#someone I follow said she introduces herself in their new mutuals inbox

[kameyyy]

[5-seconds-of-asses]

sky > ashton irwin

Title: sky

Pairings: Ashton Irwin x Original Female Character, Calum Hood x Original Female Character

Warnings: Mentions of past suicide attempt, mentions of past self harm, drug use, addiction and withdrawal, depressed and anxious characters, description of rape (not graphic though), description of violence and domestic violence (also not graphic)

Summary: in which esmeralda foster and her group of troubled friends relearn the joys of life by moving across the globe. or in which ashton irwin discovers that he and esme are two halves of one heart - but maybe he has given her just a little too much of himself.

A/N: Hello everyone. This is gonna be my first novel length fanfiction on here. It’s gonna be pretty heavy, but I promise it gets better as the story progresses. If I forgot anything in the warnings, please tell me so I can add it, and if anything bothers you, my inbox is always open! :) The story is mainly about Ashton and Esme, but all the boys have chapters from their own perspective, and so does Luke’s sister, Jane. I love love love 5sos and I’m at a loss for mutuals who also do, so leave me a message if you wanna talk about these guys. Enjooooy and please give me feedback ♥

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one

Ashton would never forget the day he met Esme. He was just 12 years old at the time and the world seemed at his feet. He was sitting in his English class, head full of plans for later that day, completely caught in his own world.

Their teacher was late, but Ashton didn’t really care. He was wishing for the lesson to already be over, so that he could rush to Luke’s house, where the other boys and Jane would already be waiting for him. They didn’t visit the same school, and the others usually got out earlier than Ashton.

His train of thought was finally disturbed when their teacher entered the room, followed by a petite girl with curious eyes and a shy smile.

In that first moment where their eyes met, Ashton would never have guessed that this sweet little girl would go on to change his life.

Their teacher quieted down the class, and told Esme to introduce herself. “My name is Esmeralda Foster, but you can just call me Esme. I’m 11 years old and me and my dad just moved her because my parents got a divorce and we wanted a fresh start”

Esme’s voice was soft and warm and excited, and Ashton had to force down a giggle at her upbeat demeanor. The class was staring at her, all of them with curious eyes, but Esme just smiled, unbothered.

“Take a seat”, their English teacher said and pointed nowhere specific in the room. Esme picked the seat beside Ashton as their classmate’s eyes followed her. They didn’t get new students often, and never as interesting ones as Esme seemed to be.

Their English teacher begun his lesson, but Esme just turned to Ashton. There was a sweet smile on her lips, one that charmed everyone she met, and her green eyes had a depth to them that Ashton would come to love one day.

“I’m Esme. What’s your name?”

***

 Five years later, many things had changed. Ashton and Esme were now the kind of friends you couldn’t separate. They had the kind of relationship that you could sense if they were in the same room together, as though they were magnets, always drawn to one another.

“Ash!”, Esme was screaming, running away from her best friend with breathless laughter. “C’mon, I don’t stand a chance with these short legs!”

“Well, that’s just life”, the boy answered. He was laughing too, running after the small brunette in an attempt to catch and tickle her. But Esme wasn’t having it. She ran towards Luke, who was standing in the kitchen with his back to her.

With all her momentum she catapulted herself onto his back and screamed “Run!”

It took Luke a second to react, and when he finally did, his brain was quicker then his legs were, and they got tangled. Luke and Esme fell to the floor, and for a second it was quiet. “Es?”, Ashton sounded worried, his voice careful as he looked at his friends at the ground.

But both of them just burst into laughter. “How are you so tall and so clumsy at the same time?”, Esme asked, trying to catch her breath from laughing so hard. Luke couldn’t answer her, or maybe he didn’t want to. His face had turned a deep red.

The three of them move to the sofa and Esme turned on the TV. They were still laughing about Luke, who had a pout on his lips, trying to cover up his smile. “I’m never giving you a piggy back ride again, Esme”, he informed her.

“That’s fine. She got me for that”, Ashton grinned, showing off his dimples. Before Esme could add anything, the doorbell rang. As she stood up to let the rest of their friends in, she couldn’t help but smile widely.

Today was one of the good days.

***

 A few hours later, the Hemmings’, Michael and Calum had left. It was a school night, and the others didn’t live as close to Esme as Ashton did. The two of them had moved up to her bedroom, since Esme’s father had come back from work.

They were laying in Esme’s bed, hands intertwined, watching TV. Well, Ashton was watching TV – Esme was watching her best friend.

His hazel colored eyes were glued to the figures on the screen. They were a mix of a deep, warm brown and a bright green, the color of moss. In the right light, the colors melted together and Ashton’s eyes gleamed in a soft gold, framed by long, curled lashes that Esme often found herself jealous of.

Ashton’s face was a reminder that he was young, still growing. It was made up of soft angles, features that carried an indication that one day, they would be all sharp jaw and high cheekbones. His hair was sticking everywhere, a mess of brown curls on his forehead, his temples, in the nape of his neck.

Esme knew that he was beautiful. She knew this because she had never seen eyes like his, because when he smiled, he showed off the sweetest dimples and because his curls made him look effortlessly good. She also knew this because girls stared at him when they passed him in the halls, and she could sometimes hear them whisper about her best friend.

Ashton didn’t notice the stares. Or when he did, he amounted them not to his looks, but to his sickness. Most of the time you couldn’t really see that Ashton was sick. Especially not on his good days – he looked happy, then, like any other boy his age. But Esme knew that he was convinced people could see there was something wrong with him.

Before she could keep listing all the beautiful things about Ashton in her mind, her best friend interrupted her. “What’s wrong?”, he asked and showed her his dimples when he smiled. Esme smiled back, ran her hand through his hair for a second and then shook her head. “Nothing”

Ashton kept looking at her for a moment, but when he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary in Esme’s expression, he turned back to the TV.

Someone had just made a joke, and Ashton reacted by giggling lightly. It was a sound Esme had cherished from the day they met. When Ashton giggled, he sounded like he did when he was just 12 years old, a boy without worries that wanted to conquer the world. When Ashton giggled, her heart feels lighter with memories of happier times.

Once again, Ashton turned to Esme. “Esmeralda Faye Foster, will you tell me why you keep staring at me, please?”, both his eyebrows were raised and Ashton was furrowing his forehead in confusion and maybe a little worry.

“It’s just… I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have you”, her voice was soft and so was her smile, and Esme felt like she might cry if she kept talking.

Ashton noticed too, and immediately his features were taken over by a warm, loving smile. His eyes gave her this really peculiar look. It was one filled with so much love that Esme felt overwhelmed – he only ever looked at her like that when they were alone, and sometimes when he thought that Esme wouldn’t notice. “I’m the lucky one, Es”, he whispered.

Esme shook her head lightly, but instead of arguing, cuddled up in Ashton’s arms.

The two of them had a connection that most people didn’t understand. They did love each other, but it was a special kind of love. Sometimes, even both Esme and Ashton were not sure they understood what this meant.

But what they did know and did understand was that no one could ever separate them.

And they were right. No one could have ever done anything to separate them. No one, but they themselves.

Perhaps if they had known, the decisions they made would have been different. Perhaps if they had known, they could have kept what they had.