Zac didn't know quite what happened for her to start acting the way she did. He searched her eyes trying to figure it out but it was no luck. They were empty. He hesitantly grabbed her hand into his asking,"Ashley? What's wrong?"

Today couldn't get any worse than it already was after his plan to drop what he had with Vanessa failed. Ashley's whole world went completely black at that very moment. Her stomach twisted in knots as if any moment she would upchuck. Words could not explain how she was feeling. Zac had cheated on her and there was no denying it. There was clear evidence on his neck. She could feel the breathe sucked right out of her. As she was trying to catch her breath, tears start to well up in her eyes threatening to fall. Ashley fought to keep them in but couldn't anymore. Without a second thought, she pushed away Zac's hand. Her hand swung forcefully against his bare cheek.

Zac was taken aback by her sudden anger. He clasped his cheek with his hand trying to stop the stinging.

He shook his head,"What the hell Ashley!"

Ashley voiced raised a heightening peak as the tears flowed down her cheeks,"This is how you love me? By sleeping with someone else. Who is she?"

Zac's confusion of her emotional tirade now turned into shame. He had ruined her most prized day, his most prized day too. He just stood there not quite sure what to say to her. Ashley couldn't fathom that the guy she loved was now standing in front of her with no words, no explaination, no apoligizes. He was a coward.

"Your nothing but a disgrace right now. You come to pick me up on our anniversary.." She grabbed his face turning it.."With a fresh hickey on your neck and you cant even tell me who the whore is. I have no words or thoughts of why you would do this to me. You just pulled my whole world from beneath me. I have to show my face in school knowing everyone knows what you did to me. I feel like I no longer have anything to look forward to. I lost my boyfriend and my best friend. Do you know how that feels? Im sure you didnt think twice while you were fucking her!" The fire ignited even more inside of her her thoughts a ramble fighting to get out,"Who are you? You sure arent the guy that I fell in love with."

Zac still couldn't quite prosper what was happening, He heard every word from her mouth though and took it in, it was painful to see her hurt. He was speechless though, he always imagined the consequences of getting caught but he was gonna end things with Vanessa so that wouldn't happen. But before he could, there it was, happening. Zac opened his mouth to speak but lost the words, mumbling "I-I'm sorry, Ashley.. I didn't mean to."

Ashley's tears fell down faster and she raised her voice even louder, "Didn't mean to? How can you not mean to sleep with someone else? It wasn't an accident, the slut didn't rape you!" He was about to talk but she interrupted him placing her finger on his lips, "Save it!" Ashley spoke, "I don't wanna hear your lies or anything. The best you can do at this point is to leave me alone, don't ever talk to me again. And we are through!"

Zac shook his head furiously, his eyes beginning to water, "Ashley, no. I-I love you." he whispered.

She took a breath and whispered back, "No. If you loved me you wouldn't have done this to me." And with that last word she shoved Zac out of her house and slammed the door right in his face.

Ashley cried harder, the tears she couldn't control. She ran upstairs to her room and grabbed every single picture of her and Zac and ripped them to shreds, she was crying so hard that she could barely see. The tears in her eyes were blinding her, she literally had to feel around as if she was blind to find her bed. She plopped onto it and cried into her pillow, eventually falling asleep with messy hair, make up smeared all over her face and the dress she was planning to wear on there date.

Zac was however still in Ashley's driveway in his car, his heart was broken from all the hurt he caused her. He wished he could take it all back but he couldn't. He wanted to blame Vanessa but he knew it was just as much as his fault as it was hers. Three hours later he finally started his car and drove out of the driveway. He looked ahead at a bar and knew some beer would heal his pain so he stopped there. Zac looked around in his glove box for a fake ID he once made and successfully found it. He stepped out of his car and sighed as he entered the bar doors. People stared at him as he walked in, just the fact that he was underage was pretty obvious. "Can I get a beer?" he asked the bartender behind the table. "ID man." Zac quickly flashed it and the bartender asked no questions and handed him one then another and another. Soon enough hes had about seven beers, the pain was still there but most of it was gone.

A couple hours later after Zac had arrived at the bar, seven beers turned into a whole lot more. It was eleven o'clock. His heart still ached from the biggest mistake of his life. The alcohol was supposed to numb the pain but in reality it almost made it ten times bigger. It didnt make him forget anything. It made him remember every second of the incident. Her face, her feel, the pain in her eyes, her words. It would haunt him until the very end. He knew that he couldn't drive home so he called the one person who he could always rely on, Ashley. There was a huge chance that she wouldnt answer because of what she had said earlier but he was going to take a chance. ashley spoke, "I don't wanna hear your lies or anything. The best thing you can do at this point is leave me alone, don't ever talk to me again. And we are through!" Zac shook his head, his eyes beginning to water, "Ashley, no. I-I love you." he whispered. She took a breath and whispered back, "No. If you loved me you wouldn't have done this to me." Zac jammed his hand into his pocket pulling out his phone. His fingers fumbled over the keypad trying to dial her number.

