Chapter Text
"Ow!" you squeaked as you hit the ground, holding your left – now twisted – ankle in pain. You looked up at the people that were around you and they clearly didn't care that they had just knocked you down.
You were currently at the airport, hoping for your chance to even see your favorite band in person. They had just come outside where all the fans were waiting, but you never saw them. You were shoved out of the way before you could catch even a glimpse of Michael's bright red hair. On top of the twisted ankle that was making it difficult to get back up, people kept stepping on your hands every time you tried to stand. You groaned as you tried getting up for what seemed like the 15th time when you heard a very distinct voice start shouting over the fans' screams.
"Everyone just stop for a minute!" Ashton yelled, causing the crowd to become so silent, you could hear a pin drop. He rushed over to where you were. "Are you okay?" You looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Hi," you said slowly.
"Hi," he smiled before repeating, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah!" you nodded, "I, uh, I'm just...making sure that...the ground is, uh...stable... It-It's looking good."
"Yeah, Ash," Calum said as he quickly came over to the two of you, "Just leave her on the ground. You're such a gentleman."
"Right! Sorry!" he exclaimed, shoving his Sharpie into his pocket. They both reached down over the barricade and grabbed your elbows, helping you back up. You stood up, careful not to put any weight on your twisted ankle.
"Thank you," you told them.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Calum asked, noticing you would flinch every time there was even just a little pressure on your ankle.
You nodded again, "I'm fine. Go back to meeting everyone up there. I can wait for my turn." They reluctantly walked back to the front of the crowd. You leaned again the metal barricade and finally noticed all the girls around you glaring at you. "Guess you should be more careful about where you're pushing people next time," you smiled sweetly.
~
It had been about 15 minutes since the band came outside and they were only about halfway back to where you were. Due to being pushed and shoved all night and your now practically useless ankle, you were patiently waiting at the back of the line near the car that was waiting for the boys to take them to the hotel. You had been making random conversation with the bodyguard that was by the car and when he realized that the boys would be a while, he opened the car door.
"Here," he said, carefully taking your forearm in his hand, "You should sit down." You thought about refusing, but sitting down did seem like a good idea and you really didn't want to do any more damage to your ankle than had already been done. He helped you onto the seat where you sat sideways with your legs hanging out the door. You let out a quiet sigh and thanked him, happy to finally be off of your feet.
~
20 minutes later, the crowd had left and you were – surprisingly – the only one still there.
"How are you feeling?" Michael asked, tossing his jacket on the seat behind you.
"I've been better," you answered with a light laugh, "I should really be heading back to my car now though."
"You've been here for an hour and you're not even going to have us sign anything?" Calum laughed.
"I just came for pictures, but my phone died while I was waiting for you guys," you shrugged.
"Oh!" Ashton exclaimed suddenly, "We can use mine!" He stood beside you and put the front-facing camera on, taking a picture with you before taking your photos with the other three boys. "What's your Twitter? I'll tweet them to you." You told him your Twitter and he smiled, "I'll send them when we get to our hotel."
"So where's your car?" Luke asked as he poked his head inside and looking at the driver, "You don't mind taking her, do you?"
"Of course not," he answered, smiling back.
"Oh, uh, it's that way," you told them, pointing the direction the car was facing, "My mom had to park pretty far away."
"Your mum has been here this whole time?" Michael asked, wide-eyed, "We need to get her a Mum of the Year award or something."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," you laughed. Calum and Luke climbed past you to the backseat of the car while Michael sat down in the seat behind you where his jacket was. Ashton motioned for you to scoot back to the middle section of the seat and you scoffed jokingly as you did so, "Sure, my ankle isn't already killing me or anything." He sat down where you just were and patted his lap as the bodyguard closed the door and took his own seat up front.
"Gotta keep it elevated," he said.
"Are you a doctor now?" you laughed, carefully putting your legs on his lap. You were practically laying on Michael at this point, so you tilted your head back on his shoulder. "Sorry about this," you told him.
"It's fine with me," he smiled, "Just make sure you follow the doctor's orders and keep that foot elevated."
"This isn't exactly how I imagined tonight going," you thought out loud.
"But is it such a bad thing though?" Calum asked.
"Other than not being able to move my ankle without agonizing pain?" you teased, "No, not that bad at all."
