Walking Travesty

Alex's POV:

Lina wasn't at school for the rest of the week. I kept almost going to her house to check on her, but never did. She obviously didn't want to see me.
I collapse on my bed and stare up at my ceiling.
Way to fuck up something perfect, dick
I sigh and squeeze my eyes shut tightly, but they fly open again at the sound of my phone buzzing. I sit up and grab it off of my nightstand, hoping that it's her.
I sigh again when I see that it isn't.

Emily:
Hey ass hole, did you ever talk to Lina? Why isn't she answering her phone?

Me:
She doesn't want to get back together.

She doesn't reply to that, and I lay back down and stare at my ceiling again.
I miss her. More than I thought I would. I miss being tired at school because I stayed up all night talking to her. I miss getting yelled at for talking to her in class. I miss her laugh. I miss her sarcasm. I fucking miss her.
I ball my hands into fists, wanting to punch myself for being such a dick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emily's POV:

For the second time this week I peel into someones driveway, but this time it's Lina's rather than Alex's. I get out of my car and storm up to her door, not bothering to knock.
I march up her stairs and push open her door, finding her laying on her bed watching TV.
She looks up at me, frowning slightly. "Can I help you?" she asks tiredly, and I notice that her eyes are lined with more dark circles than usual.
"Yeah, you can tell me why the fuck you won't get back together with Alex," I say angrily. Jack had called me earlier, worried about Alex who apparently wasn't sleeping and hardly talking to anyone.
She sighs and her eyes go back to the television. "That's not really your business, Em."
My jaw drops slightly. "Um, actually, it is my fucking business because you're my fucking best friend, and Alex is my boyfriend's best friend." I place both hands on my hips. "You're both miserable. Stop being such a little bitch and call him."
"No," she says quietly, calmly.
I laugh without any humor. "That wasn't an option. You're not happy, and I refuse to let you get all depressed and shit again." She doesn't show any emotion to my words, except for squeezing her lips into a tight line. "So now you're gonna ignore me?" I ask. No response. I storm over to her TV and hit the power button. "Lina, I swear to fucking God, get your ass out of the bed right now and stop being such a little bitch."
"Leave me alone," she says, rolling over so her back is to me.
I sigh and sit down on the floor, leaning against the wall. "He told me you guys slept together," I say after a minute of silence. She doesn't respond. "Look, I know you're upset, and I know it seems like he screwed you over, but he's a mess." I pick at her carpet, twirling the grey, yarn-like fabric around my pinky. "Jack said he's been holing himself up in his room when he's not at school. He cancelled like, two practices this week." Still no reply. "Lin, at least call him."
"No," she finally answers.
I roll my eyes at her stubbornness. "I know I was always going on about guys sucking and whatever, but he's nice. He's not a super rat."
I hear her laugh quietly at my reference to her favorite movie, and I smile. "He's still a rat though," she says as she rolls over to look at me. "I mean, he broke up with me right after I had sex with him." Even from the distance between us I can see the hurt in her eyes.
"He was scared," I say, and in the back of my mind I wonder why I'm defending him. I never defend guys, especially when they hurt Lina. "I mean, he feels guilty. You were so against losing your virginity, and then you... did." I shrug my shoulders. "And your mom going bat shit on him probably scared him too."
She sighs and rolls onto her back. "I'll talk to him Monday."
I smile triumphantly, knowing that was the best I'd get. "Good." I stand up and walk over to her bed, giving her an awkward, half hug. "I gotta get to Jack's. If you don't go to school Monday I will cut all of your toes off."
She grins and shoos me away.
I skip out of her house and into my car. Mission accomplished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lina's POV:

Monday morning I force myself out of bed, despite the fact that I'm running on roughly an hour of sleep.
After getting ready I get into the car with my mom, since she insisted on driving me still, when I attended that is.
I get to school a few minutes late, so when I walk into English everyone stares at me like I stabbed five kittens. Alex looks up at me, and my heart flies up to my throat. He looks amazing. And like shit. But still amazing. I take my seat next to him and try to push away the awkward feeling in my stomach.
"Hey," I say softly, not looking at him.
Through my peripherals I see his head turn slightly to look at me. "Hey," he replies just as quietly.
I pull the sleeves of my sweater down so they're covering my fingers that are tapping the table nervously. "I'm uh... I'm sorry," I say after a minute of silence.
He lets out a breath that he must have been holding. "I am too."
I look over at him finally, and I feel guilty. He has deep, bruise-like dark circles under his eyes, and his one eye looks like it actually is bruised. "Do you have a black eye?" I ask with a frown.
A small smile curves his lips, and fuck, I'd forgotten how much I love that smile. "Emily was kind of mad at me the other day..."
I can't help but laugh. "Wow, you got beat up by a girl," I tease.
He rolls his eyes, but his smile widens, and I can't help but return it. "Girl knows how to throw a punch," he defends himself.
"Wimp," I say with a giggle.
"Is my lesson interrupting your conversation?" Our teacher's voice asks.
"Kind of, but you may continue," I say with a smile in his direction.
A few giggles trickle across the classroom, causing an annoyed look from our educator. "Out," he orders, pointing to the door.
I'm about to protest, a speech on him trying to sabotage my education already forming in my head, but before I can, Alex jumps up. "Yes sir," he says before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the classroom.
I giggle as he shuts the door. "I'm gonna completely fail that class thanks to you."
He grins and continues pulling me towards the exit. "Oops."
Our hands continue to stay locked as we walk to the old playground that sat in between the high school and elementary school. I can't fight the smile that stays glued on my face, because, unless I'm mistaken, we're back together, and it doesn't feel like we'd spent a minute apart.