Neighbors

A Moment in Time

Alex and Madison sat in the car watching the fair fireworks from the parking lot. Fall Out Boys 'Alone Together' hummed quietly through the car speakers almost drowned out by the loud popping off the bright sparks lighting up the night sky. Alex tentatively lifted Madison's hand, which was intertwined with his own. He delicately kissed her knuckles and settled her hand back onto the center console. Madison sighed contently; a smile graced her lips as she stared at the sky in awe until finally the last bursts of fireworks were set off.

Alex twisted the dangling car keys bringing the engine to life; he pulled out of the parking spot and joined the long line of cars waiting to get onto the back road to the interstate.

"Hey, Alex..." Madison yawned out.

Alex turned his head towards her, raising an eyebrow; he smiled at her to continue.

"Thanks for being such a persistent asshole"

Alex barked out a laugh and shook his head "you're the queen of back handed compliments" he mused. Madison shrugged her shoulders halfheartedly "really though, I had a lot of fun...so thank you."

"Thanks for forgiving me" Alex replied quietly, almost shyly. He dared to cast a quick glance towards Madison only to find her staring right back at him.

"You didn't leave me much of a choice...I was running out of room for all of those flowers" Madison joked but gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Alex shook his head and laughed, he wouldn't admit it but he actually loved her ability to completely ruin whatever moment they were having. He admired her ability to keep the situations light even if they were serious and how something simple like squeezing his hand was enough to let him know they were okay.

They rode in a comfortable silence; fall out boy still playing quietly through the speakers. Alex shot quick side glances at Madison, his lips turned up in just the slightest way as he watched her lips form the words to the songs, singing under her breath. This was when he liked her the most, when she was in her own world, uncaring of what was going on around her and without a care in the world. When she allowed her walls to come down and she was just herself, that's the only person Alex ever wanted her to be.

"Favorite memory?" Alex finally broke the silence between them.

"This one, today" Madison blurted out, her mouth forming the words before her brain could react. She covered her red face with her hands and groaned in embarrassment. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that!"

She didn't dare look over at Alex because she knew her face would only turn even more red and she didn't think she would survive any more embarrassment on her part.

"Mine too" Alex finally breathed out. As cliché as it was, her answer stole his breath away. He wasn't expecting but he was hoping for it, especially because the day they had spent together was definitely his favorite memory too. He didn't push her too look at him, or acknowledge him but seeing her smile in the reflection of the window was enough for him to know he said the right thing, not that he was actually trying to but he was terrified of stepping too far in his attempts to break her walls.

"Favorite childhood memory?" He asked cautiously. Madison didn't talk about her childhood much and he definitely didn't want to make her upset.

"It's dumb...." Madison muttered, picking the nail polish off of her fingernails.

"im sure it isn't" Alex pushed.

Madison sighed and dropped her hands into her lap. "Okay, when I was a kid I had this bear...patches...."

"Wait! The raggedy one on your bed? The one that is basically held together with tape and stuff?"
Alex questioned excitedly. He had secretly wanted to know the story behind the bear ever since he had been her in room for the first time.

"Mhmm" Madison affirmed and continued her story "okay, so I got the bear from my cousin Casey like right before he went into the Army. He was my favorite cousin, like I absolutely adored him. I hung around him all the time and just loved him a lot. Then I found out he was leaving and I cried for like a week straight...--"
Alex nodded his head as he intently listened "—he gave me the bear and said it would watch over me and that whenever I missed him all I had to do was hug patches and he would feel it...it was dumb but I was a kid, ya know?"

"It's not dumb..." Alex disagreed quietly.

"He got sent on a mission with his airforce team....and ummm he d-didn't make it back...." Madison choked out.

"You don't have to, Mads" Alex panicked, his right hand leaving the steering wheel to hold her left hand. She let her fingers intertwine with his and shook her head.

"I started to get really sick around the same time that he died and I really needed him but all I had left was that stupid bear. I took it to all of my hospital visits and it got pretty beat up and dirty over the years as you could probably tell"

Alex nodded his head in agreement, still listening intently because he was hoping for a much more cheerful story about her childhood. He wasn't trying to upset her or make her cry and he probably wouldn't have even asked the question if he knew that it was going to be this intense.

"So one day I was at home and patches right ear started to like fall off. I guess it had gotten caught on something and torn a bit. I freaked out, like; I was devastated and frantic about it." Madison lightly laughed at the memory and Alex smiled because that was his favorite sound in the world; her laughter.

"and I made her take us to the hospital and I guess she explained what was going on to my doctor and they took Patches into the ER, I was still pretty hysterical at this point but then they brought him back out and they had fixed his ear. They sewed it up and then wrapped it in medical tape and told me he would heal just fine....I know it's a sad story but it's definitely my favorite memory. Sometimes when I think about my biological parents I get really angry that they gave me up but then I remember this and I know that they loved me. I mean, they took my teddy bear to the hospital because I asked them to...that's love." Madison said, finishing the story with a smile on her face and unshed tears in her eyes just as they had pulled up to her house.

Alex parked the car and unbuckled his seat belt. Without a word he leaned over the center console and pressed his lips to hers. It was short and sweet, but it was perfect. "Hey," he said, wiping a single tear from her cheek, his thumb grazing her cheek bone softly. He just needed her to know that he understood what her telling him that story meant. He needed her to know that he was there for her, always. More than that though, he needed her to know that she could trust him .

"Alex...."

"I know you're scared and I'm scared too....but we're just a moment and I won't let this pass me by" Alex whispered firmly yet affectionately.

"Okay" Madison breathed out and pressed her lips to his again. Their lips moved in perfect sync until both of them started to smile through the kiss and Alex pulled back.

"Yeah?" He asked, needing to know that this was real.

"Yeah" Madison whispered back to him.