Hi Keiko! I know I always ask you for mini prompts, but I want to dedicate this one to my friend Giulia (shiversofhappiness) who is also your friend because she's so cute and I love her to the moona and back. It's a (bromance) Mashton one since I love Ashton and she loves Michael and I was thinking about a flashback when Michael messaged on facebook Ashton asking him to join 5sos and idk, they becoming friends and sharing opinions, hopes and fears together? Thank you son much from another Giulia
this is so sweet and you are so cute and i did not do this prompt service and i am so sorry??? likeâŚâŚâŚ.. this is not what you asked for?? at all??? and iâm seriously so sorry :( if it helps, there are bits of michael being very fond of ashton but yes. iâm really sorry. (also is any of this canon-compliant? no)
âDude, we need a drummer.â
âSemantics!â Luke cries, almost braining himself on the corner of Michaelâs bed as he trips into his room, hair mussed and school uniform rumpled. âWe have a gig.â
âShit,â Michael breathes, his hand gripped tight around the phone.
âDoesnât change the fact that we need a drummer,â Calum reiterates.
âLetâs just be excited for now,â Luke says and tackles Calum to the bed, sitting on his thighs and digging his fingers into his sides. Calum squeals and kicks at him, trying to throw Luke off while Michael keeps staring at the phone, dazed. They have a gig.
âNo, Calâs right,â he says. âWe - we need to find a drummer. Like, now.â
Luke frowns, falling to the side to rest his back against the wall, his legs still half-tangled with Calumâs. Calum decides to look smug, sticking his gloating face into Lukeâs before shifting so theyâre seated next to each other, legs separated, shoulders and thighs touching instead.
âFine,â he mutters. âMood killers.â Calum headbutts Lukeâs shoulder until he smiles, and Michael rolls his eyes at the pair of them.
âDo you know anyone?â Calum asks Michael, head still bent at an odd angle so that the top of his head is wedged against the edge of of Lukeâs shoulder. Michael tilts his head so their eyes align, giggling a little.
âNo. Maybe we can put up an ad online?â
âWhoâs going to respond to us?â
Michael shrugs. âI donât know. What else can we do?â
Theyâre quiet for a moment, thinking, when Luke goes, âI maybe know someone.â
They lift their heads in surprise. Not to be mean, but Michael didnât know Luke had friends other than himself and Calum. Heâs kind of miffed Luke didnât want to share.
âWho?â Calum says.
Lukeâs face burns, which only intrigues them more, Michael scooting closer to the bed and leaning forward on his knees.
âWho, Lucas?â Michael prompts.
Luke tips his head back and rubs at his eye, adjusts his fringe. âI - Okay. You remember, like, shortly after we all started hanging out, and I used to wear those green glasses-â Calum snickers, and Luke elbows him in the ribs. âShut up they were cool. Okay, well, I kind of - other people didnât see how cool they were and some people were making fun of me.â
Michael and Calum both glance at each other, frowning and making grumbling noises. Calum shifts a little closer to Luke, adjusting his position so his head leans on his shoulder instead of against it. Luke rolls his eyes but slouches a touch for Calum to get more comfortable and smooths his fringe again before continuing.
âSo this other guy steps in and kind of chases the lot off and tells me he likes my glasses - because theyâre cool.â
âLuke, fuck, hurry up, man.â
âIâm getting there, God. Be patient. So we get to talking and heâs pretty, you know, heâs nice.â
âDoes he play drums?â Calum interrupts.
Luke huffs. âI was getting to it.â
âWell, does he?â
âYeah.â
âGreat.â Calum sits up. âThen heâll be our drummer.â
Michael frowns. âWhat if we donât mesh well?â
âItâs one show,â Calum says. âItâs not like heâs joining the band forever.â
So Michael adds this Ashton Irwin on facebook and sends him a message, asking him if heâd be interested in playing a show - their first show - next week. The three of them wait anxiously, staring at Michaelâs computer like thatâs going to make a response come faster. When the three dots pop up on the screen they collectively inhale and hold it, not daring to move as if they might scare the dots away.
