How to Date Alexis Brighten

After school had ended, I waited at the front gates for Fletcher. I had been standing there for almost ten minutes and was beginning to think that Fletcher was standing me up. I supposed I deserved it, after what I’d done to him. I sighed and checked my watch once more, just as a shadow fell over me. I glanced up and was immediately met with a startling pair of turquoise eyes.

“Daniel, hi,” I said awkwardly, dropping my arm to my side.

“Waiting for someone?” He asked curiously, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Yes, actually,” I replied, my tone sounding hostile. It was like the incident in the pool had never happened. Nothing had changed between us, at least for me. I felt no different towards him despite the fact that he’d single-handedly saved my life.

“Why so defensive?” He asked me, raising an eyebrow. His messy, brown hair flopped over his eyes and he flicked it back.

“Why so invasive?” I shot back at him. He laughed and ran a hand through his messy hair. I couldn’t deny that he was attractive – he certainly was, but there was no way that I was going to let him know that I thought so.

Even so, I found it hard to tear my eyes away from his face. His vibrant, turquoise eyes were almost hypnotizing, and I found myself staring into them shamelessly. Daniel looked away suddenly, and any hint of a smile disappeared from his face. His eyebrows scrunched together into a frown and his bottom lip jutted out. He almost looked cute. Almost.

I followed his gaze and my eyes fell on Fletcher, who was running across the front lawns, pushing and shoving people out of his way. When he saw me looking his way, he waved to me and quickened his pace, resulting in his foot catching in a hole. He fell to the ground and his books scattered everywhere.

A laugh escaped my lips as I watched Fletcher retrieve his books and shove them into his bag. I saw Daniel look at me out of the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to meet his gaze.

“You have a nice smile,” he commented, his lips turning up at the corners slightly. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks at his compliment and looked away quickly, back at Fletcher. I heard Daniel laugh quietly and couldn’t stop the slow smile that spread across my face.

“You should stay away from Fletcher,” Daniel said after a moment, his tone serious. I turned to look at him once again, and saw that he had his hands shoved into his jean’s pockets. He stared at me, his eyes full of seriousness.

“Why?” I said stupidly.

“He’s trouble,” Daniel warned me.

“What do you know about him?” I asked curiously.

“Things that you wouldn’t like to find out,” he warned. With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, joining the line of students in front of a waiting bus. I stared after him, but when he turned to look at me over his shoulder, I quickly turned away.

How could he just leave after saying something like that? Things that you wouldn’t like to find out. What did that even mean? Why did he have to leave me hanging like that? Did he want me to go crazy and make my brain work overtime?

Of course he did. Because that’s what Daniel did.

He drove me crazy.

When Fletcher finally reached me, his blonde hair was a tangled mess, piled haphazardly atop his head. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the state of his clothes. His cargo shorts were torn and his shirt was untucked and crinkled.

“You’re always in a hurry, aren’t you?” I asked him, a small smile playing on my lips.

“Nah, everyone’s always showing up early on me, is all,” he said with a cheeky smile. He led the way through the parking lot until we stood in front of a shiny black motorcycle. I looked at Fletcher and raised my eyebrows at him.

“What?” He asked innocently. “What were you expecting?”

“Not a two-wheeled death machine,” I said, staring at the bike in disbelief. Fletcher let out a throaty laugh and lifted up the seat to store his bag in the compartment underneath. He retrieved two helmets from the compartment and handed one to me. I held the foreign object in my hands and gazed at it, confused.

“It’s not going to eat you,” Fletcher said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and undid the strap, sliding the helmet over my head. I struggled with the buckle, and Fletcher strode over to me to help. He fastened it with no trouble at all, and flicked the clear visor, a cheeky smile spreading across his face.

I shoved him in the shoulder and he laughed, staggering back a few steps theatrically. He pulled his helmet over his head easily and got on the motorcycle, patting the seat behind him. I hesitantly climbed on behind him.

“You better hold on tight,” he warned me.

I wrapped my arms around his skinny torso as he started the engine. The motorcycle roared to the life and Fletcher took off out of the lot at a rapid speed. I tightened my grip around him as he sped up the road and I swear I heard him laugh. Fletcher’s body shielded me from the wind for the most part, but it whipped harshly against my legs. By the time we reached the mall, my legs were freezing and my body was shaking.

“That was insane,” I said as I got off the bike and took my helmet off. Fletcher laughed and held out his hand for the helmet. I gave it to him and he stored it in the compartment under the seat. He took off his own and put it there as well, before taking something out of his pocket. Before I had time to react, he had fastened something around my wrist.

I looked down in alarm to discover that Fletcher had handcuffed me to him. I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows. The handcuffs were made of grey plastic and looked as though they were a cheap children’s toy.

