'a' is for amity

“That’s a shame – they could all have matching red jackets.” Ashley’s eyes lit up. “That would be so cute! If I start walking this way more often, I might have to start it myself!” She giggled. McKenna Chase had her own modest group of ‘Chasers’ – apparently you’d made it in show business once your fanbase had nicknamed themselves – but they didn’t wear matching jackets. Ari’s fans were clearly missing an opportunity here.

“A bit of magic is just what you need to rejuvenate! I was kinda too busy staring to look at the faces in the crowd, but I just know you’ll have brightened them all up. How noble,” she added with a grin.

Ari obviously paid attention to passers-by in her territory – she’d immediately clocked that Ashley didn’t normally take this street. “Born and raised! I moved out of my parents’ kinda recently though, so I haven’t explored everywhere in this particular part of the city. I had to follow a diversion on the way back from the gym today and like, boy am I glad I did!” she finished excitedly.

Ashley laughed at Ari’s ‘plot twist’ comment, her giggles intensifying as Ari bowed suddenly. This girl was a dork, but cool about it. Just the way Ashley aspired to be.

“I like to surround myself with dorks,” she said happily, smiling gently at Ari’s near-slip-up that almost turned her name into some kind of McDonald’s product. “Makes it harder for people to figure out just how weird I am.” She poked her tongue through her teeth, playful grin spreading from ear to ear.

Ashley watched the will-o’-the-wisps dance in the air, enjoying the little light show. “Oh, it’s your ability! That’s hella cool, dude,” she said seriously. “I would kill to have you at one of my shows – this kind of performance is so up McKenna Chase’s street that it’s not even funny. What a fun power!” Her tone was lightly tinged with jealousy – Ash was powerless, after all. Even her own brother had a power, although it had brought him nothing but trouble.

Still, Ashley had been unbelievably lucky in life so far, so she could forgive the universe for not bestowing magic gifts upon her. So long as her album continued to sell well and fans continued to show up to concerts, Ashley could be more than happy with her lot in life.

kiss and tell

Ashley smiled. “Would make your job pretty boring though – I know how much you love punching bad guys in the name of justice.”

She listened as Alice explained a little more about Nate’s role at the MNRU. It made sense. A centre that conducted research on metahuman abilities was likely to be a pretty safe bet for using that knowledge to help when those abilities went wrong. She felt bad for not realising such a place existed. Will could probably use some therapy for dealing with his power… but Will could probably use some therapy for a whole basket of things, if she was honest.

“Oh, that’s actually really cool!” she said excitedly. “That must be super rewarding work. I award him bonus points for career choice.” Ashley ticked her imaginary review in the air, a strong indication of her positive impression of the guy. Alice knew that Ashley would be honest – even if that meant brutally so.

Alice had hesitated before saying his age, but Ashley was pleasantly surprised at how young he was. She’d been imagining closer to thirty.

“Twenty-six is fiiiine,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “So young to be a doctor – resident, whatever – at the MNRU! He must be so smart.” Her eyes widened in awe. “What do you think of it – do you like it or is he too old for you? For the record, I’m on board.”

She perked up even more as Alice talked herself into sending him a text. Ashley wasn’t about to pressure Alice into persuading him into anything remotely serious, she’d learnt her lesson after her meddling got Alice dumped by Jason (good riddance), but she was thrilled to see Alice excited about a guy. Recently, it had felt like Alice was throwing herself a little too fully into her role as Paladin.

“What would you do if he asked you out?” she asked, a little dreamily. “Dinner, drinks… mini-golf?” Ashley poked her tongue out the side of her teeth, grinning playfully.

'a' is for amity

Ashley looked at the pile of tips Ari Chandler had accumulated. It was certainly impressive – Ari clearly had her fair share of adoring fans. It was hard to imagine that working as a street performer was particularly lucrative but she supposed it would all add up pretty quickly if this was the amount she received for just one show. Nothing that was about to propel her into millionaire status or anything, but probably enough to keep bills paid, mouths fed and red jackets clean and bright.

Ashley was definitely a big fan of the red jacket.

“I’ll say – you must have a whole bunch of admirers,” she said happily as Ari indicated the modest collection of tips with her eyes. “Do you get regular attendees?”

Having not really taken this route before at this time, Ashley wasn’t sure how much of a schedule Ari operated on. Her knowledge of such things were woefully limited, but that only made her more eager to learn.

“Ari Chandler, awesome,” Ashley echoed, trying her best to commit the name to memory. It was a strategy she’d picked up over the last year as she’d grown steadily in fame. Remembering people’s names was a sure-fire way to keep in their good books and Ashley had realised quite early on that being a singer was equal parts singing and networking. It was a good thing Ashley liked people.

Ari’s expression shifted suddenly, and Ashley furrowed her brow for a moment in confusion as the girl started to apologise. Once she realised what Ari was talking about, however, a slow beam spread across her face instead and she gave a delighted little laugh.

“Oh, dude, I’m sorry for the confusion – I didn’t think anyone would recognise me like this.” She pulled at the fabric of her gym clothes, looking almost apologetic herself. “Your eyes do not deceive you!” she said dramatically, slipping into an equally dramatic pose. Then she finally burst into full-blown laughter.

“Sorry I’m such a dork. McKenna is my stage name,” she explained gently. “But you can still call me Ash – if you want! Thanks for listening to my music, I’m honoured.” She met Ari’s lopsided smile with her own broad grin, happy to be bonding with a fellow artist.

“So all your tricks, how do you do them? Or is it a secret?” Ashley tapped her nose with a wink, eyes sparkling mischievously.

