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PAST

"Oh my God." Katie moans when I push another finger into her. Her back arches as her hips seek out more of my touch and I give it to her, adding another finger. Her thighs start to tremble with an impending orgasm. "Asher."

"Shh." I warn and withdraw a finger as her punishment for being too loud. She immediately whimpers and clamps her mouth shut, pleading me with her eyes. My finger goes back in. "You'll get us caught. You promised you'd stay quiet."

"I can't help it." She whispers. Her eyes roll to the back of her head when my thumb presses down on her clit, her mouth falling open in pleasure. "It's so good. You're so good."

I smirk at her words. I know I'm good. Granted, I probably started having an active sex life way too early but it's the reason why I'm so good at fucking at seventeen years old. The guys I go to school with get their fair share of pussy too but I know I've got game like they don't. They come to me for advice after all, whether it's about how to make a girl orgasm or how to last longer during sex or even how to eat a girl out. I know my shit like they don't and my reputation proceeds me both on and off school grounds. I've fucked older women too and I know I've left them far more satisfied than any man their age. What can I say? I love fucking. A lot.

Does that make me a manwhore? I guess. But I also keep my story straight and make sure the women I'm with don't get my intentions twisted. I still have no desire to date and haven't had a single girlfriend and every girl I fuck seems to think they can change me, tame me. There's nothing to tame. I'm just not interested in what a relationship has to offer and am left more than satisfied from a good fuck. Any girl that gets into bed with me knows that, as I make it completely clear, and if they still convince themselves otherwise then that's on their head. They're grown enough to understand that my "I don't want a relationship with you" doesn't translate to the underlying message "but you could make me settle down." I said what I said, sweetheart.

When Katie spasms against my hand, I close my mouth over hers to muffle the obnoxious sounds she's started making again. Part of me is wondering if she's being loud on purpose just to prove a point — that ice cold Asher is stealing a quickie with her in the janitor closet between classes — and wave it around like a trophy. I've known girls to hook up with me and completely exaggerate the story to earn brownie points in their social status. It's pathetic as fuck and if that's what Katie's doing, this is the last time she gets a piece of me.

"Are you trying to put on a show, sweetheart?" I pull away to look her in the eyes which widen slightly. My mouth curls. So I was right. "Seems unfair, doesn't it? Here I am offering you a moment of pleasure and you still want to use me. Take from me."

I pull my hand out before she's even finished her orgasm and the look on her face is comical. Her hand takes hold the broom beside her so she can steady herself while the last of her tremors die down. I watch her with disdain, squirting some hand sanitizer on to my hands and rubbing them furiously to get the taint of her off of me. If there's one thing I hated, it's when people are fake. I've dealt with fakers all my life, people who pretend to care and pretend to love, when they're only after their own personal gain. It's the fastest way for me to lose respect for someone and Katie just lost hers.

"I...I didn't," She stammers, quickly pulling down her skirt and smoothing down her flat-ironed hair. It looks washed out and over-used with heat. "I was just having fun with it, you know? So what if people hear us? It's not like they haven't seen us hook up before."

"But I made it clear that I didn't want anyone knowing this time." My tone is smooth and unbothered but I know my eyes are raging with restrained anger. Katie gulps nervously.

"Oh, come on." Her laugh is tight. "They would have found out anyways."

"Right, because you just love parading our hook ups like it's a personal achievement that everyone else should be jealous of."

"Well, they should." One shoulder goes up in a shrug. "You get around but never with the same person twice. It has to mean something that I'm the first girl you broke your rules for. Of course the others girls would be jealous."

"Do you even hear yourself?" I shake my head and open the door, pointing a finger. "Out. We're done here."

"Whatever." She sways away, swinging her hips in an over exaggerated manner that makes it looks like she has a wedgie. She throws me a dirty look over her shoulder. "Just so you know, I hooked up with your friend Jared. He was so much better."

