Hardly Worth Your Time

Alex stared down at the phone being rolled from one his palms to the other. He breathed a sigh and looked up at the window before looking back down at the device in his hands. He grasped it with one hand, rubbing the other clammy hand on his jeans before punching in the familiar phone number. He pressed the phone to his ear and closed his eyes waiting with bated breath.

“Hey what’s up?” her voice asked casually over the line.

Alex opened his eyes and kneaded his lips together before answering, “Not a lot, what are you up to?”

He could almost hear her shrug before answering, “Nothing really. I have to clean my room but I don’t want to,” she laughed.

Alex chuckled. “Want some help?” he asked.

“If you want to, sure,” she answered. He could hear a small smile in her voice.

“Kay, be over in a couple minutes,” he replied, standing up and slipping on some flip-flops.

“Mmkay, see you,” she said hanging up.

Alex dropped his hand, ruffled his hair a bit and walked downstairs.

A couple minutes later he opened the door to the familiar home and jogged up the stairs. He knocked and opened the door to see his best friend lying on her bed staring at the ceiling.

“I see someone’s being productive,” he said lying down next to her.

She groaned before turning over on her back and burying her head into her pillow. “Idonwanna,” she mumbled.

Alex laughed and rubbed her back absentmindedly. “I’ll buy you ice cream if you get up now and do it,” he offered.

He saw a smile creep its way onto her face before the sighed deeply and said, “Ugh fine, I hate you.”

Alex laughed and replied, “No you don’t. C’mon,” he said offering his hands for her to take.

She sighed and took them, lifting herself from the bed. A comfortable silence filled the room as she picked up the random papers and books and other oddball things on the floor while he stripped the bed of the sheets.

“Need to do laundry?” Alex asked looking over at Emily.

She shook her head and answered, “It should be almost done by now. You can go get it, if you want.”

He nodded and walked out of the room, carrying the dirty sheets in his arms.

Emily straightened her desk and then walked over to the closet, pulling out fresh sheets. She began making up her bed as he walked back in with a basket of fresh, unfolded laundry. She smoothed out the last crease as he placed the basket on the bed and began taking out various clothes and folding them.

Emily walked out of the room and came back a couple minutes later with the clothes on hangers and placed hung them in her closet.

“Ooolala, try this on,” Alex said mischievously.

Emily turned around and placed her hands on her hips shaking her head at the smirk playing on his lips as he held up a pair of black lacy underwear. “No,” she said snatching the underwear from his hands and taking over the folding.

She could see Alex pout out of the corner of her eyes and laughed. “You are such a horny bastard sometimes.”

Alex’s smirk only widened and he answered, “Don’t leave your underwear out for boys to come across if you aren’t going to model it. It’s not nice to tease.”

Emily shoved him lightly before replying, “Next time I just won’t let you even touch the laundry.”

Alex pouted again but silently helped her finish folding laundry and putting it away. Once finished they sat on the floor, leaning against the bed.

“That wasn’t hard, usually your room looks like a tornado hit,” Alex noted, taking her hand next to him and playing with her fingers absentmindedly.

“You’re one to talk,” she replied shifting slightly. “Ow,” she mumbled turning around and noticing a box’s edge pointing out from under the bed.

“Did it poke you?” Alex asked, a grin creeping on his face.

“That’s what she said!” the both yelled before Emily grabbed the box curiously and placed it in her lap.

“What’s in there?” Alex asked as she lifted the lid.

She shrugged and placed the lid on the floor beside her before letting out a soft, “Oh!” She picked up an old Polaroid picture, rubbing her thumb across it to wipe the dust off.

“I remember that!” Alex exclaimed taking the photograph from her hands and looking down at it. He laughed and held it up to her and said, “Remember?”

Emily chuckled at his response before looking closely and laughing herself. “You chased me up a tree, you asshole.”

Alex laughed and replied, “I didn’t make you climb up the tree; you did that on your own. I just wanted a hug.”

“You had mud and shit all over you!” Emily replied looking at him like he was crazy. “I still don’t even know what possessed you to slide into a mud puddle.”

“All the cool kids were doing it,” he replied in a ‘duh’ tone.

Emily laughed and shook her head. “Your mom was so angry when you came home with your uniform ruined.”

“Oh god,” he laughed, “She yelled at me for like ten minutes straight because of that and you just stood there laughing into my back.”

Emily smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. “That was the best entertainment when we were ten,” she replied.

“What? Me getting yelled at?” Alex asked.

Emily nodded her head and chuckled.

“Hey!” Alex asked offended. “That’s mean,” he said with a pout.

Emily just continued to laugh.

“Stop!” Alex laughed as his fingers trailed up to her sides.

“Don’t you dare!” Emily warned snapping her head and looking at him as his fingers grazed over her skin under her shirt.

Alex smirked before moving them around lightly.

“Alex, st-stop!” Emily yelled, laughing uncontrollably.

“Mmm, nope,” he said laughing as she squirmed.

“Al-alex,” she choked. “Please?”

