Sometimes Resisting Is Easier Than Giving In

I was in the kitchen thinking about how lucky I was. My mom hadn’t noticed the extra lump in my covers this morning that was Alex. He had buried himself underneath the covers while we slept and some how I wound up being his pillow. She just woke me up and then went downstairs. I was glad she hadn’t noticed because I would have gotten in so much trouble if she had.
I was munching on my breakfast and she was getting hers together while making a pot of coffee. I sighed and thought Of Alex still asleep in my room upstairs. He was the factor that made me want to stay home the most. Of course there was the issue with Darren, but Alex was leaving in a week to go to New York to finish up the new record and we were going to be apart again. I just got him back and I wasn’t ready to give him up again. There was no doubt that I was going to be spending every second of my time with him; school related or not he was going to be with me as much as possible.
“Want some coffee?” My mom asked.
“Yea, sure. I need some.” I said.
She got a mug from the cabinet and made me a cup of coffee the way I like it. She placed it in front of me.
“I bet you do. Next time tell Alex to just come through the front door. I don’t want him running the windows or the floor for that matter.” She took a sip of her coffee and watched my expression.
I was shocked to find that she knew he was there. I was even more shocked to find that she was okay with it. I thought she would have gotten mad at me and went off the deep end. Instead she was reasonable and even offering to have him stay over and come though the front door. In fact it was a preference of hers.
“Is that going to be okay?” She asked me.
“Yea.” I responded meekly.
“You didn’t think I knew, huh?”
“Yea.”
“I figured he’d be over here. Then I heard you guys talking. I also checked on you guys last night. He was all curled around you. Then this morning he was using you as the pillow.”
“That happens.” I said.
“Okay, well he can stay here. You guys are adults and I know that I can trust him. He’s a good boy.”
I nodded. She left me alone in the kitchen while I finished breakfast. Then I ran up to my room. Alex was awake when I got back.
“Hi.” He said quietly.
His arms were behind his head and he was leaning against the headboard. The covers rested on his stomach. My bed had never looked more inviting to me. I happily crawled into it and put my head on Alex’s chest.
“From now on Mom says you can just come though the front door.” I told him.
He laughed an embarrassed laugh.
“So she knows I’m here then?”
“Yea, I thought she didn’t notice you.”
“Oh.”
“However she says you’re a good boy and that she can trust you.”
“Well that’s good. Though I don’t know if her judgment is very sound.” He said wrapping his arms around me and rolling to pin me underneath him.
“Mmm and why not?” I asked.
Instead of saying anything he just pushed his lips to mine and started to take my pajama bottoms off. I allowed this to go on since they would have to come off anyways. When he was getting carried away with it and thinking that he was going to get somewhere I had to stop him. I felt terrible for doing it though. I wanted him just as bad, but I had school and my mom was home.
“Sorry.” I said letting him see in my eyes that I wanted him too.
“I understand. I just wish that sometimes you would stop a little earlier before I have to take a trip to the bathroom.” He sighed.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, but you’re going to get it later.” He warned getting up and going quickly across the hall to my bathroom.
I got out of bed and started to get dressed and ready for the day of school that I really didn’t want to go though. Even though I had a new schedule and all that I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen today.
Alex came back into my room in record time. He started pulling on his clothes that he came in wearing last night.
“You can stay and sleep longer if you want.” I said gesturing to my bed.
“No, I feel like I should go.”
“Alright.” I said starting to make my bed.
Then I went into the bathroom to do my hair and make up. When I was ready Alex met me in the hall. I headed out of the house with him behind me. I said good bye to my mom and then got into my car. Alex got in on the other side.
“Do you want me to take you all the way home? I have time.”
“Nah, just at the beginning of the neighborhood. I don’t want you to have to go out of your way for me.” He said.
“It’s no problem.”
“I don’t want you to be late.”
“Being late would be a good thing.” I said.
“Why?”
“Less chance of running into Darren.”
Alex tensed when I said his name and glared at his hands. That was not something to say to him. I bit my lip and focused on driving. I did as Alex said and dropped him off at the beginning of the neighborhood. He insisted when I offered to drive the rest of the way. He said he needed a walk to calm down. I gave him a kiss good bye and told him I would see him at lunch and then continued on to school.
There was no Darren anywhere near my new schedule. I had all the same teachers that I had before, they were just different periods now. That was nice for me. Class went by quickly since I didn’t have to try to catch up with anything.
When lunch rolled around I went and sat in my car and waited for Alex. I got hungry while I waited so I started eating. There was a tap on the other side of my car. I looked up and saw Alex and Rian waving. I unlocked my doors and let them in.
“Let’s go sit outside somewhere.” Rian said after a while. “It’s nice outside.”
“Yea.” Alex agreed.
We got out of my car and walked back towards campus. I led them to a nearby tree and sat under it. Alex sat close to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Rian sat across from me. The both of them were looking in all directions the whole time. I had an idea of who they were looking for and it was annoying me.
“You guys, he’s not anywhere around. I haven’t seen him all day.”
“That doesn’t make what he did to you right.” Rian said gruffly.
There was something about his tone that made me uneasy. Like there was a threat there. I tried to ignore it until Alex spoke up and had the same tone but more intense.
“If he’s smart he wont come near you.”
“Alexander.” I warned looking at his face.
