The Prettiest Girl in School

"Hi mum, this is Ben McKendrick."

"Oh.... hello."

The older woman glanced somewhat disdainfully at him before turning her attention back to her daughter and taking hold of her chair.

"Come on Ashley we need to get going."

"Bye Ben. See you tomorrow?" She managed to say as her mother started to wheel her out of the classroom.

"Tomorrow...." Was all she heard before she was out of earshot.

Facing a sermon from her mother on the way home, about boys and how vulnerable she was, Ashley closed her ears and spent the whole journey thinking about her new friend.

"Are you listening to me young lady?"

"Yes mum."

"Well, you just make sure you stay away from that boy and any others that come sniffing around you."

"Why mum? He was really nice to me today."

"Just because."

Ashley stared out of the car window and rolled her eyes. If her mother thought for one second she was going to avoid Ben McKendrick she was very much mistaken.

Lying in bed that night she stared up at the ceiling and thought about her first day at school. It had been an eventful one for certain, in more ways than she could have ever imagined, but the highlight had been a cute boy with hypnotising blue-grey eyes.

It was with the image of those eyes fixed in her mind that she closed her eyes, pleasant thoughts of the endearing boy with unruly brown hair filling her head, until she eventually dropped off to sleep.

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"We had better get back before Gwen has a blue fit." Ashley paused her monologue and brought them both back to the present moment.

"What!" Trish spluttered, "You can't leave it there. What happened."

"I need to get my mind round all of this. I'll buy you a coffee or something after work and finish my story then."

The other woman grumpily agreed and, after Ashley had tidied herself up, the pair stepped out of the women's bathroom to go back to their desks.

"I'm going to hold you to that. Don't for one instant think that you're getting off with only telling me the beginning."

"Don't fret, I'll finish the story, just give me a little time. Today's all been a bit of a shock."

A little reluctantly Trisha let the matter drop for the moment, they both had work to do.

For the remainder of the day Ashley kept her eyes on Gwen's office door whenever she could, a large part of her praying that Benjamin McKendrick didn't re-appear while another, smaller part, desperately hoped he would.

Fortunately, for her he didn't and by the time the evening shift arrived both the girls were more than ready to leave, although for very different reasons.

"Coffee!" The way Trish said it made it more of a statement than a question.

"I'm not going to get out of this am I?" Ashley asked almost pleadingly.

"Not... A.... Chance." The older girl answered making sure she stated each word clearly.

"Fine, it's not like I've got anything else to do."

"I'll even pay." Trisha grinned gleefully, "Now stop complaining, I've waited all afternoon to hear this."

A few minutes later the two girls entered the local coffee shop and Ashley settled herself at a corner table while her friend went to the counter.

"Cappuccino right." Dropping in to the seat opposite Trish placed two cups on the table before adding a plate with two slices of cake.

"What's this? Bribery?"

"Absolutely. I don't want you making some excuse about being hungry and leaving before we're done."

"As if I would." Ashley chuckled and picked her piece up to take a large bite, "Ok, I promise."

"So, what's the rest of the story? You met this guy when you were both thirteen and he was super nice to you on your first day at school, so how did you end up being so awful to him?"

For a second or two Ashley's eyes went vague, as if she were staring at something on the horizon, and then she started.

"Well..."

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Young Ashley Morrant woke up the next morning feeling a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

She was thrilled to be going to school again but she was worried that maybe that cute boy, Ben, had just been being nice to her because it was her first day.

'What if he didn't talk to her today?'

Just thinking about him made her stomach flutter and she felt herself smiling as she remembered how he had looked at her and asked if he could sit next to her.

If she had felt nervous the night before this morning was even worse. She barely heard a word her mother said to her during the twenty-minute drive to school and, once she was out of the car, she insisted on wheeling herself into the classroom.

"Good morning Ashley."

"Good morning Miss Williamson." She responded automatically, taking up her place and feeling sick, her eyes never wavering as she watched the door waiting for her classmates.

Much to her surprise and delight several of the girls smiled at her, a couple even saying hello and giving her a wave as they went by but, good as that felt, it wasn't any of them she was waiting for.

As he had the day before Ben strolled in last, giving her a smile as he came straight over to her and sat down.

"Hi Ash, I'm pleased you came back."

"H... hi."

She blushed, her cheeks reddening as she mumbled a hello, all the while her heart was thumping with joy at the fact he was sitting next to her again.

It was the start of a perfect day for Ashley.

Just as he had done yesterday, Ben pushed her chair out for break times and between classes while at lunch he also sat for the whole hour chatting as he ate with her.

To make things even better a few of the other children joined them, mainly because Ben was with her, but she didn't mind and quickly found herself talking to them as well.

Several were curious about her being in a wheelchair and wanted to know what was wrong with her, however none of them seemed judgemental about it.

By the end of the week, Ashley felt herself becoming part of the class, included in conversations, asked to join in when she could and generally making friends with her classmates.

School was turning out to be everything she had hoped it would be and more.

"What are you doing at the weekend?" Ben asked her during their afternoon break on the Friday.

