The Things That You Do

Tucking her legs underneath herself, Alexa moved to place her mug of tea down onto the coffee table, her blue eyes peeking up at the screen of her laptop as she waited on a call from Poppy. It had been a few days, after she and Lionel had talked, she had taken a couple of days to herself in order to process things, but that morning she had sent a text to Poppy, something which had been greeted with an almost immediate request to video chat.

She wasn’t surprised, as soon as she had typed the words ‘I’ve told Leo’, she knew that Poppy would want to talk about it, and whilst the subject was still a little sore for her, she wanted to talk about it, even if there wasn’t too much too say. She was hopeful that talking about it would make her feel slightly better.

Taking a sip of her drink, she rested her back against the couch before the sound of an incoming call filled the air, causing her to lean forwards, accepting it before Poppy’s face appeared on the screen. “You took a little longer to call than I thought you would” she quipped with a half-hearted smile.

Poppy shook her head. “I had to get back to my apartment” she quipped “But I called as quickly as I could. You told Leo?” she pressed, her voice more than a little urgent.

Alexa quirked a faint smile at the urgency in Poppy’s voice before she nodded, sheepishly messing with the sleeves of her sweater.

Poppy admired the slightly nervous actions before she shook her head, her expression softening slightly. “It didn’t go well?” she asked tentatively.

Alexa shrugged, not moving her eyes away from the loose piece of wool which had frayed from her sleeve. “I told him” she mumbled “I got the words out of my mouth, which is a little more than I thought I’d achieve, but other than that, there’s not really a lot to say. I told him I had feelings for him, he said ‘what’ about a hundred times, and then he said something about not knowing what to say before he got out of here. I’ve not heard from him since” she explained quietly.

It hadn’t surprised her, after the way that things had gone between them, she hadn’t been expecting Lionel to reach out to her, but still it irked her. She wanted a resolution, something more concrete than what he had given to her, and she didn’t like that it was taking time. She wanted to know, one way or the other.

Poppy nodded her head thoughtfully, allowing a silence to pass between the two of them briefly. “How do you feel?” she posed.

Alexa shrugged again. “I feel a little better for getting it off my chest” she admitted “But at the same time, I just wish he’d call or something. I am pretty sure that I know what he’s going to say, but I want him to just say it, you know?” she added.

Poppy offered her a sympathetic smile, something which made Alexa shake her head softly before shifted slightly, pulling her cardigan a little more around her body. “I should have told him before” she murmured.

Poppy frowned. “Why’d you think that?” she posed.

“Because then it would be over with” Alexa noted “And then maybe things with Andres might have gone a little better than they did. I liked him, Pop, Andres was sweet and he made me laugh, and I hate that I met him when I met him. If I had just talked to Leo before...” she trailed off ruefully, shaking her head slightly. It had upset her, despite the fact that she and Andres had only been out a couple of times, she had grown to be fond of him, and she was irked that they’d met when they had.

Poppy offered her a soft look before she shook her head. “I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better, Alexa” she noted.

Alexa shook her head. “I don’t think there is anything you can say, Pop” she mumbled, messing with her sleeve again.

Poppy watched her for a second, hating that she wasn’t there to comfort her, before she let out a soft sigh. “I know it is doesn’t feel like it right now, but this is for the best, Alexa. You needed to say it to him, for you sake at least, and whatever happens next, it happens. But it was the right thing, you know that?” she asked gently.

Alexa quirked a slightly bitter smile, but didn’t say anything, something which made Poppy shake her head. “I said this months ago, but I will happily say it over and over again if you need me to” she noted “If he doesn’t feel the same way about you, then more fool him. You’re an amazing person, Alexa, you’re smart, you’re funny, and that’s without mention just how gorgeous you are. If Leo’s not interested, then he’s an idiot and one that you can do better than” she insisted with a slight smile. She doubted that it would make Alexa feel any better, the words that she had said were words that she had said many times before, but still she wanted to say them, wanting to offer Alexa a little reassurance.

Alexa shook her head, but did quirk a small smile. “You have to say that” she quipped.

Poppy shrugged playfully “Maybe” she quipped “But it doesn’t make it less true” she added, her voice softening slightly.

Alexa flashed her a small grateful smile before the sound of a knock at Poppy’s door echoed, causing the brunette to let out a small groan. “I have to get that” she mused “It’s going to be Danny. Do you mind if I go?” she posed.

Alexa shook her head. “Of course not” she noted “How could I compete with your handsome new boyfriend?” she quipped with a small teasing grin.

Poppy feigned thought briefly before she shook her head. “You couldn’t” she teased.

Alexa laughed lightly before she waved. “I’ll speak to you soon, Pop” she noted.

Poppy nodded. “You call me whenever you want” she quipped “And I will be back in two weeks” she added.

“I can’t wait to see you” Alexa quipped.

Poppy flashed her a small smile before she said a quick goodbye, ending the call.

Alexa stared at the blank screen momentarily before she sat up slightly, closing the laptop before she reached out, collecting her tea. Sipping on the lukewarm liquid, she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment before the sound of the doorbell filled the air, causing her to let out a quiet groan. Pushing herself up to her feet, she placed the mug back down onto the coffee table before she stepped through the apartment, making her way towards the door. Catching her reflection in the mirror, she attempted to smooth out her hair a little before she placed her hand on the door handle, pulling it open.

Lionel, who stood in the hallway outside, jumped at the sudden sound of the door opening before he lifted his head, staring up at her for a few long seconds before he cleared his throat. “Do you think that we could talk?” he managed to get out.