"Nah, mate, I told you, it's crazy," Liam said. "I saw the same guy again, and I swear he bumped into me and spilled his coffee on my shirt on purpose."

"Wait, wait, let me guess," Harry leaned against the bar counter. He was on the outside this time. He had a night off and decided to join Luke, Ashton, and their friends at Ash's bar for the evening. There were hardly any other people inside as the club was closed since it was a Monday night. The bar was open, just not the dancing part. There were only two other people there besides them. "He gave you his sweater or something and slipped his phone number into the pocket and then it was happily ever after," he sang in a high pitched voice. The rest of the guys at the counter burst into laugher. Liam scowled. "Or he ripped his shirt off right there and gave it to you and whisked you off in his arms where he made passionate love to you in his car," Liam shook his head. Harry smirked. "On his car? Damn, didn't know you rolled that way, you dir-"

"Shut up, bitch. I hate you," he grumbled, sitting down in his chair and putting his head in his hands. It did happen, meeting that man, he swore it did. It sounded like a fairytale, but every word was true.

"Whatever man, you know we love you," Harry leaned over Niall and ruffled the brunettes hair, chuckling when he scowled and flicked his hands away.

"So, did you hear about the time when—"

The beginning of Niall's story got cut off when Louis burst into the bar, door slamming as he ran all the way over to the bar and stopped in front of Harry. The curly haired man jumped up, looking at his roommate in concern.

"What's going on, Lou?"

"You don't look good," Ashton commented, walking away from Luke and over to his employee. He held Louis' face in his hands. "You're all pale and sweaty, are you sick?"

Louis shook his head, breathing heavily. Harry gently pushed him over to the seat he'd previously occupied and jumped behind the counter to get a glass of water. Ashton didn't even flinch, just took it from Harry to give to Louis while he walked back around.

"I-I-I..."

"Hey, take your time, yeah?" Harry ran his hands up and down Louis' arms to calm him. He looked really shaken up.

Luke recognized some similar symptoms he felt when he was having a panic attack. Louis' eyes were glassy and unfocused, he was shaking from head to toe, he was pale and sweating, and looked like he was going to pass out. Everyone kept pressing close trying to figure out what was wrong, but Luke figured that was doing more harm than good.

"Hey, how about we all take a step back," Luke voiced, pushing his arms to signal for Niall, Liam, Ashton, and Zayn to give space. He knew Harry would probably help Louis, which was good. The others needed to leave. "Why don't you all find a table to sit at and we'll come over soon."

Luke looked at Ashton when no one responded to his words, and the man got over his shock and led his friends away.

"Okay, Lou? You with me, buddy?" Luke stepped in front of him, trying to make him look at him. "Hey, can you tell me where you are?"

"Bar," he rasped. "Ash's."

"How about tell me 5 things you can see. Take your time, okay? Just 5 things,"

He nodded shakily.

"Lights...Table. Chairs. Glasses. Harry," He struggled to look around, blinking rapidly as he did.

"Great job, buddy. 4 things you can touch?"

He inhaled sharply a couple times before continuing.

"Jacket. Chair...counter. Harry." Harry's hand hadn't left Louis's arm as he continued to stroke it. Louis subconsciously pulled Harry a bit closer to him.

"Hey, it's all right, babe. You're doing great," Harry told him, lifting his other hand to run through Louis' hair. He stepped back behind Louis' chair so he could hold him.

"3 things you can hear,"

"Music, laughing, Harry talking to me."

Luke wanted to melt about how much having Harry there was helping Louis. They were so cute.

"2 things you can smell," Luke was confident he'd feel better after this. He already looked a bit calmer, especially now that he was wrapped up in Harry's arms.

"Liquor, and Harry." Louis took a deep breath, almost nuzzling his face into Harry's shirt. He felt lighter, grounded since being near his Harry.

"And one thing you can taste?"

Louis opened his mouth to reply and Harry stuck a finger through Louis' parted lips, grinning as he spluttered and pulled away.

"HARRY!" he screeched, but ended up laughing.

"Oi, what's happening?" Ashton walked back over. He'd been hovering around, not knowing what was going on, but needing to find out. He cared about his friends.

"Lou, are you ready to talk about whatever's got you so upset?" Harry asked gently, fingertips lightly trailing up and down the smaller boys arms. "You don't have to, but we just want to help."

"Th-there was someone f-following me," he managed to squeak out. "I d-don't know wh-who, and I couldn't s-see their face, but I know someone was there."

The three were shocked.

"Louis, I'm so sorry. I'm going to call the police, okay?"

"Ash, that's not n-necessary," Louis tried to protest.

"Don't say that, babe. You were followed. That's creepy and can't happen again." Harry scolded lightly, shaking his head. "Your safety is important."

"Did you walk from home again?" Luke questioned.

