"So, Danielle." My mother spoke, cutting her piece of chicken with the side of her fork.

"Yes?" I looked up from my plate of food, which I had hardly touched since we sat down for dinner.

"How is taking the bus? Is it as bad as you thought it would be?" She asked.

"It's great, really." I lied. "There's this group of older guys that hang out on the corner and they just sit there doing drugs and drinking beer."

I heard my father chuckle, but he quickly covered it up by pretending to cough. My father had always been on my side, since the day I was born. He was my buddy, my partner in crime. He was my constant playmate when I was a child, but as I got older we grew apart, just like any father and daughter do. After his business became more successful and he started needing to go on more and more trips, I stopped trying so hard for his attention. We still talked and had fun times with each other, but it was rare.

"It's wonderful, mom. I love the smell of weed in the morning." I sighed.

I had devised a plan, and that plan was to make the bus stop seem as horrible as possible. If I acted like I enjoyed it, of course my parents would want to return my car keys to me. Who wants their child hanging out with a ton of drug addicts every morning? I sure wouldn't.

"Danielle." My mother said sternly.

"They offered to take me to this club with them this weekend, and they say they know a place where I can get free cocaine, no questions asked." I went on, trying to infuriate my mom even more.

"Danielle, that's enough!" She shouted, stopping me from saying any more. "You are not getting the keys to your car back until you've learned your lesson!"

"Daddy." I pouted, using my father as a last resort. It had been one month since I started going on the bus and I just couldn't take it any more. I would do whatever I could to get those keys back.

"Listen to your mother, Danielle." My father said, after having a silent conversation with my mother right in front of me eyes. I felt betrayed. My own father, my longtime best friend, my bud, taking my evil mothers side.

"This is so unfair!" I groaned.

"Maybe next time you want to sneak a boy into the house you'll remember how good it feels to drive your car." My mother shook her head at me disapprovingly.

"I can't even remember how to drive anymore! I've been deprived for too long." I rested my hand on my forehand and leaned against the table, clearly over-exaggerating my emotions.

"You're making a fool of yourself." My mother sighed.

"This is impossible!" I shouted, shoving my full plate of food away from me. "I give up, I'm going to lock myself in my room and stay there until I'm 80."

I stood up from my chair and rushed away from the table, leaving my parents behind to finish their dinner in silence. I stomped up the stairs, making sure to make extra noise as I walked.

As I passed by a window on the staircase I noticed a very familiar figure passing by. He dressed in all black and seemed to walk with a purpose, his signature cigarette dangling between his fingers. He looked so flawless without even trying, without any knowledge that there was someone staring at him through a window. I could have sat there and watched him stride by me, but then I would have missed my chance to speak to him.

I threw opened the window and stuck my head through, yelling to him. "Hey, Irwin!"

Ashton stopped walking and glanced around him, searching for the source of the voice that had just called. He put the cigarette between his lips again and drew a big breath in before finally looking up to the window, catching sight of me.

"Oh, Murphy. How nice of you to..drop by?" Ashton called up to me, smoke pouring out if his mouth as he talked. He took a step forward, not seeming to care about the perfectly kept grass he was now standing on.

"What are you doing?" I asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"Just out for a walk." He answered. He turned to the side and took another drag from his cigarette, and I took that as a chance to admire what a perfect side profile he had.

"Going anywhere specific?" I questioned. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans, not realizing until now just how nervous this boy seemed to make me.

Ashton shrugged.

"Do you mind if I come with?" I yelled down to him.

"I'm not sure it'll be as exciting as you think it will be." He shrugged again, but eventually nodded and told me to come out. I pulled my head back inside the window and stomped down the stairs again, this time in the opposite direction.

I didn't alert my parents that I was leaving the house, they wouldn't care anyway. If anything they would be excited that I was taking advantage of this beautiful summer night and going on a walk. Still, I quickly and quietly snuck out the front door, sure not to bring any attention to myself as I made my exit.

I met Ashton out on the sidewalk and walked beside him as he silently shuffled along and continued to smoke, not bothering to make any conversation with me whatsoever. It didn't mind, though. Like I'd said, it was a beautiful summer night and it actually felt good to be outside getting some fresh air. I didn't care that Ashton wasn't speaking, I was enjoying myself.

"Do you have another one of those?" I asked, pointing up to the cigarette hanging from Ashton's lips. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and a lighter, where he picked one cigarette out and placed it in my mouth. He stepped forward and cupped his hand around the end of the cigarette, lighting it for me.

I took in a puff of smoke, this time I didn't feel as if I was dying when I inhaled it in. It was more calming than anything, and what I needed right now was some calmness.

"That will kill you, you know." Ashton smirked.

"You think I don't know that, Irwin?" I raised an eyebrow at him, blowing smoke out in his direction like he had done to me when we first met.

"Damn Murphy, what happened to you? Did daddy refuse to buy you a new sports car?" Ashton chuckled. He still wore sunglasses, even though it was almost dark out.

"I only need one car, actually, and they're still holding the keys captive." I huffed.

"Poor baby." Ashton said, pretending to pout. We reached the end of the street and he grabbed my elbow, turning me onto the next block. "You know it's bad when you're crying over not being able to drive a sports car."

"I'm not one of those snobby rich girls, can you please stop acting like I am?" I snapped at him.

"I'll stop acting like you're a snobby rich girl when you stop being one." Ashton shrugged his shoulders. He let his finished cigarette drop from his fingers and stomped on it, waking away from it like it meant nothing to him.

