s settled, they’re left alone again.

Ashton may or may not be staring at Luke’s face in awe, but can you really blame him? This ‘punk’ image that Luke has going for him works really well, and Ashton is positive that he’s never seen someone look so fantastic in all-black clothing. It’s a huge turn-on.

Luke clears his throat. “Um…”

Only then does Ashton realize that he had been blatantly staring like a weirdo, yet he finds himself laughing about it.

“What is it?” Luke asks, totally confused.

Ashton shakes his head, still grinning. “Sorry, I just… well, I always knew that you were hot, but I didn’t expect you to be this hot.”

While surprised at first by the sheer honesty, Luke bursts into laughter a moment later, the wonderful sound making Ashton feel warm and fuzzy inside. He’s yearned to see what Luke looked like when he laughed, and he decides that it’s beautiful. See, Luke does this thing where he squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as he laughs, his mouth spread into a wide grin that displays all of his pearly white teeth. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

“Thank you,” Luke mutters shyly, though he’s staring down at the table when he says it. It’s adorable and Ashton loves knowing that he can make Luke just as flustered as Luke makes him. “Well, you look much differently than how I imagined that you would.”

“Yeah? In what way?”

Luke hums for a moment as he studies Ashton’s face, a quizzical expression on his own. Finally, he says, “You’re prettier than I expected.”

The little schoolgirl giggle that escapes Ashton from being called pretty, of all things, is enough to make Luke laugh again. He most likely chose that particular word because of the curly locks spilling from Ashton’s head, which haven’t been trimmed in quite some time so they’re longer than usual. Oh well, Ashton is just relieved that Luke doesn’t think he looks strange or unattractive.

“Thanks,” he says as casually as he can manage. “Anything else that you didn’t expect?”

Luke begins to hum again, but this time he seems to know what he wants to say much sooner. “I guess I also didn’t expect you to be so… short.”

The evil smirk on Luke’s face means that he definitely knows that he’s pushing Ashton’s buttons by making such a claim.

“I’m hardly shorter than you!” Ashton stubbornly insists. “As a matter of fact, I’ll have you know that I—”

“I know, I know. I’m only kidding,” Luke interrupts, but Ashton isn’t falling for that shit-eating grin of his. However, when Luke gently nudges his foot beneath the table and gives him a smile that’s much more sweet and sincere, Ashton knows that he’s a goner.

Essentially, they spend the majority of their date shamelessly flirting and teasing each other between sips of coffee. The first-date awkwardness melts away much faster than it usually does when Ashton goes out with people, but it’s probably because Luke isn’t a stranger to him. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how long they’ve been talking to each other and getting to know one another over the phone, and this date feels like the start of a new chapter for them—for whatever they are. If all goes well (and Ashton knows that it will), then they may even be able to define what they have between them at last.

One of the greatest things about being able to talk in person is that Ashton gets to see all of the expressions that appear on Luke’s face. From their conversation alone, he’s easily able to tell the differences between the sly half-smirk that forms whenever Luke says something witty, and the bashful smile that pops up when they’re flirting. Luke also seems to bite his bottom lip a lot, and Ashton doesn’t know if it’s a nervous habit or just a habit in general. In either case, watching Luke chew on his lip gives Ashton a certain feeling in a certain place down south, so when he catches himself staring, he has to force himself to look away in order to avoid any mishaps.

Ashton isn’t the only one with staring problems, though. He’s pretty sure that Luke’s eyes haven’t looked away from him once, since they began talking. It definitely isn’t the creepy type of staring, though. It’s more so out of intrigue and perhaps even adoration, as Ashton goes on and on about how he accidentally fell on top of his drum kit while trying to impress a group of girls back in high school. Luke gives Ashton his undivided attention and Ashton returns the favor; soon enough, it feels as if they’re the only two within the coffee shop.

