Chapter 9

Thank you for being patient with me, and I apologize again for taking so long to update. My finals are over and I can get back to reading and writing fanfiction, which I have been greatly missing. Tom Lynch owns most of the characters. Also, I know I mentioned something about a homophobic teacher, but I decided that I wanted to save that for a later chapter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spencer's POV

Everything has been going really great with Ashley. I love spending time with her and Emma. Ashley is so perfect and I really love her. It's just that sometimes I think that I am still her "experiment" in a way. Don't get me wrong, I mean I know that she loves me too. It's just that sometimes, I don't know, it is like she is ashamed of me. I have accepted that I am gay and moved on from it, but I think she is still not used to being in love with a girl. I learned to ignore the stares and awkward glances from people, but that is all still very new to her. I need to talk to her and make sure that she is really ok with everything, but I don't want her to think that I am unhappy, which I so am not. I am extremely happy with Ashley, and completely head over heals in love with her. But I have gotten my heart ripped out before, and with Ashley, I don't think I would ever be able to recover.

As I sat in my room thinking about Ashley and contemplating our future together, I heard a soft knock at my door.

"Come in." I said softly as the door slowly opened to reveal my dad leaning against the doorway.

"Spence, is everything alright?" He asked in a loving voice, as he made his way into my room and sat next to me on my bed. I sat up and faced him, preparing myself for a long talk.

"Uh…I guess I'm ok." I said not very convincingly.

"How are things going with Ashley?"

"They are ok. Sometimes I feel like she is ashamed of me, I don't know, I might be totally wrong about this, it's just a feeling I sometimes get." I looked down at the floor, not wanting my dad to see the small tear fall from my eyes.

"Sweetie I'm sure she isn't ashamed of you. Come here." I gave my dad a big hug and he told me that everything would be fine.

"Thanks Dad." I broke away from the hug and smiled up at him. He always did have a way of making me feel better.

"Spence, do her parents know about your relationship?"

"No, or I don't think so. We haven't really talked about that. She lives at home with her mom and her dad lives somewhere else. I forgot where, but I know that her parents are divorced. Her mom is not usually home though; she doesn't take care of Ashley that much. But Ashley is always home taking care of Emma." I said the last part quickly hoping that he would not ask questions.

"Who is Emma?" Crap, so I guess he heard me.

"Emma is……um…….her……….daughter."

"She has a kid?!"

"Yes, and I know that this sounds really complicated dad, but if you met her you would see how much she loves her daughter and how wonderful she is." I said this with a smile on my face and I inwardly chuckled when I thought of how cute she was with Emma.

"Well, I would like to meet her. Why don't you invite her over for dinner tomorrow night."

"I don't know if that will be such a good idea." I said bitterly remembering how my mother acted when I brought home my first girlfriend.

"Don't worry about your mother. I will handle her. You know she only acts, well crazy, because she loves you and wants the best for you."

"If she really loved me she would want me to be happy and just accept me and move on."

"I know sweetie. Give her time. I'm sure she will behave if you invite Ashley over for dinner."

"Ok, but I'm warning Ashley just to be safe."

"Ok Spence." He kissed me on the forehead and then got up to leave my room. "Good night Spencer, I love you."

"I love you too." I called as he shut the door to my room. Great, now not only do I have to talk to Ashley about "us" I need to invite her over for dinner. To my house. My nice Christian house. Ugh, I hate that. I know my mom is going to scare her away. Why can't she be like my dad?! Well I guess having two cool parents is a little too much to ask for. I drifted off to sleep with a million different thoughts racing through my head about how to ask Ashley over to my house for dinner.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashley's POV

As I got Emma ready for pre-school I couldn't help but think about Spencer. I missed her even though we have only been apart for less than a day. I helped dress Emma and feed her breakfast, and then I dropped her off on my way to King High. I reached the parking lot and I saw a certain blonde sitting on the front steps holding two cups of coffee. I made my way over to her and sat down beside her, and she looked deep in thought.

"Hey" I purred sweetly as I reached over for one of the coffees. "Is that for me?"

"No, it's for my other girlfriend that I have stashed away in my locker." She teased as I tried to grab the coffee again.

"Very funny" I said finally grabbing the coffee. "Thanks babe." I leaned over and gave her a kiss, but she flinched at my touch. Was I doing something wrong?

"Listen I won't be in class this morning, I have a meeting with the college counselor lady. So we'll catch up at lunch?"

