Andrew's POV
I observed Ashly from my peripheral vision quietly when she exited from the office. She had a strange look on her face, as if something shocking had hit her and she didn't quite know how to respond. I felt an overwhelming urge to go over and hug her, to inhale that scent which complimented the kiss we shared after the concert.
Ashly moved in a somewhat robotic manner, her hands rearranging the items on her table. She definitely did not look happy.
'Hey man, you're too obvious. ' Justin rolled over in his computer chair, startling me.
'What? I wasn't staring. ' I let my far drift to my computer screen, which was... ohgod. Opened up to an Ashdrew fanfic which had over ten thousand reads. My hand moved towards my mouse abruptly, then I let it fall to my side. What was the point in denying?
'You got hit hard bro. ' Justin sighed. 'Why don't you just man up and ask her out?'
'It's not so easy, ' I mumbled.
Justin exhaled loudly. 'What's so tough about asking out a girl?'
'I... ikindajustbrokeupwithmygirlfriend. '
'You said it yourself, she's no longer your girlfriend. Why do you care?'
'I'm not sure. I mean, I'm feeling so conflicted right now. I don't want to rush into anything without being sure. ' I confessed.
'I hear you. But listen, you have to take the chance when you can. You never know, you may not be the only one who's attracted to her, if you know what I mean.' Justin said seriously, which made me pretty suspicious since he was a clown 24/7, but then I looked into his eyes and knew he was telling nothing but the truth.
'Yeah I know... ' I sighed. 'Does she look kinda out of sorts to you...?'
'Hmm yeah...' Justin shrugged. 'Good luck man. ' he exchanged a quick fist bump with me before I worked up my courage to approach her. (Yes I still felt pretty darn nervous when I have to talk to her)
'Hey Ashly...you alright? '
'Yeah, I am.' She smiled. I was terrible at reading emotions but I was pretty sure it was a forced smile.
'What happened?' I asked lightly.
'I'm taking a long break.' She hoisted her bag on her shoulder.
'Ashly. ' I looked into her deep brown eyes and reminded myself to breathe evenly.
'I...got suspended. '
'Why?'
'Just...I don't really want to talk about it. And you'll find out soon enough, ok? Goodbye , Andrew. ' Ashly brushed past me briskly.
I had to get to the bottom of this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I smiled slightly to myself when I saw Ella's online status.
Hey.
Hey!
How are you?
I'm good. :) how was work?
Pretty normal. But something happened.
Oh?
Yeah... Ashly got suspended...
Wow. How come?
I have no idea, she won't say. Is it possible if you help me find out...?
Well, I have heard a few things about her.
??
I heard someone comment about her inappropriate behavior in the office. Yknow, sexual advances.
Seriously??
Yeah...
No way. You have to tell them that. I mean, you've seen Ashly for yourself.
Idk, Andrew... Theres actually proof for this claim...
What do you mean?
Apparently, someone took photos of her and her interactions with the other buzzfeed colleagues. And if I'm not wrong, your name was mentioned as well...
I widened my eyes. The incredulity of what Ella said hit me. No way in hell would Ashly stoop so low. I could see how in the eyes of someone who didn't know her well, her actions could be taken the wrong way, but she'd always set clear boundaries and never misled anyone.
Had she really been making moves on me, though...?
OK, thanks for telling me Ella. I'm turning in now, talk to you soon. Goodnight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashly's POV
"This is ridiculous!" Sara exclaimed.
I let my duvet slip off me and onto the ground. "Tell that to the person who took the shots."
"We have to find out who this pesky little bitch is." Sara narrowed her eyes.
Ashley let a small smile slip onto her face, amused. "What makes you so sure it has to be a girl?"
'What makes you think a guy will go to such lengths to create trouble for you? Girls are always the ones who do these kind of despicable stuff. ' Sara reasoned.
'I'm not too concerned actually. I believe the others will deny knowledge of whatever I've been trying to do to them and my name will be cleared. 'I said calmly.
'I have a feeling whoever did this won't hesitate to try again. You need to find out who. ' Sara persisted. 'And don't you find it weird that the person only took shots of you and Andrew?'
'Actually, there were one or two with Eugene and Clayton. ' I sighed. 'Can we just drop this? It'll make me feel much better.'
Sara ignored me. 'I have a hunch but I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm going to.have you reinstate your position soon so fret not.'
'I'm not.' I shrugged.
'Girl, get up and do something about yourself.' Sara looked at me wearily. 'If you're tired of the Ashdrew comments, I suppose it's your right to tell Quinta or just send a tweet that it's all in their heads. '
'It's not that.' I sighed, my tone a little too sharp. I was pretty tired of hiding and pretending. "I can't say that because..."
'Because you like him. '
'I don't know. ' I twisted a piece of stray hair around my index finger absent-mindely. 'It's not possible. '
'Usually I strongly disapprove of your relationships with other men, but I'm giving you the green light for this.'
'Sorry to disappoint then, I am not keen.'
'Take your time, Ashly. ' Sara adviced gently. 'But you have to decide before...if.... someone sets their sights on him. ' she said.
'I know. ' I mumbled.
'Speaking of him, do you have his email? I need to send some documents to him for the next video.' Sara asked.
'Oh yea, it's right there on my desk. ' I pointed, then slumped back down onto my bed.
This day couldn't get any worse.
A/n: Will be updating the next chapter (which has yet to be written) in a few weeks' time :/ no thanks to the chamber of torture known as school. Enjoy though!! ~
