Serenading Sirens

Alex was mine. Mine in the sense that I could hold his hand whenever I pleased and blush whenever he was around without having to hide it. We had barely pulled apart from our emotion-filled kiss when I realized this. This night was all a surprise for this. Alex obviously had to have been the one to cancel the other plans and demand that we play this game. He made sure no one else knew why we needed to be here.

I took a deep breath to regain the oxygen I had lost and looked up into his eyes. The smile on his lips had reached his eyes without trouble. The time I got to observe this was short lived. As soon as our eyes connected, Alex pressed our lips together again. It wasn't near as long as the first, just an action of his excitement.

Once he pulled away again, a giggle escaped my lips. I was giddy; there was just no other word for it. Since I had admitted to myself that Alex was what I wanted, there was nothing more that I wanted to happen than the events of tonight. His lips on mine had made me absolutely ecstatic. This time, it was me that jumped to connect us again.

Finally, when we had both gotten over our initial elation, we pulled away a final time. Alex's wide smile had faded ever so slightly to a grin as he asked, "So I wasn't off base at all here?"

I was still happy, so I let out a loud guffaw on accident. "Not at all," I answered. This being my first kiss, it had no competition. But it would by far be the best. I wanted to tell him this, but thought better of it.

"Looks like everyone else left us alone," he said, breaking eye contact for the first time.

Turning to follow his gaze, I saw that the van was gone. The car that the girls had come in was all that was left. "And we're supposed to get home how?" I questioned, trailing off as if I were appalled.

"They didn't leave us stranded," Alex chuckled. He took my hand, automatically lacing our fingers and making my heart race again. "That's my car," he enlightened me as he took a set of keys from his pocket and waved them in front of us.

I cuddled into his side more at this information. "What a sly boy you are," I mumbled.

"I think our friends are much more sly," he corrected as we reached the car. He opened the door for me and let me slide in before continuing. "Them leaving wasn't part of the plan. But I like the touch." He closed my door gently before getting into the car himself. "So where do you wanna go?" he asked after the engine was rumbling.

I looked over to him, quickly taking his hand in my own. I thought about where I wanted to go with him as I examined our fingers. "Anywhere," I answered, a smile creeping along my lips.

"Anywhere it is."

And that's exactly where we went. All of Lutherville and Towson was seen through my eyes each day of my life. Tonight it just seemed different. It could have been because streetlights illuminated everything instead of the sun. Or it could have been the great mood that I had been thrown into. Whatever it was, I was sure any place we went would look amazing.

I was heavily aware of my hand still warm in Alex's. He seemed to be also, because he was the one reminding me by squeezing it lightly every so often. The beat of my heart fluttered each time, skipping too much to be healthy. If this were how I would die though, it'd be the best way.

Who would have thought that I would be here? In Alex Gaskarth's shiny Audi after sharing an amazing kiss with him. It was a good thing that we weren't talking because I would have choked over the word girlfriend. I wanted to ask if this is what I had moved to. But it was plainly obvious that I was. He waited this long to get here. I had a feeling that I was going to be there for something long-term.

"We should stop," Alex said after uncountable hours.

Jumping at the sudden break in silence, I turned my gaze to him. I was back to jumping to conclusions, thinking he meant whatever was barely started between us. Until I saw what he was fixed on. "Out of gas?" I tried to hide how relieved I was.

He nodded, "Almost. There's a place up here."

I knew exactly where we were. My stomach was in my feet at that instant. Despite the late hour, I knew this place was going to be littered with kids from school. We would now be in the public eye outside of our best friends. I wasn't sure I was ready to be seen in a relationship, and especially with whom it was.

The bright lights above the gas pumps lit the inside of the car. It made me realize that I was still holding Alex's hand. I quickly let go and tested the flexibility of my own hand as I stared around at everyone. They knew who it was in this car, and they seemed surprised that I was the only passenger on a Friday night.

"Are you all right?" Alex inquired. I hadn't even noticed he hadn't gotten out. "You seem... bewildered. You're not... regretting any of this are you?" He was very hesitant to get these words out.

I felt the expression I wore soften into something to reassure him. "Of course not. I'm thrilled beyond reasoning. Just tired," I told him, tacking on a small lie before comprehending that it was true. It had been forever since I'd slept.

Alex smiled, glad that I still wanted him. "We'll go home after this. Promise." He then leaned across the center console, catching the corner of my lips. I turned without having to think about it, needing our lips connected. It felt like forever since the woods.

When he broke from me and exited the car, I felt as if everyone was watching. My eyes flicked up every few seconds to find I was right for the most part. Mouths were agape and eyes moved only between Alex and I. Alex just had to choose this gas station. Something told me it wasn't coincidence.

What seemed like an hour later, we were off again.

"Do you want to stay at your house?"

