Since becoming Ashton's girlfriend things hadn't really changed between us, which I guess I considered to be a good thing. Ashton and I still acted the same way we had before, things were just more...official now. I always liked relationships like that, where you felt as though you were dating someone that you could also call your best friend.

"Do you hear that?" Ashton whispered, his arms wrapped around my waist as we laid on his bed.

"Hear what?" I laughed quietly. Ashton had been talking about hearing something almost all night, and I was getting a little tired of it now.

"I can hear someone talking in Michael's room." Ashton sat up. He learned towards the wall, the same wall that separated his room from Michael's. I leaned towards it as well. Ashton was right, someone was talking.

"I don't hear anything." I lied. It wasn't Michael's voice, I knew that, and I assumed that it was the girl he had been hanging out with recently. I didn't want to say anything because I knew Michael didn't want Ashton to know about that.

"It sounds like a girl." Ashton paused, listening again. "Do you think he's watching porn?"

"It definitely doesn't sound like porn." I laughed. There was too much talking for it to be considered porn, plus I knew that Michael would use headphones if that was the case. It was the girl and Ashton was completely clueless, which I found a lot funnier than I should.

"Jesus, whoever it is talks so fast." Ashton chuckled. He crawled off of the bed and stood up, walking over to his dresser.

"He's probably watching a movie or something." I shrugged, trying to keep a cover Michael as best as I could. He would tell Ashton what was going on eventually, but for now I could tell that he wanted to keep whatever he was doing with this girl a secret.

"I don't know," Ashton sighed. "I could have sworn I heard another person in the house earlier."

"I think Michael would let you know if he was bringing anyone over." I sat on the edge of the bed, watching Ashton as he dug through the piles of trash on top of his dresser.

"Eh, I don't know, Murphy. Maybe I'm just so used to not hearing him talk that I'm making things up." Ashton laughed. He finally stopped digging around in the junk on the dresser and leaned up against it, smirking at me from across the room.

"Again?" I groaned, nodding to the pack of cigarettes Ashton had picked up.

"I only went out once today!" Ashton protested. It was true, he had gotten a little better about his smoking habit, but that didn't mean that he was completely over it. I wasn't sure if he even wanted to quit, he seemed pretty content with what he was doing now. I figured that eventually Ashton would have a desire to give up smoking, but as of now he didn't have a need to. "You came come with me, you know. Smoke one, if you want."

"I'd rather not." I shook my head at him. There were a few times that I had gone out and had a cigarette with Ashton or smoked a little while we were at the bus stop, and that was okay. I hadn't gotten hooked on it yet, and that's what I was trying to prevent.

"Alright I'm so sorry, I promise I won't be long." Ashton said, leaning over all the way and kissing me once on the forehead before making his way out of the room.

As soon as I heard the back door slam shut I hopped off of Ashton's bed, immediately making my way to Michael's room. I knocked on the door, hoping that Michael would actually come and answer it. The talking had stopped, and I was afraid that they were doing something else now.

Michael opened the door very slowly, sticking his head out just slightly so I could barely see him. Once he realized it was me he opened the door just a little wider, but still not letting me see a lot of him.

He raised his eyebrows at me, as if he was telling me to speak.

"Can we talk for a minute?" I asked, and Michael rolled his eyes.

Michael turned around and shut the door, probably letting whoever was in the room with him that he would be back in a minute. He came out a few seconds later with a nervous look on his face, his cheeks a deep pink color. He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall, putting us in a position were it would be easy to see if Ashton was coming in but still out of earshot from the girl Michael had been with.

"What are you doing in there?" I asked jokingly, looking Michael up and down. His pants were all the way zipped up today, but he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Nothing." Michael shrugged.

"Ashton thinks you're watching porn." I laughed, and Michael joined in shortly after.

"I would use headphones." He said, gasping for air as he continued to laugh. "I'm not doing anything."

"You're just lounging around without a shirt on?" I laughed, poking his bare chest.

"Why not?" Michael smirked. He crossed his arms over one another and leaned back against the wall, this time looking me up and down.

"You have that girl in there with you, don't you?" I asked. I tried to move around Michael so I could go into his room, but he grabbed onto my shoulders and stopped me from moving any further.

