Always a Friend

Chapter 56

It was hard to keep a straight face the rest of class. Ava telling Ashton she wanted to punch him in the face played over and over in my mind. I had to cover my mouth a few times and look down so Mr. King wouldn't get mad at me. Ava blocked Ashton from trying to approach me after class. She stood by my desk, glaring as if she was daring him to try and speak to me. I knew he wanted to talk to me, but I no longer wanted to listen to his lame-ass excuses. I knew what I saw, and no one would convince me otherwise. I was able to stay focused in English, which was nice because I didn't have Ashton sitting close behind me, making it difficult to remain firm in my decision. I knew what I saw, but part of me kept questioning if he was actually telling me the truth. 

"You coming, Gemma?" Ava asked, motioning in the direction of the library. 

"Yeah, I just have to go to my locker first and swap out my books. Go ahead, and I'll meet you there." Ava paused for a minute and took a few steps toward me. "Ava, I'm fine." I pasted on a fake smile, then turned and headed in the opposite direction to my locker. I guess she was afraid I'd run around the school in search of Ashton, who was the last person I wanted to speak to. I didn't want to hear his excuses; I needed time to think and process the cold, hard truth that I was meant to go to the dance alone. 

"Gemma..." 

I dropped my head at the sound of her voice behind me. "What the fuck do you want, Claudia?" I blurted out. "I have nothing to say to you. You got what you wanted. You got Ashton back, so leave me the hell alone!" I slammed my locker door and stormed past her, not giving her a chance to say anything else. I clutched my books close to my chest as I walked down the hall, smiling and saying the occasional hi to kids I knew around school. I'm sure they had all heard the news that Ashton was just like Jude, Noah, and Rhys. I figured if I plastered on a fake smile, then maybe, just maybe, it would let them think I was all right and not hurt. 

Ava's eyes met mine the second I walked into class. I couldn't tell her what happened because Ms. Clark was hot on my heels, flying through the door, announcing for us to be quiet. She told me to hurry up and take my seat, or she would mark me tardy, even though I was in the classroom before she barged in. I slid in my chair and opened my books. I kept my eyes forward throughout most of the class, not giving Ms. Clark a reason to yell. At least I wasn't the only one having a shitty day. However, I couldn't direct my anger toward students by yelling at them or handing out detentions. 

"What happened before class?" Ava asked me as we walked to my locker. "You looked pissed when you came flying in the room." 

"Claudia walked up to me before class." 

"What the fuck did she want? To rub it in?" Ava rolled her eyes in disgust. 

"I don't know. I didn't give her a chance to speak. Can we not talk about her or Ashton?" I sighed, spinning the dial on my lock. "How could I have been so stupid to think he actually liked me?" 

"Maybe..." She sighed, dropping her shoulders. 

"What?" I peeked at her from around my locker door. "Don't say maybe he was telling the truth. I know what I saw." 

"Maybe, that's just it. What we see isn't always what's really going on." 

"You're sticking up for him?" I closed my locker door, frowning. I couldn't believe one of my best friends was sticking up for him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I raised an eyebrow, twisting my mouth while Ava texted on her phone. I told her to tell Caleb that I said, "Hey." She glanced up wide-eyed, apologized, and then put her phone away.  She wrapped her arm around mine and led me down the hall toward the library. She told me that I needed coffee after school. I didn't need coffee after school because, more than likely, Ashton would be there with Claudia and her troublesome friends.