Coming Down - The Weeknd
𓆩♡𓆪
Alexander
"Yo Alex!"
I'm wiping excess lipstick off the corner of my mouth when my friends burst into the house without warning, but clearly in a rush to get here.
I hear a door I only assume is my room or the bathroom's close, yet considering the circumstances, I believe it's the latter.
The three of them walk into the kitchen, Matt's face is in his phone, Jordan dumps his keys on the counter, and Aiden looks the most concerned out of all of them.
"Is she here?" Aiden is the first to ask questions.
I just gave him a nod. "Yeah." I compensated for my lack of words at the moment.
"Is she okay?' he follows up.
Matt laughs unexpectedly. "I'm sure she's fine. That other girl though..." He whistles out a breath and turns his phone to me, raising the volume.
I immediately know what the video is going to show, and turn his screen back to him. Not wanting to feast my eyes on the ultimate fucking catfight. "You were there Matt, is seeing it firsthand not enough?" I question his pure interest.
"Dude, we just witnessed the ultimate catfight,"
I laugh to myself. We think the same I guess.
"And this is pure gold. Evie beat that chick up." Matt says. "And you shouldn't have pulled her away so quickly, I wanted to see more."
I roll my eyes sarcastically at him. "I swear you get off on this shit."
"Nah man," he's quick to deny with a shrug. "A fight's a fight. And you know me, I spend half of my ice time squaring up with someone or in the box."
I pull my eyes off of him while looking at the other two. Jordan just stares at me while Aiden speaks up. "Yeah, that chick has a pretty nasty scratch on the side of her face."
I smile, getting details of the aftermath I missed along with it. Halfway through Matt's heavily exaggerated recap of the situation, I hear the door down the hallway open.
Soon after, Evie meets us all in the kitchen. "Where were you?" Aiden asks quickly.
"In the bathroom." She responds quite calmly. "Picking skin and hair out of my nails, why?"
I laugh at the small joke before Matt swoops in to congratulate his proclaimed victor of Halloween's Ultimate Catfight.
Not much is said after that. It's just small talk and Matt's narration that fills the room as he, yet again, goes on another tangent of the brief scuffle that happened outside.
At a point I've completely pushed his voice to the background as I focus on the one woman I can't seem to take my eyes off of. I don't want to take my eyes off of her.
And if ten minutes ago confirmed something, it was the fact that I don't want to stay away from her.
I look at her as her eyes are trained on Matt. I'm guessing he said something worth laughing at because her lips curl into a smile.
Man, she has a beautiful smile.
Her voice pulls me back to the present moment, "I think I should go, but nice storytelling Matt. 10/10 on the exaggeration."
I take in a long breath, exhaustion settling in my bones as I turn my phone around to see the time. It was a quarter past one in the morning and we were all looking ready to hit the sheets.
She says her goodbyes, but my eyes stay on Aiden's hands as he goes to hug her. His hands press against her lower back so nonchalantly before he slides his hands around the front of her waist, pulling back.
It shouldn't irk me the way it does. It's a meaningless hug for Christ's sake.
But his hands are where mine were moments ago, settling against the material of her dress, though mine were there for a much better reason than just a hug.
They have a muffled conversation before Jordan blocks my line of sight. He hasn't said all that much since they've gotten here. Until now, "Picking skin and hair out of her nails, huh?"
His voice is low, but there's a taunting note in his voice as he continues.
"I won't say anything, but there's still a little lipstick on your jaw." At this, I eye him as he briefly laughs before walking away.
I guess all that time he spent being quiet, he was putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
Dammit Jordan. Always noticing everything.
Wiping my jaw I don't worry about the extent of his knowledge too much, knowing if anything, he's good on his word. He'll keep quiet.
Closing the door behind me as we leave them, I walk her out to my car and get in. Her hand reaches for the bag of mints I keep in the car, just for her at this point, as I back out of the driveway.
If there's something I'm not doing as I drive her over to Reese's dorm, it's putting a heavy foot on the gas. Part of me doesn't want her to go so soon.
