“I’m fine, Ashley.”

“You’re not fine, Spence. You almost fell over.” She paused, trying to make eye contact with the blonde, but Spencer’s eyes were still tightly clamped shut. “Maybe you should go see the doctor.”

At this, Spencer’s eyes flew open, “I think the doctors have a few more important things to deal with right now, Ashley.” The tone of Spencer’s voice was one that Ashley had never heard before. Frustration? Exhaustion? Hurt? Hopelessness? Honestly, it was all of the above and so much more.

“Well… Why don’t we at least go get something to eat in the cafeteria?” Spencer was completely ready to shoot Ashley down, but before she could, Ashley continued, “Take a break from all of this, y’know?” Spencer didn’t need to look into Ashley’s eyes to know what the brunette was feeling. Her voice was heavy with emotion, with utter desperation. She needed a break just as much as Spencer did.

So, despite the emotions swirling around in the blonde’s head, she relented, “Alright, let me grab my purse.”

“Spence, don’t worry about it. I can take care of…”

Spencer purposefully walked past the brunette, retrieving her severely blood-stained clutch and walking into the hallway.

Before exiting the room, Ashley examined the faces of her friends, including her sister, who sat in the waiting room. No one seemed to notice her presence. Opting to leave them to their own thoughts, she silently left the room.

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When Ashley found Spencer, she was repeatedly pressing the down button to summon the elevator. After a minute had passed, Ashley spoke up, “Spencer, you do know that the elevator comes just as fast when you press that once, right?” No response, but the button pressing continued. “Spencer! C’mon, just relax.”

The clicking of the button being pressed ceased and Spencer whirled around, making eye contact with Ashley, something she hadn’t done since the moments before the shooting. “I can’t!” With that, she turned back around and the clicking of the button began once again.

—————————

Not a single word was spoken until they reached the bottom floor. As they entered the cafeteria, they were suddenly very aware of their limited options.