"What kind of car am I looking for?" the driver asked amidst your laughter.
"Oh, it's the same color as Michael's hair. You can't miss it," you answered without missing a beat, making everyone in the car snicker.
"Rude," Michael frowned.
"That one?" he asked, pointing to the right a bit.
"Yup!" You heard Michael sigh and smiled, "And you thought I was just being mean."
The driver stopped a couple parking spaces away from the one your mom was parked in and you thanked him as Ashton carefully lifted your legs up and got out of the car. You said a quick goodbye to the boys as you shuffled toward the door. You made a motion to get out, but Ashton stopped you.
"Ashton," you said firmly, "You are not going to carry me. The car is right there." He shook his head and put his right arm around your back and his left arm under your knees, effortlessly lifting you out of the car.
Your mom looked up from her book, confused as to why one of the boys on the posters in her daughter's bedroom was now carrying her toward her car. She reached across and pulled the handle, pushing the door open while you opened it the rest of the way.
"Honey, what happened to your ankle?!" your mom gasped when she saw how swollen it was as Ashton put you in the front passenger seat.
"It's nothing. I just got pushed and twisted it," you said.
"Do we need to go to the ER?" she asked, the worry in her voice and on her face very obvious.
"Mom, I'm fine," you assured her, "I just need to stay off it for a couple days." You looked back up at Ashton, "Thanks, Ash. It was nice meeting you." He grinned and leaned down to give you a hug but before he closed the car door, he looked at your mom.
"I just thought I should let you know that the boys and I think you deserve Mum of the Year for waiting for over an hour so your daughter could meet us," he told her.
"Thank you," she smiled, "At least someone appreciates the things I do for her."
"Mom!" you whined, "I've said thank you like, a million times!"
"'A million thank yous' doesn't give me that hour of my life back, does it, Y/N?"
You rolled your eyes as you pulled your seat belt across your body, mumbling to the drummer still standing beside you, "Bye, Ashton."
"Bye, Y/N," he chuckled quietly as he closed the door, making your heart race at the sound of him saying your name.
Ashton's POV
"You're totally into her," Michael grinned as Ashton got back into the car.
"Don't be ridiculous," Ashton replied, shoving his best friend's arm, "I don't know her."
"You know enough to be into her," Calum teased.
"All I know is her name," he mumbled, slouching down in his seat.
"You also know that she's incredibly pretty," Michael commented.
"And you were the one that jumped at the chance to take pictures with your phone for her," Luke pointed out.
"Her phone died and she wanted pictures! I wasn't gonna be a dick and let her leave without getting them!"
"But carrying her to her car?" Michael asked, "She could have made it over there herself. I think you just wanted a reason to keep touching her."
"Well, it's not like it matters because I'm never gonna see her again, so can you guys just back off, please?"
"You have her Twitter," Calum replied, "And I can tell she would be the last person to say no to seeing you again." Ashton simply sighed, staring out the window and remaining quiet for the rest of the ride to the hotel.
~
Your POV
A couple hours later, Ashton had tweeted you the photos as promised and even added that he hoped you were feeling better. He had followed you as well, so you were able to DM him and tell him you were doing fine now that you had gotten some ice on it.
However, after a few days had passed, the pain was still nearly unbearable. After quite a bit of persuasion from your parents, you finally went to the hospital to see a doctor. After he was finished with the examination, he explained to you that you would need crutches for a least six weeks because you had torn a muscle and needed to stay off of your foot to let it heal properly. He prescribed you with some pain medicine before sending you on your way.
When you got home, you were struggling to get the hang of your crutches for a while, but when you finally did it, you decided you wanted to go out. Your mom insisted on taking you wherever you wanted to go, but you told her you could manage. After all, the only reason you really wanted go out was so your parents stopped asking you if you needed anything every 5 minutes. While you appreciated the fact that they were so willing to do anything for you at all, you just needed some peace and quiet for a couple hours.
You made your way to your favorite café – it was just down the street – and when you went inside, you saw the last person you expected to see. After you paid for your hot chocolate, you carefully made your way over to Ashton.
"Hi, Ashton," you said casually as you sat down in front of him, leaning your crutches against the table beside you.
"I don't know who that is," he said lowly, not looking up from his phone.
