Give 'Em Hell, Kid

Alexia was grounded for the next week, which meant we had no time alone at all. Joshua had dropped her off at school every morning, and the minute school let out, he was there, waiting for Lexi. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that it was driving me fucking crazy. Things should have been a little bit easier now, but I couldn’t help but feel Lexi was pulling away a little bit. It was nothing obvious that got my guard up, but there was just an underlying tension whenever I got too close to her. We could have found a way to sneak off, if we really wanted to, but Lexi always found a way to argue against skipping a class or leaving Mikey and Ray alone at lunch. I got the feeling it was something to do with her dad, whether she was afraid that word would get back to him somehow, or if he had said something to her to make her so emotionally distant. Or maybe I was just paranoid. She wasn’t acting any differently per say, it was just a feeling that I couldn’t shake off. Maybe it was just Frank’s absence and the lack of freedom that got her so antsy. I let it go, though; I was certain bringing it up too soon would only lead to a defensive Lexi. I decided to wait until she was officially off house arrest, which would also coincide with Frank’s return to school. He was still delicate, but once he had his pain meds he was fit enough to return to school. He wasn’t too happy about such an early return to school, but his mother insisted that ‘it was for the best’. Of course, I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t laugh at him when he gave out shit about it every afternoon when Mikey, Ray and I would go over and do our homework at his place. His mother was at work all day, so we felt it was our duty to keep him company when we could. I only felt bad that Lexi wasn’t there. I could tell Frank missed her, even if he didn’t mention it.

Monday morning was here, though, and everything would be going back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as possible; considering Frank was only barely walking, and Lexi was still a little standoffish when I picked her up. Her smile was there, her tone was normal, but I just couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something wasn’t quite right. Frank was the last to be collected, and the smile on his face when he saw Lexi, and her returning smile , made the jealousy I tried to ignore simmer slightly under the surface. It didn’t matter that Frankie had made it clear he would never make a move, or how obvious it was that Lexi obviously wanted to be with me, I couldn’t make that irrational part of me vanish overnight. I wondered if it would ever disappear, or would I forever remain a little fucking crazy over Lexi’s friendship with Frank. Maybe it was just a part of my nature to jealousy covet anything I desired. And boy, did I desire Lexi, even when she was being cold. The car ride was uneventful, and Frank more than made up for the week absence by talking our fucking ears off, like we haven’t been over in his house every afternoon. To be fair, Alexia had been absent, so they did have a lot to catch up on. I tried to keep my concentration on the road, and not on the lively banter between Frank, Mikey and Lexi. Ray was tuning them out, it seemed, his head elsewhere.

The first couple of classes went by in a flash, with a still distant Lexi. I decided to do something about it when lunch came around. I grabbed her before she could escape to her locker, and dragged her to an old art supply closet that wasn’t used anymore. Her eyes were widened in panic when I pushed her in, and I could imagine what was going through her mind.

“Gerard, what are we doing here?”

She was trying to sound unaffected, but she failed miserably. I could hear the little tremor in her voice, which, if I’m honest, pissed me off. Then again, I wasn’t the gentlest person either, so maybe she couldn’t be blamed for thinking I was going to man-handle her. Which, don’t get me wrong, the teenage hormone fuelled part of me wanted to do, there was no question about that. I wasn’t a beast, though, and I could control myself.

“I just wanted to talk to you. Is that a crime?” I asked.

“No, I just don’t see the need for locking us in a closet. If we got caught, we’d be lucky to get off with a suspension.”

“Since when do you care about getting caught?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe since my dad decided to stay home for a while to, I quote, ‘keep an eye on me’? He’s still pissed, apparently. He almost didn’t let me ride in your car today. He’s tightening the parental strings big time.” I could hear the frustration in her voice, and it was evident on her face too.

“Has he hurt you again?” I was genuinely concerned.

“No, at least not physically. He actually apologised for hitting me, he bought me a new stereo and everything. He just- “ she stopped, biting her lip in frustration.

“What?”

“I think he has a big problem with the idea of me growing up. I mentioned the idea of college to him, and I thought he was going to flip. He even gave me a little speech on how I’m not ready to be dating.”

“To date, or to date me?” I growled.

“Please, dad actually likes you. I just think he’s afraid of losing control over me. I’ve always been this little girl to him, because whenever he was around I’d play into his little fantasy that I was a little princess or something.”

Alexia had no knowledge of the words that her father had said to me, and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. Her father was smarter than to outright tell her that he despised me. He was probably waiting for me to spell it out, and suffer Lexi’s wrath for it. As angry as she was at her dad right now, she would find some way to excuse or play down his little speech. I just had to hold it in and let it go somehow.

“I missed you,” I whispered, not just to change the subject, but because I really had missed her over the last week.

She swallowed nervously, and her eyes were suddenly more interested in the ground.

“I missed you too,” she replied, barely loud enough for me to hear.

I couldn’t help myself. I raised her head back up to face me, and kissed her before the moment got ruined, as it inevitably would. She didn’t resist at all, in fact she wrapped her arms around my shoulders to pull me closer into her. It was a sweet kiss, not one born out of anger, like the last kiss we shared. It was perfect, and the feel of her lips on mine would never get old, I swear. She would always feel right. We broke apart when we became a little breathless, with matching smiles on our faces.

“We should go, before we get caught,” Lexi whispered, with great reluctance.

“You’re right. Are you coming over to mine later?” I asked, hoping she’d say yes, but aware that the likely answer would be a resounding no.

“I don’t think so. I think I should try and play nice with dad for a while.”

“You’re probably right. God, it sucks when your dad is around.”

“Tell me about it. He’ll be gone soon, though.”

I pressed my ear against the door, listening for any sound on the other side. The coast seemed clear, and I risked opening the door a sliver. The hallway was empty, thankfully, letting us escape from the closet without being noticed. I couldn’t get the smile off my face, though, earning nothing but teasing from Ray and Mikey, and a subdued silence from Frank.