Work Text:
Before he knows it he’s shoved inside a closet, and he hears the door being locked.
He turns around and starts banging on the door frantically.
“Come on, guys. This really isn’t funny. Let me out!"
He hears muttered laughter coming from the other side, and he knows they’re not going to give in. Fuck. Luke leans against the door, and lets out a deep sigh. He looks around and can make out the vague silhouette of a person on the other side of the closet. They're not moving, though. Luke holds his breath. This'll all be over soon.
"Hi there!" The sudden loud voice startles Luke and he clutches his chest.
"Holy shit, you scared me." He breathes out.
Luke turns his head to where the voice came from, confirming he was indeed stuck in here with somebody else.
"Sorry."
"It's okay, just. Help me figure out a way to get this door open, would you?" Luke pries at the door handle, feeling around for a keyhole, lock, anything.
“Hey now, is it that bad to be stuck in heaven with me?” The voice huffs, Luke can feel the slight breath of air tickling the back of his neck. Holy shit he's close. The small room feels even more cramped.
He sighs. “’M sorry. I just don’t like being forced into small spaces with strangers.”
“Name’s Ashton. There, I’m not a stranger anymore.”
“Luke.” He replies curtly. He's so not in the mood for this.
Luke feels two hands gently snaking up his arms, but he swats them away quickly.
“Please don't.” He really isn’t up for any of this shit. He’s starting to regret letting Michael drag him to this party.
“Might as well make the best out of the situation. Besides, they’ll let us out soon enough.”
“Certainly hope so.” Luke tries to turn around and sit down, but the closet’s too crammed and he smacks his hand against the wall. “Fucking hell.”
"You suuure you don't want to do anything? Now's your chance, you've already wasted two minutes." Ashton giggles. Giggles!
“I’d prefer to just wait it out, thanks.” Luke tries to make himself comfortable, but has no such luck. Multiple coat hangers are sticking in his back, and he can’t stand up straight due to the height of the plafond. Luke pats his pockets to check if he’s got his phone with him but, of course, he didn’t.
Great.
Ashton seems to have settled down. At least he's not trying to make a move anymore. Luke thinks about how he's going to slap Micheal in the face once he gets out of here, and then go back home. The party outside goes on without the two boys, not that Luke felt like he really contributed anything. He'd spent most of his time in the kitchen until Calum dragged him upstairs for a game of truth or dare. Which untimately lead to him being stuck here.
Minutes pass, and Luke waits.
And waits.
Until he's absolutely sure seven minutes must have passed at least twice now. Were the people outside waiting until something happened?
He’s pulled from his thoughts when he hears Ashton hum a melody. He swears he recognizes it from somewhere.
“Dude.” He speaks up.
The humming stops immediately. “Sorry. Did I bother you?”
“No! Not at all I was just- I recognize that tune from somewhere but I can’t put my finger on it.” Luke scans through a list of songs in his mind. Was it My Chemical Romance? Blink-182? No, definitely not. Dammit! He knows this song!
Ashton sighs and moves around a bit, it sounds like a small earthquake with all the rumbling and shuffling in the two-square-meter-space.
“7 Minutes In Heaven by Fall Out Boy.”
“I fucking knew it!” Luke whispers.
"Seems appropriate, doesn't it?" Luke can almost hear the smirk in Ashton’s voice. Will this boy ever get the memo?
"Honestly, you can drop the act, I'm not interested."
"Aw, c'mon, Lukey." Ashton coos.
"Are you drunk?" Luke's starting to feel a little worried.
"Are you straight?" Ashton responds. Okay, yeah. He's definitely drunk. Awesome.
Luke shifts around awkwardly. Technically he's not out yet, but he doesn't even know this Ashton guy, why would he tell a stranger out of all people?
He's not even interested in having sex right now, anyway. He thinks. Besides, this closet is way too small to even be doing anything. And what if his friends decide to open the closet when they're busy? No, thank you, Luke wasn't going to risk his (practically non-existant) reputation like that.
"Hm?" Luke is pulled from his thoughts again. Oh shit he's waiting for an answer!
"That's- That's frankly none of your buisness." He's surprised at how hesitant he sounds.
Ashton laughs, "Don't worry, I know. My gaydar is going crazy right now."
