It was October.
October.
Not April.
Not April 1st.
But who celebrates April Fools in October?
Alex Brightman.
"April fools? What?" I snapped, my eyes widening.
"Gotcha, Sarah! I got you good!" Alex laughed through the phone, his voice starting to muffle.
My hand slapped my forehead as I speechlessly listened to his laugh get louder. My blood boiled all through my body, forming sweat under my head on my forehead. I slowly sucked in a breath, collecting myself.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I finally yelled, unbeknownst of how loud my voice got. I could almost feel the smoke come out of my ears.
"Hey, it's not my fault your joke backfired," He snickered, sniffling a few times like he was laughing so hard, he cried. I couldn't make up a proper sentence because I was still speechless. I mean, I was happy as hell that he actually wasn't mad at me, but I was furious he did that to me. It wasn't cool at all, but I did start the whole thing.
"I'm so stupid," I mumbled to myself, plopping back down on the couch. I was so embarrassed and I knew my face was turning a dark red.
"No you're not, Sarah. It's just that I'm very a mischievous guy. No hard feelings, though, right?" He asked uncertainly. His voice suddenly dropped and immediately turned into worry as he heard my quick sniffles. "Hey hey, don't cry. I didn't mean to make you sad," He comforted me, probably wanting to reach out and hug me. I didn't realize tears were falling until I felt them on my cheeks again.
"I hate you. You really scared me," I whined softly, using my free hand to wipe all the tears away.
"I'm sorry, shortcake. I honestly didn't mean to make you this upset," He assured me, listening carefully. I laid my forehead on my palm and sighed softly. "You okay?" He asked, seriously. I started to nod slightly, but forgot he couldn't see me.
"I'm happy that you were joking, but I'm mad you got me like that. I thought I lost you or something," I answered honestly with a little shrug. I was very relieved that I didn't have to look at him right now or my cheeks would've been on fire.
He whispered an 'aww', apologizing once again. I stood up and ran back into the bathroom for more tissues. I definitely felt better that Katie wasn't around or she would of scolded me for crying. I couldn't help it though, they just came out.
"You won't be losing me anytime soon, Sarah," Alex told me with an assuring tone, nothing like his earlier one. "I'm honestly sorry."
"It's okay, Alex. It was a joke."
He was quiet for a second and I used that to blow my nose once more, before heading back into the living room. "Do you mind if I come over?" He stuttered his question. "If you're okay with me there. I just want to properly apologize and hug you." I laughed slightly with him.
"Yeah, I'll text you the address," I nodded, brushing my hand down my pants. I bit my lip, thinking of what else I wanted to say without him being able to see me. "Sorry for saying those things to you. I know it was a joke, but I didn't mean to offend you in any way."
"I know, Sarah. It's over, okay?" He asked. I whispered a 'yes', nodding to myself. "I also didn't mean what I said on the phone earlier. I didn't realize how rude I was until after I hung up. I was so close to apologizing, I almost forgot I was pranking you," He snorted, trying to fix the mood.
"Well, I'm glad it's over. And I learned a valuable lesson too."
"What is that? Never mess with Alex Brightman?"
"No, not that. I think you have a weak spot for me. Good to know," I teased, wiggling my eyebrows, even though he couldn't see me.
"Oh whatever." He scoffed. "Just text me your address."
I continued to laugh, knowing it was true. "You're adorable, Brightman."
"I'm not adorable, I'm very manly." He announced, deepening his voice. I laughed loudly at his impression.
"The fact you had to deepen your voice makes you even more adorable," I pointed out, earning a scoff from the other end of the phone. "You get an A for effect, though."
~It's Showtime~
As soon as I opened the door, Alex tackled me into a bear hug, stuffing me into his chest. He apologized multiple times, along with kisses to my cheek. I had to push him back and hold his shoulders to look him in the eye and repeat that it was fine.
"So, we're cool? You still love me?" Alex asked with a cocky smile.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, mister." I scolded him, crossing my arms. "And yes, we are cool." We were still in the mud room as Alex slipped off his shoes and hung his jacket up.
"You didn't answer my second question, though," He pushed, lifting an eyebrow at me. I looked up at the ceiling, tapping my cheek like I was in thought. I glanced back at him, blinking a few times.
"I'll let you answer that yourself." I teased, patting his shoulder as he came up to stand in front of me. I turned around before I could catch his reaction and headed into the apartment. I was actually happy Katie and her dad were out doing whatever. She texted me a little while back that they wouldn't be back for a while. She mentioned that she might not come back until tomorrow, even. So, I had the whole apartment to myself for a few hours.
"You sneaky girl," Alex chuckled to himself, still standing in the mud room. "Wait, where's Katie? You guys still live together, right?" He asked curiously. I stood in the hallway, turning back towards him to nod once.
