I'm sharply woken by a knock at my door. "Andy?" I hear a soft voice say, wavering as if they were about to cry.
"Mmm?" I pull myself upright, combing my tousled hair with my fingers. The door opens cautiously.
Through my bleary vision I can see Jake stood there; he catches sight of me and runs up to my bed, catapulting himself onto me. "Andy..." He snuffles into my ear.
"What's up?" I ask, trying to keep my voice soft. Attempting to pull Jake up from my mess of bedding, I take him into a hug.
"Ella... Ella and her 'friend'." Jake murmurs, pausing to take a shaky breath. "She was cheating on me this whole time!"
He breaks down into tears once more, me rubbing circles on his back in an attempt to calm him. "Shhhh... It'll be okay..."
"No!" Jake's head snaps up, raising his voice. "No, it won't. The whole time, I believed her - loved her - and never thought otherwise. Was I not good enough for her? How did I let this happen? I'm so stupid... Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Stop!" I shout, Jake's mouth immediately clamping shut. "Your worth isn't defined by her, or anyone else. Love yourself, first and foremost."
A silence lingers; I can tell he wants to say something, and so I wait patiently as he takes deep breaths to steady his shaking voice.
"That's the thing..." He mumbles at last, "I think I love someone else."
"Really? Tell me all about her: how'd you meet? What's she like? Ooh, I bet she plays an instrument too..."
"Andy," He interjects, looking me in the eye once more. "She's a he, for a start - and he's already taken anyway."
"Wait, what?!" I exclaim, jumping up to sit next to him. "Jesus Christ Jake, were you gay all this time? Or bi, or pan, or-? Oh my God, now we can go to gay bars together and stuff - well, maybe that might be a problem with Ashley, but..."
Jake gives a feeble laugh, and I shut up straight away, realising how truly stupid I sounded. "Anyway, who is this mystery man?"
"I'm not, I don't know, I can't tell you."
Leaving him time to change his mind, I decide how I'm going to get it out of him: there's only one tactic left now. "Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please..."
I trail off as he stands from the bed with a sigh, ready to leave, defeated. But then he turns around to say one last thing; his voice rings surprisingly clearly around the room.
"It's Ashley, okay?"
YOU ARE READING
Take Your Hand In Mine {Andley}
FanfictionA series of drunken mistakes leads to a lot of confusion... Can Andy and Ashley salvage a relationship, or is it not meant to be? My first fanfic so constructive criticism is needed :) As you can tell, this is about Andley which is a FICTIONAL SHIP...
