REDDING, CA – HARBOR HIGH – APR. 5th, 2002 – FRIDAY

     “What?” Cindy and Jared shouted incredulously.

     “What?” Kirstin asked in a low tone of voice looking only at Ashley.

     “Well, you know… not now. I mean eventually. One day we will.” he answered looking only at Kirstin. She didn’t know what to do with the information she had gotten from Cindy nor with Ashley’s almost proposal “We are in love.” Ashley was staring now at Cindy and Jared “We have been in love since highscool.”

     ‘Why is he doing this? Why is he telling things about our relationship to two almost strangers?’ Kirstin thought as she looked at Cindy’s not-at-all-happy facial expression. Then she frowned when she saw Jared gazing down.

     “Well, if we’re talking about relationships here, I must inform you that Jared and I are a couple too. Did you know that, Ashley?” Cindy linked her arms in Jared’s.

     “Really?” Kirstin turned to Jared and asked calmly.

     “Yes!” Cindy exclaimed.

     “I wasn’t talking to you.” Kirstin shot her a deadly look “Jared, are you with her?” Jared looked up at her and saw Kirstin frowning.

     “Yeah…” he let out a sigh “We are together.” he stared down again.

     “You know, Ashley, Jared is a really famous underwear model now. He did Calvin Klein ads and Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger too. Tell him, baby.” Cindy shook Jared a little to see if he’d spit something out.

     “Well, that’s pretty much it.” Jared nodded, looking at Ashley.

     “Good for you, man.” Ashley smiled at him.

     It was actually sad to watch Jared being ordered as he was by Cindy. Kirstin just couldn’t stand being in that place anymore. She was totally confused. First, she met Jared; then Cindy came along. After that, Cindy told her she and Ashley screwed around. Now, she was Jared’s girlfriend? ‘Too much information.’ she thought and left the place without saying a word.

     “Kirstin!” Ashley called out “Listen, it was great seeing you, Jared. Hope we bump into each other again.” Ashley felt the need to make this guy feel better about himself. Jared was like Cindy’s doormat and he clearly didn’t deserve it. Ashley knew Jared was a good guy “Cindy… well… not so great seeing you. Bye.” he waved goodbye and ran after Kirstin. Cindy was left with a terrible look on and Jared with a small smile.

     “What are you smiling at, huh?” Cindy snapped at Jared.

     “Nothing. Sorry.” Jared answered.

     “Come on, let’s go.” Cindy ordered and they headed to the library.

     “K, please, wait up.” Kirstin was walking fast. Ashley ran after her “K, please!”

     When Ashley almost caught up with her, she went inside the girls’ bathroom. Ashley didn’t even think twice and went in himself.

     “Ash, please. Can you give me sometime here?” Kirstin asked. She was not crying. She was just upset.

     “K, I’m sorry, but I just wanna talk to you.” Ashley stopped beside her. They were standing in front of the sinks and the mirrors.

     “What do you wanna talk about? I think Cindy there did all the talking.” Kirstin shot Ashley a look.

     “Kirstin, really, I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”

     “Oh, you don’t? Nice…” Kirstin bit her bottom lip.

     “Yeah, I mean… why are you so upset that I slept with Cindy? I was so… such an idiot and… come on! It was higschool!”

     “Why am I so upset you slept with Cindy? Jeez, I don’t know, Ash. Maybe because I hate her, maybe because you know she hates me, maybe because, I don’t know… I told you about the other two guys I slept in highschool.” Kirstin snapped and turned her back to him.

     “K…” Ashley placed both his hands on her shoulder “I’m sorry, but it’s just that I didn’t see a point in telling you that I had slept with Cindy. She meant nothing to me. She was just… some girl. Now, the two boys you, well… you had to tell me because what they did to you meant a lot. What they did to you changed your life, for Christ’s Sake! But not Cindy. She meant absolutely nothing!” Ashley slowly turned Kirstin around so she could face him. She just looked at his face, no teary eyes, nothing. She just looked straight at him.

     “Really? She meant nothing?”

     “Not a thing, I promise. And, if you must know, I slept with her before I even met you!” Ashley brushed a lock of hair away from Kirstin’s face and placed it behind her ear “It was the middle of our sophomore year and I just did it because I was an idiot before I met you and because I thought that if I’d sleep with her, she’d stop throwing herself at me as she would always do. God, I hated that!” Ashley rolled his eyes.

     “Did she?” Kirstin asked, biting her bottom lip.

     “Did she what?”

     “Did she stop throwing herself at you?”

     “Nah… Don’t you remember? She was always... there. Especially when the cheerleading practice and football practice were in the same day. Urgh…” Ashley did a disgusted look.

     “Really?” Kirstin grinned “You really mean that? That disgusted look you just put on?”

     “Yeah…” Ashley grinned at her “Urgh… she is just… a slut. And you know I don’t like that type.”

     “Yeah, I guess…” Kirstin entwined her right hand with Ashley’s left one.

     “K, look at me.” he lifter her chin up with his right hand “It’s impossible to know every single thing about a person. Especially about their lives before we met that person. But that’s what makes the ride interesting. You’ll get to know the person little by little.”

     “But I don’t like knowing stuff like that about you.”

     “But, K… it doesn’t matter what I did 4, 5 years ago. What matters is that everything that happened to me, made me the man I am today.”

     “And I love how you are today.” Kirstin pecked his lips.

     “See? So it was a good thing I slept with Cindy.”

     “You gotta be kidding me, right? That was a mistake and you know it, right?” Kirstin asked serious.

     “Yeah… It was. I was just kidding.” Ashley nodded.

     “Hm… but you know what’s weird, though?”

     “What?”

     “Jared and Cindy.”

     “I know! I feel so bad for the guy!”

     “Yeah… me too. Jared is just… I hate to say that, but he’s still that poor little boy he used to be during highschool. Cindy treats him like garbage and he says nothing! Come on, be a man!”

     “I know! I really, really feel bad for him, because he is a good guy.”

     “He is. He is just… sweet.” Kirstin smiled.

     “So… are you falling for him or something?” Ashley joked.

     “Yes. As a matter of fact, I am. I just couldn’t resist that body! Did you see that?” Kirstin played along, making Ashley a little scared.

     “Ok, just stop joking around now. You’re scaring me.”

     “What? Who said I’m joking around? I am seriously falling for Jared. All those muscles and his eyes and… come on, he’s just really tall and…” Kirstin had a big sarcastic smile on.

     “Stop it!” Ashley poked her side.

     “Ok, ok. If you want me to pretend I didn’t feel this heat build up in my body when I saw him, I can just…”

     “Kirstin!” Ashley exclaimed.

     “Aw… you’re just too cute when you’re worried and jealous!” Kirstin giggled and kissed him lightly on the lips.

     “Yeah, right.”

     “Come on, Ash. Let’s get those damn tickets, alright?”

     “Ok. Let’s go then.” Ashley grabbed her hand and trailed out the bathroom.