You Find Him Crying and Comfort Him

                                    

                                          
Ashton:
                          
You step out of your car in Ashton's driveway, making your way to the door when you see him storm outside, slamming the door behind him. "Ashton!" you say in surprise, not used to seeing him so angry. He looks up, noticing you standing there looking both astonished and afraid, and he loses it. He hurries toward you, wrapping his strong arms around your waist and burying his head in the crook of your neck. You feel his hot tears on the shoulder of your shirt as you stroke his hair, trying to calm him down. "I can't do it anymore," he mumbles over and over again, "I just can't take it. I'm not good enough for this. I'm not strong enough." "Ashton, breathe," you command quietly. "Deep breaths. That's it. In and out." You rub his back as he breathes against your skin. Finally he lifts his head, tears still falling from his eyes. "Baby," you coo, using your thumb to wipe the tears clinging to his cheeks. Remembering that his original goal was to get away from his house, you lead him to your car, unlocking it and climbing into the back seat with him following. "Okay," you say, turning to him as he shuts the door, "When you're ready to talk, tell me what's wrong." Ashton takes one more deep breath before beginning. "I just can't be the man of the house anymore," he admits, his voice cracking as he speaks, "I can't always pretend to be strong and to have it all together." Noticing tears threatening to spill again, you take his hands in yours, rubbing them softly as he continues. "My mom and my brother and sister expect so much from me," he explains, "I can't give it to them! Sometimes I need to have someone there for me, too. Ya know?" "I know," you sigh, "But, Ash, no one expects you to have it all together. No one ever has it all together. You've been doing so great for your family, but they know that you didn't ask for this and they know that you're still young." "I'm just so afraid of letting them down," Ashton admits quietly. "I know for a fact that your mom is so proud of you. And your brother and sister love you so much! Nothing you could ever do will change that. You always put them first, and they see that, Ashton! They know how much you do for them, and you couldn't possibly let them down." "You think?" he asks hopefully. You nod confidently and he smiles. "Besides," you add, "I'm always here for you." "Yeah," Ashton says with a grin, "I know. Thank you." You smile up at him and he leans in, kissing you gently.
                          
Luke:
                          
You knock at the door to Luke's house, waiting longer than usual for an answer. You pull out your phone to call him, hoping you hadn't gotten the time for your date wrong, when the door opens. You look up, a little surprised to see Luke's mom standing there instead of your boyfriend. "Oh, hi, Mrs. Hemmings," you say with a smile as she lets you in. "Hi, Y/n," she responds, "What's up?" "I thought Luke and I were supposed to hang out today, but I could've been wrong. Is he home?" "He is," Liz sighs, "but he hasn't left his room all day. He won't open the door for me, but you're welcome to go on up and try to talk to him." "Okay, thanks," you say, heading towards Luke's room as you wonder what could be wrong. "Luke?" you call, knocking on the door, "Luke, unlock the door." You wait impatiently as a shuffling sound begins inside. Finally the door is unlocked. "C-can I come in?" you ask, opening the door just a crack and seeing Luke climb back into bed. "Sure," he says, clearly struggling to keep his voice even. "Luke, what's wrong?" you ask, picking your way through his dark, messy room to his bed and sitting on the edge. "I dunno," he sniffs, picking up his phone and opening twitter. You watch as he goes to his mentions and begins to scroll. "What are you doing?" you ask, climbing up next to him to look at his phone. "Just reading," he sighs. You take his phone from his hands and see tweet after tweet of hate directed at him. "Luke," you sigh, closing out of twitter and dropping his phone to the ground, "Luke, look at me." Luke sits up and looks to you, breaking your heat with his tear-filled eyes and trembling lip. You grab his face in your hands, making sure he has no choice but to pay attention to what you say. "You don't need to read that. You are so wonderful, so talented, so genuine and so deserving of all the success that you have, alright? You are nothing that those idiots say you are. Do you understand me?" Luke hesitates, but nods. "Don't hurt yourself by paying attention to the opinions of people who don't know anything about you," you beg him, "There are so many people who love you and think the world of you, including me. And those are the ones to listen to, okay?" "Okay," Luke sighs. You pull him into a tight hug, rubbing his back gently and whispering to him about how great he actually is.
                          
