Tear Best Friends Apart

I awoke to my bed bouncing. When I peaked open my crystal blue eyes I found Jack staring down at me with a smirk. When he noticed I was awake he plopped down on top of me. If he weren’t so tiny he would probably squish me.

“Elena,” he dragged out my name, “time to get up!”

I groaned. “It’s Saturday. You can’t let me sleep ‘til noon?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p.’

I pulled the covers over my head as I attempted to ignore my too-cheery brother, but he wasn’t having it. He pulled the covers right back down before tickling my sides. Unfortunately, I was extremely ticklish and Jack knew it all too well. I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips against my command and sat up, reserved to the fact that I wasn’t sleeping in.

“Fine, fine. I’m up,” I said, still giggling slightly.

“Good,” Jack murmured before walking out my door and towards the basement.

I glanced to the clock on my nightstand, which revealed that it was 9:45 in the morning. I shook my head, with a smile on my lips. My brother could be so childish, but I loved it. Getting out of bed, I decided against getting dressed. If I had to be up early then I would stay as comfy as possible to make up for it.

I followed in the direction that Jack had just gone, finding him, as well as Marla and Alex, in the basement. Why everyone was up before ten on a Saturday was beyond me. I straightened my tank top, pulling it down to meet my long pajama bottoms, suddenly a little self-conscious and wishing I had chosen to get dressed minutes before.

I took a seat next to Marla who wore the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face. Curious, I leaned over and questioned it, “why are you so happy?”

She simply smiled brighter, something I didn’t think was possible, and turned her eyes toward my brother. I rolled my own as I let a small laugh escape my lips, no longer as interested in the reasoning behind Marla’s good mood.

I turned my attention to the rest of the room. Jack and Alex were playing some game on the Xbox like usual, except Alex’s gaze wasn’t on the screen. He was looking at me quizzically. I locked my eyes with his as I shrugged before standing up.

“I’m going to get something to eat. Anyone want anything?” I asked as I made my way to the stairs.

Jack instantly began calling out requests; things like a bagel, juice, pancakes, waffles, and randomly, an apple. I just laughed at him before turning my back.

In the kitchen, I roamed the fridge, which was nearly empty, before moving on to the cupboards, which were also pretty bare. Resolved to the fact that there really wasn’t much to eat in my house, I grabbed a pop tart from its box on the counter, popping it in the toaster before leaning against the counter.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I waited, and when I looked back up Alex was standing in the doorway watching me. I sent him a small smile before pouring Jack some juice-I might as well bring him the one request that was manageable-as well as some for myself. I hadn’t noticed that Alex had moved, or that he was even still in the same room, until he was right next to me.

“Morning,” he said quietly.

“Morning,” I repeated, receiving a smile from him.

“So, last night was fun,” he attempted to start a conversation.

“Mmhm,” I murmured, not meeting his eyes.

From the corner of my eye I saw him run a hand through his hair, a nervous habit of his, and a nearly inaudible sigh escape his lips. I just continued to retrieve the pop tarts from the toaster, placing them on a plate before turning towards the stairs, plate and two glasses in hand.

Alex walked in front of me, blocking my path. I looked at him questioningly before attempting to go around him. Again, he blocked me, stepping to the side.

I sighed looking up into his warm brown eyes. “Alex,” I said with a laugh, “what are you doing?”

“I, uh. I wanted to talk to you,” he whispered.

“Um. Okay. But why are we whispering?”

He took the glasses from my hand, setting them on the tabletop, before repeating the action with my plate. I just stared at him as he took my hand and led me out the back door.

“Alex, it’s freezing out here,” I stated, wrapping my arms around my upper half to shield my tank top clad chest from the winter air.

“Sorry.” He shrugged off his hoodie and placed it over my shoulders. I looked at him suspiciously, waiting for him to continue. And a minute later he did, “about last night. I uh…” he stopped, looking me square in the eye.

“You what?” I asked, not sure what he was getting at. I was confused as to what exactly he wanted to talk about. He didn’t answer, just stared at me as if he was trying to figure something out. Then, it hit me. He could tell that I liked him, and he was going to let me down easy. Hurt, I turned away, walking back towards the door.

I made it to the door, and was about to slide it open, when Alex stopped me. Silently, he turned me around, backing the two of us up until my back pressed against the red siding of my house.

My eyes snapped to his, “What are you-”

My sentence was cut short when he leaned his head down, ever so slowly, his lips hovering over mine. I stood completely still. Frozen. I couldn’t even breathe. I couldn’t think. I just stared into his eyes that were trained on my own, silently asking if this was okay. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. But I didn’t have to.

He slowly pressed his lips to my own, eyes never straying from mine, which closed as I reveled in the moment. Hesitantly, I began to kiss back, but was cut short when he pulled away. Not only did he end the kiss, but backed away from me completely, stuffing his hands into his hair, shock evident on his features.

Before I had a chance to question his actions, the back door slid open. Jack’s head popped out. “I thought you were making me breakfast,” he said with a pout.

I turned to face him, plastering on a smile. “I did,” I answered as I followed him in the house, leaving Alex behind.