2,260THE REST OF THIS HAS BEEN MOVED TO A NEW STORY. SEE MY PROFILE.
A/N: Geez, you guys, This is like the chapter that just would not be. This is the third and hopeful, final time I'm have to rewrite this damn thing. Anyway, I can't remember what I said in the last one but um... I had a crisis with this story. But I'll delve into that later in the A/N at the end of the chapter. Anyway so yeah, um... this is so sad. Lol I can't remember what I was going to write in this. Oh oh! Right, I'm really really sorry about the slow up date. Let's please not throw anything at me. I really didn't do this on purpose. My excuses aren't important though...on to the story.
Mr. Wonderful
I heard the door open the next morning. It creaked slowly, and I registered what noise it was, but it didn't occur to me that the noise shouldn't have been made. Had I been more alert I suppose I would've been prepared for what happened next.
I know now that my roommate Lori came home early. I guess looking back on it, she must've gone over to my sleeping form to let me know that she was back. As she leaned down to tell me, she must've seen the blonde hair and recognized the muscular male form as that of a stranger. And so she did what any other person would do, she shrieked.
That awoke me from my sleeping state. I bolted up, and looked around bewildered. My movement cause Lor to look over at me. She calmed herself down and walked the few steps over to me, "Sophie."
I shook my head, trying to wake my mind up. "Lor? What're you doing here?" I asked, yawning.
Her green eyes stared at me pointedly. "I came home early, and I was going to surprise you, but it turns out that you forgot to mention something to me."
It was then that I glanced over to the now empty bed that Ashton had been in. I looked around in surprise for a moment and then I noticed that the bathroom door was closed. The sound of running water made his presence known.
"Oh," I said.
"Yeah oh," she repeated, slightly vexed with me. Her hand was on her hip, but I knew that she wasn't really upset. Just embarrassed and surprised.
"That is...my friend." I replied looking away, purposefully vague.
I suppose she recognized a look in my eyes or maybe a change in my tone of voice, but she grinned and sat down across from me. "A friend?" She asked skeptically raising an eyebrow.
I folded my arms across my chest stubbornly, "Yes, a friend. I have friends you know."
She laughed, rocking back slightly, "I know you have friends. I'm just...curious because well I don't seem to recall you ever having any other male friends sleeping over..."
I blushed involuntarily, "Shut up. It's not like that. That's Ashton, my best friend from back home."
She nodded, unable to control her sly grin, "Fine, your friend is rather cute."
I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."
She let out a jocular laugh, "Come on, Sophie." She leveled me with that piercing green gaze, "I know you're a little shy, but that doesn't mean that you're blind."
"Lor!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Just admit that he's hot and I'll let it go."
I covered my ears, "Can we please stop speaking about my best friend, who, might I add, is in the shower in the next room, in this manner."
She stopped laughing for a moment to choke out an answer, "Knowing you, you probably never would have told me."
"What wouldn't I have told you?" I asked, suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.
"How you're totally into him," she stated, nonchalantly as if it were no big deal.
"Lor," I warned, sternly. I wasn't really upset, I was really just trying to cover up my major embarrassment.
She relented, sighing. "So, what's going on with you two?" She asked me, curiously.
I pushed a wavy strand of hair out of my face, "Nothing really. I mean...he's my best friend, and he just kind of showed up out of the blue yesterday, but like the moment I saw him I just... I don't know. It was like... I felt..." I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "I have no idea what I'm talking about.
"Well my dear," she began, patting me on the shoulder. "Sounds like you're in love."
"Lor that's ridiculous!" I scoffed. I mean maybe I was feeling a few really tiny things for Ashton, but it was probably just a combination of...remorse and...not having seen him in like forever. Love? That was just ridiculous. I didn't even believe in that anymore. She knew that. Even if that was what it was, which it wasn't, I wouldn't allow myself to fall into that pit of hell again. Not even for Ashton...
