l u k e
"Don't leave. Please stay here with me," Alex mumbled in her sleep. I was definitely okay with it, but Ryder probably wasn't.
I turned to him and raised an eyebrow, silently asking for permission.
"Fine. You can stay here with her, but no inappropriate anything. Lexi's bed is right there," he pointed at another bed that was identical to Alex's queen sized one, except Lexi's was blue and gray, and Alex's was yellow. "I think she's gonna be back at midnight."
He reminded me about a few more things before getting up from Alex's bed and leaving the room.
I still sat on Alex's bed and looked at her. She was sleeping peacefully with a small smile on her face.
She suddenly pulled her hand to her chest and started groaning in pain.
My eyes widened at the sight of her in pain.
"Hey, hey, are you okay? Do you need anything? Just tell me what I have to do," I slowly pulled her up to a sitting position, and her eyes opened.
"I'm okay. I'm fine. Just go downstairs and get me an ice pack, please? There should be some in the freezer," she winced again.
"Yeah, okay. I'll get it as fast as I can. Just wait here," I stood up and immediately went to the door.
I sprinted down to the kitchen and went straight to the freezer. I was in such a hurry that I didn't even notice that Ryder and Jackson were there until they spoke.
"Bro, chill. What's up with you?" Ryder raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Aren't you supposed to be with Alex?" Jackson backed Ryder up.
"Well, yeah. She asked me to get her an ice pack, see?" I lifted my hand that was holding the ice pack and showed it to them. "And if you will please excuse me, I have to go back upstairs now."
They turned to each other then followed me back to Alex's room, whispering things to each other—things I couldn't really hear or understand. I didn't really care what they were talking about. I just had to get back to Alex.
I opened the door and went to Alex's bed, giving her the ice pack she requested. She thanked me and sighed in relief once the cold surface touched the palm of her hand.
I sat behind her, and she slowly leaned on my chest.
"Um... just asking, why are you guys here?" she turned to her brothers, curiosity laced in her tone.
"We thought something serious happened to you. Luke ran to the kitchen all panicky when Jax and I were looking for something to eat. We followed him up here to see what was going on. Is it your hand again?" Ryder asked her. "From Paige's laptop?"
She was caressing her hand gently and sighed, nodding. "It's nothing, really. It doesn't hurt so much anymore now. You guys can go already."
It was just really not in her nature to lie about things.
"Okay. We'll just be in our rooms. Come to us if you need anything," Jackson reminded us. "And don't do anything that I wouldn't do. Lexi can see you from the window over there and also if she goes to Austin's balcony."
"Uh huh. Okay, we won't. You know that you're already right beside the door, right? Just get out." That surely wasn't me. I didn't have the nerve to talk to them like that.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be back in around thirty minutes," Ryder said as they left the room, leaving me all alone with Alex. I held her hand, the one that didn't hurt, and intertwined our fingers together.
I kissed her knuckles gently. "Babe?"
"Hmm?"
I continued, "You didn't tell me that something happened to you. You're worrying me too much. You should tell me next time, okay? It might be connected to your arm or something."
Okay, fine. I sounded really cheesy and overprotective, but I was just like that because I really cared about her. Maybe even loved her already.
She fell on her left arm during practice, and her sister's laptop fell on her opposite hand. It's true that her arm was already fully healed from the fall, but it had only been a few days since she recovered.
"I promise I'll tell you if something happens, babe. You don't have to worry. I can handle myself, and it doesn't even hurt anymore. I'll be fine, okay?" she turned around to face me. Her hand let go of mine, and she threw her arms around me in a hug, "You do trust me, right? You trust that I won't keep anything from you that concerns my well being, right?"
"Of course, I trust you," I pulled away and smiled at her. "I will always trust you."
I planted a kiss on her forehead just as she said, "Well, now that I'm awake and all, I can't sleep anymore until I become really sleepy again. So, what do you wanna do?" she looked at me, asking for suggestions.
"I don't really know. Do you wanna watch some TV? I'll just shower real quick, and you can pick something for us to watch, okay?" I suggested, standing up.
"Sure, I can go after you," she told me, reaching to the side table to grab the remote.
"Great, I'll be out in five to ten minutes," I told her. She nodded, and turned back to the TV to turn it on.
Just as I was going to the bathroom, Ryder knocked on the door and went in.