He didn’t respond. There was something that he was watching. His face slowly turned the slightest bit angry. Rian shifted to sit next to me. I knew something was up. I looked in the direction that Alex was glaring. There was Darren walking up to us. He looked like he was trying hard at being nonchalant. I bit my lip at the tears that threatened to spill over my lip. It didn’t help because the pain just made me want to cry more.
In one swift movement Alex’s arm was replaced by Rian’s and Alex was getting up. Darren said something that I didn’t hear. Alex took a step forward. Kids from all around the campus were coming closer sensing tension between the two. Rian pulled me tighter. I watched as Alex’s hands tightened to fists, the tendons were sticking out and his knuckles were white. I started crying because I knew what was going to happen.
There were words being exchanged between the two of them.
“If I ever come home again and my girlfriend is crying the way she was last night because of you…”
I didn’t listen to the rest. I curled against Rian and hid my face. His other arm came around my side and then I heard the sound I was waiting for, the sound of a fist hitting another body. There was no other sound for a long time. I was scared to look up and see who was knocked out.
Rian didn’t feel worried to me so that put me at ease. Then I felt another pair of hands on my back. Rian let me go and I was being hugged by Alex.
“I’m sorry that upset you.” He whispered in my ear. “I just had to prove a point.”
“Get out of here before they call the police.” I said to him.
“Are you going to be okay?” He asked with concern in his eyes.
“Yea, I’ll go to the other side of campus. My next class is over there.”
“Okay.” He said.
“I love you Alex.”
“I love you too Emmeline.” He kissed me forcefully and then he and Rian were going for the parking lot.
I didn’t look where I knew Darren was lying. I just gathered my things and walked away from the kids who were gathered there. I was far away when I looked over my shoulder to see what was going on. The kids had dispersed and there was no one lying on the ground. I guess that meant that Darren wasn’t hurt too bad. At least Alex got his message across.
The entire time I was in my last class of the day I was paranoid that someone would come looking for me and for Alex. I didn’t want him to get in trouble. No one came though. When the bell rang I was gone. I walked as quickly as I could without jogging to get to my car. Then I drove straight to Alex’s.
He was outside washing his truck when I got there. Sebastian was lounging on the grass and barely moved when I got out of the car. He was sunbathing and when he did that nothing else mattered to him.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked dropping the hose and coming to hug me.
“Fine. How about you?”
“My knuckles are a little torn up, it’s nothing big.” He said showing me.
“Where did you hit him?”
“The jaw. I think I caught his teeth a little bit.” Alex mumbled picking at a bit of loose skin.
That caused blood to bubble out of the loosely scabbed over scrapes. He let me go and picked up the hose again. I watched as he let the water run over his hand for a moment. I wanted to do something more but he was washing his car so I would have to wait.
“If you have homework then just go on and get started. I’ll be in in just a second.”
“Alright. Make sure you get your wheels. They’re filthy.” I said as I headed for the house.
I stopped for a moment to pet Sebastian who was happily relaxing in the grass. He got up and followed me into the house.
“Are you going to help me with homework little man?” I asked him.
He just looked at me and continued walking.
Rian was in the kitchen. I waved to him and he smiled back.
“Sorry about the whole scene today.” Rian apologized.
“No problem. I’m fine.”
“As long as you are okay. How’s the bastard?”
“I don’t know.”
“Right, I guess you wouldn’t since you avoid him now.”
I nodded. “I’m off to do homework.”
“Have a good time.” Rian laughed.
“Yea, like I can have a good time with homework.”
“You never know.”
Sebastian and I spread out on Alex’s bed and started work on my homework. He wasn’t much of help because he would walk over my papers and sit on my books so that I would give him attention.
I finished with my homework before Alex was done with his car. I didn’t have much today. So I put everything neatly into my bag and placed it in the corner of the room. Then I laid back on the pillows with Sebastian and waited for Alex.
He came in fifteen minutes later.
“Sorry if I kept you waiting, I decided to clean the inside too.”
“No problem.” I scooted over as he climbed onto the bed.
I didn’t need to scoot over because he continued to move over until he was lying on top of me.
“What’s this?” I asked him.
“I told you that you were going to get it later.”
“Mmhm.” I agreed waiting.
“Well, now you’re going to get it.” He smiled.
Then his lips were against mine and we were tugging at clothes.
“I love you.” I said in Alex’s ear quiet enough to drive him crazy.

Finally things felt as they should. Alex was mine and there was no one else that I was worried about. Darren wasn’t going to bother me anymore.
Courtney was happy with Zack. She got into a college near where Zack lived and was going next year.
Rian and Kara were as happy as ever.
Jack was enjoying being single. He said it was more fun that way because he could flirt with all the ladies and not get in trouble.
It was like everything had fallen into place. Sure I was a bit of a mess when the guys left, but I had Courtney to be a mess with. The only problem was that she was going to leave in a year for college in California. I understood how she felt about Zack, but I was a little sad that we were going to be separated. We’d see each other a lot though. There was going to be times when we were dragged on tour and we’d be together then. There were breaks and summer that we could hang out. It wouldn’t be hard to convince Alex to go to California for a few weeks in the summer. The sun would call him and he’d be there. Summer was his season.
Where ever he went I was going to follow so long as I could. When I couldn’t I’d be home in Maryland waiting as patiently as I could for him to come back. Everything was good.