~ Gracia's POV ~
"So, you guys are talking today?" Gwen asks me for the fiftieth time. I chuckle. "Maybe you guys will stick to just being friends, maybe you guys will get back together?" She notices me and Rena not being as enthusiastic. "How come I'm the only one excited about this?!" She asks.
"Excited about what?" I jump hearing someone's voice behind us. Noah. I turn and see him, Chase, AJ and Ash. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "What are y'all talking about?" He asks.
"Gwen's just going on and on about some movie that she's gonna watch tonight." I say with a fake but believable laugh. They all stare at us like we're hiding something. I mean, technically, we're not.
AJ laughs. "Whatever you say. You girls sitting with us or what?" He asks. I actually feel comfortable sitting with them again. Not that I was uncomfortable but things would've been weird because of me and Ash.
"Yeah, sure." I reply. We all walk to a table in the middle and everybody sat next to each other, leaving only one seat for me. And that was beside Ash. I smile and sit next to him. "Hi." I say softly.
"Hey, pretty." He says, smiling. He takes a bite out of his mini carrot and I don't know why but that made me blush so terribly. I try to hide it while hearing laughter.
"How's Chlo, CiCi? Miss that little one." Chase asks.
"She's good. She's most excited about her 5th birthday on Friday." I tell them. I chuckle, remembering her babbling on and on. "Still cuter as ever." I tell them.
We were all laughing and talking. Someone taps my shoulder. I turn around and it's a guy who I recognize from my world history class. Vincent, I think his name is. "Hey, Gracia." He greets.
"Hi." I say back. "Is everything alright? Do you need anything?" I ask, mainly because he wasn't saying anything.
"Yeah um. I think you're cute and awesome and I wanna know if you can-,"
"No, she can't now go running along." Ash says from behind me. He's jealous. That's cute but he doesn't have to be rude.
Vincent rolls his eyes. "Like I was saying, do you maybe wanna go out with me on Friday?"
"Did this dude not-," he says quietly to our friends. "Did you not hear what I just said?" Ash stands up.
"Ash, stop." I say. I turn back. "Look, I'm sorry, you seem like a wonderful guy but I can't go out with you." I say. I never rejected anyone and that feels so terrible.
"You kidding me?" Vincent scoffs. "You guys were broken up for months and you're still trailing behind him like a lost puppy? Fuck you." He says.
"Yo, what the fuck did you just say?" AJ stands up, walking in the guys face.
Before he could say anything, Vincent was tackled to the floor by Ash. I got up quickly as Ash wrestles with him on the floor. He throws a punch to his face, causing tears to fall out of my eyes. I hate when he gets violent.
"Please stop." I say. "Ash, please don't fight. Please." I say but he couldn't hear me over the guys yelling trying to pull him off.
"That's enough, man! Chill out!" AJ says. He looks at me and whispers something in Ash's ear, causing Ash to turn to me. He walks up to me.
"You okay?" He asks and I nod. "Let's get out of here." He grabs my hand and we walk out of the cafeteria. All eyes on us. After walking, he pulls us in a closet and closed the door. He pulls me in his chest, hugging me.
"Why did you freak out like that?" I ask him.
"I'm sorry." He whispers. "I don't like when guys just throw themselves on you. Then he disrespected you and me. I wasn't gonna let that slide. I'm sorry you had to witness that." He says. He pulls me out of his chest and look into my eyes.
"But he's right." I say. "We are broken up. We shouldn't even be doing this." I don't even know what I'm saying. I love when he holds me.
"Listen, I'm sorry." He says. "Let's just talk right now. I'm sorry for everything. I don't know what I was doing. My father just passed and I was grieving and I didn't want you to be too caught up with me so I thought breaking up would be the wiser decision." He tells me.
"Ash, I would've been there for you all the way." I tell him. "I know that losing your father was the worst thing, especially since you had so much to say to him. But I wanted to be there but you didn't let me."
"I know and I regret that. I started regretting it the day you ran out. Your tears made my heart sink to my stomach." He cups my face in his hands. "I had to go to rehab this summer." He whispers.
My eyes widen. "What? Why?" I ask him.
He chuckles. "Drugs. I started becoming like my mom. Cocaine, pills, weed and drinking. I never was a fan but they made me feel at peace. Like I never had to think of the shit that was going on and I just could've blocked it out. Austin sent me to rehab after knowing and I got out, got the apartment and just hung with him and AJ and Chase so I wouldn't feel alone. Being without you made me feel alone."
"Being without you made me question myself." I say quietly. "I thought I wasn't perfect enough, pretty enough or even a good enough girlfriend. I stopped eating, I had these intrusive thoughts and I had to go see a therapist who now prescribes me pills for depression." I tell him.
"I can't be without you anymore. It's killing me." He leans his forehead to mine and caressed my right cheek. "Tell me you can't be without me too, please. I need you in my life." He sniffs.
"Ash, do you still love me?" I ask him.
He nods. "I never stopped. I love you more than anything. You're my life. My soul. My heart and my reasoning for waking up every morning." He tells me.
Tears roll down my eyes. I can't be without him either. I have to take him back. Our future is still out there. He makes me feel like a better version of myself. "I can't be without you." I tell him. "And I love you so much."
He chuckles. "So, can we start over? We can take it slow. Or we can take it fast. Whatever you want, I just want you in my life again as my girlfriend."
I smile and chuckle. "Maybe when I should start packing." I say. He tilts his head in confusion. "So when I turn 18, I can move in with you. Decorate and get a golden retriever." I say and he smiles.
"As long as it's not girly." He says and I chuckle. He leans down and kisses my lips sweetly. I miss him kissing me. He pulls away. "I would love to kiss you longer but I'm sure I'm in trouble by now." He says and I chuckle.
The bell rings as soon as we get out of the closet. Our friends start walking out and they saw us. We smiled and held up our interlaced hands. "YES! GRASHTON IS BACK!" Chase announces loudly which causes people to clap and cheer along with him.
We both walk with our friends back to our class. I hug him and he smiles and kisses my head.
~~
A/N: Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Yay! Grashton is back! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Comment your thoughts and vote! Thanks for reading!