I own nothing. I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, but this is where the story took me.
"Are you sure you have to go?" Spencer pouts as Ashley zips up her last suitcase.
"Trust me, I tried every trick I knew to get this changed to a different day."
"Well, I suppose performing live is a pretty good excuse. Hey, when you're all famous, can I get your autograph? That way I can sell it and buy my way into college and not have to repeat senior year."
"You aren't really going to have to repeat are you?"
Spencer lets out a puff of air and follows the brunette towards the door, "Probably. I've missed quite a bit of school already, and my parents don't think I need the added stress of classes. But I think it would be a good way to see what I do remember, if anything."
Ashley turns to her best friend and wraps her in a tight embrace, "I promise, things will get better. And, I also promise that you won't have to wait too much longer for your birthday present."
"And why exactly do I have to wait at all? It isn't like my birthday came up and surprised you."
Ashley sticks out her bottom lip, "I know. But, what I'm getting you just isn't quite finished yet, and it has to be perfect."
"Well, for the sake of perfection I suppose I can be patient."
They walk out of the loft and down to the awaiting limo. Jake is standing next to it talking into the phone with a frown on his face, Ashley prayed he wouldn't start ragging on her today. She turns to Spencer and gives her one last lingering hug, "Happy birthday, Spence. Now, go home and eat lots of cake."
"I don't think you have to worry about that. Now, go kick ass."
"I know you don't have to worry about that," Ashley smirks.
Spencer just rolls her eyes and steps back while the future rock star gets into her limo. She watches the vehicle travel along the crowded L.A. road and permits herself to feel selfish and wish Ashley wasn't leaving. Once the limo is out of sight she walks the couple of blocks to the café her mother is waiting at.
"Did you want some coffee, or do you want to head straight home and start the celebrations?" Paula asks as her daughter enters the café.
Spencer thinks for a second, "Um…it's still early enough caffeine would be appreciated."
"I thought you might say that, I already ordered you a mocha," Spencer smiles brightly at her mother. "So, did you have a nice time with Ashley?"
"Yeah. I mean we didn't really do all that much, I just helped her pack and saw her to the limo."
"What did she get you for a present?"
Spencer scowls, "Nothing yet. She said I had to wait a little longer so it could be perfect. I bet she just forgot."
Paula gives her daughter a soft smile, "I wouldn't be too upset about it, I can pretty much guarantee that Ashley did not forget to get you a birthday present. And it really doesn't surprise me that Ashley wants her gift for you to be perfect."
Spencer gives the elder Carlin a long, searching look, "You think Ashley is still in love with me."
Paula pauses, "I think that Ashley has always cared about you very much, even when it wasn't always apparent."
"Mocha to go." The younger blonde grabs her drink and the pair walks out in a comfortable silence.
***************************************
Spencer looks herself over in the mirror one last time. She's wearing a simple white sundress. "If it weren't for the stupid cast I would be pretty hot," she says with a sigh.
"Don't kid yourself Spence, it isn't the cast keeping you from being hot," Glen says from the doorway.
She doesn't even look at him as she brushes past muttering, "Ass."
When Spencer reaches the bottom of the stairs she is greeted by an older woman with critical eyes but a warm smile. "Spencer," she calls while enveloping the younger girl in a hug. "You look so good darling."
"Thanks."
"Spencer, your grandmother is staying the entire weekend," Arthur offers helpfully.
"Cool. Um, how was your flight?" Spencer asked, taking a wild guess the woman lived that far away.
"It was pleasant."
"Mother," Paula said nervously as she came out of the kitchen. "Spencer, your grandma is going to be staying in your room, if that's all right with you."
"And where will she stay?"
"In Clay's room," Paula says with a sad smile.
Spencer shrugs, "That's fine with me. Would you like me to help you with your bags?"
"I can manage, thank you dear. Paula, you think you could show me where I am staying?"
Spencer watches as her grandmother and mother make their way up the stairs then turns to her father with a raised eyebrow, "A little heads up that random relatives will be showing up would be nice."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Your Grandmother has been planning on coming to surprise you for a while now, and we just kind of forgot that it would be quite the surprise," Arthur smiled sheepishly.
Before Spencer can answer the doorbell rings. She opens the door to reveal a smirking Carmen and a beaming Chelsea.
"Happy birthday!" Chelsea shouts.
Spencer steps aside and lets them in, "Um, the party is mainly going to be outside, dad is going to grill for us, so you can go ahead and head back there."
Carmen hesitated for a second, but after looking at Arthur followed Chelsea out to the backyard where Glen was attempting, and failing, to start the grill. No sooner had they left than the doorbell rang again. This time Spencer opened it to find a beefy guy that stopped by once to talk to her father.
"Happy birthday Spence," Aiden says with a genuine smile.
"Thanks," she says with a confused look.
Aiden reads her face and shakes his head, "You have no clue who I am, do you?"
"Not so much, no."
"I'm Aiden, we're…we know each other from school. Your brother and I played on the basketball team together."
"Oh, cool. Well, thanks for coming and the party is in the backyard."
"Cool," he says with a smile.
Spencer watches him go and a slight frown appears. Her father asks what's the matter and she just shakes her head, "I don't know, I just, get a weird vibe from him."
"Really?"
"Whatever, must be the caffeine," she dismisses. A second later and the doorbell rings yet again. This time Spencer finds a smiling red-head, "You made it."
"I made it," Riley grins while stepping into the house. She hands Spencer a small package and takes in her surroundings. When her eyes fall on Arthur she sticks out her hand, "Hi, I'm Riley."
"Arthur, Spencer's dad."
"Nice to meet you. You have a lovely home."
