Ay Yo! Whatt's going downnn everyone? Well… I might as well tell you what I've been doing… Which is nothing…. So in honor of doing NOTHING I've decided to put up a new story… Obviously. And I know that you're probably like "whattttttt??? You haven't even finished the other ones?" welll I know… but I'm getting closer to the end of Shatter. And thiss story isn't going to be like… WICKED long. So I thought Whyyy notttt? Hahaha alright… ummmm I'll just lett ya'll readdd now. Disclaimer: I don't any of J.K. Rowling's characters from Harry Potter. Just my own that I make up as I go along… Alrighttt. Let's gett it onnnnnnnn!!! Lol enjoyyy! =D -Mooch
Who's Your Daddy?
August
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I flung my hand over my head fast, and violently, effectively hitting the snooze button on the top of my alarm clock, making it go silent again.
Both of my eyes were still glued shut as I pulled my arm back under the blankets and back into the warmth that surrounded my body. It wasn't before long that I was slipping back into the peaceful darkness of sleep.
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"For the love of God! Shut up! It's summer don't you know?" I sat up and glared at the blaring clock angrily. But it apparently hadn't heard what I had said because it continued to beep. I groaned and reached out and yanked the clock from the table, making it so the cord came out of the socket. Then proceeded to throw the now dead alarm clock onto the floor on the other side of my room.
I lay back down and closed my eyes and waited for my breathing to slow back down from my small outburst. It didn't take long before I was asleep again. But it seemed like only seconds later I was woken up again. Didn't anyone know that it was summer?
Through my many layers of sleep I registered someone banging my door open and there was a lot of yelling. Angry yelling? I tried to make sense of it all and focus on it, but before I could figure out what was going on, my covers were ripped from my body and the person was now yelling in my ear.
"Ashlyn Amelia Owens! Get up this instant! Still in bed at this hour? Good Lord what has gotten into you?" My mother screeched at me.
"I'm tired mother." I said plainly as I rubbed my eyes and looked at her folding my comforter in her hands.
"Why? What have you been doing that is making you so tired?" She asked quickly. I swear, she was the most paranoid mother in the entire universe.
"I've been up late doing summer homework, and going to all of your after parties. Things like that make a person tired, mum." I said back to her and rubbed a hand on the back of my neck. I looked at my glaring mother and was suddenly thankful I only inherited half of my traits from her.
She was willowy and thin, but also small. All of her features were well defined and her waist long corn silk hair was pulled up in a way that made her look twice her age. She glared at me with ice blue eyes and pointed a thin finger at me.
"There's been a boy. Hasn't there?" She more accused than asked. I sighed.
"No mother. There is no boy." I flopped back onto my bed, ignoring the way she glared at me suspiciously for another moment. She then brushed her hands down her long denim skirt and smoothed out her green cotton shirt.
"Well… Get dressed. You promised me that you would help me make pastries for my after party tonight." She said with a dismissive air, then walked out of my room and shut the door behind her.
I groaned when she was gone. Would the boring party schedule ever come to an end? No. That was a simple answer to that question. I knew that I didn't have a choice whether or not I wanted to go to them. My parents made it my duty to go and make small talk with stuck up purebloods, and old people who loved classical music.
My father, Lucas Owens, was a very important figure that operated within the ministry, and he made sure that every one knew it… Although he was oblivious to most anything that didn't have to do with his job…
Unlike my mother, who noticed everything, and was sometimes more of an anxiety freak than anything else. However, she had been a child prodigy since the age of three with the piano. She still did performances almost every night, which always included an after party following the concert. And as the daughter, it was my chore to attend them and make small talk with people I did not know, neither did I want to.
I got up from my bed finally and walked into the neon pink bathroom that was connected to my white bedroom. I looked at my tired looking face in the mirror and saw what everyone else seemed to miss.
I saw a weary, and worn down girl that was tired of living the life her parents wanted her to have. I saw unruly, curly dark brown hair, dull gray eyes, and a normal face with freckles over the nose. I didn't have a strong body, I had an average body. Nothing that could ever become something drop dead gorgeous or amazing.
But people didn't seem to see that. They saw not the tired girl, but the good girl. The girl that was every parent's dream, and behaved just like every good girl ought to. A beautiful girl that looked just like her father, and was thought to become just like her parents.
Boy, were they wrong. I didn't have exemplary business skills, and I the only song I could play on the piano was Heart & Soul. I had absolutely no hope to become my parents. And maybe that was a good thing.
I sighed again and quickly undressed and got into the shower and turned on the hot water. I let the water relax my muscles which were still stiff from sleep. I washed my hair and body quickly as well as shaved thoroughly. It was one of my longer showers and when I got out of the shower the bathroom smelled like vanilla, which most likely meant that I did as well.
I walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped tightly around my body, then walked into my small walk in closet. As the light buzzed on I shuffled down the isle and grabbed a pair of jean cut offs and a dark blue t-shirt. I pulled on all my clothes and rubbed down my hair with the towel so that it would dry faster. Although, I couldn't stop it from curling into tight ringlets all over my head as I brushed it out. When I was done I opened my door and walked out into the long hallway that led to the staircase and to the entry way.
I walked towards the kitchen and heard various clanging noises. Making it clear that my mother was attempting to cook. Something she had never gotten the hang of. When she saw that I was now in the kitchen she sighed and pushed the open cook book across the counter to my side. Without a word I picked it up, looked at the page, and then set out to collect the ingredients that I would need. I didn't need to ask my mother how many I should make, or to try and get out of doing this. I was too much of a good girl to deny my mother's firm hand.
And maybe that was my real problem…
~*~
Halfway through the second batch that I was making the phone rang. My mother quickly picked it up, and after just saying "Hello", handed it to me, then walked out of the room with a towel in her hands.
I wedged the phone in the crook of my neck so that it was against my ear and I could still use my hands to crack eggs into a bowl.
"Hello?" I asked into the phone.
"Hey! What are you doing right now?" Asked the always excited voice of my best friend, Lulu Reedy.
"Making pastries for an after party and pretending to have a super time. What about yourself?" I asked her.
"Ugh… Do you think you could escape the wrath of your parents for one night?" She whined to me.
"I don't know. It would depend upon what day I would be escaping. That way I have enough time to get a strategic plan in place." I spoke as if there was actually a possibility of me escaping… I had known Lulu since our first day at Hogwarts when we had both been sorted into Ravenclaw.
I always wondered why she hadn't been put into Gryffindor or Slytherin. She was way to loud and brave and sneaky to really buckle down and do work. But I couldn't deny that she was a smart girl. Always answering things in class before Hermione Granger had a chance to. She was way to competitive, and that also made her a ruthless chaser on the house Quidditch team.
Mean while I was sitting in the shadows, finishing my work quickly, but never saying anything unless asked. And it wasn't really my fault that I didn't have an athletic or competitive bone in my body… It was just something I was used to by now.
"Well, I just learned that my parents are out of town for the whole week next week. And so, I was thinking that we should throw a seriously awesome party for the end of the summer… Maybe you can finally get to know a guy!" She said to me with a suggestive tone in her voice.
"Oh shut up, I know plenty of guys." I retorted and she snorted at me.
"Really? Like who?" She asked me quickly and I faltered.
"Uh… I umm… There's whatshisface… and thatotherguy… and… Oh whatever! So what if I don't know a lot of guys?" I asked her, getting a bit angry myself. I heard her laugh on the other end of the phone and frowned as I measured a cup of brown sugar.
"That's exactly my point girly. You have to get to get a boyfriend! Seriously! It's our sixth year at Hogwarts. You just have to." She said to me with a laugh in her voice. I sighed.
"So what day and what time do I have to escape?" I asked her with defeat. I knew she wouldn't stop until I had given in. Lulu screamed excitedly and I had to drop everything and hold the phone away from my ear.
"Two Saturdays from now at eight. Don't ask me when it'll end…" She said with a giggle and I rolled my eyes.
"Alright… I'll see what I can work out." I said to her and she squealed again, "Bloody hell! I'm going to go deaf if you keep doing that!" I said to her angrily and she just laughed.
"Sorry girl. Alright, I got to go. See you later babe." She said to me and then hung up. I sighed and hung up as well, then went back to making pastries.
"What did that girl want?" Asked my mother as she came back into the room with a frown on her face. My mother hated Lulu… Mostly because Lulu was so loud and talked about guys so openly and… sometimes what she wanted to do to them.
My mother had made it clear that she didn't have tolerance for rebellion under her roof. She set down a strict set of rules and they were followed no matter what…
"Nothing. She just wanted to know if I could sleep over next Saturday. She said she needed some help on her Charms homework, and since I have mine done, I thought I could help her." I said to my mother calmly as I looked her straight in the eye.
My mother pursed her lips. She didn't know that the situation was probably opposite… She ignored the facts that Lulu was basically an evil genius, and that I didn't even have the proper amount of sleep because I was struggling to finish even a quarter of my summer homework.
"I guess that would be alright. But I want you home before eleven in the morning. I have an important concert that night, and a lot of important people will be there. So I want to appear as a normal family." She said to me and I had to really work hard to hold back a snort.
Our family was anything but normal…
"Fine. I'll be home before eleven…" I replied to her and she nodded sharply then left me to do the cooking alone, again.
