“I’m sorry for crashing your party.” Ryan said walking in as AJ opened the door for him.
“It’s all good.” AJ said. “Hey guys.” He half smiled greeting Angel and Danny.
“Where’s Ashley?” Angel asked looking around.
“In her room.” He said turning his attention back to Ryan. “Let’s go to my office. It’s still too noisy out here.”
“I don’t want to pull you away from your party, I can wait until it dies down a little.” He offered.
“Don’t worry, everyone’s occupied.” He said pointing towards his office.
Ryan walked ahead of him down the hall towards the office as Angel headed for the stairs to try and talk some sense into Ashley. Danny stood there wondering if he should follow either one of them. He decided against it and instead took a seat on the stairs waiting for whoever came back first.
“Have a seat.” He said as he pulled a chair over by the couch. Both took a seat and sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to really say. Finally Ryan got the courage to speak up.
“She’s pretty pissed at me huh?” he sighed looking down at his hands.
“I don’t think pissed quite covers it.” AJ sat back in his seat. “What the hell went on tonight, start from the beginning.”
Ryan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he began to retell the events of the night, from him when Gina first approached him all the way to the confrontation outside. AJ listened intently, taking it all in, and when he was finished he stayed silent for a moment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Ash?” Angel said peeking her head in as Ashley sat on her bed notebook and pen in hand writing away.
“What are you doing here?” she said looking up not expecting to see her friend.
“I came by with Ryan.” She said hesitantly, not knowing how Ashley would react.
“Why is he here? I don’t want to see him.” She said angrily tossing the notebook to the side.
“Ash, I think you should hear him out. There’s a lot more to tonight then you may know.” Angel said taking a seat across from her on the bed.
“What’s there to hear? I saw it with my own eyes.” She sighed handing Angel the phone apprehensively twisting around the ring Ryan had given her on her finger as she awaited Angel’s response.
“Ash, I know what this might look like but it’s not what it seems. I’m the first to tell you when a guy is sleazy. I saw everything with my own eyes. He didn’t kiss her. I wouldn’t choose his side over yours if it weren’t true and you know that.”
“It’s right there. How can you tell me he’s not kissing her?” she said angrily.
“Let me start from the beginning.” Angel sighed as she began to recall what happened at the party.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“That stupid bitch.” AJ said slightly frustrated as Ryan finished retelling the night’s downward spiral. “So Angel and Danny were there the whole time and saw the whole thing.”
“Everything. I would never do something like that, especially not to Ashley. I was miserable there without her.”
“Well hopefully if she hears it come from everyone she’ll believe you.” He sighed. “I’m just not sure if she’s ready to talk to you yet.”
“I don’t want this to drag on, the more she has time to think about it the more she’ll hate me.” He rubbed his head in frustration.
“I don’t think she hates you, she’s just upset. I’m sure Angel’s explained things already, but let me go talk to her and try to convince her to see you.” He said standing up from his chair. “Wait in the hallway and I’ll come get you.”
AJ walked out of the room and Ryan followed, stopping at the stairs as AJ made his way to Ashley’s room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Why do people hate me so much?” she said tears welling up in her eyes as Angel finished telling her what really happened. “What did I ever do to anyone?”
“Some people are just jealous, low life bitches who only feel good about themselves when they bring others down.” Angel sighed moving next to her, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better Ryan told her off good.”
“He did?” she wiped the tears from her eyes a little smile fighting its way through her sadness.
“He told them that you were the most amazing girl in the world and no matter how hard they tried none of them could ever compare to you. Then he called them desperate and pathetic.” Angel said knowing it would make her feel better.
“Even still why does it always have to be me? Can’t they all find someone else to bother? All I’m trying to do is live my life and be happy, why do people have to keep fucking it up?” she said anger not letting go as someone knocked on the door.
“Can I come in?” AJ asked poking his head in.
“Yea.” She sighed wiping her eyes with a tissue.
“I’m guessing Angel has filled you in on everything.” He said as she just nodded. “So do you think you’re up for talking to him?”