"You were quick to lie your way out of that one." I tell her.
I hear the mint roll around her mouth as she responds. "Would you rather me tell them a more truthful answer?"
I glance in her direction as I roll to a stop. "Probably not."
She settles back into the seat, exhaustedly resting her arm on the center console. Eyes on mine before I turn onto another street.
Though wanting this to last as long as possible, it's not long until the inevitable comes and I soon pull over to the curb across from the dorm building.
Cold air greets me with her exit out of my car, but as she walks around the front I lower my driver's side window. "Evie,"
I lean my arm on the windowsill as she walks back up to the window, leaning down so I can see her face. "Alex."
"What are you doing tomorrow?" I ask.
"I have work," she responds.
Her arms lean onto the windowsill the same as mine. "After work?" I follow up.
Evie stays silent for a moment before a smirk pulls across her lips. "Busy."
The urge to grab her hand becomes increasingly apparent to me, and without much thought I do as I please. "The day after tomorrow?" My fingers slide in between hers.
"Busy." she still answers.
I curl my fingers until I reach the back of her palm, "The day after that?"
"Busy. Again." I'm starting to get fed up with that answer. Either she's lying to piss me off or really has other things taking up her time.
"Next week?" I try one more time, finally getting the joke when she laughs.
"Still gonna be busy Alex." Her smile tells me she's lying, and that it was to piss me off.
"I want to see you." I make myself absurdly clear.
"You will," Her voice lowers as her hand squeezes mine. "I'll be around. Here and there."
I give her a look. "That's not what I meant." At all.
Her laugh only solidifies that she's not being serious. "I know. I'll have to see what I'm doing, but I'm sure you'll be fine." Her other hand clasps around mine, her nails scratching the back of my hand. "In the meantime, things are going back to normal. Aren't you happy?"
No.
You were normal.
I sigh and look at her through the open window. "I think I'd like to change my answer."
"To what?" she questions.
I stare at her and give a reply. "When you asked me if I'd miss you in the house." I'd like to change it to a brutal yes.
She stays silent for a moment, I'm trying to think of any way to get her back into my car. The wind picks up in the absence of our voices.
"I'll see you around Alex," At this I can feel her hand untangle from mine, but I'm quick to pull her right back. "What Alex? It's cold out here."
"It's warm in the car." I tell her.
She scoffs before laughing at me I assume. "You're ridiculous,"
You do that to me sometimes.
Her face leans closer to mine before our lips touch for the final time tonight. It's a brief contact, one too short for my liking.
"You'll be fine Alex." Her hand lightly taps the side of my cheek before playfully pushing my face away from hers.
The next thing I know she's walking across the street and all I'm left here to do is sit in my car and watch her go. "Goodnight Evie." I call after her.
She looks over her shoulder as she reaches the curb. "Bye Alex."
I lean back in my seat, rolling the window up. Only leaving when I see her get inside safely.
Pulling away from the curb, the only thing on my mind other than the conditioning I have in the morning, is the next time I'm going to see her.
And why the hell my heart wants to beat out of my chest at the thought of it.
• • • • •
The next day goes without saying: It was fucking tiring.
Coming off a hangover and having to force myself out of bed at six in the morning will never not be hard.
For me or any of my roommates.
But hockey is hockey and despite not hitting the ice that morning, we sure as hell had to pick up the weights.
I was tired when I got there, tired when I left, tired during the lecture I had to sit through, and at the end of the day I was tired, but worst of all hungry.
Though even worse than that, I didn't get to see her.
We both knew seeing each other wasn't probable with half the shit we were doing, but I wasn't going to make that mistake again.
So after another early morning wake up, I hit the ice before hitting the showers. Then I take a personal detour somewhere else and let the others go home without me.
Jordan was the only one with a suspicion about where I was going, but again, if anyone had to find out right now, he'd be the one I'd trust to not say a word.
I escape the cold the second I push the door to the Viper's Den open. I walk in and see a woman at the desk, but by the blonde hair on her head, I can confirm it's not the one I'm looking for.