"Don't go in, don't go in." Michael shook his head. He was whispering, even though I didn't think the girl in there would be able to hear him if he was speaking normally.

"Why, is she shirtless too?" I giggled.

"Yes m'am." Michael nodded. He wore a smug expression on his face, like he was proud of himself for getting a girl undressed, probably without even saying anything to her.

"Michael." I groaned loudly, finding his whole situation a little strange. Since when did he have this secret girlfriend, and why was she always sneaking around with Michael? Surely she had broken up with her boyfriend now, there shouldn't be much for her to hide.

"Don't talk so loud!" Michael said, covering up my mouth with his hands.

"Why not?" I asked. I pried Michael's hands off of me and forced him to drop them back at his sides again, groaning once more.

"Ashton doesn't know you talk to me, she doesn't know I talk to you." Michael explained. "I don't want them hearing either of us."

"Ashton's outside smoking. He'll be awhile." I shrugged.

"Wow, he needs a cigarette intervention." Michael laughed.

"What's her name?" I asked, changing the subject away from Ashton and his little addiction. We didn't have the time to get off topic, we didn't even have much time for anything.

"I can't tell you, you'll just track her down." Michael smiled. He rocked back and forth on his heels buried deep in the pockets of his jeans.

"Is she running from the law or something?" I rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to come after this girl, I just wanted to meet her.

"No, I just don't want you bothering her." Michael shrugged.

"Aw, you care." I reached up and pinched one of Michael's cheeks, trying to emphasis how cute I thought it was that he had found something to care about.

"Yes Dani, there are a few things that I actually care about." Michael said, swatting my hand away from his face.

"A few?" I questioned.

"Three." Michael nodded.

"What three things?" I asked, praying that I didn't sound like I was pressuring him. I was just curious, I had been under the impression that he didn't care about anything else anymore.

"You, Ashton, and her." Michael answered slowly.

"Ashton?" I laughed softly. I had been so sure that Michael didn't want to care about Ashton at all, or he hadn't care about him for a long time.

"Of course I care about Ashton, do you live under a rock or something? I do almost everything for him." Michael paused, a pained expression on his face as he struggled with what he wanted to say next. "I love him, he's all I have."

"Oh." I nodded, trying to hide the smile growing on my lips. I thought that it was so adorable that Michael was beginning to care for Ashton again, after not wanting anything to do with him for the past few months.

"You haven't noticed?" Michael scoffed, running his fingers through his messy hair.

"No." I said quietly, "You care about me too?"

"Are you an idiot?" Michael took his bottom lip in between his teeth, trying to hold back a laugh.

"I just might be." I shrugged, still smiling like an idiot. I just couldn't help myself, seeing Michael opening up more to other people made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Just don't tell Ashton, okay?" He rolled his eyes and glanced behind him, like he was checking again if Ashton was nearby.

"I won't." I assured him. I honestly kind of liked the fact that Michael was only talking to me, it made me feel special. "Aw, Michael. This is adorable."

"No it's not." Michael shook his head.

"Yes it is." I argued back.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!" Michael shouted, then quickly lowered his voice.

"...Yes." I bit my lip, staring up at Michael.

"Are we done talking? I have something to get back to." Michael groaned and began to turn around but I grabbed his hand, pulling him back to me. I wasn't done just yet.

"Wait, wait." I tugged him back over to me. Michael rolled his eyes as he steadied himself in front of me again, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"What?" Michael huffed.

"Are you still not talking to her?" I asked. It was kind of a stupid question, I knew that he wasn't, but I was trying to find out why. Obviously he liked this girl if he kept bringing her around, I didn't understand why he wouldn't speak to her.

"I'm going to soon, just not right now." Michael assured me.

"What's holding you back?" I asked. I didn't see why Michael wouldn't want to talk to her, from what I had heard, she hasn't done anything bad enough for him to not want to be around her anymore, I didn't understand why he couldn't just say something.

"I'm scared, I don't want to get too attached to her and I feel like if I don't say anything then I won't." Michael said quietly. "Everything I've ever gotten attached to eventually leaves."

"So you're like her silent fuck buddy?" I chuckled.

