Wallflower

1 8

Chapter 18: Princesse Charmante

  For their first official date, Alex had taken Avery to the rooftop of a modern art museum where they sat, had a picnic and watched the stars. It was both a great distraction for the freckled girl and a romantic night. Alex had decorated the place with roses and candles and had even baked chocolate chip cookies for the curly-haired girl that was the apple of her eye.

About a week later, the word had spread about Alex and Avery's courtship and those who hadn't heard about it from the encounter between Avery and Carson definitely knew now. In that week, Avery's status had gone from not only being the girl that broke Carson Armani's heart but to also being the girl that managed to tie down Alex Rivers. And even though she didn't like it, those two titles made her somewhat popular throughout the school.

Life had been rough without Carson, no doubt, and Alex had done her best to keep her mind off of the best friend shaped hole in Avery's chest. But sometimes, the best course of action in life is just to wait.

  "Hi," Alex wrapped her arms around the freckled girl from behind, planting a kiss to the crook of her neck. Avery blushed at the public display of affection from her...romantic companion. She couldn't refer to her as her 'girlfriend' because she didn't think that's what they were yet. Were they? Alex hadn't asked her.

  Was it too 50's for her to wait for the tall girl to ask her to be her girlfriend? No. If it were the 50's, chances are they probably wouldn't even be dating due to all the homophobia.

"Hi," Avery said shyly. She went up on her tiptoes and gave the brunette a quick peck on the cheek before glancing around to make sure no one saw.

"You are adorable," the brunette said slowly with a broad smile. She was leaned up against Carson's locker as she gazed down adoringly at the freckled girl. The smile was reciprocated before it faded away when Avery spotted her ex-best friend walking towards them, surrounded by some of his football friends and with Marigold by his side. The sight brought a pang to her chest and she looked down on the floor before turning to her locker and continuing to replace her books.

"Excuse me," the brunet boy said icily after he cleared his throat. Alex removed herself from his locker begrudgingly, sending a glare his way. She had wanted to send a sucker punch to his nose and her hands balled into tight fists before relaxing themselves. She had to remind herself that hurting Carson would only hurt Avery, and she would never want to harm the curly-haired girl.

The short girl had finished doing what she needed to do but tried to keep herself busy so her eyes wouldn't wander off to Carson as she felt her tears spring to them. When he was finished, Carson closed his locker with a little more force than necessary and walked off, Marigold staying behind.

  "Avery," she called to the freckled girl, attracting her attention. Instinctively, Alex went to her side and snaked a hand around her waist.

"You gave me such a tough time because you thought that I might hurt Carson. I just want you to think about the irony," she said with a smug look. She twirled her ginger ponytail with a sickeningly sweet smile before she made a move to walk away.

After she let her words sink in, her plan to make a spectacular exit was thwarted when Alex grabbed her by the arm and shoved her into one of the nearby lockers. The redhead winced at the pain in her back and the brunette bunched up the fabric of her shirt as she pinned her down.

"I may not be able to touch Armani because of Avery, but you're a fucking fool if you think you're off-limits too," Alex growled between gritted teeth. The football star was no match for the tall girl as she tried to get away from her. For added emphasis, Alex punched the area of a locker that was next to her head causing her to whimper.

  In an attempt to calm down her lover, one of Avery's hands reached up to the brunette's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. With one last shove, Alex removed her hands from where they held Marigold, allowing the girl to scurry off in the direction her boyfriend disappeared to like a scared dog with its tail between its legs. The tall girl then turned to the freckled one, catching her cheeks between her palms as she tried to read the look in her eyes.

"I'm fine," Avery reassured when she caught on to what Alex was doing. "Though I don't know whether to feel disappointed in you or to find that hot."

"I'd prefer the latter," Alex said with a smirk, slinging her arm over Avery's shoulder as she began to walk her to her class, "I was only protecting your honour, Freckles."

"Thank you, my Princess Charming."

****

"So you guys really stopped talking to Sam, huh?" Avery clarified as she sat down at the indoor lunch table with Alex, Jason and Kaden. The weather was now too cold for them to have lunch outdoors. She had only started sitting with the group a couple of days ago when Alex noticed that she was sitting by herself after the blowout with Carson. The brunette had pleaded with her to sit with her friends despite Avery's statements that she wasn't lonely. Now all four of them got along splendidly, especially since she hadn't seen Sam since the incident.

"What he did was dickish and his excuse sucked balls," Kaden said, words muffled by the mozzarella sticks he had stuffed in his mouth. He let out a gasp, nearly choking on his food in the process, "O.M.G was that a pun? Everything that I just said was related to penises."

Jason shook his head when the smaller boy looked over at him in excitement.

"What was his excuse?"

"Some shit about how he's protective of the group and he didn't want you intruding," Alex said nonchalantly. She slipped her hand around Avery's waist and brought her in closer to her without batting an eye or even looking in her direction. The freckled girl wasn't even sure if she noticed what she did and that made her blush.

"Yeah, but we all think it's because he used to have a crush on Alex back in middle school," Kaden spoke up again before he added, "You guys are cute."

Avery looked up at the tall girl, a sliver of jealousy slipping by. "Did you know about that?"

Alex only shrugged before she looked down at the shorter girl and sent her a reassuring smile, "Yeah I did. We never spoke about it because he knew it wasn't gonna go anywhere."

"But middle school was ages ago," Avery looked back to Kaden. "Why would affect how he acts now?"

"Feelings stick," he shrugged.

Jason rolled his eyes, quickly getting annoyed with the topic at hand. He had never been one to enjoy conversations about drama.

"Eat up, love," Alex said softly and nudged Avery's shoulder when she realised the younger girl had barely touched her pasta. She had lost her appetite. For some reason, she felt bad about the fact that Sam's ex-best friend's had stopped talking to him. If she hadn't had a panic attack, things would be fine between them by now. He'd only get a slap on the wrist like 'Hey Sam, that's not cool. Stop talking to her like that, you're being a dick'. But because her reaction was much more serious, his consequence was much more serious.

"I have two chocolate chip cookies for you in my bag, if you eat more," the brunette taunted her, causing Avery to pick up her fork once more. "That's my girl."

Alex's words brought a heavy blush to the freckled girl's cheeks. Jason's eyes widened and Kaden nearly choked, again.

"So it's official then. She's your girl girl?" Long questioned Alex.

"If she'll have me."

Avery's previous dark cloud of guilt suddenly disappeared as she felt her heart bloom with joy. It wasn't extravagant, the way she asked her. Hell, it wasn't even a question. It was casual but heartfelt at the same time and Avery loved it. There was no doubt in her mind that Alex brought her nothing but happiness.

"Of course!" she exclaimed giddily, attracting the attention of those who were nearby. For once, not giving a shit about who was watching or judging, she wrapped her arms around the back of Alex's neck and brought her down for a passionate kiss. And for the both of them, it felt like everything was going to be alright.

A/N: OMG only two more chapters of Wallflower. I feel dizzy. It's ending guys!