summary: you begin to realise that you like Alicia as more than a friend, and your delusional thoughts are telling you that maybe she likes you, too.
warning/s: none.
author's note: this may or may not be the chapter you're all waiting for 😉 also y/c/h = your colour hair
After an exciting yet very long day of activities and challenges, the competition was coming to a close. The teams were very close in points, ours – Team Unity – just a little ahead of the other, which meant the final challenge, a group tug of war, would determine the winner.
The odds were in nobody's favour, so it was hard to work out who could win. Alicia was still as competitive as ever and I found it wholeheartedly amusing, especially because she was doing a terrible job at hiding it. When we all lined up, getting ready to begin, she passed me the rope to pass behind and so on.
"Try not to let him psyche you out," I advised her, hiding a smile. "And even if he does, we tried our best."
"You're saying that like we've already lost," she said with a warning tone. "We haven't. And I won't."
"Whatever you say."
She breathed out coolly before looking ahead and directly at Nick who happened to be at the front, leading his team. He was grinning, enjoying watching his sister squirm. It was easy to tell who the easygoing sibling was.
Madison stepped up, whistle in hand, and glanced between both of her children. The rest of the residents were surrounding us all, anticipating the game and looking to Madison as she gave a quick speech.
"It's been a fantastic day of challenges, each team giving it their all," she started, and everybody cheered. "Team Unity are in the lead by three points, so the winner will be determined by the team that wins the tug of war. Best of luck to both teams!"
I clutched the rope tightly between my hands, glancing over my shoulder to see the others doing the same. When I looked ahead, Nick's team were smiling but ready to go.
Madison finally blew the whistle and I pulled with all my strength. The rope's tension was tight between both teams as we struggled against one another. There was cheering and hollering for both sides, names being shouted with encouragement, but I couldn't make out specifics because my arms were beginning to hurt.
"Come on, guys, we got this!" Alicia shouted with encouragement.
There were a few times when we had the upper hand and I truly thought we would win, but in a last second move, the other team tugged us all forward, making us stumble on and let go of the rope. I barely had the chance to realise we'd lost before the others erupted into screams of joy, the crowd cheering them on. Madison had blown the whistle to signal the end of the game and I straightened up, sighing when I realised what had happened.
"And the winners of the stadium games are Team Valiant with a whopping thirty-two points!" Strand announced over the commotion.
"It was a good effort anyway," Alicia told our team, offering a sympathetic smile. "We'll get them next time."
We shared one final group hug before dispersing amongst the crowd. I looked to Alicia, smiling apologetically.
"You upset?" I asked.
She scrunched her nose, shaking her head. "Nah. It was still fun. Besides, I'm much more mature than Nick is. I won't be a sore loser."
I laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and squeezing it supportively. "That's my girl. You did good, Alicia."
She rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. Before either of us could say anything more, we were interrupted by a bragging Nick who approached us with a cocky smile.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Team Loser!"
"Nick," Alicia acknowledged. "Congratulations on the win."
He studied her closely, but she didn't flinch in the slightest. A smile spread across his lips as he looked between her eyes. "This really stings, doesn't it?"
"Not in the slightest."
He waited for her to crack, but she didn't surprisingly, so he snickered and straightened up. "Good game, sis. Maybe you'll beat me next time."
Alicia hummed, holding her nonchalant stance, and I tried not to laugh.
"It's a shame you were on the losing team, Y/N," he added, looking to me. "You were pretty good out there."
"You won because of one game, otherwise we were in the lead," I reminded him with amusement.
"A win is a win."
"Touché."
He grinned, making Alicia scoff quietly, and then Madison called from the distance, "Nick stop bullying your sister!", and I started to laugh.
"I'm not!" he called back, before nodding to us both. "Ladies."
When he left, I glanced over at Alicia who was back to glaring at him from afar. "So, still taking the high road?"
"Uh-huh."
"Because I can totally shave his eyebrows off in his sleep if it makes you feel better."
She blinked, acknowledging my words, then glanced at me with humoured eyes. "Don't. That sounds very tempting."
I chuckled. "That's the point."
She began to smile. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine. As long as he doesn't keep rubbing it in my face. Otherwise yes to the shaving his eyebrows thing."
"You got it."
——————————————
After everybody got cleaned up, the sun was already setting and others had already got started on the bonfire and barbecue. By the time I'd showered and changed, I could smell the food being cooked up, the scent curling in the air alongside the smell of burning wood. It was a homely scent, one that reminded me how lucky I was to be here.
