"I'm stuffed! Thanks again for paying for all this Graham!" Mei said leaning back in the seat. After the whole pool hall fiasco with Jimmy Bae, one of the guys offered to pay for her food, as thanks.
"Y-yeah of course." He said.
Mei got up and stretched, "Hey Alex, come help me pick out a drink."
"Huh? Oh, uh sure." He scrambled up and winced.
Mei stopped the fight, it would've been much worse, but Alex had still taken a lot of damage. She mentally cursed herself for not getting there sooner.
They went back into the convenience store and Alex followed Mei to the drink fridges. But instead of asking for his opinion she just went straight for the Yoohoos.
"So if you already knew what you wanted, why'd you bring me?" He asked, brows creased in confusion.
Mei turned to him and poked to finger on his forehead, right in between his brows, "Don't crease your eyebrows so much, you'll get wrinkles." She said and dropped her hand.
"Come over to my house after this is done." She said bluntly.
Alex was caught off guard, his face flushed, "Wha- what??"
"You got beaten up pretty bad, I'll help clean up your wounds, I have the stuff to do it at home." She said.
"Are- are you sure?" He asked still taken aback.
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't." She said lightly flicking his forehead before walking past him to the counter to pay.
"Okay then, thank you, Mei."
The pair head out of the convenience store with her drink.
"This has been fun, but I think we're gonna head out," Mei said with a small wave.
"Oh, sure! See you later!"
"Bye Mei!"
"Thanks again!" They all chorused their goodbyes and the two began walking toward her apartment building.
"Those jerks, not a single one said bye to me," GoGo grumbled.
Mei laughed. They walked quietly for some time.
"You knew him" her tone was neutral, she just looked out at the city.
"Yeah, me and Big Ben, he... he caused us some trouble, Ben got the worst of it. Ever since then, Jimmy, he had this hold on me. I've been so scared of him." Alex's fists clenched and his teeth were gritted.
"Don't feel weak for feeling fear GoGo." Her words caught him off guard. "Everyone is scared of something, and from the looks of it, he did a number on you two."
Alex stopped walking and looked at the girl, she walked a couple more steps before stopping and looking back at him.
"But you weren't scared at all, you were so brave, and I just buckled."
"Someone I used to know," an image of bright orange hair flashed in her mind, "told me that courage isn't the absence of fear, but the action despite it." She paused and then laughed, "He got it from the wrapper of one of those Dove Dark Chocolates, but it stuck with me."
Alex smiled and started walking again, and she matched his step. "You're pretty strange ya know?" He asked chuckling.
"What's that supposed to mean? Huh?"
<3
"Here we are!" Mei exclaimed and GoGo looked up at the tall, mostly glass, building.
"You live here?" Alex asked.
"Yep!" Mei chimed before entering. The lobby looked expensive, she walked past the front desk, "Good evening Carlos! How's Milo?"
"He's doing great, the vet said he'll be fine by this weekend." Carlos, the receptionist, responded.
"That's good to hear." She said smiling. Carlos looked and saw the boy following her.
"Eh? Who's this, does Mei have a boyfriend?" Carlos said grinning. Alex's face went bright red. But then Carlos noticed the bruises and busted lip. "And what did he get himself into hmm?"
"One, he's not my boyfriend, he's a friend from school, Alex."
Carlos's face scrunched in pain as he mouthed, 'friend zoned.. rough' to Alex.
"And two- none of you're business" she stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm hurt." He faked pain.
"See you later, give Milo a kiss for me won't you?" She said walking toward the elevator.
"Will do Mei." He said waving goodbye.
The pair entered the elevator, Alex watched as Mei pushed the button for floor 7, the highest floor, and swiped a card of some sort. The card reader flashed green and began heading up.
"That was Carlos, he works on the weekdays from 4-12. Milo is his dog, he got sick this past week." Mei said answering some of Alex's unanswered questions.
The elevator dinged and opened to a huge, well-furnished, and expensive-looking foyer. It opened up to a kitchen/dining room and living room. All looking out big glass windows and a balcony. He looked to the side to see stairs that must lead to other rooms. He guessed it was a sharehouse or something and this was the common space.
He was wrong.
"Home sweet home!" Mei swung her backpack off and took her shoes off. "Make yourself at home, I'm gonna head upstairs and change real quick, I have some clothes you can change into after you shower." Mei walked upstairs and disappeared.
She walked into her room and walked into her closet. It was a big walk-in closet, she grabbed some shorts and a plain black shirt and changed into them. She then picked out a pair of baggy sweatpants and one of her bigger shirts and folded them before heading downstairs with them.
