Always a Friend

Chapter 45

As soon as Ashton had paid and we got our coffees, we hurried out of Sweet Escape because our little encounter with Olivia had made us late. 

"Thanks for the coffee." I lifted the straw to my lips. 

"No problem." The corner of his mouth curled up into a crooked smile as he focused on the morning traffic. "I don't think we're going to be late." He peeked over at me out of the corner of his eye. 

"I'm not worried." I took a sip of my latte. 

"You are, too. You're always worried about being late to class." He laughed, turning onto Wilshire Blvd. 

"I do not." I grabbed my book bag on the floorboard between my feet. 

"Then why did you just grab your book bag? As if you're going to jump out of the car the minute I park." He laughed, pulling into the school parking lot. He found a parking spot in the middle of the lot, a little closer to the school. "You can jump out now and take off, flying toward the school." He smirked, opening his driver's side door. 

I opened my door, grabbed my book bag and coffee, and got out, trying to refrain from making a mad dash to the front of the school. He glanced at me over the roof of his car, smirking. I knew he was waiting for me to take off running across the lot, but I wasn't going to prove him right. I pulled my book bag straps up onto my left shoulder and started following Ashton to the front of the school. I couldn't help but notice he was moving a little faster than his usual slow-paced walk, smiling at girls flirting with them. The more we walked, the more I noticed he wasn't really flirting with anyone. He didn't ignore them, but he didn't stop and talk to them like I've seen almost every day since he started driving at the beginning of last year. At the risk of being late, I paused, letting the strides between us lengthen as I stared at the back of his head, wondering what was happening. Each step I took toward the school felt like I was moving five steps backward. Ashton opened the door for us while talking to a couple of his buddies who were walking up the steps. I slipped inside as he closed the door, hanging back with his friends. I turned around, watching him stand right in front of the door, talking to a couple of friends. One of the friends was  Caleb, Ava's boyfriend, that annoyed the living shit out of me on a daily basis. Mainly because I didn't like how he treated her a lot of the time. I gazed at Ashton for another minute, which turned out to be a minute too long. 

"You do know, I'm going to get him back." Claudia's grating voice echoed in my ears, wanting me to rip them off. I rolled my eyes and turned around, preparing for her to degrade me or something. 

"What are you babbling about?" I grasped the handles of my book bag. I shifted my weight to my left leg. Claudia's ponytail bounced as she approached me, stopping a foot away. Claudia wasn't surrounded by her circle of mean girls who hung onto her every word. "Where's your coven?" I smarted off. 

"Funny." She wrinkled up her nose. "This little thing that's going on between you and Ashton won't last. He'll realize that he made a mistake and come crawling back like he always does." 

"I wouldn't count on it," Ashton said, glaring behind her. I tucked my lips in, trying to keep from laughing in her face, even though she fully deserved it. Ashton moved around to the side, standing beside Claudia and me. "Why are you harassing, Gemma?" He grasped his backpack strap, tilting his head to the side, waiting for her to respond. 

"Huh..." Her eyes flashed between Ashton and me. "I wasn't. I was simply telling her that whatever this is going on between the two of you won't last. Let's face it; you always come running back to me." 

"Not this time. I meant what I said about us being over. Come on, Gemma, let's go before we're late for class." Ashton motioned me to walk with him down the hall, leaving Claudia by the entrance. "Sorry, she harassed you." Ashton tilted his head close to mine as we kept walking down the hall. "I'll see you in class." Ashton nudged me with his elbow and turned down the hall his locker was on.