Within the Flowers

Chapter 4 - Special Moment

When I saw Azaria behind Mateo, I froze. Mateo was standing shirtless in the doorway. What were they doing? Alejandro appeared behind Mateo as well, wearing a white tank top and black sweatpants. That means they couldn't have been doing anything, but why does Mateo look guilty? I looked at Mateo and he quickly averted his eyes.

Alejandro walked in front of Mateo and smiled widely at me. He broke the silence, "Heyyyy Serenity! We were watching a movie, you wanna join us?" I awkwardly smile back at him, "It seems like you guys are in the middle of the movie. I wouldn't want you to start over because of me. I'm just gonna go back to my dorm." Alejandro chuckled a little, "Yeah, well it's a boring movie. I wanted to watch something else, but they were being stubborn. Mind if I join you?"

I look back at Mateo who's leaning on the doorway, slightly glaring at Alejandro. Azaria is next to Mateo now, waiting for something to happen. I should enjoy tonight while I can anyways. "Yeah, that would be nice. We can order food and watch whatever it is you wanted to watch."

Alejandro smiled widely and turned towards Mateo and Azaria, "Well if you need me, you know where I'll be." Mateo looked at me and was about to say something, but Azaria spoke first, "Well, have fun! Mateo and I will be here." I turned around before Mateo could say anything, and Alejandro and I went into my dorm.

He sighed a breath of relief, "Thanks for letting me stay in here. It was awkward in there." I turned towards him, "What do you mean?" He walked towards me and sat on my bean bag, "Azaria was being all touchy with Mateo and she started sitting on his lap on the floor. He eventually gave in and they were cuddling on the floor. I felt like a third wheel." I frowned a little, but I didn't want to show my sadness, so I laughed it off. "Yeah, Mateo can be a little stubborn sometimes, but he'll give in eventually."

Alejandro got up from the bean bag and stood in front of me. I took a step back, bumping into my bed behind me. He immediately stepped back, "Sorry. I tend to get too close to people." I jump on my bed behind me, "It's fine. I was just taken aback." He pauses for a second and looks at me. I raise my eyebrow, "What is it?" "You look sad." I don't say anything in response; I don't know what to say. He comes closer and holds his arms out, "Can I hug you?" I hesitate, but eventually give in.

He hugs me while I rest my head on his chest and hug him back. He rubs my back and rests his chin on the top of my head, "It's ok to feel sad, but please don't bottle it up. I know we just met, but if you ever need to vent or talk, I'm here." I look up into his eyes. His hazel brown eyes show immense sadness, as if he's been through so much.

He awkwardly smiles and scratches the back of his neck, "Sorry, I don't mean to make you more sa-". I hold the sides of his face, tilt his head down, and softly place a kiss on his forehead. I see forehead kisses as a sign of treasuring someone and saying thank you, in certain cases. I do this any time I feel like someone special has walked into my life, only when the situation is appropriate. When I do it the other person usually says thank you, so I've never received one back. Not that I expect them to.

As I'm in my thoughts, I feel Alejandro cup my cheeks and place a kiss on my forehead. I instinctively jerk back as I wasn't expecting him to do that, "W-Why did-" He interrupts me, "The same reason you did it. I feel like you're important to me even though we just met." I don't know what to say, my cheeks feel flushed and I feel light. He scratches the back of his neck and starts to back away, "Sorry if I made things awkward. I'll head back to my dorm now. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Wait!" I say as I jump off the bed. He stops and turns around. "You didn't make anything awkward. I'm just not used to having emotional moments. You can stay and we can watch something." He smiles and seems to be back in high spirits, "Woo! So what do you wanna watch?" I laugh and turn on the TV, "Something on Netflix."

I sit back on my bed and pat the empty space next to me. He hops on the bed, making me jump a little, but we laugh and pick a movie.

About half an hour into the movie, he yawns. I pat my thigh and he looks at me. "Are you sure it's ok?" I nod and he lays down on my thighs. I gently play with his hair, braiding small strands of it, while we watch the movie until he falls asleep. I lean against the wall and feel myself drifting to sleep as well. I check my phone and it's almost 9:00pm. I hold my arms in each other and let myself fall asleep.

I wake up in my bed, laying down, under the covers, and in someone's arms. I look up and see Alejandro sleeping with his arms wrapped around me. I start to panic; the last thing I remember is falling asleep with his head on my lap. I sit up and look around; my roommate clearly didn't come back last night since everything looks exactly the same.

I grab my phone from next to me and see that it's 10:03am. There's a bunch of messages from Mateo and missed calls. I refuse to open it; I'll talk to him later today.

Alejandro wakes up and sits up while rubbing his eyes, "Good morning." I look at him, "Good morning. Umm.. Did anything happen last night?" He freezes, looks at me, and laughs, "Do you think I would do that with someone I just met?" I scratch the back of my neck and laugh awkwardly, "Sorry." He gets out of bed and looks in the mirror, "What the fuck happened to my hair?!"

I look at his hair and see part of it in small braids. I completely forgot I was braiding his hair last night. I burst out laughing and Alejandro turned around to look at me. "I forgot I was braiding your hair last night before you fell asleep." I say in between laughs. He starts laughing, "Oh you're gonna take this out." "What if I don't want to?" I mumble to myself. He removes his hand from his hair and smirks, "You're taking this out."

Alejandro starts chasing me around my dorm. We're both laughing and I'm slightly screaming. I go into the bathroom and close the door behind me. There's a soft knock on the door. I answer in a high pitched voice, "Helloooooo?" Alejandro chuckles, "May I come in, miss?" I shake my head even though he can't see me, "Nope." I feel the doorknob twist and he says, "Well I'm gonna come in anyways." I go into the shower as Alejandro walks into the bathroom.

He chuckles, "It's so obvious where you are." He pulls back the curtains to the shower and smiles. I can't stop laughing as he comes in and backs me up against the wall. He looks down at me and points to his hair, "Pleaseeeeeeeeee." I giggle and give in, "Fine fine I'll do it."

As I start unbraiding his hair, my dorm door bangs against the wall. Someone came in, it's probably Ivy. But she must be mad since the door slammed open. I put my finger over my mouth as I looked up at Alejandro. He nods and winks at me, making me smile and slightly giggle. Then, someone comes into the bathroom and yanks open the shower curtain. It's Mateo.

Word Count: 1347

Hey again! Lol these will be after every chapter. It's fun talking to y'all. But how do you like Alejandro??? I wanna hear your opinions! I think I'm gonna ask a question about the chapter at the end of each chapter so it's like we're talking to each other :) But until next time!

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