Harry was still staying with Louis since his apartment was broken into. He probably would be able to go back home by now, but both of them felt better having someone to stay with them.

"Yeah, I got back from the gym after you all had left. And it was a n-nice day, so I figured I could walk here."

"Well, you're not doing that anymore," Harry informed him matter-of-factly. He almost looked like a mother scolding her child she just found sneaking cookies before dinner.

"Harry, you can't just—"

"The cops are going to be here soon," Ashton came back over, pocketing his phone and putting his arms around Luke. "They want to talk to you, Lou, if you're up for it."

Louis nodded.

"Sure."

The others come back to the bar counter as they wait for the police to show up. Louis didn't want to move from his spot, afraid that Harry would take his arms away and wouldn't put them back around him. He felt safe with Harry—almost like the man was his anchor keeping him from being lost in the stormy sea of life—but wasn't sure how he'd communicate it without making things weird.

Ashton walked over to the officers when they came inside the bar. The bouncer had let them in, having seen Ashton's text a bit earlier explaining the situation.

"Which one of you has something to report?" The short officer asked. She had curly red hair and what seemed to be a permanent scowl etched onto her face. Her partner was a taller woman who honestly seemed a bit bored but looked much friendlier.

Louis sat up a bit straighter.

"Yeah, that's me."

He started to explain what happened, answering questions when he had to but otherwise just describing his trip to the bar.

"Okay, can you write down your name, address, and number in case we've got any follow-up questions as we look into this?" The tall officer asked, handing Louis a pad of paper and a pen. He wrote his info down and gave it back. The officers thanked him and had Ashton walk them out. They stopped by the doors.

"You're Ashton Irwin, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" They were standing outside, next to their squad car.

"We've got some information we wanted to pass on to you about an incident concerning Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford. You're the point person to speak to, yes?"

Ashton's attention was immediately piqued. Looking around to make sure Luke wasn't nearby listening (just in case), he nodded for them to continue.

"We just found out that Mr Clifford has escaped."

Ashton gaped at them. They had to be joking.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, he had some health issues at the prison and was sent to the hospital. He used the apparent lax security to escape into an unmarked car and get away. He was gone before they even knew. He's on the loose, sir."

Ashton's mind was reeling. Luke was going to be devastated. Michael was supposed to be in the facility for life. Luke was only doing as well as he was because he thought he'd never have to see Michael again.

"So...but you've found him, right? Like, we don't have anything to worry about, right?"

The officers shared a glance.

"We have no reason to believe he's here in the city. The facility was in Connecticut, so he's probably still around that area."

"So you have no clue is what you're telling me?" He scoffed. "Great."

"I'm very sorry, Mr Irwin." The tall one told him. A lot of good that'll do. "We've not seen any sign of him here, and I assure you we've been looking. I was part of the original investigation into Clifford, I know the damage he caused that poor boy," she smiled sadly. "We will do our best to let you know if we get more info about the case."

"You don't think it was Michael who was following Louis, do you?" Ashton asked hesitantly.

"No, we have no reason to. We'll keep on the lookout though, and contact you if we get more evidence."

Ashton left her his number to call if they did learn more. He didn't want them calling Luke, he wanted to get the info first so he could protect his baby if he needed to.

Ashton bid the officers farewell and immediately dialed the second number on his speed dial.

"Is Luke all right?"

"For right now, yes, no immediate issues," Ashton told the voice. The person on the other end sighed in relief. Usually when Ashton called this late and without warning, it meant something was wrong.

"Okay, then what's up, Ash?" She knew he wouldn't call without reason. They weren't exactly friends that he would just call to bullshit and catch up.

"He's out. He escaped."

Silence on the other end.

"You mean..."

"Yeah," Ashton sighed, leaning against the brick wall. People were walking past, ignoring him. It was normal to see people just casually lurking around and no one bat an eye at him.

"That's bad. But you haven't seen him?"

"No, we haven't." Ashton was worried about how Luke would react.

"Does Luke know?"

"No," Ashton told the therapist. Caity was truly a saving grace, Ashton had no idea what he or Luke would do without her. She was always so calm and knew exactly what to do in a crisis. "I wasn't with him when the cops told me,"

Caity was confused so Ashton explained what happened the last hour at his bar.

"God, that's awful,"

"It is. I don't know if it's related at all, I mean, Michael knew Louis but I don't know why he'd target him since they weren't particularly close when he was around,"

"Hm, that's true. But they are close now, if he's been out for a while like you said, maybe he's been watching and waiting."

It felt like ice filled Ashton's veins. He hadn't even made that connection. Michael could have been doing who knows what this whole time and Ashton wouldn't have know anything.

"Hey, Ashton? You all right?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. I just...this whole thing is crazy. I thought we were done dealing with this shit and we could just work on moving forward,"

Caity sighed.

"I know it's hard. You two have already been through so much with this. It really fucking sucks that you might have to go through more."

