A/N- Hey everyone! Hope you're excited to see one of these from me so soon! =) After I got that last post up last week, I was just in total writing mode. In like a 3-4 day period, I literally wrote this chapter, and the first two chapters for LCCA's sequel! =) And I have the next chapter outlined in my mind for this story as well. So that one should flow pretty nicely once I can sit down and type it up. =)

Anywho.. here's the start of some of that drama for you. =) Idea props go to somthgIlike2do for this chapter! =) You suggested this one, and it was the perfect set-up for other people's suggestions. Plus I was kind of thinking this one myself! Great minds think alike! ;P Enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to you. =D

FOF's

Harley Quinn Davidson- I'm glad you love the story. Here's so more! =)

ConcealedAttraction- OH! BUDDYYYY! =) hahah How are you? I LOVE the new name. It's so life defining for me. haha.. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and all it's warmness. And yes, you may borrow some of the convo stuff for any future reference/conversation with your parents. =P haha I know you always say that you don't care about how long it'll take me to post, but seriously, thanks for coming back and reading/reviewing each time. Like just gets crazy sometimes and it'll either makes it hard to write or makes the ideas hard to flow. But I do what I can for you guys. =)

hugbuddy13- That was definitely one thing that I wanted to show, was Ashley's ease into the family. But we'll see how long that lasts.. (hinthint) haha.. But yes.. right time is the key! =)

imaferrari- Sorry it took so long that youo had to review previous chapters. I'll admit I've done that on other people's stories. Life is just crazy! But either way, I'm glad you liked it and the length to boot. If there's one thing I am, it's extremely verbose. So sometimes a chapter will be long just because there's so much detail involved. xD As long as you enjoy it though, then I'll keep doing it. =) I don't know how much outside drama there will be. But we'll see.. however, Spash drama starts now. ;P Enjoy yes? lol

mutt009- HEYA BABE! =) I was glad to see your review. Hope all is well. And if it's not, then you know my cell phone is open to you at any time. But I know how busy you and I both are unfortunately. =/ And I'm not sure just HOW much drama Alexis will be involved in, but I do have my first key idea. ;P Just wait and see for that one. haha. I'm sorry everything is still so crazy for you. Things are indeed lookin up for me. I got a new job! =D My last day at McDonalds will be this Friday! And hopefully next week, I'll be starting my training to be an Assistant Manager at Circle K 9gas station here in case you don't know what that is lol) And in six months time, if I'm doing well, they're gonna promote me to Store Manager. =D But yea.. we need to text each other soon and catch up! Miss you buddy. The gang is well also btw. =)

rizzorat- That's cool that I used your name.. boo that she's a bad character in this story.. haha.. Glad you enjoyed it though! =)

Thanks to everyone else who reads silently, and those who add me for alerts and favorites. =) Enjoy everyone!

peace&love
-Mel

"THREE'S COMPANY..."

Spencer's POV

Two weeks. I've been back in classes for about two weeks now and it's still the same. I can't seem to focus because my mind is constantly on Ashley. I'm not failing anything. As a matter of fact, I have extremely high marks in all of my classes; which astounds every single one of my teachers, as well. But I still can't seem to just pay enough attention while I'm actually here. Which only makes me sitting in these two hour long classes pointless and a waste of my time.

All-in-all, though, I do my best to focus and jot down notes. Even if I don't comprehend them until later when I go back and read them and my text books. My professor is wrapping up her lecture and then turns around to face the class; dusting off her hands.

"Alright. There will be no homework; however, I'm assigning a project. And you're to do it in pairs of two. It'll be due on Monday, which gives you the weekend to work on it. I've taken the liberty of pairing everyone up by how well or bad you're doing grade wise, because I do not want someone pawning the entire assignment off on their partner and getting credit they do not deserve." A few grumbles go around the room, but otherwise no one really cares. "The entire project is outlined in this packet. When I call you and your partners name, come down and pick up your packet and then you may leave."

She begins to call out pairs of names, and as she does: the pair gets up, picks up a project packet and then leaves the room. She must have started with the kids who have lower grades; because out of about forty students, I'm one of eight left ten minutes later. I glance around the room at the possible candidates for my partners. My eyes nearly bulge out of my sockets when I see that Roxanne is one of them. And it'd be just my luck if she happened to be the one I'm stuck with.

Ever since that day she approached me in the other class we have together, she's been giving me these weird looks and random smirks. Not like, evil, vindictive smirks. But the sweet, 'hey, what's up?', kind. It's been nothing but odd, is the main point here.

