I Know That You Wouldn't Fall for That

"I'm telling you, dude. I have her right where I want her." Alex said, as he searched through the clothes in his cupboard for something nice, and clean, to wear. Jack was sat on his bunk playing with an elastic ball.
"There's no way on this earth you charmed a girl like Tay in less than 24 hours."
Alex put on his best smug face and flashed Jack his most charming smile. Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're good."
"I know." Alex laughed, winking and patting his bare chest distractedly. Truth be told, Alex wasn't sure of exactly where he stood with Tay. They'd spent the afternoon together, just talking, no flirting, and Alex had actually really enjoyed himself. He'd learnt a lot about her this afternoon, and he was curious to learn more. Tay had a lot to say, and the way she spoke interested him. She often had to check he was still listening at times when he was just staring at her intensely as she spoke. Tay was different to all the other girls he'd usually associate himself with. She was refreshing and Alex liked that. He was completely fascinated by her. Not to mention she was gorgeous.
Alex was amazed by how he'd not noticed how good looking she was until today. I mean, granted, last night he was drunk and it was dark, but usually he can spot a pretty girl from a mile away. Although, Tay was a different kind of pretty. She was a natural beauty, and she didn't have to try too hard on her appearance.­ Alex decided she was his favourite kind of pretty.
Although, the only thing Alex didn't like about her is that she was way too good for someone like him. Call it his secretly low self-esteem, but Alex really didn't want to go after her in the way that he was. He was not only scared of rejection, but Alex also hated the fact that he had to work to get her, and yet somehow that made her a better person. Alex abhorred the idea of sounding too crude and disrespectful towards women, but Tay being difficult about sleeping with him was damaging his reputation.
Alex hated his reputation, but it was doing a hell of a good job of helping him fit in and that's all Alex really cared about. He didn't want to fall back into the repetative pattern of being the odd-one-out in the crowd. Plus, Jack would never let him live it down. No way, he had to figure out a way to charm her somehow before Warped tour was over.
Twenty minutes later and Alex was charging over to Tay's bus, drunk on confidence. He wanted Tay and he was going to get Tay, eventually. That's all he was focussed on.
Tay stepped out of the bus before he could knock, and put a finger to her lips, shushing him. He had texted her telling him to meet him outside her bus at 7pm, but he wasn't actually expecting her to be on time. The girls he were with usually would be too busy getting ready. He mentally added it to the list of reasons why Tay surprised him.
"What do you want?" She hissed. "If we're meeting, it's gonna have to be in secret. The boys don't like you very much."
Alex played hurt. He dramatically put his hand to his chest and scoffed. Tay giggled, then hushed him again. Alex couldn't help but smile at her. She was cute.
"I know where we can go." he said, holding out his hand. Tay raised her eyebrow.
"I can follow you," she said, matter-of-factly. "I don't need to hold your hand."
Alex internally slapped himself across the face. Idiot. That was a rookie move. If Tay was playing hard to get, Alex had to play by her rules. He smiled and led her to a spot he'd found early this morning looking for her. Just like he'd seen before, it was hidden and out of view. It was a small cave like area at the side of one of the stages, beside a bunch of rocks. It was impossible to see unless you were looking really hard. Perfect.
Alex had come here quickly before meeting her and set up some cushions and blankets around a small pile of sticks, fenced by some rocks. Tay had told him earlier today that she loved camping, and that she used to go with her dad all the time. Tay talked about camping and her father fondly, yet she still sounded like she was talking sadly and in hindsight. Alex presumed she was just homesick and missed her dad. Tay laughed out loud.
"You made a campfire?" She said, grinning at him. Alex nooded, shyly. He really hoped she liked it.
"Yeah, you sounded sad when you were talking about camping with your dad. I thought it was because you missed camping." Alex smiled. "So, I brought camping to you."
Tay looked at him for a second and he swore he could see her eyes glisten as they welled up. She looked away and blinked away the tears. Alex's heart skipped. She doesn't like it.
"I'm sorry," Alex said, his eyes flickering across her face, trying to find out if he'd upset her. He felt overwhelmingly guilty. "Is it too much?"
