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Beneath the Surface

Chapter 7: Nothing to Fear

Notes:

"Imagine a 10k word chapter." - me, two chapters ago, before writing THIS. Also, if you've been enjoying this story, I highly recommend checking out the bottom notes for a bit of an update. For now, I hope you enjoy this one!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It was Halloween night, and Alexa felt like she had lived an entire lifetime in the weeks leading up to this date. Nothing was the same as it once was - her feelings, her outlook on life, her goals, her dreams. Despite the rocky start to the school year, swamped with Student Council duties as soon as the calendar flipped to September, Alexa could say with earnest that her life had changed more in just this past month than any other time she could remember.

She had read plenty of books, tales of whirlwind romances where a chance meeting led to a lifetime of love and happiness. She couldn't get enough of those, but never truly believed that they could be real. She had dreamt about it, pictured it a million and one times, but never imagined that a single person could change someone's life forever, just like that, just like in her favorite stories. That was until she became friends with Becky.

It happened before either of them knew it was happening. It just did. Their short-lived rivalry culminating in a budding friendship - two clashing personalities that shouldn't mix as well as they did. But never has another person made Alexa so happy, and wasn't that the most important thing? Becky made her happy - she had skipped cloud nine altogether, and chose to float along clouds ten and eleven.

But it wasn't just that Becky made her happy when they were together. That was a major part of it, but it wasn't the only thing that had Alexa feeling so positive. The lifestyle that she once envied was now one that she could emulate. Not to the extreme lengths of buying motorcycles or ditching class - skipping class once was enough, she told herself, as she witnessed her homework doubling in size. She felt carefree, weightless, drifting along as a leaf in the blowing breeze. Becky made her feel like she had something to give, like she didn't have to be perfect to prove she was worthy of friendship, or romance, or living.

This passion, this affection, these feelings that she had for Becky. She didn't care if it happened a little too quickly, or if anyone would call her mad. She couldn't change how she felt, and she wouldn't want to, not for anything. It was all so unfamiliar to her - uncharted territory on a map with no landmarks. A crush, infatuation. She couldn't say what it was for certain, but it didn't matter, it didn't need a label. She only knew what she felt, and what she felt was real, a burning attraction with roaring flames so white hot that they couldn't be extinguished.

This wasn't as easy as every piece of media around her made it out to be. It wasn't one emotion that made her feel good - it was all of them, every emotion, firing off at once like a barrage of cannonballs from the port and starboard. If they were a gang of pirates, Becky was the most fearsome of them all - she was able to steal the treasure, Alexa's heart, soundly, without hassle. This was all difficult to put into words. Words weren't enough, at least not the words that she knew. She wouldn't mind inventing another language to tell Becky how much she meant to her. But regardless of how she felt about Becky, she came to another realization.

No matter how fearless she felt she was becoming - no matter how unafraid of the future she was - that fear of being rejected was still prevalent in her mind.

She wanted to shout Becky's name from the rooftops, to proclaim her feelings and let them echo along every corner of the globe. But this fear took on a life of its own - it was a black hole, devouring every potential, blissful fantasy of their future together. She didn't understand how good they were for each other until yesterday, watching the setting sun as they poured their hearts out without reservation. Their connection was organic, pure, beautiful. If Becky rejected her, that connection might snap like a twig. What would they do then? They promised to stick together, but how could they keep that promise if looking at Becky's face filled Alexa with regret? How could they continue on if seeing the other's face was painful?

She wished more than anything that she had the psychic abilities to peer into the mind of Becky Lynch, if only for a micro second - a tenth of a tenth of a micro second. If she could manage to read the blueprint of Becky's brain and study the landscape of her true feelings, whatever those might be, none of this would be so complicated. Without knowing that, the risk of losing this special bond was too great, and too much for Alexa to bear. No, they would have to remain friends for now, and she was fine with that. Perfectly fine. She needed to be fine.

As for tonight, she would be attending a Halloween Fair as Becky's monster bride. Her life was weird.

It was a quarter past six, and Alexa had just painstakingly finished putting her costume on. It was a simple bridal gown with black heels, but the makeup took the entirety of her afternoon to get right. She stood in front of her bedroom mirror - a lengthy piece of glass that she once hated, years ago - and looked at her reflection with confidence, quadruple-checking to see if everything was in working order.

She looked good.

The gown itself was a standard white dress, spectacular as it was, but what really sold the costume was the makeup. Her face was coated a tint of a ghastly gray. Dark circles covered her eyelids from top to bottom, a touch different from her normal brand of darkened eyelids from sleepless nights of old. By far her favorite part, and the most stunning visually, was the line of fake stitching running down her cheek, punctuated by their deep, red color. She wondered if Becky would be sporting her matching set.

Her Irish Frankenstein was meant to pick her up, but was running a few minutes behind schedule. The night was young, though it wouldn't hurt to check on her, Alexa figured. With no pockets to speak of, she was forced to carry an ill-fitting, sky blue bag with her. Reaching into its endless void, she grabbed her phone, prepping her fingers for the text she was going to send Becky. On cue, her phone lit up.

Ariel Mermaidington: Ding dong. Ding dong. That's doorbell for 'I'm outside.'

It was impressive how many unconventional ways Becky could find to alert Alexa to her presence. It was more impressive that she somehow failed to notice the actual doorbell. It was her fault, really, for not anticipating this and buying a gigantic neon sign that read, 'Doorbell Is Here,' flashing arrows and all.

Tossing her phone back into her bag, Alexa skipped down the stairs, nearly tripping over her own two feet in her haste. She passed by her mother, casually watching some evening drama or another in the living room, and went to open the front door. Her hand hovered inches above the doorknob, trembling.

'Stop being nervous!' she told herself. 'You're only making things harder!'

