This Girl

Chapter 21: I'm Cookie Monster Eating Pizza

"I don't need you here," I say.

"Stop arguing, you'll wear out your voice," he snaps and turns back to get a mug out of the draw. "Besides, I needed some company."

"You could've asked Amanda," I say gloomily. 

He turns back around. "Nah, she's at school."

"She'd skip for you, she'd do anything for you."

"Is someone jealous?" he taunts. I shake my head. "Oh, why not?"

"Why would I be? She has nothing that I want," I say, sitting up. He turns back around, but before he fully turns I see the look on his face again that I cannot place and swallow, something about that look makes me nervous, and the butterflies always come back when I see it.

Alex pulls tea bags out of the cupboard and a spoon out of the draw. The kettle finishes boiling. I lay my head down on the cool bench surface. Alex places something in front of me. I take the cup and sip the tea. He comes around and sits on the stool beside me, swinging from side to side.

"It'll help with your cold," he nods at my cup.

"Thanks," I say, blowing on it slightly.

"So, I was thinking you could tutor me today," he says, still swinging. I raise my eyebrows as I sip my tea. 

"But....I'm sick, can't really speak properly," I say. 

"You can write stuff down for me, I could look at your notes," he says pleadingly.

I have a Harry Potter marathon to get through! I need my sleep! My voice is going to vanish! I'm  sick! Its because I think these thoughts that  I'm surprised with what comes out of my mouth. "Ok."

"Ok? Really?" he says, looking surprised. I nod, internally screaming:

Why Natalie? You've got things to do. Why?

"Lets go up to your room then," he says and gets up off the chair. I take my mug and we walk up the stairs together. 

I shove my french book at him and he sits down at my desk, taking pens and pencils out of a bag I didn't even know he had with him. I pull out my Harry Potter and begin reading. 

***

I'm just about to begin reading the Chamber of secrets at around twelve o'clock when Alex gets up. I've seen him blankly staring at me when I'm reading. Whenever I looked up from behind my book he quickly looked away. Sometimes I stole glances at him from behind my book, he was always sitting their with his ray bans flicked up, tracing the words with his fingers and writing them down. 

"You wanna get pizza?" he asks, bringing me back into the present.

"Sure," I say.

"Hey, your voice's better!" 

"Oh, yeah," I say, even though my throat is still sore, there is an improvement with my vocal chords. 

"Do you have anything in your fridge or should we just order pizza?" he asks, taking my hand and pulling me up off the bed. When our hands touch my stomach erupts in butterflies. I ignore it and we walk downstairs. Alex calls for pizza and I sit down on the couch. He comes and sits down beside me. I can't deny that I feel the tension. 

"How's suspension, babe?" I break the silence.

"Real great, dude. They email me all the pop quizzes. And send me back my marks," he says.

"What do you do all day?" I ask.

"Well, I did nothing on Thursday and Friday, and I'm here today," he shrugs.