A Short Confrontation

Minutes passed as Ashley wept into Zack's shoulder, the poor girl unable to gain any control of her emotions. Zack, on the other hand, was completely out of his element. Having gone from scarcely talking to Ashley to trying to be emotional support had him lost. He slowed his patting on Ashley's back and slowly let his hug end saying, “Ash it’s going to be okay, if Brandon is really that big of an asshole then you’re better without him.”

To Zack's surprise, Ashley's cries slowed into sniffles and she finally pulled away from him, wiping her wet eyes a few quick times,, “Yeah right, let’s be fucking real here Zack. He’s the best I’m ever gonna do.” She said with a scoff,

Zack looked at her in confusion at the sudden self-loathing, “Ash what are you talking about? How can you even think that way?” He asked in disbelief,

"Are you joking?" Ashley retorted, her voice breaking, "He's the captain of the football team, he's amazing in so many fucking ways and these last seven months with him were the best ever in my life. Now it's over, and what the hell am I gonna do now? Who'll want me?" Ashley denied lowering her head into her hands,

"Ashley, c'mon, you can't think that way. We're all still really young, you have all the time in the world to meet another good guy. And it won't be hard, just look at you," Zack quickly replied, blushing as Ashley looked up at him expectantly,

"Look at what?" Ashley softly asked back,

"U-Uh," Zack gulped back, "Y-You, you know? You're...um, blonde...fit...nice, uh, cute? You know, a real catch!" The teen stammered back, his voice almost cracking while his eyes held just a touch of fear,

“A catch?” She replied dismissively as she narrowed her eyes at him,

“Yeah, well not like the way you’re thinking unless you think it's good.” Zack quickly stumbled out. Ashley continued to hold a glare on him until Zack let out a deep sigh, “Okay, yeah, I know it's not like fucking eighties anymore, a catch sounds like something your grandma would tell you. What I am very dumbly trying to say is, you're a good person, with a great personality and an amazing look. Any guy would be lucky to be with you," Ashley's lip started to curl up a bit and she looked away from Zack. The teen tilted his head in confusion as he watched Ashley bring a hand to her mouth a tried her best to muffle her giggles, "Ash?"

“I'm- I'm sorry," Ashley apologized while squeezing her eyes shut, forcing her laughs away, "It's just the way you said all that, you looked so scared and nervous then comparing yourself to my grandma," Ashley explained before another laugh came bursting out of her,

Zack let out a little embarrassed chuckle and got up from the bed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Well at least I got you to stop crying."

Ashley took a deep breath calming herself, “I’m sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I promise. I really appreciate everything you just said to me, I just...I got caught off guard by the way you did it. Please don't be upset,”

Zack shook his head and raised a hand calmly, "No worries, I'm not, guess I just need to work on that in the future," He smirked before heading back to his bag, grabbing the last of his items and placing them on top of the dresser,

Ashley got to her feet and with an easy smile on her face moved behind Zack and pushed up, planting a short gentle kiss on his cheek, “Don't, it was very cute.” The blonde sweetly whispered, "And thank you, I needed to get that all out, and you being here and talking to me really helped me,"

Zack could feel his cheeks growing flush and quickly diverted his gaze away from Ashley, attempting to hide it, "D-Don't, uh, Don't mention it, Ash," Zack stammered back as the blonde girl headed towards the bedroom door,

"I'll be back in a minute, I'm gonna go see if Heather has any tea or something," Ashley said to the teen who silently nodded back without looking. Ashley couldn't help but smile at the sight before leaving, granting Zack a few minutes to calm his nerves.

As Ashley walked up the stairs she continued to feel her mood improving, her heart not aching as hard. Despite what she had learned about Brandon, Zack had been able to help her put it out of her mind, at least for a few minutes. As she reached the top of the stairs she headed down the hallway and entered the living room, catching sight of Chloe sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the television while Gavin sat across from her invested in a game on his phone “Wow.” She sarcastically mused, “Up to some real fun stuff huh?”

“Yeah, this game is sweet, so glad they got reception up here,” Gavin replied oblivious to her sarcasm,

Ashley looked over to Chloe with a raised brow of disbelief causing her to giggle, “I’m probably starting my vacation tomorrow. Long car rides take a lot out of me.” Chloe explained with a little stretch, "How are you feeling by the way? I noticed you didn't seem to be-"

"Just an upset stomach," Ashley instantly lied, not wanting everyone in the cabin to know her personal business, "I just need to make myself some tea and relax, I'll probably just end up doing what you're doing now," She lightly joked to the redhead while rushing towards the kitchen to avoid any more questions.

As Ashley moved into the kitchen she let out a long calming breath and shook her head, refusing to let any of her emotions overtake her once more. "Tea...Just need some tea," She said softly to herself, focusing on the task while starting to look through the cabinets,

After a few minutes, she heard the sound of a few footsteps behind her followed by Brandon's voice, "Ash, what did I do?" The jock meekly asked,

Ashley froze in place and after a moment she took a deep breath, “Think hard, I’m sure you can figure it out.” She muttered back with an icy tone,

“Ashley, please just tell me.” Brandon begged as he approached her, “Whatever I did, I am so, so, sorry.” He said as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder,

Ashley shook Brandon's hand off immediately and stepped past him before turning, finally looking him in the eye, “Maybe you should call Sharon and ask, that should refresh your memory you piece of shit!” Ashley harshly spat out, causing Brandon's eyes to grow wide. Ashley spun back around, storming out of the kitchen.

The blonde girl made it three steps back into the living room and immediately was met with Heather, “Oh god, Ash, what’s going on now?” Heather teasingly asked, seeing Ashley's pouting mouth,

Ashley clenched her fists and eyed Heather, “Just-Just leave me the hell alone!”

Heather's eyes instantly went wide in shock while Ashley shoved her way past her, heading right for the stairs back down to her room, "Ashley, hey, are you alright?" Heather gently asked in concern though the cheerleader ignored her. Heather looked back towards the kitchen seeing Brandon walking towards her “What the hell is going on?” She asked in a hushed tone,

“Hey, you remember Sharon's party last winter break? You know, the one Ash was too sick to go to?" Brandon asked back,

"Yeah? What about it?" Heather asked with perplexity,

"I remember going there too and getting really fucking drunk, after that, I just remember waking up the next morning. Ashley just told me to ask Sharon why I was so upset, that was the last time I remembered hanging out with her...do you remember anything about that night with me?"

Heather brought a hand up and rested it on her forehead as she thought, "Oh Jesus that was a while ago...uh, yeah, you and the rest of the football team were all taking shots and shit...I was joking around with Sharon and Madison for a bit and then Sharon left...saying she was gonna hook up for fun," Heather recalled with a slightly amused smile before blinking a few quick times and her smile fading away, "Last time I saw you...you were heading towards the bedrooms," Heather softly said, "Oh god, Brandon, you didn't,"

Brandon let out an anguished exhale and slowly rubbed his face, "I honestly don't fucking remember but I know Ash, if she's saying what I think she is, then she has proof. God..."

Heather shook her head and crossed her arms, "Well, what are you going to do?" She asked the jock with a sullen tone,

"I...I don't fucking know," He lowly replied while moving to the dining table, collapsing down in a seat.