Ashton's P.O.V.
"Hailey?"
The blonde devil who I am disgusted to call my ex-girlfriend is standing on the porch in front of me, her skimpy outfit making it obvious that she's trying too hard. Although a guy may be tempted to scan her body, my hatred for her is enough to keep my eyes from dropping below her face.
Staring her down, I question, "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to come by and give you your present," Hailey responds with her high pitched voice and that's when I notice a small wrapped box in her hands. She rocks back and forth on her feet and I can literally feel the fake in her hopeful, sweet expression.
"I don't want anything from you," I snap, trying to close the door but her hand smacks the wooden surface and causes the door from shutting.
She instantly pouts and comments, "Why so rude tonight, baby? I went through all the trouble of getting this for you." Hailey lifts up her free arm with the present and hands it to me.
"Don't call me 'baby,'" I declare. "And fine, I accept your gift." Taking the box, my hand slips from the door and it swings fully open. Hailey cocks her head to the side and smiles widely, stepping around me and walking inside my house. Shit.
Closing the door behind me, Hailey reaches out and runs her hands up my arms and across my chest, making the hairs on the back of my neck perk up.
"Open it," she whispers.
Swallowing hard, I move out of her grip and tear the wrapping paper, revealing the box. I lift up the cover to find two tickets to Green Day who are performing in Sydney in January. Green Day are one of my favorite bands and they have inspired me to create music. I've never seen them live, unfortunately, and it has been my dream for years to watch them in concert. But the fact that Hailey isn't supportive of my music career makes this a little suspicious.
"Why would you give me tickets to my favorite band?" I ask.
"I was hoping you'd be my date," she replies. "One is for you and the other is for me."
"Woah, woah, woah, what? No, Hailey, I'm not going to this concert with you," I decline. No way in hell would I ever do anything with her.
She closes the gap between us and her touch sends shivers through my body. And not the good kind, I should add. She plays with the hem of my shirt, raising it a few inches to expose my lower stomach but then dropping it again and sneaking her hand inside, stroking my skin.
"I was also hoping that you would give me a second chance. I messed up so bad, Ashy. I just want to make it right," she coos, now wrapping her arms around me in a comfortable embrace.
This is what Hailey does to you. She has this devious side to her that can convince you of doing anything she wants you to do. This is the reason why I stayed with her so long and I regret every minute of it. She prompted me to continue being her boyfriend like this and it's taking all I've got to snap myself out of it.
"No," I firmly say, shoving her off of me. "You had your chance. I gave you more than two for you to make it right, but there's so much damage you've done that you can't fix."
"Oh, come on, baby, we can work this out," she swoons.
"I already told you, don't call me 'baby.' And we have worked this out like a month ago when we broke up," I relay.
"Well, I thought that a month was a long enough break for you. It definitely was for me."
"Yes, that break was a vacation for me and my vacation isn't over. So you can leave now," I reply, heading over to the door.
"What makes you think I'd give up that easy?" Hailey asks. She stays put in her spot and looks for a reason to stick around.
"Hailey, just get out of my damn house!" I yell and pull open the door.
"Woah, no need for the swearing, Ashy. I'm just trying to help," she shrugs.
"Help me with what?"
"Realizing what's right in front of you."
Sighing, I respond, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm done with you, Hailey. You're just another bad memory."
"Well, why don't we make good memories then? Starting with a movie night. I'll pick out the movie and you can make the popcorn!" Hailey cheers, moving into the living room. Slapping myself in the face, I cringe and follow her, standing next to the couch and watching Hailey grab the remote from my sister.
"Hey!" Lauren shouts.
"Sorry, hun, but it's our turn now," she remarks. She sits on the couch and makes herself comfortable, flipping through the channels.
"Wait a minute. Hailey? Why are you here?" Lauren questions, obviously not ecstatic about seeing her.
"Oh, don't act like you didn't miss me," Hailey replies with a smile.
"Oh, I'm not acting," my sister voices and then turns to me. "Ashton. Kitchen. Now."
Lauren stands up and walks out of the room. I step after her and once we're out of Hailey's earshot, Lauren flips around and gives me a glare. For an eleven year old, she has a pretty tough expression that could literally scare someone.
