**Picture of Ashton**
"So how about you give me your number and we go see that action movie I was talking about tonight?" Seth asks me.
"I told you I was busy tonight Seth." I reply as politely as I could, whilst gritting my teeth. I bring my long dark brown hair over my shoulder, putting up an invisible barrier between us so I could see the clock on the wall. It feels like I've been stuck in the library next to Seth for years not just the past ninety minutes. I originally came in here during my free period to get some peace and quiet to sketch my designs; but as soon as Seth sat down next to me I knew there wasn't a chance of that happening.
"Well how about tomorrow then?" He asks again.
Finally the bell rang signalling that it was lunch time and I couldn't have been more thankful. Seth the college 'man whore' has been trying to get my number for the past hour and a half and failing miserably.
"Sorry, I've got to go." I say whilst gathering all my stuff together.
There are only so many ways you can politely say no to someone before you have to use tough love and tell them to "piss off".
"Yea okay, I'll see you soon Lyd." Seth replies glumly.
I'm not sure what has caused Seth's sudden interest in me, seeing as we've been in college together for the past eighteen months and he's barely spoken two words to me, unless I was with Ashton; but today seemed to be the day that he HAD to get my attention.
Now there's Ashton; Ashton or Ash as everyone likes to call him is my best friend and captain of the college football team. I've known him my whole life; our mums were friends back when they were in university but lost touch after they graduated. Then a few years later they happened to bump into each other at a mother and baby coffee morning at one of our local cafés. After finding out they lived near each other their friendship was reignited and Ash and I ended up growing up together, luckily for our mum's we clicked and we've been stuck with each other ever since.
Ash is my other half, and I honestly can't imagine my life without him. I know everything about him and he knows everything about me...well, almost everything. A girl's got to have a couple of her own secrets right?
He's the best friend anyone could ask for: he's funny, caring, childish at times, loving, romantic...oh and he's bloody gorgeous. He's got mousy brown hair that is always flicked up at the front and the rest messily styled to perfection; he has stunning ice blue eyes, a strong chiseled jawline, the cheekiest but brightest smile framing his perfect set of white teeth; and a body you'd think was carved by a Greek god. You can literally see the outline of his six pack when he wears his tight tops, which is often. And don't even get me started on his thighs...wow.
Anyway, he's what you'd class as the college 'heart throb'. Girls here pretty much throw themselves at him regularly and he laps it up, he loves that he has a new girl on his arm every couple of weeks; if you last longer than a month with Ashton you are considered a freakin goddess. Ashton NEVER commits to anyone. He breaks every girl's heart that he's been with, they all know what they're getting into by sleeping with him or dating him, but that never stops them from wanting to be his girl, even if it is only for a week or two.
It's pretty pathetic really. Although, I'm not one to comment; I've been in love with Ashton for as long as I can remember. Ever since us girls grow out of the 'eww boys are gross' and into the 'oh he's kinda cute phase'. Ashton has always been the boy I thought was cute, then that progressed into a teenage crush and now into unrequited love. That's the biggest secret I hold from him.
I'm not like all the college skanks though; they all seem to 'love' him because he's popular, on the football team, has the best six pack around and is gorgeous. They love him for what they see on the outside, whilst I love him for all the things they don't see.
Because we're best friends, I get to see a completely different side to him that no one else sees; which makes me love him even more. I know all of his joys and accomplishments, his hopes and fears, his secrets, his inner most depth feelings that he's too scared to share with anyone else.
I know about his fear of going into the sea because he's petrified of jellyfish, his love for Dirty Dancing, I even know about his secret tattoo on his inner thigh that he got with me last summer because he was feeling rebellious.
I know every part of that boy. He trusts me just as much as I trust him. That's why I love him. But that's the exact reason why I won't tell him. I'm too scared to ruin what we have.
*~*~*
It's still winter here in Wales, so I'm glad I've got on my thick red coat as I wander down the cold, busy halls to my locker. Daydreaming about Ashton, as always, I bump into Rachel, Ashton's current 'pick' of the month.
