A/N: I'm really starting to get into this story now; I've gotten ten chapters written. Expect updates every 2-4 days for a while. Later on, update frequency will depend on how ahead I am with this story, because I don't want to post all of it quickly and then take a while to write more. I've finally gotten going with the main plot, though, so hopefully I'll find the motivation to keep writing. Also, a warning: this story is rated M so this should be expected, but there will be sex in this story. A lot of it, actually, for plot reasons. But if you're, like, twelve, seriously stop reading.

I pull up to Aiden's house right on time and beep my car horn twice. A moment later, he's exiting through the front door and jogging over to the passenger's side of my car.

"Hey, babe."

He leans in for a kiss but I don't turn my head. "Hellooo…" He awkwardly settles for a kiss on the cheek instead. I ask him, "Excited for Madison?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, Madison's party. Excited for Madison's party," I correct with an edge to my voice. I'm talented in the ways of passive-agressiveness. It's a skill.

"Yeah, of course. Should be fun. I hear she's got this gimmick set up in prep for Valentine's Day," he tells me. "It's supposed to be a surprise but a couple of the other cheerleaders already seem to know what it is."

"Intriguing. Well, whatever it is, I hope it doesn't require going near her."

"Oh, come on. She's not that bad."

"Yeah, well… I've heard rumors she's a great kisser, so."

Aiden does a double-take beside me, and I see it out of the corner of my eyes. We're both silent for a second, until he finally asks, "Ash, are you alright? You've been kind of weird lately."

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm cool."

"So you don't wanna talk?"

"Is there something we should talk about, Aiden?" I glance at him as a drive. "If we have an issue I don't know about, feel free to bring it up."

He stares at me with furrowed eyebrows. There's a long pause.

"I guess we're fine then," I declare. He sighs beside me.

"Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Why don't you just stay by my side at this party?" We're pulling up to Madison's house now, and I park on the curb in front. There are already dozens of other cars parked up and down the street. I undo my seatbelt and look to Aiden. "Can you do that? Can you spend a few hours with me without going off somewhere and showing up at my side an hour later without an explanation?"

He swallows hard. His jaw is tight now and I can't tell whether he's hurt or anxious. "Of course I can. You know I love spending time with you. I love you, Ash."

I don't know how to respond to that. I know I can't bring myself to say it back right now. "Well it certainly doesn't seem like it anymore."

"What are you talking about?" He's exasperated now. "You're the one that's been pulling away from me. You spend all your time with Spencer-"

"Don't you dare try to pin any of our problems on Spencer," I retort, immediately cutting him off. "She's always been my best friend, she always will be, and you know that. You knew how close we were going into this."

"I'm just saying," he starts with a sigh. "Do you know how hard it is to compete with something like that? That kind of history?"

"Jesus Christ, Aiden; I'm not dating her!"

"It's like being with two people in one," he continues, ignoring me. "Every guy that gets anywhere near the two of you knows that he's always gonna come second."

"That's not true."

He scoffs. "So if I told you it was between breaking up with me and losing Spencer as a friend, you'd choose me over her?"

"Wha- I mean…" I scoff back at him, shaking my head. "I- that's a stupid question anyway."

"You can't even be honest about it," he tells me, shaking his head. "And look, I've accepted it. I care about you enough that I'll settle for second best. But don't be surprised if every other guy won't."

"You are so full of shit," I retort with a bitter laugh. He looks taken aback. "You don't care about me at all. You're sleeping with Madison!"

His eyes widen and he's speechless. I shoot him a smug look.

"That's right. I know all about your little trysts with the head cheerbitch. Spencer's seen you going to her house after school. You told me you spent that time on extra basketball practice, Aiden."

He sighs in realization. "No, Ashley… Spencer doesn't know what she saw."

"It seems pretty cut-and-dry to me."

"It's not." He groans, rubbing at his temples. "She probably saw us and assumed that something was going on, but I've been helping Madison out with some stuff… she kind of wanted me to keep it a secret."

"What kind of help would Madison want from you?"

He looks pained. "I really can't tell anyone. I promised her I wouldn't. But that's what we've been doing when Spencer saw us leave school together. We're not sleeping together. I'm sure Spencer meant well, but she got it wrong."

I take a moment to let that sink in. "Oh." I furrow my eyebrows. "Sooo… you haven't been cheating on me?"

"No," he sighs out. "Just doing Madison a favor. And I know you don't like her, and maybe I should've said no because of that, but she really wanted my help. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I thought you'd be upset that I was spending time alone with her."

"Well… it certainly would've cleared things up if you had told me," I retort, punching his arm playfully. He pouts and rubs at it. "I've wanted to break up with you for, like, the past month."

He makes an offended noise and gapes at me. "No wonder you've been practically ignoring me all the time. I was wondering what was up."

"Yeah, well, now you know." I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my God, I feel so much better now."

He grins. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." We share a smile and I see him lean in a little. He hesitates, probably already recalling how I wouldn't kiss him when he got in the car. My smile widens and I pull him in gingerly, kissing him.