“Oh alright, I guess,” he feigned annoyance before stopping and draping his arm over her shoulder.

She poked him in the side before laying her head on his shoulder again and picking up another picture from the pile in the shoebox.

“Aw,” Emily whispered as she picked up a picture of them when they were eight. It wasn’t too long after they had become pretty good friends. They were sitting together along the pond’s edge, her head lying on his shoulder and his resting on top of hers. “We were cute together,” she noted smiling softly up at him.

“We still are,” Alex responded looking down at her.

Emily chuckled, shook her head, and placed the photo down next to her before picking up another picture.

They spent an hour sifting through photos from the time they became friends up until a couple years ago.

“Oh my god!” Emily exclaimed and burst into uncontrollable giggles. “I forgot about that hair!”

Alex groaned and tried to take the picture from her. “Em!” he whined. “Burn this photo!”

“No, fu-fucking, wa-way,” she laughed. “I’m selling this shit on Ebay when you get famous.”

“Not cool, gimme!” he pleaded as she tucked it under herself and curled into a ball. “Em!”

She continued to laugh and squirm as he tried to grab the photo from her clutches. “No way Farrah Fawcett!”

“Hey you liked me then, don’t forget that!” he yelled as he started to tickle her.

“Oh my god no I didn’t!” she squealed as his fingers grazed her skin again. “I hate you!”

“No you don’t! You love me! And you did too like me then. You thought my hair was sexy!”

Emily was laughing to the point of tears and replied between chokes of breath, “I told you to get your hair cut all the time!”

Alex was laughing pretty hard at this point and leaning on her as he stopped tickling. “You should have cut it yourself. I looked terrible.”

“I think I recall Jack offering to do it for you,” Emily said after a couple minutes of them trying to catch their breath. “Not that he was any better with the blue in his hair.”

Alex let out another chuckle at the image asking, “What even possessed you to hang out with us then?”

Emily laughed, “Good question, you two were freaks.”

Alex shoved her lightly with a smile playing on his lips. “C’mon let’s watch a movie,” he said standing up and offering his hands out to her.”

“Okay,” she said beginning to put the box down before pausing and picking up another picture and saying, “Hey hold on.”

“What’s up?” he asked sitting back down next to her and looking at the photograph in her hands. It was a little less than two years ago. He was carrying her in his arms as she squeezed on his neck, tears streaming down her face and a pained expression evident along her features.

“Was this when I sprained my ankle?” Emily asked looking at him. “When we were going to see Blink?”

Alex furrowed his eyebrows and slowly nodded his head. “Yeah.”

Emily looked back down at the photograph. “You gave up the show to go to take me to the hospital,” she mumbled.

Alex merely nodded and looked down at her expression. She was looking at the picture in deep thought.

“I still can’t believe you gave up that concert for me. It was the last one they had here,” she muttered to herself thinking he didn’t hear her.

“I’d do anything for you, Em,” he breathed kissing her hair.

She looked up at him in disbelief. “But why?” she asked bluntly.

Alex smiled softly at her before replying, “Because not only are you my best friend, you’re the only girl that would do the same for me in a heartbeat. You’re the only girl I would even consider giving up floor tickets to a sold out Blink concert for.”

Emily searched his eyes for some lie but found nothing but genuine. She looked back down at the photo before placing it carefully back in the box.

“Movie time?” Alex asked watching her movements.

She nodded and they stood up. He motioned for her to sit on the bed while he stuck in a movie.

He grabbed the remote and took his place next to her. He pressed the play button as she curled into him. The title “Sweet Home Alabama” took over the screen and Emily smiled lightly. “I love this movie,” she said quietly.

“I know,” Alex said with a grin before draping his arm over her shoulder.

As the movie played on, Emily began to notice a pattern in Melanie and Jake’s relationship. “We’re a lot like them,” she noted.

Alex stayed silent for a minute and thought about before nodding his head and replying, “Yeah we are. Hope we end up like them too,” he muttered.

He felt Emily shift slightly beside him before sitting up and facing him. “Why do you want to be married to me for anyhow?”

Alex smirked and replied, “So I can kiss you anytime I want.”

Emily laughed as he leaned his face in. “No,” she said pushing his face away.

Silence pressed over the two as the movie continued to play. Alex was staring at Emily, waiting for her to say something as she looked down at her hands. She rubbed her forearm and he said softly, “Stop,” and moved her hand away.

“What?” she asked looking up at him.

“You rub your forearm when you’re nervous. What’s up?” he replied brushing a fallen strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“Would you conquer the world for me?” she asked quietly. She realized what she asked and blushed, looking down again.

Alex smiled and lifted her face so she was looking up at him. “It’s why I never signed the divorce papers.”

Emily chuckled and they stared at each other a moment longer before Emily sat back against the headboard and laid her head on his shoulder thinking.

Nothing more was said for the last 45 minutes of the movie. They sat in a comfortable silence with only the dialogue of the characters ringing in their ears.

When the movie finished, Emily sat up and stretched while Alex took a deep breath and asked shyly, “Will you go on another date with me?”