Alex All Over

The house wasn't as big as I thought I would be. Actually, it was a little run-down. The paint was chipped, the small amount of grass in the front yard wasn't cut, and their mailbox was dangling from the piece of wood holding it up.

It was pretty.

I gave a bright smile into the hot California sun. It might not have been what I expected, but I knew my Teddy Bear was inside that house, and I knew he'd be more than happy to see me. I gave a soft squeal to myself, dropping my bags on the sidewalk to clap my hands. I didn't think twice about anything. I just started walking quickly towards the front door, though I had to admit, I was afraid to step on the stairs.

I stopped dead in my tracks the moment I heard a groan behind me. I turned on my heel, my eyes trying like Hell to pop out of my head. A short, kind of chubby guy had both of my suitcases in his hand. His hair was hidden by a black hat, and the moment he saw that I had noticed him, he dropped the heavier bag and took off running with the heavy one.

I was new around here. Brand-spankin'-new. But I wasn't about to let some dude steal my bags two seconds after I reach my destination. I gave a huff, kicking off the walkway hard enough to get more speed than I expected. I rounded the corner, chasing after the guy as quickly as could. When he got to the edge of the street, which thankfully wasn't that long, he had to stop. Traffic was crazy, and there wasn't enough space between the cars for him to run with the suitcase in his hand.

"Who do you think you are?" I cried, walking closely to the guy. "That is my suitcase, and you have two seconds to kindly hand it back to me."

"Get back lady," his voice was thick, and slightly scary. "I have a gun!"

Raising an eyebrow, I gave a soft laugh. "No you don't. You just took a suitcase out of someone's yard. Sir," I sighed. "I keep a dull butterfly knife in my purse at all times. Can you image how painful it would be to have that jabbed slowly through your ear, poking lightly at that tiny brain of yours? Give me back my suitcase!"

He wasn't going to give it back to me, no matter how honest I was being about that butterfly knife. Thankfully, though, a cop car slowed down near us, scaring the guy just enough to let go of my suitcase and take off running in the other direction. As I snatched it up, I gave a soft laugh. What a trip it's turning out to be.

It only took me about five minutes to reach Alex's house again. With a smug grin on my face, I slowly pulled both of them up the walkway. Instead of risking my life on the porch, I left the bags on the ground, only allowing myself to skip up those steps.

I lifted my hand to tap on the door, but it never quiet made contact before the door flew open. I had a smile on my face because I was expecting to see Alex, but I ended up looking like a fool when a tall red-head turned her head like a confused puppy to stare at me.

"Oh, damn," she mumbled. "Alex, those damn sales people are back!"

I could feel my heart start beating faster as those familiar loud footsteps grew closer to the door. I ignored the girl, standing straighter and smiling brighter. I could feel myself almost scream when Alex appeared.

"April?"

"Teddy Bear!" I laughed, giving another soft clap. "I'm here!"

"You're here," he repeated, clearly noticing that he didn't sound too happy to see me. "Baby!"

"I'm so happy to see you!" I grinned. "But who the heck is she?"

"This? This is... Jack's new girlfriend. Or, she was," he smiled. "They, uh, just broke up. She came here to get a beer, but she's leaving now."

"Oh, well," I smiled. "I'm sure Jack was too good for you, anyways."

As Alex tossed the red head her shoes and her jacket, while mumbling something below his breath, I pushed past her. The house didn't look much better on the inside than it did on the outside. There wasn't much furniture at all. I was hoping it looked better up stairs, although the stairs inside didn't look any better than the stairs outside.

"So, April," Alex closed the front door after seeing off Jack's ex. "What're you doing here?"

"That's all I get? Alex, I had a lot of arguments with myself just to get here. I missed you!"

Alex looked scared for a moment, almost like I'd pulled pulled out a rusted spoon. I tiled my head to the side, giving him a deep smile. He seemed to snap back into reality, giving me a soft smile and holding his arms open wide. It only took me two seconds to jump into them.

"How did you get the money to get out here?"

"Birthday money," I mumbled into his chest. "You didn't call me, you know."

"I know, baby, I'm sorry."

"Did you forget?"

"Of course not, I've just been so busy."

"Of course you have," I gripped his cheeks and pulled lightly. "You wanna show me around this dump?"