Ashley hid herself away in the closest bathroom as soon as the taxi dropped her and Spencer off in front of the house. She knew it was only a temporary solution to her problem, but it was also the only thing she could come up with in her preoccupied state of mind. Perhaps she was lucky. Spencer could have confessed her love in private, leaving Ashley with no stall time and a lot of pressure to return the sentiment.

“Ashley, are you sure you’re ok in there? It’s been like, ten minutes already,” Spencer called from the other side of the bathroom door, her voice filled with sincere concern.

“Yeah, Spence…I’m good. I just…I uh…I feel a little sick. It must be from that pizza I had at lunch. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go up to my room and wait?”

“Is there something I can do? Do you need medicine or a cold towel or…”

“Spencer, trust me. I’ll be fine, ok? I’ll be up in a sec.”

Ashley could almost picture Spencer’s face as she mumbled a slightly defeated, “I’ll be waiting…” and headed up the stairs.

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her thoughts. Would Spencer expect an “I love you” today? Next week? Did she expect it at all?

“Of course she expects it, you fucking idiot!” Ashley said aloud, answering her own question.

She knew she was running out of time to collect her thoughts, a few seconds too long and Spencer could get suspicious.

“Get it together, Ashley. It’s just a word,” she said to herself. But even as she thought it, she knew it wasn’t true. If it was, she would’ve confessed her love for half of LA with no problem. However, this was Spencer…her girlfriend…her best friend. She deserved more.

Ashley opened the bathroom door and headed up to her room, still unsure of exactly how she felt and why she felt it.

“Hey, I was starting to get worried. Are you feeling alright?” Spencer asked, hopping off of the bed and walking towards Ashley.

“Yeah…yeah, I’m alright. I think I just need to lie down or something.”

Spencer nodded and led Ashley to the bed, her hands buried in the girl’s brown curls.