Song for this chapter : You are beautiful- James Blunt 🎶🎵🎸

(but it is not the song he is irritated by, you will know when you read :p)

Ashton

What kind of shit music are they playing?

I cringed, knowing I would flip out any second if it didn't stop.

Hurry up. Open it, Urgh!!

"Jane, you there?" I knocked on her door and waited. I have been outside her room for exact ten minutes and she still hasn't answered me. By now, I am pretty sure I have heard almost every room in this lobby open and shut back except Jane's. I knocked very nicely, not the way I knock on the bathroom door when my sister disappears inside. Thank God Em was nowhere in sight or I would have to bear those teases all over again.

Is Jane avoiding me again?

The last few days with her were good. We had small talks at the hospital, and I was fine with it because she had her job there. I always asked her random questions and she replied without flinching. We spent time in the cafeteria for ten minutes max, daily. I hated when she walked away, but I had a lot on my mind too. My mother was sick. I couldn't possibly forget that.

Hope even gave me her number after our little Deja Vu moment. Yeah, that is what I like to call that particular split second; it is just special. The moment simply belongs to me and Jane, no complexities no complications.

She would not avoid me, not anymore.

She must have overslept because the last time I reached the hospital early, she checked in just a few minutes later and I assumed it as her usual time. I called on her phone but it went straight to voicemail. The nervous energy started haunting me as I banged on her door once again and luckily, she responded right away.

Jane was obviously not pleased to see me at 8 in the morning; her eyes were half open and she was absently squinting them at me.

"You look funny," I chuckled, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. At first, she tensed herself at the contact but relaxed when my thumb moved swiftly around her cold cheeks. Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths and her cheeks warmed under my touch, causing the color to drain back in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked sharply, breaking the charm. Her morning voice was different and husky, it was slowly embodying the usual control. She lazily scratched her head, letting the loose stray strands of hair to caress even more over her neck and slump shoulders.

"Morning, Hope. Didn't see you at the hospital, thought I should check in," I smiled, massaging the back of my neck. She looked like a small woolen ball, hugging herself protectively; it made me want to carry her in my arms and shield her from the world. 

Hope makes me want to smile. Jesus.

"You know you don't have to babysit me, right?" She pulled on the sleeves of her pink sweats which complimented those rosy cheeks, her expressions unreadable. 

"I know-" I paused, my eyes fell on her light brown freckles, there was a tint of purple running smoothly under her eyes but it didn't overcome the fact that she was utterly beautiful.

"Well, I was just worried," I added, leaning in closer; she responded to the closure by innocently gazing into my eyes. 

In an instant, she flinched and slapped her hand over her mouth to hide the yawn; sleep was finally rubbing away from those big blue eyes. Jane crossed her arms across her chest in a defensive manner; she was too complicated but I was so in love with the fact that she was standing confidently in front of me, "I called in sick, Ashton," she grinned. 

"Why are you smiling?" I asked, her mouth curving into a smile all over again. I remembered surprising one of my ex's in the morning, who practically woke up the entire neighborhood with her squeaky screams when I saw her morning face. I always wondered why girls were conscious about letting a guy see them in the morning. Are they afraid of the guy leaving them? What is there to hide anyway? I call it all bullshit. First of all, love is not about the looks, it is about letting two hearts melt into one another in order to feel whole and second, why stay with someone who would leave in just a blink of an eye?

Look at me, acting like a Love Guru. Christ.

In my defense, that is how my mom says dad treated her. Epic is the word mom would use to depict their love. How beautiful. I shook my head in disbelief.

If Hope ever felt nervous about herself, I would take thousands of pictures of her until she would give up and no longer make efforts to push me away. I would flash the camera in front of her till she poses confidently for them. But not even a fraction of unease was felt in her personality; she was remarkably self-assured and I swear it was the most attractive feature this girl possessed.

"Are you really sick?" My tone was concerned.

"Not really, I slept in the morning," she yawned again, moisture appearing at the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, but your assignments?"

"I emailed them, Veronica will be covering my shift,"

"Veronica Benson? I know her," My voice lightened up at the mention of a familiar name. Veronica was an intern last year who got a permanent job a few months later, her dad survived cancer in the Straub Clinic and I was more than intrigued to know her tale.

