chapter six

[ PRESENT DAY ]

I DIDNT GET ANY SLEEP last night. The memories of the party were too overpowering; causing me to toss and turn all night. By the time it had reached five o'clock, I knew I was never going to be able to have a peaceful sleep. I eventually just gave up trying.

Something inside of me seemed to take over the actions in my body as I reached for the phone and dialed May Parker's number. She could be asleep, for all I know, but I wanted to try anyway.

"Hello, Ashley James." She said as cheerful as ever. It was five-o-six and she sounded like it was one in the afternoon.

"May?" I whispered, trying not to wake my parents up. "Did I wake you up?"

"Oh, no." She giggled. My shoulders seemed to relax after hearing her laugh. "I'm at the park that's in the middle of town."

My eyes widened. That was the park I was alone at last night. I ended up staying there until one in the morning because everything was too painful. I could barely get home without hurting.

"What're you doing there so early?" I asked.

"Waiting for the sunrise." She spoke softly. I could hear her breathing through the phone and it made me smile. "Want to join me?"

I smiled as wide as I possibly could and turned my face into my pillow. For some reason my stomach twisted and I hated that it did that.

"Yeah." I answered. "I'd love to."

"Well, get your butt over here as fast as you can. I'm on the hill in the middle of the park." She laughed. I laughed too and began to climb out of bed.

"Okay, see you soon." I said. She said goodbye and we hung up soon after.

I have never been so happy to have a new friend. Especially a friend like May Parker. She made me so much happier and whenever I was around her, I forget all about Julia and the bad memories. It was my own paradise when I was with her.

I quickly threw on a hoodie and jeans and put my hair in a ponytail. My bedroom was on the first floor, so I just jumped out of the window and closed it behind me. I didn't want my parents to hear me open the front door at five in the morning because that would be an absolute nightmare. So, of course, I chose the next best thing.

Ten minutes later, I passed by the bench I cried on last night and continued to walk to the hill, where May told me she was.

She came into sight soon after and was laying down on the top of the hill with her arms behind her head. Her shirt was raised a little and her midriff was exposed into the open. She and I looked to be the only ones in the park at this hour.

"Hey." I smiled and wiped my palms on my thighs. She turned her head and smiled as well while she pat the space next to her. I sat down, nervously, and crossed my legs into a pretzel position. She sat up as well and placed her hands in her lap.

"Ashley James." She lured. She pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her head on top with a smirk glued to her face. "You made it just in time."

"Oh, good." I smiled and looked towards the sky while trying to ignore the fluttering in my stomach.

It wasn't pitch black anymore like it was when I was here four hours ago. It was a lighter shade of dark with a tint of orange peeking out from the horizon. It was a completely different scene from before.

It's crazy how a place can change and be somewhat peaceful after how terrifying it felt a few hours ago.

"Fernando usually comes with me to watch the sunrise on Saturday mornings, but he didn't show up." She said. I turned to look at her. "I bet you a million dollars he was stoned last night and completely forgot."

May shook her head and chuckled. I smiled.

"You guys are really close?" I asked, almost like a statement.

She slowly nodded her head and pursed her lips as she looked out into the horizon. I rubbed my lips together and looked into the sky as well.

"Yeah, I guess." She breathed. The way she talked was effortless; almost as if every time she exhaled she also added words along with her wind. It was magical - hearing her talk. "Fernando, well, Grant is like my brother," she went on, "I know he's been through some really tough stuff so I like to be there for him."

I slowly nodded my head as the corners up my lips tugged upwards. She's such a sweet person.

"You like to help people, don't you?" I asked in a whisper. Birds began to chirp and the breeze ran across my cheeks.

May turned to look at me as she nodded her head slowly and smiled. I tore my gaze from the sky and looked right back at her.

"I love to help people." She corrected. She took a deep breath and let go of her legs as they spread out in front of her. She leaned on her hands behind her. "I'm not the kind of person that pours milk all over a stranger and then runs away forever."

She turned to look at me before we both burst out laughing.

"Honestly, I think that's the best way to meet someone." She added, still giggling here and there. I smiled and copied her position as I leaned on my hands behind my back.

"Are you planning on pouring milk on everyone you want to meet now?" I laughed. Something felt natural when I talked to her, almost like I was used to this and we have only just met.

"No!" She erupted into giggles and shook her head at lightning speed. For a second I was reminded of Julia; the way she laughed when I cracked a joke. I gulped. "Even if I did do that," she continued, "I probably wouldn't meet any one else that's as forgiving as you were."

I smiled as I felt the blush creep on to my face.

