Author's Note:

The following chapters take place immediately following the season finale of South of Nowhere, the episode "What Just Happened?"

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this story. They belong to Tom Lynch and the people of South Of Nowhere.

As I walked through the front door, I could still feel Ashley's eyes on my back. Hers' were the only eyes I liked staring after me – there was a comforting feeling about it.

"Dad, I'm home!" I yelled as I closed the door after me.

No answer. Maybe he had gone out to clear his head. Maybe he had gone out looking for Mom. But he hadn't.

I walked into the living room and saw my Dad sprawled out on the couch, an empty bottle of liquor sitting on the table in front of him. I walked over and laid my hand on his forehead, then his chest. He was alright, or at least he seemed to be.

"Dad," I shook his shoulders. "Dad, wake up."

"Huh? Spencer?" His breath reeked of stale liquor.

"Are you ok?"

"Huh? What? Spencer, were you gone all night?"

"Yeah, I went over to Ashley's, remember? I told you goodbye before I left."

"Oh, yeah. Are things good between you and Ashley?" He may have been out of it, but he was still the same concerned Dad.

"Yeah, things are great, Dad."

"That's good, sweetie. Where are your brothers?"

"I have no idea. Have you been here all night? And today?"

"I guess I have," he laughed.

I had to smile – this was so out of character for my dad, but he was still laughing.

"Do you want me to help you upstairs?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that."

I took his arm and pulled him off the couch, then helped him stagger up the stairs. I could tell he was going to be sick, so we made a pit stop at the bathroom. When he was finished, we hobbled into my parents' room and he lay down.

"You gonna be ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks honey. I'm sorry about this…I never wanted you to see me in this condition."

"Dad, don't worry about it. You're going through a lot right now, and I understand that. I may be your daughter, but you've always been a friend to me, not just a dad. I'm here for you if you need to talk."

I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he pulled me down for a hug. "Thank you, Spencer. I think I'm gonna pass out for the night now," he laughed. "Can you get yourself to school in the morning?"

"Yep. No problem, Dad. Get some rest," I said as I kissed him on the forehead.

The next morning…

"Here we go," I said as Spencer got into the car. "Our first day 'out' as a couple. Do you really want to do this, Spence?"

She didn't answer, just leaned in and kissed me. Another chill. Geez, was this ever going to stop?

"Ash, stop worrying. I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be either. We're happy, that's all that matters. Screw all the assholes!"

I had to laugh at Spencer's unusual use of profanity. She was so cute when she let herself out of that innocent shell. But as long as it was only temporary – her innocence was one of the things I loved about her.

We pulled into the King High parking lot a few minutes later. I was oddly nervous and not really sure why. If I had this many butterflies, I couldn't even imagine how Spencer was feeling. But she was reassuringly calm, so maybe I really didn't have anything to worry about. So I put on my usual mask of security and got out of the car. Spencer jumped out as well, grabbed her bag, made her way around the car and took my hand.

"What…" I started to ask, but she silenced me with a kiss, right out in front of everyone. I was shocked, and when she pulled away, I glanced around to see if anyone was giving us the "go to hell" stare. No one had noticed.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, a very surprised tone to my voice.

"I wanted to kiss you, so I did," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, ok." I wasn't sure how to respond, but the fact that she already felt this comfortable made me really happy.

We walked onto campus hand-in-hand. I noticed a few odd glances, but no really hateful stares. But we hadn't run into Madison yet. Oh, I couldn't wait for that moment.