I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm mixed on my opinions about it. There are certain aspects I like and others I don't. I had to change the landscape of the area the Secret Life characters live in, but I felt it was necessary. You be the judge. Let me know if it's bad or if it's good.

Disclaimer: I do not own Secret Life of the American Teenager. How many times must we go over this?

Ashley's Point of View

I laughed as Ricky lightly blew behind my ear. It made me feel ticklish. I didn't realize I could feel ticklish there.

"We're going to be late," I reminded him.

"Can we be," Ricky asked, placing a kiss on my lips and then light kisses down my neck. "Please?"

"No," I said, but then gasped when he started sucking on my pulse point.

"Really?" Ricky asked.

"Five minutes." I was enjoying this feeling way too much.

I felt Ricky smile against my neck, and although I was glad he was smiling and not laughing at the position he had me in, I was a little ticked that he stopped.

"Jeez, Ash, only five?" Ricky said, joking, then continued his previous actions.

"Y-Yes," I stuttered out, pathetically, I may add.

Ricky smiled again and hopped off me, making the bed underneath me squeak.

"Come on," Ricky said, grinning. "We're going to be late."

I could have punched a wall. Never him.

I took a look at my hair in the mirror. It was a total mess. I had styled it in light, bouncy curls and now they were all over the place. That was what I got for buying environmentally friendly products, I guess.

"My hair is a mess," I complained.

"Yes," Ricky said, "but it still looks good."

I gave him a look. It did not look good. I didn't know what he was seeing.

"How does it look good?" I asked.

"It shows that you're definitely with me," Ricky said simply.

"Or that I was too lazy to pick up a comb," I said, lightly organizing the curls back to their original place.

Ricky rolled his eyes, making sure I noticed.

When I was satisfied that my hair looked somewhat decent, Ricky and I left my bedroom.

I had been discharged from the hospital a week ago and I finally felt well enough to go on a date with Ricky. When he showed up though, things got a little interesting, since over the past week we hadn't gotten much alone time. With Amy in New York, and Mom and Dad also going on a date themselves, Ricky and I had taken the opportunity to make out for a few minutes, which turned into ten minutes, and then fifteen, then twenty, and so on until we really had to leave or we'd be late. I didn't plan on us going any farther than making out or some touching for a while, though. And if Ricky and I were going to have sex, I was planning on talking to him about it first. I didn't know if Ricky would be okay with 'no sex' once we actually became a couple, but I wasn't going to make it a problem unless it actually came up.

"Okay, so what's the surprise after dinner?" I asked once we were in the car.

"There's a reason it's a surprise, Ash."

"I hate surprises. They're like the apocalypse, nothing good comes from them."

"Okay, it's not a future apocalypse, a movie, or a monkey. There, I eliminated three things."

I sighed and said, "Not even a hint, one little hint?"

Ricky thought about it for a second and said, "Light."

"That's it? That's my hint? I could have gathered that much from a telephone pole."

"Too bad," Ricky said. "That's your hint."

I leaned back in my seat and tried to think of what the hint could possibly mean, but drawing a blank, I gave up.

"I'm getting nothing," I said.

"I know," Ricky said, grinning as he stopped at a red light.

I smiled nervously. Surprises usually didn't end well, especially for a Juergens. For the rest of the car ride we talked, the topics pretty simple in comparison.

"Relax, I'm taking you on a date, not kidnapping you," Ricky whispered, taking my hand in his and helping me out of the car, though I told him I didn't need it.

"I'm never relaxed. Can't you tell?" I asked once we made it inside the restaurant.

"Yes."

Inside, the restaurant was decorated in deep reds and blues. There were several paintings on the wall. Copies, not originals, as I recognized a few paintings from an art museum I had to visit on a sixth grade field trip. Chandeliers were placed evenly throughout the restaurant, emitting a beige glow, which contrasted beautifully with the deep red walls. The tables and chairs were made of a dark coloured wood, though none I could recognize on first sight. As the hostess led us to our table I recognized the kind of wood, not that it mattered a whole lot, it was slightly off-coloured mahogany. Slightly off-coloured woods were cheaper, usually because they didn't have that great an overall appearance, but these were pretty close to the real thing. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if my dad didn't sell furniture.

