"don't call me "baby" again, you got your reasons, i know that you're tryna be friends, i know you mean it" - To Be So Lonely / Harry Styles

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-Violet-

It had been a few days since my last run-in with Luke, and we had stayed true to our deal. In all honesty, I had felt some guilt about how I had acted towards him. It was probably unfair, and he was right, I didn't know him. I just got so flustered when he was around.

I was heading back to my apartment after a particularly exhausting day at my internship, ready to kick back and do absolutely nothing. When I got to my door I dug through my purse, trying to find my keys. I heard the sound of a speaker starting up, and then music filled the hallway. I turned around and saw the boys' door open, with "Teenage Dream" blasting from their speaker.

I stepped just a little closer, trying to see what was going on. Inside, Luke and the other two boys were standing around their counter, eating pizza. I was about to turn around again when I heard off-key singing, as all three started to sing-along to Katy Perry. They danced around the counter, strumming at air guitars and banging on invisible drums. Their scream-singing drowned out the original song, and it was actually wildly entertaining.

At one point, Luke hoisted himself up and stood on the counter, singing out to an invisible crowd. He broke out a particularly awkward dance move, and I couldn't help the laugh that burst out of my mouth. Luke finally looked out into the hallway, still singing as he made eye contact with me. He gave me a smirk, and I felt a small smile spread on my face, before I quickly looked away and went into my own apartment.

Sydney and Ashton were sitting in the living room, watching Netflix. I joined Ashton on the couch, sighing, "Remind me again why I thought taking an unpaid internship was a good idea?"

Sydney chuckled from the other chair, "Because you're certifiably insane. Then again, I thought it would be fun to own my restaurant, so I guess if you belong in a nut-house then so do I."

As if on cue, Sydney's cell phone started ringing, and she groaned loudly before answering it and going into her bedroom to get some privacy. I looked over at Ashton, " I assume things are going as smoothly as ever over there."

He nodded slowly, "Yeah.. We're really living the dream."

I frowned, "You know, you could just talk to her and tell her you don't want to do this as a career."

Ashton shook his head, "That would break her heart, and I can't do that to her. Besides, I'm fine, I just need a break from all that stress every now and then."

"Tell me about it," I nodded, "I just need some completely mindless fun, if I have to think about coffee or editing photos anymore I'll lose my mind."

Ashton shifted on the couch, turning himself to face me completely, "Well why don't we do that? Go have some mindless fun, I mean."

I nodded, "Yeah sure, we can ask Sydney what she wants to do, maybe grab a bite to eat."

"Actually, I was thinking it could maybe be just the two of us?" He looked at me expectantly, with hopeful eyes.

"Oh," I spoke hesitantly, "You mean... Like a date or something?"

I could feel my heart beating a little faster. I had known Ashton probably had some kind of feelings for me, but I honestly never expected him to act on them. I didn't even know how to react. I didn't want to lead him on in any way, and I really did not have the time for a relationship.

Ashton laughed nervously, "Well, I mean we don't have to put such a serious label on it. I figured we could just call it two friends, hanging out alone. No pressure, just fun. We both need it."

I stayed silent for a moment. I guessed he was right, I could use a fun night out. Nothing romantic had to happen. I looked at Ashton, who was giving me a shy smile while he waited for an answer. Even if something did happen, maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

I gave him a smile back, "You know what, sure. Let's do it. Tomorrow night?"

He smiled even wider, "Perfect. Sounds like a plan."

We watched TV in silence for a little longer, before Sydney finally joined us again. She handed her phone to Ashton, "Here, can you talk to this supplier before I have an aneurysm."

Ashton nodded reluctantly and retreated to his own room. Sydney looked over at me, "So I heard some serious yelling in the hallway the other night, what happened?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, just a stupid argument with Luke."

"Who?"

"The new neighbor. For some reason we can't seem to stop getting on each other's nerves. He's ridiculous."

Sydney smirked, "Yeah, and ridiculously hot. I saw him for the first time the other day and wow, at least he's got that going for him."

"Well he's an arrogant jerk. He has an infuriating personality and every time we see each other I get so frustrated, I just can't explain it."

"I can, you clearly want to get in his pants." Sydney shrugged.

My eyes widened, "Excuse me? I can't stand this guy, what are you even talking about?"