"I haven't fucked her yet, I mean... We don't fuck. And I don't want to fuck her." Michael held his hands up, shaking his head.

"Are you sure?" I asked, noticing the redness appearing on Michael's cheeks. He liked her, not matter how hard he tried to deny it.

"I mean, at some point, yeah maybe I would want to have sex with her but not right now." Michael shrugged.

"Did she break up with her boyfriend?" I asked, remembering that the last time Michael and I spoke about this girl he had told me she had a boyfriend.

"She's going to soon." Michael mumbled.

"Then why is she sitting shirtless in your room?" I gasped. I knew Michael hadn't liked the idea of her cheating on her boyfriend, but here he was encouraging her.

"I don't know, Dani. I don't know what we are anymore." Michael sighed. "I think she's just using me for this because now that her and her boyfriend are going to end things she needs someone to... I don't know, just someone to be with."

"So you are her silent fuck buddy." I laughed.

"No, no, I don't think she's using me like that. I mean, wow, I made her sound like such a bitch. She's an amazing girl, really. She just needs to figure some things out right now and I'm...helping her." Michael rambled on, losing himself in his own thoughts.

"Alright." I shrugged, still hesitant about all of this.

"She's going to break up with her boyfriend soon and then I'll see how things play out." Michael explained.

"Her college boyfriend?" I asked, "The one that got someone pregnant?"

"Yeah. He's her brothers best friend so he's always at her house and it just hard for her to break things off right now because her - "

"I don't need all the details, Michael." I laughed softy, stopping Michael from rambling about unnecessary things yet again.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...so confused. And then if we ever do have sex, which I don't know if we will, it'll he weird because I'm a virgin and she's not - " Michael continued, only to have me interrupt him again.

"You're a virgin?" I asked, finding it hard to stop myself from smiling.

"Well obviously I'm a virgin, I literally talk to, like, one person."

"Oh, right. I just thought - I thought you weren't." I laughed.

"I'm only 17, who would I have had sex with? My sister?" Michael joked, a loud laugh escaping his lips.

"Ew." I took a step back from Michael, a look of fake disgust on my face.

"Oh, shut up. But seriously, are we done yet? She's kind of waiting for me." Michael bit down on his bottom lip, slowly stepping away from me, waiting for me to call him back again. When I didn't, he started to walk away.

"You like her, right?" I called after him.

"A little." Michael smirked, now facing backwards so he could see me as he walked. "Okay, maybe I do."

"I knew it!" I laughed.

"Oh, and Dani - " Michael started to speak, but before he could get anything out the back door began to open, startling both of us.

"What is it?" I whispered, quickly walking towards Michael so I could make it back to Ashton's room before he came inside.

"I'll tell you later." Michael whispered, slipping into his room and slamming the door behind him.

I sighed and went back into Ashton's room, shutting the door behind me like he had left it. I sat back down on his bed and took out my phone, pretending to look occupied. Ashton came in a couple minutes later, most likely having just brushed his teeth again.

"I'm baaaack." Ashton sang, quietly closing the door behind him. He walked over to the other side of the room and started the music again before joining me on the bed. "Did you miss me?"

"No." I teased, sticking me tongue out at him.

"Shut up." Ashton rolled his eyes. He took my phone out of my hands and threw it down beside him, moving his own hands to my waist.

"Okay, fine. I missed you a little." I laughed as Ashton leaned in, pressing his lips to mine for a short second.

"Murphy," Ashton groaned, pulling me onto his lap. "Come here."

I giggled as Ashton pulled me closer to him, putting a leg on either side of his lap. Ashton tugged me closer to him and pressed his lips to my neck, leaving a trail of kisses as he worked his way up to my jaw and then behind my ear. He finally brought his lips to mine, smiling as his slipped his tongue into my mouth. I wrapped my arms around Ashton's neck as he tightened his grip on my waist, laughing softly.

"I should probably walk you home now." Ashton whispered after a few minutes, lifting me off of his lap.

"Right." I nodded. If we had kept going I didn't think we would have stopped, and who knows what would have happened then.

"I wish you could stay, but I know your parents would get upset." Ashton sighed. He stood up and grabbed my hands, helping me off of the bed.

