She's the Ash

Chapter 8: Arriving

A/N: Again, sorry for the lack of promptness with updates. Hopefully this chapter doesn't stink up the joint too much.

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The next morning found my suitcase and me at the Dot waiting for Ellie. I had been dropped off on my family's way to the airport; my mom had been teary-eyed, and we had hugged for a long time. I promised I would write to her and email her every other day. I had waited on the curb and watched the car until it disappeared, then lugged my bags inside. Thankfully, Manny lived only a few blocks away and I wouldn't have to drag them far after coffee.

I was about to pop in my headphones when the bell on the door chimed and my best friend walked in. She was dressed in her usual black and yawned widely.

"Hey, Ash," she greeted as she sat down next to me at the counter. She ordered a black coffee and wiped her eyes. "What's up?"

I sipped my latte and gestured to my bags.

"Oh," she smiled. "Spring Break. Nice- I don't get mine for another week. Where are you going?"

"I'm not going on Spring Break, El."

"Oh." She looked confused. "Then why- oh no. Ash, don't tell me you're leaving again. Is it because of Jimmy? Are you going back to England? Are-"

I stopped her barrage of questions by putting my hand up.

"Hold up there, Ellie. I'm leaving, but not because of Jimmy." I took a deep breath and looked at her. "Last week, I saw Craig."

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed. She still hadn't forgiven him for tricking her. "What about him? Did he have anymore songs about ex-girlfriends to share?"

I shook my head. "No- he just told me he loved me."

"Don't believe it, Ash," she snorted. Her coffee arrived and she began to drink it.

"I do believe him."

"Why? He stole your song! And then he made up some bullshit at the end of the CD to try and convince you not to sue him. But that still doesn't explain why you have suitcases, and what Manning had to do with any of-"

She stopped talking and glared. "You're leaving to be with him, aren't you?"

My eyes flicked downwards. It was going exactly how I expected it to, but I needed to make her understand. I didn't want to leave with her furious with me.

"He asked me to go on tour with him in Europe."

"And you're back together with him?"

I nodded and opened my mouth, but she wasn't finished.

"After what he did to me? After what he stole your song? After he did drugs, after rehab, after his mood swings chased you away? After all of this, you still want to be with him? You're willing to give up high school and NYU for this guy?"

I nodded again. "I am, Ellie. He's the only one for me, and for once I need to run towards him, not away."

Her glare softened, and she smiled a little.

"You two really are meant to be together. You're both hopeless, romantic idiots."

She laughed a little, bitterly.

"Ellie, I know how much he hurt you. I wont' try to make excuses for him, but I know he's really, truly sorry. You were his best friend, and he'd give anything to have you back." I touched her arm, and she looked at me.

"It's going to take more time, Ash. But I'll forgive him. For you."

She then pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to miss you!"

I hugged her back. "I'm going to miss you too, El."

"Promise you'll email?"

"Absolutely. Every day, if you want."

"Good. And I better be the first to know when you're back in Toronto and playing."

"You, Marco and Paige will get the VIP treatment," I grinned.

"Freakin' better," she grinned back, then checked her cell phone's clock. "Crap, I have class in fifteen minutes, and I need to walk back to campus."

I nodded and stood; she did the same, giving me another hug and wished me a safe trip, leaving quickly afterward before she started to cry. Goodbyes, I knew, were hard for her, especially after Sean left, and I knew that this one would hurt her.

I sat back and drained my mug, then ordered another along with toast. It was nine o'clock, but I didn't have to leave for another twenty minutes and I was looking forward to some solitude.

After I finished, I threw my purse over my shoulder and grabbed my suitcases. I threw a ten-dollar bill on the counter and began dragging my suitcases down the street to Manny's. There were fairly heavy, and this was eloquently articulated by Jay as he attempted to lift my second bag into the trunk of Manny's car.

"Ungh," he labored, his face turning red.

"Jeez, Ashley, what do you have in there, your issues?" snipped Manny, her voice mocking. The tension between her and her supposed fiancé was palpable and bleeding over in all her other exchanges.

I rolled my eyes at her. "You'll never know what you'll need on the road."

I them climbed into the middle of the backseat next to Emma, who gave me an apologetic smile. I shrugged and smiled back. There were pretty heavy, but I was going to Europe until the end of the summer. I had some shoes (not all, this time), all of my old band tees and my more 'rock star' clothes, my laptop, my photo albums, my songbooks, my favorite books, and my jewelry. I was very lucky even to fit it all into two bags.

While I was musing, Manny and Jay had gotten into the car; he was mocking her, and she was getting angrier and angrier.

"You're not coming," she finally said, refusing to look at him any longer.

The three of us in the back kept our eyes down and our voices silent as they broke up right in front of us. He tossed her demo at her and stormed away, and Liberty – in her typical socially inept way – asked to sit shotgun, which Emma gave her a look for. Manny sighed, and we were on our way to Smithdale.

