Falling To Pieces #1 (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Okay, so I get the no Thanksgiving thing, cause that’s an American tradition, but no Halloween?” Alex asked incredulously “What do your people celebrate?”
“Non-American Holidays” I replied dryly “Oh, but wait… Halloween isn’t American is it? You guys stole the concept from the Celts” I said, not expecting him to know what I was talking about.
We were only a few feet away from the group now. As we strolled back to our spot, I kept waiting for him to remove his arm from around my shoulders but he didn’t. When I tried pushing him away, he just came back and put his arm around me again. Weirdly enough, he did it so casually, that it didn’t really bother me at all. I knew it meant nothing, anyway. This was just normal behaviour for Alex.
“I’m sensing some hate against America. Do you hate us? Why? Is it a jealousy thing? Is it because we’re a first world country and you guys are still stuck in third?”
“Oooh-kay! Now you’re just trying to be a dick”
He bowed his head and sighed, “I know, I’m sorry. I get a little patriotic sometimes, it’s very weird” He said sheepishly. “And we didn’t steal anything by the way” He added, as a way of bringing us back to the subject.
“Yes, you did. The whole concept of Halloween derives from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.” I pointed out. “Back then the Ancient Celts celebrated their New Year on the 1st of November, which means that October 31st marked the start of a cold, dark winter” I said dramatically and knew he'd probably give me shit for it but, I didn't care. “Anyway, they associated that time with death, and believed that on the night before their New Year, the veil separating the living from the dead and the supernatural would drop…” I stopped to catch my breath and then turned to look at him. I was fully expecting him to be zoned out; looking at the dancing half naked bodies around us or to be more fascinated by the seagulls or the sand between his toes. When I looked up though, all his attention was focused on me. He was actually listening intently.
I swallowed before continuing.
“…they believed that ghosts and demons roamed their world on that night, so they'd dress up or wear disguises to appear as a fellow supernatural creature. It was their way of ‘protecting’ themselves against evil. Anyway, my point is, that it’s not an American concept… well, it kind of is today, but only because you guys stole it.” I ended off with a satisfied smirk.
Just then, we reached the others. I could practically feel their stares. So, I slipped out of Alex’s hold and started to turn away but he pulled me back by my arm and shook his head adamantly.
“You’re wrong.”
I laughed once “Excuse me?”
“Wrong!” He repeated louder, as if I didn’t hear him the first time. “Ireland’s potato famine, 1846” He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled down at me.
I blinked, feeling baffled and then crossed my arms at my chest, but almost immediately uncrossed it when I realized we'd basically been mirroring one another. I settled for putting my hands on my hips.
“Why is this relevant?” I demanded.
“It was the reason millions of Irish fled their country, and flooded America.” He explained. “So, even though they were in our country, they still practised their own traditions, including the one on October 31st. My point is, that they introduced it and we simply adapted. It’s not called stealing.”
I was momentarily dumbfounded by the fact that he not only knew what I was talking about, but that I was actually being schooled on History —which I loved,— by Alex, of all people.
It was his cocky smirk that finally snapped me out of my stupor.
“Debateable!” I argued. “Why would the Irish willingly introduce their traditions to people who weren’t even aware of them? It’s not like the Irish immigrated here because of some sort of agenda, to convert your people into believing that once a year, an imaginary veil between our world and the next, seizes to exist, and—”
“Okay, okay. We stole the Celts’ concept of Halloween” He said dryly, and used his hands to fan my face “Calm down, you weirdo.”
I slapped at his hands.
“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I don’t care because, either way, you admitted defeat”
“You scare me.” He said, still fanning my face
“Good!” I slapped his hands away again.
“That was a lie. I think you’re a nerdy history geek, and I find it kinda cute.” He smiled.
I shut my mouth and stood there dumbly, which resulted in him throwing his head back and laughing at me. I narrowed my eyes at him and clenched my fist, with every intention of punching him in the face.
