Emergency Girl Talk

As Zack stayed outside to talk to Chloe and Brandon a bit longer, Ashley was almost too eager to get herself inside, far away from her ex. The cheerleader nearly sailed through the den and towards the downstairs door but paused for half a moment as she heard Victoria gasp and call out to her. As much as Ashley did want to stop for her friend, she couldn't right now, she needed to clean up and destress, being back in the cabin with Brandon was grating enough before he decided to hug her.

Ignoring Victoria, Ashley lightly jogged down the stairs and entered her room, snatching the first clean set of clothes she could before heading into the bathroom. Stripping down, Ashley ran the water just long enough for it to get steamy and jumped in, sighing as the warm water washed over her body. Along with the grunge of hours and hours of hiking in the sun washing off her body, Ashley took special care to clean up Zack's mess he left in her. She couldn't help but slightly smile as she did, however, finding comfort in the memories of last night.

Suddenly, Ashley heard a soft knock on the door and it cracked open, "It's just me, Ashley, sorry," Victoria softly said as she entered the room, Ashley relaxed, the frosted glass of the shower blocked any sight on her body and besides, it wasn't the first time Victoria had been near her while showering. Being best friends for life had made them get pretty close and understanding when it was time for emergency girl talk.

"Hey Vicky," Ashley softly sighed back, "Sorry for rushing down here, I just needed to clean up,"

"It's okay, but are you okay?" Victoria asked as she leaned herself against the sink counter, "You and Zack were missing all night in the storm, I was worried,"

"We were fine, we found a place to hold up for the night, it was fun," Ashley replied with a smile as she began to wash her hair, "Honestly, it was probably the most fun I've had in months...or ever,"

"Ever?" Victoria repeated with a small smile, "I think I know what that means,"

Ashley slowly rolled her eyes, and slightly cracked the sliding glass door, peeking her head out to look Victoria in the eye, "Yes, we had sex, what of it?" She asked before quickly shutting the door and returning to her wash,

"Nothing, I'm not judging you," Victoria easily replied, "I think it's great that you've already bounced back from Brandon, after the way he treated and continues to treat you. I almost got into a fight with him myself, acting like he has any say in who or what you do now," The blonde bitterly added on,

"That's because Brandon is always the good guy, and can't accept that this time he's not. So, instead, he needs to find someone to blame and that's obviously gonna be Zack," Ashley deduced, her tone much calmer and not very filled with resentment, "It's just who he is,"

"I don't know, I still think he needs to stop being such an ass, apologize, and just shut the hell up," Victoria muttered back before shaking her head,

"I wish, I swear I just wanted to snap his fucking arms off," Ashley almost growled out,

"Oh no, what did he do now?" Victoria nearly winced back,

"I get back with Zack, and the first thing he does is come down and hug us both and tell us how worried he was. Like, um, hello? Have you forgotten that we are no longer a thing and I hate your guts? I don't need you worried about me and I damn sure don't want you hugging me when you see me next! Ugh!" Ashley spat out, though deep down she knew that she was being slightly irrational over the idea,

Victoria slowly nodded and then slightly shrugged, "I don't know, it sucks, I guess he's not ever you and thinks that somehow things will just slide back before everything happened and it'll all be happy and normal again,"

"Noooooo thank you," Ashley swiftly replied, "I learned everything I needed to know about him and saw sides of him I wish I knew sooner. Calling me Zack's pet...denying responsibility...the gall to be angry and jealous at me...fuck that," Ashley grumbled out before letting the anger out with a final grunt, "I am much happier with simple, approachable, non-douchebag jock, Zack Bishop thank you very fucking much,"

"As you should be! And Brandon doesn't get to ruin any of that knowledge either, you just keep doing what you're doing and forget about him!" Victoria agreed with a proud tone, "Enough about Brandon, so you and Zack, that's great!"

"Thank you, glad someone else sees it that way too," Ashley happily replied with a full smile, "He is so, so fucking sweet Vicky, it kills me I didn't find him this way sooner. Now, I'm terrified of scaring the poor guy off by taking things too fast,"

"I doubt he'd be scared off, he's stuck to you like glue since you got here, he's enjoying this just as much as you are," Victoria easily denied,

"Speaking of being glued together...Heather's cousin?" Ashley hummed back,

Victoria lowered her head and let out a nervous giggle as she blushed, "Oh Kurt? You noticed us, huh? Didn't think you had the eye to see that with everything going on,"

"I didn't see much, but I saw your eyes on him," Ashley laughed back,

"Well, you're right on that, I do have eyes for him...I kissed him last night Ash," Victoria admitted, "Like really kissed him too. He has this sweet, tender side that I've never seen in a guy like him before,"

Ashley pursed her lips and lightly shook her head, surprised just how fast Victoria was moving, it was more than uncommon for the girl, "Heather always said he was an asshole whenever she talked about him," Ashley reminded her friend,

"Heather doesn't have the best ability to read people," Victoria argued back, "What she sees as him being an asshole I see as a guy who tries to joke around and be friendly with his cousin who resents him,"

"Uh-huh," Ashley lightly dismissed, "All I'm saying is just be careful, I don't want you to end up hurt,"

Victoria lightly tossed her hand, "I appreciate that Ashley, I do, but I'm fine. I'm not being swayed into anything, I'm calling the shots, I'm the one who has taken every step with him," The blonde said with pride, "I can handle myself,"

"As long as you're happy," Ashley reluctantly replied, backing off the subject, "Hey, can I ask you something really personal, I need absolute honesty? Like, best friend, truth no matter how hard it cuts, honesty?"

"Of course," Victoria instantly agreed,

"Do you like Zack? Or, did you ever have a little crush on him or something?" Ashley asked taking her friend by surprise,

"Zack? Um, well, I always knew he was kind and friendly, sorta like Gavin is, but...no, I never looked at him that way before, why?" Victoria replied in confusion,

"It's nothing big, we were just talking last night and he had admitted he had a little crush on you last year is all," Ashley replied, deciding not to completely reveal Zack's secrets, "I was just curious if it was mutual was all,"

"Not in the slightest, I find him very sweet, but not exactly my type," Victoria simply replied,

"Yeah, your type is hunky blonde guys with lots of money, right?" Ashley teased back,

"Yeah well...yours is...I don't know, Zack Bishop!" Victoria shot back,

"Good one!" Ashley laughed as Victoria pushed herself off the counter and began to head back towards the door,

"Glad you're okay, honestly, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't walk back in here today," Victoria wholeheartedly stated,

"Thank you," Ashley softly replied, "I'll come to talk more soon? I think right now I just want to finish my shower and then...just spend some time with Zack away from everyone else,"

"Okay, you do that, I'll do my best to keep Brandon out of your hair too," Victoria said with a small giggle before slipping out of the bathroom leaving Ashley to finish her shower in peace, both girls feeling a bit better now that they got some things off their chests.