the fourth roommate » alex ernst

TWENTY FIVE

"So that was a shock," Gabbie said when Liza, Andrea, Corinna, Gabbie and I moved to a smaller room to sit, talk, and take pictures. I forced Alex to go change at least for the pictures I could post, but I wasn't sure exactly how dedicated he was to that task. I could deal with the tourist shirt, but it'd be a little embarrassing in a nice restaurant and a club.

"Okay, I didn't tell anybody though, so it's not like I kept it specifically from you guys. David and Dom only found out because we were yelling at each other, and Jason and Nik found out because... of something else," I decided to finish, half smiling when the girls raised their eyebrows a few times. "And I think that's all that knew."

"I knew," Liza spoke up and I laughed at her excitement. She felt special and it was adorable.

"What the hell?" Gabbie scoffed in response.

"Okay, but I didn't tell her! David told her!" I defended myself, crossing my arms over my chest. "This is not fair."

"Damn it, David," Gabbie cursed him, causing the room to erupt in loud giggles only interrupted when Alex opened the door. Everyone suddenly quieted to listen to what he had to say.

"You want pictures," he hadn't changed his outfit, but if anything represented our relationship, this was it. I smiled, feeling my cheeks pull up even when I tried to stop them. I probably looked stupid from how giddy I was, but the feeling was indescribable. He liked me and I liked him and it felt like first grade again, but in a good way.

"I do want pictures," I grabbed both of his hands and interlocked our fingers. "Do you want pictures?"

"I want what you want," he squeezed my hands and I melted like a popsicle on the fourth of July. I heard some coos behind me, along with a 'when did he get so nice?' from Corinna. "Can you guys shut the fuck up and take the picture she wants?"

"Alex, be nice, please," I leaned up and pecked him, wiping the gloss that I left on his mouth. "These are going to be so cool. Okay, wait, here's my idea—"

"Wait," Alex stopped me, squeezing my hands again to gain my attention. "I have something for you."

"Alex, it's not my birthday, you can't give me gifts," I stated frankly, pulling my hands away to cross my arms in defiance. I hated feeling spoiled and like I couldn't take care of myself, but deep down inside, I loved the idea that he got me a gift.

"Well, I did. I saw it the first day I got to Minnesota and thought it would look good on you," I internally died a little inside when he mentioned that, considering we were in a fight that I didn't think was fixable on his first day in Minnesota. He pulled out a little box and ordered me to turn around and close my eyes. I felt a piece of delicate jewelry rest on my chest area, and I almost opened my eyes but closed them until I heard the snap of the clasp. "Okay, look."

I opened my eyes and looked down, but it was too short to see, so I turned towards the mirror hanging on the wall. A gold chain with a word on it hung around my neck, but I couldn't read it because I didn't have my glasses on. As I stepped closer, I realized it said Alex in cursive. Tears welled up in my eyes as my hand fell on the pendant, twirling it between my fingers. "Alex, it's amazing."

"It's so everyone knows you're my girl," he took a few steps closer to me and rested his chin on top of my head. "I love you."

"I love you too. Don't make me cry, fuck, we've got to take pictures," I groaned, fanning my face rapidly with my hands to calm down the tears. I wanted to look hot, not stupid. "Okay, pictures. Pictures, pictures, pictures."

"What do you want to do?" he asked me, fully attentive and ready to listen. I instructed him of what I wanted and we took probably a hundred pictures in thirty different poses before David said we were leaving and we had to stop.

The limo was definitely a party. As a woman who gets lit in regular cars sitting in traffic, I went fucking crazy in the limo, dancing with Gabbie and Heath and Zane and not Alex, because apparently, he doesn't dance. He had danced with me before, so I knew he was a liar, but I just assumed he didn't want to be filmed. It was so fun, and I realized how much I had missed my friends over the few days we were separated.

I was so incredibly thankful for these people who took me in like I was their own and loved me unconditionally, even when they didn't have to. It took a lot for me to think about it because I knew I'd start crying.

No one was really filming, which was a first. I guess everyone just wanted to let loose and chill for a while, a thought that was fine by me. If I could go crazy and have less of a chance of being filmed, I would.

"Hey," Alex squeezed my hand and I turned my head towards him. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I just love you so much," I pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed it. "You're the best."

"I know."

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We had gotten in the club perfectly fine; no one questioned my Georgia ID that looked a little different than me. Shorter hair and a chubbier face didn't stop the bouncer from allowing me in, right after my friends. We drank and ate and partied, and I had a blast.

It was while I was at the bar that the night turned South. I had left the group for maybe a minute to go order a drink, and while I was at the bar, a man started talking to me. He was an average white boy and looked about thirty, but I thought it'd be awkward to ignore him, so I talked to him.

"Hi," I responded to his greeting, giving him a tight lipped smile.

"What's a pretty lady like you doing all alone here?" he asked me and I had to laugh at how stupid and awkward the question was.

"I'm here with my friends, actually. It's my friend David's twenty first birthday," I explained, praying for the bartender to hurry up so I could leave the awkward situation.

"Oh really? Is he your boyfriend?" he questioned and I sighed.

"No, David's just my roommate," be nice, Mason. You can't be rude to a stranger.

"Alex is your name?" his eyes now rested on my chest, something that made me extremely uncomfortable. He was looking at the necklace now, but what was he looking at before?

"Actually—"

"That's her boyfriend's name, asshole. Leave her alone." It was Alex, of course, because when wasn't Alex saving me from creepy men?

"Sorry, dude, she was flirting with me. Didn't know she had a boyfriend by the way she's dressed and acting," he commented casually, as if it were true, and I scoffed.

"Being nice to creepy men is not flirting," I defended myself. "And how I'm dressed is none of your fucking business."

"Sure, whatever you say," the bartender sat the drink down in front of me and I snatched it, grabbing Alex's hand and pulling him back to the table Liza got us.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I hugged, still angry. "You don't think I was flirting with him, do you?"

"Nah," a smug smile grew on Alex's face, and my knees went all jello-y. "You're my girl, I trust you."

When we got back to the hotel, I sorted through the photos and picked which one to post. My final pick was a picture that started just above Alex's lips, way above my head, and ended at my chest. You could clearly see the necklace marking me as his, and we were both stone faced in the camera. I paired it with a picture of us kissing, still as close up as before but we were turned toward each other. He had his index finger wrapped under the necklace, pulling me closer and they were both so hot. I knew exactly what to caption them, so I was more than prepared.

@.masonbelle: let me show you how proud i am to be yours

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How sweeeeeeeeet we are going to be at 2.5k reads soon which is so flippin awesome i cant even believe it!!! Thank u so much for reading if you are, i promise i see you and you're so sweet and i love you

Anyways have a good day and be blessed by this chapter bc theyre adorable and i love you

Also if u dont get the caption reAd the 6th chapter again #foreshadowing