Dizzy (Ashley's Perspective)
I ran
into my room, slamming the door behind me with a bang. Seconds later I heard
Lindsay's door slam shut. What does she have to be mad about!!! I
thought irrationally. I was very angry, but I wasn't exactly sure why. Lindsay
betrayed me! She stole my ex-boyfriend…I stomped over to my portable stereo
and put in my Goo Goo Dolls CD. It was the best I could do for
"angry" music because I'm usually a happy and upbeat person. I turned
on number 1.
You're
cynical and beautiful
You always make a scene
You're monochrome, delirious
You're nothing that you seem
I'm drownin' in your vanity
Your laugh is a disease
You're dirty and you're sweet…
"Dizzy"
blared out of my speakers, fitting wonderfully with my current mood. How
could she do this to me? I sat wallowing in my own self-pity for a few
minutes, not letting the rational side of me take over. After a while though, I
came to my senses. I did the exact same thing to her! If we're both happy
now, why should it matter who we're happy with? Friends before Boy-Friends
right? How could I even let it go this far…I clicked off my stereo, and
acknowledged the persistent knocking at my door. I opened the door and let Nick
in. I gave him a hug.
"I'm so sorry I overreacted
like that! Don't think that I love you any less…It's just that…well…"
"Ash, I understand. You
just felt a bit betrayed." Nick finished, reading my thoughts.
"Yeah. So, now I'm going to
go fix this. I'll be right back."
I
walked out of my room, and across the sweet, to Lindsay's room. I hesitantly
knocked on the door. I didn't hear anything so I just decided to walk in. I saw
Lindsay in Brian's arms, crying. Oh, I never meant for it to go this far!
I cleared my throat.
"Lindsay?" She gasped and looked up, obviously not expecting me to be
standing in her doorway.
"Can we talk?" I asked
meekly.
"Umm, yeah…" She said,
trailing off. She looked at Brian.
"I just remembered I forgot
my sunglasses…by the pool. I should get going…" Brian left quickly,
leaving Lindsay and I to make peace.
"Linds, I-"
"Ash, I-"
We
looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Do you realize how stupid
we're being?" I asked between giggles.
"Oh, I know! This is so
second grade!" She replied.
"Seriously though, I'm
really sorry I overreacted like that." I admitted.
"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't
have made such a big deal out of this, either."
"Best Friends again?"
I asked, holding my arms out for a hug.
"Always." She
answered, giving me a hug.
"Now, what do you say we go
get the guys and go on our first double date??" I suggested.
"Yeah! Oh, I know this
great place! We can have a picnic! It has a see-through bottom, and you can see
all the fish…but we should just make sure that the door isn't broken…" She
said the last part laughing. I didn't know why, but I didn't care. I was just
relieved that we weren't fighting anymore. We walked out of the room with our
arms around each other, smiling and joking.
***An hour later***
"Chris, are you sure that
he was hugging that other girl? I mean, maybe she, like, tripped and he caught
her…" I suggested hopefully. Chrissy wiped a tear off her cheek, and
grabbed another tissue.
"Oh, yeah. And she just
happened to be hugging him while sitting on his lap? Good try Ash…"
She managed to choke out before her voice broke into another sob.
After
Lindsay and I had made up, we decided to see if Chrissy wanted to hang with us
for a while, sort of as a girl's night out deal. After we checked her room, we
figured she must've been out with Kyle. So, Linds and I got ice-cream at Ben 'n
Jerry's and then went back to our rooms. We found Chrissy, curled up in a ball
on her bed, listening to sappy music, crying hysterically. She hadn't gone out
with Kyle, but she had gone over to his cabin to see if he wanted to do
something; (she didn't want to end up in the middle of the Lindsay/Ashley/
Brian/Nick melodrama). When he wasn't there, she decided to take a walk around
the boat and that's when she saw Kyle. He was in the arms of bimbo blonde
wearing a string bikini.
"Look at it this way…at
least now you're 'single and ready to mingle' right?" Lindsay joked.
Chrissy managed to crack a smile, and then her frown returned.
"But…I…wanna…be…with…Kyle…"
I
looked at Lindsay over Chrissy's head. With a look we both agreed. Desperate
times call for desperate measures…
"Chris, you know what you
need to do?" I asked.
"What?" She asked,
looking up at us expectantly.
"GO SHOPPING!" Lindsay
and I replied in unison.
"When we dock at Midnight Island
today, we'll go shopping at the cute little boutiques. After all, that's what
they're famous for!" Linds said hopefully.
"Plus, you know unloading
some cash on a pair of Sketchers and a new bathing suit would make you feel a
lot better! What do you say?" I suggested excitedly. She still looked a
bit uncertain, so I added; "Girls only!" She didn't need much more
coaxing.
"All right, lemme just wash
my face and put on some eye makeup and we can go."
