Forgetting The Past

"You hungry?" Zack asked Ashley while reaching over and pulling his pack towards him,

"Starving," Ashley groaned as she watched the teen dig through his pack and quickly toss her a granola bar, "You thought of everything, huh?"

Zack shrugged as he quickly tore open his own snack and took a big bite, "Don't know if I thought of everything. If I did, I would have brought a raft that way we could just sail home in all this rain," He joked causing Ashley to giggle,

"Hey, hand me that bag we found," Ashley said pointing over to the decades-old backpack Zack had found in one of the old destroyed cabins. As Zack passed it over to the girl she let out a smile, "There has to be something cool in this,"

"Does there have to be? A bunch of kids being put in the woods back in the seventies doesn't mean they brought the coolest stuff," Zack reminded the cheerleader while taking another bite of his granola bar,

"I know, but maybe there could be something -- Whoa! Looks like some of these kids were trying to party!" Ashley exclaimed while yanking out a thin bottle from the old pack. The label was faded and mostly torn off but the brown liquid inside and shape of the bottle told them both enough, whiskey. "You know I hear it only gets better with age," Ashley added on as she looked at Zack slightly expectantly,

Zack shifted a bit uncomfortably, "Uh, yeah, I heard that too but...I think I'm good," Zack said with a short half exhale,

"You don't drink? Ever?" Ashley asked while slowly undoing the cap on the bottle,

Zack easily shook his head, "It's not for me, I've seen what it does to people, and honestly...I just prefer to stay away from it, keep my head clear," Zack explained causing Ashley to look down at the bottle, stirring the swill slowly, "Ash, you okay?"

"How drunk do you think Brandon got that night?" Ashley mumbled back, "Stupid asshole!" She suddenly screamed out throwing the bottle against the wall, shattering it. "I fucking hate him!"

"Ashley, take it easy!" Zack quickly said as the girl buried her face into her hands, "Look that night wasn't your fault, and you can't let yourself stay there. I did that for so long with Lisa and...and it just wasn't worth it, nothing can change the things that have happened,"

Ashley sniffed a few quick times and wiped her eyes, "I know, I know, I just...you mentioned the ****, I started thinking how messed up Brandon must have gotten and then I had this moment...this second of thinking it wasn't his fault, just the drink." Ashley pressed her lips together tightly and shook her head, "But it's bullshit, I hate that I wanted to give him a pass right there, "

"That's because you're a good person, Ash, you want to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's a good trait, but it is okay to let yourself be angry and to know that some people need to pay the price for their choices," Zack reassured her, placing a comforting hand on her back,

Ashley looked over to Zack, her eyes directly on his, "Who did you end up falling for that made you and Lisa break up?"

"Uh," Zack stammered out, quickly pulling his hand away from the girl,

Ashley turned to face Zack fully, "It's okay, tell me, I won't judge you,"

Zack let out a grimace and shut his eyes, "It was...Victoria," He said with a near wince,

"Vicky? You have a thing for Vicky?" Ashley asked in surprise, repeating it in disbelief

"I do, or I did, I don't know...things have gotten real different since the other day," Zack explained with a nervous rub on the back of his neck. Ashley opened her mouth to say something but she hesitated, "Go on, say what you need to, I know Vicky is your friend so it's probably not what you wanted to hear,"

"We kissed, and I felt something when we did," Ashley said, her eyes nearly looking scared as she spoke, "All this time I've spent with you, talked with you, I've loved it. But I don't want to feel this way if...if you're not interested in me. I can't take losing to someone else again...I just can't,"

Zack reached out and took Ashley's hand, "Ash, I swear to you, I've loved these last few days with you too. And honestly, I haven't thought about Victoria once while I was with you, I don't know why, but since we've been spending time together, no one else has mattered to me," Zack wholeheartedly explained, "And our kiss this morning, I know what you mean...it felt good...it felt right. So all I can say to you is, I'm forgetting the past, and I'm focusing on the here and now,"

Ashley let out a bursting exhale and leaped forward at Zack, pushing him down flat onto the floor, their lips interlocking, bodies pressing against one another. Their tongues danced around each other's, and they let out short panting breaths between breaks. "I believe you," Ashley whispered out, "I don't care how fast this seems to be going, I want you, Zack." Zack let out a shaky breath as he stared back at Ashley with lust-filled eyes.