Confetti rainfall and the quiet street.
The beauty is in what you make it,
So get up on your feet.

Because tonight, the world turned in me.
Because right now, I don't dare to breathe.
Oh babe, I know, it's alive and somewhere for us to find tonight.
Chase this light with me.

This Is My Girlfriend (Part One)

"This is my girlfriend, Spencer."

Spencer stuck out her hand to shake it with the girl in front of her. Spencer gave a warm smile as her hand slipped gently into the small brunettes. Spencer's boyfriend, James, wrapped his long arm around his gorgeous girl. It wasn't protective, no. And it wasn't possessive, no. It was simply an act that was meant for him to be in contact with her in some way. Because he loved her.

The brunette smiled shyly at the blonde girl. James, her old friend from high school, had been dying to introduce his girlfriend to his close friend. He was sure they would get along great. The brunette didn't say anything except her smile. Of course, this beautiful girl was absolutely stunning, and of course she was straight. It always went that way. But if she had asked James, he would always say the opposite. He always thought all the hot girls were gay, the ones his friend used to go out with.

So here was there median.

"Ashley is a little shy." James told Spencer with a sly grin.

"That's alright. It's always the shy ones who are the troublemakers." Spencer said with a chuckle.

Spencer wanted to make a good impression. James had talked about Ashley a few times, and at first she was jealous. But then her boyfriend assured her that they were just friends, they always had been. Except for that one time James had asked Ashley out, and she nicely declined his offer. Of course, James never told Spencer that. Not that he was hiding it, it was just unnecessary information.

Ashley still hadn't said anything. She just kept her eyes on the blonde attached to her friend. She noticed small things about them together. The couple looked good together, there was no doubt about that. James had that sexy smart guy look going on, with the glasses and stubble to boot. Spencer didn't physically fit James' physic, though. Her curves didn't fit in the places they were supposed to in James, and you could tell when they stood side by side. Or maybe it was just Ashley who thought so.

She also noticed Spencer's eyes were very blue. As were James' but Spencer's had something else in them. Ashley thought maybe it was a blue overload, the two of them together.

"Why don't you two talk a bit and I'll go get us some drinks." James said, motioning for the girls to sit in the booth. He gave Spencer a nice kiss on the lips before he left. It was the perfect amount of time for out in public. Not too long. Not so chaste as to be only friendly. It showed her cared and respected.

Spencer scooted in across from Ashley in the small booth and smiled at her. The blonde strip in the smaller girls bangs intrigued Spencer. She never really thought curly hair was pretty, but the brunette wore it well.

"So, James speaks highly of you." Spencer rushed out nervously. The silence was getting awkward. She needed to say something.

Ashley nodded. "I'm glad. He's a great guy."

Spencer was immediately taken aback by the tone of the girls voice. There was this…huskiness to it that she hadn't expected. Usually girls as pretty as Ashley had high, obnoxious voices. Ashley did not apply.

"He is. You guys known each other long?" Spencer asked, trying hard to hide the jealousy in her voice. Her mind told her that this Ashley girl was way out of James' league but the she felt bad for even thinking that. He was her boyfriend after all. And it's not like he was bad looking, he was very handsome. Spencer thought that maybe Ashley was just out of everyone's leagues.

"Since high school. I was kind of, uh, his wingman, girl. Whatever." Ashley said and chuckled while ducking her head.

Spencer liked the brunette's laugh. It was husky like her voice. "Anything about James' high school history I should know?" Spencer asked Ashley jokingly. Part of her was serious though.

Ashley thought for a second. James was kind of a ladies man in high school. Not an obnoxious kind, the kind where girls just seemed to gravitate to him. Ashley had always been jealous because she was more reserved than her counterpart. "Girls always did have a thing for him." Ashley told James' girlfriend the truth. She smiled though, to show it wasn't a big deal.

Spencer nodded. "I could kind of tell. What about you, I bet guys are all over you." Spencer felt stupid after saying that. Maybe it was too much, too blunt, but she as sure it was true.

Ashley felt a little hot. "Oh, I don't know..." She wondered whether or not to point out her sexual orientation. It had taken her forever to come out to people she was close with, and she didn't even know this girl. So why did she feel the strong need to tell the blonde she was gay?

"How's my favorite girls?" James' voice interrupted Ashley's inner dialogue and interrupted Spencer's staring contest with the girls chocolate eyes.

"Good." Spencer took the drink from her boyfriend's hand. "Thank sweetie." She said sweetly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ashley turned away.

