As Ashley starts to stir, she finds herself alone in the bed. It takes her a second or two to remember where she is at, but when it does finally click, she sits up glancing at the clock. 5:30am. She lets out a small groan and stretches while she lets out a yawn. Getting out of bed she walks into the living area to find Spencer in her glasses sitting at a table drinking coffee and staring out the window. "Hey…" Spencer doesn't say anything, just barely nods not taking her gaze off whatever she's staring at out the window. "Do you always get up this early?"
"Sometimes…" She lets out a sigh and finally looks at Ashley with a small smile, "what are you doing up? I didn't even expect you to be up for classes today…"
Ashley shrugs and sits across from Spencer in the other chair, sitting Indian style. "Are you ok?"
"I think I should be the one asking you that; what that was about last night."
Ashley just shrugs, looking down at the table, "Just a nightmare, you know?"
"Right…" Spencer stands now and gets more coffee, "Ashley about last night… that can't ever happen again and it you can't tell anyone either. I could lose my job. And as much as I detest Ms. Keaton's methods, I need to be here."
"Why do you need to be here? I mean I know I'm lovable, but I don't do well with clingy people Spence."
Spencer shakes her head, "Ashley promise me you won't say anything, please?"
"Don't worry; I really don't need people knowing I cuddle. Instead I'll just tell them we had sex."
"Ashley…"
"Ok, I promise. But the same goes for you; that could really ruin my reputation if that got out."
Spencer laughs quietly, "Don't worry; it's not something I'll be bragging about. Now, you need to get out of here before people start to wake up and see you leaving."
Ashley nods and stands, walking over to the door she turns back towards Spencer, "Thank you... you know, for last night…" She smiles genuinely, and sneaks out of the room back to hers, going unnoticed.
Meanwhile, Spencer is still in her room, only now she is going through an old photo album. She sets her cup of coffee down, as she fights back tears looking at the pictures of her and a young brunette with wavy hair.
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"Can anybody find me… SOMEBODY TO LOOOOOOOOVE!"
"Chelsea! Turn that down!" Ashley yells as she leans against the door frame. She had been standing there watching amused, as her friend danced around her room singing into her comb, but that last note was just too much for her.
Chelsea dances her way over to Ashley, "Come on sing with me, all the cool kids are doing it!"
"Chels, you're the only one singing…" Ashley says, trying to hold back a smile.
She turns down the music and falls onto her bed, "That's because I'm the only cool kid here."
Ashley shakes her head and falls onto the bed also, "Have you talked to Kyla yet?"
"I'm guessing you haven't? Ashley it has been two days since the fight, don't you think you should at least attempt to talk to her?"
"She attacked me Chelsea… I didn't do anything to her."
"Except play jokes on her boyfriend all week."
Ashley sighs, "I always do though, and it's nothing new."
"So what brought it on this time? You were especially mean to everyone this week… even Madison stayed away after the hair incident."
"I thought pink looked good on her personally."
Chelsea starts cracking up as she thinks about her hair, "That one was good, I'll admit that. She made her stylist fly all the way out here… that was great."
Ashley starts laughing also and a few minutes later their laughter subsides. "Ow, my stomach hurts now…" She sits up holding her stomach, "so Chelsea, tell me about this Clay boy that has you completely gaga."
Chelsea sits up now too; her smile growing bigger, which Ashley didn't think it was possible. "I am not completely gaga over him."
"Please, I caught you drawing hearts everywhere in your sketch pad."
"Ugh fine, whatever. He's sweet and really funny. He was adopted when he was eight years old and is from a small town in Ohio. He's going to NYU next year for pre-med. He asked me to hang out with him tonight…"
"Right… well I'll just need a copy of his license before tonight so I can have Toby run a quick background check, so if you could let him know I need it as soon as possible that'd be great."
"Ash…" she points a finger up at her, "do not scare this one away, I really like him."
"Ugh! I do not scare away the boys you like!"
"…You had Toby frisk and interrogate the last one while being hooked up to a lie detector test thing…"
"That was clearly Toby's idea, he worries about you, and he's here to protect you as well as me…"
"Only because you make him, he's not paid to! Please Ashley…"
"Fine, I won't scare him away, but I will have Toby make an appearance and flex his muscles once or twice."
"Ok, just take it easy on this one."
"I will for you, but don't expect me to like him or you know actually have conversations with him…"
Chelsea wraps her arms around Ashley and squeezes her tightly, "Thanks! You're the best!"
Ashley just sits there, her body completely stiff during the embrace, as she looks around the room as if she's embarrassed by the contact, "Are you done yet?"
"Nope!" She squeezes her once again and then pulls away, "Ok, now I am."
"Right… well, I'm off to the music lab." She stands and heads for the door, "oh and so you know, I'm totally winning this bet!" She smirks and walks out of the room.
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Ashley sits in the music lab at a keyboard, with headphones lazily placed on her head. Her guitar is sitting next to as she sits and plays the keyboard singing along with the music. "Take time to realize…That your warmth is…Crashing down on me."
Leaning against the doorframe of the music lab entrance, Spencer stands quietly listening to Ashley, a smile appearing on her face as she hears the girl's voice. It was amazing, not something Spencer had expected from her.
"Take time to
realize
That I am on your side
Well didn't I, didn't I tell
you
But I can't spell it out for you
No it's never going to
be that simple
No I can't spell it out for you
If you
just realize
What I just realized
That we'd be perfect for
each other
And we'll never find another
Just realize
What
I just realized
We'd never have to wonder
If we missed out on
each other, now…"
Sighing, Ashley stops playing and takes her headphones off. "That was great, I didn't know you could play… or sing for that matter…"
Jumping slightly, Ashley turns around to find Spencer leaning there against the door frame, "How long have you been here?"
