Disclaimer: I don't own recess or any of its characters, Disney does, so don't sue.
Dreaming of him
Chapter 1
Ashley A woke with a fright from her sleep. She sat upright in her bed in a cold sweat. She walked to her private bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She saw the clock flashing 1:30 am. She sighed heavily returning to her large bed. She had been having the same dream for quite some time now.
The dream had been waking her from her sleep three sometimes four times a week now for several months. She knew exactly what was spurring on the dream but she was slightly embarrassed about it. She had only discussed it with her mother, not even her closest friends the other Ashley's knew. Of course her mother didn't know all the details as she wanted some semblance of it to stay with just her. She had even left it out of her diary, just in case it was stolen by one of her siblings again; God only knew what Tyler would do with it and its damaging contents or even Britney if she were to get a hold of it again.
She was an Ashley, they never had problems like this, and they had everything they wanted. Unfortunately this wasn't a new cell phone her father could just buy her or an invite to an inclusive party, no this was a boy. It had been subtle at first but then there were two events that cemented it after years of small instances and occurrences that flew under her radar.
First, there was her sweet sixteen. He was probably the most well behaved boy in attendance; the others had been drooling dogs in comparison. Some were eating more food then she had ever seen in her life, others were playing stupid games and causing commotion everywhere she turned; one even had the audacity to plan on melting the ice sculpture with his own bodily fluids, fortunately the security had him out of the club before it happened.
Then there were the others who felt that now that she was sixteen she was on the market, for the first time in her life she felt like a piece of meat. She felt their eyes looking at her ass or her chest as she thanked them for coming or spurned their feeble attempts at romantic advances. Sure she had this normally being one of the most popular and beautiful girls in school, but now it just seemed different. She couldn't really explain it but it just seemed to bother her now.
However he was the exception, he was absolutely nothing like them. Where they had on their dime store formal wear and clip on cartoon ties he came dressed like a gentleman should. A clean suit, shined shoes, and slicked hair. He looked horribly uncomfortable and out of his element but at the same time relaxed and confident. He had taken the time to come and dress and act the way he did, all for her, that's what really got her.
The other Ashley's made a snide remark or two as did she, to keep up appearances, but he shrugged them off as always. He wished her a happy birthday, gave her a wonderful gift and said all the right things. As the night progressed he even shared a dance with her. She remembered at one point during the night she had just finished her punch when the sweaty palmed son of one of her father's associates was beginning to approach her.
He walked proudly from the other end of the room towards her. His sweaty palms continuously being wiped on his expensive suit. His thick glasses had a few stray strands of greasy hair covering them, and a rather obvious chubby that made her cringe the most. She panicked trying to figure out how to get out of it when suddenly he appeared as if he had heard her prayers.
Obviously seeing her in distress and lacking the support of her fellow Ashley's, as they had gone to a see a group of boys near one of the ice sculptures, he swooped in and asked for the next dance. She agreed and was soon floating around the dance floor as her rejected suitor walked away kicking the floor in defeat.
He kept his hands to himself, although she could feel them fidget slightly as they rested on her waist and the small of her back. She had given him a small smile and reassurance that she didn't bite, no matter what he may think. A slight chuckle from both of them galvanized the event as being one of the night's highlights.
They danced across the floor perfectly with civil conversation between the two of them and a now much more confident pair of hands guiding her during the dance. When it was over she had almost lost her breath, but was quickly snapped back into reality as the other Ashley's greeted her and began to bombard her with questions.
The second event had occurred only three weeks later. At this point the dream had started. Instead of a once and a while casual occurrence that it had once been it had now become an annoyance that would periodically wake her out of her sleep. She, as an Ashley did, was involved in a charity event at the country club.
A Dance-a-thon was being held to raise money for one of the many charities that Mr. Third was involved with. She enjoyed the work and giving to charity, she never really understood why but it had become one of her defining characteristics as she became the young women that she was meant to be. Long gone were the days of the infamous thanksgiving can drives of elementary school where she and the other Ashley's would have their parents to buy the cans of food to donate simply to dominate and not to help those around them as the event was meant to.
