Hey, I'm really glad you liked that last chapter. I own nothing. And I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
He held their glances, serious, until he let out his boy-next-door smile and said "Boo."
He noticed their looks of terror and frowned "Kidding. Sorry. So, how are you guys?''
The girls kept staring at him. This felt too surreal. They felt a hand on their backs and jumped. Principal Mirel was standing behind them "Mr. Hofferson, come with me."
Asher flashed them a smile, before following the principal. For the first time, Asher dropped his smile and wondered "What the hell am I back here?"
The girls let out a breath and looked at each other.
Asher and his mother was sitting across from the principal.
"School wise, I think you will do just fine, Asher, I see you passed your entrance exams with flying colors."
Helga smoothed down her son's hair "I'm very proud of him."
"Well, I'm glad. Five years of non-stop study hall." Smirked Asher
"But, socially, I'm a little worried. Even my faculty is on edge." Mr. Mirel said, nervously.
"My Asher is very social. I'm sure once people get used to having him back, things will die down and people will except him. Right sweetheart?"
"Right, mother. I'm sure you and Valka will be running PTA by spring." Asher said
"That's not what I meant. I've lived in the same town, the same house for my whole life. As has Asher."
"Full of happy memories." Asher smirked
"We'll talk about that later." Whispered Helga
"Well, Asher, as I always like to say, the things that test us during adolescence turn us into the adults that we were always meant to be."
Asher smiled to hide his annoyance "Very wise, sir."
Hayleigh was getting out her books from her locker. She heard footsteps and looked over. She saw Asher walking right to her. She slammed her locker and turned. Before she could run, Asher grabbed her arm.
"Hey." He said "Sorry I had to run off before. I had to meet with the principal to discuss my "adjustment." And yes, it was as painful as it sounds."
Hayleigh glared at him. Asher tried to keep his easygoing smile.
"I have to go." She ripped her arm away
"Oh, okay. Sure." Asher pointed to her locker "This yours? Any pictures of me in it?" He joked. Hayleigh kept her walls up and icy glare. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm a little nervous. Can we just… chat? Just for a few minutes."
"Chat? You wanna chat? What about, Asher? How about how you stole my childhood? Ooh." She said sarcastically "How about my journey into the wacky, delightful world of PTSD?"
"I'm sure it's been rough, Sunshine. I can't even imagine…"
"No, you can't. You weren't there…" Hayleigh felt tears burn her eyes.
"I tried to stay in touch. Didn't you get any of my letters?"
"Yeah, they burned great."
Asher stared at her. This wasn't the innocent girl he left five years ago. He left…
'You weren't there.'
Hayleigh tried to push away from him, but he grabbed her, looking into her green eyes "Sunshine, please. It's me. I'm still the same boy you grew up with."
"The boy I grew up with wouldn't hurt a fly…"
"It's not that I didn't have a reason, okay."
"What? The little voices in your head tell you to do it?"
"I'm not a psycho! You know me." Asher gestured around "Better than anyone. Better than Heather."
Asher could tell Hayleigh was studying him. He also could tell she didn't believe him. "I know you were never a big Aunt Judith fan. So, what? Did she do something to you? Say something?" Asher looked away "If you had an actual reason, why didn't you tell the police?"
Asher winced, haunted "I couldn't. I can't. I can't tell… ever."
Hayleigh thought about it. She felt so many things, it was hard to tell if she believed any of this. The bell rang, and Asher looked around. "Sunshine… can you at least just show me to my next class. This place is a giant maze."
Hayleigh ripped his schedule out of his hands. "Psychology with Mrs. Frinks, my next class, too."
Asher smiled "Lead the way."
Hayleigh rolled her eyes and started to walk. Asher noted she had a tiny limp now, and wondered why.
Hayleigh winced, walking with her psychopathic former best friend.
So much for avoiding him...
Asher just had to choose to sit next to her.
Hayleigh was writing down notes and Asher was staring at her. He just noticed her blue and purple streaks, and ten ear piercings. This was so not the girl he left five years ago
You weren't there.
"The human mind is a wonderful place. It controls so many things." Mrs. Finks said and noticed everyone staring at Asher. "Asher Hofferson."
"Sorry, ma'am. I'm not caught up with my reading." Asher said
"I've noticed. You've been in my class for ten minutes and you seem like the interest."
