“It’s nice to meet you, Penny. Sorry about my daft brother, I hope he didn’t hurt you.” Ash turned to Penny, and reached out his hand to her.
“I’m fine actually, but thanks for asking. You know something you seem kind of familiar to me,” She trailed off, as she examined him closely. Lucy frowned wondering why he looked familiar to Penny as well.
Ash took a deep breath. From what Lucy had said last night, Penny was a fan of his, so if she recognised him, then he had no hope of a normal life. He tried to look calm, and that he was not about to run, if she figured it out.
He had stopped dying his hair jet black and he had let it return to its natural colour. He was no longer wearing his blue contacts that made his normal golden, hazel eyes go a bright green; he was wearing his glasses instead.
Was he stupid to believe that these simple changes could hide him from the average teenage fan? He bit his lip slightly, and prayed that they wouldn’t figure it out.
“How’s your hand Lucy?” Ash asked, trying to distract them from their previous comments. He turned back to her, and reached out to grasp her hand gently, while examining for wounds.
“Um, I’m just great.” She replied nervously, trying to snatch her hand back from where his large, warm hand encased hers.
“That doesn’t look good at all. Come inside, and let me patch it up for you.” He encouraged, while tugging gently on her hand.
Lucy licked her suddenly dry lips. It was almost too much to have his eyes on her, while he was holding her hand so gently. She felt a bit incredulous that he was paying so much attention to her, when her much more gorgeous sister was standing close by.
“Listen, I’m just going to run into town and meet the guys, so I'll, um, give you two a chance to get to know each other.” Lucy told him quickly
She backed away swiftly, while yanking her hand out of his. He looked puzzled, and a bit hurt, as she got in her car and drove away.
“What exactly did I do wrong?” Ash turned to Penny, who looked at him wryly, as they watched the car disappear down his long driveway.
“You showed interest. She’s not used to guys acting like that,” Penny stated simply.
“Huh?” Ash muttered in confusion, making her laugh.
“Lucy always thinks that every guy sees me first. She’d never believe that a guy could like her. She thinks she’s too much of a tomboy.” She explained with an elegant shrug. Ash smiled, at least her reaction made sense now.
“Really? I mean is it that obvious that I, um, like her,” Ash forced the words out, feeling way too nervous “I only met her last night.” He shoved a hand through his hair, making Penny laugh lightly and she nodded.
“It was obvious last night too, you know. Look just give me a minute here, okay.” She waved a hand at him, as she pulled out her mobile.
Ash watched as she walked away, and he had to admit that she was stunningly gorgeous. He was used to seeing beautiful girls, they were a dime a dozen where he was from. He studied Penny; she stood gesturing wildly, as she talked animatedly.
Her white blonde hair flew back off her face in the breeze, while her grey eyes shone. She looked like she could be gracing the front page of any magazine. Ash knew that she could sell products to anyone with her beautiful smile, but she wasn’t the one that had intrigued him..
Her last words of ‘if you don’t get back here then I’m going to tell him all your secrets’ made him chuckle. She was quite obviously talking to Lucy. She turned back to him with a broad grin on her face.
“She’ll be back here in a few minutes, so what do you want to know before she gets here?” She asked seriously, leaving Ash more confused. He had a hundred things he wanted to know about Lucy, but with no idea where to start.
“Are you sure that she won’t mind?” He asked hesitantly.
“Hump! That’s what she gets from chickening out and rushing off. Serves her right.” She told him firmly.
“You and Lucy look nothing alike.” He finally stated.
“Yeah, we’re step-sisters. My dad died when I was three and Lucy’s mum, uh, left when she was young. Our parents met at a parent/teacher conference. Mum was Lucy’s teacher, and as they say the rest was history.” Penny finished with another of her shrugs, but there seemed to be a lot she left out.
“Sorry about your dad.” Ash said sincerely.
