Chapter 56

Chapter 56: At the Mall- Part

“What”? Ashton noticed that Caleb was staring at him with a weird expression on his face. Caleb blinked and cleared his throat before replying “Nothing”.

After a moment of silence Caleb asked again “So... you’re sure you don’t want anything”? Ashton just shook his head. They were about to get on the escalator when they heard a loud growling noise. Ariel bit her lip as she tried to avoid everyone’s gazes. “Do you guys want to eat something? I am so hungry”. Caleb popped the question.

Twins looked relieved and nodded eagerly at the suggestion. Ashton chuckled at them before agreeing on a meal himself. They went to the section of food and chose to try something with meat. Being a wolf, meat was naturally a tasty dish for them. In fact even raw it tasted delicious to them.

They ordered a lot of dishes with immense variety. For a normal human it would take them probably a whole week to finish that but for them it was nothing. During their meal they striked a conversation, “So, Ashton, are you going to the dance”? Caleb asked.

“Kind of, I won’t be dancing though”. Ashton replied before taking a huge bite.

“Why? You can’t dance”? Caleb teased him to which he replied, “I am going there with the music club. I am not going there with a partner or anything”. Ashton clarified the situation.

“That’s a bit hard to believe”, Caleb muttered.

.....

“Why”? Ashton asked him skeptically.

“Well, I know sophomores aren’t allowed to go but I’m sure someone asked you”. Caleb replied. He took another bite of the grilled pork before saying, “Although, now that I think about it, it doesn’t seem likely. I am sure whoever bothered to ask you refused them pretty harshly” Caleb chuckled.

“Why are you so sure someone asked”? Ashton eyed him suspiciously. “Cause you are popular”? Caleb shrugged.

“No, I am not”! Ashton defended himself. “Yes, you are. And I am not going to believe you if you say you don’t know, cause I know you have got a good hearing”. Caleb rolled his eyes.

Ashton did not say anything further. He does remember hearing all the chatter when he was new but he thought it’s just because he was new. Over time the chatter died down once he came to be known as cold-nerd throughout the school. He was content with the nickname because it saved him from a lot of unnecessary interactions.

He never felt that he was popular after that. Maybe because he either got too good at avoiding people or simply because he was too distracted with his secret getting exposed once Caleb found out. Not to mention, he didn’t get much peace ever since he got here. First it was Sara’s irritating tricks then it was their assignments. He literally waited for the day he would get to graduate.

After their meal they decided to head home since it was getting a bit late. “How are you going back”? Caleb asked them. “I think we will take the bus” Ashton shrugged.

“Want me to drop you guys off” Caleb offered. The twins beamed at Caleb before they looked at Ashton expectantly. The expression on his sister’s face convinced him once more to do something he wasn’t so sure of, “Sure, I guess” Ashton shrugged.

The twins took the backseat while Ashton sat in the shotgun one. “So, what are you playing at the prom”. Caleb asked him to strike a conversation.

Ashton glanced at him before saying, “Well we are playing a few songs that George came up-” he was cut off in the middle of his sentence when Caleb interrupted, “I didn’t ask about the group, I asked about you? Which instrument do you play”?

“Oh” Ashton nodded before answering “I play the piano... also this prom I might be singing”. He mumbled.

“Wait, WHAT”? Caleb said out loud which startled all of them, “What”? Ashton stared at Caleb with a weird expression. “You can sing as well”? Caleb asked, amused by the sudden revelation. Before he could answer the twins answered for him, “Ashton sings wonderfully. When I first met him he sang for me”. Ariel told him. “Really”? Caleb smirked at Ashton who looked away because he could feel his ears turning hot.

“Yes” Ashton replied, still staring outside the window as he recalled the day he first met the twins.

A tiny smile crept on Ashton’s face as he stared outside the window reminiscing that day. A tiny incident like that changed his life forever, and with all the hardships he had to go through he was glad that he found this family at the right time. When he lost his family, he lost everything. He always dealt with anger issues when he was little and it heightened a lot after that hellish incident. He never thought he would get a second chance like this, and thus never did he ever take this family for granted.

Upon reaching home the kids were pretty excited to be back, while at the same time Mrs Parker was pretty excited to see Caleb. She even offered him to stay back for something to eat to which he politely refused given they had something to eat a while ago.

Once Caleb was gone, Mrs Parker eyed at Ashton suspiciously. Once Ashton was finished staring at the disappearing Porsche, he turned his head around to finally notice his mother’s face, “What”? He asked her, feeling bothered by her look.

“Why did you lie to me”? She raised her eyebrows. “You said you couldn’t get hold of Caleb, but here he is, dropping you off”.

“Mom, that wasn’t something I planned okay! I ran into him”! He insisted. Why did his family assume he lied? It’s not like he was famous for lying. Sure he hid the truth about his identity, but otherwise he believed was a very trustworthy guy.

“Sure. I believe you”, with a not so convinced smirk, she headed off to her room, while Ashton simply sighed at his unbelievable family.