Dear Ocean Sky

Chapter 15.2 | Alex (the unpublished)

It was time to kiss Carson- or almost kiss Carson, for rehearsal purposes. But first Alex had to hug him.

God this scene was just a recipe for disaster.

Alex took a deep breath, trying to erase the weird feeling in her stomach that came whenever she merely thought about the scene she was about to do. You can do it. You can do it. She told herself. I know you don't like being close to people, but it's just Carson. Carson who's your friend and- oh crap that's the cue!

Alex jogged onto the stage, a big smile displayed on her face. She came up behind Carson and threw her arms around him. Her body immediately wanted to jerk away, but Alex wouldn't let it.

"Congratulations Wild Cat!" Alex said cheerily, delivering her line. Carson spun around to face her, keeping his hands on her arms. Carson gave Alex a big smile, and Alex returned it, trying not to let her discomfort show.

Carson kept his hands lightly on Alex, knowing she didn't like being close to people and Alex hoped the gratefulness in her eyes was coming through to him.

"What about your team?"

"We won too!"

Carson pulled Alex closer to him. Alex felt her breath getting heavier. Carson's eyes closed and Alex felt herself leaning in against her will. The two thespians continued to lean towards each other, closing the gap between them at a turtle's pace. It was taking all of Alex's willpower not to run.

Liam came between them, breaking the two apart, and Alex felt herself relax in relief. "Yo! Team voted you the game ball captain!" he said happily.

"Alright, everybody! Great rehearsal today, I will see you next week!" Mr. Benj's voice came, cutting through the scene.

"Thanks for that," Alex said to Carson.

"For what?" Carson replied, and Alex opened her mouth to speak but Carson cut her off. "It's no problem Alex, I would never want to make my Gabriella uncomfortable." Carson twirled Alex by lifting one of her hands above her head, and she giggled. Then Carson slid down the railing of the stairs leading up to the stage, running over to Liam who was packing up his bag.

Alex smiled and jumped off the stage where she was greeted by Kata. The two had been spending more time together in the past week, making both of them happy. "So?" Kata said with a smirk on her face, nudging Alex with her shoulder. Alex raised an eyebrow at her. "It looked like you really enjoyed being up there with Carson." She jerked her head towards the stage. Alex felt her cheeks flame up in embarrassment.

"Well, I mean, um I guess. He's my friend and it's fun acting with him uh-" Geez why was she all of a sudden so nervous?

"You looked like more than friends." scoffed Kata with a wiggle of her shoulders. Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok first off, never do that again."

"Oh, you mean this?" Kata wiggled her shoulders again.

"Yes, that. Please, you're embarrassing both of us," said Alex, laughing.

Kata looked down at the floor. "Sorry," she said with sincerity. Her voice was suddenly serious. "I was just trying to act more like a girl. I mean girls tease each other about these kinds of things right?"

Alex was immediately overcome with empathy for her friend, all other thoughts fleeing from her head. "Kata." She said, not knowing the right words to speak to the girl in front of her that was clearly hurt.

"I-I should go." Kata stuttered. She started walking down the hallway, arms crossed in a shield-like maror, but Alex ran up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her around.

"Hey, look at me." She said. Kata's eyes found her own. "Is this because of Hunter?" Kata looked down at her feet, hesitation clear on her face.

"And- um, yeah. Just Hunter." Alex felt an ache in her chest. Hunter was such a jerk, why couldn't he see how amazing Kata was? "I just feel like...I'm just not good enough. I'm stupid and not girly enough and- and...I'm just- ugh. I thought maybe if I could change this one thing- if I could act more like a girl- then maybe my mo...maybe Hunter wouldn't look down on me so much."

"Kata, listen to me," Alex said sternly, forcing Kata to look up at her. Alex wasn't about to let anyone make Kata think she was anything less than she was because who she was was beautiful. "You don't need to act 'more like a girl.' There is no one way for a girl to act. You are" Beautiful, amazing, kind, smart. "Perfect. You are perfect just the way you are." Kata shrugged with sagging shoulders. The ache in Alex's chest widened. Hunter shouldn't be allowed to make Kata feel like this. "Look, Hunter sucks. He does and he's a-an" she struggled to find the right word.

"An asshole?" Kata offered, a tiny smile returning to her lips, though it was clear she was still upset. Alex couldn't help but smile in return, trying to cheer her up.

"Yes exactly, which means he doesn't deserve to have any say in what you do or how you act." Alex paused, then said quietly. "You're awesome, you know that?" Kata looked up at her in shock, but her expression soon softened. Her eyes looked upon her friend with gratefulness and all the gentleness in the world. "I like you just the way you are and I don't want you to be any different, okay?" Kata's smile took over her face. It was still small, but now it was real and hopeful. The sight made Alex's heart hum with happiness.

"Okay," Kata answered softly. She reached out and squeezed Alex's hand gently. Her hand was warm, and that warmth spread through Alex until it reached her chest and rested there until her heart felt like it might beat right out of her ribcage.

The two girls started walking back to the cafeteria since Alex had left her stuff in there. "You know," said Kata, a mischievous look spreading across her face. "I wasn't kidding about you and Carson. Y'all could totally be a couple." She glanced at Alex seeing how she would react.

Alex rolled her eyes, but she couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed. "Oh shut up!" she laughed, running into Kata who promptly ran her into the wall then ran off leaving Alex to catch up to her.

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A/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter! If you did consider leaving a vote/comment before clicking onto the next part!

How do y'all feel about Kata and Alex's blossoming friendship? :D

-Sunny <3