“Thanks, but it was a long time ago. I can barely remember him now. Bill’s been my Dad for the rest of it, and I couldn’t want for anyone else.” She told him truthfully. Ash was surprised at her honesty. He was practically a stranger, and she was telling him some heavy stuff about her life.
“So, you all get on really well?” Ash asked, making her nod and smile.
“Yep, just like any regular family, I guess. None of us are perfect, but we love each other, so it all works out in the end.” She said happily.
He envied the relationship she had with her parents. He had been avoiding his for a while now. All they seemed to want from his was money that they could use to fund their lifestyle. He considered that the further away they were from him the better.
“Anything else you want to know, because that dust pile will be her,” she pointed to a flurry of brown dust down the way interrupting Ash’s sombre thoughts.
“Why did she come here last night?” He asked quickly.
“Lucy came here to look after me. I haven’t got my license yet.” She answered simply.
“Okay, can you tell me why her friends left pretty much straight after you did?” She laughed at his words, as the dust plume got ever closer.
Ash could only wonder what she thought was so funny. He had found it completely weird that as soon as Lucy had left, so had all the guys that had made a bet about her fighting.
“This probably won’t make a lot of sense, but they go to parties to protect her, while she goes to protect me. Ron and Col are her closest friends, but I’m sure they both have a massive crush on her. In fact, they’ve had one for years.” Penny finished on a chortle, leaving Ash once again feeling confused. It seemed like nothing was simple about Lucy.
“Why would they bet, instead of sticking up for her?” Ash asked, completely puzzled as Lucy’s car came into sight.
“Because Lucy would have kicked their ass for treating her like that.” Penny answered with a grin, as she watched her sister jump out of her vehicle and storm over to her
“What did you tell him?” Lucy hissed fiercely at her sister, who just chuckled, snatched her keys from her hand, and headed towards the car.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Penny called out cheekily. She got in the car, and drove off before Lucy could stop her.
“What the hell?” Lucy shouted. “You don’t have a license idiot! Dad will kill you if you get caught,” Penny kept driving leaving Lucy standing there feeling awkward.
“Well, I guess she knows how to drive at least,” Ash said, feeling slightly amused by Penny's crazy antics.
“Yeah, of course. Ugh, I'm sorry about this, Ash. She can sometimes be a bit….” Lucy trailed off, not wanting to say anything mean about her sister who she loved dearly, even when she wanted to strangle her right this minute.
“It’s fine. Do you want to come in? I’m sure you can let yourself in if you wanted, but I'm happy to open the door.” He teased, feeling happy that she was here.
“Sure, it doesn’t look like I’ve been given much of a choice.” She grouched.
“I can drive you home. I’ve got my car in the garage.” Ash said quietly, his face falling.
Lucy realised how insulting her words were, and how horrible her attitude must seem. The hurt look in his eye cut at her. She slammed her hand against her forehead and grunted. Why was she acting like this?
“I’m sorry, Ash, that was rude of me. If you want, you can drive me into town later, and we can catch up with my mates. I’d love to see what you’ve done with the old Crampton place until then.” Lucy said hopefully, and was pleased when Ash smiled at her.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” He reached an arm out to her. She hooked hers through his hesitantly, as he led them into the front of the house.
“Well, this sure beats antique furniture and camphor stench.” Lucy joked as she pointed to the huge stereo and flat screen TV that had a black leather couch situated in front of it.
“Yeah, but funny enough antiques can be worth more than all of this,” He gestured to the room “Do you want a drink?”
“Sure, I’ll have some soft drink if you’ve got any.”
“Yep, pull up a chair, and I’ll get you some.” He told her, his grin widening.
Ash walked off to where the kitchen was, while Lucy looked curiously around the room. She let out a whistle, as she noticed the complete surround sound in the walls. This stuff would be worth a fortune.
Her excitement flared when she noticed a guitar leaning innocuously against one of the sofa arms. She had always wanted to learn to play an instrument, but had never been able to co-ordinate her fingers to get any sound beyond an annoying twang.