"We're sorry, Mrs. Frinks. Most of us haven't seen a real life sociopath." Sam said
Hayleigh glared at him "Shut up, Samuel."
Asher put his hand up to stop Hayleigh from doing anything stupid.
"Mr. Hofferson, your nickname on Twitter is 'socio' right?"
Asher put his hand over his heart "I should get into this whole Twitter, I guess."
"You should, it's a wonderful waste of time. So, since it's something everyone's thinking about, what is the definition of 'socio'. Or, a better term, 'sociopath'."
"Someone who wakes up in a pool of another person's blood." Sam tried
"Nice try, Sam, but most sociopaths don't act on violent acts." Hayleigh was drawing in her notebook "Hayleigh Haddock," She looked up "you know don't you?"
Hayleigh closed her eyes "They have no conscience. Nothing in their heads telling them to stop. They have trouble having empathy for people."
Asher looked back at Hayleigh. She was staring at him, tears in her eyes.
You weren't there.
"Very good, Hayleigh. Who else…?"
"Mrs. Frinks, how can you tell someone's a sociopath. You can't read someone's mind…" Hayleigh asked
"Very true, Ms. Haddock, while sociopaths having trouble having emotions. They're damn good at mincing them."
The whole class turned to Asher, studying. Only Hayleigh was staring at him to try to read his mind.
'Is he a sociopath?' she thought.
"Don't tell me you want to have sex with Sociopath." Heather said, sitting in the lunch room with her friends.
"He's very… I don't know." Regina said "But I would let him loose around me. I know your traumatized, but he was eleven. He didn't know any better. Plus, it doesn't count until your like thirteen or fourteen."
"Are these words really coming out of your mouth?" Heather asked. Her best friend wanted to sleep with her former best friend?
Gross…
"Calm down Heath, she's all talk." Scarlett said
"Excuse me?" Regina
"Please, if you really wanted to tap that, you would have by now."
A hush came over the cafeteria. Heather paled and turned around. Asher walked in, looking around. He pulled out some change and stood in front of the vending machines.
Regina smirked "All talk, huh?" She stood up and yelled "SOCIO! OVER HERE!"
Asher looked over and raised his eyebrows. Heather ducked her head, mortified.
Asher walked over to them. "I'm not sure if I should respond to that nickname…" He looked over and saw Heather "Heath, I've been looking everywhere for you."
Regina pushed her way in front of Heather "I'm Regina, Heather's BFF! This is Scarlett, her other BFF. But we're more like sisters."
"Right, Reg." Heather stood up "Excuse me, I have bio in ten." She walked away
"She's so moody, I don't know why… she'll come around, everyone will. This school is friendly."
"I feel like I'm in an episode of Glee, people will break up in song about how I stole their girlfriend and is part gay." Asher stated
Regina laughed a big horse laugh "They let you watch Glee in prison?"
"Part of the punishment…"
She let out another laugh "Listen, Socio, I'm throwing a party tonight. Wanna come?"
"Regina!" Scarlett cried
"Calm your tits. Ignore her, so, you in?" Regina touched her red and gold necklace. Asher's eyes grew cold
"Where did you get that?" His sharp voice asked
"I don't know. It was a gift, you like?"
Asher stared at it. He looked up, trying to smile. "Thanks for the invite. I'll try to make it." He walked off.
Regina smirked and sat down. Scarlett hit her "Are you high on crack?"
"God, I hope he's that intense in bed."
Valka got out of her car, wearing her gym clothes and started up to her house. She looked up from her phone and saw Helga sitting by her front door. Helga stood up when she saw Valka walking up. "Valka, is this a bad time?"
Valka bit her lip "No, it's not a bad time… come on in…" Valka opened the door and let her in.
Helga looked around the living room, smiling. She remembered watching Hayleigh and Asher running around, before Heather was in the picture, playing tag.
"I love what you've done with the place, Valka. It's really beautiful."
"Thanks…" Valka pushed her hair out of her aqua eyes. "Look, Helga, I'm sorry about Viktor. I can't even begin to image what it was like."
Helga looked down "Yes… it's been difficult."
"I wanted to call, but…"
Helga walked over to a potted plant "Your flowers are beautiful."