It's now down to four people and Roxanne is still one of them. "Roxanne McDonald and Spencer Carlin." She calls and I immediately hang my head.

Damn.

I glance over and I see that she has a smile tugging at her lips that she's trying to contain. God, it's moments like this that I know Madison was right.

We meet at the front of the class and she takes the packet from our teacher. I turn silently and head for the door. Once we're outside, I hear her behind me.

"So when do you want to start?" She asks.

I turn around now, but my eyes are currently on my feet. I'm willing the scowl to leave my face, because it's not her fault that we ended up partners; so there's no reason to be angry at her for it. Making my face as blank as possible, I look up at her and force a breath past my lips.

"Let's meet tomorrow. School library? Is two o'clock alright?" I ask her as nicely as possible.

She's composed her own face to be void of emotion as it usually is. She nods. "Ok." She whispers and then turns to leave.

"Wait.." I call out before she gets very far. She turns back to me and raises a single eye brow. "Here." I scribble my number down on a blank sheet of paper, before ripping it out of my notebook and hold it out to her. "Just in case something happens and one of us is running late. Just text me if you make it here before I do and let me know where to meet you." I tell her solemnly.

She nods and takes the paper from my hands; then she turns and leaves.

I drag my feet all the way to my car and my face falls even more as I continue to think about it. I haven't even told Ashley about this Roxanne chick; and it definitely will not be wise to continue to hide this from her now that I'm forced to work with her this weekend.

Once I get home, I walk straight to the den; just looking for the nearest comfy thing to fall in to. So as I ascend the entry stairs, I take quick steps and face plant into the wide plush couch. I grab a hold of one of the throw pillows and bring it up under my shoulder as I do my best to relax.

"I thought I heard you come in." I hear my girlfriend's cheery voice. When I don't attempt to move, she comes and sits down on the coffee table in front of me. Cracking just one eye open, I catch her already worried expression. "What's wrong beautiful? Stressful day?" She asks sympathetically. Her fingertips brush my hair back behind my ear and then she runs the backs of her fingers against my cheek.

"You could say that." I mumble and then turn over onto my back with a groan, focusing my attention on the ceiling for a moment; silently praying that a huge vortex will open up and suck all of my problems and worries out of my life. Leaving behind just a happy me and a happy Ashley. I internally groan and scowl at the ceiling, before remembering that Ashley is sitting and waiting for me to elaborate. "There's something I need to tell you." I say and turn to look at her finally. Her face immediately contorts to one that I can only describe as scared.

I sit up quickly and look into her eyes. "It's not that kind of bad babe." I reassure her.

I see her visibly relax and let out a slow breath. "Ok, well what's up?" She asks and takes one of my hands into hers, playing with my fingers.

My thoughts falter for a second at the feel of electricity running through me from such a simple touch. "Remember my ex that I told you about last week?" I finally start off. When I look up at her, she nods and then looks at me curiously. "There's more to the story. But it's only recently become knowledge to me. And I didn't think it was anything important to mention until today." I start off, wanting to make sure she understands that this is the only reason why I'm bringing it up now and why I haven't brought it up before. "Kelsey has a cousin named Roxanne. She used to hang out with all of us while I was dating Kelsey, because they were close. And then one day she just stopped hanging out with us, but I never knew why. Then me and Kelsey broke up so I didn't give it a second thought. None of it was important. The same day that we went to my parents house for dinner to see my brother, that same day that I had told you everything?" I state as a question to make sure she has it in memory. She nods to let me know she's following. "Ok, well earlier that day, Roxanne, who I have two classes with, decided she wanted to approach me after class ended. Nothing happened; she just commented on how I appeared happy more recently. I told her I've been happy for months, but that I did have more of a reason to be. When I got home from class, I talked to Madison about it while we were at the beach that day and she tells me that she thinks Roxanne has liked me since I was with her cousin; and with everything else it seemed to make sense."

I stop for a moment to evaluate her expression. She seems to be turning it all around in her head. "Ok, well what does this have to do with your day today?" She jumps ahead, but I know well enough to believe there will be more to come.

"My class, today, was assigned a weekend project and everyone was assigned a partner. As my luck would have it, her and I were partnered up. And there's no way to change it. She's been acting strange towards me since she talked to me that day. And part of me is worried that Kelsey has something to do with it. Cause if she does, then I don't think I'm prepared to deal with that kind of drama. And if it's just Roxanne crushing on me or whatever; well I'll just have to tell her that it's not going to happen. But all-in-all, I don't know which one it is, and now I have to spend all my free time this weekend, with her doing this project." I ramble on and then drag in a long breath.

