First chapter of my Spashley fan-fiction, Love Story. I don't own any of the characters. It has some parts and lines from the show. In Ashley's POV.
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Another fight with my mom was how I started my day.
"Seriously Ashley. School started three days ago. You are going today."
"I'm not going, Christine."
"Yes you are! I'm your mother and I say you are going."
"Only if I get to take the Porsche."
"Fine."
After getting dressed, I got in the car and went to Starbucks. Nothing calmed me down more than a caramel cappuccino.
The school looked the same as last year. Same kids (except for last year's seniors), same teachers, same classes. Wait, scratch that first one. There's three new kids. Two boys and a very pretty girl. Who are they? Oh great. Aiden. And what's even worse is that Madison is attached to him. Sick. I knew this was a bad idea. Christine owes me. Big.
Just what I needed. My locker wouldn't open. Just when I was getting a little calm. Great, the new girl.
"Do you want something," I said through clenched teeth.
"Do you know where Science lab 3 is?"
Sure, now my locker opens. And of course, the books have to fall everywhere.
"Yes."
She tries to help and I end up spilling my cappuccino.
"Damn!"
"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."
"Who cares what you meant. Do you always have to claim disaster everywhere you go?"
I didn't mean to snap but my day was pretty much sucking. It's the only way I know how to release it. I'll make it up to her later.
"What is your problem? I'm trying to find my way around here."
"Then get help from somebody else."
Okay, I really have to make it up to her. But right now, I need to make it through the rest of the day.
I saw the new girl walk into the gym. I'll wait a couple of minutes before going to talk to her. Oh right, Aiden. I forgot he was on the basketball team. Hey, so is one of the new boys. She must be waiting for new boy then. Well, time to move.
"So, you a basketball fan or do you just like watching guys pat each other on the ass?"
"Question. Are you on meds?"
Funny.
"Actually no."
"So you are crazy."
"They think I am. Gives them reason to justify my behavior. But no I'm not. Are you?"
"No."
"Then what are you doing in here?"
Please say for new boy and that he's your brother.
"Brother."
Good work Ashley.
"Cute. Haven't seen him around."
"Yeah we just moved here."
Two in one day.
"For his sake, I hope he isn't too good."
"What do you mean?"
"Meaning the basketball star ie Aiden. He can't be the star if another star, that being your brother, takes his place. Which means the cheerleader Madison can't be the queen of King High."
"I get it, I get it."
"At King High, it's all about being somebody."
"And who are you?"
I'll use my sense of humor a bit.
"Today I haven't really decided yet. Ashley Davies."
I stuck my hand out and she shook it.
"Spencer Carlin. Nice to meet this version of you."
I thought that would be coming up soon.
"Yeah, sorry about this morning. I got in a fight with my mom because I haven't been going to school the past three days."
A concerned look appeared on her face. I need some water. As I leaned forward, I saw her head look at my tattoo.
"You like?"
She looked down at her feet.
"I thought they were illegal for minors."
"Everything cool is."
I couldn't get the smile off my face. What is with me? This morning, I wanted to go home and never come back. And now I never wanted to leave school. Is it Spencer? Well, I guess I'll just have to test it.
"Hey! I'll get her home."
New boy nodded his head. Thank you. Now I can test this.
"Come on."
Confusion filled her eyes. I gave her a "don't worry, you'll be fine" smile. She shook her head and grabbed my hand.
I decided to take Spencer back to my house.
"Wow, you live here?"
"Just me, mom, and number 4."
We went into my bedroom and watched some TV. After talking about someone over dosing, I had to dig deeper.
"So do you have a boy back home?"
"Um, no one special."
Okay, that didn't get me far.
"You?"
"No."
I was just about to say, "boys aren't my thing", but that might make her uncomfortable.
"Aiden's cute."
"Aiden?! You've so dropped in cool points."
I fell back on my pillows. Spencer scoffed at me.
"Well what kind of guys do you like then?"
No kind. Still too soon.