As a matter of fact, they’re so completely absorbed in their own little world that neither of them noticed how much time had passed until both of their stomachs began to growl, so Luke suggests that Ashton accompany him for a late lunch. And, honestly? Ashton couldn’t think of a better plan than that.

After leaving the little coffee shop, the two of them stroll down the sidewalk side by side, discussing possible nearby restaurants and food joints that they could choose from. Ashton swells with pride when he’s able to recall the type of food that Luke enjoys most, which is why it’s perfect when they stumble upon a taco truck. Apparently Luke has never had the pleasure of eating from one before, and that has to be the saddest thing that Ashton has ever heard in the twenty-one years that he’s lived.

Not wanting to waste any further time, he grabs Luke’s hand and tugs him towards the truck, urging him to order every single item on the menu so that he can finally taste the meaning of life. Luke insists that he’s fine with just a few tacos, though, and once both of them receive the delicious food that they’ve ordered, they sit down together on a small, nearby bench.

“Worry not, Luke. As soon as your tongue tastes the glorious tacos, your soul will be cleansed,” Ashton says, but it’s only a slight exaggeration because the tacos really are angelic. “And you’ll be thanking me before you know it!”

Luke simply nods along as he listens to Ashton’s babbling. While unwrapping the food, he nonchalantly asks, “And how would you liked to be thanked? With a kiss?”

Ashton nearly chokes on the food in his mouth when he hears that.

“Sorry!” Luke says, patting him on the back. He sounds legitimately apologetic for nearly causing Ashton’s death and, well, he totally should be since it’s completely his own fault. But when it looks as if Ashton will be fine, there’s the tiniest smirk on Luke’s face that hints that he may not be as sorry as he claims.

“Okay, none of that while I’m trying to eat,” Ashton grumbles, and he ducks his head because he knows that his face has to be really red right now, and it’s obviously not from the coughing.

Luke decides to play innocent. “None of what?”

“You know what,” Ashton says in a warning tone. He attempts to glare at the teasing boy but fails when he sees Luke smiling at him fondly.

“If you say so,” Luke replies. He then winks at Ashton and proceeds to bite into his food, humming with delight at the taste and pretending as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t suggested actually kissing Ashton.

In contrast, that little comment is all that Ashton can think about while he consumes his food, and it stays in the back of his mind as they continue to sit there and chat afterwards, watching the people go by and the sun fall closer to the horizon. Time feels like it moves slowly when Ashton is gazing into Luke’s eyes, but when he finally looks away, so much time has passed that it surprises him. In all honesty, he could probably stare at Luke all day and forget everything that goes on around him. In fact, that’s basically what occurred during this little date of theirs.

But since all things must come to an end, they eventually stand up from the bench and Luke volunteers to walk Ashton home. Normally Ashton would decline such offers in fear of seeming like a burden, but he eagerly accepts this one because he wants to stay within Luke’s presence for as long as possible. Of course, they could always just arrange another date in the near future, but now that he’s finally with Luke, he really doesn’t want to let him go.

They walk in silence, for the most part, but Ashton can’t help noticing the way that Luke opens his mouth to say something before quickly closing it again. After seeing this multiple times, he decides to help the guy out a bit.

“What is it?” Ashton asks, the concern quite visible on his face.

Luke looks at him with wide eyes, but then quickly averts his gaze to the sidewalk and remains silent for a moment longer, nervously chewing on his bottom lip as he gathers up the courage to say what he wants to say.

“It’s silly,” he mutters.

Ashton gently nudges him in the shoulder. “So? Tell me anyway.”

“Um… okay.” Luke lets out an equally nervous laugh and runs his fingers through his quiff. “I was just wondering if, like, you maybe wanted to hold my hand…”

Well, it’s safe to say that that certainly isn’t what Ashton had expected. But, he thinks that it’s a fantastic idea, so without another word he takes Luke’s hand and links their fingers together. The first thought to pass through Ashton’s mind is that Luke has very nice hands, which he noticed during their date. However, now that he’s actually feeling one, he gets a sense of how delicate they are. Like, Luke’s hand is just so soft and it’s a bit smaller than Ashton’s, even though he’s the ‘short’ one. Their size difference is rather cute, though, and Luke looks exceptionally pleased to be holding Ashton’s hand.