"Ash, you meeting anyone here?" James asked his friend as he sipped a beer.

Ashley shook her head. "Nope." She locked eyes with James, her eyes telling him to not say anything. James understood. He knew Ashley was somewhat reserved about letting new people in. He just hoped she got along with his new girlfriend. He really liked Spencer.

The threesome sat in their booth, sipping their drinks, and talked for a while. It took Ashley a little bit to open up, but she eventually did. Each smile Spencer threw her way made her feel safer, in some way. She found out Spencer was a junior in college, studying sociology because she wanted to be a lawyer. Ashley was impressed. Having just graduated college, she had no idea what she wanted to do.

Ashley learned how James and Spencer met. It was at a party that James' friend Shawn had dragged him to. Funny, Ashley though, she vaguely remembered James inviting her to that party a couple of months ago. Ashley enjoyed how Spencer openly mocked her boyfriend in a playful way. She wasn't an insecure girlfriend. She was funny and interesting.

"…and then James made us walk a mile to 7/11 because he was hungry and had the munchies." Ashley chuckled, finishing a story about them in high school.

"I was a stupid eighteen year old, I was high, I needed food." James laughed out.

Spencer laughed, she didn't giggle, she genuinely laughed from deep inside and met Ashley's eyes. Ashley smiled, mesmerized by the sight of the blonde.

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"I'm gunna get some air." Ashley said a while later, getting up from her side of the booth.

Spencer got up too. Why? She wasn't sure. "I'll come with you." Spencer made James move to let her out and she gave him a smile as she left. He was glad the girls were getting along.

It was nice outside as the girls took a seat on a bench.

"James really likes you." Ashley said, turning to look at the blonde.

Spencer nodded. "I like him a lot. He's a good guy."

They shared a comfortable silence. Ashley wasn't sure why she felt so okay with this girl. It usually took her a while to warm up to people. It helped, though, that Spencer happened to be very pretty and nice.

"So, do you have a boyfriend or anything?" Spencer asked purely because she was curious. Ashley had to be with someone, she was too gorgeous not to.

Ashley's eyes wandered out in front of her, through the parking lot. "Um, no."

"Girlfriend?" Spencer joked, flashing Ashley a playful smile.

Ashley tensed for a second and met the blonde's bright eyes. "Uh, well." She stuttered. "Not right now." She said so quietly she wasn't even sure Spencer heard her say it.

Spencer's eyes snapped back to the chocolate ones next to her. When the chocolate ones buried into hers, that was all the confirmation Spencer needed. She was glad she wasn't standing because her legs might have given out.

"Well, that is definitely a loss for the male species." Spencer said warmly. Ashley seemed relieved and smiled at the blonde. Like, really smiled, dimples outlined and nose just a tiny bit scrunched up.

Spencer was pretty sure she had never, in her life, seen something as cute. That baby chipmunk she saw the other day was close, but Ashley was light years ahead of that animal.

"Thanks." Ashley murmured shyly, shifting her head away.

Spencer shrugged. "It's true." Spencer was not sure why she said what she said next, she just wanted to and it slipped out before anything could stop her. "Would you wanna, hang out sometime or something?"

Ashley looked at her and wanted to speak but she was distracted by the way Spencer was pushing her hair behind her ear. "I mean, if you want to." Spencer went on. "I mean, I'm not very busy because of summer, just work, but if you ever want-"

"Yeah, I'd like that." Ashley said, interrupting the blonde's ranting. She wanted to make sure Spencer knew she really would love to hang out with her. "Where do you work?"

Spencer chuckled kind of like a little kid. "Toys R Us."

Ashley laughed. "That's awesome."

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Ashley's eyes were still closed when her phone rang early in the morning. She grumbled and flipped over in the black sheets of her bed. Her hand reached out to the night table to stop the offensive device.

Eyes still closed, she answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Spencer. Um, oh, did I wake you up?" Spencer asked nervously. She kept her eyes on the road as she was driving.

Ashley's chocolate eyes snapped open. She attempted to wipe the sleep away from her voice. "Oh, uh, no, you didn't." She glanced at the clock, it was eleven. Maybe not early morning. "How are you?"

"Hungry. Wanna get brunch. If you're hungry, too?"

Spencer was still a little nervous talking to Ashley. She didn't want to be too forward and pushy and scare the girl away. She seemed somewhat reserved. But Spencer had this feeling for Ashley, that she just wanted to be around her. She felt better about things.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. I eat brunch." Ashley cringed. Since when did she become such a dork? Oh, since always.

