Must Have Been the Wind (Alec Benjamin X reader)

• t h i r t y - o n e •

The Book of You & I

(Y/N's POV)

I woke up early that morning.

In fact, I'm not really sure I went to bed at all.

I had been staring out the hotel window at the vast city in front of me. I could see Millennium Park, and Willis Tower and a tiny bit of Navy Pier atop Lake Michigan off in the distance.

I looked over at the clock on the nightstand. 7:53.

As I turned around, I sighed, reaching into my suitcase to grab some clothes. I caught a glimpse of Alec, who was still sound asleep.

I smiled lightly to myself.

As I walked towards the bathroom, I realized I'd left my phone on the nightstand. Trying to be as quiet as I could, I tiptoed over next to Alec and grabbed my phone.

As I turned around, I felt an arm wrap around my leg and pull me onto the bed.

"...so you are awake, then." I muttered as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Mm. Yeah, something like that." He mumbled back, groggily.

"Alec..."

"Mm." He replied into my hair.

"I'm gonna get up now." I said, nonchalantly. He responded by wrapping his other arm around me and holding me tighter.

"Alec."

"Whyyyyy?" He whined.

I managed to wiggle out, nearly falling on my face. I grabbed my phone and the clothes I planned to change into.

"I'm gonna shower. After that, we need to talk."

He sat up, leaning against the headboard.

"Ok." He ran a hand through his hair. "Want any company?" He smiled.

I felt my eyes widen. I couldn't decide how I wanted to react at his boldness. I put a hand on my hip. "What happened to the shy, awkward Alec I first met, huh?" I asked, teasingly.

He shrugged, sincerity in his eyes. "...you did."

"Um." I paused, letting my sarcastic guard down, not sure what to say. He scratched the back of his neck. "Uh...actually, that's exactly the kind of thing I need to talk to you about." I said, looking him in the eyes.

His eyes widened a little. "Oh. U-uh...ok." He gulped, as he looked away awkwardly.

There he is.
* * * * *

"So..." I sat down on the bed across from him, still towel-drying my hair. He looked a little zoned out. I watched as his glossy, unfocused eyes wandered over me.

"Alec?" He snapped out of it.

"What? Oh- uh. Sorry." He looked around, averting his gaze for a moment to let the awkwardness dissipate.

"Tell me about her."

He looked like I'd just slapped him across the face.

"What? W-what do you mean? What about her?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, as I wondered why he sounded defensive.

"Well...she must've hurt you..? When did you meet her? What was she like? When did things start getting bad?"

He stood up abruptly, getting out of bed. I did my best to ignore the fact that he was hardly wearing any clothes.

"I-" he cut himself off.