Angels and Guardians Pt. 02

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The friends ran along the infield at the inside edge of the track, a safety measure against painful shinsplints. After two warm-up laps, they stretched in the cracked and neglected high jump area. Jill then led them on a moderately spirited four mile run. On lap 12 of 16, Ashley really began to feel her body, and especially her lungs, protest working after being lazy from two weeks of recovery. She didn't say anything, and somehow kept up, even if it was at the back of the group. This morning ritual of theirs seemed relatively enjoyable to her only three weeks ago. Four more laps and the girls passed the faded finish line. Ashley collapsed to her knees, shocking the other four. Jill grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. "Oh no you don't. You stop suddenly like that and you might get a heart attack." Sally grabbed her by the other arm and put it around her neck. The group walked a lap as a cool-down with Jill and Sally supporting Ashley between their shoulders for half of that. As they returned to the SUV, Jill scolded Ashley. "How many times have I told you girls? You CAN NOT stop suddenly after a run. Find a way to keep your legs moving until your heart has a chance to catch up. I don't want you dying on me."

"It was all I could do to fucking finish," Ashley spat. Still, she knew Jill was right and was gracious for her looking out for the girls. Ashley just couldn't help being pissed at the dressdown.

Jill grinned at her. "I know sweetie. I know that was murder on you after your long break. But I'm serious. Your heart will explode if you don't cool down gradually. It has no where to put the extra blo-o-d." She slowed her last word to a stop when she looked at Ashley's face. "Oh my God, girl! The side of your face looks like it's going to explode instead."

Ashley touched the side that Bill had hit her. She flinched madly, not expecting the amount of pain it presented. The other girls snapped their heads around to see.

Jasmine was nearly in tears. The side of Ashley's face had turned nearly as black as the asphalt of the track. "Oh shit, I didn't think of that. The run must have pumped blood into the bruise."

Ashley looked at the other girls in horror. "Is it that bad?" The answer was written on their faces. She began to sob, then weep.

Jill hurried the group in the SUV and as she started the car she said, "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No way! I'm not missing the game because of that asshole. Let's go and shower up." Jill was about to protest, but Ashley insisted. "It doesn't hurt until I touch it. Let's go, get cleaned up, and if I can't stand the pain by then, you can take me."

Jill relented and parked the SUV near the gym, just a short, bumpy trip across the student parking field. Ashley's face reminded her of its pain on every bump, but she said nothing for fear Jill would tear off to the hospital then and there. They grabbed their bags and Jill unlocked the girls locker room door. Being a responsible student and team captain earned her the privilege of holding that key. They turned on the lights and proceeded to undress and enter the showers. Unlike the other days they did their early morning run and shower ritual, this morning they didn't tease each other and horse around in the warm water. All thoughts were on Ashley's face, even the water seemed to splash at their feet more quietly than usual.

They finished bathing faster than usual, and with it being a game day, they dressed in their cheerleader skirts and tops. Ashley was the last to approach the mirror for the routine self-makeup session. The others stopped "applying their face" when she entered the sink area. When Ashley turned into the mirror, she stopped cold. Her jaw looked to have dropped into the sink. A cold chill went through her finger tips and toes and back to her heart, which then seemed to free-fall into her stomach.

"Oh my God, guys! What am I going to do?" she finally asked to no one in particular. The bruise no longer swelled through her skin, but it was still black as night. When there were no answers, she continued, "when I got back to school after the wreck, the airbag bruise was faded enough I could hide it with makeup. I can't hide THIS!"

There was no doubt among the group that this was true. The damage to her face was a stark contrast to her fair skin. Being a redhead, she never tanned. She burned. If she wanted a tan, or to be ready for beach season, she would have to do very controlled sessions at a salon over a period of weeks and very gradually build up a tan.

Jasmine, being the artist in the group, suddenly got an idea. "Do we need to take you to the doctor?" Ashley almost violently shook her head. "Then, if you can stand it, I think I have a solution if you want to try."

"I'll try anything to keep from being stared at all day!"

Jasmine nodded and started giving orders to the others. Ashley found humor in this, as she was used to Jill being in charge. Jasmine looked at her and asked what was so funny.

"You sound like a surgeon on TV," Ashley said with a giggle.