"Oh, I get it," you nodded, taking a sip of your drink, "You're in disguise mode."
"How did you know it was me?" he sighed, finally looking up at you, the realization of remembering who you are showing on his face. "Oh, it's you..."
"That's not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, but I'm glad you remember me," you smiled.
"How could I forget?" he asked under his breath.
"Yeah," you agreed, "I would find it pretty difficult to forget the one person stupid enough to twist her ankle while waiting to meet you too. But anyway, the Australian accent kinda gives you away. Might I suggest faking an American one?"
He nodded and cleared his throat, giving you the most terrible imitation of an American accent you'd ever heard, "How's this?"
"We've got a lot of work to do," you shook your head.
"Was that not American?" he frowned.
"That sounded like no American I've ever heard," you laughed, "Think New York. Everyone can do a New Yorker's accent."
"But we're not in New York."
"Well, that's where definitely-not-Ashton-Irwin-from-5-Seconds-of-Summer is gonna be from." He thought for a moment, trying to come up with a believable enough accent.
"Okay, I've got it," he said, "Is this better?"
You quickly covered your mouth to keep yourself from laughing too loud, "Sure, if you're part of the mafia." Ashton laid his forehead on the table, making you laugh again. "Maybe you just avoid going out in public without one of your bodyguards."
"I've been managing without them," he chuckled, "How about you? How's the ankle?"
"I'm on these things-" you nodded toward your crutches, "-for the next six weeks, so I'm doing just about as well as you can imagine."
"Sorry about that," he smiled shyly and looked down, making you giggle.
"Yeah, because it was totally your fault. Thanks for being in a super famous band and twisting my ankle, Ashton. Worst Person of the Year award officially goes to you." You were able to make him smile, which made you happy even though you felt terrible that he blamed himself.
"What are you up to today?" he asked.
"I don't know," you sighed, "I just needed to get out of the house."
"Well, you're welcome to come hang with the boys and I," he offered, "We were just planning on staying in the hotel room and watching movies all day before we leave to fly back home in the morning."
"If it's cool with them, I'm all for it," you shrugged.
"It will be, don't worry," he said as you both stood up and he grabbed both of your drinks, leading you outside and you began walking to the hotel.
~
"They haven't stopped talking about you," he mentioned without thinking a couple minutes later.
"Understandably," you nodded, "But I make injuries look fabulous, so it's okay."
Ashton couldn't help but mentally kick himself as he opened the hotel door for you and led you to the room. He took his key card out of his pocket and opened the door. You were immediately greeted with shocked smiles and hugs.
"Hello to you guys too," you giggled.
"You're on crutches?" Luke whined.
"We're not doing that today, Lucas," you warned with a small grin on your face, "It's nothing I can't handle."
"What are you doing here?" Michael smiled, glancing at Ashton.
"I have come to enjoy a day full of movies with my favorite band!" you announced, took a quick pause, and finished your thought, "Wow. I never thought I would say a sentence like that."
Ashton led you to one of the beds and you laid your crutches on the ground before jumping up onto it, careful not to hurt your ankle. You kicked off your right shoe – you never bothered trying to put a shoe your left foot since it hurt too much – and after getting comfortable against the headboard in the middle of the bed, texted your mom to tell her what you were doing and who you were with so she didn't worry about you. Calum got a couple of the extra pillows from the chair in the corner of the room and brought them over to you.
"Right," you nodded, sighing quietly as you lifted your leg up, "Doctor's orders." He simply laughed and stacked the pillows on top of each other before letting you put your leg back down.
"I like your socks, by the way," Michael said, getting on the bed beside you, "And I hope this is cool since there are only two beds in here and all."
"I can't wear ugly socks if I'm not able to put on shoes, now can I?" you smiled, "It's fine. I would be crazy to say no to a face like that." You poked his cheek and he rolled his eyes.
"What movie do you guys want to watch?" Luke asked while he and Calum got on the other bed and Ashton sat down on the other side of you.
"What's on?" Ashton asked to which Luke shrugged in response.
Michael gestured for Luke to give him the remote, "Y/N, I'm sure you know what all the good stations are. You pick."
"You guys are gonna get a Disney movie if you don't watch it," you replied seriously, taking the remote from Michael. You scrolled through the TV guide for a couple minutes before you found a movie that interested you. "How about this?" you asked.
