Stung
"Spencer," the girl standing a few feet from her tensely chuckled, "what's going on with us is not nearly as complicated as you think."
Spencer had no idea how she got herself into this situation. At the beginning of the summer she had set down a simple set of rules for herself. She did not know why she could never seem to follow them.
"Yes, Ashley, it is simple. I'm older than you and basically your boss. I really like you, but I'm not dealing with this."
The brunette laughed, which was tortuously beautiful to Spencer, in a forbidden affection kind of way.
"What a load of shit, Spence! You just turned twenty, and in case you forgot: I'm eighteen! I'm legal, bitch!"
She said the last part facetiously with this pseudo- gangsta hand flick, which did little to assure Spencer of her maturity. The blonde held back a frustrated sigh and pressed the side of her wrist to her forehead, careful to keep her actual hand out of her face.
"Look, I may not technically have firing power over you or anything but I have enough influence that favoritism goes a long way. I'm sorry, but this relationship-whatever it is- is unprofessional."
"Spence-"
"No," the hand fell down, "Remember what I said at the beginning of the season to the whole staff?"
"Don't flirt with the snack bar girls? Because I swear that was all Kelly-"
A growl may have slipped out and interrupted Ashley. "No. The part about being no drama this year!"
The growl may have been harder for Spencer to control than she thought. She wasn't proud of it or anything, but it seemed to matter to the other girl, who showed anger for the first time in this conversation.
"Two girls dating, and being mature enough to watch a pool together- not exactly 'Melrose Place'. The only one making things dramatic is you."
Never before had Spencer spat out a laugh, but the bitterness of the sound was one she did not particularly care to hear again. "Ha- no. This place has been through too many sexual harassment cases, things stolen from the locker rooms, Aiden's almost incestuous promiscuity, private detectives, and crazy divorced club members stealing from their ex-husband's armory waving a gun around looking for their kid, not to mention the office drama I deal with for you guys not turning in your paperwork. Seriously, don't you guys want to get paid?" A deep breath brought her back from the little rant, "I have dealt with too much of other people's shit to go against policy and have someone else need to deal with mine."
Spencer could tell Ashley tried really hard not to roll her eyes, and somehow that irked her more than if she had just done it. "Seriously, I know being Assistant Manager is a big deal for you and everything- but it's just a summer job. Get over it, and move on to actually living your life." Her little 'duh' headshake and eyebrow twitch sent a cold wash of anger down Spencer. She savored the feeling, knowing she would need it to help her get through the rest of this conversation, hoping the feeling would not turn back on her by the time it was over.
" Ashley. I know, to you, this job is just some stupid stipulation in order to get your trust fund that your dad set up so he would feel that he at least once did something akin to parenting that may, in some half hearted way, make you learn something about responsibility before you come across some ungodly amount of money, that the average American would never make in their lifetime, and spend it all on fast cars and strong booze, but-" a pause for a breath breaks up the run-on sentence, " I have worked here for five years and it is pretty much the only job I have ever had and I have worked hard to be in a position of responsibility. The recommendation I get from this job, aside from a few from professors who know I'm a good, involved student, is a crucial part in my chances at internships and real world jobs after I graduate. My credibility, with my bosses and the highly influential people who are members here and who know me, is not something I'm going to lose with a simple call that ends up: 'Oh, yeah Spencer is a good worker and good with people, but she stopped showing good judgment when she started fucking the chairwoman of the board's daughter, who was also an employee, and completely shot down any sense of professionalism the staff have worked toward ever since the old manager started feeling up sixteen year old girls'."
The quick spark of anger in Ashley's eyes earlier was nothing to the inferno in them now. "First of all- we never fucked, but fucking me is always a good judgment." Spencer had no idea how Ashley's cocky flirtatiousness could fit seamlessly with her rage. "Secondly, I know you think I'm some spoiled little rich girl, but look in the mirror, hot stuff. Your parents pay your way through school. You go overseas for vacation every year, you probably got an allowance until they realized it was spent on donuts and girly porn. Yeah, your mom sold your car to pay for rent- boohoo. She felt so guilty, she you got a red convertible for Christmas six months later. So yeah, I'm rich and spoiled. At least I don't hide between some lame ass job at a country club pool pretending I'm working for it."
The cold grew in Spencer once more, but this time she could not control it and it slipped out of her mouth before she knew what she said.
"My parents spoil me because they love me. Yours spoil you to get you out of their hair."
The silence afterwards was deafening. But the regret followed immediately in a whisper.
"…That was probably the most terrible thing I have ever said to anyone"
Spencer had no idea that walking into the backroom with Ashley would lead to anything near this. She had no idea that a simple little disagreement could lead her to realize such an awful thing about herself.
Ashley's face was frozen and unreadable, but Spencer hardly noticed because she expected the other girl to storm out.
"It sucks, doesn't it?"
