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ASHTRAY MADE HIMSELF BUSY!
anything to avoid the red-haired girl that was everywhere he was at.
for the second time, they avoided speaking about a kiss that was sure to change the course of their friendship.
what they felt for each-other was undeniable, so they just needed to avoid it!
that would make things normal again.
they both seemed determined to keep their distance, each one tiptoeing around the other as if afraid of what might happen if they let their guard down.
ashtray threw himself into hobbies to keep his mind occupied so it wouldn't get caught in its usual loop of cherry.
first he started trying out some sports. he didn't like them very much, he got too competitive with them, and he always ended up somehow hurt.
arts were next. it went horribly. he couldn't sit down in front of a blank canvas and try to put meaning into a bowl of fruit. his mind didn't work that way.
lastly, he tried out community service.
unusually, he enjoyed that.
the way cherry described him before the accident, there was no way community service was something he would do. there was a first time for everything.
maybe he only enjoyed it because she was there.
the red-haired girl stood a few feet away, unwrapping boxes full of supplies for the homeless.
"ash." cherry called out for the first time in a whole 24 hours.
"yeah?" ashtray looked over the second he heard her voice.
"could you help me set these up?"
"sure."
ashtray paused what he was doing and made his way over to her, fighting a smile off his face.
together, they pulled out the cases and supplies from inside the cardboard box. ashtrays hands accidentally brushed hers when they reached in at the same time.
he apologized, which made things even worse.
it was clear that the only thing on either of their minds was the kiss, that's why they lost the ability to act like regular human beings.
ashtray mentally cursed himself.
it wasn't that hard. he seriously couldn't mutter an i like you and move on with his day?