~*~
The restless chatter seemed to be coming from a lot more than just one hundred people. They sounded like thousands of angry bees, but maybe it was just my lack of sleep or the high dome ceiling that made me think this.
I stood next to my father, who was next to my mother, who was talking politely with a very old looking man in a fancy suit.
"It really was a divine performance Amelia. Very wonderful." The old man babbled on and praised my mother, who just smiled and nodded and thanked him. There was no real emotion in her face, yet somehow she managed to fool everyone.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and I could feel all of my restless, extremely late nights weighing down on my shoulders. I hadn't had any proper sleep for the last week, and since a week from tomorrow was Lulu's party I felt relieved that I might be getting some actual sleep soon. I was practically counting down the days.
The thought almost made me smile, but my muscles were too tired to move.
I finally couldn't take anymore of the polite, useless exchange of conversation.
"I think I am going to get a drink. Excuse me." I said to the old man and then nodded to my parents. My father nodded back, but my mother looked stern with narrowed eyes. But in my stupor I didn't really notice it, and I walked dreamily over towards the table with the refreshments.
There was always wine and champagne, and always something for me to drink. I saw some pastries I had made early this morning and I casually took one, hoping all that sugar I had put in would help me stay awake for a few more hours.
These events might have been fun if I had someone my age to talk with. But I knew that no teenager in their right mind would ever come to an event like this… One where fancy dresses and suits were required. One where all the people were so uptight because they were all purebloods, and they all required perfect manners to be used. I sighed again and shoved the rest of the pastry into my mouth, not caring who saw.
"Well that was un-lady like." Came a calm but chilling voice from behind me and I turned slowly to look at the tall frame of a widely known boy at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy.
"Mmhmm." I said quietly. I had never been a subject of his hate, or of his well known playboy ways. But I couldn't deny that he was in fact good looking. With his silver and blue flecked eyes, pale skin, bright blonde hair and a perfectly angled face. Not to mention his Quidditch player's body under his well tailored suit.
"Why are you here?" I blurted out the question before I could stop myself. Damn my stupid lack of sleep making me say stupid things… He looked serious for a moment then loosened up.
"My parents insisted on bringing me." Was all he replied with and I nodded then looked back at the refreshment table. "But I might ask you the same question…" He continued slowly.
"My mother is the performer. And I am, as always, obliged to mingle until I am brain dead." I said very seriously and Draco quietly chuckled.
"I see." He said to me and I nodded, taking a glass of champagne from the table and finishing the whole glass off in one gulp. I hated when I slipped up, but I knew that I would be doing this for another two hours at the least, so one tiny drink wouldn't really matter. I put down the empty glass and looked back at Draco, who was looking at me with wide eyes.
"Very un-lady like." He murmured and I just shook my head.
"Just don't tell my mother. She'd bite my head off." I told him seriously and watched as he looked behind his shoulder casually, then back at the table.
"Actually, she already looks like she could… So I don't think I'd have to do anything." He said to me slowly.
I wasn't able to answer because I was suddenly enveloped in a wave of dizziness. I gripped the edge of the table, trying to hold myself upright on my four inch heels. It didn't seem to do much good, and my dress suddenly felt too tight, and I couldn't get enough air into my lungs.
"Are you okay?" I heard Draco's voice from my side, but it sounded like it was underwater. I shook my head slowly and then another wave of vertigo hit me, and I felt my legs give out from under me.
I hit the ground with a thud, and I heard people yelling, but it all seemed to be very far away.
I heard an angry screech and some body yelling. I felt someone trying to lift me up, only to have more angry yelling follow.
Then I was suddenly shocked as cold water hit my face. I gasped and opened eyes, to see my mother's irate face, my fathers pitiful gaze and Draco's bewildered expression.
"Get up! Now!" My mother snapped at me angrily and I felt shame creep into my expression as I shakily pushed myself up. I felt a hand at my back trying to help.
"Don't touch her!" My mother glared daggers and I realized Draco was trying to help me up. But I didn't feel his hand retreat like I had expected it too and once was in a standing position, he let his hand drop slowly, making sure I wouldn't fall again. I looked at my mother again and braced myself.
"Is this your way of trying to get attention? You little brat! All I've asked is that you come and present yourself in a good manner. And you go an make me look like an idiot?!" She screamed at me, and before I could open my mouth to explain, I felt a sharp slap on my cheek. My head swung to the side with the impact and I clutched at the skin, willing the tears not to flow.
"You've disgraced me in front of all of these people. Now say you're sorry!" She said to me and I let my hands fall from my now stinging cheek as I looked at all of the stunned faces in the room.
"I am very sorry for ruining your evening." I said to them in a slow voice that held tears. No one said anything as they all looked at me.
