Two of a kind

#9 Chapter

Friday
Alex's POV

03:15AM
It is, what it is! I finally decide to tell Laura the truth, I think it's the only adequate solution right now. I've embarrassed myself enough in front of her anyway, she doesn't want to see me anymore. At least tomorrow is Saturday and we're not going to school, there's no way I'm going to run into her in the hallways and have to hide in shame. I grab my phone from my nightstand, sit on my bed, and start texting her.

Eric: Hi, long time no see, how are you?
Laura: Okay, how about you? Sorry I haven't written to you recently, but a lot has happened.
Eric: I'm fine too. What things exactly?

*Laura tells me in detail about everything that happened in the last few weeks. First she starts with the incident at the cinema, and finally she tells me about how I tried to apologize to her, as of course she also mentions...Tom.* I hesitate for a while if it's really time to tell her the truth, but on the other hand, we are already on bad enough terms, let me at least try to be honest with her.

Eric: Actually, I want to tell you something...
Laura: Me too, but you say first.
Eric: No, no problem, you go first. Laura: Well, you remember when I told you that Alex had feelings for me.
Eric: Yeah, and?
Laura: The truth is, I didn't believe him, and I still don't.  Now I regret that I even accepted his offer to get to know each other better.
Eric: So you weren't being honest with him and didn't really want to give him a chance by feeding his empty hopes?
Laura: Well, when you say it, it sounds pretty far-fetched. It was just too obvious that he was trying to make fun of me.
Eric: That's not true!
Laura: How do you know if you're not in his head.
Eric: I know because I'm Alex.
Laura: Are you kidding me? Not funny at all, just so you know.
Eric: I saw you the other day how you were hugging Tom on the rooftop of the school, and I know you saw me too, but you ignored me like always.
Laura: Woah, what? Why have you been texting me under a different name for so many months?
Eric: So that I can really get to know you, and then more easily relate to you as myself, as Alex. To be honest, I would have told you earlier, but you never gave me a chance.
Laura: Why didn't you just get close to me as Alex did from the start.
Eric: Because when I first met you, I didn't expect that I would change my mind about you so much, and I had already created a bad reputation in your eyes.
Laura: And you just made her worse!

*Laura Smith blocked you*

(1 week later)

Laura's POV

11:50 AM
It's been almost a week since the beginning of November, time goes by so fast. It seems like yesterday was the first day of school. So much has happened since then, but at the same time almost nothing has changed. After Alex admitted to me that he'd been pretending to be Eric the whole time, I was very estranged from him, and to be honest, I still am. He tried to talk to me a few times to apologize, but I convincingly ignored him every time.  It's like we're in a vicious circle with him, he disappoints me, then he tries to apologize, I forgive him, and in the end it happens all over again. It's a hopeless situation.

Right now we have literature class and we are writing down our notes.  Looking up from my notebook, I notice Alex looking at me.
*I'm tired of him already, won't he finally leave me alone.* He's embarrassed himself too many times already, well I never really got around to him, if I had I'd be even more upset, but what is he to me in the end, nothing more than a classmate.

Our class ends and Cindy and I stay in the classroom while the others leave because we're going to be on cleaning duty later.
I see Tom come up to us and sit on the front row.
"Hello!" he says. "How are you?"
"Okay, and you?" I answer.
"Me too, I would suggest if you want to go ice skating together on Saturday or Sunday."
"With pleasure, but I can't skate, and it seems too complicated for me to want to learn, honestly."
"Come on, Laurie! It will be fun!" Cindy enthuses.
"You promised you wouldn't call me that anymore." I frown.
"That's right, I forgot, it's okay. Please let's go!"
"Can I come too?" calls Alex from the other end of the room.
"Of course!" answered Tom smiling, to my great surprise.
"Tom are you serious? You're going to let him join us and kill all the fun."
"Don't be so negative, also look at him, he's so lame that he's not even capable of spoiling our mood, like he's supposed to."
"Why did I even ask." Alex turns to the other side and puts on his headphones.
"Come on, I was joking!" says Tom, removing the headphones from his head. You will come too, it's more fun with more people.
"It depends on the people." I whisper under my breath.