"Yeah,"

"But this time I know will be different."

"Why's that?" Ashton didn't want to cry, but sometimes things just felt like too much to handle. Why did this have to happen to them? First Luke's dads death, and now this...

"You have each other now. The shit you've gone through is incredible, but this time will be better. Not easier, because it's still going to be a challenge, but I've seen you two. Together, you're unstoppable. You'll get through this."

Ashton sniffled.

"Yeah, you're right."

"I often am. That's why I am who I am," she teased, coaxing a reluctant laugh from Ashton. "So, what are you thinking in regards to Luke?"

Ashton pushed himself off the wall and started pacing.

"I don't know. I think that telling him would make things worse. He's just starting to feel okay about going out and being left alone again. I don't think it would be beneficial."

Caity hummed.

"I think I agree. We don't even know where Michael is, it could not even be a threat."

"That's true. The cops think he's still in Connecticut."

"There ya go. No need to upset him then." Caity paused. "Let me know if he finds out or if you decide you need to tell him. Obviously whatever you think is best,"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll let you know. I have to go sort out some security measures. If I'm not going to tell him, I want to make sure I have someone watching him. It would confuse him if I didn't let him out of my sight for no reason."

"Sure, you do what you feel best. I'll talk to you later, hon. Ring me if you need anything."

"Of course, thanks, Caity. We both appreciate you more than you could possibly know."

Ashton walked over to his security guard.

"Hey, Al, do you know of a couple of guys I could hire for private security?"

Al stopped checking IDs for a moment to glance at Ashton.

"Sure. I know some guys. Why?"

Ashton got someone to fill in for him while he took Al into his office and explained the situation.

"How many people are we watching?"

"Three. Luke, Harry, and Louis."

Al raised an eyebrow.

"Not you?"

He shook his head.

"I'll be fine. It's the others I'm worried about."

Al sighed.

"6 guys, 12-hour shifts. They won't make contact with the targets unless there's danger."

"I want double on Luke." Al stared at him. "Listen, you don't know what Michael was like. He needs the protection."

Al nodded.

"Great, thanks so much. I appreciate it, brother."

Ashton and his guard left the office and Ashton found Luke sitting with Louis and Harry.

"Hey, Sweetheart, you okay?" He scooped Luke up into his arms and nuzzled his chin into Luke's shoulder. Why was Michael trying to ruin everything again? Would he come here?

"'M fine. What's going on? Why were you talking to Al?" Luke pulled away and set his innocent eyes on Ashton.

"It's fine, Doll. Lou, Harry, c'mere." Ashton brought the four of them into a little huddle. "I don't like what I heard and I'm worried about you all. Al, my most trusted security guard, knows some people, good, trustworthy people who are going to be looking after you."

Harry scrunched up his nose. Ashton figured Harry would have the biggest issue with this.

"What, like a babysitter?"

"No, like security. I won't hear arguments from any of you. We all need to be careful. Harry had his place broken into, Louis' been followed. I won't let anything happen to anyone else, okay?"

It made sense. He had enough to go on. Please no questions, please no questions, and no protests.

"Fine." Harry agreed. Louis nodded, looking to Harry. If Harry thought he needed it, then Louis definitely did too. And now he didn't have to worry too much next time he wanted to go out.

Luke looked at Ashton with a frown.

"Is this really necessary?" He asked quietly.

"It's okay, Lukey, it's just a precaution. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you, or anyone else."

He nodded.

"Okay, as long as we're all protected."

"Of course, Sweetheart." He extracted himself from Luke's arms. "I'm going to talk to the others and let them know what's going on."

Ashton walked over to Liam, Zayn, and Niall who were still sitting at the table from before. He set a business card in front of them.

"Just to let you know, there's some weird shit going on. If you don't feel safe, here's the number for one of my guys, he does personal protection and stuff. Tell them I gave you the number and it'll be sorted."

"Thanks, mate," Liam snapped a pic of the card.

"Stay safe, you guys," Ashton walked over to Luke. He needed to be with him as often as he could.

***

Dun dun dun! Things are picking up! Lots going on. I wanna know your thoughts on Ashton's protection program and what you would do if you'd found out the information he did. Would you tell Luke? 🧐🤔

Hope you're all doing well and you're making it through these final days of this year. Where has the time fcking gone???? It's crazy! it's like, nothing lasts forever, nothing stays the same, amirite? (i love 2011 btw omg what a bop <3) 

also bonus question, if you watched the five seconds of summer show, what was your favorite part? I've watched it twice already and I absolutely adore 'pass the 5sos', that fake interview scene where they pretend to know nothing about the band, and the end credits where Ashton talks about Frank being a fuck up and how he never does anything unless he wants to XD honestly that was so amazing, and such a good idea. they look like they had a blast and you can just see it in their cute faces. also the end performance??? perfection. literal perfection. 

~ashtonfortherwin