𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 𝐀. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 [𝟏]

➛⠀𝟯𝟳 | 𝗕𝗬𝗘-𝗕𝗬𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗢

You heard footsteps close by and spotted Gert approaching with some food for her dinosaur. Alex stood behind her, holding a stack of magazines and newspapers. You sat beside Alex and moved away from the dinosaur so Gert could feed her. Alex dumped the newspapers and magazines down. "Went down to Hollywood Boulevard. Couldn't find one person to lend me their laptop." Alex informed you. "Instead, I saw several grown men urinating."

"Nasty." You groaned in disgust.

"I had to stop a fistfight between two shoeless meth heads fighting over an empty cottage cheese container."

"I'm actually quite surprised you handled that well." You told Alex, earning a small chuckle from Gert.

Alex drummed his fingers on the newspapers and magazines he came across. "Oh, and I just found those things if you guys want them."

"Ooh!" Gert was caught off guard when she discovered something intriguing in the newspaper. "I love old movies!"

Gert looked down at you and smiled. "You love old shows, yeah?" You nodded at her as an answer. "What about I introduce you to the old movies I love, and you introduce me to the old shows you love? Sounds good?"

You nodded once more, but this time with a smile on your face. "Sounds great."

Alex smirked at you and nudged you. "Told you that you two would get along." You gave him a smile before looking at the broken necklace you were wearing while Gert began feeding her dinosaur. Alex noticed the jewelry, and he sighed. "If there's anything I could do to give you comfort I—"

You shook your head. "No, you can't." You replied. "Not even sitcoms could even give me comfort right now since our phones are dead." You gripped onto your necklace as you looked at the ground. "The only thing that could give me comfort is seeing them again."

Alex listened intently while you kept talking. You shakily sighed. "I lost my parents way before I could even get to crawl. My father died before I was born, and my mother died shortly after I was born. Wanda and Pietro were the only people I knew as a kid, and they were the only family I had."

When you felt a tear rolling down your cheek, you immediately wiped it away. "I saw how my brother died." You continued. "And I have no idea where my sister is. I'd like to see her and make sure she's okay... I also wanted to let her know that I'm fine. Perhaps she and Nico might get along?" You looked at him and controlled your tears from falling. "I just want to see her again."

Alex held your hand, rubbing his thumb on the top of your hand to comfort you. "We'll help you find her after all of this is over.

You decided to change the subject because the mood was too dreary due to your dream, and you pulled your hand back from Alex. "Alex, look, about what happened last night..." You cleared your throat awkwardly, ensuring Gert wouldn't hear what you were about to say. "Just so we can be clear... that's a one-time thing, right? Like one kiss and nothing?"

Alex paused for a time, his thoughts returning to the events of the previous night. "I mean, if you want it like that, yeah."

You slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah, because you still like Nico, that's obvious. And you just helped me what a kiss feels like."

Alex leaned his cheek against his hand, his head tilted in wonder. "Well, what does it feel like, Sitcom?"

Butterflies erupted on your stomach when you heard his nickname for you again and remembered the kiss last night. "It was..."

'Say magical.'

"...a good kiss..."

'Say you want more.'

"...and that's it."

'Boo, you're lame.'

Alex nodded, his mind wandering once more. You awaited his response with bated breath. "Nothing else?"

You were stunned and unable to answer right away. Gert started chatting, much to your relief. "Did you two know a chicken costs eight bucks?" Gert asked, her gaze falling on the chicken being devoured by her dinosaur.

Alex looked at Gert in surprise. "Mm, you had to go to Whole Foods."

Gert sighed. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking." She told Alex. "We need to save every cent we have with us, but I need to keep her fed, or honestly, I don't know what's gonna happen."

"Yeah, we don't wanna know what's gonna happen if she's hungry." You replied while staring at the creature.

You turned around as you heard footsteps and saw Molly, Chase, and Nico carrying a bag of new clothes. "Phase one of the mission's complete." Molly declared as she dropped the blue plastic bag full of clothes.

Nico handed you a water bottle, and you gave her a quick thank you. Molly excitedly picked some garments from the blue plastic bag, while you sipped your water right away. "(Y/n), I got you something." She displayed the clothes she got for you. "We couldn't really find your right size, so..."

"You bought me a hoodie with ears on it?" You questioned, your arms crossed and a wry smile on your face.

Molly showed you the hoodie with a smile. "It's not just any ears... it's rabbit ears! Come on! Try it on! It's gonna look adorable for you!"

You cast a peek at Nico, who defended herself by raising her hands. "Don't look at me. I was going to buy you some flannel, but Molly insisted."

You stood up and took the hoodie from Molly's hand, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Have you been planning on getting me a hoodie with ears this whole time?"

Molly raised her chin up high. "And today is the right time."

You smiled at her before approaching Nico and standing beside her. Nico leaned in close to your ear. "If you want to change right away, I still bought the flannel." She whispered.

"Lovely. Thanks, sis." You whispered back, the two of you giving each other a high-five. You looked at Chase, who was drinking water from his bottle. "Why do you look like you stole that coat from a detective in the old times?"

Nico snorted, Alex and the others grinned while Chase rolled his eyes playfully. "I'm feeling this, (Y/n), okay? Besides, it was your sister who gave this to me." He placed his water bottle down and looked at Alex. "What's next?"

"Uh, what's next is goodbye," Alex spoke out, his gaze falling on Gert. While Alex continued to speak, you furrowed your brows in bewilderment. "Someone isn't coming on the rest of the mission."

Gert realized what Alex meant. "What?" She exclaimed. "But she's good! She... she doesn't chase squirrels. She poops in the trees. W-We're a team!"

When Alex remained silent, Gert huffed. "Okay, let's at least vote on it." She turned to face the rest of the group, who remained deafeningly silent. To avoid attracting attention, you lowered your head. When Gert saw Molly was quiet, she turned to gaze at her. "Molly?"

Molly heavily sighed. "It's not safe, Gert." She responded with a shake of her head. "We'll get caught, or she will."

Gert paused for a second before returning her focus to her dinosaur. "Okay..." She whispered in defeat. "J-Just... give us a moment." Gert took a step back to face her dinosaur.

You and the others exchanged glances. Nico gave you a pat on the back and a nod of her head. "Come on, we have to get dressed."