Long Live Us

It had been around a week since I'd last seen Alex, I hadn't seen him when I had been in the shop and I wasn't in today as it was my only day off in the whole week. It was currently Wednesday and as usual there was little to nothing to do as Aimee was still in bed. I didn't blame her though. She spent most of her day time in college and then most hours of the night at a bar working as a waitress. My thoughts were interrupted by a soft creaking coming from down the hall, Aimee walked out with her hair looking much similar to that of the bride of Frankenstein. I giggled softly to myself before speaking.

"Morning beautiful." I said with a soft laugh and she rolled her eyes before sticking her middle finger up at me. I mocked being hurt and followed her into the kitchen where she was making herself some breakfast.

"What time is it?" She asked groggily and I pulled out my phone out of my back pocket and un-locked it, staring at the bright screen.

"Almost one, what time were you working till last night?" I asked curiously and she shrugged.

"Around four in the morning. These stupid guys didn't seem to understand what closing time was." She mumbled, her voice instantly showing annoyance in the men.

"You shouldn't be working that late.. You need more sleep than what you're getting at the moment." I said and she sighed with a soft shake of her head.

"Need to pay for this place somehow, you're already run off your feet it is so the least I can do is do as much work as I can." She said with a soft smile and I simply sighed back before making myself a cup of coffee. Once I was finished making the hot drink I walked over to the couch and sat down, Aimee following not far behind. I switched on the TV and put on Friends. After around fifteen minutes we heard a knock at the door. I looked towards Aimee to see her staring back at me.

“Well don’t look at me, I’m not expecting anyone today.” She said as she took a bite of her cereal. I rolled my eyes softly before climbing up and walking over to the door, opening it up to see a nervous looking Alex stood there.

“Erm.. Hi?” I said awkwardly and he smiled softly.

“I hope you don’t mind me coming.. It’s just, I went to the coffee shop and you weren’t there and Simone saw me looking lost and gave me your address.. I hope that’s not weird.” He said with a soft chuckle and I rolled my eyes as I opened the door more, letting him in.

“Of course its not, come on in.” I explained with a soft smile and he walked in, Aimee instantly saw him from her place on the couch and grinned at me.

“So who might this be?” She asked with a soft chuckle, doing her best to put on a flirty face.

“This is Alex. And honey, before you try that face you might want to look in the mirror at your hair.” I said with a soft giggle and Alex laughed wholeheartedly. She glared at me slightly before standing up and heading towards the stairs.

“I’ll leave you in peace then! Can tell when I’m not wanted!” She exclaimed and walked up the stairs. I laughed once she had disappeared and Alex chuckled along.

“I think my room mate fancies you.” I mentioned and he gave me a confused glance before looking toward the stairs.

“No offence, but she looked like the bride of Frankenstein.” He muttered and I let out a loud laugh, cupping my mouth.

“That’s what I thought!” I giggled and he smiled as he looked towards the TV. It was the Christmas episode of Friends where Joey gets his head stuck up a Turkey’s butt. Alex laughed loudly and I looked at him, a small smile on my face. He saw me looking and coughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, he just reminds me of my best friend, Jack. Jack would do something like that. He’s so blonde it’s unreal.” He chuckled and I joined in softly.

“We all have our crazy best friends, right?” I asked and he nodded softly in agreement. “You want a drink?” I asked as I stood up and he smiled softly at me before nodding his head.

“I’ll have some form of fizzy drink please, I don’t mind what I just need sugar.” He said and I nodded my head softly before going into the kitchen and raiding the fridge before grabbing two cans of coke and walking back into the living room and taking my seat next to Alex again. “Thank you.” He said as I offered him the can and we opened them in unison. We continued watching friends and making small talk until Alex looked down at his phone and sighing.

“Gotta go?” I asked and he nodded sadly. I took notice of the bags under his eyes and sighed. “I know there’s something that’s bothering you that’s making you not sleep. Maybe it’s at home, I don’t know but if you ever need some rest you could always have a nap here. It’s no problem and Aimee certainly won’t mind.” I said with a small wink and he rolled his eyes softly before smiling.

“I’m most definitely not interested in Aimee. She seems nice and everything but she’s not really my type.” He said as he stared at the TV. Peter Pan was playing. I honestly didn’t know why but I loved the film so I didn’t mind that much.

“I want to find my Peter some day.” I said sadly and he chuckled as he took a sip of the coke he had in his hand.

“How come you haven’t yet?” He asked and I sighed before staring at the TV.

“I just don’t want to rush into things, you know? I had a bad childhood problems with my parents and I want to wait for the right one.. I know it sounds stupid but it’s the only thing I’m looking forward to in life.” I said with a sigh. I looked towards Alex to see him smiling softly at me.

“I don’t think it’s stupid. I’m still waiting on a Wendy myself. I want a girl to change me, keep me straight. You know what I mean?” He asked and I nodded softly. “I want a girl that will always be there for me, through thick and thin no matter what life throws my way.. I thought I’d found that once upon a time but she just turned out to be a compulsive liar.” He said with a sigh and I smiled softly as I moved my hand to rub his shoulder sympathetically. “If it’s all right, I’d like to make a phone call and take your offer up on that nap.” He said with a chuckle and I smiled and nodded my head. He stood up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen so I couldn’t hear anything. I looked up at the clock on the wall to see it was nearing two in the afternoon. Alex came back into the room only moments later, laying down on the couch and laying his head in my lap. I played with his hair softly and he smiled contently. “So.. Would you like to talk about your parents? I‘m a good listener.” He said as he looked up at me softly, only showing concern.

“They got divorced with I was around seven. All I would ever hear was screaming and shouting coming from the kitchen when they were married and.. I would just sit crying in my room and they wouldn't even notice.. I was invisible to them. When they divorced I was made to live with my mother. She got involved in drugs and alcohol and would spend most of her days either high, drunk or asleep. It wasn’t really a lifestyle. I haven’t seen my father since then. I don’t want to make the same mistakes that they did.” I explained and he just looked, watching as I poured my heart out. He smiled at me softly before taking a strand of hair that had falling in front of my eyes and tucking it behind my ear.

“When you find that person I know that they’ll cherish you with all their heart. Their never going to want to let you go. You’re too good for someone to do that too you.” He said and I smiled, my heart warming for the first time in years. Soon enough he was asleep on my lap, light snores coming from him as I continued to watch Peter Pan on my own.