•HATE SWAP•Enemies To Lovers•

Chapter 2: ALEX

Stepping off the plane felt like stepping into a whole different world.
One where the air was felt uncomfortably warm, after adapting to the comforting chill of the plane inside.

I nearly felt lost among the unknown voices as I wheeled my luggage towards the airport exit. The air seemed to cling to me, warm and humid, making me feel as though every inch of clothing around me had suddenly tightened.

I've been feeling uncomfortable throughout the entire flight.
Especially after some nuisance girl bumped into me before I even started the 6 hour long journey.

I waved at a taxi nearby and dropped myself to the backseat, relaxing every inch of muscles I had.

I let out a deep sigh.

New York.
Where every dream comes true.

I looked out through the car window.

Wish my mom was here.
So I could tell her that I'm finally here.
She would've been so happy.

I close my eyes while helplessly letting my wild thoughts whip me down to the bone.

We tend to look for awesomeness and betterness in a hopeful tomorrow, but when tomorrow actually comes, it has more problems of its own than solutions for your past.

The taxi stopped infront of a fine hotel, painted too beige to be called a hotel and not a museum.

I stepped out of the car, unknowingly spending a moment admiring the wooden sign board that had Hotel Alivet perfectly carved on it.

I hustled across a small crowd, before entering the main hall, as I rushed towards the reception counter.

My jaw twitched in horror before my mouth could form any word, to see the same nuisance girl that I bumped into at the airport, grabbing a key from the receptionist with Room 721 scribbled on it.
Which to further terror, was the room that I had damn booked

My brain flushed with rage.

"Excuse me, I am so sorry, but I bet the room key that you're holding is the one that I had booked." I said, concealing the annoyance I had regained after seeing her.

She had a confused look on her face.
"Eh?" The edges of her lips twisted.

"Room 721. Room key. Mine. I have booked." I rephrased incase she was illiterate.

That thankfully made her recheck her room key and the keychain attached to it.

She raised an eyebrow.
"Nope. It's the mine I booked." She said coolly and walked off like nothing.

I stretched an arm infront of her, blocking her path, and stood before her myself.

"It's not." I muttered before showing her the screen on my phone which had the screenshot of the booking.

"It is, Sir." She had an annoyed 'I told you' expression on her face as she showed me a similar screenshot that also had her booking proof of the same Room 721.

"Hold on." She gasped. "Aren't you..."

Shit. Lord save me.

"Don't change the subj-"

"Airport guy! It's you, isn't it?" The way her eyes enlarged and mouth widened for a huge smile, as if she had just reunited with her long lost friend.

"What a meet!" She laughed like an idiot, shaking my arm as if my hand was not even present for a normal handshake, if that's what she wanted.

As if I'd give her a stupid handshake.

I rolled my eyes before my eyebrows scrunched.

And so did hers suddenly.
"Why did you not help me get up after kicking me to the floor?!" She gave me a push on my shoulder.
"How dare you show such disrespect towards a woman. I am hurt. Your behaviour is disgraceful." She scowled and pouted while looking away.

My eyes twitched followed by my face that cringed at her sudden weird change.
I was shook.
What the heck?
That was the quickest mood swing I'd ever seen in a damn human being.

"Don't change the damn subject wom-" I muttered before I was cut off by her again.

"Oh, and yeah, how dare you steal the room that I had already booked?"

"I had booked it 3 months ago." I said coldly.

She rolled her eyes.
"Even I booked it beforehand."

This girl really was a nuisance.

I walked past her as I approached the receptionist and thudded a strong fist on the table.
"Sir-" One of them stood up.

"I need a solution to this right now." My eyebrows scrunched.
"I had Room 721 already booked around three months ago, and here this lady has been saying that she had as well. How many times is a single room supposed to be booked and by how many people?! How can this be possible when there are so many workers on the other end?" I argued.

"Sir actually-"

"No." I interrupted. "I need a solution to this right now. Either I get a full refund, or give me my damn room back."

Both of the receptionists exchanged looks and inhaled, trying to conceal the sudden panic in them.
"Sir we're extremely sorry for the inconvenience, we're checking the details of Room..."
I rolled my eyes. "721." I said.

He nodded, sat down, and nervously tapped on the computer keyboard while wiping out sweat off his forehead.

The air felt too eerie to stand or even sit, even with the cool A.C. breeze lurking around.

And just to make it worse, Miss Nuisance had to start another episode of her nuisance drama, again.

"This is all because of you." She rolled her eyes at me.

What was she? Five?

"Excuse me? I bet I booked it first."

"Don't talk back to a woman." She narrowed her eyes at me.

I inhaled. I cannot deal with this anymore.
This is enough.
I clenched my jaw preparing for a reply to make her shut up for now.

"Oh yeah, little girl? I'll talk back if I want to, and if you have a problem with that, you are free to get your little ass out of here."

She gasped.
"How dare you-"

"Go and tell your boyfriend now. Cry, actually. Better." I said, with a smirk that hid behind my serious face.

She narrowed her eyes and gasped in disbelief.
She looked sort of speechless.
"You are such. A. Dick." She gasped again.

"Thank you." I said calmly.

And just then the receptionist turned to us again. The single gulp down his throat revealed his intense nervousness.

He nodded before speaking.

"S-sir, Ma'am, we are really sorry for whatever happened, our computer had a malfunction and didn't show the first confirmed booking on the overall datasheet. You both will get your rooms, p-please do not worry, we-we'll fix this r-right now. N-now. Yeah." He smiled awkwardly.

I raised an eyebrow.
Such. Morons.
My eyes twitched.
"I specifically booked this room, and now you're telling me it's gone because of your screw-up?"

They exchanged looks again.

"N-no, sir, it's not gone. It's ..um, we have come up with a solution. Your room is available, but the problem is there are two who want it.
Well, luckily, Room 739 is to be empty after an exact month. If sir, you both could just adjust for the bare minimum, just for a month, we would assume that this...is, well, solved." He said while awkwardly fiddling with his fingers.

"What do you mean adjust?" She joined.

"M-m'am, I know this might be quite weird, but please do adjust in a single room, just for the timing. We promise to give you both separate rooms, instantly after 739 is emptied." He replied.

"Hold on."
"You're saying, we'll be staying in the same damn room for a damn month?" Her eye twitched.

My jaw dropped.
No. Way.
What the heck?

I shake my head.
"No. Give me the refund instead."