She sits quietly. I can tell that she's trying to process all of this information; so I sit quietly as she does so. "Ok, so you're saying that your ex-girlfriend's cousin quite possibly had and still might have a thing for you. But you don't know whether or not her recent actions have anything to do with your ex. And then to top it all off, you have to do a project with her this weekend?" She has this incredulous look on her face, and I immediately feel bad for this entire situation even though I've done nothing wrong.

"That would be correct." I answer in a small voice.

"Wow. Ok. And you said that there's no way to change partners?" She asks. I know she's uncomfortable with the situation, as she should be.

"Look, I'm not worried about anything happening between Roxanne and I. So I hope that you're not as well. I just wanted to tell you, so that if this does come down to it concerning Kelsey, than you know what's going on and she won't have any way to come between you and I." I tell her in the best soothing voice I can force out.

She takes a few slow breaths and looks around the room slowly. "Ok. I have no reason not to trust you. I understand that first and foremost, you have to do this project. Just be careful; keep your guard up and keep me posted on anything. Cause I agree, that I don't want Kelsey to think that she can come between us." She finally says. Her body still seems tense, but I'm glad that she understands.

"Ok, thank you. For understanding, I mean. I know it's not a fun situation either way. But you know I have no other choice. If I did, I'd take it. But there just isn't, unfortunately." I frown and she looks intensely into my eyes.

"It's ok Spence." She gives me a half smile. She brings my hand to her lips and kisses my palm before releasing my hand altogether and standing. "Want anything to eat?" She asks as she starts toward the kitchen.

"Uhm, no. I'm not really hungry right now." I tell her honestly. My stomach is still in a bunch of nervous knots which usually kills my appetite for a few hours.

She nods and then heads into the kitchen to fix herself something.

I fall back into the sofa and grab the same pillow as before; covering my face with it.

"Wait a second.." I hear Ashley's voice break into my thoughts once more. I remove the pillow and look up at her. "What about my record release party tomorrow night?" She asks me, her face looking worried.

"We can still go babe. I'm meeting her at the library in the afternoon tomorrow. She has the packet, so I don't know how long the project will take, but we still have Sunday as well." I tell her.

I see her relax again and she gives me another small smile. "Ok. Good." She smiles once more and then walks back into the kitchen.

God I better be right about that.

-X-X-X-

The next morning, when I wake up, Ashley isn't in bed and I pout quietly to myself. We usually always wake up together on Saturday's and spend the morning cuddling with each other. When I don't hear her nearby after a few minutes, I decide to start making my way out of bed.

She must be upset about something, because I don't see a note from her either. I really hope this doesn't have anything to do with what I told her. I'm sure she's worried about the situation, but I reassured her every chance that I got that nothing would happen; no matter which way the situation went in. Then again, she's probably just extremely preoccupied with the party coming up tonight also. Either way, I hope she's ok and not stressing for no good reason.

I pull my robe on over my tank top and boy shorts, then leave it hanging open as I make my way down stairs. After stepping off the last step, I tie my hair up in a pony tail and make my way towards the kitchen where I smell fresh coffee. My mouth waters at the thought of a nice fresh cup.

As I round the corner, a bright smile crosses my features at the sight of Ashley dancing around in her own underwear, flour dusted across her forehead and singing a Taylor Swift song into a spatula. Leaning against the entry way, I just watch her in silence; trying not to laugh the entire time. She looks so adorable right now.

Seeming to need something from behind her, she turns around and finally notices me standing here. She yelps and sends her spatula flying in the air; it lands a few feet behind her. Her chest is rising and falling quickly as her now empty hand rests against her chest; where I'm sure her heart is beating a mile a minute from me startling her.

"Oh, please, continue! You looked absolutely adorable dancing around and singing Taylor Swift." I say and laugh at the embarrassed look she takes on.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asks, completely avoiding my previous statement.

"Long enough." I answer with a smirk. "I was sad when I woke up without you there." I tell her next and give her a pout to which her own face softens.

"I'm sorry Spence. I was hoping you'd sleep a lot longer. I was making you breakfast in bed." She gives me an adorable smile and I swoon at the now ruined gesture. "I felt bad for how I acted all night last night. You didn't and haven't done anything wrong, and I was acting like an ass for no reason. So I was trying to make it up to you." She tells me and bites her lip timidly.

"Aww, Ash. It's ok. I understand why you seemed off. I would be worried too, but I know that you're understanding of the entire situation." I say and give her a smile.

She walks over to me and wraps me in her arms, before giving me a soft kiss. "Well still. I shouldn't have taken it out on you in that way. I trust you Spence, and I know you'll tell me if anything happens." She gives me a smile and then she kisses my cheek.