Valka forced a smile "Congrats on Asher's return. You must be thrilled to have him home."
"That's why I'm here. I wanted to invite you three over for dinner Friday." Valka tensed, but Helga forged through "I'm sure Hayleigh and Asher have things to discuss. She is his best friend."
"Was." Valka said "and I don't think how's the best time, Helga."
"I understand your reluctance, but Asher's a good boy. And he's going to have a hard transition. Hayleigh is the only one who understood him. I'm sure if she just…"
"It's not a good time, Helga."
Helga's face hardened, but smiled anyway "Fine."
"But if you ever want to get lunch, or anything. Just call me…"
"Spear me your pity, Valka. I'm just fine." Helga pushed past her and walked out. Valka rubbed her forehead, guilty.
Hayleigh was tapping her pencil, as Frankie babbled about pre-calculus.
"So then, if we multiply that by the
rate of acceleration, we get..." Frankie looked up and saw Hayleigh staring off into space "Someone who's apparently okay with an A minus on this problem set."
"What could he have meant?" Hayleigh asked
"Are you still thinking about your psychotic, murderer friend?"
Hayleigh glared at him "He's not my friend. Let's say… you killed your aunt but you believed you had a reason for doing it. Wouldn't you wanna explain it to people? Or, at least, tell it to the police?"
Frankie looked uncomfortable. "I don't know what you mean. I like my aunt. She makes me yummy apple pancakes. Why are you obsessing over this?"
"When he said he couldn't tell, it was like… he was sad, or scared. It was weird…"
"Maybe it was an act. Maybe there wasn't a reason. Maybe he made it all up to make you feel sorry for him."
Hayleigh looked at him uncertain. Hayleigh thought about it.
"You're right. I'm sure you're right. He was just trying to manipulate me."
"Exactly. Now, as our generation might say, let's quit this here chillaxing and get all up in this dope problem set. "Chillaxing" is an artificial word combining "chill" with 'relax' ..."
Hayleigh laughed "I got it, please don't ever say that again…" Hayleigh pushed her bangs out of her eyes, forcing herself to pay attention "Okay… where were we? Mass over acceleration."
The bell above the diner dinged and in walked in Asher. He looked around, cold blue eyes scanning the room. Asher walked over to the counter. "Key lime pie, please."
"Asher, you're making my customers uncomfortable."
Asher looked around and saw everyone looking nervous.
"Then I'll take it to go."
He walked away, and Asher sat down, feeling isolated. Asher looked around the diner when Hayleigh caught his eye. He looked back and saw her sitting in a booth, bended over a book and sitting across the table from a chubby blonde boy. His eyes lit up.
Freddie looked up and saw Asher staring at them.
"Uh… Hayleigh, whatever you do, don't turn around."
Hayleigh's eyes widened and she turned around. She saw Asher, who gave a small wave. She turned around quickly. "Any chance he didn't see me?"
Asher put some money on the table, grabbed his pie and walked over.
"He's walking over, Hay, what do we do?"
"Just…"
"Sunshine, I see you're still a regular here."
"I see you haven't forgotten."
"I promise; I'm not stalking you." He held up his pie "I came for the best pie in town."
Hayleigh tried to ignore him, Asher looked at the chubby blonde.
"Asher Hofferson, nice to meet you."
"Frankie Ingerman. I'm very uncomfortable right now."
"Hey, you and me both."
Asher looked back at Hayleigh, who looked away from him. Asher kneeled down next to her, and grabbed her hand "You know what, Sunshine. If I had a choice. I wouldn't be here. I would be somewhere that no one knows me. It's not me, it's my mom."
"Okay? So? And I supposed to feel bad for you?"
"No, you have every reason to hate me, but I thought you would be the one person who would give me half a chance."
Hayleigh held his look. It was so intense. She felt herself lean in. Asher gave her one more look, got up and walked out, head held high.
Frankie exhaled "Oh, God. I feel like I just went through a Hitchcock movie…"
Hayleigh was only watching Asher, walking out.
I thought you were the one person who would give me half a chance.
Asher was walking down the sidewalk when her heard
"Asher! Asher wait!"
He turned and smiled "Hey, Sunshine."