Ashton has to admit that he is, too.

When they arrive in front of Ashton’s apartment, neither of them know how to say goodbye, and neither of them want to. As they silently stand there, struggling with what to say, Ashton blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“Would you like to come in?” he asks suddenly, twiddling his thumbs. “I mean, it’s still pretty early and… and since my roommate won’t be back for a while, we’ll have the TV all to ourselves. We can, like, watch a movie or something! How does that sound?”

When all that Luke does is stare with his mouth agape, Ashton adds, “I promise that I’m not hiding various body parts in my fridge?”

Of course it’s meant to be a joke, so he’s relieved when Luke laughs and appears to relax a little.

“Sure,” he says with a smile. “A movie sounds great.”

Now that their date has been extended, Ashton’s mood instantly improves. He apologizes for the mess that is his and Calum’s apartment, although there isn’t much lying about since he’d spent hours cleaning up the day before. It was mainly because he’d wanted to pass the time, as it was dreadfully boring waiting for Sunday to arrive.

Ashton leads Luke over to the couch, where he suddenly remembers a promise that he’d made earlier that morning.

“You can sit down if you want, I just have to send a quick text and then we’ll pick out a movie,” Ashton says, whipping out his phone. Although Luke nods, he continues to stand there awkwardly with his hands tucked into his back pockets.

To: Calum

(5:34 PM) hey I made it home

He receives an instant reply.

(5:35 PM) In one piece?

(5:35 PM) no I lost a leg along the way

(5:35 PM) of course in one piece

(5:36 PM) also Luke was nice enough to walk me back :)

(5:36 PM) So I take it he wasn’t an old pervert?

(5:36 PM) nope! nor a serial killer so I think you owe him an apology

(5:37 PM) Well how am I supposed to do that unless I meet him

(5:38 PM) you might be able to if you come back soon. We’re about to watch a movie

(5:38 PM) Wait a minute

(5:38 PM) He’s there with you? You let him inside?????

(5:39 PM) yeah and he’s waiting for me so gtg!

(5:40 PM) Goddammit Ashton

(5:41 PM) I swear to god if I come back to find your dead body in a pool of blood I AM TAKING YOUR MACBOOK

Ashton turns his phone on silent mode and glances up at Luke with a wide grin.

“So, ya wanna pick out a movie?”

Luke looks at the stacks of DVDs next to the television and shrugs. “I’m fine with watching whatever you want to watch.”

Ashton can’t say that he’s surprised at such an answer, because of course Luke is the type of person to be an ‘overly polite’ guest. Well, since he won’t choose what they’re going to watch, the task is left up to Ashton.

Ashton struts over to the stack and bends down to begin sifting through it, separating his favorites into a second stack to narrow down the selection. Since it’s starting to get a bit late, he figures that a scary movie is the perfect option to go with.

“How about The Conjuring?” he suggests. “Calum never watches it with me because he’s chicken shit when it comes to ghosts.”

Luke lets out a small laugh but Ashton can tell that it isn’t genuine. Like, they’ve been talking for months and he literally just spent most of the day with the guy, so he’s pretty certain that he can tell when Luke actually finds something funny or not.

“If… if that’s what you want to watch. Sure,” Luke stammers, and despite his words it’s so obvious that he feels the opposite.

That’s when Ashton suddenly remembers that Luke once said that he didn’t like horror movies at all. He’d told Ashton about how he used to stay up late and watch them with his two older brothers, thinking that he would get used to them and not be afraid anymore. What a terrible idea that turned out to be, because seeing such things only made him more afraid. So of course he doesn’t want to watch The Conjuring, and Ashton feels like an idiot for suggesting it.