I cracked my neck and hopped off of my bed. I needed to get all of those horrible thoughts that Lor had planted into my brain out of my brain, and very quickly. Shower, I thought. A shower would be good. A nice long warm shower, lots of heat. Heat is good. I could relax and wash away all of the bad thoughts.
I opened the bathroom door without hesitation. Once inside I froze. I think everything froze in that moment. I sucked in a breath. Ashton was in the bathroom. I had forgotten. I remembered then. How could I not with him standing right there in front of me. Did I mention that he was half naked? Yeah, that must have been why I couldn't seem to move. I was rooted to the spot, drinking in the sight of the beads of water glistening off of his body. I bit my lip, nervously.
"Masterson," he said.
I wrenched my eyes away from those taut muscles and into an amused pair of pale blue eyes.
"Enjoying the sights?" He asked, cracking a small grin.
That did it. The embarrassment and the shock and the pleasure combined to make one angry me. I glared at him, "Pompous much?" I asked.
He raised one eyebrow at me, his thumbs tucked into the top of the white towel around his waist.
I couldn't help but follow his thumbs to the top of towel. I shook my head, silently reprimanding myself for thinking about what was underneath that blasted white towel, stalked out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
I sat down at our kitchen counter with a flop. I was angry and decided that I'd let the other two people in the dorm room know about it. I made as much noise as possible as I made myself a cup of coffee, letting the coffee pot fall with a clank to the counter, slamming the cupboard door as hard as I could. Sure I was acting a wee bit childish, but I was upset and I didn't care.
"I take it that you're upset," Ashton's amused voice said from behind me.
I paused in pouring my coffee, but quickly continued, ignoring him.
He walked around the counter to where I was. He held out his hands as a symbol of peace, "I'm fully clothed now. You can look at me."
I couldn't prevent myself from letting out a small indignant sniff in his direction as I walked by.
He caught my arm, spinning me back around, and spilling scalding hot coffee onto my hand.
I winced and bit my lip, desperately trying to keep from screaming. Ashton saw the look on my face and immediately let go.
I shook as I set the mug back on the counter and glanced at my now rapidly reddening hand.
"Damn," he said, noticing his handiwork. "I'm sorry kid. I didn't know..." He made his way over to the sink and made a quick cold water compress for me. "Here," he said, placing it over my throbbing hand. "That should help a little bit. Do you mind if I go raid your medicine cabinet for other useful items."
I waved him away, too busy concentrating on staying calm, and not crying to even listen to, let alone register his words. Deep breaths I thought to myself. Deep calming breaths. Deep soothing breaths. I gradually calmed down, repeating my mantra. I grinned as an image Ashton's wet form played in my head. I had never really seen him half naked. I'd seen him in wife beaters and other flattering attire, but he had never been one for really showing himself off. I appreciated it, though I didn't know why. It was cool that he wasn't like some other guys who strove for nice bodies for the sole purpose of showing them off. Ashton wasn't like that at all. It wasn't his style. He was just his own person, he always had been, and he always would be.
"Are you still mad at me?" A soft voice asked me.
I glanced up into Ashton's sorrowful eyes, and my heart melted. I shook my head, "Nope. I wasn't really mad to begin with. Just a little miffed if anything."
He nodded, understanding. "That's cool. So we'll just forget that that little interlude in the bathroom ever happened?"
I grinned enthusiastically, eyes lighting up, "That would be wonderful."
Ashton laughed grinning, "Yup that's me. Mr. Wonderful."
A/N: So yes, I liked this chapter. That might just be because I love Ashton though. See don't descriptions of Ashton half naked totally make up for this ridiculously late chapter? I think it does. Lol. Oh my crisis. Right well first of all, I have a question. How does one become a better writer? Cause I read something really good today and once again I'm disappointed in my own abilities, or lack there of. But that's something I could talk about all day. On to my other crisis. I'm experiencing huge writer's block because I can't make this important decision. Now I don't know if you all remember this but originally this continuation was only supposed to be 15 pages max and it's already 13... I love this story and the characters and I don't want it to end. Now I figure with the plot that I already had in mind I figure I could probably stretch it out to a good 30 pages. But I don't know, I kind of want to make it a full-fledged thing. But if I did I wouldn't know how to extend the plot. There'd be this humungous gap. Which is where you my darling readers come in. Anyone with suggestions would be super appreciated. I need ideas... Or even opinions. Do you guys even want a full-fledged novel? Or are you content with this little epilogue of sorts? Whatever you want is fine. But oh also... I'm a horrible editor so if anyone wants to do that, I'd be more than willing to let them... Or if you just notice some glaring error as your reading just put the sentence in your review...cause I know you all review. Lol.
