A/N A new update as promised :)

I haven't had a chance to respond to the comments for the last chapter, but I promise to have that done either tonight or tomorrow. The next chapter will be posted this weekend.

Thanks as always for your support of my story.

Chapter 5

"Can you stop breathing so loud?" Spencer whispered tersely to Ashley. She made sure to keep her voice quiet so the teacher couldn't hear but loud enough for the brunette to realize how annoying she was being.

Ashley was taken aback by the request, more so because Spencer was actually talking to her. So far the other girl had refused to make eye contact or acknowledge Ashley's existence after she had barked those orders to her at the beginning of class. They were supposed to be listening to Ms. Devereux explain the concept of the project and what was expected of them. The brunette was too distracted by Spencer's presence to really pay attention. It had been a very long time since she'd been so close to the person she had at one time considered her best friend.

"And I can feel you staring at me, so cut that out!" Spencer was failing miserably at acting cool and distant. She didn't care though. It felt good to be telling Ashley off.

Ashley's eyes immediately went to her notebook. She started writing down notes in hopes that it would keep her from looking at Spencer too much. After about ten minutes she decided to see what Madison and Aiden were up to. A quick glance was all that was needed to see what she had suspected would be going on. Madison was smiling and looking at Aiden like a meal while her boyfriend seemed to be eating up the attention. Ashley was ticked off, but not because she was jealous. It just confirmed her suspicions that Madison could not be trusted. Although, if she was honest, she wasn't surprised by that.

They shared an uneasy alliance that often felt like too much work to maintain. There were many days in which Ashley would sit and wonder how she ended up friends with someone she fundamentally did not like as a person. The brunette knew the answer to that question, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.

It all came down to fear.

When it had come down to doing the right thing or doing the thing that would be easy in the short term, Ashley had chosen badly. What she had done ended up hurting Spencer more than she even knew.

And she hated herself for it.

At first she'd been able to ignore the overwhelming guilt she felt. Then it had started to slowly gnaw away at every part of her life. Most days, Ashley just accepted it as part of what she had to live with. But there were other days when that just wasn't possible. Nobody knew the turmoil that the brunette dealt with.

From the outside, Ashley had everything anyone could want in life. She was popular, a cheerleader, had a boyfriend that was well liked by most people, she lived in a big house and money wasn't any issue for her. But when that thin layer of superficial things was pulled back, there was another picture underneath. Most of the time, the brunette felt incredibly isolated and alone.

Ashley wasn't the only one who noticed how cozy Madison and Aiden were acting. Spencer heard Madison laughing obnoxiously, which drew her attention away from Ashley. She wondered what the brunette thought about how her boyfriend and current bestie were acting towards each other. They had only been partners one day after all. Then Spencer had to remind herself that she didn't care a thing about Ashley or her life.

Nope, Spencer didn't care at all.

Not one little itty bit.

"So, I'd like you and your partner to take the rest of the class to discuss future career aspirations," Ms. Devereux announced after she'd been talking for about twenty minutes. "Then you can both research what you can expect salary-wise from the careers you've chosen. Make sure to bring that information to our next class."

Ashley was wary enough of Spencer that she decided to stay silent. It was the best choice, she surmised, to avoid having her head bitten off.

Spencer rolled her eyes when she noticed that the brunette was looking anywhere but at her. Who did she think she was? "Too good to talk to me?"

"Huh? What?" Ashley whipped her head in Spencer's direction, confused. "You told me—"

"I know what I told you," Spencer cut in. Her tone was condescending and unfriendly. "But we do have to work on this together, right? Or is working with me going to somehow affect your status as queen bee here?"

Ashley had no clue how to handle the blonde's inconsistent requests of her. Was she to talk? Was she to leave Spencer alone? It seemed like no matter which course of action Ashley decided to take, it was the wrong one.

"Hello!" Spencer said, impatiently. She couldn't understand why Ashley was acting so weird. Fine, she thought when the brunette didn't respond to her, it's not like she cared. "I want to be a garbage collector, do you have a problem with that?"

"You what?" Ashley furrowed her brow. Was this conversation actually taking place?

"A garbage collector," Spencer repeated slowly. "Do you have a problem with that? It's an honest day's work, you know? Or is that a job that's not good enough for you?"

"You want to be a garbage collector?" Ashley repeated, dumbfounded. She was more confused than ever. "Since when have you wanted to be a garbage collector? You always wanted—"

"Don't presume you know anything about me," Spencer bellowed at the other girl. She was not going to make anything easy for Ashley. In fact, she was kind of looking forward to being as difficult as she could with the other girl. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it. "I'm telling you that's what I want to do as a job. Let me ask you again, do you have a problem with that?"

Ashley wasn't sure what was going on, but she was smart enough to know that she should probably just let things be for the time being. There was no point in challenging Spencer or trying to figure out what she was thinking. "No, I don't have a problem with that." She wrote down Spencer's answer in her notebook.

