“Trouble can be a lot of fun. It's the straight and narrow that makes life tedious and boring.”
With Sawyer, Ashton plays the perfect girlfriend to maintain a certain image of their relationship. However, it comes at a price since it forces her to hide her inner desires and go along with the calculated lifestyle. Sawyer is a star athlete with a picture-perfect home life which puts pressure on Ashton to portray the same ideals. Consequently, this causes her to feel caged rather than embrace her young, wild, and fun self. In the statement, Ashton’s grandmother reminds her of the significance of having a balance between being square and wild. As such, this becomes her motto once she decides to start a romantic relationship with the boyfriend’s cousin, Beau.
“The heart wants who the heart wants. We can't help that.”
Even though Ashton is seeking to add a little spice and excitement to her life she is still following her heart's desires. Ashton is more attracted to Beau for his physique, facial appearance, and personality than her textbook prince charming, Sawyer. Therefore, she revives their friendship to be closer to him and maybe have a romantic connection. Though this is what she wants, she is still guilty of cheating and betraying his boyfriend with his cousin of all people. In the quote, Leann reminds her that when it comes to matters of the heart, love will always conquer. Ashton begins having stronger feelings for Beau than she ever had for her current boyfriend; hence, it must mean something.
“No one expected the preacher's daughter to sin, but they sure would love to catch me at it”
As a preacher’s daughter, Ashton is held to a higher standard than other youths in the town. This applies to any society where a family that represents the community values is more prone to scrutiny. Her relationship with Beau aligned with societal expectations but she topples them by placing herself first. Now that she has cheated on Sawyer, Ashton will be the target of judgments from the neighbors, congregation, and peers. Though the act of cheating on a partner is morally wrong, for any other individual it would not be seen as such a sin. But since Ashton hardly has this luxury, the conflict in the narrative becomes much more pressing and intense.
