[A/N: Songs for the chapter:
- Gabrielle Aplin // Wake Up With Me
- Britt Nicole // Still That Girl]

The blinding sunlight woke me up, spotlighting the entire left side of my face in warmth. I sighed with content and rolled over, stretching my back and curling my toes before opening my eyes. Two sea-green oceans were laid out before me. They were a waiting, sleeping, rousing colour, stretching for miles like the sky on a clear day, meeting the horizon at the edge of the world. Except this sky was a perfect shade of sea green. I blinked slowly, trying to orientate myself as my mind gradually connected the dots, piecing together last night's events like a game of hangman, one word at a time, one flashback at a time. My cheeks darkened at the vivid memories.

Tyler was leaning on his elbow, using it to prop his head up as he drank in my face and it's morning glory. I don't know what fascinated him more: the dried drool crusting a trail on the corner of my mouth or the gunk building around the inner corner of my eyes.

"Morning sleepyhead," He breathed with a content smile, gently tracing circles along my abdomen. I grunted in reply, ignoring the heated sensations that rippled along my skin from his touch. "Aren't you just a chirpy little ray of sunshine."

"It's too early to be happy," I groaned, rubbing my eyes to get rid of any crusts before burying my head into his chest.

Any movement made my joints protest with discomfort. My muscles felt looser than jelloid and I was sore all over, aching in places I never thought possible.

"Not if I get to wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life," He tucked a lock of my straight hair behind my ear and traced my jawline before pressing his lips against my cheek.

My blush made Tyler laugh and he turned his focus to my lips. His mouth hovered over mine and he clipped my chin to keep my head in place.

"I love you," He whispered against my lips and I fought back a goofy grin, pecking him quickly.

"You said that quite a lot last night before we fell asleep," I murmured, sliding an arm around his neck to kiss him again, this time deep enough to make him smile into my mouth.

"What about before we fell asleep?" He pulled back and gave me a sly smirk. "You said my name quite a lot."

Pressing my hands against his tanned, bare chest, I pushed him away and rolled over so that my back was facing him. My cheeks were on fire, burning a hole through his bed sheets as I shoved a fist into my mouth to suppress an embarrassed scream.

"We are so not having this conversation right now!" I hissed, grabbing the corners of my pillow and wrapping it around my head.

"Oh yes we are," Tyler chuckled and sat up.

The bed dipped as he crawled towards me and then suddenly he was straddling my stomach and pulling my hands down so that my beetroot face was on show.

"Get off me!" I squealed when his hands tickled my sensitive neck. "Tyler! Stop that!"

My arms feebly pounded his chest until he used one hand to clasp both my wrists, clamping my hands above my head. His eyes glittered with mischief and I screamed when his fingers darted all over my body, tickling my neck, armpits and my sides.

"Say you love me too then."

"No!" I squealed, successfully wriggling a hand out of his tight grasp above my head and shooting it out to grab his crotch. "Do you want a remake of the last time I did this?"

Surprisingly his grin widened and he bent down, silencing me with a long kiss.

"You'll get the same reaction, always," He sang with a smirk and this time I gave into his wandering hands when he let go of the hand above my head.

My fingers rained all over his back, tracing the hard ridges of his spine until they slipped under the bed sheets to cup his ass. Tyler buried his head into my neck and moaned when I brought my hands back up, raking my fingernails all over his soft, supple skin. He lay on top of me for a while, breathing into my hair and I closed my eyes, relishing the way his chest rose and fell in time with mine.

"I love you."

The simple words made my heart pick up it's pace, fluttering irregularly as they rang around the room; soft, light and gentle.

"I love you too," I snaked my arms around his waist and crushed his body against mine. "But we really, really need to shower. I feel icky."

He pulled away so that there was a sliver of air dividing our bodies but the electricity between them crackled and filled me with enough desire. I pressed his naked body against mine again, resting my chin on his shoulder blade. I loved the way his legs were moulded between mine and the way his warm breath tickled my collarbone where he planted a series of kisses.

Tyler pulled back and rubbed his nose against mine.

"We?" He grinned. "I like the sound of that."

My cheeks flared up at his cheeky smile but I slapped on a smirk.

"Yeah, there's a slight problem though," I drawled and his grin dropped. "We're not at that level yet."

Tyler grunted and rolled off me before swinging his legs over his bed and standing up. My eyes drank in the sight of his toned back and ass, lingering on his muscular thighs before I looked away and pulled the bed sheets up to my chin.

"I'm going in first," He turned around and stretched his arms over his head, yawning monstrously. "Unless you want to join me?"

I barked a laugh at his hopeful grin.

"Keep dreaming sunshine." I mimicked his hopeful grin with a teasing wink.

**

Breakfast was pleasant as Rosemary made us a towering stack of pancakes that I drowned in maple syrup. Tyler and I shared secret smiles when she wasn't looking but I had an ill feeling she knew.

