**sam's outfit is in the external link xx
I woke up the next morning early enough that I wouldn't be late to detention. Normally, I wouldn't care if I was late, but I'd feel bad leaving Drummer Boy there by himself just because my lazy ass didn't want to go. There was no way he would ever survive a Saturday detention with Vulkner.
I slipped on some white cut-offs, and a light pink crop top with ruffled layers - I decided this outfit would be best for not sweating my ass off since it was incredibly hot outside according to the weather app on my phone. I put on some grey Vans, and decided to mix it up with my jewelry, putting on gold bangles instead and some gold rings on my fingers. After deciding my hair looked fine down, I went downstairs and grabbed my keys off the counter.
"Broken," Jules' voice said behind me, making me jump. I turned to face her; she had a coffee cup held to her lips as she had a perfect brown eyebrow raised. "Remember?"
"Ugh, shit," I groaned. "I can't be late for this."
"You don't want to be late for detention?" she practically gasped. "You sure you're Sam?"
"Jules, this is serious," I groaned. She didn't seem bothered that I didn't use some motherly name for her. "There's this boy-"
"Oh," she nodded. "That's why."
"I'm not trying to get with him!" I may or may not have lied - even I wasn't sure what I wanted anymore, especially after last night. "Can you just please get me to school?"
She sighed, setting her coffee cup down on the island. "Oh, alright. Get in the car."
I flashed a smile before spinning on my heels to go to the garage. I got into her silver Honda CRV and waited for her to come outside. When she did, she changed into jeans and a plum t-shirt, although I don't know why. She slid into the driver's side, turning the car on before buckling up and pulling out of the garage. She turned on some mainstream station that was playing a song that I didn't know the name of but was way too over-played.
"So who's this boy?" Jules wondered as we drove down the street.
I shrugged. "His name's Ashton."
Jules raised her eyebrows under her sunglasses, waiting for me to continue. "Well?"
"Well what?" I asked, not knowing what else she wanted for me. I didn't really know what else to say about Ashton.
"What's he like?" she pressed. "What's he look like; what's his personality?"
I gave her a confused look. "You really want to talk boys with me right now?"
She shrugged. "Don't mom's do that?"
I shook my head. "Not mine."
She sighed. "It was worth a shot."
"Not really." I chuckled as we stopped at a red light.
I knew Jules was trying to get closer to me or whatever, but I just didn't feel comfortable talking about that stuff with my moms. I honestly didn't really talk about that stuff with anyone. I didn't have any girl friends to talk to about it after Danny, and I obviously wouldn't talk boys with my younger brother.
"You know," she hummed, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she waited for the light to turn green. "I haven't seen you date many boys since that boy from your sophomore year. Oh, what was his name...?"
"You haven't seen me dating because I haven't been," I told her as the light turned green and she stepped on the gas. "I just don't see any guys worth dating."
"What about this Ashton boy?"
I shrugged. Ashton was definitely different. I didn't see him as I saw most boys, which was mainly just as one-night stands. Ashton actually seemed to care, which was something no boy seemed to do towards me since Danny, either. But did I actually want to try dating again? Not really. I was still way too afraid. Danny said he cared too, and look where that got me.
Jules probably picked up on the fact I didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she turned the radio up a little and let some dumb country song I didn't know play to fill the silence. When we pulled up to the curb in front of the school, I got out and waved before walking toward the front doors. I opened them, relieved that they still air conditioned the place on weekends.
I strolled into the office, greeting Principal Vulkner's secretary with a head nod. She smiled back. "You're Samantha Blake, correct?"
"Yep," I confirmed. Then I remembered Ashton. "Hey, um, did the guy that's supposed to have detention with me already come in?"
She looked to her computer screen briefly before her eyes met mine again. "No, not yet."
"Thanks." I nodded before going down the hall toward the detention room.
I flung the door open and sat down in the seat I sat in when I first went there on Thrusday, kicking my feet up on the desk and pulling my phone out to see if I had any notifications from anything or anyone. I just had one text from Mom saying I had to take Molly to the doctor's at two. I groaned, agreeing to do it. I didn't want to to take my younger sister to the doctor's after spending five hours in detention, but I loved my little Lollie so I'd do it.
The door opened and Ashton walked in wearing a light grey v-neck, black skinny jeans, and his brown boots. The only thing different about him was he was wearing thick, black glasses. I could help but stare as he sat at the same table as me, pulling his drumsticks out of his back pocket and twirling one of them through his fingers. He looked at me and noticed my staring.
"What?" he wondered, honest worry on his face.
"You're wearing glasses," I pointed out, a smile spreading on my face. "Since when do you need glasses?"
"I wear contacts," he explained sheepishly, hanging his head. "But my contacts went down the drain this morning so I'm stuck with these things for a while."
"Why don't you like wearing your glasses?" I wondered.
He shrugged. "I got teased when I first got them so I begged my mom to let me get contacts."
"Shut up," I told him, gently hitting his arm. "You look adorable."
His cheeks began to turn pink and his dimples popped out as he smiled at the floor. "Well, thank you."
