heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

CLOSED STARTER for @marivelasc at the secret santa banquet

"Yo, what's up, Mari!"

Asher waves to her when he sees her wandering his direction. "Have you had the french toast? It's made with brioche, whatever that means, but it's fire."

[heyits-asher]

He laughs, knowing Uly has a point. Asher's driving skills aren't the greatest, and he's done very well to keep it to ten and two on the wheel with minimal distractions.

"That's fine by me. It's not like we need to get there and drive back right away. I had to go cheap with the hotel, but it has continental breakfast." And Asher called to make sure - actual scrambled eggs and bacon. He hated when hotels mentioned breakfast and laid out stale bagels and a low brand coffee.

He keeps his eyes ahead to note the first left coming up, repeating it several times over as to not forget.

"So, thanks for taking this trip with me so last second. I didn't plan it at all, had to really get everything together. Road snacks, checking out the route, and all that." He signals his blinker when he approaches the aforementioned left and notes the large gas sign that stands high in the air, signaling its presence to all of the highway drivers. "If we have time, I wanna show you my favorite burger joint."

@ulyflynn

"I'm way cooler with a piss break than I am with being a front seat witness to you trying to piss in a bottle and not kill us both at the same time."

All things considered, it would have been a pretty funny way to go out but they both had shit to live for so one of them had to take ownership of keeping them breathing and given Asher usually took that shift on, he didn't mind clocking in.

( That fate might not be so easily avoided if they got back and fucked up Gilly's truck. )

He pinches his screen to zoom in on the road the small blue dot on his google maps was moving, scrolling slow to see what he could spot.

"Looks like there's a gas station the left after next. They gotta have a bathroom and if they don't, I'm cool with you pissing on the side of one of those."

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

CLOSED STARTER for @colexwalters

"I need you to not say a word to Uly about me being here."

It's easy enough to get into his apartment without crossing his path. Asher works splits during the day, and the club has late hours, but the one thing Ash didn't account for is his roommate.

"So, uh..." Asher looks down to the elf in his right hand and the bag of supplies in his left. "I'm going to set this guy up, leave, and you won't snitch, right?"

[heyits-asher]

Ash: yea i need more money Ash: ofc not!!! Ash: but i gotta save up n get me n gilly outta the studio Ash: like a place with an actual bedroom living room n kitchen all separate @jaredx

Jared: Excuse me? Jared: You're working for someone else? Jared: Another man? Jared: Who is he? Jared: Do you like him better than me :(

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Froy Gutierrez

[heyits-asher]

��That’s my girl.”

This time, his smile does reach his eyes in the form of amused crinkles by the corners of them. “Tastes cherry, for sure. I like it.” Though he’s not about to finish it. Ash returns Gillian’s prize back to her. He pauses only when she suggests they leave.

“No, we don’t have to. Especially not if you’re having fun.” He is, in his own way, even if it’s subdued. “But yeah, Dona girl might freak out a little. I’ll have to take her for a walk later while you get all of that off your face.” Trade out the balloon for a dog leash, assuming the balloon makes its way home.

Asher shrugs and waves his free hand out to the dance floor. “Have all the fun you want. I’m good now, even with the crowd. It doesn’t feel like too much.”

@thegillyxliang

Gillian still felt like there was something a little out of place between them, a hitch in things since she'd blown up at him, but she hoped they'd get to the other side of it all soon. Completely. "It's some blood..thing. Cherry and vodka from the taste of it. Some guy liked my makeup and treated me and I wasn't about to turn down a freebie." As she spoke Gilly stayed close to his side, her arm around his waist as she looked at him.

"That's good. You deserve to feel chill." She didn't even care about her makeup either as she leaned in and kissed his shoulder before propping her chin on it, and even in the dim lights and the haze of alcohol and weed, Gillian could still tell Asher was off. And she hated it because she knew it was her fault. "You know we can leave whenever, right? We could get outta here right now if you wanted? Just go walk on the boardwalk, get some food. Or even go home? Dona might be traumatized by my getup though. Wouldn't wanna scar our child for life." She offered, trying to make a joke and lighten things.

[heyits-asher]

Ash: no wtf haha Ash: im working with this guy in construction Ash: apprenticing or w/e Ash: i have a schedule i need to clear w/ u so i can be there @jaredx

Jared: This is why you're my favorite Jared: But don't tell the others Jared: Jeez what now amigo, do you need time off to suck face with your girlfriend?