Food and drinks were served up and the bonfire party was in full swing, everybody still excited from the day's events. Kids were playing, adults were mingling and enjoying the break from our usual chores, and it almost felt like the old days, before everything bad went wrong.
I was hanging out with Alicia, Nick and Luciana, the latter and I trying not to get involved in the former's sibling rivalry. As much as Alicia acted indifferent, it was easy to see her getting worked up by Nick's occasional digs, though it was all in good faith. I think she was just glad she could fight with him again and it not be life or death.
Soon after everyone had eaten dinner, it was finally time for the prizes to be given, in addition to the small flimsy but cute medals everyone had received throughout the day for participating. We'd set up a small stage near the barbecues and everyone gathered around as Alicia stepped up, backed by the judges and a table of awards.
"Good evening, everyone!" she shouted enthusiastically into a megaphone. "Is everyone enjoying themselves tonight?"
Cheers erupted in the crowd, people raising their drinks and kids screaming without even knowing why. I couldn't help but smile, still amazed at everything the Clarks, Luciana and Strand had managed to do with this place.
"That's what I thought," Alicia said with a laugh. "I hope you're all ready because now is time to hand out the awards! Starting with the winner of today's challenges which is Team–"
Before she could finish, Nick's team began to cheer with pride, whooping and shouting excitedly as they pushed themselves onto stage to accept their award.
"–Valiant," Alicia finished, giving a sideways glance at her brother before grabbing the trophy from behind her.
Nick ushered the kids in his team to go and collect it, and everybody watched with adoration as they held the trophy above their heads with toothy grins plastered on their faces.
"We just want to say thank you to everyone who supported us," Nick began to make a speech, to Alicia's dismay and everyone's amusement. "You believed us in and thanks to you and our skills, we managed to bury Team Unity in the ground."
Alicia rolled her eyes as they cheered once more and left the stage. Clearing her throat, she looked back to the crowd.
"Moving on," she began swiftly, making me laugh, "I will now hand out some extra awards for those who impressed the judges with their skills. First up – the most enthusiastic of the games!"
She went on to hand out a few more medals and smaller trophies, surprising every single person who received it. And then finally, she finished off with a final award.
"To wrap up the awards tonight, I want to present the final medal for the biggest team player," she announced, picking said medal up from the table. "Even though this person definitely didn't want to play, she did because I happened to ask very nicely. And she's been nothing but supportive the whole way through, even though it was definitely her fault that we lost the three-legged race."
It took me a moment to realise that she was talking about me, and when her eyes fell on me, it confirmed my thoughts.
"They've been the biggest team player, so without further ado, here's to Y/N!" she continued, and everybody began to clap, leaving me no choice but to awkwardly smile and go up on stage.
She was grinning when I stopped beside her, eyes bright as she placed the medal around my neck.
"Seriously?" I muttered, quirking a brow.
"Seriously," she confirmed with a wink, and the strange feeling from earlier returned.
I gave a final awkward smile to the crowd before waiting for the clapping to stop so I could speak. "For the record, we lost the three-legged race because of Alicia's elephant strides, not because of me. Thank you."
Everyone began to laugh as Alicia shoved me off the stage in disagreement. I couldn't help but smile.
Alicia wrapped up the awards with a final thank you before everyone got back to celebrating, remembering what today was all about. I waited for Alicia to join me, arms crossed as I gave her a half smile.
"I can't believe you did that," I told her when she approached me. "It was very cute."
She shrugged like it was nothing. "I was just being honest."
My teasing dispersed when I saw how genuine she was being. "You know, with all of those awards, you deserved one the most for setting today up. It was a lot of work."
"Seeing it play out was reward enough," she assured me, glancing out at her handiwork. Then, she added jokingly, "Though the trophy might have been nice."
I laughed, shaking my head. "There was no way you were winning that."
"Shut up," she mumbled lightheartedly, nudging me in the side.
I couldn't look away from her profile as I admired how happy she looked tonight. "It's not a trophy, but I have an award for you."
Surprised, she glanced at me. "Really? What?"
"Just wait here," I told her, leaving her standing there confused as I went to find the others.
Not long later, I returned with Madison, Strand, Nick and Luciana in tow, the five of us holding a big bouquet of flowers and a wrapped up present. When Alicia spotted us, her eyes widened with amazement.
