So, this was a bit of an extreme delay in updates and I apologize to those of you who read the first chapter, but I have had several stressors lately and finally found the inspiration to write. I hope you like this, it may seem a little slow but I don't want to rush the relationship and maybe create just a little bit more suspense about what exactly happened to our favorite blonde. Read and Review if you are so inclined
I own nothing despite my best efforts
Spencer enters the gym and goes to take a seat in the bleachers, pulling out a notepad to write her English assignment. As she sits down she catches Glen's eye and she sees his shoulders relax before sinking a three-pointer. She looks down at her paper, willing some inspiration to come to her. Writing used to be so easy for her. She had notebooks upon notebooks full of poems, short stories and even a song or two. But lately the writer's block was impenetrable. She had been hoping this only applied to personal writing, being unable to pound out a one page assignment is kind of embarrassing.
Ashley stands in the hallway feeling like a creeper. She followed the blonde to the gym and continued to watch as she stared blankly at her notebook, pen hanging loosely in her hand. She felt torn. She wanted to go in and talk to the skittish girl, to try and earn a smile with her charm, but she could sense that their interaction would probably not go her way. She also had a personal rule about being in the building any longer than she had to. So with one last glance she turned and left.
As the brunette pulled out of the lot in her black Porsche her phone went off. She glanced at the ID and smiled, "Hello lover, what's up?"
"Crystal and Josh have made up so I thought we should take this golden opportunity to actually practice," came the response.
Ashley smiled widely and performed a highly illegal u-turn, "I will be there in fifteen."
The brunette entered the bar and headed straight for the back.
"Ashley Davies, is it too much to ask for a hey, how you doing?"
Ashley turned around, "Hey Jamie, how you doing?"
The older woman smirked, "I let you use my back room for band practice and this is the attitude I get?"
"You know I appreciate all that you have done for us, but there is no guarantee practice is going to last so I want to get back there as soon as possible."
"Josh and Crystal made up?" Jamie questioned.
"Yeah, but I think it was like an hour ago so the clock is ticking before the next fight."
"Fine, go, be a rock star."
Ashley smiled one last time before entering the back of Gray's. She was greeted by her band mates briefly before they went back to setting up. She sauntered over to her guitar case and stroked it lovingly. For all the things she could care less about, music was the one thing that truly meant something to her. She started this band nearly a year ago now, and honestly believed that they had a shot at doing something more than local venues. They were a long ways from being great, but she saw the potential, and she at least had the drive to see this through.
"Bout time you showed up," a blonde-haired boy teased as he approached.
"Shut up Logan. I am pretty sure I will be getting at least three tickets in the mail for running red lights." She went up to the mic and closed her eyes, imagining she was standing in a packed stadium. When the picture was placed firmly in her mind she struck the first chord.
Glen jogged up to sit next to his sister, sweat still dripping down his body. "Wow, you sure were productive," he teased.
She looked down guiltily at her paper, the only thing written on it the title of the assignment, "Yeah, well, how can anyone think with all the noise in here."
He smirked and ruffled up her hair, "Clay should be here soon, then I'll shower and we can get home for some food, I am starving."
"You're always starving."
"It happens when you're a stud on and off the court," he shrugged.
She rolled her eyes at her brother, "You're ego is the only thing bigger than your stomach."
As Glen opened his mouth for a witty comeback the door to the gym opened and the last Carlin child entered. Clay was grinning from ear to ear and the twins looked at each other with eyebrows raised. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"I know that look," Spencer said with a slight smile. "That's the 'I met a hot girl' smile."
While Glen was nodding his head in agreement Clay shot both of them a look, but failed to wipe the smile from his face, "I can't be smiling because I had a good first day? You two are so obsessed with girls that you are projecting your hopes onto me."
The twins looked at each other, "He definitely met a girl," they said in unison.
"Maybe I did," he conceded, "but I am not going to introduce her to you guys. You will just scare her off and don't pretend you wouldn't." Neither blonde argues with this.
"I am going to hit the showers, I will be back out in a couple of minutes," Glen says while jumping off the bleachers.
"Be careful Glen, you are going to break something and blow your only chance at college!" Spencer called after him, but he just waved her off.
It was Clay's turn to sit next to his sister, "So how was your first day?"
"Fine. This school is a lot bigger than back home, but I will manage."
Clay surveyed his sister a minute before talking again, "Yeah, definitely bigger. But I like the classes. There are a lot more opportunities for AP classes here."
"Figures the thing that you would be excited about is classes," Spencer shakes her head.
"You and Glen can mock me all you want; I will be laughing the whole time I write to you from Yale."
It wasn't much longer before Glen came back and the three made their way to their new home.
The children entered the Carlin home and were immediately greeted by their parents. Spencer tried not to roll her eyes at their waiting by the door. They both were all smiles and gave each child a brief hug asking how the first day went. Spencer gave short answers while her brothers took up the task of telling their parents what King High was like. The family made their way into the dining room where a spaghetti feast was waiting for them.
"Smells great Dad," Spencer said with a slight smile.
"Thought it was the perfect thing to celebrate a good first day," Arthur told them as they took their respected seats.
Glen looked at his Dad, "What if we had come home and said today sucked?"
"That is the beauty of spaghetti; it is both a celebration and comfort food." The clan shared a short laugh before joining hands and saying grace and digging in.
Spencer woke up from her own scream in a cold sweat. She took a calming breath and reached for the water next to her bed. She glances at the clock noting it is 3 a.m. and gives a sigh, feeling guilty that her restless nights have to affect her whole family. They don't come to check on her anymore nor do they ask about it in the morning, but it isn't because they quit waking up. She returns her cup and rolls over, hoping tonight is one of those precious nights she can fall back asleep.
