To my surprise Ash was excited to come over and spend the day with me when I asked him to. It's been so long I needed the company from my best friend once again. I was also tempted to ask him if he hates me. And as much as Gavin begged me to let him stay and hang out with Ash and I, I knew Ash wouldn't be comfortable hanging out with him.

Gavin is also spending the day with his friends, I only hope Georgia would find some new friends too instead of pestering Gavin all the time. He mentioned to me that she's tried contacting him multiple times, I will lose it if she tries to lay a finger on him.

"Hey." Ash pulls me into a hug.

"Hey, long time no see?" I laugh before dragging him up to my room. I close the door behind me once we enter. "I've picked out multiple movies to watch what should we start with?"

Ash scratches his head and looks down. "Actually I can't stay very long."

I frown. "You can't? Why not?"

"I promised a few guys from the team that I'd hang out with them tonight." He tells me.

I take a seat on my bed, maybe he really does hate me. "This isn't about Gavin right? You love watching movies and you hate going out."

"Yeah well some people change." He mumbles but I hear him perfectly I can't help but know he's referring to me. "And no this isn't about Gavin."

"Well you've suddenly disappeared and now you're hanging out with the football team?" I say.

"That reminds me, a guy on the team told me they caught you last night with Gavin at Shadow Lake, cmon Alex I thought you knew better than to go skinny dipping in some lake with a guy you barely even know?"

"I wasn't skinny dipping." I defend crossing my arms over my chest. "I thought you'd be happy for me?"

"Happy for you? I'm scared for you and I'm not gonna stand here and watch you ruin your life over some guy, he doesn't care about you all he cares about is getting into your pants and once he does he'll leave and you'll be the one left hurting." Ash groans and starts paces around my room. "I know how this ends I've seen it happen."

"You don't know him and I mean the real him." I say holding back my tears. Ash's honesty hurt.

"Really your still on his side? Where's my best friend because she would have left the second Gavin told everyone about babysitting you, he humiliated you."

"No that girl would listen to what everyone else had to say without having a voice of her own she was locked inside this house like a prisoner and she was miserable. I'm done acting like I can't live with cancer because I can and I will." I let out. "Gavin makes me happy and he likes me for who I am and if you can't see that then you should leave."

Ash gives me a disappointed look and although it does hurt me to say it, he needed to know I was never happy before I met Gavin who tested me in ways I never imagined.

I used to stand with a cloud over my head and now I feel like the storm has passed, I've gone soft because my heart has suddenly grown. It's a warm feeling inside my chest that is finding new ways to actually.... care for someone.

Ash doesn't even say a single word, I control my mouth from saying "fuck you" because he practically told me he doesn't like the person I've become which is a big "fuck you" to me. He walks out of my room and I hear his car a few minutes later starting outside.

I crawl into a ball on my bed and start crying.

I've just lost my best friend.

I want to call Peyton but she's probably with Beckham and I don't want Gavin knowing about this. So I wipe the tears from my eyes and go across the hall into my moms bedroom.

She's sitting on the floor folding some clothes as she watches a rerun of Friends on her TV. "I do not remember wearing this dress." My eyes widen as she holds up the red dress I wore and then got alcohol over. I sit beside her and laugh.

"You should keep it." She hands it to me and I take it in my hands. "Reds not really my color."

I smile at her. "Thanks."

"Did Ash leave? I thought I just heard him get here." My mom tells me with a questioning expression.

"Yeah actually he never wants to speak to me again because he thinks Gavin is a horrible person who will ruin me." I look down at the red dress in my lap and feel a tear run down my cheek.

"Oh sweetheart." My mom whispers, she scoots herself closer and wraps her arms around me. "Don't forget you once thought Gavin was a horrible person as well, everyone has there own opinions and Ash is just worried that's all."

"I know." I say and pull away. "Is it possible to love someone you hardly know?"

I shake my head refusing to consume any alcohol tonight. I don't drink, well most days I didn't.

"There are a few parties tonight." Carver mentions suggestively waving his hands around. "We should go."

Alex was busy tonight which left me with nothing to do. So I grab my keys and Carver and I make are way to a party closest to town. Beckham also texted me he was on his way over. Once we arrive I'm tempted to leave Carver here and head back to my place but I continue to walk toward the party.

I'm greeted by familiar faces and people I don't even know. I don't talk to them or even give them a second glance as I make my way through the crowd. I can feel the girls trying to dance on me, they even pull on my shirt to get my attention.

I brush them off finally making it into the kitchen. I tell myself not to drink because I don't, my mind is telling me something else.

"You made it?" Beckham taps my shoulder, he already has a cup in his hands and his arm is wrapped around Peyton, Alex's friend. I heard they were messing around I just never thought it would turn out to be this serious? I don't look at her too much because she's glaring at me like I'm hiding something.

