The rest of the afternoon went by in a sort of blur for Tyler, who in all honesty had stopped paying attention to anything beyond what was asked directly toward him. In particular, after reading as Spencer against Ian’s hysterical attempt at Aria, Tyler all about checked out mentally. It wasn’t that he was disinterested, but he was in his own little world. His own little world just with Ashley, who at one point had declared just being near one another had her in nothing but giggles. At some point, the two simply forgot their rules for the event, holding hands and laughing to themselves as their mics hopefully picked no part of their conversation up. The fans were busy cheering about Emison and yelling at Marlene about the NAT Club anyway. Though in this time, Tyler kept the conversation going with Ashley concerning memories from the set, whether the girls getting shit faced after wrapping, drowning their teas in alcohol, or that one time in the tent the raccoon scared the crap out of them both, or even the earlier topic of conversation about Tyler’s music picks for shooting the most intimate of scenes. The conversation was kept safe enough that in case a mic picked it up in their lack of attention they’d sill be safe.
In the end of the panel, the fans rushed the stage even after being advised not to do so. It was expected. Tyler reluctantly parted from Ashley, taking photos with fans, and signing autographs. He couldn’t help but laugh as he noticed Shay having to borrow Sasha’s leather jacket to keep herself in her top as she bent down to greet fans. He exchanged a look with Ashley, making light fun of their third wheel for her fashionable yet impractical choices in wardrobe. A good fifteen or twenty minutes passed before the cast were all finally able to head back stage, satisfied with how the afternoon went. As soon as they got back stage, Tyler removed his coat, leaving him in his white tee. His coat handing over one arm, the actor headed back for more food before finding Ashley among the bustling area. Of course, he found the girls all in the bathroom as some changed, and mostly gossiped. He waited outside for Ashley to walk out, immediately wrapping both arms around her in order to pull her close as she returned to him. “How about we go grab food, then head home?” by home he meant his place which was the closest, though he also offered the secondary option, “I can also drive out to mom’s if you haven’t picked up Ollie and Walter yet?” Although Shannon was probably around here somewhere, he wasn’t sure if she’d returned the pups to Ashley, who he was sure was missing her fur children.
As much as Ashley loved being reunited with the rest of the cast again, her attention was mainly focused on Tyler. She couldn’t wait any longer to have him all to herself in the privacy of their own home. Luckily, after a few more Haleb related questions, the audience moved onto other topics and kept the attention away from the two of them. It allowed them the freedom to sneak in small gestures such as hand holding and a few quick glances in the other’s direction without anyone noticing. Every minute passing by only meant that she was closer to having him all to herself.
Before she knew it, the panel had ended and fans were rushing towards the stage in order to snap a picture or get an autograph. Ashley couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at Shay’s wardrobe misfortune, even though she wasn’t exactly surprised. She was always one for plunging necklines that seemed to get her into trouble when it came to situations like this. The next twenty minutes flew by in a flash, because the cast was being told to head backstage once again before she knew it. The blonde followed the rest of the girls into the closest bathroom backstage, where Ashley changed into something a little more comfortable. After all, she had planned on going right home afterwards and she at least wanted to be casual and comfortable. As she walked out of the bathroom door, Tyler was right there to greet her, pulling her close against his frame. The smile growing on her face was impossible to control as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a few sweet kisses. “Or we could go straight home and I can have my way with you.” It had been three months without him and Ashley was desperate for him in more ways than just one. “My mom planned on dropping them off later tonight. But I can tell her to drop them off at your place instead if you want us to stay there tonight. I’m sure they’d love to see Dylan again too.”