What? Spencer looked into her eyes, not sure what she meant. A long beat passed before Ashley clarified:
"Realizing that you meant it."
Ashley let it sink in for a bit before finally brushing gently by Spencer toward the door. Back to the job that did not seem worth this crap. But she paused when Spencer spoke softly.
"It hurts doesn't it?"
What? Ashley turned over her shoulder to meet Spencer's eyes.
"Realizing it's true."
Spencer knew being with Ashley made her a better person. She had no idea that not being with her made her a worse one.
"Ashley," she tried before the other girl revived from her statue curse, "I never should have said that. I have no right."
The brunette laughed, which was tortuously beautiful to Spencer, in a painful kind of way.
" I always want you to be honest with me, Spence. The truth hurts coming out sometimes, huh?"
The blonde pulled off her medical gloves nervously, not really remembering why she was wearing them in the first place. She tried a less intense tone of voice, because the tension was more than she could bear. "I, uh, never thought of myself as a bad person before, but I guess no one ever does," a hard swallow, "I was thinking if no one else knew it, it wasn't true", a forced laugh.
Ashley's shoulders fell as her head turned dejectedly to the side. "Yeah, that seems to be a theme with you."
"Ash," Spencer realized, a little scared, what her friend meant, "You are what's real to me. I'm not ashamed of you or hiding you or anything. I know I went off about the 'real world' before, but honestly? I was scared I was losing focus on the long term of my life, because I was slipping into you."
Ashley softened a little, and Spencer could tell she was not sure whether to believe her, but the door opened before she could respond.
"Hey- uh," a small blonde head peaked around the door to the lifeguard office, "I know I'm not allowed back here, and I don't know what is so controversial about the treatment of bee stings that has got you guys still arguing over it, but the pain is totes gone now, so don't worry about it."
"Lucy," Spencer hadn't fully recovered from the conversation with Ashley and tried to buy time with a skeptical pause after the name, but Ashley was more effective with the raising of one eyebrow toward the ten year old.
"Okay, okay it still hurts, but you guys are taking for-ev-er, and there's a rover game forming. So I waive my 'complain to mom' rights, and life goes on?" With a half-baked attempt at permission, Lucy tried unsuccessfully, to hide the fact she was taking in the room.
"…Is there anything else we can help you with then?" Spencer asked, trying unsuccessfully to forget how much she needed to finish the conversation with Ashley.
"I want the promised bee sting lollipop, and …" the girl paused, as if she was unsure if she should continue, " it has been a while since guards have played rover with us, and you guys should join."
Spencer smiled, "Go put the baking soda toothpaste on the sting," and ignored Ashley's exasperated 'I told you so' , "you'll get your lollipop after the game and we'll be out in a minute, okay?" The girl beamed happily and darted back out onto the pool deck. Smile fading slightly, Spencer turned to Ashley, who spoke first.
"It still hurts, you know," her sad smile almost serene, "both of us most likely."
"Life goes on though, right?" Spencer started toward the door which was still ajar.
"We're still going to have to talk about this, eventually," Ashley approached Spencer, slowly trapping her between herself and the door. Spencer opened her mouth to agree but was cut off by a surprisingly playful tone, "But for now, I hope you know I am so pushing you in the pool."
The assistant manager squeaked and sprinted out of the back office followed closely by her favorite lifeguard, and both of the girls were shouted at in jest by some of the kids to stop running on the pool deck. And as Ashley finally caught Spencer and they both tumbled into the water, horsing around and joining the game, a group of gossiping moms watched from the lounge chairs across the pool.
"Is their relationship still a secret? I can't even tell anymore"
"Maybe that's what they were arguing about. It looks like they are still together."
"After what the Carlin girl went through with the whole 'Duarte Armory' fiasco last summer, I'd say she deserves being happy."
"Yeah, but it's like they forget that the pool side wall of the office is basically a giant window. We might not hear them, but their body language is intense. Those two suck at keeping it a secret, they are so melodramatic"
Spencer caught up to Ashley and grabbed her wrist pulling her away from the safety of gutter base. She wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her up, laughing when they reached the surface and Ashley started complaining there were no pull offs. And as Ashley climbed on her back and insisted on taxi service to the 'it' side as repentance for breaking the rules, Spencer felt the last of the stinging cold that had consumed her earlier melt away.
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A/N: AU obviously. Rover is a pool game similar to Sharks and Minnows, and by similar I mean completely the same but kids insist they are two separate games. Basic idea of the story: Ashley and Spencer had a secret relationship, that made more dramatic than it should have been. Tensions peak as they bicker over the right way to treat a bee sting (which is rather controversial between some lifeguards I know. Don't take first aid advice from the internet) and they take it to the back room where they can sort out their real issues. For those who have found this hoping for an update to 'How Many Times do I have to Tell You?', sorry. Inspiration for that story comes in sine waves, time to write comes in cosine waves and the times I have access to my old computer notes comes in tangents, so its when they all meet up at the same time.