Preview: Spur of the moment. Ignore my inability to write for the moment. It'll be better when it's in the actual chapter.
"So is this what I think this is?" He asked me.
I lifted my head from its resting place on the cool counter and nearly had a heart attack. I snatched the ornate little piece of paper out of his hand, "I thought I burned that."
He laughed, "Well it was in the pile of things to burn..."
I glared at him, "So why didn't you just burn it then."
Review Janx:
My reviewers! Thanks for sticking with me you guys!
Ashlita: Yeah there was a huge gap between my updates. I'm sorry about that. It's been a year since I posted this? Wow, I should have an anniversary type dealie. Yay me! Lol. Oh um, I really do think I made Devon extra jerky. I didn't mean to, but I just kinda went with it. He was pretty obnoxious sometimes. I probably should start a new story for the continuation. The reason that I didn't originally was because I didn't plan on this whole continuation thing being very long. I'm gonna wait until I decide whether or not I wanna make this full fledged or not. Marsha... Marsha's fine... she's back in Cali.
Superalicea: Ooh! Brilliant eh? I don't thin anyone has ever called my story brilliant before. I'm glad that you like it so much though. Well the plan is for Sophie to get together, but you know me... sometimes I get a little sidetracked. Ryan didn't disappear... He's just at college... he may appear sometime later... I haven't really decided how it's all gonna fit in.
U-know-who: Wow. Well... thanks for reviewing. I appreciate your opinion and all, but instead of just completely trashing it, you could've made some helpful suggestions. And just out of curiosity, since if was so bad, why did you bother reading all of it. I mean... since I have no writing skills whatsoever you couldn't have possibly expected it to get any better...right?
Arrowhead: Um... I don't know why you didn't read this story before... Maybe the summary turned you away... I know my plot is cliche beyond belief. I'm glad that you did decide to check it out though. And I'm happy that you made it through my crappy first chapters. I think everyone likes Ryan and Ashton. I made them really cool didn't I? A lot of people think Devon's a idiot, don't worry about it. I'm glad you like it.
Anonymous: Thank you! I'm sorry about my update inabilities, but I finally did update.
Fiona16: Aw, I'm glad that you liked the chapter. I kinda liked that one too. You wouldn't believe how badly I wanna tell everyone about what happened with Ashton and Marsha, but I can't. At least, not yet. I'm sorry. You'll have to be patient.
C. L. Catino: Thanks. Yeah, now that my story is all long it takes like forever to get all the way through. I'm glad that you enjoyed it though. It's almost like... 200000 word now... so long...I think I've hit over 200 pages single spaced... not including review responses and stuff... geez. I think it's more first person that anything else that allows people to feel what my character is feeling. Not that I'm complaining though, I love it when people get empathetic.
Luina: Yes Devon was amazingly jerk-y. I know. I probably shouldn't have made him that jerk-y but it's too late now. I do love Ashton, but I love Devon too...He never means to be so amazingly jerk-y. A wedding is something I've thought about, but a baby? That never even crossed my mind. Whoa.
Bluecherryblossom: Aw, thank you. I'm glad that you like my story so much. That makes me happy. I love my Ashton fans. He's such a hottie. Lol. I bet you liked this chapter. But there will be some fluff at some point.
