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Author's Note: No excuses, here you guys go.
I'll Meet You There
Chapter 10
Ashley's POV
I hear my front door open with footsteps following closely behind before I hear a loud huff of a laugh, "You really need to look into a better ventilation system in here if you plan to keep this up."
"Your comments are so not productive, or appreciated right now." I groan as I blindly hold the bridge of my nose, trying any way possible to alleviate the pain as my head remains exhausted collapsed against the toilet bowl. I don't know how long I've been in here since having to sprint from my bed with a new wave of nausea this morning.
All I know is that I'm very fatigued and exhausted from emptying the contents of my stomach.
"You seriously should think about going to the doctors, this puking stint has been ongoing for almost a week now dude." Taylor creeps forward and places the back of her flat palm on my forehead, feeling my temperature for a second before stepping back with a skeptical look on her face. "Hmm, well you don't seem to have a fever, just a little warm… could this have anything to do with your so called fainting spells you used to have?"
"I have no idea." I sigh out with a frustrated huff. "It's never been like this."
Taylor shifts her weight to her one foot as her hand slides up to rest on her waist. "Maybe you should track down your old doctor, see if he's around here… not that he would knowyou and your case or anything but—I don't know, thisdoesn't look healthy Ashley." She uses her free hand to point all around me and my slumped body. "—and that's coming from me."
"Yeah, it's probably a good idea."
Taylor nods as she continues to look at me worriedly. She pulls out her cell phone and quickly dials a few numbers before putting it to her ear. She glances back at me one more time before turning her back and walking out of the bathroom as I can softly hear the distorted voice on the other end of the call as my heavy eyelids slowly creep shut.
-o-
I stretch with a soft groan as I turn to look at my clock on my bedside table, it shows I've been in bed for a little over two hours since Taylor left my apartment. I roll over with another groan and swing my feet to the ground.
I fully outstretch my arms above my head and bend slightly back and forth to the side as I make my way out of my bedroom. I rub my groggy eyes as I can't help but let out a big yawn.
"Hey."
I jump suddenly in the air and grasp my chest tightly at the unexpected sound of a voice. Shaking my head startled, I glance to my left where I see Spencer sitting on my couch with a book, smiling comfortably in a simple zip hoodie and sweatpants.
"Holy shit." I gasp.
"Sorry." Spencer winces.
"No, it's fine." I clutch my chest again and take a deep breath to try and collect myself. "I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here."
"I can go, if you want." Spencer timidly points at the door as she closes her textbook with her other hand, bookmarking her spot with her one finger as she gestures to get up. "Taylor just thought it'd be better if someone was with you… she said you were feeling under the weather, and no one else was around so she, uh… called me. I hope that was okay, I was just studying here but I can clear out if you want space."
I hold my hand up to stop the girl's movements. "You don't have to leave. Although the sentiment behind Taylor's worry is appreciated, I'm feeling much better now after my nap." I manage a smile as I continue my original path to the kitchen for food.
"Good." Spencer smiles as her eyes follow me. She falls back into the couch again as her gaze gradually goes back to her book. "So what are you making?"
"Chicken noodle soup with egg. Would you like some?" I glance over my shoulder and smirk at the blonde who's looking at me again. "I mean, it's only polite of me to ask seeing as you're my houseguest."
"Uninvited houseguest." Spencer corrects me.
I scoff and flap my wrist limply as I hide my dramatic eye roll. "But none-the-less still welcomed. Honestly, I don't mind cooking another batch if you're hungry."
Spencer looks at me hesitantly before nodding with a grin. "Okay, sure that'd be great. Thanks."
"See, was that so hard?" I tease.
"It depends, are you contagious?" Spencer smirks wickedly.
"I told you, I'm feeling fine now. And would Taylor really have sent you over here if I was? I doubt she would risk it herself, to be honest." I laugh as I throw the stove on with a pot of water and turn to the fridge for the rest of the ingredients. When I glance back over to the couch, Spencer is making her way across the room, book still firmly in hand.
She smiles at me again as she takes a seat at one of the counter stools and then playfully nods towards the stove, "Well get on with it then, I'm famished."
"Right away." I respond with a salute, a grin urging to creep out but I'm able to hold it back, just barely. I finish throwing everything in the pot when the water finally comes to a boil before I place the lid back on. Wiping my hands on my pants, I turn around and lean against the counter to see Spencer grinning as her eyes are peeled to her book. "So how was Carmen's show?"
Spencer's eyebrow twitches as she looks up at me slightly taken back, obviously not expecting that line of questioning. "It was amazing." She pauses briefly as her eyes peek up towards mine. I can just barely spot the confusion in Spencer's face as she begins to slowly nod. I haven't seen that expression on her face in a while. "She's an extremely talented artist and I'm so proud of her finally getting exposure and recognition for her hard work. She was happily surprised when I showed up too."
"Good, I'm glad." I smile genuinely.
Spencer drops her chin and nods, her eyes go back to her book before she slowly shuts the cover and pushes the book slightly away from her reach. "Yeah, I never got to thank you for being so amazing yourself that night."
