"You guys are adorable," I said,pulling Cole and Elena into a hug."I'm so happy for you two."

They both hugged me back and after thanking me they pulled away.

"Anyway, I gotta go find Trent. I have to ask him all about that big date," I shot Cole a wink.

His eyes widened."I completely forgot about that! He hasn't talked to you since?"

I shook my head no.

"Okay,El and I will wait in the cafeteria."

"Okay. See you guys in a bit," I said,dashing off to the library where I knew Trent would be.

Sure enough,he was sitting on a table at the very back,reading a gigantic book.

"Trenty!" I exclaimed loudly, earning myself a lot of glares.

"Sorry," I muttered sheepishly before sitting down next to Trent who was shaking his head at me with an amused look.

"Let's go outside,I need to talk to you," I whispered.

" I have a test. Can I see you after school?" he whispered back.

I shot him a look and pinched the skin on his hand. " No can do."

Needless to say, I convinced him to come with me.

"You are one hell of a violent person," he glared at me, rubbing his hand as we stepped outside

"Blah,blah,blah. Tell me everything now."

"What do you wanna know?"

"Trent,I swear to God,I am going to punch you so hard-"

"Okay,fine,fine! I'm telling you."

I smirked."You wanna go to the cafeteria and tell everyone together or tell me first?"

"Won't it be kind of...awkward with Aaron there? I mean he is her brother," he scratched the back of his head.

"Fine then tell me quickly."

"It was great,Ashley.She seems like a really nice person."

"Do you like her?"

"I don't like, like her but I do like her.I mean we've just been on one date. Isn't it too early to know if I like her?"

" I guess but like, you are interested though, aren't you?"

He nodded his head."You know I'm not the kind of guy to just, you know."

I smiled."Look,I know you're not gonna dump her or whatever but I just want you to know that she is a genuinely nice girl. Tell her if you don't think things are working out from the beginning okay? I want you both to be happy."

"I know,Ash. You don't need to worry."

"Are you happy?"

"I guess?I mean I had a lot of fun when we went out. Thanks for setting us up,by the way."

I chuckled. I was so happy for him.Things finally seemed to be getting better for him.

I smiled."You're welcome.Wanna get something to eat ?"

"Yes,please.I am starving!",l Aaron appeared out of nowhere,planting a kiss on my lips before holding my hand.

Damn.

"Hello to you too, Woods," Trent said.

"Hello there Trenty," Aaron said, using my nickname for Trent as we walked to the cafeteria.

"Don't call me that," Trent glared at Aaron.

"Huh?What was that Trenty?"

Trent shot him the finger as we went inside."I'm gonna go get some food. Ashley,what do you want?"

"Excuse you, I was going to get my girlfriend something," Aaron said abruptly.

I rolled my eyes and sat down. Ever the drama queen.

Both of them left to get food. Bored,I took my phone out of my pocket and went through my Instagram feed.

"Hi, Ashley."

I froze at the sound of his voice. I looked up from my phone.

"Hi Tyler."

What was he doing here?I swear if he asks me out one more time...

"How are you?" he asked with a smile and sat down.

What was he trying to do?

"I'm good," I forced a smile.

"So,I just wanted to apologize for the other day..."

"That's okay. You're forgiven," I faked a smile again,hoping he would go away.

"Wow, really? You're the best."

Cue the awkward silence.

"Okay,so I've gotta...go get some food. See you later," I began to stand up.

"Ashley, please,I want to talk to you."

I sat back down. Okay. Let's get this over with.

"Fine. Talk."

"I wasn't lying the other day when I said ...I really like you, Ashley.I'm not messing around."

What was I supposed to tell him?

I took a deep breath."Listen,Tyler I understand that. But you do know I'm seeing Aaron, right?"

He gave me a quick nod.

"I'm sorry, it's just not going to happen," I said in what I hoped was a firm tone.

He exhaled,ran his hand through his hair and got up."If you ever do change your mind,you know where to find me."

I wanted to hit someone now,I really did.Why was he so dense?

I bit my tongue so I wouldn't yell at him.

Thankfully, he went away then and I was alone for about half a minute before Elena and Cole arrived with their trays. Shortly afterwards,Trent and Aaron came back too.

We started eating and chatting away and I soon forgot about Tyler.

"See you tomorrow," I said with a sigh.

We were currently just near the lockers, ready to leave.

Aaron frowned,looked at me and then pulled me into a kiss. He kissed me tenderly and sweetly before pulling away a little bit, only to rest his forehead against mine.

"Come over?" Aaron whispered against my lips.

"I wish I could," I whispered back.

He closed his eyes. I took that moment to run my hands over his face.

He gently grabbed my hands and planted a kiss on them individually.

"Well,I can drop you home,right?" he asked,as we moved apart.

"I think so,yeah. Unless...Oh crap,mom's here to pick me up," I said when I saw my mom's car standing in the parking lot.

"Well, can I come with you then?"

I chuckled. How could someone be that cute?

"I would love that. But I need to tell Mom about this first."

I was planning on telling her tonight.

His shoulders slumped."I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"You should get going now, babe," he kissed me hard.

I kissed him back just as eagerly,looping my hands around his neck.

I was breathless when we pulled away.

***

This was it. This was it.I was going to tell my mother. Why was I so nervous about it? My mother wasn't particularly overprotective.

This was actually the first time I had to tell her about this kind of thing, so I guess that explained the nerves.

I had been freaking out the whole time I was in the car with my mother,thinking of ways to tell her.

She'd asked me if I was okay. Three times.

I quickly changed into my pjs,washed my face and took a deep breath.

"This is it Ashley. It's now or never," I whispered to myself in the mirror.

Before I could change my mind,I rushed to my mother's room where she was sitting on her bed,laptop on her lap.

"Mom?" I breathed,walking over to the bed.

"Are you alright, honey?"

"I need to tell you something."

***

"I did it. Itoldmymomaboutus."

"What?"Aaron asked, sounding confused.

As soon as I'd told my mom I had called him.

"I told my mom,"I breathed heavily,running a hand through my long hair.

"Shit, how'd she take it?" he asked.

"She took it surprisingly well. Apparently you made a pretty good impression."

"Of course I did, Ashley. Your boyfriend is after all amazing."

I laughed, feeling relieved after finally telling Mom.

"I was really worried about this whole thing."

"Hey, it's okay. She took it well , didn't she?"

"Yeah, she was pretty cool about it."

"All because of my irresistible charm."

I laughed. "You wish."

We were quiet for a while. It wasn't awkward though. It was a comfortable silence.

"I miss you."

"I miss you," I said back.

"Aaron!Come here!" I heard Amanda's voice.

"Christ," he sighed."I gotta go.Take care."

"You too, Aaron. Bye."

And he hung up.