A/N So I was typing this last night and sentences were coming out like "you end up regretting the food" so I decided it was time to go to bed :)

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*Kaitlyn MacDonald*

"Asher?"

"Long time no see, bean."

I blush as I remember his nickname for me, started because of the first day I met him.

I was sitting on the swings, six years old at the time, in the park across the street from my house, right after we had moved in. My mom was reading a book on the bench a little down the road, in front of the basketball courts where seven-year-old Jordan was playing around with some older kids, but she glanced up to check on me every once in a while.

My legs weren't long enough to reach the ground, so I couldn't push off to start swinging. And so I sat there, kicking my feet aimlessly in the warm spring weather. I was wearing a cute blue skirt with a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk t-shirt. My grandma had bought it for me after she heard how much I liked the story, and I wore it as often as I could.

I had been sitting on my own for maybe ten minutes when a tall boy who looked to be about my age sat on the swing next to me.

"Hello," he said, a smile on his face. "My name is Asher, and I just moved here."

"Hi Asher," I grinned back. "I'm Kaitlyn, and I live just down the street."

"Which house?" he asked.

"The one with the flowers by the mailbox. Where do you live?"

"I think the house right next to you!"

We laughed together, becoming fast friends. After a while, Asher kicked off the ground with his long legs and started pumping his legs back and forth, causing his swing to move higher and higher.

"Come on, Kaitlyn," he called out to me. "Swing with me!"

"I can't," I said, frowning. "I'm not tall enough to reach the ground to kick off."

What he did next shocked me. If I were swinging that high, I would drag my feet on the ground to slow myself down. Instead, Asher waited until the swing was moving forward before jumping off it, high into the air. My six-year-old eyes watched in amazement as he landed on the ground, unharmed, before I burst out clapping.

"That was so cool! Weren't you scared?" I questioned.

"Not at all," he replied, grinning casually. "I do it all the time, so it doesn't bother me anymore." His face turned serious then. "Now, what's this about you can't swing?"

"I'm not tall enough to kick off, and I can't start by just pumping my legs. And yes, I've tried," I said, crossing my arms defiantly.

"Hmm," he thought. "How about I push you?"

I squealed. "That would be awesome, Asher!"

"Okay, bean," he chuckled, before moving behind me to start pushing.

"Bean?" I questioned.

"Your shirt," I heard from behind me. "It was either that or Jack, and I didn't think you'd like the second one."

"Okay," I grinned happily. "Now push me!"

<present time>

I sigh internally. "Hey there yourself, Ash," I cautiously reply. The last time I saw him was at the end of the summer right before high school started, when he left without so much as a goodbye. I'm not exactly going to go running back to him, if that's what he expects.

"What are you doing here?" He questions curiously, head tilted to one side.

"I could ask you the same question," I reply smoothly. "And since I'm the only one of the two of us to actually have lived here for the past 3 years, I think I have more of a reason to be here than you do."

He laughs. "That, my dear bean, is where you are wrong. You know that lovely house that your neighbors just moved out of?" I nod. "You are now my next door neighbor. So get used to seeing me."

I freeze. That's unexpected. "So you're telling me that you moved here when you were 6, stayed until the beginning of high school, left without a word, and are now back living in the exact same house you did before."

Asher nods. "That is correct."

"Why?"

He's about to answer when my arm is grabbed and I'm pulled to the left, into a hard chest. Immediately a strong arm wraps around my waist, keeping me in place.

"Everything alright here?" asks a voice coming from the right. I turn my head to see Blake standing directly next to me, a harsh glare directed at Asher. I then struggle to turn my head around, and am not surprised when I see Drew holding me.

'Evening, gentlemen," Asher smirks, arms crossed over his chest. "Is there a problem here?"

"Besides you messing with Kaitlyn?" Drew spits. "Nothing."

"Glad that's settled then," remarks Asher. "In that case, may Kaitlyn and I finish our conversation? We were just getting to a good part."

"Please do," I say firmly, recalling that there was once upon a time something between Drew and Beth. Now, I don't know if it was one-sided or not, but I'm going to get the whole story before making any decisions. I just don't want to deal with Drew at the moment anyways.

Drew reluctantly releases his grip on my waist, and he and Blake glance back at me one last time before heading back into the crowd of people partying.

I frown, turning back to Asher. "What was that all about?" I question curiously, folding my arms across my chest, the maroon dress shifting across my body.

"Don't worry about it," he soothes. "Just forget about them for right now, okay?"

I glance into his eyes, and am entranced by their beauty. "Okay."

We talk for the rest of the night about anything and everything, with the obvious exceptions of Beth and the Big Four members.

I do end up having a couple of beers, but Asher is right there next to me the whole time. I feel safe, something that's hard to accomplish at high school parties nowadays.

"Kaitlyn?" Asher says, his breath turning to a light fog in the October air, which has considerably cooled off since that afternoon.

"Yeah?" I reply, eyes studying the stars as I unconsciously sipped from my beer.

"If someone did something once, that put your friend in danger, would you want revenge?" I pause, glancing up at the sky

"I suppose not," I say after a moment's consideration, "revenge isn't going to get you the total satisfaction that you want. It'll feel good for a few days, maybe a week tops, but everyone always ends up feeling guilty."

He nods seriously. "And are you speaking from experience?"

That's a good question. Am I?

"No, I don't think so." Then, "Why?"

Asher shrugs. "No reason. Just wanted to get your opinion."

"Fair enough." We fall into silence, both sipping from our beers. I've all but tuned out the party, and the people inside, instead devoting my time to catching up with Asher. And oh, what a time we have catching up.

"So you mean to tell me," I laugh hysterically, "that you saw the girl you liked at your high school, and were so busy watching her that you fell down 40 steps and broke your arm."

Asher sighs, a grin on his face. "Sadly, this is the truth. Not one of my proudest moments, I'll grant you that."

"Did you ever end up dating her?"

"No, although she did go with me to the nurse's office after seeing me fall. It was great. She had one arm around me, and we were super close; I almost considering tripping again, just to see what would happen." He drains the last of his beer and sets it down on the concrete before standing up and offering a hand to me. "We should go back inside, it's getting late."

I smile, taking his hand. "It was really nice catching up with you." He pulls me up and we walk back towards the house. "What's your number?" I ask, handing him my phone.

He takes it, after asking for my password, and enters his number. "I hope we can meet up again, bean," he grins. "After all, we do live next door to each other now."

"I hope so too," I smile back at him. "See you around, Ash."

"See you around, bean."

He turns to go, only pausing when I call his name.

"Hey, Ash?" I ask.

"Yeah?" he calls back, a half smile on his face.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

His face drops immediately, and he stalks back over to where I'm still standing.

"Because of your boyfriend, that's why."

"What?"

"Goodbye, Kaitlyn." And with that he stalks away from me, and gets into a car parked on the street before driving away.

I'm left staring after him, slightly in shock.

"Kaitlyn?" a new voice says. "Kaitlyn, are you okay?" It's Blake.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I say, shivering from the sudden cold, both from the weather and from my childhood best friend.

"Come inside, okay?" he says, draping an arm around my shoulders and guiding me back into the house. "Beth's been looking for you."

I let him lead me inside, only pausing once to look back over my shoulder at the spot where Asher's car was parked.

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A/N Thoughts? Theories? Anything?

Happy National 55 Mph Speed Limit Day! (not joking, look it up)

also, for those of you who didn't see, the cast list has been updated with Sam and Asher

-bob evans cuz my friend and I are going there today after we go shopping :)