I've had some time to get this written up and posted today because I've been off sick from my hangover induced illness. Got absolutely shitfaced this weekend. Why you ask? Well I'll tell you why, because I spent fifty five pounds to go to the Emirates and watch my team lose 3-2 to West Brom. What the fuck is that? Like seriously? Chelsea lose, we get the chance to go within one point of the top and what do we do? Completely blow it and lose to West Bromwich Albion! And don't even get me started on the keeper situation. What an absolute joke.

But my loss is your guys gain (I hope) because I've managed to hash something out. If I'm honest I don't actually have a clue where this is going at the moment but we'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks. I hope you enjoy chapter eight.

I've actually managed to get over the fact that I just fell into a trashcan and am now bent over a sink in the girl's toilets getting gum removed from my hair.

Why you ask?

That would be because one Miss Spencer Carlin is currently running her long, smooth fingers through said hair in an attempt to remove the aforementioned chewing gum.

And God, does it feel good.

Her fingers are currently gently massaging my scalp and it's taking every single ounce of self-control I have not to moan.

I really don't want her to stop, but if she doesn't I don't know how long it will be before I lose it completely and she's up against a wall getting her brains fucked out.

Jesus Christ, that's a hot thought.

Christine!

That's better.

"Okay, I think that's all of it." Spencer's melodic voice says from above me and I have the strange urge to burst into tears as she removes her fingers from my hair.

"Er, thanks." I say as I straighten up.

Is it me or did it kind of just get awkward in here?

"No problem." Spencer replies kindly. "Are you sure you're okay. That looked like it hurt."

"I'm alright. Just a bruised ego I think." I reply, cringing slightly as the whole terrible ordeal comes back to me.

"I'll bet." Spencer giggles and if it had been anyone else laughing at me I would have smacked them. "Why were you running anyway?"

To stop Aiden from asking you out.

"Er, I just wanted to say good morning to Aiden." I lie.

"Well I'm glad you interrupted us." She tells me slowly, as though deliberating over whether or not she wants to tell me this.

"Why?" I ask her in confusion.

"Because I think he was about to ask me out and I hate having to reject people."

Err...What?

Is she saying that she would've said no?

What?

I don't know whether to jump around for joy or be slightly pissed at the fact that I just went bottoms up into a trashcan for nothing when instead I could have been watching Aiden get rejected. What a pisstake!

Wait a minute, why the fuck wouldn't she want to date Aiden? I happen to know what a tool he is but most of the girl's around here consider him to be the best catch out of the entire male population of this school. Why would she turn him down?

Spencer misconstrues the look of confusion on my face for a look of annoyance because she quickly starts to backtrack.

"Not that I don't like him or anything." She says quickly. "I mean he seems like a lovely guy and all but I just don't really want to date him. I'm sure he'd be a perfectly affable companion and that he would be a really great boyfriend to have and I'm sure..."

"Spencer!" I cut her off, slightly reluctantly because that babble was so freaking cute! "It's okay. I'm not annoyed that you don't want to date Aiden. In fact, I'm kind of relieved."

Oops. Probably shouldn't have said that because now she's giving me a curious look.

"Why?"

"Because Aiden's a dick." It's not a lie. It just doesn't happen to be the absolute truth.

Spencer just lets out a cute little chuckle and appraises me with an infamous head tilt making my stomach go all kinds of funky.

"Freaking giraffe." I mutter quietly.

"Did you just say something about a giraffe?"

Obviously I wasn't as quiet as I thought because now Spencer is raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.

Why is it that everyone can raise one eyebrow except me?

"Er, no. I said something about...err, graphs! Yeah, graphs. I have Biology next and I was just thinking about how much I hate graphs."

Nice save Ash.

"Oh okay, yeah I know what you mean -."

Spencer gets cut off from our scintillating conversation about graphs as the bathroom door swings open and the lovely Madison Duarte struts in. Her eyes narrow suspiciously when she sees us.

"Spencer." She nods at the girl next to me. "What are you doing in here with her?"

I half expect Spencer to tell Madison that she just happened to wander in here and stumble across me because after all being spotted by the head cheerleader in the company of the school's most notorious lesbian in a deserted bathroom isn't going to do wonders for your reputation.

But then I remember that this is Spencer we're talking about. Cute, innocent, honest little Spencer. Therefore, what she does tell Madison is a lot worse than pretending not to know me.

"Ashley just needed some help getting chewing gum out of her hair."

Shit. Now Madison's grinning like someone just told her I randomly dropped dead.