“Or! We could watch…” Ashton scrambles through the DVDs again, hoping to find something better. Eventually he comes across one of Calum’s mediocre romantic comedies that he hasn’t seen yet, so he holds it up for Luke to see. “What about this? It claims to be the greatest comedy of the year, but… we can be the judges of that.”

Luke’s face brightens up almost immediately. “Okay, let’s watch it,” he says, sounding much more confident than before.

Once that’s settled, Ashton declares that he’s going to make popcorn to make their movie date official. It’s kind of funny how it began as a coffee date, escalated into a lunch date, and now they’re about to watch a movie that neither of them have ever heard of, but they know that it’ll be fun nonetheless. After pouring the popcorn into a bowl, he joins Luke on the couch and starts the movie. Strangely enough, Luke rejects the bowl when Ashton attempts to hand it to him.

“I told you that I’d let you hold the bowl, remember?” Luke says.

It takes a moment for Ashton to recall the memory from a few days before, but when he does, a wide grin forms on his face. He then says that he thought the rule only applied if they were having a Spongebob marathon, but Luke replies that they’ll do that next time. And really, the thought of a ‘next time’ shouldn’t make Ashton’s heart thump rapidly in his chest, but it does. It really, really does.

Feeling courageous, Ashton says, “There’s something else that you promised me, too.”

Luke temporarily averts his gaze from the opening credits and glances over at Ashton again. “And what was that?”

Instead of answering, Ashton scoots closer than he already was and tentatively rests his head on Luke’s shoulder. He feels the way that Luke stiffens and really hopes that he hadn’t just crossed the boundary, but then a warm arm slithers around his waist and pulls him just a bit closer for a cuddle. Ashton feels incredibly happy after that.

Even though he’s paying more attention to Luke’s arm around him than he is to the movie, Ashton can tell that it’s a pretty shitty film. It’s incredibly cheesy and the humor is subpar at best, but it turns out not to be a bad thing at all. In fact, he and Luke spend the majority of the time making fun of how ridiculous the movie is; at one point, they even decide to mute it and come up with their own dialogues for the characters, which has to be the most fun that Ashton’s had in quite a while.

Other forms of entertainment include Luke tossing popcorn into the air and trying to catch it with his mouth, Ashton shoving a handful of popcorn into Luke’s face, and Luke trying to tickle Ashton’s side as revenge. The only reason that they begin to pay attention to the movie again is when Ashton accidentally sits on the remote, unmuting the television. Two of the main characters appear to be having some sort of argument, until one of them surges forward and passionately kisses the other. A few seconds later, it’s obvious that they’re about to have really angry sex.

Since he’s basically leaning into Luke’s side now, Ashton feels the way that he stiffens again, going completely still. Upon glancing up, he catches sight of Luke’s wide eyes and the nervous way that he chews on his lip—or, perhaps it’s not due to nervousness, this time. To be honest, it looks more like Luke is flustered, and it can easily be seen in his reddening cheeks.

Basically, Luke is getting turned on.

Is it mean for Ashton to giggle? Maybe, so he brings up a hand to cover his mouth. Luke doesn’t seem to notice, though. Seeing Luke flustered in person is much more satisfying than simply hearing him stutter over the phone, Ashton decides. But because he feels as if he needs to pay Luke back for nearly making him choke on a taco, he decides to be a tease by leaning up and blowing a warm puff of air into Luke’s ear. As expected, it startles Luke and his whole body shivers. Ashton doesn’t try to contain his giggle this time.

“You alright there, Lukey?” he asks teasingly.

Luke merely purses his lips and slouches a bit, his eyes glaring at the popcorn bowl on the coffee table instead of at the television screen. Although Ashton finds it to be quite cute that Luke is embarrassed, he can’t deny that Luke also looks fairly uncomfortable. As far as Ashton can tell, it’s not even a graphic sex scene. It mainly consists of heated kissing and tearing each other’s clothes off, but the nudity is only partially visible. He supposes that he can’t relate to Luke’s discomfort because he’s never had a problem watching these kinds of things with people. Hell, he watched The Human Centipede with Calum a little over a year ago, and to this day it’s still one of the biggest regrets of his life. So, a tiny sex scene is nothing in comparison. However, he understands that it isn’t the same for Luke.