Tay looked up and Alex could now clearly see the tears in her eyes. She smiled and one of them spilled from her eyes, rolling down her cheek. Alex automatically lifted his hand and stroked her cheek, wiping it away. Tay looked down and sounded a choked-up laugh.
"It's not that," she smiled. "This is... amazing. It's just... well it's not the camping I miss... it's my dad."
Alex tilted his head, obliviously.
"Then why don't you just ca-"
Realisation hit him like a bullet. Oh. Tay nodded sadly as she watched the realisation and horror spread across his face.
"Don't apologize," she said, as Alex was about to talk. "It was a while back now. I look back on him fondly. He was a good man, my biggest inspiration. I don't want to think back to the unpleasant times, only good times... like this. It reminds me of him. I love it."
Alex smiled awkwardly and instantly felt horrible for everything he'd done to her. He wanted to hug her until the pain faded away.
Tay walked forward and sat down on one of the cushions, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Alex kneeled beside her, picking up a rock and a stick and rubbing them together, hoping to cause friction and a spark. Tay laughed at him as he scowled at it.
"Dammit!" He hissed, rubbing them together as fast as he could. Eventually he gave up and tossed the stick back onto the pile, pulling a lighter from his pocket. "Fuck it."
They sat around the fire, Alex careful not to step on any more thin ice while Tay chatted away. Alex listened carefully, laughing and smiling at all the appropriate moments. This girl was fun, he liked her... and she had so much to tell. Alex grinned at her, and then Tay frowned for a second.
"Wait, you came out here just to talk?" She said, raising an eyebrow. "That's what you wanted?"
"Yeah, I guess." Alex said, shrugging. He winked at her and she scowled. Oops. Force of habit. "You're very fascinating."
Tay smiled appreciatevely.
"So... you've listened to me all day. Tell me about you."
"Why do you want to know about me?"
"I don't know," Tay shrugged. "I'm curious. You're different than I thought you were."
Alex smiled. Progress.
"What do you want to know?"
Tay thought for a second, then her eyes widened. She remembered the sadness she saw flickering in his eyes this morning and last night. This was her chance.
"Tell me about your childhood."
Alex couldn't help the gasp that proceeded. Nobody had ever asked him that. He had hoped that nobody ever would. He frowned and stood up defensively. Tay watched him carefully. Alex picked at his fingers, trying to think of something to say. His jaw automatically clenched. Shit. He was faced with a dilemma, does he open up? or does he possibly ruin everything by not telling her? His heart thudded and Tay stood up to meet him.
"Hey, are you okay?" she said, panic rising her voice. Alex noticed that he was pacing. His childhood was the last thing he wanted to talk about. "Alex?"
"I don't want to talk about my childhood." he hissed, defensively. Alex could almost smell the bitterness in his voice. Tay's eyes flashed with curiosity, but she nodded and respected his wish.
"Okay..." She whispered. "We'll talk about something else."
Alex bit down hard on his lip, memories of his past unwelcomingly flashing across his eyes. Tay saw the anger and lonliness in his eyes and couldn't help herself from running over to him.
"Alex, please calm down!" She said, grabbing his shoulders. He looked down at her and his expression relaxed. "I'm really sorry!"
"It's okay. I'm sorry... it's just..."
"It's alright, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want too."
Tay wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. She was shocked at her own reaction, as was Alex. She felt him tense underneath her. She thought about pulling away because of the awkwardness, but she felt Alex slowly wrap his arms around her waist and relaxed. Her curiosity was now at war with her respect. She wanted to know more about him so badly, and wondered why his eyes were so sad when he seemed like such a happy person. She frowned and didn't let go of him. His eyes looked so childish and afraid, and she wanted to protect him. It was funny how Alex had that effect on her. This morning she hated him, now she didn't want to let him out of her sight.
"Come on," he murmered, his voice deep and croaky. Tay couldn't help but thing it was sexy. She cursed at herself internally and pulled away from the hug. He smiled at her, scared Alex was now gone. "Let's go get something to eat."