"Good. Now get yourself home, and you'd better believe you are not joining your little friend Saturday night. Now go." My mother glared at me, and without another word, I walked through the crowd of people towards the doors and out into the hallway. But before I could get outside, a voice came from behind me
"Ashlyn? Hey! Ashlyn!" I heard Draco calling after me, but I didn't stop until his hand fell on my upper arm. I turned to look at him and his hand dropped.
"Are… Are you alright? Your mom was…" He began as he looked at me curiously.
"I'm fine." I said to him. By now my cheek was just very hot and I had pulled back the tears that had been in my eyes and I brushed away the few that had spilled over quickly.
"You're sure?" He asked slowly. I looked at him carefully… Was I positive this was Draco Malfoy? The guy that was always hexing unsuspecting students, and the one that all the girls went to too try and get laid? It really didn't seem like it at the moment.
"Yes. It's fine… I was just taken off guard. Nothing like this has ever happened before…" I said slowly and felt myself looking down at the ground. Embarrassed that I was seemingly helpless to the most arrogant guy at school…
"Well, I'm sorry that it happened in front of all those people." He said to me slowly, and I looked at his face which was frowning and confused at the same time. Which I was sure was what mine looked like… This definitely wasn't Draco Malfoy…
"Yeah… Me too… Well I'm just going to go now." I said to him slowly as I turned away from him.
"Wait… Here, take this. It's my address. You know, in case you need someone to talk too." He quickly covered up his statement, and I carefully looked at the piece of paper he was holding out for me to take.
I took it in a shaking hand and looked it over.
Draco L. Malfoy
2467 Rose Avenue
Eastwood Heights
Bristol, England
I went to look back up at Draco, but I only saw his retreating back.
"Hey!" I called after him and he turned slowly to look at me. I held up the paper. "Thanks." I said to him slowly and he nodded, then walked back into the room with dome ceiling and the thousands of angry bees…
~*~
"You're shitting me." Lulu said to me seriously.
"Not at all. He gave me his address and told me that it was for me in case I wanted someone to talk to…" I replied as I looked at the paper in my hand with the surprisingly neat handwriting on it.
"Well what are you going to do with it? I mean… this is Draco Fucking Malfoy we're talking about." She said to me in the same serious voice.
"You know, I don't think that's his middle name… It starts with an L." I replied and she sighed. "Sorry… Um. Well I don't know. I wasn't really going to do anything with it… He probably just gave it to me hoping that I would go over one day for a quick shag…" I replied and she couldn't contain her laughter.
"True enough… Merlin knows I'd lick that boy anywhere he asked me too… But it wouldn't hurt to just write him and see what happens… what's the worst that could happen?" She asked.
"Well… My mom could find it, and I don't even know what she would do to me then… His parents could find it and hunt me down… Or worse, The Dark Lord could hunt me down… Or he could curse my ass into next year for even talking to him… Not to mention it would give him a standard invitation to make fun of me for the rest of my life because I thought he seriously wanted to talk to me…" I listed off the things that could seriously happen.
"Well shit. Since you're basically dead anyway just do it! Come on girl!" She said to me and I suddenly felt myself nodding.
"Alright fine. I'll write him. But I'm officially making you my bodyguard if he insists on getting rid of me." I told her and she laughed a bit, but I was totally serious.
"Whatever you say girly girl. I'll talk to you later! And please try to convince your psycho mom to let you come over. And if she gives you a hard time just tell me. I'll knock that block of a head off her shoulders so fast she won't have time to smack you." Lulu told me sincerely.
"Alright… I'll talk to you later." I sighed and then hung up quickly. I had told Lulu about what had happened that night six days ago at the after party. And she had been absolutely livid and had insisted that she come over to knock some sense into my mother.
But I hadn't told her that things had been getting worse off. My mother now yelled at me constantly, and if I didn't do things fast enough I'd get a good hit somewhere… I had bruises all over my body, but they didn't seem to hurt as much as the pain that ripped through my heart every time I saw my father just walk out of the room when my mother hit me. Almost as if he couldn't see it, therefore it didn't exist.
But I didn't like to focus on my parents anymore. I just counted down the days until school again. School… and freedom.
I put the phone on my bedside table, then got up off of my bed and crossed over to my desk and pulled out a piece of parchment, an envelop, some ink and a quill. Next to my desk sat the large cage that held my owl Rodney. He was a normal barn own, nothing majestic about him, but we got on extremely well. Maybe it was because we were so similar. Except he didn't have a terrible family life…
I dipped my quill into the ink. It was purple… I only ever wrote in purple ink… unless it was asked in school that we used something different. Don't as me why it was only purple… Maybe it was OCD or something like that…
I held the quill over the parchment and sighed.