“Do you… want me to fast forward it?” he asks, and it takes him by surprise when Luke rapidly shakes his head.

“No, no, it’s—I mean, it’s not that bad, I just, um…”

Luke trails off when he glances down and their eyes lock. Once again it’s as if time has slowed down, neither of them noticing when the sex scene ends and the movie continues on to the next scene. In truth, the scene had only lasted about a minute, anyway. Regardless, none of that matters anymore. Ashton finds himself frozen as he gazes into Luke’s eyes and Luke stares back at him. Apparently, whatever he was about to say doesn’t matter as much, either.

It’s far from subtle when Luke glances down at Ashton’s lips. With his heart beating in his ears, Ashton shamelessly does the same. God, it’s impossible to accurately describe how much he really wants to kiss Luke. He’s wanted to kiss the charming boy on the other end of the phone line for as long as he can remember, and it’s hard to believe that he actually has the chance to. All that he has to do is lean a few inches forward and that would be it, he’d finally get what he wanted.

Just as he’s about to go for it, Luke begins to say something but then he stops before he can even utter the second word. As if too afraid, he starts to glance away, but Ashton lifts a finger to Luke’s chin and grasps his attention again.

“Tell me,” he whispers gently, though his hazel eyes plead.

The prominent Adam’s apple in Luke’s throat bounces up and down as he swallows nervously, but this time he doesn’t look away.

“Would it… would it be okay if I kiss—”

Ashton is not the most patient person in the world, so almost like the characters in the crappy movie that they’re supposed to be watching, he closes the distance between them and presses his lips to Luke’s without a second thought. Returning the kiss seems to be the one thing that Luke doesn’t hesitate in doing. He leans into it, one of his hands coming up to cup Ashton’s cheek as they slowly move their lips. The kiss is sweet, gentle, and almost feathery light, but the flame within Ashton’s body flares and he feels hot all over, the heat concentrating in every point of contact between him and Luke. Along with the butterflies going wild in Ashton’s tummy, all of it is overwhelming in the best possible way. He smiles into the kiss and when he starts to giggle, he pulls away just enough to rest their foreheads together.

“What…?” Luke whispers against his lips.

Ashton can only shrug because there’s no real reason that he’s laughing, he’s just incredibly happy so he couldn’t help it. And because he feels like it, he gently pecks Luke’s lips and giggles again.

“You taste like popcorn,” he mutters truthfully. “I like it.”

That’s about as cliché as it gets, perhaps even more cliché than the script of the film that they’re no longer paying attention to. It doesn’t matter anymore, though, because the end credits are rolling and Ashton wants Luke’s tongue in his mouth. Luke seems to have a similar idea, evident in the way that he smiles warmly before connecting their lips again. The kiss is a bit more heated this time around, and when Luke licks Ashton’s bottom lip, Ashton immediately opens his mouth and welcomes it. He moans delightfully as soon as he feels Luke’s tongue against his own and, god, he wants nothing more than to feel Luke’s entire body against his own, too.

Without breaking the kiss, Ashton shifts around on the couch until he successfully straddles Luke’s lap.

“Is this okay?” he asks, breathing harshly.

Luke gives a quick nod and kisses him again, obviously desperate for the contact. It’s not as if Ashton can’t relate to the feeling, though. He eagerly fists his hands into Luke’s quiff, tugging on the golden strands and enjoying the way that Luke fucking whimpers from the slight roughness. However, Ashton can’t deny the whimper that escapes his own lips when Luke’s hands move from his hips to his ass, giving it an experimental squeeze. But then Luke stalls as if wondering whether or not he’s going too fast, but Ashton encourages him by leaning back into the touch.