"So how was the, uh... How was the wedding?" I cleared my throat when Rosemary drank in the sight of my borrowed jersey for the hundredth time since I staggered into the kitchen ten minutes ago with wet hair.

"It was absolutely wonderful. The bride looked gorgeous though nothing compared to what you'll look like standing next to Tyler," She grinned and patted his back before she grabbed the discarded laundry basket off the floor.

I started choking on a mouthful of pancake and had to quickly quench the burn in my throat with hot chocolate. For once, Tyler did nothing to scold his housekeeper and they both smirked at my beetroot face as I struggled to reign in my violent coughs.

"Ty," I whined when I caught my breath, gasping several times to ease my screaming lungs. "Stop laughing."

"You're so cute Ashley," He remarked, glancing over his shoulder at Rosemary to snigger as she grinned. "Look at her, she's blushing!"

"A blushing bride," She laughed as I tried to hide behind my curtain of curls, except the curtain was no chin length.

"This isn't funny!" I hissed at them both.

"Sure it is," Tyler laughed. "I don't understand what there is to be embarrassed about. It's just a joke."

"Just shut up. Please."

My cheeks were bursting in flames, waves of heat coursing through my body like a damn bushfire.

"Oh come on Ash, flip that frown upside down," He motioned by pulling the corners of his mouth down before dragging them up like a damn clown.

"Shut up!" I hissed at him when Rosemary was out of earshot. "God, I hate you."

"I love you too munchkin," He grinned before dissolving into a burst of laughter.

"You two are so adorable!" Rosemary yelled as she disappeared upstairs.

I ran my hands over my face and groaned as Tyler laughed ever louder. A light kick against my skull began, throbbing faintly as I frowned and stood up.

"You're giving me a headache," I grunted as he struggled to sober up.

"Okay I'll stop laughing," He clamped a hand over his mouth but burst into another case of hysterics when I narrowed my eyes. "I-I'm sorry Ash!"

With an eye roll, I hurried out of the kitchen and back to Tyler's room to rummage through the pockets of the black slacks he wore yesterday.

What was his problem? Since we woke up he's been on Cloud Nine. It's like making love brightened his mood and gave him a sugar rush for the following twelve hours.

Or maybe I was just being a cranky bitch because they were making fun of me?

After downing two pills from each container, I found my phone in Tyler's other pocket and smiled, grateful that he had remembered to pick up for me yesterday. I slumped down onto his bed and skimmed through all the 'get well soon' texts before reading one that Mona sent me two hours ago.

SOS. Call me as soon as you get this!

Instantly, a wave of nausea passed through me as I imagined all the possible emergencies Mona could be having right now. The last time she sent me an SOS text was in tenth grade when she lost her virginity to Alex Kokran and he left her stranded when he got what he wanted. I warned her that all the senior guys she fawned over were trying to use her but she paid no attention to me. When I called her she was slobbering all over the phone, drunk out of her mind until I found her in a bedroom upstairs. She told me it hadn't even lasted longer than four minutes. In he went, out he came and suddenly all the charm dropped. I had to call my mum to drive us home and Mona spent the entire journey bawling her eyes out.

Dialling her number, I paced the room and tried to suppress my raging thoughts. She picked up on the first ring.

"You took your sweet time," Mona drawled, her voice thick with annoyance.

"Are you okay? What happened? What's going on?" I rushed quickly, clamping the phone to my ear.

"The sperm donor is what happened," She growled and I wrinkled my nose in confusion.

"The what?" I broke off when it dawned upon me. "Oh, your dad."

"Yes! He wants me to meet his new girlfriend and I told him to fuck off. Mom's pleased that I blew him off. Chloe is annoyed because she thinks I'm being immature. She doesn't understand what a douchebag he is. He's manipulative and has her wrapped around his little finger. And Blake's secretly annoyed with me because of his stupid movie collection so when I asked for advice he just snapped that I was taking a step back with the sperm donor. I know that he's right but how can I move on from what that moron did to my mom. I can't forgive him if I'm still mad at him–"

"Hold on. Slow down, and just breathe," I urged her as I tried to digest everything she'd just thrown at me. "I don't understand what the actual problem is."

"The problem is that Chloe is forcing me to go with her tomorrow to meet the sperm donor and his girlfriend!"

It didn't make sense. Mona had been meeting up with her father all summer to try and reconcile their differences. So why was she throwing a strop this time?

"Okay?" I frowned a little, trying to understand what was so different this time.

"Don't you get it Ash? He wants me to meet the bitch I caught him with on the kitchen table when I was thirteen. There's no way I'm going to meet that homewrecker unless it's to rip out her motherfucking ovaries!"

"Oh shit," I murmured. "He's still with her?"