"Look, I know this must be hard for you. But you can't come up to me at school, or at the diner, or whatever. It's hard for me too." Hayleigh pushed her hair out of her eyes, leaning on her right leg. "I know you want everything to the way they were. But it's not. It's all different. Everything's different."
You weren't there!
"Fair enough." Asher said "I promise to leave you alone."
"Okay… thank you." Hayleigh looked down "You're gonna be alright."
"That's what my mom keeps saying. Suddenly, she's this fountain of parental warmth and wisdom."
Hayleigh thought about his relationship with his mother. It was a hard one, she wasn't always the best mother out there.
"I'm sorry about your dad. He was always really nice to me…" Hayleigh blushed
"Yeah, he was a big Hayleigh fan."
Hayleigh watched as Asher control his emotions. Is it real?
"You're wondering if I'm mincing human emotion, aren't you?"
"What!? No, I'm not."
"Don't worry about it, Sunshine."
Hayleigh allowed a smile. Asher stepped closer to her.
"Okay, I know we just had this whole 'leaving you alone' talk, but there's this party…"
"Asher, no, I can't deal… wait, are you talking about Regina Thorston's party?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"You got invited to Regina Thorston's party? By an actual person?"
"Yeah… by the hostess herself. Don't sound so shocked, Sunshine. But she's very friendly…"
"You're going?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, maybe because most of the people in this town think you're a deranged psychotic, homicidal monster?"
"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. You can either isolate yourself and bury your head in the sand, or face the haters."
Hayleigh looked at him, surprised.
"Of course, it'd be easier if I would be there with someone else to take some of the edge off."
Hayleigh stomped her right foot "This wouldn't make us friends."
"You don't even have to talk to me. I want to be free to play the field, anyway."
"Friend field? Good luck."
"The night is young." Asher laughed.
"A party? Really? Our daughter."
"I know," Valka said, finishing her painting "It's a miracle."
"Uh-huh." Stephen said "who's she going with?"
"Didn't say, a school friend, I guess."
"Who? Frankie? Yeah that one's a real social butterfly." Valka glared at him :I think the timing's weird. The day Asher gets back, she goes to her first high school party."
"Will you please stop being the paranoid cop. You heard here, she 'hates his guts.' Besides, she told me she barely saw him today. Speaking of which… Helga stopped by to see me. She invited us all to dinner."
"Oh, God… you didn't."
"Calm down, I said no."
"Good. I can't believe she asked. Was she on drugs?"
"Stop." Valka hit his stomach. "Show some sympathy. She must be having a hard time."
"Okay, defending the kid was one thing, but Helga Hofferson? After everything she said, after everything she did…"
"Her son had just killed her sister in-law, Stephan, she wasn't in the best emotional place. Besides, I said some awful things to her, too." Valka looked down "I told her she was a bad mother."
"She provoked you. What she was asking of us was insane."
"Are she wanted was for Hayleigh to be a character witness in Asher's sentencing. Maybe we should have just let her…"
"No, absolutely not. We did the right thing for your daughter."
"I wonder if Hayleigh would agree…"
"Of course she would. I know my daughter."
Hayleigh looked around, wearing her jean shorts, and a yellow sweater. Asher, hand on her back, walked her in the house.
Scarlett looked over and nudged Regina "Look at what the crazy dragged in."
Heather looked over and her green eyes widened. She was not expecting them to show up. At least… together.
Hayleigh looked around and saw people moving away.
"Don't take it personally. It's more me than you, Sunshine."
"You're very perceptive." Hayleigh snarked
"You can ditch me now, by the way, I'm not hurt. Go, drink, mingle!"
Hayleigh nodded, but didn't move. Asher was watching, smiling. She turned to him, that stupid smirk of hers on her face "I don't drink."
"Okay, that's cool. This is first high school party." Hayleigh was silence "What a coincidence! Mine too!"
Hayleigh laughed, and rolled her eyes. "Cute."
"Thought so. What some advice, one party virgin to another. Try a bit harder to hide that fear. People can smell fear."
"What? Learn that in prison."
"Juvie, actually, but yeah… not the most welcoming crowd. I had to learn fast that if you act like you belong, people will assume you do."
Hayleigh soften a little. She never really thought about what Asher had been through in the last five years. She hardened and crossed her arms
"Well, I'm not interested in belonging with these people."