"Come on… Don't be a baby." I said to myself as I looked at the blank paper. Then suddenly I got an urge of courage out of no where, and began my letter.
Dear Draco…
I'm sorry it took me several days to write… My mother has been on my case non-stop and I barely have any time to escape. It's like a prison here, and she's the warden. Since that night at the after party almost everything about my family has changed… My mom seems to have taken a hostile turn, and I seriously doubt it's menopause, and my father seems to be even more oblivious than he was before. And believe me, I don't know what to do anymore.
Usually I'm the good little girl who does everything for her parents, and never gets into trouble, and is perfectly behaved.(I'm not sure if you knew there were girls like that in the world…). But lately I've felt like there's something missing in my life… Something very important. Or at least, I think it's important, but seeing as I don't really know what it is, I couldn't tell you honestly. I just don't know what to do with myself anymore. And I really don't know what to do with my family anymore.
But I don't want to vent to you because that's awfully unfair to you… what about you? Do you think I'm crazy? Because that's the word I'm seriously thinking about using when describing myself: Hello, My name is Ashlyn Owens, and I'm going crazy. Has a nice ring, doesn't it?
Seriously, how are you? I feel like an idiot asking such a basic question to someone that I hardly know, but at the moment I don't know what else to say… Perhaps I should just stop now… That sounds like a brilliant idea…
Your classmate,
Ashlyn
I felt like an idiot as I read over the letter, but I pushed aside those thoughts as I thought about what Lulu had said… I never would know what would happen unless I tried. So I folded up the letter neatly and put it in the envelope and used my purple into to write the address on it. Then I opened Rodney's cage, gave him the letter and watched as he flew into the night sky, disappearing very quickly out of view.
~*~
"Ashlyn? What is this?" Asked my mother the next afternoon. I looked up from the book I was reading and I saw she was looking at a glistening black owl with an envelop in its beak, with my name in black cursive on the front.
"A letter for me?" I asked slowly a bit surprised.
"I can see that! But from who?" She asked again getting angry.
"I'm not sure…" I lied to her face.
"Open it. And read it out loud." She said to me with narrowed eyes. I took a deep breath and took the letter from the owl's beak as it looked at me silently. With trembling hands I opened the letter and unfolded it, to reveal a page's worth of perfect cursive in black ink.
"Dear Ashlyn," I began slowly,
"I'm sorry that you think you're in a prison. I feel like that too most of the time actually. I think of my father in the same way that you think of your mother. Cold hearted, sometimes ruthless. And while they think that they are doing the right thing, they really aren't. I think that you're a smart enough girl to not listen to them, and I think that you'll be able to hold your head up and stay strong until you get back to school… If there's ever a serious problem you're having with your mom and dad just ask someone for help. It's not considered being a coward if you're saving your own life.
"You're actually very right. I haven't met any girl like that. To be quite honest, you're the first one. And up until now I didn't even really think that there was any other type of girl in the world other than a whiny slut that will do anything to get laid… Sorry for that description, but it's the truth. Which amazingly enough I feel like I can share with you… So maybe I'm crazy as well by your standards… So, hello, My name is Draco Malfoy and I'm going crazy.
"As for not knowing what to do with your family, all I can tell you is to just keep your head up and make it through the day. Don't do anything that will give them a reason to do anything. Just do whatever it is that ensures that you make it through the day. That's how I've lived my life, and it's a good method… Try it.
"It's alright if you want to vent… I might fall asleep a little bit, but… No, I'm just kidding. I'll listen. But I'm not sure how much good I'll do as a therapist… And to answer your question, I'm not sure how I'm doing. My life is too confusing for even me to understand… And I'm right in the middle of it! I fail to see how that works, but that's how I'm doing.
"I hope that I've helped you at least a little bit. Remember to keep your head up. Sincerely, Draco L. Malfoy.
"There. Are you happy?" I asked as I raised my head to look at my mother, only to be met with her hand as she slapped me hard against the face.
"Don't use that tone with me! Mr. Malfoy? Hmm. What's all this about you telling him about me? You insolent little brat! How can you be ungrateful of all the things we've provided for you? This house! Your clothes! And you repay me how? By telling this abysmal boy that we've done you wrong?!" She screamed at me and another hand slapped my face her nails scratching the surface. I winced but didn't do anything as I kept the tears back and let the pain slowly die away.
"You're never to write to him again! Now go to your room. I don't want to see your face again tonight." She yelled at me and I quickly scurried out of the room before she could do anything else.
I ran up to my room and closed and locked the door behind me. I still held the letter in my hand and I looked down at the black cursive words and I felt so angry at Draco fucking Malfoy.