"Of course, Mr.Popular amongst the girls, huh?" She raised her eyebrows, her tone filled with mockery.

Shit! She is definitely pointing at that kiss with Wilma. I had long forgotten about those wet lips that attacked me.  Urgh!

"C'mon I am not that guy," I nodded my head in opposition to her statement. 

"Not that I care but it is crazy how you know almost everyone from the hospital." She paused. "No, it is actually weird how they are all girls," she smiled suggestively, assured that her point was made. I noticed every move of hers; she kept her hand flat on her chest and said dramatically, "Ashton, the heartthrob of every girl." She was not even halfway done with her sentence when her mouth burst open, twisting in a humorless smile.

I chuckled in surprise at her analysis of my personality.

"Am I that interesting?" I drew my lower lip between my teeth, she instantly started taking slow breaths as I nestled in closer to her, holding her gaze. Jane blinked twice and took a few steps back into her room. The more I stepped in closer, the more she instinctively pulled back, a huge grin appearing on her face. When she was almost at the edge of the bed, she gasped and immediately turned around.

"Shutup, Ashton," she playfully slapped my shoulder.

"Okay, okay, I was joking. You see, I have been here longer than you have. Ever heard of the saying misery aches for company?"

"Hmm?" She peeked through her eyelashes.

"I have spent a great deal of time here, lingering around in the corridors of the hospital, helplessly waiting for my mom's cancer to heal," I explained.

Her head was bowed down the entire time I talked and she was silently chewing on her cuticle.

"Oh, Hope, stop with the silent treatment already,"

"I was just thinking-" she stared at me for a second. I could never get tired of looking at those eyes.

"Thinking about?" I questioned, confused.

"Will things ever get better?"

"I Hope so," I said each word slowly, creating an effect.

Jane responded to my words with a smile, her sight back on the ground.

I leaned in a little closer again, gripping her shoulders, I whispered.

"You see what I did there?" 

"Yes," her voice barely audible.

Following that, she removed my hand from her shoulders and walked towards the door. I followed her back. I was so lost in her bliss that I pushed myself inside her room; I wasn't even invited. She was not used to letting people in, it was way too obvious. 

What a jerk move. She is probably showing me out. What the hell is wrong with me?

 Fuck.

"So, for how long are you planning on having a conversation at the door? The coffee is getting cold," I mocked her in an attempt to hide my own embarrassment.

"Not anymore. Give me that coffee," she demanded," I have been eyeing it ever since you landed on my doorstep." She grabbed the cup from my hands and took a few sips, then wiped the coffee moustache off her lips with the back of her hand; the way she reacted calmed my nerves.

"Yeah and here are some pancakes too," I extended the parcel to her.

"Hmm, trying to give me diabetes, Mr. Anderson?" She questioned in a soft, posh accent, fluttering her eyes hungrily over the wrapped pancakes.

"Look at you, you need to pump yourself with sugar, you are too bitter right now, Hope." Her mouth hung open as I regarded her in disbelief. I waited for her to at least smile, she was too serious. 

Shit. Not good, not good. 

"Do you want to go for a jog? I am heading out anyway," I quickly asked, changing the topic.

"I don't run," she smirked. Ironically, this was such a big lie. I wanted to say 'No wonder I am always chasing you around' but instead I said, "Doesn't mean you won't run with me."

"Umm," she hesitated.

"You have 10 mins to change your mind, I just have to pick a few things from my room. Gotta run some errands after the run," I tapped the tip of her nose and turned around confidently, aware that I had to be back at her door in just a few minutes because she was definitely going for a run with me. Long gone were the days when she rejected every gesture of mine. This girl was finally trusting me and I was never going to give up. If she only knew I would go so far as to never letting her slip. Never.

Note: 

1) I had so much fun writing it. Maybe cause I love his POV XD

2) Dont forget to VOTE and COMMENT. ILYSM <3

3) Thankyou so much for the support guys. Special dedication to ChrisBieniek7 for the most motivating comments. 🙆 He is the master of Sci-Fi. Check out his books. ^_^.