CHAPTER NINE

*SPENCER*

It had been a couple of weeks since having breakfast with Asher. We still hung out almost every day but the air between us was undeniably different.

I threw my books on the picnic table outside the school, making Aiden and Madison stare up at me in annoyance. "What?" I barked and grabbed a stunned Carmen by the arm and yanked her with me towards a secluded area by the gym doors.

"What is your trauma?" Carmen frowned and pulled her arm back, staring at me.

"Are you seeing Milo?" I asked in a not so nice tone.

"What's it to you?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do you care who I date?"

"I'm your friend." I stated and leaned against the hard brick wall. Asher's words from a couple weeks ago replayed non-stop in my head. "I care about you."

"That's a first." She snorted and flicked her long hair behind her shoulder, glaring at me. "Spencer, Milo gives me attention that I need. I don't get it from home and-"

"What about me?" I asked, glaring at her.

"When do you have time for me anymore?" Carmen raised her voice slightly. "You're never around anymore. You're always with Asher."

"I thought you liked him." I murmured quietly, nervously.

"I do," Carmen sighed and leaned against the wall next to me, "I just miss you more."

"Have you asked your Dad if you can move in with him?" I blew hair out of my eyes and turned to face her. Carmen's mom's wasn't the best place to be raised in but she had no other options until she got her father to agree that she could move in with him.

The only problem was…

"He lives in Boston Spence," she sighed heavily, "he doesn't want me to move until the summer."

"Well tell mommy dearest to fuck off the next time she tries to blame you for shit." I said in a hateful tone. "God I hate that bitch."

"Whatever." Carmen dug into her pocket and pulled out a small baggy full of weed. "Please join me this time? You owe me."

"Fine." I smiled and nodded, shoving the baggy back in her front pockets. "Will you stop seeing Milo? There are other girls out there for you who will actually treat you with some respect."

"God Spencer." Carmen glowered at me and shook her head. "Just drop the Milo shit okay? I don't go and tell you who you should or should not sleep with."

"You have enough crap to deal with at home Carmen!" I sighed.

"Just stay out of it, okay?" She pushed herself off the wall and whirled around to stand in front of me. "If I told you to stay away from Asher, would you?"

"Carmen…"

"No, don't tell me it's different. Asher likes you, anyone can see it. Instead of you being in my shoes, you're in Milo's. You're going to hurt him with the way you flirt and act when he's around. So, if I were to tell you to back off or tell him to back off from you, would you be happy about it?"

"You have no clue what you're talking about!" I glared at her. "You know nothing about my relationship with Asher."

"Exactly." She leaned in close. "You don't have a clue what Milo's like when we're alone. You wouldn't ever know. So how about we make a deal, I stay out of your love life and you stay the fuck out of mine."

"Fine!" I screamed and moved past her but Carmen caught me and prevented me from moving any further. "Let go."

"What do you want from me?" She whispered shakily. "We've been through so much together Spence and I can't stand that we're arguing over something so petty."

"Petty?" I raised an eyebrow, not believing what I'm hearing. "That girl tears you down and you just fucking take it! Jesus Christ Carmen, we're seventeen and we should be enjoying our newfound relationships and not be tied down to controlling bitches. I care about you and I don't like the way she makes you question yourself all the fucking time."

I had to breathe.

"You don't know a single thing about her." She eyed me.

"I know she's made you cry countless times and you've knocked on my bedroom window many nights for comfort because of how 'unloved' she made you feel." I replied quietly. "But you're right. It's your life, what the hell do I know?" I ripped my arm from her and she caught me yet again, spinning me around.

The broken look in her eyes was heart breaking.

Asher was right, Carmen deserved someone who could treat her with respect.

"Carm," I breathed, cupping her face and pressing my forehead against her, "I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone and I just want you to be happy."

She swallowed but said nothing.

I don't know how it happened but I found myself against the brick wall with Carmen's body pressed against mine and her lips mapping out my own. I tangled my hands in her hair and kissed her back because that was what she needed.

Right?

As lips slid against each others with a sense of familiarity, I had to wonder why the fuck was I kissing my best friend. My best friend Carmen. I tried to picture us in bed together, hot and bothered but it didn't work. Kissing her was doing nothing for me. Not like it used too.

Asher's face flashed through my mind and I ripped my lips away from Carmen's. We found ourselves staring at each other with confusion.

"Oh God Spence, I'm so sorry!" Carmen panicked and stumbled back, her hand over her mouth while staring at me. "I- I-"

"It's okay." I whispered and licked my own lips, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "It's okay," I repeated quieter that time.

"No, no it's not!" Carmen shook her head and ran the opposite way.

I noticed a couple of Aiden's jock friends staring at me and I flipped them off.

I made my way to the picnic table and found it oddly quiet. "What's up?" I asked as three pairs of eyes stared at me.

"Carmen grabbed her stuff and took off crying. What did you do to her?" Chelsea frowned, not understanding.

"I told her she needed to dump her bitch of a girlfriend." I shrugged like I wasn't affected, but I was. I was deeply affected because I somehow managed to screw up one of the most important friendships I'd ever had. Even though I acted like I didn't care about them, I did. I really did.

"Nice kiss with Carmen, Spencer." Some cheerleader laughed with her posse and I closed my eyes tightly.

"What?!" Aiden's eyes bulged out of his head, looking at Madison.

"Fuck off." I grabbed my books and took off down the path towards the school.

"Excuse me," I heard a familiar voice and turned around to find the one and only Asher standing there with a backpack and an adorable smile, "I'm new here and I can't seem to find my way around, would you be so kind and helping a poor fellow out?"

"Asher!" I couldn't help but cheer up immediately and wrap my arms around his neck, giving him a hug. I could do that forever. "Are you going to school here?"

"Yea." He laughed slightly and shrugged. "Turns out I'm not retail material yet – plus I wanted to see what all the King High drama was about."

"Oh." I managed to smile slightly but my happiness was brought back down when I noticed Carmen in the parking lot, leaning against her beat up car, picking at her nails. "Speaking of which," I sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, "could you give me five minutes? I need to do some damage control." He followed my gaze and nodded slowly. "Aid, Mads and Chels are over there, I'll be there in a few."

"Okay." Asher smiled softly.

King High drama.

The school had seen nothing yet.

I felt the drama was just about to hit the fan.

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