Ashley was knocked out from the moment she finally had finished crying. The mascara stains were still smeared across her face, her hair was matted against her sticky face and her dress was twisted around her body. Suddenly, a blaring sound of music blasted throughout her room. The ringtone that was playing was dedicated to only one person, Zac. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and the pain had resurfaced within her body. She reached her arm down into her purse grabbing her phone. Her eyes were swollen and she read blurry. She didnt want to answer it but no matter what, the pain was still going to be whether she talked to him or not.

She hit the answer call button, her voice scratchy from crying,"What do you want?" Zac was relieved when she had finally picked up. "I cant drive home. Im drunk. I need you to drive me home. Im drunk. Im at over the hill and I cant drive." zac said slurring his repeated words. Ashley shook her head with despair. She swallowed hard not knowing what to do. Should she go get him or should she let him go crash into a ditch. Crash into the ditch sounded perfectly good at the moment. Ashley sighed sitting up looking at herself across the room into her mirror and what a sight it was,"Ill be there in 20 minutes. No more drinks." She hung up the phone and got up. She went straight into the bathroom to wash all the makeup off her face, threw her hair up into a messy ponytail and undressed into a tee shirt with sweats.

As she got into the car, she sat there for several minutes. "What the hell am I doing? He just cheated on me, broke my heart, and ripped my life apart and Im going to help him get home. I should of told him to call his whore. No, I wouldnt do that. I dont want him near her. He' s probably going to run to her anyways. Im obviously not good enough for him. He's lucky hes drunk. Its the only reason im doing this." Ashley mumbled out as she put the car in drive and tears regained their surface down her face. This was the last Ashley would ever help him with anything and it was the last time Zac would be anywhere near her life except for passerby's during school.

The moment he got out of her car was it. The whole ride to his place was quiet, Zac tried to talk to Ashley but she just told him to shut up every time. His eye sight started to get blurry and he felt nauses, he wondered why just looking at Ashley was painful even with the alcohol in his system. Ashley parked in his drive way and he just stared at her, his pupils dilated. "Go." she ordered him.

Zac opened the door and nearly tripped on his way out, she didn't want him to get hurt no matter how much she hated him at the moment. She stepped out of her side of the car and went over to Zac, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Tears ran down Zac's cheeks as she lead him to his house door, he knew it was it. He screwed it up, he wanted them to remain friends but there was nothing he could do about it. Ashley turned the knob but it was stuck. She kept trying to open it but the thought of it being locked never crossed her mind. She just wanted to get him in the house so she could leave. Finally, it popped into her mind and she looked under the mat for a spare key since he normally left it there but it was no where to be found. "Okay, your door is locked. Where is the key?" she asked, not making eye contact at all. "It's-it's in my uh.. my pocket." zac slurred. She sighed as she reached for the key in his back pocket, he was getting too much for ashley to handle.

She turned the knob once the key was in and the door successfully opened. "Can you.. help me in bed?" Zac asked once they were inside.

Ashley shook her head, "No. I've already done so much. Its way too painful to see you, Zac. I told you earlier im only helping you into the house, not your bed."

Zac opened his mouth to speak but he got so dizzy all of a sudden, his eyes rolled back and passed out on the floor. She gasped at first frantically bending down shaking him but then after a few moments she just calmed down, she couldn't overreact, she knew she shouldn't help him at all after what he had done. Ashley walked over to the kitchen table quietly and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down a note for him to wake up to. She took one last look at Zac as tears begin to run down her cheek, her heart was broken. She was living in her own personal hell. She stepped out of the door and she was out of his life.

The next morning Zac woke up with a banging headache and an upset stomach, he groaned at the sudden pain he was receiving. "Fucking alcohol" he whispered to himself. He noticed a note onto the table so he went over to it and picked up the note, reading it to himself. 'Zac, I love you I do. I took you home last night because you were drunk and called me for a ride home. The only reason I did it was because you werent capable. As I said before though, I'm done with you. Don't ever talk to me again. What you did killed me...' he couldn't read anymore, he crumpled the paper up and threw it away, still having no memory of what happened last night. He had no idea that was the last time she'd ever be near him.

8 months later.
Eight months had passed since their disasterous anniversary. Eight months since she had found out who he was having sex with. Eight months since everyone knew her as the laughing stock of Derby High. Eight months that the pain hasn't gone away but eight months that their lives had changed. Ashley sat inside her car with her eyes closed taking a deep breath. It was another day at school where her returning nightmare hadn't seen to go away. They hadn't spoken for eight months. He tried with notes and texts, even trying to call her but they all got dismissed. Eventually after trying for three months, he stopped. She was serious on the matter and no matter how much she missed his every being, she wouldnt give in. She wasted three years of her life with him. Now he had her confined to this misery. A month ago he started to date Vanessa.