"Carver and I just got here." I say and Carver nods his head in reply.

"Here comes Barbie." Beckham warns me and I turn my head to see Georgia walking this way. She's wearing a dress that barely covers her ass and too much makeup I could mistake her for a clown. I can tell by the way she looks tonight she's just trying too hard to get attention.

"Gavin, I'm surprised to see you here." She laughs and wraps her arm around mine I don't want to look at Peyton because I know what she's thinking. I grab Georgia's arm and push it away, she starts to laugh. "Go get me a drink will you?"

"You have hands don't you?" I narrow my eyes at her and she steps back. "Get your own damn drink."

Beckham and Carver hold back their laughs Georgia glares at them and then looks at Peyton who's also smiling.

"Maybe I'll just find Alex to do it, she should be here shouldn't she since you babysit her?" Georgia laughs and I clench my fists when I hear her talk like that about Alex, but then I realize I shouldn't be acting this way, not for her.

"Fuck off Georgia." I tell her.

"Let's go somewhere a little more private and I will." She grabs onto my shirt and I push her away again. "I love it when you get so feisty."

"Bitch he's not into you go find someone else there are plenty of desperate people like you to go around." Peyton snaps and Georgia stays quiet this time until she opens her mouth again.

"That's not what he told me last night."

Peyton looks up me and I turn back into the crowd to lose her. I didn't tell Georgia anything, I wouldn't. Peyton wouldn't believe me so it's better to walk away then have her tell me I'm no good for Alex.

I knew I would never be good enough for her but I could try to be.

"Where do you think your going?"

I stop in my place and look down at Peyton.

Shit.

"What? Move out of my way." I tell her I shove past her and she continues to follow me. The music gets louder when we get to the living room, second hand smoke is filling up my lungs.

"Was it true, what Georgia said?"

I roll my eyes and turn around to face her again. "No, she's a fucking liar." I shout over the music.

"Then why are you running away from me?"

"Because I don't want to hear you bitch about it." I see Beckham and Carver coming over, I don't want Beckham to see me yell at her and I didn't want to fight tonight.

"I'm choosing to believe you but if you hurt her I won't hesitate to cut your dick off." She glares at me with her beady eyes and points her finger at me. "Got it?"

I let out a loose laugh. "Got it." I whisper and walk away as soon as Beckham and Carver arrive. I wasn't trying to avoid them but I wasn't comfortable with Peyton around, I was still new to this relationship thing I was afraid I'd say something or mess up.

Now I think I need a drink to ease my mind.

I put the cup to my lips and a familiar taste washes over my tongue. I wish the familiar taste was Alex, instead it's cold and bitter nothing compared to her warm and sweet taste. I stand in the middle of a room leaning against a wall I ignore the people that pass by and attempt to start a conversation with me.

I notice Zach when I look up from my cup he's with a couple guys from the football team. Then I see him, Ash, my mind trails back to Alex. I thought she was spending the day with that loser?

I push myself off of the wall and walk over. Zach finally sees me and I look at the bruise that's still circled around his eye.

I chuckle under my breath.

"Gavin we need to play that game of strip poker with the ladies again." Matty from the football teams offense nudges me and looks back at the guys who start nodding their heads, well accept for Ash and Zach. "Or you and Zach can have a rematch!" The guys cheer and Zach shakes his head stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"This party is kinda lame." I say taking another drink.

"Where's the girl from the lake? You didn't bring her to share?" Matty laughs and before I can hold back I pin him against a wall and his eyes widen. My hand is wrapped around his throat I feel someone grab me and push me back.

"He was joking." Zach tells me. I brush him off and see that the team is looking at me like they enjoy this kinda stuff. People enjoy a good fight, well not tonight. I just couldn't believe Zach was the one to push me off of him after everything? He's always been the one to save me from killing somebody.

"Let's go get another drink." Zach replies, he's not asking me so I just follow behind him.

"You know that guy wasn't kidding." I tell Zach.

Zach grabs a bottle from a table and pours the liquid into a red cup. "Yeah I know, your a shit friend but I'm not gonna keep letting you beat the shit out of people over Alex, she doesn't need to feel bad for your decisions. What's up with that anyway?"

I grab the cup from his hands and glare at him. "It's none of your business."

"Boys, boys stop fighting over me." I hear Georgia's voice once again, this beer wasn't doing much for me. Zach walks away and I'm left with her. "You've been acting so weird, do you wanna talk about it?"

"Do you even know how to talk to anyone without throwing yourself at them?" I say.

"Don't act like you never enjoyed it." Georgia giggles at me. "We used to be perfect."