Best of both worlds (a Big Bang theory fanfic)

Chapter 6: The Ex protocol

**Trigger warning: slight mentions of a toxic relationship**

It was the next day and was almost my lunch break which I was going to be spending with Bernadette, Penny and Amy. I was sat in the shop pricing dresses since that's what my boss thought I was best doing after I failed to come up with enough designs to please him. I was distracted from my slight annoyance as the bell rung as the three girls walked through the door.
"Hey Alice!" Amy was the first to greet me. I said hello to them and quickly grabbed my bag and coat from behind the cash register.
"Liam! I'm taking my break" I shout to my boss who was sat in the back room. As I was about to leave I was stopped by his reply,
"Alice wait a minute!". My tall blonde haired boss came into the main shop and pulled me to the side.
"So my cousin is going to be visiting for a few days" before he can finish I quickly cut him off,
"Wait Oliver is coming!" I say biting down on my lip.
"Apparently you sent him a message on Valentine's Day telling him to come back for you" Liam sternly tells me raising his eyebrow.
"I didn't!" I yell defensively then check my phone to see that at 11:43pm on the 14th of February I had indeed sent Oliver a picture of me sat being cosy with Raj while I was wearing my Scarlett witch costume and had sent him this message 'If you come over I'm happy to agree to that deal. Your choice'. As soon as I read this I shook my head denying it to myself. "No no no!" Was all I could say.
"Anyway you know our agreement. He thinks I fired you when the two of you broke up so you can't have any shifts for the next few days" Liam reminds me.
"Yeah I know".
We follow our arranged protocol, I grabbed everything that belonged to me and then left the store with Amy, Penny and Bernadette who were quite understandably confused.
It was clear they felt awkward bringing it up as the first thing that was said had nothing to do with the scene they had just witnessed but instead was Penny asking, "so where should we go for food?".
"There's that new Italian place just up the street" Bernadette suggested and we all agreed and quickly made our way there.
Once we had arrived, sat at the table and ordered our food I decided to explain to them a bit of what just happened. They deserved to know.
"So I should probably explain what happened back there" I say nervously.
"Only if you want to" Amy insisted.
"Well not long after I first moved to America I met Oliver and after a while we began dating, everything was great for a while. But things kind of changed, and I let them. He didn't really like the things I was into and convinced me it wasn't worth it. We kind of continued like that for a while and eventually we actually got engaged" I paused for a moment here tripping over my words.
"Wow Alice, that's a lot to deal with" Bernadette said comforting me.
After I plucked up the courage to finish my story I simply said, "long story short, I finally realised things weren't how they should be and I panicked. He offered me a deal and I turned it down so he left". I decided it wasn't best to go into the details of everything that happened and the regret but somehow relief I've felt ever since.
"Well sounds like you did the best thing you could" Penny told me.
"She's right, and hopefully you can avoid seeing him while he visits" Amy agrees.
"That's my plan".
The rest of lunch was fun we talked about anything and everything and we all really got along. I definitely felt much closer to the girls after having told them about Oli.
After lunch I made my way home and once I opened the door I sighed as my eyes caught the bin bags of costumes I still hadn't gotten rid of. Luckily I was distracted by my phone ringing, I grabbed it from my bag making my way over to the chair and saw Raj was calling so answered it.
"Hey Raj, what's up?" I ask.
I listen to his response as he asks how I was and we checked in on each other for a moment before he invited me to dinner.
"I'm sorry Raj, I really wish I could but I found a box of my old things I really need to sort out before I put it off for another few years again" I say nervously. I put my phone on speaker at this point as I decided to pour myself a glass of juice.
"Well that's okay" he pauses for a second before continuing,
"How about we all come over to yours? We can bring food and help you sort through your stuff" he suggests.
"I like that idea!" I tell him, excited by the fact that hopefully having other people there will keep me sane.
"Awesome we'll be there at half six with food" he informs me as we say our goodbyes and hang up the phone.

- - - Penny and Leonard's apartment - - -
"Thanks for Halley's old clothes. I swear they grow out of things so damn quickly!" Penny says as her and Bernadette sit down to enjoy some tea.
"Tell me about it!" Bernadette laughs.
Penny thinks for a moment still hung up on what they had witnessed earlier when meeting Alice for lunch, "so Alice's ex kinda seems a bit off".
Bernadette just raises an eyebrow and responds with just, "only a bit?!".
"I wonder what exactly happened between them, I know she said he offered her a deal, I wonder what it was..." Penny thinks out loud.
Bernadette agrees, sharing that same curiosity but instead simply states, "well if she wants to tell us one day she can, but for now it's just her business".