Aria's POV
I was over at the Alvarez's, again, hanging in Alex's room. We walked into the living room to find Lydia, Elena, and Penelope, trying, yet failing to act like they weren't just talking about one of us.
"Am I in trouble?" We asked at the same time
"No. We're just....thinking." Penelope lied, looking between the both of us
"Well, when you're done thinking, can I have. $100?" Alex asked
"What?" Penelope laughed, looking at Alex in disbelief
"I don't know. I need money for tonight, because me and my friends are going bowling, or miniature golfing, or to the arcade. I don't know, just give me $100!" He begged
"First of all, you need a plan. Second of all, I need to approve the plan. Third of all, is Aria going. Fourth of all, 100 bucks? That was funny." Penelope said, continuing to laugh at the outrageous amount of money he was requesting
"Stupid Finn keeps changing his mind." I said, angry with Alex's indecisive friend
"First, he invites Joaquin. Then, he has to invite Jade because he invited Joaquin. Then, she wants to bring JuJu and Casey and Maddie." Alex said, ranting and beginning walk off from the living room
"I don't know any of these people! We need to talk more!" Penelope yelled, watching her son walk off
"Are you going on a date?" I asked, once I saw Alex was completely out of site
"How did you know?!" She asked
"Uh.. mustache thing." I said, nervously pointing to her freshly walked upper lip
She threw her hands up, as I ran off. I know I wasn't supposed to tell Alex, because the women in his family were scared of how he might react.
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"Yeah, I'm not gonna see him again." Alex and I heard Penelope say as we walked back into the living room, later that night.
I tried to cover his ears but he quickly swatted my hands off, glaring at me for almost ruining his styled hair.
"See who?" Alex asked his mom, intrigued what she was discussing
"I tried" I mouthed to Penelope, after she gave me a distressed look
"You didn't wanna give me a heads up that he was here?" Penelope asked, upset that Alex had heard what she said
"Heads up, Alex is here." I said, with a apologetic smile
"Wait, why are you wearing Abuelita's lipstick?" Alex asked, pointing to his mom's face
"Why do you know that?" Penelope asked, covering her mouth
"It's Scarlet Sunrise. Duh. And why are you all dressed up?" Alex asked, still trying to put the puzzle pieces together
"Alright, everyone out, so I can talk to Alex." Penelope said, shooing everyone out
We all started to leave, until she stopped me by grabbing my hand and pulling me back over
"You stay. I need someone to hold him down if he tries to swing." She said
I sighed, before sitting on the couch, not really wanting to be apart of their sealed family conversation.
"What happened to your face?" Penelope asked, scanning Alex's bruised face
"What happened to your face?" He retorted
She glared at him, instantly making him regret what he had said.
"I'm sorry. I was hanging out with my friends. It's hard to turn it off." He apologized
"Finn pushed him into a bush and he got scratched." I lied, answering Penelope's earlier question for him
"Why do you like that kid again? Because he seems like a—" Penelope started
"Like a dick?" We both asked
"Yes, but that's not okay that you two said that. Anyway, I wanna be straight with you. Tonight, I had a date." Penelope said
Alex leaned back, so I held him down thinking he was about to get up and run
"What the heck are you doing?" He asked, trying to remove himself from my grip
"Your mom told me to hold you down so you don't run off. I thought you were about to." I shrugged
"I'm not going to run off." He said, smacking me off
"Can't say I didn't try." I said
Penelope laughed, before telling us the story of how she walked out the restaurant before her date even got there.
"You walked out?" We asked, interrupting her story
"I don't want those gossiping hens to hear. But, yes. No one has asked me what I wanted in a long time, and I realized what I wanted wasn't a date." Penelope finished, with a happy smile
"Then what did you want?" Alex asked
"A crappy chick flick by myself. And a fro yo with three too many toppings. The kind that I make you and Aria split." She said
"Aw, man!" I said, "Now I'm hungry."
