The Banner Siblings! (Re-Written)

A Psycho, A Girl, and Tension

Ashlyn groaned as Logan once again tried(and failed) to coax her out of bed. Ashlyn stayed confined to her sheets, pillows over her head. Not only was her leg throbbing, neck stinging, but her head was throbbing—no way in hell was she stepping into school with a headache like this. She was pretty sure she would die in five minutes.

Expaserated, Logan threw his hands up in the air. "For fucks sake—Ashlyn work with me here!"

Ashlyn whined at the loud noise, kicking Logan in the stomach with her other leg. "Go. The. FUCK. Away! I'm not going!"

Logan doubled over in pain. He grunted. "Oh my—come on! Please? I don't wanna deal with them just alone I'd DIE!"

"That sounds like your problem!" Ashlyn snapped, snuggling her face deeper into her mountain of pillows she had buried herself with. Logan got down on his knees, hands held up.
"Puh—LEASE! I'm literally BEGGING you! It's going to be SO DAMN AWKWARD!"

"Exactly why I'm avoiding it!"

"Please please please please pleaseeeeeeeeee—"

"NO."

"Don't make me pull out the puppy eyes Ashlyn!"

Ashlyn flipped him the bird, and Logan scoffed. He grabbed his bag, standing up. Trying to regain the sliver of dignity he had left after literally BEGGING not to go to school alone and face their friends after the disaster of last night.

"Fine! Be like that then" Logan stomped out.

Ashlyn hummed, having the sense to call out. "Tell mom and dad I'm sick!"

"No shit!"

Ashlyn hummed. Satisfied, she flopped her head down in her pillow, trying to take a nap and ignore the pain in her body.
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"ASHLYNNNNNNNNNN!"

Ashlyn groaned as she was awoken by her slumber by someone yelling her name. For fucks sake who in the hell was pestering her—

She looked up, only to be met with Aidens (slightly strained) smiling face. She groaned. Fuck. The awkwardness came to her. She whacked him with one of her pillows.
"Go away."

"Are you sleeping?" Aiden asked. Ashlyn rolled her eyes.

"If I was sleeping I wouldn't be talking dumbass."

"So is that a yes or...?"

"...Yes. That's a yes. Now go away. I already have one headache I don't need another one." Ashlyn groaned.

"Yeah well, you and me both." Aiden leaned against her bed.

Ashlyn covered her face with her blankets. "How did you even get in..?"

"Logan let me in. Said we needed to talk?"

Well fuck you then Logan.

Ashlyn rolled over to her side, taking tin the fake blondes appearance. His curly hair was disheveled and the bags under his eyes more prominent. His smile was wobbly and strained, like he was in pain but was fighting to keep it on.
"You know you don't need to keep that smile on your face if it's hurting you."

Aiden chuckled. "I like it. It makes me, well me, no?"

Ashlyn hummed. She supposed that was true, it was quite odd to see Aiden without his trademark smile. She looked to his ankle, which he was rubbing.
"Other than your head, how's your ankle?" She asked, trying not let the subtle worry show.

Aiden saw right through it. He played along anyways. "Could be better, could be worse. It's not my first time spraining my ankle though."

"I figured." Ashlyn said.

Aiden smiled awkwardly at her. Ashlyn returned the smile, before an uncomfortable silence fell over them. Ashlyn cocooned herself further into her blankets and pillows.
Aiden hesitated, taking in a sharp breath. "...I'm sorry."

Ashlyn peeked out of her mound of blankets. "...for what?" She mused.

"Last night you...uh..." Aiden scratched the back of his neck. "Got hurt because of me."

You already apologized though?

"I've never tried getting close to someone like you so this whole boundary thing is relatively new to me...." Aiden gave a halfhearted smile.

Ashlyn frowned. "Someone like me?"

"N-Not in a bad way!" Aiden wove his hands in a panic. "What I mean is—like." He sighed.

"I didn't really care about people before. I..just talked to random people waiting for the next move, the next place. I didn't really care about them, and they didn't care about me. But...but now that I'm stationary, I wanted to try something different. You...I saw you and Logan that day. You..you two looked like you wouldn't be close to people unless they were actually special to you. So..I wanted a challenge."

Ashlyn hummed, thinking about it. It was true, her and Logan weren't really close to anybody other than each other and their parents. Being so socially—wait.

Ashlyn sat up, letting herself out of her cocoon of blankets for the first time all day. Did that mean he was just as socially inept as her?!

That...would explain a lot.

Unfortunately, Ashlyn didn't have the capacity to sugarcoat anything right now. So, she laid it out bluntly.
"Look I'm going to be honest—I don't have the patience to try and pretend I understand the exact words to say when someone is upset like Taylor." She hummers. "You're rude, pushy, annoying, and have no concept of personal space."

Aiden winced. Good.

She sighed, continuing. "But....i was wrong to blame you for Savannah. You might of pushed, but at the end of the day it's was still my choice to go. I...I would appreciate though if you tried to take things a bit more seriously. And...it'll trying be more open with you all. I'm under the impression I'm not the best to be around because I never planned to be around people in the first place but..."

She stuck her hand out.

"Let's both just try our best I guess?"

Aiden looked at her hand, a million thoughts swirling. He smiled though, taking her hand regardless. A new understanding of the two formed.

"Wow, that was cringey—ow!"

Ashyln scoffed. "I can HEAR you guys."

Logan sighed as their cover was blown. Damnit.

(A/N: STILL MANAGED TO GET A LONGER CHAPTER OUT YAY! Sleep is at war with me rn istg—)