Eva's PoV

Had I pushed it too far? I just wanted him to know that he didn't need to put his guard up around me. I wanted to help him, make him feel normal again. I didn't know much about their relationship but ashton and amber had been dating for ages. I knew that wouldn't have been easy to get over. They were literally attached at the hip, although you could always tell that Amber got annoyed at Ashton for acting like he did. He didn't need to prove himself to anyone, he didn't need to be the tough guy. He would have been fine if he just acted like normal.

I was brought from my thoughts by the fire alarm sounding, everyone in the class suddenly becoming lively as we gathered our things.

"Okay everyone. You know the drill. Grab only your prized possessions and head out to the car park. Let's go." Mr Williamson ordered everyone out and we all followed each other out of the classroom and down the hallway, where we merged with several other classes to make our way outside. It was a cold day, but luckily it was sunny. Many times, we'd had to stand out in the pouring rain as the teachers took the registers and we waited for the issue to be solved. Thank goodness it wasn't one of those days. We all lined up in register order except for Calum, Luke and Michael who headed over to the gate for a smoke. As my eyes scanned the crowds of people, I saw Ashton heading out of the school from a different exit, trying to make sure no one saw him. Even his friends didn't know he was going. Something tugged in my gut, a bad feeling to say the least. I headed over to Mr Williamson.

"Sir, I-" if I told him the truth, I'd just get Ashton into trouble. There was no point in that. They wouldn't send anyone to actually check he was okay. If I needed that doing, I'd need to do it myself. "I need to go to the bathroom please. Urgently." I never bothered Mr Williamson, barely spoke throughout the year, so he panicked when I did and nodded, ushering me away so that I could head to the bathrooms. Except I didn't. When no one was looking, I slipped out of that same exit as Ashton and headed out onto the street. My music was blaring instantly. I never walked anywhere without it playing for fear I could hear something I didn't want to. I couldn't do anything wrong if I minded my own business.

Jax Jones filled my ears as I walked in time to the beat, guessing at the direction Ashton had gone in. More things were to the right of the college than the left, so I'd gone that way in the hope of finding him.

I walked briskly, my eyes scanning both sides of the road in front of me as I stepped to the music; A row of small shops came and went, but he wasn't in those. A car park, empty. An abandoned building site, I wasn't going to risk it. A park.

I stopped at the gates of the park and looked around. This one in particular was massive, almost like a beautiful centrepiece to this city. One full of greenery, a man made pond in the middle of it and some fountains and statues littering the remaining space with benches surrounding them. It was a peaceful place. Tranquil. The perfect place to unwind if I were upset, which somehow made me think Ashton was definitely going to be in here. I stepped in and followed the path around as the song changed to one of Blink-182. My music taste was varied, but that was good. It always kept me on my toes. Wandering the paths of this near silent park, I noticed someone in the playground area, someone who didn't belong in there. This person was angry, taking out their aggression on the things inside the playground; hitting them, kicking them, shouting at them. This person was broken. After a few moments more, they collapsed to the floor, their back against the ladder of the monkeybars as they brought their knees to their chest and rested their head on their arms.

This person was Ashton.

Panic set in. He really wasn't okay. What did I do? Did I get help? Did I try to help?
Before I knew it, I was walking into the playground. I paused my music as I slowly walked up to Ashton, hearing angered sobs coming from the crumpled man on the floor. I bent down and put a hand on his shoulder, instantly bringing him back to life. He jumped, probably out of shock that someone was here, leapt up and grabbed me, shoving me against the monkeybars roughly. I let out a guttural noise as my back hit the cold bars, letting all the air escape my body.

"I'm sorry!" I breathed out. "I didn't mean to scare you." Ashton's eyes were red, wet lines glistening down his cheeks as the sun shone on them. This really was not the guy at college. This was the one I knew he was hiding.

"What the fuck are you doing here, earphones?" He shouted at me, moving me away from the ladder before slamming me into it again. "Are you stalking me?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." I said softly. "You pressed the fire alarm after what happened in class, right?" Ashton's grip tightened on my jumper.

"So fucking what? You want me to confess it to you so you can grass me up?" Ashton took a step closer to me and for the first time, I felt scared of him.

"I wouldn't be here if I wanted to get you in trouble. I could have just told Mr Williamson that I saw you leaving." I said truthfully. Why was he always scared someone was out to get him?

"You want me to believe you're actually here because you care?" Ashton scoffed, his grip loosening ever so slightly. There was debate in his eyes though, one that was almost trying to thank me despite being angry that I'd followed him.

"Yes." I said confidently. "Not everyone is an asshole." Ashton looked into my eyes, taking in every part of what they were saying to him. I was genuine. I actually did care. I wasn't lying. His gaze locked with mine, we stayed like that for what felt like an age but was probably only thirty seconds. His grip loosened slightly more just as someone came up to us and shoved Ashton away from me.

"What the hell are you doing? Stay away from her!" Someone stuck up for me without me even needing help. They looked at me, standing behind them, and the features in the sunshine became instantly recognisable.

"Dean? What are you doing here?"