𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐒, Alex Alvarez

six - get a room

•~3rd person P.O.V~•
TRANSLATIONS: SPANISH TO ENGLISH (done by google translate so the translations are probably shit😭)
-none
________________________________

"So you guys were at his house and in his room, by yourselves?" Gracie gasped dramatically, making Maria blush. She'd thought about Alex almost all night, but she couldn't bring herself to text him. All she said was "thanks for having me over, I had a nice time <3" and ignored her phone after that. Every single ping made her jolt, her mind immediately going to Alex, but she never picked it up.

"It wasn't like that, Gracie," Maria mumbled, looking at her shoes. Her dad let her curl the bottom of her hair, so now curls dangled from her ponytail. Her mom liked to keep her hair curled, she used all kinds of products to prevent heat damage, and the whole process was a sort of bonding experience.

For this reason, Maria thought her dad prevented her from curling her hair because it reminded him of her mom. He said curls made her look older, more like an adult, which he didn't like. This was also the reason why she was never allowed to use makeup, and the only lipgloss she was ever allowed to have was clear with pink sparkles.

But this morning, as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she frowned. She looked plain, the most interesting thing about her was her jewelry and her dad didn't like her wearing her "pretty" jewelry to school. He said he was afraid it'd get stolen.

She told her dad that she and Gracie wanted to match, and Gracie didn't want to stick out more than normal. So, she'd asked Maria to match with her. Her dad shrugged and said he didn't mind.

"Then what's it like, hmm? You were up all night, thinking about him, and you never think about anyone at night. You just go to sleep." Gracie chuckled, staring at Maria as if she never believed Maria could like anyone. Truthfully, Maria was scared. She'd never had a crush before, just found people attractive, but never a crush.

She was scared her dad would find out, but if she never admitted it then he'd never find out. Right? She hoped so. The only person who thought Maria liked Alex was Gracie, and Gracie never stayed the night at Maria's. Maria told her that her dad just didn't like having her friends over.

"We were just discussing the project, nothing else!" Maria remembered the small conversation they'd had about Alex's family. Plus the small comment she made about his family being cool for loving him as much as they did. She wasn't completely sure if her dad loved her, sometimes he loved her too much, and other times he seemed like he didn't love her at all.

"Loosen up, Maria! You gotta make small talk with him, get to know him, all that stuff." Maria shook her head. She couldn't date until she moved out, she couldn't focus on anything else but school and survival. Nothing else.

"Hey, Maria." Her eyes popped open as Alex slipped into his seat, a small smile creasing his cheeks. Not his usual smirk or overly flirtatious joke. Just a "hey" and a sweet smile. That was better than any flirting Alex had ever done.

"Hey, Alex." She smiled, glancing down at her paper. Finn looked between the two, the stiff silence engulfing everyone around them.

"God, will you two just get a room already." He mumbled, Alex kicked him from underneath the table which made Maria's table shake. When she looked up, Finn leaned forward slightly. He enjoyed teasing Maria a lot more than Alex did.

"So, Maria, I heard you and Alex hung out yesterday." She glanced at Alex for only a moment. If Alex would've blinked at the same time, he would've missed it.

"Yeah, we had to come up with ideas for the project." Finn almost laughed as he leaned back in his seat. Maria felt herself growing confused as Finn tapped Alex's chest and chuckled.

"Must hurt, huh?" He asked through a fit of laughter. Maria looked between the two, it was like they knew a secret and didn't share it with Maria. Even though it seemed to have something to do with Maria.

"Oh god," Gracie mumbled, putting her face in her hands.

"What? Did I say something wrong? I'm confused." Alex rolled his eyes at Finn. If Maria didn't know Alex had a crush on her before, then she surely knew now.

"Alex likes you, he was hyped about your little study sesh. Called me after you left and everything." Maria pressed her lips tightly together. Alex liked her, and she liked Alex. She could only imagine how nice it would be to be with a boy like him. If she were normal. If she was a normal girl with a normal family then it'd be perfect.

But Maria wasn't normal and neither was her family dynamic.

"I don't, I promise, Finn is the one that likes you. He's liked you since sixth grade." Finn's laughter quickly fell silent, as he shot a piercing glare to Alex.

"Well, thank you, to whoever likes me." Alex felt his stomach fall, had he really passed up his chance just to avoid being rejected? "But, I'm not allowed to date until I'm an adult." Finn's eyes grew wide. He'd heard people say "I'm not allowed to date till I'm sixteen" or, "my dad says I can't date till I'm forty, haha" but the way Maria said it sounded serious. Like it was an actual rule and a rule she followed.

"Are you serious?" Finn chuckled. "That sucks." He shook his head and leaned back in his seat. He said it as if he were pitying himself like he'd missed an opportunity.

Alex wanted to say that he could wait. That he was patient, although that would be a lie. For Maria, he'd wait forever and a day. Just for her, no one else. If he said all those things, he'd out himself, and working with Maria on the project would be awkward. So he said, nothing at all.
________________________________
Word Count:1,032