The Bag Boy ⌲ Forester

[Five]

THE ODD AND THE CUTE

"So, his name is Dean huh?" Melissa finally questioned after Jim had gone to bed. Her and Alex were currently sitting in the living room watching black and white episodes of the Andy Griffin show like they did every Friday night. Andy was in the midst of lecturing Oapy about stealing when the older woman had spoken up.

Alex couldn't help but sigh. "Mom."

"What? Come on, you told me we'd talk later." Melissa pressed.

"Yeah, and I was kind of hoping you'd forget."

The older woman rolled her eyes. "Come on, A, what do you think I'm going to do? Spread the news around Stars Hollow?"

"Well, you never know these days."

"Alex."

The blonde groaned, throwing her head against the sofa cushions. "There's nothing to tell! He's the new kid at my school and we're just friends."

"Based off what you said at dinner you want that to change." Melissa arched an eyebrow.

"Well, what if I do want it to change? Is that so bad?" Alex questioned.

"Oh, hun, of course not! I think it's great. I just don't particularly understand why you're so anxious about it."

"I don't know. I guess it's because I've never had a boyfriend before and...well, it's scary." Alex shrugged, dropping her gaze to her hands in her lap.

Melissa's face softened and she tilted her head at her daughter. "I understand. That's how it was when I started dating your father."

The blonde's brow furrowed. "Dad was your first boyfriend?"

"Oh, baby, no. You see, your Aunt wasn't the only rebellious one during our teenage years. I wasn't exactly a commitment making teenager. Hell, I couldn't even stick with dance lessons for more than two weeks." Melissa said, making Alex giggle.

"I went through guys like a bag of potato chips. No one ever gave me that special feeling, nothing ever clicked, there were just no connections. Then, I met your father. He was funny, he was sweet, he laughed at my awful jokes," She said as she fondly recalled the memories. "He was everything a teenage girl could want."

"So, you went out with him, broke his heart, and then after you realized how desperately you needed him, you fell into his arms and into his heart?" Alex teased with a smirk.

Melissa rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "No, not quite. We started going out, and everything was great. We went on dates, we made out in the parking lot at school-"

"Too much, Mom."

"Sorry. But point being, everything was perfect. And before I knew it, he was talking about our six month anniversary. And that scared the ever living daylights out of me. I had never been in a relationship that lasted more than six days, let alone six weeks."

"So, what did you do about it?" Alex questioned.

"Well, your father could immediately tell that something was wrong, so he asked me if everything was okay."

"That broke the dam?"

"That broke the dam." Melissa nodded. "I told him everything. And I won't lie, I was kind of expecting him to dump me after hearing that, but to my surprise, he told me that he loved me. And when I was able to say it back, with zero hesitation, I knew. That's when it clicked."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Wow." She murmured. Her brow then furrowed as a million other thoughts and questions began entering her head. "Well, what if I'm stupid and naïve and he tells me he loves me and I say it back and then later he ends up cheating on me or something and-"

"-then you will hold your head up high, and you will get through it." Melissa said, covering her daughter's hand with her own. "Now let me ask you this. Do you think he's going to cheat on you? Because if so, then that's a major red flag."

"Well...no. No, I don't think he'd do that." Alex said, shaking her head.

"There you go." Melissa shrugged. "Kiddo, you're only sixteen. Even if you and Dean don't work out, I guarantee you there will be other guys."

Alex nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"Hey, don't worry about it right now. It's not like you guys are together...yet."

"Mom."

***

"Okay, Ceaser, I got your number- cheese and crust!" Alex exclaimed when she turned around to see Dean sitting at the counter, chuckling at her reaction.

"Cheese and crust?" He arched an eyebrow.

Alex huffed, blowing one of her blonde curls from her eyes. "Would you rather me say Jesus Christ?" She deadpanned.

"Touché."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I got a number three, hold the relish!" She called to Ceaser, placing the plate on the counter so he could reach it. "Can I get you something, Dean?"

"I just came to talk." The brunette shrugged, taking a seat at the counter.

"Let me rephrase that. Order something or leave. House rules."

"Wow. You're strict."

"Hey, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them." Alex joked with a wink, making Dean chuckle.

"Coffee black, please."

"Sure." The blonde replied, grabbing a mug from the shelf. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"What?"

"You said you came to talk. What about?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really have a specific topic on the brain."

"So, you say you came to talk but you don't even know what you want to talk about? Shame on you, bag boy." Alex clicked her tongue, setting the coffee mug in front of her friend.

"You're very odd." Dean said, arching an eyebrow.

"Tell me something I don't know." The blonde snorted.

"Okay. Did you know you're also very cute?"

"...really?"

Dean chuckled. "Really."

A nice scarlet color crept onto Alex's cheeks and she cleared her throat, trying to keep from squealing out loud. "Well, you're very...tall." She said, her brow furrowing when she realized he was taller than her even when he was seated. "How tall are you?"

"6'2."

"...I suddenly have a very overwhelming urge to sing the Green Giant theme."

Dean threw his head back and laughed. "Never heard that one before."

"I guess I'm just one of a kind, then." Alex replied with a shrug and a smile.

Dean smiled back. "I couldn't agree more."