Rachel was in love with the guy who had the locker next to hers.

Well, maybe love is a bit of a strong word. She had a big crush on the guy with the locker next to her.

Dominick Ashworth, or as people called him, Ash, is the perfect guy. He's smart, and not a jerk (unlike half of his football teammates), and funny. Not to mention that he's definitely one of the hottest guys in Sophomore year, she doesn't know how she got lucky enough to have the locker next to him.

She's not sure when she fell for him; maybe it was the day all her things spilled out of her bookbag and he helped pick up without a second thought, or maybe just when he smiled at her the first time and she was blown away by how genuine and cute it was.

It's not like she didn't know him (or okay, know of him) before. He hangs out with the sporty crowd, and so does she. But it's a big group, and he doesn't exclusively hang out with just them.

But now that she likes him, and actually gets to spend time with him (even if it's brief moments throughout the day), she finds that she wants to know him more and more.

Sometimes she doodles 'Rachel Ashworth' (she's a teenage girl, it happens) in her notebooks. Personally, she thinks it sounds damn catchy. Of course, she might never get a chance with him if Sophia Brantley stays around.

Sophia Brantley was something else entirely. Rationally, she should be some sort of loser nerd. The girl spent nearly all her time focusing on her grades and schoolwork, was crazy smart anyways, and did things like read big books for fun. But she's also super pretty, social, and has this knack that makes people either love her or hate her.

She was also one of Ash's closest friends, and was with him seemingly all the time. They live on the same street so he drives her home, and according to facebook, they hang out quite a bit for two people who have no classes together. She's also had a very poorly concealed crush on Ash for years, but the only person who seems not to see that is Ash himself.

Rachel can't help but kind of hate Sophie. She also can't kind of help but like Ash.

"Hey." Rachel says as casually as possible. She's on her unnecessary locker stop after seventh hour, the same time that she knows Ash has to put away his gym things in his locker.

"Oh hi." He says, flashing her that smile (oh god…) as he looks away from his locker for a moment.

"So, how's your day been?" she says, still feeling the butterflies in her stomach she gets from being around (and thinking about) him as she fumbles with her combination and has to try again.

He's just about to answer, when out of nowhere (seriously, where does this girl even come from?) Sophie appears on his other side, grabbing his arm.

Taking no notice of Rachel (although Rachel definitely notices her) Sophie starts babbling about something and diverts all of Ash's attention away.

"Dominick! Can I borrow your history book? Wenworth totally didn't say that we needed to bring our books to class today, but we apparently need our books for class today, and it's the one day I didn't bring mine back because I was starting on next chapter's history notes early, and you know how I'm one of the few students she likes, and I don't want her mad, so can I please, please, please borrow you book? I promise I'll give it back to you after school…."

She says all of this really fast and looks nearly frantic as both of them look at Ash for his reaction. All he does is run his hand through his already slightly messy hair and laughs, pulling out the history book.

"Yeah, of course Soph." he says, handing Sophie the book, and the grateful girl hugs him (oh, how she wishes she was the one doing that….).

"You're a doll!" Sophie chirps, letting go and pretty much flounces away, "Thanks!"

She finally gets her locker open and grabs a notebook she doesn't actually need.

"Haha, so she calls you by your real name, huh?" she asks (it's the best she can come up with at the moment).

Ash just chuckles, closing his own locker and picks up his bookbag off the floor, "Yeah. She and my mom are pretty much the only two people allowed to do that. She's really something else, isn't she? Anyways, talk to you later Rachel."

Giving her that smile again, she says goodbye a second to late as she watches him walk away, closing her own locker.

"Yeah. Something else…" she murmurs, heading off to her own class, feeling (not for the first time) pretty jealous of Sophie Brantley.

She thinks that Sophie Brantley may have the worst timing ever. It may just be her, but it seems that when Rachel really wants to talk to Ash (and honestly, what girl doesn't really want to talk to Ash?), she interrupts, being, well, Sophie.

But when Sophie's not around and she actually gets to talk to Ash, it's pretty great. Talking to him is actually pretty easy once she gets over the nervous thing. They can talk about school, family, sports (they're both Packers fans), and she thinks that they have a lot in common. They're even starting to talk away from their lockers, and she doesn't know how he gets more perfect every day.