The door burst open and Vulkner looked around until his glare landed on Ashton and I. He pointed at the curly-haired boy and then to the other side of the room. Ashton got up with his sticks and sat in the chair against the side wall. Then Vulkner looked back at me.
"I'll be back in half an hour to check on you two." he warned before leaving, letting the door close behind him.
"What was that about?" Ashton asked me, his eyebrows pulled together.
I shook my head. "Don't worry about it."
He rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward in his chair. He kept a drumstick in each hand, putting his chin on his fists. "You don't talk about much, do you? First you didn't want to talk about your old school, and then the essay, and now whatever that was about."
Actually, I kind of did want to talk about them. I wanted people to know that I wasn't a complete fuck-up - that I had reasons behind the things I did even if they weren't very good reasons. But I couldn't dump all of that stuff on Ashton, could I? I'd only known him for three days; that would be weird telling him about my old school and Danny and my sex issues. Right?
I just looked back at him and shrugged. "I don't see you giving out your life story."
He nodded. "True."
"There are just some things that you want to forget." I said quietly, staring off at the floor now.
"I know." he agreed.
It fell silent for a moment before I said anything else. "Do you ever want to tell someone everything because it's just been built up inside you for so long, but you're scared they won't understand?"
He nodded, also looking at the ground. "All the time."
I left it at that, not knowing what else to say. He understood where I was coming from, which was good, but I still didn't know if I should say anything. What if he thought I was still incredibly stupid for sleeping with all those people, and what if he thought I was just a giant bitch for never letting anyone in? Ashton was actually a pretty great person that I didn't want to lose. This was the first time in a year I actually had a friend so I didn't want to fuck it up.
Ashton's chuckling got me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and he noticed I was staring again. "Oh, sorry. I was just thinking like, we're not even ten minutes into detention and we're talking about all this deep stuff right now."
I let out a laugh too. "Guess this is going to be one hell of a detention."
-
//calum//
He had to call up Lottie again, even though he felt bad doing so. Since him and Michael couldn't afford a car or gas, he had to rely on other's to bring his broke self around. But Lottie didn't seem to mind; she didn't when Calum asked if she could bring them to the pizza place either. He wondered if it was even possible to get Lottie mad.
"Where to, hun?" she asked as he got into the passenger seat of her car.
He gave her the direction to his sister's house before buckling up. She pulled out of the parking lot of the apartment complex and drove off to where her GPS led her. Lottie let the sweet sounds of Florence and the Machine fill the car as they drove.
"So how's Michael?" Lottie wondered as they got onto the highway.
Calum shrugged. "He's okay, I guess. He's still wicked pissed we have no electricity or anything."
"Is that why you're going where you are?" she asked, her blue eyes looking to him for a brief moment. "I mean, you don't have to tell me. I don't want to seem nosy."
"It's fine," he assured her. "Yeah, I'm going to my sister's place to get money for rent."
"Don't you guys have jobs or something?"
"I work at a grocery store and Mike works at the record shop, but we don't get paid much. But we're going to be on our own really soon."
"Why?"
"My family's moving to New Zeland. My dad got offered a really good job over there, and I'm eighteen so I don't have to go with them. I wouldn't anyway; I can't leave Michael by himself. That'd be a dick move."
Lottie nodded with pursed lips as she thought about it. "Well, thanks for telling me. I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough around me to tell me stuff like that."
Calum let a smile form on his face at the tiny blonde girl. "Thanks for being understanding and not judging me."
Her eyebrows scrunched together as she gave him a sideways glance. "Why would anyone judge you for that?"
Calum just shrugged. "It happens at school all the time. We're the 'bad boy' types that's just reckless and fucks everything up. People would think we deserve it."
"I don't," she assured him, resting her hand on his leg for a moment. "And if you need a ride anywhere or even need help with rent, I'll be there for you."
"You're literally the most level-headed and kind-hearted person I've ever met in my life." he laughed.
She smiled. "Aw, thank you, love. But not that many people think I am. Because I'm rich, I'm automatically a snobby bitch."
"Honestly, I thought you were before the whole detention thing," he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. She shot a playful glare his way, and he held his hands up in defense as he laughed. "I'm sorry! It was just the fact you're rich and you got detention because you skipped school to go shopping. Of course I was going to jump to conclusions."
"As long as we're all cleared up now." she smiled with a nod.
"Course we are." he smiled back.
-
//ashton//
Four hours in and Ashton and Sam were both bored out of their minds. Ashton had come up with playing catch with a wad of paper and even soccer with it, too. Nothing entertained them at all. He kept thinking back to the conversation they had when they first showed up. Not only would it pass time, but he'd get to learn about why Sam was the way she was - possibly addicted to sex, and somewhat hostile - and because he'd get to get some of the weight off of his shoulders by finally telling someone what was up with his life.
"So are you busy after?" Ashton asked, drumming his sticks against the table.
Sam's eyes flashed up. "Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, we've been hanging out in here just talking for a while. I figured we were at the friend stage where we hang out outside of school. Wait, that sounded weird...'
Sam began to laugh and he noticed how her eyes squinted a little and her cheekbones stuck out more. "There are friendship stages now?"