"She's out with her dad and won't be back until like midnight or something," I shrugged. Alex only hummed in response, still standing in the mud room. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused on why he wasn't following me. I looked down the hall at the main space, then back at him, trying to catch onto what he was doing. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just waiting for you to invite me in," he answered with obvious humor in his voice. I opened my mouth to speak, but only a breathless laugh came out. I shook my head at him.
"Are you serious, Alex?" He only nodded. I huffed lowly, rubbing my eyes with my fingers frustratingly. "Okay fine." I threw my hands up. I walked back down the hallway, up to Alex in the mud room and smiled sweetly. "Do you want to come in to hang out, Alexander? We can watch a movie and eat or something?" I offered to him, tilting my head. He stared blankly at me, and before I could ask what he was doing, a big grin appeared on his face.
"I thought you'd never ask," he poked my side, making me flinch, before skipping past me down the hallway.
I closed my eyes, biting my lip to stop my laugh. "You are so weird," I teased him, running my hands over my face, so it came out as muffled.
"I won't agree nor deny," he yelled loud enough for me to hear. I opened my eyes again and walked into the main room of the apartment. I came up to stand next to Alex and watched him look around the place.
He stepped forward slowly to spin in a circle and take in the open space. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were all in the one huge room. So, most of the apartment could be seen as soon as you stepped out of the hallway entrance.
"Sorry, Katie and I aren't the cleanest people," I warned him as I walked into the kitchen, heading to the pantry.
I could hear Alex sliding around the hardwood floors as he explored. He laughed more to himself, enjoying whatever he was doing. The floors were always slippery, so I knew he was sliding around everywhere.
He eventually slid around until he was in the kitchen with me.
"I really like this place. It's cozy. Reminds me of you," He said as he slid past the island to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me from behind. I tensed up immediately, taken aback by his gesture. I laughed lightly as I looked over my shoulder to glance at him.
"Someone's acting weird," I pointed out with a lift of my eyebrow. He raised his hands up in defense, shrugging innocently.
"I don't know what you're talking about, missy," He snickered as I turned around to face him. My eyes widened when I was met with his face almost touching mine. I leaned in slightly to quickly peck his nose with my own, before going back into the pantry.
"Are you hungry at all?" I asked him as he moved around to sit on the bar stool behind the island. When I glance back at him to get a response, Alex nodded at me, laying his cheek on his palm. I smiled slightly at his cute action.
"We can order some takeout," He suggested when he heard me huff frustratingly at the lack of snacks. He stuffed his hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. I stood up and walked to the island, standing right across from him and shaking my head.
"Nope, I'm gonna to make you one of my famous grilled cheese sandwiches," I reached over to grab him phone and set it down on the table with a proud smirk.
"Yes ma'am," He answered with a cheeky smile on his face. I rummaged through the pantry and fridge to find the right ingredients. I worked on the island, giggling as Alex continued to comment on the ingredients I took out. He was very amused with the way I made them.
I grabbed butter and a knife, setting them on a plate then sliding it right in front of Alex. "If you have so much to say, then you butter them," I demanded him, as I went through the cabinets for the right pan. Alex muttered something under his breath, before starting to butter the bread I laid out for him.
After turning the knob to put the stove on low, I grabbed the pan I was going to us to cook the bread. I waited until Alex—taking his sweet time—finished buttering them up to his satisfaction. "Any day now," I commented boredly. He looked up from his slices to dart his eyes at me without saying anything.
"You can't rush art, Sarah," he whispered, disconnecting our eyes to finish whatever he was doing.
"It's bread Alex, hand them over," I rolled my eyes. I brought the pan closer to Alex so he could place them on the pan with the cheese, before I turned around and set it on the stove. I turned the knob to raise the heat so they could cook faster.
I wiped my hands together to clean them off, looking down that the bread sizzle. "There," I placed my hands on my hips.
"Sarah," Alex called my name.
"Hmm?" I hummed, giving the bread another look, but as I turned around, my face was once again met with a phone camera. This time, I tried to grab it, but Alex was too quick to pull it away.
"Oh my god, Alex," I groaned, throwing my head back and slamming my hands on the table. He laughed maniacally as he took one of my hands in his own and gently kissed the back of it. He had a small smile on his lips as he watched my expression with caution. On my hand, his lips were warm and soft. I never wanted the sensation to fade.
"Stop staring at me like that, weirdo," I lowered my gaze to the table, clenching my other hand into a fist and pressing it against my cheeks. I tried to cover the now pink spot because of his sweet gesture.
"You're cute when you blush, shortcake," Alex commented, his smile growing wider. I guess shortcake became my new name. I knew he wouldn't stop called me short, so I just embraced it. And when I thought about it, the name was kind of cute, so I was okay with it.