Ricky and I were brought to a table in the far right corner of the restaurant. We were right next to the window with a perfect view of the surrounding beach and pier. If we'd made our reservation for later, we could have watched the sunset after dinner. The sun usually didn't set until around 8:30, it being June and all. If we'd had reservations for seven, we could have gone for a walk and watched it. Our reservations were for 6:30, though. The latest we might leave would be around 7:30.

"Thank you," I said automatically to the hostess once she handed me a menu.

I nibbled on a small bread stick that had been in a basket on the table as I looked over the menu. There was a comfortable silence between Ricky and I, but it could soon turn awkward if we didn't find a topic. This was exactly why dinner and a movie worked so well. It gave topics, without topics we would have an awkward date. It was already awkward enough with the whole son's aunt/baby mama's sister thing.

Thankfully, saving me from having to think too much, there was a crash from a couple tables over. Everyone in the not-so-crowded restaurant looked over.

A man was yelling at his date, or lady friend, or whatever she was to him. The man was actually tossing things off the table. A couple at a nearby table got splashed with water, resulting in a shriek. That shriek led to the hostess walking over and asking what the commotion was. The man proceeded to insult her the same way he had his date. The man turned to yell at the nearby couple as well, and when he did I recognized him. I looked at his date, and sure enough, it was Veronica. The twenty-eight, now thirty-year-old waitress who'd helped me get a job using my fake ID. Veronica's date was her baby daddy that didn't pay a dime in child support and was an all around bad guy.

Veronica had given me advice on Amy, taught me a few things about caring for a baby, and had been a friend when I'd needed one. Although we hadn't talked in a while, I still felt like she mattered. I didn't like seeing this guy treat her badly when she really didn't deserve it, especially from him.

As I moved to get up, Ricky grabbed my arm and asked what I was doing.

"Going over there," I said. "What do you think?"

"Ashley, you don't know them. Don't get involved in their business."

"That's Veronica." I said, though I wasn't sure if I'd told him anything about her or not.

I shook my arm free and walked over. The whole way trying to come up with something to say, then, he hit her. Veronica started crying. That really got me angry. I walked up to him and decked him a good one. One of the good things about being a daddy's girl, I had a great right hook.

Veronica's date didn't fall, but he did stumble. It was then that I noticed the idiocy of my actions. Again, thankfully, Ricky was by my side in an instant followed by a big, burly guy dressed in the uniform a member of kitchen staff wears.

The burly guy swore at the guy in Italian and threw him out of the restaurant, literally. I turned around. Everyone was staring at us. Everyone. Veronica shook in her seat with silent sobs. I helped her over to the table Ricky and I had previously been occupying.

"Can you please bring us another chair and some ice?" I asked the burly guy.

"Sure thing, bella."

I crouched down to get a better look.

"Hey, Veronica, can I see?"

Veronica looked up at me and her eye was red and already beginning to swell. There was a cut just below her eye that was bleeding rather heavily. All in all, she'd have one hell of a shiner.

People were still looking at us. I wanted to tell them to go away. Veronica was embarrassed, and to be honest, I didn't feel too great either. My stomach was still a little sore and my hand was hurting. If I got sick, I didn't need the whole restaurant noticing.

Ricky noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere and kindly said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "They're fine. You can turn away now."

Everyone looked away but tried to subtly glance at us every few seconds. Ricky met each stare with a stare of his own.

The burly guy returned with a tray of ice and a cloth, and a chair.

"Thank you," I said.

I got back up and sat in a chair next to Veronica. Ricky sat across from us. Ricky looked like he was thinking about something. So, he knew about Veronica otherwise he'd be confused, but he didn't know much about her baby daddy.

"Look this way," I instructed Veronica. I took the cloth, wet it, and began gently cleaning the cut. When I was satisfied it was well cleaned, I took some ice and wrapped it in the cloth and began gently dabbing at her bruise. Veronica winced.