"Yes! So what should I do? Blake is telling me to give it a shot but he doesn't understand. He doesn't get it. My dad is nothing like his. Sure his dad is a bit...head on, old fashioned and controlling, but his family is perfectly intact. At least his parents still love each other, even if they argue a lot and sleep in different rooms half the time. I know what you're thinking but I'm not overreacting. I know that Blake's family isn't perfect but he...he just doesn't understand!"

"And I do?" I chuckled, though she didn't catch onto my dry humour.

A moment of silence fell and my smile died on my face when I understood why she was finally turning to me. A slab of heavy stone sunk to the bottom of my stomach and I collapsed on top of Tyler's bed, using the scent of his bed spread to slow down my hammering heart rate. Bile rose up my throat, ready to be spewed out along with the pancakes I ate downstairs until Mona cleared her throat to bring the moment of silence to an end. Unable to hold the phone for a second longer, I put her on the speakerphone and let the plastic weight drop to my lap.

For the first time since I started therapy again, a tremor began to crawl up my fingertips and all the emotions I spent months repressing with the help of Dr Jillian and Tyler began to burst at the seams, begging to be set free.

"Ash? Are you still there?"

Mona's voice filled the room but failed to reach me.

"Y-Yeah," I choked.

"Good, I thought you'd lost it for a minute," She breathed a sigh of relief like she expected me to blow up. "So help a sister out and spare me a few words of wisdom."

"Wisdom?" I choked, not sure if I wanted to punch her through the phone or smash it into tiny pieces.

Was losing a parent in a tragic accident and growing up fatherless a sign of wisdom? Did she seriously think that I had learned anything worth of value these past eight years that would be of any worth to her?

I barked a humourless laugh and shook my head with disbelief.

I was fatherless, and she wanted to know what it that felt like? Mona, the girl who had a living and breathing father, was choosing to live a life I wouldn't wish upon any kid?

I laughed again, this time it was loud and hysterical. It wasn't the type of laugh you'd hear after a funny joke. It was cold, bitter and emotionless but she didn't pick up on it.

She continued her rant as I sat crossed legged on Tyler's bed, urging myself not to hang up on her.

"What if I cut the sperm donor out of my life? What will happen to me?" Mona sounded scared as she tripped over her next words. "You know what it's like, to not have a dad...And you seemed to grow up perfectly happy, right?"

Perfectly happy?

Happy?

I spent the past eight years of my life in a vortex of soul-crushing misery. And Mona thought I was happy?

"I wouldn't be asking you this if I wasn't desperate but please tell me that I won't regret it," She pleaded.

I stared at the phone in disbelief. Pulsating anger pumped through me until another emotion counter attacked it. Empathy.

It pushed back the anger, replacing it with an aching sadness that made me want to double over but I stayed upright and breathed deeply through my nose.

Mona's request struck a nerve. It struck a cord in my heart. But that was only because I was taking it too personally. Maybe I should be, but as much as I felt like smacking her, she was a friend in desperate need of advice.

This wasn't about me. This was about a little girl who stumbled into her kitchen days after her thirteenth birthday to find her father defiling a woman on the spot where her mom cooked every night. This was about the little girl who adored her father and worshipped him, who lied through her teeth and held onto his secret until her mother walked in on him one dreary night. This was the girl who spent hours crying during Taylor's sleepovers because she didn't want to return to a house filled with screams and silence.

This little girl came home too early from school one day, was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and spent months carrying her dad's secret like a grenade.

Then it blew up. And the Hastings family fell apart.

"Ashley?" Mona prompted me to answer as I struggled to form a coherent thought. "Uh, you know what, just forget it. Sorry I asked."

"No, no don't hang up. Wait," I stuttered before breathing deeply. "Look, I get that you're mad at him but he's your dad. You only get one of them, regardless of whether they're useless assholes, worthless drunks or cheating whores."

"I know but-"

"Just hear me out," I silenced her quickly and stuffed my shaking hands under my thighs so that I was sitting on them, momentarily halting the tremors. "You hate him. That's understandable and nobody blames you for that. But if you hang onto that hatred, it will nest itself into your thoughts and you will become a hateful person over time. You will categorise all men as evil because of your father and eventually it will poison any future relationships you have. It could drive a wedge between you and Blake because of your instinct to distrust men. So before it gets too far, you need to deal with it. You need to eradicate this hatred from your led and the only way you can do that is by facing it head on. You hate your dad? Face him. You loathe the homewrecker? Face her. You despise Chloe for how easily she forgave your father? Face her. Not in a confrontational way, but prove to them that you're not just this impulsive little girl that's a pushover. Show your father that he can't manipulate and beg you to keep his dirty little secrets for him. Hatred will only strike you Mona. Why should you suffer all the collateral damage when you can walk away from this unharmed? It's hard, letting go. But sometimes holding onto hatred is harder. Why do I know all of this? Because it doesn't matter what emotion it is that your holding onto. Grief, guilt, jealousy, anger...they're all as intense as each other. And they all have the power to break you. They can unravel your head from your neck, your neck from shoulders and keep going until you're left floating with absolutely nothing. Do you want to be the girl singing 'the back bone connected to the neck bone, the neck bone connected to the head bone'?"

