Evelyn's POV 

*I see your car eve, where are you??* -Sophie 

*I really need you guys to distract my parents for a second so I don't have to tell them what happened at the mall, Ashton is with me. He got into a fight, he's okay now I was helping him.*-Evelyn 

*Say no more, I'll tell Gianna. Start making your way to the beach we'll meet you there."-Sophie. 

The sun was beginning to set and I couldn't stop thinking about how that guy had called me a whore and the new 'flavor of the week' I like to pretend like these certain things don't hurt my feelings. Like I can handle it when people talk behind my back and most of the time I can. But he blatantly disrespected me right to my face. Who the hell raised him?

"On a scale from one to ten, how angry are your parents going to be if they see me?" Ashton asks me while he stretches, standing up and wincing from the pain of his face. 

I look at him and give him another apologetic smile. He had laid down for a little bit, resting because he was still sore from the altercation. While he was lying down I was admiring the ocean from the guest room windows.

"Don't worry about that right now, because well they aren't going to see you," I say as innocently as possible. "Come on."

 I make my way towards the door thinking about how he literally just took a bath with me. It wasn't as romantic as I would've pictured but only because there was a bloody mess..and even then, it was still in a way sweet that he wanted to take care of me after I took care of him. 

We discreetly make our way down the stairs and go out of the side door where we had come in from. When we made it out to my jeep once again I took a deep breath in. I caught a glimpse of the sunset and the breath I took in went right back out. It never gets old. Ashton starts pulling me in the direction of the beach and I let him. I think I would pretty much let him take me anywhere honestly. 

"You have plans I didn't know about?" I ask as we go from my backyard to the sandy steps leading to shore. He looks back at me, lets go of my hand, and smiles.

 "You said you'd let me take you anywhere huh.." He says mischievously. 

My eyes go wide, had I said that out loud? Oh my Gosh. This day has wiped me out, seriously now I'm thinking out loud. I can't even trust myself anymore, I chuckle but I'm sure he could tell how unbelievably embarrassed I was from the redness on my cheeks considering I felt them heat up. 

He picks up the most beautiful pearl-colored seashell and hands it to me. I get goosebumps from the way his fingertips brush my hand. I feel him staring at me as I admire the shell and all the thoughts I didn't want rushing in my head start pouring in. What if he's pretending? But the fight...you don't obliterate someone that bad over them disrespecting someone you don't care about. 

"It reminded me of you," He whispers, inches away, so close I can practically feel his breath on my face, and I like it.

 "Reminded you of me how?" I ask looking up at those dazzling eyes. 

"It's pure, just like I think your heart might be. It's beautiful just like you and in the back, it has these specks of color, like your freckles. I'm going to be honest with you Evelyn I just met you the other day so I don't wanna come off too intense but-" 

That's when I said to hell with it, and just did what I had been wanting to do three days ago. I kissed him and he immediately grabbed my waist, pulled me in, and kissed me back with my face in his hands, with as much passion as he could muster. And my God, it was heavenly. He pulled back for a second and smiled that captivating smile and those dimples I was becoming infatuated with. 

"People in town aren't gonna be able to stand this, you know that right?" I asked him smiling back, bubbling with that feeling of a love bubble rush. 

The excitement a new crush brings, the feeling that anything is possible with another human being by you. He caresses my cheek with his hand, and I lean into it closing my eyes. 

"You might not know this Evelyn, but I don't really give a damn what people aren't going to like." He smirks and I breathe in his scent, grateful for the moment, maybe the move was a good idea. We end up sitting on the beach for a while, talking about how after his brother died, he was on a really self-destructive path. He realized he was just worrying everyone even more, and knew he had to get a grip and stop trying to get into fights and too much drinking that resulted in sleepless nights. 

"Well, well if it isn't THE HERO," Gianna screams. She looks shocked once she sees his face.

 "Dude what the hell, did you fight off an army?" Sophie asks. He laughs and shakes his head.

"I would have, for her." He answers with such casualness, Sophie and I look at each other for a moment when he says that, and she gives me the look. The look that says "Oh??" 

"Well, I hope they look worse man," Gianna says.

 "Ohh they do," I answer before he can. He laughs at that knowing I'm right. We all just sat there talking for a while about what we all did and how they distracted my parents. My parents are actually cooking dinner which would be chicken Alfredo pasta, I was informed through a text from my mom. I'm starving right now. 

"Do you want to eat with us, the menu is chicken Alfredo pasta?" I ask the girls and Ashton.

 He raises his eyebrows and I mentally smack myself in the forehead. Oh my God, he probably thinks I'm going to be one of those obsessed girls who forces a guy to meet her parents before they're ready. 

"I would actually love to, what do I say if they ask what happened to my face though?" He asks.

"Oh trust me they won't mind as long as you're not bleeding anymore, plus tell them the truth- that you were defending my virtues." I smile. 

He grins and the girls head back inside giving us a couple of minutes of alone time before we do too. 

"I'll take you back to the mall after we're done so you can get your car," I say. 

"Plus Gianna will probably soften the shock of you coming over and she's probably inside right now telling my parents to not act weird since I have a guy friend over," I say in a matter-of-fact tone. 

He nods and squints looking at the horizon. "I'll never get over this view you know." He says quietly.

 "I don't think I will either Ashton," I answer back to him. But I wasn't talking about the view he was looking at, I was talking about him. 

- - - 

We went inside to help my parents set the table and my mother actually didn't freak out when she saw his face. She smiled kindly at him and we made small talk while we ate, even though everyone was so hungry there was more eating being done than talking. 