"Like I said, it's not a trophy, but hopefully you still like it," I said to her jokingly.
"This is all for me?" she asked, still not quite believing it.
"It is, sweetie," Madison confirmed with a proud smile. "You did such a great job with planning everything today and bringing it all together."
"And we know you don't like too much attention, so we thought we'd give it you now rather than onstage," Strand added with amusement.
She was smiling widely as she accepted the flowers and looked down at them with adoration. "This is beautiful, guys, you really didn't have to."
"Don't forget your present," Luciana said, shaking it slightly in her hand before holding it out. "We think you'll like it. It was actually Y/N's idea."
"But we all went through the effort of finding it," I added when Alicia glanced at me questioningly. "I'm definitely not taking the credit."
"Oh, quit being modest, loser," Nick sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder in an annoying brotherly way.
I shoved him off as he laughed and Alicia passed the flowers back to her mum so she could open the gift. She'd barely unwrapped the top before she saw a glimpse of the box, and then she tore through the wrapping eagerly.
"It's a brand new Monopoly game!" she exclaimed, eyes twinkling with excitement. "I've been looking everywhere for one of these!"
I smiled, her own excitement contagious. I knew she'd been on and off searching for a game that had all the pieces in tact, but it was a struggle. Luckily for us, Luciana had come across one on a semi-recent patrol after I'd told her to keep an eye out, and it just happened to be brand new. The perfect gift for Alicia.
"Thank you all so much!" Alicia said, her smile permanent as she pulled us all in for a group hug with her free arm. "Seriously, you didn't have to."
We all hugged her before Madison offered to put both gifts in her room for when she finished up her evening. After a final thank you to the others, Alicia and I were left alone.
"So, Monopoly was everyone's idea?" she asked me with a raised brow.
I shrugged. "Maybe. You like it though, right? I thought it would be nice to play if you want. I know you missed it."
Her expression softened and she nodded, stepping forward and pressing a surprise kiss to my cheek. I definitely wasn't expecting it, my face heating up as soon as she stepped back and met my gaze.
"I love it, Y/N, thank you," she assured with a smile, and I forgot how to speak, cheek still burning from where she'd kissed it.
She must have known the effect she had on me – either that or my gormless expression was ever so amusing – because she began to laugh, eyes crinkling and laugh lines prominent.
"C'mon, let's go find some drinks," she encouraged, taking my hand and instantly tugging me away.
It was difficult to do much else other than think about her smile for the rest of the evening.
———————————————
"...helloooo, Y/N?"
Zoning back into reality, I looked over at Alicia who was
sat in a chair next to me. She was watching me with a raised eyebrow and amused smile.
"Where's your head at?" she asked.
"Nowhere, just got distracted, sorry," I answered, looking back out ahead.
We were both keeping watch tonight, sat in a tower just outside the gates of the stadium.
"You tired? I know I'm very convincing when it comes to doing the night shift," she smiled playfully at this, making me laugh, "but you could've said no if you didn't want to."
"It's not that, don't worry," I assured her. "Besides, who would keep you awake if I wasn't here?"
"Very true."
I smiled, glancing at her briefly and feeling that familiar flutter in my stomach that had been present as of late. It was a strange one, gradually realising that I liked Alicia in a slightly more-than-friends way. After everything – all the time we'd spent together, all the jokes we'd shared, all the considerate things she'd done for me – it was difficult not to like her.
I had been so used to looking out for Y/S/N these past few years that relationships had never been a priority for me – I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to like somebody, friend or otherwise. But now... now it was different and I no longer had other priorities. Instead, I had time.
And even though I was certain she couldn't feel the same – I didn't even know if she liked girls – I was content keeping this crush to myself and enjoying it. Eventually I'd get over it. At least that's what I told myself.
"So, since we've established my presence is irresistible, I'm going on a supply run in a few days," Alicia said after a moment of quiet. "D'you wanna come with? There's room for one more."
I considered it, pulling a face. "Ah, I dunno..."
She patted my arm encouragingly. "Oh, c'mon, it'll be a change of scenery."
I glanced at her. "It sounds like it's my presence that is irresistible."
She grinned, her eyes twinkling under the moonlight. "You caught me. Now, are you coming?"
I sighed dramatically, unable to say no to her even if I tried. "Sure."
"Wow. Don't sound too excited."
I cracked a small smile as I looked ahead into the darkness. "It's not that. I just... I wonder if it'll ever be safe enough to do other things. Like a day out. Something that doesn't mean supply runs are what we do to have a change of scenery."