"I can't get rid of her!" I explain.
"You're not together with her again, are you? I thought you were with Monica," she questions, folding her arms.
"I am. She came out of nowhere," I clarify, pointing at the living room. Lauren pauses and thinks for a moment and I'm hoping she'll say something that will help kick Hailey out of our house.
"Well, if she's staying, then I'm going in my room," Lauren finally tells me and shuffles down the hallway.
Great. I'm stuck with Hailey. By myself. For who knows how long. Fuck my life.
Monica's P.O.V.
Staring at the spot where Michael was just a second ago, I can't believe he zapped out on me. And he's probably going to ignore me for another week all because I forgot about training and walking with him. I'm already pissed and if this avoiding does continue, I will be livid.
I turn around and stride over to my bike, thankful it's still there because I didn't grab a lock. Before I mount it, I check my phone to see if I have any new messages, but because of how anti-social I am, no one ever texts me. Okay, well my best friends do, but Michael's mad, I haven't apologized to Tatiana, Luke never needs me for anything, and Calum hardly talks to me outside of group events. That leaves Ashton and surprisingly, I do have a new message from him.
Hey love, you forgot your teddy bear at my house. I'll be home all night so you can come pick it up whenever you want. Love you :*
How many other things am I gonna forget today?!
I don't feel like making the trip to Ashton's house, but I really would like my present and it would make me feel better to see my boyfriend. Strapping my bag over my shoulder, I slip my phone back into it and climb on my bike, beginning the journey.
I'm exhausted by the time I reach his house and all I want to do is go home, eat, and sleep. Leaning my bike on the railing, I ring the doorbell and wait. I probably should have warned Ashton that I was coming, but oh well. He said I can show up whenever so surprise!
A girl I've never seen before opens the door. Immediately I can tell she's not the friendly type, especially since she hasn't smiled yet or greeted me.
"Excuse me, who are you?" she asks, glancing at me with a look of disgust.
Disregarding her comment, I question, "Is Ashton here?"
"Why do you want to see my boyfriend?" she inquires.
"Your boyfriend?" I scoff. Then I laugh, knowing Ashton would never date someone like her.
"Hailey! Get away from the door!" a familiar voice yells. The girl, now known as Hailey, steps aside and shows Ashton.
"What's going on here?" I question, my heart sinking slightly.
"Follow me," Ashton grunts and takes my wrist, leading me through the house to his room. He shuts the door behind him so Hailey can't come in, although I'm pretty sure she's probably going to listen in on us. "I did not invite her here. She came on her own and now she won't fucking leave."
"Okay...but who is she?" I ask.
He takes a deep breath before answering, "You gave me the confidence to finally break up with her about a month ago."
"Oh, my God," I breathe, remembering the conversation we had.
"Mmhmm," Ashton nods. "And I've been trying to get her out of my house for the past hour. An hour, Monica! She wants me back and she basically tried to bribe me with Green Day tickets. I don't know what to do!"
The anger boils inside me and I storm out of his room, stomping into the living room where Hailey is watching TV. She looks up at me with the fakest smile I've ever seen and I approach her with the opposite expression, feeling my metal weapon appear in my hand. Raising it up, I push it under her chin, ready to say whatever spell that can get rid of her.
"Monica, no!" Ashton shouts as he runs into the living room.
Hailey just cackles like an evil witch. "It's a stick, Ashy, it's not going to hurt me."
"Ashy? What kind of a nickname is that?" I jeer.
"Why would you care to know?" Hailey responds.
"You're right. I don't care. And this can do way more damage than you think," I reply. Stepping back, I keep my wand aimed at her and mentally repeat the Binding Charm, which causes ropes to shoot out and encircle her body. Tighter and tighter they go, and I watch her squirm and glance at Ashton for help. Sliding forward, I force her to look at me and I can see the fear in her eyes. Good.
"You dare call him your boyfriend again, I will murder you. And if you ever say anything about this, I will kill you," I threaten. I make the torture last one more second before releasing the ropes from her. "Get out."