I threw the letters down on the ground and lay on my bed under the blankets, crying on my pillow. What was going on with my life? Sure I didn't like it when I was being dragged around to all of my mother's parties, but that was better than getting smacked around like a rag doll. And stupid Draco Malfoy had to write back to me at the worst possible time. I stopped myself.
I was acting like my mother now as I blamed someone else for my own problems. I realized that I never wanted to be like my mother, and slowly I walked over to my desk and pulled out some new parchment and my quill and purple ink.
"Dear Draco," I began again, saying the words as I wrote them out smoothly.
I just received your letter… and so did my mother. She is seriously getting worse now. And I will try to hold my head up. I've made that decision now. I've decided that I no longer want to be the good girl. I want to be the girl that can take care of herself. So I want to thank you for your advice. You'd make a good therapist, even if you don't think so… I'm going to my friends house tonight because I just can't deal with my mother again. I already have enough bruises, and I know she'll be extremely unhappy that I wrote you again, (she specifically told me not to). I should be alright for the night, maybe get some actual sleep. And tomorrow night there is a party at my friends house. You can come if you'd like… Knowing my friend, everyone will be there… I don't know, whatever you want to do is fine. Here's her address anyway: 133 Churchill drive, London
It should be pretty fun… not that I've ever been to a real party before. But I guess that it's just one step to becoming the new me… Send back your letter to that address as well. No need for my mother to find out about this. I don't even want to know what'll happen when she learns that I'm gone tonight… Take care.
Sincerely,
Ashlyn
~*~
"ASHLYN GET UP NOW! You're NEVER going to believe this!" Screamed my best friend in my ear. I groaned and opened my eyes to look around Lulu's electric blue room. I had been asleep on her plush white carpet, still clad in my jeans and tank top and converse shoes. My head was resting on my bag that I had packed for my stay over.
I had snuck out of the house after I had sent the letter to Draco and after my parents had officially gone to sleep. I thanked my lucky stars that I was a magician when the Knight bus rolled around and picked me up, then brought me to Lulu's house. That's where I climbed through Lulu's window, gave her a heart attack and ended up getting kicked in the chin from her attempt at karate, then fell asleep on her floor before I could get somewhere more comfortable.
"What is your problem?" I asked her with a tired groan.
"My problem is that there is an owl here with a letter for you in fancy handwriting! Get your butt up and read it to me!" She screamed at me again and I found myself a lot more awake as I saw that there was again the midnight colored owl on the window sill. I got up and took the letter from him then opened it quickly, my tiny, blonde haired, green eyed best friend looking over my shoulder.
I held my breath as I opened the letter and smiled on the inside as I began to read.
Dear Ashlyn,
Good for you kid. I hope that woman wasn't too hard on you. But like I said, you sound like the kind of girl smart enough to know what to do. But I still think you should ask for help when you need it. Don't be stupid and think you'll be thought of as a coward. Sounds like a good plan to get away. I hope you make it there in one piece. But if not, I'll be sure to go to your funeral… I'm actually busy tonight, sorry. Sounds like a lot of fun though. So why don't you have some for me? I know that where I'm going there won't be a lot of fun… Good luck with everything kid.
Sincerely,
Draco L. Malfoy
"Bloody hell. Is this really happening?" Lulu asked slowly.
"I really don't know right now…" I sighed. I was a bit put out for some reason that he wasn't coming to the party tonight. But oh well, there would be loads more people, so I couldn't just worry over one.
"Well anyway! Let's get you ready!" Lulu started with a smile and I looked at her like she was crazy.
"Are you serious? What time is it?" I asked looking around for a clock.
"You've been asleep for fourteen hours. We only have two hours left. So come on, let me work my magic." She said to me and I groaned, putting my letter in my overnight bag and then sat down and prepared myself for Lulu's wrath…
An hour later I found myself in the shortest pair of jean shorts I'd ever worn in my life, four inch high, cobalt blue stilettos, with a tight low cut matching blue shirt that showed a bit of my midriff. My hair had been straightened to perfection and smelled delicious. My make up was smoky and sparkly, and it wasn't anything that I would have worn before tonight. Basically, I was my mother's definition of a slut. But I was surprisingly up for it. I didn't feel like a slut. I felt like a new Ashlyn.
"Alright. I'm going to get ready now. Don't do anything to yourself!" Lulu warned me then skipped out of the room to get her own look ready. I rolled my eyes at her and then walked over to my bag carefully on my stilettos and got out Draco's letter. I picked up a quill from Lulu's messy desk and after searching for about five minutes, I found some purple ink and began to write.