â
âHe uses so many exclamation marks, Cal,â Michael gripes after Lukeâs gone home, âand little âxâsâ. Kisses arenât punk rock.â
âNeither are we,â Calum notes as he uses his feet to spin Michaelâs chair.
Michael pushes his feet away. âWeâre totally punk rock.â
âWeâre lucky he wants to play with us at all.â Calum ignores him and kicks his feet back up on his chair.
âBut the kisses.â
He tosses a pillow at Michaelâs face. âShut up. We send kisses to each other all the time.â
â
Thereâs, like, twelve people at their first show, but Michael doesnât care. He thinks they sound fucking awesome and he doesnât want to do anything else with his time. Itâs more than the rush of playing in front of a crowd (okay, a small gathering, but one day - crowds); he finally feels like he has some purpose, some direction, in his life. On stage, heâd felt like he kind of belonged somewhere for once - even though heâd been frozen in the same position their whole set. None of that is important though - stage presence can be honed, he reasons. He wants this, wants this so badly heâs sure heâd do almost anything to be in a band.
But not any band; it has to be this one. Heâd been wary of Ashton, their fill-in drummer, but he can play, for real. And he likes a lot of the same music they do. He seems like a good fit, and at their next band meeting, he proposes they ask Ashton to join, officially.
âHeâs only played one show with us,â Calum says, slightly alarmed.
âBut he showed up for practice every time we asked,â Luke says. âHe rode his pushbike for us.â
âThis isnât about your love-boner, this is about the band,â Calum says, and Luke flushes before walloping him in the thigh. âWe canât just make huge choices like this without thinking about it.â
âHe was so good with us, though!â Michael protests. âHe said he liked our videos.â
âAnd our videos suck,â Luke adds. Michael nods, even though he doesnât think theyâre that bad.
Calum watches them carefully before sighing. âAlright.â
â
Michael messages Ashton on facebook that night, asking him if he can come over for last minute band practice. He gets an enthusiastic 'yes!!!!!â back with a 'see you soon - ash xxâ tacked on at the end thatâs very boyfriend-y and dumb but Michael kind of likes that Ashton is already willing to insert himself into their tight friendship.
They set up the garage with streamers and popcorn, tidying as much as they can before getting into position to wait for Ashton. He comes in the side, and Michael gets down on one knee, Calum and Luke following suit.
âHi,â he greets, taking in their feeble decorations.
âAshton Irwin,â Michael starts. âWe have something very serious to ask you.â Calum and Luke nod.
âOkay.â
He takes a deep breath, his heart in his throat. He could easily say no, and it would easily crush him. He feels pathetic as he croaks out, âWill you become an official member of 5 Seconds of Summer?â
Ashton just stares at them for a moment while Michael holds his breath. He canât imagine the band without Ashton; mildly, he thinks he doesnât even want to be a band without Ashton. He doesnât think theyâll find a drummer more fit for their band.
âWait, actually?â
Luke laughs a relieved sound, as Calum goes, âDude, yes.â
Ashton flounders for a minute before laughing, eyes squinting shut. âYou guys are proposing to me.â
âThis is serious business!â Michael defends, wobbling on his knee slightly.
Ashton laughs again and then heâs nodding, tugging Michael up, then Calum, then Luke and pulling them into a hug. âYeah. Yes, obviously Iâll be in your band.â
âOur band,â Calum corrects, and it makes Michaelâs stomach flutter.
â
Ashton turns out to be kind of work horse. He makes them re-shoot the covers they post on Youtube until theyâre perfect, where as before theyâd just fuck up and call it a day, upload the video anyway and claim it as part of their charm.
âItâs not that much more effort to record it again,â Ashton says as he fiddles with the camera. âJust one more time.â
So they do it again, even though the light is fading and Michaelâs fingers are cramping. He thinks theyâd complain more if Ashton didnât have a point; their videos are received a lot better now that theyâre not forgetting lyrics or messing up simple chord progressions.