Jasmine rolled her eyes at the chorus of laughter suddenly surrounding her. "Glad I could provide comic relief." More chuckles resulted. After letting the laughter subside, Jasmine got serious again. "You'll have to be as still as you can. I'll try to be as gentle as possible." Ashley nodded and became quiet. Jasmine instructed her to sit on the bench between the lockers. Once Ashley complied, Jasmine straddled the bench beside Ashley.

Ashley became suddenly aware of the inside of Jasmine's thighs resting against the outside of her knee and butt on her left. Visions of what happened in the club began to surface in her head, along with her feelings of embarrassment. She consciously pushed the thoughts to the side and concentrated on steeling herself for whatever Jasmine had planned.

Jasmine had given orders to Jill to give her this or that until everything she needed was on the bench between her spread legs and Ashley's hip. She worked quickly and with an amazingly light touch. Still, the lightest pressure of the colors being applied to Ashley's cheek reeked of pain. At one point a single tear fell down her opposite cheek and Jasmine said firmly, "no no! No crying till I'm done, you'll ruin it."

Ashley responded with a barely audible, "I'm trying." She redoubled her effort to choke back the tears.

Jasmine's voice broke when she replied, "I know sweetie. I'm trying to be careful."

Ashley whispered, "I know. You're being so gentle, any other time I'd barely be able to feel how light you're touching me right now." Jasmine's brush hit a particularly sensitive spot. "MOTHER FUCKER!!" Ashley screamed through gritted teeth. It was half frustration for Bill causing this, and half tortuous pain.

It was Jasmine's turn for tears to fall. "I'm sorry," she part said and part croaked. She looked at Jill as if needing an answer.

Ashley caught the look, and being out of her mind in fury and pain, yelled at Jasmine, "Bullshit! Don't you dare stop!"

Jill flinched, but Jasmine set her jaw and tried her best to finish as fast as she could. The other girls were amazed at Jasmine's skill and stood dumbfounded as they watched her work. The art took its shape and Allison gasped, "Brilliant!" Jasmine finished painting after a short bit and put down the brush. She took a soft powder puff and gingerly applied her shimmering protective top coat. When finished, she eased back and declared, "that came out better than in my head."

Ashley was curious to the result of what she endured and rose quickly to head for the mirror. She choked up at what she saw. Jasmine quickly spoke. "Do NOT cry. At least too much. I don't want you to wipe it off along with your tears." Ashley nodded, and turned to admire the handiwork. Emblazoned on the damaged part of her cheek was an exquisitely detailed green and gold profile of a Spartan, their school's mascot. The oval background of the ornate design was black, to hide the bruised area and complimented the necklace at her throat. As Ashley turned, the iridescent powder shimmered, giving the artwork spark.

"I love it! It's perfect!" she squealed. She turned and gave Jasmine a bear hug.

Jasmine's heart warmed and she said, "Remember, no tears." Ashley backed away and gave her a salute, beaming her gratitude. The girls crowded around to admire the transformation.

"I want one!" exclaimed Sally.

The others jumped in with a bunch of me-too's. Jasmine checked her watch. "Y'all's might be rushed," she warned. "First bell rings in thirty minutes."

"That's fine, you can be as rough as you need to get it done. I'm not injured." Sally said this as she took Ashley's former position between Jasmine's legs. Jasmine looked around and the others nodded as to say "same here."

"Fine," Jasmine said simply in response and set to work. It was amazing to watch her. Such speed and precision on a media that moves unpredictably when touched is a rare thing in this world.

Allison remarked on this fact, "You really have a talent for this."

Jasmine replied, "Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate."

She finished all three of the others, taking only 5 minutes to complete each. Even though she was rushing, the girls couldn't believe how gentle she applied the costume makeup to their faces. They encouraged her to get one too. Having to reverse the pattern in her head to account for the mirror, and the fact she was doing it to herself, Jasmine was slowed in decorating her own cheek. But slow is a relevant term. She was finished duplicating the design on herself in only 10 minutes. When all was done, the girls put the makeup back in Jasmine's locker. They grabbed their bags and all set off across the gym to the hallway leading to the school. The group arrived at their respective classrooms with three minutes to spare.