"God no!" She breathed, trying to pass it off as a laugh although her voice trembled too much.

I paused to catch my breath before choking, "You only get one daddy. Don't let down that little girl inside you who needs a father."

"But I'm not a little girl anymore," She protested feebly and sniffled a little. "I read somewhere that the greatest thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother and because of that I feel like he's failed me because he couldn't even manage that."

"Bullshit," I replied fiercely. "The greatest thing he can do is love you. And he does, he loves you very much even if he has a shit way of expressing it. Take it from me - the hopeful kid with the dead dad - it may not seem like much to you but at the end of the day I would move heaven and earth to feel a fraction of the love your father has for you. Don't waste it Mona, not for anyone. Not for your mom's unresolved issues. Not for Chloe's lack of understanding. Not for that homewrecker's hooha. Not even for your own irreconcilable grudge against him. You deserve better girl, we all do. But sometimes we just have to make do with what we've got. Accept. Adjust. Adapt."

"You're right," Mona mumbled, sniffling. I hadn't even realise she was crying. "I'm so sorry about your dad, Ash. Gosh I am such a selfish brat sometimes."

"Stop beating yourself up for being angry with him," I reassured her, struggling to muster a smile when there was a massive stone lodged in my throat. "Gee, you sound you need coffee and something sugary to calm your nerves."

"No, what I need is a damn joint," She drawled before heaving a sigh. "You're right. Look, I know you probably have plans with Tyler but do you think you can meet at Starbucks in an hour? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever and we won't get to hang out as much after a couple of weeks because you're going Chicago with Tyler and I'm going Vanderbilt with Blake."

"Sure," I replied in a throaty voice. "Just stop crying and upsetting yourself. I'll help you torch that homewrecker's house if it dares to look in your direction once."

"Noted," She giggled, her voice thick with emotion, nasally and clogged with snot. "Thanks Ash, sometimes I don't know what I would do if I lost you. We're like the original two members left of Taylor's little girl club."

"We are the only two remaining members," I corrected her, rolling my teary eyes before she hung up.

When the line went dead, I pulled my hands out from under my thighs and glanced up from my trembling hands, startled to find Tyler leaning against the door, watching me carefully. It was probably the same way you'd watch an injured puppy, with an expression so forlorn and helpless that my insides clenched. The silence in the room grew thicker and the walls inched closer together, suffocating me, ready to crush me.

"She shouldn't have asked you to..." He broke off, clenched his jaw and unfurled his fists to stretch his long fingers. "Well, she shouldn't have put you on the line like that," He said quietly after a long time, struggling to form a sentence.

"You sound pissed off," I met his gaze as he flopped down beside me. "Are you mad at me?"

"Mad at you for what? I'm pissed off at Mona and if she wasn't a girl I would've punched her long before today for unintentionally hurting you. But mad at you? Ashley, if anything I'm proud of you."

"Why? Look at me. I'm a freaking mess right now," I sniffled and held up my shaking hands high enough for him to see, clearly confused by his heated gaze and soft eyes.

"You tell me," He sandwiched my hands between his to halt the tremors. A slow smile curled his lips up. "Do you feel guilty about your dad like you used to?"

"No, I don't," I replied honestly with a hint of a smile before my bottom lip quivered. "I just feel... I-I'm just a little..." I trailed off and shame lit up my cheeks as I picked at my cuticles. "I feel upset with Mona. Not because she nearly pushed me too far but she has a father and is ungrateful about it. So many kids are. Sure he's a horrible one and I'm lashing out because of my own past experiences but at least he's willing to better himself so he can have a relationship with her. God, I wish I could be her sometimes. Or Blake. Or you. I know you all have issues with your fathers but having one is a lot better than being stuck without one. I mean, we're moving away for college in what? Three weeks? Who's going to take care of my mom when I'm gone? Who's going to cook her dinner when she comes home, tired and exhausted from work? Who's going to sit in that empty seat next to her at my college graduation? Who's going to walk me down the aisle when I get married? Mona has all of that. A-And she doesn't even want it. But I do. I want it so badly Tyler. I want to have a father to argue with about the guy I'm dating. I want him to make those shotgun jokes about shooting you for making a pass at me. I want him to kiss my forehead, reminding me that I'll always be his little girl. I want it all; the arguments, the laughs, the inside jokes at the breakfast table, the sickening, gooey way he'd look at my mom when he thinks I'm not looking. I want it all. I want it more than I've ever wanted anything, and Mona doesn't have the faintest clue what she has."

