It was four in the morning. Ash was in the kitchen doing justice to a tub of ice cream when Caleb walked in in jammy pants and flip flops, his hair a tousled mess on his head.

He opened his mouth wide and yawned like he was trying to consume the kitchen.

Wait was that a drool stain? Ew!

Ash stared in marvel at the one the girls called the hottest guy in Green Valley High. She couldn't blame them. None of them had ever seen him like this. Well none but Emily.

Sure he was toned but who cared?

All the girls at school apparently.

"No wonder you're always grumpy in the morning." Caleb observed as he walked over to the fridge and took out a carton of milk.

"I only just woke up," she said, "couldn't go back to sleep."

"Well you got the wrong dairy product for that," Caleb said.

He grabbed two tall glasses and dropped them on the counter then proceeded to fill both.

"What's on your mind?"

"Why is water wet?" she asked, looking off into thin air.

She looked back at him to find that a what-the-fuck expression had taken up residence on his facial features.

"You should see your face right now." She laughed.

He rolled his eyes and slid a glass in front of her then took the tub of ice cream and made himself comfortable.

"Hey that's mine," she grumbled.

"It was," he replied, "Now it's mine."

She gave him the evil glare but he was the only person who was immune to it.

"Now, talk to me," he said, licking on the spoon.

She took a long sip from the glass and pouted, her expression made even more humorous by the milk stache she gained.

"Remember the twins' end of summer party?"

"How could I not? It was lit. Nowhere near one of ours but you know what I mean."

"Yeah yeah, stay focused. I blacked out sometime in the middle of the night."

"Oh I know," Caleb said.

He scraped at the bottom of the container for a few seconds then grew frustrated and stuck his finger in.

"I have a feeling there is something I need to remember."

Caleb looked up and raised his eyebrow in contemplation.

"I agree."

"Why? What do you know?"

"Well when you got back to the car, you were happier than I've seen you in a long time. Even before Mom was sick."

He dropped the spoon and stuck his face in.

"You know there's an entire freezer full of that right?" He shrugged without taking out his face. "And of course I was happy. I was high as fuck."

She waited a second and when he didn't reply, she picked up the spoon and drummed on the container hard.

It fell off his head revealing a slightly red faced Caleb with ice cream on his nose.

"That was unnecessarily violent." He sighed.

"We're focusing on me here, glutton."

"You're one to talk. That was a four litre tub, I barely got three scoops."

She raised an impatient eyebrow.

"Fine, fine." He pushed it aside and leaned forward. "Yes you were high but I've seen you high before and you didn't smile like you were seeing the stars for the first time."

The stars... Why did that ring a bell?

"Stop overreacting. I have a feeling whatever it was will find its way back to you."

While he walked over to the trash bin, Ash stalked over to the freezer and took out another tub.

Ooh Rocky Road.

She hid it under her shirt, which was several sizes bigger than her because it had been Caleb's until she decided she liked it, and tiptoed out of the kitchen.

"I see you, Ash."

"No you don't."

"Wait. What's that you got there?"

"Nothing. Hasta la vista!" she yelled as she ran for the stairs.

*****

"Look at her. She's so...hot."

"Uh...Cait?"

"I mean damn. Look at those legs..."

"Cait?"

"Damn. What lotion does she use? I bet it's cocoa butter."

"Caitlin?"

"And she's Spanish. Ooh la la!"

"Caitlin!"

"What?"

"You're staring."

"Oh...right."

She returned her attention to their table, and to the mashed potatoes she had been playing with. Hailey looked back down at her sketchpad and continued shading furiously.

"Remind me, which of us is crushing again?"

"Oh right. You are."

"Mhm." Hailey nodded.

"In my defense, I was trying to see what you see and I am totally seeing it."

"Didn't you already see it?" Hailey asked, rolling her eyes without taking her eyes off her work.

"Sure I did but that was through my eyes. I want to see her through yours."

"And what's the difference?"

"Well I'm not head over heels now, am I?" Cait said.

"Fair enough," Hailey said.