"Watch where you're going Lyd." She says snidely, pushing me away from her. I stumble, tripping over my feet crashing to the floor, my arm catching the corner of the lockers as I land.
She glares down at me before stalking off, her two friends following behind her. I pick myself up, wincing as I do so. Taking my arm out of my coat sleeve I see I've got a gash down my arm from where I fell.
"Shit" I curse, looking at the blood trickling down towards my elbow.
I make a quick pit stop at the girl's toilets to clean up. As I wash the blood away, I sigh. I don't get why all Ash's girlfriend's do this to me. Push me over, hurl verbal abuse at me, and make me feel bad about myself. I know I'm not as popular as them or as pretty, they're the ones dating Ash not me, I'm just his best friend. They have nothing to worry about. Although they should realise by now that if they upset me and Ash finds out, their relationship ends, he's very protective over me. Which I love and hate at the same time.
I use some paper towels to dry off the cut before slipping my coat back on and leaving the bathroom. Heading for the diner, I walk straight to the sandwich counter; today they were serving my favourite.
"Tandoori chicken in a wrap Lyd?" Mrs Fletcher asks me and I nod. Every time it's on the menu, I have the same thing. I move along the line once my wraps made, adding some chips to my plate and grabbing a bottle of water before paying.
I make my way over to our table before sitting down in an empty chair. Our table is pretty empty at the moment; Ashton and his friends aren't here yet. So far it's just me and my girls: Ayla, Georgia and Lois.
"How's your morning been, Lyd?" Lois asked me whilst tucking into her jacket potato.
"So frustrating," I say, whilst taking off my coat." Mrs Tudor asked for our design projects a week early as she's going on holiday and doesn't want to spend it marking our work." I complain, dipping a chip in my ketchup pot.
"That sucks," Lois nods
"That's not all," I say before picking up another chip. "I've had Seth asking me out all morning as well."
"What?" Ayla exclaims, her eyes popping out her head.
"Exactly," I say, shaking my head. "That boy just doesn't understand the word no."
They all roll their eyes at me, knowing exactly what Seth is like.
I pick up my wrap. Just as I was about to take a bite, Georgia shouted out, "Jesus, Lyd, what the hell did you do to your arm?"
I quickly take a bite before glancing at my arm, which was unfortunately still bleeding.
"Oh shit" I exclaim. I grab a napkin from the middle of the table and press it against my cut. "I had a run in with Rachel on my way here, which resulted with me falling on my arse as usual."
"You should tell Ash, he wouldn't stand for her treating you like that."
"I'm old enough to fight my own battles thank you, I don't need him rescuing me all the time," I say still dabbing at my cut.
"We know," Ayla says, looking at me sympathetically. "We're just saying Ash should know."
"No-" I begin when I get interrupted.
"Ash should know what?" The boy himself asks, plonking himself down in the chair next to me, as the rest of his friends find empty seats around our table.
"Nothing." I reply, smiling sweetly at him.
Suddenly, none of my crappy day matters. Having Ash next to me is like sitting in the sun; he warms me up and puts a smile on my face. He looks especially gorgeous today, with his hair messily falling over his kind eyes and his fitted jumper outlining his strong chest. I had to stop myself from obviously staring at him.
Sending a glare at the girls to shut up, I place the now bloody napkin down on my lap before eating my lunch.
"What the hell did you do to your arm?" Ash gasps grabbing my arm and bending it god knows what way to get a better look.
"I fell over before lunch, it's nothing." I say pulling my arm away and grabbing drink.
"You fell over? So, you weren't pushed?" Lois asks, her eyebrows halfway up her forehead, giving me the 'don't fucking lie to me' look.
"Someone pushed you, who?" Ashton asks before I could reply to Lois with a no.
"No one did Ash. Calm down, I'm fine."
"No, who the hell pushed you over Lou?"
Ash is the only person to call me Lou. My full name is Lydia but ever since we were five he said he didn't like it and called me Lou, which is my middle name- Louise. He's since said he loves my name, but by then his nickname for me has stuck, and to be honest I like that he calls me something different to everyone else. It's the one thing that actually makes me feel special.
