School's Out: an Alex Brightman x Reader

7) Terrible Weather

Ten minutes had passed and I still hadn't found the courage to ask him. Maybe it wasn't so important, after all. I could live without knowing, right?

"Oh, for goodness sake, what's wrong with you?", I scolded myself, "It's just a question! What are you so afraid of?" 

I glanced at the GPS, realised we were almost at our destination and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Alex?" I started.

"Hmmm?" he mumbled.

"I couldn't help but notice you... uh, got quite nervous when Sierra mentioned we'd met before. Is there any... particular reason for that? I mean... I hope I didn't do anything wrong?"

"Uh- No! No, not at all", Alex stuttered, clearly caught off guard. 

"I- I don't really know, actually", he smiled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

I frowned, not entirely sure if I believed him. 

"I suppose I just didn't want to disappoint you? I mean- Sierra had told me a lot about you and I didn't want to give you a wrong first impression, especially not with her watching, I'm not sure if I would've survived that", he chuckled. 

"What do you mean 'survived'?" I questioned him, tilting my head sideways.

"Yeah, well, Sierra was quite clear on that. It was very important to her that I would be nice to you", Alex shrugged, smiling. 

"Oh-"

"So you can imagine how - when I realised it was you - aware I was of Sierra looking at us", he continued.

"Yeah", I chuckled, knowing what he meant.

You really didn't want Sierra coming after you. Seriously.

"You looked very surprised at first. Didn't Sierra tell you I was gonna be there?" I frowned.

"No", Alex simply said.

"Wait- Maybe? She might've mentioned it but apparently, I forgot", he admitted.

"That forgetful, hm?" I teased.

"I just have a lot on my mind as a future broadway star", Alex defended himself smoothly.

"I'm sure you do", I smiled, rolling my eyes.

Alex nodded convincingly before focussing back on the road in front of him, the silence once again taking over. 

"I'm sorry", Alex said after a while.

"For what?" I asked him, clearly confused. 

"For making you feel so uncomfortable at the restaurant. That really wasn't my intention."

"I know, and it's okay", I smiled reassuringly. 

"You sure?", Alex continued, stopping for a red light. 

"Mhm", I nodded, charmed by his concern.

"Oh, that's good", he smiled, "It's been bothering me a bit."

"Yeah?"

"So much so that I didn't even notice a strawberry coming at my face!" he chuckled. 

"That was because of- ?" I questioned him unbelievingly. 

"Well... yeah", he admitted, seeming a little embarrassed. 

"Ahw..." I beamed, blushing a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever", Alex mumbled, watching the lights jump back to green.

He started the car again and cleared his throat, cheeks flushing a light pink as he continued to drive through the rain.

A few minutes later we arrived at the station, Alex searching for a parking spot as close to the entrance as possible. Water was still pouring down from the sky and neither of us felt like walking through. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side. The only spot left was at the end of the street, almost invisible between a truck and the sidewalk. But, since we didn't have much of a choice, Alex manoeuvred into the small space.

With my seatbelt off, I stared outside the window. I could already feel the rain spilling down my back and I shivered. Alex looked outside as well and copied my disapproving look, grabbing his jacket.

"How about I go with you?" he proposed.

I happily took his offer, grateful I wasn't going to be the only one getting soaked, braving this terrible weather. With much self-discipline, I threw my blanket on the backseat. And after putting on my coat, I nodded, indicating I was ready. Like the two morons we were, we counted to three before swinging our doors open. Alex held his jacket above his head, gesturing me to shelter under it too. Once I was close enough to him, we started running. I had to grab his arm to keep up with him, so he slowed down a bit. As hard as we tried to avoid all the puddles, scattered over the entire parking lot, we weren't always that successful. When we almost reached the door, Alex stepped in a particularly deep one, sinking in it almost up to his knee!

"Shit!" he groaned.

He pulled his leg out, which proved to be harder than it seemed and we sprinted for the last couple of feet. I swung the door open with all my might and we stumbled into the building. Once inside, Alex shook out his coat. While doing so, he sprinkled drops of water everywhere and earned a disapproving look from the cleaning lady who probably just mopped the floor. Alex didn't notice though, and he walked up to a big screen that displayed the train arrangement, leaving a trail of muddy puddles that formed around his shoe with each step he took. Once again the cleaning lady shot him a dirty look and I was afraid she might snap at any moment.

"Where to?" Alex asked me, still oblivious to the slightly risky situation he was in. 

"Uh, C/N", I replied.

Now knowing what to look for, Alex let his gaze wander across the screen.

"I think this is the one you need to get, then", he said almost proudly, pointing at what he thought was the right platform. 

I followed his gaze and sighed when I saw I still had twenty minutes left before the train arrived. 

"Looks like I have some time to kill..." I mumbled.

I was pretty tired, soaked to the bone and still very cold, so I wasn't exactly thrilled I had to wait for so long until I got home. Sadly, I had no choice and already began to dread sitting alone in the rain. Alex, however, had different plans. He stepped closer to me, put his hands in his pockets and gave me a kind smile.

"Want some coffee?" he offered.