Ashton had complemented my dad's Alfredo sauce and that must've won him brownie points with my dad. My dad takes his sauce recipe very, very seriously. After we were all done eating, my heart was still racing after the mind-boggling kiss that happened on the beach, I don't know where I got the courage from, maybe it was the lucky shell he gave me. I told the girls to wait for me to get back from dropping off Ashton at the mall so I could give them their new bikinis. They grinned with joy and I loved that. 

- - -

"I need your number, the bonfires are too far away," Ashton says leaning on my passenger door. Finally. 

"Thank you again, for defending me. You didn't have to do that and you did." I say one last time before we part ways. I pull out my phone and we exchange numbers.  

"That's the thing Evelyn, I did. As long as I'm around no one is ever talking to you that way and getting away with it ever again." With that, he closes my door, gets in his car and then he's gone. 

Again? Has he heard the rumors already?? How does he know how people used to talk about me or well apparently they still talk about me? I drive back to my house and make my way to the kitchen to tell my parents goodnight. 

"Nice boy." My dad says. "Couldn't wait to introduce him to us when his face healed kiddo?" He mocks. 

"What would be the excitement in that honey?" My mom shoots him a look jokingly. I roll my eyes and laugh at their humor. 

"I love you guys, thank you for being....normal," I say as I hug both of them. 

"Oh please, we're as normal as normal gets." My dad says sarcastically. I laugh at that for sure. I make my way to my room and Gianna and Sophie are sitting on my bed. I place the shopping bags in front of them. 

"Now maybe you guys will stop stealing my bikinis..." I say teasingly handing them each their new bikinis. 

"STOP, this is so cute. You spoil us too much Eve." Gianna squeals. 

"I love you girl but just so you know we are never going to stop stealing your bikinis." Sophie laughs. 

"I prefer the term borrowing," Gianna scoffs. 

I sit down by my windows and think back on the crazy day Ashton and I had. They must have noticed the expression on my face change because I saw them both look at each other smiling. 

"So you and Mr.Ashton huh??" Sophie whispers.

"Sophie, he gave me this gorgeous shell and said I reminded him of it because of how pure and beautiful it looked. So I kissed him and it was so hot and passionate my Goodness I can't even imagine what sleeping with him would be like." I say, oversharing because well that's what you do with your best friends in girl world. 

Gianna raises her eyebrows and throws a sock she has next to her but I dodge it and start cackling. Sophie sits next to me and starts looking at the pool through the window, her expression changes and I can tell she's pondering something. 

"Just be careful Eve, you just met him and if he hurts you, you know your brother will do more damage than those two guys at the mall did. It'll be worse than that.."She trails off. 

Sophie was so beautiful her hair was pin straight, black like the night before us and her eyes reminded me of dark chocolate. Honestly, all my best friends were beautiful. 

Sophie has a right to think that because it's true. She's seen enough of my brother's fights and all of them were either because he was coming to my rescue or because he would hear me cry in my room at our old house at night, from all the name-calling and slut shaming people were doing about me. I give her a half smile and nod my head; she's right I shouldn't have my guard down this fast. It's just, that I've had my guard up for so long that I almost forgot how good it felt to feel safe around another guy. 

"Don't be a buzzkill Sophie, let our girl enjoy this feeling," Gianna says lightheartedly. 

I love Gianna, but I know why Sophie said what she said. She's scared I'll end up spiraling again if I get hurt and that she and my family are the only ones that are going to be left picking up the pieces once again. When I was in rehab, aside from my brother and parents the girls called on most days. But Sophie was the one that would drive two hours every other week to come see me and only for an hour would they let us sit there and talk and hug each other. She would catch me up on everything back home and ask me how I was feeling and if I felt strong enough to go back home. 

I didn't tell them about the bath Ashton and I took together because ultimately that felt more intimate, more private, I wanted to keep that piece of the day to myself. 

"Where the hell has Sadie been all day, I got her a bikini too??" I ask. They all stare blankly at me. "OH, oooooh. She's with my brother isn't she?" They both nod and I'm offended. 

"How could she tell you guys but not tell me?! Did she really think you guys weren't going to tell me?" I ask angrily. 

"Eve she's probably embarrassed about the whole thing, plus we recently found out. She'll probably tell you soon. Don't feel bad babes." Sophie was right, we rarely ever kept anything from each other so when one of us finds something out, the rest of us find out soon enough as well. 

"Are you guys staying over?" I ask them. 

"Not tonight but I'll be back tomorrow," Sophie says, Gianna agrees with her. I hug them goodbye and sigh when I'm left alone. I've learned to enjoy my own company more or less. I take the white, backless dress I bought, it is so beautiful, can't forget about the heels. As if on cue my mom walks in and sits down next to me. 

"Do you like him?" She asks me playing with a strand of my hair. My mom has such an elegant complexion. Her hair is always done, and her nails are always done. She's still as beautiful as she was when she was my age, I've seen the pictures. 

"I think I do Mom," I say sighing.

 "Well then explore the possibilities with him sweetheart, you won't know what great things it could lead to." She says hugging me. 

"By the way we are having a party tomorrow night, the family will be here, but so will a lot of other people you don't know. Your dad sent out invitations to the neighborhood council considering he's back in their good graces. So good thing you have that gorgeous dress. The girls' parents are coming, you can invite your new friends as well if you'd like. Tell them to dress for the occasion okay? I'll have the caterers set up everything in the afternoon. Alright, get some rest. I love you, honey, I'm proud of you. Oh and don't worry the party is all yours after an hour, it'll mostly be for everyone to talk about new plans and then they'll get bored and leave." She smiles at me and I hug her back.

"I love you too mom, I'll send out the texts now." 

Well, let's put this dress to good use tomorrow. I sent out a text to Ashton, the girls already know about it obviously. I tell him to invite Nicky as well. Hopefully, Sarah and Ally won't come but who knows whose parents are on this neighborhood council. 

*I'll be there*-Ashton.