Dear Draco,
Who are you calling kid? I would have to think that we are in the same year, aren't we? Well anyway, I won't be stupid, and I'll be sure to ask for help. I promise. Oh gee thanks. It makes me feel better to know that there'll be at least one person at my funeral! But I'm sorry that you can't come, and also that whatever you're doing isn't going to be fun… I know how that is from first hand experience… I'll definitely have fun for you though. I'm testing out the new me tonight. And so far, so good… I just hope it stays like that for the rest of the night…
Sincerely,
Ashlyn
Just as I gave the letter to Draco's owl and let it out the window, the doorbell rang.
"Ash! That's probably the DJ. Just tell him to set up in the living room!" Lulu called to me from her parents room.
"Alright." I called back and walked down her large wooden staircase to the door. I could say that Lulu's family was rich, because their mansion certainly looked like it, but that actually wasn't the case. The house had just been in their family for a long time, so I guess that they didn't have to pay for it… Or something like that…
I opened the door and looked at the faces of two young men. One that I knew from a long time ago and one I didn't.
"Oliver Wood? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" I asked the tall burly brown haired boy who was looking a bit stunned. He didn't say anything and I sighed.
"It's me, Ashlyn Owens?" I asked him and his mouth fell open.
"No way! Little Ash? What happened to you?!" He asked suddenly and I laughed.
"I grew up I guess." I said with a smile that the old Ashlyn never would have given to a guy as good looking as Oliver.
"I'll say. This is my mate Brandon Jefferson. He's the DJ for tonight, and I just thought I'd tag along to see some familiar faces." Oliver gestured to the other older guy who was just as good looking. I held out my hand.
"Nice to meet you." I said to him and then opened the door wider. "Come on in. Lulu's just getting ready and told me to let you set up in the living room." I told them as they followed me into a large room off of the large entryway. "Right over here would be good." I said as I pointed to a corner that was a little out of the way, but still in plain sight.
I watched as they brought in all the equipment from their van, which I wondered how they had gotten. I knew Wood didn't really have any connections to the Muggle world. About the time that they were done setting up and had started playing some songs, Lulu had appeared in a mini skirt, silver stilettos and a black tank top.
"Wood! How are you?" She asked as she hugged him, and I watched as his hands settled rather close to her ass. Actually, they were directly on her ass. My mistake.
"Good, how're you?" He asked her with a smile. The Keg and Liquor are in the kitchen." She said and I froze. I hadn't even though Lulu was like that. But then again I didn't really see her over the summer, and at school I didn't really go to any of the student parties that were thrown. So how could I've known she was a drinker?
"Ash? You want some?" She asked me at the kitchen door.
"Sure. Why not." I sighed finally. I'd have to be open to new things if I wanted to be the new Ashlyn. She beamed at me and went into the kitchen, only to re-appear with two martini glasses filled with red liquid, and two cups of beer. She gave me a martini glass and the other two guys the beer.
"Cheers!" She smiled and held up her glass to tap all of ours. We all repeated her and then took sips of our drinks. I had never had any more than a few sips of wine or champagne, and I'd never though anything special of it. But damn, that was a good apple martini.
Suddenly the door bell rang again and Lulu squealed in excitement and opened the door to reveal some of our friends in the door… Or rather, Lulu's friends. I was a bit of an anti-social at school… Well. The Old Ashlyn was.
The lights were suddenly dimmed and a fast beat was playing as more and more people filed into the house.
Everything seemed to blur around me, and it was almost in less than a second that bodies were cramped around me and everyone was grinding to the music with drinks in their hands. I recognized a lot of faces through the entire night, and before I knew what was happening, my drink was empty.
I wanted to go and find Lulu so she could make me another delicious drink, but I couldn't find her in the sea of sweating grinding bodies, and more than once I was grabbed and had been pulled into dancing for a song or two with a person. Well, it wasn't really dancing so much as heavily grinding up and down on a guy's leg and having him grope my ass. But finally, I had managed to get free of the crowd and sat down on a couch, and saw an open bottle of tequila next to me on the table.
The people I was sitting with were all taking turns with it and they were all laughing and talking with me at the moment.
My mind was already fuzzy enough as I grabbed the bottle and began to take sip after sip until I felt giddy and bubbly inside. I realized deep inside that I didn't know where Lulu was, and as I tried to get up to find her I couldn't stop my giggling on my way up the stairs and down the hallway. But then I found myself in a dark room. And my head was fuzzy, but nothing seemed to matter as I was swallowed up into the darkness.
~*~
I was very cold.
And my head was pounding like a freaking jack hammer.