"Oh hey man. Just continue what you were about to do," he told me because I stopped just outside of the bathroom to see who was at the door.
~~~~~
a l e x
"Hey, Alex. I see that you're not really doing anything so, do you wanna come to the balcony with me? Lexi told me to ask you if you're awake."
Luke just went in the bathroom, and I really had nothing to do. Talking to Lexi and maybe Chase was probably going to be better than just watching TV.
"Yeah, sure," I obliged, turning the TV off before standing up, and going with Ryder.
I put on Luke's letterman jacket, which was about two or three sizes too big, and followed Ryder outside.
"Oh, you're finally here! You're kinda early though. Nate kept asking us to come out already," Lexi talked to us from Chase's balcony. She was with Chase and about four or five other people. I could see a few people in his room too.
"Why'd you ask us to come out? And who is this Nate guy?" I asked. I noticed that everyone else except Lexi and Chase was staring at me and Ryder.
I couldn't say we weren't used to the attention, but it was still awkward. I never liked the feeling of a lot of people's eyes on me.
"I just wanted to introduce you to a fan of, well, the both of you," she told us before pulling a guy beside her. "This is Nate, Chase's cousin."
"Hi Nate," we both greeted him.
"Hey! I'm big fans of the both of you. Andrew, I just think you're really cool. And Alexandra, you're just really pretty and hot."
"Uh, thanks, I guess. I'm not really wearing make up right now though."
"Good to know that people still idolize me," Ryder said, and by the sound of his voice, he was getting a little creeped out.
We continued to talk for a little bit about random things before Lexi said something that caught my attention.
"Can you guys believe that he thought I was Alex earlier? Why does everyone think I'm her, but they never think that she's me?"
Ryder laughed at that. "Obviously, like Nate said, because she's prettier than you, and well, they just seem to like her more than you."
He liked to tease.
"Ryder, don't be so mean," I swatted his arm.
"Sorry, Alex."
"Don't say that to me, say it to Lexi," I scolded. He did as said. I didn't really know why he and Lexi were so scared of me. "So, Nate, you really find me prettier than Lexi?"
Honestly, I was kind of excited and incredibly flattered. No one really told me that I was pretty anymore except Luke and occasionally, Paige.
"Well, no offense to her and all, but yeah."
"Hey, I take offense even though you said not to!"
I laughed. "We do look alike though. Maybe that's why you messed up figuring out who was who. Lexi's prettier in person than she is on camera, I like to believe that we all are."
"Well, bro, it was nice to meet you, but I gotta go. I'm queued up for a game right now. I'll see you tomorrow, Chase. Midnight, Lex, remember," Ryder reminded our sister before leaving.
~~~~~
l u k e
I brushed my teeth, changed and basically got ready to sleep in more or less, twenty minutes before I went out. I heard the door close just as I was opening the bathroom door. Ryder must have just left.
I got out of the bathroom, and then I looked at the bed, where I left Alex, but I was surprised when I didn't see her there. It didn't take long before I saw her at their balcony, talking to someone on the other side.
I looked for my jacket but couldn't find it on the chair I left it on. Alex must have taken it.
I went out, and I saw everyone's eyes immediately snap to my direction.
"Luke? What are you doing here? And why didn't you put on a shirt before you went out?" Alex asked me, looking slightly pissed off. That couldn't be good.
"You took my jacket. All my shirts are useless in this weather, so I just went outside."
Valid reason, right?
"Okay, fine. Just come here," she said, taking my jacket off.
She gave it to me and told me to put it on. She was only wearing a very thin looking shirt and shorts, even in the cold weather.
"You don't have to. I'll be fine," I gave the jacket back to her.
"No," she said sternly. "You're going to get sick. And if you get sick, eventually, I'll get sick too. You don't want that, right?"
I nodded, sighing, and got the jacket from her, slipping it on before going behind her and hugging her from behind—the only other way I knew that would make her at least a little warmer.
"Alex, why don't you introduce Luke to everyone? They're too much. So many names," Lexi suggested.
So Alex was talking to her.
"Oh yeah! Luke, these are some of Chase's cousins, and everyone, this is Luke. He's my boyfriend," Alex introduced us to each other.
"Hey," I waved.
"You too," a guy I heard someone call Nate eyed me. He was looking at me really closely, more specifically, my hands on Alex's waist.