The talk around school that day was centered around the senior cheerleaders, and their face decorations. No one seemed to notice Ashley's injury. She thanked Jasmine again at lunch with another tight hug and a loving peck on the cheek. Jasmine dismissed the gratitude effort with a wave of her hand and said, "anything for you, Little Bit." Ashley decided she fancied the new nickname given by her flier counterpart and told Jasmine so. She received a smile in reply. The group gradually picked up their old rhythm throughout the day and now talked about tomorrow's show in between bites of lunch. At one point, Ashley asked why it was on Saturday, instead of during a school day. Marybeth told her that sophomore year, a senior group of girls got together and performed a song and dance routine. The act brought so much praise, that parents expressed their dismay to the principal that they could not leave work to see it. After a survey of parents, it was decided to hold last years on a Saturday evening, so parents could be able to watch their teens perform. A couple of last year's acts were better than the year before, and so now the show is to permanently be held on a Saturday evening. This year, the staff is using the show as a fundraiser, asking for donations at the door.

"You're in it this year, aren't you Little Bit?" asked Jasmine. When she saw the shocked look on Ashley's face, she explained how she knew. "I've been asked to design the cover of the program. And that turned into dressing up the inside pages, so I had to know the layout of the text."

Ashley's surprise waned at that. "Ahh, okay! All the performers were told to keep who was in the show a secret. As long as you know about me, I think Jill has a secret, too." She giggled.

Jill looked over with daggers in her eyes. "Ahem, after I carried your lard butt around the whole track this morning!" Ashley jokingly moved her head as if to dodge the insult. Jill laughed and went on, "I'm not really performing....well, I'll just leave the rest to your imaginations!"

Jasmine grinned and started to spill the beans, but Jill's stare of ice cut her off. "Fine, I'll keep the rest secret. Ashley, are you singing to piped in music or is Miss Julie (their music teacher) going to play for your act?"

Ashley looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head. She knew Jasmine loved to show off that she usually knew gossip first. "You'll see," she said. Then as an afterthought, "Joe might be there."

Jill flashed her a look to keep quiet. Allison blurted out, "Well, duh!"

Ashley didn't understand. "What do you mean 'well, duh?'"

Allison said, "Everyone knows he's emceeing the show. He's done it every year since we were freshmen."

Jill interjected a little too quickly, "He's not emceeing this one." Sally, Allison, and Marybeth looked at her in disbelief. Jill rolled her eyes and mocked, "Well, duh! He was seriously injured in a car wreck only three weeks ago. They asked....someone else to do it this year as they weren't sure he'd be able to." Her eyes got misty as she concluded her explanation. She, as well as the others, had seen how bad off Joe was in the hospital. But, she honestly believed she would have missed him more than her own parents if they had passed away. The bell interrupted her morbid thought, and they jumped up and headed to finish the rest of their classes. Little did they know the school's newspaper geek sitting at a nearby table had caught the tidbit about Joe possibly returning tomorrow night. "Journalism scholarship, here we come!" he thought to himself.

"We're not picking Joe up?" Ashley asked from the middle seat. They were on the interstate heading for Newport.

Jill answered, "No, not enough time to get him, and get there for warmups. Besides, he texted me an hour ago, saying he had errands to run this afternoon. He did wish us luck."

Ashley unconsciously dropped her head in disappointment. Today would be the first in three weeks that she hadn't seen Joe.

Jasmine picked up on this and said, "Aww, sweetie. You still have us! It's not like he could play or anything."

"Yeah, I know. But I just....I don't know."

At this, the other girls broke out into a sing-song "Ashley loves Joe! Ashley loves Joe!" Followed by "Ashley and Joe, sitting in a tree. K I S S I N G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes..."

"Alright! Enough!" spurted Ashley.

Jill settled the girls down. "Seems we've struck a nerve. Back off of her, ladies." The girls grinned, but remained quiet. Jill was a natural leader, and they would respect her commands without question. She had a knack for knowing when things were heading over the top, and the teasing, playing, or whatever would cease when she asked it to.

The ride to the game now had a touch of uneasiness. Even though Homecoming was next weekend, no one in the car wanted to approach the subject, for fear of upsetting Ashley. Same thing with the boyfriend subject. Allison finally broke the silence by relating stories about how frustrating it was to apply for college. That did the trick, and soon the girls both chatted and vented about their own experiences. The second half of the ride went much quicker.

Jill stopped the SUV at a fast food place just outside of Newport. She had made good time and there was about 45 minutes before they had to be on the field for warmup. Each girl ordered her own chicken sandwich. While they were waiting, the counter clerk admired the Spartans adorning their faces. Jasmine blushed her thanks probably for the 45th time that day. "You did that?" the girl asked. After Jasmine nodded, the girl said, "That's totally cool!"