I groaned loudly and tried to open my eyes, only to be met with sunlight, and that only made my head hurt even more. So instead I used my hands to search my surroundings. I remembered the delicious apple martini and the tequila… and…. Not much… hmm…
My hand was gliding over something soft. Sheets of a bed I assumed. How sweet. Lulu must have found me and put me to bed…
But then I brought my hand back to my side and I froze. My heart rate sped up ten times as fast and I opened my eyes, not caring about the pounding in my head as I sat up quickly and had to stifle a scream.
I was in Lulu's parent's bedroom. On their bed. Under their covers… naked.
"No. Merlin No." I whispered to myself as I looked around the room and saw my shorts on the floor near the door, as well as my shirt. My shoes were in a far corner, and at my feet I could feel a small little lump. Curiously I reached down and came back up with the lacy thong I had been wearing. It was cleanly ripped at the sides and my bra wasn't even in sight.
I made a move to get off the bed and I felt an ache from "down there" and I winced.
"Oh Shit." I growled as I ignored the sensation and grabbed Lulu's mom's bathrobe from the hanger on the bathroom door. I then set out on a mission to find the wrapper of a condom somewhere around the room. I wasn't on the pill because I never thought I'd do something like this… After about ten minutes of searching I came up empty handed.
"Double shit." I muttered and then realized that I was completely alone in the room. The guy who'd done me must have high-tailed it out of the room after figuring out it was me… Only the thing was, that I couldn't remember any guy last night… Or anything for that matter…
"Triple shit." I sighed again and then cautiously walked over to the door that led out to the hallway. I held the robe tighter around my naked body and I put my right hand on the knob, then turned it slowly. It clicked and signaled that it had been locked before and as I walked out into the empty hallway I looked around and saw cups and bottles of alcohol lying everywhere… Not to mention critical articles of clothing… Then suddenly a scream met my ears and my heart stopped.
"Ashlyn Amelia Owens! Where have you been?!" Lulu screeched at me and I turned around and looked at her with wide eyes. She was in a grimy white t-shirt and jean shorts. Plastic cups in one hand and the other hand on her hip firmly.
I opened my mouth and pointed over my shoulder, and then suddenly her eyes widened as she realized what I was wearing.
"Oh no you didn't!" She asked me, slowly and I could only nod. There was no denying the facts. Lulu then dropped the cups and darted at me, hugging me tightly.
"I knew it! Yes! I'm so happy! So who was it?" She gushed over me and I shrugged.
"I don't know… And this isn't good. I don't think that we used protection." I whispered and Lulu suddenly was serious.
"What do you mean? Why were you so stupid!?" She asked me angrily.
"I don't remember doing any of it! I can't remember anything from last night! I'm so confused! Lulu! What do I do?" I asked her frantically and I felt tears. I had never known fear until then.
"You're going to make sure that you aren't pregnant is what you're going to do!" She said to me and then gave me another hug. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure the idiot was smart and used something. You're going to be just fine." She said to me and then sent me off to get dressed while she ran out to get a pregnancy test.
~*~
Two days later I stood in the bathroom looking down at the white pregnancy test.
Waiting….
I had gone home after getting dressed and when I had gotten home I had been met with my mother and her hand of doom. But I didn't do anything back and just ignored her, got everything I needed for the trip to Hogwarts and got back to Lulu's house in one piece. I was amazed that I hadn't cried once since I had woken up the morning after the party. But as I stood in the bathroom I was very close to breaking down into tears.
I looked outside the small window in the bathroom and saw that the sun was shining and there were birds chirping away happily. Across the street I could see two small boys riding tricycles around a driveway, a tired looking woman sitting in the shade with a magazine.
"How's it going in there?" Lulu asked quietly from behind the door.
I sighed and looked back at the pregnancy test and my breathing hitched in my throat as a little pink plus sign shone up at me.
"I'm pregnant." I said firmly and Lulu suddenly burst through the door and embraced me in her arms.
"Oh, lovey. It's okay! I'm so sorry! I never should have given you that martini!" She told me and I just started crying into her shoulder.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. I was just stupid." I said through my tears, trying to re-assure her. But it didn't do much good, and soon we were both just hugging each other and crying. I felt like I was in a bad teen movie about the importance of abstinence.
But this wasn't a movie.
I was really pregnant…
And I had no idea who the father was…
Alrighttt…. So now ya'll know the meaning of my clever title lmao. I felt so god damn special when I thought of it! Hahaha. Butt anywhosies. I know this was a long chapter but that's how they're going to be… cause… well you'll just see as we move along… alllllrigthy then? Good Good!!! Butttt yeahh. Please review. Tell me what you love/hate/like/dislike/are annoyed with/wish had happened/ ANYYYTHING about this new storyy. Imma need encouragement to continue on with this storyy and if you review that's exactly what you'll be doing! =) So please, do a girl a favor and revieww! =P Be good! Peacee out! -Mooch
