Tyler made his way up to Ashley and Jane's room, nervously worrying his lip. True, he'd been going there after his practice for the past few days, ever since the assignment had been given, but the butterflies in his stomach refused to settle each time he made his way over. Taking in a deep breath, Tyler tried to calm his nerves. Sadly, it seemed impossible. Especially when Ashley opened the door and smiled at him.
"Hey," he said in reply to her greeting.
He stepped in and his lips quirked of their own volition at Jane, who was, as per usual, perched on her bed, typing quickly on her computer. She inclined her head in welcome.
The two girls' room had slowly devolved into a mess, at least in Jane's section. Books were scattered on the floor and sweaters were thrown over the foot of her bed. In all honestly, looking at the chaotic upkeep of Jane's portion slightly calmed him, reminding him of his and Reid's room. Her side was well lived in, unlike Ashley's which looked pristine and made him slightly uneasy, worrying that he might mess it up somehow.
"What are you always working on?" he asked, curiously.
She gave him a small, secretive smile that calmed his anxiety before going back to the glow of the screen, not even bothering to answer.
Ashley rolled her eyes. "She's looking up Gaming stuff. Discussing strategy with her online team and whatever." She sat on her bed delicately. "Nerd," she added, almost as an afterthought.
"Don't be jealous," the other girl replied, not even looking up.
"I'm not," the other girl shot back.
Tyler shook his head at their antics – their dynamic kind of reminded him of Reid and Caleb, except without the rivalry.
After a few agonizing moments that stretched far too long for Tyler's liking, he slid next to Ashley, taking care to sit at a respectable distance. Ashley gave him a small grin before turning back to her book.
Jane rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the hopelessness of the two.
"Fucking ridiculous," she murmured. "It's almost painful."
Ashley and Tyler's study session was broken by the jingle of a cell phone. Tyler blushed as Mystikal's Shake Ya Ass blared as his ring tone. Ashley giggled and Jane was singing along happily, dancing while seated.
He answered the phone. "You changed my ring tone?" he asked in exasperation.
The two girls could hear someone cackling in glee from the other end of the line.
"Not cool, man," Tyler admonished.
He paused as the other person on the phone drawled something out.
"No, I can't, man," Tyler winced when the other person's voice rose. "I'm telling you I can't go to Nicky's tonight, I'm studying."
"Chemistry," Tyler continued. He gave both girls an apologetic look. "What?" He bit his lip again. He rattled off the girls' room number, alarming the two other occupants in the room. "What? No! You are not coming over. Reid!"
He sighed, shut his phone and rubbed his temples. "He hung up," he explained to the girls looking at him in interest.
Ashley gave a weighted look to her roommate. Jane's eyebrows arched in surprise before she nodded slightly. Her countenance then smoothed over to display nonchalance.
"You guys have been working way too hard," Jane stated. "I don't see the harm in you going to Nikki's."
"But the project," Tyler started, stopping when Jane gave an unladylike snort.
"Fuck the project," she declared succinctly. "Its not due for another couple days. You're good, dude." She paused before continuing on, Ashley's eyes pushing her forward. "In fact, 'Lee here works too hard, take her with you, too."
Tyler nearly kissed Jane – she just set that up perfectly and effortlessly. Little did he know she had only done it because of the look in Ashley's eyes.
He blushed. "We have been working everyday," Tyler began. Ashley gave him a shy smile. "Want to go?"
Her smile spread out wider. "Sure." She and Tyler locked gazes, the moment only broken by the sound of some obnoxious knocking on the door.
Jane shook her head, waving away the other two's attempts to get up. Opening the door, she gave a quizzical look to the blonde arranged in perfect James Deanstyle against the doorframe.
Reid eyed the petite girl in front of him. He nearly grinned. Maybe Tyler wasn't a total loss – his choice in girls seemed to be improving.
"Garwin, Reid Garwin," he declared, emulating James Bond's suaveness very successfully (unfortunately for all the Spenser girls that he had previously used this trick on), offering his hand. He tossed his bangs out of his eyes and smirked down at the girl.
Jane brushed her bangs out of her eyes with her free hand as one of his encased her other with a surprisingly gentle touch. "Jane," she replied, giving him an easy grin.
He peaked over her head (not a hard feat, being over half a foot taller than her) and caught sight of his best friend. "Wassup," he called to Tyler. His stare slid lazily over Tyler and the girl sitting cross-legged next to him on the bed, assessing the situation easily. His smirk widened and he looked down at the girl still opening the door.
That meant she was fair game, then.
Excellent.
TBC.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Covenant, James Dean, or Mystikal's Shake Ya Ass.
A/N: I tried, I really tried to write some more development between Ashley and Tyler before Reid was introduced into the fic. The problem is, it is literally impossible to tell Reid as a character to simply lie in waiting. He's just not that kind of guy – you don't tell Reid when he comes into the fic, he tells you. I know that sounds weird (and cliché) but that is just how it happens.