Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. If I did, that would be cool. But I don't.
Ashley, Matt and Raye are all OCs, you'll find out what's up with the first two, and Raye is the Charmed One's cousin. She's half witch, quarter Whitelighter, and quarter fire starter. But that's not really important in the slightest as of now.
"Well, it's official. My life totally sucks." Ashley Whitworth slouched in the chair of her wooden desk, staring dejectedly at the report card in her hand. "Besides doing poorly in every subject except lunch, Matt still isn't home from whatever the hell that family thing he had yet. This sucks." Matt was Ashley's boyfriend ever since they met at a concert over the summer. At the moment, he was currently away in Vermont for some family reunion of sorts and wasn't sure of when he would be home. A second glance at the carbon copy did nothing to improve her mood. "How the hell can you get a C+ in GYM?"
Annoyed, she grabbed a random DVD from her collection on one of the desk shelves, hit the "open" button on her personal DVD player, saw that the disk was already in there, and proceeded to become even more perturbed than she already was for having wasted her time on such a pointless act. She slammed the disk drive shut and cranked up the volume, letting the sounds of mutant vampires being sliced apart soothe her raging anger. Just as it got to the good part, the multi-toned ring of the cordless phone resounded through the room. I suppose it would be too much to ask for that the machine be on. Ashley thought, not in the mood for human conversation. Two more rings told her that, yes, that would be to much to hope for. Grumbling, she rolled the chair back over to the desk and picked up the phone, stopping briefly to turn down the volume of the TV. A quick glance at the caller id told her that it was Matt. Goody. Time to fake being happy. She clicked the phone on and said,
"Hey." in what she hoped was a not-depressed manner.
"Hey! You sound subdued and mildly suicidal." Well, that worked well.
"I don't know what you're talking about. And leave it to you to pull an obscure line from a fan fic I found and turn around and use it against me. I suppose that's why I love you."
"I had a feeling there was a reason. Now, change of subject aside, what's wrong?" How does he always know?
"Nothing much. Just pretty much having the shittiest day of my life. How bout you?" In her mind's eye, Ashley could see her boyfriend shaking his head, dyed quills moving in motion, in response to her lame attempt to once again shift the topic of conversation of her.
"Nuh uh. Not gonna work. What's really wrong?"
"I told you- I'm just having the shittiest day of my life. First I get into a fight with someone who's supposed to be my best friend over a stupid thing, I left my lab that took 3 and a half hours to do last night on the dining room table, I found out I didn't have to do another lab that I did that took just as long, and then I get home only to find out that there is no chocolate in the house and my report card is sitting on the kitchen counter, just waiting to ruin the next multiple months of my life, and I really just need a hug." Ashley had the miraculous ability to say long strings of sentences all in one breath. This was one of those times.
"Aw...And I suppose me being away didn't do too much to help that." Ashley nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see it.
"No, not really. But anyways, how was your reuniony thingy?" Matt smartly decided to let it go and change the topic.
"It was really dull. As in, send-me-back-out-to-cow-country-so-I-can-go-cow-tipping dull. I thought last year was bad; this was worse."
"Aw...Poor baby. Now, are you just saying that to make me feel better, or was it really that bad?"
"Baby, you know perfectly well that I am physically incapable of lying with a straight face. Especially to you. Now, do you really think that kind of boredom can be made up?"
"Just about as much as a phone call to a certain ex-crush can be." The previous year, Ashley had been majorly crushed on a high school junior, and, on a dare, actually ended up calling his house and having a very lovely 20 minute chat with him. When told about it, her friend Ariel didn't seem to believe that had happened at first, before realizing that that kind of thing was impossible to make up. "So... when are you coming home?"
"Well, that's why I called, actually."
"Oh my God, if you're about to tell me you've decided to move there, you might as well just hang up now." Matt laughed.
"Don't worry, there's even less to do up here than there is down in hicksville. There's absolutely no chance of that whatsoever."
"Good. Moving on. What were you saying?"
"Right, that I'll be back soon."
"And, how soon is soon?"
"As in however long it takes to get to your house from the driveway." Ashley dropped the phone and jogged to answer the door when the doorbell rang. When she threw open the door, the sight that greeted her was the best it could have possibly been at the moment, save if Matt was Rob from Linkin Park.
Dressed in his usual baggy black cargo pants and tight black t-shirt that accented his muscular build, Matt stood in the doorway, looking even better than the last time Ashley had seen him. At the moment, his hair was a bleached blonde, with the spiked tips dyed light blue, as she had suggested when asked what to do with it next. Matt had a habit of changing the color of his hair every few months or so, just for kicks. A smile played across his lips, revealing two rows of perfectly white and even teeth. As Ashley lunged into his strong arms for a comforting hug, her eyes met his clear green ones. A 2005 black Mustang convertible sat in the driveway. Ashley snuggled up against him, taking comfort in his strong embrace.
"I thought you were never coming back..." she murmured, all idle thoughts of her current problems melting away as he stroked her back. Matt looked down at the top of her head, surprised.
"Didn't I tell you I'd never leave you?" he asked, the words washing over Ashley like a harmonious wave. She nodded, not wanting the moment to end. "Hey, you wanna go somewhere and talk or something?" She looked up at his curious face and nodded again.
"Sure. Where were you thinking?" Matt shrugged.
"The park?"
"Yeah, ok. Sounds good to me." With that, the couple broke away and Matt headed toward the car to start it up while Ashley walked back inside to grab a sweatshirt. Since her parents were away for the week on a business trip, there was no point to leaving a note explaining her whereabouts. She locked the door behind her and climbed into the passengers seat of Matt's Mustang. Before bothering with a seat belt, Ashley leaned over and checked what was in the CD player, as she always did. To her delight she found a copy of one of her favorite CDs by Jonny Was. Hitting the "play" button and cranking up the volume to a nearly unbearable level, she sank back into her seat and pulled on the seat belt.
