Chapter Text
April 2015
When you heard Ashton Irwin was going to be going to Coachella, you knew you had to go. You had never been before, so when your best friend Ali – who lived about an hour and a half south of your town and went to the festival every year – asked you to go with her, as she did every year since you met her, you finally caved in.
The Thursday before the festival, she drove to your apartment, not even greeting you before asking why you all of a sudden agreed to go with her. There was no use in lying to her – she'd been your best friend for so long that, even though you'd met online and that was really the only way you talked to her, she would know whether or not you were being truthful. Obviously, being a fan of the band as well – you'd actually met because of 5 Seconds of Summer after following each other – she freaked out over you telling her that you heard Ashton would be there.
It was around noon on Friday and you were sitting on a bench beside one of the wifi spots on the fairgrounds the festival was being held on, waiting for the band Ali was seeing to finish their set. You had your headphones in – not really paying attention to anything around you – as you scrolled through Twitter.
You were minding your own business – liking a couple tweets here and there – and you weren't really fazed when you felt someone sit down beside you. You simply swiped up on the bottom of your screen to pull up your music, wanting to change the song. You tapped the next button a couple times, hearing the person next to you speak up.
"Oh, I liked that song," he said.
Your heart immediately skipped a beat – you knew that Australian accent anywhere. Your head snapped up to find Ashton Irwin smiling at you.
"Really?" you couldn't help but grin as you tugged on the cord, causing the headphones to fall onto your lap. The song you'd just skipped was Don't Stop, so you knew he was joking.
"You're right; You got me," he laughed with a shrug, "Just trying to start a conversation."
"I think 'Hey, my name's Ashton and I'm kind of offended you skipped my song' would have worked just as well," you pointed out.
"I'll remember that for next time," he smiled again, "But I do think it's unfair that you know my name when I don't know yours."
"Y/N," you said shyly.
"So, Y/N, what bands did you come to see?" Ashton asked you.
"Well, the only people I've heard of are playing Sunday," you told him, "But I don't really even listen to them. Ali just didn't want to come alone all weekend, so I figured I'd tag along."
"But there's like, a hundred bands playing today!" he exclaimed, "How have you not heard of at least one of them?!" You laughed at his outburst.
"I'm more of a Warped Tour kind of girl," you shrugged.
"I'm going to fix you, Y/N," Ashton informed you, making you roll your eyes. "Okay," he stated, his phone in his hand, "He doesn't play until 2:35, but I really think you'd like George Ezra... You know, if you'd like to join me..."
"I wouldn't want to just invite myself like that, Ash," you shook your head, "I'm sure your friends want to spend time with you."
"You aren't inviting yourself, Y/N – I'm asking you to come. Only a couple of my friends are seeing him with me because the others are seeing other bands." You looked at him for a moment.
"Are you s-"
"I'm sure," he smiled reassuringly.
"Yeah," you nodded, "Yeah, I'll see him with you." Ashton smiled brightly, turning his head as he heard his name behind him.
"Hey, Ash!" one of his friends hollered, "The Ruen Brothers are about to go on and we should head over there if we want a good spot!" He nodded and turned back to you.
"I'll meet you right here at like, 2:20, okay?" he asked. You nodded in response and he turned around, sprinting toward his friends. "See you later, Y/N!" he called over his shoulder. You felt your face get hot, knowing you were a few hours from seeing Ashton again.
You couldn't keep the smile off of your face as you pulled out your phone, texting Ali to see where she was. You got the read receipt, but before you could even wonder why she wasn't texting back, you heard her behind you.
"ASHTON IRWIN JUST ASKED YOU TO SEE A BAND WITH HIM!" Ali screamed, running up to you. You spun around and she grabbed your shoulders, shaking you lightly. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!"
"I'm right here, Ali," you giggled, "You don't need to yell anymore."
"Sorry," she replied, releasing you, "But did my ears deceive me or is that what actually happened?"
"Yeah," you smiled slightly, "Ashton asked me to see George Ezra with him later."
"Be still, my heart," she sighed dramatically, slapping her hand on her chest while earning an eye roll from you, "I simply cannot handle this kind of emotion."
"Stop being so dramatic, Al," you insisted, "He just invited me to see a musician with him; That doesn't mean we're soulmates."
"Life needs a little drama, Y/N," she told you matter-of-factly, "And if you're not going to deliver on it, someone has to!" You rolled your eyes again, grabbing her arm and pulling her along so you could get something to eat.
~
April 2016
The next year, you and Ali were all ready to visit Coachella again. She'd spent the entire week at your place this year, eagerly anticipating the weekend ahead. There were quite a few more bands and artists you knew of this year, so you were pretty excited to go as well.
"Are you sure you want to come all day?" Ali asked you that Friday morning after you both got ready to leave, "I'll be fine if you want to hang out here until Ellie Goulding's set."
"I'm fine," you said, making sure your apartment door was locked before closing it, "I need to get out anyway."
"Well, she doesn't play until like, 9:20 tonight."
"Who knows?" you shrugged, "Maybe I'll find a new artist I like today."
"That's the spirit!" Ali squeaked, making you smile and shake your head.