***A half hour later***
"Attention passengers,
attention! This will be our last stop before heading back to Orlando, so please
be sure to get back on the boat in two days! Those of you who would
rather stay on the boat in your cabins may do so, and the rest of you may rent
a hotel room. Just be sure to be back on the boat by 2:00pm in two days!"
Nick
and I looked at each other, smiles playing on our faces. He took my hand before
we both erupted in giggles. Obviously the news that we had gotten left on
Paradise Island had circulated around the boat because the captain was very
serious about getting to the boat on time. Nick and I were standing near the
exit of the boat, waiting for the stream of people to begin to get off S.S.
Friendship, ready to spend a few days on land. I nervously checked behind
me to make sure that Lindsay, Chrissy and Brian were following right behind us.
It was very easy to get lost in the crowd. I caught Lindsay's eye and mouthed
to her; Is she alright? I motioned to Chrissy. She nodded and mouthed
back; She's OK. I turned back around and walked down the ramp holding
Nick's hand with one arm, and carrying my overnight bag in the other. We had
all decided to rent hotel rooms for the one night we were spending on the
island (we were only staying one night and two days). Although Nick and I had
insisted that Chrissy should spend the night with us in our room, and Lindsay
and Brian had suggested the same, she "refused to let her problems
interfere with our fun." As we walked off the boat, three handsome guys
greeted us. One was tall, about Nick's height, with slick black hair, a goatee,
broad shoulders and thick eyebrows. Standing next to him was a guy about Bri's
height, with his slightly curly hair pulled back into a ponytail. Next to him
was a guy who was practically covered with tattoos…but he had a really nice
body and beautiful eyes.
"Hey! Kev, man, wassup??
AJ, how you doin' bro? D man, nice to see you!" Nick greeted each guy with
a hug and a complicated handshake. Brian followed, greeting each guy also.
Linds, Chrissy, and I stood a few feet away, confused. Nick looked back at me
and motioned for the girls and I to come and be introduced. He took my hand and
brought me into the cozy group.
He turned to the guy with the
tattoos. "AJ, meet Ashley. Ashley…AJ."
"Hi AJ!" I said
shaking his hand.
"Hi, nice to finally meet
you!" He replied with a smile. Finally? I looked at Nick
skeptically. He pretended not to have seen the look, and turned me to face the
next guy; the one about Nick's height.
"Kevin, this is Ashley.
Ash…Kevin."
"Hey Ash! I feel like I've
known you forever!"
"Hi! Really? Ok…"
"And this is Howie."
Nick said introducing me to the curly haired guy.
"Hi Howie!" I said,
politely.
"Hey Ashley!"
After
Brian had introduced Lindsay and Chrissy to the guys, Kevin spoke up.
"So, are you two ready to
hit the studio?"
Lindsay
and I looked at each other with surprised glances before turning our attention
to Brian and Nick, with questioning glances. Nick and Brian looked at each
other nervously, and then they exchanged looks with Kevin.
"Did I say 'studio?' I
meant to say 'art studio.' You guys know how much I love art!"
Linds
and I still weren't convinced. I let go of Nick's hand, crossed my arms in
front of my chest and gave Nick a 'what are you not telling me?' look.
He pretended not to see. Brian broke the awkward silence.
"You girls wanted to go
shopping anyway, right? Why don't you girls go shopping, Nick and I will go
with the guys for now, and then we'll meet you later for dinner?"
Chrissy,
Lindsay and I exchanged looks. What weren't they telling us?
"Well…OK." Lindsay
replied.
"Where and when should we
meet you?" I asked Brian and Nick.
"How about five o'clock at
Café D'Orange?" Nick said, pointing to the quaint, outdoor French
restaurant across the street from where we were standing.
"OK! Five o'clock it is
then! Hey, wait, what about hotel reservations?" I asked responsibily.
"Taken care of!" Nick
replied. He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before walking away with the
guys. They waved goodbye, hopped into AJ's Camero, and drove off down the small
street.
"That was weird!"
Lindsay said reading my thoughts.
"No kidding!" I
replied. Then, we both looked at Chrissy. She was looking down at her feet. Her
hair hung down in front of her face, masking it.
"All right! Enough of this
self-pity!" I said grabbing Chrissy's wrist and dragging her to the
nearest store.
"What?" She said
defensively.
"C'mon Chris! We're gonna
make you feel better if it's the last thing we do!" Lindsay replied,
taking her other arm.
We lead
her into Island Sounds, a music store. She immediately perked up, she
loves shopping for CDs. We walked around aimlessly for a while. I was checking
out the new releases, when I heard a squeal and a gasp that I recognized as
Lindsay.
"Ashley!" She said
urgently. "Come here!"
I
quickly walked over to where she stood. She had her hand over her mouth and was
pointing to the store window in astonishment.
"Linds…what in the world-" I looked up,
and found myself staring at a poster…of…Nick?
