Reckless & Relentless: An Asking Alexandria Fan Fiction

Chapter 7

Katie's POV

Lexi's intial reaction was all but expected.

"No," she says firmly. She gets up, muttering that she's going to sleep while dashing up the stairs. I felt kind of bad for putting her on the spot like that. But hey, it's all in good fun, right? No. Not right. I came to this realization when it was Ben's turn again. 

"Alright...Katie, truth or dare?" Ben asks, a creepy smile showing on his animated face. Oh dear Lord.

"Nice try," I say cleverly, "Truth." James, Cam, and Sam all snicker. What trick could I have fallen for now?

"Who do you like?" he asks. Before the words "Cody, of course" could leave my mouth, Ben finishes with "...in the band."

"Uhh..." I stutter. I can tell I have a look of panic plastered to my face. Cody, who is sitting right at my side, tenses up for a second or two. 

"To ease your pain," Ben teases, "I'll guess. You like me, don't you?"

"Umm...yeah..." I hesitate. The whole room goes silent for at least five minutes. Great. Then, as if to break up the silence, Cam and James begin the game again. Nobody is really playing seriously, since the dramatic back-to-back turns. Lexi didn't kiss Danny, but I did admit that I liked Ben. And so far, Cody isn't taking it well. He sits there with his jaw set, which is usually adorable. But those are the cases when his anger has nothing to do with me. Now, it's not cute, and it actually makes me feel really guilty. 

Ben, on the other hand, is back to playing Truth or Dare and pays no attention. I decide to confront Cody and immediately tell him I'm sorry. I let out a quick sigh and turn to face him.

"Cody..." That's it. Nothing else comes out. I sit there, again, in utter silence. I really do want to apologize, in some way. I just don't know how without making it seem fake.

"I...I..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to bed," he says. He stands up quickly and jogs up the steps to the room Lexi, Ben, and the rest of the family provided him with. Just like that. I might have possibly just lost my boyfriend. 

Dejected, I climb the stairs and enter the room I share with Lexi. She's laying on her bed, earphones plugged into her ears. Since I know that you are never supposed to try and talk to a teenage girl when they're listening to music, I grab a pen and a slop of paper from the bedside table. 

'You okay?' I write.

'Yeah.'

'Hey, look, I'm really sorry.  It was just a joke.'

'Yeah, I know.'

'Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think I just lost my boyfriend. Cody's mad at me.'

'Why?'

'Long story. Tell it tomorrow. Night.'

I click off the lamp by my bed and lay there for maybe an hour or so. Then, I suddenly remember there's a perfect climbing tree out the back side of the house. I jump out of bed, mentally making the decision to go out there in my pajamas. I was in sweats and t-shirt anyway, because those substituted for pajamas. I threw on a sweatshirt, just in case it was cold. I wouldn't be out there long. I slip quietly out the back door, because now everyone was asleep. As I stepped out into the chilly air, the door creaked. Fantasic; just what I need. I run quickly to the tree, hoping nobody heard the door. Making my way up the branches isn't hard, because they're fairly close together. I settle in a secluded spot.

'What am I going to do?' I think. 'How can I fix this? I need Cody back.' Even thinking such things brought tears to my eyes. The song "Lost in Paradise" by Evanescence started a repeat in my head. Now I literally am lost in paradise. 

'I hear footsteps.' I conclude to myself. Must be Cody. Hopefully, it was Cody. We really needed to straighten things out. I would never like Ben more than Cody. 

Speaking of Ben, that's who the footsteps belong to. I climb down the tree and hop to the ground near the bottom. Ben jumped a little, but I could tell he knew I had been up there. 

"Hi," I say awkwardly, heading back toward the house.

"Hey, Katie, I'm sorry about earlier."

I spin around, fast. "Sorry? You practically ruined my relationship with that awful question," I spat. He looked taken aback. Good, that's what I was aiming for. 

"Well, you didn't have to answer it. Nobody would have known if you lied. You could've said you didn't like any of us, and we would've believed you!" Man, he's got me there. Truth is, I guess I wanted Ben to know I like him. I just didn't want Cody to know. I move toward Ben, getting so close I can feel his breath against my right cheek. 

"You listen, Mr. If you hadn't asked the question, I wouldn't have had to answer it. The blame falls on you," I sort of whisper in his ear. 

"And you, America, are to blame for this." He moves his face directly toward mine and pulls me in to him. Our lips touch before I can recede.

OOOOOOOH! Well, hey, guys. Look, I know it's been forever since we've updated. That's my fault. I didn't have ideas and I got pretty busy. I should actually be studying for finals right now, but I felt bad for making all our readers wait so long. Anyway, what do you think Ben meant by "And you, America, are to blame for this"? Hmm? Leave a comment if you have a guess. And do you think Ben really likes Katie? Ooh, you'll find out. Well, today's is longer than usual, because you had to wait so long. I'm gonna pass the next chapter over to Lexi. Thanks for reading! Love all our dedicated readers! (Yet again, so sorry it's so late!)                                                 -Katie