Anchovy: Lol, finally finished eh? Just out of curiosity, why don't you think that Devon and Sophie belonged together? I mean that was the original idea...though I completely deviated from it. Lol. Yeah I know I have mad errors in this story. It's cause I have a horrible time editing. I hate reading my own stuff because it depresses me. But anyway, other than that. You made a good point. Yeah Sophie's older now... and she can do more fun stuff... I doubt that there will be any sex, but if there is it'll be implied. Definitely not graphic. I wouldn't know how to write about that...lol.
Ctwin: Lol, thanks. Yeah I know how you feel about Ashton. I love him too... an d yeah... I have to put him with Sophie since he's not real. He's such a sweetie though I can't help but kind of want him for myself.
Christ: Aw, you love my story. That's so cool. EE! You told your friends about my story? That's even cooler. I just love it when people talk about my story...hehehehe...
Mousey7891: I'm glad you love my story! Breigh was a crazy psycho bitch and even I wanted to kill her. Devon, I love so I didn't want to beat him up, I just wanted to smack him sometimes. More has finally arrived.
Xiaoxiao: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like the story so much. Lol, I'm glad that people are still discovering it. Wow, I wonder if like anyone actually liked the original ending with Devon...
Sakurantokyo: Glad you love it. They can't get together already because they have to trudge through the awkwardness and stuff. And besides if they just got together you'd miss all of the fun of the drama that I know you love.
Stacey: Aw, I know that feeling. I hate it when I find a story I like and then I finish it all.. It's such a bummer. I'm glad that you like my story though.
Darksiren1: Thanks. I'm glad that you found and like my story. Lol. And Tell your friend thanks for putting me on her favs. I definitely plan on continuing the story. I'm glad that you were happy for Ashton in the end. And you aren't babbling, you're just telling me how you felt at different points in the story, which is important to me. So there. And yeah, I'll definitely go check out some of your stuff. I'm jealous... I suck at poetry.
Itty Bitty: I have no idea what I'm gonna do with Devon. I may bring him back I don't know. I guess this continuation thing is a bit jumpy considering when I ended the original Devon had changed... or at least we all thought he had.
Angelic-eyez: Aw, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad that you like my story so much.
Hypnotic-babe: I really like this continuation thing too. It's more fun than the original sometimes cause I can do so much more. I'm enjoying the freedom. Well Ryan may come back into the picture but he probably won't fall in love with Sophie... I'm not sure though. And you've officially been added to my update list.
Salzstar: Hiya! I'm starting to doubt that anyone liked the Devon Sophie ending. I liked him and I kinda liked the ending. But I love Ashton, I'm glad that you're an Ashton fan like me.
Rupert rocks my socks: Yup, every once in a while I'll manage to churn out a chapter or two. No biggie, I'm glad you stopped by Fictionpress too. I'm trying to space out what little um...story I have. So um...that's why the chapters are so short. I'm really sorry.
SpanishEyes: Lol, the luckiest girl in the world just cause I put Sophie with Ashton? Wow. You knew Devon would mess up? Really? I thought that maybe people would believe that he'd changed...Lol, guess not. Anyway, I can't reveal what happened with Ashton and Marsha yet, but it will be...
Qutie*slave: You liked the last chapter? I'm gonna guess that you did. Well I can't have Devon come back yet, I mean why would he, you know? It has to make some semblance of coherency.
MisS_Thang: Hi my official fav fan. Lol. I don't think I've ever had one of those before. I'm glad you've decided to take up the position. Lol, yeah Devon was an ass, but he was pretty hot.
Veronica*James: Lol, thank you. I'm glad that you like the story an d the last chapter. Yes I'll admit it, but Devon is really a complete and total ass...sometimes.
ScarsOnAScribbler'sHeart: You reread my entire story? That's a lot, you know that right. I'm amazed that you didn't get fed up and stop. Eeps, sorry that Devon brought back bad memories. I just kind of through together a bunch of jerky guys that could be sweet at times. Why Ryan? I'm just curious, I know you said that you think they'd make a perfect couple but um...what about the two of them? See I've never even thought about it as an option.