Ashley! Stop thinking like this right now. You're in love with Mason. Remember? Your boyfriend that has plenty of other girls falling for him because he's on the soccer team? Yeah, you're in love with that guy.

We both grew silent as our heads turned towards the sky and found that the sun has creeped up just a bit more than the last time we checked.

It was beautiful and relaxing. Just sitting here with May Parker during the crack of dawn. Almost like it was a dream. A really nice, soothing, soft, dream.

My eyelids dropped heavily when I thought about sleeping. I haven't slept all night and my body figured that now was the time to finally get some rest - out of all times.

Instinctively, I spread my legs out in front of me and laid down onto the cold grass. I turned onto my side and faced May's body as I nestled my head into my hand and allowed my eyes to close.

"What are you doing?" She giggled. I just smiled and hummed.

"I'm sleepy." I moaned. I kept my eyes closed so I wouldn't blush at the sight of her next to me.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked, this time more serious. I just mumbled in response and let my body take over as I fell into a deep and peaceful sleep - right there, next to May Parker, on top of a hill in the middle of a park.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

When I woke up, I wasn't where I fell asleep. I opened my eyes wide and sat up in a rush, causing my head to spin and my vision go blurry for a few seconds before I regained everything back.

I was in the middle of a meadow, surrounded by flowers and chirping birds. I almost felt at ease for a moment before I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was and that's when my heartbeat began to race.

I stood up and brushed off my jeans as I took a look around. Where was May? Where am I?

"Ash." I looked to my right and saw Mason holding out his hand to me. I furrowed my eyebrows together and took a step towards him as I hesitantly reached my hand out for him to grab.

"Ashley James!" I snapped my head to the left and lowered my arm as I saw May doing the same gesture. They were both holding their hands out and all of a sudden the two of them were right in front of me. They had smiles on their faces.

What was going on?

"Make out with the hottest person in this room." A voice echoed, pounding through out my head and giving me a headache. I held my forehead in my hands and began to rub at my temples to soothe the pain away.

Next thing I know, Julia stood right in front of me with her hands behind her back.

I dropped my hands from my temples slowly as I just stared at her. I couldn't help it, she was my ex-best friend and ex-crush. Well, semi-ex-crush.

"I wish I could apologize." She said, repeating itself over and over in my head. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head as my eyes watered.

"You betrayed me." I spat, surprising myself at the words that just leaped off my tongue. I'm never one to be angry and cruel to someone - especially not to Julia.

I glanced over at Mason and saw his hurt expression. It was written all over his face and that's when I knew. He knows about the party and what I did.

Mason turned around and started sprinting away. I ran after him, calling his name, tears running down my face, before I was tugged back and came face to face with May Parker.

"You don't need to chase him." She said loud and clear.

"Ashley."

Tears ran down my face as I shook my head. I wasn't going to accept this - I wasn't going to let it get to me again- No way was I going to listen to myself -

"Ashley!"

I opened my eyes and sat up. I took in my surroundings quickly - I was on top of a hill, the sun was up, and May Parker was sitting right beside me. I looked over at her and saw her face filled with concern.

Oh, my God. Was that a dream?

"Was I asleep?" I asked, panting. That was surreal. I can't believe I dreamed of all three of them together and I thought it was reality.

"Yeah, for about an hour." She smiled.

"Oh, gosh." I ran a hand through my hair (that had escaped the ponytail by now) and sat up. "Sorry about that." I attempted to laugh it off. I felt so bad that I had to make her wait for me to wake up.

"You looked like you were having a bad dream there." She noted. "You okay?"

Sure, if you count 'okay' as the way to describe my nightmare.

Instead of saying what I thought, I just gulped and nodded my head. I even attempted to smile genuinely. I didn't want her to worry when I didn't even know what had just happened myself.

What did the dream mean?

"Okay." She confirmed and stood up. I looked up at her. "Want me to walk you home? Do you live nearby?"

I nodded my head as I scrambled to my feet.

"Yeah, I live, like, a twenty minute walk away."

She smirked.

"Okay, let's go." She said and started walking down the hill. "Lead the way!" She practically yelled as she pumped her fist. I just chuckled and shook my head at her as I found my way next to her.

She looped her arm around mine and held it tightly, taking me by complete surprise. Our arms were linked as we walked side by side and I couldn't help but feel the butterflies flying around in my stomach like crazy.

Why does May Parker have this effect on me?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Yeah, okay. So I just watched Insurgent right before I wrote this and that's probably why I wrote about that dream. But, you know, it worked out. So I'm okay with it.

Dedication to @Welc0meT0MyW0rld for making the lovely banner above <3

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