manage me, i'm a mess // a.g

14. "all it takes is a sex change."

~ ERIKA ~

My name on his phone was Wendy. Wendy. Wendy. 

I had no idea what to make of this. Whether he pictured himself as Peter Pan, or as, say, Wendy's brother Michael. I did remember our first ever conversation, though, and I guessed that was all there was to it. 

I snapped out of my trance as I heard Rian clear his throat loudly and obnoxiously. 

"So, how long are you staying here?" Rian asked me after Alex had turned a bright shade of red and locked himself in his room. 

 "I have no idea," I looked down. "Is that okay with you though?" 

"Yeah, it's fine," he smiled. "But Alex is gonna want his bed back." 

"I'm fine with the couch," I smiled back. "What're you guys doing today?" 

"We were planning on going out to dinner as a band, actually. You should come! Bring your friends." 

"Yeah, they'd like that. But they've gone shopping, and one of them is a homosexual." 

"I see your point, but the Chinese place is two blocks away from the mall." 

"Hey Erika?" Alex screamed from his bedroom, interrupting my conversation with Rian. 

"That would be me," I replied. 

"Come here, won't you?" 

I obliged and walked over to his bedroom to find that he wore nothing but a pair of boxers. And boy, did he look good. Luckily, he was in the bathroom facing away from me and couldn't see me looking.

I mentally slapped myself and regained my composure. "Yes?" 

"Where's that shirt you took from me?" he asked. 

"I'm still wearing it." 

"Tough luck, I need it." He turned around and walked out of the bathroom to find me and shoot me a small smile. 

"What will I wear, then?" I protested. He rummaged through his wardrobe and threw two articles of clothing at me, one of which was a pair of mini shorts and the other, a feminine-looking tank top with the Deathly Hallows sign cut from the back. "Okay, where did you get these?" 

"Lisa," he replied simply, and I mentally slapped myself again. Of course - His girlfriend. 

"What would Lisa have to say about you lending me her clothes?" 

"These are all from when we were still together," he said matter-of-factly. There was a short yet uncomfortable silence. 

"I suggest you start telling the press about your supposed break up. They seem to have the wrong idea." 

"Oh no, it's okay. Lisa and I get together, one of us cheats, we break up, we get back together again, then the other one cheats, and so on." 

"What a healthy relationship," I said, shaking my head. I put down the clothes and just as I'm about to take off the shirt, he essentially shoves a camera in my face and takes a photo of me. 

"This is a historical moment," he smiled. "A New Yorker wearing a Ravens jersey." 

I flipped him off, pulled off the shirt and threw it at him. I didn't care if he saw me in my underwear. Apparently Rian already had, too. 

After I was fully clothed, I walked back into the living room, where Rian had entirely disappeared from. I sat down by the TV and looked at the movies they owned. 

"Why would someone need three copies of Home Alone?" I asked no-one in particular. 

"Because it's my favorite fucking movie ever, that's why," I heard someone say. I turned around and spotted Jack by the door. "How are you?" 

"I'm alright thanks. If I told you my friends were throwing a party, would you come?" 

"Depends what friends," he trailed off. 

"Freddie and Dylan." 

"You had me at Freddie," he smirked. "I'll be there." 

"Has Freddie converted you, Jack?" I asked. "Are you gay now?" 

"Not yet, but he's damn close," he said with a wholehearted smile. 

"If I were a guy, I'd date him." 

"All it takes is a sex change," he winked. 

"What's this about a sex change?" Alex walked into the living room, running his hand through his wet hair and wearing the shirt I'd just taken off. 

"No, Alex, your gay lover isn't going to become a woman anytime soon." 

"Damn," he laughed, sat down next to me and put his arm around me, which of course, raised skeptical looks from my part. "So what are you doing in my humble abode, Barakat?" 

"I actually came because I wanted to have sex with you, but clearly, you're cheating on me."

I held back a laugh and looked at Alex. "Come on, Alex. Give your love interest a kiss." 

"That is such a controversial statement," Jack snickered.

"How would that- You know what, nevermind. I'm bored, let's watch Home Alone." 

And I walked over to the DVD player and put in the movie. While I did so, I heard Jack whisper something. 

"Dude, if you don't kiss her soon, I think I will." 

+++

~ ALEX ~

After an hour of listening to Jack and Erika fangirl over Home Alone whilst sitting in between the two of them, I decided I'd had enough. I silently walked over to my bedroom and decided to get ready for the dinner party a few hours too early. I put on a pair of skinny jeans and a Blink-182 shirt and walked over to the living room. 

"Shut up Jack, that's never going to happen," I heard Erika say. I automatically hid behind the dinner table and listened. 

"Why not?" Jack whined. "He's hot." 

"He's not the one I want!" 

"Oh yeah? And who do you want?" At that point, I stopped breathing. I could swear the two of them would be able to hear me otherwise. 

"Someone else," she said simply. I decided to go back to my room and think things over. But as I walked back, I heard her say one last thing: 

"Someone I'll never have." 

Who could she possibly want? I thought as I walked over to my room. And who the hell was Jack trying to get her to date? 

Come to think of it, it had to be me. Who else would he talk to her about? It seemed silly for him to say that about anyone else. 

But I, Alex Gaskarth don't settle for anything. I would get her to at least appreciate the fact that I was almost in love with her. 

You know what? Fuck it. I was already madly in love with her.