11:11

“Zack doesn’t hate you, Lex!”

“He hasn’t spoken to me at all! I’ve been here for a day, and I’ve seen him quite a bit. He hates me.”

“No,” Alex says. “He doesn’t. I’ll talk to him, okay? But trust me, he does not hate you.”

“Well, I’m only thinking that he does because Jack and Rian have been nothing but nice and he’s been so distant. You know?”

“Hey, don’t think so much. You might just hurt yourself.”

I pout at his insult and he just laughs at me. I’m being completely serious, though. I think Zack is still mad at me or something, even though Alex has taken me back.

“I’m gonna go and talk to him myself,” I decide, standing up from the bed.

Alex shrugs and I walk across the room to the open door. “If I don’t come back, come look for me.”

I walk down the hallway to Zack’s door, which is the last one on the left. I knock twice before I hear him yell out ‘come in!’

“Hi, Zack…” I say when I open the door and step inside.

He’s lying on his bed and writing in a notebook, much like Alex was just doing in his room.

“Oh. Hello,” he mutters when he looks up at me. He keeps my gaze for a second before looking back down at his book.

I roll my eyes and decide I should just get this over with. “Do you hate me or something?”

“No, I don’t hate you. I’m just… you’re on thin ice with me, okay?”

“Wait, what?”

I sit down at in his computer chair. He looks pissed off.

“I’m just saying that I don’t really trust you anymore. Understandable, right? I mean you cheated on Alex. If he’s not going to be cautious around you, then I guess it’s my job.”

“So… you don’t hate me, you just don’t trust me…?”

“Exactly. If I were Alex, I wouldn’t have taken you back so quickly. But it’s not my job to tell him who to date and who not to.”

“Oh…” I trail off, not really knowing what to say. What could I possibly say to that?

“Listen, I don’t hate you. Do you understand what I’m talking about, though?”

“I guess… I mean, I did cheat on him…”

“I know. I’m sorry if I made you feel awkward around me.”

I just nod and stand up. I’m not sure if this conversation brought me any comfort at all…. It probably would have been better if he just said ‘yeah, I hate you actually’.

**

“Are you coming home soon?”

“Tomorrow, Luke. I told you that yesterday!”

“I know… It’s just that Ryder is being so annoying! I can’t deal with him by myself.”

I laugh at Luke’s inability to hang out with Ryder for longer than 2 hours. He’s never been able to do it since we met Ryder. I guess Ryder is a little bit annoying at times.

“I’m sorry. My flight is at 2 tomorrow. I should be in by like 4 or 5. Depends. You can pick me up at JFK though.”

“Okay, I’ll look up the details online… But anyway, how’s everything going down by you? How are things with his friends going?”

“Um, well Jack and Rian have no problem with me, but to Zack I am ‘on thin ice’. And that’s a direct quote.”

“Freak. He can just get over it.”

“No, I don’t care. As long as Alex doesn’t hate me, I’m good.”

“Shit,” Luke says, and I think he just dropped his phone or something, because now all I hear is muffled voices. “Are you still there?” he asks a minute later.

“Yeah, what happened?”

“Ryder was knocking! I told him I would be busy with my term paper until 3! It’s 2:30!”

“I finished my term papers yesterday,” I tell him.

Alex and I spent the whole day working on the three (three!) term papers I had to finish. I’m lucky enough to have a boyfriend who at least paid some attention in high school. He wasn’t completely useless to me.

“Good. Anyway, Roxii needs help with hers, so I’m going to go help her to avoid seeing Ry. I feel bad, but he’s just so damn annoying.”

“I understand. I’ll talk to you later, alright? I have to get all my stuff together and Alex is taking me out…”

“Oh, where to?”

“I have no clue. He said it’s a surprise.”

“Nice. Well, I’ll let you go…”

“Don’t sound so sad, Lukey.”

I hang up before he can say anything more and I put my phone down on my bed. Alex is picking me up in 20 minutes. I’m kind of nervous. It’s like our first date all over again, I feel like. But it’s just Alex, so I shouldn’t be so worked up.

“Where are my fucking shoes?!” I yell to myself, getting down on the floor to look under my bed. I seriously have been home for only like, 2 days. Where could my sandals have possibly gone?!

**

An hour and half after I find my shoes and Alex takes me to dinner, He’s guiding me somewhere, and my eyes are closed.

“Are your eyes closed?” he asks for maybe the sixth time in 5 minutes.

“Yes, Alex. They’re closed seeing as there’s a blindfold covering them!”

“I’m just making sure that you’re not peeking.”

I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me do it. I’m slightly concerned about where he’s taking me to.

Five minutes of walking takes us to a sidewalk. I don’t know how I know it’s sidewalk, I just do. Then I hear a door open.

“Are we getting back in your car?! We just left it 5 minutes ago!”

“Be quiet, darling.”

I can hear someone laugh quietly, but I don’t recognize who it is. Where the hell is this kid taking me?

Alex guides me into his car – actually, it may not even be his car. I don’t even know whose car this is. It could be some rapists car and –

“Just relax, Lex. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

His voice, as usual, calms me down. I actually end up falling into a light sleep on his shoulder for what has to be at least twenty minutes. When the car starts slowing down, I wake up.

“Where are we?” is my first question.

“I swear that if you ask me that once more, I will send you home.”

“Fine.”

A door opens and he takes me by the hand, carefully leading me out of the car. He makes sure that I don’t bump my head before my feet safely touch the ground.

“Alright,” Alex says, putting his hands on the stupid blindfold. “We’re here. I’m gonna take the blindfold off, but keep your eyes closed until I say so.” I don’t answer. I stand there, waiting. “Okay. Open them.”

When I open my eyes, Alex isn’t standing in front of me. My eyes move downward, where he’s kneeling, something that looks suspiciously like a ring in the palm of his hand.