MEDICINE | alex rider

twenty

Zarah wasn't sure why she was so nervous, she had been to Alex Rider's house plenty of times before but this time was different, she knew it was, but she didn't want it to be.

Her hand felt clammy as she lifted it to knock on the door, she felt so hot despite the loose-fitting dress, who knew the springtime could be so hot?

Everything screamed at her to run, to get away while she still could but she didn't move, she stood in place waiting for someone to answer. She heard someone walk up to the door before it got pulled open.

Jack opened the door, she was wearing jeans and a sweater, with her hair pulled back "Oh Zarah, you looked beautiful."

Zarah gave her a grateful smile "Thank you."

Jack ushered her into the house "Come in, Alex is just finishing getting ready upstairs."

She stood in the living room waiting for Alex to come down, they had agreed to meet at his house before so Jack could drive them to the school. She thought being inside would make her less nervous but it didn't. Not in the slightest.

She didn't sleep much the night before, even after taking five melatonin, which usually does the job, so she decided to stay up and watch movies on her laptop with Zalex.

It took her a while to get used to the fish but when she finally did, they hung out a lot. They cooked together, watched TV, and they even did work things together. She had actually grown quite fond of the fish, it made her feel less lonely, though she never would admit that to Alex.

Jack asked her if she wanted a glass of water which she declined. Jack was too kind for her own good, she always asked her if she was hungry or thirsty every time she came over, she was sure she would give her the shirt off her back if she asked.

Zarah turned around when she heard someone enter the living room and her nerves melted away in an instant. Alex stood on the opposite side of the living room, his suit was all black and his hair was wild, he was holding his hands behind his back and he wore one of his soft smiles on his face.

"Zarah you look-- just wow-- there aren't enough words to deserve how beautiful you look." Alex stumbled through his sentence, a light pink tint colored his cheeks.

She let out a small laugh "You don't look too bad yourself."

His eyes ran over her face and hair, she decided to leave her hair down, her curls ran free, touching her shoulders. She had to resist the urge to put it back up the whole way to his house and now she was glad she left it down.

Suddenly Alex's face lit up as he remembered something "I got you these." He pulled out a bouquet of flowers made out of paper "I made them out of newspaper since you said you don't like real ones."

Zarah grabbed them and looked at them, she couldn't believe he remembered she said that all those months ago, she looked back up to him "Thank you, they're great."

Alex nodded and smiled in return, Jack clapped her hands together "Alright, time for pictures, scoot together." Zarah put the flowers down on the table and moved by Alex "Come on, closer." Jack said and they moved closer to one another "Don't be shy Alex, put your arm around her."

Slowly Alex put his arm around Zarah and she put her arm around him. Everything suddenly felt hot, sure they had touched each other before, but this time it felt different, it was different, everything was different.

It felt like an hour went by before they pulled away from one another "I'm going to go start the car." Jack told them.

Alex turned to Zarah "Where's your dad? Did he want to stop by and get a few pictures with you?"