Chapter 179 - Bell Pepper

Things started to return back to normalcy… or at least somewhat after that. Warren and Karolyn got out of their hiding place albeit their reluctance as they found nothing else happening on the campus. Turns out. Axel was indeed true to his words and did not bother them anymore. The deaths in the city reduced too, or at least were the reported ones. It was possible they found better targets, targets that no one would see missing.

After a brief discussion and a little bit of fight Caleb and Ashton came to the conclusion that around spring break Ashton would try to navigate the area on his own. Caleb insisted he come but Ashton denied it at every chance despite Caleb's protest and insisted that he would be fine with a few warm sweaters.

Caleb was mad at him for leaving him behind, until Ashton reminded him that so did he when he left for college. After that all Caleb could do was pout as let Ashton do whatever he felt like. 

Caleb did try to threaten him into letting him come with the threat of ratting him out to his mom. Apparently Ashton himself already told her about his plan thus rendering his 'threat' moot. When everything he tried failed he reluctantly accepted that Ashton would be making this trip solo.

"I don't understand, you say you will be back soon, why do you need to pack so much?" Caleb asked, who volunteered to help him prepare for the trip.

"I don't know how long it will take." Ashton shrugged. "I don't wanna be caught off guard when I am roaming over some frozen lake." Ashton mumbled while he took out clothes from his closet.

"Hence the fishing rod?" Caleb asked skeptically, holding out the new slate rod which was lying on the bed. "Where did you even get this thing?"

"I bought it online," Ashton shrugged.

"Right" Caleb nodded. "So, tomorrow evening huh?" 

"Yea," Ashton mumbled, taking a glance off the clock. "By this time tomorrow I will be on the flight". Ashton smirked.

It was not hard to detect the hidden excitement in Ashton's voice. In fact apart from the fact he would not see his mate for a while, Ashton's excitement was the one that was ticking off Caleb. Nevertheless, Caleb realised how important this was to Ashton, and therefore tried his best to mask his feelings of discontent.

Once they were done, Ashton had a total of three huge bags as if he was moving someplace else and not going for a 'short trip'. "Does the airline even allow this much"?  Caleb found himself wondering out loud.

"Don't worry, they look a lot but they are light. They won't cross the weight limit". Ashton assured.

"Maybe it's just you who think it's light. I mean no offence but you do possess a kind of super strength." Caleb shrugged.

"Kind of?" Ashton frowned as he appeared offended by the statement, "I am the epitome of super strength" Ashton boasted, in a teasing manner.

Rolling his eyes Caleb mumbled, "Whatever". After a few seconds when he was done, he mumbled, "What do you wanna do? We finished pretty early, wanna go out?" Caleb suggested.

"No" Ashton shook his head. "I don't know what kind of busy day I might be having tomorrow, I want to take some rest" He shrugged. 

"Alright then" Caleb mumbled and reached for the door when his mate called him suddenly.

"Where are you going"? Asked Ashton.

"You wanted some rest?" Caleb reminded.

"Yeah, but it's not like I am falling asleep right this moment" Ashton shrugged. "How can you just leave like that when we are separating tomorrow"? Ashton said feigning a hurt expression. It's been a long time since he teased his mate, so he wanted to try once more.

"How can I leave like that?" Caleb shouted to apparently missed the hint of a tease. "You are so excited to leave as if I don't really matter anymore. I mean I get it it's important, but you can be a little upset" Caleb huffed.

Ashton blinked at him. He was taken aback by his sudden outburst and needed a moment to recover from the shock before he could answer Caleb, "Who said I am not upset?" Ashton asked.

"You don't seem like it?" Caleb whispered.

"I barely put out my emotions." Ashton shrugged. "Although you are good at telling my true feelings, there are times when you do miss them." He sighed.

"Sorry" Caleb mumbled looking away. He took a seat in the bed and looked at Ashton. "What do you want to do"?