~
You and Ali were walking around the festival grounds, having a couple hours to kill since the first band she was set on seeing that day was Front Bottoms. You'd heard of them before, but hadn't really ever listened to them. Ali had you listen to a couple songs on the ride there and you thought they were pretty good, so you had decided you would go see them with her.
What you weren't expecting that morning, however, was to hear your name being called behind you by a very familiar Australian accent.
"Y/N!" You spun around to find Ashton smiling widely as he jogged up to you.
"Ashton!" you grinned. His arms wrapped around your waist – to your surprise – but you certainly weren't going to complain. "I thought you were on tour!" you said as you hugged him back.
"We have a few days off, so I wanted to come to Coachella again," he said, letting go of you, "I can't believe you're here! I mean, I was hoping you would be, but I didn't think I'd actually be able to find you!"
"You wanted to see me again?" you couldn't help the light red blush on your cheeks as Ashton sported a blush of his own.
"Well, yeah," he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "I had a lot of fun hanging out with you last year." You suddenly heard a throat clear beside you and your head snapped over to find Ali smirking at you.
"Oh!" you squeaked, "Um, Ashton, I'm sure you remember Ali."
"How could I forget?" he laughed, giving her a quick hug, "You looked completely mortified when she made me follow you on Twitter before Brand New's set was over last year." You shuddered at the memory as Ali giggled.
"Speaking of following Y/N on Twitter, you totally could have asked her if she was coming this year," she pointed out.
"I've followed so many people since then," he teased, "And I couldn't remember her username."
"So many fans, such little memory space in his brain," you snickered. Ashton stuck his tongue out at you, a gesture you happily returned.
"Anyway," he smiled, "What are you girls doing right now?"
"We were just getting some lunch," Ali shrugged, "Front Bottoms doesn't play until 2:30, so we've got a couple hours to kill before then."
"You're more than welcome to join my friends and I again this year then," he offered, "I just got here, but they said they're waiting for me at Afters Ice Cream. I know that's not exactly lunch, but it's pretty hot out, so I think it's cool to break the whole dessert-before-dinner thing this one time." You and Ali laughed lightly, but nodded anyway – you were never one to pass up ice cream.
As you approached the stand, Ashton smiled again when he saw his friends sitting at one of the picnic tables.
"Hey, guys!" he chirped, making them look over.
"Y/N! Ali!" one of them smiled, "You're here!"
"Hi, Brandon," you grinned – truthfully a bit surprised he remembered you – as you sat down beside him. He threw his arm over your shoulder, giving you a side hug. Ashton sat beside you while Ali sat on the opposite bench across from you.
"How have you guys been?" Brandon asked, letting his arm rest on your shoulders. You didn't notice, but Ashton was watching you carefully.
"Pretty good," Ali shrugged, "Excited for another year of music."
"Well, we're excited to see you again," he beamed before looking at you, "You know, Ashton's been talking about you all week. He was hoping he'd see you today." The brunette's eyes widened, a slight red tint appearing on his cheeks. You couldn't help but grin, sporting a blush of your own.
"I heard," you said softly.
"So who are you guys going to see first?"
"Front Bottoms at 2:30," Ali answered, "We were walking around, looking for some place to eat first."
"Oh, well, we're actually heading out to see Sheer Mag right now, but we'll meet up again after their set is over if you want."
"Do you mind if I tag along?" she asked, "I checked out their stuff a few days ago and I'd love to see them live."
"Sure! The more the merrier!" he laughed, getting up and looking at you again, "You coming?"
"I'm fine, I'm just gonna get something to eat," you declined, "Ali can text me when they're done and I'll come meet you guys."
"Cool," he nodded, "How about you, Ash?" Ashton glanced at you, making Brandon snicker softly, "Don't know why I asked. We'll see you guys later!" You watched them walk toward the direction of the stage before Ashton clearing his throat made you look at him.
"So..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "Do you want some ice cream? Or we could go get something else... Or I could leave you alone if you wanted..."
"As good as ice cream sounds, I think I'd rather have a burger," you told him.
"Well, let's go find some then," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to you, "I'll buy."
"Ashton, you don't-"
"I know I don't," he cut you off, pulling you to your feet when you gave him your hand, "But I want to."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to impress me," you stated knowingly.
"If I wanted to impress you, I'd ask you if you've heard of my band," he replied, "You know, 5 Seconds of Summer? We're pretty popular."
"You know, I actually have heard of them," you nodded, trying to keep a smile off your face, but you knew it wasn't working, "I'm pretty sure I met their drummer at this thing last year."
"Oh, now that's cool," Ashton sighed, "What's he like?"
"He's alright," you said thoughtfully, "He's a bit of a try-hard though."
"Is he?" he cocked an eyebrow, obviously trying not to smile himself.
"He is," you confirmed with another nod, "Said he was hoping to find me today, offered to buy me lunch, hasn't let go of my hand yet..." Ashton chuckled, finally letting his grin show.
"Can't put too much of that on me, you know; You haven't let go of my hand either," he said, squeezing your hand slightly.
"Wasn't planning on it," you responded bravely.
Ashton looked at you for a moment before smiling softly. He released your hand just enough so he could tangle your fingers together.
"Good," he told you, "I wasn't planning on letting go of yours either." You took your bottom lip between your teeth, laying your head on the side of Ashton's arm as you came up to another food stand.