"Oh God, are you coming out to me?" Luke sighs.
"No I'm not. The door's locked." Ashton laughs again, seeming pretty proud of himself. Luke finds it endearing, but reminds himself that the guy's drunk. He probably won't even remember this tomorrow.
Ashton sighs, and his alcohol-stained breath reaches Luke's nose. This was weirdly intimate.
The boy doesn't seem much for conversation after that, so Luke drifts off in thought again. He wonders what the other boy looks like, and how old he is. Shit what if he's 30 years old? What if we get out of here and he thinks I'm ugly? Fuck- Why do I even care about that?
Luke mentally slaps himself, what was he doing? He didn't know Ashton, and Ashton didn't know him. It would probably be best if it stayed that way. Yeah, he'd just run straight to the front door once he got out of here. He'd never have to see Ashton again (not that he could see much of him now, anyway), and he would never have to deal with this again. He'd forget about Ashton, surely. He'd be buried deep in his mind, nothing but a faint memory of that one time at that one party. Michael, Calum, and him would laugh about it years later. Yeah, that's probably his best bet right now.
The silence is broken when Ashton coughs softly, successfully getting Luke’s attention.
“Yeah?” He looks up, despite not being able to see anything.
“It’s been like, what, 20 minutes now? I don't know. I don’t think they’re gonna let us out very soon.”
Luke sighs. “I suspected that. I don’t even have my phone or anything to keep me entertained, either.” Though this is better than hiding in the kitchen waiting for Michael to be so far gone he'd literally have to drag him home, right? Maybe?
“Well, you’ve got me-” Ashton begins.
“I’m NOT-”
“I wasn’t even gonna say anything sexual!”Ashton actually sounded slightly offended. Luke was surprised the boy was capable of feeling emotions other than lust.
“We could always, like, just talk. If we’re gonna be here a while.”
“Yeah, sure." Luke gives in. "So, you listen to Fall Out Boy?”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Lukey! We should totally start a band together!” Ashton beams.
“What, just the two of us?” Luke knows it's easy to go from talking about your favourite bands to which instruments you play yourself, but he's still surprised the other boy can keep up a normal conversation. He seems pretty far gone, if you ask Luke.
“Why not? Twenty One Pilots made it.” He replies happily.
“So I’ll have to learn the piano, uke, and bass?”
“You know what I mean.” Ashton laughs.
“I'd be cool with being the drummer. Though drums are not the only thing I can-“
“Don’t even start it, Ash. You’re drunk.” Luke's not too sure what to think of the way Ashton keeps hitting on him.
“Maybe. Who cares. You sing, right? I heard that singers do it louder.” Ashton reaches for Luke’s hand, but he quickly shoves it into the pocket of his jeans.
“Ashton.” He couldn't help but blush, he wasn't used to this kind of attention. Luke was glad it was so dark inside the closet.
“Come on, it’s been so long! Before you know it we’ll be stuck here for days and we’ll have to create our own little world inside here. We might find the doorway to Narnia and start a brand new-“
“That doesn’t even make sense, what are you-“
“Come on, Lukey-boy! I’m bored! I was promised seven minutes in heaven but instead I got two hours in a crammed space with a cranky boy.” Was he being serious?
“That’s not my fault! I was pushed into here, I didn’t even want this!”
“Lukeeee.” Ashton whined. “Have some fun, it’s a party!”
“No. I don’t even know you.”
“Then come find out!” Luke could hear Ashton moving closer, and he feels two hands creeping up at either side of his face.
He quickly slaps them away, and moves back as much as he can without actually hurting himself.
“No means no. Don’t try and convince me.” Luke tries to sound as imposing as possible. He thanks God when Ashton moves back again.
“Alright.” Luke cant figure out wether Ashton is acting hurt or if he's being sarcastic.
Luke sighs and sits back down on a pile of boxes. It’s still crammed, but at least he can stretch his legs slightly, now.
He leans his head against the wall and waits. It's not long until Ashton starts speaking again, and Luke groans internally.
"So, you don't know me, right?" He waits for Luke to answer but he keeps quiet.
"Right. What if we play a game and try to guess what the other looks like!" Ashton seems to have cheered up rather quickly, and Luke hates to admit that it indeed sounded like a fun game to pass the time with. Maybe he could get to know the real Ashton, and not the drunk version he's been stuck with up until now.