"The bad boy? The skater? Oh wait no, you like tortured poets!"
I covered my face with my monkey to hide myself from blushing.
"That's it! Come on."
"No, they all suck. They all think hello means put your arms all over me and stuff."
"No, it's the kiss. I so hate the kiss. They try to suffocate you with their tongue."
We went on talking about how much guys suck. She laid down first and then I followed. My hand fell on top of her hand which means awkward moment. I saw her eyes look over at a picture of me and my ex girlfriend. Which made it even more awkward.
The next day, I hadn't seen Spencer at all. She must be avoiding me. Great, when I finally find her, she's talking to cheerbitch and Aiden. Oh well, I was going to have to face them some time.
"Hey. Where've you been all day?"
"We do have that thing called school."
"Please. Not here."
I saw I was getting on Madison's nerves. That's a good feeling actually.
"Spencer, be careful who you hook up with."
"Oh Madison! It's so good to see you again."
I could see Aiden looking at me from the corner of my eye.
"Still going after girls, Ashley?"
I put my fist up and was about to hit her, but Aiden pushed me back.
"We don't need any fighting. How are you Ashley?"
I was surprised he talked to me. We kind of left on a bad note last year.
"I'm good. How are you?"
"He's fine."
"Last time I checked, Aiden could speak for himself."
I was so into the fight, I didn't even notice that Spencer had walked away. I hit myself in the head with my palm.
"You better run off and find your girlfriend."
"Shut up Madison. She's just my friend."
I didn't even let Madison respond. Finding Spencer was first on my list, then I would fight with Madison later. I looked around every corner and in every window. I saw her brother.
"Hey. Do you know where your sister is?"
"Um, no. She's probably in the bathroom."
"Okay, thanks."
I ran to the bathroom and saw Spencer standing in front of the mirror.
"I freaked you out didn't I?"
"A little."
"Sorry. My therapist thinks it's because I like to be different. I just think it's because I like to freak people out."
"Well you do a good job at it."
"Thanks. Are you okay?"
She was staring down into the sink. I tilted my head so I could get a better look at her face. She wasn't crying. Good.
"I don't know."
I wanted to hug her. That would probably make her run away again. Maybe just standing next to her? I gave it a shot. She didn't move.
"Listen, I'm sorry. I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"
This time she looked up at me. Her blue eyes were blurred by tears. A shot of pain happened in my heart.
"Nothing important. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"No matter what happens, can we always be friends?"
"Always and forever."
She finally smiled.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
At that very moment, I started to love Spencer Carlin. And guess who came to ruin our conversation? Queen cheerbitch.
"So you found her?"
"Actually I haven't. Have you seen her anywhere? Oh, Spencer, there you are."
Spencer let out a tiny laugh. Madison was giving me another dirty look. All I could do was smile.
"Funny. Well do you mind taking your lesbian love fest somewhere else? I need to freshen up."
"We're not a couple. I told you we're just friends."
"Yeah, and I'm a saint."
Okay, I couldn't argue with that. But we're not a couple. Just friends. For now.
"Let's just go, Ash."
"Whatever."
"Bye. Oh Spencer."
"Yeah?"
"Practice at 4. Be there."
"Okay."
Wait. Spencer is a cheerleader? Great. My only friend here is a mini Madison. Just what I needed.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Um, why don't you just stay and watch? Then we can go to the beach after."
"Yeah right. Me watching cheerleading practice? You have a lot to learn, Spence."
"Fine. Then just come pick me up after."
"Alright. What time?"
"4:30. But we're still going to the beach."
"Sounds like a plan. See you then."
"Bye."
"Later."
While I waited for Spencer to get done with practice, I headed back to my house. I picked out two swimsuits (one for me and one for Spencer). What's going on with you lately, Ash? Spencer is clearly wanting Aiden, so why are you doing this? Good question. Why am I trying to make this girl to like me when she's obviously crushing on my ex?
"How was school?"
Not Christine or number 4. Is it really him?
