Miss Perfect and The Bad Boy

two - tardy slips and science class

Beep beep beep

Beep beep beep

Beep beep beep

I rubbed my eyes as my alarm rang out through the room.

"Nicole, are you up yet?" my mom called from right outside my door.

"Yeah!" I yelled back, sitting up.

As soon as I stood up, I tripped over something. I fell down on top of a boy laying on my floor. I was right on top of him, face to face.

"So, it wasn't a dream," I mumbled.

Alex's eyes fluttered open. He looked confused for a second but then he smiled. "God, Nik, if you want me so bad, all you have to do is say so."

"Shut up," I mumbled as I got up off him, lightly smacking him in the head, and stood up. I rubbed my eyes and slowly stretched, shaking off the tiredness. And then I finally looked down at Alex, his black hair ruffled and his eyes puffy. "We have to get ready and you have to get out before my parents notice you're here."

He groaned, but ultimately got up. I noticed his mark from last night was swelling up.

"Are those okay?" I asked, pointing to his bare stomach.

He looked down like he just noticed his body was covered in red marks. "Yeah, this always happens."

I winced, but he didn't seem to notice as he started picking up all his stuff. "You're not going back home tonight, are you?"

He turned around as he slid his now-dry shirt over himself. "I have to. Usually I'd stay at the park, but it's supposed to rain a lot tonight."

I bit my lip and contemplated what I was going to say. "My mom's leaving for a psych convention in Vegas tonight, and my dad's going along so they're staying for a few extra days," I said slowly. "If you want, you can come back here."

He shook his head. "Thank you, Nikki. I appreciate it but I'm good."

"Why? It's either here or back there and I know you don't want to go back."

"I can't ask this much of you."

"You're not asking anything," I defended. "I'm offering."

"Nikki-"

"Please, Alex. I won't be able to live with myself if I let you go back there and something happens. I just need you to stay here at least for tonight just to make sure you heal properly."

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I would actually feel better if you were here knowing you're okay."

He laughed but it sounded forced. "Since when do you care if I'm okay?"

I felt taken aback by his words. "I've always cared, Alex. Just because we're not friends anymore doesn't mean I don't care. You were my best friend for 8 years, how can I not?"

He smiled down at me. "Weird childhood bonds, huh?"

I smiled back, but I felt a deep feeling in the pit of my stomach. How much had he gone through the last four years when I was ignoring him? How many nights had he slept in the cold? How many times had his dad hurt him? How many times did he consider coming here but ultimately decide against it?

♡

"We have to go. It's 4th period already," I told Connor, as I stood up from his lap in the tiny janitors closet after our heated make-out session.