Future [Andley]

Four

"Ramsay. Out. You're not part of this detention." The principal sighed in annoyance at Josh, who stood at Andy's desk on the side of the room. Josh rolled his eyes and looked at Andy.

"Text me when you're out. Okay?" He mumbled. Andy nodded, offering his friend a small smile. "And if Ashley tries anything, just ignore him."
"I'll be fine, Josh." Andy laughed quietly.
Josh nodded and shot Ashley a warning glare before leaving, shoving his hands in his pockets.

The principal shook his head and glanced over at the two boys sitting on opposite sides of the room.
"Part of the intent in assigning this shared detention is to hopefully force the two of you to sort out your differences." He explained. "That being said, I'll be across the hall in my office. If there's any commotion I will extend this detention."
Andy grimaced and nodded,  looking down at the top of he desk he sat at. There were various scratches left by pencils and pens, a few carved-in doodles on the edges. Some of which were Andy's from previous years.

The door shut as the principal left them alone. Slowly, Andy looked over at Ashley. He was curious as to how Ashley would act during this time. Would he be different? Or would he still be he same stuck-up asshole?
"I know you don't really hate me." Andy said quietly. Ashley lifted his head and looked in his direction with an expression of disbelief.

"I'm sorry?" he scoffed.

Andy looked back down at the desk. He had only said that to test the waters. Maybe Ashley was only putting up a tough front to hide his emotional side...
"Those things you said on Friday. About me being girly and a thing... I know you didn't mean any of it." Andy offered Ashley a friendly and forgiving smile. "I forgive you."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, unfolding his arms and turning in the chair to sit on it side-ways. "You forgive me." He echoed back slowly. "I'd totally accept that apology if I was sorry."
Andy's smile melted away gradually. "But I thought..."
"What? That I was only an asshole around my friends for reputations sake?" Ashley rolled his eyes. "This is real life, Andy. Not some cheesy fairy-tale where the douche-bag falls in love with the freakazoid." He snorted.
Andy put his hands in his lap. "Did you just admit you were a douche-bag, then?"
"Maybe I did. Point of the matter is, I don't regret that shit I said. It's all true, and you know it too."

Andy bit his lip. He said nothing, shifting his gaze outside. Don't listen to him. Don't listen to him. Pretend you're a butterfly- or maybe a flower. Flowers are pretty. They're fragile, like me, right? They bloom and they wither, and with the right nurturing and care, they can have restored beauty. Maybe I'm a flower. Yeah, I like that. Maybe a rose? I have my thorns. That was part of the beauty of roses, though, right?

"You're disgusting, Biersack." Ashley sneered. "I can't believe you actually thought I liked you."
Andy closed his eyes, pushing in his ear buds, and continued to think to himself, desperately trying to block out the words being tossed at him from the boy across the room.

"I know you can hear me." Ashley rolled his eyes and got up, moving across the room. He pulled up the chair next to Andy and sat close to his desk, leaning forward. Andy cringed and put his face in his arms, ignoring him as best he could. He felt fingers touching his ear and suddenly the sensation of one of the earbuds being tugged out of his ear. "Why're you ignoring me, huh? I thought you liked it when I got close. That's what you told your friend Josh at lunch on Friday, isn't it?"
Andy stiffened, balling his fists.
"You didn't know I heard that, did you." Ashley mused. "Well, I did. I was sitting behind you. It's okay. I don't normally sit there, so it figures you didn't notice..."
Andy, still, remained silent.

"Wanna know what else I heard?"
Andy shook his head quickly.
"I heard... that you like me. Have for a while. What did you say... since 9th grade? Is that it? And we're seniors this year. So... Almost 4 full years." Ashley rested an elbow on Andy's desk. "Too bad I'm not a gay whore like you."
Andy lifted his head about an inch up from the desk, hair covering his face from view. "I- I'm not a whore." He whispered.
"Oh?" Ashley laughed and leaned in closer. "You like the smell of my cologne a little too much. Your breath catches in your throat every time I'm near you. You can't help but day dream sometimes... Fantasize..." He moved even closer. "I heard that too."
Andy scooted away, remained silent.

Ashley leaned back in the chair and stood, pushing it back to the desk it belonged to. "I'm gonna ditch. This is boring." He laughed and snatched up his bag. "See ya around."

Andy listened to the door open and opened his eyes to watch him go. Ashley didn't give him a second glance, but Andy could see the smirk on his face as he shut the door again.
As soon as it shut, leaving Andy alone to think and sit in the silence of the classroom, the warm, burning tears gradually began to flow from his eyes. The hot tears and that stung his cheeks and eyes were not only tears of sadness.

They were tears of humiliation. They were tears of regret. Andy hated himself for being unable to let go of his painful feelings for Ashley; his feelings for the boy that went out of his way to make Andy's day a living Hell. Why was Andy so... stupid?

He sat there for the remainder of the hour-long detention, by himself, and left when the principal had dismissed him.
"Andy." A hand laid on his shoulder, stopping him from leaving. Andy turned to look at the principal, their eyes meeting. In that split second, Andy saw a flash of pictures, all seeming to relate to the vision he had received from Ashley the week prior. Except now Andy knew that whatever was going to happen was going to happen in detention; that meant this week. The principal was running into the room with a look of panic, shouting something inaudible to Andy. The unsettling part was Andy couldn't see himself. At all. It wasn't not normal, but it felt off in this scenario.

"Uh- Yeah?" Andy blinked to snap himself out of it.
"Are you okay?" His voice was low and concerned. Andy's eyes probably looked a bit red from the crying he had done not long ago.
Andy nodded and shrugged his hand off. "Yeah. Fine. Allergies, y'know." Andy laughed lightly. "I need to go.. Bye, sir." He excused himself, leaving quickly. As soon as he was outside, Andy pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Josh. As he made his way to the sidewalk from the building entrance, and listened to the dialing tone, he saw the last person he ever wanted to see at a time like this perched casually in a park bench across the street.
Andy met the burning gaze of the hard brown eyes, causing Andy's knees to go weak. He felt nauseous, he felt like he was going to faint, he felt so dizzy. He wanted to crawl into a hole, and hide himself from sight. He was embarrassed by his obvious emotional state.
"Andy! How was it? Do I need to kick some ass tomorrow?" Josh answered the phone finally.
Andy didn't answer, eyes glued onto Ashley's practically. His expression was almost unreadable, even as Andy turned away.
"Um. Hey, it, uh... No. No, you don't. Everything went fine." Andy responded quickly.
There was silence on the other end of the line before a deep sigh.
"For Christ's sake, man... What did Ashley do..."
Andy closed his eyes and brought a hand up to his forehead, pushing his hair back as he exhaled slowly. "Nothing." He said, voice cracking.
"Bullshit."
"Josh, please, stop. Stop. It's fine. It's nothing." Andy sighed and glanced over to where Ashley was still sitting; still staring. There was something different in his eyes. Pity? Sympathy? Guilt?
Andy looked away again, leaving as he listened to Josh's endless worry.

And as the tall, slim boy left the corner, Ashley continued to watch.
"See you tomorrow, kid..." The words came quietly from the lips that belonged to the boy on the bench, and they came with a soft tenderness that he had never spoken with before.