Tyler's fingers brushed my cheek midway through my rant and that was when I realised I was crying. By the end of my speech, I buried my face into my hands and let pull me into his chest.

I wasn't crying because I felt guilty. For a change, I was crying because I missed my father. I missed him, terribly. I missed having my teasing, childish, wise, loving, insightful father. I missed the man who cracked jokes about my crush on Tyler, the man who used to tickle Taylor until she'd cry or snort or hiccup, the same man who took me to see Mrs Henderson every weekend so he could surprise Mom with flowers.

I missed him.

"Just let it all out," Tyler murmured into my hair, rubbing circles on my back as I clung onto his shirt for dear life.

When I finally composed myself, I lifted my head off his chest and peered up at him with bloodshot eyes, puffy lips and snot trickling into my mouth.

"I'm sorry, my hormones have been all over the place lately," I whimpered, trying to muster a smile. "I think it's those damn pills I have to take for my headaches."

Tyler rolled his eyes at my pathetic excuse and ran the pad of thumb beneath my eyes.

"You've been holding a lot in lately, munchkin. There's only so much you can take."

"I guess you're right," I sighed and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

"Here," Tyler lifted the hem of his clean black shirt to my nose. "Blow."

"No way," I protested as he raised both eyebrows at me to reinforce his deadpan expression.

"Blow," He repeated, clipping the material over my nose until I followed his command. "That's it, good girl."

"I'm not a baby, jeez."

"You are mine," He winked at me before peeling off his shirt and tossing it to the floor.

Tyler held out his arms for me again, this time scooping me up and plopping me down onto his lap as he rocked me back and forth lightly. The heavy weight that settles after a massive crying session drugged me, slowing down my thought process as I closed my eyes and breathed in the lingering scent of his shower gel. It was refreshing and coaxed me to close my eyes and inhale deeply.

"What happened to your rib brace?" I asked quietly, tracing the skin where he had broken his ribs. A shadow of a bruise remained of what used to be the black and blue skin from the accident.

"I got it taken off the day before you were discharged... So that's three days ago, I think."

"Why so early?"

"It was itchy as fuck," He complained with a smile that I felt when he buried his face into my hair. "I promised Dr Wilson that I wouldn't partake in soccer or any other strenuous activities for the next month."

His teasing tone reminded me of last night and heat filled my cheek when I felt his smirk.

"Strenuous activities?" I squeaked in a breathless croak. "Does that mean we can't uh...you know?"

"If you're that worried about my well being or performance Ash, just say it and I'll let you take charge next time. I don't mind just sitting there and–"

I cut him off my lifting a hand and clamping it over his hand. Tyler laughed and kissed my palm, though that only make me tighten my hold until he licked my palm. With a squeal, I wiped it on his bare chest and ignored his laughter by clamping both hands over my ears.

"You're so cute it kills me," He whispered into my ear after pushing my hands back to my lap but I kept my eyes shut and lips pursed.

Eventually, Tyler gave up conversing with me, giving me time to compose myself from the humiliation and the crying before that. When my face was no longer a human representation of a tomato, I planted a hand on his broken arm and cracked open a heavy eyelid.

"Do you have a sharpie?"

"A sharpie?" Tyler echoed, confused as I studied the blank canvas of his white cast.

"Yeah, all that crying has me feeling artistic," I peeled my head off his chest and tipped my chin at his broken arm.

Tyler shook his head, sporting a small smile when he gently pushed me off his lap to rummage through his desk drawer.

"Here, I only have red and black," He handed them to me and held out his arm.

With a gruff voice, I tried to impersonate a tattoo artist. "So Sir, what design would you like me to ink you with?"

Tyler laughed and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"A heart with a cupid's arrow and 'Mom' written under it in a banner."

"That is so lame," I giggled.

"Fine, write Taylor's name instead of 'Mom'," He chuckled, tucking my hair behind my ears as I held his broken arm and carefully began to tattoo him with sharpies.

After a couple of other designs, I decorated the rest of the blank space with tiny stars and soccer balls before deciding to take my ideas to a whole new level.

"Ash...is that a penis?" Tyler asked, paling suddenly.

"Yup," I grinned, pulling back to admire my handiwork.

"Holy shit," He breathed, popping a finger into his mouth to wet it before scrubbing the hairy ballsack I drew. "Ashley! We're starting college in three weeks. I don't want people to see...to see that."

"You're getting your cast off next week. Suck it up and stop crying."

"Dr Wilson is going to see it though!" He hissed and I dissolved into hysterics.

"Tell her you swing both ways," I winked and he growled. He literally growled at me. "Tyler...What are you doing with that sharpie? Put it down...Tyler! No! Get away from me!"

I screamed when he flipped me over on to the bed, threw a leg over me and straddled my thighs. My limbs flailed everywhere when he hitched my jersey up to expose my bare ass and I thrashed about when the cold felt tip touch my butt cheek. By the time Tyler finished attacking me with the black sharpie, I was beetroot and livid with rage. I shoved him away and scrambled off the bed to the full length mirror before turning around to look over my shoulder at my ass.

