My note…this chapter is going to focus mostly on Spinner and Ellie dealing with the aftermath of Jimmy and Ashley's fight and their current sleeping arrangements, with a huge(hopefully) surprise at the end.
BEST FRIENDS
CHAPTER 7: TURNED TABLES
"What should we do now?", Spinner asked Ellie as he paced the hotel lobby. "Maybe we should go look for them too", he offered concernedly.
"No, Marco and Dylan are already out there….we should probably stay here in case they come back this way", Ellie replied, anxiously looking around for any sign of her friends.
"Yeah, you're probably right", Spinner stated, walking back over to the fountain and sitting on the ledge.
Ellie sat down next to him and played with the rose that was still in her hand. "So, you like roses?", Spinner asked awkwardly.
Ellie smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, kinda….the ones you sent me were beautiful", she chuckled and blushed slightly. "I mean, they're dead now…but I dried the petals, like Ashley does with the flowers Jimmy's gives her….they're sitting in a bowl on our kitchen table".
"Really?", Spinner questioned, with a grin.
"Uh huh….that's the great thing about living at our house…ya know, three girls and two gay guys…we all like potpourri", Ellie quipped, wittily. Spinner laughed out loud at Ellie's joke and glanced over at her.
Ellie nervously resumed playing with the rose as an uncomfortable silence filled the space in between them. "So, you kept the letter in your wallet?", she asked quietly, trying to break the tension.
Spinner nodded. "Yeah, it was…pretty", he offered, unable to find a better term.
Ellie snickered. "Well that should've tipped you off right away…I don't do pretty".
Spinner pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and re-opened it. "It was just really nice", he corrected, looking over the page.
Ellie reached over and Spinner passed it to her. She read it, just under her breath, this time taking in each word. "Mrs. Kerwin always did have a way with words", Ellie smiled and handed the paper back to Spinner.
"Maybe? But I think Ashley helped write this part", he grinned, pointing to the second paragraph.
"That so sounds like something Ash would say", Ellie agreed with a giggle.
Spinner slowly folded the letter and put it back in his pocket. "We really need to make this up to them", he stated seriously.
"I just hope it's not too late", Ellie turned to him, and replied sadly. Spinner put a comforting arm around Ellie's shoulder and gave her a small squeeze.
Just then, Marco and Dylan came back, breathless and disheartened. Ellie jumped up when she saw them. "Did you find them?", she asked excitedly.
"No. No sign of them anywhere", Dylan exclaimed, scanning the lobby again.
"I checked the salon, the boutique, and the lounge…no Ashley", Marco sighed.
"And Jimmy wasn't in his room or at the basketball court", Dylan shrugged as if out of options.
"Maybe we should try the restaurant", Spinner offered, with renewed motivation.
Ellie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Do you really think they'd want to eat dinner together after they just broke up?", she asked sarcastically. "Honoring dinner reservations is probably at the bottom of their list right now, Spinner".
"So now what?", Spin asked, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Well, since Marco and I already know the ground we covered, we're gonna get a quick bite to eat and keep looking. Why don't you two go back to your room, in case they call or come by", Dylan suggested.
"Okay, but just let us know if you hear anything", Ellie stated worriedly, as she gave Marco a huge hug. "I hope they're alright".
Marco smiled and took hold of Ellie's shoulders. "El, they'll be fine…", he assured her . "…neither one is the type to throw themselves over the falls. They just need some time to cool down". Ellie nodded hesitantly. "Now go…we'll call as soon as we hear anything, and you two do the same".
Spinner and Ellie both nodded in agreement and headed for the elevator.
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"Dude, they have a Clown Academy marathon on tonight", Spinner exclaimed as he clicked through the television channels. Spinner slowly turned his head toward Ellie who was glaring angrily at him. "I-I wasn't calling you dude…ah, Ellie", he stuttered and shot her an apologetic grin.
Ellie stood up from the chair she was sitting in and walked past Spinner, flopped down on the bed next to him, and snatching the remote out of his hand, she began scrolling down the listings. "Ooh, Titanic", she mumbled as she stopped on that channel.
"You like Titanic?", Spinner teased.
"Not my usual genre, I admit…", Ellie defended. "…but I do have a slight soft spot for the occasional, tragic love story".
