A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 62- If you hear ominous music, it's either a sign of impending danger or someone's just practising their violin. Either way, stay alert!

I do my best to sound calm and not like an absolute psycho because I am seriously nervous. "Hey Ashton..."

"Yes?" He turns to face me. I should probably find some segway into this, it would be weird to just ask outright. I'm not as blunt as Lucy. But then Ashton's green eyes meet mine and the words come tumbling out.

"Do we hug?" I blurt out then immediately flush red. Ashton seems a little stunned and I panic and start to backtrack.

"You don't have to answer that, I don't mean to be weird. I was just... Lucy asked that earlier and you've been holding my hand all day and... Okay I'm just going to shut up now." I stare down at my lap and Ashton is silent. Great, I've gone and made everything super awkward. Apparently bluntly asking questions is Lucy's superpower, not mine. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Eventually, I risk a glance up at Ashton and I'm surprised to find that he's not looking as uncomfortable as I feel. Actually, he's smiling. I would even go so far as to describe his expression as smug. Apparently he enjoys watching me make a fool out of myself. Awesome. I'm in complete shock when without hesitating, Ashton reaches out and wraps an arm over my shoulder, tipping me against his side as he finally relaxes back into the couch.

“I believe that the two of us have a closer relationship than Lucy and Fin, right Angel?” He says softly.

I am completely embarrassed and more than a little confused. But curling up on the couch and watching movies with Ashton might be the most relaxing thing I've done in years. Or at least it is now, the first half hour or so I was so nervous that I could barely sit still. But after a while I couldn't help but relax. I'm so sleepy and I don't think that I actually have any idea what's happening in the movie. Then Ashton starts stroking a hand through my hair and I can't keep my eyes open for even a second longer.

I wake up to the sound of a throat clearing and crack open my eyes a tiny bit to see my dad standing in the doorway. Somehow while I've been asleep I've moved from sitting upright and leaning against Ashton to lying on the couch with my head resting in his lap. The gentle movement of him stroking my hair paused when dad cleared his throat then continued.

"She fell asleep." Ashton tells him, his voice soft. Clearly he doesn't realise I'm awake. For a second everything is quiet. Even the T.V. has been turned off at some point. How long have I been napping for? I know I should say something, give some indication that I'm awake. But I kind of want to see how dad reacts.

"I can see that. Is it just you two? Where did the other one go?" He asks grumpily.

“Fin is on a stake out. We will be going to take over for him soon. I wanted to let her rest.” Ashton answers gently.

"And I suppose her bed wasn't available?" Dad says sarcastically.

"We were watching a movie. I turned it off so it would not disturb her." Ashton continues to answer calmly. He's actually doing fairly well. He sounds mostly unbothered by my dad's grumpiness. Either way, it wouldn't be fair of me to stay silent any longer. With a groan I start to sit up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Ashton helps me sit up by supporting my arm so I don't accidentally elbow him or something.

"Mmh, hey dad." I greet him sleepily with a half smile. I glance back at Ashton and my smile grows, I can't help it. I look back to dad in time to see him rolling his eyes.

"If you're going to sleep you should do it in your bed. You're going to get a sore back.” He lectures me. Immediately my brain pictures curling up in my bed cuddled up with Ashton and I have to resist the desire to laugh. I'm fairly sure that is NOT what dad means.

"What time is it? I should go splash some water on my face and we can let Fin and Lucy get some rest. They're got to be tired by now." I direct that last part to Ashton. Without waiting for either of them to answer, I hop up off the couch, straighten my skirt and head to the bathroom to make myself presentable again.

Driving back to the hotel I'm feeling a lot better than I was before my nap.

"Did you get any rest?" I ask Ashton, feeling kind of guilty. He sat there for a few hours, not lying down or moving, just letting me use him as my own personal pillow.

"I did not sleep if that is what you are asking. But I am rested enough. I feel fine.” He assures me. I'm not sure I totally believe that, but Ashton can't lie. Although I notice he didn't say that he isn't still tired, just that he's fine. Fine can mean a lot of things. I make up my mind to get him something caffeinated once we make it to the bar. Just in case. When we arrive, Lucy and Fin are deep in conversation.

"I don't think you're going to spot the fae woman like that." I comment in a teasing tone. Lucy jumps, not having heard us approach. Fin doesn't react though so I assume he noticed us arriving.

"I assure you that I was still paying attention." Fin rushes to assure me.

"It's alright, I believe you, I was just teasing. Are you guys ready to go get some rest? We can all meet up in the morning for breakfast. You're not working, right Lucy?" I ask, suddenly worried. I let her sign up for a stake out without checking her schedule first.

"I have tomorrow off. I'm down for breakfast." She assures me.

"You both need to get some sleep." Ashton says in a mildly bossy tone. Lucy raises an eyebrow at him and I can see that she wants to argue, but I can also tell that she is exhausted so I poke her shoulder and she relents. "Oh all right." she grumbles.

"Great! Luce, do you mind giving Fin a ride back to my place? You're welcome to stay over. You can get some sleep in my room. It's late and you shouldn't be driving around too much. Plus it'll save time if you're coming back in the morning anyway." I reason.

"Sounds good to me. Ready to go handsome?” She winks at Fin who seems completely unbothered by her blatant flirting. I take my house key off of my keychain and hand it to Lucy.

"Don't lose it. Dad would never let me hear the end of it. I tease him about losing his keys so often."

"I won't." She promises dutifully. She scrunches up her face as she thinks.

"Guys, I don't want to be a downer or anything. But we can't stake out this place forever. What's the plan B if this doesn't work out? And when do we just call it?" She questions. "Call it what?" Fin asks. Lucy and I exchange a glance and we both start laughing. She explains herself while I turn to Ashton.

"How long are we planning to stake out this place for?" I question and he huffs out a breath as he thinks.

"I suppose we will stay until we-” I never get to hear the answer to the question because Ashton is cut off by a fist flying at his face.