“What are these for?” I asked him, my voice holding a hint of annoyance.

“In case you run away again,” Fletcher said with a wink. My stomach twisted with guilt.

“Fletcher, I’m so sorry about that - ”

“Forget it,” he said, cutting me off. “I was only joking.”

He freed me from the handcuffs and put them back into his pocket. He looked at me sheepishly and I couldn’t help but smile at his antics. I led the way into the mall and went straight to the surf store.

“What are we here for?” Fletcher asked as we entered the store.

“I need a new swim suit for gym,” I told him as I flicked through the racks of bikinis. I didn’t really need a new swim suit. Truth be told, I didn’t even own one. There had never been any need.

“Oh,” Fletcher said, shoving his hands into his pockets awkwardly. I continued to flick through the rack until I found three that I liked. One was purple with white dots, another was bright red, and the last was black and white striped. I took them to the change rooms and Fletcher followed slowly behind. An employee made her way over to us.

“Need any help?” She asked politely.

“No thanks, we’re fine,” I said. She looked at Fletcher with a wide smile.

“I’m sure your boyfriend will tell you which looks best,” she commented.

“Oh, no, he’s not my - ” I started to say, but it was too late. She’d left to take her place behind the counter. I looked over at Fletcher to see that a triumphant smile was present on his face.

“Stop smiling like an idiot,” I joked, shoving him in the shoulder. He laughed and sat down on a chair outside the change rooms. The first two, Fletcher said he didn’t like. He made no secret of checking me out. He didn’t even seem embarrassed. He openly stared and I ducked back into the change rooms as quickly as possible. Letting Fletcher tag along had not been a good idea. I felt so awkward.

The last bikini I tried on was the one with the black and white striped design. When I emerged from the change room, Fletcher let out a low wolf whistle.

“Oh, shut up,” I sat, slapping him on the shoulder.

“You look hot!” He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and went back into the change room to get back into my clothes. When I came out, I made my way over to the counter.

“Stripes it is,” I said, putting the bikini on the counter. The girl rang it up and I paid while Fletcher put the other two back.

“Your boyfriend is so cute,” the girl said as she handed me the shopping bag.

“Actually, he’s not my boyfriend,” I told her. Her eyebrows arched in interest.

“He obviously likes you,” she said with a smile.

I felt the heat rising to my cheeks and looked away, calling out a rushed ‘bye’ to the girl on my way out. Fletcher caught up with me and walked beside me as we made our way through the mall. I had no idea what to say to him and we walked side by side in silence.

“What’s up?” He asked me after a moment.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly, in an attempt to brush him off. “Where do you wanna go now?”

“You’re done?”

“You sound surprised,” I said with a smile.

“Because I am,” Fletcher replied. “Mind if I check out the music store?”

“Of course not,” I said, following behind him as he led the way.

A chime sounded as we entered the store through the automatic glass doors. The young man behind the counter looked up at our arrival and a smile spread across his face.

“Fletch!” He yelled across the store with a wave.

“Ace!” Fletcher hollered in reply, returning the wave.

“The bass player?” I asked him. I knew that he looked familiar from somewhere.

“Yeah,” Fletcher said, striding over to the counter to talk to his friend.

They started an animated conversation about the newest guitars that had just come into the store. Ace showed them to Fletcher, and the two musicians were nearly drooling over the new stock. I held back a laugh as I watched the two gush over the instruments. I suddenly remembered what Denny, the lead singer, had told me. Ace had been the one who’d written ‘The Shadow Of You’.

“Hey, Ace?” I said hesitantly, suddenly feeling nervous. Both boys looked up at me from the instruments in interest.

“Uh, Denny told me that you wrote ‘The Shadow Of You’,” I said.

“Well, if it isn’t our biggest fan,” he said with a smile. “Denny told me about you.”

“I really loved the song. I can totally relate. I feel like the song was written just for me,” I gushed. Ace smiled widely at me.

“I’m glad that someone else gets it,” he said.

“Totally,” I told him, sounding overly girly. Ace laughed and ran his hand through his shoulder-length black hair. He messed it up a bit before flicking it back.

“You coming to the next show?” Ace asked me.

“Definitely,” I said, a smile spreading across my face. Ace walked over to the counter and came back with a flyer for the band. He handed it to me and I folded it before putting it in my pocket.

“See you there,” Ace said with a smile.

“I suppose we should be going then,” Fletcher said, eyeing Ace’s angry-looking boss.

“Sorry guys!” Ace exclaimed, dashing back to the counter.

“Bye,” I called after him, but I don’t think he heard me.

Fletcher waited for me by the door. He watched me as I approached, a small smile playing on his lips, his brown eyes alight.

What happened next, I don’t think either of us expected.