Spinner laughed and was just about to tease Ellie some more, when there was a knock on the door. "Maybe it's them?", Ellie whispered anxiously.
Spinner answered the door, while Ellie looked on. "Just room service", he frowned, laying the trays down on the table.
"So, what'd you get?", he asked eyeing Ellie's dish.
"Um, grilled chicken salad", she answered, drizzling the dressing over her greens.
"Bird food", Spinner mumbled as he uncovered his dish. Ellie's eye's widened at the mound of food on his plate.
"What, it's a triple cheeseburger and fries with extra gravy?", he replied nonchalantly.
"You actually eat that?", she gasped, almost choking on her salad. Spinner frowned at her. "Spinner that's like an entire cow", she teased.
"So, you, Ash and Jimmy are constantly going out for Sushi…at least this is cooked", he stated defensively.
Ellie started to laugh hysterically as Spinner tried to take a bite of his monster burger. He looked at her, watching him and he smirked. "You want some?", he mumbled as he chewed his food. Ellie looked at him disgustedly and shook her head. "C'mon, you know you do", he taunted and waived the burger in front of her face.
"No Spinner, c'mon", Ellie protested as he shoved the burger into her mouth. She bit off a huge chunk, so she wouldn't choke and they both erupted in laughter.
Spinner smiled at the smudge on Ellie's face. "Here, you've got some ketchup...", he trailed off as he gently wiped her cheek.
Their eyes met and time seemed to stop. "Spinner, I..", Ellie started to say, but was cut off by Spinner's soft kiss.
He quickly broke the kiss and backed away from Ellie. "Ellie, I'm sorry", he immediately apologized, but that to, was interrupted...this time, by Ellie kissing him back.
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"I'm sorry our dinner was ruined", she apologized as she slid into the bathtub with him.
"Ruined...are you joking? This is the best evening I've had in a long time", he chuckled as he snatched a piece of fruit off of the room-service plate.
"I just wish it didn't start out with that ugly fight", she stated, cringing at the thought.
"Yeah, that was pretty ugly", he agreed, brushing the bubbles off of her bent knee.
She snuggled into his touch as he caressed her leg then protectively wrapped his strong arms around her waist. She shifted sideways and started kissing his chest, working her way up to his lips. "What do you say, we get out of this tub, and back into that bed...for round two?", she asked seductively.
He raised his brow and cocked his head to the side. "Are you kidding me?", he asked incredulously, pushing himself up a bit. "That's impossible...I'm still trying to recover from round one", he chukled and tickled her under the water.
He stopped tickling her and pulled her close. "You were incredible", he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
She blushed fiercely and smiled. "As were you", she returned the compliment, with a passionate kiss.
They laid there for a few minutes before she spoke again. "What if they find out?", she asked nervously, entwining her fingers with his.
"They won't...", he stated certainly. "...it's all been taken care of. Dylan and Marco are totally okay with it. There's nothing to worry about, Ash", Jimmy assured her.
"Okay", Ashley sighed into his chest. "So, Dylan will sneak in here early tomorrow morning and I'll sneak in with Marco?", she asked, reviewing the plan they hatched earlier that evening.
Jimmy nodded in agreement. "And remember, we're supposed to be mad at one another", he pointed out, kissing her back.
"Yes, Mr. Brooks...I'm very, very mad at you", Ashley giggled flirtatiously as she pulled the drain up and stepped out of the tub.
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Okay...so I hope you weren't expecting that, I wanted a bit of a shocker. Yes, Jimmy and Ashley had plan-b figured out the entire time, just in case. You didn't think I'd really make them mad at one another or actually break them up, did you?
I know I left it a little open ended, but you'll find out what happens in the next chapter...and don't worry, Ashley didn't abandoned poor Jimmy in the bathtub, she helped him out...and helped him back into bed(wink, wink).
Raina-Bess...thanks for the great review, I really appreciate it. Hope this chapter answered your question. Luvluv...no problem, I appreciate your loyalty to this story and thanks for continuing to review. Jashley-fan...thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you're enjoying this story.
Sometimes I get confused, trying to keep up with the two, very different stories I'm currently writing, but I always try to make sure I thank each and every reviewer, so thank you all!
Degrassi is not mine!
