Alex is a first-year student at King's College navigating life with the open wounds of her parent's rejection of her identity and her last relationship. There was very little to her life until she bumped into a person who would change that.
It had been exactly 8 hours since Bella left and I was moping on the couch, tub of ice cream in hand. Oliver was trying desperately to get me to go out, but at this moment, I just wanted to stay home in my pajamas and order takeout.
"Alex come on, we got invited to Aaron Brotcherner's party, we have to go. Plus this'll help take your mind off all this," they reached for my hand, " and you'll feel better if you put a cute outfit on."
That was true, there was something about a unique outfit that made me feel exponentially more confident.
"Ok, but only for a couple of hours. I have work early tomorrow."
"Eeeeh ok get ready, we are leaving in 30 minutes," Oliver skipped, legitimately skipped, into their room. I stared after them, a smile creeping onto my lips, they were the best at cheering me up.
25 minutes later I emerged from my room. Oliver was already waiting on the couch and they looked up from their phone, taking in my leather skirt and long sleeve sheer top which I had paired with a tight-fitting tank top underneath.
"Girl, you look incredible!" I laughed.
"Thanks, Oli. You were right I feel a lot better."
"You'll come to realize Alex, that I'm always right." With that they spun around and walked towards the door, pulling it open then waiting for me to follow.
"After you," they waved their hand towards the door and I made my way into the corridor. Just then did I realize that I had no idea where we were going.
After a 20-minute drive, we were in front of a house right outside of the main city of London. We had called an Uber to take us here and the driver dropped us off on the sidewalk where we got a full view of the scene.
Low bass could be heard from outside the front door and there were groups of people standing on the lawn. Inside, I could see even more students, many of which I didn't recognize, all bobbing their heads in unison to the music.
I don't drink, but I am also not the type of person to pass up an opportunity to dance. Something about the way that music takes over my whole body makes me forget about all my problems once I step onto the dance floor.
So, I took Oliver's hand and brought us inside right into the crowd of bodies. We danced and sang for what seemed like hours; I silently thanked my friend for convincing me to go out. After a while, Oliver pulled me out of the crowd.
"I need water," they said, sweat dripping down their forehead. I could feel beads of sweat on my jaw as well so I nodded as we made our way to the kitchen. Soon we found ourselves standing around a pool table watching an intense game between two second years at London School of Economics. One of the two had just hit the 8 ball into the wrong hole when a girl that was sitting on the kitchen island nearby shrieked.
"Oh my god." The whole room went quiet and looked at her.
"Bella Ramsey has a girlfriend, there are pictures of them at the airport" In an instant the air around me seemed to change, my heart dropped as I looked around, ready for everyone to recognize me in whatever pictures had come out.
Instead, no one batted an eye, more than anything they seemed annoyed that the girl had made a commotion.
"Who even is that..." I heard a guy chuckle next to me. In an instant, everyone turned back to the game, and I found that I was not at all angry that they didn't care about Bella's girlfriend. There was nothing I wanted less than the entirety of King's College (and LSE at that) to know about my relationship after it had just started.
I made eye contact with Oliver over the table and they nudged their head to the side, indicating to meet them outside. Soon after, we were in the yard and Oliver had already found the article on E News.
Bella's New Girl?
Bella Ramsey Was Spotted Holding Hands and Hugging With An Unknown Person at Heathrow Airport Monday Morning.
Anonymous sources reported that the Last of Us star was seen walking into the airport holding this mysterious girl's hand, they were able to snap a picture of them hugging but it is impossible to tell who this girl is, just that she isn't a celebrity in any respect. Who is Bella's secret lover? Stay tuned to find out.
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"Ok, that's not bad at all. You can't even see your face. No one has to know that's you"
"Yeah," I let out a breath, "I guess you're right." I tried to stop my voice from shaking, but by the way Oliver looked at me I knew I hadn't hid it well.
"Let's go home, Alex." I nodded.
When we got home, I threw myself on the couch, not even two seconds passed before I felt steady hands wrap around me. I leaned into my best friend.
"I know I should have expected this. But, I don't think I want everyone to be involved in our relationship. Especially not this early"
"I know babe, you just need to weigh whether Bella's worth the drama to you"
"They definitely are," I answered quickly.
"Then, you'll have to learn to live with it. And we'll be here to support you the whole way. For now though," they plucked my phone out of my hands, "I'm taking this."
"Thanks, Oli," I gave them a kiss on the cheek, "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."
"Goodnight Alex," they chirped as they closed the door to their room; soon after, I made my way to my own. It didn't seem like just this morning that I had dropped off Bella at the airport, the hours since then had gone by so slowly and I was exhausted. That night, I fell asleep right as my head hit the pillow.
As I slept, my phone, which was laying at the bottom of Oliver's closet, was lighting up with notifications.
>> Bella 💜Alex love, I just saw the article. are you ok?
>>Bella 💜Alex I'm so sorry
>> Bella 💜I didn't think this would happen so early