"Tyler!" I screeched, gawking as my eyeballs rolled out of their sockets. "BOOTY CALL? You marked me with the phrase 'booty call'..."

I trailed off when I caught glimpse of smaller writing and a barcode.

"Property of Tyler James Miller. Please scan this item and put it in the baggage area." I read aloud before storming over to Tyler and thrusting my ass in his face. "What is the meaning of this asshole?"

"Come closer and I'll show you,' He latched a hand onto my naked thigh and pulled me down on top of me.

Just as I was about to beat the hell out of him, I caught sight of the black sharpie and snatched it before straddling Tyler's shoulders and scribbling all over his face. My frustrated shrieks morphed into hysterical hoots as l doubled over and drew a curly moustache and a huge mole right on the tip of his nose. Then I decided to be fancy by drawing cat whiskers. Unfortunately, I only had a few seconds to decorate his face before he flipped me over and grabbed the red sharpie.

"Please Tyler don't!" I screamed as he brought his hand down in a stabbing motion. "I have to go outside to meet Mona in less than an hour! Not the face! Please!"

"And what about my face?" He snarled, rubbing the ink on his chin to smudge it but it wouldn't budge and I found myself smirking.

"You're hot. You can pull it off!" I tried to compliment him but he wasn't having any of it.

"Hashtag..." He murmured under his breath as he marked my face, dragging the felt tip pen across my forehead. "...S-W-A-G."

My long shriek came to a halt when I pieced the letters together.

"Swag?" I screeched, kicking his legs until he rolled off me, howling with pain. "Did you just freaking write swag on my forehead?"

"You made me black!" He yelled back as we both sprinted to the mirror to check out our casualties.

I'll admit I felt smug when Tyler let out a girlish scream at his reflection. There were scribbles all over his forehead, around his nostrils and the mole on his nose was so large that it looked like a dog's wet nose.

"I quite like the whiskers," I flashed him a complacent smug but it dropped when his gaze flicked up to my forehead.

After I stormed into the bathroom to scrub my forehead, I emerged with skin that was one scratch away from bleeding. The red sharpie on my forehead was still there but it was so faint you'd have to really look to notice. Tyler didn't even bother trying to wipe off the black ink on his skin, instead choosing to glare at me from his bed when I stomped towards his closet to get ready to meet Mona.

"Stop giving me the stink eye," I hissed over my shoulder as he jumped off the bed and stalked over to me.

"Look at my face and tell me why I haven't thrown you into the pool for scribbling all over my face like a kindergarten painting!"

I kept my back to him until he stepped in front of me. My eyes drank in his blackened face and I burst into hysterics, howling like a hyena and I could have sworn Tyler's lips twitched with a smile.

"It's not funny Ash! How am I going to leave the house to play soccer with Blake tomorrow?"

I patted his chest lightly.

"You're not going to. Remember, no strenuous activities," I cocked my head to the side and flashed him a fake, sympathetic smile before shoving him out of my way to raid his clothes.

"You know what? Fine," He huffed, throwing his arms around my neck like a necklace and pressing his chest against my back. "Have it your way. No frickle frackle for you ever again until you apologise."

I blushed deeply when he pressed his lips to my throat, leaving open mouthed kisses until I stiffened. I knew he was waiting for me to come up with a snarky comeback or to shove him away but a ripple of heat surged through my nerve endings and I melted in his arms.

"I could kill you right now," I murmured breathlessly, tilting my head back to give him easier access.

"Ditto," He muttered, grazing his teeth along my skin as I bit back a moan and turned my head to kiss him. "Nuh uh uh."

Tyler shook his head and stepped away from me, leaving me frustrated and tingling in all my sore spots.

"Seriously?"

"We can't make out because that has the potential to lead to frackling."

"I hate that stupid word," I grunted, annoyed that he was punishing me for my artistic skills.

"I quite like it," He laughed lightly. "It has a nice ring to it."

Then, being Tyler, he began to list alternative words, phrases so dirty that I found myself blushing as I pretended to ignore him by holding up random shirts to my chest that I could wrap a belt around and pass off as a dress but they were all too big.

"Crap, I don't have anything to wear," I groaned as I searched through his closet one last time before grabbing the dress I hung up last night.

"Well, it's your lucky day then." Tyler draped an arm around my shoulder and poked my shoulder. "I was saving this surprise for tomorrow but since you have less clothes than a hobo right now, I might as well put you out of your misery."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I bought you that dress," He pointed to the garment in my hand. "I may or may not have gone a little overboard and bought you some new clothes for college."

"You did what?" I echoed, shaking his arm off me as my lips parted in surprise. "Why would you do that?"

"I love you, isn't that enough?"

