savior

nineteen

DAY SEVENTEEN; FOURTEEN DAYS TO GO

"We're dating!" Anna screamed into the phone. It was five-thirty in the morning. She obviously didn't understand the concept of 'normal-people-like-sleeping-as-much-as-they-can-before-they-have-to-go-to-prison.' Also known as school. She decided to call me up to explain to me that Calum had finally popped the question.

I was happy for her. Even if she had hurt so many guys, that was the past; she was done with that now. I was proud of her.

"We were up all night talking about us. Let me tell you, it was one of the best nights I've ever stayed up through. Normally, I'd be out like a light," she said. I wish I could be out like a light right now. "But he was just so sweet to me. At first he told me everything he liked about me. I've never blushed so much. Then he asked me to be his girlfriend!"

Anna let out another squeal. If she hadn't, I probably would've been dead asleep. I thought about hanging up on her, but I changed my mind. As long as I was up, I could be getting ready for school so I wasn't late again.

The phone was set to speaker. Anna kept blabbering on as I brushed my hair. As she explained to me how they were going to go on their first date on Saturday, I pulled a t-shirt over my head. It was started to get colder out, so I covered myself with a nice sweater, and a pair of jeans.

"So, have you asked your man on that double date yet?" Anna asked as I slipped on one of my boots.

To be honest, I totally forgot about the whole double date thing in the first place. I had spent so much time just trying to be his friend that I didn't even think about it. Not that he would've agreed to it back then when we were just acquaintances. But now that we were becoming better friends . . . he probably still wouldn't accept it. He didn't seem like the guy that would go on dates like that.

"Ashton is not my man. And to answer your question: no, I haven't," I answered, tying my the laces of my boots.

"You better do it soon, Re. I'm serious. I'll ask him for you," she said. Everything Anna was involved with included boys. Hopefully she and Calum have a wonderful relationship. The more time she spends with him, the less time she has to talk to me about the male species. But then again, the more time she spends with him, the more she'll have to tell me. I never won.

I let out a sigh and told her I'd see her at school. We hung up.

By the time I finished getting ready, it was almost time to go. Kaitlynn still wasn't home. Mom never got out of bed anymore. The house was quiet. I tied my hair back in a ponytail, checked to make sure it looked good, and walked out the door.

Ashton was standing outside of it. A smile widened on his face when he saw me. "Hey. Ready to go?"

Together we walked down the stairs, and out into the cool October air. Sometimes I thought to myself that it was unfair; I had to endure this freezing air longer than anyone else did. Stupid Death.

I never expected Ashton to wait for me so we could walk to school together. He didn't even give me a warning. He just showed up and almost scared me half to death when I stepped out the door. Normally he'd tell me that he'd see me in school, because he was busy going to see his mom. Why wasn't he visiting her this morning?

The two of us walked up and down the hilly streets, side by side. "I woke up way to early to be walking this much," I complained, letting my shoulders droop. I was so getting Anna for this. Ashton stopped and bent down. "What are you doing?"

"Jump on," he said, looking at me with a grin. We had hardly been friends that long and we were already at the piggy-back stage? Not to sound mean, but he looked so scrawny and weak to be able to carry my weight.

I walked over to him and flicked on the head. "I'm not getting on your back, Ashton," I said, laughing. With hold on his arm, I pulled him up and in the direction to our school. He shrugged his shoulders and claimed he was just being nice.

Minutes later, we arrived at prison, and walked together all the way to our first class. Michael was sprawled out on one of the benches, sleeping away with his mouth open. His face was bunched up together. He looked like a tiny sleepy puppy.

Ashton opened his notebook and tore out a peice of paper. He crumpled it into a ball. Then he crept closer to Michael and almost stuffed it in his mouth before I called him out. "Ashton!" I shouted. 

He brought a finger to his lips, letting out a small chuckle. "Watch this," he whispered. The ball of paper was shoved into Michael's mouth, causing him to jump up, startled. He pulled the paper ball out of his mouth and threw it at Ashton.

"Fuck you, man!" Michael said loudly. He sat back down on the bench, covering his red face with his hands. "Can you leave me alone, please? I've got too much on my mind. I need some sleep."

I took a seat next to him. If I was going to learn more about Michael, too, I had to interact with him. So I asked him, "What's the matter?" Ashton took a seat on the other side.

"Nothing. It's just some girl I've been talking to. We stayed up all night talking on the phone," he answered.

"Alright, man!" Ashton said, holding up a hand for Michael to give him a high five. Instead, Michael just turned to him with a scowl on his face.

Michael must have had a lot going on in his head at the moment. Usually, he'd be up for high-fiving Ashton. They were best friends. Every time I've seen them together, he's never turned down a high five or fist bump. But now that he wasn't accepting it, it made me wonder what he was thinking.

"All she does is kiss me and walk away. Not even in public. Each time I tell her how I feel, she makes up some certain excuse as to why we can't be together. It's stupid, the whole thing," he said. He stood up, walked into our class, and left Ashton and I together alone on the bench.

The bell rang. We both headed off to our first class, Ashton never leaving my side.