"Nothing special. I'll do my homework, maybe watch a movie with my parents." She shrugged, already wishing the weekend away so she could return to school on Monday, "It's not like I can really go out and do much, can I?"

"You could come and watch me play football on Saturday morning." He blurted out without really thinking about what he was asking.

Ashley giggled and grinned at him, "I'd like that, but how would I get there silly?"

"I could take you. It's only at the local park, if I came to get you I could push your chair."

"You'd do that?"

The surprise in Ashley's voice was genuine, she had already in her short life encountered plenty of discrimination and narrow mindedness. To find someone who seemed to accept her for who she was rather than simply looking at her chair was quite a revelation for her.

"Why not? You're my best friend."

If she had been surprised by his first answer his second took her breath away. Having someone who wanted to be her best friend was something she had previously only dreamt about. To find that it was the cutest boy you could imagine simply filled her with feelings she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Maybe.... when you've played your match.... in the afternoon... you could come to my house and we could do our homework together."

That would be really great." Ben beamed at her, "As long as your mum doesn't mind."

"Oh yeah.... my mum." Ashley frowned as reality hit her, "She... she might not like me going."

"You could at least ask her." He suggested hopefully.

"Absolutely not." As they both expected Carol Morrant was none too happy about Ben taking her daughter to watch him play football.

"I promise to look after her."

"Really! And how will you do that if you're playing football?"

"Oh yeah... I... umm...."

"No, I'm sorry it's much too dangerous."

"Please mum.... Please." Ashley gave her mother a pleading look, "I've really enjoyed school and Ben's been so kind."

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"Please mum."

Looking at her daughters face Carol wilted under the pressure, "OK but I'll take you."

While it wasn't exactly what she wanted it was a very acceptable compromise.

"And can Ben come round after so we can do our homework?"

"Yes. Now, if you're done, can we please go home."

"See you at the park tomorrow Ben." An elated Ashley called across to him as her mother started to wheel her out to the car.

"Kick offs at 10." He shouted back as they left.

Even though Ben's team lost the match the weekend proved to be a turning point in Carol's opinion of him. She even made them both tea when he came round to the house to do his homework with her daughter.

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"Is that it then?" Trisha asked, her voice filled with disappointment, when Ashley stopped and finished her coffee.

"No, that not it but if you want the rest I need another cappuccino. And you're still buying."

Trish laughed, "Anything to get you to tell me all the sordid details."

Ashley grinned back at her, "There was nothing sordid about it. We were thirteen and friends."

"Maybe then but I think I know where this is going."

It was a few minutes before Trisha returned with two more cups.

"Ok then what happened?" Placing them on the table she sat down and fixed Ash with a determined stare.

"OK, well....." She started again.

Chapter 3 - More Than Just Friends

That first week quickly became a month, then three as the days seemed to fly by, and even though she made other friends, Ashley found herself becoming closer to Ben as the time passed. Although she still didn't understand the feelings she had for him she knew she liked him, a lot.

The fact her mother warmed to him and was soon encouraging their friendship as she watched her daughter's happiness and confidence grow in leaps and bounds, surprised her.

By the time she was approaching sixteen Ashley Morrant finally came to understand the feelings Ben McKendrick created in her whenever he was around; she was head over heels in love with him.

Her only problem in coming to the realisation was that she had no idea how he felt about her. They were friends for certain but he had never shown any romantic inclinations towards her.

The two of them were sitting up in her room before heading out with her parents for a celebratory meal for her actual birthday when she took a chance, deciding she needed to know.

"Ben?"

She didn't look at him as she spoke, her heart thumping frantically against her rib cage, dreading the response she might get.

"Yeah? What's up Ash?"

"Can I ask you a question? It's something that's been bugging me for a long time."

Ben grinned, his smile sending its usual flock of butterflies soaring around her stomach, "Sure."

"Do you remember that first day, when I started at school?"

"Yeah, like it was yesterday." He chuckled sending a thrill through her.

Her heart started to thump urgently against her ribs again as she paused, the question hovering on her lips.

'What would he say? He had felt sorry for her?'

If he rejected her because of her disability she didn't know what she would do.

"Why did you sit next to me?"

Ashley closed her eyes, praying he would give her the answer she wanted.

"Oh, that's easy." He laughed, "Who wouldn't want to sit next to the prettiest girl in the whole school."

For a moment she thought her heart was going to burst.

"You... you think I'm pretty?" She felt her cheeks warming, "But.... but what about my chair, didn't that...."

He took her hand in his, "I never even noticed if I'm being honest. I just looked in your eyes and I knew there would never be another girl for me."

"But.... what about... the other girls? The.... the whole girls." Ashley asked hesitantly, feeling the tears on her face.

"But nothing. It's always been you Ash, no one else could come close."

"Ben...."

Before she could say another word he leant towards her and kissed her for the very first time; his lips soft and moist as they lightly caressed hers, sending a tingle through every nerve ending in her body.

"Sorry." He said quietly as he sat up again, blushing slightly and staring at the floor.

"Don't be. That.... that was my first proper kiss and.... and it was wonderful." She sighed, "You... you can do it again if you want.""

