In your Arms

Chapter Sixty Eight

He stares at the sketch book in front of him as he took a sip of his coffee. He woke up early and is now seated on the dinner table having breakfast. He slept late. Still, before the break of dawn, he's already up. And last night, all he ever did was to marvel at the drawings inside of that book.

Alexander took a deep breath and opened it again. Once more, memories came back flooding as he took sight of the drawings. Each of them reminded him of vivid events that occurred between him and Amity. Memories that he would never forget.

He stopped flipping the pages when he saw Amity's drawing of him sleeping on the couch. He clearly remembers it. They had a drink the night before that. It was her first time to drink beer and he thought she kind of looked sexy as she drank her beer straight from the bottle. That night, she told him how much she loves Simon and he felt pain when he heard about it. They played cards and got drunk. But before both of them passed out he remembered giving her a kiss on her lips. And remembering it now had made him smile. It was their second kiss though Amity doesn't know about it. She does not remember and he thought that it was better that way. He doesn't want her to hate him. He doesn't want her to stay away from him because of that. That's why he just kept it to himself. That's why he just loved her secretly.

"So much for memories.." He muttered and closed the book. He looked at his watch and stood up. He'll be going somewhere and he doesn't want to be late. As soon as he tidied the dinner table he went for the door and opened it but was surprised when he saw the face of his best friend.

"Uno?" He asked in puzzlement. "What are you doing here?"

Uno looked at him from head to foot. "Good. You're dressed. Come on. We don't have much time."

Alexander creased his eyebrows. "What?" He asked. "Time for what?"

"Come on, man. We have to hurry." Uno grabbed his wrist and about to go. Alexander wriggled himself free.

"What's going on, man? Where are we going?" Alexander asked his best friend confusedly.

Uno eyed him questioningly. "You forgot about it?"

"Forgot about what?"

"Then where are you heading to? Why are you dressed up like that?" Uno asked him dubiously.

"I was about to go to the entertainment company where I auditioned for a dance crew." Alexander answered Uno looking oblivious. "I got a call. I was one of the guys who got in."

Uno shook his head. "No, no, no. No, man." He looked disagreeing. "You can't. You won't."

"What do you mean? What're you--"

"Should we sedate him?" A female voice butted in and Alexander turned to see Patty emerge from Uno's side.

"What?" Uno looked at her a bit irritated. "No!"

"Sedate? Me?" Alexander threw a confused glance at the two. "What is this about? What's happening?"

Uno scratched the back of his head. "Look, man--"

"Xander." Patty cut him off. "Today is Amity's engagement party."

It was as if an arrow was shot right through his heart. He swallowed hard. He knows about it and was trying hard not to think of it. He was successful in doing so but thanks to Patty, the reality hit him back hard and punched him straight in the face. "What does it have to do with me?" His face was stiff.

"God, Xander! Doesn't she mean anything to you?!" Patty asked her looking disbelieved but mostly furious.

"Why? Do I even matter to her?" He fired back.

"How would you even know if you won't ask her yourself?!" Patty sounded upset and stared at him with annoyance. She turns to Uno. "We should sedate him. Now. And tie him up. We have no choice."

"What the fu--" Alexander exclaimed.

"Wait!" Uno yelled at the both of them. "Stop it you two!" Uno sounded totally pissed making both Patty and Alexander silent. "Stop bickering like little kids and talk like adults!" There was an eerie silence after that. Patty folded her arms on top of her chest and looked away. Alexander shook his head.

"You ready to listen now?" Uno asked Alexander sternly. "And Patty, please, let me do the talking."

"Whatever." Patty snorted. Uno let out an exasperated sigh and turned to Alexander.

"Dude, just for once, try and fight for something that you really want." Uno told him. "You've already suffered once. And that's because you didn't give a damn to even try."

Hearing Uno's words made Alexander soften. His best friend was right. Ever since he had always been the guy who always give way. He never tried. But maybe now is the time.

Alexander swallowed hard. "What if she doesn't want me? What if she'll push me away? What if--"

"Stop with the what if's, Xander. Patty's right. You won't know unless you ask her or tell her everything you want to tell her yourself. If you don't stop wavering it will cause a hole in your heart for a lifetime." Uno told him.

"I.." Alexander muttered. "Okay.. I guess it won't hurt to try.."

Uno smiled slowly at him. "That's my boy." He slapped him on the shoulder. "Now come on. We a have an engagement party to crash." He smirked. "Nikolai, Therese and Mikael will be coming with us. They're downstairs waiting. We got your back."

Alexander grinned. Right now he's very much thankful for his friends. He was about to go out when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait. I'll go get something first."