A sheet of hand written music was sitting on the top of the sofa. At the top was the title ‘I met her on the balcony’ with a few scrawled musical notes beneath it.
“What are you doing here?” A rough male voice interrupted her explorations, making her look up.
Nick, Ash’s older brother stood glaring fiercely down at her. Lucy just smirked at the huge black eye that she had given him. That’s what he got for treating her sister terribly.
“I happened to be invited actually,” Lucy replied smoothly, not backing down an inch.
“Yeah, right, by who, Tubby?” He asked sarcastically.
“By me Nick, so get away from her right now!” Ash growled from behind them. “Now apologise to her for last night, and for insulting her just now,” he slammed the drinks that he was carrying down onto the table, before turning to face his brother.
“No way in hell! Did you even notice how she messed up my face?” Nick shouted in fury.
“Then get out, and don’t touch my car.” Ash pointed towards the door fiercely, which immediately made Nick back up.
“For her? Are you serious man?” Nick asked in amazement.
“Yes.” Ash answered sharply.
“Ash, stop. I couldn’t even care what your brother thinks of me. The last thing I need from him is some forced apology.” Lucy interrupted, and the guys seemed to notice her in between them. Nick sneered at her, while Ash’s face softened from his intense anger.
“Fine, let’s go upstairs. You don’t come near me for the rest of the day.” He said the last half to his brother, who scowled but said nothing.
Ash picked up the glasses, and gestured Lucy to the stairs. He led her up to his room and she couldn’t help but smile at the way they had met last night. Who would’ve thought it?
“You know I’m not trying to get you up here for….aw crap! You know I just wanted to be away from Nick right?” Ash flushed, which released all the anxiety Lucy had been feeling and made her laugh.
“Yeah, stop freaking. I’ve already spent time in your room, remember.” She said wryly, and Ash couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes sparkled when she talked.
“Sure, but the difference then was that I didn’t invite you.” He replied cheekily.
“Can I ask you something? And you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.” Lucy enquired hesitantly. Ash put their glasses down on the table on the balcony, and gestured for her to sit.
“Sure, what do you want to know?” He asked cautiously. He wondered if she had figured out who he was yet. Was that what she wanted to know?
“Is it just you and your brother here? I mean I haven't seen your parents. Then again, maybe you’re not even in school. All right, that was more than one question, sorry. It’s just the way you talked to your brother; it was like you were kicking him out… you've got to admit that it seemed a bit weird.” Lucy trailed off, thinking she had pried into his business too much. Really, they had only just met, and she was being nosy about his life.
Ash looked at her for a moment, thinking through what to say. He knew there would be questions when he first moved here. Lucy was probably the one person that he wanted to answer them too.
“I’m sorry about Nick. I don’t know why he’s being such an arse.” Ash said with a shake of his head, as he looked at her imploringly, but she smiled at him making things better.
“He is not important to me. Plus, I’m guessing the headache from his hangover isn’t helping him much,” she said with an evil little chuckle. “I can handle any crap he throws my way, don’t you worry.” She told him fiercely, as she took a sip of her drink.
“You are one awesome girl.” He muttered.
He reached across the table, and stroked a finger across the back of her hand. Lucy felt her insides tremble at just that simple motion. She went still, as his eyes locked onto hers. They were so golden, and completely mesmerising that she was lost.
She pulled her hand away quickly, feeling awkward. She wasn't used to such attention from a guy like him. She glanced away and sucked in a breath.
“Back to your questions. I moved here to get away from my parents. I wanted to have a normal year of life, I guess, before I’m officially an adult.” He shrugged nonchalantly, but Lucy could tell that it was hard for him to tell her that. She had no idea why, but it had her wanting to dig harder for answers.
“Normal? How exactly has your life been so abnormal?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking.