"Hi Luke!" a few girls giggled in unison, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I smiled awkwardly, and acknowledged them with a nod.
It was the same at school, but it kinda stopped when everyone found out that I was dating Alex. Good to know they respected my relationship.
"Babe, we were just talking about that football game coming after the break. Apparently, they're from South Ridgeview. And they'll obviously be cheering for their team at the game," Alex caught my attention the moment she said 'football'.
Our schools sometimes did games against each other for fun. We used it as a sort of "practice run" for our new guys and a last hoorah for the seniors.
"Oh, so you must already know me then. That is if you've been watching our games with your school," I guessed, slightly annoyed that they came from our rival school.
"As a matter of fact, we do. You're a good QB," one of them told me.
"Well, you got to meet Ry—I mean Andrew—and Alex already, Nate. So, we can go back in now. It's getting cold. Bye Alex, Luke. I'll be back by midnight with Paige and Jonathan!" Lexi started pushing everyone back into what I guessed was Chase's room.
Alex and I went back in her room. I took my jacket off and placed it back on the chair it was on earlier.
She sat down on her bed and faced me, actually taking in my appearance as she did that.
"Do you like what you see?" I laughed as I stood in front of her. I forgot to tell her that I liked to sleep shirtless.
"Maybe I do, Maybe I don't. Who knows?"
"Well, okay then. It's your turn to change. Maybe I'll throw on a shirt while you're in there," I pointed at the bathroom door.
"Pshh! You don't have to put a shirt on. I mean, I can't say that you have the best body I've seen, but I'm not saying it's bad either," she patted my tummy and headed to her closet.
I rolled my eyes playfully. "Thanks for that. I'll just take all that you said as a compliment. But that also means that I have to work out more."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay. You can win this time, but I'm practically a hundred percent sure that I'll be able to win the next one. And that will probably be at practice when we get back to school," she looked at me directly in the eye, coming out of her walk-in closet before heading to the bathroom.
What was that supposed to mean? She just saw me without a shirt on, and she suddenly turned all of that into a competition—a challenge that she had to win.
"Uh huh. I'll make sure to remember that. I don't wanna be the loser, do I?" I asked jokingly.
I watched this really funny game show for about twenty minutes, and Alex finally came out of the bathroom. She sat beside me, in the middle of the bed and snuggled up to me as my arm wrapped around her.
"Honestly, I might fall asleep while we're watching. Just put me on the left side of the bed as always, okay?" she requested.
She told me she liked the left side of the bed the first time we took a nap together after studying together. She was tired and asked if she could take a quick nap, so I took one with her.
"Sure," I smiled.
I watched the show for a solid thirty minutes before I noticed that Alex already fell asleep. I got the remote from beside her and turned the TV off. It was about eleven thirty already, so I just decided to sleep as well.
I laid Alex's head carefully on a pillow and put her on the left side of the bed like she asked me to, making sure to tuck her in. I looked for a comfortable position after I left a lamp on so it wouldn't be hard for Lexi to see once she came back.
Soon after, I fell asleep, holding my girlfriend's hand.
~~~~~
I felt Alex sit up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily. I opened my eyes slowly and sat up, seeing her sister still sleeping soundly on the other bed.
"Babe, what's wrong? What happened?" I asked, getting worried again. I pulled her to my side and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I woke you. It's just a nightmare. I'm okay. I'll be just fine in a bit. You should sleep. It's only like three thirty in the morning," she told me, trying to convince me to go back to sleep.
"No, it's okay. I'll wait until you're better. Besides, I won't be able to sleep knowing that you're not okay," I protested.
She nodded, standing up.
"What are you doing?" I asked. She started opening drawers, looking for something.
"I'm looking for my notebook. I have to write it down, but I can't seem to find it. It's been quite a while since I've had a nightmare, and I was told I should write them down when I have them."
"Come here," I pulled her to my side. "Pretend like I'm your human notebook then you can tell me what happened, and we can look for your actual notebook in the morning, yeah?"
"Okay, I guess."
I listened intently as Alex narrated the story of a very traumatizing event in her life. Her nightmare brought back memories of an accident that happened to her and her family almost ten years ago. It was very bloody, and her nightmare just made it worse.
It brought her worst fears to life, as if the traumatic event wasn't enough. So much so that she started to cry in the middle of telling me.
I just wanted to find that guy who crashed into them, whoever he was, and beat him up for hurting Alex. She looked like it scarred her for life.