Alex was walking around the apartment starry-eyed. He walked into a hall and knocked on one of the doors, when he didn't get a response he opened it and looked inside, his jaw dropped. It was an in-house workout room, it had a bench press, treadmill, and everything.
He heard someone coming down the stairs and closed the doors and met them. Mei handed him the clothes, "You can use my shower if you want, I have some extra towels in there too. Make sure to try and get your wounds washed, but don't hurt yourself too much, the disinfectant will do that for you." She chuckled.
He followed her back up the stairs, it was his first time seeing her in casual clothes. 'Man Big Ben and Gerard on gonna be so damn jealous when I tell them!' Alex's heart fell at the thought of Big Ben, what was he going to tell him?
Mei opened the door to her room, "Here we are, my room, don't go snooping." She opened the door to her connected bathroom. It was nice as fuck.
"Damn Mei, you never told us you were rich rich." He joked.
"Guess it never crossed my mind to say anything." She shrugged. "Anyways, here's where the towels are, you turn the handle this way for warm, this way for cold. You can use my shampoo and conditioner. Sorry, I don't have any 4-in-1's for you." she teased.
Alex rolled his eyes, "I only use a 2-in-1 anyways."
Mei laughed, "I'll probably be on my phone in my room, so I'll see you when you come out." She walked out of the bathroom and jumped on her bed.
<3
Mei looked up when she heard the door click open. Alex walked out, his hair was wet, and a towel was around his neck. Mei's eyes looked from his face to his bare torso and blushed furiously. Her eyes snapped back up to his.
"Uh do you have a smaller shirt I can wear, this one is a little too big?" He asked inwardly smiling at her red face.
"Mmh sure" she jumped up and head into her closet quickly. 'I had no clue he was so.. fit' Mei felt her face heating up again and shook her head and grabbed a smaller shirt.
"Here ya go," She said trying not to look at him.
"Mei?" he asked. He watched as she turned to face him, her eyes flicking down and back up. He saw her face go red and he smiled.
"Yes?"
"Mmh nothing," he said taking the shirt and putting it on.
"I'll go get the stuff to clean up your wounds, you can just sit on my bed," Mei said before heading downstairs.
He huffed and sat down, looking out the window at the city lit up and beautiful. He heard her re-enter the room. "Do you live here alone?" He asked.
"Yeah, there are other rooms my sister stays in when she visits. But it's just me and my cat Hakkoda." She answered setting the stuff on the bed and sitting down facing Alex.
"Where is Hakkoda?"
"Oh he's downstairs hiding, he doesn't like visitors much until he gets to know them. He'll probably come up here in a bit and sniff around."
She pulled out the disinfectant. "This is gonna sting a bit." Before cleaning the wounds on his face as Alex grimaced.
"Fuck" he breathed.
"Told ya." She then began pulling out the Neosporin and gauze. She wrapped the wounds on his face before leaning back and examining her work. "That should be good, do you have any more wounds?" She asked.
GoGo pulled up his borrowed shirt showing a big black and blue bruise. "Just this one."
"Godamn GoGo how did you move with this?" She asked while searching for some cream to put on it. "Do you mind?" She asked gesturing to the bruise.
"Uh-uh, go ahead." He lifted the shirt up more so she could get to it. He flinched a bit at her touch. His ears were red as he watched the girl apply the cream.
She pulled away and cleaned her hands with a paper towel. "There ya go." She said and stood up. He put his shirt down and stood up with her.
"Thanks, Mei, for everything." He reached his hand out to shake hers.
She bypassed his hand and gently hugged him. "Just stay out of trouble." She whispered. Alex hugged her back, and she let go. "Promise me." She said holding out her pinky.
Alex chuckled, "pinky promise."
"Good." She smiled.
"Uh, Mei- can you not tell Big Ben? I don't want him to worry. If he hears that Jimmy beat me up he'll blame himself. So please just don't say anything." He asked her.
"Of course, I don't know how you're gonna hide those bandages though, he's gonna see them and ask." She said.
"You're right," He pondered what to do, "I just won't go to school 'till they heal." He said snapping his fingers.
Mei shook her head when the door cracked open and a gray, long-haired cat walked into her room rubbing against her legs. He looked up at Alex, judging him before he slowly padded over to Alex and rubbing against his ankles purring. "Hey! Looks like Hakkoda likes you!" She giggled and crouched to pet her cat.
<3
Ahhh hey guys! Nothing really happened in this chapter, just some fluff for ya.
GoGo is so underrated and him in middle school is so adorable!!