"What do you mean?"
I shrugged, leaning back into my seat. "I don't know. It's just like before the world turned upside down, if we were bored or something, we could go out. Go to the park or watch a movie or play bowling. There were sources of entertainment. Or art to appreciate, like a museum or something. A treat, y'know? Now there's nothing."
She hummed thoughtfully. "We can kind of still do that. Luci bought some DVDs back on her last run and we found that DVD player."
"I suppose... It's not the same though. The experience of going somewhere new and enjoying the moment."
I exhaled softly, wondering why that was suddenly on my mind. I should have been grateful for what I had now, not dwelling on what I didn't. Shaking my head, I glanced over at Alicia with a small apologetic smile.
"Never mind me," I said. "Just daydreaming again."
She watched me with a softened expression. "No, it's okay. Maybe one day, right? We thought we wouldn't have a home and we have this. Who says we can't have fun days out, too?"
I appreciated her effort to make me feel better, flashing her a grateful smile, before looking ahead again.
———————————————
It wasn't a conversation I expected her to remember. I barely remembered it myself, it being a result of the nighttime atmosphere making me comfortable enough to reminisce. And yet, she'd remembered it alright, and gave me something that nobody ever had.
"Can I take it off now?"
Alicia sighed from beside me. "Did I say you could take it off now?"
I groaned petulantly, continuing to step forward slowly. She'd insisted I go out with her – a very unusual surprise considering the only times we'd left the stadium were for supply runs or patrol shifts – and had me blindfolded since we'd left the front gate. I'd been in a car for about twenty minutes and then she'd led me outside, presumably to the surprise location, but hadn't given me even the slightest of hints as to what it was.
As I was walking carefully, I almost tripped over a rock or a step and caught myself with the help of Alicia before I could fall flat on my face.
"Shoot, sorry, that was totally my bad," she said, not letting go of my hand when she helped me stand up again.
I heard the amusement in her voice and looked to her, hoping she could sense my displeasure and impatience. "Are we there yet?"
She squeezed my hand gently. "Almost."
"Almost," I mimicked childishly, mostly still annoyed that she'd almost let me fall.
She laughed quietly, tugging me along more carefully this time, and then we finally came to a halt. Letting go of my hand, she stopped behind me and her hands wavered by the knot behind my head.
"This is it," she said in my ear, admittedly sending chills down my spine because it felt oddly intimate with her so close. "You ready?"
All I could do was hum in agreement, thrown off all of a sudden.
She undid the knot and removed my blindfold, making me blink to get used to the light. We were still outside and I was confused to what I was supposed to be looking at at first. And then I saw the sign in front of me and raised my eyebrows with surprise and confusion.
Jackson's Art Gallery & Museum
"Where are we?" I asked, tearing my eyes from the building and looking at Alicia.
She grinned like it was obvious. "I thought the sign was pretty self explanatory."
I shook my head, still surprised. "No, I mean– it is, but what are we doing here? How did you find this place?"
She began to walk to the entrance, leaving me no choice but to follow as she said, "I was on a supply run when I came across it. And then I thought, you know who would love this?"
I blinked, unsure how to react, and continued to follow her through the front revolving doors and to the deserted reception desk. Like she'd been here before, Alicia rounded the desk and grabbed a brochure before smiling up at me.
"Welcome to Jackson's Art Gallery and Museum," she said with a funny voice, making me smile because I realised what she was doing. "Can I interest you in a brochure, ma'am?"
"Alicia."
She cleared her throat, flashing me a smile and tilting her head. "My name is Candy, ma'am. I'm the receptionist." My smile widened as she continued, "So, would you like a brochure?"
"I would love a brochure," I played along, accepting it.
"Excellent choice," she said, before joining my side again.
"Alicia, what is this? What are you doing?" I asked her before she could lead me further into the gallery.
Her expression softened as her eyes met mine. "I thought you'd like it. I've already scoped the place out and most of the exhibits are still in tact. Plus there's no dead, so we can have a look around without any interruptions."
She made it sound so easy, like it was a completely regular thing to do and like she hadn't completely gone out of her way to give me this special visit. My heart warmed at the realisation and I exhaled softly, appreciating it.
"Come on, we don't wanna get caught in any queues," she said when I didn't speak, grabbing my hand and tugging me into the first exhibit. "I hear it can get pretty busy this time of year."
