In your Arms

Chapter Thirty Five

"I'm so glad you guys made it!" Nikolai greeted Amity when they arrived at La Belle's, he gave her a big hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Nik. This is for you." She handed out the gift she and Simon had bought yesterday while they were at the mall shopping for some stuff.

"Gracias, gracias." Nikolai told her as he reached for the gift. He took sight of Alexander who's quietly standing behind Amity and greeted him. "Oh hello there Xander!"

"Hi Nik, Happy Birthday." Alexander raised his hand and waved at Nikolai.

"Thank you." Nikolai responded.

"Uh, Nik, I want to introduce someone." Amity butted in and turned her attention towards Simon who's standing beside her. "This is Simon, he's also a good friend of mine. And, he's Alexander's older brother."

"Nice to meet you." Simon smiled and reached out a hand towards Nikolai. The latter accepted it and both of them shook hands.

"It was nice meeting you too." Nikolai answered, "How come you get to be with handsome looking boys huh? That's not fair!" Nikolai pretended to look envious as he told Amity. The three of them laughed except for Alexander who looked out of place.

Nikolai escorted the three of them to one of the tables occupied by their friends. As soon as the three of them were close, the rest of the gang greeted them in unison. They sat on some of the vacant chairs of the table, with Amity sitting in between Simon and Alexander.

"Simon, it's good to see you." Uno tapped Simon's arm as he sat down. "By the way, this is my girlfriend, Patty."

"Hi." Patty waved at Simon.

"Hi. Nice meeting you. And it was nice seeing you too Uno." Simon smiled to both of them.

"I never knew Alexander had a very handsome brother." Patty voiced out, "Come to think of it. They look good together aren't they?" Patty was referring to both Simon and Amity and it made Amity a little uncomfortable.

Therese agreed, "Yeah that's what I actually thought when I saw them both yesterday at the mall. Mikael and I really thought he was Jordin's boyfriend." She looked at Patty and both of them nodded their heads like they were just having a casual talk. Amity could feel her cheeks heat up a bit and she lowered her head. Alexander took notice that she was shying away and he looked a bit jealous.

As usual, all of them talked with one other like they haven't seen each other for a long time. Amity looked at Simon who became well adjusted in having a conversation with all of her friends and it made her happy. It was something that mattered to her.

Her attention was caught by Alexander excusing himself and stood up and left their table. All of her friends are too busy chatting with each other that they didn't notice him leaving. Amity waited for a couple of minutes for Alexander to come back, but when she checked her watch and found out that he'd been gone for almost ten minutes she decided to find him. And she did find him smoking outside the coffee shop.

"You've been out here for too long." Amity told Alexander as she approached him. He looked shocked as he saw her coming near him.

"I've been out for only ten minutes." He laughed. "I had to smoke."

"You should stop doing that you know, those things will kill you." Amity told him as a matter of fact.

Alexander snickered, "Our deal is for me not to smoke inside the condo unit. Stopping smoking is a different story."

Amity shrugged, "I'm just sayin'..." She answered crossing her arms over her chest. "It's freezing out here.."

"Then you should go inside. I'll follow you in a sec." He told her.

"No, I'll wait for you. We'll go inside together." She smiled at him.

Alexander removed his black leather jacket and wrapped it around Amity's shoulders. "Here, wear this."

"Xander you shouldn't have.."

"It's okay, I'm a little used to the cold weather." He smirked.

"Thanks.." Amity mumbled and gave him a grin. Both of them went quiet for awhile as Alexander finish his cigarette and Amity just stood there with him and gaze up on the stars. She was startled when she heard Alexander asked her something.

"What was it? I'm sorry I zoned out." She apologized.

"I said, you and Simon look very much close."

Amity thought she heard the slightest tone of bitterness in Alexander's voice. And she couldn't figure out because his face was looking down on the floor.

"No we're not, it's just that.. We kinda agree to a lot of things.. And he's nice to me. I guess that's it." She answered.

"You like him don't you?" Alexander asked her. His question made Amity a little edgy. How did he notice?

"H-How can you say that?" She stuttered.

Alexander gave out a chuckle, "I live in the same household as yours don't I? I know what a person's like when or she likes someone.."

"Simon and I are just friends. He's only being nice to me." Amity answered in her defense.

"I know about that as well." Alexander responded and it made Amity wrinkle her eyebrows in confusion. What does he mean by that?

And it's as if Alexander thought what she was thinking, he told her, "Simon's heart already belongs to someone else."

Amity drew in a sharp breath. Her heart raced and suddenly she felt it was difficult for her to breathe. Her mouth suddenly went dry and her whole body went stiff. It was a thing she wouldn't want to hear.

"W-What do you m-mean?" She asked trying to be brave to whatever it is that she might hear more.

"He loves someone else." Alexander told her straight in the eye.

Amity was hyperventilating to what she just heard. She felt like she was punched in her stomach and she wanted to puke. She wasn't prepared for this kind of information. She never even thought it could be possible, that Simon loved someone else and it's not her. Alexander looked at her intently and she managed to pull herself together and act normal.

"W-Well, that's good. Good for him." She lifted a corner of her lip and tried to fake a smile. She hoped she did.

"He never told you?" Alexander looked at her confusedly. Amity shook her head. "I'm.. I'm sorry.. I should've not--"

"No it's okay. It's fine." Amity broke him off. "It's not that impossible that he would not tell me about some personal stuff. And I've just been with him for a year, of course there are some things I still don't know about."

Alexander nodded, "I'm sorry I had to tell you this."

Amity gave him a wide smile, "It's getting cold. Let's go back inside." She removed Alexander's jacket and gave it back to him. "Thanks." She muttered then walked away.