Who She Is

~55~

Amaya's outfit^

Alyx's POV

"You still like me, right? Even if I'm a shitty person?"

"Of course I do. And you're not. You're being forced to do bad things. Deep down, you're a good person."

She takes a deep breath and pushes her hair behind her ear. She wipes her cheek with the sleeve of her shirt and clears her throat. "I told you everything. Now, tell me what happened to your face," she demands.

"Someone hit me."

"I figured that much, Alyx. Why?"

"I started it. I hit them first." Her eyes widen with surprise. They flicker down to my hands, and she grabs the sore one, bringing it up closer to inspect it. She sees the busted knuckle and has a pained expression on her face. Before she can even ask why, I answer, "They were talking about you."

"You did it to defend me?" she asks, shock taken over her features.

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about me. I landed more punches. And busted his lip."

A small smirk starts to appear on her lips. "I'm trying to be upset you got hurt, but I can't help being happy you kicked someone's ass for me. But don't do that again. You could have seriously gotten hurt."

"Wes broke it up before anything really happened."

"So, who was it?"

I bite the inside of my cheek. "Wes' girlfriend's cousin. His name's Nathan. You know him. He's the one you slept with before. He made that very obvious."

She cringes and looks down at her lap. "So you met Nathan?"

"Yeah, I did. Wasn't a fan."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because if I would have never hooked up with him, then he wouldn't have said whatever shit he said about me; you wouldn't have got hurt. And if I would have just went on the date with you, none of this would have even happened."

"You can't seriously be blaming yourself right now." I grab her face and make her look at me. "It's okay. You didn't have a choice. And I don't mind getting hurt if it's to defend you."

"I do." She gently runs her palm over my cheek, grimacing when I wince. She reaches her hand up and strokes it through my hair. "I really like your hair." Her eyes lower down to my outfit. "You look really handsome. I really hate that I missed a night out with you, especially looking like this." She tilts her head and lets her lips linger around mine. "Can I kiss you?" I nod before she slowly connects our lips. She quickly pulls back with a confused expression. "Did you drink?"

"Yeah. I had a few beers with Wes. How'd you know?"

"I can smell and taste it on your lips. I thought you were being bold tonight. Demanding, too. I knew something was up."

I give a small smile. "So, how come you came here?" I ask, curiously.

She gives me a sheepish smile. "To mope." I glance up at her to see her face full of regret. "I feel like shit. I didn't want to miss our date. I already felt terrible leaving without telling you anything, then Elaine bitched me out when I got back, making me feel even worse. Now, seeing you in front of me, bruised up because of me, I keep thinking about how all of this made you feel. It's eating me up inside." She wraps her arms tightly around herself, looking away from me. "I hurt you, didn't I?"

I think she's more upset about missing the date than I am. And is she really that tore up about hurting my feelings? "I mean, I was kind of upset, but it's okay; I'm over it. I'm just glad I'm still getting to see you tonight. I guess you could say I'm happy you came here to mope." I let a little laugh out. I hope she knows I do forgive her. I was really upset earlier, but I didn't know the situation that she's in.