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“Please, anything but that,” Ashton begs.
“You asked me what I wanted. This is what I want!”
“Nichole,” Ashton sighs, throwing his head back. “I don’t think you understand the situation.”
“I understand perfectly. Luke is your shitty ex who you don’t want to see, but he works at the bakery shop that sells my favorite cupcakes. However, that’s not my problem,” Nichole says, and she leans back against the couch. “You said I could have anything I wanted.”
“I hope you realize I’m finding a new roommate next year,” Ashton grumbles as he pulls his phone out so he can order Nichole’s favorite cupcakes online.
Nichole snorts. “Yeah, good luck finding someone else to put up with your messy habits,”
“I do not have messy habits!” Ashton exclaims.
“Ha!” Nichole barks out with laughter. “You leave the cabinet doors open all the time, and you always leave your nasty crumbs everywhere on the counter.”
“You think you’re a perfect roommate?” Ashton asks, crossing his arms against his chest.
Nichole raises her eyebrows as she stares at Ashton. “Well no, but I actually clean up after myself rather than leaving a trail of mess everywhere I go, and pay my half of the rent on time,”
Ashton rolls his eyes. “You’re really fucking annoying,”
Nichole smirks. “You’re the one who begged me to be your roommate,”
“That’s because I didn’t trust anyone else to help me pay the rest,” Ashton grumbles, and he hands Nichole his phone. “Don’t go crazy. I’m not fucking rich.”
“Well yeah. You work at a bookshop ,” Nichole says, snorting.
“You’re a cashier at a grocery store. You have no room to laugh,” Ashton retorts.
“I make more than you,” Nichole retorts back.
“Oh, and by the way, Luke isn’t a shitty ex. I’m the one that’s the shitty ex,” Ashton says.
“What even happened?” Nichole asks curiously as she scrolls on Ashton’s phone. “You were like… madly in love with him, then one day you came home and announced you were single.”
Ashton sighs. “I broke up with him because I wanted to focus on my school,”
“And now?” Nichole asks, glancing up at Ashton.
“And I’ve regretted it ever since,” Ashton admits, sighing with frustration. “We were together for three years and I threw it all away because I thought I needed to focus on school. Turns out, I don’t have many classes and they’re all easy. I haven’t talked to him in so long.”
Nichole stops, and looks at Ashton. “You don’t have to do this, you know…”
“No, I asked you what you wanted and this is what you want. I’m only going to be in that shop for like two minutes. I can be a big boy and pick up your cupcakes,” Ashton says. “Besides, maybe I’ll get lucky and he won’t even be there the day I pick them up.”
Nichole shakes her head. She finishes up on Ashton’s phone, and finally hands it back to him. “You’re a good friend, Ash. I will appreciate these cupcakes like you’ll never know,”
Ashton shakes his head, chuckling softly. “I gotta go write an essay. I’ll talk to you later,”
“Think about what you want for dinner!” Nichole shouts as Ashton walks out of the living room.
Ashton almost forgets about the cupcake situation over the next two weeks. He spends most of his time getting his homework finished for classes, and preparing for Christmas. Nichole drags him out of the apartment a lot to go shopping. They’re both going home for the holidays, and Ashton is excited about finally being able to pay back his family for all they’ve done for him.
Despite only working at a bookshop where he doesn’t make much, he’s been saving up.
“Fuck!” Ashton shouts as he’s standing in the kitchen, when he gets a text notification, alerting him that his cupcakes are finally ready to be picked up. Christmas is two days away, and Ashton forgot that he was supposed to be picking up Nichole’s cupcakes. She leaves tomorrow, so he has to get them today.
“Everything okay?” Nichole asks, walking out of her room, book in hand.
Ashton sighs, and he walks over to slip his shoes on. “I forgot about your cupcakes. I just got the text letting me know that they’re ready to be picked up,” he tells her.
“You got texts for the cupcakes?” Nichole asks, raising her eyebrows.