I narrowed my eyes a fraction.

"Fine," He huffed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "A lot of your summer clothes are just shorts and tank tops but I know you won't wear anything that showcase your burns so I uh...I just picked up a bunch of stuff I thought you might like."

A massive smile broke out onto my face, splitting it in half as it stretched from ear to ear.

"You're not mad or anything are you?" He asked and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, taking my silence for irritation whereas I was trying to restrain myself from attacking him and peppering him with sloppy kisses. "I know you don't like it when I spend a lot of money on you but everybody deserves to be spoiled once in a while and–"

I cut him off by smacking my palms onto his cheeks and forcing his head down so I could kiss him. Surprise lit up his face before I closed my eyes, taking charge until he grabbed my hands and positioned them around his neck. Little shocks of electricity circuited my entire body when Tyler pried my mouth open with the tip of tongue. My fingers disappeared into his hair, tugging just hard enough to make him moan.

When we pulled apart, I felt incredibly lightheaded and Tyler was sporting a dazed grin.

"It's just a few cardigans, dresses and shirts. And red converses because you only have white and black ones. I thought that we could, uh...I don't know, match?" He mumbled sheepishly as I gazed at him with an awestruck, wide grin.

"You're the best Ty! An absolute pain in the ass but definitely the best," I shook my head with disbelief. "You went out of your way to make things that little bit easier for me. I know it doesn't seem like much but you have no idea how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into surprising me all the time."

My full beam smile seemed to fluster Tyler and I could have sworn he blushed when I reached up to cup his cheek.

"Thank you," I breathed in a soft whisper as he returned my smile. "I don't know how you do it everyday, but you really do give me a reason to smile."

The faint pink tinge that spotted his cheeks brightened, and that flush lit up his face like a thousand watt light bulb when he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me to chest. I melted into his embrace, fighting back the urge to squeeze him tightly and cry again, only this time from happiness.

Pure, perpetual happiness.

**

"What should I do if my dress flies up?"

"It won't."

"Not even granny knickers can hide my diseased, sharpie-ridden butt!"

"It won't fly up," Tyler reassured me for the final time before opening the front door to boot me out of his house.

I tugged the scarily short, floral dress further down my thighs and shot him a panicked look which made him roll his eyes. For a clueless guy, I'll admit he had a pretty good knack on female clothes. Or maybe it was because Taylor used to drag him to the mall with her every weekend to buy new clothes. Not because he was of any help but because he could drive, and she ditched all her driving lessons to make out with her boyfriend of the time.

Either way, I was grateful. I ran a hand over lace sleeves before smoothing my curls one last time.

Tyler stooped low to planted a lingering kiss on my mouth. "I'll call you later."

With a quick nod, I trudged down the cobbled pathway when I heard the door click shut behind me. My new converses matched the red trim to my dress and a giddy smile tugged my lips up. I sighed happily, pausing momentarily to stare at the cloudless sky to count my lucky stars, only to realise that it was daytime.

After a few moments of soaking up the sun, I briskly walked away from the Miller mansion and pulled my cellphone out of my bra. Speed dialling Mona's number, I held the phone to my ear and rolled my eyes when she picked up on the second ring.

"Where the heck are you Ash? I've been waiting for twenty minutes!" She screeched and I held the phone from my ear as she grunted profanities at me.

"Relax, I just left Tyler's house. I won't be more than ten minutes."

Instantly she stopped yelling and the line was silent.

"Tyler's house?"

I heard the smile in her words and mirrored it, letting out a nervous laugh.

"Yeah," I giggled, jogging to make it across a zebra crossing.

"Did you spend the night with him?" She asked in a singsong voice and I laughed as she teased me. "Like spend, spend the night?"

"Maybe," I sang back, picking up the pace when she exhaled sharply.

"Shut up! Shut up!" She squealed. "You're lying!"

Mona giggled and I kept my mouth shut. A minute of silence passed until she inhaled sharply.

"Tell me you're lying Ash. Tell me l'm being silly and annoying and immature like you always do. Tell me I'm never going win and get fifty bucks off Blake."

I nervously licked my lips and let my silence do the talking.

"Oh my god! Holy mother of Jesus," Mona screeched and I hissed at her to tone it down. "You and Tyler? Finally! Damn, I have waited centuries for this. I have battled through an apocalypse for this. I have fought kingdoms and butchered kings for this. I have tackled sandstorms and cold, never-ending winters for this!"

"Please stop talking," I hissed into my cellphone, embarrassed by the way she was freaking out.

"But we have got so much to talk about!"

With a chain of curses, I grumbled a hasty goodbye and hung up on her as she continued to squeal.

Shops began to crop up on either side of me and soon the trickle of people who passed me became a flood of shoppers, walking slowly and chattering loudly. Groups of teenagers made a scene outside the video game store and I edged away from them when one guy wolf whistled at my short dress. The blistering sun made my burns itch but I sucked it up and stopped muttering complaints under my breath, distracting myself by walking faster until I reached the heart of downtown.