âPeople will take us more seriously,â Ashton reasons. âI mean, weâre good so people should take us seriously anyway but this just helps.â
â
Ashton pulls up outside his house one day with the windows down and Green Day blaring. They skip school a lot, which is, you know, not great, but Michaelâs been checked out of school for awhile anyway, and now he has someone to spend his time with. Calum and Luke are still relatively committed - Calum because of football and Luke because he cares - and heâd gotten tired of hanging around his house, practicing covers and trying to write some originals by himself. Plus, Ashton can drive so they can go wherever whenever, and itâs fun.
They talk about music and the band mostly because itâs safe territory, concrete topics free of anything overly personal. He finds out that Ashtonâs music taste is way more diverse than his, iPod full of older stuff, like AC/DC and Motley Crue, as well as all the punk bands Michael idolizes. But he also plays Michael fun bluesy songs and the occasional jazz number, stuff Michael for the most part ignores but always sounds good blasting out of Ashtonâs crackling speakers with the windows down to catch the barest of a breeze.
They have similar dreams for the band, which settles the anxiety that flickers in his chest whenever they all try to have serious talks about their possible careers. He knows Calumâs an amazing football player and that he could easily do something with that. Plus he likes it, and that scares Michael more than heâd like to admit because what if heâs not enough? What if the band and music isnât enough to make him stay? Heâs not going to hold him back if thatâs what he wants to do but, God. Heâd be lying if he said he wouldnât be a little bit broken if Calum turned music (and by extension, Michael) down.
And Luke is smart and determined, more determined than he gives himself credit for. Heâs the one who started the youtube channel, learned to play guitar way better than any of them in less time. He could do whatever he wanted if he set his mind to it, Michael thinks, and heâs not sure if his mind is set on the band yet.
But Michael doesnât care about football or school. Music is the only thing thatâs ever interested him, and he feels kind of stupid for putting all his eggs in this basket, but itâs the only basket that matters to him. He genuinely doesnât know what heâll do if this doesnât go anywhere. He doesnât have any future plans outside of the band.
So itâs comforting to find Ashton as dedicated as he is, as whole-heartedly invested. Because the thing is, Ashton is smart. Heâs intellectual, likes to talk about the world and whatâs going on. Heâs introspective and comfortable with himself in a way Michael doesnât quite understand yet. He gets the sense that Ashton just knows who he is and what he wants and he wants to be a part of 5 Seconds of Summer.
Ashton just - he believes in them, and thatâs more than Michael could ask for. Because he believes in them, too, and itâs nice to have someone in his corner, pushing everyone to be better, to be the best theyâre capable of being.
â
They pull into the school parking lot, Ashton cutting the engine hurriedly.
âWhatâs going on?â Michael asks as he sits up, the backs of his legs sticking to the seat upholstery.
âPicking up Luke,â Ashton says simply, fingers tapping against the steering wheel.
âLuke doesnât cut school,â Michael says just as, in the reflection of the side-view mirror, he catches Luke sneaking out a side door, backpack hugged tight to his chest while he scurries towards them. He flings open the back door of the car and tosses himself into the backseat, hissing a hurried âGo, go, go!â
The engine revs to life, Luke wincing at the noise and ducking down in his seat while they roll out of the parking lot, headed away from Michaelâs house.
âWhere are we going?â Michael asks.
âCalumâsâ Luke supplies as he situates himself, fiddling with the seatbelt before leaving it, instead leaning forward between the two front seats to talk. âHeâs working on a song, and I want to hear it.â
Michaelâs heart jumps. âYouâre ditching school for band stuff?â
Luke shrugs. âI mean, itâs boring without you guys there.â He punches Michaelâs shoulder clumsily. âTell me next time you guys are cutting so I can fake sick or something. First period was awful.â
Michael shoves him backwards, and Luke laughs, high and squeaky. He smiles to himself, chancing a look at Ashton out of the corner of his eye and finds him smiling as well, humming along to the song on the stereo. He reaches forward and nudges the volume up and all-out sings, grinning when Luke joins, then Michael. The two of them air-drum while Ashton taps along on the steering wheel, and, as they cruise over to Calumâs house, everything feels in place.