“That has to be the weirdest conversation I’ve ever heard” Monroe commented.
“You guys make such a cute couple! When did this happen?!”
Lola's comment got me to whip my head around and focus on the rest of the group. Everyone looked at us expectantly, except for Chloe, who was visibly fuming. She clearly got the wrong impression, and judging by that angry glare, it was pretty obvious that I was not her friend right now. I guess she still had feelings for Alex then. I hope Wesley was able to at least move on instead of pining over a girl who was still so clearly in love with someone else.
It was then when I noticed that Riley had gotten back, but Wesley was nowhere to be found. Terry and Riley were sitting under the gazebo drinking Dr. Pepper and eating Lays. Both of them had also paused to look at us expectantly. It was obvious that Terry had also misunderstood the context of my and Alex’s ‘relationship’ but unlike the others, she kind of looked happy about it.
“Yeah, when did this happen?” Katherine asked, looking horrified.
“Don’t be stupid! We’re just friends”
“Alex doesn’t do friendships anymore” Chloe commented in an icy tone. “Do you Alex? I mean, that’s what you told me, wasn’t it? Something about it being too much of a commitment?”
“I guess I changed my mind” Alex shrugged.
Chloe looked hurt.
“You seriously expect us to believe that?” Stephanie asked unconvincingly
“Believe what you want Steph, you always do, anyway” he replied offhandedly, and then turned to face the rest of the group “Anyone have a problem with me sitting down and chilling for a bit? Speak now or forever hold your peace… No? No one?” He put a hand over his heart “Awwww!”
He grabbed a hold of my arm and led me back to the gazebo.
“You could’ve just asked nicely.” I commented dryly
“Now, where’s the fun in that?”
He sat and pulled me down with him, like I was nothing more than a human sized ragdoll.
“Hey, Terry” He greeted.
“Hi.” Terry smiled shyly
“What’s up Ry… You’re not gonna go all psycho on me like Wes did, are you? Where is he by the way?”
“Not unless you give me a reason to.” Riley replied, trying to seem cold but failed miserably. He looked like he was trying really hard not to smile, actually. “He has to go back out there. His chances are looking pretty good”
“How’d you do?”
“Completely washed out bro” He smiled a little “I think I got in way over my head”
The two of them laughed at Riley's dry joke and then dived into surf talk. I didn’t find this particular subject interesting and so I kind of just zoned out.
“Okay, time for a swim” Monroe said to no one in particular and then stretched his back. “Who’s with me?” He asked. When no reply came he turned to his best friend.
“Lola?”
“Sorry babe, I’m about to leave”
“What? Why? ”
“Jackson's on his way over. He's picking me up”
“Giant, Bouncer, Jackson?” Alex asked
“The one and only”
“Damn Lo, but you’re so tiny”
“Not anymore” She giggled like a naughty child
I think everyone visibly cringed at that one… well, everyone except Alex, who was enjoying that bit of unnecessary information way too much.
“I’ve fucking missed you, Lo!” He laughed. “What else have I been missing out on?”
“Monroe, wait for me!” I called out.
I was so not sticking around to listen to the rest of that conversation.
“I’ll come too” Terry said, and slipped off her shorts and tank top.
I was still unbuttoning my shirt, but I looked up just in time to catch Riley giving Terry the look; as in, the ‘glazed over wide eyed, and slacked jaw’ look.
As Terry bent down to rummage through her bag, Riley’s gaze moved down to her overexposed cleavage. He must have caught himself, because he looked away quickly and then ran a hand over his face.
Whaaaaat…
Did he have a thing for her? I mean, he’s always been nice to her and he was always making conversation, but I thought that he was just being nice to his best friend’s little sister.
I looked at Terry who was busy tying her hair up into a high bun. She was completely oblivious to the fact that Riley was fighting the urge to stare at her in that tiny red bikini.
How long has this been going on? Did Wes know? Probably not.