(Seriously. All he has to do is something like say that he loves baby kittens and watching Titanic and she might just marry him.)

"So how's your brother?" she asks as she walks with Ash (!) to class. It's second semester, and they have eighth hour classes next door to each other. She thinks that her unnecessary locker stops first semester are really paying off now.

He's told her how he's the youngest of four boys (she kind of knew; all the Ashworth brothers are kind of legends at school) and about his oldest brother who's a cadet at Texas A and M.

"Good," he says, and she thinks he's pleased that she remembers, "He says it's really grueling, but he loves it."

"That's good." she says, trying to think of a new topic, fast.

He saves her from having to by asking, "Yeah, and how's your family?"

She smiles at him, trying to keep her thoughts coherent enough to keep talking like a normal person. "They're great!" she says, internally wincing, hoping it didn't sound to chipper (with him, she overthinks everything), "Really, my Dad's birthday was yesterday! You know, the big forty-eight…"

Great, she thinks, hoping she's not turning red as they stop outside the classrooms, he really thinks I'm not cool now.

To her surprise, he just grins. "That's cool. Tell him I said happy birthday."

She's stuck there for a moment, feeling super embarrassed, and yet, at the same time, super happy (Dominick Ashworth brings up a lot of confusing feelings). Heading to World Lit, she makes a mental note to tell Ash tomorrow that her dad said thanks, even though she has no intention of actually mentioning this to her father.

The Spring Formal is coming up, and she's growing more and more convinced that Ash might actually ask her. They talk a lot more than they did at the beginning of the year, and now that she's not usually as tongue tied as before, she thinks that they're good enough friends to move on from the friend-stage. That's what she sincerely hopes for, anyways (sometimes she wishes for it on 11:11).

"He's totally going to ask you." Her best friend, Peyton, who's this short, blonde sweet girl, says with conviction. She smiles hopefully as they head across the parking lot in an attempt to find where Peyton's brother is parked (he drives both of them home, it's cooler than taking the bus).

"Really?" she asks, and although they've probably had this conversation a bajillion times in the past few weeks, she likes hearing it anyways.

"Like totally, I mean, you two would be so cute together."

She smiles happily as they walk, Peyton suddenly stopping her.

"Or," Peyton says, sarcastically, "Sophie Brantley could steal him."

They watch as Sophie and Ash walk to his car, which is this sweet black BMW convertible, laughing and talking. They both look indisputably happy, and Sophie reaches out and touches his arm for a moment.

"Ugh," she says, trying to hide her jealousy and hurt under a layer of disgust and venom (Ash stirs up a lot of confusing feelings!), "Sophie's such a try hard. I mean, she's chased him for years and he obviously doesn't like her."

Peyton nods, "I know right? He obviously likes you."

That helps her out quite a bit as she nods, putting a smile on, "Yeah. I know!" she says as they giggle together and try to find where Peyton's brother parked his dumb car.

She's walking with Ash after school (Don't know where Sophie is, doesn't care about it either). They're talking, and she's irrationally please that she made him laugh as she says, trying to seem laid-back, "You know, the spring formal is this weekend…"

Rachel has been preparing for this all week. She and Peyton read in a Cosmo they stole from Peyton's sister that guys just need to lead into the conversation, so they have an assurance that you'll say yes (or something like that. She started thinking about how cute Ash would look in suit halfway through), so she's been working on this moment since. She's in her cute jeans, and the only top she's ever bought from Hollister, and for pete's sake, she even curled her hair.

Ash shrugs and runs his hand through his hair, "Yeah, I know…" he says, and she waits, hopefully. It's going to happen... She thinks excitedly.

Right until Sophie bounds out of nowhere.

(Seriously, where does she come from?)

"Hey!" Sophie says perkily as Ash stops walking, and therefore so does Rachel. Rachel tries not to glare, but she gets the feeling that she kind of is.

"You talked to Mr. Hadley?" Ash says, attention completely gone from her (she kind of wants to scream, but settles on a fake smile), to Sophie.

"Yep! It's all good, I'm ready to go now."

She watches as Sophie tugs on Ash's sleeve slightly, and he turns to Rachel. It was so close to happening, she just knows it.

