CHAPTER TWO
*SPENCER*
School sucked big time. I understood that we all needed to get edumacated, but to trap us together in stuffy classrooms for a whole day? It was pure torture.
Maybe Asher had the right idea about dropping out.
I didn't really belong in any cliques. I wasn't a cheerleader. I wasn't an athlete or an artist of any variety. I didn't join any groups because I didn't like them – or rather I liked being a loner.
Maybe that was my clique.
Only instead of hanging out with the other 'loners', I hung out with myself.
Really, I liked it that way.
I had friends, sure.
"Why do you insist on eating by yourself every day?" Aiden laughed and sat down beside me. He was a jock.
Okay, so I tried to hang out alone.
"Yea, you make it like a scavenger hunt to find you every other day." Chelsea grinned and sat on the other side of me. She was the artistic type.
"Word." Carmen sighed and sat across from me. She was an emo geek.
"I really hate sitting here," Madison scowled as she sat down slow enough so that she wouldn't ruin her cheerleading outfit. Head cheerleader.
I didn't fit in with just one clique – they all seemed to have followed me.
"Isn't it boring sitting alone?" Chelsea asked me while opening up her chocolate pudding.
"I prefer it actually." I smirked. We had the same conversation everyday yet nothing seemed to change.
"I have detention after school," Carmen whined, "Spence, come distract Mr. Wagner so I can leave."
"No." I shrugged and grabbed my bag. Just as I was about to get up, I heard my name being called.
"Ou, it's the girlfriend." Aiden snickered.
"Ex-girlfriend." I snapped back bitterly and started to walk the other direction.
"Spencer, wait up." Stacey frowned when she caught up and fought to keep in step with me. "Where's the fire?"
"Burn in hell." I muttered and grabbed my bag tighter.
"I just wanted to talk to you." She sighed and stepped in front of me. "I think I made a mistake last night."
"We were a mistake." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Go away Stace. We're over and I don't want to be your friend."
"We've been together for over a year Spence, how can you say that?" Stacey frowned, looking a little hurt.
"Really," I whispered, "I can't take this anymore. You push me away only to pull me back in again and I don't want to be a part of it anymore," I paused, "I don't want to be a part of you."
Stacey shook her head and turned around, walking away.
Women. So fucking good in bed but ugh!!
I didn't even think twice about ditching school. I hated being around everyone; especially when I was in a cranky mood. I walked towards the park and started to dig out my book from my bag. I stopped dead in my tracks when I found someone sitting under my tree.
My weeping willow tree.
I narrowed my eyes and flipped my hair over my shoulders, marching over to the person who had their nose in a book, too engrossed in the reading material to hear my footsteps. I stood there with my hands on my hips and cleared my throat.
Brown golden eyes looked up at me while squinting from the sun. I swallowed slightly.
"Spencer." Asher laughed and stood up, wiping off his baggy jeans. "We really have to stop meeting here."
"You're under my tree." I said lamely and pointed to the spot where he was just sitting.
He gave me a confused look and grinned, turning back towards the tree. I watched slightly amused as he started to slowly walk around the large tree trunk, his fingers running over the bark.
"What are you doing?" I laughed.
"Oh," he spun around and shrugged, "checking to see if your name was on it."
I slightly blushed and shifted my feet slightly. "Well I can carve it in if you want."
"Or I can carve mine in."
"Ash." I warned with a small smile and he laughed, sitting back down. I frowned. "Seriously dude, this is my tree."
"Seriously dude," he mocked me, "didn't your mom ever teach you to share?"
"I'm not much of a sharer." I admitted but sat down next to him anyway. "What are you reading?"
"Angels & Demons." He held up the book and smiled. "This is better than The Davinci Code."
I shrugged. "Never read them."
Asher ran a hand through his shaggy hair and gave me an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me?"
"No." I frowned.
"What are you reading?" He leaned over my shoulder and I could smell the slight hint of Axe. I closed my eyes; trying to push any thought of thinking this boy was cute out of my mind. "Keeping You A Secret?"
"What can I say? Cece owns my heart." I shrugged.
"Holland is brave though, in my opinion." Asher smirked. "What? Don't look so shocked that I've read the book."
"You really are in touch with your feminine side, aren't you?" I smiled and noticed Asher backed away and nodded slowly, his smile disappearing from his perfectly shaped face.
Stop it, Spencer.
"My sister Kyla, she's older than me. She makes me read things that matter. I mean, things that I can relate to in some way." He shrugged.
"Oh." I raised an eyebrow and felt weird that I was sad by his statement. "You're gay?"
"Why Spence, you almost sound disappointed." Asher teased with a nose crinkling smile. "Actually no, I really love the ladies."
I recovered quickly from his statement and tried to ignore some sort of hope forming inside my body. "I'm gay." I whispered.
"Yea," he laughed, looking up towards the bright sky, "I assumed since you said you were coming from you ex-girlfriend's house."
"I really love women too." I said quickly, tearing my eyes from his lips.
"Me too." Asher looked at me amused. "Are you okay?"
The fact that I was checking him out told me I wasn't okay. "I should get back to school."
"Okay…" he stood up as soon as I did. "Can I walk you?"
"No." I shook my head and started to walk away.
"Spencer!" He hollered across the park but I only walked as fast as my feet could carry me.
Avoid was my middle name.
And that was something I was about to do.
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