“Kara?” Monroe called out “you coming or what?”
“Huh? Oh! Yeah…” I stopped unbuttoning and just pulled the shirt off, over my head.
We made our way to the water and when we were a nice distance away from where the surfing competition was taking place, we ran right in. The water felt lovely against my warm skin; it was crystal clear too and the temperature was just right. We swam in pretty deep and then grabbed each other’s hands, letting the big waves push us back to shore. It was really fun, even though I choked on salt water more than a couple of times.
“Hey, I think Wes is going in again!” Terry called out to me and Monroe when we wanted to go in for another round.
“Let’s watch? I missed his first round!” I told Monroe
“Let’s go then!”
We ran all the way back to the competition and then followed Monroe as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Wesley was already riding out a wave, so he couldn’t hear us, but that didn’t stop us from cheering for him. A few girls we didn’t even know started jumping up and down and cheering along with us.
“Look at you being a groupie” I heard Alex say in my ear from behind me
“Shut up” I chuckled.
I playfully elbowed him in the stomach and stilled when I felt my skin connecting to his. He was shirtless… But so what, right? We were on a beach, and he was shirtless, just like every other guy here. It was no big deal. So, why was I suddenly so eager to see what his body looked like? Fuck it. I took a deep breath and then willed my face to stay blank as I twisted around slightly to look over my shoulder. I took in his beautiful face that seem to bare a permanent smirk. His nose ring looked so out of place, yet didn’t mar his beauty in any way. In fact, the thin hoop managed to work in his favour and add to his appeal. I moved my gaze down to his toned chest and noticed that he did have a tattoo after all. It was a set of numbers tattooed in a tiny font across his left peck. I didn’t take the time to look at it too closely. I needed to observe the rest of him quickly. My eyes trailed down to a set of ripped abs and then further down to his incredibly defined V line that ran all the way down to his covered bits…
Fuuuucking hell.
Not gonna lie; for a second there, I felt a little dizzy and had trouble breathing. However, I made sure to appear unaffected… I think. Why was he so damn attractive? Where physical beauty was concerned, he was absolutely perfect, and that didn’t really seem fair to the rest of the world. I turned back around— slowly, and squeezed my eyes shut, before letting out a long breath that I didn’t even know I was holding.
I jumped a little when someone grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Monroe looked down at me from the corner of his eye and smiled knowingly, before focusing on Wes again. He had caught me checking out Alex, as well as my little reaction in the aftermath… Great.
I was hyperaware of Alex’s presence at my back, but I knew Monroe was still watching me closely, so I tried my best to feign indifference. I focused on the waves, but stopped watching Wes altogether. It was only when the crowd started moaning and cursing, that I was finally able to tune back in.
“…And it’s a damn shame too. He stood a real chance of being in the final, but I guess this just was not his day…” The emcee announced “…Wesley Richards is out, which means Timothy Greenfield will proceed to the final-”
“Fuck the finalists! Wesley’s still awesome!!!” Monroe screamed.
That one got a rowdy response from the crowd. I laughed when Monroe put on a shocked expression and pointed at another guy as the culprit, when the poor guy wasn’t looking.

Wesley made his way out of the water with his surfboard tucked under his arm. He didn’t look too disappointed as he shook hands with the other surfers and then made his way towards our group who was still cheering for him.
“And here comes my cue to leave” Alex muttered into my ear
I turned around and frowned up at him. “Why?”
His eyes widened slightly, as his gaze trailed his way up and down my body. It wouldn’t be the first time he looked at me like that, and it’s never really bothered me  before. However, the fact that I wore nothing but a soaking wet bikini, gave me a good reason to feel a bit shy. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a little self-conscious and stole a glance at his body again before focusing on his face.
“Well?” I urged
“Your uh… Your friend doesn’t like me very much” He said, while backing away slowly. “Leaving is probably the only way to keep things civil. So, I guess I’ll see you around?”