Doesn't mean she can't help. "Excuse me," I stop in front of the desk as the girl looks up from her phone. "I'm looking for a girl, dark hair, green eyes, about yay high." I mark my hand just underneath my shoulder. "Is she here?"
The woman doesn't give me very much of an answer, only blinking a few times and stumbling over her words. "Uhm, I think so," Her head strays around the store. "You're uh, looking for Evie, right?"
I nod. "Yeah, she said I could find her here." It's a slight lie, but enough to get a reply.
"Uhm, yeah, I can uhm...go look for her."
Before she can even get up, the topic of our conversation, if you can even call it that, shows her face. "No need Jane. I'm right here."
The girl, who I now know as Jane, sits back in her chair, looking relieved that Evie showed up. "Oh thank God." she whispers a little too loudly.
"Jane, this is my...friend. I'm pretty sure you already know his name." Evie looks at Jane who turns to me.
"Yeah...uh, hi. I'm Jane." she says.
"Alex." I introduced myself anyway. "Care if I talk to her for a minute?"
"Why are you asking her?" Evie's question is sarcastic.
"She looks like your boss." I tell her.
I turn my head to Jane, not expecting the laugh she lets out. "Hah! He said I look like your boss!"
Smiling, I ask again. "May I?"
"You may."
With the A-Okay from the boss lady I turn my head back to the reason I'm here. Evie walks me over to a quieter area, one not filled with near as many people as before.
"I'm going to assume she's not your boss?" I look over to her as she walks ahead of me, jeans, school tee, and all. "Or a talker."
"Definitely not my boss," she starts and as much as I love the sound of her voice, my eyes drop because her ass is looking a little too nice in those jeans. "...a talker."
"Hmm?" I look back up realizing I missed what she just said.
Stopping in a vacant corner she turns around to face me. "I said, she definitely is a talker." Her eyes narrow at the slight confusion in my expression. "You would've heard me had your eyes not been elsewhere."
I step up to her, and though getting her point, I defend myself. "What? It was a quick look, I wasn't feasting my eyes."
Her hands rest on her hips before her head tilts. "So is that all you came here to do? Get a look at my ass and leave?"
Her tone sounds pent up, but if there's anything I know I can do best with her, it's calming her down. "No...it was just an added bonus." I mess with her. It earns me a well deserved eye roll which I don't take to heart. "I came here to ask you a few things."
"Ask me a few things like what?"
"Like what are you doing tomorrow?" I begin and can already see the look on her face.
Her sigh is offsetting even though it doesn't carry much weight. "I already told you I'm busy,"
"And I'm not liking that answer." I'm clear with her on that. Like most things I tell her. "Are you really busy tomorrow?"
I want an honest answer this time. The sternness on her face mellows out within the second and it's not long before I get an answer that's much more manageable to hear. "I'll make time."
Her fingers go up to fumble with the lanyard that holds her i.d. "But it's most likely going to be after class, so if you want to deal with me in a mood-"
Evie in a mood. "Perfect. Just how I like you." I smile at her. It garauntees me another eye roll, which I don't get until she's trying to walk past me, to which I hold her back. "I'm not done with my questions Evie."
She spins around and looks at me through her mascara covered lashes. "Then enlighten me with your next one Alex."
Will do. "Every month the team gets together for a poker night. We're all allowed to bring plus ones." I explain as easily as I can, people beginning to filter into this area that was once secluded.
"And what, you want me to sit there and look pretty?" The snap in her voice is quite comical, even if she's being slightly serious.
"If you want to. You can also play if you want, but it's your buck in the pot." I look at her silently pleading she at least accepts this invitation.
"I'll think about it." she says.
I sigh at the answer. "You're the queen of giving indirect answers, you know that? It's a yes or no question Evie."
Silence fills the void between us as she stands there and contemplates another response. This time, it's one I actually like. "Fine. But I don't know how to play."
