She tells her everything

"I'm just so stupid..." Ashley sighed, as she finally felt the need to open her heart to someone. She and Vicky had been close for a long time now, and if there was anyone at all she could talk to it had to be her. And then there was the thing with Kurt again, and if her confession could make her friend keep away from him it was all the much better.

"Why...?" The other girl asked her worriedly, while noticing the troubled look on her face. "Ashley? What's happened?"

"I'm... not sure really." The blonde just shook her head while trying to figure where to start. "I was at the lake yesterday... And I saw Brandon and Heather together..."

"They weren't doing anything strange." Vicky tried to reassure her, as she could see where this was going, and could speak for at least what she'd seen with her own eyes. "They were just playing around when I got there..."

"I hope you're right..." Ashley nodded solemnly, even if she felt that would only make her own sins so much worse. Not only would she have cheated on her own boyfriend, but also doing it in a fit of jealousy that wasn't even justified.

"It's something else though..." She reluctantly continued, while looking more depressed than her friend had ever seen her before. "I... let someone take advantage of me. I even let him hold me and kiss me...!"

"What, Gavin?!" Victoria stared at her in a moment of shock, as she was suddenly reminded of the strange scene last evening in the room that Gavin was sharing with Heather. While the idea seemed quite unthinkable, it was really the more natural explanation of their intimate hugging than Ashley simply having stumbled right into him.

"What...? No, you idiot!" Ashley fired back at her in surprise, while wondering where the heck she'd got some crazy idea like that. But then she remembered that embarrassing incident as well, and couldn't quite stifle the laughter that bubbled up from her chest. And coming to think of it, that moment with Gavin may well have been the only good that'd happened to her since they arrived here.

"No, Gavin's a nice guy!" She repeated, with a smile still lingering on her lips, though it slowly faded as she was reminded of what they were actually talking about. "Someone else..."

"So, Kurt then...?" Vicky didn't really have to guess at it, and she felt pretty stupid already for even suggesting someone else. With Heather's cousin being the culprit it was a whole lot easier for her to imagine the crime, but somehow she couldn't quite bring herself to feel sorry for Ashley about it.

Instead she even found herself gloating for a second over the irony that Ashley - who had always been warning her for guys like that -, had eventually been the first one of them to fall for it herself. But then she could feel her emotions swaying to anger instead, as she realized that she hadn't even tried warning her this time around. Instead of telling her about everything last evening, Ashley had simply let her sleep in the same room as a possible would-be ****...

"You could've warned me!" She exclaimed, and suddenly stood up to leave, while her friend turned to stare at her in surprise. "Or at least you could do as you teach, instead of just forcing your opinions on everyone else!"

"No, wait...!" The other girl stumbled to her feet beside her, and managed to grab hold of her arm to keep her from leaving. There was an unmistakable terror in her voice and eyes now, which Victoria interpreted as yet another of her overprotective fits. "Vicky, please...? Just tell me he didn't do anything to you...!"

"And what if...?" The otherwise so gentle young woman fired back at her, with a rebellious glare in her green eyes. "What would you know about it anyways? Perhaps I'd even like it...?"

"No, Vicky! Please...!" Ashley hugged her arm even harder, while trying desperately to find a way to apologize. "I'm sorry, I really am!"

"Yeah, right...!" Vicky just wanted to snort at her, but felt her anger subsiding again as she saw how her friend was sincerely worried for her. It still didn't stop her from pulling away though, but at least she had the mind to soothe the other girl's distress for now. "No, I didn't let him touch me, Ash..."

She didn't get to finish the sentence however, as she also wanted to say something bitchy like 'Which was obviously better than you could manage!', but was suddenly cut short by Ashley throwing her arms around her neck and hugging her hard.

It wasn't the suddenness of the embrace that caught her most off guard however, but rather the pleasant warmth that passed between their tightly pressed bodies. It also lasted for longer than she was quite comfortable with, and when Ashley finally let go she could see in her eyes and blushing cheeks that she'd realized as well.

"S-sorry..." The girl whispered hoarsely, while still blushing red, and then dashed off in a hurry - leaving Vicky alone and confused by the cabin wall. She wasn't really sure what had occurred between them, but was glad for at least not saying those words to her friend.

And while Victoria was eventually turning around and heading back to the cabin, Ashley kept running the other way until she found a place in the bushes where she could just be on her own.

What was actually wrong with her these days? Was it all just the tension from not knowing for sure about Brandon and Heather? Or was she truly going crazy, when just the warmth and smell of her best friend's skin could get her all fired up - perhaps even more so than she'd been with Kurt by the look-out point...?

All she knew for sure though, was that she'd just barely managed to stop herself before starting to nibble or kiss at Victoria's slender neck...