Pretty Boy [bxb] | ✔️

• Chapter fifty-one: Do it for me

Alex nods curtly, "OK."

I smile, "OK?"

"OK."

Alex leans across to me, gives me a kiss, and then pulls me into his embrace, "I love you."

"I love you."

"Thank you for caring," He says. The fact that he thanks me every time I show that I care about him because he's not used to being cared for is sad. I'm his boyfriend. Caring is not a luxury in a relationship, it's an expectation, and he doesn't see that.

I kiss his temple, straighten up, and start the car.

When we're at the apartment complex, Eva comes down to the car park to help us bring the tins of paint up. Sofia stays in Alex's apartment with Chloe.

Soon, all of the tins of paint are in the apartment, and we get to work straight away after covering the couches in protective plastic, all of us dressed in old clothes, baggy shirts slipping off our shoulders and the slight smell of dust clinging to them, which we don't mind getting dirty.

We start with painting the living room area as Chloe plays in her new room, which is still empty yet safe enough for her be in, Sofia watching over her. Alex didn't want Sofia to have to be stood up too long, and Chloe needed to be supervised anyway.

It's only around 11 a.m., so we have all day to do this. The plan is to do the first layer of paint in the living area, move onto Alex's bedroom and apply the first layer of paint in there, go back to the living from and do the second coat, et certera. Eva and I tackle the wall by the door, while Alex does the bit next to the kitchen which is where he will be putting his dining table, in case my family ever wants to come around for dinner one day.

We're painting the living space a yellow colour to make it look more cosy. Alex thinks the white is too cold and makes the place look more empty as it's only him that's going to be living in here, to which I agree, albeit I'm sure I'm going to spend a lot of my time here.

The sound of our paint brushes against the rough walls, music playing from my bluetooth speaker, which I brought from home, and Alex's euphonious voice singing along breaks the silence of the room. No one speaks, fully focussed on our task at hand, except for when Alex decides to squeeze my butt, so I thwack his chest and whisper, "Cheeky! My little sister is right there!"

Alex just laughs and attacks my face with kisses. Eva fake gags and tells us to get a room or stop, or else she'll throw paint over us.

It's not until 1 p.m. and we're starting to paint Alex's room, transforming the walls from white to grey, when Kenzie, Jake and Lucy message on the group chat, which Alex is now on and Camilla is now off, asking if they came come over and help, along with the promise of bringing food too. The more people helping, the quicker we'll be done, so Alex agrees.

It's not long until they arrive with bags of mexican food. Sofia and Chloe join us as we sit on the floor, in a circle, to eat.

Right away, I notice how friendly Sofia and Kenzie seem with each other as they start chatting as soon as they see one another, and it's weird to think that they know each other because I'm not sure how they do. Kenzie has been at my house before so I assume they talked when I wasn't in the room.

It's like the Sofia and Camilla situation all over again, when I noticed them being all secretive together a few months ago, speaking in hushed voices, silent stolen glances and nervous smiles, and Camilla's bracelet ended up in my sister's room. I never got to figure out why that was because it abruptly stopped and never started up again.

They're not the only ones who seem friendly together. While Lucy and Jake haven't confirmed any relationship, the rest of us have our suspicions. They're sitting a bit too close to one another to be just friends, and I swear I see their pinkies touch purposely.