"It's fine. They'll probably be going on another business trip sometime soon anyway." I shrugged. I picked up my shoes from the floor and slid them back on my feet, following Ashton out the door.

"Ooh, I can't wait." Ashton giggled. He turned around once we were halfway down the hallway and grabbed my hips, pinning me against the wall. He brought his lips to mine, kissing me hungrily while I tangled my fingers in his hair.

"We should really get going." I said, putting a hand on Ashton's chest and pushing him back a little.

"You're right, yeah. You're just...so distracting." Ashton laughed, biting his lip. He grabbed my hand, continuing to pull me down the empty hallway. "Come on."

The walk back to my house only took a few minutes, which we spent mostly in silence. I enjoyed walking around in silence with Ashton on the same level that I enjoyed talking to him. I just enjoyed being around Ashton in general, no matter what we were doing together. He was one of those people that, once you get to know them, is someone that just radiates good feelings. You couldn't help but feel happy when Ashton was around.

"Here we are." Ashton smirked, kicking at a pebble on my front porch.

"Here we are." I repeated.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Ashton asked. He began to lean in without waiting for me to reply, but was interrupted.

"Danielle, I was wondering when you would be home."

"Mom?" I asked, turning towards the now open front door.

"Mrs. Mur - " Ashton started forward to shake my mom's hand again, like he always did, but was cut off.

"Save it, Ashton." My mom sighed, rolling her eyes. "Danielle, I thought I told you to stay away from him."

"Mom, he's right here, can we talk about this some other time?" I asked. I grabbed Ashton's hand and intertwined our fingers, bringing him closer to me.

"Mrs. Murphy, I know that I've made a few mistakes in my past but I swear, I would never hurt your daughter." Ashton said firmly, hoping to get his point across.

"You call bringing my daughter home in the middle of the night totally drunk a mistake?" My mom snapped. I turned to Ashton, not understanding what my mother was talking about.

"You honestly don't know the whole story, Mrs. Murphy." Ashton gave my hand a squeeze, but I was still confused.

"What are you two talking about?" I asked, looking between my mom and Ashton.

As the three of us sat in silence and stared at each other, I started to put the pieces together. My mom wasn't talking about Ashton bringing me home tonight, she was referring to earlier this summer, when I tried to sneak a boy into the house after going to that party. That explains why Ashton knew so much about me getting my keys taken away, because it was his fault.

"I told you not to see him anymore, Danielle, you've gotten in trouble with him once and I don't want it to happen again." My mom crossed her arms over her chest, opening up the door the rest of the way to let me inside.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I turned to Ashton, ignoring my mom.

"I'm sorry, I - I don't think this is the best time to talk about this." Ashton's voice dropped. He leaned in closer like that would stop my mom from hearing us, even though she was only a few feet away from where we were standing.

"But you knew the whole time, why didn't you say anything?" I asked. I let go of Ashton's hand and began to back up towards the doorway.

"Murphy - "

"Can you please not call me that, for once?" I snapped. I hated that I was getting upset with Ashton, but I couldn't help it. I had taken all of the frustration towards my mom and was throwing it at Ashton, even though he didn't deserve it at all.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Dani, I honestly didn't mean any of this." Ashton sighed.

"Ashton - " I began to apologize for snapping at him, but we were interrupted yet again.

"Danielle, come inside now." My mom said sternly, grabbing my arm and yanking me towards her.

"But mom!" I yelled.

"Come inside, we need to talk about a few things." She said again, ignoring my protests. I felt like my head was spinning, I was still so confused about everything. Confused about my mom's hatred towards Ashton, confused about why Ashton hadn't told me about what really happened, I honestly didn't know what was going on.

"Dani, I can - " Ashton started to speak, but closed his mouth again before he finished what he was saying. I think we both knew that whatever he said wasn't going to help either of us.

"Just go home, Ashton." I sighed, letting my mom slam the door behind me as she pulled me into the house.

-

I DO NOT LIKE DANIS MOM

But anyway yeah that was the chapter

I feel like it was really boring and I know I say that about literally everything I write but I'm sorry I can't help it :/

I hope you all enjoyed it though!!