A City of Fools

Two weeks passed and Eli still hadn't made any progress with Alex. She was torn between feeling more determined than ever and frustration. They had spoken in study hall every day and worked on their papers, but Eli still knew nothing about Alex's situation. She knew he had lost someone, of course, and it was someone close to him. But she didn't know their name, gender, relation, anything. And yet, she had told Alex details of Gabe's life that she didn't even tell Lauren.

A lot had happened in two weeks.

Eli was kicked off of the cheerleading squad, which didn't really phase her all that much. Lauren had been upset at first but understood why it wasn't something that Eli wanted to focus on at that moment. And while Eli wouldn't consider Alex a friend, she had taken to actually calling him by his last name and they'd even discussed topics other than school and how much they hated each other.

It was a week before homecoming, a Friday, and Eli hadn't seen Alex all day. She wasn't sure if he was sick but as she took her seat in study hall, she gave up and brought out her notes to work on his next paper anyway. So far she'd managed to turn in two papers without knowing any of the details, so why couldn't she do a third in the same way? She'd already had a paragraph written when a body fell into the chair next to hers. She looked up, strands of red hair falling into her green eyes, and she smiled softly.

“Hey stranger,” Alex greeted, smiling.

“Where have you been all day?” Eli asked.

Alex shrugged. “Fighting bad guys in Gotham.”

“Where's your utility belt then?”

He paused. “Good question. It's in my car.”

“You walk to school.”

“That's...another good point. A solid point and a valid argument. Nice work,” he told her.

Eli shook her head. “Is it in the Batmobile?”

“Where else would it be?!” Alex asked as if it were the simplest answer in the world.

She smiled. “That's true.”

“So...working on your next paper?”

She nodded.

“You just can't stop thinking about me, can you?” he teased, elbowing her in the side.

Eli rolled her eyes. “I'm trying to figure how I can keep faking these papers when I don't know a thing about your life,” she told him. While they might not have been at each others throats, she wasn't above making cheap comments.

Alex shrugged. “I'm a man of mystery.”

“You're a man of annoying-the-fuck-out-of-me, is what you are,” Eli replied.

“You'll find out one day,” he told her, keeping his voice low.

Eli set her pen down on her notebook. “Will that day be before or after I fail English?”

“Before,” Alex said, still smiling. “Hey, wanna just leave now? We can go get Icees and just chill.”

“I'm not cutting class.”

“It's study hall, it's not even a class,” Alex told her, rolling his eyes. “Don't be such a goody-goody. Let's go.”

Eli shook her head. “No. No, I'm not skipping class. I have homework to do and—“

“You have got to stop making excuses,” Alex said, standing up and reaching for Eli's books.

“Hey, give those back!” Eli said, standing up and grabbing her books.

Alex brought them closer to his chest, which cause Eli to fall forward until she was right against him. “You'll get them back if you ditch with me.”

Eli sighed, pouting slightly. “Alex...”

“I'll even buy your Icee.”

She didn't reply.

“Come on, how can you pass that up?” he asked. He didn't wait for her reply before turning around and walking out of the room, ignoring the teacher yelling after him.

Eli didn't give it a second thought.

She followed him without question.

+

Eli sipped on her Coke Icee in silence, the rocks from the cement cutting through her shorts and she shifted uncomfortably. She looked to her side and saw Alex had his head leaning against the side of the building, his Icee in his hand. “Are you okay?” she asked him, her voice low.

“Do you ever wonder what people are thinking when they look at you? For example, when these people walk by and see us sitting here. What do you think they're thinking about us?” he asked.

Eli shrugged, confused at the change in conversation, but she recovered well. “Why aren't those kids in school?”

Alex smiled softly, taking a drink of his cherry Icce. “I feel like they're judging my eyebrows.”

Eli almost choked on her laughter. “What?!”

“It's true,” Alex said, nodding. “I feel like they judge my eyebrows.”

“Your eyebrows are fine,” she told him, eyes running over his face.

“What about you?”

“Me?” she asked. She paused for a minute, thinking, before she shrugged again. “I wonder if people think I have an eating disorder because I'm so thin.”

“Really?” he asked, his eyebrows raising.

Eli nodded.

“Do you have one?”

