——————-

“say it man! say it!” “glen is the supreme king of super smash brothers…” “and!?” “and his sex can be described as the 8^th wonder of the world” “yo, how would you know that” aiden said with a smile, clapping clay on the back and tossing glen a greasy mcdonalds bag. “eats! nice!” glen busied himself with a sloppy big mac while aiden pulled up a chair, collapsing in its goodness. “have you been up to see Ashley yet?” clay inquired. “nah, your mom said she’d send someone down when spencer was done talkin’ to her…dude, your brother…” glen had attacked the 460 calorie sandwich, scarfing it down in 2minutes flat. his face was covered in mayonnaise and ketchup, aiden even spotted a leaf of lettuce in his tight blonde curls. “wha?” glen asked, starting on the fries. “napkin, man, napkin.” clay tossed him the box of kleenex’s next to his bed.

——————-

“excuse me!” paula bumped hard into the corner of a receptionists desk, brushing the blow off as she continued her pursuit of the tall dark haired diva who continued to evade her. “stop!” she had finally caught up (thanks to a little old lady who took her time to cross the hall) and took the opportunity to grab hold of the woman before she could run off again. “yes?” mrs. davie’s attempt at politeness was wasted on paula. “I’ve been trying to flag you down for the last three and a half minutes!” “really? I hadn’t noticed” “you gave me the finger as you forced your way into a full elevator!” “where are you going with this…?” mrs. carlin was reaching her boiling point and mrs. davies could care less. since exiting her daughters hospital room her demeanor had changed. she was tenser, more fidgety, reckless even. “I’m mrs. carlin, spencer’s mother.” no, ashley’s mother wasn’t at all involved in her life. she rarely looked at report cards and, if so, only so she would have a sufficient argument to throw Ashley’s way as to why she should spend more time in the library instead of in the house, where she was playing homemaker with her “man du juor”. however, it was hard not to notice the notebooks sitting pretty on the kitchen counter covered, no, doused, in “Ashley&Spencer” she could only assume it was her daughter’s newest playmate, and to tell the truth, she could’ve cared less. mrs. davies wasn’t a homophobe. not because she didn’t care, but because it didn’t concern her or her savings account. therefore, her daughters “sexual orientation” was no more an issue than whether or not she should buy the Michael Kors or the Gucci. “let me guess. you’re concerned. wait, no, livid, with the relationship Ashley is having with your daughter.” mrs. carlin didn’t hesistate “Yes, I am and I’d appreciate if-“ she was interrupted by mrs. davies “listen. who my daughter sleeps with is none of my concern and if it’s another girl even better. I won’t have to worry about her coming home pregnant..” paula was red as beets. tomatoe soup. fresh blood. as ridiculous as it sounds, she had yet to entertain the thought of the two girls actually sleeping together. two women in bed…she threw up a little in her mouth but mrs. davies didn’t notice. “if you’d excuse me, I have a meeting at the bank. Ashley’s dad has just taken a one way trip to heaven and there’s life insurance to be collected.” like that, she was gone. out the automatic doors and into the moonlit night.

——————

 “room 24…26…28…30.” aiden took a deep breath and creaked the door open, sticking his head in first to make sure it was actually ashley’s room. “hey you” spencer said, smiling from her seat beside Ashley. “hey! how’s our little rockstar?” aiden walked in and placed his hands on spencer’s shoulders. “I’m amazing.” Ashley laughed back, taking a moment to adjust the sheets so she could sit up. “y’know, I think Ashley’s the only person in the world who can still look hott in a hospital bed” “so true!” spencer replied between laughter. the room should’ve been quieter, dimmer, more depressing. after all, one life had been lost and another nearly was. but it wasn’t, and that’s probably why the mood was lighter, more airy, than it should’ve been. spencer and aiden spent the night with Ashley and the only tears shed were the by products of uncontrollable laughter. the next day would be the weekend and they had much to celebrate, including ashley’s birthday.