A/N I probably won't get a chance to update again until next weekend. I hope y'all have a Happy New Year.
Chapter 8
There had been a time when Ashley thought getting paired up with Spencer would be a blessing in disguise. For a long time now she regretted that their friendship had ended. And she thought maybe this project would be an opportunity to set things right. Or, at the very least, try and apologize for her actions.
But the confrontation with Spencer in the bathroom made her realize that wasn't going to happen. And now she was starting to think that the blonde had been right. Ashley hadn't been there for her in a very long time. Why should Spencer allow her in just because she wanted to right it now? It really wasn't fair.
As bad as she already felt, seeing Spencer the next day in class made her feel even worse. Gone were the cutting remarks. Gone was the snarky attitude. And gone was the fire in the blonde's eye when she spoke. Instead, Ashley was treated cordially, though distantly.
It was driving her crazy.
She never thought she'd miss Spencer being awful to her, but she really did. It didn't make a lot of sense that she was longing for the times when the blonde was snapping at everything she said. When Ashley sat back and thought about it, she knew exactly why that was. At least when Spencer was all over her, even in anger, it made her feel like she cared, as twisted as that sounded.
Now she was going out of her way to be as polite to Ashley as possible.
And it really sucked.
Ashley was looking forward to the weekend. It would give her a chance to clear her head. At least, she hoped it would. She was supposed to see Aiden on Saturday night, but he had just cancelled plans with her. She hadn't even bothered to find out why.
"Don't forget, your progress report is due on Monday," Ms. Devereux announced right before the end of class. "You'll lose one full grade for every day it is late." Everyone groaned, but their groans fell on deaf ears. "Have a good weekend!" she called out when the bell rang.
"I forgot about that report," Ashley said as the rest of the students started to clear out. "Did you want me to—"
"We can work on it together," Spencer replied before the brunette was finished. She wasn't trying to be combative. On the other hand, she wasn't about to let Ashley do all the work; she had her pride. "I can't tonight, but tomorrow…" Her voice trailed off when she remembered what her dad was usually like on the weekends. There was no way she could invite Ashley back to her place.
"Tomorrow is fine with me," Ashley told her, oblivious to Spencer's dilemma. "You want to come over to my house?" She instantly regretted the invitation, sure it would lead to a lecture from the other girl about how Ashley thought her place was too shabby to work in. "I mean, if that's not—"
"That's fine," Spencer said quickly. She was relieved this didn't have to turn into a thing. "What time is good for you?"
"Any time in the afternoon is fine," Ashley hated how stiff their conversations now were. It was so much worse than how it had been before. "I haven't, uh, moved so—"
Spencer did her best not to look annoyed. She was done wasting any more of her emotions on Ashley. "I'll be there at one o'clock." And with that, she took off.
"Looking forward to it," Ashley said with a sigh.
She was getting really used to the sight of Spencer walking away from her.
Much to Ashley's dismay, she had been roped into going out that night. She had wanted to refuse, but then Aiden made her feel guilty and Madison wouldn't take no for answer. Thanks to those two factors, she was at present sitting in a booth at Gray trying her hardest not to be miserable.
Normally, Ashley was one for going out and having a good time. She'd danced countless times on the dance floor, but now the music was too loud and she didn't want to be surrounded by people—not to mention that Aiden's hand felt wrong in hers.
Everything felt wrong.
He was involved in an animated conversation about something she couldn't hear, not that she thought she was missing much. Ashley was bored out of her mind.
Speaking of her mind, it was, as it had been of late, consumed with all things Spencer. Ashley couldn't figure out why she was unable to get that girl out of her head. It was infuriating as it was frustrating. She was still worried about Spencer—that feeling hadn't gone away. In spite of the blonde's insistence that Ashley not waste any time thinking about her, it seemed like it was all she could do.
There were other thoughts about Spencer, but so far Ashley was able to deny their existence. They weren't anything to get worked up about, she reasoned. The truth was, she was too scared to face what they could mean.
She'd been running from them long enough anyway.