"Then why'd you come?"
"Hey, gotta tell the grand-kids I did something stupid in high school."
"Good point. And God forbid they think you weren't the most popular girl in the class…" Asher looked up and saw someone walking over "speaking of…"
Heather was laughing in the next room, laughing with her friends. She looked over and saw Asher giving her a friendly smile. Heather locked eyes with Hayleigh, who also waves at her. Uncomfortable, Heather waved back, then returned to her friends.
Asher looks down at Hayleigh, who sadly watches Heather.
"So… what happened with you two?"
"I don't know. I guess we outgrew each other. Or, really, she outgrew me." Hayleigh rolled her eyes at his sympathetic look "Hey, being friend-less has its parks. I won't be one of those lame-o's weeping at graduation."
"You and that Frankie guy seem chummy"
"I think he just wants to keep me close so I don't sneak past him for Valedictorian."
"That's how it always starts."
Hayleigh laughed. This was going smoother than planned.
Heather was sitting in the living room, watching Asher and Hayleigh have there.
Regina skipped past Heather, and over to Asher.
"Soico! You came…" She smiled tensely at Hayleigh "And look who you brought."
"Heather invited me, actually."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm… so glad you made it, yay!" Regina grabbed Hayleigh's hand "Come on! I'll introduce you to people!" Hayleigh looked at Asher, worry flashing through her eyes. Asher was looking around, and she sighed.
Regina pushed Hayleigh against a wall, glaring.
"Ow…" Hayleigh said
"So," Regina kept her fake smile. "What's the deal with you and Asher?'
"Deal? There's no deal." Hayleigh's eyes widened
Regina laughed "Oh, come on Hayleigh. Don't play dumb. You want him, don't you?"
Hayleigh laughed "Uh, no… don't you want him?"
"Uh, yeah." Regina said "But I'm all for sharing. I've never had a threesome before…"
Hayleigh gagged. It's the fact that she's known Asher forever, and she's taken baths with him. And that she'd rather gouge her eyes out before having a threesome with Regina.
"Regina, no. It's okay, he's all yours."
"Aw, Hayleigh! You're so cool! Everyone is so wrong about you!"
Hayleigh looked taken back, slightly hurt.
"So, you're really not worried about getting close with him?"
"OH, Hayleigh, you're so innocent. We'll use protection."
"That's not…" Hayleigh rolled her eyes "I meant, because of his past. You know, the murder of his aunt, 'socio'."
"I believe in my nations criminal justice system." Regina gripped her shirt, which was hanging too low, and showing was too much. "Besides, he's here, and he's not leaving. What are we going to do? Hate him forever?"
Hayleigh thought about that. A teen walked by, and Regina grabbed two drinks, and handed one to Hayleigh, taking this as a sign of friendship. They clinked their drinks together. Hayleigh drank and started to cough and hack. Regina smirked and walked away.
Heather and Scarlett were pouring themselves drinks when Asher walked up to them.
"One gin and tonic, bartender. Light on the gin, heavy on the tonic. My tolerance isn't what it used to be." Smirked Asher
Heather stood up straight, staring at him. She turned back to her drink. Scarlett stepped in front of Heather, glaring at him.
"Hey, creep, you trying to ass 'stalker' to your criminal record?"
After a beat of just smiling "Scarlett, right? I remember you now. You had a facial hair problem in fifth grade."
Scarlett frowned, that is the one thing she hated about her childhood.
"I think you're mistaken. Freak."
"No… it was definitely you. You had to leave school for a week for electrolysis procedure." He studied her face. "It looks like it worked. You can still see the faint outline of a mustache. Nothing too big."
Scarlett glared and stomped away. Heather glared at him "I see you're winning over the student body, one charming remark at a time." Heather looked at her drink "Great strategy."
Asher smiled at her, but Heather looked away. "It got you to say something."
"Congrats. What an accomplishment."
"Two something's. I'm on a roll."
Heather finally cracked a smile.
Across the room, Samuel was laughing and drinking. He looked over and saw Heather and Asher, and his smile vanished. He pushed past his friends and started over.
Heather and Asher were still talking, Heather loosened up enough.
"I see you got Hayleigh to follow you around like a puppy again under a day. Impressive."
