I pause and look at the doors to the lunchroom. There's no way I could open those things without causing a seen of breaking even more things. I turn away from it and run into a chest, me having to crane my neck as I look up to see Xavier.

"Aren't you going to lunch?"

I shake my head and say," Not hungry."

He squints down at me and I back up slightly." I don't believe that." He folds his arms across his chest and lifts an eyebrow." Are you not hungry or you just don't want to go in there?"

"Why wouldn't I want to go in there?"

"I know you Asher. You wouldn't want all those eyes on you. People coming up to you, that never knew you existed until two months ago, and say how much they've missed you."

I frown down at my feet and say," I actually never thought of that until now. Which makes me want to get as far away as I can." I begin to go around him when he blocks my way.

"Then why don't you want to go in?"

"Ican'topenthedoor." I mumble and glance behind me, not wanting to answer this question.

"What?"

"I can't open the door." I say more clearly and frown as I look at the wall behind him." I have one handicap arm and two crutches. None of which help me with the adventure of going into the lunchroom."

He grunts and a jolt goes through me, reminding me of the day that X and I had took the big step. A blush comes to my cheeks and he squints before pointing behind me." That's not really an excuse." He walks past me and opens the heavy door, gesturing for me to go in.

"Thank you." I say as I walk past him, watching his feet and making sure not to hit them with my crutches.

"Your welcome." He filled in behind me and says," I'll grab whatever you're needing."

"Root bear and flaming hot Cheetos." I say and reach into my front pocket and hand him the five.

He glances by it and reaches into his pocket before slipping money into the vending machine and getting two root bears. He talks to the lunch lady, who hands him over the hot Cheetos and three cow tails. We go into line and he grunts, when seeing my still out reached hand with the five." I don't need it."

"Yes you do. You're buying my food- why I have no idea."

"Because it's a very gentleman like thing to do." He smirks slightly before handing the woman over a ten." And correcting change and stuff would be to much of a hassle."

"That makes no sense at all."

"Yes it does. No it doesn't. Don't question me." I lift an eyebrow as my lips begin to tremble as a smile forms. He squints at me and points." You're judging me. I can feel you judging me."

"I'm not judging you. Just wondering if I should laugh at you or feel sorry for you."

"Same." He says and looks over my leg and arm.

"Whatever." I say and flip him the bird before going on." Suck my turkey."

"What?" He looks at me, this time his lips being the ones that are trembling.

"I said. Suck my turkey."

He lets out a chuckle as he stops at an empty table and sits our stuff onto it." Will you pay me?"

"You wouldn't take money from me. It wouldn't be the gentlemen like thing to do." I tell him, using his own words against him.

"I didn't know I was working with a Sherlock here." He says and pushes my stuff to me." You have some visitors." He says, glancing behind me and I groan.

"Hey Aspen." A cheerleader says to en as she takes the seat beside me." It's glad to see you back. I've really missed you, it's just a total drag without you here. I mean, tests just got so much harder."

She smiles at me and I scowl back at her." It's Asher."

She laughs slightly and says," Same thing."

I lean away from her slightly and squint at her. Her blonde hair being done perfectly in a high ponytail and her makeup being an inch to thick." I'd reply with the million insults that are in my head, but I was raised to excuse the not so intelligent."

Her face goes slack and Xavier bites down on his lip, his shoulders slightly shaking at the laughter he's holding in." Whatever nerd. But it has been more difficult here without you."

"Why? We're all the teacher's you're sleeping with come check up on me without my knowledge. Please get out of my face, I don't want to smell fish sticks when I'm not eating any."

She gasps and stands up." I'm just trying to be nice to you, yet you treat me like crap."

"Funny how karma works isn't it? Maybe you should think of that before you stick gum into other people's hair and throwing away their homework. Have fun in hell ."

"I guess I'll be seeing you there." She says back and begins to walk off.

"No you won't. I don't allow people into the throne room."

