Secret Valentine

I slowly slipped out of Alex’s bed again. I hope he was getting what I was hinting at. I didn’t want to get hurt again, so I refused to be here when he wakes up. Over the past few weeks, I’ve mastered that art of climbing down the tree next to his window. Everyday it got harder to keep up with this stupid game. Alex didn’t question me about my dates, and I knew that he had stopped dating all around. He was being a sweetheart to me, and I just used him. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard, but I think that he is now understanding how I felt for the past three and a half years. Since Jack, Rian, Liz, Mandy, and Alex started to sit with me at lunch, my social life got better. Guys paid more attention in particular. I’m not going to lie, I liked that part.

At lunch, I was zoned completely out from the conversation. I didn’t know what they were talking about until Alex spoke out for the first time all week.

"I wrote a new song."

"You did?" Jack asked him. "When?"

"Right after I woke up this morning."

"That early."

"I had a lot going on in my brain."

I pratically felt his eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.

"What about you, Alyson?" Liz asked me.

"Yeah, girl! What have you been up to besides dating?"

"Photography." I shyly laughed. No one except Alex knew about my love of it. "I really love taking pictures."

It was the one thing that could make me take my mind off of everything.

"Where do you take them?" Rian asked.

"Everywhere." I laughed. "Which reminds me, I have to do a star collection for Lexi. She loves the stars. Do you know of any good places?"

"Out by the lake." Alex mumbled. "Lexi can stay at my house with my parents while I drop you off and pick you up?"

"What about your parents? Shouldn’t they be like creeped out or something?"

"Nope." He popped the p at the end of the word. "I told them last week about Lexi. They’ve gotten over the shock."

"Ooh..." I trailed off. I didn’t know what to say. "Alex, that would be perfect."

He just nodded before he got up, and just walked out of the cafeteria. I trusted that he wouldn’t be back before the end of lunch.

　

"Can you put down that camera for ten fucking minutes and talk to me?!" Alex almost yelled.

Before I had started taking pictures, we were kissing under the starry night skies.

I sighed, putting down my camera in my lap.

"So what now?"

"And for God’s sake, Aly! Your make up is way overboard! What happened to natural is better?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I like it."

"You look like trash."

"Just liked your other girls, right?!" I snapped.

"Alyson Noel!"

He never called me that! Ever! I hated when my mom did that to me, but coming from Alex, it scared me even more.

"W-what?"

"Were just playing some stupid game! This is so freaking bittersweet. Every time I believe something is real, you do something to show me that it isn’t. I don’t want to play along anymore."

"What are you saying, Alexander?"

"Alyson, from now on, we are only parents to Lexi. No friendship or relationship with you. I’m done." He got up, and started walking away.

"Alex!" I stood up, and yelled after him.

He stopped, but didn’t turn around to face me.

"Yes, Alyson?"

"Why are you doing this to me?"

He got angry, and turned back around to face me.

"Aly, you’ve been using me for the last couple of weeks."

I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Doesn’t feel good, does it?"

He was finally silent.

"No." He managed to reply. "What made you decide to do...this to me?"

"‘I didn’t want to wake you up, because you looked so peaceful sleeping,’." I mocked. "You said the exact same thing to Candy, Lisa, and Brittany."

He was a deer caught in my headlights. Alex just couldn’t run away from me, and we both knew it.