I shrugged. Hadley was probably back there, waiting anxiously on my bed for details. But then again, she was already in the friend circle with the others and could have easily been staying with any -if not all- of them. "Where else is there?" I questioned slightly.

It was his turn to shrug. "Well, my parents aren't home..." He seemed to want to say more. But he had stopped abruptly and turned to look at me as though to tell me he wasn't being suggestive.

I didn't even take time to think about what could happen before I replied. "Let's go," I demanded happily. It seemed a bit late to step foot inside my house without getting questioned by my parents anyway.

Alex now nodded, pushing the car just a little faster.

We were barely a few minutes into the drive when I realized we were in the nicest part of town there was. After pulling into a long driveway, Alex shut the car off. I looked up at the house accompanied by the driveway. And Matt thought my house was big. Had he never been to Alex's then?

"Christ, you never mentioned you lived in a damn mansion," I said sarcastically as we both got out.

Alex let out one loud chuckle. "It's not all that big," he tried to tell me.

As if I couldn't see it. I rolled my eyes, hiding it before he took my hand. "You might as well tell me we're going to tour the Gaskarth Palace," I joked.

He gave me his best stern expression. "No tour tonight. It's straight to bed for you, missy," he waggled his finger at me for effect.

I giggled and grabbed his finger, forcing that hand back down to rest at his side. "Good. Sleep was just what I wanted."

Those words left a silence for us as we continued into the large house. He kept to his word about going straight to bed. We passed through the kitchen from the side door, taking the stairs just outside the threshold of the room. I tried hard to conquer the darkness to see all the pictures lining the walls. Alex seemed to notice though and began to pull me faster to prevent me seeing anything.

The door to his bedroom was wide open. So he led me in first before joining me and shutting the door behind him. My heart leapt as he flicked the light on. Maybe I should have thought this through. Amidst the normal teenage boy clutter of the room was his bed, appearing more menacing than one ever had. My breathing was short before too long.

A hand touched the small of my back lightly. I jumped into the air, turning to meet Alex. My cheeks burned with a blush at realizing it was just him. Also at what might be about to happen.

"Let me get you something to wear," he said, and crossed to the dresser. Only about sixty seconds passed while he did this. To me, it felt so much longer as my eyes wandered. He returned to my side, holding some band t-shirt and what were clearly his gym shorts. "Bathroom's there," he pointed to a door right behind me.

As quickly as I could without looking ridiculous, I made my way through the door. Because of my newfound nerves, I was slow to change. Once Alex's clothes were on, I kicked my own into a pile by the shower. I pushed myself up onto the counter, crossing my legs and spinning to face the mirror. I let out a long, exasperated sigh while I stared at my reflected dark blue eyes.

From there, I began to do what seemed to be the usual routine examine of myself. I found myself doing this too often now. My hair was back to its original color, the black grown and washed out. I noticed that I was slightly tan, which was probably from all the time I was forced to spend in the sun now. There was also a slight sparkle in my eyes, giving the look that I was constantly thrilled. I was completely changed. Except for the lips that always appeared to not quite match to me. Touching them lightly, they formed a smile. Whatever I was afraid of left my mind completely.

This time, I exited the bathroom fast. Alex was lying on the bed, the blankets kicked to the bottom. He was sitting in the shirt he'd been in all day and his boxers. Ten minutes ago, this would have had my stomach in several different knots. Now I just made my way over to him and lay down on the opposite side. He silently bent to pull the blankets up over us.

We were silent for a while. My head was against the pillow while Alex was sitting up against the wall. There were only a few seconds of decision for me to move to lie on his chest. Shocked at first, he wrapped his arms around me. So unlike me, but such a comfortable place to be.

"Hadley's going to freak about me not calling," I laughed.

"I think Jack probably kept her busy enough to forget about us," he said.

I nodded. "You're right."

We were quiet again. Without realizing it, I was slowly drifting off. I rolled away from Alex, too hot because of my sleepy state. But sleep was the last thing I wanted. Talking with Alex was my first priority. I wasn't even sure if he was awake.

I forced myself to wake up, and turned back over. Alex was watching me.

"What's up?" he asked nonchalantly, trying to act like he had just happened to glance over.

I stifled a giggle before saying, "It's one of those nights where I'm super hot and I want to sleep without pants on. But I can't because I'm with you and that would be skanky," I ranted with the first thing that came to my mind. A long yawn escaped at the end of my statement. I was thankful for it to cover up my idiocy.

I could hear the smirk in his voice before he even spoke. "I won't tell anyone. Strip away."

I chuckled softly, shoving him away by what I thought was still his shirt-clad chest. He'd been sneaky and it was now bare. I shuddered at the thought.

"You can't persuade me that easily. Goodnight, Alex." Cuddling into the pillow, I was drifting off again instantly.

"'Night, Clarke," Alex whispered before I was out.