She flips her hair over her shoulder and goes to her table, facing the fact that she lost the argument.

"I see the hospital changed you." He says and opens a cow tail." For the better or worse I have no idea."

"Bush did 911."

"Inside job." He says and adds," I'm thinking better."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/--------------/-----------------------

She sits beside me in art, finishing the painting that the art teacher had assigned today." Talk."

"What about?" I ask as she details the water over the dark ocean.

"Anything. I don't like silence anymore."

"Why?"

She pauses and takes a shaky deep breath." Don't tell no one okay? I haven't liked silence since the accident. My mind will wander and I'm taken back to that night. I'll hear the crash, the screeching tires, the screaming people, and honking horns. When there's noise around me they don't come."

I frown and think of all the times we had been together, laying together. And she'd start a conversation out of the blue. How she'd always flinch when her eyes would zone out. Or how she would wake up many of times while sleeping. Why is she confessing this to Xavier and not X though?" You should tell someone Asher. Other than me."

"I want to. But sometimes I don't want them to look differently at me. To always worry if Asher's having a mental breakdown instead of normal things. I don't want them to see me like that."

"Asher. They wouldn't see you differently. They love you. Yes they'll worry about you but it's because of how much they love you. This is just a small chapter in your life . Don't let it ruin your epilogue."

"That was deep man."

Not as deep as I was- bad Xavier. "I know. I'm poetic like that."

She smiles and begins to paint again." Keep talking though. Or do something."

"The fitness gram pacer test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues." I say remembers those lines from the amount of times she had randomly said them to me.

She laughs and gets more of the yellow paint." Yeah, stuff like that."

"Scale of one to ten. How attractive do you consider yourself to be."

She pauses and thinks about it, with furrowed eyebrows." I have two answers. How I feel inside and how I think I look." I nod and she sighs." An eight on the inside and a six on the outside."

I frown and watch her as she pants the reflection of the moon onto the water. I'll have to change that." Why?"

She shrugs and says," I don't know. But that number was lower two months ago."

"What changed that number? The wreck?"

"No. Someone." She says shyly and used a different brush to paint the palm trees.

"Who?" I ask, itching just to hear the answer.

"Someone important."

I smile and ask,"A boyfriend?"

She smiles slightly and nods making pride to go through me and the urge to wrap my arms her and kiss her lips.

"Do you like him?" She smiles hugely, showing her teeth this time in one of her rare and breath taking smiles." Is he better than Daniel?"

"A million times better."

"How?"

"He's great. He makes me happy. Daniel was just a thing you know. I never felt the feelings I've been filling with him, when I was with Daniel. Ever. He's my best friend. My lover. He makes me happy and feel loved." She colors slightly and says," I trust him. He's one of the greatest people in my life. I don't know how things would've been if I didn't have him through this small conflict."

"You like him that much?"

"I don't like him. I used too." She looks at me before getting some of the black paint onto her brush." There really isn't a word to describe the way I feel for him. Love has become such a small word to what I'm feeling for him."

"Does he love you back?"

She nods and wipes off her paint brush." Yeah."

"How do you know?"

"I can't really see it physically. Just that he spends every moment showing me just he he feels about me, making me feel loved. And makes me question what on Earth I've done to make me have such a blessing in my life. But I can feel it, you know? The way he holds me, as if at any moment I might fall. Or how he'll smile to me, like I'm the greatest creation he's ever laid eyes on."

"Do you think you'll last?"

"I seem to have back luck with relationships. But this one I'm not going to let slip. And hopefully we do."

"Could you see being with him forever? Having his kids?"

"Yeah. Very easily."

I smile and ask," What if he never made the move? And you were the one to propose

"I'd do it. Though there'd be a big problem for me to face while doing that. That actually a lot of girls would have to face while doing it."

"Which would be what?"

"As soon as I'd get down on one knee he'd start unzipping."