I'm really sorry this took me forever. I have excuses but do you really want to hear them? They're boring anyway, so let's get on with the story!

Chapter 26

Remember when I said things couldn't get any better? I had no idea how right I was at that moment. Things didn't get better at all. In fact, they got worse, way worse. I should have seen it coming with my luck.

As I walked into school that morning, I was feeling amazing. Ashley had asked me to be her girlfriend last night. How could I not feel amazing? I felt so wonderful, I had no idea people were staring or pointing at me as I walked by. I was stuck in my own little Ashley-world.

I reached my locker and started getting things for my first class when I heard Chelsea's concerned voice to my left. "Spencer."

I looked over to her with a grin that hadn't left my face since last night. When I noticed her grave expression my grin faded and my eyebrows scrunched together. "Chelsea, what's wrong?" I stopped looking for my chemistry book and turned to face her.

"I came to see if you are alright." She hugged a book close to her body, something she only does when she's anxious.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be alright?" I asked with growing confusion.

I saw Chelsea look around the hallway for a moment. It was then I noticed the strange stares I seemed to be getting from my peers. Some of them were whispering to each other. What's going on?

"So, you haven't see the video?" she asked cautiously.

"What video?" I looked around again and my face flushed a crimson color as I noticed some kids looking at me and giggling. I pulled some of my long, blonde strands into my face to cover up my flushed cheeks. I don't even know what I have to be embarrassed about. I looked down and crossed my arms self-consciously. It must be something bad. Chelsea won't even look me in the eye. She looked like she was going to have a heart attack if she told me what was going on. It doesn't matter what it is, I just need to know! "Chelsea, please tell me what's going on!" I said through gritted teeth, getting more freaked out every second.

"Come with me." She grabbed my arm and hurriedly dragged me into the girls' bathroom. Once she saw no one else in there she locked the door immediately. "I wish I didn't have to show you this." she said regretfully as she pulled her iphone out.

She pressed a few buttons and handed her phone over to me. I looked at the screen and saw what looked like a video of Ashley and me. There was no sound, it was just the two of us sitting on the bench we were sitting at yesterday. Wait… those are the same clothes I was wearing yesterday! Ashley's dressed the same too! Oh my god this isn't a fake video. Someone taped us! I think I stopped breathing then. I knew what was coming, but I was praying it wasn't on the video. Of course, with my luck, it was. There was me and Ashley in a heavy make-out session. It was all caught on camera for the world to see.

The video ended with Ashley and I walking to her car and leaving. Even after the video ended I kept starring at the little screen of Chelsea's cell phone. "Where is this video posted?" I asked, surprising myself at how calm I sounded.

Chelsea slowly took her phone out of my hand. "It was on the school website."

I gulped. "Was?" I asked, never taking my eyes off the tiled floor.

"I got it off youtube." she said quietly. I nodded slowly. I could feel the sting of tears coming to my eyes. My throat started aching from trying to keep them hidden. "I'm so sorry Spencer." She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "The principle already knows about it. He had someone shut down the school's website, until they can take it off."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Everyone's seen it already." I concluded.

Chelsea opened her mouth to say something, but never could because of a loud knock on the bathroom door. It scared the shit out of me.

"Spencer?" the knocker called.

I let out a sigh of relief and Chelsea opened the door quickly.

"Spencer." Kyla said seemingly relieved. She walked over to me and wrapped me in her arms instantly. That's when I couldn't control my tears anymore. They came out freely and rapidly as I sobbed in my best friend's arms. "I swear I'm going to find out who did this." she said vengefully.

"It doesn't even matter." I said, hopelessly, after I controlled my crying. I stepped away from Kyla's embrace. "The only thing that matters is Ashley's never going to speak to me again."

"What? Why not?" Chelsea asked shocked. Kyla just hung her head and shook it side to side, like she knew what was coming.

"She never wanted anyone to find out about us. She's going to freak out and then break up with me." Just the thought of that made the tears stream down my face again.

"You don't know that for sure." said Chelsea, trying to make me feel better. I don't think she really believed it herself.

"This happened to her before." I started explaining to them. "She told me how painful it was and how cruel everyone treated her." I leaned against the bathroom wall and slid down. "She's going to hate me." I whispered.

Kyla got on her knees in front of me. "Spencer none of this is your fault."

"Yes it is. I shouldn't have kissed her there. I should have waited until we were somewhere private." I chastised myself. How could I be so stupid?

"I think you and Ashley really need to talk before you make assumptions." Kyla said.

"Where is Ashley anyway?" Chelsea asked.

"She had a doctor's appointment." Kyla and I said at the same time.

Kyla stood up quickly. "I'm going to text her and tell her about what's going on so she's prepared." She pulled her cell phone out of her purse.

I jumped up immediately and grabbed her phone. "No Kyla don't tell her yet!"

"Why?"

I paused. "I just need to do it, ok?"

Kyla nodded. "Well she should be back any minute. Maybe you should wait for her outside." she suggested.

"Thanks." I gave them both a hug and we all went our separate ways.