By the time I reached Starbucks, my forehead was slick with sweat and my floral dress clung to my back. For the first time since my haircut, I was grateful that I didn't have long hair anymore or it would have been plastered to my back. Pushing the door open, the cool AC made my curls billow back and my eyes immediately spotted a redhead sipping coffee at a two-seated table. I quickly ordered a vanilla latte and trudged towards her, flustered by her scrutiny when she gave me a once over.

"Holy shit," She breathed, gawking at me as she sized up my outfit and drank in my new haircut. "I barely recognised you just then. Where is all your hair?"

"Do you like it or is it too short?" I asked nervously as I sat down opposite her, running a hand through my soft curls.

"Like? Girl, you're making my lady parts tingle, that's how hot you look right now. Jesus, are you trying to give me a heart attack here? Look at you, your dress is so hot too. Where did you get it?"

"I-I don't know. Tyler bought it for me," I replied, sipping my latte to distract myself from Mona's slack jaw.

"I can't believe it," She tugged a loose ringlet of her curled hair, tugging the ends under they uncoiled and straightened out to her shoulder. "My hair is longer than yours. Whoa, I never thought I'd live to see this day."

I breathed a little laugh and quickly gave her a quick summary of the past two days. A dazed grin tugged her red lips up when I told her how I snuck out at midnight to meet Tyler and by the time I told her about the surprise date he set up, her face was on the verge of splitting in half.

"He's the most adorable asshole in the world when it comes to you," Mona gushed.

"You've got to stop calling him that all the time," I grunted into my latte as she arched an eyebrow at me.

"Well that asshole threw me into his pool upside down. I'll be damned if he ever gets called by his real name ever again."

"You deserved it," I shrugged my shoulders when she glowered at me. "What? It's true."

"Whatever, I'm over it." Suddenly her brown eyes brightened with curiosity. "So... Aren't you going to spill the beans?"

"What beans? I don't see any beans, do you?"

Her impatient grin soured into a glower but I continued to enjoy my drink, rolling the scalding hot liquid inside my mouth before swallowing each sip. I wanted to stretch out my last moments of being the innocent Virgin Mary in her manic brown eyes.

"Tell me everything. Now."

"Okay umm," I stared slowly, gazing out of the window and focusing on a couple that disappeared into Hollister. "Well, it kind of just happened. I mean I knew it was going to happen soon because of all the times we almost went too far but..."

I trailed off, embarrassed to be having this conversation. It could be worse, I guess. At least it was with Mona and not my mom, or worse, Taylor. I imagined my best friend gagging, clamping her hands over her ears and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"But?" Mona's eyes sparkled, hungry for something more than my vague attempt to describe my night.

"Like I said. It just happened."

Mona leaned forward and her glossy, red lips curled into a frown.

"Ashley, I want details!" She whined and I blushed.

She arched a perfectly shaded, brown eyebrow and I leaned back, cupping my drink between two hands and studying the steam that wavered from the liquid's surface.

"Well, uh, what exactly do you want to know? Because I'm not reciting the whole birds and bees story to you. You should know what goes where or you've been doing it wrong these past two years," I met her eyes, shuddering at the ravishing demon inside them.

Oh god. She was going to force it all out of me. This was a bad, bad, bad idea. With a sly grin, she inched forward on her elbows and gave me a crooked smirk.

"Oh shut up." Her smirk didn't falter like I'd hoped, instead it widened. "Did he do that...thing?"

"What thing?"

"You know," Mona lowered her voice into a hushed whisper. She edged forward, so close that her forehead nearly skimmed mine, and glanced over her shoulder. "That thing Michelle always bragged about?"

Her words washed over me, muffled as if my head was submerged in water and then they sank in. My face paled, suddenly drained of every ounce of colour in an attempt to hold onto my impassive mask. She repeated her question, watching me squirm with a sick grin that a serial killer would sport before killing a victim.

"Well, did he?"

Silence fell at our table, and I turned red.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A/N: Well that was crazy fun to write :'D 

Please check out two books by 101oBsEsSioNs. 'The Things I Leave Unsaid' and 'The Color of Love' are pretty cool and that's literally all I'm going to be reading before I start writing tomorrow's chapter. If you want to get a better look at Blake's character and his life at home then read the poem 'A Father's Love' which is the third part in the first book I mentioned.

One last thing I feel like yelling at the top of my lungs: DELEENNNNNNNAAAAAAAA (for better and for worse <3)

Tomorrow's chapter is going to be one of the important ones so pay close attention.

Chapter 70: Dearest Taylor, It's Time

Vote and comment away, and follow me, only if you feel like stalking me. You guys should message if you want to fangirl about this book haha.

- Kaddy]