Remember Cookie Monster? That's me, but with comments.
Fun fact: I have no idea how long this story is going to be. I keep setting out to write short things and ending up writing fifty chapters. Whoops.
Grammar fact: When writing dialogue, you need to start a new paragraph EVERY TIME the speaker changes. If you include direct quotes from two different people in the same paragraph, everybody will be very sad and confused.
Bad: "Do you ever start reading a fic and get really confused because you accidentally skipped a chapter?" asked Mitch. "No," answered Alex, "because I don't read fics, because that would be weird."
Good: "Oh, right, um, me neither. That would almost be as weird as me writing Milex fics would, uh, hypothetically," Mitch giggled uncomfortably.
"Right, well, Scott and I are going out, so you have fun doing whatever it is you do while we're away."
"Enjoy! I'm just gonna stay here and not write angsty Milex fics."
Alex's car isn't here. I'm so stupid. He's already left. I shouldn't have run away. I should have let him explain. He tried to tell me. I knew he wasn't capable of all that, yet I still totally freaked out. He only lied to Scott for three months. Not two years. Three months of being angry and bitter over a terrible breakup is a lot more understandable. The fallout has been catastrophic, but that's Scott's fault–Scott's fault for not believing, my fault for throwing propriety to the wind and running to Alex, Alex's fault for taking me in, and Alex's fault for loving me too soon. I can't be mad at Alex for loving and supporting me. As for not telling me about it, he was embarrassed, and he did everything he could. He even tried again when he saw I was still hung up over it. And now he's gone.
I pull my phone out to text him, but I decide to call instead, then change my mind and open FaceTime. I change my mind again when I see his unreadable features, but it's too late now. "Allie."
"Mitchell."
"I'm home." He can already see that from my background, but all I see is his face, stiff and inscrutable. He's silent. "Babe..."
"Is that him?" Jake asks from somewhere near Alex. He lives in the Bay Area now, hours away from here. "Can I talk to him when you're done?"
"Sure thing," Alex answers. And he hands over the phone, just like that. Jake looks concerned, but he takes it and says hello.
"Is he mad at me?" I ask. "Alex, are you mad?"
"He's already gone. He's upset."
"That's my fault." Maybe Scott's too, a bit.
"Yeah, well, not gonna argue with you on that one. You're leaving him. I hope you know it's your lo-"
"I'm not leaving him. I'm not going anywhere."
"Wait, really? Why not?"
"Because I love him." Duh.
"That doesn't mean you have to stay."
"It means I want to."
"But you moved in with Scott."
"I stayed one night! I didn't even pack a bag! I was just trying to set things right. It was stupid to leave, though. I misunderstood and I overreacted. Do me a favor and tell Alex he's gonna have to do a lot worse than that to get rid of me. And tell him I'm sorry for assuming the worst, and for not calling till morning."