"Hey baby," Rachel says, coming over and grabbing Ash's arm to get his attention off me and onto her.
"Hey Rach," He says quickly before looking back at me. "Who did this to you?"
I glance up at Rachel who is glaring at me to keep my mouth shut and discreetly nodding her head to the side for me to move. I swear if we were in a cartoon, fire would be shooting out her eyeballs at me.
"No one, I'm done here," I say standing up, leaving half eaten lunch on the table. Rachel immediately slid into my seat.
"Would you jump in her grave that quickly?" Ayla says glaring at Rachel who sticks her middle finger up in response.
I turn to leave, but Ash leaps up and grabs my arm; his piercing blue eyes burn into me. "That's your favourite meal; you always finish it, what is going on Lou?" Ash asks.
"Nothing, I'm just full. Plus, there's no point in me wasting a seat if I'm finished when Rachel can sit next to you. I'll see you after school at your car, okay?" I ask and he nods slowly before heading back over to his seat, where Rachel was calling his name. His eyes watching me cautiously as I walk away from him, I knew he didn't believe a word I was saying but he let it go.
I glance back to see Rachel smirking at me before pulling Ashton into a kiss, bringing his attention back onto her. My insides coil up and I quickly turn my head before heading out of the diner. I don't want to see that; it breaks my heart every time.
I head to my locker to grab my sketch pad for Art. As I walk into the classroom, the teacher, Mr Harris nods at me and I take a seat. This is my next class anyway, but I usually come here to work when I needed space, peace and quiet. This is where I should have come this morning instead of getting nagged by Seth in the library. Mr Harris always let me sit in; even when he is teaching another class; I'll make my way to a quiet corner and sketch.
I've just started on a new dress idea that I'd imagined this morning. It's an anti-wedding dress, covered with broken hearts, with a black full skirt in tulle. Not exactly the wedding dress my design teacher has in mind for me to design but it's a reflection of how I'm feeling right now; dark, depressed and hating love.
I'm happy drawing, but after missing lunch, my stomach growls out loud angrily.
Like the answer to my prayer, the door opens and Ayla walks in. In her hands is a sandwich bag, holding my left over lunch.
"Here, before you starve yourself to death over Rachel being a conniving bitch." She smiles, passing it over to me.
"Thanks." She sits and I gratefully accept the bag off her.
"You should have told Ash what happened, he'd have put her in her place," she says, pulling her sketch pad out.
"What's the point? He needs to learn on his own how much of a pyscho she is. Me telling him won't make any difference."
"When she's harming you, it will."
"He's happy with her; I'm not spoiling that over a little fall." I reply before popping a cold chip into my mouth.
"Anyway, screw telling him about Rachel - you need to tell him how you feel about him." She says loudly.
My head shoots up to look at her. I glance around the room to see if anyone else had heard her. No one is paying us attention thankfully; my secret is still safe.
Rattled, I snap at her, "Shut up Ay. He's my best friend, that's all we'll ever be now leave it. I'm not telling him. It's better all-round if I just keep my mouth shut."
"Not for you though," she says quietly and I shrug.
"Not everyone has a happy ending, Ay," I say. Feeling close to tears I draw another fractured heart on my design; as it mirrors my own.
"I still can't believe he's with her, he's usually finished with his girls by now, it's been what three weeks?"
"Yea or round about, I remember the weekend he asked her out, it was when we got all that snow over Christmas break."
*~*~*~*
I'd like to dedicate this part to Blondeanddangerous for emailing me and helping me edit this chapter. I really appreicate your help and insight. Her stories are awesome as well so go check them out if you haven't already. :)
Anyway, please let me know what you think of it so far.
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Thanks for reading...x
**Edit**
I've noticed a lot of comments about me mentioning 'thighs' to drool over on a guy. I'm Welsh...and we have a HOT welsh rugby team. And their thighs are lush. haha trust me...check out guys thighs in the future, they're hot and muscular and just yummy haha**