"Oh no." I heard Aiden say, stopping in front of me, "Katie, is everything okay?"
I looked up from crying over my work, and attempted to wipe the tears off my face to put on a brave face. I wasn't emotionally stable enough for his teasing right now.
"Oh, it's just work stress." I say, wiping at more tears, "You know how it is."
He raised an eyebrow and took the seat that Alexa was in a moment ago.
"Right, because work stress involves doing no actual work and talking to Alexa." Aiden says, sarcastically, "You can't lie to me, I saw the whole thing."
I let out a shaky laugh. There was something about the way that he could so clearly see through my facade that was comforting.
"Okay, fine." I said, softly, "It's not work stress. It's everything else. Problems with my mom, drama with Alexa... it feels like my whole life is falling apart."
His usual cocky demeanor softened for a second as he leaned closer to me, listening intently.
"Well, well, Little Miss Sunshine has some dark clouds." he says, teasing, "About time you admitted it."
I couldn't help but smile despite my tears.
"I know, I know, you warned me about Alexa." I said, slightly amused.
He grinned and crossed his arms.
"Told you so." he said, smiling, "But hey, who needs her, right? You've got me, your favorite fairy godfather."
I chuckled, ignoring the fact that he's been unusually nice to me recently.
"Thanks." I said, softly, "I appreciate it. I just... I don't know how to handle everything."
He leant back in the chair, his usual confident posture returning.
"Well, lucky for you, I'm an expert in handling life's messes." he said, sarcastically. "Step one: laugh at the chaos. It's so much more fun that way."
My troubles faded for a second as I laughed at his attempt to cheer me up.
"You're ridiculous, you know that right?" I asked, smiling.
"Ridiculously good at cheering you up? I know." he said grinning, "Well, that's my fairy godfather duties done. See you around!"
He got up and walked out of the room. After his cheering up I felt brave enough to talk to Alexa. I went home as it was starting to get dark, but as soon as I was home, I messaged Alexa.
Me: Hey, we need to talk.
I waited anxiously for her response, after a while I got one.
Alexa: About what?
Was she seriously playing dumb? She knew exactly what we needed to talk about.
Me: About the way you've been treating me
Me: It's not cool
Alexa: Ugh, drama again?
Alexa: What's your deal?
What was MY deal? What was her deal? She's being so insensitive lately, I don't understand what happened.
Me: I'm serious
Me: I thought friends were supposed to support each other, not dismiss each other
Alexa: Whatever
Alexa: You're blowing this out of proportion
Me: No, I'm not
Me: I deserve better than to be treated like an afterthought
Alexa: Well, maybe if you weren't so sensitive
Maybe if she wasn't so INsensitive, she'd understand where I was coming from.
Me: I've tried to be there for you, but every time I need support, you brush me off
Me: It hurts
Alexa: If you're looking for sympathy, maybe Aiden can help you
Alexa: I saw him come to you RIGHT after we talked before
Alexa: Seems like you two are getting pretty cozy
Is she seriously bringing him into this? I could easily bring up Bree, but I choose not to.
Me: What does Aiden have to do with this?
Alexa: Oh, come on, Katie
Alexa: I've seen the way he looks at you
Alexa: Don't play dumb
Me: This has nothing to do with Aiden
Me: This is about OUR friendship
Alexa: Sure, keep telling yourself that
Alexa: It's always about you, isn't it?
She was finally saying it to my face. All those things I heard the girls say that she said about me behind my back to Bree, this was proof they were true.
Me: I can't believe you're bringing Aiden into this
Me: He's just a friend, and I won't let you ruin it
Alexa: Friends, huh?
Alexa: Sounds familiar
Alexa: You always find someone to replace me
Replace HER? I so badly wanted to bring Bree up, but I wasn't going to stoop that low, I could win without it.
Me: That's not true
Me: This is about you not being there when I needed you
Alexa: Well, maybe I don't need a friend who's always so damn needy
NEEDY? Oh, I'm not letting her get away with that.
Me: If that's how you feel, then I guess we shouldn't be friends anymore
Me: For good this time
Alexa: Fine
Alexa: Good luck finding someone who will put up with your drama
Me: Goodbye Alexa.
I then blocked her contact. I texted Aiden, telling him everything that happened. He applauded me for being so brave and he told me that if I needed him to deal with her for me, he would. I wasn't sure what that meant so I declined. When he responded with;
Aiden: Probably a smart decision on your behalf, haha
I knew I had made the right decision.
YOU ARE READING
Steps of Courage
FanfictionAlexa and Katie don't live in Virginia, they live in North Carolina. They still live next door to each other but their houses aren't connected by the tree. Alexa doesn't have cancer and Katie doesn't move away to college, they both go to UNC. And mo...
