[A/N: Songs for the chapter:
- All Time Low // Bad Enough For You
- Parachute // You And Me
- 5SOS // Good Girls]

Christmas flew by and I spent everyday texting Tyler, desperate to see his face again after spending two weeks across the country. He seemed quite miserable now that his parents were back and I guess it didn't help that Rosemary left to spend time with her own family. Tyler didn't have a problem with dad, they got along pretty well. But when it came to his mom, he seemed exhausted by the pretence he put on to pretend he enjoyed her company. She was quite...exhausting.

I didn't blame him because hanging out with Mrs Miller was draining. She used to insist on taking Taylor and I to spas all the times, adamant on making sure that her daughter looked drop dead gorgeous all the freaking time. There was a time when she miraculously convinced the twins to model but they wrecked havoc in the studio and broke the entire camera kit. Needless to say, she never proposed the idea ever again.

Taylor's death changed their mom. She became less affectionate, more superficial and stopped taking an interest in her son's life. I don't think she changed on purpose, and I don't think she mean to hurt Tyler so much. Where the Millers should have stuck together, they scattered apart. All she cared about now was her reputation. Maybe it was because Tyler reminded her too much of the life she was trying to escape through her job. He was the exact replica of her daughter after all.

Either way, I was slightly worried about how his parents were going to affect his mood. I didn't want him to brood and become the empty shell he was at the start of senior year. The night before school started again, Mom and I made it back to town and for some reason, she refused to let me pop by Tyler's house.

Okay, so maybe she was still annoyed after catching us making out on the living room floor. I didn't think I had ever seen Tyler become so red before. His entire face turned into a tomato as he awkwardly shuffled out of the room and through on his coat, scarf and shoes. He couldn't even summon the confidence to kiss me goodbye when I walked him to the door.

That very night Mom gave me the lecture of my life on being safe around guys and it took an hour for her to finally understand that there was no way in hell that I was sleeping with Tyler. Talk about embarrassing! After she accepted my apology, she turned into a giggling teenage girl and asked me about my first date. I had to recite every detail the way Mona forced me to - even Tyler's 'Loveheart' stunt.

"Ash, we're here."

I glanced up from my coffee and looked out of the window, astonished to find that the school parking lot was crawling with excited, hyperactive teenagers. Sea green eyes bored into mine, studying my face as I snapped out of my daydream and unbuckled my seat belt.

"What?" I asked, unnerved by his sudden scrutiny but Tyler shook his head and stepped out of the car.

Grabbing my bag and hot chocolate, I jumped out into the cold and took care not to slip on the thin layer of ice that coated the asphalt. All the snow had melted away but that didn't mean the treacherous ice was disappearing any time soon.

"Ash?"

I looked up, startled that Tyler was so close to me. He cupped my face and his eyes flickered between mine; left then right, right then left. Our breath fog mingled together and the heat fanned my cheeks, a stark difference from the numbing cold that nibbled at my skin.

"Are you okay?"

The question caught me off guard and I only had to register the concern that creased his brow and pulled his mouth into a frown to realise that he was being serious.

"Of course I am," I replied with a wide smile. "Why do you ask?"

He frown stretched up into a slight grimace.

"You were really quiet the whole journey so I just thought..." Tyler trailed off, shook his head and laughed lightly. "Never mind. Let's get to class."

He held out a hand and I slipped mine into it, squeezing his fingers as he tugged me into the school and down the winding corridors. We found my locker and I dumped my Physics homework before retrieving the two novellas we were studying for English Literature.

By the time we reached my homeroom, I was pretty sure that more than fifty pair of eyes were on us, discreetly gawking at the arm Tyler had draped over my shoulders. I didn't think it was that much of a big deal because even before we began dating, he used to walk me to class with his arm around my shoulders. Thing is, I doubt they could handle the way his other hand was playing with my curls while he rambled on about his mom.

My concentration dwindled at the sight of my friends making out against the classroom door. Tyler followed my gaze and chuckled at the repulsion that distorted my features.

"I think it's time I cockblock."

He arched an eyebrow to advice me otherwise but it was necessary. My eyes were on fire because it felt like I was viewing an R-rated scene although I'd opted for a PG movie. There were a mound of people hovering outside the classroom waiting for the bell to ring and judging by their faces, I wasn't the only person with burning eyes.

"Trust me Ty, what must be done, shall be done." I replied with a tight lipped smile although I was itching to laugh as an epic idea blossomed in my mind. "Stay right here. I'll be right back."

