The Worst Choice

"What the heck, Ashlyn?! Get up!" A voice woke me up, shaking me violently. My eyes fluttered opened and I saw Aurora standing over me, eyes narrowed. "We're gonna be late for school! You've got ten minutes before we leave!"

I sat up, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. "What time is it?" I asked.

"It's 6:50," she said hurriedly. "And you're supposed to be up and getting ready by now."

"Okay, mom," I shot tiredly. "Look, school doesn't start until 7:25. It won't hurt for us to leave a bit later. We won't actually be late."

"I'm meeting up with somebody," she said, crossing her arms.

"That Johnny kid you've been obsessed with?" I guessed. I chuckled when she glared. "Okay. Get out of my room so I ca- shit." I turned to my right and saw Nash still sleeping soundly, facing the other way on his stomach. His leg was still pressed up against mine though- it seemed as if he was always touching me somehow whenever we slept. Not that I was complaining or anything. "Um, can you not..."

Aurora followed my gaze, laughing when she saw Nash. "Oh. Him. Catherine already knows he's here," she said before walking out of the door.

My eyes widened. She knew?! "Great. Give her more of a reason to hate Nash," I muttered to myself, running my hand through my hair.

"Who hates me?" Nash's tired voice asked, causing me to jump slightly.

I sighed, falling back onto the bed. "My ever-so-understanding mom," I mumbled sarcastically, playing with the ends of my hair.

He chuckled, slipping his arm around my waist to pull me closer. "She's very understanding for somebody who has a daughter who's in love with me," he commented.

I frowned, turning my head to the side to look at him. "Why do you defend my mom so much?" I asked. "She thinks you're dangerous and I shouldn't be with you."

He shrugged as he closed his eyes. "She's right, that's why," he said. I rolled my eyes, lifting his arm off of me and getting off the bed. I started rummaging through my dresser for clothes to wear. He sighed. "Baby." I ignored him, pulling out a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. "Babe." I still didn't say anything as I went into the bathroom, nearly slamming the door shut. I quickly stripped off my dirty clothes and pulled on the clean ones. I grabbed my toothbrush and started brushing my teeth, ignoring the door opening and Nash walking in.

Nash leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he watched me brush my teeth. "Deja vu," he said with a grin. I sent him a glare through the mirror before spitting out the toothpaste. He sighed, pushing himself off of the doorframe so he could shut the door before leaning against it, his eyes meeting mine. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, staring at him with raised eyebrows and crossed arms, waiting for him to move. He mimicked my actions, showing me that he wasn't letting this go. "I'm gonna be late for school if you don't move. So will Aurora and dealing with her wrath? Sucks."

Nash chuckled. "I think I can handle a little yelling from her," he assured me. "And it won't be my fault if you two are late. You're the one who got pissed off for no reason and you're going to tell me why, no matter how long it takes you to do so. I have all day; you, on the other hand, do not. So... your choice, baby." I cursed quietly, knowing he had a point. Not only would Aurora be pissed but so would my mom. And it would give her yet another to hate Nash. I could picture it now: "He doesn't care about your education, Ashlyn! He's made you late- next thing you know he'll be convincing you to drop out!" Nash's voice broke me from my bitter thoughts. "Now you look even more pissed off. Just tell me what's up."

I let out a frustrated groan, stomping my foot. I probably looked ridiculous but I didn't care. "You! You are what's up!" He gave me a confused look, his eyes flickering down to his lower body. "No- not that! I'm talking about everything you say and that my mom says and that everybody else in the fucking world says!" Now he was looking at me like I was going crazy, which only annoyed me even further. Bad idea. "It's like nobody wants me to be with you! All I hear is about how bad you are for me and how crappy of a person you are. Do you have any clue how annoying that gets? Everybody questioning my decisions like I'm five years old or something." I scoffed. "Especially you. If you think you're so dangerous and I shouldn't be with you, why not just break up with me? Why continue being with the stupid girl who loves you?"

He blinked at me a few times, his mouth slightly ajar. Finally, the confusion on his face subsided. What I didn't expect, though, was for him to start laughing. "Wait; let me get this straight, you're this worked up over something your mom said that I agreed with? Are you serious?"

I rolled my eyes, clenching my jaw. "Okay, laugh it up," I snapped. "You said that once I told you, you'd let me leave. I told you. Let me leave."

"No," he said. "Not until we settle this... argument?"

