Unexpected Attraction - Ch. 8

Unexpected Attraction - an Andley fanfiction - Chapter 8


*Andy POV*

"Say 'Uncle!' I'm not gonna stop until you say 'Uncle!'" Juliet was pinned underneath me, giggling as I tickled her sides.
"Never! I will never give in! I will never back down!" I threw my head back as I laughed.
"Clever girl, but my own lyrics can't be used against me! I think it's time to bring out the big guns!" I leaned forward and nipped at her neck, making her squeal louder. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me closer. The smell of her skin was making me get dreamy. I brought my hands up to be on either side of her head, holding me up. I kissed up and down her neck, making her tremble. I pressed closer to her, feeling every curve of her body through our pajamas. Her leg pressed against my inner thigh, letting me know she wanted to be on top. I rolled over, pulling her on top of me. I looked up at her, expecting her to take her top off, or kiss me more.
Instead, Juliet jumped off of me and ran out of the room, "I got away! I won!" Damn! I threw myself off the bed to chase her.
"You may have won the battle, but you'll never win the war!" I entered the living room to see her standing behind the couch, crouched and ready to run from me. The smirk on her face made me want to catch her even more. I faked as though I was going to run around the left side of the couch, and she ran the other way. I turned at the right moment and caught her.
"Not fair! You tricked me!" Juliet squirmed against me and giggled as I kissed her neck. I kissed her neck slower, causing her to relax against me. I reached my hands down so they were nestled in the curve of her waist, pulling her body closer to mine. Just as we were about to kiss, I heard my phone ring.
I looked over to where I had left it last night, right next to the door on the small end table with my keys. "You should get that." Juliet winked at me and walked to the bedroom, unbuttoning her top as she walked away. Fuck, this call better be good.
I grabbed my phone to see that it was Ashley calling. I answered to hear him sobbing and yelling about something that I couldn't quiet grasp.
"Hello? Ashley? Are you okay?"
Ashley coughed and started yelling at me, "I guess you didn't need me, huh?! Things are okay with your girlfriend!? You have her now, you don't need me! You just think it's okay to make me think there was something there and then as soon as you get home you don't even call me! You just piss around and bang her while I sit her and puke my brains out!" Ash was sick? What was going on with him?
"Where are you, Ash?"
He laughed and coughed some more, "Don't call me any of your cute pet names, Andrew. I'm at my fucking apartment! where else would I be?" It sounded like he was drunk.
"Just stay there, we'll be right over!" I hung up right away, knowing he'd only have some drunken, sarcastic comment to respond with.
"Juliet! Get dressed! We have to go get Ashley! I think he might need some help!" It was my fault he was like this right now.

*Ashley POV*

The asshole hung up on me! "We'll be right over!" Oh, so now that he thinks something's wrong with me, he wants to come save me. Batman would be ashamed. I was still sitting in the bathroom next to the toilet, the bottle of Jack empty beside me. Every time I exhaled the taste of vomit and whisky came across my tongue and threatened to make me heave, but my stomach was empty. I layed down, resting my sweaty head on the cool lenolium.
I hadn't even realized that I had passed out until I heard banging sounds and screams from outside of my apartment. My neighbors were annoying as fuck, and my head was pounding. I pulled myself to my feet. I was sick and tired of that sound. I walked out of the bathroom and to the door to the hallway. I unlocked it and opened it to see Andy and Juliet standing on the other side, looking right at me.
"Oh, Ashley...." Andy whispered. He knew he had done this to me, I was a wreck.
I didn't want them here, I didn't want to see them. "Why are you here? I don't need you!" I tried to shut the door but Andy stopped me, wrapping his arms around me, violent sobs causing his whole body to shake.
"I'm so sorry....We went to sleep almost as soon as I got home, I didn't mean to forget you, Ash....." The way he held me made my mind clearer. What was I doing? Why was I so mad at him? I overreacted today, and I scared the shit out of Andy and Juliet. They probably didn't even talk about what happened between us. I brought my arms up to wrap around his torso. Having him in my arms made everything better.
I looked over Andy's shoulder to see Juliet, smiling at us. She seemed to not be bothered by the way we were holding each other. Andy pulled back and looked into my eyes with his, so maddeningly blue. "What did you do last night, Ash?" I looked back at him, I had done some stupid things.
I pulled away from him and walked into the bathroom, picking up the empty bottle. "This was full around 2 in the morning...." I held it out to them, seeing a mix of shock and fear on their faces. Andy pulled me to him again.
"Don't do that, Ashes! You're gonna kill yourself if you keep doing that!" His voice cracked. "I do need you, I can't imagine what I would do if I had to live life knowing that I couldn't just pick up the phone and know that you'd be there when I needed you. If something ever happened to you, I'd go crazy!" I could feel his tears falling onto my shoulder, soaking my shirt. He really did need me. I felt like a dick for acting like this because I thought things were different.
"I'm sorry, Andy.... I need you too...." I buried my face into his neck, crying with him. As I breathed out, I whispered, "I love you, please don't leave me again..." I had barely heard it myself, but it was just enough for Andy to hear.
He whispered almost directly into my ear, "I love you too, please don't scare me like this again." The pain in his voice was almost unbearable. I pulled away from him, looking up into his eyes again.
"Thank you so much for coming here.... I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't.... I feel so stupid though...." I shook my head, trying to push away the memory of vomiting until I had nothing left.
Andy reached out and brushed the tears off of my face, "I'll always be here for you, even for little things. If you can't find the remote and you're going crazy, I'll be right here, trying to keep you sane."