"No worries. I'm dreading the day ahead of me either way." I tell her with a sigh.

"Well that's good to know!" She amends with a bright smile and I swat at her ass. "I'm just sayin!" She laughs and I shake my head at her. "And you're definitely still gonna make it home in time for the limo to pick us up right? Cause I'm really excited about our first public appearance as a couple!" She says and her nose-crinkling smile appears across her flawless features.

"Yes baby girl. I promise! I can't wait either. I don't see any reason why I'd have to miss it." I give her a reassuring smile and pray silently to God at the same time that my luck doesn't have it any other way.

"Ok, good." She kisses my lips and then walks away to finish breakfast.

"If you'd like, I can go climb back in bed so that you can still bring me breakfast." I give her a wink and she rolls her eyes.

"Or you could sit down and keep me company, then we can go back upstairs and have our Saturday morning cuddle time." That nose-crinkling smile appears again and I get butterflies at the sight.

"Sounds perfect." I agree.

She pours me a cup of coffee, and fixes it the way I like before she goes back to cooking and humming what sounds like another Taylor Swift song. I just laugh softly and drink my coffee as I watch.

-X-X-X-

After breakfast, we spend the morning and early afternoon in bed just cuddling. We put the TV on and watch it here and there; but really only use it for background noise.

When it starts drawing nearer to one in the afternoon, Ashley begins to pout because I have to get up.

"I'm sorry Ash. But you know I have too." I say as my own pout forms.

"I know, but I don't want to stop holding you." She continues pouting and then makes the 'whining puppy' noise.

I roll my eyes and laugh, causing her to smile. "You know I wish I could stay here, but I have to get up and get ready. I told her I'd meet her at the school library at two." I tell her seriously and she nods sadly. "I'll get as much done as possible and come home as soon as I can." I tell her and she nods once more. I kiss her nose and she gives me a small smile before rolling her eyes.

"Ok, ok. Go! So that you can hurry up and be back already!" She says as she pushes me out of the bed gently.

"Alright." I laugh and kiss her lips quickly before heading towards the bathroom.

-X-X-X-

When I get to the school, I head immediately towards the library to search for Roxanne. I find her sitting on a bench just outside of the building, seemingly waiting for me.

"Hey." She says quietly as I approach.

"Hey." I reply monotonously. I nod toward the building and she nods and follows.

I head toward a quiet, secluded part of the library. But also make sure it's within eyesight of other people. I don't want her getting the wrong ideas.

"So the good news is that this project isn't very hard." She starts off as we sit down and place our individual bags on the table.

"Alright. What's it on?" I ask while I pull out a pen and a notebook.

"Each individual group was assigned two specific muscles and we have to do a five page report on how they work and the jobs they do. How they benefit from each other -that is if they do- write how they can be harmed, how they're fixed when harmed and other details as such." She informs me.

"Ok. Sounds simple enough. Is that all?" I ask her.

Her face looks grave once I've asked. "We both have to have individual reports, written by our own selves. But they have to show similarities and have the same facts, based on the project at hand. And then our bibliography is one shared page. It doesn't say that we have to have all of the same resources, but we can have no more than three that we used individually."

My face falls more if at all possible and I just stare at her. "Are you serious?" I ask with the same monotonous tone as before.

"Yes." She tells me and then pulls our packet out of her bag. "Feel more than free to look through it yourself and confirm everything I've said." She says and slides it to me.

Being that I don't have more than a general trust for her, I pick up the packet and skim through it. When I get to the last page, I stop and read over it very carefully before I look up at her quickly. "There's a presentation portion?" I demand and she looks away from me for a moment.

"Yea." She says softly.

I take a long deep breath, trying to control my breathing. It's not her fault for any of this and I have to remember that.

"It says that it doesn't have to be very long. Just a few minutes to explain our muscles and outline what our reports say. I'm going to assume it's like we're teaching our class because in the end everyone has to know these things about each muscle." She informs me and her face is emotionless, but she appears to be tense; clearly not happy with this either.

I close my eyes and will myself to relax. I'm sure my demeanor isn't helping hers. "Ok, well let's get started then." I tell her with a sigh.

"There's one more thing…" She starts and glances past me.

I nod for her to continue, giving her a questioning gaze.

"I have a double shift at work tomorrow. So I only have today to work on this project." She tells me and then her eyes come back to meet mine.

My eyes go wide. "Shit!" I say out loud and don't even try and hide my glare now. "Are you serious?" I demand furiously.