Thank god everyone was in class at the time, so I wouldn't have to deal with them. As I was walking towards the front doors I heard heels tapping behind me. I quickened my pace, thinking it might be a teacher. Then I heard someone call out, "Hey Dyke!"

I wanted to run so bad after recognizing her voice, but I knew that would only make it worse. Before I could turn around, she pushed me and I landed hard on the linoleum floor. The fall caused me to bite my lip and my mouth started filling with blood.

"Are you going to get up or what, Dyke?"

When I turned around there was Madison, the biggest bitch in the school. She gave me an evil grin, which she must have perfected over the years. I stood up cautiously.

"What do you want?" I tried sounding firm and confident, but Madison saw right through me.

She stepped close to me. "I want you to stop being a lesbo. You think you can do that?" I stayed silent and she chuckled manically. "Oh, you can't can you? Cause you were born this way, huh?" she said in a pretend upset voice.

Don't cry. She's not worth it! "Just leave me alone Madison." I started walking away, but she gripped my arm and turned me around forcefully.

"Listen bitch. You better stay away from Ashley Davies. She's not like you." she said with anger. She let go of my arm and then body checked me as she walked by.

I stumbled backwards but managed to keep my balance. Once she was out of sight my eyes were watering once again. Is this how the rest of my life is going to be now? Is Ashley really not like me? What if she's just messing with me? I was so lost in thought I didn't notice a few students walking by, until they started throwing their two cents in as well.

"I can't believe there's a lesbian at our school."

"She better not try anything with me. I'll have Madison beat her up again."

"Look, the Dyke's crying."

They pointed and jeered at me.

I couldn't take it anymore. I felt so overwhelmed and humiliated. What made it worse was I was all by myself. No one knew how I felt… except Ashley. I ran past the kids that were taunting me as my sobbing took over. There were so many tears in my eyes I could barely see where I was going. As soon as I was outside I ran into someone. I didn't bother looking up in fear that it could be another person who hated me. I just ran right by whoever it was.

"Spencer?" the person questioned.

Ashley? I spun around and found her looking very concerned. I didn't know what to do. What if she already knows what happened and she doesn't want anything to do with me?

After she got a good look at me, her eyes became enormous and her mouth dropped open slightly. She was in front of me in seconds, and had her hands on my arms, pulling me close.

"Oh my god. What happened to you Spencer?" she spoke frantically. "Why is your lip bleeding? Did someone hurt you?" She pulled a tissue out of her purse and started cleaning up my cut.

After she was done I nodded my head and tried blinking away my tears. She wrapped one arm around my back and put the other on the back of my head. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, needing to be as close to her as possible.

Knowing she wasn't going to get any answers from me yet, she tried calming me down. "You're going to be ok baby. I won't let anyone hurt you." she whispered in my ear while massaging my head.

Hearing her say those words and having her hold me made me feel a thousand times better. "I'm so…." I was about to apologize for getting her shirt wet, but she cut me off.

"Don't." She backed away slightly, so she could see my face. "Don't apologize for anything." She put her hand on my cheek and wiped away some tears with her thumb. "Tell me what's wrong so I can make you feel better." she half smiled, but still looked worried.

"You don't want to know." I whispered. I was so scared to tell her the truth.

"Spencer, please? If someone hurt you I need to know."

I guess I should start out with the not-as-bad stuff first. "It was Madison. She pushed me and I fell and bit my lip."

She frowned and her eyes filled with hate. She let go of me and took a few steps back. "I can't believe her!" she said throwing her arms up in frustration. "Fucking bitch!" I heard her mutter. After another minute of cursing, Ashley walked back over to me. "I'm sorry." she said wrapping me in her arms again. "Why'd she do it?" Instead of answering her I threw my arms around her neck and held her tightly again. I hid my face in the side of her neck. "Spencer you're shaking." She started rubbing my back faster. "Why don't we get you out of here. We can go to my house and talk?" she asked.

I could only nod as she kept an arm around my waist and ushered me to her car. She walked us to the passenger side and opened the door for me. Even when she's freaking out she's still chivalrous. I think I love her. Or I'm just being emotional because… well I'm having an emotional day if you didn't notice. She hopped in the driver's side of her BMW and we were off to her house.

Before I knew it we were in her bedroom, lying on her bed to be exact. She wrapped me in her arms the moment we got there. We laid like that for about a half hour. She let me finish crying as she stroked my arm back and forth. It almost made me fall asleep.

"Hey Spenc…" she spoke softly just as I was about to drift off.

"Hhmmm?" I asked while opening my heavy, swollen eye lids as best I could.

"I don't want to keep pressuring you to tell me what happened with Madison… but I'm kinda freaking out here." She let out a nervous laugh.

It's now or… well not never cause she'll find out eventually. I guess it's just now. I leaned on my elbow and took a deep breath. "She knows about us. She was threatening me to stay away from you. And calling me a Dyke." I muttered the last part while cringing. I hate that word. I looked at her timidly, after not getting any response. Her expression was blank. She was just staring at me, but not really at me… more like past me. "Ashley?" She didn't even blink. "Ash… did you hear me?" I repeated while grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

Now she started blinking and shook her head. "Yes… Madison knows about us?" she asked disbelievingly. I nodded and then her expression became panicked. "I have to call her… make sure she doesn't tell anyone else." She got up instantly and raced to her cell phone.