Sunlight streams through the giant bay window, causing Ashley to roll over and bury deeper into the covers. Morning is not her thing, but before she can drift back to sleep something kind of hard lands on her head. She whips off her sheet and glares at her door, where her sister is standing smiling innocently.
"Oh good you're up, I was hoping you could give me a ride to school today, Aiden had to be there early."
Ashley looks at her sister in disbelief, "You woke me up, by throwing something at me, just to solicit a ride?"
"I threw a slipped at you in case you were wondering. And you are my big sister, it's what you are supposed to do," Kyla replied sweetly, stepping to the side so the slipper sailed past her.
Ashley flopped back down on the bed, "Fine, but you are buying me coffee."
"I already have exact change out. Be ready in thirty minutes."
Ashley enters King High on time and decides to make Mrs. Snyder aware of this. As she makes her way to the main office, double mocha in hand, she is sidetracked by the entrance of a certain blonde. She immediately changes direction and greets the girl with a smile.
"So you survived and are ready for round two I see."
Spencer looked up surprised, "Yeah."
Ashley could feel an awkward silence coming on and racked her brain for anything to say, "Why don't I take you to English, I know you want to get a seat next to Chelsea again."
Spencer smiled slightly and nodded her head, "Ok, thanks, I'm not sure I could find the room in time. I need to stop by my locker first though."
"No problem. Mrs. Griffith will have a heart attack seeing me in class before the bell rings, which should provide me with enough entertainment to last the day."
Spencer didn't say any more, just headed towards where she thought her locker was, sure that Ashley would follow. The brunette quickly caught up to walk next to the new student, "You don't talk much, do you?"
Spencer blushed slightly, "Not so much, no."
Ashley looked at the girl next to her, trying to figure out what was going on beneath the surface. She noticed the girl looked absolutely exhausted, and the makeup didn't quite cover up the dark circles under her eyes. She held out her mocha, "It has magical powers that will help you wake up. And make you feel better in general."
Spencer looked at the drink for a second and looked like she wanted to say yes, "Thanks, but I'm good."
"You sure, I promise I don't have cooties if that's what you are worried about."
Spencer shook her head and stopped in front of her locker, "I'm good."
Ashley let it go and took a drink herself. She was slightly miffed that the girl didn't take her offer; sharing coffee isn't something Ashley does very often.
The day goes by much the same as the day before for Spencer. Dull classes she can't quite get herself to truly invest in. Her brothers finding her between most classes to make sure that she is doing ok. And a certain brunette popping up a third of the time blatantly flirting with her. Spencer wishes that Ashley would stop. She can't deal with that right now. So for the day she ignored Ashley when she could and was polite and brief when she couldn't. 'Basically I treat her just like everyone else,' Spencer thought to herself wryly at one point. But it didn't seem to deter her admirer, which bothered her even more.
In Psych that day Ashley had saved the blonde a seat yet again, "So, what kind of music do you like?"
Spencer looked at her apprehensively, "I like most music."
Ashley rolls her eyes, "Everyone says that. Seriously, what kind of music do you like?"
"I guess most of the stuff I have would be classified in the pop/rock or alternative rock group. I like Country and Rap less than other types."
Ashley flashes a nose-crinkling smile, "Perfect! See, I happen to be in this pretty kick-ass band that happens to fall into your preferred music category. It also happens that we are performing this weekend at Gray's, you should come. I could probably even get you on the list so you don't have to pay cover."
Spencer shakes her head no vigorously, "I can't."
"Come on, I'm sure you get good enough grades your parents wouldn't mind if you went to a concert. And Gray's is open to all ages because it is geared towards the high schoolers. So come on, come see me and my band."
"I really can't," Spencer says a little more forcefully.
"Why not?" Ashley demanded. She couldn't understand what this girl's problem was; it isn't like she asked her out on a date.
"I don't like being around so many people," Spencer said stiffly.
Ashley nodded her head and turned to the front of the class. They didn't talk again. When the bell rang Ashley just left, not liking the feeling of rejection. Why else would Spencer give such a lame excuse than she was trying to blow Ashley off? Before reaching her locker she passed who she recognized as Spencer's twin.
"Glen, right?"
The blonde boy turned around, "Yeah?" He spots Ashley and smiles, eyeing her up slightly, "What's up?"
"I was wondering….I was wondering if you and your brother and sister would be interested in a little concert this weekend. My band is playing at Gray's and I could probably get you guys in cover-free."
His smile grew, "That would be sweet! I am definitely in, and Clay will probably come. Spencer," his smile falters, "she'll probably stay home and study or something. I know she wants to keep herself from falling behind in any classes since we just moved here."
Ashley nodded her head, "Ok, guess I will see you two there then." She turned and left, going over what just happened. Maybe Spencer wasn't blowing her off; maybe she really didn't like crowds. It's not like she had the chance to tell her brother to say what he did. Shaking her head clear she climbed into her Porsche and headed to Gray's for practice. When she enters she notices that Jamie is in her office yelling at someone, so stealthily sneaks behind the bar for a bottle of Jack. She takes a swig before slipping it in her bag and heading into the back room.
The next day Ashley spotted Spencer entering the building and walked over to her. She held out a Frappuccino, "Sorry, no hot stuff today, but caffeine is caffeine."
Spencer looked at the sealed bottle and debated, she was exhausted. Slowly she reached out and took it, "Thanks. Glen refuses to leave the house earlier than he has to, and I am the only coffee drinker."
Ashley smiled at her small triumph and said with a wink, "I can always spot another caffeine addict."