She looked up from her drawing at Ash as Cait continued her explanation in time to see Ash lean away from Maddie who took her arm of Ash's shoulder at the same time.

Her anger was clear as she said a few more words, then she got up and walked out.

Seconds later, Maddie followed.

Cait ended her explanation and turned to continue observing a second too late as Ash was already out the door.

"Wait where did she go?"

"Dunno," Hailey muttered looking at her sketch one more time before she closed the book and shoved it in her bag.

*****

If Ash was being honest, Maddie had had it coming for a long time now. From the increased overprotective tendencies and the possessiveness, Ash was fed up.

It had only lasted so long because Maddie was occasionally the right amount of sensitive and sweet when she wasn't going overboard. That and her finger game was on point. That girl could make you sing like a minstrel. Not that Ash didn't give as good as she got or even better if she wasn't being modest.

Unfortunately, none of those things were enough to keep Ash a second longer.

She burst into the girl's bathroom and stood in front of the mirror fuming.

She was contemplating putting her fist through the glass when she heard a sound from one of the stalls.

The door opened and a girl came out.

Ash stared blankly at her for a second.

"Get out," she basically ordered.

The girl was out of the bathroom faster than Ash could say trouble in paradise.

She bumped into Maddie on her way out.

"Okay, I get that I upset you..."

"Are you trying to make it worse?"

"What did I do? I just asked a question."

"I've had enough already. With the excess tenderness and the possessiveness, what is with that?"

"I thought you might need it?"

"What gave you that idea? I lost my mother, Maddie, not my personality. Stop trying to control me with your 'fish isn't good for you, you could choke on bones and die', 'don't eat too much sugar, you could get diabetes and then die', 'are you feeling alright? You look pale. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office. Or maybe I could drive you to the hospital after school for a check up, you know so you don't die'." She took on a high pitched tone and waved her hands every which way as she unsuccessfully tried to mimic Maddie-fortunately it was the attempt that counted. "I'm not five! I'm hurt, I am grieving and I need time to heal without your overbearing presence trying to tell me how to grieve or how long.

"You cannot decide what is bad for me and you sure as hell can't decide who."

Maddie frowned.

"So that's what this is about."

"That is seriously what you got from all this?"

"I'm not blind. I've seen you the way she looks at you. She even came to soccer practice. I should have known."

"Known what?"

"She likes you, that much has been obvious for a while now. But I didn't know if it was reciprocated or not until now. What? Did you shag her while you were claiming to be too depressed to see me?"

Ash reacted without thinking. She was past rational thoughts.

She slapped Maddie clean across the face then walked around her, making her way out.

For a second she wished she had gone for a punch but she figured Maddie still needed her teeth.

She stopped at the door and turned,

"I called you here so we could talk about fixing us." She took a deep breath and a shudder ran through her. "As of now there is no longer an us."

"Ash wait, I didn't mean..."

But Ash was long gone, a loud door slam punctuating her departure.

*****

Ash hadn't told Caleb where she was going, all she said when she returned to the cafeteria, walking straight up to his table was 'Keys, now.' and as soon as she got them, she was out.

In hindsight it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but Caleb understood Ash enough to know when she did not want to be interrogated.

She returned late for last period leaving him wondering why she had even bothered to return. Her hair looked windswept and her eyes were red, not enough for the rest of the class to know but more than enough for Caleb to know she had been crying or something close.

It was Chemistry class with Miss Tate. Ash walked in and stared at the woman like she was daring her to tick her off.

The woman did.

"And why are you late?"

"I got stuck in traffic." Ash shrugged.

"You will have to give a better excuse or you will be sent to the principal's office."

"Here's one," Ash said, "Bite me."

"Principal's-"

"Yes yes, I know."

"Now!"

And she was gone.

It was almost like that was what she wanted.

Caleb tried to stick to his seat but he only lasted a few more seconds before me shot up from his seat.

"Miss Tate, may I be excused?" he asked impatiently, knowing that her response did not really matter.

She gave him an understanding look and nodded.

