Life in Color ✔️

44~ One Week

"Sweetheart, you've been staring at that rubric for thirty minutes."

Ashton attempts to pull the paper from my hand, our friends looking at me like I've gone crazy. My eye twitches as I scan the requirements for the hundredth time, no exaggeration needed. Ms. Miller's college project has been fairly easy for everyone else, especially Ashton considering he has a school and scholarship already taken care of.

I, on the other hand, have no idea what I'm going to do. As of right now, the entire prospect of college is ridiculous. I can't go anywhere further than Nashville because I can't live on campus. Not that it matters, I can't afford to even be that far away from home, not that I'll be good enough to get in anyways. 

I'm doomed.

I know I could just lie and get it over with but even entertaining the thought of being able to attend one of those schools is foolish. I need to be realistic with my life, that's one thing I actually agreed with my therapist on.

He gently pries the paper from my hands then proceeds to rip it in half. I slap his stomach, reaching for the pieces. "What did you do that for?"

He pulls my face up to his, the rubric long forgotten. "I'll get you a copy of mine later, right now you need to forget about it and breathe."

I take a few deep breaths, hating to admit that I feel better. He kisses me before handing me my fork and people say I'm a mother hen. I take a bite out of my pasta noticing the gaping looks of my friends.

"What?" I ask through a mouthful of food.

Ella and Stella's eyes jump from me to Ashton so quickly it makes me dizzy, their minds working in overdrive.

Oh, boy.

"No." Zev starts, a small smile on his face.

"Fucking." Gabe says in mild disbelief, dropping his phone on the floor.

"Way." James finishes, his eyes wide.

"Are you two dating?" Ella and Stella ask together, their jaws dropped.

I don't say anything, Ashton running his hand over the thigh I have hanging over his.  I take another bite of pasta, his upper lip quirking up and down. They take our silence as confirmation.

"How long?" James asks, the only one in the group not completely losing his mind.

I look over at Ashton who's no longer fighting the smirk, he winks at me. I roll my eyes, ignoring the tingling feeling that really hasn't gone away.

"One week." He says, a huge smile on his face.

It's crazy to think it's been a week since the first baseball game, and our time in the parking lot. It's also arguably been the best week of my life. I haven't smiled this much in ages. I didn't tell anyone in the hopes of not making it a big deal. Besides, there's not much change in how we act.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Gabe laughs, scratching his chin.

"Welcome to reality." Sage says, eating a carrot that Ella dropped.

Ok, when I said I didn't tell anyone that definitely didn't mean my siblings. Especially Sage, he was Ashton's friend before I was so it's only right to know he was ok with it. He was more than alright with it, before I could even get the words out of my mouth he screamed "Finally!"

"You knew!" Ella shrieks, hitting Sages shoulder.

Sage tries to steal another carrot but Ella pulls the bag back. "Don't blame me," He protests, "take that up with her."