Alex Dunphy x Fem!Reader - What is normal?

Chapter 9 - End

Today, Alex had been called into school with both of her parents. Now, if this were Haley or Luke, that would be insanely worrying, but this was Alex. And she knew exactly why. She called you the second she was told to come in,
"Y/NNNN!" 
"Alexxxxx!" 
"Guess who just got called into school!" She exclaimed.
"Oh my god, what did you do?" You asked, concern lacing your voice.
"Nothing! I'm not Haley." She laughed.
"True, true." You conceded.
"I'm gonna be made valedictoriannnn!" She said in a sing-songy tone.
"That's amazing! How do you know though?" You were happy for her, but skeptical.
"It's the only logical option. It's the end of the year, I have the highest GPA, it's obvious." She reasoned.
"I guess that makes sense." You agreed.
"Okay, I gotta go, I'll talk to you later!" She shouted down the phone.
"Alright, good luck!" You shouted back before she hung up on you.

Around an hour and a half later, you received another phone call,
"Y/N! I need your help!"
"Sure! Let's do it!" You agreed, blindly.
"I haven't even said what I want help with yet, dimwit." Her tone immediately became more deadpan.
"I was just being enthusiastic. So, what is it?" You questioned.
"Well, to decide who becomes valedictorian, me and Sanjay are racing eachother." She replied.
"Right.. And where do I come into this?" You asked, again.
"Well, since you go jogging all the time and stuff, I was wondering if you'd let me come with you..?" She asked, sounding a little nervous.
"Yeah, sure. I'm actually gonna go soon, so get ready and I'll drop by your house soon." You, of course, complied.
"Perfect! See you soon!" She responded, sounding excited.

You put your phone down, smiling to yourself. For once, she wanted your help! Excited, you threw your running shoes, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on and walked over to Alex's. 

Before you could even knock on the door, Alex swung it open.
"Y/N! Let's do this!" She shouted, putting her hand up for a high five.
"Hell yeah!", You high-fived her, "We do need to stretch first though."
"I know that! I've done loads of research into running!" She grinned at you, and you couldn't help but laugh a little. You tried to cover up your laughing, but she saw you and stuck her tongue out at you.

You hastily finished up the stretches and started running. For such a massive nerd, she wasn't too bad at running, actually. 

The two of you ran your usual running distance together, though with Alex lagging behind at some points. Still, she completed the whole run, and you were beyond impressed.

The two of you were just catching your breath and chatting intermittently as you approached the Dunphy's door, when you heard footstep approach the two of you. Turning around, you saw it was Alex's biggest academic rival.. 

Sanjay Patel. 

"Hey, Alex, I wanted to talk to you about something.." He approached her slowly, visibly out of breath.
"What is it, Sanjay?" She asked.
"Well.." He went on to ramble about how Alex being his rival made his time at high school so much better, and encouraged him to push himself. His ramblings alone didn't irritate you, but hearing Alex reciprocate them certainly did. 

Then, he dropped a fucking bombshell.

"I like you, Alex. Like-like." He let the words sit in the air for a second, "Like how Pierre Curie liked Marie Curie!"
"Oh." Alex seemed to be in shock.
"I'm sorry, I've gone too far, I have to go." He ran off.

The two of you stood still, in complete silence for a second. You felt this strange anger, possessiveness even, bubble in your chest. You'd never hated Sanjay before. In fact, you admired him most of the time, he was insanely talented, but something in you was furious at him.
"What a jackass, huh?" You half-joked, turning to Alex, and beginning to walk back inside.
You got no reply, but she followed you inside.
"What?" You asked, now entering the kitchen.
"I dunno, I thought it was sweet.." She mumbled.
"Oh, you can't be serious!" You exclaimed!
"What?" Claire asked, turning away from Phil and whatever he was cooking.
"Sanjay just told me he liked me." Alex informed them.
"Pahaha!" Claire let out a laugh.
"What?" Alex asked, clearly getting irritated.
"Can't you see? It's a tactic to get in your head!" Claire told her.
"And it's working!" Phil chimed in.
"That's why he told you before the race!" Claire added.
Alex turned to you, "Oh my god. Is that why you didn't like it, Y/N?"
"Y-Yes! That's why I didn't like it!" You nodded quickly, like an obedient dog.
"You're such a good friend, thanks for looking out for me." She thank you, smiling, and squeezing your hand.
"No problem, Alex, it's what friends do." You smiled back at her.

The two of you trained regularly together until the day of the race. You had complete and utter faith in her. So much so, you went with her parents to watch the race. You stood in the stands in between Claire and Sanjay's mother.
"Who're you?" She asked.
"I'm Y/N, Alex's friend. Nice to meet you, Mrs Patel." You introduced yourself, offering out a handshake. She simply nodded at you. 
'That works too, I guess.'  You thought.

The principal ran through the rules, and fired the gun for the race to start. But Sanjay wouldn't move. Alex began to run, but even then, he wouldn't run.
"Why aren't you running?" Alex questioned him, confusion plastered across her face.
"If it proves to you how much I really like you, I'll lose this race!"
"Sanjay, no!" Mrs Patel shouted.
And then, your worst nightmare commenced. She kissed Sanjay. Again, and again.
"Oh, for fuck's sake.." You muttered under your breath, hoping nobody would hear, but Claire did. She rubbed your back, and gave you a sad, knowing smile. You smiled back, tears welling in your eyes. 

Everyone quickly went down from the stands to congratulate the new couple. You pushed the devastation down, and forced the tears to stop. 

Not long later, the two families separated and went back to their respective cars. 

The whole way home Alex had this dreamy look on her face, and you remained cheerful toward her for that car ride. It may have only taken 10 minutes, but it was definitely the longest 10 minutes of your life. 

Once you all arrived at the Dunphy's, Alex and Phil got out the car and went in. You and Claire got out, and just as you were about to follow them in, she called out your name,
"Y/N, come here a second."
"Hm? What is it?" You asked, turning back around to face her.
She was sat on the grass of the front porch, and pat the grass beside her.
"I heard you earlier, and I know you like her." She said bluntly.
"I'm so sorry." You apologised, walking up to, and then sitting, beside her.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie. If anything, I assumed you two were dating until today!" She joked, laughing a little.
"I wish.." You mumbled.
"I know. I could see you beginning to cry. I'm amazed you were so nice through that car ride, I would've lost it." She smiled sadly at you.
"I just need to get over it.." You smiled sadly back at her.
"I'm so sorry, Y/N. Come here." She opened her arms wide, and the two of you shared a hug. It started off soft and cautious, but the tears almost immediately fell from your eyes. Those slow tears soon turned into complete, ugly sobbing. Absolutely destroyed, you gripped onto her cardigan and sobbed.

You continued to cry for a solid few minutes before you heard the door open, and footsteps follow out. Luckily, it was Haley. 
"Oh, Y/N.." She said in a sympathetic tone as she approached, "Group hug!"

After a few more minutes of uncontrolled sobbing, you pulled apart, and pulled yourself together, wiping all the tears and snot away from your face.
"I'm so sorry you guys had to see that." You apologised, looking at the ground, embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it, we love you like one of our own, we don't mind." Claire squeezed your hand, and smiled at you again.
"I think I'm gonna go home now." You began to walk out of the gate, and faced away from them, but stopped for a second and said, "Tell Alex I'm so proud of her for training so hard, and congratulate her for getting together with Sanjay.."
"Of course, we will. Get home safe, Y/N." Haley replied.
"I will. Thank you both for today.." You responded, not turning around, for the tears had begun to fall from your eyes once again. 

You really were a mess that day.