"Daddy?"
"Hey angel!"
I ran over and hugged my father. I haven't seen him for five months. Well, I've seen him on TV but that's basically it.
"Why are you here?"
"Well, I'm off for a couple months. So I thought I'd come see my daughter."
"Wait. Your off for MONTHS?"
"Yep. Shocking isn't it?"
Shocking? More like mind blowing. The longest my dad has ever been off was 2 weeks. This was the first time I've ever heard him say the word "months".
"I'm glad you're here daddy."
"Me too. Do you want to go roam the town?"
"Oh I wish but I have plans with my friend."
"You have a friend at school?"
"Yeah. Her name's Spencer."
My dad put his hands on my face.
"I'm happy you have a friend, Ash."
"So your not mad I'm skipping out on you?"
"Of course not. If you want to see me later, I'll be at the beach house."
I forgot he had a beach house here. Maybe I could take Spencer to meet him. It's kind of early for that though. I'll just ask her later.
"I really have to go dad. I'll come by later."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you too."
Why did Spencer have to bring me in the locker room? Madison and the minions could easily get me pissed off right now.
"Spence, can you hurry?"
"What's the rush? It's not like the beach is going to run away."
Yeah but my dad will. I couldn't say that out loud. I don't need cheerbitch's insults. My dad is finally around longer than 2 weeks and I'm not going to be in a bad mood.
"I know that, but there's someone I want to go see."
"And who's that? Your other girlfriend?"
"Not now Madison."
"What? You don't have a comeback?"
"I'll give you one in a few months. I just need to be calm right now."
"So your girlfriend won't run off again?"
"No. So my father won't up and leave like he did last time!"
Madison's face went from pleased to concerned.
"I'm sorry, Ash. I didn't know."
"Yeah, you didn't. Maybe you should think next time. And don't call me Ash ever again. It's Ashley to you."
Spencer walked out of the stall. I grabbed her hand and pulled her all the way to the Porsche.
"Ash, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. Just get in."
"Not until you tell me."
"Fine. My rock star father is in town for a couple months. I haven't seen him in a long time and the last thing I needed was some of Madison's bull crap."
"If your dad's around, why are you with me? Shouldn't you be spending time with him?"
"I just wanted to spend time with my friend."
"I don't want to be the cause of you not spending time with your dad."
"But I want to be with you. Hey I have an idea."
"What?"
"Why don't you come meet my dad."
"Sure."
Go away smile. She's getting uncomfortable. Go away. It's official, you like her. Now how do I keep my feelings chained down? This is going to be really hard. Okay, I'll figure this out later. Right now I have to go spend time with dad.
"Then I look over, and I see Ashley in a shirt and underwear dancing to the song."
Great, she's not even my girlfriend and he's already embarrassing me.
"That's still my favorite song."
"Why don't you sing it for Spencer, Ash?"
"I don't know. I'm not nearly as good as you."
Spencer grabbed my knee and squeezed it. Why did she have to do that? Right, focus on daddy.
"Come on, Ash. It's just me and your dad."
"Fine. Here it goes."
I took in a deep breath and then dad stopped me.
"WAIT! Let me get my guitar."
He ran into his bedroom and came back with a Gibson acoustic. My favorite guitar.
"Can I go now?"
"Yep."
Dad started strumming. I took another deep breath, looked over at Spencer (who was still holding my knee), then started singing.
You spend your life searching
Waiting in line
I know your holding on
To what you can't find
When the light is fading
And it's hard to see
I hope you know your still a part of me
So hold on…
Hold on to me
Hold on
Hold on to me…
Spencer squeezed my knee again. I looked over at her and she had a huge smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile, too. My feelings started rising again, but I pushed them back down.
"That was beautiful, Ash."
"Thanks."
"See, your just as good as me. I bet you could get a record deal in the future."
My dad has always known I wanted to be like him. There is no way I'm going to live like my mom.
"Thanks, daddy."
