Review Section

braziliangirl125: I think it's safe to say that Paula does not get her ass kicked. Sorry.

Whisperedrainbow: Yes, gay drama is always interesting.

Ashlie: Standing up for Spencer just seems like something Ashley would do, you know?

Hilton: Well, I'm glad it amused you. It kind of amused me, too.

Daniela: Well, Ashley takes her away for a while, if that's any consolation.

MistyRiver17: Wow. Four thumbs, when you only have two. And ten more stars than the slots allow. I feel way special.

Author's Notes

This chapter appears to be insanely random, but trust me, I am going somewhere with this. As always, I'd like to thank NatitaluvsSmV for all of her help.

Disclaimer: Okay, so I've been forgetting to put this little disclaimer in lately. Completely careless of me, I know. But, I'm putting it in now, so hopefully that'll keep people from suing me. Eh, I'm a broke college student. They wouldn't get much, anyway. But, for the record, I do not own any of the characters from South Of Nowhere. They all belong to Tom Lynch. I'm just making them dance like little puppets for a while.

Not Where We've Been

Chapter 4

By Persephone's Nautical Nun

I got home from basketball practice just as Spencer and Ashley were running out of the house. I tried to stop Spencer and ask her what was wrong, but I don't think she even realized I was there. She and Ashley just got into Ashley's car and drove off. I heard Mom yelling inside and went in to try to get the story.

Mom was pretty incoherent. I found her sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the wall.

"Mom, what's up?"

She didn't move her eyes to look at me. Instead she closed them tightly, as if trying to block out the world. "It would seem as if your sister..."

Now, it was clear. This was about Ashley. "Listen, Mom, it's not that big of a deal."

Her eyes snapped up and locked onto mine. "Not that big of a deal? She got attacked because of her relationship with Ashley. If you can even call it that."

"No, Mom, she got attacked because people are stupid."

"Glen, it never would have happened if she had stopped hanging out with that girl in the first place. I knew Ashley was going to throw her off her path."

I was starting to get a little angry. "Mom, it wasn't Ashley. It's all Aiden's fault. He turned Ashley gay. He must have done the same thing to Spencer."

I can't remember the rest of the conversation. I was thinking about Aiden. And I decided that all of this really was hst fault. If he hadn't screwed up my sister, my family would be the way we used to be. No one would have to yell at anyone else. Everything would be right.

I remember getting into my car and driving over to his house. I'd had to go and pick Spencer up there once or twice, so I knew where it was.

The door stung my knuckles as I knocked heavily on the door. After a few minutes, Aiden opened the door and I pushed him inside, pinning him against a wall. I guess his parent's weren't home, because no one came running to see what the noise was.

He looked at me like I was crazy, and that look enraged me even further. I couldn't stand this guy.

"My family's falling apart because of you!" I screamed in his face.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."

I pushed him harder against the wall. I didn't want to hear him talking right now. "Yes, you did. You did something to Spencer to make her... weird. You did the same thing to Spencer that you did to Ashley, and now they're together."

He looked at me like I was a moron. Bad move. "Dude, they've been together for a while. I thought you knew."

"I did know. But, I thought maybe she'd get over it. Now, she's told Mom about it, and everything has gone to shit. It might have just been a phase, but the fact that she told our parents makes it real!"

He just stared back at me, hatred in his eyes and somewhere, behind everything else, understanding. It was that understanding that made me do what I did. I pressed myself against him, and kissed him. Hard.

He didn't fight. He didn't kiss back. He just let me do what I needed to. I pulled away, and I looked at him. And that same understanding that made me kiss him was still there, only not hidden in the back of everything. Now, his understanding was all right there.

And so I took him. Right there. I took him hard. I took him like I had always wanted to take a girl, but never could for fear they would break. I think I wanted him to break. I hated him so much. So, I took him.

He didn't fight it. If he had fought me, I never would have done it. He just let me do what I needed to do. And when I was finished, I left him in a pile on the floor.