When We Were Young

Fourteen:

Fourteen:

Aleksander came back with a cup of coffee, and a strawberry muffin that he plopped down in front of her. Alina frowned, annoyed that he even knew what food she ate. But she was hungry, and she normally didn't eat in the morning but who was she to ignore a free muffin? "Thanks," she mumbled reluctantly, taking a sip of her coffee and then a bite of her muffin. "Don't you have to get to the gym? I thought you usually worked out in the morning."

"Oh, I do, but the gym is opened all day and I'm a senior. I've only got two classes this semester, and next semester I've only got one. I could have taken them all and finished early, but my coach asked me not to. This is the year that I get scouted for the NFL, so completing the full year is really important for me. I took all of my required classes freshman and sophomore year so now I've got just a couple of elective classes that I've got to finish."

"Must be nice," Alina said, "I have a full load."

"You're studying to be a cartographer, right?" Aleksander said.

Alina nodded. "It's above average pay, and I've kind of always been obsessed with maps. When I was a kid, before my parents died, we um.... we lived in our car for a while. Dad was always looking at maps and mumbling about how he hated how unreadable they were. I thought that maybe if I became a mapmaker, I could create a better one. Seems weird to try to improve something that has been the same for thousands of years, but I've got to try."

Aleksander frowned, taking a sip of his coffee to try to hide it. "You lived in your car for a while?"

Alina nodded. "Dad came to Ravka to study for college. He met my mom and kind of just stayed. Their senior year, they had me, and their funds were low, and Dad was still trying to apply for citizenship, and it made getting a job hard. For a long time, we didn't have any money, and mom's parents were totally against her having a kid, especially with an outsider from Shu Han. They kind of came from money, and so their precious Ravkaan daughter falling in love with an outsider was...."

"Not in their plans?" Aleksander offered.

"No, it wasn't."

"What happened to them?" Aleksander said. "How'd you wind up at the orphanage?"

"When I was ten, that was a winter Dad and Mom couldn't find any work. We ended up living out of the car, and Ravkaan winters are harsh. Um. We were sort of sleeping in there, and one night, I woke up and they were..." her eyes darkened. "Well, um they didn't make it through the night, and I woke up with the stad watch knocking on the window and the next thing I knew I was at the orphanage. I stayed there until I was eighteen. After that, I came here, because Mals parent's kind of made me feel like I was one of their own. They'd take me on vacations and let me spend the night but their whole savings had gone to adopting Mal and they didn't have enough to adopt me, even though I was practically family anyway. I was fine with that really, because I didn't want Mal to be my brother because well...."

"You were in love with him," Aleksander finished, and he noticed Alina's face kind of fall.

"Yeah. But Mal's only ever seen me as his little sister, so I don't...I don't think that is ever going to happen. I just wish he weren't completely obsessed with the idea of keeping me safe. I know he wants to make sure I'm not hurt, but I need to be able to make my own choices. But Mal is part of me, you know? I can't lose him. He's the closest thing to family I've got left. So, if this comes between us in anyway, I...I won't be able to go through with it. You get it?"

Aleksander sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I get it. I hate it, but I get it."

"Good." Alina took another bite of her muffin again. "Because I wouldn't even consider going through with this if I thought it was going to ruin my friendship with Mal."

"That's not the endgame here, Alina," he said, "I don't give a fuck about Oretsev. You're the endgame."

She blushed, and took a sip of her coffee, as if she were trying to hide her face too. "So. Um. My morning classes actually got cancelled because they are taught by the same Professor, and she's sick. So. Want me to go work out with you?"

Aleksander's eyes widened. "What?"

"Well, I mean. It's all part of the bet, right? Seeing if you can convince me to be yours, or whatever."

"Right." Aleksander scratched his head. "Um, not to sound rude but you are more the academic type...have you ever worked out in your life? Do you even own workout clothes?"

Alina scowled. "I don't know if I should be offended or not."

"I'm just asking practical questions. DO you own workout clothes?"

"No," Alina admitted.

He grinned. "Okay. Well, you can come to the gym with me. But if you're coming with me, you are doing this my way."

She scowled. "There will be no sex in gym showers."

Aleksander smirked. "Wow, for someone that is supposed to be a virgin, you sure are a little horndog aren't you? No, I wasn't talking about shower sex, Alina. Not yet anyway. I was talking about letting me buy you work out clothes."

"I don't need---I mean----"

"Come on. We're besties now, right?"

"How do you go from being so nice and listening one minute to making me want to kill you?"

"Enemies to lovers, baby. Slow burn. That's what the kids say right?"