Charms or Banjos?

Chapter 17

"Come on Alex, he is so hot." Jessica claimed as Tim Bradford crossed over the TV screen in front of them. "Yeah but I'm better." Alex replied defensively. "I can't argue with that but still, Tim could have me any day." Jessica said, smiling at the screen. Alex narrowed his eyes, silently comparing himself to Tim; Jessica noticed this and smiled gently at him. She knew he was jealous over Tim and would feel like an idiot when he finally realised what he was doing. But instead of saying anything, she just snuggled closer to him, keeping her eyes on the screen, even when Alex wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and kissed her forehead affectionately.

The next day marked the first day back at college for Jessica, Alex and Paige which made Jessica just a tad nervous. She'd already been to college since her and Alex got together but that was only for two days, she knew it'd be harder to maintain a proper relationship with Alex whilst the both of them had completely different schedules. As Jessica was leaving the house with her mum, she received a text from Paige, she knew what it was. The two of them had gotten into a routine, Paige would do a radio show of sorts, messaging Jessica what songs she and Alex listened to in the car and whether or not Alex sang along. It started long before they got together and every morning it made Jessica smile down at her phone with a huge grin on her face. That morning was no different. As she looked down at her phone, reading the title of one of Alex's favourite songs, his name written alongside it, Jesscia smiled at the thought of Alex screaming the lyrics, the smile on his face as he did so. Below the message was a voice note, and knowing what it was, Jessica clicked on it, holding the speaker to her ear and listening to Alex's gravelly voice mixing with the music.

At college, Jessica went to her lesson, messaging Alex that she'd see him at lunch with Paige. Meanwhile, Alex and Paige made their way to the smoking area, talking about any random thing they could, all while avoiding the elephant in the room: Emily. "So, what are you going to do about it?" Paige asked Alex after she'd asked him about the whole Emily situation. "I don't know. I never really liked her so I just hope she leaves me alone." Alex replied, but he was too late, the tell tale stomp of angry feet drew closer to the pair then her shrill voice rang out. "What the actual Hell Alex! Dumping me for that ugly bitch are you out of your mind?!" She screeched, pointing her finger at Alex. He and Paige shared a look, Alex nodding when he saw the look on Paige's face. Quickly, she looked around for any staff before punching Emily in the face as hard as she could. Maybe a bit too hard. Emily's body hit the floor, out cold. "At least she's quiet now?" Paige said, unsure. Alex looked at her in disbelief. "Thanks... I think." Alex replied.

"No way, really?" Jessica asked, shocked. "Yeah, she called you a bitch and ugly so I punched her. Didn't mean to knock her out though." Paige replied, smiling slightly. Alex laughed to himself at the memory, wrapping his arm tighter around Jessica as he took a drag of his vape. "It was awesome I think." He said. The three of them continued to talk about the morning's events, laughing occasionally whilst Paige and Alex puffed on their vapes.

Once Alex's break had come to an end, Paige and Jesscia went into the common area to have some lunch and 'get some work done', which actually meant chat shit and gossip. "I mean, I can't actually believe that happened." Paige stated. "I know right? It's so weird to think that there is a person in our year who has been through that sort of thing." Jesscia replied, sipping on her iced coffee. "Tell me about it, I always thought that going to college in a bigger city would be eye opening but I never thought that would mean stuff like this." Paige started, "But, one good thing about all this, you know, going to college in a bigger place means that Alex and you don't have to worry about the kind of people who would've made your lives Hell back in high school." "I'll give you that one." Jessica said, clinking her coffee with Paige's.