I rolled my eyes at how nerdy she was being but let her drag me around. She treated it like a real day out to an art gallery, encouraging me to check out my brochure and showing me around all the exhibits. Most things were still in perfect condition, though I had my suspicions that Alicia had come in here prior to this trip and done some cleaning up and dusting around. There was no way half of these sculptures had remained spotless without a display case. Why she'd gone to so much trouble for me, I wasn't sure...
We studied all the different paintings, read all the plaques, posed with all the sculptures. We even stopped by an interactive part where visitors were encouraged to do their own drawing in a sketchbook. I drew a terrible rendition of the bowl of fruit before me, signing my name and feeling oddly excited at how fun today was. I hadn't felt this alive in so long.
"Let me see yours," I said to Alicia before we moved on, rounding the desk to take a look at hers.
She slid the sketchbook toward me and I widened my eyes slightly, amazed at her drawing of the interior of the hall we were sat in.
I scoffed lightheartedly. "Of course you're good at drawing. Is there anything you can't do?"
She chuckled. "Quit being a baby."
We checked out the final exhibit before reaching the end of the line, coming face to face with a tip box.
"I must say, this was an excellent tour," I said playfully, but meaning it. "I'd definitely leave a tip if I could."
"Hmm." Alicia looked around suspiciously before pulling something out from behind her back. When she held it out to me, I realised it was a dollar. "Here you go."
My face began to hurt from how much I was smiling. She'd found a dollar just for this? "Alicia."
She pressed her lips together to contain her joy. "Go on. It's part of the experience."
My heart was full as I accepted the dollar, eyes still lingering on hers because she was simply amazing. I almost forgot why she'd given it me because I was too busy admiring her.
"There," she said after I dropped the dollar in the box. "Now onto the best part. The gift shop."
Without a second wasted, she walked away and I was forced to follow, realising she was leading me to the gift shop. Again, the whole place had been tidied up and looked almost new. Now I definitely knew Alicia had gone out of her way to do it, but why?
We both looked around the store, fiddling with the trinkets on display. I admired the postcards full of art and she tried to justify taking a keyring for keys she didn't have. The whole experience had me spilling with gratitude and I couldn't take her humbleness anymore.
"Why did you do this?" I asked her when she was flicking through a book.
She quirked a brow, distracted, and looked up. "Huh?"
I gave her a knowing look. "This. You found this place. Surprised me. And I know it wasn't just something you came across. So spill it. Why did you do this for me?"
I had my suspicions of course, though it could have been solely delusions and me seeing what I wanted to see. I needed to hear it from her.
She played it cool, closing the book and putting it to the side. "Well... you were talking about how you missed having a day out and enjoying the moment. So, I thought I'd give you something to enjoy. Show you that there's still things to look forward to."
How could she remember such a silly comment and prove me wrong in the best way possible?
"Malory on guard duty was talking about how she really wants a pet dog, but you're not out here finding her one, are you?" I pointed out. "So, what's different with me?"
She smiled with amusement, stepping toward me. "Y/N, you're my friend."
"Wow, and Malory isn't?" I scoffed playfully. "Ouch. I'll be sure to tell her that."
Alicia rolled her eyes, trying to stop herself from laughing. "You know what I mean."
"I don't," I told her, meeting her eyes, and I knew I had to share what was on my mind because the last thing I wanted to do was misinterpret today. "You went out of your way to organise this whole day for me. After I made one comment. Friends don't do that."
"Yeah they do," she said nonchalantly.
I pressed my lips together, studying her expression, but she was avoiding looking my way and instead distracting herself with the merchandise. I wasn't being delusional, right? This was what I thought it was?
"You did this for me," I repeated slowly, not quite looking away from her. "So, if I wanted you to kiss me, would you?"
Her breathing hitched as she glanced at me, and I wondered if I'd said the wrong thing. But it was either this or live in denial forever, and I didn't want to anymore.
"I suppose so," she finally answered, voice low and eyes fixed on mine.
I swallowed hard, eyes lowering to her lips. There was nothing more to do than ask. "Well, I–"
She didn't even let me finish as she leaned forward, closing the gap between us. My skin was on fire where her hand caressed my neck and I immediately closed my eyes, falling into her. Her lips were so soft, fingers so delicate, and my insides were filled with butterflies.
This wasn't what I expected and yet I wouldn't have had it any other way. I hoped she couldn't hear my heart beating out of my chest.