We make out for a few minutes and then finally make our way toward Madison's house, hand in hand. There's loud music blaring across the property and beer bottles littering the front porch. We reach the front door and Aiden pushes it open. We're greeted with a mass of bodies and a wall of sound. Both of us right at home, we grin as he leads me into the crowd and we join in on the dancing. Pressed up against him, I try to mentally erase every negative thought and feeling I've had about Aiden over the past month. A misunderstanding nearly destroyed the most stable relationship I've ever had. I'm going to have to talk to Spencer about making absolute sure something's actually wrong next time.

"Do you want a drink?" Aiden's voice says in my ear a few minutes in. I nod at him and he motions that he'll be right back. The second he leaves, I look around for Spencer. It's crowded, but I manage to spot her nearby, talking to Chelsea and Clay in a corner of the room. As long as I stay nearby, Aiden shouldn't have too much trouble finding me.

I push my way to the corner and join Spencer, Clay, and Chelsea, shooting the three of them a grin when they see me. "Hey, guys! Why aren't you dancing!?"

"I don't dance!" Clay insists. I strain to hear him; we're all having to shout over the sound of the music.

"Chelsea, make him dance!" I tell his girlfriend with a knowing look. Chelsea nods at me.

"Oh, I will; he's just getting a reprieve while I have a drink!"

I nod at her to let her know I've heard, then reach out for Spencer's arm. "Hey, I have to talk to you about Aiden!"

She raises her eyebrows at me, and Clay and Chelsea take the hint and leave.

"How did it go!? Did you break up with him!?"

I shake my head vehemently. "No! He wasn't cheating on me!"

She furrows her eyebrows, looking upset. "What?!"

I move my lips closer to her ear. "The cheating thing was a misunderstanding!" I move away to see her shooting me a disbelieving look. She shakes her head.

"Is that what he said!?" I lean forward, unable to hear her, and she repeats her question. I nod at her. She shakes her head and immediately grabs my wrist, leading me away from the dancing and down a nearby hallway. I struggle against her, although I'm glad we can hear each other now.

"Spencer, I have to go back to the other room. He'll be looking for me."

Spencer laughs bitterly. "No, he won't."

I pause. "What are you talking about?"

"I know what I saw. Whatever he told you isn't true, Ash. Whatever excuse he made: he's full of it."

I sigh at her. "That's what I thought at first too, but Spence-"

"You didn't see how they were with each other," she tells me. "Are you really gonna believe him over me? I'm your best friend."

I fall silent at that, thinking back to what Aiden said to me in the car. "But… he's my boyfriend, Spencer."

She looks stunned by my reply, but before she replies, the music suddenly stops and Madison's voice echoes throughout her own house.

"Hey, is everyone having a good time!"

Loud cheers are the response. Spencer and I wait for what's next together. Spencer seems deep in thought.

"Alright, and as we all know, Valentine's Day's coming up in a couple weeks! Who's excited!?"

This time, she gets a mixture of cheers and boos.

"Well, you better get excited, chicos, because tonight, we're gonna pair you up with a potential match, courtesy of yours truly! Here's how it's gonna work: there's a closet in the hallway just over there, and it locks from the outside. These guys here are named Brett and Mike, as I'm sure you all know since they're, like, the stars of King High's football team. Anyway, they're way stronger than any of you, and their job tonight is to kidnap people in groups of two and stick them together in that closet, where you'll be locked in for five minutes of fun!"

There are some murmurs of interest at that. I roll my eyes. Leave it to Madison to come up with some gross party gimmick.

"The only rule is that you can't talk in the closet, since it's supposed to be anonymous. If we hear talking, you'll be trapped inside for the rest of the night!" Madison declares. "So those of you that like to wander off alone, you better be prepared, because starting now, Brett and Mike are on the hunt! Good luck everyone, and have fun!"

Madison's speech ends and the music starts blaring again. I look to Spencer. "Well that sounds stupid."

Without responding, she brushes past me and heads toward the crowd in the living room, where the dancing has started up again. I hurry after her, confused.

"Spencer, where are you going?"

She doesn't answer and I struggle to keep up with her as she pushes through the crowd and finally arrives at her destination: Madison. I stop a few feet behind her and stare. Madison's dancing with Aiden.

Someone grabs me by the arm and spins me around, and I find myself looking into the face of one of Aiden's basketball friends. "Hey, wanna dance?" he slurs out.

"Did Aiden tell you to ask me?" I snap in response, pushing him away and storming over to Madison and Aiden. They look surprised to see me. "Is this what you were helping her with?" I snap at Aiden, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "Did she not have enough experience grinding on disgusting pigs already?"

"Whoa, calm down, Ash," he replies meekly. "It's just a dance."

"Where's my drink?" I ask him pointedly. There's one on a table nearby and I grab it. "Is this it?" I promptly dump it over Aiden's head. "Thanks. Such a considerate boyfriend." I throw the cup at him, having already attracted the attention of several people nearby, who laugh at the look on Aiden's face. Madison, meanwhile, is glaring furiously at Spencer, who has her arms crossed matter-of-factly and is glaring right back.

"You're gonna regret that," Madison snaps at Spencer, already fuming. I think Spencer's smugness is only making her angrier. "You should've learned to mind your own business, Spencer. I bet you wouldn't like it if your secrets got out." Spencer's expression falters and Madison looks smug now. I just dismiss all of them and storm off, my mind already in search of strategies to cope with this emotional mess.

It's about time I had a drink.