Ashley was thankful there had been no further sign of Maddox the next day when she worked her next shift at the diner. It wasn't like she was expecting him to show up either. After the events from the night before, she was convinced he was done with her as a side project. Maybe now he could go back to his life where it didn't intertwine with hers.

She had been better off without his interference. She wasn't looking forward to facing Logan at school on Monday. Her only consolation is she had broken up with him, despite the circumstances it had been the right thing to do.

It was bad enough that she had to listen to her mother's lecture about safety and being responsible. Thankfully she hadn't grounded her, she had let her off with a stern warning that she was to tell her where she was going and when she would be back. It felt claustrophobic having her movements monitored for the first time in years.

For most of her teenage life she had done what she wanted when she wanted, having to answer to her mother was an irritation she really didn't need at the moment. She wasn't an immature teenager looking for trouble. Her whole plan was to work at the diner to save money, graduate from high school and move out on her own as quickly as possible. She had adult goals not a lot of her peers had.

"You okay?" Penny, the other waitress at the diner asked me when she finally hung up her apron.

"Yeah," she said, putting on a smile to hide the seriousness of her mood.. When she raised her eyebrow at Ashley. "I'm a little tired. I went out to a party last night."

Penny was quite a bit older than her. She looked at her wistfully. "I loved high school, and the parties. The good old days."

There was nothing good about what she was living through.

She was hoping some time with her friends might put her in a better mood. She needed something to help her forget the events of the night before. And Maddox Larson.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said grabbing her bag.

"Have fun," Penny quipped as Ashley opened the door to the staff room.

"I will." She smiled again just for Penny's benefit before she left.

Once she was out of the diner her smile drop to reflect her sober mood. She made the point of calling her mom to let her know she was going to the mall and told her she would be home well before dinner time.

The mall was close by so it didn't take long before she parked her car she had received for her sixteenth birthday from her parents. To her it had been her first step toward independence she had so badly craved.

She called Diane as she walked into the front entrance.

"Where are you guys?" she asked when Diane answered.

"We just stopped for coffee," Diane replied.

A few minutes later she spotted them at a table outside when she neared.

Diane waved. Ashley dropped her bag on the table as she hugged Diane briefly and then Sally. She took the empty seat beside Sally.

"So are you going to tell us what happened last night?" Sally asked.

She shrugged. She should have known that it would be circulating around the gossip groups already.

"What did you hear?" she asked, hoping she could still give them a Maddox free version.

"You and Logan had a fight." Her friends were watching closely as Diane revealed the gossip.

She sighed. "That's true."

"And it involved Maddox..." Diane waited for her to confirm the next bit of information.

At the mention of him Ashley sat up a little straighter as she tried to figure out a way to explain what had happened without going into the details of why Maddox had taken an interest in her.

"It's true, isn't it?" Sally said with wide eyes when Ashley didn't immediately deny it. Diane mirrored her surprised expression.

She still hadn't figured out how to explain it to her friends.

"Is there something going on with you and Maddox?" Diane gasped.

She shook her head. "No. There's nothing going on between us."

"I don't understand," Sally mumbled.

"It's a long story." Ashley shrugged. It was a story she didn't want to tell.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Diane asked, frowning.

"It wasn't really important."

Going into the details of her story about Maddox entailed revealing things she didn't want anyone to know, even her close friends.

Diane's frown deepened and she looked a little hurt. It made Ashley feel a little guilty.

"He kinda took an interest in my life."

Diane and Sally shared a puzzled look.

"So one day he wakes up and decides he wants to know you better.." Sally trailed off like she was trying her best to understand.

It sounded ridiculous. And unbelievable. She couldn't exactly tell them he had found her on the edge of the a cliff looking for a rush to make her feel more alive.

"It sounds like he likes you. Like in like like." Diane wiggled her eyebrows and Ashley frowned.

She shook her head. "It's not like that."

Liar. Her conscious murmured. She refused to entertain how he made her feel. He wasn't taking an interest in her life because he wanted to get into her panties or date. How did she explain that his intention had been to help but all he had done was mess things up.

She wanted to drop her head into her hands when she remembered the betrayed look in Logan's eyes. It made her feel bad that he had been hurt. But the fact that her heart wasn't broken spoke volumes. Just like Maddox had pointed out.

If I wanted you a boyfriend wouldn't have stopped me. She swallowed, not liking the way his words made her feel.

After the drama from last night she wanted nothing more to do with Maddox. She was going to carry on without his interference, she didn't need him to fix her.

She caught the cautious look Diane gave Sally. Something was going on. "What?"

Her friend couldn't even look her in the eye. "There's a rumour going around." Diane was focussed on her fidgeting hands on the table.

Ashley frowned. "What rumour?"

Diane did a look around to make sure no one we knew was around to hear.

"Um...well..." She was stumbling through her explanation but Ashley couldn't wait for her to get it out.

"What is it?" Ashley directed her gaze to Sally.

"I don't know who started the rumour but people have been saying Logan caught you cheating with Maddox."

Ashley was speechless. Cheating with Maddox. All they had done was dance. "Unfaithful?" she echoed in a question.

Sally shifted uncomfortably in her chair, there was more. "Apparently he caught you guys together in one of the bedrooms upstairs."

This time Ashley's mouth dropped open. That was untrue, a blatant lie. But to anyone who hadn't witnessed what had actually happened they had no reason not to believe it.

"But that's a lie," Ashley whispered, horrified that someone would make that up. Her life was difficult without adding a false rumour to stir more trouble and make her out to be something she wasn't.

Diane reached across the table and took her hand in hers. She gave her an encouraging squeeze.

"Who would do that?" Ashley whispered still reeling from the news.

"We don't know."

That's all she needed. What would people say? Her confrontation with her mom the night before and her lecture this morning she was drained. She didn't have the energy to deal with this on top of everything else.

If Sally and Diane had heard the rumour already it meant by Monday everyone would be talking about it.

Her short visit with her friends was ruined by the thought that someone would do that to her. She had hurt Logan but that didn't mean someone could make up something that was a blatant lie.

She was mortified people would think of her like that. She hadn't slept with a guy before and everyone she went to school with would think she was so easy she would hop from one guy's bed to another.

When she parked her car in the driveway she could already hear the yelling coming from inside the house. For a moment she faltered knowing she couldn't spend the night listening to them but after the argument with her mom she knew she couldn't just leave. She was tied to this hell until she was old enough to leave.

She dragged her hand through her hair as her shoulders slumped. She had no choice and with heavy feet she entered the house.