The girl from New York

15| Truth

"Yeah... Uh, I didn't mean to." I coughed, taking a bite of the salad Alex had made. It was surprisingly good. His face had been a bright red this whole time, probably looking just like mine, and we haven't talked much.

"It was...Uhm, my bad. I thought you were going for it." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. I have never seen him so embarrassed or flustered.

"How about we just chill for a while, we still have a whole two weeks for researching and slides, but the slides will be easy. My mom won't be home until later tonight, anyways." He offered recomposition himself and regaining his cool.

"Sure." I said uneasily, taking another bite of the salad.

Finishing his bowl, he stood up and walked over to the sink to wash out his dish. I looked down into my bowl and noticed that I'd only eaten about half. My stomach growled still. I'm just too distracted to eat.

"We could play some kind of game, watch a movie, it's your pick, really." He said, returning to the bar. I swung my little feet, deep in thought.

"What kind of games do you have?"

"Uh, Monopoly, Sorry, Family Trivia. Or, we could play a game like Truth or Dare." He answered. The board games, ironically enough, sounded awfully boring.

"How about a game of Truth?" I proposed. Alex  looked at me, a perplexed expression on his face. "It's Truth or Dare, but without the Dare, because I'm too much of a chicken." I explained.

"Oh, okay. Count me in, I guess." He said. I took another bite of my salad and told him to go first.

"Uh... What's your favourite movie?" Ha asked.

"The Notebook." I answered simply. "Favourite song?"

"Tough one, I'd have to say that I'm kinda hooked on 'Crooked smile' right now. What is your least favourite class?"

"Gym with Coach Hurst." I said honestly. I was hesitant to ask. "First kiss?"

Alex paused, looking at me carefully. "Fifth grade, Kristie Smith...Yours?"

A deep blush hit my cheeks as I admitted. "Y-You."

He jumped up, a surprise look taking over his naturally calm countenance. "Wait, me? Like, just now?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I know, it's super lame and I'm innocent  and dorky, you don't need to remind me." I said calmly. He furrowed his brows and picked me up, carrying me into the living room. "What the fu-"

He sat down on the couch and curled me on his chest. I stiffened. "What are you doing?"

"Take it back." He said simply

"Take what back?" I asked, clearly confused.

"That you're lame, innocent and dorky. Take it back."

"Why?"

"Because you don't need to feed yourself with lies." He said softly. My heart swelled that he thought like this. But I could only say the truth.

"Uh, let's just get back to the game." I said managing to squirm off of his comforting chest.  "It was your turn."

"Okay, this one is going to be kind of personal, but...what is your favourite color?" He asked seriously, his eyes still swamped with concern.

Without hesitation or a single thought, I looked into his eyes and answered. "Green". False. I love purple more than anything, but I wasn't thinking. Heat prickled at my cheeks. "What's your favourite food?"

"Hmm... chocolate dipped strawberries." He said thoughtfully. "Where are you originally from?"

"Erm, New York." I answered, only now noticing the contrast between my more proper enunciation and his slight Southern twang.

"Wait, you're a Northeastern? Oh my god, what happened to you?" He asked with excitement.

"W-what?"

"You are shy and sweet and...absolutely nothing like half of the Northeastern I've met!" I blinked and looked down. Shy and sweet.

"Whatever, maybe I just grew up with a more polite father." I said in a purposely crisp voice. "My turn. Favourite animal?"

"Koalas, obviously." He studied my face for a moment before asking. "Why... did you get nervous when I talked about you being used to getting meals from your mom?"

"Okay, I have a lot of chores at home, you know oh hey, look at the time, your mom is probably on her way home right now." I said quickly, standing up and starting to walk away. Alex sighed and instead of forcing me to answer, he allowed me to gather up my stuff. Although I know that at least one person finding out is inevitable, I can at least keep my family secrets a secret for a while longer.

This is by far the most awkward 'research day' I have ever had.

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Sorry for the short chapter, hope you at least enjoyed it:)

"How the hell did you get the tomato soup to explode all over the stove?"

-Alex