"It's getting late, wanna get some dinner?" Ashton asked.

"I thought you didn't wanna go out" Caleb smirked.

"I don't," He smirked. Taking out a box out of mini freeze he mumbled. "I was planning to cook," Ashton declared with a smirk.

"Since when do you know how to cook?" Caleb asked skeptically.

"Since forever?" Ashton frowned. "Back in the days it was just me and my Dad who cooked in family picnics, My adopted Dad I mean" He informed him.

Caleb frowned, "Just how much are you hiding from me"?

"I guess, we will find out," Ashton's smirk deepened. "Give me half an hour, I will make something out of it. I hope you enjoy meat" Ashton asked.

"Who doesn't?" Caleb scoffed. {A/N: Vegans?Vegetarians, pls don't attack me} "But, I wanna help too". He insisted.

"Sure, can you chop these bell peppers for me?" Ashton handed him the knife and the peppers.

"Okay.."he mumbled unsure. He had seen people cutting these on cooking shows, it seemed pretty easy there. Why not mimic that? Unfortunately though, it turned out to be harder than it looked. At first he wasn't sure of the strength needed so he put a lot of pressure almost cutting off his finger. Next time he was too careful that it didn't even make a dent.

Once Ashton was done mincing the meat he looked at Caleb's hand who was still not even done halfway, "What are you doing?" Ashton chuckled lightly.

"Cutting these," Caleb answered, holding out the intact half of the bell pepper on one hand and the knife on the other. Ashton gave him a giant smile before taking these from his hand.

"Do it like this" In a matter of a few seconds Ashton was done through half of that half piece, with a much cleaner cut than Caleb's. Caleb stared intently at the board trying to learn. "Here, try it" Ashton handed the rest to Caleb. 

Caleb fumbled a bit, but this time his cuts were better. A smirk appeared on Ashton's mind following a devious idea in his head. Hugging his mate from behind he whispered in his ears, "Let me help you, it will be done faster". He put his hands on Caleb's hand and chopped the remaining pieces. 

Caleb went still the moment he felt Ashton touch his back, and it took him a lot to recover. "What are you doing?" he asked in a groggy voice as his heart rate elevated. 

"Helping you cut it" Ashton replied, pretending to be completely innocent.

"Let go of me" He pushed away Ashton who frowned at him. "We are done" he pointed at the board with his knife. "What next?" Caleb asked, trying to get his breathing back to normal.

"Now you just have to chop these and we would be good to go" He handed him a few other ingredients.  Caleb stared at the variety before he shifted his wide eyed gaze at Ashton. "This is a lot," He mumbled.

"Want my help" Ashton smirked and took a step towards Caleb. 

Putting the hilt of the knife on Ashton's chest, "I got this. Stay back" he scowled. Ashton broke into soft laughter before he took half of Caleb's pile and aided him.

It took them almost twenty minutes until they were finally done. The smell was so good that he found it hard to resist eating. The portion was not too much in comparison to their wolf appetite, but damn did he love the fact that this was something Ashton made for him. 

While Caleb was not so bad at romance himself, his usual approach involved spending money on it, like selecting beautiful but extravagant places. Ashton however could easily charm Caleb without much of an expenditure. He had to admit, he liked the way Ashton thinks, especially in moments like this where he can't just stop munching on the meat because it was so damn delicious. 

"You might wanna slow down. I am far from done, and I don't wanna Heimlich you mid meal if you end up choking" Ashton joked.

"Don't worry, I can help you finish you your meal", Caleb gave him an evil smirk.

"No way! I divided our shares equally"! Ashton glared playfully. 

"Come on! I'll buy you pineapple juice". Caleb tried to bribe him making Ashton laugh. "I am not kidding, desserts on me. I'll go get them"! He announced enthusiastically. 

Ashton genuine smile turned into an evil smirk, "I am so glad you said that, cause I definitely need you for what I have planned for dessert."