"You look like someone killed your puppy," Madison observed when she saw the look on Ashley's face. She had been sitting across from the other girl but had moved so she could get closer to her. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing," Ashley replied as she sipped from her spiked drink. If she was forced to go out, she was going to do what she could to have a good time. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine," Madison practically screamed in Ashley's ear.
Ashley let go of Aiden's hand so she could turn her body and face Madison. "What's it to you anyway? Why does it matter?"
"Because," Madison started, her teeth clenched. "You've been acting weird for weeks now. Ever since you started that project with Spencer. What is that girl doing to you?"
"This has nothing to do with her," Ashley lied. She was supposed to be forgetting Spencer, not talking about her with Madison. "Can you just give it a rest? It's been a long week and I don't want to talk about it."
Madison put her hand on top of Ashley's," I'm just worried." She was smiling, but there was coldness in her eyes. "I don't want the stench of loser to get stuck on you."
Ashley was incensed. Where did Madison get off talking about Spencer like that? If she wasn't so mad, she'd acknowledge that Madison talked about Spencer like that all the time. Now the difference was Ashley was allowing herself to really hear Madison's words. "I'm going to get a drink."
Madison narrowed her eyes as Ashley stormed away from the table. Something was going on and she didn't like it one bit. She didn't harp on that. Instead, she was going to use the time that she had alone with Aiden to confirm their plans for the following evening.
Ashley waited impatiently at the bar to get served. Madison had put her in an even worse mood than she was to begin with. She couldn't believe the nerve of her friend.
She wanted to tell Madison that Spencer wasn't a loser, but that response had died on Ashley's lips. She knew it would only lead to a fight and that was the last thing Ashley wanted.
While Ashley continued to try and get the bartender's attention, she also took the opportunity to let her eyes wander around the club. It was then that she caught site of the familiar site of the back of Spencer's head. All of a sudden her stomach tightened and her palms began to sweat.
What was Spencer doing at Gray, and who was she with?
She tried not to stare, but couldn't stop herself. She was too busy looking in the blonde's direction to realize that she finally had the bartender's attention.
"I can't believe you dragged me here," Spencer said to Sean.
Sean took a sip of his drink as his eyes looked at the many girls that surrounded them. "Oh, please, like you're not happy you came with me tonight."
"Shut up," Spencer fired back, unwilling to admit that Sean was right. She could use the distraction that coming to Gray usually provided her. She needed to blow off some steam and if that meant finding a girl to blow off steam with, Spencer was completely OK with that.
Sean laughed. "That's what I thought."
Spencer ignored her friend's gloating and decided to see if she could find someone to help her cope with the stresses of her life. She wasn't looking for true love—Spencer didn't believe in that. She was just looking for someone she could have fun with and then never see again.
It was an arrangement that had worked out quite well for her in the past.
"I think you have a bit of an admirer," Sean said after he was done looking around. He had noticed Ashley, but she hadn't noticed him.
Spencer smirked at that news, but her smirk was gone as soon as she saw who Sean was pointing to. She couldn't believe her bad luck that Ashley was also at the same place as her. Then she remembered that the brunette was supposed to mean nothing to her and that calmed her down somewhat. "She's probably praying for my soul or some shit like that."
"Probably," Sean responded with a bit of a chuckle. "It's going to take a lot of prayers for anyone to save your sorry soul."
Spencer elbowed her friend right in the ribs. She was satisfied when Sean let out an anguished yelp. "You should really learn to be nice to me."
Sean rubbed his side. "Yeah, because I'm such an asshole to you."
Spencer's comeback died on her lips, when she spotted another person who was looking intently at her. She had noticed the girl on previous trips to Gray but hadn't had the chance to introduce herself yet.
That was about to change.
"I'll be back soon," Spencer announced when she got the signal from the girl to come over. "But probably not that soon."
Sean followed Spencer's line of sight to see what had her attention. If he was a lesser man, Sean might have been bothered that his friend seemed to have way more luck with women than he did. But he didn't begrudge the blonde a good time.
Ashley's eyes were trained on Spencer. Everything else seemed to fade from importance as she observed the blonde make her way across the club. The pit in Ashley's stomach intensified when she saw Spencer engaged in a very close conversation with a girl she didn't know. What did it matter, she asked herself. But Ashley didn't like the answer to that question.
