Sorry for the wait, I got a little distracted with a few things, namely my Glee fic Learning The Truth. So if you're into Glee, feel free to venture towards that one as well :)

Much love to my readers, reviewers (the few of you lol) and alert...ers haha

Disclaimer: no I don't know anything other than the story it is based upon. If I did own South, it wouldn't have ended after 3 seasons.

Ashley played with the zipper on her jacket as she walked through the parking lot of her apartment complex. She wasn't sure why she was nervous but after not hearing from Spencer other than the text, she felt like this "talk" wasn't just a casual conversation.

Knowing what she knew about Spencer now, so many things were swimming around in her head. Did Aiden tell her that she knew? Would she be upset? Did Aiden tell her what she had said? What if she actually liked Aiden and she just wanted to make sure she knew that? What if Spencer actually liked her? The chill that Ashley was feeling when she'd first walked out the door was long gone. It felt as though her thoughts were creating an extra layer around her, the more she thought, the warmer she became.

She needed to get things cleared up fast before she passed out from the overwhelming heat she'd created. Ashley crossed the street, deciding to take a short cut behind the stadium, maneuvering around the half fence and nearly tripping over the uneven cement in the sidewalk that led to the small alleyway.

"That damn spot gets me every time!" She whispered into the night shaking her head at her clumsiness. She ran her fingers along the chain link fence, the vibrations numbing her fingers and seeming to numb her nerves as well.

Before she emerged from the other end she stopped to take a deep breath and shake out the last of the nerves she was feeling. Closing her eyes she walked up the hill towards Spencer's dorm.

Spencer pulled a hoodie over her head, fixing her hair when she felt the back of her hoodie loosen the messy bun she'd had. She contemplated grabbing her bowl, not sure if Ashley would be into her smoking habit but decided to take it one step at a time. She checked the clock on her desk. 7:56. Spencer looked out the window and saw the shadow of a girl walking out from the alley way behind the stadium, smiling when the streetlight partially lit the girl's face.

From her window she could see the girl looked nervous, her head was focused on the ground, her hands shoved into her pockets as she walked. Spencer felt a tug at her heart. She too was nervous, but she felt bad knowing that her vague text had made the other girl nervous as well.

Spencer grabbed her keys as she jogged out of her room, clumsily locking the door behind her and running for the stairs knowing the wait for the elevator would only slow her down.

Ashley walked past a group of students that were standing by a picnic table to the left of the doors and reached for the door as someone else was coming out.

"Hey!" Ashley looked up to see Spencer standing at the door she had reached out to open.

"Oh, hey!"

"I was thinking we could go talk in the little gazebo looking area on the other side. That cool?" Ashley nodded, turning around to follow Spencer. "So, how was your day?"

"Um, fine. I had a test this morning that I'm pretty sure I did a shitty job on and my other class got cancelled so, in a way, I guess it kind of evened out." Ashley laughed. "Although, I'm pretty sure Emily thinks I skipped class but, eh, whatever. Other than that, I went to lunch with Aiden because he basically showed up at my door WHILE he called me so I kind of had no choice." Spencer laughed and nodded knowing exactly what she was talking about. "He went to class after that and I went to hang out with Tim for a while and now here I am." She shrugged.

"Well, that sounds like a fairly good day. Sorry about your test though." Spencer paused, "and I'm sorry about this weekend, not talking to you or anything and basically bailing on the whole bowling thing. Things kind of got crazy after I got out of work Saturday. I don't want you to think I was purposely ignoring you."

"Oh it's cool." Ashley smiled trying to brush it off as nothing so Spencer wouldn't see that she actually had been worried. They reached the table area and Spencer sat down, resting her back against the table, her legs stretched outward while her elbows rested on the table behind her. Ashley mirrored her position but crossed her arms over her chest.

"So, um..." Spencer knew she would have to start this conversation. It was, after all, her decision to meet up here. She looked over and saw Ashley biting at her bottom lip, her right foot swinging back and forth at varying speeds. She took note that this seemed to be a nervous habit of the girl's. "I um, Aiden told me what he told you about me." She started. Ashley turned towards her but didn't say anything as she tucked one leg under her and leaned on her right arm. Spencer waited a beat before deciding to continue. "He also told me what you had said, I hope that's okay."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "of course he did," she laughed.

"So um..." Spencer sat up straighter, turning towards Ashley. "This sounds really silly and hopefully I'm not being too forward but, are you gay?" She winced at the sound of her own question, feeling kind of stupid for asking and hoping she wasn't going to scare off the other girl.

"Well, I'm not really into labels and I've never really thought about it but I guess so. It would kind of make sense." Ashley's voice was weak, nervous as she spoke towards the table top, avoiding Spencer's eyes.

