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Fandom: South of Nowhere
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4: She's Gotta Have it
Ashley let herself into the darkened studio. A single figure was sitting in front of an array of video monitors perched above an editing table.
"Hey, Ash, you're just in time. I was getting started."
"Hi Sean." Ashley approached, looking over Sean's shoulder as he was previewing the footage of the TV show they would be editing over the next few days. Ashley was going to help out with the editing so she could get familiar with the footage and match it with some of the songs she'd picked out for the show.
Ashley had never gotten to know Sean much while they were both going to King High. He was Clay's friend and was into movies, and that was that. After leaving Spencer in LA the second time, Ashley had bummed around the world for a few years. She'd met girls like herself, out of their element, looking for something, living for the moment, in every town she visited.
Eventually, she had come back to the States and landed in New York City with the half formed plan of going to film school. She had run into Sean there. She found it cheered her up to be around someone she didn't have to explain herself to. So they ended up hanging out and working as crew on each others' film projects. She found some music gigs once in a while. Sean offered to be her sound technician and occasional percussionist.
When the program was over, he flew back to LA to pursue his dream of getting into the film and TV business. A few weeks ago, she realized she had enough of her traveling lifestyle and was ready to head back to LA. Sean had introduced her to one of the show's producers who turned out to have been a fan of her dad's. After listening to her demo CD, he gave her the gig on a trial basis.
She loved the job so far. It was hard to believe she was actually getting paid to listen to lots of new bands and go to live shows where she had VIP seats. And she still had plenty of time to work on her own projects.
"Dude, I know you. I wasn't expecting you for awhile longer," Sean scoffed.
"Stop being a smartass or I'm taking you off the guest list for tomorrow's show," the brunette replied with a smirk.
"You got me on the list? Sweet..."
*
They'd been working for several hours when Sean noticed Ashley staring off in the distance. She was playing absently with the pendant that was a gift from Spencer. That was never a good sign. Finally she got up to go get some sodas from the fridge in the little kitchen.
"Where are you staying?" He asked when she got back.
"I'm staying with my mom, which is kind of freakish, but she asked me to. We seem to be getting along better when we haven't seen each other for years."
"Are you going to be looking for your own place? You're going to stay in LA for awhile, right?"
"I may stay at my mom's or my dad's old place, just to see how things are going to turn out before I get a place. I love being within driving distance of the beach. I've missed that." Ashley hesitated. "Being in LA is always hard though. I know too many people here."
"Man, you've got to be kidding. You know how many people would kill to have this gig?" Sean got alarmed when he heard that her voice had taken on that 'I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and nothing can stop me from doing it' tone.
Ashley didn't like it when Sean was looking at her like he was wondering what kind of a loser she was. It wasn't how she preferred to be thought of by people. That was the problem with friends. They just got to know you too well. She averted her gaze and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You are such a pussy."
That earned him a vicious hit on the arm.
"Ouch. Stop abusing me. Use your words and tell me happened instead?"
"Nothing happened. I ran into Spencer at Barnes and Noble while I was getting coffee." Ashley explained as succinctly as she could.
"So..." Sean inserted a dramatic pause here. "Did you guys talk?"
"We couldn't really talk. She was signing her new book… Which is about our fucking life in high school, by the way." Ashley grumbled.
"Wait. Backup. I didn't know about this. Spencer wrote a book about the two of you? What does she say about you?"
Ashley covered her face in her hands. She hadn't even thought about that part. Great.
"Well, it's not exactly a biography or anything. You know she's a counselor at a youth center downtown and she also writes books for teenagers. Young Adult stuff. This one is about two girls who meet in high school…it just sounds exactly like our story."
Sean eyed her sympathetically. "Dude, that sucks."
"Tell me about it," Ashley sighed.
"Inner City kid counselor by day, Young Adult writer by night. She's so out of your league. Good thing you got out while there was still time…" Sean deadpanned before a grin betrayed him.
"You are so not my friend!" Ashley glared at him, but soon she gave up too and they both found themselves laughing at how crazy life turned out some time.
"I need to get a drink. Wanna go with?" She asked, flashing one of her 1000 watts smile.
Sean eyed her for a moment, then shrugged. "I just got the original 'Cat People' from Netflix. We can get beers on the way to my place."
*
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if your first girlfriend hadn't been killed?" Ashley mused out loud as she was working on her second beer.
"Not really. She was special, but we weren't meant to be together. Not like you and Spencer seemed to be," Sean replied. "Remember that day when Spencer was grounded and forbidden to see you for three days after you guys broke into the office at school? You asked Clay how you could sneak in to see her. I was so amazed and envious that you couldn't wait to see her. I've never felt that way about anyone," He added.
"You acted like I was out of my mind," She reminded him. "Do you know how much trouble being as crazy about someone can get you into? Especially when their mother's thinking you're the spawn of the devil for corrupting their baby."
"You never said what happened the second time around when Spencer was in college."
Ashley's face screwed up for a moment, fighting tears. She sat forward on the couch to place her bottle on the coffee table, dark curls moving to shield her face, restless energy radiating from her. "I guess she just didn't love me enough…That's probably horribly unfair, but that's how I felt at the time."
