The Constellation

Chapter Three: Foiled

Present Day

Ash was relieved to find out she wasn't in any immediate pain, and that she had fallen in the small part underneath the rock that was not touched by the Colorado's dangerous currents. "Did you push me?" she accused Michael, who was laying on his stomach and lowering his hand down to help her back up.

"No."

She glared up at him, and used the small surfaces of rock that weren't covered in algae to reach Michael's extended hand, and pulled herself back up. "So much for my knight in shining armour."

"I prefer to be your sexy rebel in leather."

"Right, how could I forget, Maverick." Ash pulled a twig from her hair and brushed her clothes, which proved to be futile and only got her hands more muddy. "Admit it though, even he has more manners than you do."

"Just because I don't pay for our dates does not mean I don't have manners." He argued, sitting down on the rock and stretching out as the sun slowly rose over them.

"It kinda does." Ash plopped down on her stomach, to allow her soaked back and behind to dry faster.

Michael was silent for a few moments, in which time she was expecting that he would come up with another snarky remark, but instead all he did was give a little "hm", and resumed his silence.

They had a few small conversations for the next hour, but spent most of the time in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company and their calming surroundings. Ash had almost drifted off to sleep, when her phone started to go off. Michael jumped a little, having dozed off himself.

"You shouldn't be getting signal here." he said, curious to know who was calling.

She shrugged, swiping across her cracked screen to answer the call. "Different cell service probably." When she brought her phone up to her ear, she caught only half of what her mother had been saying. "Hello?"

"Ash, where are you?" her mother snapped. "I've been trying to get ahold of you, but Emmalyn said you had left with Michael."

Ash rubbed her eyes and groaned slightly, trying to wake up from her drowsy state. "Yeah? I did, what do you need?"

"I need you to get yourself over to your appointment which is in two hours."

Ash hitched her breath. "What appointment?" Beside her, Michael sat up, respectfully listening to any key details.

On the other side, Cheri let out a stern breath. "Your appointment with Eric. The same one we have every year."

"Right." Her face deadpanned and her voice dulled to a monotone. "I'll be there. Bye." Her phone almost slipped out of her hands again as she pulled it down from her ear and ended the call.

"Need a ride?" Michael jumped onto his feet then offered his hand for her.

She pulled herself back onto her feet, and immediately leaned into Michael. "Do I have to go?"

He gave a low chuckle and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Yes, if it were anything else I'd happily help you avoid it."

"What's your deal with doctor appointments then?"

His eyes faded for a second, but when he caught her noticing how his attention faded, he leaned down and kissed her head. "Because, doctors are expensive, and," he leaned back to meet her eyes again. "I can't have my girlfriend dying on me."

"Ha-ha." she monotoned. "Can I use your motorcycle?"

"I can drive you."

"Not if you don't have your keys." Ash stepped away from him, holding up his keys with a triumphant smirk.

Michael was flabbergasted as the light from the sun danced off of his hostage keys. "How?"

"You keep them in your back pocket. It's pretty easy." Ash winked at him. "Now, I get to drive, you get to ride. Deal?" he didn't even have to time answer before Ash jumped off of the boulder. "Perfect."

Ash skipped over the rocks that created their path back up to the road, and dragged his motorcycle onto the side. The whole way, Michael kept giving her last minute advice and telling her about all the things that could go wrong, in a feeble attempt to make her change her mind. Ash however stayed true to her word and strapped on her helmet, then dramatically swung her leg over to the other side and started to engine.

"Hop on Maverick."

Michael seemed very reluctant to get on his prized creation, but in order to not get left behind, he strapped his helmet on and tightly gripped her waist. "Be careful." He warned.

"Just enjoy it!"

And with that, they started to speed down the two lane road.

When they pulled up to the hospital, Ash kicked the stand down and when she pulled off her helmet, her hair flipped into Michael's face. He spit onto the ground and shoved her forward. "Hey! Watch the hair...Charlie." he smirked. "You look great." She wasn't the least bit surprised when she saw her hair was an even bigger mess than before. Michael fixed a few strands, quickly realizing that she was going to have to fix a lot more than that. "Let me help you."

"No, no, Michael don't!" It was too late though. Michael already had his hands completely entrapped in the tangles of her hair. "Ow!"

"Sorry! Maybe if I just-"

"No-ow ow, that hurts! Stop that!"

"Well, well." Michael and Ash froze and painfully turned to see Cheri standing in front of them, with her purse slung over her shoulder and her arms crossed over her chest, admiring the damage they had caused. "Didn't you two get yourself into a twist?"

"Mom, stop admiring us, and please get his hands out of my hair!"

"What if I just yank my hand out?" Michael suggested and tensed his arms to do so, but Ash started to scream and pull away from him.

"Michael, sweetheart stop. Ash, stop screaming." Cheri calmly told both of them, and expertly untangled their fingers in less then a minute. "Don't worry Michael, give it a few more months, and you'll be untying knots better then a hairbrush could."

"Thank you Miss-sorry-Cheri." Michael started to peel off the strands of hair that he had pulled out of Ash's head, and tossed them aside so that the breeze would carry them away.

"You're welcome." Cheri nodded. "Now Ash, kiss him good-bye, we've got to go."

She rolled her eyes, but kissed Michael anyways. "Thanks for the ride. I'll see you Monday." She then climbed off of the motorcycle and followed her mother, who led them back to her car.

"Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do." Cheri scowled Ash the moment the car doors were closed.

"Mom, I get it." Ash tried to stop the upcoming lecture, but failed, and simply slouched low in her seat and tried to tune it out.

"I know you don't like going to your appointments, but we have to make sure your cancer isn't active."

"But it's always the same answer! 'We'll check next year for any change, you're good to go'." she snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation, then slapping her thigh as she brought them back down.

"That's a good thing."

"It's annoying."

Cheri sighed deeply and gripped her steering wheel. "Ashleigh, it's just one day a year. Please, just cooperate with us, because the one year we don't go, is the one year it will start again."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Yeah right." she muttered and closed her eyes while leaning her head against the window. "I wish Dad were here. He wouldn't make me go."

Cheri's hands almost turned a pale ghost white, but she didn't say anything in response, besides, "I miss him too."

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