How You Changed Me

“Ashlyn, get up, school!” I hear my mother call down the stairs. Ugh, I don’t want to go to school. I get out of bed, accidentally knocking a broken alarm clock off my nightstand in the process, somehow. I make my way to the bathroom so that I could sort out my terrible bed head, brush my teeth, shower and whatever else was needed before going back to my room and getting dressed in my school uniform.

“Morning!” My father calls from the kitchen table when I make it there, my mother cooking his breakfast.

“Good morning, how are you?” I ask, sitting down where some cereal, a bowl and milk were. “Mom, why does Dad always get the good stuff?”

“Oh hush, be grateful I do that much for you.” She jokes. We all laugh good naturedly. We got along, but we weren’t the closest family out there.

“So, we have news.” My father tells me, turning the moment serious.

“Oh?” I say, unsure how to respond.

“Use words, don’t mutter,” My father says. “Well, the Dicaprianos are coming to live with us.”

“Why?” I ask, trying to keep the resent and malice form showing though. They were my family’s closest friends, just because I hate the son, who just had to be the same freaking age as I am, doesn’t mean I have to let the entire family suffer my ill favour.

“They lost all their money and we have a large enough house, no need for them to move to an area farther away just due to financial issues.” My mother tells me. Of course, we already knew of their financial troubles, so it should be no shock that my parents instantly opened our home up for them when it turned for even worse. They were all best friends, after all.

Fortunately, we had avoided the worst of the economic issues happening of late, instead my parents even found ways to gain. It’s sad that others, people so close to us, weren’t as lucky.

“Of course. When can I expect them?” I ask, knowing it would mean I’d need to clean up my bathroom for Liam and I to share, so it had to be more male friendly.

“By the week’s end.” My father informs me. Great.

“Alright, I’ll make sure the bathroom is appropriate for Liam as well.” I say.

“How’d you know you needed to do that?” My mother asks.

“The only places you’d put people so close to our family is the good guest room, and down in the other basement room. I stay in the main bedroom in the basement, and there is only one bathroom down there with a shower. So, I am assuming you’ll put Liam down there so that his parents can have the bigger room up on the second floor which means I need to make sure my feminine products are in a secure, out of the way place to reduce his chances of finding them.

“Oh, very good. Well, do that when you get home and make sure nothing is laying around downstairs that shouldn’t be before they get here.” My father orders, I nod and eat, saying farewells as I left for school.

~~~&~~~

“Seriously? You get to live with a hot guy, share a basement with him, and you’re complaining!?” My close friend, Mikayla asked incredulously.

“Yeah. Because he is an ass, he probably is swarming with diseases and he is the worst kind of trouble there is.” I tell her. Of course she didn’t believe me completely, probably only about him being an ass. He was perfect to everyone who didn’t know him as I did.

“Whatever, you just don’t want to admit you’ve got it bad for him.” She says.

“That’s because I don’t.” She rolls her eyes and leaves it at that.

After that we start on the chit-chat and wave or say hi to people who do to us. It was routine, and completely and utterly boring. I sigh as some of our other friends come up to us and all start on the newest gossip. It was pointless. I look around, eyes locking on Liam and his friends all laughing their socks off. Why couldn’t my friends and I be like that? It looks like fun. Seeing me Liam starts walking toward us, calling bye to his friends.

“Hello, ladies. How are you all on this lovely morning?” He asks. His uniform was slightly rumpled; his hair slightly messy and he hadn’t shaved. I would bet he had stayed out and banged some unfortunate girl last night.

“Hey.” They all said in reply, smiling. Some even started twirling their hair around their fingers and attempted to give him a coy look. Some friends.

“Would you mind if I took dear Ashlyn from you? She and I must simply have a chat.” He says, smooth and practiced with his every word.

“Of course not. We’ll catch you later, Lyn” Mikayla says, winking, and they walk off. Well crap.

“What would you like?” I ask, not looking at him as we walked. But, as always, I continued to be polite, as my mother drilled into me. The best way to the top is to make friends in everyone, be the best, do the best and never let your appearance fail. Always be polite, energetic, kind and selfless, no matter who you are with or are talking to.

“Have you heard? My family is moving in. We get to be housemates… Maybe even roommates.” He says, and I see him wink and smirk from the corner of my eye. That presumptuous ass.

“Yeah. I heard this morning. What of it? And you won’t be rooming with me. We just have to share a bathroom.” I tell him, cutting any thoughts of that sort from his head. Disgusting.

“Well, you gotta loosen up if we are gonna make it work.” At that I stop walking, turn and give him the most incredulous look possible. I need to loosen up? He needs to stop being such a shit head and learn that life isn’t all fun and games and drugs and one night stands!

“Well, if we are going to make this whole ordeal work out then you will understand if I find any drugs or liquor I am going straight to my parents and yours. There will be nothing of the sort happening in my home.” I inform him, his cocky look falling from his face and a glare replacing it. I met his icy gaze with one of my own.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Do you really want to test that theory?” I ask, taking on a slightly cocky tone.

“That and a few others,” He winks. He winked. He is such a prick!

“Not in your best dreams.”

“Oh, yes it’s in my best dreams. Every night, babe.” He said, knowing how much that had gotten to me. I slap him, right across the face, and walk off. Many people glanced our way, but didn’t do anything. It was something that was commonly known, Liam and I got along to the teachers, the administrators and our families, but otherwise he was the only one who could get a negative reaction out of me, and we hated each other with a passion, constantly attempting to one up the other.

The rest of the day goes by, Liam and I conflicting when we were near enough the other, but otherwise it was completely dull.