"What were you doing with him, Veronica?" I asked after she'd stopped crying.

Veronica took a deep breath and told me that her ex had begun playing a role in both her's and her son's life a few months ago. She'd decided to give him another chance. It was going well until last week when he'd caught her talking to the new bartender at work. In his mind, that meant she was cheating. Her ex was mad, so mad, but he didn't bother to talk with her about it. Instead, he bottled it up until it exploded and tonight, it did.

"I thought when you gave me those rings, it was over," I said.

Veronica had given me the rings from their relationship, saying she was getting rid of something she didn't need. I'd, in turn, given those rings to Amy for her 'wedding,' and now I wasn't sure where they were now.

Veronica put her head in her hands, flinched, and said, "Yeah, so did I."

"Did you drive here with him?" Ricky asked. "If you need a ride home, we can give you one."

"No, it's fine," Veronica said. "We took separate cars. I came directly from work and so did he."

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" I asked.

"Yeah, the eye will be worse later, so I should probably go before it swells completely, though."

"You're sure?" I asked, still worried.

"Yes, I've imposed enough on your date."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Ricky and I will probably have worse in the future."

"Ricky..." Veronica paused. "As in, Amy's Ricky."

"Kind of," I said.

"Huh."

"Uh huh."

"I should probably go," Veronica said, getting up.

"We'll walk you to your car," Ricky said.

"Thank you," Veronica said.

Ricky gave her a reassuring smile. When we passed the hostess, Ricky said, "We'll be right back. We're just walking her out."

Not really caring much for a response, we walked Veronica to her car. Before she got in, she hugged me and said, "Be careful."

I hugged her back. "You, too."

"I'm going back to my place, sending the babysitter home, and locking all the available doors and windows."

"Good. Call me later, around ten," I told her.

"Okay, I promise."

As she pulled out, Ricky asked, "Ready for dinner?"

"Yep."

We walked back into the restaurant and were pleasantly surprised to find everything clean. They worked fast. Some people stared at us as we walked back to our table, but at this point I didn't care much. I wanted to eat, get my surprise whether it was good or not, and hopefully have a decent date.

"That was crazy," Ricky said.

"I know. I thought she was over him. I really did, and then she went right back to him." I angrily bit into a bread stick.

"Do you think that's the first time he hit her?" Ricky asked.

"I don't know. She never mentioned it to me before, but how often do abused women tell people?"

"Not often. It depends on the circumstances they're in."

"I've only met the guy three times, including this encounter. I think she can do better."

"She can, but even if she does she'll have this guy to deal with for the rest of her life because they have a kid together."

"The lesson learned is be careful who you reproduce with."

I looked over my menu and saw a pasta dish I wanted to try, and like clockwork, a waiter came by to take our order.

"An iced tea and the cannelloni dish," both Ricky and I said and then looked at each other, grinning.

"Which one?" The waiter asked, and then began rattling off ways it could be served.

"Uh.. that one?" Ricky said to one of his suggestions.

"And you, Miss?"

"Uh, same."

The waiter wrote our order, took our menus, and left.

"I have no idea what I just ordered," Ricky said.

I started laughing, "Me neither."

"Next date, we stay in with a pizza, bag of popcorn, and DVDs."

"Deal," I said.

"That's good. It means I make it to date number two."

"A friend of mine got hit by her ex, I punched him, and we still have the whole restaurant sneaking sideways glances at us because of it. If anyone shouldn't get a second date, it should be me."

"No," Ricky said, "you were helping your friend. It shows that you're a good person."

"Even if I had to punch somebody to do it?"

"What can I say? There's something hot about a girl punching a guy, well, as long as I'm not the one getting clocked."

I laughed. Nothing like a few fists flying to break the ice.

xXx

"Okay, it's after dinner. Now can you please tell me what the surprise is?" I asked.

"No," Ricky said. "You have to see it."

I rolled my eyes and let him lead me out of the restaurant, only we didn't go back to his car. We started walking on the beach. All we needed was the sunset and it would be perfect.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"Walking," Ricky said.

"In heels?" I asked.

"Take them off. We're on the beach."