"Thank you," Paula responds as she descends the stairs, her mother in tow.
"I'm Riley."
"And that's my mother and grandmother. Now that the introductions are done why don't we head into the backyard? I think I saw Glen light himself on fire, you might want to take over the grilling duties," she says to her dad as she starts to walk away.
Spencer is sitting in the lawn chairs with Chelsea, Carmen and Riley. And surprisingly, the conversation isn't awkward, instead Chelsea has been entertaining them with stories about her latest art projects and they've all commented on how good of a cook Mr. Carlin is.
"So Riley, what's your story?" Chelsea asks after getting another burger.
"I'm a freshman here at UCLA, here on a basketball scholarship. I'm originally from Iowa City, IA, and I love cats. That pretty much sums up all the important things about me."
Spencer smiles and takes a drink of her lemonade, ignoring the glare from Carmen, "Basketball, huh? That sounds like a lot of work, more than I would be willing to put in."
Riley shrugs, "If you love something, then you forget about the pain."
"Very deep," Chelsea grins.
Spencer notices that everyone's drink is nearly empty and offers to get refills. She heads to the kitchen and pauses in the doorway when she hears her grandmother and mother speaking.
"Is that nice looking boy her boyfriend, then?" her grandmother asks.
"No, mother, Aiden is not her boyfriend. Honestly I'm not sure why he's here, I think Glen invited him in hopes it would trigger Spencer's memory."
"So then she likes this boy."
Paula shakes her head, "No mother, Spencer doesn't 'like that boy'."
"Then what about him would trigger her memories? And what's wrong with him, he seems like a very nice, attractive young man."
Spencer listens intently, hoping to get some answers, "Aiden and Spencer, let's just say they're rivals and leave it at that."
"Rivals? What on earth could they compete for?"
Spencer wondered the same thing, but not for very long. The answer was obvious.
"Well, fine. But still, it isn't right that someone like our Spencer doesn't have a boyfriend."
Spencer couldn't take it anymore and entered the kitchen with a smile. Obviously grandmother didn't know she was gay, and her mother would like to keep it that way. Fine. Whatever. If she could remember she would probably understand why. So, for her mother's sake she would try to steer the conversation away from that topic.
"Enjoying the party?"
"It is very nice, Spencer. How are you liking it?"
"I like it a lot. I don't know that many people, but it's nice to be around those that I do."
"Who are your friends? I haven't heard anything about them," Catholics and their guilt trips.
Well, her plan to steer the conversation in another direction didn't last very long, "The brunette is Carmen. We met at school. And then there's Chelsea. We also met at school. Apparently she used to date Clay. The two of them have been visiting me a lot since the accident. And the redhead is Riley. I met her at…"
"A picnic," Paula interjected.
"A picnic," Spencer said slowly, "about a week ago. She's a freshman at UCLA, apparently on a basketball scholarship."
"They all seem very nice. But, didn't you have any boys visit you?"
"Not that I know of." Her grandmother frowns but doesn't say anything else.
The rest of the afternoon is spent playing Cranium and Imagine Iff. Odd, I know, but Spencer laughed her ass off anyway. Carmen obviously hated Riley, who had fun telling tales of college to the birthday girl. Chelsea spent half her time talking to Spencer and the other half talking to Glen. Again Spencer filed it away for future reference. Her grandmother didn't bring up the subject of boys again. Aiden only talked to her briefly, preferring to spend the day with her dad, and when they did talk the conversation was a little awkward. Her mother and father brought out a giant yellow cake with chocolate frosting that was to die for. Overall she had to rate the day a success.
Suddenly her phone started to go off and she smiles, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be getting ready to perform?"
"I am, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday again."
"Thanks, Ash."
"And, to tell you that you may want to turn your TV on a little early."
"Why?'
"Just do it Carlin."
"Jeez, bossy much?"
"I have to go, turn your TV on."
"Ok, by, break a leg," Spencer shuts her phone off, unaware of the goofy smile on her face. She turns back to everyone only to see them all staring at her. "That was my Ashley. She said to turn on the TV early," she gets up to turn on the TV, the rest of the party following her.
"Who's Ashley?" her grandmother asks with a frown.
"My best friend," Spencer replies without a second thought.
"And why is she wanting you to turn on the TV?"
"Because she is going to be performing of TLR. She's kicking off her music career," she elaborates when she notices her grandmother's blank expression.
She finds the right channel and takes a seat on the couch, excited for her friend. It isn't long before Ashley comes onto the screen and Spencer smiles at how nervous the brunette looks. Then she frowns when she notices that Kyla isn't out there.
"Hey, everyone, I'm Ashley Davies." Applause. "My sister and I are going to perform for you our cover of one of our father's classics. We actually aren't supposed to perform for another five minutes, but another act cancelled, and I convinced them to let me perform a song of my own. This is actually a work in progress, but I wrote this for, for the most important person in my life, happy birthday."
When the calls and conversations
Accidents and accusations
Messages and misperceptions
Paralyze my mind
Busses, cars, and airplanes leaving
Burning fumes of gasoline
And everyone is running
And I come to find a refuge in the
Easy silence that you make for me
It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay
Monkeys on the barricades
Are warning us to back away
They form commissions trying to find
The next one they can crucify
And anger plays on every station
Answers only make more questions
I need something to believe in
Breathe in sanctuary in the
Easy silence that you make for me
It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay
Children lose their youth too soon
Watching war made us immune
And I've got all the world to lose
But I just want to hold on to the
Easy silence that you make for me
It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The easy silence that you make for me
It's okay when there's nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay
AN: The song is "Easy Silence" by the Dixie Chicks. I want you to know it took me forever to decide on a song, hopefully you agree this fits.
