Here's to the Friends That Were Alibis

Ronnie's P.O.V.

"This way." Jesse nodded toward one of the two doors in the crowded airport we were making our way out of. "I called the cab company as soon as we landed, so it should be here by now." He pushed open the glass door and Mattie and I followed.

We spotted our taxi and got in, before Jesse rattled off Lex's address to him. We saved ourselves a huge hassle by not bringing any luggage with us.

We piled into the cab, with me on the right, Mattie in the middle, and Jesse to the left. I started out of the window at the night sky and breathed in the air, a sad attempt to calm myself down. I was so nervous that Lex would hate me after what I said. God, I hope I'm wrong.

Lex's P.O.V.

"Alright Hun, I'm goin' down to Jersey for the weekend." My dad hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

"Have fun, tell uncle Joe I said hi." I hugged him back.

I walked my father to the front door and looked outside.

"You're taking a cab to Jersey?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No, I got the escalade earlier. I dunno who that is." He copied my facial expression.

"What the fu-" I cut myself off as I seen a skinny Jean-clad leg emerge from the back door. The figure stepped fully into view. Not only was the figure wearing skinny Jeans, but an Iron Maiden shirt and a pair of black and gray chukka vans, and two stud belts. Even though I couldn't make out the person's face, because some asshole broke the street light, I could tell by the perfectly straight spiky black layers on his head, that it was Ronnie.

As I took it all in, my jaw almost hit the carpet beneath my feet. He really came all this way for me? Does that mean he didn't mean what he said? I found myself hoping that the answer to those questions was yes. I felt all the anger and hurt from two days ago melt away. Of course, that would be temporary. We still had a lot to work out and talk about. But even that thought didn't stop my heart from skipping a beat when he came into the might as he walked up the steps wearing a hopeful crooked smile. I smiled back slightly, and his immediately turned into a grin.

My dad walked down and they exchanged names and shook hands after he greeted Jesse and Mattie. He waved to me one more time before getting into his black escalade and driving down toward I-95. I let Ronnie, Jesse, and Mattie in, and I couldn't help but notice Ronnie's curious stare. He looked around at the contents of my living room. I mean, it was no mansion, but it was pretty nice. My dad let me pick the colors of the house, a duty I took seriously. The carpet was black and plush, which I vacuumed earlier, so it was spotless. Since the house was a single rancher, the living room was pretty big. There was a bookcase covering the entire right wall, with mostly pictures and nick-nacks. (Y'know, anything except books.) There was a black leather sectional, a black entertainment center, black curtains on the currently open windows, and a 50' inch flat screen I bought when I got my first job a couple years ago. The walls were a maroon color, as were the couch pillows, throw blankets, and the ceiling.

"Nice." Ronnie's nodded.

"It wasn't always." I laughed humorlessly and shook my head. "My mom destroyed it quite a few times before she left."

"Hey Lex. " Jesse came over and squeezed me.

"This is like the first time I've seen your house empty, usually the whole damn neighborhood's here." Mattie laughed as he hugged me.

"I know." I looked around. "Peaceful." I smiled.

"Well..." Jesse sighed. "Me and Mattie are gonna go home and crash. We'll come back tomorrow."

"Alright guys, call me whenever you get up." I nodded and shut the door behind them.

"And then there were two." I looked Ronnie dead in his eyes and he took a deep breath.