All I Want • Alex Gaskarth (Adoption)

xoxo gossip girl

*There's a time lapse here, to a month ahead.*

I sigh, resting my head against my fist. My other hand is tapping against the wooden chairs seated across from my principal. He stares me down as I dread Alex's arrival. The principal called him about ten minutes ago, meaning he'll walk in at any given moment.

That's when I hear the footsteps approaching from behind me. My heart jumps as the pace gets closer.

"Ah, Mr. Gaskarth." My principal, Mr. Jefferson, gives him the disapproving look - obviously from my behavior.

Alex walks in front of me to shake his hand. Afterwards he takes a seat beside me. I resist looking at him because I already know I'll be in plenty of trouble. There's just something fatherly about Alex, in which you kind of know his reaction. Or it seems that way to me, anyway.

"Lexi, tell Alex here what happened in class today."

Alex looks expectantly at me. I sigh once more, looking down at my hands. I always seem to look down at my hands in times like these.

"Well, see, it wasn't actually my fault." I start. This brings me an eye-roll from Alex and I don't have to look at him to know. I can tell he's grumpy. "I punched a girl." I mess around with my previously hurt hand. I was finally able to take my hand-wrap off, since it completely healed. It took long enough.

"Honestly? Why the hell would you do that?" Alex's stare stays focused on me and in the moment he doesn't care how the tone of his voice rose. He doesn't care that you can feel the oh-so-obvious annoyance (or is it anger?) radiating off of him. I take away any chance I had of actually telling him, and keep it all inside. I choose my next response to be as vague as possible.

"Why wouldn't I?"

-

Alex and I left the school soon after. I, again, didn't tell him why I punched someone. He was irritated at me, that much I can tell. I don't speak to him as the car runs on the rocky roads.

"They suspended you for a week. You just started school a month ago, and you've already been suspended. Marie had told me that I shouldn't be surprised if you act out, but I can assure you I didn't expect it from you. You were doing so good. Then you have to pull this on me."

I sit quietly through his lecture. He's right though, because apparently 'trouble follows me' as I've been told before. It also was not my fault that a kid in my class tripped me as I walked past her. And then laughed when my nose started bleeding. It then wasn't my fault when the class started laughing when her nose started bleeding. True, my fist did her face pretty hard. But I didn't know how else to handle it. I didn't even know how or why it happened that way, it felt like I blacked out and then escorted to leave the classroom.

I bite my cheek as Alex still shouts at me. I'm accustomed to usually ignore these types of lectures, both from previous experiences and from how I've grown used to Alex.

"You're staying at Zack's for a little while."

I stare at Alex. "You're dumping me off? Because I got in trouble? Is this going to happen every time? Just leave me with someone else?"

"I'm not dumping you off," he sighs, "I just need some time to be alone right now. I'm writing music and playing, and this whole thing stresses me out. I can't deal with kids at the moment. Surely not you. Apparently you need time away yourself. Plus Zack lives alone, it'll be just you two. For the whole week most likely. No visits from Rian or Jack either."

I huff. "Maybe you shouldn't have gotten a kid in the first place. Some 'parent' you are. Nice punishment - seclusion. Like I haven't dealt with that before." I cross my arms.