I snort and don't even bother to correct her that Jared only recently had his first kiss a couple of days ago with a girl from our English class he really likes. He's the one guy in our crew that's shy as fuck despite being a good-looking fucker and always has female attention on him. He's a good one and no doubt hanging around with me and the others, all of Nate's friends that I tolerate for the sake of him, will taint him soon enough. Either way, Katie's a goddamn liar and she looks like a dumbass.

I wave a goodbye dauntingly and her face grows red. She stomps away like a fucking child and now that my cock has deflated and I'm no longer horny, I'm left wondering what the fuck I saw in her to begin with.

I close the door to the janitor room and round the hallway, freezing in my tracks at what I see. Oh, yeah. That's why I shoved Katie inside the secluded space — to fuck that image out of my brain. What are they still doing here?

My fist clenches beside me as I watch Dean Tory bend his head to press his mouth against Aria's, slipping his tongue inside while his hand travels up her stomach and cups her tit.

"Dean." Ria giggles and pushes his hand off. "We're still in the hallways."

"Fine." He pulls her bottom lip with his teeth and grins. "I'll save it for my place tonight."

So I guess they're fucking after all. That's not what Ria told me when I asked her last night after sneaking into her room. She also told me that I need to stop doing that because it makes her feel like she's cheating on her boyfriend. Boo-fucking-hoo. She was mine first and I'll gladly beat the shit out of Dean to remind him of his place.

I know I'm being a hypocrite considering I spend most of my times fucking other girls so Ria can fuck whoever the hell she wants too. I don't even know when the idea of another man touching Ria made me feel like my bones were set on fire, on the verge of becoming the fucking Hulk and killing said man, but it's getting harder to keep myself in control. Hence fingering Katie Meyers in the janitor closet and breaking my rule of hooking up with the same girl twice. She was right — it does mean something that I did that but she's not the girl I did it because of. I did it because this fucker Dean had been standing behind Ria and whispering some shit in her ear to make her giggle — probably fucking pillow talk — and it was either walk up to them and lose my shit in front of everyone or grab Katie, who happened to be two lockers down from me, and burn the image out of my mind. I thought they'd be gone by now but apparently they wanted to use the empty hallways to their advantage.

In my defence I did try to stay away and give them time to get the hell away. At least, that's what I tell myself as I saunter over to them while they suck each other's faces and clear my throat. They startle and pull away. Dean's face is sour and annoyed like he half-expected it to be me and Aria's face is equally annoyed like she definitely expected it to be me. Did I mention this isn't the first time I've interrupted their...extracurricular activities?

"To what do we owe this pleasure? Again?" Aria smarts.

I cluck my tongue and lean my shoulder on the locker beside her. "I'm just looking out for you guys. I doubt Principal Rowland appreciates it when his students make babies in the corridors of his school. You definitely could have been expelled."

"That's a funny thing for you to worry about, Pryce." Dean sneers. His thumb brushes across Aria's hip and my eyes catch the movement, jaw clenching. When I look back at Dean he's smirking because he got the reaction he wanted out of me. Motherfucker. "You're legend for christening every staircase and every empty classroom with your personal mission of fucking every girl in this school, right? What's that shit your boys like to call it? Pay the Pryce? Aria and I are the last two people you need to concern yourself with so you can fuck right off."

"Hey, c'mon Dean." Ria says softly in my defence. Always defending me even when I don't deserve it.

Dean's right to be pissed. I know the guy truly likes Ria and my constant interfering is a pain in the ass, a barrier even to getting his own girlfriend to himself. I understand that just fine but I still act out like an asshole. I'm still a fucking nightmare in people's lives. I'm still the fucked-up kid who was abandoned and left to die. In some ways my birth parents accomplished that. I may be alive physically but there are parts of me that are so fucking ruined that I can't fix them anymore. Being a dick is one of them and so, in classic Asher fashion, I calmly take hold of Aria's arm to move her behind me before I swing a punch on Dean so fast he doesn't even have time to blink.

Aria's gasp is all I hear before I blank out, my fists coming down on Dean so fast he can't even move it away enough to catch his breath. I grab him by the collar of his shirt and bring his face up to mine.

