savior

three

DAY TWO; TWENTY NINE DAYS TO GO

The next day, which happened to be day number two of the whole Save-Ashton-thing, I was walking around a small plaza called the Diamond, with Anna. There was about ten minutes before we had to head to school. I wrapped a sweater tighter around myself for warmth as we stepped down the sidewalk. Since it was late in the year, the Pennsylvania air got colder and harder to bear; but since I had lived there my whole life, I had gotten accustomed to it.

October was one of my favorite months for many reasons. As the two of us walked, I peered up at the trees, which contained many multicolored leaves. Some had begun to fall to the ground. Around that time of the year, the scenery became even more beautiful than before. Reds and oranges and golds and yellows littered the entire state.

"I don't care what you say, Re. I'm getting you a boyfriend before winter break," Anna said as she pulled me to the other side of the street. She had her own coat adjusted well enough on her body to keep the cold somewhat away.

Discretely, I rolled my eyes at my boy-crazy best friend, and continued to venture down the slanted street with her. We passed the creamery—a small ice cream parlor located around the Diamond—on our way. The smell winded out the window to our noses, making me want to ditch first period in order to grab a cone. But first period was the only class I had with Ashton, other than lunch, and skipping it would have only made my job harder to finish.

"It's so hard to find the right person these days, you know," she continued. Anna shoved her hands in her coat pockets. "Boys can be idiots sometimes, but they're so damn fun. I can't stay away from them. You wouldn't, either, if you start talking to them."

We left the Diamond. I ignored the conversation Anna brought up, because I was so tired of hearing about it, and I didn't want to start a commotion in the middle of the street. I knew that if I did continue it, one of us would have ended up getting angry at the other, and that wouldn't have been good.

School started in five minutes. Anna and I made a run for the school, the heels of our boots clicking on the sidewalk. Luckily we made it in time to get to our classes.

I sat in the back of the class, close to the desks that Michael and Ashton had claimed as theirs. There wasn't normally anyone else who sat back there, so when I plopped down, they looked at me like I had a disease. Ashton looked a bit uncomfortable—probably because of our encounter the day before—resulting in him only giving me small glances from time to time. Michael was full on staring at me. Maybe he wanted to ring my neck this time, too. Or maybe he just hates girls. I doubt that.

All I could do was smile and wave at the two. If I was going to try to be their friend, I couldn't make a bad first impression, even though I'd gone to school when them all of my life. I had to be nice. Michael would probably soften up to me again, like he had when I allowed him to cry on my shoulder when Ashton was dead. It still makes me shudder when I remember that Ashton committed suicide a few days before, and was now sitting beside me, completely alive.

"Hi," I whispered to Ashton, who was sitting closest to me. He blinked once, twice, and three times, before nodding his head. "How have you been?"

"You want to know how I've been?" he asked, generally confused. It was like no one ever asked him how he was. Michael was his best friend. He must have already known how he was—or not. Maybe he didn't have someone else to open up to. I could be that someone else. I had to be.

I nodded my head in response to his question. He let out a shaky breath when I inched closer to him, but I didn't bother retreating. "Uh, I'm—I'm good. You?"

"Great, now," I answered truthfully. Ashton could have possibly been lying to me about how he felt, but at least he had talked to me. That was a start.

The lesson was something that I had already learned—I had gone back in time—so I really didn't pay attention to it. Instead, I let my gaze drift to Ashton and Michael. I could tell Michael wasn't too fond of me at that moment, but hopefully we could be more than acquaintances. I wonder if he'd believe the story behind the situation—that his best friend had killed himself, we had been friends for a short while, and now we were complete strangers as I tried to keep his best friend alive.

The bell rang when the lesson ended. As everyone stood up to exit the room, I lingered behind, waiting for Ashton to collect his things. Michael had already walked away, chatting up a girl named Brittany, proving to me that he didn't hate all girls. Just me.

I stopped Ashton in the hallway. He still stared at me like I had three heads. I looked down at his clothes—today he was wearing a dark hoodie and jeans—then back up to his pretty hazel-green eyes, which watched me in slight amusement.

"We both live in the same apartment complex," I stated.

"I noticed." Ashton threw his bag over his shoulder, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You kind of made a comment about it when we were in the mail room, where you scared the literal shit out of me."

"Sorry."

Ashton looked over his shoulders, watching everyone else scramble to their next class. He released a sigh. I knew he was waiting for me to let him go. He'd probably speed away as fast as Michael did to catch up with Brittany when the bell rang.

"Uh, anyways. I was kind of wondering if maybe you wanted to come over to mine, and we can, you know, hang out, or something?" I asked a little hesitant. I was hardly confident with boys as it was, and the fact that I had to talk to Ashton made it worse. Stupid Death and this stupid deal.

Ashton's chapped lips parted slightly. He heaved in a sigh, and adjusted his backpack.

"I've got a lot of things to do at home, so I don't know," he answered. He shoved a hand in the large pocket attached to the front of his hoodie. "I don't normally hang out with girls . . . or anyone other than Michael."

"Think about it?"

"Sure. I'll think about it."