"You like Scary Movie?" Ashton asked, seemingly in shock.
"It's only my favorite movie series ever!" you laughed, not even noticing the looks the other boys were giving Ashton.
Each time something funny happened, you would cover your mouth with your hand and lean on Ashton's arm slightly. He would get butterflies in his stomach and his heart would skip a beat whenever you did this, but he still wished there were way more funny parts than there were.
~
Halfway through the third movie, it was now about 9pm and you had fallen asleep with your head on Ashton's shoulder. Calum had looked over and awed quietly, which caused Luke and Michael to look at you as well.
"Dude, seriously," Calum whispered, "Just ask her out."
"We're gonna be on a plane by the time she wakes up tomorrow!" Ashton exclaimed quietly.
"Long distance can work, you know," Luke said.
"She wouldn't-"
"Ash," Michael rolled his eyes, "Don't you dare try to convince yourself that she wouldn't say yes."
"Look at how close she is to you," Calum pointed out, "She could have easily been that close to Michael and had her head on his shoulder right now, but she doesn't."
"There's no use in running from this," Michael added, "We all know that if you don't ask her out, you're gonna be miserable until we come back next month." Ashton sighed and was about to say something, but he was cut off by your phone ringing on your lap. They all chuckled at your ringtone being Mrs All American as Michael quickly grabbed it so you didn't wake up, answering it.
"Hi, Mrs. Y/N's mum," he said quietly.
Your mom let out a breath, "Which member are you again?"
"Michael." When she paused, he rolled his eyes, "Red hair."
"Oh, like my car!" she exclaimed.
"That reference is common with her, I see."
"She calls the car Michael sometimes, honestly." Michael snickered and she quickly added, "Don't tell her I told you that. Where is she?"
"Right here," he chuckled, "She's just sleeping."
She sighed, "Can you please wake her up and tell her I'll be there in a few minutes?"
"Yes, ma'am," he answered before your mom hung up. "Looks like you've only got a few minutes, Ash," he told the drummer, standing up, "Because her mum is on her way."
Michael gathered up your crutches, your shoe, and your phone and, since he couldn't make himself wake you up, Ashton carefully got off the bed and picked you up, following Michael out of the room. Once they got off the elevator and walked into the lobby, you started stirring.
"What's going on?" you groaned quietly, rubbing your eyes.
"Your mum is coming to pick you up," Michael answered, "And since Ash is a softy, he didn't want to wake you up, so we're taking you outside."
"Thanks, Ash," you giggled sleepily into his shoulder, "Sorry I fell asleep on you."
"It's okay, Y/N," he smiled, putting you down on the bench in front of the hotel.
"I'll leave you two alone now," Michael said, putting your stuff beside you, "It was nice seeing you again, Y/N."
"You too, Michael," you smiled, giving him a hug before he went back inside. Ashton stood beside you and you could tell he was obviously nervous about something. "Ashton," you said, making him look at you, "You okay?"
He bit his lip and sighed, "We're coming back in a few weeks and I wanted to know if you would want to do something – just the two of us." He waited nervously for a response.
"Like a date?" you finally managed to ask. He hesitated for a moment, not really sure what the answer you were looking for was, before he looked down.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
You couldn't help but smile, "I would love to go on a date with you, Ashton."
"Really?" he looked at you in shock.
"Of course I would," you laughed lightly, "Like I would ever say no to seeing you again." He chuckled, remembering what Calum had told him a few days ago as they were leaving the airport.
You two talked for a couple more minutes until your mom pulled up to the hotel. Ashton quickly grabbed your crutches before you had the chance, putting them in the back of the car and opening the passenger door before going back to you.
"Ashton!" you squeaked, "I'm not immobile!"
"Please," he teased, "You like it when I carry you." You rolled your eyes, not even bothering to attempt to hide the grin on your face and he picked you up again.
"So is this going to be a regular thing?" you asked as he set you down on the seat.
"We'll see how our date goes," he smirked.
"Date?" your mom asked, "What date?"
"Bye, Y/N," Ashton smiled, kissing your cheek before rushing back inside.
"What date?!" your mom exclaimed.
"It's in a few weeks, Mom," you beamed, "Don't worry about it."