Love Me on Valentine's Day || ✔️

3.1 // comforting caleb

3 . 1 / / c o m f o r t i n g c a l e b

Grade Nine // Age 14

ALEXANDRIA BENSON was trying very hard not to cry.

She looked at the sky, bit her lip, thought happy thoughts, and did everything she could but the stinging at the back of her eyes and the tears continued to threaten spilling over.

Three weeks passed but the pain was no less than it was when she first learned about the death of her grandfather. Grandpa Quincy was her favourite grandparent. He was cool and calm all the time, never made her feel less or compared her to her cousins, cared about her, talked to her, and respected her. She missed him so much.

The door banging open and close jerked her from her thoughts and she turned to see a boy walking out of the school. He had a black jacket and backpack on with faded blue jeans and sneakers. He had dark black hair, straight and long enough to fall on his eyes. He pushed the strands away and smiled at her. She gave him a wobbly smile back. She recognized him from around the halls, but didn't know his name.

He leaned against the brick wall of the school near her, glancing up at the sky and breathing in softly. Even though Alexandria wanted to be alone, and she was dealing with her own sadness, she asked, "Are you okay?" He looked startled to be asked, and looked over her with a slightly baffled expression.

"Yeah," his voice was smooth and comforting. Alex liked it. "Are you? You look . . ." Alex waited breathlessly for his response. "Sad," he finished.

"Oh," now it was her turn to be startled. She started to say that she was fine, of course she was, why wouldn't she be, when she stopped. She closed her mouth and took a deep breath. Would it really hurt her to say what was wrong?

Yes. He didn't care. He was just asking to be nice.

Alex shook her head and smiled her wobbly smile again, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," she looked at him curiously. People usually left it alone when she said she was fine. They were thankful that they didn't have to listen to her problems.

"I am," she said firmly. He shrugged.

"Okay. But you're not. If you won't talk to me, then just talk to someone else."

They stood there in silence, but Alex was hyper aware of his presence. A few minutes crawled by, dragging the time and amplifying her anxiety. "Okay!" she burst out, unable to keep it in anymore. He looked over her as if her outburst was perfectly normal. "My grandfather died three weeks ago. We were close. I'm sad. That's all."

His expression softened. "That's not all. You look like you cared for him?" She nodded, the tears prickling. One slid down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. "It's okay to be sad."

"I know," she said, her voice a light choked up. She cleared her throat and swallowed, willing herself to get it together. She couldn't break down in front of this stranger.

"Hey, you want to hear a joke?" he suddenly said. She looked over at him and nodded, her lips turning up in a bemused smile. Who would say a joke right now? "Knock knock."

He looked at her expectantly and she shot him a confused look. "What?"

"Have you never heard a 'knock knock' joke before?"

"No, of course I have."

"Then say it."

"Say what?"

"Who's there!"

"Wait, you're serious about this?"

He shot her an annoyed look, "Can you just let me tell the joke?"

She chuckled, "Okay. Who's there?"

"Tank," he shot her a look that made her roll her eyes and say:

"Tank who?"

"You're welcome."

Alexandria couldn't help it and laughed out loud. It was a ridiculous joke that really didn't warrant the outburst of laughter from her. It might have been the boy, it might have been because her emotions were all over the place, but for some reason she was laughing a lot. Her heart felt lighter and the tears were no where to be found.

When she finally calmed down, she looked at him and saw the soft smile on his lips, the twinkling in his dark eyes. She registered his handsomeness in the back of her mind, but she was too caught up in the moment to be embarrassed at her actions in front of him or be flustered being around such a pretty boy. "But really, thank you," she said. His smile grew into a grin, his straight white teeth peaking out.

"Anytime," then, "I'm Caleb, by the way. And you?"

"Alexandria," she smiled.

"People must have a lot of different nicknames for you," he said.

She shrugged, "Not really. Everyone just calls me Alex. Or Alexandria if my mom is mad."

He laughed, "Yeah, the infamous full name yell. You know you're fucked when you hear that."

Alex was delighted that someone understood that and she nodded eagerly. "I was doing homework once, and all of a sudden I hear my full name yelled from downstairs. I think I got a heart attack," she chuckled. "It wasn't even my fault, it was my brother's."

Caleb laughed, and when Alex looked up, she saw that they were standing closer to each other now. His hands, long fingered and smooth, clutched the straps of his backpack. "It's good to finally know your name. I've seen you around a lot over the years," she said.

"It's good to know yours too. And you're as nice as you look," he said. Alex felt her cheeks heat. He surely didn't mean it like that. They stood around in silence for a bit before he said, "We should . . . I mean, only if you want to, hang out?" his voice rose at the end, a question that is a choice between two different worlds.

But it was never really a choice, Alex realized long after. No matter what, she was meant to be with Caleb. If they didn't become friends, then the universe would have found another way to bring them together.

She nodded, "Yes, we should."

From that moment on, Alexandria and Caleb were inseparable. The two hit it off and became the best of friends. As time went on, it was no longer weird to see the two talking together or hanging out, but as normal and expected as the sun rising and setting everyday.

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Hi everyone! What do you think of this chapter?

I love this chapter and the look into the first time Caleb and Alexandria talked to each other. What do you think? We're almost done the book and while I'm sad that it's finishing up, I'm excited for the next stories!

See you next chapter,
Sage