Thank you for beta'ing, xxdare2dreamxx1! Happy Haleb day, 11/05!
Ashley had a stalker who kept sending her creepy tweets and pictures. He had told her that he was going to watch her change her clothes in her dressing room, and she was so scared when Shay glanced out the window and screamed, "There's a strange man outside the trailer!"
"Don't let him see you! Get down!" Lucy practically pushed Shay to the ground. "Security!"
"He's here for me," Ashley said. She wiped sweat off her forehead and started shaking. "I...I know what he looks like...he's posted pictures of himself all over Twitter and tagged me in every one of them. He's constantly proposing to me...and it's not like a funny little joke by some twenty-year-old girl, this is a fifty year old gross man! He is seriously obsessed with me!" She leaned against a wall.
"Okay, break's over, time for the scene where-girls, what's going on? Ashley, you're pale, are you feeling alright?" Tyler asked.
She shook her head no. "Actually, there's..." She jumped when there was a pounding on the locked door. "Shit! Um, there's this guy...I just need someone to hide me."
"Where's Ashley? She ignored me and then she blocked me on Twitter and Instagram!" a man's loud voice yelled.
"I'll take care of this."
Lucy and Shay helped Ashley walk back to where they were filming Scream for Me. Troian looked up from her script when she noticed the three of them. "Wow, Ash, you have the creeped-out-look mastered! Getting into character already, are you?"
"I guess, no time to explain," Ashley mumbled.
There were too many people in the room, and she felt dizzy and tired all of a sudden. Laura and Sasha were doing their scene, and Holly had just finished hers with Steve. Marlene was running around and giving people orders. She told Ashley to practice her lines with Tyler. "Where is Tyler, by the way?"
"He's trying to deal with a weirdo that's hooked on Ashley," Shay informed her.
"That is scarily like this episode. I'll stab that creep for you," Holly volunteered. She grabbed a prop knife and ran out of the room.
Meanwhile, Tyler was using his bare hands to beat up the man. They were outside and currently, the man had him in a headlock. Tyler had kicked him and punched him, but the man was psycho. Tyler had to knock a gun out of his hands and keep him busy so he wouldn't pick up the weapon again.
"Don't touch her," he was barely able to get out.
"She's mine! If you don't let me have her, I'll shoot you!" the man threatened.
The door opened, and Holly just about fell down the stairs. She put her finger to her lips as she tiptoed to the man and drove the knife into his neck.
"Ah, you bitch!" the man shouted angrily. He let go of Tyler to take the knife out, but Holly kicked him in the head about five times. Tyler was able to slam his feet into the animal's groin. He already had a black eye and blood all over him.
"Leave Ashley alone," Holly said while picking up the gun. She pointed it at the disgusting bastard. "I'll shoot you, I swear to God, I will."
"No, don't," he begged. "I want her, and I promise, no more violence once she's with me."
"She will never go with you!" Tyler said. "I know people like you. This show is about people like you!"
"She's hot!"
"I want you to go back to wherever the hell you came from, and don't ever come around here again," Holly said calmly. She followed him with the gun as he got up. Tyler grabbed the knife. He and the older actress cornered the man with their weapons.
"Get out of here," Tyler said through gritted teeth as security led him away.
Ashley was very still in her seat as Lucy held her hands. "What if they get hurt defending me?"
"I almost don't want to say that mean stuff to you, even though it's only acting," Lucy muttered. "They'll be fine. There's two of them and one of him. Plus, they have a weapon!"
"He could knock it out of Holly's hands...and then he could...k-kill them," Ashley said and broke into a sob. The door opened and she saw Tyler and Holly, much to her relief. "Oh my God!"
"He should be gone by now, I called security," Marlene said.
"He is," Holly assured everyone.
"I kicked his ass," Tyler said proudly, and Holly gave him a look. "Okay, and Holly helped me out."
Ashley giggled through her tears. She ran up to them and gave them both big hugs. "Thank you!"
