Dream On - Chapter Four

Sorry for posting this so late... hope you like it!!
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Ash's P.O.V.

I didn't want to see him... at least not when I am not prepared. I need a plan and I have finally got it all sorted out. I sent him a note saying sorry about not making it yesterday and he understood. Great... and I invited him for dinner here... and he jumped at the chance. Piece of cake.

I went to my wardrobe... my fashion sense had improved over the years... and for some reason I wanted to show him all that I had missed. I chose a sexy outfit for the occasion, I wanted him to be at my mercy.

I still had a few things left to unpack. I took some clothes out in a hurry and my diary fell onto the floor. I glanced at the page ... June 17th.... the words written below caused a stir inside me, and I wanted to ignore them. But it wasn't possible.

July 17th

''It was a bad day again... Ve's not at home, mom and dad keep fighting... I feel like running away from all this, this is so not my dream. Crying all day sitting at the couch, with friends who no longer care and parents who no longer take notice. How could my life some to a point like this?

Only one... one good thing has happened.

Some nasty kids in the bus were teasing me about being all sad and teary... how could they be so ruthless?
A boy went up to them and started making fun of himself and they all joined in. I was surprised... he didn't need to do that... I could... handle this. He turned to look at me and smiled, as if he was saying that it's ok. I nodded in his direction and drifted into my thoughts again.

Afterwards he came and sat by me... and started telling the mess he got into at times. He had a weird sense of humor... but he still made me laugh. We chatted about trivial things and he had to get down before me. He shook my hand, and I felt good. I smiled for the first time in days.

I looked at the diary.... then went into the balcony. I looked up at the starry sky... you are just making me confused. What should I do? Give me a real sign... please, help me do the right thing. I don't want my life to be messed up... again.

I heard the doorbell.... I still hadn't decided. Maybe I'll know when I see him. I opened the door. Mike looked great and smiled big at me, but that hadn't caught my attention. He was hurt.... there was a bad bruise on one side of his head... and I got worried as hell. In just a matter of seconds, I let go of all my inhibitions.

"It's nothing Ash.."
"You need ice... what happened?"
"Some brutes at work who won't pay up", Mike said. I immediately wanted to punch someone. Hard.

I eased the ice on his forehead. He just stared at me, I remembered the time when I couldn't get enough of that. I went to the counter to fetch us a drink. I looked at him, he was still staring. We smiled at each other.

"Hey buddy... come here.", he ordered. And just like that, I went straight into his open arms.
"I missed you", he said. "Forgive me?"
"Yeah..", I said and hugged him tight.

I looked up at him... could I let go of everything bad that had happened between us? Could we be best friends again?

The truth is, I could. The one bad thing didn't matter now because I was no longer alone in this new mess. My best friend was back.
And I realized only now how much I had missed him, how much I had missed us.