*sigh*

Sorry, I am aware that it has been more than two months since I updated.

I am aware that chapter 9 was a fail.

I AM SORRY. Give me a break. A lot has happened since then.

I have fixed that all in chapter 10 here, the LAST chapter. Okie? Okie.

AND GUESS WHO BETA'D THIS ONE???

on sppf. THANK YOU SWEETIE!!!!!!!


Too bright.

My god, why is it so damn bright in here? Did we forget to put down the shades or something?

I opened my eyes slowly. Yes, the windows had no curtains or blinds covering them. When had we forgotten to-

Oh.

Oh.

A rush of memories of the night before collapsed on me. How did I forget that for a split second?

I turned to look at Ash, but saw nothing, as he wasn't still in bed. The damned light must've woken him up. Why didn't I just get up afterward and close the blinds…?

Whatever. I was just a little distracted at the time.

But how could I not be?

I yawned and sat up. Ash took his boxers and pants, but his shirt was still on the floor, next to my clothes. I considered putting his shirt on, then decided just to slip on my pants and forget about the rest.

After I was more or less dressed, I moseyed on to the kitchen, where Ash was cooking something. I became drawn to him. He heard my footsteps, and turned around. There was a silence as we just stared at each other.

"C'mere," I said, walking over to our couch. I sat down, followed by him sitting next to me.

He stared at me with confused eyes. He didn't know whether to be scared or eager.

I took a deep breath. "Ash, I think we should come out to Dawn."

A smile spread across his face.

"I can't deal with this anymore. I'm cheating on Dawn, and, in a way, I'm cheating on you. It's time to make the decision, and I chose you."

His smile turned from warm to excited and happy, as he threw his arms around me. I slightly laughed and gave him a soft kiss.

"When are we gonna do it?" He asked me, before pulling away.

"I don't know…I was hoping soon."

"Why don't you see if she can come over here at some point? I would love to help you confess."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I can't really do it alone."

"Just call her and tell her to come over here."

"Really? Today?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she should just come over here now. After we put shirts on, that is. "All right."

He hugged me again. I could tell right then that he'd been waiting for this for awhile. Too long. "Can I call her?"

"She might not pick up for you, since she's all groggy and all, but go ahead. I'm gonna go put a shirt on."

"Okay."

Back in the bedroom, I considered putting boxers on, but decided against it, as they'd just be in the way later. I pulled my shirt on and grabbed his for him. I went back to the kitchen where Ash was on the phone. I stood behind him and ran my hands up and down his bare chest.

"So, how about you come over to my apartment? It'll only take a second," he said into the phone. I couldn't quite make out what Dawn said, it just sounded like a whimper. "Whenever you feel up to it, really." He assured her. There was a pause, then Dawn said 'yes.' They both said their goodbyes and Ash hung up.

"So did you get a hold of her?" I asked him softly.

"Yeah," he replied, "she's leaving in about a half hour, getting here in about an hour from now."

"That's nice of her."

"Yes," he turned around and kissed me firmly.

There was a light knock on the door. We didn't hear it. She knocked again. We didn't hear that, either. She finally knocked with some effort. That time we heard it. We both looked up at the door, then looked at each other. I climbed off of him and we scrambled to find our clothing.

"Paul, where's my shirt?"

"Um…bedroom." We were on the floor between our couch and the TV.

"Damn…."

I stood up and made a weak attempt to fix my hair, which was sticking up in all directions. I spent way too long fixing Ash's, however. He eventually batted my hand away and got the door.

"Hello, Dawn. Come in." He said sweetly.

"A-Ash...where is your shirt?" She asked slowly.

"Let's just sit down and get to what we were going to tell you." I said before he could answer that. I grabbed a chair from the kitchen and brought it over to our couch, motioning for Dawn to sit on it. She was already suspicious. I didn't blame her.

I sat down on our couch and so did he. I looked Dawn in the eye. "Dawn, there's something I've been hiding from you."

She bit her lip.

I could tell she was hoping, praying, that it wasn't what I was about to tell her.

"I…I'm afraid we can't be together anymore."

Silence. She was waiting for me to finish.

"I have found out that I am gay." I told her, nice and straightforward.

I could hear her breathing, and saw her look at Ash, then back at me, and back again.

"Have you been cheating on me?" She asked me, her voice cracking.

"I have," I admitted.

She looked at her shirtless friend who sat next to me, and looked at my neck, which had a dark red bite mark on it, and my hair, which was still messed up.

"Ash…really?" It was directed at him. "You're supposed to be my friend, and you go behind my back and help my boyfriend cheat on me? I mean, what is that?"

"Stop, it's not his fault," I told her. "If you're gonna yell at anyone, yell at me."

"I always knew you were gay," she told me. "I always knew it, but I denied it."

I wonder why.

"How long has this been going on?"

We looked at each other. Honestly, neither of us had been keeping track of the days and nights. They all seemed to mush together.

"Fine then, I don't need to know. You could've been cheating on me for years, it doesn't matter now."

She was taking this way too well. "Dawn, promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me that you will never hurt yourself. Because really, I do love you. Just not in that way. If you did anything to hurt yourself, I'd never get over it."

She started crying, just like that. She just started sobbing, like one of those thunderstorms in the middle of a nice day. I wasn't sure whether to hold her or leave her to stop. I offered my arms to her, but she shook her head.

"I always knew," she whispered, when she had calmed down. "I always knew this would happen someday. But I loved you too much to abandon you."

"Don't hate me, Dawn," Ash begged.

"I don't hate you," she admitted, "I am just unhappy with you. But oh well, nothing I can do now." She was sniffling and her voice was high and tight. She stood up. "Unless there's anything else you want to tell me, I guess I should get going now."

I hugged her tightly before she left.

"Damn, if she kills herself I'll be pretty fucking depressed." I announced.

"You did a good job, there."

"Thanks."

There was a silence.

"…Paul?"

"Yes, Ash?" I sat back down next to him, close enough for our thighs to touch.

"You know how you told her you loved her…."

I laughed, "Yes, I love you, Ash. Very much."

He smiled and hugged me. "Well when you didn't say it back to me last night I-"

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his.

"I really do love you."

Aww.

And that's it….

Happy? Angry? Hit the review button…except, not if you are angry. Don't review if you are angry with me.

I might write an alternate ending…I don't know. I might.

For those of you that I told there would be a lemon in here…I'm sorry, I wasn't up for it. Don't hate me.

Have a happy Easter, all!

:3