I tried to hide my disappointment.
“Oh, okay”
He studied my face with an unreadable expression, until his gaze shifted over my shoulder. I swear, for a moment, his face morphed into the strangest expression. Was that… longing I saw? I couldn’t be sure because, it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared; making me wonder if I was seeing things.
“Wes, you did great!” I heard Terry say from somewhere behind me.
“Yeah, next time you’ll win this bitch” Monroe added
“YEAH!!” Our little group cheered and then started yapping excitedly.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Alex though. He was still looking over my shoulder, but this time his expression was kept blank. He was looking at Wes, I realized. Was it possible that he missed Wesley as a friend? Wesley wanted nothing to do with him, and Alex didn’t even know why.
“I’ll call you” He said to me with a half smile, and then turned around and walked away before I could even respond.

Wes was still watching him walk off, but when I turned around, his attention shifted down to me.
“Hey,” He said softly with furrowed brows. Just like everyone else, he was probably wondering what I was doing with Alex. I didn’t have to explain myself to anyone, so I ignored his questioning gaze.
“Hi. You did great out there” I said, with a timid smile
“I… washed out” He said sheepishly
“And you looked good until the bitter end”
His cheeks heated as he scratched the back of his neck and laughed softly
“Thanks… I guess?”
I chuckled and ran my hands through my tangled hair.
I needed a comb, so I turned around and headed back to our gazebo, where Alex had just retreated from.
“Kara, wait up” Monroe called out and jogged to catch up with me. “So…”
“So.”
“Things seem to be heating up between you and Alex, huh?”
My only reply was to make a face at him.
“Don’t give me that look!” He said, elbowing me playfully. “I saw the way he checked you out when you weren’t looking. And let’s not forget that ‘OMG’ moment you had after you got an eyeful of his—”
“Ugh! You completely misinterpreted that!” I argued.
“Uh huh” He said, sounding unconvinced “Anyway, I’m not gonna tell you what to do here, but as your friend, I should probably give you a head’s up” He said, losing all trace of humour. “Alex… is real fucked up and he’s hot as hell, so obviously girls are attracted to him… like flies are to a piece of shit—”
“Wow, you really don’t like him, do you?” I asked, feeling weirdly defensive all of a sudden.
“Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about him. He’s unpredictable, that's what makes him so dangerous. You just never know what’s gonna come out of his mouth, or what he’ll do next. He’ll be one of the coolest guys you’ve ever met, one minute, and a complete douchebag the next. Anyway, what I wanted to say was; don’t fall for it, Kay? I’ve seen this happen a thousand times over”
“See what happen, Monroe?” I asked, sounding bored to even my own ears.
“Girls trying to see the good in him”
At that point his words had gotten to me, even though I pretended to be unaffected. Was that what I was doing? Trying to see the good in him and completely ignoring the rest? Why would I do that though? I wasn’t even sure if I was attracted to him in that way. I mean, sure I thought he was attractive, who didn’t? However, it wasn’t as if I had some kind of deep, undying love for the guy. I just liked him as a friend. So, what was Monroe going on about?
“They all have this fantasy that maybe they’re the ones who can finally fix him, but what they fail to see is that he doesn’t want to be fixed. He’ll give them the time of day and make them feel special, but after he gets what he wants, he’s done.” Monroe said pointedly. “I care about you Kara, so I’d hate to see you end up like just another one of the many girls that Alex has done dirty”
I smiled, even though his words made me uncomfortable.
“So… I’m guessing it’s a good thing I’m not up all night, filling up my journal with his name, or wait. Jotting down our wedding plans—oh! Let’s not forget the names of our future children” I tried to joke as way of shaking off the weird feeling suddenly coating my skin.
“Hey! Mock me all you want, but I’m just looking out for you”
I smiled, genuinely this time, and hugged his side “Thank you, but you have nothing to worry about.”
“I hope you’re right”
I know I am, I thought.
I had to be.