I Wanna Be Yours (Arctic Monkeys Fanfiction)

7) I don't care about you; this isn't rocket science

Shivers travel down my spine. Just when you think you start to maybe, I don't know, like somebody, it bites you back. Hard. I clench my teeth. 

"You know what Alex?" I say, completely calm. "Grow the fuck up."

"You're one to talk," Alex sets down the guitar. 

"Oh," I scoff. "Huh. So while I've agreed to help the band, for no gain in return, because you were being an ignorant jackass, I'M the one that's immature?" I put my hands on my hips. 

Alex stands up. He throws one arm into the air. "You only did it because you'd get thrown in jail if you didn't! There was no 'I did it from the kindness of my heart,' crap."

"Well, maybe, if you weren't too self absorbed, you'd see this is all your fault!"

Alex crosses his arms. "My fault," he states flatly. 

"Yeah!" I step closer a bit. "If you wouldn't have came into MY hotel room, and walked in on a girl taking a shower, none of this would've happened!"

"Or," Alex takes a step closer, "if you wouldn't have been such a diehard fan, you wouldn't have stalked us all the way to that specific hotel."

Anger flares in my stomach. "I'm still just a crazy fan to you, huh?"

Alex walks up to me so that he looms over me, our bodies so close. "Precisely," he says in a thick voice. His quiff hangs low and his eyes are piercing. The building is quiet and all I can hear is the deafening silence and my breathing. I dig my fingers in the hem of my jeans. 

"I might be crazy, and I may be a fan." I don't know where I'm going with this, the words just flow out. "But at least I can admit that, and what can you do? Hide behind your 'I'm too cool' facade pretend you don't care?"

"I don't," Alex growls. 

Tears prickle at my eyes but I push them back. 

"I don't care about you," Alex whispers. 

"I don't care about you," I practically choke. 

"So we've come to an agreement then," Alex whispers, leaning his head down by my ear. 

I shove Alex back with both hands and sprint off. 

* * *

I hide myself in one of the storage closets, with one of those lightbulbs that hang from the ceiling, and the smell of cleaning product and dirt on the walls. I bring out my phone, my eyes red and face blotchy. I send a message to Katie, but she doesn't respond. I close my eyes and lean back. 

The hum of the electricity generator is the only thing that's steady. I was so stupid. I don't know, maybe I thought somewhere in the back of my head that maybe Alex didn't hate me after all. I mean, what isn't there to hate about me? I'm not funny. My looks are average. I'm a pest to Alex. 

It's about twenty minutes I sit in there, pondering my thoughts. 

I wish I never met him at all. I tuck my hair behind my ears. 

"Leah." A soft knock. "Open up." 

"Go. Away," I say through clenched teeth. 

"I'm not leaving until you open up."

I look away from the door. I take a deep breath and let it out, chuckling. "If you think I'm going to open that door anytime soon, you're insane."

Alex sighs. Suddenly I hear the door knob rattle, and the lock being picked. "Hey!" I shout, grabbing the door knob and banging on the door. "Stop it."

Once he picks the lock, he saunters in the closet and closes the door behind him. He sits down. "The lock is useless. It's picked so easily."

I say nothing, and turn my head away from him. I can't run, he'll just catch me again. 

"Listen..." He begins. A pause. "It's not you..." He starts, his mouth dry. "It's more complicated than that."

"It's not complicated," I interrupt. "I get it. I'm a flaw in the bigger picture. I was rude and you hate me. It is what it is." I exhale. "We just have to go around it until I finally leave."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "Do you want to leave?"

"Isn't that what you want me to do?" I tilt my head a bit to the side. 

Alex looks down shyly. "Quite the contrary... I don't hate you..."

"The thing is, Alex, I don't get how you could call me psychotic one second yet say you don't actually hate me the next." 

Something in his gaze hitches. "I can't tell you the truth now..."

"This isn't fucking rocket science! We're not in a romance novel. You," I say, poking Alex's chest, "can say or do whatever you want--"

Alex grabs my finger and takes my hand. "I can't, Leah!" He stops himself and drops my hand. "I can't."

"It's so simple--"

Alex leans closer to me. "It's not. In this business you can get hurt. Everyone that's close to me, that way... gets hurt. I can't let that happen."

"You think I'm going to fall in love with you just because this is a ruse for the media," I say flatly. Even more egotistical than I thought. 

He smirks, leaning even closer. "I said I didn't want you to get hurt. I never said anything about you falling in love with me," he whispers. 

My cheeks blush a fiery red. 

"I'm sorry... that I was harsh back there, about the things that I said--" He swallows. "I guess I've tried to make you hate me so it's better in the end."

I shake my head. "That makes no sense. Why would me hating you be a good thing."

There's a minute there where we just stare at each other. I don't feel uncomfortable. I study Alex's features in the dim light. His cheekbones, his sharp jawline, his dark hair. The building is so quiet.

"Because... I kind of like you," he whispers. My heart is beating erratically. "I was afraid that by liking you... you'd get hurt, and when you would have to leave, I'd get hurt."

Alex's leans beside me so that his forehead touches mine. I'm stunned. I don't do anything. My head is swirling; do I push him away? No, that doesn't feel right. I close my eyes when he brushes his lips over mine. 

I leave them closed and I hear Alex stand up and close the door behind him. My lips tingle, and I bring my hand to my mouth. What the hell just happened.