When We Were Young

Twelve:

Twelve

"My car?" Aleksander coughed out. "My car? My vintage, Aston Martin perfect replica of the James Bond car, car?"

Alina grinned. "Yeah. The one thing you actually care about in the universe. Because if you break my heart, I'm going to take the one thing that you love from you. Unless, of course, you want to drop this nonsense now like a civilized person and leave me alone."

Aleksander was quiet for a full ten minutes, so long that Fedyor actually left the two of them alone. Alina watched him carefully, and he genuinely looked pained but it might have been the fact that half of his face was bruised from getting into a fight. "Fine. On one condition."

"What's that?" Alina asked.

"You go out with me on Friday, not Vasily. Neither of us can date or hook up with anyone else during the bet."

"Agreed," Alina said, "because I'm not sleeping with you if you've been sleeping with half of the student body."

"And I will probably kill anyone that tries to sleep with you doing this."

Alina held out her hand. "Fine. We've got an agreement. Oh---and you can't force the other to do something that interferes with school or football for you. For me, that means you can't tell Mal anything about this because I don't want his parents pulling my school money because they think I'm being irresponsible."

"Agreed. Oretsev doesn't need to know my shit anyway." Aleksander shook her hand, and as he did, he stroked her wrist lightly.

Alina shivered. "What are you doing?"

Aleksander smirked. "You said the bet could start today Starkov. Let the games begin, eh?" He waggled his eyebrow.

Alina coughed. "Um. I have a test tomorrow. I have study."

"Right, right." Aleksander pulled his hand away and he ran his hand through his hair. "Why don't we hang out tomorrow? Get coffee?"

Alina coughed. "Sure."

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow."

He walked away and when he did, Alina found herself looking at her roommate who was standing in the hall with her jaw dropped, clutching her coffee, and her eyes wide looking like her eyes were about to pop out of her head. "OH MY SAINTS!" Genya exclaimed. "Was that---oh my----Lina----"

Alina walked over, grabbed her friends hand, and pulled her into their dorm slamming the door shut. "This is not what you think, Genya Safin."

"Explain to me what Aleks was doing coming out of our room, looking like the cat that caught the canary, and with a black eye. Oh my saints! Did he defend your honor? Did he kiss you? Did he fuck you? CAN I PLAN YOUR WEDDING?"

Alina rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Genya, please be quiet and sensible for a moment."

"Aleks is one of my oldest friends and I just caught one of my best friends at University shoving him out of our room with a very guilty expression on her face. WHAT HAPPENED?" Genya demanded.

Alina sighed. "Well, I told you Vasily asked me out----"

"Yes, you did."

"Well, somehow Morozova found out about it, and he came over here with the black eye and ranted about how Vasily wasn't good enough for me. And we got into the longest argument of my life I swear and um we...well. Gosh, it's so juvenile Genya. I feel stupid even saying it out loud, but somehow he conned me into it and I don't even know how it happened----"

"Please explain before I contemplate murdering my best friend."

"Oh no! Nothing like that. Only, um...we're in a bet."

Genya's eyebrows raised. "IN A BET?"

"Yes. Aleksander has one year from today to seduce me. If he wins, obviously he gets me. If I win, he leaves me alone and I get that fancy car of his?"

"The James Bond Car?" Genya said. "That thing is like his child."

Alina smiled. "Well, it's going to be mine when this whole thing is over."

Genya looked away and awkwardly took a sip of her coffee. "Right. Of course, it is. Obviously. Because there's no unresolved sexual tension between the two of you, and the two of you don't bicker like middle schoolers in love who don't know how to talk about their feelings AT ALL. Obviously."

Alina scowled. "What, you don't believe me?"

"Can I make a wager?" Genya asked.

"What?"

"I think he's going to have you knocked up before Christmas, and if that happens you have to name your first born after me."

"Genya!" Alina shouted, horrified. "You're supposed to be my friend and on my side."

"The only side I am on is on the side of true love. Aphrodite's got nothing on me, folks."

Alina narrowed her eyes at her. "Does this mean you aren't going to be neutral in this?"

Genya smirked. "I'm getting team Morozova t-shirts made tomorrow."

"Absolute traitor."

"By the way, I think you should let me make your bridesmaid dresses. Aleksander has something against color for some reason, and my guess is that the wedding theme will probably be black. I can work wonders with it."

Alina grabbed her pillow from her bed and whacked her so called friend with it, making Genya wince slightly and rub her arm. "OW!" Genya yelped. "What was that for?"

"Betrayal," Alina said, "obviously."

Genya simply grinned, and hummed the wedding march to herself as she put her stuff down.