"Really? Now why doesn't that surprise me?" She sneers and I really want to slap her. "What were you doing this time Davies? Rooting around in a trashcan like the tramp you are?"

Lucky guess. But I'll have her know that there was definitely no rooting involved, just a whole lot of skidding, falling and unnecessary pain.

"I'm the tramp now am I Madison?" I retort with a scathing scoff.

You see what I cleverly did there? I insinuated that she was a tramp without actually outright saying it. I know I'm incredibly smart; you don't have to tell me.

Madison's face has gone scarlet again, although, come to think of it she was kind of red in the face when she came in. Her blood pressure must be really bad.

Just as Madison opens her mouth to bite out some lame attempt at a comeback the door once again swings open.

"You done in here?"

I recognise the deep English accent immediately and turn to face my best friend who's leaning up against the doorframe like she's trying to be sexy.

"Yep. Nearly done." I inform her and notice that her eyes momentarily widen in surprise as she looks between the three of us before an easy grin settles on her face and she begins to walk casually towards Spencer and I.

I roll my eyes when I notice that the buttons on her black shirt are done up wrong. That girl is seriously backward but at least she's ditched the trench coat.

"Oh look, its thing two." Madison's angry snarl nearly makes me jump.

And really? Cat in the Hat? Is that all you've got bitch?

"Madison darling!" Taylor exclaims, exuberantly as always. "What are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be in class Pumpkin?"

Haha, I love it when Taylor calls her Pumpkin. It makes her twice as angry as any of the other pet names she uses. Probably because she thinks Taylor's insulting her fat ass. If you ever told Madison outright that she had a fat ass you might as well kiss your life goodbye. I'd assume that her reaction wouldn't be dissimilar to telling a heavily pregnant woman she looks fat.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class too?" Madison replies weakly with what has to be the worst comeback I have had ever heard, even for Madison.

"You know me Maddie." Taylor winks at her and Madison gets even more flushed. "I was in the gym partaking in some rather enjoyable light exercise."

Now why doesn't that surprise me? Taylor is weirdly addicted to exercise. She goes jogging almost every morning and goes to the gym four times a week. She's like a female Aiden but less of a dick.

"Whatever." Madison shrugs, turns on her heel and flounces into one of the stalls.

What was that about?

The three of us exit the bathroom and begin to walk down the corridor.

"Hey Ash?" Taylor grabs my elbow. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure. I'll be right back." I tell Spencer as I let Taylor drag me a few feet away towards her locker.

"How's it going?" She asks as soon as we're out of earshot, opening her locker and pretending to look for something.

"How's what going?"

"Don't act dumb Ash." She reaches out to flick my forehead. "How's it going with Spencer?"

"Well apart from the fact that she saw me fall into a trashcan and then spent the next fifteen minutes getting gum out of my hair I'd say things are going pretty well." I reply, my tone sarcastic. "And get this, it was all for nothing."

"What was?"

"All of it. The plan, the codenames, the humiliation. She doesn't even want to date Aiden!" I tell her and am pleased to see her look as surprised as I was.

"What?" She exclaims, shutting her locker and leaning up against it. "There's a girl at this school apart from you and me that doesn't want to date Aiden Dennison?"

"Apparently so." I shrug, looking over her shoulder to where Spencer is waiting patiently.

"Funny that even after all the intense planning I did I still didn't think of that as even being a remotely possible variable." She ponders, bringing a hand to her chin and stroking it like she has a beard.

Hey wait...

"Excuse me?" I poke her hard in the stomach. "What do you mean all the planning you did? What about all the planning I did?"

Taylor has the audacity to roll her eyes at me.

"Ashley, you didn't do any planning. You spent half the weekend sulking about me not letting you be the Barbie with the pink shirt. Then you spent a quarter of it getting the Barbie's to pretend to fuck each other and then the rest of it telling me my plan was shit."

I would object if every word she just said wasn't absolutely true.

"Exactly. Anyway, now I think it's time to put phase two into action." She tells me, a big grin on her face.

"What's phase two?"

"I haven't actual thought of a name for it yet. I was thinking operation Spenceley maybe? Or perhaps Operation Asher? I'm still working on it. But the first step is to find out if she's gay or not." Taylor explains.

"And how the fuck am I supposed to do that?" I hiss at her, accidentally spitting on her shirt. Oops. "I can't just go up to her and be like 'Hey Spence. By the way, do you happen to be a carpet muncher?'"

"Why not?" Ashley chuckles. "She didn't pussy out when it came to asking you if you were gay."