"Sure, why not?" He says.
"Sweet! I'll start!" Luke rolls his eyes at Ashton's childlike enthusiasm.
"I think, that you're really tall."
Luke laughs at that. "What makes you think so?"
"You're really fucking clumsy and keep hitting yourself, duh."
"True. You're right."
Ashton and him keep going like that for a while. Luke has learnt a lot about Ashton, and not just what he looks like (or what he says he looks like), either. He knows that he's 21 years old, and a year above him. His birthday is soon though, just weeks before Luke's. He found out that Ashton's into photography and loves dogs, and even guessed that he's bisexual. Luke didn't tell him he's into guys, too, though, much to Ashton's dismay. He steered the conversation around to hair colour pretty quickly, and Ashton seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Okay, okay. Guess my hair colour." Ashton laughs.
"I don't know, black?"
"Nope. Guess again."
"Blond?"
"Close enough." Luke raises his eyebrows in question, but then remembers that Ashton can't see him.
"Close enough?" He asks.
"It's blond-brown-ish. It's sooo messy though. I'm glad you can't see it right now."
"Fair enough." Luke laughs.
"Let me guess your eye colour."
"Go on."
"It's a shame I can't see, though. Maybe if I look closely I'll be able to catch a glimpse." Luke feels his cheeks heat up as Ashton shifts around and moves closer. His nose nearly touches Luke's, and he can feel Ashton's body heat as he hovers over Luke (was that even possible? Luke though Ashton said he was shorter than him!).
Ashton's breath feels hot on Luke's lips, and Luke inches closer involuntarily.
Then, he feels a hand on his inner thigh and jerks away at the sudden contact, hitting his head on the coathangers in the process. Who did Ashton think he was, taking advantage of him like that?!
"Lukey-boy?" He asks confused.
"Get away from me." Luke pulls his legs up on the cardboard boxes, not wanting to touch the other boy in the slightest way.
"Luuuke, help me out, pleeease." Ashton almost begs. "I'm so hard right now and-"
"Shut up, please!"
"I mean, I can do it myself, but it'd feel better if someone else did it for me." Luke hears pants being unzipped. Ashton clearly wasn't thinking straight, but come on.
"Ashton, please do that somewhere else! You're not the only one stuck in here, for God's sake!" He feels so gross. He wipes his jeans where Ashton had touched him, and feels tears welling up in his eyes. Of all the people he'd had to get stuck with, it just had to be this guy. The perverted older drunk guy who didn't know his boundaries. Luke wishes they'd just open the fucking door already.
Had they really forgotten about him? Were Calum and Michael not worried? Of course, they'll just think Luke's alone in a corner somewhere, like he was at every party. They wouldn't even notice him gone until Michael was ready to leave. They don't even know I'm trapped.
Tears are falling from his eyes, now. He holds back a sob, but he's pretty sure Ashton heard it, considering they're not even a meter apart from each other. This honestly couldn't have gone better.
Luke curls into himself and leans his head against the door. He holds his breath and hopes that Ashton won't try anything again. At least the boy's zipped up his jeans again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Luke didn't even realize he'd fallen asleep when Ashton touches his shoulder and wakes him up.
“Hey. I’m sorry.” He says softly.
Luke rubs his eyes. “What?”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly. We barely know each other and I shouldn’t have acted that way.”
How much time has passed exactly? If Ashton was sobering up, that meant they’ve been in here for hours.
“It’s okay. What time is it even?" Luke tries to stretch his arms but hits the ceiling. He's tired and his whole body hurts from the position he'd slept in and fuck he was hungry. The music outside has pretty much died down, and all he could hear was faint snoring. Holy shit we’ve actually been forgotten about.
“No idea. It must be pretty late. Early. Damn.”
“'Damn' indeed.” Luke half-yawns. "I'm so fucking tired."
“Same, honestly. Hey, if you want, you could, maybe, use me as a pillow?” Ashton sounds unsure, very different from the way he was before.
Luke thinks about it for a while, though he’s fairly sure he already knows the answer. Maybe Ashton wasn’t all about sex, after all.
He hesitantly gets up and shuffles closer, not sure where Ashton is, exactly.