“Well, I knew I’d forget, and I wanted to make sure you got your cupcakes before you left,” Ashton says, looking up at Nichole. “You’re gonna be gone for three days.”
“You’re sweet. You know that?” Nichole smiles softly.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Ashton mumbles. Luckily, his mother raised him right. “Anyways. Well, I’m going to go get the cupcakes now. Need anything else while I’m out?”
“No, just make sure my cupcakes get here in one piece,” Nichole smiles innocently.
Ashton rolls his eyes. “It’s like you have no faith in me at all,” he mumbles, before grabbing his keys and wallet, and then walking out of the apartment.
Ashton takes his time driving to the bakery shop. He’s really not ready to face Luke again, but it’s not like he has a choice. Well, he could have told Nichole no, that he didn’t want to. But, he’s a good friend, and she deserves her damn cupcakes.
Ashton takes a deep breath, before walking into the bakery shop, Sweet Treats .
“Hi, welcome to-” The person speaking stops, and Ashton already knows that it’s Luke. He looks up, and he takes a deep breath when he sees Luke standing behind the counter. “Ashton.”
“Hi,” Ashton breathes out. “I uhm, I’m… here to pick up an order.”
“Yeah,” Luke mumbles. “I saw that you made an order. I was just… kind of hoping that there was another person named Ashton Irwin in this town.”
“Yeah well, I have some bad news for you,” Ashton says, smiling slightly. “Look, I’m just here to pick up an order. I can be out of your hair as soon as I have the cupcakes.”
“Right,” Luke clears his throat. He goes to the back for a moment, before coming out with a box of cupcakes. He walks over and hands them to Ashton. “Thanks for supporting my shop.”
“You’re welcome,” Ashton mumbles. He goes to turn around, but he stops when he feels something tug on his jacket. He blinks, and looks over, surprised to see it’s Luke gripping his jacket. “Luke?”
“I-” Luke begins, and he takes a deep breath. “Fuck. I miss you, Ash.”
“Luke,” Ashton warns, and he steps away from the younger boy. “We shouldn’t do this.”
“You broke up with me,” Luke says. “I get it. You wanted to focus on your school. It’s just… that doesn’t mean that I moved on, and I’ve been hoping you’d come into the shop for a while now.”
“I thought you hated me?” Ashton asks, frowning.
“I was mad at first. You broke up with me, and left right away. I never stopped loving you, though. I know that sounds stupid. It’s been so long…” Luke mumbles.
“It’s not stupid,” Ashton says. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the breakup.”
“But…”
“Yeah, I thought I needed to focus on my school work, and I couldn’t have any distractions. Turns out, school isn’t really that hard and I have a lot of time on my hands…”
Luke blinks, before looking up at Ashton. “Are you free this Friday?”
Ashton chuckles. “You really want to do this?”
Luke scoffs, and he steps forward, kissing Ashton. He slowly pulls away, and looks at Ashton. “Don’t ask a stupid question like that again,” he warns softly.
Ashton can’t help but smile. “Yes sir,”
Luke grins. “I hope you like the cupcakes,”
“Oh, they aren’t for me. They’re for my roommate. Apparently she loves your bakery, and claims you have the best cupcakes. When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas…”
Luke grins. “Tell her I said thanks. You still haven’t answered my question,”
Ashton rolls his eyes. “Text me. I still have the same number,”
“Really?” Luke asks, raising his eyebrows.
“I meant to change it, but I got lazy and by the time I remembered… I thought, no point now. So, yes. Text me. I’m free Friday,” Ashton says, and flashes a smile at Luke before turning, and making his way out of the shop. Once out, he stops, and lets out a sigh of relief.
That was honestly not how he thought that would go, but he’s not complaining.
Ashton is getting Luke back, and he won’t need a Christmas miracle for it either.
“Welcome back! How was it?” Nichole asks as soon as Ashton walks back into the apartment.
“Jesus. Can you give me a second before you start hounding me with questions?” Ashton asks, laughing softly. He turns, and shows Nichole the cupcakes. “Cupcakes survived.”