The girls took their trays and sat down. "'Totally cool?'" Sally quipped. "Who says that anymore?"

Jill jokingly scolded, "keep that voice down. It's not this town's fault that they're stuck in the 'Valley 90's'!" The girls all laughed and it prompted more jokes between them about the small, behind-the-times town they were visiting. When they finished and left to ride the rest of the way to the school, each of them secretly regretted the jokes. Newport was actually cute in an off-the-main-path kind of way.

When she pulled in to the "stadium" parking lot, Jill smiled to herself as she recognized one of the cars. "I wonder if any of the others will notice," she thought. It didn't take long once they got out of the SUV.

Joe had just parked and was walking toward the visitor locker room, when he heard a chorus squealing his name. He turned just in time to see the six cheerleaders sprinting for him. He graciously accepted their hugs and affection.

Jill went last, she took his hands, looked in his eyes and said softly with a kiss on his lips, "Hi. Thought you weren't coming." Even though they weren't compatible as a couple, her heart still did a flip every time she saw him.

Joe could tell Jill and Ashley were the happiest to see him. He returned Jill's kiss and replied, "hey back! I figured I could just sit at home and be bored with stories from Mom and Dad about work. Or, I could come and watch you girls."

"I'm glad you decided on the latter," said Ashley. "But, how did you get here?"

"I drove," Joe answered simply as he flipped his keys around his finger once and then pocketed them.

"You're such a tease," flirted Jill.

"I know, I can't help it around y'all," answered Joe with a grin.

They made their way over to the visitor side bleachers, and the girls changed out of their street tennies and into their matching cheer shoes. When the others went down to the field and meet their teammates, Ashley stayed behind with Joe.

"Why aren't you with them?" asked Joe.

"I ran this morning and had an episode with my face." Joe looked at her and she could tell he didn't get it. "Well, the run was hard for me, being out of pace for three weeks. When we finished, the bruise puffed up like a balloon. This was Jasmine's answer to cover it up." She pointed to the design on her cheek.

"Impressive," Joe said. "It looks great on all of you. I had forgotten what it was hiding."

Ashley smiled. "How could you forget? Did you have a drink we didn't know of at the club?"

Joe chuckled. "I didn't mean it like that. She did such a good job, I wouldn't have known what it was hiding." Ashley nodded as she watched her team start their three lap jog around the field. Joe took a deep breath. "Ashley, now that I have you here alone, I want to talk to you a little about Bill."

Ashley shook her head. "I don't want to. I hate myself for ever being with him. Especially for 'being' with him."

Joe patted her knee. "No, I'm not going to lecture or scold. I wanted to tell you what I've found out today."

Ashley started to rile up. "Joe, drop it, ok? Don't go through any more effort over him. He doesn't deserve it."

Joe stopped her and asked her to hear him out. She waited, looking intently at the lower seat in front of her. Joe then related some of what the security office looked into. "So, I just wanted to put you at ease about what I think. I don't want you to think that I look down on you for that relationship. He apparently was a nice guy. But, any drink in him, and he changes. Was he drunk those times he hit you?" She nodded. "He hit you more than you told us?" She nodded slower. "Look." He put his finger under her chin and guided it until she was looking at him. "Just know that I, eh, WE love you. We love you, and any and all baggage that might follow you. You can relax and just be yourself around us. Even if you feel you're being crazy, we REALLY don't mind. Don't apologize for 'acting' any sort of way. Whatever way you are, that's you. I really like having you around, no matter what your mood may be."

Ashley got lost in his eyes for a second as she pondered what he said. Finally she spoke. "Will you take me to Homecoming?"

Joe's answer came quicker than he could process the question. "Sure! Wait, what?"

"Would you take me to Homecoming?"

"Aren't you going with the girls?

Ashley pouted, this wasn't going the way she hoped. "They were just going stag with me so I wouldn't feel bad, then they'd meet their boyfriends and be with them at the dance. They were just going to arrive as a group for my benefit. I don't mean I expect you to like buy my dinner and let me carry your class ring." She smiled at that, for she always thought that tradition was cliché. "I mean as friends. I'm certainly not going with Bill now. And, I thought since Kim had left, maybe we could go together." She sighed. "Or, maybe you had hoped Jill would ask you. Never mind. Stupid idea." Her heart sank when he didn't answer right away. Her blushing reminded her that her cheek still hurt occasionally.

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