"Anyway, I sent the guy a text apologizing, but I want Abuelita to think that I went out with him, so that next time I don't get the third degree." Penelope said
"Next time?" Alex asked, confused ar to what she meant
"Yeah, because I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a next time at some point. Are you okay with that?" She asked, genuinely afraid about how Alex may react
"Yeah, I mean, I figured you would. After all, women in their late 30s are in their sexual prime." Alex said
"How do you even know that?" I asked
"Stop talking to Elena." Penelope said, realizing she'd be the only person to know something like that
"Tell her to stop talking to me! Anyway, dating is super weird." Alex said
"I know! I know...Why do you know?" She asked
"My dumb friends have been trying to get me and this girl, Anna, together." Alex said
"Anna?" I asked, furrowing my brows, unaware to that situation
He nodded, as Penelope turned to look at me with a small smile
"Oh, I see." She said
"So, what happened tonight was Finn made a plan. Then, everybody bailed on purpose so Anna and I could be alone." He groaned
"I don't remember that." I said, trying to remember when it happened
"You were in the bathroom." He said, making me nod
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I whispered to myself
"Okay." Penelope said, encouraging him to continue his story
"I mean, I like Anna, but I don't really want a girlfriend. It was like everyone had something to say about it, but me." He said
"He likes Anna?" I whispered to myself, again, unaware of my best friend's feelings for a girl
"That's exactly how I felt. And you're right, dating is super weird, until it's not." Penelope smiled
"Anything else you wanna talk to me about?" She asked, happy that he was finally opening up with her
"Well, I kinda lied to you." He said
"Oh God, what is it? Did you steal something? Did you damage something? Did you pee on something cause you were mad and then later you were, like, "I shouldn't have done that?" She asked
"No! Who does that?" He said
"These are just general examples. What did you do?" She interrogated
"I didn't hurt my self because Finn pushed me. I tried to shave." He, embarrassingly, admitted
"Really? Oh, my God. It's all happening. So, you don't want a girlfriend, but you did wanna look nice." She asked, trying to evaluate the situation
"I guess. I used one of your razors and cut myself. I have no idea what I'm doing." He groaned
"I think I know someone who can help you out." She said
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Penelope had gone to the bathroom with Alex to teach him how to shave. So, I just waited in his room wondering I should go home or not.
After a while, Alex came back to his room so we could watch our tv show.
"So, Anna?" I asked as he turned on the TV
"It's not big deal." He smiled
"Of course it is. Why do you like her?" I asked, wanting to know more about my friend's interests
"She smart, funny, pretty. I've just never really seen all of that in a girl, you know?" He said, sitting next to me
What he said hit me in the gut, but I ignored it and answered his confession with a supportive smile.
"Yeah. You know what, I think I'm going to go home. I don't feel too good." I said, coming up with an excuse and rushing out of his room without saying goodbye.
I walked through the living room, on my way out, when Penelope stopped me.
"Where are you going? I thought you and Alex were going to watch Netflix." She asked
"I'm not in the mood." I said, reaching for the door knob
"I know what this is about. Come sit down." Penelope said, patting the spot next to her on the couch
I put my backpack on the ground, and sat next to her, waiting to be uncomfortable or relieved
"You're jealous." She said
"Jealous of what?" I asked
"Of Anna." She said smiling
"Why would I be jealous of her? According to Alex, she's pretty, smart, funny. Something he's never seen in another girl." I said, looking down at my feet and absently swinging them
"Aria, I know what's happening and I think you do too. You're just scared to admit it." She said, rubbing my shoulder in comfort
"You think you like Alex, don't you?" She asked, after I didn't answer
"I- I don't know. I just don't like the way he was talking about another girl." I said, confused to the way I was feeling
"You know, when we moved here I thought Alex was going to have a really hard time making friends. But the day we moved in, I remember this tiny little white girl waltzing into the apartment, helping Alex move boxes. I remember he ran up to me excited, telling me he'd just found his best friend. So, even if Alex doesn't realize yet how great you are, I do." She said, hugging me close to her
"Thanks." I said, smiling and hugging her back
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Sorry that it took a little to update. I've been really sleep deprived recently and just haven't found the motivation. But I felt motivated today, so I wrote this.