"Ready?" Matt asked, speaking over the music. Ashley nodded and the journey went underway. A few minutes later, the pair arrived in the parking lot of the local park, where Matt killed the engine and they got out of the car. A mutual decision was made to find a quiet area, away from the little children and their mothers. They walked along the soccer fields until coming across a secret path that led to a spot over looking the brook, away from prying eyes. Sitting on the lush green grass, Ashley sighed contentedly.
"It's so nice here..." And indeed it was. Besides the perfect foliage, the clear blue water of the brook below them glittered and glimmered in the late afternoon sun. Warmth beamed down on them from between the gaps in the trees, bringing the spot to a perfect temperature. Matt nodded in agreement.
"Yeah..." The two snuggled together, each taking joy in the other's presence beside them. Ashley rested her head on Matt's chest, inhaling the scent of him that always made her feel safe. However, this time something was different.
"Hey, you smell different!" she pointed out, perturbed. Matt lifted up a corner of his shirt to sniff it, exposing his tanned six pack.
"I don't smell anything."
"Of course you don't, you're a guy. Guys never pick up on these things." He shrugged.
"Blame it on the four hours I spent in a car with no real form of entertainment."
"Yeah, OK. You could always take off the shirt so you don't smell funny." Ashley hinted, enjoying the peek she had gotten moments before.
"Or, I could, like, not."
"Ooooor, you could."
"I could, but I'm not going to." Ashley pouted.
"Awwwww. Why not?"
"Becuase I've discovered it's easier to do this with it on" Before Ashley had a chance to ask what, Matt pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss with just as much emotion, the desperation of time spent apart fueling the rush. The next few minutes were spent locked in this desperate, passion-driven enticement and when they did break apart, both had to rest and catch their breath.
"Wow..." Ashley whispered, all the breath having been forced from her body only moments before. Matt looked at her, green eyes piercing her soul, flushed and breathing doggedly.
"Yeah..."
"That was...wow..."
"Uh huh..."
"Think we could, ya know, do it again?" Matt playfully pretended to contemplate the options before very seriously nodding and saying,
"I do believe that would be possible." Ashley smiled.
"I'm so glad you're back..." She murmured, drinking in the joy that is teenage love. Then she placed one hand behind Matt's neck, fingers feeling the short fuzzy hairs that were in need of a trim, using the other to smooth back a stray spike that had escaped the death grip of his gel. Her fingers trailed down the side of his face, gazing into his eyes lovingly. She pulled him in close so that their breath mingled, both teens wanting the other more than anything. Ashley licked her lips, tongue dragging lazily across them, temptation mounting with each passing moment. Then, when neither could stand it any longer, their lips crashed together in a fury of lust and hormones. As their tongues met at a common point, the scene every teenage girl has dreamed about for years, the near-perfect romance, the passion, the lust, the love, the drive, the sound of a cellular phone ringing interrupted the desirable moment. Ashley groaned, not wanting to break away just yet.
"Ignore it..." Matt whispered, voice low and husky, lips close, the words tickling across her ear.
"Mmm..." The idea was tempting, especially as his lips met her neck and he began to work his way down to her shoulder, kissing all the way. Still, the ringing persisted. She groaned again and reached into the back pocket of her camo colored cargo pants to produce a thin cell. She checked the caller id and sighed in exasperation before flipping the cover open and hitting "talk". "Did you know you have the shittiest timing ever?"
"Well hello to you too. And yes, I believe you have brought that minor detail to my attention once or twice before."
"Whadda you want?"
"Sheesh, don't sound so exasperated. I just wanted to know what I should do for this part in my story." Ashley rolled her eyes and growled softly.
"Make it quick. We were just getting to the good part."
"Ooh, the good part, huh? Well then, I'll just have to make sure to keep you away a while longer, ya know, build the tension and such."
"The only tension that's gonna be around here is the tension where I come over there and snap your freaking little neck. Now talk!"
"OK, OK. Geese, you don't have to bite my head off." Her response was an more audible, very impatient sounding threatening growl. "OK, so, what color should the shirt Eric's wearing be?"
"Neon purple. I don't know. How bout light blue and white like the one Tokarz wore for pictures last year?"
"Oooooh. That one. All right, I'll go with that. Now I suppose I should let you get back to whatever you were doing."
"Yes, you should. Bye." With that, Ashley shut the phone with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary and turned back to Matt.
"How does she always know?" He asked incredulously. Ashley shrugged, thoroughly annoyed.
"She's Ariel. She always knows. Could have something to do with the fact that we practically share a mind, but whatever." She glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky. "Well, we might as well get going. It's getting dark and I still have a shit load of homework to do for tomorrow." Matt sighed.
"Yeah, I guess we should." He stood, holding a hand out for Ashley to grab, which she did. The couple started dejectedly back to the car, snuggling together against the cold that had set in in the sun's absence. The ride back to Ashley's was a quiet one, except for the loud music blaring out of the surround sound speakers. Once they reached the driveway, they exchanged one last goodbye kiss, long and slow, before parting ways. Matt waited until she was safely inside the house before driving away. Ashley watched him back out and turn onto the street from the window, wondering how she had ever gotten so lucky to land a guy like Matt. It was a shame their time together had been cut short, they had so little of it these days between sports and extracurricular activities and family vacations. Oh well, she figured, tomorrow's another day.
And indeed it would be. In fact, the coming morn would change the way they lived their lives as they knew them. And that change may be harder for some than others...
Wow. That turned out to be a reeeeeeeally long chapter. I think I'm going against my typical oneshot songfic pattern with this one.