"That's fine, but if you want to participate you better learn. We take it pretty seriously." I admit, knowing half of us want to keep playing because we keep winning and others want redemption for losing.
It's a continuous cycle.
"It's next Thursday, I'll send you the address when I get it." I spot a few more people wandering around and Evie notices the same.
Straightening out her lanyard she speaks. "I should get back to work."
I take in a breath knowing this interaction had to come to an end at some point. Yet what bothers me most is realizing that I feel the need to talk to her everyday.
And this conversation barely satisfied that.
But it's better than nothing so I guess I'll take it.
"Oh, and before you leave, just know that Jane isn't usually like that." Evie's turn on her heel to clarify. "She just doesn't talk to...people like you all the time."
"And what's people like me even mean?" I question only to prolong this a little further.
Evie sighs, "No offense, but you're like, the face of this school's athletics, if not, the school in general at the moment so..."
"None taken." I accept the compliment.
I smile when I'm given a third eye roll. "Just...don't think she's weird. I like her. She's nice."
"I don't think she's weird Evie." I tell her.
"Good. Keep it that way." It's almost like a demand although her tone is partially sweet.
She begins to walk away from me again but I catch up to her to tell her one more thing as a parting gift. "Oh, also," I catch her shoulder and spin her around. "Call me a friend one more time and we're gonna have a problem."
My mouth is by her ear as I speak to her, and when I pull away our faces aren't that much further. "Eyes off my ass Alex and I'll think about it." The sweetness in her tone beforehand is gone as she fires a comeback at me.
Despite the obvious dread I'm feeling, I curl my lips upward and rely on my restraint. "Fine."
Not fine. So not fine.
My lips brush against her temple before pressing a little harder. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I pull my head away, watching her eyelashes bat and her cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink.
And with that, I leave her, knowing if I was to fall behind her I'd have to make well on what I just promised her.
So I decided not to test myself at all and leave without another word.
Except saying bye to Jane on my way out.
• • • • •
The next morning there's a weird feeling hanging in the air.
I don't know what it is, but something doesn't feel right. Which is weird because this couldn't be a more normal day.
The four of us are huddled around the kitchen island eating a quick breakfast before we kill ourselves at practice again.
It's a normal morning. It's what we do almost everyday.
But the one thing out of the ordinary is the ringing of my phone, and despite trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach, I answer it.
"Kev?" I'm the first to speak. Why he's calling me this early, I don't know.
Quick rundown on who I'm talking to. Kevin Coleman: New on the team, freshie, thinks he knows what he's doing but needs more than a few pointers. And despite taking him under my wing this year, he's showing early signs of becoming another Matt.
As if I need another one in my life.
Looking up, Matt is gesturing to put him on speaker. Not thinking much of it, I do exactly that.
"Kevin, what's up dude?" Matt introduces himself into the call.
"Yo Matt! Nice bag my boys." Kevin sounds ecstatic as he speaks, but I pick up on his pluralization and question it.
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
My heart drops at his next sentence. "That Evie girl." Immediately I look at Jordan, but he's already shaking his head letting me know he hasn't said anything.
"What about her?" Jordan asks so we can understand what he's talking about.
Kevin continues to spare his knowledge. "She's a fucking stunner. That post really wasn't lying."
I look around and see confusion on all of their faces.
"What post?" Aiden asks.
"You haven't seen it? Holy shit man," Kevin sounds in disbelief that we have no idea. "Look up the student page and you'll see. And hey, if she really is a good lay is there any possible way I could get some?"
My eyebrows scrunch in confusion.
What is he fucking talking about?
Jordan is already tapping away at his phone, and the minute we all see the post.
We bolt out of the house.
𓆩♡𓆪
DRAMA ALERT!!
We needed some😏😏
I actually don't know why I do this to myself. Alex is so perfect.
Evie just needs to get her head straight and then we'll be good.
But yk me...I make y'all wait😛
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Thoughts???
Please don't forget to vote and comment!!❤️❤️
(P.S. - all i'm imagining w/ these two rn is smut and I actually can't breathe right. pls send help)