Ashley watched Maddox cross the street from his car. He got in the driver's side and handed her a small brown paper bag.

"Here," he said and handed it to her. "You're supposed to take it as soon as possible."

"Thank you," she murmured, opening the bag and taking out the box. The morning after pill.

"You don't have to thank me. It's as much as my responsibility as it is yours."

Her heart did a flutter as she stared at him. He was someone who didn't shy away from any responsibility. There were a few scenarios she had heard of some girls being left high and dry by their boyfriends once they had gotten knocked up. Maddox clearly wasn't one of those guys.

He started the car as she read through the small pamphlet. It seemed simple but she couldn't stop the flutter of nervousness.

They were quiet until he parked outside her house and switched the car off.

She held the package, her eyes fixed on the item. "I know things ended abruptly but what we shared...was something I never thought I would."

She let out an emotional breath, not quite comfortable with being as honest as she had just been. To was foreign and new territory but she felt the need to let him know that no matter how it ended it still meant something to her. She wasn't his first and knew he might feel the same intensity she did.

"I don't want you to run for the hills but I just needed you to know it was something special."

There was also the emotional part of a girl that made it feel more important than a guy. And she knew the first time usually meant more to girls than boys.

His finger lifted her chin so her eyes met his. "You don't have to be nervous with me. It meant something to me to."

The intensity in his gaze hit her square in the chest making it a little hard to catch her breath.

He leaned closer and kissed her gently on the lips.

It was a brief kiss but any contact with him set her on fire for him. It was instantaneous brining back all their intimate memories from the night before.

She wet her lips while she studied him for a few moments knowing she couldn't stay in his car where she wanted to be. It was early and she needed to go and change for her work.

Besides the last thing she needed was either of her parents catching her with Maddox when she was supposed to have spent the night with Diane.

"I got to go." She told him.

"I'll call you later."

She nodded. This time she moved closer to press a kiss to his mouth before getting out of his car and heading to the front door. She touched her lips, feeling like something had shifted in her. Something she had never needed before, she craved with Maddox. A closeness, an affection, she had never wanted with anyone else she had to have with him.

Briefly she looked back over her shoulder to Maddox who was watching her. He winked and she found herself staring for a few moments longer than she had anticipated. There was something about this bad boy that pulled at her heartstrings like no one else.

He left when she entered the house. She went straight to the kitchen and got some water: she hesitated for a moment before she swallowed it.

Knowing someone might find the box and figure out what she had taken she stuffed it under some trash before washing her hands.

There was no doubt about how she felt about Maddox now and the closeness they had shared only intensified her feelings for me.

Even though the night had ended the way it had, she still smiled on her way up to her room to get ready for work.

Her shift was going well until an hour before she was supposed to finish. Logan and Jim walked in.

What on Earth were they doing here? There were dozens of places they could have gone to eat, why show up where they knew she worked?

It spelled trouble for her. Especially when they seated themselves in the section she was covering. She had a momentary urge to run and looked to Patsy to see if she could take the table for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

Ashley had no choice but to serve them.

Reluctantly she approached their table with her notepad and a pen, intent on treating them like any other customers not like the two guys that had caused her endless trouble at school.

Jim looked so smug she had to stop herself from wiping the look off his face herself.

"What can I get you guys?" She fixed a professional smile to her face to hide any obvious dislike to them.

Had Jim not learnt from the last time she had tipped his drink into his lap? It was something she could not afford to repeat even though she was sure they were only here to torment her.

Clearly Maddox's encounter with Jim at school had not gotten the message through to him.

Jim and Logan put their order in without any incident but she hated how Jim's eyes travelled the length of her body with obvious interest while Logan said nothing.

It only reminded her that Logan had none of the traits that Maddox and knew he would never have measured up.

She hurried their drinks, determined to get them out of the diner as quickly as possible so she wouldn't be tempted to do something that would put her job in jeopardy.

Jim still had that annoying slyness about him while Logan seemed indifferent to her.

She kept herself from giving them any attention while she worked a couple of her other tables and only retuned when their food order was ready.

She dreaded when their food was ready and headed to their table with their plates. She set Logan's down in front of him and then Jim's. Still there had been no snarky comment. It was almost making her more nervous that they hadn't done anything obnoxious or annoying up to this point.

There was no way she believed they would leave without doing or saying something to upset her.

Finally when she went to give them the bill Jim threw some bills down and left no tip. She took the money and they got up to leave at the same time. Logan avoided her eyes and Jim leaned closer to her making her want to take a step back.

"I have a tip for you." He smiled vindictively. "Get a better job."

She pressed her lips together determined not to give a piece of her mind in return.

"Tell that boyfriend of yours I need to be taught another lesson. Let's make it Monday, can we? The sooner he screws up again the sooner he'll be expelled."

While she knew Maddox had been punished for defending her on multiple times the thought of him being expelled because of her wasn't something she could live with.

"Maybe this time I'll even press charges."

She held her breath. He really was an asshole.

She wouldn't allow Maddox's future to be marred or ruined because of a couple of assholes who would probably amount to nothing.

They only had a few more weeks of school left before they were finished and she was determined to ignore any provocation that would cause Maddox to go after him.

He could do or say anything he wanted but she would not tell Maddox. She was determined to protect Maddox like he had always protected her.

"Have a nice day," she said as cheerily as she could muster and gave them a deep smile. Assholes.

Jim looked slightly taken aback before sneering at her. "Let's not drag it out. I can make your life very difficult."

He could do his worst, she would not break.

She kept her smile fixed in places before heading back to the till to sort out their bill. She did not look back even when she heard the exit.

Once she was in the staff room she exhaled and pressed her hand to her heart to try and rude out the panic that monetarily took hold.

She vowed quietly to herself not tell Maddox about any of what had just happened but she was nervous that if Jim caused trouble directly with Maddox he would not be able to resist the urge to teach him a lesson.

On one hand she didn't want to wish away any tile she still had with Maddox, she was very aware that he would be going off to college and she would be left behind, but she didn't want him goaded into doing something that would ruin it.

Maddox had been there to protect her and she was going to do everything she could to protect him now.