"Yes definitely." I waved goodbye as she quickly walked away from me in the opposite direction of our English class. Great. Now I have to go sit by myself for the next 45 minutes. I wonder what's wrong with her. I hope it isn't something I did. I walked to my class sipping my coffee, as I began to worry about what she wanted to talk about at lunch.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spencer's POV

Shit. I can't believe I flinched when she tried to kiss me. What's wrong with me?!?! I need to make it up to her at lunch. I guess that is when I will invite her over to dinner, to show her that I care about her. I really need to talk to her. I need to know if she loves me the same way I love her, or if I really am some gay test. I still haven't heard her say that she is gay or bi, and I know for a fact that her mom has no idea we are dating. I wonder if her dad knows about us. The whole school sure knew. That was one thing I was sure of. But how she felt about that, was what I desperately needed to know before our relationship went any further.

I sat down at our lunch spot and was lost in thought, because when I looked up I saw her sitting down next to me staring at me with a worried expression on her face. Shit, I needed to fix this mess, and I needed to fix it fast.

"Spence are you sure that everything is alright? You seem really spacey lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind is all. So, I was wondering what you were doing tonight?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Well….I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house for dinner."

"Is that ok with your parents?" She asked quickly. This is why we need to talk about parents and relationships, and all the other crap we have to put up with. She doesn't even remember if my parents know about us.

"Yeah it is fine. Actually my dad was the one who suggested it. He really wants to meet you."

"What about your mom?" She asked worried remembering how I said that my mom wasn't the most supportive member of the Carlin family.

"My mom, well, my dad promised she would behave." I said with a not so convincing smile.

"Of course I would come to dinner with you. I wish I could invite you over to dinner at my house, but I don't think my mom would show up."

"I'm sure if she knew how important it was to you she would come." I said trying to make her feel better and forget about her lonely house and home life.

"Yeah maybe, but one set of parents at a time." I laughed at her statement and we began talking about our day and she told me some funny things that Emma had said last night. Mostly we just enjoyed each other's company. When the bell rang she leaned over and kissed me on the lips. I kissed back, and then looked over and saw Madison and the other cheerleaders staring in disgust. Madison saw me looking at her and she made a gagging gesture with her fingers. I just glared at her and then I looked back at Ashley who had missed the whole scene.

"I have to get to class. I'll talk to you later." I said as I left Ashley standing there staring at me wondering again what was going on with me. What was going on with me? What is wrong with me? Why do I keep running from the one person in my life who means something to me?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashley's POV

Spencer has seemed distant for the past couple days and I can't get her to tell me what's wrong. I hope that she really does want me over for dinner at her house, and she wasn't just being polite. Am I doing something wrong? I wish she would talk to me instead of hiding in her head. I walked to my next class and I focused my energy on what I was going to wear to dinner at her house.

After I picked Emma up from daycare I called the babysitter and asked if she could come over on such short notice. She said that is was no problem, and so I began getting ready for tonight, trying on a million different outfits.

"Mommy where are you going?" Emma asked as she watched me put on mascara and the finishing touches to my hair.

"I am having dinner at Spencer's house tonight. Charlotte is going to be here any minute to play with you."

"Ok, but I want to see Spencer too!" She whined the last part, obviously wanting to go wherever I was going.

"Honey not tonight. Tonight is only for girlfriends and parents. Ok, you can see Spencer some other time."

"Ok. Mommy?"

"Yeah Em."

"Is Spencer your gurl fwend?"

"Yes sweetie, and I like her very much."

"I like her too. She is really funny and her hair is pretty." I laughed at her compliments for Spencer and continued brushing my hair.

"Well I'm glad you approve." Emma gave me a hug and I took one last look in the mirror before I went downstairs to wait for Charlotte. Five minutes later the door bell rang and I let Charlotte in, as I said my goodbyes to Emma.

"Have fun sweetie." I kissed Emma on the cheek and then I grabbed my purse and started heading towards my car.

"Bye mommy!" Emma called as I left the house. I was so nervous on the way to Spencer's house. We had only been going out for a couple months, but I knew that it was getting serious. Or at least I thought it was getting serious. I'm not sure with the way she has been acting lately. Something is bothering her, and I need to find out what it is before she bottles it up and allows it to wreck the great thing we have going.

I pulled into her driveway and rang the doorbell. She opened the door and before I could say anything I was whisked off to her bedroom. She closed the door behind us and pushed me up against it placing a fierce kiss on my lips. It took me a second before I kissed back. She took off my coat and started feeling around under my shirt as we continued the heavy make out session. I also took off her sweater and then turned so that I was in control and she was pressed against the door. We continued kissing and roaming our hands everywhere, when she motioned for us to move towards the bed. I followed her and we sat down, continuing to kiss intensely. She leaned over and began to un-hook my bra. I loved how her touch felt on my skin. I let out a soft moan, and then I realized that I was in her house, with her parents. I abruptly pulled back from the kiss and frantically began looking for my coat on the floor. She looked over at me with a confused expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asked referring to me stopping her before it went any further.

