Dare to be Different

2-The Origin of "Sweetheart"

(A/N): Above is a picture of Rachel

~~~~~~

~~Ashley POV~~

I walked to the cafeteria with Rachel by my side chatting. When we got there, we chose our usual table near the dumb, populars. We sit there to hear what they're gossiping about so we can eventually make fun of them or listen to see if the fake rumors that we spread would reach their table and how they would react.

"Are you guys going to the party tomorrow?"

"Duh."

"Of course. Hunter Novell is gonna be there."

"Oh, em gee he's so fricken hot."

"I know right? And Alec and Patrick too."

"Ughhhhh."

Rachel and I roll our eyes as we listen to their comments.

"Um, hi? Rachel?" a voice says behind me.

I turn around and find a girl who has long brown hair and striking blue eyes standing behind me.

"Oh! Ash, meet Emily. Emily, meet Ashley." Rachel introduces.

We smile at each other.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley. Rachel has told me a lot about you," she says.

"You too," I say.

I'm not one for meeting new people. I don't have many friends, and that's fine. I only need Rachel.

Emily sits down opposite of me and next to Rachel. She nods her head towards the "popular girls" behind us.

"What's going on with them? What's their deal?"

I raise my eyebrow in her direction. "Are you planning on joining them?"

She gives me a look before saying,

"Oh god no, they seem so fake. I just want to know what they're talking about."

I squint my eyes at her, and we sit in silence for a moment before I start talking again. "They're talking about the 'hottest guys in school' and how hot they are and a big party everyone is going to."

She nods and looks down at the ground for a second. "Are you two going?"

I roll my eyes and let out a big sigh. Rachel notices this and playfully punches me in the shoulder.

"Yeah, we are." Rachel answers. "We're ditching tomorrow to buy outfits; you should come."

Emily's face brightens at this, and she nods her head yes in excitement.

I smile, "Alright, it's a date."

~~~~~~
Rachel, Emily, and I were walking through the mall the next day. They were chatting about the party tonight, but I was only listening. I didn't have much to say.
As I was listening to Emily talk, I realized that something wasn't right. There was something off about her. I just couldn't place it.

"Hey, can we stop at PINK?" Emily asks us.

We both nod as we head into the store. Emily was looking at clothes on one side, and Rachel and I were looking towards the other. Rachel clears her throat and turns to me with a smile, "So how do you like Emily?"

I shrug. "She's okay. But there's something about her that seems off."

Rachel frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I feel like I remember her from somewhere," I reply. "And I get the feeling it's not a good memory."

I glance back down at the rack of long-sleeve shirts I was standing in front and resume my search for my size.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, boys."

I snap my head up at the familiar voice. My eyes come in contact with none other than Hunter Novell's. I squint in annoyance. "Someone's skipping class?" he sneers.

"I could say the same for you." I snap back.

"Touché. I know you're not a 'good girl,' but you're definitely not as bad as me," he smirks.

Beside me, Rachel scoffs, and I raise my eyebrows in amusement. Then, Rachel bursts out laughing, and Hunter's grin slides off his face, and I pull a smirk of my own.

"It sounds to me," Rachel pauses to catch her breath, "That you think there is a tiny ounce of 'good girl' inside Ashley! Hilarious! You could not be more wrong! Once, she wanted to go scuba diving, and the man told her she couldn't go without a license, so she stole his right from under his nose and jumped into the water."

Hunter raises his eyebrows. "Impressive, but mostly amateur," he sneers at Rachel, and she narrows her eyes at him, 

"Try me, bitch," she says.

Hunter brushes off the comment and turns to look at me. "So sweetheart, you coming to the party tonight?"

"My name isn't 'sweetheart,'" I reply coldly.

He chuckles and waits for my answer with a smirk that makes him look undoubtedly gorgeous, but I would never let him know that. "Yes, I am. Why do you care?" I retort.

"Well, then I'll get to see you there, sweetheart," he winks which irritates me.

"What if I avoid you?" I counter.

He smirks and shakes his head at my answer. "No one can avoid Hunter Novell; I'm too irresistible." And with that, he walks away with his friends Patrick and Alec.

I turn back to face Emily with a grim look on my face. When I look at her, her mouth is open wide with disbelief. I raise an eyebrow, "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" she says with excitement. "Hunter Novell was flirting with you! The Hunter Novell!"

I roll my eyes. "One, no he wasn't, I'm not his type. Two, even if he were, I wouldn't be surprised. He is the world's biggest player."

"What's going on?" Rachel asks coming up behind us; she had left after calling Hunter a bitch to go pay.

Before I can answer Emily does it for me. "Hunter Novell was just flirting with Ash!"

Rachel raises her eyebrow and smirks at me, "Someone's gettin' it!" she says in a sing-song voice. "But don't actually hit it. That would be hella gross," she adds, and I snort.

"This means that you have to look extra fine tonight," Emily squeals, ignoring Rachel's statement.

I frown, "Um no. I don't. I don't care."

Rachel winks and Emily smiles. "I see, you're going for that 'hard to get' attitude," Emily says.

I roll my eyes and just walked out of the store.

Throughout the rest of the day, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen tonight. Yes, I found Hunter extremely attractive, but he was a jerk, a bad boy, and most of all, a player. But it's not as if I like him. He's disgusting and annoying. I can't stand him! We can't be within five feet of each other without wanting to rip each other's throat out.

 I sighed. I'm definitely in for an interesting night.