"You better watch the way you speak to me." I snarl and Dean's black eye stares back at me, unblinking, holding his own. I hate how that makes me feel a shred of respect for him. "In case you haven't noticed I don't take well to being told what to do. Don't ever fucking tell me to stay away from Ria or imply that she isn't my concern. There's a reason they call me Ice Boy and if you push me far enough you'll find out exactly why, motherfucker. I'll put you in a hospital and enjoy every fucking second."

I punch him again and shrug off Aria's hand that's pulling on my shoulder. Another hand grabs me and this time it's bigger, stronger, enough to actually get me off of Dean. I'm suddenly hoisted up by the arms and slammed into the lockers with an arm to my throat. I'm not surprised to find Nate's blazing eyes stare me down, his jaw ticking as he gets in my face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? All you've been doing is getting into fights and getting your sorry ass suspended. If this keeps up you'll get expelled and you can kiss college goodbye. Your parents didn't give you a second chance at life just for you to fuck it up, you hear me Pryce?"

I wince inwardly. That's definitely my sore spot and he just beat the shit out of it. Nate leans even closer and he growls his next words. That's how I know I went too far this time. He's never lost his patience with me like this no matter how many times I've fucked up.

"I don't know what the fuck crawled up your ass but I know you need to get it the fuck together." He seethes. "Whatever's bothering you, fucking deal with it. I get that you're a tough guy but now you're just being an asshole. Beating up Dean was uncalled for. We're both protective of Ria but he hasn't done anything wrong so take your head out of your ass and fucking behave."

He releases me and looks like he's one more fuck up away from beating my ass into the ground. I probably deserve it.

Nate takes hold of Dean and helps him get up on his feet. He does a quick inspection and his mouth turns down into another scowl as he eyes the black eye and split lip. Remorse tugs at my chest as Dean eyes me warily while Aria covers her mouth with shaking hands.

"Nate." She turns to her twin with a calm voice and I know I'm in for it. "Can you take Dean to the nurse? I need to settle something."

Nate looks as me with a raised brow and his unspoken words are clear: you were better off getting your ass beat by me.

I have to agree.

"Is there something you'd like to say before I go?" Nate taunts. My jaw clenches. I fucking hate being wrong and admitting it is like having my teeth pulled out. I know I'm not getting out of this one, not when the Hunter twins have cornered me to keep my ass in check like they always do.

"I was out of line." I mutter and hold Dean's stare. His eyes flash with surprise. "My bad."

He tips his chin to accept my apology and my respect for him grows. He doesn't owe me shit yet he's willing to whereas I gave him shit he didn't deserve in the first place. What the fuck is wrong with me? This has to stop.

As soon as Nate and Dean are out of sight I turn to Ria. I don't even see the punch coming. One second I'm standing straight and the next I'm curled over and clutching my stomach that pulses with a little sting of pain. I've been hit way harder — I'm on the boxing team after all — but for a girl that was one hell of a move. I take it Nate has been teaching her a little something on the side.

"I deserved that." I groan and straighten up again.

"Damn straight you did, Asher Pryce." Her voice shakes and tears well up in her eyes. The sight of them hurts way more than any punch or kick I've ever received. "Why? He didn't do anything to you, damn it. Why do you delight in hurting others?"

Fuck. I swallow harshly and look away. I can't look at Aria's face when she's crying. It feels like a knife stabbed me in the chest knowing I've caused her pain. How could I do that to her?

"I'm sorry." I tell her gruffly. I hate apologizing but for Ria, I would go down on my fucking knees and beg if I had to. "I went too far."

"But why?" She pushes. She shoves me and my back hits the lockers. It doesn't hurt me and so I let her do it. I let her shove my shoulder again and I let her pound my chest with her fists until she's heaving. I let her hurt me back because I hurt her.

"I don't know." I lie. The truth is I do know but I don't want to admit it to myself, much less to Aria. I don't want to admit that I'm starting to have feelings for my best friend or that I've never felt this way about anyone before.