"Ashley wait."

"Oh my god! I can't believe she found out. Did she tell you how she found out?" she asked frantically, still trying to find her phone. She was running around her room like a crazy woman.

I got off the bed and ran over to her. I grabbed her arm to get her to look at me. "Ashley." I said calmly.

She gave up searching for her phone and sighed in frustration. "What?"

"Everyone knows." I stated slowly.

I noticed her eyes start watering. Seeing her this way would've made me cry again, if I had anymore tears left. "How?" she asked dejectedly.

I shrugged. "Someone videotaped us yesterday and put it on the school website."

Ashley shook her head side to side and turned away from me. "How could this happen again?" she sniffled.

"I don't know. I swear the only people I told were my brothers, Chelsea, and Kyla. And I know none of them would tell." I explained.

"It's my fault. I'm so stupid!" she said, covering her face with her hands.

I turned her around and took her in my arms immediately. "No you're not stupid! We just got caught up in the moment and we weren't thinking about who was around."

She pulled away slightly and looked in my eyes. "That seems to happen a lot when I'm with you." she let out a weak laugh.

I wiped away some stray tears on her cheek like she did for me earlier. "So what do you want to do now?" I asked somewhat fearing her answer.

"I want to kill Madison!" she groaned. "I know she did this."

"Then you should do that…" I'll even help. "… but I meant what do you want to do about us?" I clarified. Please don't say it's over.

She plopped down on her bed and sighed. I sat down next to her. This doesn't look good. She sat there staring at the wall for a few minutes, soaking everything in. I for sure thought it was over between us.

"I… I want to take you on a date." she said as she slowly turned to look at me.

Great… I knew this… wait… WHAT? I looked up at her wide-eyed. "What?" I barely said above a whisper. It's as if all the air was sucked out of my lungs. My ears better not be playing tricks on me.

She took my hands that had been squeezing the edge of her bed unconsciously. "I don't want to think about anybody at school right now. All I want is to spend the night with you… on a date." she smiled.

"Re… really?" I stuttered in shock. She nodded as her smile widened.

"Yes. We can deal with all the bullshit later. Please?" she asked in the sweetest voice I had ever heard.

I blushed slightly. "Of course. I'd love that."

We both smiled at each other. I can't believe she's taking this so well.

She caught me looking at her for a little too long and asked, "What?"

"I just didn't think you would take that news this well. When you were telling me about what happened to you last time you seemed devastated. But this time you want to take me on a date?"

"Last time that girl didn't actually like me like I know you do. I was completely alone, going through all that shit by myself last time. This time I have you." She looked deeply into my eyes and gave me an innocent kiss.

"Oh." was all I could say when she pulled away. I was a little surprised by her words, if you couldn't tell.

She giggled. "Alright. Let's get to your house so you can change before anyone gets home." She pulled me up by my hands she was still holding and we walked downstairs. Before we left Ashley grabbed her purse and phone she had left by the door.

--

"So what should I wear?" I asked Ashley. I was in my closet searching through clothes and she was using my laptop.

"Whatever you want." she giggled.

"Well where are we going? Do I need to dress nice or casual?" I questioned while walking out of my closet to look at her.

"Well my dearest Spencer…" she started while walking towards me and putting her hands on my shoulders. "… I'm wearing this." she looked down briefly to her skinny jeans and pale pink, midriff-showing tank top. Hey I really like that shirt. "So wear whatever you want… or don't want." she smirked playfully.

She's way too sexy when she smiles like that. Suddenly, I pulled her close by her neck and kissed her senseless. I have no idea what overcame me, but I needed to kiss her so badly. She must have needed me just as much because she pulled me as close as possible by my waist and pushed me against my bedroom wall. Our tongues started pulsing in and out of each other's mouths as my fingers became tangled in her wavy brown locks. I felt Ashley's hands slide under my shirt and caress my back. They inched their way to my stomach and started lightly scratching. It felt so good I think I moaned a little.

Ashley must have heard me because she pulled away and sucked in a gulp of air. "Maybe… we should… stop." she said between pants.

But it felt so good. "Why?" I asked still in a daze. I pulled her face to me again and started kissing her hot, moist lips.

She pushed my hips away a little to get me to stop kissing her. "I just…" she started but I cut her off with one last peck. "…don't think I'll be able to control myself if we continue."

I looked down a little embarrassed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's ok Spenc…" She lifted my chin and I saw the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen on her before. She makes it so hard not to attack her. "I just don't want us to rush into anything, you know?" I nodded. She gave me a kiss on my cheek and let me out of her grasp. "Now get changed. We're running out of time!" she commanded.

I grinned. "Alright I'm going." I walked back into my closet to find something that would make Ashley lose control.

--

So what do you think? I really wasn't sure where I was going at the end of this chapter. I just started typing and that's what came out lol. The next chapter will be their date and some more drama! Please review ;-)