She shook her head miserably before stepping outside of her car. It was time for school and the matter being was that she was going to have to face him again for one last time. She never thought her last day of High school would be so amazing. She would never see Zac Efron in her life again.

She walked up the front steps to the school building, swinging the entrance door open and slipping inside. Most of the time she got her stuff unnoticed and other times her friends were right there. These were one of the days that she was noticed.

Miley trotted down the hall quickly linking her arm with Ashleys blabbering like a fool, "So today is one of the saddest days in my life! Im stuck here for one more year without you. This is going to miserable."

Ashley shook her head cocking an eye at her,"Dont say that. Your going to be fine without me here. You do have your other best friend who is going to be on the same trip called Senior year with you."

Miley rolled her eyes shaking her head,"Yes I know that I will but it wont be the same without you. You are older and your everything that we inspire to be."

Ashley found this to be hilarious. She bursted out into a fit of giggles,"Are you nuts? Everyone wants to be the laughing stock of the school and go from having everything you could dream of to nothing."

Miley's face dropped with a sudden hint of sadness for her. She knew that she was still not over it or him. She stopped standing in front of Ashley,"Hunny, your amazing. Just because one stupid little thing happened because of some idiotic douche bag doesnt mean your nothing."

Ashley sighed looking down at her feet,"Im fine." She looked back up at Miley with a forced bright smile across her lips,"I just like to remind you that I dont have anything inspiring. Im just a normal teenage girl ready to start her whole life. Im starting the internship at Crane industries next week.

Miley's eye brows furrowed,"Isnt that Zac's grandfathers company?" Ashley walked around Miley and headed straight for her locker. Miley didn't stay behind for to long before quickly regaining speed on her,"Ashley! Answer my question."

Ashley opened her locker getting her first class materials,"Yes it Zac's grandfathers company but he doesnt work there and wont be anywhere near there. Hes not into fashion or buisness. Crane industries has different branches for almost anything. Im not going to be anywhere near him. Hes going away to college to be a lawyer anyway remember?"

Miley couldn't believe after all the crying, and nightmares she was possibly putting herself into a situation where she could be slapped in the face by his presence. Ashley had her materials in hand slamming the locker shut,"Miley, Im a big girl. I know what I want out of life and fashion is it. Its getting my foot in the door with a world wide company." The first bell rang buzzing throughout the whole school,"I have to go but Ill see you at lunch alright."

Miley sighed just keeping her opinion to herself,"Ill see you there. Its going to be our last. Wouldnt miss it for the world or the drama that might intoe."

Ashley grinned at her younger naive friend,"You gotta stop being a sucker for drama before you get yourself mixed into a situation you might not get out of."

With that Ashley turned around on her heels taking off for math class. Sitting in her desk, Ashley was focused as shes ever been in math class. Afterall she was graduating tomorrow, she couldn't help but be focused. Over the eight months, shes been trying to focus on other things to keep her mind off of him. Her eyes were looking down at her binder when the door was being pushed open, she couldn't make out who it was since nobody was ever absent, everyone was in the classroom at the moment. Ashley looked up from her binder and saw him, she bit her lip so those random tears wouldn't flow down her cheeks. Every sight of him makes her want to cry and the pain of that night comes back. She would usually push all her emotions way down deep but it was these times unnoticed that it would hit her. "Hey, Mrs. Smith told me that I could come in here because her classroom is pretty packed and I offered to switch classes for the hour." Zac informed the math teacher and the teacher agreed to it, "Sit down next to miss tisdale over there." he told Zac.

Ashley noticed Zac's expression changed from happy to frightened. He slowly sat in his chair next to Ashley and she didn't say a word to him as she tried not to look at him. The last day of school was supposed to be a little relaxing for her but it wasn't, it was terrible to have him come in, she told herself over and over that she refused to look at him. A note was crumbled up and thrown on her desk from Zac, she dared to open the note to see what it said, hoping it wasn't some apology, that was the last thing she wanted. She opened the note anyways and to herself she read, 'so I heard you were studying at my grandfathers company this fall as an internship?'

she sighed, not bothering to write back. Ashley stood up grabbing her books and taking her purse with her and she stood in front of the teachers desk. "May I use the bathroom?" she asked him which he replied yes. She smiled fakely then walked towards the door, throwing the note in the trash before leaving. Running down the hall, Ashley began to cry and cry hard. She slammed the door shut when she entered the bathroom. Holding her breath to stop the crying for a moment, she kneeled down and looked under every stall to see if another girl was in there. Ashley sat against the door and cried harder, this was definitely not a good day for her. Just the thought of Zac being near her again made her this way and now that he was, it was worst. Why would be bother to even know anything about her life after all this time of no longer trying. "Why.. why me?" she whispered to herself, breathing a little heavy. She finally put herself together and stood up, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. With one last deep breath, she fixed her hair and left the bathroom, not even bothering to go back to class. Once again she told herself,"Im done with him. Im just done. Ashley decided to leave the school building and go home early, luckily no teachers saw.