I shushed her, kissing the tears from her cheeks as I pulled her closer to me. "Don't cry, babe. Nothing like that's ever going to happen again. I'll make sure of that, okay?"
She nodded, and the tears started to slowly fade away.
"I think I'll be able to sleep now. Thanks for being here to listen," she pulled away, and I saw a smile appear on her lips. She laid down, and I did the same.
"My pleasure. If you need help, just ask me. If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here, okay? I'll always be here," I whispered, locking eyes with her.
She smiled at me, but it didn't last very long until her face supported a look of confusion. "Why didn't I notice Lexi come? I'm usually a light sleeper. I should've noticed."
"Actually, I didn't notice either. I guess your dream kept you from waking up, and I was really tired," I hypothesized.
"You're probably right. Well, we should get back to sleep now," she snuggled up to me.
I put the blanket over her body as she slowly fell asleep. I planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before allowing myself to doze off for the second time.
~~~~~
I woke up at around eight thirty and saw that Alex was still sleeping beside me. I had the usual smile on my face.
It was pretty obvious that I was a morning person.
I tucked a strand of hair that was on Alex's face behind her ear, observing her beauty intently.
How the hell was I lucky enough to call her my girlfriend?
Her eyes slowly opened and a yawn escaped her lips, "Good morning."
My lips quirked up. "Good morning to you too."
"Are you okay now? Do you wanna go down and get some breakfast? Or maybe you can look for your notebook while I shower?" I asked her.
She then nodded at the last part, standing up from the bed as I did the same. "I'll be here."
"Give me ten minutes," I told her, grabbing my bag from her table.
I showered and put some clothes on. I went out right after I finished and saw that Alex still hadn't found her notebook, so I made use of myself and helped look for it.
We finally found it after another five minutes of looking. It was under Lexi's table. How? We didn't know either.
The two of us went down for breakfast and got ready to prepare some food. Nobody was there, and Alex and I found it as the perfect excuse to try and cook something together. We decided on making grilled cheese sandwiches because it was the easiest thing we could think of.
It had a sentimental value too.
You may ask why we wanted to make something easy. Well, it was specifically me that wanted to make something easy. Let's just say that I wasn't as skilled in the cooking department as my girlfriend was.
We were successful in making our sandwiches. It actually wasn't so hard. I did get burnt a few times making them, though. My hands kept on touching the pan on accident.
It was really easy for Alex. She got it perfect the first time, and she had to help me make about six until I actually made a decent, and not burnt one.
The Evans siblings came down to the kitchen about five minutes after we finished cooking, Alex's brothers not bothering to wear shirts. I would've done the same at my house.
"Understand now what I meant last night?" Alex whispered to me.
"Yeah, I really don't have a better body than them," I whispered back.
"Hmm? What was that I heard? Huh, Luke? You have a better body than us?" Ryder challenged, catching Jackson and Paige's attention. Lexi was still sleeping, I guess.
"Actually, no. He said that he doesn't," Alex clarified. "He just agreed to what I told him."
"How do you know that, Alex? When have you seen his actual body?" Jackson questioned, his eyes narrowing.
"Maybe last week, maybe last night. I don't know," Alex laughed at how irritated Jackson was.
"You sleep shirtless, don't you?" Ryder asked, catching on. I nodded, not keeping the secret any longer.
"Let's see that body then!" they told me. I lifted up my shirt so that they could see my stomach.
"Yikes. You do need to work out more. If it makes you feel better, we've been doing this since we were kids. Everyday," Jackson patted my shoulder.
"Not really. You're just rubbing it in," I said back to Jackson.
"You can work out with us later if you'd like. That is if we have nothing to do later," Ryder suggested.
"I need to come to the gym too. I'm getting fat!" Alex and Lexi said together.
Lexi came down just in time for her to say that, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Will you guys stop doing that? It's really getting on my nerves," Paige told them. I actually found it really amusing.
We all ate breakfast together, sandwiches for all of us except Ryder, who got cereal because Jackson didn't make him one.
PB and J for Paige and Lexi and this weird spread on Jackson's.
It was fun talking to them. Maybe I should stay over more often.
~~~ END OF CHAPTER ~~~
A/N
Soooo, the next update will be very very NOT soon. Sorry. We're kinda busy nowadays so, it may take a while.
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