Hailey fumbles for her purse and stands up, backing away from me instantly in horror. Ashton joins my side and puts a protective arm around my waist, showing Hailey who I really am.
"You're a freak!" she huffs, and in one swift move, she finally exits the house. We both breathe a sigh of relief and Ashton approaches the front door and locks it in case Hailey may return.
"Thank you so much," he expresses, turning around to face me, but I am now walking down the hallway to his room. "Where are you going?"
"I came back to get my bear," I giggle. Entering in his room, I spot it lying on his bed and I step over to grab it, immediately heading back into the living room.
"Is that all you came back for?" Ashton asks and I know exactly what he means.
"Yep," I joke and his playful, open-mouthed expression is priceless. But then I remember that I also wanted to talk to him about the Michael incident and my face drops as I sink into the couch.
"I don't think that's all," he says, reading the look on my face. Joining me, he embraces me in a cuddle. "It's not about Hailey, is it?"
"No, although I wasn't psyched about dealing with that. Michael's mad at me again and he's going back to ignoring me. After training, he just walked right past me and I was able to stop him and explain myself, but he didn't say a word and the worst part is, he zapped out on me!" I admit.
"I'm confused. What's zapping?" Ashton questions. I sigh because I don't feel like explaining it, but then somehow a memory clicks and that explanation will take shorter than the other one.
"Remember when you swore to Calypso to keep the Galaxy secret?"
"Yeah," he answers.
"Well, when he left, he zapped. He disappeared right before your eyes in my room," I convey.
"Oh, gotcha."
"Yeah, that's what Michael did to me. Didn't even say anything; just left," I continue.
"What the heck," Ashton responds. "What is up with him lately?"
"I don't know," I reply and suddenly my stomach growls loudly. I'm so used to eating dinner right when I get home from training but since I came here, I haven't had anything to eat yet.
"I heard that," he laughs. "Do you want me to make you anything?"
"I should probably get home, but I'm too exhausted. With everything that just happened, plus training, and then riding my bike back..."
"You could spend the night here," he suggests.
Light bulb.
"Why didn't I think of that?" I sigh. Ashton chuckles again and stands up.
"Well, if that's what's happening, I'm going to go make dinner, since we haven't eaten either," he announces and heads into the kitchen. I stay on the couch and watch TV, too tired to follow him. I don't even know what's playing, but I'm also too lazy to grab the remote, which is all the way on the other side. So I sit there like a couch potato and snuggle with my bear.
My phone abruptly begins to ring and I dig it out to notice my mum is calling. Answering it, I can tell she's not in a good mood.
"Where are you? Training ended a half hour ago!" she yells.
"I'm at Ashton's. He gave me a Christmas present before I went to training and I forgot to take it with me so I came back to get it," I calmly respond.
"Oh, well why didn't you tell me? It would have saved me from worrying!"
"Sorry, mum," I apologize.
"It's alright. So when will you be back home?" she asks. Well...
"Um, yeah, about that. Would it be okay if I stayed the night here? I'm too exhausted to ride my bike home," I try.
"Absolutely not," my mum instantly shuts down. Wait, what? No, she can't do this to me.
"Are you serious?" I protest. "But you let me at the bonfire!"
"That's because you were at the Cliffords and I trust them. I don't know Ashton's mother yet and I'm not comfortable with you over there for a night," she says, making up excuses.
"But mum!"
"No buts, Monica. Your dad will be leaving here shortly with the car to pick you up. I will see you soon," my mum speaks and ends the call.
This is so unfair. Okay, so she said she trusts the Cliffords but she doesn't even trust her own daughter? What is she so afraid of? Goddammit, I'm not five years old anymore. I'm growing up, let me live my life. I haven't done anything bad in the past and I won't start now. Ashton and his family are really sweet, anyways. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't let anything happen to me. I'm also going to be saving the world, for crying out loud. If Calypso and the Galaxy base trust me to save the world, my own mother can trust me with sleeping over at my boyfriend's house.
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I imagine Hailey as Sharpay Evans. I'm pretty sure all of you have seen High School Musical, so Hailey is basically her with the sly moves and bitchy attitude.
Rachel :)