Spencer could only imagine how disgusted Ashley was with her right then. She knew that the brunette didn't like that she was gay. It was one of the things that drove them apart. That, and Ashley being a self-centered, popularity-obsessed, horrible person. The least she could do is put on a show for her former friend.
Ashley was trying to force herself to look away from Spencer. She wanted to go back to her table and forget that she had ever seen the other girl out tonight. But her body betrayed her. She felt stuck in her chair, unable to do anything but stare at something she didn't want to be staring at.
"That's hilarious," Spencer said as she leaned in to the girl standing inches from her. She ran her finger up the other girl's bare arm to test the waters. The smile that Spencer received at that action made her smile herself. She was in.
She continued to talk to her new friend at very close quarters, hoping that Ashley was still watching her. Spencer didn't care about Ashley, but that didn't mean she couldn't have fun at her expense. If she was going to be judged for who she was, she might as well give the person judging her something to freak out about.
Ashley had never felt this way before. All she wanted to do was run over to the girl that Spencer was talking to and punch her right in the face. She reasoned that the girl was using the blonde and she was just being protective.
Even she didn't buy that excuse.
Spencer felt a rush of excitement course through her when the girl she had been flirting with decided to take some action. She took Spencer's hand and started leading them towards a more secluded area. The blonde smirked. She would definitely have to thank Sean later for dragging her out tonight.
She couldn't take it anymore. Ashley ripped her eyes away from Spencer and the skank she was with before the couple could get even more inappropriate together. She couldn't believe what she had to witness.
In fairness, there were other couples making out all over the place.
But none of that mattered to Ashley. She was too wound up to try and be reasonable right then.
"You're a really good kisser," Spencer's make-out buddy husked in the blonde's ear before her lips went to the blonde's neck.
Spencer let out a throaty moan as the girl found a particularly sensitive spot right by her ear. Her pleasure was heightened when she spotted an upset looking Ashley from across the club.
"Thanks for the ride," Spencer said as she undid her seatbelt.
Sean waved his hand at the blonde. "What's my life if it's not driving your sorry ass around. Besides, I've seen you drive, Spence, I'm doing a service to the community by keeping you from getting behind the wheel of car."
"If I didn't have to work on this stupid thing with Ashley right now, I would so be kicking your ass for that comment." Spencer tried to hold her hands up in a threatening manner, but that only made Sean laugh. "I'll text you when I'm done."
When Sean had left, Spencer took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, but she suspected it had to with being at Ashley's house. It was a place that held a lot of memories for the blonde—most of them good. The most recent, however, were very, very bad.
The last time she had been here, she'd left in tears.
And it still stung.
As Spencer walked towards the front door, she hoped that she could just get through the next couple of hours without any drama. She was tired of it. She was also tired from getting in late the night before. Thankfully Sean had arrived to pick her up with a very large cup of coffee waiting for her.
Spencer didn't get the chance to knock on the front door because a very pissed off Ashley had opened it just as she about to knock on it.
"You're late," Ashley said angrily. Her eyes looked like they were on fire and her body language screamed "don't piss me off."
Spencer was caught off guard. She looked down at her phone and then back up at a clearly upset Ashley. "Uh, by like two minutes, sorry."
Ashley had her hand on her hip, she didn't care to hear a fake apology from the blonde. She was already seeing red, but when the brunette spotted a dark mark on Spencer's neck, she got even more incensed. "I get that you hate me or whatever, but it would be really nice if you could just show me some common courtesy. Is that too much for me to ask for?"
"Uh, no," Spencer replied, completely dumbfounded. She couldn't figure out what she could have possibly done to make Ashley so mad. The last time they'd worked together, she'd been positively nice to the other girl.
"Thank you!" Ashley exclaimed, sarcastically. The fire that had started in her stomach the previous evening would not go away. The more she thought about Spencer with that 6girl, the more she couldn't think straight. She was burning from the inside without a way to stop it. She motioned for Spencer to come in and then slammed the door once she had come inside. "We are working in my room, unless you have some kind of problem with that?"
Spencer wanted to ask why Ashley was acting so off, but she thought better of it. "That's fine."