June Augustine: Eesh, sorry about that. I like rarely go back and reread, so thanks for point out that problem to me. I'm glad that you like what you tried to read. Thanks.
JaYnAnNe: I really liked the last chapter too. Exactly, Ashton couldn't very well kiss her because they are supposed to be best friends and... he's not supposed to think about her like that. They'd be so cute together though...
Luvbunny: Hi there! I'm glad that you like my story. The Sophie and Ashton thing is the plan. I love Ashton too, he's amazing.
Ve: Yeah, they were really close to kissing... but to quite there...lol. I think I may have rushed that, or I guess it can be seen as foreshadowing.
Walking Contradiction: I know my chapters are horribly short. I should be shot for that. Skeptic eh? Lol. I don't even know how it's all going to play out. I think my plot twists work so well because not even I know what's going on. Forethought confuses me.
QuOtAtA: Interesting? Would that be the good interesting or the bad interesting, or maybe just the so so interesting. Either way, thanks for reviewing.
Hjohnson: Thanks. I'm glad that you liked the chapter. There was no way I could get rid of Ashton. He was always my favorite character too. Lol.
CryingTenshi: I know my short chapters are very mean, and I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I'm sorry I missed your birthday. Happy birthday to you though. I hope you liked this chapter.
Evil Shi-chan: Yeah.. I had to toss in a little action for you guys. This chapter had a wee bit of action too.. and some bantering... and a new character who isn't male. It's like a miracle for me.
The princess of the desert: I know what you mean about rushing the romance. Sorry about that. I'm gonna try to slow this down. I didn't mean to rush it.
Saralee: Lol, thanks. I'm glad you liked the chapter.
Ski1118: I can't have them kiss this early in the story. It would ruin everything. The formatting lately has been killing me on everything. I can't center anything anymore and that bothers me. Thanks.
Aalori Rian: Ashton and Sophie are sitting in a tree, but they're not kissing yet. I promise. I'm sorry about the cliffhanger buddy. I couldn't help myself. Aw, I missed this story too when I finished and all of my wonderful reviewers.
jOry: Hey. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Of course I can't let Ashton kiss her. He was doing it for her... you know. he didn't want to mess up her fragile balance. But I agree. It definitely makes things more interesting. Yay, someone who actually doesn't hate Devon... other than me of course I started to think it was impossible.
ArIeLLeFay: lol, yes 5 hours eating...but not all of the time was spent eating. I've done that before when I was hanging out with my friends and what not. I like Ashton and Sophie together myself.
Cryptic Insanity: Ashton likes Sophie a lot... as a friend. Anything else... we're not sure about yet. Sophie likes Ashton... but I don't know if she knows it yet.
Krazy-cutie-chic: Lol, I liked the last chapter too. Yes they almost kissed. a "grand 'ol chap" eh? Thanks.
Midnights Sorrow: I like your login, btw. You're a die-hard Sophie Ashton fan, very cool. I'm just a die hard Ashton fan. Lol. Thanks. I respond to reviews because I love getting them.. and I know that a lot of times people ask questions that they'd like to eb answered. Most authors probably don't do it cause it takes up so much space in the chapter. It annoys some people.
Passion101: I like Ashton and Sophie together too. They fit so well together you know. They compliment each other well. I'm glad that you agree.
babypookie: Yes, I like tension. Have you noticed that. tension makes everything fun. I like complicated relationships. Yeah, all the chapters are short. I'm sorry.
Demented Weesil: Sorry about my slow updates. I know how much it sucks to wait for a chapter. There's this one story...I feel like I've been waiting forever. Lol, my story is not publishable.. it need years and years of editing and fixing and overall bettering... Thank you for the compliment though. I abhor it when people try to read over my shoulder... major pet peeve... lol
Penny: Aw, thanks. I'm glad that you still like it, especially after 32 long chapters. I'm sorry about the chapter shortness as of late. I'll consider making them longer...
Tada! Finally another chapter finished. Blah... Thank you everyone who reviews... and all the people that plan on reviewing again. I love you guys. = )