I quickly jogged down the hallway and pushed open the third room on the right. Startled by my sudden entrance, Nurse Peters glanced up from a bunch of paperwork and flashed me an open smile.

"What can I do for you Ashley?"

My gaze flickered to a small blue box that sat on one of her shelfs. I focused on the thousands of condoms that I needed for my epic idea.

"Do you mind if I take a handful of the free condoms you were handing out a month ago?"

Confusion deepened her wrinkles before she nodded and waved a hand towards the top shelf.

"Go ahead, take as many as you need dear."

With a grateful nod, I strode over towards the massive shelf that stretched across an entire wall. Although I told Nurse Peters I was only taking a handful, I grabbed at least five dozens and filled my jacket pockets to the very brim.

As I headed for the door, her eyes bulged out but they were nothing in comparison to my pockets.

"They're not for me," I muttered awkwardly, scratching my hairline as I hid behind my curls.

"Of course dear," She replied, unconvinced by my grimace.

I frowned and wondered why she didn't believe me. I'd never been in her office except to fake being sick so she could write me a note to leave the school premises. But if she kept up with the latest rumours at Riverdale, that meant that she thought I picked up over sixty condoms for me and...

Holy mother of Jesus.

My entire face burned and for a second I felt like my skin was going to melt off my face. The blistering currents of heat that coursed through my body shot up to my cheeks and I quickly bolted out of the room. By the time I reached Tyler, my cheeks dulled to a pink glow compare to the previous raging red. His eyes immediately trailed down to my overflowing pockets and confusion darkened them before they lit up with horror.

"No way Ash...You wouldn't!" He breathed, doubling over with laughter but I was already jogging away from him.

My friends were engaged in an octopus limbed lip lock and I couldn't hold back a gag when I reached them. They were oblivious to the world outside so I guess that made my prank a little easier. Glancing over my shoulder, I chuckled at the tears that were streaming out of Tyler's eyes and a goofy grin tugged my lips up at the sight of him.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed a handful of the metallic square pieces and held them over their heads like a mistletoe.

"EXTRA! EXTRA! FREE CONDOMS FOR ALL!" I screamed at the top of my lung, releasing everything in my hand. "FREE CONDOMS FOR EVERYONE!"

Blake and Mona sprung apart, dazed by the sudden commotion as our surrounding classmates snickered and burst out laughing. More condoms rained over them like confetti, falling to the ground. As the silver pieces caught the hallway lights and cast off a reflection, I raised my voice so that it was even louder, carrying it across the entire corridor so that it drew a large semicircle of students.

"LET'S BEAT TEENAGE PREGNANCY TODAY! TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS! LET US REJOICE IN THE POWER OF PROTECTION!"

My booming voice echoed throughout the hallway, attracting even more students. They burst into hysterics and a group of junior jocks crouched onto the ground and picked up a handful before tossing it back into the air.

"HALLELUJAH IT'S RAINING CONDOMS, HALLEUJAH!" I twirled around in circles, holding my arms out as I craned my neck up as if I was welcoming some sort of god.

Meanwhile my friends stared at each other like deers caught up in a spotlight as they turned beetroot. I grabbed Blake's arms and dragged him forward, dancing around him like I was performing a tribal rain dance. From my peripheral vision, I glimpsed Tyler clutching his torso and wheezing with laughter in a struggle to stay upright. Even as he swiped his tears away, more streamed out faster that ever before and I found myself crying with laughter too.

That was until Mona wrenched me to the side and pinched my arm.

"Ouch!" I squealed, rubbing the sore area before continuing my tribal chanting at the top of my lungs.

"I could kill you right now!" She hissed, redder than a ripe tomato.

"I just managed to find you and Blake enough condoms for every day of this year. Be grateful missus!" I waggled my finger and dug my hands into my pockets before shoving a handful into her palms. "Here. Have some more."

Furious green eyes entered my line of vision and my wide grin faltered.

"You!" Blake growled in a low tone. "You have a great deal of explaining to do before I tear your head off your shoulders."

"Look," I sighed with defeat, over exaggerating the way I planted my hands on my hips. "I'm just trying to help you guys out."

"Help?" They both echoed, incredulous and frankly very, very furious.

"Yeah," I bit my lip as Mona took an intimidating step forward. Glancing at Blake, I struggled to hold his scorching gaze. "You don't have to impregnate Mona in front of the whole school. I was helping society extinguish the problem of teen pregn- Ow! Mona! Holy shit! Stop! That hurts!"