"I'm so glad that could meet your approval," Ashley said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She took off up the stairs, leaving a very confused Spencer behind.
"Women," Spencer muttered under her breath before she followed the brunette.
They were sitting on the floor. Ashley typing on her laptop while Spencer looked at her notes. The last thirty minutes had passed without any major incident. But the tension Spencer had felt coming off Ashley in waves had only gotten more intense.
No matter what Spencer did or said, Ashley would snap back at her. It was quite the role reversal for the blonde. She just kept biting her tongue, hoping against hope that they could finish what needed to be done quickly.
"I'm waiting," Ashley sang out as she tapped her finger against her computer. She also wanted to get things over with as quickly as possible. She couldn't stand to be in the same room as the blonde for much longer. "This shouldn't be that hard, Spencer."
"OK, that's it!" Spencer exclaimed before she slammed her books on the floor. She was nobody's punching bag, especially Ashley's. "Did someone piss in your cereal this morning or something? Because you can stop being a bitch to me right about now."
Ashley closed her laptop hard. "You have no right to order me around, especially in my own house. If you don't like it here, just go."
"I've had just about enough of this," Spencer replied, her nostrils flaring.
"Good!" Came back the reply from Ashley. "Nobody is stopping you. Go!"
"What is your problem?" Spencer asked. "I don't get you right now."
Ashley was beyond reason and logical thinking. She was itching to fight with Spencer and it seemed like the blonde was going to comply with her wishes. "You're my problem."
"Oh, that's rich," Spencer laughed. "Where do you get off saying something like that to me? If anything I should be—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard this song and dance before," Ashley said, cutting the blonde off. "I'm awful, you hate me, now go."
"What the hell?" Spencer mumbled under her breath. She had enough other crap in her life that she really didn't care what issue Ashley had with her. "Gladly," she said, before she put all of her stuff back in her school bag. She didn't even care that Sean most likely wouldn't be able to pick her up yet. She needed to get as far away from the brunette as possible.
Ashley couldn't believe that Spencer was actually going to leave. How dare she? As angry as she was before, now she was on the verge of exploding. "So that's it? You're leaving?"
"Are you high?" Spencer asked, having stopped dead in her tracks. "You just told me to get out!"
"That doesn't mean you have to go!" Ashley screamed like a mad woman.
"Whatever mental break down you're having, go be crazy with someone else besides me," Spencer said, clearly exasperated with the situation.
"Oh, I'm sorry, is our project getting in the way of your social life," Ashley replied sounding anything but sorry. "It must be so hard for you to come here and spend two minutes with me when you are so busy with your hands down girls' pants."
"What?" Spencer could not believe what Ashley had just said to her. "You're going to stand there and judge me for last night? Who gave you the right to do that?"
Ashley took a step towards the blonde. "I have the right to say whatever I want to you!"
"No, you don't, actually," Spencer snapped. She was now just as mad as Ashley was. She was done with people passing judgment on her—especially the brunette. "Your opinion means nothing to me."
"Well good for you!" Ashley fired back in a very snarky tone. In truth, she didn't even really know what she was saying anymore. She just knew she was mad and needed to release her anger. "I'm glad I mean nothing to you."
Spencer could not wrap her head around what was being thrown at her. It was mind boggling. "I'm not even going to respond to that."
"I don't care what you do." Ashley's hands were back on her hips and her chest was heaving.
"You have a funny way of showing it," Spencer laughed and that earned her a very dirty look from the other girl. Not that she was affected by it. "Good bye, Ashley. When you've stopped losing your mind, let me know so we can finish this stupid project and I don't ever have to talk to you again."
Spencer tried to walk away, but Ashley refused to budge. She wasn't going to let the other girl go until she was good and ready. When the blonde tried to move again, something inside Ashley snapped.
She couldn't take it anymore—not the yelling, not the hurtful words, not anything. She pushed Spencer up against her bedroom wall.
Ashley was acting purely on instinct. Without any thought to what she was about to do, or the consequences of her actions, she kissed Spencer with a ferociousness that she had never kissed anyone before.
Both girls were surprised by the brunette's move.
It was an even bigger surprise, however, when moments later, Spencer was kissing her back.