When We Were Young

Twenty:

Twenty

Aleksander shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "Are you mad at me for not telling you?"

She shook her head. "No. It's probably better that I found out from someone else. If I had found out from you, I wouldn't have believed it. But don't be mad at Genya for telling me. She's so keen to get us together, and she's never been a very big fan of Mal. If I had heard it from anyone else, I would have been certain that it was a lie. But I can't...I can't be friends with someone that would do something like that."

Aleksander sighed. "I wouldn't ask you to choose between us. You know that right? He's your family."

"He's not though, and I think it's time that I stop pretending that he was." She wiped the tears away from her face again.

"Here," he said, "let me get you some tissues."

He grabbed some off of his nightstand.

Alina took a few, cleaned her face off, and blew her nose. She smiled sheepishly up at him. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Starkov."

"So," she said, "what are our plans for Friday Night?"

Aleksander's eyes widened. "You really want to, er, hang out?"

"Yeah. I mean, we promised each other that we wouldn't go out with anyone else during this time. By the way, I turned down Vasily. He tried checking in so that he could see if we were going out, and I told him no."

"Really?" he couldn't help but be surprised. "That would have been a sure way to end the torture, you know."

She shook her head. "I don't want to. Genya told me it was time for me to step out of my comfort zone a bit, and I think I agree with her. Aside from her, I've spent three years mostly waiting around for Mal to notice me and I realize now it's never going to happen. He can't get over whatever weird revenge thing he has with you. Have you two even just tried talking about your bullshit together?"

Aleksander sighed. "When he was a teenager, Mom tried reaching out a few times. She was trying to figure out if my dad had actually cheated on her, and if he was also my---"

Alina's eyes widened. "Oh god. Your brother. If your dad cheated on your mom with your aunt, then he would also be your brother."

"Yeah," said Aleksander, running his hands through his hair, "and um, we even managed to convince him to come to Christmas. But then he found out what it was really about, and he stormed off. Mom was worried he'd try and contest my dads will, which leaves me my inheritance when I am twenty-five. It's a fuckton of money. Anyway, we went and hung out beforehand. Played catch and went to a football game and everything. When he found out what we were trying to do, he stormed off. So yeah, he knows all of this shit. Mom was terrified when she found out we were going to the same college. She figured he'd try and pull crap, and well...."

"She was right," Alina finished.

"Yeah," Aleksander said, "she was right."

"Morozova, I am so sorry. Anyone else that could be the contender for Mal's dad?"

"Well, there was one other person, but we managed to rule him out."

"How'd you do that?"

"Talked to both the father. Apparently, there was a scandal pregnancy in his family too around the same time, but it involved his sister, I guess? Something to do with a college boyfriend the family didn't approve of. He wasn't from Ravka, and the family was one of those old money families and they took issue with their precious, baby girl taking up with an outsider."

Alina rolled her eyes. "Sounds like my parents. Same old story, huh?"

Aleksander nodded. "Yeah. People should know better, but you know..."

Alina found herself resting her head on Aleksander's shoulder. She had been crying for a good two hours, and she hadn't eaten since lunch. She was shaky, tired, and her throat was raw from all of the sobbing. That Aleksander's shoulder was there was just a matter of convenience, also he happened to have nice, broad ones, perfect for resting anyway.

Aleksander glanced down and his lips twitched into a smile. "Who would have thought? Alina Starkov, resting on my shoulder. Now I have truly seen everything."

"No you haven't."

"No?"

"You haven't seen Zoya smile."

Aleksander chuckled. "You're right. I haven't. But to be fair, I don't think anyone ever has."

"Probably not." As if on cue, Alina's stomach rumbled, and Aleksander glanced down when he heard it.

"Hungry?" he asked. "When was the last time you ate?"

Alina frowned. "I don't even remember."

"Let's go 'hang out' and I'll get you some food, huh? And then we can talk about how we're going to 'hang out' on Friday. Sound good?"

Alina blushed. "You don't have to always feed me. I've got ramen back in the dorm."

Aleksander scoffed. "We're getting you actual food. If you want ramen, I know a good place that makes it."

"Is this going to be one of those obnoxiously expensive things again like with the activewear?" Alina asked.

"I know no other way," Aleksander said to her, "I go big or I don't go at all. Come on. We talked about this. Do you think you deserve the best, Starkov?"

She bit down on her lower lip. "I um..."

"The answer," he said, "is always yes. Yes, you deserve the best and I am going to get you it. Come on. Let's go somewhere fancy off campus, and I will get you something to eat. Can't have my bestie hungry now, can I? That would make me a bad friend and we're not about that nonsense, you know."

Alina laughed. "You're utterly ridiculous."

"Yeah, well. Nikolai says I'm a peacock so..."

She chuckled. "This is you showing me your fancy feathers?"

"Something to that effect, yes."

"Alright then, Mr. Peacock. Work those feathers for me."

Aleksander grinned, grabbed her by the hand, and the two of them left.