I jumped back as she attacked me with five consecutive punches. Blake just stood their with a smug smirk as his girlfriend pounded me to a pulp.

"Apologise! Now!" She growled as I crossed my arms over my chest to protect myself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I said sorry! Ow! Stop that! Mona! Please!" I wailed when she gave me one last punch that winded me.

Blake strode forward and smacked me upside the head and I swear to god I saw stars like people do in cartoons. As they stormed off and kicked open the classroom door, I rubbed my scalp and yelled after them.

"Next time I'm showering you guys with pregnancy tests! No amount of condoms can save you bitches now!"

The crowd that had gathered laughed but I wasn't sure if it was because Mona assaulted me despite being almost half my size, or because of my joke. Just as I was about to trudge into the classroom, a stern voice bellowed my name and I jumped out of my skin.

"Ashley Martin!"

By the time I found the courage to gulp nervously and turn around, Principal Jenkins was looming over me, his bald head reflecting more light that the silver condoms on the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Suddenly everybody shied and shot into the classroom, desperate to escape the thick atmosphere that suffocated me. Tyler seemed to get swallowed by the fleeing crowd so I assumed he went to his own homeroom.

"Umm, uh..." I stammered, trailing off when I couldn't come up with a logical explanation.

"She's acting on behalf of a special occasion."

I whirled around, startled to find Tyler was still hanging around. I expected him to bolt like everybody else, especially since he was already on his final warning. One more penalty and he was getting booted out of Riverdale faster than the speed that innocent people die from Blake's deadly farts.

"Occasion?" Principal Jenkins gave my boyfriend a once over and sighed heavily. "Enough of this nonsense Miller, get back to your class."

"But it's STD Awareness Month," Tyler announced like it was the most obviously thing in the world. He began to tick off his fingers as he said, "Ashley was only trying to save her friends from the likes of herpes, gonorrhea and chlamydia."

My jaw clanged open and I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. Drinking in Tyler's somber expression, I had to bite my lip and hold my breath but neither were enough to suppress my ringing cackle. Both eyes focused onto my shaking shoulders and I was certain that Principal Jenkins was livid because he nearly fell for my boyfriend's lie. Tyler, on the other hand, flashed me a disappointed look and I sobered up. Damn, I just messed up my only ticket out of this mess. Great going Ashley!

"You! With me," Principal Jenkins jerked at finger at me and then pointed his thumb at Tyler. "You! Get to class now or I will strike this as an offence and your parents will be called to--"

"My parents are in New York so that won't do you any good."

Dark eyes hardened.

"Don't worry son, I've got them on speed dial. Now scoot!"

Tyler stood rooted to his spot as he had a stare off with our principal.

"Scoot?" He scoffed and raised an eyebrow with disinterest. "Do I look like your lapdog? If you want me to do something, ask politely and I might just considering it Sir."

I gulped nervously at the way Tyler spat that last word, holding back a shudder at the scalding, sea green eyes that threatened to set the poor old man on fire.

"Ty, go to class," I hissed, pushing him backwards.

The sound of my voice snapped him out of the deathly glare he was killing the old man with and his eyes softened. I scowled and pushed him again.

"Go to your homeroom," I repeated in a stern voice and when he opened his mouth the argue, I narrowed my eyes at him and they flashed with irritation. "Go! I'll see you in Home Ec. later...I hope."

He sighed heavily and nodded, stepping forward to plant a lingering kiss on my forehead. It happened so quickly that I only realised Principal Jenkins was still standing beside me when he coughed. Heat flooded my cheeks, painting them a deep shade of red when I tore my eyes away from Tyler's rapidly retreating figure. I met the principal's dark eyes and almost pooped myself at the contempt that oozed from them.

"Follow me young lady," He barked and briskly hobbled down the hallway at lightning speed.

I struggled to keep up and was out of breath by the time we reached the reception.

"Wait here and I'll see you after I finish a parent meeting."

I watched him disappear into his office and eyed the row of plastic chairs that made up the waiting room. Technically it was still part of the reception and I averted my gaze when the receptionist, Ms Xavi, glanced up at my arrival.

"Ashley? What a pleasant surprise!" She gawked, blinked her murky green eyes in astonishment. "Are you here on behalf of the student council? I thought you weren't going to run for vice president this year-"

I cut her off with curt shake of my head.

"I dropped out of the student council last year," I reminded her before letting my gaze scan the boxy room, studying the wilting plants that were thirsty for any source of water.

"Then what on earth brings you here?"