"I'm sorry. It's the only arrangements I could make with my job. I was supposed to work today and tomorrow. But I traded shifts with someone for today to tomorrow. So now I have to pull a double tomorrow."

"Did you stop to think about talking to me about this first? You aren't the only one with plans or responsibilities!" I tell her.

"No, I guess not. But there's nothing else I can do now. It's already said and done." She replies with a hard tone, but keeping her volume in better check than I can seem too.

"God Roxanne!" I reply furiously and take a few deep breaths to try and calm down. "Well then let's get to work, because I have plans I'd rather not miss out on tonight." I say furiously and get up to find some books.

God I can't believe she did this! Ashley's already skeptical about Roxanne. Now, if I have to call her and tell her I can't make it? This is not something I think I'm prepared to deal with. So this is going to take some extreme focus. I need to just get to work and get as much done as possible. Either way I'm stuck here with her until we're done, or until we reach a point that it's ok to work on our own.

I find the location where they house all of the human anatomy books and grab a few that are body-muscle-centered. When I come back to the table, I see that Roxanne has her laptop pulled out and she appears to be doing internet research.

"Ok, here's the deal. I have a very important promise to keep to someone tonight. We have about six hours to work on this and get as far as we can together on the group work. So let's just focus on getting it done." I tell her in a much calmer voice. I'm still upset, but what's done is done. We can only move forward now.

"Alright." She replies and then we fall quiet as we research everything.

As the day progresses, we only speak about the project and, seemingly, only when necessary. Because we both have to have the same resources, we have to compare notes and make sure we both come across the same information. Our essays have to be self written, but contain the same information. They're not allowed to be word for word or we'll receive a zero on the essay portion of the assignment.

The time seems to be on warp speed once we're engrossed in the assignment and before I know it, it's eight o'clock. The limo is due to pick up Ashley and I at nine. She's texted me a few times, with little things here and there and I've only answered her once to let her know that things are ok. I decided not to tell her about Roxanne's little confession until I knew it'd become a problem. But it seems like we just might be in the clear.

"Alright. Well, we have more then fifteen references. And almost all of them we both used. Between the both of us, we have enough facts and details to write a five-page report. So I think we're good." I tell her and begin to pack up my things.

"We still have to work on the presentation." She tells me softly and my face falls. I completely forgot about that.

I frown and check the time on the library's clock. It's almost eight-thirty. Ash has already tried calling me once. She's not going to be happy about this.

"How long does the presentation have to be?" I ask as I pull my notes back out.

"It says it has to be between seven and ten minutes. Points off if it's below or above that. It's a third of the project grade, so it has to be as precise as possible." She tells me, reading from the project packet.

"Alright." I reply. "I'll be right back." I tell her gravely and ready myself for a very hard conversation with my girlfriend.

I decide to step outside and sit down on a bench a little ways from the door. Needing the space to talk to my girlfriend.

"Hey beautiful! Please tell me you're on your way home!" Ash's excited voice answers and it causes my heart to drop in my chest.

"No babe. Unfortunately, I'm not." I whisper and the other line is completely silent.

"What..?" She finally asks after a few long moments, sounding confused.

"Roxanne screwed me over and tonight is the only time we have to complete the project." I inform her.

"But you promised me you were going to be here Spencer! You know how excited I was about this night for us!" She's angry and it shows in her elevated voice.

"I know. It was important for me too. But there's nothing I can do. The project is tedious in it's directions. We have to prepare a presentation for it, and it's a third of our grade." I tell her quickly, hoping she'll calm down with my explanation.

"But you've spent the entire afternoon with her! And now you have to spend most of the night there with her as well? Are you serious?" She demands, and I'm truly praying that she doesn't go where I'm fearing she will next. "Are you sure this isn't what you wanted all along?" But of course my luck hasn't been on point all day, and she does.

The tears are streaming down my face at her assumption, and the anger wells in my chest from her lack of trust. "No Ash. It's not. But I'm sorry you feel like it is. Have fun at your party." I deadpan and then hang up my phone. I refuse to let myself cry over the situation.

I can't believe Ash would actually believe for a second that this is where I'd rather be. She knows how much I hate that Roxanne was assigned to be my partner, and now she thinks that I want to be here with her? Seriously? I know she's angry that I've broken my promise, but it's out of my control. She knows I can't just not do it. This is school and my life we're talking about here. And, yes, she's a part of my life, but this is the part that has to be solid no matter what her and my outcome is.

I wipe away the tears that escaped and steel myself to go back inside and deal with Roxanne.

This night just keeps getting better and better. I sigh dejectedly and head back into the building.