Something's Gotta Give ღ Haylex

runaways

Alex slept through the night as far as I knew. If he did get up, he didn't wake me. He was on the other side of the room, and I laid facing him. It was so hard for me to fall asleep. What did Alex mean when he said he couldn't die? What if he just told me that so I wouldn't worry.

When I actually woke up, Alex was gone. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or worried. I wrapped a blanket from my bed around my body, and started downstairs slowly.

Andy was asleep on the couch. He'd probably come home drunk again. I heard something fall in the kitchen, and I started that way.

Alex was struggling to pick up a cereal box he'd dropped. I ran across the tiles, and threw my arms around him. My blanket fell to the ground, but I didn't care. He laughed, and hugged me back.

"Could you get the cereal for me? I'm still a bit sore," he asked. I bent over, and picked the cereal box up. I poured it and the milk as well. We sat down at the table, and I had my blanket wrapped around me again.

"Can you show me the, um, wound?" I asked. Alex spooned some cereal in his mouth, and then nodded. He lifted his shirt, and looked down. His jaw moved as he chewed, and I stared at the small scar on his chest. He ran his finger over it, and then looked at me.

He took my hand, and put it on his chest. "It's okay," he said. I ran my fingers over the little hole in his chest.

"So, what are you gonna tell my parents?" I asked. I took my hand away and sat back in my seat.

"Well, I was thinking about a road trip," he said. He took another bite of his cereal. I just kept staring at him. There were so many ways this conversation could go.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Alex scooped up some cereal with his spoon, and then offered it to me. I reached out from under my blanket to take it. I handed the spoon back after chewing the cereal.

My mom walked into the kitchen, and placed her hand on the back of Alex's chair. She combed through my hair with her other hand. Alex's eyes met mine, and I didn't know what to do.

"Morning, Mrs. Williams. I'm sorry for the trouble last night," Alex spoke. He moved his eyes from me to my mom.

"Oh, dear, it's fine. You just ordered a pizza, and you had no idea what was going to happen. Are you all right?" She asked. He took my hand, and kept his gaze on me.

"I'm gonna be fine," he assured. I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or my mom.

My mom offered to make waffles for the rest of us. Alex shared a little of his cereal with me, but we were both going to have waffles too. My dad joined us after his shower, and Andy stumbled in with his hangover.

"Coffee?" I asked him. He blinked to get his eyes to adjust, and sat down on the other side of Alex. He looked over at me with red eyes, and nodded. I got up, and Alex took my hand as it went past him. He kissed it quickly, and then let me go.

I poured Andy, Alex, and I all a cup of coffee from the pot my dad had brewed. Alex helped me carry the mugs over to the table. I put creamer in mine, but they didn't.

"You wanna tell us what happened last night, Andrew?" My dad asked Andy. All eyes were on him, all except Alex's. He was staring at his empty bowl of cereal.

"After the hangover passes," Andy said as he tilted his head back. He had his eyes closed, and his whole body moved when he breathed.

Everyone chatted slightly as we ate the waffles. I was still a little distracted by what Alex had said about a road trip.

Alex and I helped my mom clean up while Andy and my dad talked in the room next door. They were trying to be quiet, but we could hear them.

After everything was cleaned up, Alex and I went to my room to talk about the road trip.

"I can't stay here," Alex said. He was already digging through my closet for a bag to pack. I was sitting on my bed, trying to process everything.

"What are you talking about? Alex, tell me what's going on," I begged. He took a bag out, and walked across the room. I caught his arm, and he spun around.

"I moved here, to Franklin, the summer before our freshman year. The plan was to move again after graduation with my family, but I met you. I have to go now. Are you gonna come with me?" He explained. I knew it wasn't the whole story, but I was gonna give him time.

"Yes. Let's go on this road trip," I said with a big smile. He paused for a minute, and dropped the bag.

"Really?" He asked. There was both shock and love in his voice. I smiled up at him, and wrapped my arms around his torso.

"I love you," I said quietly. We'd said it before, but this time we knew it was real. It wasn't so much of an 'I love you' as much as it was an 'I'm in love with you and I'm gonna follow you to the ends of the Earth'.

"I love you too," he said back. He kissed the top of my head, and wrapped his arms around me too. We stood there and had our moment, and then we packed up our clothes.