Spencer leaned back in her chair, the expression on her face quite superior. "What's your future career going to be? Star of The Real Housewives of Orange County? Socialite? What great, amazing, world-changing goals do you have?"

Ashley tried not to be stung by the harshness of Spencer's words. She knew she deserved them, but it still hurt. "Uh, I don't know yet."

"You don't know? How is that even possible? Too busy with boys, parties and cheerleading?"

"How are things coming along?" Ms. Devereux asked before Ashley had a chance to respond. She'd been walking around to the class to step in if needed. "You two OK?"

Spencer grinned wider than most people ever should. "Oh, we're fine thanks. Just discussing Ashley's future. It's riveting."

Ms. Devereux shot Ashley a curious look; something didn't seem right.

The brunette nodded in agreement, not willing to cause a scene or a problem. Once the teacher was gone she let out a sigh, "Fine, you want my answer?" It probably hurt the most that Spencer wouldn't acknowledge what she already knew. It was a discussion they'd often had when they were younger. The brunette's answer hadn't changed, even if she had.

"I asked the question, didn't I?"

Ashley wondered how she would survive a semester with Spencer biting her head off at every turn. "I want to be a song writer."

"Oh, right, a song writer," Spencer replied, her sarcasm ever present. "That doesn't sound like a very lucrative career to me. Isn't that usually something reserved for people who have insight and life experiences. I mean, what are you going to write about, your nail breaking?"

Ashley just sat there without responding. There was a lump forming in her throat that she tried to ignore. She couldn't break down—not here and not in front of Spencer.

"Oh, I have the title of your first song for you," the blonde continued, pausing for a second to relish in her own brilliance, "My Life is Perfect and Everyone Else Should Be Jealous of Me." The laughter that Spencer released made Ashley's face burn with embarrassment and a bit of anger. "Oh, even better, I'm Shallow and Vapid, Don't You Wish You Were Just Like Me?" Spencer waited for some kind of response from Ashley. She didn't care what kind, she just wanted some kind of acknowledgement. When nothing came, that only made her more determined to get a rise out of the girl sitting next to her. "What's the matter, Ashley, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"No, I don't," Ashley replied, her voice trembling.

"You're not any fun at all," Spencer said, annoyed.

Ashley was mercifully saved by the bell. She didn't know how much longer she could have sat there without breaking down. Without a word, she gathered up her things, avoiding all eye contact with Spencer. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be.

"Bye, wifey," Spencer called out to Ashley's disappearing form. Man, she thought, this is going to be a lot more fun than she thought it would be.

By the time school had finished, Ashley had calmed down somewhat. That's not to say she wasn't still upset by Spencer's words and attitude towards her. Even though it upset her, she understood why the blonde was being so cruel.

She would have liked nothing more than to go home and forget all about the day. Unfortunately, she had cheerleading practice to attend. Madison did not tolerate unexplained absences for practice.

When Ashley entered the change room to put her uniform on, she found Madison and Sherry huddled together in a corner away from everyone else. They were clearly enjoying whatever conversation they were having. For reasons that she couldn't explain, Ashley was sure the two of them were talking about her. It was a conclusion reached without merit, but there was a pit in the brunette's stomach that wouldn't go away.

She made her way over to her friends, hoping that she was wrong. "Hey, guys." They both looked up right away, and the guilty expression on their faces confirmed her suspicions. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Madison replied unconvincingly. Her smile was friendly, but there was something different in her eyes.

Ashley wanted to ask again what they were talking about, but she held her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do was to appear weak or needy in front of Madison. That would not be a good idea. She began to change into her clothes and ignored the sickening feeling that she could not shake.

"So," Madison drawled out once Ashley had changed, "how's married life treating you?"

"What?" Ashley watched as her friends collapsed into a fit of giggles. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't be such a sour puss," Madison said with a big smile on her face. "We're just teasing you a little. But, seriously, what is it like pretending to be Spencer's wife? Must be horrible."

"It's fine," Ashley lied. She wasn't going to give Madison the satisfaction of complaining about it. "It's only been one day, anyway."

Madison put her arm around Ashley's shoulder. "Girl, you're putting on a brave face, I get it. I mean, I'm lucky to get someone as great as Aiden as my partner." She was clearly enjoying the fact that she would get to spend so much time with Ashley's boyfriend. That much was clear. She had been bringing up his name every chance she could ever since yesterday. "You can tell me the truth, did Spencer hit on you all class? Is she trying to convert you to her perverted life style?"

"I said it's fine!" Ashley exclaimed, angrily. There were so many things pissing her off about what Madison was doing.

"OK, OK, geez, relax." Madison tried to appear contrite, but wasn't doing a good job of it. "You really need to get laid or something. You're so high strung."

"Fuck off, Madison," Ashley snapped before storming out of the locker room. She didn't even care about the repercussions of her words. She had to hold her feelings in when it came to Spencer's verbal tirade against her, so she wasn't able to do that right then.

Instead of being mad, Madison watched Ashley leave, clearly amused. There was so much going right in her life, it felt almost too good to be true.