Bunnies Im sorry!! Unfortunately I have the last week of the school and no ideas, so im sorry you had to wait the entire week for this chapter and thank you for your patience!

I promise I'll finish Valentine's Day, but I have really lame ideas REALLY I even asked chat gpt for inspirations, but he is very unhelpful. Look, he tried to make Aiden confess, and Ashlyn love him by force!!!! Even when I told him they are friends (for now ofc)! Do you get this??!!!!??

Sooo Im starting the part from the requests rn for @MarchGloryBell. I think it will be long and take several chapters but I have a few good ideas :')

@MarchGloryBell I hope you won't be offended if it's not summer but spring :)

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Ashlyn took a long sip of coffee from her thermos and blinked, trying to get rid of the morning mist in her eyes.

It was 5:15 am, and she was standing in front of the school with a dozen or so teenagers, waiting for the bus. Yes, they were going on a school trip, and Ashlyn really hoped it wouldn't end as bad as like the last one. Throughout the past week, she and her friends had been preparing for the "reset" and gathering all the supposed necessary to survive outside the Graveyard. Ashlyn herself wasn't sure why exactly they had decided to go on a school trip.

Well, probably nothing worse than death could happen to them.

Aiden standing next to her slurped, sipping his energetic drink. Ashlyn smiled under a nose - it was probably the first time when she saw him without his typical vigor. The fact that he had black lines under his eyes didn't help either, but she had to admit that he looked hot nonetheless.

WHAT.

Hot?!

She had to rebuke herself more often about what she was thinking about.

"Aiden?" she asked, elbowing him so hard that he almost spilled the contents of the can on himself. "Do you drink it often?"

"No, I'd rather coca cola. Why do you ask?

"Ah, nevermind."

He raised his eyebrow.

"Was this a trick to get me to let you drink it...?"

"I don't have to use tricks to get you to let me drink it" she shrugged. "All I have to do is ask you and you'll give it to me."

Aiden thought for a moment.

"Good point. You want?"

"Sure."

She took a sip of the drink and grimaced.

"Bleh. Too sweet." she returned the can to him. "I prefer my coffee."

"Uuuuuuu!" Taylor's meaning voice came from behind them. "Indirect kiss!?"

Tyler standing behind her made an irritating sound that was supposed to imitate kissing.

"Guys, seriously?" Ashlyn rolled her eyes, but felt herself blushing. "Chlidish."

"Sorry, Ashlyn, but you two are so cute that it's impossible not to tease", her friend smiled sweetly. "Oh, look, Ben!" she waved to the boy standing a dozen or so feet away. Ben waved back and she moved dowards him.

"But seriously", Tyler added, "I find it gross, cringe, disgusting and every other word that can describe how terrible is to drink after someone. "

Ashlyn snorted, looking down at her thermos of coffee, not brave enough to even glance at Aiden - there was no point in even looking at Tyler.

"Where is the Biscuit Boy?" he frowned, looking around.

"Biscuit Boy?" Ashlyn smirked a little.

"Shut up." Tyler mumbled. "It's mine and Logan inside joke."

"Well, he wrote in the group chat he was going to be late" Aiden replied, throwing the empty can towards a wastebasket standing about 15 feet away from them.

He hit.

"Attention, I'm checking presence!" They heard Mr. Thomas voice. They grabbed their suitcases and headed towards the teacher standing next to the bus that had just parked in the yard.

Fifteen minutes later Ashlyn took a seat next to Aiden. She had the impression it was already some kind of deal - they hadn't even agreed to sit together, and yet they both knew it. It was obvious somehow.

"Can I by the window?" she asked and Aiden nodded.

They switched places, with Logan who finally arrived, Tyler sitting behind them and Ben and Taylor sitting on the opposite side.

Aiden took out a huge eight-sided Rubik's Cube, the boys behind them were playing cards, and Taylor put on an earphones together with Ben and were drawing something in the boy's sketchbook.

Ashlyn took the headphones out of her bag as well and closed her eyes, immersing into a music world. She smiled as the first notes of the "Never Wanted to Dance" played.

She didn't know why, the song reminded her of Aiden. What was strange, considering the words. Very strange.

Ashlyn killed the first two hours listening to music, solving a Rubik's cube - the simplest one, which Aiden took for her because she didn't know how to solve another one - and talking to the boy about "why you shouldn't take caffeine and sugar before a six-hour drive."

"It's not even eight o'clock and I'm already tired", Ashlyn muttered as they got off the bus at the gas station.

"You should probably say 'still' ", Aiden stated. "Considering the fact you got up at four in the morning.

"Well, to be honest, I got up quarter to five."

"Small difference."

They entered the shop adjacent to the gas station and moved along the first shelf.

"What do you take?" Ashlyn asked.

"I don't know yet", he replied, looking around. Then his sight stopped. "Whoa, however, I probably already know."

"What is it?" she followed him as he moved toward the cash register.

"Look", he smiled wider, stopping next to the vending machines making hot drinks. "Would you like some hot chocolate...?"

Ashlyn smiled out of the corner of her mouth.

"A large one together?"

"As you wish, Ash."

They returned to the bus, sipping from a large steaming mug.

Now Taylor would make fun of us. Indirect kiss? Pfff, what else.

She snorted, amused, and Aiden glanced at her with a surprised smile.

"What are you snorting?" he laughed.

"Nothing, I just thought about something funny."

"Whaaaaat?" Aiden gasped. "Ashlyn Banner is LAUGHING at something funny?! If so, I need to know what is it!"

No, I won't tell you. I won't for nothing, even for China.

"Give it up, Aid."

"Pleaseeeee, Pookie Wookie Cookie Pie!"

"Now I'm million percent sure I won't tell you."

He made a grumpy face.

"You better be careful or I'll add "Pinkie" before "Pie" to your nick."

"Get lost." she couldn't help but smiled.

Aiden glanced at her with the genuine smile, then got on the bus.

"Can I at least sit by the window now?"

"But don't you dare call me Pinkie Pie."

"Fiiiine! And now gimme some chocolate. It's mine too!"

The bus left the gas station and started moving along the street surrounded by the green fields.

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Next part tomorrow or Wednesday, I'll try to be fast like Sonic :')