Band-Aids and Bruises 《Alix X Reader》

Closer to You ♡Part 6♡

I didn't see Alix until after school. She seemed kind of distracted, going in and out between her thoughts and reality. I noticed her biting her nails as we walked next to each other, chipping her white nail polish.
"You okay?" I asked.

She stopped biting and looked up at me. "Sorry. It's nothing," she said.

Alix walked a bit faster, creating distance between us.
Subconsciously,  I reached out for her hand. She looked between our hands and me, confusion written on her face.

"Look, I know we haven't known each other for that long, but I'm still worried about you. So what's wrong?"

"I already told you not to worry about it."

"Alix--"

"Nothing's wrong dammit!"

I let go of her and took a step back. She turned away so her back was facing me. For a few seconds, neither of us said anything, we just stood there, hoping the silence would leave on its own. Suddenly, I heard a quiet sniffle. "Look, I'm sorry," Alix muttered, her voice shaking. She took a long, slow breath before she continued. "I'm not mad at you or anything. I'm just...mad at myself. I lost something really important to me and..."

I put a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't turn around. I guess she didn't want me to see her cry.

"God, this is so dumb." Alix wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry."

"You can cry in front of me, you know."

That's when I remembered the watch in my backpack. "That thing you lost...was it a watch by any chance?"

Alix's head jerked up, and she looked at me with her eyes wide. "Yeah, it was."

I pulled my backpack off and took out the watch. She watched, wide-eyed, as I placed it in her hands. I could tell she was resisting the urge to immediately take it from me. She clutched it to her chest, as if she would lose it again if she let go. Before I could say anything else, I felt her wrap her arms around my neck and pull me into a hug.

"Thank you so much Y/n," she said, squeezing me tight. 'You have no idea how important this is to me."

"You're...welcome," I breathed. But there was something else in the back of my mind that was bothering me.
"...There's something else bothering you, isn't there?"

Alix let go of me, her eyes to the ground. Finally, she nodded. "Can you not tell anyone this?"

"I won't. Promise."

She took my hand again, gently intertwined our fingers. "Let's go," she said, a small smile on her face. "If you don't mind, there's something else I want to show you."

-*-*-*-*-

She took me a couple blocks away to what seemed like an empty part of Paris. It only took me being there for a few seconds to see why. Although I'd lived in the city most of my life, this place gave me the creeps. 

Alix suddenly stopped walking, and I almost bumped into her. "No judging. Got that?"

"I don't judge. Usually."

She rolled her eyes and we turned the corner into a small alleyway.
Each wall was covered in a different piece of art, but one of them, the largest one right in front of us, seemed like it was only half done. Spray cans lined the floor in the corner, and I instantly realized what Alix was showing me.

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye to see her fidgeting with her hands, as if she was waiting for me to say something.

She did all this?

"Why do you hide these?" I asked her. "They look great."

Alix opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She sighed in frustration, as if she wanted to just get it over with. "It's kind of embarrassing, okay?" she admitted.

She reached into her pocket and took out a slip of paper. "There's this art program I wanna do, but you know me...Skating and wearing my cap inside and all that. I don't know how anyone else would take it."

"You mean that you like art? What's so weird about that?"

"It's not that simple," she insisted. "I've haven't even tried telling my old man yet. Just the idea of it makes me nervous "

"You don't need to be embarrassed about it. Especially since you're so good at it," I added, trying to be somewhat comforting. "I think you should go for it."

"Maybe." She slumped down slightly, so her head was on my shoulder.

Sentences turned like gears in my head, but I couldn't pick the right ones. I always told myself to stop overthinking my words, which just resulted in overthinking even more. This time it was a bit easier, because it was something I could relate to.

"Look, I know what it's like to hide one of my hobbies. Coming up with a lie for what you were doing gets tiring after a while," I admitted. "What anyone else thinks of you isn't a big deal, as long as you're doing something you like."

Alix slowly nodded, but she didn't say anything at first.

"At least think about it?" I suggested.

She stared at the paint stained cement, and let out an exaggerated groan. "Fiiine I'll think about it," she said, her previous mood almost gone.

"...Thanks, Y/n."