His expression instantly changed, turning guarded, and Lucy cursed silently that she had asked the wrong question. What could possibly make his life very different from hers? Lucy knew she had to stop searching for answers, at least until she knew him better.
Ash looked at her seriously, until she shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. He wanted to tell her, but it just wouldn’t come out. One of his ex-girlfriends had burnt him in the past. She had spitefully spread false rumours about him to the press, which had turned into one of the worst times of his life.
It was why he had wanted to get away from things, and forget about Martin James for a while. He just wanted to be Ash Martin, a normal teenage guy, out of the limelight.
“It’s okay, Ash, everyone is allowed to have their own secrets. You don’t have to tell me, unless you’re a serial killer, of course.” Lucy said with certainty, making him relax and chuckle at her words.
“Not a serial killer, I promise. If you do figure it out, would you come tell me first?” Ash replied, and Lucy detected the small amount of trepidation in his words.
“I promise.” She said with a nod, even though there were so many questions to ask, she stayed silent. He smiled in relief at her.
The interruption to their cosy chat came from, of all things, a Martin James song. Ash looked at her perplexed, until she pulled out her mobile phone.
“Wait, I thought you didn’t really like his music.” Ash teased, as she looked down at the screen.
“The songs that he’s released are the ones I don't really like, because Penny plays them all the time. I love the lyrics to this one. It’s kind of…profound.” She muttered, while frowning at her phone, before texting back a message furiously.
Ash felt a sense of pride that she liked that song. It was the first that he had written by himself. It was actually about a woman who had been one of his assistants. It was her story of how she always turned the negativity in her life into a positive.
She had been an inspiration to him when he really needed it. Thinking about Tess, he would have to ring her to catch up, and find out how life was treating her now.
“Uh, Ash, I have to go. Dad caught Penny driving home, so now I’m in heaps of trouble. I’m going to kill her when I see her next,” Lucy said fiercely.
“Do you want me to drive you?” Ash asked, feeling a little down that she was leaving so soon.
“No, Dad’s apparently almost here. Penny didn’t want m
e to know until he got here. I’ll just go down and meet him. Thanks for the invite; I guess I’ll see you later, if Dad doesn’t ground me for the rest of the holidays.” She grouched, but stood up to leave.
“Wait, what’s your phone number? You know just in case you get grounded and need information from the outside world,” Ash asked, before she could run off.
Lucy rolled her eyes, but peeled off her phone number for him. The rumble of a vehicle drew their attention, and Lucy quickly raced out of the room.
Ash scrambled into his room to search for his phone. This was one phone number he didn’t think he would ever want to lose. He walked back outside to watch Lucy get in the car, and he could already hear her arguing decisively. Maybe his want for a normal life wouldn’t turn out so normal after all.
Chapter 3 – School beginnings
Lucy cursed quietly to herself. As soon as she got through this lecture, Penny was in deep trouble. He phone beeped in her pocket, but she ignored it.
It might be Ash; she thought with a thrill. The yelling continued, but she couldn’t help the excitement that was growing within her. Between her dad and her brother. the lecture kept going endlessly until she finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Give me a break you two,” she yelled at them, which made them both stop abruptly and look at her “Either punish me or let me go. She grabbed the keys off me, so maybe you should be lecturing her about this not me!”
“Nobody is getting punished Lucy, but if it happens again, and I’m in uniform then I'm going to have to arrest her,” her brother Daz said sternly.
“Then how the bloody hell is this my problem?” Lucy demanded.
“Watch your language,” her father, Bill chided.
“I just wanted you to know. Now why don’t you explain exactly why she was driving away from you? Did you have an argument?” Daz asked, concern in his eyes, while her Dad looked highly amused.
“No, she left me at a guy’s house.” She muttered.
“What one of your mates?” Daz asked curiously, and her father was trying to stifle a laugh, while Lucy glared at him.
“Uh, no. He’s, um, new to town.” Lucy shifted uncomfortable.
I Met Her On the Balcony Page 2