I'm in the writing mood today, and I'm slightly less depressed than I have been. Which just may be a good thing for you readers.

Ashley sat out on a bench in front of the school, crying into her hands. Keely, who had just exited the building herself, caught sight of her sister's purple graduation gown out of the corner of her eye, and made her way over to her.

"Hey, Ashley," Keely said. "What are you doing out here?"

Ashley sniffled and looked up at Keely. "I just couldn't handle it, Keely… I couldn't watch it…"

Keely put her arm around her sister's shoulders. "It's okay, Ashley… I barely stayed together up there…"

"I'm not going back in there," Ashley said, glancing over her shoulder at the school. "I can't. I won't…"

Keely nodded. "Want me to go get Mom?"

"Sure…"

"Okay. Be right back," she said, jogging over to the entrance. Ashley sighed. She wouldn't even speak to anybody for the next three days, and she only came out of her room a few times a day. She completely isolated herself from the world.

The day she finally decided on talking to someone, she realized that her boyfriend was probably her best bet. He would listen. He cared about her.

Ashley picked up her phone and called his number. "Hello?" a voice at the other end asked.

"Hey, Alex… it's Ash…"

"Oh, hey Ashley," he said. "Haven't heard from you in a while…what happened?"

"Um…I actually wanted to talk to you about that… would I be able to come over later?"

"Uh, sure, what time?"

"Well… I think my mom will be back with the car at about five o'clock or so… so like, 5:30?"

"Sure, that could work…"

"Okay, I guess I'll see you then…"

Something about the tone of Alex's voice troubled Ashley.

Something isn't right
I can feel it again, feel it again
This isn't the first time
That you left me waiting
Sad excuses and false hopes high
I saw this coming, still I don't know why
I let you in

Mandy ended up returning to the house at 4:15. Ashley decided to see if Alex was home or not, since she felt that the sooner she talked to somebody about it, the sooner she'd feel better.

She knocked on the door, and Alex's younger sister, Brooke, opened the door.

"Hey, Brooke… is Alex home?"

A smile spread across Brooke's face. "Yeah, Alex is home…"

I knew it all along
You're so predictable
I knew something would go wrong (Something's always wrong...)
So you don't have to call
Or say anything at all
You're so predictable (So predictable...)

"He's up in his room. Come on," she added, beckoning Ashley to follow her. Brooke and her brother never got along very well.

"Hey, Alex," she said, opening the door to his room, "your girlf-- oh, I'm sorry!" she sputtered, in mock surprise. "I didn't know you had company!"

Ashley stood in shock for a few seconds, staring at Alex and this other girl in his room.

"Ashley!" Alex said, taken aback. Scrambling to his feet, he stuttered, "I--"

"Who is this?" Ashley asked, gesturing to the girl Alex was with.

"This? This is Brittany. …She's my partner for drama club."

"Oh, I'm sure she's your partner, but I wasn't quite thinking the same club…"

"Ashley, I--"

"You expect me to swallow that? You two were making out in your room!"

"Look, we--"

"Cut the crap. I don't even want to hear it." Ashley shook her head at him, then turned to walk away.

So take your empty words
Your broken promises
And all the time you stole
Cause I am done with this
I could give it away, give it away
I'm doing everything I should've
And now I'm making a change
I'm living the day
I'm giving back what you gave me
I don't need anything

"Ashley, you don't understa--"

"I don't understand?" she exploded at him. "I think I understand perfectly what's going on between you two! But hell, I guess you're right in some ways: I don't understand why you said all those things to me if you obviously didn't mean them. I don't understand what makes that whore in your room so much better than me. I don't understand why I invested all this time in you if all you did with it was just throw it out the window. Yeah, you're right. I don't understand. I don't understand just why the hell I thought you'd be different. You just turned out like all of the others. Running your mouth without giving it a second thought. You're so pleased with yourself for saying all those things, but you're still dumber than the dirt on the ground."

I knew it all along
You're so predictable
I knew something would go wrong (Something's always wrong...)
So you don't have to call
Or say anything at all
You're so predictable (So predictable...)

The girl in Alex's room left hastily. Brooke found this endlessly amusing.

"Ash--"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Ashley asked. "Did you even think about this? Or did you just think this was some sort of game? Only thinking of yourself, as usual? Of course you were. That's the only person that matters to you. I'm leaving. Don't bother calling my name out from the window."

Everywhere I go for the rest of my life
Everyone I love (So predictable…)
Everyone I care about
They're all gonna want to know what's wrong with me
And I know what it is (So predictable…)
I'm ending this right now

As Ashley got into the car, tears ran down her face, from a mixture of anger, confusion, and misery. She drove down a road, thinking of who she would go to next… Family seemed to be the only other option.

She slammed on the brakes a few seconds too late, and crashed into a car backing out of its driveway. After realizing what happened, she started bawling, and didn't get out of the car until she got herself under control.

They say "You are your own worst critic." So the more reviews I get, the less I listen to myself, and the better I feel. Sounds good to me.