When they temporarily break apart to breathe, this time Ashton ducks his head to pepper kisses along Luke’s slender neck, which he plans to decorate with bite marks and bruises that may even still be there the next time that they see each other. At least, that’s his main goal. Luke lets his head fall back against the couch and he curses when Ashton’s teeth nip the soft skin of his neck. It doesn’t take long at all before Ashton has him moaning consistently, and the volume of those sounds increase when Ashton begins rocking his hips forward.

“Ash,” Luke whines, his eyes half-lidded and his mouth hanging open as another moan escapes him. He’s hard and aching for release, Ashton can feel it against his own hard on, can see it in the beautiful expression on Luke’s perfect face. Who the hell cares about the implications of having sex on the first date, Ashton wants to give him everything and more. He has a feeling that Luke wouldn’t be opposed to a blowjob, but just before he gets the chance to ask, their brief fun time comes to an end.

“Ashton?” Calum calls out as soon as he gets the front door open. “You still alive or—”

“Ow!” Ashton yelps as he falls onto the floor, barely missing the coffee table and a chance to fall into a coma. Obviously he was startled by his roommate’s sudden entrance, but his attempt to climb off of Luke’s lap without raising suspicion was a complete and utter failure.

One can only imagine the thoughts that are going through Calum’s head as he walks into the living room, where he finds a wide-eyed, red-faced stranger on his couch and his roommate lying on the floor in pain.

“Do I even want to know…?” Calum asks, but he answers the question himself when he shakes his head.

“Great timing, Cal,” Ashton grumbles, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “You couldn’t have waited to come back thirty minutes from now? Maybe even an hour?”

Calum rolls his eyes. “Well when you don’t reply to my goddamn texts, what the hell am I supposed to think?”

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe that your loving roommate and best friend is finally getting some?”

As if finally taking in the situation, Calum lets out a groan. “Oh, god—seriously? On the couch? It’s my couch, too!”

Before Ashton can say anything to that, Luke interrupts their bickering. “Um…”

“Oh, right.” Ashton hops up from the floor and straightens himself out a bit. “Cal, this is Luke. Luke, meet my unbearable roommate, Calum.”

Calum sticks out his tongue upon being called unbearable, but at least he’s mature when Luke stands up from the couch and they exchange greetings. Ashton almost wants to shout ‘told you so!’ when Calum gives Luke a once over and nods with approval, because he finally realizes that he was wrong about Luke being a catfish or some kind of serial killer. He even compliments Luke’s outfit and Luke bashfully thanks him. Ashton thinks that they would get along quite nicely.

Sadly, Luke turns back to Ashton and, even before he speaks, Ashton already knows what he’s about to say.

“Well, uh, I guess I should get going, then.”

The only reason that Ashton doesn’t jump on the guy and cling to him like a koala bear is because he knows that it would be inappropriate. He’s a mature adult, too, so he can totally handle having to say goodbye to Luke when he really, really doesn’t want to. And no, it’s not just because he’s still hard and was hoping that they could get each other off, but maybe they’ll have another opportunity the next time.

“Alright,” Ashton says, hoping that he doesn’t sound too disappointed. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out.”

Ashton takes Luke by the hand and leads him to the front door. To get a bit of privacy, they step outside and Ashton closes the door behind them, but the silence stretches on between them until Luke clears his throat.

“So, uh, is this gonna become a normal thing?” he asks.

Just to be a tease, Ashton says, “What? Making out on the couch until we get cockblocked by my roommate?”

Luke laughs and ends up squealing adorably like he sometimes does, then covers his mouth when he gets a little embarrassed by it. Ashton finds it incredibly endearing, and he’s glad that he got the chance to hear it in person.

“I was talking about us going on dates with each other,” Luke explains. “Though I definitely wouldn’t mind the making out part, either.”

