Even Better At Night

Chapter 1: Locked In

Setting: Day of the lock-down.

"Spence! You'd better hurry up, I'm leaving in five minutes!" Glen called up the stairs to his younger sister's room.

Spencer let out a sigh as she gave up on putting together an amazing outfit. She grabbed a teeshirt off her bed and pulled it over her head before lying down. The song playing from her stereo was ending and she could suddenly hear her name being said from outside.

Walking over to the window, Spencer recognized the voice to be Ashley's. Spencer leaned out and smiled at her best friend.

"Hey, let me give you a ride this morning," Ashley insisted, squinting against 8 AM sun.

"Alright, give me three minutes. I have to grab my stuff. I'll meet you out front," Spencer told her before disappearing into her room again. She picked her bag up off the floor and proceeded downstairs.

"Ash is going to give me a ride this morning," Spencer told Glen and her mom as she walked towards the door. Mrs. Carlin's smile dropped to a small, displeased frown at the news.

"Okay, we'll see you after school then," Glen called on behalf of Clay and himself.

Spencer squinted out the window as she and Ashley drove past the Californian beach. "It's so beautiful," she commented quietly.

"Yeah, it is," Ashley agreed. "You should see it at night, though. It's even better then." She flashed a smile towards Spencer who returned it just as enthusiastically.

Spencer began to laugh when she looked back towards Ashley. She was trying to dance to the song playing over the radio.

"Wow, you are a dork," Spencer told her.

"What? Oh, come on, it's a fun song!" Ashley tried to defend herself.

Spencer just smiled and in a moment joined in the dancing attempt.

Ashley pulled into the school parking lot a few minutes later, both girls still dancing in their seats. After going to their lockers, they sat down at one of the tables and began making plans for the weekend.

"There's a show by a local band Friday night. We could go to that," Ashley suggested.

Amongst the voices of other students, a faint buzz began to grow louder.

"Oh, shit," Ashley said quickly as she pulled Spencer up from her seat. Dragging her by the wrist, she guided Spencer into the nearest classroom.

As they walked through the class' threshold Spencer found her voice through her confusion. "What's going on?" she questioned.

"Lock down," Ashley simply replied. Seeing the confused look on her friend's face, she continued. "We get them every so often. Some person trying to get attention calls in a bomb threat or brings a gun or does something else completely stupid. Then we get stuck in some classroom for the day. No fun at all."

"Oh. I should probably call my dad then." Spencer pulled out her phone. "Hey, it's me. We've gone into lockdown at school. That's all I know." There was a pause. "No, I don't know where they are. I'm sure they're fine though. I have to go now, love you, Dad." She hung up the phone. "So what happens after lockdown ends?"

"They just release us for the day. Considering these usually last for a while, they figure there's no point in sending us to remaining classes. It sucks when they run over past last period. They'll hold us in the classes until they've caught whoever did what. Which can mean being in here for an hour or until two hours after school is over."

Spencer let out a sigh after Ashley finished her explination. Not wanting to stand forever, she went over to the back table and sat down. Ashley followed directly behind her.

For the next hour they talked about their weekend plans. Friday night they would go see the local band perform and then Saturday they would just hang out at Ashley's house.

After finalizing plans, the two girls sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Ashley fell asleep after half an hour of silence.

Spencer smiled when she noticed her best friend was snoring quietly. She layed her head on her arms and watched her best friend. She had looked at Ashley plenty of times before, but never studied her face like she was now. The brunette's face was strong, determined; but there was a sign of pain in it. A sign that she had been hurt too many times in her past.

Spencer slowly shifted her hand so that it was on top of Ashley's.

Ashley's lips formed a small smile.

Spencer closed her eyes and hoped that they could stay in this peaceful classroom prison for as long as possible.

Fifteen minutes later, Spencer's hopes were broken. The principal's voice came over the loud speaker, " Today's lockdown is over. All students are to report to their first hour and continue the day. Teachers, a new schedule will be delievered to your class in the next twenty minutes. The day will continue with shortened class periods and end at the regular release time. Thank you."

Spencer raised her head up off the table and looked at Ashley, who was still sleeping. She woke her friend up and explained what the principal had announced.

"This is lame. Half the day is gone and they're making us go to classes!" Ashley complained, as she checked her watch. She and Spencer were walking to their homeroom classes. Pushing through the last few students, they reached where they would split up.

Spencer hugged her best friend and told her goodbye. "I have to get a ride home with Glen tonight, so I'll call you later," she told Ashley before walking into her class.

A/N: Sorry if this is short. I'm not great at writing long chapters. Review, please! Feedback is always great. I apologize for spelling errors, etc. I don't have word on my computer.