He feels a pair of hands grabs his, and guide him towards Ashton’s lap. Luke sits down, careful not to crush the boy with his long, clumsy body. He feels the sleeplessness get the best of him already, and rests his head on Ashton’s shoulder.
“Thanks.” He whispers.
“No problem.” Luke quickly dozes off to the sound of Ashton’s steady breathing.
It feels nice.
Until he’s awoken by loud banging on the door.
“Ash! Luke! You lovebirds still in there?!” A voice Luke vaguely recognizes yells.
He yawns and runs a hand through his hair. When he looks around he sees nothing but darkness. Jesus, fuck, how long have I been in here?
Something under him moves and groans, and for a second Luke’s heart skips a beat because what the hell- but then he remembers Ashton.
Holy shit they’d technically just slept together!
The person bangs on the door again. “Luke? You in there?” It couldn't be anyone else but Calum, the host of the party, and owner of the closet they're occupying.
“Yeah.” Luke groans. He’s definitely not had enough sleep, fuck.
“Aight listen dude, we lost the key so I’m gonna look for it now. Hold on tight, be right back!”
Before he can reply, Calum is gone, leaving the two boys alone again. Luke turns around with effort, and he's pretty sure he's facing Ashton's face now.
"Good morning." The older boy says.
"Hey." Luke feels pretty awkward now that the magic of the early hours is gone. What if Ashton decided he didn't like Luke, after all? He hoped Calum would come back with the key soon so he could run out and never turn back.
"Still here, I see?" Then Luke realizes that shit, he's still half-laying on top of Ashton! He quickly sits up and hits his head on the coat hanger. Oh God this is so embarassing, what if he-
Just then Calum's voice sounds through the door. "Guys! I found it! Mike hid it in his jeans, I'm so fucking sorry you had to spend the night there." He struggles to put the key in the lock, and Luke's pretty sure he's still under the influence of alcohol, but Luke is relieved to see Calum once the door opens nonetheless. He jolts out and runs past the boy. He grabs his phone off of the couch in the corner of the room and quickly heads towards the stairs.
"Hey, wait!" He hears Ashton's voice call after him. Luke freezes in his tracks, would he be ready to *actually* face Ashton after all this?
He hasn't got much choice, he realizes, when he feels a hand on his shoulder turn him around. He's faced with the most beautiful boy he's ever seen. His messy hair framed his face perfectly, he had a sharp jawline and his hazel eyes reflected the morning sun in the most amazing way. The way Ashton was just slightly shorter than him combined with the guilty look on his face made him seem so small and innocent, and Luke was sure that he'd fall to his knees right then if Ashton wasn't holding onto his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" He spoke.
Luke could barely find it in himself to reply. "Yeah, I- uh. I'm, yeah, I mean. Holy shit you're hot." He feels a blush creeping on his cheeks, and he wants to cover his face and run the other way.
Ashton smiles and fuck could he be any prettier? Luke doesn't think so. The guy's got dimples! "Thanks, uh. You look pretty good yourself, too."
Luke knows he's smiling like a goof but he can't help himself. He notices Calum leaving the room, shaking his head, but quickly turns his attention back to the boy in front of him. He'd spoken to him a lot last night, yet it felt like they were meeting for the first time.
"Before you leave, I wanted to ask you. Do you wanna go out with me? Like on a proper date?" Luke's eyes widen. Did he actually just ask me out oh my God I can't believe it! He's so- And I'm so- And he wants to get to know me better, even after all that's happened? Is this for real?
"Shit! Oh, God, I'm so stupid. I'm so sorry I should've asked if you were into guys, I'm so sorry if you're not- Fuck, this is awkward, I, uh. I'll be going. Sorry." Ashton starts walking towards the stairs. Luke is speechless.
"Wait! I am!" Now it was Luke's turn to stop Ashton from getting away. He grabs Ashton's arm and turns him around again. He looks confused.
"Into guys, I mean." Luke says with a smile. Ashton's face lights up and Luke's smile gets even bigger.
"Does that mean-?"
"Yes. I'd love to go on a proper date with you." Ashton barks out a laugh and reaches out to hold Luke's hand. Luke gladly lets him hold it. Out of all creepy drunk guys he could've been locked into a closet with, he's happy he got stuck with Ashton.
~~~~~~~~~~