The next kiss was longer, more passionate, lasting close to a minute as his tongue probed gently between her lips to tease against hers.

When he pulled away she could only stare at him, wide-eyed and breathless.

"Ben, what....."

"I... I love you Ash. I always have." He whispered gazing back into her blue eyes.

Ashley stared at him, hardly daring to believe what he had just said to her, as the tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"I love you too Ben."

They had both said it and now they knew things could never be the same for them again.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

She stared at him, her eyes going wide, "You.... you mean that? You're not just saying it?"

He grinned at her, "Yeah. I mean it. So, will you?"

"Y...y... yes." Ashley couldn't help but stammer with excitement as she gave him her answer and wrapped her arms about his neck.

From that moment on they became a couple and, despite Ashley's concerns about her disability, started to do the things that other teenagers did when they were dating.

When they eventually told people a few of their friends were clearly bothered by the fact they were a couple; some even asking him why he was going out with a disabled girl, although most of them were supportive of them.

Needless to say, they didn't remain friends for very much longer with those who weren't accepting of their decision.

However, the big surprise for them both was Ashley's mother.

Expecting her to, at the very least, disapprove of her daughter having a boyfriend they were both completely shocked to find that she actually encouraged it.

If they had known the truth then they might not have been quite so amazed.

Carol Morrant had grown to like Ben, he had never been anything but kind and thoughtful towards her daughter and, as a woman, she had quickly realised that he had deep feelings for Ashley. She knew that they faced a host of problems if they wanted to be together but, seeing how happy Ashley was, she was determined to try to help the two of them as much as she could.

Over the next few months as their involvement blossomed Ashley was the happiest she had ever been.

As much as she had enjoyed starting school and making friends having a boyfriend was a hundred times better. The two of them went out to the cinema, occasionally to eat and, as they became more confident and Carol more trusting, even to a theme park and the seaside.

It was almost nine months into their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend that the first seeds of doubt were planted in Ashley's mind.

They had gone to see a local band at an outdoor concert and during the interval she had headed off to use the bathroom while Ben went for burgers and cokes.

Her queue for the disabled toilet was a lot shorter than the one for food and she was just waiting for her boyfriend to come back when she heard the two girls talking.

"That's him. The one in the blue top, over by the burger kiosk." A tall leggy blonde said loudly, pointing out Ben to her friend.

"Oh, the really cute one."

"Yeah, that's him. The one with the girl in the wheelchair."

"Do you think that they're together? Like he's her boyfriend or whatever?" The brunette asked rather judgementally.

"Oh, come on." It was the blonde speaking again, "What would he be doing with her. He could do so much better. He's probably her brother or something."

The other girl laughed, "You mean better like you?"

"Well, I'm sure I could do a lot more for him than just lie there and let him do me."

Breaking into a fit of giggles the two girls linked arms and moved away, heading towards the burger van, without realising their conversation had been over heard by a distraught Ashley.

'What if they were right?'

'What if one day Ben decided he preferred a whole girlfriend? One with legs that worked.'

She was sitting there thinking about what she had just heard when her boyfriend came back.

"Are you ok Ash?"

"What?" Looking up sharply when he took her by surprise she struggled to answer, "Oh yeah.... yeah, I'm fine."

"You look like someone has upset you?"

She smiled bravely, putting what she had heard to the back of her mind.

"No, honestly I'm fine."

The problem was she wasn't.

It took time but slowly, little by little, Ashley began to notice things; how Ben was filling out, the way girls looked at him with interest, the way they looked at her with pity.

She tried not to let her insecurities play on her mind and affect their relationship, and to begin with she was partially successful. However, over time the worries gradually grew and she slowly became convinced that one day in the future she was going to lose him.

Ben meanwhile was totally unaware of her fears and blithely carried on enjoying his relationship with her.

Apart from studying and enjoying themselves they also spent a lot of time talking about their futures. How they thought they would do taking their 'A' level exams, choosing a university to go to and finding a place where they could live together.

She had told Ben she wanted to wait until they were older and had their own place before they consummated their relationship properly and he was happy with that, or so he told her. But again, she could see the way other girls flaunted themselves at him and her concerns about their future together continued to grow.

"Ben?"

They were alone in her house; her parents having gone out for the evening comfortable with the fact that Ashley had Ben with her.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I... I was thinking. We're both eighteen now and...."

He looked at her questioningly, "And what?"

"I.... I don't want to wait until we go to university."

"Wait?" He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"To.... you know." She blushed.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

Ashley bit her lower lip nervously and nodded, "I want you so much. Take me to bed."

For a moment he simply stared at his girlfriend in surprise before he eventually answered.

"I want you to Ash, but are you absolutely sure about this? If we.... we do it there's no going back."

"I know." She whispered her voice barely audible.

"What about protection. I don't have any.... you know... things."

"I'm on the pill. I have been since I was sixteen."

"You're really sure?" He asked again, his stomach tensing at the thought of what might be going to happen, "You want to do it?"

Ashley nodded, her mind made up, as she started to put her plan into action.

Pushing her through to her bedroom Ben helped her out of her chair and onto the bed.

"Lay with me for a minute, please."