The incident in fourth grade changed their view on charity. The other Ashley's weren't as into it as she was but they were still supporters of it. She was all set that night to dance for the next 24 hours, but tragedy struck as her partner, some boy that she could have cared less about, had broken his ankle. The idiot and some friends had crashed a golf cart on the courses 12th hole. Apparently a drink girl with a rather short skirt had bent over for a dropped dollar bill and the boys couldn't avoid the holes water hazard. The aftermath was that she was left without a partner and was soon panicking, another thing that Ashley's weren't meant to do.
Just as things looked their worse he came to her rescue. His partner had been sidelined as well so they decided to dance together. He had once again ridden in as her knight in shining armor to save her, although she never really needed a knight she was a very independent girl now. His hands were a little calmer this time, but their touch was just as soothing as it had been three weeks ago.
They danced for the entire 24 hours and actually won. She had been skeptical they could do it as she had fallen asleep twice, only to be woken up in his arms. He held her tight and was caring her around like a doll with her feet on his and her arms wrapped around him. The first time she woke up he didn't seem to mind, or the second time but she was quite embarrassed the second time around. Her blush only elicited a slight chuckle from him and a resounding smile from her.
At the end of everything the two had their picture plastered across the society section for the paper, not the best picture as being up for more then a day had taken its toll. He had huge sweat stains under his arms and a slight greasy film starting to form in his hair. She had bags forming under her eyes and hair that was messy; and that was being nice, despite all of this though that very picture sat in a frame on her shelf.
Ashley A sighed as she pulled her comforter over her neck and tried to once again sleep. He had been running through her dreams and she had no idea how to stop it, not that she wanted it to stop she just wanted it to stop interfering with her sleep. He was a great guy and by no stretch of the imagination was he out of her league.
He was near the top of their class right alongside her and the other Ashley's in both social status and grades, although they may have been airheads when they were younger they were always quite intelligent it just hadn't occurred to them to apply their unique brand of thinking to school as they had began to as of late.
Both of them were very similar to their old selves and yet were so different. Long gone were the good old days of Third Street School where they would lead their respective groups in that days issue of playground importance. Carefully dodging the watchful eyes of Miss. Finster and watching Randal fumble around trying to get the dirt that would give him the attention from Miss. Finster that he so desperately craved.
During those days she was the ruler of the Ashley's. They had their make up, dresses and sense of entitlement to drive their lives. However those things eventually took a slight back seat as they began to sculpt their lives into more then what they had originally believed to be everything.
Sure she still cared about all of that stuff, but she had grown as person as well. She had a drive in charity that she shared with her mother. She had also found that she was quite an athlete which was something the Ashley A of old would never have even considered. She was captain of the cheerleading squad, as well as the soccer team.
She also played on the basketball team and had helped lead them to two consecutive all city championships and a state finale. In the classroom her leadership skills and intelligence put her at the top of her class right beside her fellow Ashley's, and him. She was everything she was supposed to be and even more, she already had college brochures strewn about her room; her fathers doing.
During those old days he was the leader of a far more ragtag group of people. He would clash with the Ashley's on numerous occasions and somehow win out with his charm and outside the box thinking. He was the scruffy boy whose kind her mother had always warned her about; not because he would be a bad influence but because those were the boys that she would not be able to control and would eventually worm their way into her heart.
He was a school celebrity loved by everyone as the schoolyard who cheered for his arrival everyday. He was the King in the sixth grade, much to the cringe of all the Ashley's and ruled with a demeanor that was neither authoritarian nor soft. He became a star athlete, winning state titles in basketball, football, and baseball alongside his old friend Vince.
He soared to the top of the class along with her as well. His friendship with Grundler had helped him to relieve his intelligence would be well suited to the classroom as well as the outside world; and with this the top of the class was a place he felt relaxed in. He was everything that was expected of him and he wore it so well.
He had even gotten a part time job working for Mr. Third. No one really knew what he did for him, but it helped him tremendously. Many people knew that he had some political aspirations and a good relationship with Mr. Third and his family was most likely only a piece of the foundations for his future.
She adjusted her digital thermostat with the remote and gave a final sigh and closed her eyes letting the cool air that poured into the room lull her back to sleep so that she could be rested for the days coming activities. Her eyes soon shut and dreams of him filled her head and goofy smile to match her feeling grew on her face. She had finally made a decision, he would be hers. Tomorrow when she awoke she would begin showing her interest in him. She would flirt, blush, and do any and everything she needed to do; T.J. Detweiler would be hers.