We stopped for a second so I could take the heels off. I held them as I walked, the tips hitting my side every now and again.

I wished for a camera. This would've made a really great picture. The curls in my hair had deflated slightly so there were some definite waves in my hair. The red lipstick I had been wearing originally had faded into more of a dark rose colour. My dress was long and flowy, a cross between orange, pink, and red. I looked great. Ricky did, too. His hair, of course, looked great. The white dress shirt was clean, bright, and it clung to him perfectly. I felt kind of jealous of how he looked in his clothes. I was never a perfect size anything.

After ten minutes of walking and talking, we stopped.

"Close your eyes," Ricky said.

"What?" I asked.

"Close them," Ricky said. "Don't you trust me?"

"I came out here, didn't I?" I said, closing my eyes.

Ricky wrapped an arm around my waist and said, "No peaking."

Being honest, I was absolutely trying to peak the entire five minutes I had to keep my eyes closed.

"How long do I have to keep my eyes closed?" I asked as we turned.

"Another minute, Ash, you're so impatient."

"Yes, impending doom does that to me."

"Alright, open."

I opened my eyes, they widened as I took in the sight before me. I felt my mouth spread into a smile.

"I take it the apocalypse is postponed another day?" Ricky asked.

In front of me was a lighthouse, the colour somewhere between yellow and white. The whole left side was decorated with seaweed. The right side held a few graffiti marks. Since before I could remember, I've always loved lighthouses. I had no clue why, there was just something about them. About people being lost and being guided by some giant light, something so simple, yet so essential to them.

Mimsy and I shared the love for lighthouses. The earliest memories I had of lighthouses were with Mimsy. A few were with Amy but after the first two lighthouse visits she got horribly bored and stayed home. Mom went sometimes, but only because the first few times Amy and I were too young for Mimsy to handle alone.

"Can we go inside?" I asked brightly.

"Yes," Ricky said.

The lighthouse had some aspects of an older, more rustic lighthouse, but also had some more modern touches. I was glad that it was a combination of both. Recent lighthouses were more computerized and lighthouses that weren't recently built were usually preserved by not-for-profit organizations because of their historical value. I preferred the ones built before 1900, but they didn't really have a place anymore. Some were closed off and others were used for tourism. What people didn't realize, though, was that by offering tours, charging money, and limiting the use, the beauty was lost. What good did tours do if people didn't stop to pay attention?

Ricky opened the door to the lighthouse for me and we stepped in.

I started climbing the steps, which surprisingly, did not creak. They must have been replaced or adjusted for safety.

"How did you know?" I asked, breathless, once we'd reached the top. I couldn't remember having told him about my love for lighthouses. I usually kept it to myself. I had a small picture of a lighthouse on my desk. Mom and Mimsy had taken it when I was three, the first lighthouse I ever visited. Mom had once said that the moment she saw how much I loved the lighthouse she knew I would give her trouble when I was older, I was Mimsy's granddaughter, alright. Other than the picture, there was nothing that could point to lighthouses.

The topmost floor of the lighthouse had been altered, but it was still beautiful. Usually on lighthouses there was a door that led to a balcony of sorts that was fenced around by some type of metal. This lighthouse had that, but the balcony was larger than would be expected. Therefore, the space near the door had to be filled. And it was, by an empty space that could be best described as a large, glassless window massive enough for me to sit on, and that was exactly what I did.

"Ben told me," Ricky said.

"How does he know?" I asked.

"Amy told him and when we were talking about you once he mentioned it."

"Talk about me often, eh, Ricky?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes," Ricky said, then to my smug grin said, "no. Kind of. There's no way I can answer this question without seeming like an idiot, is there?"

"Nope," I said, grinning brightly as the wind blew in my direction.

Ricky rolled his eyes and moved so he was standing next to me.

"Sunset," Ricky murmured and pointed.

I let my line of vision follow his finger to the sunset. The sun was setting early. The sun had turned a bright orange-red and the clouds around it had shaded to a gorgeous red and blue colour, the sky itself had turned into a pink mist. The weather, the skies, and the powers that be were working for me at the moment.