Stuck {A.I.}

one

Bayla hated pep rallies. They were a waste of her time. Being forced to sit among the thousands of her peers who all despised her (and the feeling was mutual) wasn't exactly how she wanted this day to go. Actually, nothing that would happen was how she wanted this day to go. She'd tried ditching the pep rally and hiding in the bathroom, but a teacher checking for smokers had caught her and forced her to go.

So here she was, making her way up the bleachers, and trying not to trip in her new Doc Martens that were a bit too big. People were pushing past and jostling her and, much to her annoyance, she was rudely shoved down into a random seat no where near the group of her friends she had been planning to sit with. Instead, she was now next to the absolute last person she wanted to see, let alone be near.

"Ashton." Bayla said coolly, her voice a mixture of surprise and disgust at the sight of her ex-boyfriend. Ashton turned to face her in surprise, his hazel eyes lighting up for a brief moment before twisting themselves into a deep frown.

"Taylor Beth." His tone matched hers. She looked him up and down. Ashton had changed a lot since she'd last seen him, which was surprising since it had only been a few months ago. He was dressed in all black, from his tank top (why was he wearing a tank top? It was the middle of winter) to his skinny jeans to his converse. His hair was long and messy and pushed back by a bandana, a look that suited him, though Bayla had always preferred his shorter, curlier hair. The one thing that seemingly hadn't changed was the fact that he was drumming on his lap with his favorite pair of drumsticks.

"You know my name is Bayla." She groaned, but if he heard her over the loud music blaring from the loudspeakers, he didn't respond.

The two were silent for a moment, looking around the crowds of students in an awkward attempt to ignore each other. Bayla could see her best friend, Michael, give her a surprised glance before turning to his phone. She felt hers vibrate in her hand a second later, and looked at it, grateful for the distraction, but Ashton spoke again.

"Your hair is green now." He commented. Bayla rolled her eyes.

"No shit. Yours changed too." She retorted, but Ashton just shrugged.

"The purple suited you better." This comment caused Bayla to snort.

"Well Michael dyed his hair blue but it faded to purple, so I wanted to change mine." She replied simply, playing with the sleeves of her sweater and wishing she were anywhere but here. This tense conversation was only worsening her already bad day.

"But purple is your favorite color." Ashton looked as though he regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"I like green now." They held long, uncomfortable eye contact for a moment, before Ashton flicked his eyes away.

"Whatever, Taylor Beth." He grumbled.

"It's Bayla." She rolled her eyes at Ashton. Technically, Taylor Beth was her real name, but her little sister had been calling her Bayla since she could speak, and the name had stuck. Only Ashton had called her Taylor Beth because he'd teased her about her weird nickname.

"Right," He rolled his eyes as well. "How's Daisy, by the way?" His voice softened as he asked. Daisy was Bayla's sister who'd always loved Ashton despite how shy she usually was around Bayla's friends.

"She's great. She made the basketball team and is starting most games." Bayla answered as quickly as possible. Ashton smiled for a second at the mention of Daisy, revealing his dimples.

"Aw good, I'm glad. Tell her I said hi, will you?" Instinctively, Bayla almost smiled back, but caught herself at the last second.

"I don't know. Maybe." Ashton groaned at her response.

"Come on Taylor Beth, be mature about this. We can still be civil, you know. It's been months."

"Six months and three weeks." Bayla mumbled, instantly regretting it.

"Jesus has it been that long already?" Ashton chuckled.

"Yes, Ashton, it's been that long." At this point, Bayla was feeling far too uncomfortable, and starting looking around for a place to go. Every seat was taken and the aisles were filled with people, making her getaway seem difficult.

"Bayla, wait." Ashton reached out to grab her wrist as if he sensed the she was about to leave but pulled back. "I miss you, ok? I think we should at least try to be friends."

Every day for six months and three weeks Bayla had wanted Ashton to say that he missed her, that he was wrong, that he still loved her. Now, however, the words only hurt her more. "Ashton I don't want to be friends with you. You broke my heart."

"You broke mine too, but I still think we should be friends." Bayla was already standing up, ignoring the protests of those around her as she pushed past them. As she reached the packed aisle, she turned to face Ashton again.

"I can't be friends with someone who hurt me as much as you did."

-

why did i start another story when i can barely update the one i already have

good question idk man

but this is going to be only about ten chapters and it's all planned out and spring break is soon so that's cool

what do y'all think so far i'm trying a new writing style and i like it but i want to know what you think!!