Hello everyone. I am back in action and here with another chapter. I have a free day from work and I plan to use it. I will be writing this chapter about Ashley's attempt to gain actual atonement for her wrongdoings.

It had been about a week since Ashley was at the Aloha Comrade. Not that it mattered. For the following week; her worldview had changed. Time it seemed to slow and every single day without fail, the conversation at school that happened at the end of gym class was echoing through her head.

Last Year February the 14th:

Ashley never saw the point to Valentines day. It was one day to prove something that should be proved every other day. She was to get to gym. She could get some exercise in and she could go see her best friend Lynn.

She found her after class and said. "Hey Lynn, how are ya"

Lynn was at a water tap finishing her drink. After finishing she looked up and said "Great, this will only make practice easier".

Ashley ruffled her hair, right before the bell rang signaling that it was the final bell.

Lynn seemed rather quick to step on her way out of the door. This struck Ashley as strange so she shrugged and went to her locker.

Ashley was putting all of her stuff back when she found a letter written in computer text.

"Hi, I am a good friend of yours. I am surprisingly shy about stuff like this. I felt like a day like this was perfect for a confession. Please see me sometime after school by the tree behind the school. Signed your secret admirer"

Ashley did feel this holiday to be redundant, right up until someone sent her a confession. Now she seemed to get it as the feeling of getting someone to tell her that she was special made her happy.

She skipped her way to the tree where she saw a shadow appear and come into view.

Lynn was standing there and shyly waving. Ashley walked up to her and said confused "Do you know if someone was standing here earlier"

Lynn blushed and said "No one...No one but me"

Ashley was confused until her mannerisms and stutter gave the rest away. Ashley was freaking out because all of her other friends warned her that being gay was contagious. It was wrong and she needed to save herself from it.

Ashley looked at Lynn and said "Y-you are one of them!"

Lynn was scared and felt bad so she said "what?"

Ashley backed up and said "I was warned about your kind. How much of our hangouts were real. You were trying to make me gay weren't you".

Lynn started to cry and said "What? I was your friend that's all. Is liking you a crime"

Ashley had a scared look on her face and she said "Stay away from me. Or I will tell everyone about your secret". Ashley walked away as she caught a glimpse of Lynn cried on her knees by the tree.

Ashley remembered the entire event. How horrible she was to Lynn, the terrible things her friends had told her, and she remembered the guilt; walking away made her feel terrible. She always told herself what she did was for the greater good. At first she tried rationalizing herself as an ignorant victim, but that's only half true. believing them and bullying gay people for "security" was stepping over the fault of ignorance and Ashley knew that.

Every time Ashley would make an attempt to talk to Lynn and apologize; she would hear the line "is liking you a crime". hearing that in her head was like a punch to the gut. She did not even think she deserved Lynn's forgiveness. By the end of the week she came home exhausted and low in spirits, the black eye did not help. Maggie noticed her beat up body and came up to her worried.

Maggie looked at her and said "W-what happened to you"

Ashley responded with "I broke off my friendship with some asshats I used to hang out with and they beat me up"

Maggie was confused so she asked while grabbing the bandages "When did this happen and what did you say to them"

Ashley sighed and spoke honestly "I was being a jerk and they are toxic. They were bullies. They told me being gay was wrong and beat people up that were different and I unfortunately helped."

Maggie gasped and said "Is that why-"

Ashley finished and said "yes, yes it is. I am at fault. I chose to believe it and I chose to bully people."

At around this time a knock could be heard at her house and Maggie answered the door. waiting on the other side was Lynn.

Lynn ran over to Ashley and said "What happened to you. You looked fine earlier today. When Lori picked me up I saw you in a bloody clump of a mess."

Ashley was going to answer when the line returned "is liking you a crime". Lynn was being nice to her. She was horrid and her response is to give her what she wants and now she shows empathy. Ashley said "Oh you know, I got into a fight."

Lynn said "Why though, are you getting bullied..."

Ashley was going to deflect again until Maggie interrupted for her. "Lynn had some toxic friends who she broke off with for being homophobic."

Lynn had to hold her jaw so it wouldn't drop. "Ashley. Stopped talking to her friends, for that reason"

Ashley said as she became increasingly more teary eyed as the heavy weight of what she did to her ex-friend hit her "Yes, I did. I know I was wrong. I did so many things I regret. I kept wanting to apologize to you but it plays back to me like a movie."

Lynn was touched by her sincerity "Do you mean it, you are truly sorry"

Ashley weakly nodded and said "Thanks for caring, I am going to head to bed"

Lynn fake coughed to get her attention "I am going to grab some food, feel free to join me. I guess I was to rash when I said we could no longer be friends. Let me rephrase that. I can't be friends with the you from last year. As far as I can tell she is dead. I like this you much better".

Ashley hugged her hard and said "Thank you, for letting me be in your life. So I talked to Maggie yesterday. Margo huh?"

Lynn nodded and said "yeah, why?"

Ashley smiled and said "I think you'd make a great couple"