It's around 8:00 in the morning, students are arriving for their respective classes that start in 30 minutes, slowly one by one the classroom fills with students and among those students is Ashe. The students talk and chat before class as usual, not long after, Ashe takes her seat which is right next to you and her friends and talks to them as usual. Alan, her boyfriend and your bully, walks by the classroom and gives her a kiss before going to his own classroom.

And as usual, no one notices you at the back of the class. People are very engaged and talkative, which is unusual since it's still 8:00 in the morning. Finally, the teacher arrives as usual and begins the lesson. Time passes and the teacher finally leaves the classroom and the students are finally allowed to have their lunch break.

Ashe: "Hey, you. Eating lunch alone again, huh? You want to eat lunch with me?" She asks you nicely and without waiting for your answer, she takes a seat across from you.

Well, I mean, if you really don't want to then...it's fine but it'd be nice if we could eat lunch together sometimes. She shrugs and continues eating her lunch as Alan walks up to them, his face contorted with anger and hatred for you. "Hey, Ashe, mind if I join you guys?" He asks her, ignoring your presence entirely. Ashe glances at you then back to Alan before nodding. "Sure, go ahead."

"You know what? Never mind," she mutters under her breath before getting up and sitting across from you instead of next to Alan. "There, my boyfriend won't be able to bother you now." Alan glares at Ashe for a moment before deciding to ignore you both as he sits with his friends. The two of them begin to whisper and giggle to each other while the rest of the class finishes up their lunch and engages in various conversations.

Ahh, I see... Well, I just thought you could use some company is all. And I know my boyfriend can be a bit much sometimes but he's not always like that. Anyways, sorry for bothering you and thanks for understanding. She smiles warmly at you before turning her attention back to her lunch. Her gaze drifts away from time to time when she catches someone looking at you in a funny way; it seems they're still not used to seeing you two sitting together without any tension between you.

Ashe nods in understanding as you excuse yourself to go back to class, the gentle fluttering of her long eyelashes and soft smile never leaving her face. She's genuinely grateful for your consideration but doesn't seem overly disappointed that you refused her offer. Instead, she turns her attention back towards Alan, who seems rather jealous and displeased with their current arrangement... In truth though, Ashe has no idea about the depth of his hatred towards you and what lengths he would go to in order to make you suffer for being close to her.

Alan glares at you with hate-filled eyes before muttering under his breath, "Yeah? Well, I'm gonna make sure you regret it." His face contorts into a sneer as he turns back to Ashe, leaning in close to whisper something nasty in her ear. Whatever he says causes her cheeks to flush red with embarrassment and anger. You can tell she wants nothing more than to smack him right now but decides against it; instead, she merely gives you a warning look before returning her focus back on her lunch.

The rest of the class period passes by rather slowly; everyone seems unusually quiet considering how boisterous they were earlier today. Eventually, the bell rings signaling the end of class and Ashe gathers her things quickly, obviously eager to get away from Alan as fast as possible. She walks past you without saying anything else before rushing out of

"Hey," she says softly, walking up to you as the bell rings at the end of class. "Look, about yesterday... I'm sorry if Alan was being a jerk to you. He can be really pushy sometimes and I don't always know how to deal with him." Her voice is calm and apologetic, though there's an edge of steel beneath it that only you seem to pick up on. "Just wanted to let you know that he doesn't speak for me, okay? You didn't do anything wrong."

She pauses, meeting your gaze steadily before continuing. "So... if you ever need someone to talk to or just hang out with, I'm here for you. Okay?"

Ashe blinks, clearly surprised by your statement. "Look, you don't have to worry about that," she says reassuringly. "I know what I'm doing with Alan. And even if... you know, things weren't working out between us, I wouldn't go looking for someone else behind his back. That's not who I am." She pauses, studying your expression before continuing softly: "I just thought... maybe we could be friends or something. It doesn't have to be anything serious, but it would be nice if we didn't always have to be at each other's throats."

Her eyes meet yours pleadingly, waiting for your response.

"Ah... I see..." Ashe responds quietly, sounding a bit hurt by your words. "I guess that's fair enough." She shrugs, looking down at her feet for a moment before meeting your eyes again with determination in them. "Well, if you ever change your mind, just let me know. We don't have to talk about it right now or anything, but I wanted to put the offer out there." And with that said, she turns around and begins walking down the hallway towards her next class, leaving you standing there for a moment before heading off in the other direction yourself.

"Ahhh, man... I dunno..." Alan mumbles hesitantly, glancing over at his girlfriend who has disappeared around the corner. "She's my girl, you know? It's just..." He trails off, uncertainty written all over his face. Finally, he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Fine. Yeah, alright. I'll let her be." With a defeated-sounding grunt, Alan stomps away in the direction of his classroom, clearly not happy about the situation but seemingly unable to do anything about it at the moment.

The rest of the day passes relatively peacefully, with neither Ashe nor Alan paying any more attention to you than they already were. As night falls and everyone begins making their way home, you can't help but wonder what exactly happened between them... and whether or not there might be something more going on beneath the surface that

Ahh... I see what you're saying. Well, umm... thanks, man. I appreciate it. I just hope we can work things out between us. But if there's ever anything else going on that you want to talk about or need advice with, just let me know, okay? We're homies after all. Alan glances down at his feet for a moment before meeting your eyes again, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, for sure bro. Thanks." The rest of the walk to their respective homes is quiet but companionable, each lost in their own thoughts about the complicated mess that is relationships and friendship among teenagers in high school.