'A' is for amity

Tonight, Alice and Ashley had planned a girls’ night. They weren’t really sure exactly what the night was going to entail just yet but, knowing Alice, there would be copious amounts of food. Maybe drink too, depending on how things developed. Alice wasn’t 21 but Ashley was, and it made a world of difference when it came to their night-time activities. Alice had gotten away with it in New York so the two were feeling brave about such things back here in San Francisco if a night in a club happened to take their fancy. However, the odds were equally in favour of the two of them eating their weight in pizza and passing out in front of a Disney film, so there was really no telling at this point just yet.

In advance of their undoubted overindulgences later on that evening, Ashley had been for a particularly long and challenging session in the gym a few blocks away. She’d showered there but she still felt a little self-conscious – she’d thrown her gym clothes back on afterwards, which probably didn’t help. Still, it wasn’t a long walk, and Ashley was in a good mood after meeting a personal best for Russian twist reps.

The road she’d walked down to get here had been blocked off over the course of her gym session, construction vehicles apparently needing both road and pavement to get their job done, so Ashley was taking a bit of a detour to get home. That was fine – hopefully the city could put up with her sweaty gym clothes for a few extra minutes.

As she rounded an unfamiliar corner, Ashley caught sight of a lone figure in a bright red jacket surrounded by a crowd of people. She gazed curiously – always an appreciator of any medium of performing arts – and watched with delight as a series of colourful and wonderful mirages burst into life. She crossed the road for a closer look, spellbound, and ended up staying for the entire show.

Not one for shyness, Ashley decided to hang back while the crowd dispersed so she could greet the performer herself.

“Hi!” she exclaimed warmly, dropping her coins into the performer’s hat on the ground as she drew closer. “I’m Ashley, nice to meet you!” Ashley extended a hand. “Like, wow, that was an amazing show. You’re really talented – such a creative eye!” she gushed.

Now that she was close, she could see that the girl was around her age. Ashley wondered briefly if she would recognise her as McKenna Chase – it was highly likely if the girl kept up with popular music. Ah well, she’d introduced herself as Ashley now so even if the girl did recognise her, she might dismiss her as a lookalike. After all, she was in sweaty gym gear with no make-up on, and even McKenna’s most ‘natural’ stage looks required a long time in the make-up artist’s chair.

Kiss and Tell

Whilst Alice had kept Ashley more than up-to-date on her life as Fashion Week progressed, practically bombarding her with excited messages and the occasional snapchat, it still wasn’t the same as catching up in person. Ashley had been busy while Alice was away but it had still been lonely coming home to an empty apartment and so, although she was definitely excited to hear all of Alice’s gossip, she was mostly just excited to have her roommate back.

It was easier when you were the one away on your travels. Ashley was doing plenty of that now that McKenna Chase had shows planned all around the country and she had already granted Alice full access to her stuffed toy collection in case Alice got lonely and needed hugs. Apparently those might not be needed now, if Alice’s reports of her rather unconventional souvenir were anything to go by…

Alice’s flight had landed a couple of hours ago, so Ashley was pretty sure she’d find her best friend waiting for her once she got back. She didn’t even bother trying to exert some self-control as she hurried back to their apartment building – an assortment of groceries tucked under one arm – and when she finally reached the door it was with a rather dramatic swing of the door that she burst into the room.

Groceries dumped unceremoniously on the floor, Ashley slammed the door shut before launching herself onto the sofa. “I missed you!” she exclaimed, noting with some amusement that her over-sized purple bear was planted in Alice’s lap. She laughed and settled back onto the couch, groceries forgotten.

“How was the flight? Have you had anything to eat, drink?”

Mom-questions out the way, Ashley leaned in conspiratorially.

“Bring back any more souvenirs – apart from your new maaan?” She wriggled back swiftly to avoid the inevitable backlash from her super-powered friend. Sitting back actually allowed her to take a look at what Alice was wearing, which she beamed admiringly at. “Oh okay, new threads and a new boo. I see.” Ashley winked.

A taste of home

“Nothing wrong with a bit of hometown loyalty,” Ashley grinned. After all, her own loyalty was firmly rooted in San Francisco. No matter how much time she spent in LA – or any other city that she stopped in around the country – Ashley could never lose her heart to anywhere else. She could definitely see herself spending time in other places but San Francisco would always be home. There was nothing quite like watching Karl the Fog (as the frequent weather event was affectionately known) consuming San Francisco’s bridges; and there was nowhere else in the world that she could do that.

Ashley nodded sympathetically with Alice. “You’ll get there some day!” She turned to Audrey. “She really is great. And that’s quite the step up, go you! You must be really talented yourself.”

Like Ashley, Alice was also a San Francisco loyalist. Her Hero work also tied her much more closely to the city, whereas Ashley’s job was steadily demanding her to spend less and less time at home. There wasn’t a complete lack of opportunity for Alice to branch out – especially across California – but for the most part her role was to protect her hometown and the surrounding areas from villains. She’d been in New York for Fashion Week, of course, but that was a rarity.

Trust Alice to meet a guy while she was out there, though. Stephen must have been devastated – he could barely tolerate Ashley’s presence and her closeness with Alice was strictly, unquestionably platonic. And, more importantly, trust Alice to meet a guy who also happened to be from San Francisco. Ashley was definitely going to have to meet him soon so she could give him a stamp of approval.

“Well, you know who came from Chicago?” she realised suddenly, nudging Alice. “Fall Out Boy!”

She knew Alice’s music taste inside and out.

It was great to see Audrey accept their offer. She was likely a little overwhelmed by the two of them – Ashley knew they were a high-energy pair at the best of times – so it was a relief to see her accept, even if she did seem to have some reservations. Hopefully now she’d finished her ice cream the sugar would perk her up.

“There’s so much going on here, I bet we can find something fun for you to check out!”