Ash was almost at the principal's office when he caught up to her.

"What are you doing? Get back in there before you get detention."

"I don't care. You're not okay. Talk to me."

He grabbed her shoulders, the proximity forcing him to look down at her.

Her glare softened.

"We'll talk at home. Go back, Caleb."

"Fine." he sighed.

She waited till he was gone before she went to the door and knocked on it, then she rested her head against it as she waited for the familiar voice of Mr. Grundy.

This was going to be fun. The man loved her.

*****

By the time Ash was out of the principal's office and on her way to serve her detention sentence, school was over and Mr. Grundy was booking a full body massage. She was sure she had noticed him sending a message to his pastor. She caught the words 'confessions', 'murder' and 'student' on the same line. It looked promising.

She had however managed to score solitary confinement with Amplebum grading papers while sitting next to her. Oh joy!

It was a shocker that Amplebum trusted someone like her with the future of an entire grade. The power felt so corrupting she almost laughed aloud, but she reined it in reminding herself that she was getting some time to herself and the beautiful Amplebum and she was not about to risk it.

Unfortunately, fate had decided that the simple life of failing students and admiring nature's finest curves was not to be for her and it conveyed that message to Ash by sending the only company she would trade with Amplebum's into the classroom.

"Good afternoon Miss Applebaum." she said.

Then she recognized Ash and her face melted in a myriad of emotions.

"Hailey, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

It was Amplebum that answered.

"Oh she's here for the same purpose as you, except she's also here to keep an eye on you."

"I am?" the girl asked.

She was so oblivious it was cute.

"You know that hurts me, Olivia," Ash said with a pained expression, "Right here." She placed a hand on her chest.

"That is Miss Applebaum to you."

Ash put her pen to her chin in thought.

"Is it though?"

Amplebum ignored her and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair.

"I will leave you two to it," she said, "I will be back in an hour or so, if you finish early, you know what to do."

"Bye, Miss Applebaum," Hailey said.

Ash smiled and winked at the older lady.

There was utter silence in the teacher's absence for a while. Then Ash decided to break the ice.

"So what exactly did a girl like you do to get detention?"

Hailey looked up, seemingly surprised and nervous that Ash was talking to her.

"Oh I'm not in detention. I just like to help Miss Applebaum when I'm free."

Ash blinked twice.

"I see your lips moving but you're not making any sense," she said.

"Well both my parents are busy people. They're mostly not around till six and my brother had lacrosse. There's only so much Call of Duty I can take before they come home." Hailey said with a laugh.

Then as if she had said something wrong, she looked away and continued ticking away with her red pen.

The silence resumed for a while before Hailey unexpectedly broke the silence.

"Ar-Are you okay?" she asked.

Ash looked up from the giant 'F' she had been decorating.

"If you don't mind me asking that is."

Ash took a few seconds to actually ponder. It was obvious the girl wanted the truth. A truth that Ash didn't know just yet.

"Not really," she said at last, "I called it quits with my girlfriend and well annoying as she was, it still stings like a bitch."

Hailey nodded as she took in the news.

"I saw you guys fight in the cafeteria. I didn't know it was that bad. I'm sorry."

"I'm not. Not really. I need to heal and frankly I have no chance at doing that anytime soon with her."

"I understand. Well if you want to talk...not that I'm assuming you'll want to...but if you do..."

"Thank you, Hailey," Ash said.

Hailey nodded and hesitantly returned to work.

She was tempted to ask the question that had been bugging her all this while but she didn't want to risk ruining the mood.

Ash stared at her a while longer. She wasn't intentionally looking for what had made Maddie jealous, but she found it.

Behind the nerd glasses, Hailey was cute. She was beautiful too. When she smiled it reached her eyes. She smelled lovely too. Raspberries, was it?

Ash had a sudden urge to lean closer and breathe her in but she controlled herself and went back to her task at hand, almost missing the red tint that began to spread across Hailey's cheek.

She smiled to herself as she moved her own pen across the paper and only realized later that the had given the person an A+.

Lucky bastard.