This Is No Fairytale

Chapter 16

Alex drummed his fingers on his desk, impatient for this class to be over with already. The teacher seemed to be oblivious to the fact that every student was watching the clock tick and had their bags packed. Well… not quite everyone. Allison was still writing notes on the lecture. She was even asking questions. It was Friday afternoon for crying out loud!

Alex wanted to be done. He had a date. Not with Allison though. No, he only wished it was with her. But Allison had made it clear that if she forgave him and they were to start over, it would strictly be as friends. Nothing more. There was to be no benefits included. Just her company. Which he was fine with. For now, anyways.

His date was with Holly Levie. Most students referred to her as “heavy Levie.” She easily weighed more than Alex did, despite being a good 5 inches shorter. She was not his type at all, but nonetheless, he was taking her on a date. It had been Allison’s suggestion. After overhearing Holly crying in the bathroom, she practically demanded Alex to take her out. And like the indentured servant he was, he would do her bidding.

“Alright class, that’s it for today. Have a great weekend. And remember there’s a quiz Monday morning! It’s going to cover chapters 9 and 10.” The teacher yelled over the noise of everyone rushing through the door.

Alex found Allison at her locker. She was flipping through a book she’d just recently checked out at the library. She read more books in a week than he did in a month. He admired her for that. But he refrained from saying so. Just friends, he repeated to himself. There was no way he was going to try and make a move on her, or anything that could even be misrepresented as a move.

“What are your plans tonight?” He leaned against the lockers, staring down at her.

Allison shut her book and put it back in her locker. “My family’s going out to dinner to celebrate my parent’s 22nd wedding anniversary. But I’m not ready to celebrate that yet. It seems so fake to me. So instead, I’ll be spending my Friday night home alone, painting my room.” She sighed, starting to walk outside.

Alex kept up with her pace. “Need help painting? I’d be more than happy to come over. I could even pick up some food. This is strictly as friends, of course.”

“Don’t you have a date tonight?” She asked with a sly grin. Allison knew that he was just doing it to please her, but it was still nice of him. Holly was a sweet girl. Sure, she was a bit heavy, but that does not give others permission to tease her so mercilessly.

He ignored the fact that she got some sort of sick pleasure at his discomfort. “I’ll come by after the date. It’s not going to be very long. I told her I’d have her back home at 8:30.” It was true. Holly had insisted that her curfew wasn’t until midnight, but Alex was determined to not waste his entire Friday night. And so he came up with a persuasive story about having family obligations. Not that Allison needed to know about his little white lie.

“That’s a little early to end a date, isn’t it?” She questioned. Honestly, Allison would have a great career as a detective if she so desired. Her senses were impeccable.

Alex groaned, getting frustrated. “My date tonight is none of your business woman! What I will tell you is that I’m coming over right after I drop her off. With food. And a paintbrush.” Ugh! She was so difficult at times! He noted her smirk and rolled his eyes. Is this how she felt every time he smirked? No wonder she hit him all the time. It was infuriating.

“See you tonight Alex.” She walked away, not even bothering to cause a fight. He was sure she’d at least call him overbearing and give him a small lecture on how he had no authority to boss her around. But she smiled and walked off. And just like that, he remembered why he fell for her in the first place.

She always surprised him.

Why couldn’t he just turn off his emotions? They were so inconvenient. It was his fault though. He’d kissed her on that fateful day, oh so long ago. That was back when kissing meant nothing to him. And now… he’d do anything for one more kiss from Allison. It now held so much significance.

 He had tried to explain this to Carly when he told her he could no longer be one of her “friends”. She called him an idiot and found another guy to replace him that same day. He wasn’t heartbroken in the least. And for that, he felt guilt. He had used her. Sure, she was fully aware of it and didn’t mind, but still… it spoke volumes about his character.

But wasn’t he using Holly Levie tonight? Not in the same sense. There certainly wasn’t going to be any physical intimacy between them. But he was only taking her out to get on Allison’s good side. What if Holly had the wrong impression? She seemed genuinely excited to be asked on a date.

Alex had a phone call he needed to make.