Calum:
                          
Your phone buzzes with a text from Ashton, telling you to come to his house where the 5SOS boys are hanging out. You inquire as to why, but he insists that he'll explain when you get there. It takes only minutes for you to be at Ashton's door step and ringing the door bell. "What's up?" you ask once inside. "You know Calum's girlfriend?" Ashton asks in a whisper as he leads you into his living room. "Yeah, the slut," you say with a nod, making Michael chuckle lightly. "That's the one," Luke confirms. "Well, anyway, she broke up with him," Ashton explains. "She didn't just break up with him," Michael corrects, "She cheated on him." "Oh," you say, your heart breaking for your friend. "Anyway, he's up in my room pretty upset and he won't really talk to us about it," Ashton says, trailing off in hopes that he won't have to finish his request out loud. "And?" you prod. "And could you talk to him?" Michael finishes. "And pretend I didn't see this coming?" you sigh, remembering how you had told Calum a month ago this girl was no good. "Well, yeah," Michael says with a shrug. You sigh, but head off to Ashton's room in search of Calum. You knock at the door, receiving a muffled "Go away" in response. You open the door anyway, stepping inside and shutting it. "I said go - oh," Calum stops short when he sees you, "Are you here to tell me you were right?" He wipes tears from his puffy cheeks and sits up as you take a seat beside him. "Of course not," you sigh, pulling him into a hug before he can refuse you. You hug him in silence as his shaky breathing returns to normal and he regains his composure a bit. "You're way out of her league, you know," you say finally. Calum chuckles, pulling away from your arms to look at you. "I wish," he sighs with a hint of a smile. "I don't lie," you tell him, seriously. He gives you a grateful smile and you return it with one of your own and lapse into silence again. "Hey, Y/n?" he mumbles finally, "Thanks for not saying I told you so." "That'll come later," you chuckle, giving him a wry grin. He laughs in response, shaking his head. "What if I admit that you were right now?" he asks, "Will that keep me from hearing I told you so?" "It might," you say thoughtfully. "You were right," Calum mutters, cuddling up to you as he speaks. "I know," you agree, letting him rest his head in your lap. You run your hands through his hair as his eyes begin to close, tired from crying. "Next time I'll listen," he mumbles. "No you won't," you sigh, making the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile as he drifts off to sleep. 
                          
Michael:
                          
You sit on the airport bench with your hand intertwined with your boyfriend, Michael's, as you talk with him and his bandmates about their upcoming tour. "Three months is a long time," Ashton sighs. "You guys will have so much fun, though," you say with a smile, not wanting to make Michael feel bad about leaving. "It's a long time to be away from our families, though," Luke sighs. "And what will Michael do without you!" Calum pipes up, making the other boys laugh. "I'm sure he'll be alright," you chuckle, bumping his shoulder lightly with your own and smiling up at him. "I'll be right back," Michael mutters, standing up abruptly and speed walking through the nearly empty airport. "What was that about?" Calum asks, confused. You shrug, not used to Michael acting like that. Five minutes pass before you sigh and get to your feet. "I'm gonna go find him," you inform the others before taking off in the direction Michael went. You quickly locate him sitting on a bench a bit farther down and focusing on his phone. "Michael?" you say quietly as you approach him. He looks up, startled to see you, and quickly wipes his eyes. "Can I sit?" you ask. "Ya, of course," Michael says quickly, "I just had something in my eye." "Both of them?" you giggle, sitting next to him and wrapping your arms around his torso. "Yep," he lies, making you smile. "Kinda like when you had something in your eyes while we were watching The Notebook?" you tease. "No," Michael says, chuckling despite himself, "It's different." You notice the tears still threatening to spill from Michael's eyes as he avoids eye contact. "What's wrong, babe?" you ask, looking up at him with concern. "I'm just gonna miss you," he admits, his voice breaking off. "I'm gonna miss you, too," you sigh, nuzzling against his chest, "But you're gonna have a great three months and it'll be over before you know it." "Three months is a long time," he repeats Ashton's words in a whisper and you sigh. "We'll text and Skype and it'll be like you aren't even gone," you assure him. "Except I can't touch you,' Michael points out, his fingers grazing your thigh as he speaks. "Three months will seem like nothing," you chuckle, choosing to ignore his last comment. "You think so?" he asks hopefully. You nod, holding back your own tears in order to keep Michael strong. "I love you," Michael sighs, kissing the top of your head as you cuddle into his arms.