I was pinned to my bed. He left me no option but to stay in place. I tried to control my reactions, but couldn't help but sigh as Matt nipped my earlobe. His lips travelled down my neck, sending jolts of electricity all over my skin.
...
I was in my room after Matt left. Ash had come over a while later, with a bunch of bags which held clothes and make up. She wanted my opinion and I had gladly invited her over with her stuff. It was a welcome distraction after the incident (or almost incident) with Matt. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. She had immediately known that something had happened but let it rest when I said that I didn't want to talk about it.
Ashley stepped out of my washroom and looked at her reflection critically. She wore a white mini-dress with cut-outs on the abdominal region. "Is this better than the grey?" She asked as she turned from side to side. "I think this looks gorgeous. The grey was kinda plain." I said honestly. "What is this for anyway?" I asked. "The talent show. I will be hosting." She answered. I remembered then that she had been hand-picked for the role by our English teacher. "Aren't you choreographing for the basketball team as well?" I asked. "Yeah, but that's like a side show. I won't be performing with them, so I'm not on stage twice." Ash replied.
When I was silent, she turned around and said, "Get up. I have some stuff for you to try on." "Ugh! Please no!" I groaned, but she caught my hands and pulled me off my bed. "Bailey," she began sternly. "I know something happened just before I came and I know that you're troubled about it. You don't want to talk about it now, I get that. But don't be a spoilsport. I have some costumes for your performance." Ash said. I didn't dare to say anything against her. I silently took the clothes she handed me and walked into the washroom to change. I wore the first item and went out.
It was a white, figure hugging dress with a floral pattern on it. Ash smiled widely when she saw me in it. "You look amazing girlfriend!" She said. She began to spell out the look. "Oh my God I can see it. A nude lip with pinkish eyes; maybe false lashes that are long at the ends, a loose bun and nude heels. You'd look amazing!" She gushed and I smiled. I looked at myself in the mirror. "Are you sure this is something that you wear on stage though?" I asked and Ash frowned. "You're right. Next!" She commanded and I ran back to change.
The next was a two-piece outfit- a black crop top with a long white lace skirt. Ash clapped her hands when I twirled around for her. "Yes!" She said happily when I struck a pose. "What do you see?" I asked. Ash held up her hands like a director would. "Curly hair, smoky eyes, bold lip- maroon or maybe the Mac pink that Lynn has, it would be perfect- with awesome black heels. Oh, now I'm dying to do your make up." Ash ranted and finished with a sigh. "So, this one is in for the performance." I said and Ash nodded. "There's another outfit left. Try it on anyway." Ash said.
The last outfit was a black, loose fitting, off-shoulder dress. The moment I wore it, I opened the door and proclaimed, "I'm keeping this. Performance or no performance." Ash looked extremely happy to hear that. "Maybe you can wear it the next time Matt comes to your place and gets you all flustered again." Ash smiled teasingly. "What?" I was caught off guard. "I know that something happened when Matt was here a while ago." She said. My shoulders sagged.
"How do you know that?" I asked and ran my fingers through my hair. "I was texting Amber. She told me that Jonah drove her home and left Matt here for a while." Her face softened. "What happened?" She asked softly. I collapsed next to her and told her everything.
"I was actually, genuinely having fun. Right until he leaned in and Jonah called." I grumbled. Ash was silent for a few seconds. "You're holding something back." She said. I took a deep breath. "I don't know if I'm relieved that he couldn't get close enough or if I'm mad that he couldn't. I'm so conflicted right now." I vented. "I guess you'll only know if you're faced with that situation again. It's okay to feel conflicted, Lee." Ash said and lay down next to me.
We lay in silence, both of staring at the ceiling, but Ash kept fidgeting. "There's something I have to get off my chest." She said. "What?" I asked with my eyes shut. "I-I don't think Terry and I will last much longer." She said.
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I shot upright. "What?! What do you mean? What happened?" I asked and Ash began to cry. "Aww honey!" I exclaimed and held her tight. I cursed myself for not thinking about this earlier. Ash tended to shop when she was distressed, and she had shown up with almost five shopping bags today. I hated that I had gotten too caught up with Matt to notice my best friend's distress. When Ash's sobs began to stop, I gently released her. She wiped her eyes and took some deep breaths to calm herself.
"Did you guys fight or something?" I asked softly. She nodded and I waited for her to speak. "Remember when I went to New York to support him for that tournament?" She asked in a shaky voice. I nodded. A feeling of dread began to take over me. If their relationship had been on the rocks since then, it would mean that I had failed as a friend. I had failed to notice Logan's feelings for Gemma, and I would have failed to notice the tension in Ash and Terry's relationship. I prayed for it to be something fixable so that I could help Ash and Terry.
"That was the last time we ever got to spend more than two hours together." Ash said. I took a deep breath, held it and let go slowly. "Last week we had a huge fight about it. He's been extremely busy with his training and I've been caught up with organising the talent show. Everytime one of us is free the other is not." She paused.
" We were supposed to go out on a date last week, it was the first one in months, but he had to cancel it at the last minute. I got so upset Lee and he got upset and we were screaming on the phone. It kept getting worse and we accused each other of horrible things and I hung up on him. I haven't spoken to him since then." Her voice cracked. "And he hasn't even tried to talk to me." Tears began falling down her face again. I held her tight and I mentally decided that it was time for me to have a heart-to-heart with my oldest friend. This relationship was not ending on my watch.
A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment. Do you think Ash and Terry belong together, because Bailey definitely does. Let me know if you'd like to see more of them.