"Spencer I came over for dinner…..with your parents! What are they going to think of me if they walk in and see us half naked kissing all over your bed!" I let out an exasperated sigh that made her laugh.

"Why is this funny?" I asked as I walked over to the mirror and tried to fix my frazzled hair. This only caused her to laugh harder. I looked over at her quizzically and she continued to laugh.

"You…..care……what …….my parents think of you." She said between fits of laughter.

"Is that such a hard thing to believe? I don't want them to remember the first time we met I was feeling up their daughter." This caused her to laugh even harder, and soon I joined her in the fits of laughter. Once we composed ourselves we walked back downstairs and sat next to her brothers in the living room, waiting for her mother to get home from work.

"Ashley this is my brother Clay, and that ass over there is my brother Glen."

"Hey!" Glen said, lightly hitting Spencer on the arm. "What were you two doing?" He asked looking at our flushed cheeks.

Spencer wrapped her arms around me and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. "What do you think?" She said suggestively, and then she winked at him, as I began to laugh.

"EEEEEWWWW!!!" Glen screamed trying to wipe the image of his sister and another girl together from his mind. "Normally that would be hot, but my sister……eew!" Spencer threw a couch cousin at him and he threw one back at her. I loved watching her interact with her brothers. I wish I had that.

"So Ashley, how long have you lived in L.A.?" Clay asked trying to change the subject and get Spencer and Glen to stop throwing cushions at each other.

"My whole life." I said, slightly frowning at the thought. "Do you miss Ohio?"

"Sometimes. L.A. sure is different from our old town." Clay replied.

"Spencer can you come help me in the kitchen with dinner." Arthur called into the living room.

"Sure dad." Spencer kissed me on the cheek and then got up to help her dad. Glen made a face and Clay smiled sweetly at her gesture.

"You really make my sister happy." Clay said to me, as I tried to remove the smile plastered all over my face. "She was really depressed when we moved out here, and I am so glad that she met you, cause I love watching her smile." Clay was so sweet. Spencer was right about him being the better brother. I smiled at him and then we made small talk about L.A. and Ohio and how they liked King High.

"So why exactly did you guys move out here?" I asked, wondering since Spencer had never mentioned it before.

"Well, our mom is a doctor and she got a job offer at the hospital here that was a lot better than the one she had back in Ohio, so we moved."

"That must have been hard to leave before your senior year." I said realizing that Spencer was probably missing her friends from Ohio.

"Yeah it was. But we're adjusting. Right Glen?" I looked over at Glen and he was lost in his video game, totally oblivious to the conversation Clay and I were having. Clay and I laughed and then we heard the front door open. We heard voices coming from the foyer, and I got up from the couch with Clay to go see what was going on. As I walked over to Spencer and her dad, I saw her mom standing next to a strange teenage boy. I looked over at Spencer and Arthur and they looked just as confused as I was.

"Everyone this is John, John this is my daughter Spencer, and my son Clay, and my other son Glen is around here somewhere. And this is my husband Arthur." They all smiled and exchanged awkward greetings, and then her mom noticed me standing here.

"I don't think I have me you before. Who are you?"

"This is Ashley mom." Spencer said extremely annoyed at her mother.

"Hi." I said weakly to her as I looked over at Spencer for answers.

"Well it is nice to meet you. I'm Paula, Spencer's mother." I forced a smile on my face and so did she.

"Paula can I see you in the kitchen for a second." Arthur motioned for her to follow him.

"Sure, John will you be alright?"

"Yes, I will be fine." He replied as he stared at the very confused looking teens before him.

Spencer dragged me over to the kitchen door so we could listen to what her parents were saying. Clay stayed behind with John, and they began making awkward conversation.

"Paula why would you invite him over for dinner, you knew Spencer was inviting Ashley?"

"I know, but I wanted Spencer to meet John. His mother is having the same problem we are having with Spencer."

"And what problem would that be?!"

"Arthur you know what I am referring to. It is unnatural! And I thought it was over when we moved, but then you mentioned her bringing some girl named Ashley over for dinner, and I had to do something!"

I walked away from Spencer having heard enough. I didn't want to cause problems for their family. I started to head towards the door when I felt a warm hand grab my arm.

"Ash, please don't leave. Don't listen to my mother. This isn't the first time she has brought random boys home. Just please….don't leave me with her." She pulled her body close to mine and she looked so hurt and scared that I knew I couldn't leave her.

"Ok, I'll stay." I said wanting to make sure that Spencer was ok. I saw the relief wash over her, and I was glad that I had a somewhat soothing effect on her. I knew one thing for sure though, tonight was going to be very, very interesting.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed this update, please review! Thank you!