After a few hours, Emma had gotten into the passenger seat. Liberty was reading a book, and I was listening to my iPod to drown out the inane pop music from the radio, song ideas pouring from my pen into my journal.

I hadn't felt this inspired – or this happy – since before I went to London.

My flow, though, was interrupted when Manny's cell phone rang.

She turned off the radio, exclaiming, "Ugh! It's probably my parents."

"Pit stop!" Emma smiled. We parked along the side of the highway near the forest, and Emma and I dragged the cooler out of the trunk while Liberty watched and Manny talked with her mother, once again getting irritated.

I pulled a soda out of the cooler and lowered my sunglasses.

"So, you guys are all planning on going to Smithdale?"

Liberty sniffed and opened her can. "It's one of my many options; my mom's old sorority wants me," she replied, her voice pompous and her look smug. God, this girl is irritating.

Emma piped up. "I'm thinking about it. But this trip? Anything tog et out of the hose since Snake's been home from work." She paused to take a sip of her soda. "You?"

I flushed a bit. "Actually, I cored tickets to the Purple Dragon Mystery Concert."

"How'd you get the tix?" Emma asked.

"Um…" I flushed more, my face going an even deeper shade of red, and continued vaguely, "I have a connection. I could probably get you guys tix."

"Sounds wild," Liberty responded as I finally opened my own soda.

Manny stomped over then, and when Emma asked what her mother had said, she mentioned Jay angrily. She sent her next call to voicemail and muttered some rather hostile things under her breath.

God, we can't get to Smithdale fast enough.

When we finally arrived, a friend of Liberty's who was in the sorority greeted us. They all were talking as I opened the trunk and lifted my bags out.

As I threw the second on top of the first, I interrupted their conversation.

"So, uh, see you at the concert?"

Manny gave me a shocked look. "What, you're not staying here?"

I couldn't resist giving her a knowing look. "I've got a place to stay."

Remembering Craig's text he had sent only an hour earlier, I gave them all a smile and walked away, making my way towards the tour bus I had seen parked behind one of the Smithdale buildings when we drove in.

It only took me ten minutes to backtrack and I found the non-descript bus with ease. As I approached it, a familiar figure greeted me.

"Ms. Kerwin!" Don called, turning and waving. The bulky roadie he had been talking to turned and walked away, presumably to complete some instruction given to him.

"Hey, Don," I greeted, stopping in front of him and placing my purse on top of the suitcase "Is Craig around?"

He grinned. "Oh, so you didn't come to see me?"

I rolled my eyes and he laughed. "Kidding! He's sleeping on the bus; he was up really late writing."

"Thanks." I smiled. "Can I go on?"

He nodded, and then grabbed my suitcase as I grabbed my purse. "Sure; I'll put this with all the other luggage."

I thanked him and stepped onto the bus. Light snores guided me to the back, where I found Craig under a blanket on his bunk, his songbook lying across his chest. His hair was wonderfully messy and his mouth was partly open.

I set my purse down as lightly as I could, and then sat down on the little space on the bunk. I held his hand in mine and leaned down, planting a kiss on his lips. He reciprocated in his sleep, and I rewarded him by deepening it. He let out a soft moan and his eyes fluttered open.

I pulled away. "Why, good morning."

"Oh no you don't," he said groggily, and pulled me back toward him. He sat up as we kissed, his hand winding itself into my curls. I let out a moan of my own, and he pulled me onto his lap, his tongue probing my lips.

They parted and he took full advantage. Not willing to play submissive, I slipped my hand under his shirt and let my nails graze along his spine. He responded by crushing me to him and lying down, so that I was on top of him.

He pulled away and looked up into my eyes, his own sparkling in undisguised delight.

"Ms. Kerwin- lovely to see you this morning."

"And you, Mr. Manning," I countered, with a faux dignified air. "Though I am obliged to point out that it is, in fact, early evening."

He laughed and smiled. "Sounds pretty much like my typical day."

I laughed with him. "You're such a rock star."

I sat up then, and he propped himself up on his elbows.

"So what's the plan for the concert?" I asked.

Craig went through his mental checklist. "Tomorrow we have rehearsals with Funkasaurus Rex – they're the band playing with us – so we can fine tune everything." He made a face. "I hate the rehearsals."

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Tomorrow night we have the Purple Dragon party to go to, since they're sponsoring this. Then on Sunday we practice again, then load the bus, perform, then right after than we mingle for a little then hop on the bus to go to the airport to head to Europe."

"Wow. Jam-packed schedule."

He rolled his eyes. "Don could keep me busier."

"What's happening tonight?"

"Don wanted to give you and I some time alone."

I laughed. "It's only been a week!"

Craig's face was serious. "That's a long time."

"Craig, we've been separated for a lot longer than that."

His eyes grew sad and he drew me back down to him as he lay down, my head resting on his chest.

'And I never, ever want to be away from you for that long ever again," he declared softly. "I was - I am – so lost without you."

I kissed his chest, and then snuggled into him.

"And I, you," I whispered.