Alexa. (#1)

(17)

Alexa's outfit above.
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"It's back?!!" Screams Z, making me cringe from the sudden headache. We were both sitting on my bed. Noah and Zach left after they absolutely made sure that I am okay and my fever has gone down a bit. It was one hell of an annoying hour.

"Calm down, Z." I say, rubbing my forehead.

"Okay, I am calm." She says as she takes a deep breath then shakes her head. "You know what, after a second thought, I am not calm." She says as she starts bouncing in her chair again, making me laugh at her childishness.

"When the hell did this happen?" She asked. I shrug.

"Just before you and Zach returned to my room. We talked and yeah, that happened." I say with another shrug. She nods excitedly.

"So? When's the next date?" She says.

"Z, for the umpteenth time now, these are not dates, they are casual 'out and about's." I say again with a shrug, glaring at Z who rolls her eyes at me.

"You are so completely blind when it comes to Noah; you can't see that he has a crush on you?"

I think I choked on my own saliva.

What?

Me and Noah?

Noah and I?

The hell?

"Z, have you taken drugs lately? You are absolutely delusional! There's nothing between me and Noah except pure friendship, okay? Please don't assume anything else." I say as I pull my knees to my chest, still glaring at her. She rolls her eyes at me.

"Whatever, Nalexa would never ever sink anyway, you will not make my ship sink!" She says dramatically, flailing her arms around hysterically, making me laugh again.

"Wait- Nalexa?" I say weirdly.

"Um, hello? Noah and Alexa ship!" With those words I hit her with my pillow.

"Z, are you even listening to anything I am saying? There's nothing between us! Get it through your head." I say while hitting her with my pillow.

"You don't get it, Lex! I have been waiting since 8th grade for you to actually have a crush on someone and this is my only opportunity! I am not letting it go." She says folding her arms across her chest stubbornly. I huff and slump down beside her.

"I am scared, Z." I say. She raises an eyebrow in confusion as she loops her arms around mine.

"Of what?" she says.

"Of leaving you guys! I am so scared what you will guys be like after I leave. Will you cry or will you guys go into a state of depression and whatever will happen but I am scared of leaving you guys!" I say as a tear leaves my eye. Z looks at me with widened eyes as she pulls me in a hug. I hug her back tightly as if my life depended on it as she rubs my back soothingly.

"Shh Alexa, this is not going to happen. Losing you? That would be a hell on earth! But that doesn't mean we can't live with pain, you should know this. We will grieve and cry and mourn, but that doesn't mean that at the end of every dark tunnel, there will be light, okay?" she says as she pulls away and stares into my eyes. I nod as I hug her again and kiss her cheek.

"You are the best, Z." I say as I wipe my eyes.

"Uh, I know." She says as she flips her hair dramatically. I push her playfully as she laughs, joining me in my laughter.

My phone ringing pulled us back into reality and I go to it, seeing it was already 6:45 pm and it was Noah calling me. Z jumps behind me and looks over my shoulder, seeing it was him. She squeals loudly that I cringe.

"Answer him!" she squeals again as she bounces on my bed and I roll my eyes again, sliding my finger across the screen to answer.

"Hello?" I say as I put a finger in front of my lips, signaling to Zoë to shut up.

"Alexa! Um- hey?" he stutters nervously, making me suppress a laugh. "Are you feeling better now?" he adds.

"Yeah, I feel perfectly fine, thanks for asking." I say as I walk around the room.

"I was, uh, wondering if you were, kinda, free this, um, evening? If you're feeling okay, I mean, and, um, yeah?" he says and I furrow my eyebrows; why is he so nervous?

"Oh, yeah, I am totally free, what have you got in mind?" I say casually as I sit on the edge of the bed.

"Cool, yeah, cool, I was wondering, if I could, um, take you out, ugh, to dinner?" I froze, my eyes widening.

"Like a, um, a date?" I whisper so Z wouldn't hear. Of course, I was mistaken as she puts a hand over her mouth in a silent scream and I flip her off.

"Yeah, if you feel comfortable into calling it that." He says and I can just imagine him now scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, sure, when will you pick me up?" I say as I signal to Z to calm down which I fail at miserably.

"At 8?" he says.

"Perfect. Okay, um, see you then." I say.

"Okay! Bye!" I can just hear the enthusiasm dripping from his voice. I hang up and then, Z jumps on my back.

"YOU ARE GOING ON A DATE WITH HIM?!" she screams and I cringe.

"I'm not gonna even try to calm you down." I say as I get up, going to my closet.

"No, you'll never calm me down! This is serious, he finally asked you on a date with him. And most importantly; YOU SAID YES!" She says. I roll my eyes at her.

"Fine, fine, I'll admit it. I kinda like him?" I say. Her eyes widen before she squeals like a squirrel.

"You're so dead." She says before her what she said sinks in and she puts a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in horror.

"Oh, Lex, I-I didn't mean it, I am sorry." She says and I laugh.

"Zoë, lighten up. It's okay. I really don't mind." I say, shrugging. She looks at me sympathetically before shrugging as well. I head to my closet to take out an outfit before Zoë stops me.

"What?" I say dumbfounded.

"You go freshen up. I'll choose you an outfit, you just, go." She says. She shoos me away as I laugh. I go to the bathroom as I hear her mumble 'A boy's closet is more feminine than this.' which makes me mentally glare at her. I wash my face with cold water as a sigh rips through me. I brush my teeth and my hair carefully as I stare into my blue eyes. My cheeks looked pale and hollow while my cheekbones were even more evident than ever. I try not to stare at them as I try to brush the tangled mess on my head but it seems inevitable. I sigh as I realize I probably lost even more weight and that bothered me. After 15 minutes of me singing a bit and brushing me hair and cleaning the tear tracks on my face I go out to see the most perfect outfit laying on my bed. It was a cream colored till-the-stomach skirt with a blue blouse, with till-the-elbow sleeves and gold bracelets along with my black converse.

"Look, half 'you' and half 'I'm gonna be the hottest girl in that restaurant.'" says Zoë when she sees me gaping at the outfit. I hug her tightly, knowing I was planning on wearing sweats.

"Come on, put it on." She says as she pulls away. I nod eagerly and take off my sweats and hoodie before putting on the blouse and skirt and my socks. Zoë pulls me to a chair as she starts working on my hair.

"I think we should put it in a messy bun, from the half 'you'?" She suggests as I nod. She grabs my hair and twists it at the top of my head. She lets a few strands fall then pulls me to the mirror. There couldn't be a more perfect messy bun. I look at her gratefully as she smiles at me.

"Oh, I won't put make up on you, be natural." She says and I nod as I grab my converse and put it.

Zoë stares at me as excitement bubbles through me.

I am going on a date with Noah Black.

As I was just grabbing my phone the doorbell rings. Looking at the clock I see it is 8:05 pm.

Oh God.