"Okay, um, I'll come pick you up."

And Spencer Carlin did pick Ashley Davies up. She rolled up the curb of Ashley's apartment building and waited outside. Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel in anticipation. When she heard a door open and close, the blonde's head turned to the side. Ashley walked slowly to the car, sunglasses on the top of her head, jean shorts, and a plain white t-shirt adorning her body. Since the sun was so bright, Spencer noticed she kind of glowed a little bit.

Spencer didn't know it, but she was wearing a smile the whole time.

"Hey." Ashley said as she got in the car and gave her new friend a gentle smile.

"Hi." Spencer smiled back.

They didn't exchange any more words as they went on their way. The noise from Spencer's CD player played in the background, providing for a comfortable silence. Spencer noticed that Ashley would tap her foot or bob her head every so often. It was, for lack of any other perfect word, adorable.

"You like Jimmy Eat World?" Spencer asked, throwing Ashley a sideways glance.

"My favorite." The brunette smiled.

"Mine too."

The small diner that the two girls stepped inside was comfy. It was, perhaps, a bit too intimate. But only the kind of intimate where it was intimate if you noticed. If you didn't notice it was intimate, it wasn't.

Both girls noticed. Neither said anything.

The hostess gave them a fake smile and led them to a small booth for two in the back. Ashley thought maybe the conversation would be slow to flow, but it wasn't at all. She didn't think there was a pause in their talking at all. Ashley liked it.

"Did you have a boyfriend before James?" Ashley asked as she popped a French fry into her mouth.

They had been there for over an hour. Maybe it was more, Ashley thought. But it seemed like nothing. Talk ranged from favorite color and movie to high school and their futures. Ashley felt extremely comfortable with the blonde, more so than most other people. The way she tilted her head and smiled made Ashley's stomach feel all fluttery.

For the first time, Spencer looked almost shy. "Uh, no, actually. I had-" No one interrupted her, she just gave Ashley a soft smile before she went on. "I had a girlfriend, though."

If the brunette didn't already have her eyes locked on Spencer's blue ones, they would have snapped back to them. "Really?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, her name was Catherine. Does, did that surprise you?" She asked with a slight chuckle.

"Kind of." Ashley admitted. "Does James know…that?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, when we talked about past relationships I was tempted to just say Carl." Spencer laughed lightly and ducked her head. "But I'm not hiding or anything."

Ashley looked at Spencer. She really looked at her, not just shy glances like she had been doing the whole day. Spencer was beautiful, her blonde hair was long but not too long. It was blonde but not too blonde. Natural. Her skin looked smooth and soft. And her eyes. Well, her eyes were something gorgeous in themselves. Ashley had originally thought that Spencer Carlin was the kind of straight girl that gay girls get crushes on.

Ashley had been the master of the straight-girl crush. Always wanting something she couldn't have. It was, she thought, one of the worst feelings.

"That's cool." Is all Ashley said in response. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you break up?"

Spencer just took a breath. "She wasn't who I thought she was." The blonde said cryptically. Ashley kind of wanted to laugh. She didn't though. She wasn't being mean, it was just such a serious statement.

A little while later, the two girls decided to head out. There was a struggle of who would pay. Ashley fought but Spencer won.

"I had a really good time with you. Thanks for hanging out with me." Spencer said as they drove down the road, again with the cadence of the stereo rising and falling in the background.

Ashley turned to the blonde in the driver's seat. "Me too. And thank you for getting me out of bed."

Spencer chuckled. "Any time." She gave a shy glance towards Ashley, because her words sounded more…sexual coming out of her mouth than they had sounded in her head. "I think me and James are going out sometime this week, you should come."

Ashley smiled. "Sure. That would be fun."

Spencer parked the car outside when they got to Ashley's. She turned in her seat to face the brunette. She kind of wanted to hug the girl, but Spencer wasn't sure if that would be too much. Ashley just looked…soft. In a good way.

"Well, um, I'll talk to you later then?" Spencer said quietly.

Ashley nodded, her hand on the door handle. "Definitely." She thought for a second and met those blue eyes that had been mesmerizing her all day. Letting go of the door handle, Ashley went to hug Spencer, wrapping her arms around the girls neck. The first thing she noticed was how incredibly good she smelt. Kind of like, peaches. Ashley absolutely loved peaches.

Even though Spencer was surprised, she hugged the smaller but older girl back. The second she made contact she felt electricity. And the second she felt electricity, she knew she was in trouble.

Good or bad? She couldn't be sure yet.

To Be Continued...