In Denial | Alex Turner

XL

Earlier that day...

Alex's POV:

"Been tryin' to fix me hair for half an hour now," I groaned, turning around to face Monica who was watching me struggle wth a smirk. 

She was looking absoloutely gorgeous, leaned back on my dressing room wall, with her arms crossed. She was in a black tight top and a pair of black wide dressing trousers. Her hair sat messily and with no product on her shoulders as they emphasized the colour of her lipstick.

"Do you need any help?" she asked jokingly, watching me break into a wide smile.

"The hell do you think, darlin'?" I rolled my eyes with a smile as she approached me and grabbed the wooden comb off my hands.

"Watch and learn," she smirked and started combing the sides of my hair back gently, tracing her palm over it and applying some more product on top as well. Repeating that over four times, my hair was already done in under five minutes, leaving me speechless, staring at her.

"Might as well hire yer to make me hair every day," I joked, looking at my quiff in the mirror's image.

"No need to hire me," she softly spoke. "I won't be leaving any time soon," she smiled and smoothly placed her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her body and leaving almost no space between us.

"I'm glad then," I smirked and she exhaled a quiet laugh before smashing her lips on mine. She slid her palm from my neck to my cheek, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her as close to me as possible.

The way she made me feel was unbelievable, like some sort of substance I seemed to never get enough of. I had a constant desire to have her, feel her, see her. I couldn't bear losing her. 

But my mind always turned good things away from me, telling me to distance myself, trying to find the slightest issue for it. But the problem was, she was perfect. I could find absoloutely no issue. It was like the rare diamond one discovers after years of mining, years of exhaustion.

So the least that was going to occur, I was afraid would be the reason for that distance, for that isolation.

"I can't seem to ever get enough of you," I whispered against our lips once we'd pulled away.

"Me neither," she mumbled quietly, but loud enough for me to hear. "I wanted to talk to you about somethi-" she started, but a loud continution of knocks on the wooden door made us jump away from each other.

"Come in, or whatever," I mumbled, rolling my eyes frustrated.

"Alex, we need you outside in fifteen minutes, please be quick," a staff member popped their head in, not fully opening the door.

"I'll be out, thanks," I smiled kindly at them and they nodded, closing the door after they left.

I turned back to look at Monica, who had that hell of a smirk painted on her lips.

"I'll go use the bathroom, I'll be out in a minute," she kissed my cheek and entered the bathroom, locking the door behind her. I drank some more alcohol off the bottle on the counter in front of my mirror and admired my hair for a minute before my phone started ringing. I had started to become more than tipsy due to the alcohol by then, so when my phone screen read 'Elle', I couldn't quite put my finger on who that name reminded me of.

"Hello?" I answered the phone, downing te rest of the bottle; the stress of the performance getting onto me.

"Alex, hey!" a woman's voice exclaimed from the other side of the phone, making me furrow my eyebrows in cofusion.

"Who's... uh... who's this?" I slurred hesitantly, throwing the bottle in the bin.

"I'm offended, Alex!" the woman fake-gasped, chuckling soon after.

"No, seriously, who's this?" I cut off the mood like a knife, making the woman clear her throat.

"Elle," she replied flatly. "You know... Monica's friend?" she explained and I 'ohh'd loudly.

"Fuck, you're right, hi, Elle," I shook my head. "How 'ave you been?" I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to talk.

"I've been great, yes, thanks," she rushed. "Look, I'm calling you to tell you something very important..." her tone changed very fast, making my face drop.

"Is everythin' okay?" I wondered, making her chuckle.

"Everything is fine, yes, but..." she cleared her throat. "I've seen all those articles about you and Monica..." she started and I 'mhm'd in response. "and you've been getting kind of... closer than usual, y'know?" 

"Not really your business, is it?" I harshly snapped, sitting down on an armchair.

"Woah, okay, sorry," she laughed awkwardly. "Well, I just wanted to give you a little warning, in case you don't know that about Mon," she explained, making me knit my eyebrows together in confusion.

"The hell are yer talkin' about-"

"She's using you all, Alex," she spoke, cutting me off and making my face drop in terror. "All of you, but mostly you," she continued. "Your money, fame, and all..." she continued.

"And why should I believe you?" I spat, getting tired of all the conversation.

"Because I've known her for longer, Alex," she sighed. "I was with her when you even first met," she explained, making me gulp visibly. "She didn't like neither you nor Matt. She never actually did," she spoke quietly, making my whole heart shatter into pieces.

Being under the influence of alcohol, I believed her, she had convinced me. I believed Elle, and I didn't even bother asking Monica about it. I believed the one who was clearly jealous, and didn't believe the one I loved. 

Yes, loved - no matter how much I denied it.

-

Present time...

Monica's POV:

Having showered, trying to get rid of all the pain caused by the argument earlier, I was now sat on my couch, avoiding any calls from Alex. I was watching TV, but really, it was just a background noise for all the thoughts projected in my mind.

Matt, Nick and Breana had called me, asking how I was doing, and Jamie, Kelly and Katie had texted me, making sure I was fine. Alex had left me over 50 phone calls by the time their gig ended, but had slowed down after 2am, so I guessed he just went to sleep.

'Please call me back', 'I'm so fucking sorry, please pick up the phone' messages filled my inbox, but I ignored them, trying to make myself feel better.

Checking my phone again, I had received 10 more calls and 4 more texts from him by the time the clock hit 3am, but I didn't bother picking them up, I decided to go to sleep. 

As I was getting ready for bed, though, the phone called one more time, and this time it felt necessary for me to pick up. It felt like I had to pick it up.

But I didn't.

I let it ring until a text made my screen turn bright again, making me take it in my hands.

Sent by Alex to Me at 3:02am;
Can I come over? I need to talk to you, please. 

Sent by Me to Alex at 3:04am;
I have to be up in the morning, Alex.
What's done, is done.
Goodnight.

I felt betrayed and embarssed. I thought we could trust each other. I thought I had given him enough reasons to trust me. But I guess I was wrong.

I couldn't even think about Elle and how much I'd lost by losing her as well. All I could think about was him. And how I'd just lost a very big part of my happiness in just one night.

A/N: This was more of a filler part since some people were confused as to what happened on the last chapter. I hope it was clearer now, sorry for the confusion.
Stay safe <3

—A