......and I Fell in Love with the High School Outcast.

Cherry

".....real love is like feeling no fear."

As he was walking home, Ellis was ninety percent sure that his dad wouldn't be home before him. Still, there was that small chance that his dad was somehow home earlier than him. When he approached his apartment, he walked through the small parking lot to see if his dad's car was sitting in its assigned parking spot: it wasn't, and Ellis relaxed slightly. He was already depressed, he didn't need his neglectful and abusive father to pile onto him.

Ellis approached his doorstep with less caution than usual and inserted his house key and opened the door. He closed the door with haste and locked it with urgency. His dad's car may not be in its parking spot, but that didn't mean that he couldn't pull up any second. He rushed to his bedroom, turned on his lamp, threw his backpack onto his bed and began taking off his performance attire as quickly as he could. He quickly but neatly folded the pants and tux shirt and hung the coattails on a hanger; he knew exactly where to hide the ensemble from his father. He hadn't a use for the secret cupboard underneath his bed until now, and it was the perfect size to fit all of this stuff.

Ellis, after getting into more comfortable sleeping clothes, moves the stuff stored next to his bed to reveal the secret cupboard and opens it, putting the coattails on the bottom and the tux shirt and pants on top. He closes it and moves everything back in place and stands back really quickly, taking a deep breath.

He had done it, and his father wouldn't know a damn thing. Now able to relax, he takes his backpack off of his bed, plugs in his phone to charge, and crawls underneath the covers, not even remembering the homework he has due tomorrow. He was exhausted emotionally and mentally from the concert, not to mention, physically from not eating anything for the past two days.

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"Have a good day honey, love you lots!" Evelyn says the next morning, Thursday, as Alex unfolds himself from the car and steps out onto the school parking lot.

"Thanks mom, I'll let you know when I'm ready to get picked up this afternoon," Alex says absently. He closes the door and steps onto the curb, his mind still fixated on the performance last night. He's in deep thought until Haley walks up to his side and wraps herself around Alex.

"Oh! It's you," Alex says surprised, breaking his line of thinking.

"Of course, it's me silly!" Haley says with a genuine smile. She gives him a quick kiss on the cheek and Alex wraps his right arm around her, smiling.

"How was the performance last night? A couple of people I know said it was really really good!" Haley says enthusiastically.

Alex hesitates, but comes up with a quick response, "Yes, it was very good. I enjoyed it more than I thought," he says, not quite meeting eyes with Haley, "the concert was extremely impressive to me."

Haley nods, "Did you have a favorite piece or a favorite performer? Some people were talking about some pianist last night too. His playing apparently blew everybody's minds and not only that, but he sang too?"

Ellis. His name popped into Alex's head once again as he and Haley walked onto the campus.

"Uh, yeah, there was a pianist who sang last night. He was, not only an amazing player, but he also looked amazing playing too. His playing was truly a magical moment, truly impressive being completely honest with you," Alex says.

Haley smiles again, "Well there you go then, I'm glad you enjoyed the performance last night babe," she says, before noticing Jill standing outside of the language building, waiting for Haley.

"Okay, gotta go, we'll talk more later at lunch!" Haley says, giving one more quick kiss on the cheek before running off.

"Yeah yeah for sure, I'll see you around babe," Alex says as his arm leaves Haley's waist and he watches he run towards her best friend. His smile fades as she walks inside the language building; he sighs deeply through his nose and turns away to walk to first period.