"A puppy? Wow. That's harsh."
"Didn't you hear? I'm a bitch now."
Asher smiled. Heather pushed her black hair out of her eyes, when an arm wrapped around her shoulder. Asher stopped smiling as Samuel kissed Heather.
"Hey, baby. Oh, psycho boy! Hey, buddy. Good to see you again!"
Heather looked between them "You two know each other?"
"We have Psycho together. Spent the whole period debating whether this nut-bag is a sociopath or now. You know, Heath, because of your nickname for him… the socio."
Asher looked at Heather, surprised. Heather wouldn't…
He also was hurt, because this was one of his closest friends growing up. She's the one who gave him 'socio'.
Samuel was giving him a smirk. Asher smiled anyway. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's catchy."
Heather smiled at him, appreciative. Samuel squeezed Heather tighter to him. Asher raised an eyebrow.
"Anyway… I should find Hayleigh before she has actual fun. Good seeing you again, Heather. Samuel." Asher walked away
After he walked away, Samuel exhaled and smiled at his girlfriend. "You're welcome."
"For what? Embarrassing me? Or holding me like a possession?"
"I was helping you! The socio had you cornered!"
"I can handle him!" Heather pushed away from him and walked over to some friends. Samuel drank the rest of his drink, glaring at nothing.
Hayleigh was walking around, tipsy and swinging her arms at nothing, trying to drink a shot. She accidently hit Scarlett.
Scarlett glared and scoffed "Watch where you're swinging those fat, meaty arms."
Hayleigh turned around and pointed a finger "Hey, they are not fat. Maybe they are disproportionate at the moment, but the internet says that's normal."
"Looks like someone's having fun." Smirked Scarlett, crossing her arms.
"I am having fun, and I want to have more fun, so suck it."
Scarlett eyed Hayleigh, like a predator eying it's prey. Ethan, one of Samuel's friends, stumbled by. Scarlett grabbed his hand.
"Ethan, meet Hayleigh. She wants to have fun. Take off your shirt."
Ethan shrugged and ripped off his shirt. Hayleigh blushed as cheers shouted about.
"You know; I think I'm having a good amount of fun. Get dressed please."
Scarlett grabbed a shot and handed it to Hayleigh. "Pour this on him, and lick it off of him."
"Lick it off of him? I don't think so…"
"Do it, do it, do it…" Everyone chanted, and Hayleigh sighed, giving in. She poured it on Ethan's stomach. She bent over and licked it off. Everyone cheered.
Asher was walking around, when Regina pushed him against a wall.
"So-ci-o! There's something I want to show you." She leaned up to his ear "Want a hint? It's my bed."
"Not now… have you seen Hayleigh?"
"Get the hell off of me!"
Asher looked over and pushed away from Regina, running to the sound of her voice.
Asher pushed through the crowd and heard "Come on! It's a law! Tit for a tit! It's a Berk High law!"
Asher saw Ethan trying to lift up Hayleigh's shirt.
"Well, it's a gross, dumb law!"
"It's not a dumb law! Without them, we're in chaos!"
Asher pushed himself between Ethan and Hayleigh, holding her close to him. "Hey, looks like someone was paying attention in Poly-Sci."
Hayleigh looked up at Asher, surprised that he actually cared for her like that. Like… a friend.
"Mind your own business, freak." Ethan said
"Freak? Even you could come up with something better." Asher said
"What about Rope Boy?"
Asher tensed. There was oohs and ahhs. Heather and Regina pushed themselves up front and watched the confrontation.
"That was… more pointed. But why don't we just calm down…"
Ethan pushed Asher down, hard. Everyone gasped.
"Stop! Everyone just stop!" Hayleigh cried
Ethan grabbed Asher's shirt, about to punch him. Before he could, Asher leaned in and whispered "Back off. I've killed before and I'll do it before… but this time, it'll be fun."
Ethan froze, letting go of Asher. He backed away, running out of the room. Asher looked around, giving an innocent look.
Everyone else was wondering What the hell just happened.
Asher composed himself, and walked over to Hayleigh. He held out his hand "Come on…" He whispered.
Hayleigh grabbed his hand, walking behind him. Regina watched on, jealous and angry.
Heather raised her eyebrows, watching her two childhood best friends walk out together.