"Yeah," he nodded, smiling now too as he set his drumsticks down. "There's the awkward acquaintance stage, and then the casual friend stage where you sort of wave in the hall and talk sometimes when you see each other, and then the friend stage where you hang out from time to time and then the best friend stage where you have stupid inside jokes and can't leave each other alone.'
"You're pulling all of this out of your ass, aren't you?"
"You didn't answer my question!" he laughed loudly.
Sam tucked her hair behind her ear, her laughter dying down as she looked at her feet. "Well, I'd love to, but I have to bring my little sister to the doctor's at two."
Ashton picked up his drumming again. "I'll drive if you want. Then we can go out for ice cream or something."
Sam half-smiled. "Seriously? Ashton, you don't-"
"But I want to," he insisted. "So are you up for it or not?"
She shrugged with a nod. "Yeah, sounds great.'
Ashton felt butterflies in his stomach - the good kind. He genuinely liked Sam and didn't understand why people seemed to judge her so quickly just because she liked to sleep around. He went through a time like that and no one judged him for it - then again, he was sort of invisible to everyone anyway. Nonetheless, he felt Sam didn't deserve the terrible names that were spat at her. She was still a nice girl and maybe had reasons behind her behavior. He wished she would tell him but he also didn't want to pressure her into it. Maybe he could just...hint at it.
"So, what's your family like anyway?" he wondered, letting his drumsticks lay on the table before turning toward her, his arms resting on his legs as he leaned forward in his seat.
She shrugged. "I have my little sister, Mollie who's literally the most rambunctious four-year-old I've ever seen. She's obsessed with monkeys so she likes to act like one and jump around on her bed and stuff. Derek is a freshman here and he's really into music. He's kind of been my only friend for a while-"
Only friend? Ashton's heart hurt for her when she said that. No one wanted to be her friend just because of her sex habits? Or maybe there was more to it.
"-and then there's my parents. Um, they're kind of lesbians though..." she finished awkwardly, giving a funny look at the floor.
"What do you mean 'kind of'?" Ashton laughed.
She shrugged. "They are."
"Well, what happened to your dad?" he wondered. "I mean, if you don't mind my asking."
"I don't talk to him," she said flatly. "I haven't in a while. He's in the army anyway, so at least I don't have to keep in much contact with his asshole self."
"D-did you want to talk about it?" he asked cautiously, hoping she would. He figured if she told someone, she'd feel better about it.
She shook her head. "I'll just end up getting angry and I don't feel like fucking up the room and getting another Saturday detention."
"Well this one wasn't so bad." he let out a chuckle.
"It was actually kind of nice," she admitted. "Besides Vulkner coming in every so often. Just looking at him pisses me off."
"At least we're out in fifty minutes," he told her, checking his phone for the time. "And then we just have to bring uh, Mollie to the doctor's, and then we have our ice cream date."
Her eyes flashed up to meet his. They were wide. "D-date?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, like when you make plans and say 'it's a date'."
"Oh," she nodded. "Right. Yeah, date..."
As she looked away, Ashton furrowed his eyebrows. Why did she freak out so much at the fact he said it was a date? Was it really such a big deal? A date was literally just hanging out with someone, but it's not like this was actually going to be a date. Her little sister was going to be there anyway.
"Why?" Ashton wondered softly after a minute. "Do you like, not like dating?"
She shrugged, still not meeting my eyes. "I just haven't done it in a while."
"Why not?"
Her eyes flicked across the floor as if she was thinking about it. Finally she softly said, "I don't want to talk about it."
Ashton nodded, understanding she just wanted the conversation to end there. But he felt bad because he knew whatever the reason was made her sad. Her mouth pulled down at the corners slightly as her blue eyes continued to concentrate on the grey carpeting of the floor. He knew it was bugging her and he knew it might help if she just let it out. But he also knew that Sam was a tough girl that obviously didn't want to let anyone in.
-
//samantha//
"You know,' Ashton spoke up. I didn't look at him, but just played with my fingers in my lap. "I went through this time where I didn't date people either."
My eyes flashed up to meet his. "R-really?" I honestly thought I was the only teenage girl that chose not to date.
"Mhmm," he nodded. "Maybe for different reasons; maybe not."
"What was your's?" I wondered.
"What was your's?" he retorted, raising an eyebrow. I went silent, playing with my finger again. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him about Danny even though I knew he wanted me to say something. I knew I'd just start crying or raging. He sighed before speaking softly. "Was it a boyfriend?"
I nodded slowly and silently, trying not to cry as I thought back to the year I spent with him and the year he tormented me afterward. Ashton let out a sharp laugh. I looked up and saw him looking at the floor too, his hands locked together. "I know how that is."
"What happened?" I asked, my voice cracking a little bit, but he didn't take notice to it. A feel similar to relief flooded through me; someone would understand what I went through.
He looked at me with a smirk and his eyes raised. "If I tell you, are you going to tell me?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. When I'm ready, I guess I will.'
He shrugged too, leaning back in his seat. "Then I'll wait until you're ready to tell me - and there's no rush - and then I'll tell you."
I considered it and then nodded. "It's a deal."