She shrugs, a smile still planted on her face, "Long enough… I love that song." She walks over to Ashley and sits down next to her. "How long have you played for?"
"You know who Colbie Caillat is?"
Spencer chuckles lightly, "Yes, I am only twenty-two you know… not seventy."
"Right, sorry I forgot." Ashley blushes slightly and focuses on the keyboard. Afraid she might get lost in Spencer's blue eyes forever if she looks up.
"I mean I know I might sometimes act like an old lady, but I am actually very hip."
"Did you actually just use the word hip?" Ashley smirks and makes the mistake of looking up at Spencer, finding her eyes immediately.
Spencer blushes, but doesn't look away, "Unfortunately. Shows how much of a nerd I am…"
"You aren't a nerd… ok well maybe a little."
Spencer chuckles at this statement, still looking Ashley in the eyes. For whatever reason she still isn't capable of looking away from those whiskey colored eyes that always convey so much emotion. "So you never answered my question… how long have you played for?"
Ashley runs her hands unconsciously along the keys as she thinks about her answer, "I guess since I was little… it was just something I picked up on right away. I didn't start playing guitar until I was thirteen though."
"Will you play something for me?" Spencer asks as she toys with one of the keys.
Her eyes bug out at this and she finally looks away as she shakes her head no, "I don't usually play in front of anyone and besides you already got a free concert."
"Ok, fine… but one day I will get you to."
Ashley shakes her head, "I doubt it. SO what are you doing down here? There really isn't anything down here but the art rooms and the dark room."
"I was on my way to the dark room," she pats a small bag that's hanging from her shoulder that Ashley had yet to notice, "I took some pictures the other day that I want to develop."
"I didn't know you liked that…"
Spencer smiles, "There's a lot you don't know about me…" She stands and starts to head out of the lab, "well besides the fact that I have a killer body and am a great dresser." She winks at Ashley with a huge smirk on her face as she exits the room.
Ashley stares at Spencer's retreating body and then turns back around reluctantly. Shaking her head, she turns back towards the keyboard and starts to play getting lost in the music and her thoughts; a smile spreading across her face as she thinks about how close they were just sitting… how comfortable it was.
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Spencer lies in her bed reading a book, not able to sleep. It's going on 2a.m. and even though all classes are cancelled tomorrow it is still going to be a long day. All of the student's parents are coming in this weekend, which means she has to spend all day preparing for this. Letting out a small groan, she shifts in bed feeling something uncomfortable under her now. Setting her book down, she fumbles with the sheets to find a stuffed alligator all tangled in the sheets. With a smile tugging at her lips, she untangles Al and as she does this she hears a soft knock at her door.
Reluctantly getting out of bed, she heads for the door only to find a nervous looking Ashley behind it. ""What are you doing here?" Spencer whispers.
Ashley however does not respond, just walks into the room, "Where's Al? I woke up and he wasn't anywhere to be found. And I can't find him anywhere else, so I must have left him here…" She looks around the room nervously, her arms crossed at her chest.
"Relax," Spencer says as she follows the girl into the living area, "I just found him in my room." Ashley nods and walks into Spencer's bedroom to grab him, wrapping her arms around him immediately and starts to apologize to him for leaving him.
"Don't worry, he was safe here," Spencer says, watching the girl slightly amused with her attachment to it. "You know, you're kind of a little too attached to him."
"I am not! I just need him when I can't sleep…"
Spencer sits down on the edge of the bed and looks at the girl, "why couldn't you sleep?"
Ashley shrugs now, "Just a nightmare."
"Again?"
"Yes again, you can't tell me you never have them…"
Spencer nods, locking eyes with her, "Yes, but not as often."
Ashley, finally relaxing a bit eyes Spencer up and down, now fully aware of how little clothes she had on. Gulping, she lets her gaze pause on the tanned, toned legs, and work its way up to the green short shorts and then it finally settles on the white tank top that shows a sliver of her tanned stomach. Instantly, her mind is in the gutter and all she can think about is that there is a bed right there. "Well… I…" she stops talking, forgetting completely about whatever it was they were just talking about, feeling a blush creeps its way to her cheeks. Her gaze finally settles on Spencer's, and now she is completely lost in blue.
Also forgetting what they were talking about, and now very aware of the situation they seem to have put themselves in, Spencer remembers that she barely has any clothes on. But instead of getting up to put a robe on or asking Ashley to leave, all she can do is look back into those eyes. Those eyes that are showing every want Ashley has towards her, every feeling and desire. The worst part of it is that Spencer realized that her eyes were probably betraying her just as much as Ashley's were.
Shaking her, Spencer lets out a deep breath and stands, "You should probably go now Ashley."
Ashley nods and looks to the ground, "Or…" she looks up smiling lightly, "I could stay again."
"I told you already… that can't happen again."
She takes a step towards Spencer, who is shaking her head, "I won't tell anyone and it's not like we did anything wrong Spencer. We just slept."
"I'm your teacher Ashley if someone were to find out I could lose my job and most likely never be able to teach anywhere else."
She takes another step towards her so she is now directly in front of Spencer. She leans forward and rests her forehead against Spencer's, "Please Spence…"
Spencer closes her eyes for a second, but then shakes her head again, "No I can't do this, and you know I can't."
She goes to move away, but Ashley grabs her by her hips to hold her there, "Ok, I'll leave." Moving her head slightly she kisses Spencer softly on the cheek and pulls her into a hug, "night Spence, I'll see you around."
She turns around and picks up Al, who she had dropped on the floor earlier with out realizing it. Clinging to him, she lets out a sigh and leaves the room, heading back to her room.
Once she hears the door shut, Spencer falls back onto her bed and lets out a loud frustrated sigh, staring at her ceiling until she drifts off to sleep.