Review Section

Angel of Time 777: Alright, I'll continue.

SpenceXAsh: Um... I've just forgotten how to breathe. Mostly because I loved your story and don't quite know how to deal with you liking mine.

Jimmiateearth: Different settings make for good plots.

MissingCA: I truly enjoy your review. I'm posting more now.

Voyager2008: Well, I'm glad you like it.

Whisperedrainbow: Oh, the longer chapter bit.

CaliChica-RumbleQT: I'm not saying anything about what's going to happen to Spencer.

Boberry: Yeah, sweet girl that tried to be bad-ass.

Andi: Ack! I didn't mean to be harsh. I was just saying that I do that, too. I'm sorry.

Justlikeyou: Here's an update

rock0rules: The stop smoking ads rocked my socks.

MistyRiver17: Hey, I know all about keyboard problems. My keyboard likes to insert random letters sometimes. Makes for writing these chapters incredibly tedious.

Blaze: It's possible that you know me. I know a lot of people.

Author's Notes

Alright, guys, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. A lot of stuff has been going on in the Nun's life right now. I had to quit school for a little while, and I've started on my first novel, and such. There's been a lot of stuff needing to get sorted out. Don't worry, I still plan on updating this fic. This chapter didn't really come out the way I had planned it, but it kind of took on a life of its own, and I didn't really have much of a say in the matter. And now, for your patience, I come bearing fluff.

Disclaimer: I do not own the character's of South Of Nowhere. They belong to Tom Lynch.

In The Sun

Chapter 6

By Persephone's Nautical Nun

- Spencer -

I took a deep breath before climbing up the stairs of the campus apartments. Ashley hadn't been in Art Appreciation for the past couple of class periods, and I was worried about her. Lykens was thinking about dropping her.

I leaned back against the railing across from her door, staring at the red hunk of wood. What was I doing here? What could I say? It seemed cheap to just warn her about her potential drop. There needed to be a better reason for me to be here. I don't know why, but it just seemed wrong not to make this a personal visit.

I gathered all the courage I had, still not sure of what I was going to say, and knocked on her door. It didn't take long before she opened it, and upon seeing her, I felt all my insecurities slip away. "Hey," I greeted.

She smiled at me. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Just came to check up on you," I admitted, glancing down at the concrete below me.

She looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"

I shuffled around a little bit. "Well, you haven't been in Lykens' class for a while."

She brought her hand up to cover the right side of her face, a grin playing at her lips. "That's nothing to worry about. Sometimes I do that. I take little breaks, then tell my professors I was going through a hard time. Taking mental health days isn't a bad thing."

I shrugged. There wasn't a lot I could say to that, really, but I didn't want to leave, yet. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," she said, and stepped aside, to let me in. I stepped passed her and went over to the same couch that I was lying on the other night, and sat down, watching as she sat down on the other one. We sat in silence for a while, neither one of us really feeling like we needed to break the silence.

The silence was broken, eventually. "Why did you really come here?" she asked.

I looked straight at her, trying to decide if I should come up with an excuse, or just be completely honest. She seemed like the kind of person that was really sensitive to lies, so lying to her was an immediate negative in my eyes.

"I don't know," I admitted, giving a slight shrug of my shoulder. That was the truth. I really didn't know why I was there. "I just... I like being around you."

I was rewarded with a small half smirk, something I normally found annoying, but quite endearing when Ashley did it, but she didn't say anything in response. She just reached for the remote to her stereo system and turned it to another song. I immediately recognized the band as Panic! At The Disco. They were pretty cool.

She noticed my head bobbing to the music and laughed at me. "As far as proficiency goes, they're mediocre at best," she explained. When she noticed my confused expression, she added, "The band. As far as music talent goes, they don't have a lot. But, when you listen to most of the bands out there nowadays, Panic! At The Disco really seem to push the envelope. Their songs aren't all straight forward. They mix it up. And if you sit down and listen to most of their lyrics, they have a way of hitting on some pretty heavy subjects while maintaining a 'fun factor'. They know what they're doing as far as getting attention from the public."

I couldn't help but smile at her. She really did know her stuff. Everyone else just listens to whatever is cool, but Ashley really seemed to know what she was talking about.

I don't know how long we sat there, listening to whatever music came on, but I really enjoyed it. Just being in Ashley's presence made me feel like the outside world didn't matter. Not long after it got dark, she stood up and offered me her hand. "Come on," she said. "I've got something to show you."

---South-Of-Nowhere---

- Ashley -

There I was, my hands shoved in my pockets, walking along the nature trail with Spencer. I don't normally like to bring people out here. It kind of felt like something of my own, even though I knew that the forestry kids were the ones who made the trail in the first place. It's just that no one really seemed to come out here.

In all honesty, I hadn't been going to Lykens' class because I wanted to hide from Spencer. I was so ashamed to be the one that she smoked with. I didn't want this for her. That's why I'm so surprised at myself for bringing her out here. I never brought anyone out here before. Not even Kelly.

I just can't seem to help myself. There's not a doubt in my mind that I'm in love with the girl walking only a few inches beside me. I knew this trail like the back of my hand. I came out here towards the end of my relationship with Kelly, trying to figure out what was wrong. I took a turn into some flattened grass, away from the rock path, causing Spencer to stop and look around confused. "Trust me," I said, and motioned with my head for her to follow me. We were still on a trail, just not one that was so clear.

We walked for a while longer, still in silence. Eventually, we reached our destination, and climbed to the top of a grassy hill. I laid down and looked towards the sky, noticing how the stars shone brighter out here than on campus.

I felt Spencer lay down next to me. "Where are we?" she asked.

Instead of answering her question, I pointed towards the sky. "Look at the stars," I said. "You mentioned the stars the other night, but you could only see a few. You can see a lot more out here."

I heard her sigh, and wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "You're right. It is beautiful out here."

We sat in silence for a few moments. I tried to keep from ruining the silence, because I treasured it with her. It wasn't uncomfortable. It was just us enjoying each other. But, I had to ask my question. I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Spencer, why did you smoke with us?"

I felt her eyes on me, just like I felt them every morning when I walk through the courtyard. The feeling was too similar for it to have not been her watching me every morning. "What do you mean?"

I found myself playing with my fingernails. "Well, was it peer pressure, or something? Like, did you think you had to?" I couldn't face her.

"No. In all honesty, I've been curious about it for a while, but the opportunity never came up."

I nodded not knowing what else to say at that point. I didn't have to say anything, though, because she had a question of her own. "Are you gay?"

A smile made its way to my lips without me knowing it. It was a straight-forward question, and I admired that. I finally managed to turn my head to look at her. "I'm not into labels. You?"

Her eyes hadn't left me until now. She looked back up at the sky, a far away expression on her face. "I never really thought much about it before. I never really thought much about guys or girls either way before. I figured I had more important things to worry about."

I moved my hand to my side, playing with the soft grass underneath my fingertips. "That makes sense. I mean if you don't feel one way or the other, I can see why you wouldn't think about it."

I continued to play with the grass on the ground, running my fingers over the tips of the blades, sometimes pulling it out of the ground to create a little pile. I swear my heart stopped when I felt flesh over the top of my hand. Spencer traced tiny circles on the back of my palm, and it felt like I couldn't breathe. I had never experienced this before. Don't get me wrong, I've been with girls before, but it never felt like this. Eventually, she moved her hand under mine, and laced our fingers together. I looked over in her direction, and was met with her wonderful smile.