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4: She's Gotta Have it
Ashley let herself into the darkened studio. A single figure was sitting in front of an array of video monitors perched above an editing table.
"Hey, Ash, you're just in time. I was getting started."
"Hi Sean." Ashley approached, looking over Sean's shoulder as he was previewing the footage of the TV show they would be editing over the next few days. Ashley was going to help out with the editing so she could get familiar with the footage and match it with some of the songs she'd picked out for the show.
Ashley had never gotten to know Sean much while they were both going to King High. He was Clay's friend and was into movies, and that was that. After leaving Spencer in LA the second time, Ashley had bummed around the world for a few years. She'd met girls like herself, out of their element, looking for something, living for the moment, in every town she visited.
Eventually, she had come back to the States and landed in New York City with the half formed plan of going to film school. She had run into Sean there. She found it cheered her up to be around someone she didn't have to explain herself to. So they ended up hanging out and working as crew on each others' film projects. She found some music gigs once in a while. Sean offered to be her sound technician and occasional percussionist.
When the program was over, he flew back to LA to pursue his dream of getting into the film and TV business. A few weeks ago, she realized she had enough of her traveling lifestyle and was ready to head back to LA. Sean had introduced her to one of the show's producers who turned out to have been a fan of her dad's. After listening to her demo CD, he gave her the gig on a trial basis.
She loved the job so far. It was hard to believe she was actually getting paid to listen to lots of new bands and go to live shows where she had VIP seats. And she still had plenty of time to work on her own projects.
"Dude, I know you. I wasn't expecting you for awhile longer," Sean scoffed.
"Stop being a smartass or I'm taking you off the guest list for tomorrow's show," the brunette replied with a smirk.
"You got me on the list? Sweet..."
*
They'd been working for several hours when Sean noticed Ashley staring off in the distance. She was playing absently with the pendant that was a gift from Spencer. That was never a good sign. Finally she got up to go get some sodas from the fridge in the little kitchen.
"Where are you staying?" He asked when she got back.
"I'm staying with my mom, which is kind of freakish, but she asked me to. We seem to be getting along better when we haven't seen each other for years."
"Are you going to be looking for your own place? You're going to stay in LA for awhile, right?"
"I may stay at my mom's or my dad's old place, just to see how things are going to turn out before I get a place. I love being within driving distance of the beach. I've missed that." Ashley hesitated. "Being in LA is always hard though. I know too many people here."
"Man, you've got to be kidding. You know how many people would kill to have this gig?" Sean got alarmed when he heard that her voice had taken on that 'I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and nothing can stop me from doing it' tone.
Ashley didn't like it when Sean was looking at her like he was wondering what kind of a loser she was. It wasn't how she preferred to be thought of by people. That was the problem with friends. They just got to know you too well. She averted her gaze and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You are such a pussy."
That earned him a vicious hit on the arm.
"Ouch. Stop abusing me. Use your words and tell me happened instead?"
"Nothing happened. I ran into Spencer at Barnes and Noble while I was getting coffee." Ashley explained as succinctly as she could.
"So..." Sean inserted a dramatic pause here. "Did you guys talk?"
"We couldn't really talk. She was signing her new book… Which is about our fucking life in high school, by the way." Ashley grumbled.
"Wait. Backup. I didn't know about this. Spencer wrote a book about the two of you? What does she say about you?"
Ashley covered her face in her hands. She hadn't even thought about that part. Great.
"Well, it's not exactly a biography or anything. You know she's a counselor at a youth center downtown and she also writes books for teenagers. Young Adult stuff. This one is about two girls who meet in high school…it just sounds exactly like our story."
Sean eyed her sympathetically. "Dude, that sucks."
"Tell me about it," Ashley sighed.
"Inner City kid counselor by day, Young Adult writer by night. She's so out of your league. Good thing you got out while there was still time…" Sean deadpanned before a grin betrayed him.
"You are so not my friend!" Ashley glared at him, but soon she gave up too and they both found themselves laughing at how crazy life turned out some time.
"I need to get a drink. Wanna go with?" She asked, flashing one of her 1000 watts smile.
Sean eyed her for a moment, then shrugged. "I just got the original 'Cat People' from Netflix. We can get beers on the way to my place."
*
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if your first girlfriend hadn't been killed?" Ashley mused out loud as she was working on her second beer.
"Not really. She was special, but we weren't meant to be together. Not like you and Spencer seemed to be," Sean replied. "Remember that day when Spencer was grounded and forbidden to see you for three days after you guys broke into the office at school? You asked Clay how you could sneak in to see her. I was so amazed and envious that you couldn't wait to see her. I've never felt that way about anyone," He added.
"You acted like I was out of my mind," She reminded him. "Do you know how much trouble being as crazy about someone can get you into? Especially when their mother's thinking you're the spawn of the devil for corrupting their baby."
"You never said what happened the second time around when Spencer was in college."
Ashley's face screwed up for a moment, fighting tears. She sat forward on the couch to place her bottle on the coffee table, dark curls moving to shield her face, restless energy radiating from her. "I guess she just didn't love me enough…That's probably horribly unfair, but that's how I felt at the time."
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