I happened to ask Alex about School of Rock, and that led to multiple backstage stories and complains of how exhausting it was. He said he loved the role, but it wasn't something he planned on doing for long. But Beetlejuice, he hoped to do for a much longer time.
As I continued to listen, I heard the intense sizzle of the sandwiches behind me. I stopped him in mid-sentence, quickly turning around to look in the pan.
"Damn it, the grilled cheese," I hissed, fumbling for a spatula. Alex ran over to my side to check what was going on.
"Do they need CPR?" He asked with fake concern in his voice. I smirked at him, shaking my head at his childish remark as I flipped the sandwiches over.
"They're fine." I laughed, poking him with the other side of the spatula. I leaned down to turn off the gas, then lifted the pan up off the stove. "Can you grab plates?" I asked Alex. He quickly nodded and went to the cupboard I directed him to, grabbing two plates and cups.
Alex took the spatula from my hand and slide each sandwich onto a plate. I quickly fixed us both something to drink and poured them into the cups he brought over.
As he took the plates, Alex led us into the living room and we set everything down on the ottoman. He suggested that we sit on the carpet, so we did just that, moving in closer to each other and leaning our backs against the couch.
When I got comfortable, I didn't hesitate to take a bite out of my sandwich. As I chewed, I turned to look at Alex, just in time to see him take a bite of his own.
"This has to be the best grilled cheese I've ever had," He moaned slowly, his eyes closing as a pleasurable smile appearing on his face.
"Thank you, thank you. Please, no pictures. Thank you," I joked, pretending to bow and wave off fans. Alex opened his eyes and gave me an amused look, laughing at my goofiness. We continued to eat our sandwiches, random topics of conversations sparking between us until we finished eating.
"Do you wanna watch a movie now?" I asked, looking down at our hands being only centimeters apart from each other. A smirk appeared on Alex's face, catching onto what I was looking at. But he ignored it and slightly nodded at my movie question.
"That sounds good to me," He answered. "Let's clean up so we can get comfy on the couch." He suggested, reaching for my hand as he stood up.
"Good idea," I responded as we both got up from the floor to put our plates away.
After that, Alex then went back to the couch and pulled me over to sit close next to him. I grabbed the remote and turned my head towards him.
"Any suggestions?"
"Not really. Anything you want to watch, I'll watch." He shrugged with a little chuckle.
I ended up going on Netflix and choosing some show called 'You'. The trailer looked really interesting and we ended up binge watching it.
Maybe three episodes went by and I started getting a bit cold. Alex definitely noticed because he began to rub my naked arms and snuggled me even closer under him.
"How about we get some blankets?" He spoke up after another minute.
"I like the way you think, Brightman."
"Same with you, Holland," He wiggled his eyebrows at me. I quickly stood up and walked into my room to retrieve a blanket from the closet.
I took me a minute to find it, though, because I would always stuff it away so Katie couldn't find it. She loved the blanket too because it was huge and guaranteed to keep someone warm. And that blanket was the perfect solution for Alex and I.
As I skipped back into the living room, I caught Alex with my phone in his hand. He had a confused look on his face and it only sunk in worry when he saw me. "I'm sorry, it just buzzed and—"
"No no, it's fine. I trust you," I laughed, walking over to him. "Who was it?" I asked, laying the blanket on the couch to start unraveling it. I looked to my side to glance at Alex as he read over the message.
"From Rory," He answered. I hummed, asking for him to read the text. "He said, 'just got home and about to crash. Call me tomorrow before you head to rehearsal. Love you Skittles'." Alex read slowly, taking the words in for himself.
I laughed to myself, already knowing Rory was out at a party with his friends. He only got home late if he was out partying. He hated being out past ten, I thought it was weird, but I respected it. And it also made me feel better, knowing he was safe.
"He's so irresponsible. He knows he has work tomorrow," I muttered to myself, shaking my head.
"Who is that? Rory?" Alex asked, handing my phone to me in exchanged for the open blanket.
"Oh, he's my best friend. I met him in college and we were 'roommates'—"
"How? They let you dorm with a boy?" He jumped in his question, curiously.
I shook my head. "No, Katie and I got an apartment next to his and we just called each other roommates," I explained as he nodded. "But he's in California, I miss him," I mumbled more to myself, settling on the couch next to Alex.
"Is he cool?"
"Yeah, he's awesome, Katie and I love him," I told him, leaning forward to grab the remote. "You need to meet him, I think you'd be good friends." I couldn't see him, so he hummed in response.
"Maybe," he mumbled so softly I could barely catch it. I quickly adjusted myself under the blanket with Alex, before glancing up at him.
"Now, it's showtime," I exclaimed, turning the show back on. Alex snickered above me, catching my joke.
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