With a shrug, I tried to omit any panic from my voice although it seeped out in a breathless whisper.

"First warning."

Her bulging eyes popped out of their sockets, emphasising her evident shock which she struggled to cover up.

"You? First warning?" Ms Xavi's lilting Spanish accent thickened her tone making the knot in stomach tighten. "Good luck for the upcoming lecture of your life. The principal tries to scare off any first time offenders with his yelling but I'll let you in on a little secret sweetie: just nod and hum in agreement and it'll be over a lot faster."

I thanked her for her advice and she didn't pry further into the conversation, flashing me a sympathetic look before she swivelled around in her computer chair. I spent the next hour listening to the consistent tapping that came from her fingers as they flew across the keyboard. Restlessness made me wring my hands together and I panicked at the thought of my mom finding out about my mindless prank.

My raging thoughts were cut off when a sharp rap came from the door and Ms Xavi yelled, "Come in!"

Focusing on my bitten nails, I failed to notice the mop of blond that accompanied the newcomer. It was only when he spoke up that I bolted upright, rigid as a pole.

"Hey Angie, fancy seeing you here again," Tyler smirked at the receptionist making her roll her eyes.

"I work here you crazy man-child. And it's Ms Xavi for you," She scoffed although her affectionate smile only increased his cockiness. "Now take a seat young man and don't make a sound."

"Anything for you Angie."

His shameless flirting made me bark a laugh until the astonishment due to his unexpected presence kicked in. Sea green eyes met mine and his smirk dissolved into a wide grin.

"Tyler?" I breathed, my jaw unhinging itself from my face as he flopped down onto the seat beside me.

"Ashley?" He mimicked, dramatically smacking his cheeks in shock and squeezing until the fish face looking at me made me forget my astonishment.

"Screw you," I giggled before sobering up and shooting him a serious look. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The silence that followed was ominous enough to evoke nausea inside my stomach, twisting the tight knot as dread surged through me.

"I came to see you," Tyler stole a kiss from my cheek and I found myself blushing when Ms Xavi spared us a quick glance.

"Wonderful news," My voice dripped with sarcasm. "Now answer my question."

"Got another warning," He replied nonchalantly, pushing his hair back even though it flopped back a second later. My eyes bulged out of their sockets and I started choking.

"Another warning?" I echoed and my face paled. "What do you mean you got another warning?"

"As in..." He shot me a flat look. "I got a another warning."

After muttering a curse at his sarcastic reply, I instantly felt on edge as a realisation made me reel back.

"But that's your tenth which means...oh god!" I slapped a hand over my mouth. "You're gonna get expelled!"

Tyler rolled his eyes.

"Chill Ash, I'm not getting kicked anytime soon."

"But it's your tenth-"

"Ninth," He corrected me and I frowned.

"But you said...you said that..." A creased formed between my brow as I stared at him, clearly dumbfounded. "I don't get it."

"I know what I told you Ash," Tyler averted his gaze and his cheeks became tinged with pink. "I may or may not have lied about the existence of my ninth warning."

Wait, so that meant he had eight warnings? Well, nine now.

"You lied to me?" I arched my eyebrows and scooted away from him, suddenly cold all over.

Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, it's not a lie anymore," Tyler chuckled as the crease between my brow deepened. "Don't look at me like that. I just wanted to impress you."

My chest lurched at his embarrassed smile and I didn't move away when he closed the space between our seats by shuffling closer.

"You lied about turning the sprinklers in Mr Reid's classroom just to impress me?"

"Like I said, it's not a lie anymore."

Confusion knitted my eyebrows together until they shot up in surprise.

"Tyler," I said slowly, inching my face closer to him as his embarrassed smile faltered. "What exactly did you do?"

He gulped nervously at my horrified expression, suddenly terrified that I was going to lose my shit concerning his latest warning. In a small voice, he vaguely explained that he texted one of his dumbass slaves - a bone-headed sophomore - and paid him a hundred bucks to light a cigarette and hold it near the smoke detector to trigger the sprinklers.

"Why in heaven's name would you go to great lengths to get another warning?" I hissed. "What are you? Stupid?"

Hurt and offended, Tyler blinked in surprise. He shook his head and grunted an incoherent reply.

"What did you say?" I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I just said that I wanted an excuse to see you because Home Ec. was so damn boring. We started planning a bullshit essay for our final exa-"

I held up a hand to cut off his babble.

"Let me get this straight. You let that sophomore kid rat you out just so you could get sent to the principal's office?" I raised my eyebrows and blinked twice. "Why?"