"No problem. Did you know I'm writing a song about you?"
"No. What's it called?"
"Daddy's little angel."
He's been calling me that ever since I was born. Because of me, he stopped drinking so much and cut off drugs completely. I saved him, just like an angel.
"Can you play some of it?"
"Of course."
He started to strum softly. Spencer was still holding on to my knee, but I was getting used to it. I put my hand on her knee and shockingly, she didn't move it. My dad started singing.
I'm giving you away
But I'm not letting go
The memories, they flood my mind
Of the little girl I know
Once upon a time
You held my hand so tight
You'd close your eyes and say a prayer
Then I'd kiss your head goodnight
As we dance I keep our love deep within my heart
And thank God for giving me this angel in my arms…
You're my little angel
So baby don't you cry
It's time to spread your wings and fly
If there's one thing this father knows
The hardest part is letting go
But you will still always be…
Daddy's little angel
It seems like yesterday
Has come and gone so fast
Now my baby's all grown up
But the memories will last
It's hard to say goodbye
When you've always been so near
But for now I'll hold you tight
Like those times that I hold dear
When you were young, I used to laugh
At the funny things you'd say
Right now I just can't help but smile…
On this blessed day
I tried to hold back the tears but failed.
"Daddy, that was amazing."
"Thank you sweetie."
"Wow, Mr. Davies. That was wonderful."
"Thank you, Spencer. Oh, and call me Raife."
"You got it."
"Is that going on your new album?"
"Yes, but it's not done yet."
"Don't change it. I like it how it is now."
"Okay. I love you Ash."
"I love you too."
Spencer finally removed her hand from my knee. Sunset was just starting. We have to go to the beach NOW!!
"Hey, you want to go chill on the beach?"
"Sure."
"Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow dad."
"Okay, angel."
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
Spencer and I were laying down on the sand. The sun was half way down by now.
"I think… I like girls."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
I don't get this. She thinks Aiden's cute, yet she likes girls?
"Earth to Ash."
"Sorry. I just need some time to absorb all this."
Okay, let's go over the last couple days. I see Spencer, yell at her, introduce myself, take her around LA, take her back to my house, she tells me she thinks Aiden is cute, we discuss how boys suck, I freak her out, I get in a fight with Madison, she runs off, I make a promise, my dad tells me he's going to be around a while, I take her to meet him, she puts her hand on my knee, she doesn't move when I put my hand on hers', she makes me sing my dad's song, my dad tells her she can call him Raife, and then she tells me she likes girls. All that in two days.
"Well?"
"Well what? It's not that big of a deal."
"Um, yeah it is. This is the most personal thing in my life. I'd like some advice please."
"Fine. Dating a girl is just like dating a guy. They can cheat on you or dump you for the pretty cheerleader. But they actually listen instead of going on about themselves, and your wardrobe increases."
"Anything else?"
"Yes. The worst part. Some of your friends, family, and even people you don't know will hate you."
"Okay, it's hard enough to get people to like me. Screw it, I'm not going to be gay."
"It's not a decision. Either you are or your not."
"I just want to be normal."
"Whatever people consider normal, it never is."
"I better get home. My mom's probably wondering where I am."
"Have you told her that we're friends yet?"
"Yes and that's why I need to go. She thinks you're a bad influence on me."
So Madison told the brother. Great. She has to ruin everything that involves me. Not the person I should be thinking about. Right now, I need to take Spencer home then go to Gray.
When did Aiden start hanging out at Gray? He's never really liked this bar. I bet his girlfriend dragged him here. Well, I should try to talk to him. It's been a year.
"Hey Aiden."
"Hey Ash. Still coming here?"
"Yeah. Why are you here?"
"Madison brought me. She wanted me to dance with her but…"
"Dancing not your thing."
"Yeah. So what's new?"
"Um, my dad is in town for a couple months."
"Months?!"
"Shocked me too."
"That's great Ashley!"
"I guess. I took Spencer to meet him earlier."