The amusement in his voice only made me feel stupid. "There is no argument, okay?" I said. "Nothing to settle. Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine and dandy, alright?" I grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away from my only exit. I was surprised when he actually let me pull him away but that vanished when he pushed me against the door, pressing his body into mine so I couldn't move. I wiggled, trying to free myself but failed.

"You done now?" he asked me once I'd stopped moving. I rolled my eyes at his smirk but didn't answer. "Good. Now look, you have your opinions about me. I have my opinions about me. Your mom has opinions about me. And who else was it- everyone else in the fucking world?-has their opinions of me. I'm not the best at math, but even I know that's a lot of opinions. You're gonna get shit for every choice you make, so you have to brush it off. Don't get all worked up over little things that don't even matter."

I frowned. "Fine," I mumbled begrudgingly. I avoided looking at his face, refusing to see the victorious smirk that I knew he was wearing.

"Good," he said, His thumb and finger lightly pinched my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his, our faces only inches away. "To answer your question, I'm not going to break up with you because we're staying together even if everybody else wants us apart."

I couldn't fight the grin that was forming on my lips. "Even if I wanted us apart?" I teased.

His smirk faltered, a small smile taking its place. "Even if you wanted us apart," he murmured. Butterflies filled my stomach at the honesty of his words. He leaned close to my ear, his breath tickling my skin as he spoke. "Here's what gonna happen now. Before I let you leave, you're going to kiss me; an apology for being mad at me for no reason. Got it?" I shivered slightly and he leaned back, waiting for his apology. I smirked, grabbing his neck and pulling his lips to mine. I pulled back seconds later, innocently looking up at him. He shook his head, his smile widening. "Worst apology ever," he informed me before crashing his lips against mine.

Nash.

"And tell him not to worry about tonight. He's right, it's no big fucking deal," Jas nearly growled.

I stared at her with wide eyes. "Um... okay?" I answered confused. "Thanks for the ride..." She only snorted in response, so I grabbed my suitcase and got out the car, the car speeding off just as I shut the door. I walked up Levi's driveway, not bothering to knock as I walked inside the door. "Levi! Where the fuck are you?" I heard a grunt come from down the hall and I walked back to Levi's room, finding him face down in his bed, a blanket thrown over the sliding glass doors to prevent light from coming through. "Shit, man. It's bright in here."

"I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm," was what I heard, his voice muffled with by the pillows.

I dropped my suitcase, sliding my book bag off my shoulders and dropping that as well. I took a seat on the metal chair he had sitting in front of his desk. "Wake up, dude. I need to talk to you," I said, kicking the bed.

He groaned, muttering curse words as he sat up. "What the fuck, you couldn't have come later?" he asked. "Make it quick. I plan on sleeping all day."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Late night?" I asked.

He snorted, reaching over the side of the bed to fish a pack of cigarettes and lighter from his jeans. "I'll say," he answered, lighting his cigarette and inhaling deeply.

I watched him curiously. "Your mom's gonna kick your ass for smoking inside," I informed him.

"I have Febreeze around here somewhere, she'll never know," he replied. "So, why are you here?"

"First, Jas said not to worry about tonight. You're right, it's no big fucking deal," I echoed her words. He rolled his eyes. "What's tonight?"

"Some stupid fucking family dinner her parents want me to come to," he grumbled. "Like she really expected me to say I'd come."

"But her parents love you, Lee Lee," I told him sarcastically.

He scoffed. "Right?" he said. "She expects me to sit there for a couple hours, listening to how I'll get their daughter involved with the wrong people and how the holes in my ears will get me nowhere in life." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm sure that's not why you came over, so, get to it. I have a moody hangover to sleep off."

"I need a place to stay," I told him.

He looked at me in disbelief as he dropped the cigarette butt in an old Coke can. "Seriously? That's why you woke me up?" he asked. "You already stay here whenever. Why are you asking now?"

I shook my head. "No, dumbass. I mean like a place to live," I corrected, pointing to my clothes. His eyes followed the direction I was pointing in, a look of realization crossing his face. "Yeah. And this is the only place I really have to go, so..."

He blinked a few times. "Yeah, dude," he finally answered. "Yeah. Just put your shit by the couch until my mom gets home tonight and we'll figure everything out."

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate it," I told him.

He nodded. "Yep. So, that all?" I nodded. "Good. Go the hell away so I can sleep."

I chuckled, shaking my head as I picked my stuff up and dropped them in the corner before falling onto the couch, falling asleep within minutes.