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Ash: cool thx see u then @silascody

Silas: [📌 of address in Aurora Bay Drive] Silas: Nicks if you want to keep your toes @heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

“Yeah.”

Ash’s light eyes lift from the asphalt to seek Wes’s face at his admission, and he feels a need to run and put distance between them. The guilt gives him a desire to flee, but the silent offer of a cigarette keeps him in place. “You don’t have to, like, ever, you know.” Asher still takes the cigarette because it’s there. He can give his pen a break.

“It’s the trend this year. I do things without thinking, and I’ve hurt people I really really care about, and now I said something wrong to you, and I just want it to stop.” There were good intentions behind his situation with Uly, but it was a hard lesson to get his nose out of his best friend’s business. As for Gillian, it was complete carelessness.

And poor Edie, another casualty to Asher’s poorly thought out decisions.

“I’m sorry, by the way.”

@wesxevans

Wes knew he was probably giving Asher a much harder time than he should, but sometimes all he could think about was the way he'd played him or the way he'd kissed him last year and almost cost him everything with Liza. It didn't help that sometimes Wes dwelled on the past and thought about how free he felt when he was with Asher. It was a terrible thing to even cross his mind since he was married to Liza.

"What, been saying and doing stupid shit lately?" He refrained from throwing the kiss back in his face, and instead, he moved to sit next to him, not wanting to venture back home just yet. He pulled a lighter and pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Asher. "I may never show this kindness again." Wes told Asher as he gently nudged the pack towards him for him to take one. The worst part was that Wes didn't want to feel so hostile towards Asher, but he feared letting down those walls again.

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Ash: i said need! Ash: aw no charlie brown christmas tree? a sad little one from somewhere? Ash: but yea lets hit up the store I can borrow gillys truck, she wont care Ash: lets drink spiked egg nog and decorate it! @thevaleriaxortiz

Valeria: who tf do you think i am that you think i have a saw?????? Valeria: i was more thinking of just going to the store and getting a fake one? i always liked the idea of getting a big one with lights already on it, that change colors? Valeria: i don't have a car (yet 🤞) but i figured could just uber to the store or whatever?

[heyits-asher]

CLOSED STARTER for @ulyflynn near mesa verde on I-78

Asher is driving, keys in the ignition and warning Uly to buckle up. The landscape slowly rolls past on they hop on US-78 towards Arizona. He barely processes the steep cliffs and prickly cacti along the interstate. It’s not all that long a drive from SoCal up toward Scottsdale, but just halfway in Ash’s legs feel still and his back knotted.

"I gotta stretch," he announces when he lowers the radio that crackles out some country tune about heart break. "Fifteen minutes. And I think I'm running low on smokes. You against a pee break? You shouldn't be unless you're totally cool with finding an empty gatorade bottle somewhere for me."

Ash turns to look at Uly for all but a second, then averts his gaze back to the road. Focused and unwilling to off them both by careening off the side of the road, he's done well to not swerve or hit any turns too fast. He also can't total Gillian's truck when he took it without asking in the first place.

He's really trying to break his bad boyfriend streak, and there's hope it ends with him commandeering said vehicle without permission in the first place.

"When's the next rest stop, Chief Whichawayer?" A reference to his favorite childhood movie, it leaves Ash giggling to himself. "Because I'm definitely not catching the road signs."

[heyits-asher]

december 2nd, 2024 // @heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Ash: always space for u my guy Ash: tho i need to talk to u about my schedule Ash: so bring ur management cap im on the corner near fired up @jaredx

Jared: is this a lone venture or is there a space open? Jared: I've just done inventory and I'm wiped, need to get my management cap off and chill

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Asher stands there, owl-eyed and confused to say the least, when Cricket shows up to his studio with Cricket-branded enthusiasm about something highly unexpected.

Her birthday's coming up, so that would make sense, and it does involve her birthday. The prom-themed one with her friend Nikki.

"Me?" he asks, leaning back as his tone pitches as their hands swing between them. "Wait, promposal? For Gilly? Did she set you up for this? Oh, I should've come up with it! I don't even have anything nice to wear!"

He could always ask Atticus. Uly is a thought, but there is enough forethought that anything that would fit him nice wouldn't fit Ash's own build. "I mean, yeah! Man, I feel dumb for not thinking about it, but Hell yeah! She'd love this."