"Why do you hate me? What did I ever do to you?" I stopped walking and grabbed Ashton's shoulder, making him stop with me.

"I don't hate you. Why do you care about me so much?" Ashton returned my question with one of his own.

"I don't care!" I shouted, then lowered my voice, "I'm interested."

"Interested in what? There's nothing interesting about me." Ashton chuckled.

"I'm sure there's something. Everyone has something interesting about them." I groaned. I thought maybe going on this walk with Ashton would get him to talk a little more but it only made me more frustrated with him.

"I'm not an interesting guy." He smiled.

"There has to be something." I sighed. Ashton glanced at me, his lips curling up in the corners into a small smile.

"Well, I mean, I guess there are some interesting things about me. But I don't want to share them with you." He smirked. I decided that Ashton wasn't going to naturally tell me anything about him, he was a closed book whereas I was an open one. I needed to try a little harder.

"Do you live all alone? Parents? Siblings?" I asked, spitting more questions out at him.

"Why does any of this matter?" Ashton laughed. He reached into his pocket again for his pack of cigarettes, but I grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"What are you, a chain smoker? You're going to have lung cancer before you even graduate high school. Slow down a little, Irwin." I said, letting go of his wrist.

"I live with my dad and my, um, friend." Ashton changed the subject quickly and turned away from me, continuing to walk down the street.

"Your "um, friend"?" I followed after him, imitating his voice. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's my friend. Well, more like a brother." Ashton shrugged.

"Does he go to school with us?" I asked.

"Yes. He's a year younger, though." Ashton answered, his eyes still not meeting mine. He walked ahead of me, like he no longer wanted to be seen with me.

"Why doesn't he take the bus with us in the morning?" I questioned. Maybe if Ashton convinced his "um, friend" to join us at the bus stop every morning I wouldn't have to be so miserable with only Ashton as my company.

"He walks."

"Why?"

"He doesn't like people driving him places. It's a weird thing, Murphy, just don't ask." Ashton shook his head, looking down at the ground.

"What's his name? Maybe I know him." I said. I knew everyone and everyone knew me, that's just the way things worked around here. Except Ashton, but I figured that he was a bit of an exception to the "rules" I went by.

"You don't know him, I can guarantee that." Ashton laughed. He scratched the top of his head and turned around, like he'd forgotten something.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked. "I know a lot of people."

"Yeah, Murphy, I know. But you don't know him and he doesn't know you, so why does it matter?" He rolled his eyes at me and turned around again, beginning to walk in the same direction we came from.

"Where are you going?" I called after him, quickening my pace to keep up with him.

"Home." Ashton yelled over his shoulder, even though I was following closely behind him. He stopped walking for a moment and pointed to the cigarette I was still holding in my hand. "Are you going to finish that?"

I silently passed it over to him, still not understanding how he could tolerate inhaling so much smoke in such a short amount of time.

"Why do you need to get home? It's only - " I paused to pull out my phone and check the time. "It's only 7:15."

Ashton laughed. "7:15, that's our time."

"What?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Never mind."

"You know, you can ask me something if you want." I said, catching up to Ashton.

"I know all that I need to about you." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I bet that's not true." I grabbed Ashton's shoulder and turned him around again, stopping us once more.

"Fine, want me to ask you a question?" Ashton gave me a sarcastic smile. He clearly wasn't amused but was trying as hard as he could to get me to stop annoying him.

"Yes." I stood up straighter, letting go of Ashton. "Please."

"Do you like The Killers?" Ashton asked. His mouth was set in a straight line, like he didn't even care to learn my answer. I had no idea what or who The Killers even were, but I'm sure that Ashton wouldn't bother to tell me.

"Was that really your question?" I laughed. That was probably the most uninteresting thing he could have asked me.

"Do you like The Killers?" Ashton repeated, raising his voice at me.

"Um, the what?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wow, okay. Come talk to me when you find some good music." Ashton groaned.

The rest of our walk was silent. Ashton never bothered to answer why he wanted to leave so suddenly and I never bothered to ask again. He also never explained more about his interest in this band The Killers, even though I asked about it once more. We reached my front yard again and stopped walking, both of us waiting for the other to say something.

"Well I hope that you aren't going to consider us friends after this." Ashton was the first to speak, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"I would never." I smirked, taking a few steps backwards towards my friend door, stepping over the freshly cut grass just like Ashton had a little while earlier. Ashton stepped with me, obviously not finished.

I watched Ashton dig around in his pockets again and pull out a pack of gum this time, handing me a stick. I looked at him like he crazy, offering me a piece of gum.

"What, is this gum not expensive enough for you? It'll taste fine, just take it." Ashton said after I didn't take them piece of gum from in between his fingers.

"Are you trying to tell me that I have bad breath or something?" I asked, suddenly more conscious of my appearance.

"No, you were smoking. I figured that if your parents tried to talk to you they might smell it." Ashton explained. I was surprised at how thoughtful he actually was. It's like he knew that I would get in trouble for sneaking out to go smoke with some strange boy.

"Right." I said, finally taking the gum from him. "Thanks."

"I'm just looking out for you." He bit his lip, hiding a smile.

"Of course you are."

"Have a good night, Murphy." Ashton gave me a small waved as he walked away.

"Later, Irwin."

-

I ALREADY SHIP THEM UGH

Hope you all liked this one!!!

I was listening to The Killers while writing this, they're perfect.