He raised a hand and wove his fingers through mine, pushing both our hands down onto my lap. Then he used his other hand to run through the curls that fell over my forehead, pushing them back so that he could drink in all my features.

"I did it so that you wouldn't have to go through your first warning alone. Jenkins is a d-bag to first timers."

I drew in a ragged breath, willing my hammering heart to stop swelling at his reckless yet considerate act to get himself into trouble for me.

"So I've heard," I barked a nervous laugh. "Are we seriously called that?"

"Yup."

"Which means you're a ninth timer."

"Pretty much," He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, toying with curls that hung limply around my waist before drawling with a sickeningly nasal voice, "The things I do to be romantic."

I scoffed at his melodramatic tone.

"Jeopardising your high school career isn't romantic."

"Come on," He threw his hands up in the air. "I'm Riverdale High's very own bad boy. I've got an image to keep up."

I raised both eyebrows and shot him an unimpressed frown. "Bad boy?"

Tyler was anything but a bad boy, at least in my eyes he wasn't the delinquent badass everybody thought he was. Tyler was just Tyler. The goofy kid I grew up with who used to eat with his mouth open, make daisy chains for me, tug my pigtails and make fun of my favourite dungarees. Then he matured and became considerate, caring, hot, funny, really hot and unbelievably perceptive. And obviously incredibly hot...again.

"You don't think I'm badass?"

I giggled and shook my head, untangling our fingers to push all my hair over my shoulders.

"Bad? Nope. Good? Possibly. Stupid? Definitely."

"And hot?"

"Nice try."

He pouted, jutting out his glistening bottom lip and the overwhelming desire to kiss him right there and then choked me. Tyler noticed my lowered gaze and stretched his lips into a wide grin before swiftly clasping my cheeks and planting a sloppy kiss onto my mouth.

"Ew!" I swiped a sleeve over my lips when he drew back and waggled his eyebrows at me.

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

I noticed the eerie silence in the room and realised that the constant tapping of the keyboard no longer surrounded us. Embarrassment lit up my cheeks and I turned away from Tyler.

"I'm never letting you kiss me again!" I whispered in sharp hiss, fake gagging when he leaned forward to lick my lips.

"We'll see about that," He laughed, gently flicking my nose.

Since Ms Xavi was obviously listening to our conversation, I pursed my lips and tried to divert the conversation to anything other than our relationship or making out with Tyler.

"I'm in such deep shit," I buried my head into my palms and groaned. "Why didn't you stop me from going all juju, black magic, tribal dancing, condom throwing, complete moronic over my friends?"

We looked at each other and the crackling electricity between us held for a second before Tyler cracked up, clapping his thigh the same way he did when I pulled the dumbest prank known to man on my friends.

"Honestly Ash, what made you think you could get away with it?"

"I didn't think. I just did it."

His eyes lit up and he smirked. "Seems like I'm rubbing off into you."

I peeked at him from behind my fingers and Tyler pulled my hands from my face, weaving his fingers between mine as he tried to keep his somber expression intact.

"But you shouldn't have ruined your clean record for a bunch of condoms," Tyler sighed before his lips twitched with amusement. "You could have just kept them for y'know...future use."

His choice of words made me giggle but his smirk was the reason for my blush. Mirroring his suggestive smirk, I waggled my eyebrows at him.

"I'm the bad boy's girl. Gotta keep up the image, right?"

Tyler threw his head back and laughed before drawling, "Right."

Suddenly the principal's door swung open and two parents trudged out, followed by the bald headed demon himself. My heart leapt to my throat, large as a boulder that I just couldn't swallow. His dark eyes found mine and I tensed when he opened his mouth to bark an order before his gaze slid to the arrogant dumbass beside me.

"You again?" He rolled his eyes.

Tyler slipped on his infamous smirk and I had to hold my ovaries intact, swooning at how handsome he looked.

"Don't act like you haven't missed me Sir."

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[A/N: So I whipped up this baby is such a short space of time. You've gotta admit I've been on fire lately. Daily updates (and double updates) are freaking awesome.

Umm, I have to go and revise for my last two exams so I won't be on Wattpad today and tomorrow. I'll still upload the next chapter from my phone so don't worry about that. So just enjoy this chapter and vote if you liked it and comment what you thought. I absolutely adore reading the long passages in caps lock when you guys are just freaking out hahaha.

Chapter 51: Run! Run For Your Life!

See you tomorrow and enjoy the day.

- Kaddy]