Everything she does drives me out of my goddamn mind with infatuation and it's a dangerous game to play, especially if you're Asher Pryce. Because in my world, nothing lasts. In my world, everything and everyone is temporary. Whatever. I can handle it. But if Ria leaves me? I'm fucking done for. I will lose my motherfucking shit and there will be no going back. We're better off as best friends and besides, she doesn't feel the same way.

"You have to stop." She whispers and brings me back to the present. I don't say anything. "I get that you want to protect me all the time but you're suffocating me. Even Nate isn't as bad as you are and that's saying something. What's the use of protecting me if you're on the one I need protecting from, especially when you do shit like this?"

I flinch. She's fucking ripping my heart out here but she's right. I've had this coming for a while now.

"I'll get it together." I say in a low voice. I reach a hand out to her and breathe a sigh of relief when she doesn't pull back, allowing me to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I'll stop being, you know, ice cold."

"You're wrong." She almost begs the words and cups my face. The absolute desperation in her eyes grips me and I'm falling into the dark brown abyss. "You're not ice cold, Asher. You burn red hot. You feel everything so much more than everyone else. It's like you're on fire, you know that? There's so much heat inside of you that you burn yourself to ashes and that's why you think you're ruined. Dead inside. But you're not. The ashes aren't ruins — they're a reminder that you're alive and you feel. Not everyone understands but I do and I love that about you. I love your ashes and I wish you would love them, too."

She's crying now and my throat is tight because fuck, I think I might start crying too. I think I've only cried once in my entire life and it freaks the hell out of me that I'm close to tears now, that I'm even capable of feeling something like this. You burn red hot.

Maybe Ria's right. Maybe I'm not ice cold or dead inside but she's wrong about one thing. The only person I burn red hot for is her. The only person that makes me feel alive and makes me feel this heat inside of me is her. There may be fire inside of me but she's the one that lit the fucking match and I haven't stopped burning since the day I met her.

"Ashes, huh?" I whisper and pull her against me. My arms go around her shoulder as she leans her head on my chest. I wonder if she can feel how fast my heart is beating. "Not sure how I feel about that."

"Then I guess I'll have to keep calling you that so you can remember it's the best part of you, not the worst."

"The best part of me just sent your boyfriend to the school nurse. You sure about that?"

"You're not talking me out of this, Ashes."

"Stop calling me that."

"Stop calling me Princess."

"You're mean." I grumble, entirely serious. She laughs against my chest and my own smile stretches out my constantly scowling lips. I kiss her head and close my eyes, savouring the feeling of her in my arms. After this moment I have to share her with the world again instead of keeping her all to myself like a greedy ass fucker. "You know I'm sorry, right?"

"I know." She kisses the spot where my heart is and it jumps so suddenly I'm surprised it doesn't pop out of my body. How the fuck am I going to hide my feelings from her at this rate? "Thank you for apologizing to Dean."

The mention of his name turns my mood sour but I tell myself to get over it. I'd rather have Aria as my best friend than not at all and if I keep acting like a class A dick, she's going to leave me for good.

"I did it for you." I tell her honestly.

"I know." She repeats. She pulls away from me and I want to pull her right back, want to beg her to just fucking stay in my arms where I can keep her safe, but I stuff my bruised hands inside my pockets and tell myself it's better this way. If I let her inside, my fire will burn her and I'd fucking die before I do to that Ria.

"You should go check on him." I manage to make myself say.

"Yeah." She nods and squeezes my hand before walking backwards, her eyes on mine. "You're not ruined, do you understand me?"

I shrug and don't bother agreeing. Her mouth twists downward but she doesn't have time to argue with me. Before she rounds the corner my voice stops her and she turns back around.

"The whole ashes thing...it won't stick, you know."

"We'll see about that." Her brow raises adamantly and I chuckle to myself when she's finally out of sight.

We did eventually see about that and as usual, she was fucking right.

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A/N

GAH, Asher, my dark horse!

I always had a feeling he'd be my darkest FD boy and I have to say, I'm in love with who he is scars and all. This boy is breaking my heart here and I'm enjoying every second.

I also love seeing the stories and meanings behind some of the moments in Asher and Aria's present. The whole ashes thing, I love! Who else?

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)