Silence

{25} Secretive

{Aspen's POV}

"Aspen"

I know that voice.

But it cant be.

I turn around only to widen my suddenly teary eyes.

"A-Ash?"

His gives me a soft smile and I find myself frozen. A single tear drops from my eye as I look at my friend who I haven't seen in months. How is he here? Why is he here? Where has he been?

"Are you just going to stare or..?" He trails off with a smirk and I snap out of my daze. I rush over to him and stop just in front of him. I lift my hand to his face gently just to check to see if he's real. He looks at me softly and my hand trails to his hair which I suddenly pull aggressively making his head whip forward and he yelps.

"The f*ck?!"

"Where have you been?!" I demand, still holding his hair. 

"Sh*t I'm sorry Aspen AH let go" He slaps my hand away and I release my hold. 

"That's really how you greet me? The aggression was not necessary." He rubs his scalp with a frown.

"Where have you been Ash? I needed you, you didn't answer mine or Edith's calls and now you show up in California? How did you even get here?" I rush out angrily.

"I know I have some explaining to do but not here." He looks around the hallway and grabs my hand. When he leads me away from the door to class, my heart starts beating fast, knowing I'll get in trouble for skipping but I decide to focus on that later. 

Ash leads us to an empty classroom and closes the door behind us. When he lets go of my hand, we're left facing each other. It feels surreal to see him after all this time. Granted, a few months isn't too long but with everything that's happened, it feels like a lifetime. I cant seem to get past the slight anger I feel towards him. 

"I missed you Aspen." He takes a step forward and we're about a few feet apart.

"Doesn't seem like it." I reply, standing still as we stare at each other. I'm trying my best to keep a straight face but seeing him now is making me realize how much I've actually missed this boy.

"I'm so sorry, you deserve so many apologies but I'm going to start with not being there for you. I know what's happened, I listened to yours and Edith's messages-" I cut him off.

"So you knew all along and chose not to reach out?! We're supposed to be best friends Ash! Nature squad or whatever! And you chose not to be there for your friend when she's going through something life changing which she might need your support for?!" 

"Aspen please" He pleads, "I know, I know I messed up but there were things I had to deal with before I could reach out. You have to believe I wouldn't leave you in the dark if it weren't for a good reason."

"And what was that reason?" I question and he shifts uncomfortably. 

"Listen, there are so many things I wish I could tell you right now but really, all I can tell you is I'm working through something with an unusual team and.. damn that sounds weird, okay how do I explain this?" He trails off, thinking to himself. "I really should have thought this through before I came."