Nichole claps her hands excitedly, before taking the cupcakes into the kitchen. She opens the box and grins when she sees all the Christmassy decorated cupcakes. “Perfect!” She looks over at Ashton who’s now leaning against the kitchen doorway wall. “Thanks Ash.”
“No problem,” Ashton says, smiling softly.
“How’d it go with Luke?” Nichole asks, reaching over to grab some napkins.
“You’ll never believe it,” Ashton says, before standing straight again. “He wants me back.”
“What?” Nichole asks, blinking in surprise. “What the hell happened?”
Ashton laughs. “I’m… not sure, honestly. He told me that he misses me and he wants to see me again. So, I said yes. He’s supposed to text me… so we’ll see how that goes,”
“Ash, are you sure you want to do this? Getting back with an ex…”
“I know,” Ashton says quietly, before taking a deep breath. “But, I mean, it’s not like we ended on bad terms. Not really. I broke up with him, and we went our separate ways. Never spoke with each other again. I think about him all the time, so I’m going to get him back.”
“As long as you’re sure. I just want you to be happy,” Nichole says.
“I know. Everything will be fine. Now, can I have one of those cupcakes? They look delicious,”
Nichole snorts. “Hell yeah. I’ve been dreaming of these cupcakes for weeks,”
Ashton doesn’t get a text from Luke. Not until that Friday morning, at least. He claims to have been busy with the bakery, working every day. Christmas is their busiest holiday. Ashton believes him. His bookshop also gets quite busy during the holidays.
Luke tells him to dress casual, so he does, but he puts a little effort into it. He wants to impress Luke at least somewhat if he’s going to try and get him back.
Nichole has already left to be with her family for Christmas, but Ashton isn’t surprised when he finds a note on his dresser that reads ‘ good luck on your date tonight, x Nichole ’.
Ashton chuckles after reading the note, and he places it on his mirror. He’s going to need all the luck in the world tonight. He just wants the date to go well. Ashton is shaken out of his thoughts when he hears knocking at the door, which means Luke has finally arrived.
Ashton checks himself one last time in the mirror, before heading towards the door. He takes a deep breath before reaching forward and opening the door. He looks up, and smiles when he sees Luke standing there. Luke is dressed casual, but he looks nice.
God, Ashton has missed him.
“Hi,” Ashton greets. “Uhm, do you wanna come in for a sec?”
“Sure,” Luke replies, and he steps into the apartment. He glances around the place as Ashton shuts the door. “Your apartment is nice. You said you have a roommate?”
“Yeah. Her name is Nichole. She wanted to meet you, but she’s with family for Christmas,”
“Well… she must have good taste. I mean, she likes my cupcakes… and seems to like you,”
Ashton chuckles. “We’re just friends, don’t worry,”
“Oh, I wasn’t…” Luke laughs. “I’m not trying to come off as jealous. I was just saying…”
“I know,” Ashton grins, and he turns to look at Luke. “So, you ready for this?”
“It just seems…” Luke sighs. “I haven’t seen you in so long. Then one day you walk into my shop, and suddenly I have an opportunity to win you back? It seems too easy.”
“You don’t have to win me back, Luke. Trust me,” Ashton steps closer to Luke. “I want to be with you again. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since we broke up…”
“You mean, since you broke up with me?” Luke raises his eyebrows.
Ashton huffs. “Sure, if you wanna be technical about it,”
Luke laughs softly. “I’m just playing around. Should we get going? I’m starving,”
“Hm. Some things never change, huh?” Ashton teases, before holding his hand out for Luke.
Luke scowls at that, and he gently nudges Ashton, before grabbing his hand, squeezing it. “Hey, be nice to me. I’m paying for your food tonight,”
Ashton frowns at that. “You don’t-”
“I’m paying,” Luke says, leaving no room for arguments.
Ashton shakes his head, but can’t help the smile on his face as he follows Luke out of the apartment. He’s feeling pretty confident that this date is going to go well, and he’s going to have no trouble getting Luke back. He had no idea this is what he wanted for Christmas.