"See you Rachel." Ash says, friendly as always as they walk away and she watches them laugh and walk out the door.

Grabbing her phone, she decides she needs Peyton to vent to.

There are less than five weeks until it's finally summer, and Rachel is already looking forward to it. Of course, she doesn't know how (if, whatever) she's going to be able to hang out with Ash, but she figures it'll work itself out.

Walking down the hall to her locker, right after classes are over, she automatically scans for Ash to see if he's there. It's disappointing that he isn't, but even more so when she sees that Sophie's already there, looking bored as she checks her iPhone 4S.

She doesn't know what makes her choose to call out, "Sophie!"

Later, she'll blame it on jealously, love, the full moon. But it doesn't really matter.

The girl looks up, looking slightly annoyed as she tosses her straight, dark hair over her shoulder as Rachel reaches her locker. She suddenly feels underdressed in her running shorts and loose athletic tee as she sees Sophie's ruffled crème skirt with a tucked in navy shirt that says, quite blatantly, "A&F We Make Good Times Happen".

"Oh, hi. Uh, Rachel, right?" Sophie says, giving her a small half smile, looking a little unsure.

She just nods, opening her locker and tries not to glower at Sophie (it doesn't really work).

"Look," she says, huffing slightly, "I really like Ash. I really like him, okay? And I know you like him, but he doesn't like you that way. So just back off, okay?"

She realizes a second later that she might have just overstepped her bounds (it's scary, but also kind of an adrenaline rush). Sophie just stares at her a second, and she's starting to freak out, until the other girl tosses her head back and laughs.

Sophie Brantley is laughing at her, right after she's just poured her heart out.

(Well, kind of. There was a little anger in it too.)

"I'm sorry," Sophie says, carefully dabbing tears (tears!) away from her eyes, carefully not smudging her flawless makeup, "It's just, he's Dom."

She must have realized that Rachel is offended by her reaction as her laughter fade and she gives her a smile (that seems a little condescending. Kind, but condescending.) .

"Look Rachel, yeah, I like Dominick that way. It's hard not to, you know?" Sophie says, and she finds herself nodding (What? She totally understands).

"But I'm fine if he doesn't like me back that way. He's still my best friend, and that's worth a lot to me." Sophie says as she stows her phone into her oversized Coach bag.

"Why?" She can't help it, it just slips out. She can tell that Sophie knows she's asking about the first part of her statement, not the second.

"Because," She says, voice and eyes softening, "no matter how many girls he gets, I'll be his friend. He's one of my best friends. And that, to me, is worth more than just pining away for something that might not ever happen."

She wonders who this girl is. Really.

"How can you be okay with that?" she asks, forgetting to sound hateful and angry, just filled with wonder (and okay, a little hate).

She shrugs, smiling at Rachel like she's sharing a special secret.

"Life's not set in stone." She says, musingly, raising and dropping a shoulder delicately. "I mean, one day we could be together."

"Or," she says, laughing, "I could just grow the hell up. Again, nothing's set in stone."

Rachel can only stare as Sophie pulls her phone back out and texts someone back, attention diverted.

Ash, of course, chooses that moment to show up.

"Hey Soph! Sorry to keep you waiting." Ash says, completely not-noticing her. Rachel coughs a little, but doesn't garner a reaction.

"It's fine Dom." Sophie says amusedly, "But can we hurry? I wanna get home soon."

"Hey Ash." Rachel says finally, closing her locker door slightly louder than needed.

"Oh, hi Rachel." Ash says offhandedly, smiling at her as he closes his own locker.

"See you." He says as he and Sophie start down the hall. Rachel watches them with a whole new point of view as they leave.

Dominick Ashworth is still perfect, but Sophie Brantley is something else entirely.

She decides that maybe it's okay to just be friends with Dominick Ashford. That maybe Sophie's approach is working more than her Cosmopolitan approach is.

Oh who is she kidding? Pining away for Dominick Ashford is fine.

Fin.

- I have no idea where this came from. Seriously, "Or, I could just grow the hell up." just popped into my head. I feel uniquely qualified to right this, cause, well, I'm a Sophie but I've totally been Rachel before too. Thank you for reading <3 Review, review, review!