The Things That You Do

19: Are You Sticking Around?

For a moment, Alexa didn’t quite know what to do. The sight of Lionel, let alone his actions, had caught her more than a little by surprise, but after a moment she responded, her hand gently reaching out towards the front of his shirt. Gripping the material, she kissed him softly for a few seconds before the sound of someone calling his name filled their ears, causing them both to duck back, sheepish smiles on their faces.

It had been unexpected, when she had turned around to look at him, the prospect of him kissing her hadn’t even crossed her mind, and for a moment it had left her a little speechless, something she could see that he mirrored. Trying to stifle her timid smile, she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear before she shook her head, her blue eyes shyly looking down at her feet. “Leo” she mumbled, her voice barely audible above the crowds.

Lionel, who still had his hand rested on her neck, gently grazed his thumb against her skin before he nodded, offering her a small smile. He could see that she was surprised, the way that she had stilled when he had kissed her as well as the look in her eyes confided it, but in that moment, he didn’t quite know what to say to her. It had been impromptu, the way that he had kissed her had been a last minute decision, and he didn’t quite know how to explain it, even if he was confident that he didn’t regret it. He wasn’t quite sure that he could put into words the reason that he’d kissed her.

Alexa’s already pink cheeks darkened slightly at the feel of his thumb before she shook her head. “What was that, Leo?” she noted, her blue eyes peeking up at him slightly.

Lionel glanced at her for a moment, trying to think of something to say, before he felt a hand slap his shoulder, something which caused him to turn around and drop his hand away from her, his brown eyes looking up towards Luis and Gerard who stood behind him, slightly awkward looks on their faces.

“Sorry, Alexa” Gerard mused “But we need to get back out onto the pitch for the trophy presentation. Do you think we could borrow him?” he asked, glancing down towards Lionel who had quickly returned his stare to Alexa. He felt bad for interrupting, from the looks on both Lionel and Alexa’s face, there was clearly a lot that needed to be said between the two of them, but Gerard knew that he couldn’t allow Lionel to duck out on the trophy celebrations, even if it did mean leaving things in an awkward place with Alexa. It was simply a conversation that they’d have to put on pause until the celebrations were over with.

Alexa blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by the defender’s voice, before she nodded her head, fixing a smile on her lips. “Of course” she noted “Congratulations, by the way. You all played so well” she fussed.

Gerard smiled at her warmly. “Gracias” he enthused before he offered Lionel’s shoulder another pat, wordlessly informing him that he had another few seconds before he needed to make his way back onto the pitch.

Lionel glanced at him over his shoulder, nodding his head in acknowledgement before he turned back towards Alexa, letting out a small sigh. “I have to go” he noted.

“I can see that” Alexa quipped with a half-hearted smile.

Lionel smiled thinly at her joke before he shook his head, his expression softening slightly. “I want to talk, Alexa” he noted “Are you going to hang around?” he asked.

Alexa hesitated for a second before she nodded her head gently, her fingers fiddling with the hem of the shirt that she wore.

Lionel watched her, a small smile curving onto his lips as he spotted the familiar red and blue material, before the sound of his name being called filled his ears, causing him to let out a muted groan. Shaking his head, he reached out to squeeze her hand gently before he stepped away, making his way out onto the pitch with the rest of his team mates.

Alexa watched him across the pitch for a few seconds before she turned around, her blue eyes quickly finding Poppy who stood a little away from her, a surprised expression fixed onto her face.

Shaking her head, she shrugged her shoulders in answer to the question that she was sure that Poppy would ask, before she turned back around, watching as the team gathered around for the trophy presentation. She knew that they had to talk, the kiss that they’d shared wasn’t something which they could simply look past if they were to ever attempt to patch up their friendship, but a small part of her was dreading it, even if she wasn’t sure how the conversation would go. She didn’t quite know that she had the stomach to hear Lionel say that he’d gotten swept up in the moment or worse, that he regretted it.

~#~
Pulling the medal off from around his neck, Lionel jogged swiftly up the stairs, making his way towards the changing room. He didn’t want to waste more time, after being pulled away for the trophy presentation, the last thing he wanted to do was keep Alexa waiting for longer, and he was determined to get in and out of the changing room quickly, even if it did mean swerving the celebrations for a while. He merely wanted to find Alexa and talk about what had happened between the two of them.

Pushing the door open, he jogged towards his locker before he tugged his shirt over his head, quickly throwing it inside. Sitting down on the bench, he pulled his boots off of his feet, replacing them with a pair of trainers, before he stood up again, almost running back towards the door. Pulling it open, he greeted a couple of his celebrating teammates with a warm smile before he stepped past them, padding a little way down the tunnel until he spotted Alexa, smiling half-heartedly at something that Gerard had said to her.

Smiling to himself, he admired her for a few seconds before he padded forwards, gently tapping Gerard on the shoulder. “I’m sorry for interrupting” he noted “But, Alexa, I was hoping that we could talk” he added, his voice a little shier than he had been expecting.

Alexa nodded. “I think we might need to” she joked weakly “Gerard, do you mind?” she asked.

Gerard, who’d been looking between the two of them, shook his head. “Of course not” he noted “I’ll see you both later?” he posed.

Alexa flashed him a small smile, nodding her head stiffly.

Gerard glanced between the two of them for a second longer before he excused himself quietly, leaving the two of them alone.

Lionel watched the defender away from them for a second before he turned back to Alexa, offering her a small sheepish smile that she mirrored, allowing an awkward silence to hang over them for a moment before he cleared his throat. “We...we should go somewhere quieter” he stumbled out “I can hardly hear myself think in here” he added.

Alexa simply nodded quietly, something which made Lionel sigh softly before he offered his hand out towards her. “Come on” he noted “I know somewhere we can go” he added. Alexa eyed his hand hesitantly, not quite sure that she wanted to have the conversation right then, before she gently reached out, allowing him to knot their fingers together before he carefully led her up the tunnel. Alexa mirrored his steps, following after him slowly, before she let out a small sigh, trying to shift the lump in her throat which existed at the thought of the conversation which sat ahead of them.
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Thanks to Jayme112234, FootieJo and mslou1 for the comments :)