Girl Crush | Alex Alvarez

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍: 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒

"Brought the flats you—okay she's dancing now."

I walked into the Alvarez household as Lydia danced with her can—the very one she was supposed to use to walk after her stroke. "Thanks, Stel. I would've asked Vero, but she's insecure about her feet after Abuelita said she's seen smaller elephants."

"Yeah, I wouldn't go too deep into that. We have a gay abuelo—he covers that every time we visit him."

"Alex, don't enable this!" Elena pleaded as Lydia continued dancing to mambo music. Alex contradicted. "You're lucky I talked her out of the fishnets."

"Are we?" I asked as Lydia continued to dance, resorting to riding around like a cowboy instead. "Hey, you're still doing my chemistry homework, right?"

"I said I'd help you—we never agreed on me doing your work."

"Come on, I'll pay you," Alex begged with his pout and puppy-dog eyes. I couldn't say no to that face. "No."

"Fine, but if I start excelling in education," Alex pointed at me with a weird expression, "It's gonna be all your fault."

"Oh, however, will I deal with all that guilt?" I said with the blankest face I could possibly keep. I felt awkward—we hadn't talked about the whole kiss thing. It was like this elephant in the room that we refused to talk about. I rebuffed his advances, I didn't know how he felt, but I felt worse than I did when I thought he didn't like me. Alex closed the door to his bedroom behind us after I walked in. "You are a horrible person."

"What?" I asked confusedly. Alex sighed as he guided me to his bed—in the normal way he always did and not however guys do otherwise. "You know we have to talk about that night.

"I...love your desk. What is this, acacia?" I laughed nervously as I slid my hand on his desk, hoping and praying that he wasn't trying to dive into my unresolved and unnecessary feelings. "You did not just do that."

"Okay, what do you want me to do? Talk about feelings that are clearly not THERE?" I flailed my arms as Alex judged my reaction. "It was just spur of the moment, unjustified. I don't know, I feel stupid because you aren't saying anything. You didn't even speak about it for the past two days."

"Well, you were particularly insistent about shutting up the past two days!" I poked my finger into Alex's chest angrily. "I thought you needed space! God forbid I think about your feelings and emotions every once in a while."

"I don't need space to tell you that whatever this is, it isn't gonna," I stopped myself as I heard the door opening and Lydia peeping through, "...and that is why you should never add water to acid unless you wanna burn some pretty important organs."

"You're so funny and smart! I never knew the dangers of such serious things before," Alex nodded vigorously as Lydia sauntered in. "Don't mind me, you two. Just borrowing Papito's Bible to curse Elena."

"You have a Bible?" I snorted as Lydia left the room. "For safety measures. Stop changing the subject! Why is it still weird between us?"

"Because I know how this ends, Alex. We make the tiniest mistake and prove everyone right when they specifically told us that we were going to date eventually when we're just...friends."

"Okay," Alex agreed with a smile as held my hands, "So, no one finds out. We keep that a secret. Continue being the best of buddies that we truly are.

"What if it's not the same anymore?" I asked with a sad face. Alex leaned so that our foreheads were touching. I closed my eyes as he spoke. "I wouldn't be trying so hard if I didn't think our friendship wasn't worth it. You are so, so special to me, Stel. I honestly cannot think about anyone the way I do you. I've kept an asthma inhaler in my pocket for the past three years because I knew you run out of breath every six seconds. I know you like Butterfingers more than Almond Joys. I know when you say you're going out for a run, you really just wanna get a bear claw from that coffee shop you like. I also know you cry when people tell you how much they know you, so I'll stop."

"Good call, here they come."