"Cool. So do you think he liked her?"
"I think so. I mean, he's letting her call him Raife."
"Wow. He wouldn't even let me call him that."
Wait. I'm having a normal conversation with Aiden Dennison. Someone pinch me because I think I'm dreaming.
"So do you like her?"
"Spencer?"
"Yeah."
Ugh, he knows me too well. We haven't talked in a year and he can still read me like a book.
"I'm not quite sure. Every time I see her, my heart floats. What would you call that?"
"I'd call that love, my friend."
"Damn it."
"Is that bad?"
"Yes. She likes this guy but she told me she's gay."
"All I can say is hold back your feelings and just be her friend."
"Yeah but what if I can't control them after a while?"
"Then she's just going to have to find out."
"But I don't want her to."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly. You do want her to find out."
"Okay you caught me, detective Dennison."
"So are you going to tell her or do it the hard way?"
"Their both hard. If I tell her, she won't talk to me. And if she finds out, she'll be mad."
"Why?"
"Because she told me her most personal thing ever, and then I keep mine away from her. It's not fair. What am I going to do?"
"Tell her. If she's truly a friend, she'll understand."
"And if she runs off again?"
"Then give her time."
"Okay."
"So go tell her."
"Thanks Aiden. I'll see you tomorrow at school?"
"Of course. It's nice talking to you again, Ash."
"Ditto."
I parked the Porsche outside of Spencer's house. I could see her brother and mom yelling at someone. Maybe this is a bad time. So go tell her. I know he meant right away, but her family's obviously fighting right now. Wait, there's Spencer walking away from the yelling. Were they screaming at her? Was it about me? I'll just call her.
"Hello?"
Oh great, she's crying.
"Hey Spence. It's Ash."
"What's up?"
"I should be asking you that."
"I'm fine. My mom and stupid brother were just yelling at me for coming home late."
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault. So why did you call?"
Okay, here it goes. Deep breath. Go.
"I need to tell you something."
"Alright, shoot."
Another deep breath. 3, 2, 1.
"I think I…"
"You what?"
"I think I like you."
"As a friend?"
"No. More than a friend."
Silence flooded the gap between us. Say something. Anything.
"I have to go."
"I knew this was going to happen. Don't hang up yet."
"Fine. What else is there?"
"I just want to talk this through with you."
"Okay. How long have you known?"
"Well, I was just at the bar, Gray, when I ran into Aiden. We got talking and that's when I knew."
More silence. I could hear her roll off her bed and close the door.
"So you didn't know earlier when we were with your dad?"
"I kind of knew then but I wasn't quite sure."
Silence came again. I heard her crawl back onto her bed. Then she let out a sigh.
"You know I kind of like Aiden right?"
"Yeah."
Here it comes. The rejection speech. I had it a couple of times with girls I liked. It's always, "I want to try it with a boy before I try it with a girl."
"Well, I want to try this relationship thing with you but I know if we did, the feelings for Aiden would still be there. And that wouldn't be fair to you."
"So are you saying you like me too?"
"A little. But I'm not ready for anything."
"Okay. I can wait."
"Night Ash."
"Night Spence. See you tomorrow."
I heard a small laugh before she hung up. What she told me wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but it'll do for now. I drove out of the driveway and went home.
Spencer acted like we never had that conversation last night. I think it's because Aiden was around us.
"Aiden! Your supposed to be having lunch with us."
"Sorry, Mad. I'm going to eat with my friends today."
"Your friends?"
"Yeah."
Fury filled in Madison's eyes. I couldn't hold back my snickering. Spencer kicked me in the shin. Now I was laughing out loud.
"What's so funny queer eye?"
"Nothing. Just thinking how sexy that top is."
Of course I was being sarcastic.
"You better not hit on me again."
"Not if you were that last Barbie on earth."
"Spencer, practice from 4 to 5. Don't be late."
"Okay."
The cheerbitch turned around and walked back to her mini-me's. All three of us started laughing in unison.