"Anything for you," Tyler told her.
"We'll always protect each other," Holly said and gave Ashley a friendly smile.
"That's over, but this episode isn't...shall we continue?" Marlene asked.
"Yeah, can I have my knife back?" Laura asked. "I'm so glad you're okay, Ashley."
Ashley grinned at her television mother. "Me too."
"Sorry I'm stealing your mom," Sasha apologized teasingly.
"Everyone's kinda fucking Hanna over in this episode," Ashley said.
"Everyone except Caleb...and Ella...because poor Ella doesn't know her fiancé is a cheating scumbag!" Holly said.
"Oh, and in that scene...how can I touch Ashley without it being...you know, rape?" Steve asked Marlene.
"We were going to do that, but now that this has happened...you'll just rub her back and squeeze her thigh."
Ashley shivered and moved closer to Tyler. "Why do we have to do that scene at all? It's creepy."
"It's to show what an asshole he is," Tyler said. "Can't Zack just do that to one of the other Liars?"
"Why would Aria, Emily, or Spencer walk into a bar alone? The point of Hanna going in there by herself is that she's a little hungover, and Zack takes advantage of that. He gets touchy-feely, and she walks out," Marlene said simply. "Ashley, Steve won't touch you inappropriately if he's not acting. The back-rub and the thigh touch is about two to three seconds each."
"He has to practice it, though," Ashley grumbled. She felt sick.
"No, he's not gonna rehearse that part, is he, Marlene? It's easy to sexually harass someone! There's no right way to do it!" Tyler said. "I'll tell you, though, in the next episode, Caleb better smash Zack's face in!"
"Oh, he will! Add that to the March of Crimes script!" Holly pleaded.
Steve looked worried. "I won't make it hurt if you only touch her like it says in the script," Tyler said with an edge to his voice. It turned Ashley on, and she wrapped her arms around his middle.
"I'll do what I'm supposed to."
"Good." Tyler smirked sexily, and Ashley bit her lip. She could hardly wait to do her kissing scenes with him.
Although she was traumatized by her stalker, Ashley managed to keep herself calm as horrible things happened to Hanna. Her favorite part, of course, was being held and rocked in Tyler's loving arms. She kissed him with the most passion she had. They were alone in the room after the cameras stopped rolling. Marlene called a break, and everyone gave Ashley and Tyler their privacy.
"Have you ever thought of making Haleb a real thing?" Ashley asked as she laid her head on his shoulder and lazily draped her legs over the arm of the couch.
"It would certainly make the fans happy..."
"Would it make you happy, though?"
"I mean, yeah, we're good together."
"Should we tell people...at least those on the set today?"
"Sure, that would be a great idea!" He pulled her into his lap again and kissed her. She sighed with pleasure as their tongues danced together. They were hooking up like they always did, but this time, they were an official couple. It excited her more than anything.
The rest of the cast agreed to keep it a secret that Ashley and Tyler were now an item. They went to Ashley's house, and she was cooking when suddenly, a flame jumped on her hand and she shrieked while beating her fist on the counter. She ran it under cold water and Tyler got some ice from the freezer. Ashley was in so much pain that it hurt when she shook the water off her hand.
"Here, this'll make it all better," Tyler said softly. He took her hand in his and gently dabbed it with a towel. "I've got some ice to keep down the swelling."
His soft touches always lifted her mood. "Thanks," she said as he kissed her injury and covered it with a bag of ice. He walked her toward her couch and they sat down. She set her hand on her lap as he held her.
"You're welcome."
"Hey, I want to post this on Instagram."
"Okay, I'll get your phone."
Ashley snapped a photo of the burn mark on her hand and put it up on her social media sites. She then took a selfie of herself and Tyler, but that stayed in her camera roll. She didn't want to make their fans pass out from swooning so much. She had it bad for Tyler, and this was only the beginning of their romance.