Ashton hums as if carefully considering the offer, though it’s obvious that he’ll say yes. He’ll say yes to anything that involves spending time with Luke, because today had been even more fun than he’d imagined that it would be. He has to play it cool, though, so he tries to be nonchalant about it.

“I guess I wouldn’t mind hanging out with you again… but do you want it to become a normal thing?”

Luke is nodding before Ashton could finish his sentence. “Of course I do. Like, today was wicked fun and I was really worried at first because I’m not as… confident in person? Yeah, I’m even more awkward than I am on the phone, but you didn’t seem to mind it and also I think that you’re really nice to look at so I definitely wouldn’t mind looking at you more often.”

He says most of that in a single, nervous breath and smiles shyly when he’s finished. God, how can one person be so adorable? Sometime in the future, Ashton might have to send an email to Apple to thank them for hiring the boy in front of him. Otherwise they would’ve never met, and he wouldn’t be standing here with the urge to kiss Luke again. Speaking of kissing, they really need to get back to doing that soon, so Ashton reaches up and wraps his arms around Luke’s neck, pulling him closer.

“Okay, I’d love to go on another date with you, then,” he murmurs, reveling in the excitement that he sees within Luke’s eyes. “We could even just do it here, if you’d like. I’d kick Calum out and we could marathon Spongebob episodes on my Macbook while we cuddle. Would you like that?”

The smile that blossoms on Luke’s face gives him the answer. “I would.”

Surprisingly, Luke is the one who leans forward and kisses Ashton this time. He still tastes a little bit like popcorn and his hands feel unbearably warm situated on Ashton’s hips, but once again, Ashton certainly isn’t complaining.

***

A couple of months later, things are better than ever.

“Hello! Thank you for calling Apple’s technical support. My name is Luke, how can I help you?”

In all honesty, Ashton will never get tired of hearing that repetitive greeting. “Hi, Luke. How are you doing tonight?”

“Ashton?” Luke sounds legitimately surprised, which is understandable. Ever since he gave Ashton his cellphone number, they’ve switched to texting each other back and forth while Luke is busy with work, and sometimes Ashton even manages to get Luke to sext with him. Yet, there are times when Ashton really misses their old form of communication, so he’ll surprise Luke with a call.

However, tonight he has an ulterior motive.

“I never told you my name,” Ashton replies, and he giggles when Luke sighs into the phone. “I do have a problem, though, and I really need you to help me out here. Think you’re up for it?”

“Alright,” Luke answers slowly, deciding to play along. “I’m here to help you with anything that you need, so what seems to be the problem, sir?”

Ashton exhales a dramatic sigh. “You see, I’m really horny but my boyfriend isn’t here to lend me a hand. Or a mouth, for that matter.”

Luke instantly starts to laugh and he has to cover his mouth to keep from being too loud. When he manages to speak again, it’s in a much quieter tone.

“Looks like your boyfriend is missing out on something great… no worries, I’m sure that I can be of assistance instead?”

“Well, that’s what I’m hoping for.” Ashton turns over so that he’s lying on his back, and he begins lightly trailing his fingertips down his bare chest, his body shivering a little from the gentle touch. They’ve never had phone sex before but that’s obviously what he’s aiming for here, and if all is successful, then perhaps he’ll give Luke a treat tomorrow when they see each other again. “Since you’re up for the challenge, how about helping me get off? I really, really need to…”

Luke hums in interest and it makes Ashton’s dick twitch, because it reminds him of the sound of Luke moaning around his dick while staring up at him with those beautifully innocent eyes. It’s almost sinful.

“Okay,” Luke says at last, and the confidence in his voice turns Ashton on even more. “But first I think that we should start with something simple. There’s no rush, right?”

“I suppose not,” Ashton huffs. He knows that that means Luke is going to tease him and make him wait until he can’t wait anymore. Because, well, sometimes his boyfriend can be especially cruel.

As if knowing what Ashton is thinking, Luke lets out a particularly evil laugh. He then asks in a hushed tone, “So… what are you wearing?”