*Juliet POV*

Seeing Andy and Ashley holding each other made me feel weird, I wasn't upset, I wasn't hurt. I was happy that they both had somebody to trust like that. They had known each other much longer than I'd known either of them, they were closer than I would know. As they whispered to each other, I walked over to the couch to find an overturned glass on the table and a mix of water and whisky pooled around it. I took the glass to the kitchen and quietly grabbed a towel to clean the spill. I could just barely hear Andy and Ashley talking to each other, I could hear the mumble of their voices, but I couldn't make out any words. I walked back to the kitchen to put the soaked dishcloth into the sink. Peeking over at the boys, I could see them standing with their arms wrapped around each other, shaking with tears. They had a bond that I would never understand, especially now that they were romantic and physical with each other. They looked at each other differently than the way Andy and I did. They looked at each other like they truly knew each other, and that there was nothing hidden from each other. It was love, but not the same that I had. It was so heartwarming to see them so happy together. I knew I should have been pissed or something, but they were best friends, they needed each other. I needed Andy, but he needed Ashley more. I'd have to talk to him about what we were going to do.
The door out of the apartment was still open, the boys stood just a few feet inside of the room. I slipped out behind them and shut the door as silently as I could, leaving them to talk alone.
I took a taxi back to our apartment, laying down on the couch as soon as I got there. I turned on the TV and watched some Mythbusters. The clock on the wall across from me read 3:14, and I was already spent for the day. Before I could decide whether or not I wanted to take a nap, I was drifting off to sleep on the couch.

*Andy POV*

I heard the door quietly click shut behind us. I had completely forgotten that Juliet had come to help Ash, too. We let each other go so I could look around the room for her. She had cleaned Ash's mess on the table, but she was nowhere to be found. "She must have gone back to the apartment...." I scratched my head. I really hoped she wasn't mad at me right now, I just really needed to be with him right now.
Ashley walked over to his bedroom and belly-flopped onto his bed. "Come cuddle with me!" His voice was muffled with pillows. I ran after him to his room. It was only the afternoon, but the habit of cuddling with him to go to sleep had begun to stick. I rolled onto the bed with him, not knowing what to do with all of the extra room.
I poked Ash's side, "Big spoon or little spoon?"
He snuggled up to me and nuzzled his nose against my ribs. "Little spoon! I'm the emotional one right now...." I wiggled over next to him and kissed the back of his head. Ashley was even more adorable when he was sleepy. He rolled over onto his back, allowing me to really look at the dried tears on his face and his shirt, along with the little bit of clear vomit still on his chin.
I brushed his hair out of his face, "You need to get washed up, you're all messy." I sat up a bit more to try to get him to do the same.
"Andy! I'm too tired to stand and wash myself...." Ash rolled over and nuzzled up to me again.
"You have a bathtub, you can just sit there while I make sure you get cleaned up good. You're covered in vomit." I knew he hated the thought of being gross, and I thought that maybe if I made it seem worse than it was, he'd be more willing to get cleaned up.
He looked up at me with horror in his eyes. "Will you make sure I'm not all pukey? I don't want to be seen like this...." His voice was raspy, I could only guess from the consistent vomiting. He was so weak and frail, I wanted to do everything I could to get him back to his strong self.
"I'll make sure you look like you always do; perfect." I leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. I could hear him sigh, a bit of a smile behind it.
"I'm not perfect, Andy! You're crazy! Just bathe me and try not to get hard, okay?" He was laughing again, which was good. I laughed along with him. I never wanted to hurt him again, seeing him this way because of me was messing with my mind. Ash was the strongest person I knew, no woman had ever broken him down. Now that I'm in the picture he's a mess, and I don't know what to do.
One thing I knew for sure, this man needed me, and I needed him too - no matter how much I denied it to myself or anybody else.