This Is No Fairytale

Chapter 18

            Allison drowned out the world around her with headphones. With music blasting and a paintbrush in her hand, she went to work. This was the last night her walls would be their ghostly white color. Instead, she had decided on a pale purple, with a darker shade of the color for the floorboards. Furiously and swiftly, she dipped her brush in the bucket of paint and practically pounded it on the wall. The music was pumping straight to her brain, making it impossible to hold any coherent thought.

            Well, not quite impossible.

            Alex ran through her mind as she covered that monotone white wall. Another stroke of her brush led to another image of him. They were all in short segments. Mainly, she remembered the look on his face tonight. He seemed so hopeful and heartfelt. And it was all because of her. It was strange to think someone could care for her so much. That was definitely an experience she was unfamiliar with.

 It was over an hour since he’d left, but she still couldn’t shake him. Why was that boy so memorable?! She turned up the music louder, hoping to kill the brain cells that were causing her to remember him so vividly.

The white was slowly disappearing. The pale purple, although still wet, was a vast improvement. It was a lot easier on her eyes. And she just thought it was a pretty color. Feminine. Gentle. Beautiful. Comforting. Everything she wished she was.

Everything Alex thought she was.

He’d told her as much. But even if he hadn’t said anything, she knew that he thought it. His eyes gave him away. She liked that about him. She could stare into Alex’s eyes and know exactly what he was feeling.

 Why did he have to be so honest? So easy to read? Allison didn’t ask for any of this. She didn’t want to be responsible for his intense feelings. She didn’t want to feel those same emotions. High school relationships were pointless. Eventually, drama happens.

“We’ve created drama by not being together!” Alex pointed out, disregarding her logic. And he had a valid point. Thus far, he had shot down each one of her excuses for why they should remain friends.

Allison moaned, trying to contain her frustration. “Alex… I’m not going to lie and say I don’t feel something for you. Because I do. I’m still attracted to you in a romantic sense. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to get back together with you right now.” Why couldn’t he just take no for an answer?! He was being so difficult!

There was another small pause. Alex appeared to be contemplating something. Maybe she finally got her message through his thick skull. “It’s okay if you don’t want to get back together with me tonight. I wasn’t expecting that. It doesn’t even have to be tomorrow. What I want to know is if at some point in the near future, whatever day that might be, you can see yourself with me?”

And his eyes were working their magic again. Letting her see just how genuine he was. She wanted nothing more than to poke those eyes out! “Things change all the time. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future.”

His eyes were persistent. Sighing, she continued. “However, I think that there is some potential for us to be… us.”

This time, it was his dorky grin that gave him away.

It took another half an hour to kick him out of her house so she could start painting. He had offered to help her, since that was the original plan, but he already screwed that up. So here she was. Still unable to stop thinking about that moron named Alex. It’s not like they were a couple or anything! In fact, she just hinted that it was hypothetically possible.

And why was she smiling so much?! Her mouth was starting to cramp because it wouldn’t keep shut. She made a mental note to punch Alex for making her this happy. It was extremely annoying and inconvenient.

In the meantime however… she allowed herself to giggle and blush. She was a girl after all. Allison continued painting, replaying the rest of their conversation in her head. The smile and blush never left her face that night.