Starry Nights

Chapter 3: Alex and Natalie

Alex

He sat down without realizing that she was on the other side of the bench. He had no idea who she was but he was concerned for her. He tried not to listen to her story, but then again when someone is almost yelling over the phone about some "Hispanic bitch", it becomes hard not to hear. She began to cry but he had a feeling that she didn't notice that she was, because it wasn't like a person normally cries. Normally people will whimper and whine and make the typical crying noises. This girl did none of those, so either she didn't notice she was crying or she was the most peaceful crier he'd ever seen.

When she hung up, he figured he should say something, just to make sure she was okay of course. So he simply said "Hey, I'm Alex."

When he said this he could tell she hadn't noticed that he was sitting next to her. She tensed up and pretended not to notice him for a second before she turned and stared at him blankly for a while. He figured he should say something else because he could tell she was still in shock that she hadn't noticed someone was sitting next to her.

"So, you'll have to excuse me for saying this, I couldn't help but overhear. You go through a bad breakup?"

She sat there blankly for another second before coming to her senses and muttering, "Yeah, kind of, I mean, yeah."

"I'm sorry about that. I wish that I could give you some inspirational advice right now like they do in the books."

"In the books?" she said.

"I read more than I watch TV. In fact, I haven't watched TV in over a year and a half, besides the TV's that are on at sports bars and stuff. Even then I still don't pay attention to them, I tend to zone them out. Plus I think the line, "like they do in the movies" is so cliché, don't you think?"

"I guess you're right, I've heard that line a lot now that I think about it. I'm Natalie by the way."

Natalie is a wonderful name, he thought. He could tell she was getting more comfortable with the way she spoke, like the shock had started to wear off. "Anyways, I'm really sorry about that."

"Oh, stop it", she said sharply. "Don't pretend like you understand. I mean, all of you guys are the same. You make a girl believe that she is beautiful and that she means something to you, and then you go and tell another girl the same things just to get in their pants. And the worst part is that you could care less. But you wouldn't understand, you're a guy."

Alex sat there for a second shocked by the harshness of her tone. He knew that she probably wasn't upset with him though, and she was probably just upset with whatever situation she had been through.

Her expression calmed down and she said, "I'm sorry, I'm not upset with you it's just that I'm super upset with my ex. I just wish I could turn back 1 year and convince myself not to date Derek."

"So your ex's name is Derek?"

"Yeah, Derek Hamilton. Rich parents, good looking guy, total douche."

Alex knew many guys like this. It's not that they were mean people all the time, they were just jerks to girls. They were pretty cool overall, but they just had different opinions on dating and things of that matter. "You know not all of us guys are baboons in clothes."

She laughed when he said this making him smile as well. "I highly doubt that Alex."

"Oh yeah, let me prove it to you. Natalie, would you like to go have pizza with me tonight?"

She gave him a mischievous look. "Oh, so was this your whole plan? To come over here, comfort me, then ask me out on a date so I'd have no choice but to say yes and fall hopelessly in love with you?" Her sarcastic tone made him smile even more.