"So, can I ask another question?" Spencer swung her leg over to straddle the bench and slid herself closer to Ashley but kept some distance so as not to make the girl uncomfortable.

"Yeah. Go ahead." Ashley nodded, smiling when she finally looked up to meet Spencer's eyes.

Spencer took a deep breath, closing her eyes, opening them as she exhaled with her question. "Do you like me?" Her head cocked to the side, eyebrows raised in a mix of hope and worry. She tried hard to keep her eyes focused on Ashley but ended up shifting her gaze towards her own fidgeting hands. "You don't have to answer that if you feel uncomfortable."

Ashley was frozen, her breath stopped as she replayed the question in her head, her head spun as she watched Spencer's head cock to the side in the most adorable way. She tried to so hard to get a response out but it seemed like her voice was betraying her. When Spencer's eyes shifted, her head seemed to finally clear. She watched the fidgeting hands of the girl in front of her and smiled.

Reaching out, she grabbed Spencer's hands in an attempt to still them.

"Yes. I do." She whispered. The response nearly taken off with the cold breeze that started blowing through the campus. Spencer's head slowly turned up, a small smile on her face.

"Good." Spencer nodded.

"Good? That's it?" Ashley laughed, incredulously. She'd expected something to the likes of me too, not a simple, good.

"Yeah. Good, because I was thinking we should go see a movie Thursday night. A few girls on my floor were wanting to see Final Destination 3 and I told Aiden about it but I'd really like it if you came with us." Spencer's voice was much calmer now. The knowledge that Ashley liked her seemed to calm the nerves she had been trying to suppress.

"Yeah. That sounds cool." Ashley smiled. "So, can I ask you a question now?" Spencer nodded, smiling in return.

"Are you really bi?" Spencer laughed silently to herself.

"I had a feeling you would ask that. I like your 'not into labels' mantra. I know what I told Aiden, but really I only told him that so I wouldn't hurt his feelings. I'm actually here because my girlfriend in high school and I decided to go to college together but, you know, things happen and we broke up." Ashley noticed the hurt hidden behind Spencer's eyes as she spoke about her ex. "After that is when I met Aiden. Things with him really shouldn't have happened but he's a great guy so I didn't want to completely destroy him."

"I see. So..." Ashley looked around her.

"You want to know if I like you now don't you?" Spencer smirked.

"Well, I'd like to think that since you invited me out here and didn't run away when I answered you that you don't hate me." Ashley laughed, feeling her cheeks redden with sudden embarrassment.

"No, I definitely don't hate you. You seem cool, I'm just trying to figure you out. I can't get a good read on you yet."

"Is that- Is that bad?" Ashley shifted nervously in her seat.

"No. Not at all, actually, it's really intriguing." Spencer smiled, reaching her hand out to brush against Ashley's. "I just really want to get to know you better."

"Good." Ashley responded, mimicking Spencer's earlier response. Her nose crinkled as she smiled back.

Spencer asked how she'd met Aiden and why she had decided to come to school here. Ashley answered, her voice still very nervous as she spoke. She didn't know why Spencer made her so nervous. Sure, she had a tendency to be shy but this was something entirely different. Every time Spencer's hand would touch hers or hit her arm while she laughed, her breath would catch in her throat and she'd nearly choke. Spencer didn't talk much, whenever Ashley would ask her questions she'd avoid them and ask another question.

They talked for two hours, Spencer learned about the boys Ashley had made out with, laughed at her impressions of her roommate freshman year and was impressed that she had avoided getting into trouble when the boys she hung out with got busted for drinking freshman year.

Ashley found it started to get a little easier to talk after a while but when it was time to head back to their respective "homes" the nerves kicked back in full force.

"So, hopefully I'll see you soon? If not, then Thursday right?"

"Yes, to both." Ashley smiled, nodding her head quickly, a deep blush forming on her cheeks. She was about to turn and walk away when Spencer put her arms out for a hug. Ashley stepped forward and wrapped her arms quickly around Spencer being sure not to squeeze too tight but worried she might not be squeezing hard enough.

Spencer could feel the inner turmoil Ashley was having in their hug, she found it endearing. This girl was definitely something different and she wanted nothing more than to figure out what her story was. She could tell Ashley had walls up to protect herself and Spencer wanted to take it upon herself to break down some of those walls and find the true Ashley. The carefree Ashley that seemed to come out when she was full of alcohol and obviously much more relaxed. She knew it would take time but she figured this girl might be well worth the effort.

I hope you liked this. Please let me know what you're thoughts are. It drives my motivation to keep this story going. Trust me when I say the "good times" are just around the corner.