“No,” she told him, shaking her head.

“Didn't think so,” he commented.

“Hey, Alex?” Eli asked after a minute or two of silence.

Alex just made a noncommittal noise, taking a sip of his drink.

“Who did you lose?”

The minute the words left her mouth, she knew she asked the wrong thing. She knew by the way Alex's knuckles went white holding his cup and how he shot to his feet and refused to make eye contact. He started to walk away and she followed him instantly, choosing not to say anything until he did. She followed him through town, through the park, and down to the creek where he sat down on some of the rocks. He reached into his pocket and brought out his wallet, digging through one of the folds until he pulled out an old, worn piece of paper.

“I... I wrote this a couple days after,” he started. He shoved his wallet back into his pocket before unfolding the paper slowly, so it didn't rip. “It was three years ago today that I lost my brother.”

Eli couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her lips. “Alex, I didn't know. I'm so—“

“Sorry?” he offered. “Yeah, everyone is,” he muttered before scoffing. “I wasn't lying at the funeral that day, Eli. I really do know what you're going through. I went through it myself. Everything you've gone through, I've gone through. That's why I pushed you away at Gabe's funeral—it wasn't because I didn't want you, it was because after Daniel died, I screwed my friend Lisa. And things haven't been the same since. It wasn't the right time for her and I, and it wouldn't have been the right time for you and I, Eli.”

Eli walked over to where Alex was and sat down on the rocks next to him. She linked her fingers in front of her knees and looked down. “I was hoping you had forgotten about that.”

Alex's lips barely curved upwards. “Sorry,” he said, shrugging. “I've made a lot of mistakes since Daniel died. And I know it's not what he would have wanted for me. And I didn't want you to make those mistakes.”

She nodded slowly.

“So...” he trailed off, letting out a breath he wasn't aware that he had been holding. “I don't like talking about it. It reminds me of the man whore I was after he died. I turned into someone I wasn't proud of. And I haven't even changed, not that much. Hell, I party every weekend and fuck Lisa at every chance I get.”

“You haven't even tried to change, have you?” Eli asked, her voice soft. For once it was void of the usual sarcasm it held and she hoped he would appreciate it.

Alex chuckled softly. “Not really. Good point.”

“I wasn't trying to make a point,” she said quietly. “I was...just being a bitch, I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” Alex told her, fumbling with the slip of paper in his hands.

“What was he like? Daniel?” she asked, looking over at him.

Alex smiled. “He was everything an older brother should be. We hung out all the time, video games or movies or pizza, and he was my best friend.”

“What changed?”

He shrugged. “I'll let you know as soon as I find out.”

“Oh,” Eli whispered, looking back down at her hands.

“I told you we were alike,” he said, nudging her with his shoulder.

Eli smiled softly. “So, um. What's on the paper?”

Alex's eyes ran over his own scribbled words one more time before he folded the paper and gently tucked it back into a pocket in his wallet. “I'll let you know before the final paper is due.”

“So you're gonna hold out on me?”

Alex smiled. “I told you his name. Maybe this will make your paper a little easier to write.”

Eli shook her head softly, curls falling into her face. She pushed them back behind her ear and glanced over at him. “Why today?”

“Hmm?”

“Why today of all days? I mean, you could've told me any of this weeks ago... But you didn't.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Of course not,” Eli said, shaking her head. “I appreciate it greatly. But I was just curious.”

“It's what Daniel would have wanted,” he said softly. “He would've kicked my ass for being such a jerk to you.”

“Would he?” she asked, laughing.

Alex smiled. “Yeah.”

“Well, you keep that in mind when you try to shut me out,” she joked , nudging his arm.

“That's a good point.”

“So... Friends?” she asked, offering her hand to him.

Alex sucked in a breath and looked at her hand for a minute. “I don't know...”

Eli's jaw dropped open.

Alex laughed before taking her hand in his own. “I'm just kidding, Eli,” he said, winking.

Eli shook her head, slightly surprised by the feel of his warm skin against her hand. For a minute she wondered what he would do, how he would react, if she leaned forward and kissed him again. She shook herself out of that daydream and slowly withdrew her hand from his, hoping he wouldn't notice the light blush that had stained her cheeks.