@cricketcampbell

for: @heyits-asher

where: asher's place, afternoon of nov 15th

"Asher! My sweet, sweet sunshine boy, I'm going to hold both your hands when I say this."

With the Target bag still hanging from her wrist, Cricket does just as she said she would and reaches for his hands, holding them up tightly in the space between them as she meets his eyes and proclaims,

"Right now it's time for you to lock the fuck in."

"You've only got t-minus, like, seven hours to pull this off, and like the selfless, generous, selfless friend that I am, I'm here with everything you could possibly need to help you make this the best promposal Gilly's ever seen."

Still holding hands, Cricket shakes the bag on her wrist for emphasis.

"I'm basically your Prom Fairy Godmother. I've got markers, I've got glitter, I even stopped at the flower shop and got her a corsage in her favorite color...and literally all I need from you is for you to be here on this level with me. Are you with me?"

[heyits-asher]

"It is, but only because I never thought about meeting a cousin."

It's not a negative thing. Ash's blinders had him focused on his sisters above all else, and then when he decided to get the fuck out of Scottsdale, his first thought hadn't been to reconnect with any family.

( His first thought actually was, 'Shit, I forgot to pack a toothbrush'. )

If he were the sort of person to hold a grudge, he'd ask why no one reached out sooner. Maybe it's something to dig into, without any bitterness. He doesn't know what was going on with anyone's life to make any such assumptions.

"So like, a cool weird, because I can meet someone related to me, but a little awkward weird but I don't really know much about it. Like, Val does. She remembers you, I guess. I don't. But that's what we're here to do, right?"

@izzyxalamilla

It was a bit odd that it was even possible to have family that were complete strangers, but Izzy hoped that she could change that between her and Asher. She had a good relationship with Valeria so she only hoped she could end up with one with Val's brother.

Izzy let out a nervous laugh, unsure of how to respond to that. She was usually calm and collected but she was nervous about this. Probably because it meant so much to her and the last several things that meant so much to her just... never worked out. "I hope this isn't weird."

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

Asher shrugs and decides to brush it off. He might just be on a slight edge after all that transpired between them. He’s all too worried about saying the wrong thing, especially after setting Uly off at Aiden’s, and then more recently, upsetting Gillian in more than one way. It’s better to bite his tongue.

“Is it loitering if I go back in to buy another tall boy?” It’s a gray area, and it’s been one Asher always used in his arguments if he was ever asked to leave a property for such a thing. “Which, I probably will before I skate home.”

Though he frowns at what’s said next and quietly mutters, “I didn’t, actually.” All the while, Ash feels nerves twitch beneath his skin in a way that has him fidgeting and reaching for his pen. “Hey, man. I don’t know what words got all twisted, I’m just saying it’s normal to hang out without your partner, too. Living our own lives and all.” Except for when Gillian decided to live her life that weekend at Cricket’s, then that royally sucked.

Almost exasperated, Asher finally asks, “What’d I do or say wrong this time?”

@wesxevans

"I didn't think that's what you meant. You asked a question and I answered." Wes did what he could to keep himself from getting in his head about being a bad dad, and while he honestly didn't think that was what Asher meant, the thought was there and he had to shove it aside. It helped that he had to refrain from reminding Asher he wasn't the same person as he was when they were... sort of together. It distracted him.

"I was simply curious as to why you're hanging out in a liquor store parking lot. I'm pretty sure they have a no loitering sign in the window." Wes nodded towards the building.

"I never called Gilly a ball and chain, that was you. I love hanging out with Liza, so I hope you guys work out whatever all that is." Wes knew that wasn't what Asher meant but he found it amusing, at least.

@heyits-asher

[heyits-asher]

🔥 + uly!

"Oh man, that's my boy right there! Societal standards have it that his height makes him a ten, or whatever, people love tall guys, but he'd be a ten to me even if he was half a foot shorter.

He has my back, he's loyal, and when he's dead set on something he doesn't budge. He's also all these hard edges, but if you really know him, he's his own kind of softie. Reserved for those who are special and all, like me.

And Edie, of course. Honorable mention, yo!

Anyway, I think the biggest most attractive thing about him is that he makes me feel like I belong. I lived in Arizona all my life, but I never felt like I belonged and had a home until I was here. He's my best friend, and he has a good heart even if it's hard to get to sometimes."

@ulyflynn