"Well I am pretty amazing." I gloat as I turn back to the stove. "Honestly, it was the least I could do." I add to quickly dismiss the topic. I stir the pot a few times and test the noodles before I take it off the stovetop and pour us two bowls. I place one in front of the blonde as I take the stool beside her. "So what's got your head so deep in your books?"
"Just research for my semester's script." The blonde revealed with a shrug.
"Script?" My ears perk up as I drop my spoon and turn my full attention to the blonde. "Well do tell."
"Oh I won't bore you with the details. It's not remotely interesting," Spencer waves it off quickly. "I'm specializing in documentaries, and I've been too many times by my friends how boring they can be."
"Well you won't know if it's interesting to me unless you tell me the details." I slap her thigh and shuffle my stool closer. "C'mon, if it's as boring as you say, I'll tell you straight up."
Spencer smiles as she nods and pushes her bowl away slightly. She turns towards me with an eager grin. "Okay, well my professor assigned everyone in the class an era to focus on, and since my specific interest is in women in movies, naturally I decided to base my script on that."
I nod as I follow her so far. "Okay, so what era did you get assigned then?"
"The 1980's."
My eyebrow naturally raises. "Well that's an interesting era."
"Don't mock me."
"I would never." I dramatically scoff. Spencer grins at the exchange and I quickly mirror her expression, letting out a light hearted laugh as she blushes and shakes her head. "So what's the problem?"
"I was going to focus my study on female directors from that era, but I've been told that female actors would be a much easier task with collecting research and garnering the viewer's attention."
"Oh."
"What?"
I contemplate how to approach my answer for a second, not wanting to impose too much when others have obviously steered her in another direction. "I just, I don't think you should have to settle for the easier and safer choice. You should choose what you want, and go from there." I pause for a second as Spencer glances up and looks at me intrigued. "Listen, I'm not trying to convince you to change your script, I'm sure you've done so much work on it already and it's going to be great—but wouldn't your professor be more impressed by going the non-predictable route? I mean, how original is covering the easier choice if everyone picks it? Isn't film making about originality and uniqueness, taking risks and bringing something new to the table and captivating your audience that way… Not by cheap flashy names and gimmicky stories that everyone and their brother knows already."
Spencer sits there wide eyed as she eventually nods slowly, "You make several valid points."
"I'm sorry, here I go making you question your decision by my ramblings."
"No, I appreciate your honest feedback. And you did after all warn me." Spencer laughs into her spoonful of soup.
"That I did." I admit with a nod. "Now it's your turn to return the favour, how's the soup, honestly?"
Spencer squints her face together as she takes another spoonful, being extra dramatic while I watch her analyze the mouthful. She hums inspecting it as she makes me wait that much longer. "I've had better." She smirks. "—But this is still pretty good, too."
I roll my eyes and push the girl slightly, shaking my head as I look down and laugh. I take another bite of soup and smile curiously back at the blonde. "Your father's soup?"
She shyly blushes with a nod. "It's the absolute best, especially when you're sick. He even makes his own noodles—you just can't compete with that. Sorry."
I light heartedly laugh and nod in agreement, knowing all too well the exquisite culinary skills of her father. I was in no position to argue with that. But I could hardly say that, not in this life at least.
I technically haven't met either of her parents.
We both finish our lunch and make our way back over to the couches where Spencer was originally located when she scared me. We both sprawl out on the comfy furniture as we come to an easy agreement to surf the channels for a '80s movie.
You know, for research purposes and all.
It doesn't take long before we find one of the classics. Spencer's school books are long forgotten as we immerse ourselves in the black and white movie, not noticing the time passing by like nothing.
Two movies going on three, I manage to stretch my arms above my head and crack my back in an attempt to unstiffen my aching body. My head leans further back when my ears perk up at the faint clicking noise of the front door, a second later it swinging wide open.
"I can't even believe I didn't think of this until now." Taylor bursts through the door determinedly shaking her head back and forth. She walks straight into my bedroom where I can see her through the doorway pacing back and forth, laughing softly to herself as she continues to mumble under her breath.
Spencer's gaze is on Taylor briefly before it shifts back to me. A semi-amused smile creeps on her face as she tries her best to hold it together.
"Continue watching the movie, I'm just going to go check on her and make sure she hasn't finally lost it." I pat Spencer's thigh and spring up off the couch, moving skeptically towards my bedroom and the pacing blonde. I close the door behind me once I'm past the threshold, just in case.
I don't necessarily need Spencer overhearing certain things.
"Taylor?"
"Ashley, there you are." She scurries out of the bathroom.
"You literally just walked past Spencer and me to get in here..." I point back to the bedroom door confused. Taylor shrugs and that's when I notice the white bag in her hand. "What's in the bag?" I ask as I gesture to her hand with a nod.
"Oh, it's for you—to prove my crazy hell of a theory wrong." She tosses me the bag and holds up a small bottle of juice towards me. I silently reach my palm out apprehensively before she quickly slaps the bottle in my hand and half grins. "Trust me, you're going to need it. And before you say anything, just humour me and do it."
Her warning confuses me as I carefully open the bag and pull out the single rectangle box.
My heart nearly drops as I glance back up at Taylor, my mouth gaped open. "No." I gasp. "You can't be serious."