"You're clearly both wildly attracted to each other. You just don't know what to do with those feelings, so instead you end up in an intense argument. If you didn't you'd probably jump each others bones every time you were alone."

I was so taken aback I had to stand up to collect my thoughts. Sydney may have thought she was onto something but she was so wrong. I had absolutely no feelings for Luke, I barely knew him. And what I did know, I didn't really like all that much. He made me so angry, and he stood for everything I hated.

I shook my head, "No, Syd, you're just plain wrong." And she was, of course she was. She had no idea what she was talking about. I sat back down slowly, clearing my head of Sydney's accusation and focusing solely on hanging out with Ashton tomorrow.

---

Sydney gave me a condescending look over her glass of wine, "I really can't believe you're going on a date with my brother. This feels like it should be illegal."

I checked my hair in the mirror near the door, "It's not a date, Syd, relax."

"I'm just saying, I don't know how to feel about this." She shook her head slowly, taking a big sip. Honestly, I didn't know how to feel either. I just hoped things wouldn't be too uncomfortable.

Ashton finally entered the kitchen, "Okay, I'm all set. Let's head out."

We both gave Sydney a small wave, and were met with another slow shake of the head. We grabbed an Uber, heading to the nearest bowling alley. We figured bowling was a safe bet, we could have fun and not have to think about the pressure of being alone together. On the ride there, we stayed silent, but every once in awhile Ashton would shoot me a look and a smile, clearly more excited than I was nervous.

We got to the alley and picked out a lane and our rental shoes. I sent Ashton to get a couple drinks while I set up the game. He came back and handed me my drink, "Alright, let's get started. Fair warning, I can't wait to kick your ass."

I smirked, "Yeah right. We'll see about that."

We started playing, and Ashton was right. He was definitely going to beat me, and badly. I turned around after landing yet another gutter ball, frowning in defeat, "Y'know, I'm not having as much fun as I thought." I fell down into the seat next to Ashton, reluctantly putting a low number into the scoring computer.

"Aw, c'mon. No need to be a sore loser." He grinned over at me, swinging his arm up to rest on the back of my chair.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I actually am having a pretty good time. This was a good idea." I gave him a smile back, not even minding the cheesy move he was making.

He looked at me silently for a few beats, and then started to lean in a little closer, closing his eyes. My eyes widened, and I froze, before recovering and quickly pulling back. Ashton quickly removed his arm, shaking his head, "Wow, I'm sorry, that was... I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's okay, really. I just don't really know if that's what I want right now. Don't get me wrong, I do like you Ashton. I just don't want to make things weird right now or give you the wrong impression." I kept my eyes fixed on anything other than him.

Ashton could see how guilty I felt. He placed a hand gently over mine, "Seriously, Violet, I get it. It's totally fine. I shouldn't have tried to make a move so fast. Let's just play, forget about it."

I nodded, giving him a small smile. We kept playing, and things became less tense again. We both felt more comfortable eventually, and it was easier to pretend the almost-kiss didn't happen.

I stood up to take my turn towards the end of the night, and suddenly tuned in to the song playing over the speakers. The words to "Teenage Dream" started filling my ears, and an involuntary smile spread over my face. I even let out a small laugh, picturing the stupid dance I saw Luke doing on his counter.

Ashton spoke up from behind me, "What's so funny?"

I snapped back to reality, "Oh, nothing." I took my turn and sat back down, thinking again about what Sydney had said earlier. She couldn't have been right. Just thinking about my last argument with Luke was making me angry again. Sydney may have had some twisted idea in her head about how I had some subconscious feelings but she was wrong, she had to be.

Even so, as I tried to focus on Ashton, the song continued to play. I couldn't help the way my mind drifted, thinking about the aggravating blonde boy across the hall, and how I couldn't get the image of him dancing out of my head.

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A/N:

uhm so this chapter is kind of short and not great but I really just wanted to get something posted because it has been a few days oops. this weekend was so exhausting and honestly moving everything out of my dorm just mentally drained me and made me very sad so i wasn't really in the writing mood.

i'm sick of online school, in case anyone was wondering. i hate not being able to easily ask for guidance about anything and this is horrible. i can't wait for the semester to be over.

anywho, i hope you're still all holding up well, and that you're still liking what i'm posting lol. i'm still feeling pretty good about this book, just trying to avoid falling into filler chapters while i wait to get to the good stuff.

stay safe and stay inside,

xx colby