“I don’t know…” she said nervously now feeling more stupid then angry for acting the way that she did. She should have known he was better then that but her insecurities got the best of her.
“Just talk to him. I think you guys just both need to talk it out and work through this.” Angel chimed in getting off of the bed. “You know you want to.”
“Fine.” She sighed taking a deep breath. “Tell him he can come in.”
“Will do.” Angel smiled and pushed AJ out of the room signaling to Ryan that it was ok to enter.
“Thanks.” He said as he passed them on the stairs. He timidly poked his head into her room, not sure what to expect. “Hey.”
“Hi” she said just as nervous.
He stood in the doorway for a few moments as they stayed in awkward silence not sure of how to break the ice.
“You can come in.,” she said still fairly quiet.
“Sorry.” He said nervously sticking his hands in his pocket as he walked further into the room. He stood several feet away from her, leaning against her dresser, still unsure of what was going through her mind. After a few more moments of silence they finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.” They both blurted out at the same time, laughing a little afterwards.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Ryan said mustering up the courage to get closer to her as he took a seat on her bed facing her.
“Yes I do. I acted like a total jerk. I jumped to stupid conclusions and had absolutely no trust in you. I should have known you better then that.” She apologized a few tears escaping her eyes.
“Babe, I would never hurt you like that. You mean the world to me and I would never want to see you this upset, especially if I was the one causing the pain.” He said wiping her tears and pulling her into a hug.
“I know. I just let my imagination get the best of me.” She sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be sorry, I understand where you’re coming from. I know you’ve been hurt in the past but I need you to know that I would never cheat on you.” He reassured her. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you this, but I need you to know.”
A look of nervousness came over her face, worried of what was coming next.
“I know this may sound crazy and I don’t expect you to say anything in return but the more and more time we spend together the stronger my feelings for you get. I never felt like this before and it scares me just a little bit, but I know it’s right, because it’s you.”
Ashley looked at him with confusion as he rambled on.
“What I’m trying to get at is I love you.” He said anxiously awaiting her reaction.
Ashley swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she thought over what Ryan had just said. It had been a long time since she heard those three words and just the idea of love brought butterflies to her stomach. She went to speak but couldn’t find the words.
“It’s ok.” He smiled at her. “I’m not expecting you to say it back, I just needed to get it off my chest.”
“Why do you always know the perfect thing to say to make me smile?” she said feeling her cheeks flush. The more and more she thought about the idea of possibly loving him the more scared she got. Her thoughts were filling with apprehension and fear when Ryan snapped her back into reality.
“So are we ok?” he asked hopefully.
Ashley didn’t answer and just looked down at her hands.
“Babe, what’s going through your mind?” Ryan asked wanting to hear her out. He knew her not answering wasn’t a good thing.
“It’s just…” she paused trying to gather her thoughts. “I don’t know if I can deal with this.”
“With what?” he asked confused.
“All the drama that comes with being in a relationship. I really like you and I love spending time with you. But all this, the stupid people who try to bring me down, bring us down, I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“No one should matter but us. We’re here to help each other get through those times.” He took a breath and thought for a moment. “Is it because of what I told you?” he said nervous that he had moved things too fast.
“No, not at all. Ryan I can’t lie, my feelings for you are really strong. Is it love? I’m not one hundred present sure, but it feels like it is.” She confessed. “But that scares me. I didn’t expect to fall for you so hard or so fast.”
“Me either, but shouldn’t that count for something?” he asked.
“It does, you mean so much to me and I love having you around but I have to make sure that in the long run this is what’s best for me.”
“So are you saying you want to break up?” she could see the sadness in his eyes and wished she could explain what she was feeling without hurting him.
“I just…I need some time to think.” She sighed finally getting the courage to look him in the eyes. “I’m not saying I want to break up. I’m just saying I need some space and some time to think things over, and to make sure this is what I really want.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Let’s not think like that.” She took his hand in his and pulled him into a gentle kiss. “Just give me some time, ok?”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Added 9/08
I'm on a roll with these updates haha...hope u like it :)
I'm on a roll with these updates haha...hope u like it :)
