Ask For Alexis

5. Anything but a damsel in distress

ALEX'S POV

It's Wednesday morning and my alarm is ringing. Rolling over on my tummy to switch it off, the sound momentarily goes away, before it starts ringing again. Weird? How can an iPhone alarm refuse to be disabled?

It wasn't until my brain registers what is happening around me that I hear the doorbell.

I look at the time, 7:00 a.m.?

Way too early. Who is preparing to meet their demise at this ungodly hour?

Without thinking I get out of bed, walk down stairs and towards the main door; prepared to reveal my inner Hulk.

"Alexis?" 

Maybe I spoke too soon; I should have been the one prepared to meet my demise.

She's dressed in a mini skirt and stockings, with a baggy blue jumper and unkempt hair. Whereas, I was in a fuzzy onesie that had giraffe faces all across it.

"Alex! I've been asking everyone where you live!" she beams her white teeth, shining too brilliantly at me before my coffee.

"Oh...well...yes I live here," unable to articulate my rather sleepy self, considering it took me till 4:30 a.m. to force a new emotion called jealousy to quit taunting me.

"Look," she becomes grave and serious, "I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I didn't mean all that stuff; calling you fat and a boyfriend stealer."

Thanks for reminding me.

"It's okay, it's fine." I reply, not entertained as she swiftly reminds me of yesterday's heinous line of events. "Collin called me last night, we...talked," she says, dreamily.

Yeah, till the break of dawn. How romantic. Is there a rope?

"We got to know each other again, he said he missed me," she continues in a haze, unfazed while I pick my jaw up from the ground. "That's great, Alexis. I'm glad everything worked out with you despite everything."

Despite Collin being the first person to come to my rescue.

Despite how he spent an entire evening with Bree and I at the Coffee Club.

Despite how cute he looks when he's focusing in class.

Despite my untimely yet ultimate crush on your boyfriend, Collin.

Can I act on any of that? Not in this lifetime, that's for sure. I'd be a "boyfriend stealer."

"Well, it's thanks to you that he even considered talking to me." "Me?" my eyes widen in surprise until she clarifies herself, "Collin has a thing for morality and stands strictly by them. I guess I strayed a bit. I regret what had happened and am truly sorry."

This time her apology sinks in and she's the Alexis I knew her to be – or at least heard of. "I'm glad Collin complements you like that. He's a great guy." She looks at me as these words escape my lips, appearing mildly jealous. "Yeah, he is." She presumes sweetly. "Alright, see you in Economics." "You too, have good morning." Alexis laughs, "Good morning!"

And that was an unnecessary kick to my side.

On Wednesday we wear I'm going to die.

Thanks to Alexis, I have an extra fifteen minutes to brew my coffee at home after getting dressed. I pour the contents into my coffee cup; a stainless steel one this time, thankfully.

The walk to school is comfortable, I'm alone, headed early, and there's nobody causing me to hyperventilate. However, a thought can't help but push its way into the back of my mind. Alexis seemed to have genuinely reformed, whether Laura has as well is doubtful, but Alexis is immensely happy about her renewed love with Collin.