Alexa and Katie: Fight or Flight

Ch. 1: The Season of Change

"So many things happened over junior year.

And yet, it felt like it went by so fast.

But I learned a lot.

I learned that being afraid is worth it when the other choice is not being with someone incredible.

And that when life gets stressful,

we have to remember to lean away from the fear,

And lean into the people we love."

Alexa's POV

Now that school was over and Spencer's scans were looking good, I was ready to finally relax and have an amazing summer.

Spencer and I started spending a lot more time together, with Katie and our other friends often joining in. We had to make the most of our options to stay busy, especially since the mini golf course was officially closed and Katie still had shifts at Wired.

I also tagged along with Spencer to his check-in appointments and slowly got used to being back in the cancer ward, especially after I confessed to my therapist and Spencer about how hard it really was for me.

I had to miss today's appointment to help my dad finish the gazebo, but afterwards we were all going to meet up at Wired just in time for Katie's next shift.

-

"Hey Alexa, over here!" Hannah called as I walked through the door, the smell of coffee immediately welcoming me.

"Hey guys," I said as I sat and checked my phone, "Spencer should be here in like 5 too"

"Cool. Oh, so Alexa, I was just asking what you think we should do before Hannah and I have to leave for the summer" Reagan asked.

Reagan and Hannah were going to some kind of camp for the rest of the summer, leaving just Katie and I left. Gwenny, who had been unsuccessfully trying to invade our friend group, had already left to Europe a few days into summer.

"Hmm. I don't know. It has to be good, this is the last summer of high school, next summer we'll be getting ready to move away to college and have so many more responsibilities. We have to enjoy this freedom." I said and started thinking about it.

"Hey guys, what's with all the silence?" Spencer walked up to us.

"We're trying to think of something fun to do before Reagan and Hannah leave for camp" I responded as he sat next to me and intertwined our hands.

"Ohhhh. Any ideas yet?" he asked.

"Oh! What about driving to the mall!" Hannah piped up.

"Oh great idea. I doubt we'll have time to do any shopping once we get back!" Reagan said, and excitedly started talking about the details.

We got Katie's attention and filled her in, talked about some other stuff, and before long Wired was closing and we all had to go our separate ways.

"Hey Spencer, I know you're coming over for dinner, but do you mind if we stay so I can help Katie close up?" I ask.

"Yea, that's fine. What can I do to help?" he said while already bringing our cups up to the counter.

Pretty soon we were all finished and started walking home.

"Thanks for your help guys. Barry is getting way too comfortable with me being assistant manager, closing usually takes forever with everything I have to do now" Katie tells us both.

We had been walking for a little while now and for some reason my head started to feel funny.

"Alexa? Alexa are you okay?" Katie suddenly called out to me, and I realized I had been zoned out.

"Yea, yea I'm fine, sorry, just a little tired" I said, shaking my head a bit to snap out of it.

"Well lets just get you inside and sit, I'm sure you probably need something to eat too" Spencer said and squeezed my hand a bit as we approached my front door.

We all headed inside and, sure enough, my mom had dinner all ready for us so we sat and ate. I wasn't really that hungry anymore but I managed to eat a bit and was feeling good enough to keep talking with everyone. Eventually Spencer had to head home and Katie and her family decided to head out too.

"Bye guys, see you tomorrow!" I waved and started helping my mom with some dishes.

But for some reason I just couldn't shake that weird feeling from the walk home earlier.

"Alexa sweetie, are you alright?" my mom asked as she grabbed another dish from me to dry.

"Yeah, just a busy day. I'm kinda tired and we made plans for the mall tomorrow. Do you mind if I just head to bed?"

"Of course. But if you're still feeling like this in the morning I'm afraid it wouldn't be a good idea for you to go out"

"Okay, yea you're right. *yawn* Goodnight Mom, see you tomorrow!" I called.

I made my way upstairs to my room, changing into pajamas quickly before falling asleep.