"That's so not even the same thing." I send her my best scowl. "Everyone knows I'm gay. She wasn't asking outright she was confirming what she already knew."

"Whatever pussy."

I know she's just trying to get a rise out of me and there is no way I'm going to give her the satisfaction...

"Ow!"

Yeah, I lied.

"That's what you get for calling me a pussy!"

"Jesus Ashley, I'm sorry okay?" Taylor clutches her stomach, which just received the full force of my razor sharp elbow.

"You better be."

I turn to look back at Spencer who is still waiting a little way away down the corridor, now looking slightly bored.

"Let's go." I grab Taylor's wrist and move to pull her back towards the stunning blonde but she stops me.

"I have an idea." She says quietly in my ear, causing me to turn back to face her. "Take her to the beach."

"What?"

"Take her to the beach." Taylor repeats. "Persuade her to skip with you today. Then not only will you get the chance to know her better, you might get some hints as to whether she or not she's gay."

Is she crazy?

"Are you crazy?"

"Maybe." Taylor chuckles. "But right now I think I'm making quite a lot of sense. You need to learn to chill out around her Ash otherwise you're just gonna make a complete arse out of yourself and she definitely won't date you. Maybe if you spend more time with her you won't shit yourself every time she smiles at you."

"I so do not – Ah, fuck it. Maybe you're right."

Taylor smiles triumphantly and I sock her hard in the arm.

"There's no need to gloat." I tell her as she faux pouts and rubs her arm. "But what if she doesn't want to go with me?"

"Then chances are she doesn't like you anyway." Taylor shrugs.

Ouch. That's not a nice thought at all.

"Sorry mate." Taylor shifts to wrap an arm around my shoulder and steers me towards Spencer. "But it's the truth."

"I know." I sigh, leaning into her slightly as we walk back down the corridor.

Just as we pass the bathroom door Madison stalks out, slamming right into Taylor and rebounding into the lockers.

I snort with laughter as she almost falls right on her fat ass.

"Are you okay?"

I send Taylor my best 'What the fuck?' look but she doesn't see it because she's currently reaching out a hand to help Madison up.

What the fuck? Since when did she start taking pity on the enemy?

Madison on the other hand looks less than impressed by this new revelation as she brushes away Taylor's hand and storms off down the corridor.

"What was that? Since when did you start caring about Madison's welfare?" I question suspiciously as soon as the Latina has disappeared from sight.

"I don't." Taylor shrugs. "Go on Ash. You'd better get back over there. It's rude to keep a girl waiting." She indicates towards Spencer who is looking at us with a thoughtful expression. I send her a small smile and feel a small jolt in the pit of my stomach when she returns it.

"Fancy coming with me?" I ask beginning to feel nervous about being back in the blonde's presence. "For some morale support?"

"I'd love to." Taylor smiles down at me, plants a kiss on the top of my head and gives me a one armed hug before nudging me forward and patting me on the butt. "But I've got something else I have to do."

With that she turns and strides away in the same direction as Madison. She turns back just before she rounds the corner, throwing me a trademark wink and grin combination.

"See you later babe!"

Ugh! What a bitch!

I wander back towards Spencer, slightly unsteadily because if I'm honest, I'm kind of bricking it right now.

"Sorry about that." I say as I come to stand beside her.

She doesn't answer straight away because she's too preoccupied with looking over my shoulder down the corridor to where Taylor just disappeared, a slight frown gracing her perfect features.

"Spencer?"

God, it feels so good to just say her name. It's one of those names that just roll right off your tongue.

"Sorry." She replies sweetly, shaking her head slightly. "What did you say?"

"I was just apologising for making you wait around like that." I repeat, meeting her eyes. Their brilliant ocean blue depths never fail to amaze me and make me totally horny.

Christine!

"That's okay." She smiles a cute half-smile at me.

Man, do I find everything she does cute? I could probably get turned on by sitting there and watching her cut her toenails. This is ridiculous.

"I should probably be getting back to class." She interrupts my thoughts of a naked Spencer seductively clipping her toenails. What? I swear it's hotter than it sounds. "It's almost the end of first period."

Okay Ashley, deep breaths. You can do this. She's just a girl. A normal, average teenage girl. You can do this.

"Actually, I was wondering..."

I know that could probably win an award for worlds shittest cliffhanger but I'm trying to get the word balance right and it's proving pretty difficult.

Thanks to my newest reviewers: hubuddy13, shaz89, vox80, kaelan, ConnieLaxer12, freakanatomy and Kelsey. And of course to everyone else who reviews. You guys are pretty damn awesome.