Chapter 8 "Brown Eyes" Lady Gaga

Spencer's heart sank into her stomach as she began to take every item out of the box. Picturing the brunette's tortured brown eyes as she filled the container made the hole in her chest cavernous and ignited a blaze, smoldering even the tinniest crevices.

Inside the box were a few seemingly mundane objects; Spencer's toothbrush, Mr. Teddy, Ashley's favorite sweatshirt, a copy of The Wedding Singer and a hand written letter. In the context of Spencer and Ashley's sphere though, they were a symbol of their long, tumultuous and amazing friendship (except for maybe the toothbrush, that was just a symbol of Spencer's good hygiene).

Yet, even the toothbrush had an effect on the brooding blonde, she was in fact immediately miserable as she took the dental tool out of the box. She thought that Ashley must've detested her so much that she couldn't even stand to have a measly plastic brush, HER brush, in her home. This made the fire burn just a little hotter in her heart shaped hole.

When Spencer took the sweatshirt out of the box she couldn't help but smile though. The memory of how this became Ashley's favorite sweater was a happy one. Before Spencer decided on the local University behemoth, she contemplated moving to Boston. This did NOT make Ashley warm and/or tingly and she made no effort to hide it. Sure Ashley was a brat, but it was Spencer's fault for coddling her, or at least that was her defense when the blue-eyed nurturer called her out. Spencer knew her decision to stay local would only please her best bud, so she wrapped the hoodie bearing the USC emblem and gave it to her as a gift. See? Spencer equals coddler. Spencer remembered Ashley's confused reaction upon opening the gift only to jump for joy when she realized that it meant she was staying. Ashley's overjoyed tearful reaction made up for the entire week of moping and making her listen to "Breath Me".

Spencer put the sweatshirt on and took in the sweet familiar scent before grabbing Mr. Teddy out of the box. She hugged him closely to her heart, trying to fill the void, remembering when she'd gotten him for Ashley.

Yes Ashley WAS a brilliant songwriter, even if she couldn't come up with a less obvious name for her favorite plush. She couldn't help it though, she was delirious and drugged up at the time.

A few years before, Ashley had been silently suffering from a pain in her side but refused to admit it. The reasons for her silence to this day are still unclear, work or maybe some kind of hospital phobia they all assumed. Actually, Spencer teased that she was probably afraid of the unflattering hospital gowns, but modest mouse Ashley assured her that EVERYTHING she wore was flattering. It wasn't until she collapsed on Spencer's bed from the unbearable pain in her abdomen and fever that they found out it was appendicitis. Luckily Spencer's mom, Dr. Carlin was there and they made it to the hospital just in time.

Spencer had never been this afraid to lose someone in her life. In fact she was at the hospital everyday during Ashley's brief stay, making sure THAT wasn't going to happen. Surely her 18 year old self wasn't aware of how routine an appendectomy was, nonetheless she was there nursing the sick baby back to health. Ashley might have been milking it a little too though. Luckily Spencer loved the idea of taking care of Ashley; it was nice for the self-sufficient heiress to need her for a change. Even better, since Aiden was out of town on a runway modeling tour across every strip mall in America, Ashley was all Spencer's to take care of. Strangely enough neither of them minded.

When Ashley was finally released from the hospital, Spencer got her Mr. Teddy so he could take care of her while the blonde was in class. Everyday for a few weeks Spencer would stop by after school only to find Ashley snuggled up to Mr. Teddy while in a prescription drug induced slumber. Even now, when Spencer would show up to Ashley's loft early enough to find the brunette still asleep she'd sometimes spot Mr. Teddy tucked under her arm. Spencer thought it was the most endearing thing ever, she even snapped a picture of it. In fact little did Ashley know that this was actually her picture ID every time she called the little rascal; which would explain the blonde's giggle every time she answered the phone. Ashley just assumed she had gotten into the sugar again.

The copy of Spencer and Ashley's favorite recovery movie was laying flat on the bottom of the box. The girls always watched The Wedding Singer when either of them was sick. They both thought it was hilarious and the best Adam Sandler flick since Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison. Ashley found comfort in the retro 80's music and Spencer found it quite amusing that the clueless Robbie kind of reminded her of Ashley, they were both ALL about the music. Both girls secretly agreed that Drew Barrymore was too cute.

Spencer suppressed a whimper at the memory of the two girls lounging in the Davies manor years before while Ashley strummed her guitar and played along with Robbie in the final scene as he sang to Julia and she sang to Spencer. Maybe Ashley wasn't the clueless "Robbie-like" one. If Spencer didn't notice the signs back then, then she must be the most naïve genius in the world.

Spencer held her breath and reached for the last item in the box. When Spencer finally took out the letter she braced herself for the worst. Ashley could be very callous with others and she was afraid of how much more she could hurt her now that they were clearly on a different stage in their friendship. Spencer braved her foreboding and opened the letter.

Spencer,

I hope you can find solace in these once meaningful objects. Unfortunately I no longer can. Please take care of yourself.

Best regards,

A. Davies

That was it? A bunch of sentimental crap in a box, a stupid pitiless letter and it was over? No longer friends? No more Ashley and Spencer?

Spencer lost it.

How could Ashley just disregard their friendship with such minimal consideration? Just, throwaway all the years of loyalty, love and friendship. Especially NOW, that there were confusing feelings involved. She couldn't just let HER do this. She knew she had to go talk some sense in to that crazy millionaire. Or slap her around. Whatever it took, it had to be done.

Just like the Tuesday before, Spencer was off.


A/N: Hey guys sorry about the previous unintentional cliffhanger. I hope it wasn't too anti-climactic.