With clammy palms, she gave the doorknob a twist and thrust the door wide open in one swift motion. She felt the wind rushing past her as she allowed the early shades of winter to invade her home. Standing outside in the cold autumn air - made that much colder by the ever-fading sunlight - was Becky, looking at her phone, perhaps waiting for a reply from Alexa. She looked up once the sound of an opening door made way to her ears.

Two pairs of eyes locked together, guided to each other by pure magnetism, and Alexa couldn't tell if the world had stopped spinning around her or if she was losing it. She gazed into Becky's eyes - those hypnotic brown orbs, twin mazes that anyone would get lost inside of. Each second was a day, each day a year. Every thump of her heart was like another blow to her resolve.

Tearing her gaze away from Becky's, choosing instead to concentrate on her nose or her chin or anywhere, Alexa decided to be the first to speak. "We do have an actual doorbell, you know."

Becky, however, was not responding, her mouth opening and closing like a malfunctioning drawer as she continued to unflinchingly stare.

Alexa was confused. She snapped her fingers a few times in front of Becky's face. "Hello? You doing alright in there?"

Becky's head shook, whatever haze she was trapped in seemingly having dissipated with a few clicks of the fingers. "O-oh, sorry. It's just - I mean, you look great."

She was only complimenting her as a friend. It was obvious. It was so obvious. Alexa didn't want to walk down this dead end road again.

"I see you haven't worked on your complimenting skills over the last twenty-four hours."

"I must've spent twenty-three of those putting this stuff on my face."

Alexa realized that she hadn't given Becky's costume a proper inspection. If it wasn't for the fact that she hand-picked it herself, she wouldn't be able to tell that it was a costume. It fit Becky's style a little too well - the dark pants, the dirty boots, the loose shirt that blew with the wind. Her makeup, though not as detailed as Alexa's, was noticeable. To Alexa's glee, a crimson line of stitching ran across Becky's forehead. Tiny bolts protruded from her neck like an actual monster spawned from a laboratory. Her costume was perfect!

Alexa ceased her praise.

She craned her head forward, taking an even closer look at Becky's outfit. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. No, she could believe it, but she just didn't want to.

"Oh my god."

"Don't tell me I messed it up."

"One night," Alexa started. "You couldn't leave your jacket home for one night."

"Wha- the stupid Frankenstein jacket was too small!" Becky explained, trying her best to plead her case. Alexa simply stood at the doorway, arms folded over her chest. She wasn't impressed. "I never got to try it on beforehand. Turns out the boulder shoulders were too big for the sleeves."

"Okay, I don't want to hear about your arm muscles anymore," Alexa lied. If Becky hosted a seminar where she ranted exclusively about her muscles - carefully mapping out every single curving dip and winding hill - Alexa would attend as many times as possible. It was never a bad thing to gain more knowledge and insight on that particular subject.

"Maybe you'd prefer another demonstration then?" Becky stretched her right arm, ready to show Alexa her unmatched flexing skills.

"Becky, I swear-"

"Is that her?"

A third voice came from the inside of the house. Becky tried to sneak the tiniest of peeks past the blonde and through the corridor, but she didn't have to. Stepping from within was Alexa's mother. Clothed in only a nightgown and fuzzy slippers, she dare not step out into the cold, choosing to stand by Alexa's side at the doorway.

"I didn't know you had a sister."

Throwing her head back, Alexa groaned to the heavens. Unfortunately, it wasn't loud enough to drown out the sounds of her mother's laughter.

"This is Becky? She's a keeper."

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh! I'm Lexi's mom. You can just call me Angela."

A greeting sputtered out from Becky's lips before she jogged over to the door. Meanwhile, Alexa was struggling to keep her irritation in check. If she hadn't spent so much time staring at Becky, they would be long gone by now, avoiding what was sure to be an embarrassing situation. But Alexa knew that not looking into Becky's eyes was a task that was always doomed to fail. Her and those rich, brown eyes that melded into the sweetest of chocolates the longer that she gazed into them.

"You're her mom. Right. Makes sense, but damn. You guys could be twins." Becky reached out to shake her hand, a gesture that was returned prompty.

"Oh, stop." Angela waved the comment away, and it was at this moment that Alexa contemplated jumping into a nearby bush. "So Lexi was telling me that the Fair was your idea?"

"Eh, I only brought the idea up, but she was the one that got the ball rolling."

"And she's so modest too," Angela complimented, leaning over to her daughter. "No wonder why you talk about her so much."

"Mom," Alexa growled. "Shouldn't you be going to bed?"

"But it's only six."

"The perfect time for you to rest up for your long day of work tomorrow!"

Using the full extent of her strength, Alexa tried to push her mother back into the house. Her mother refused to budge, her feet planted firmly on solid ground.

"You'll take care of my little Lexi, won't you?"

"You have my word, ma'am. Scout's honor," Becky replied with a salute.

"And make sure she drinks enough water. And that she doesn't eat too much candy an-"

"Goodnight, mom!" Alexa bellowed, finally able to shove her mother back inside. She slammed the door behind her, making sure that there was no room for the woman to escape. Once she was certain that her doting mother wouldn't be making another surprise entrance, Alexa breathed a sigh of relief.

"She seems nice."

"She talks too much."

"So that's where you get it from."

Alexa took a measured swipe at Becky, slapping her in the shoulder. Judging from the Irish girl's lack of reaction and Alexa's sore palm, the slap did a lot more damage to her than it did to her target. "It's your fault for showing up late."

"It's only…" Becky took a second to check the time, the numbers glowing brightly on her screen. "6:27. What's a measly twenty-seven minutes between friends, huh?"

Friends. Friends.

Alexa could write her own books about how much she cherished her friendship with Becky, adoration flying from the tip of her pen and filling each page with her affection. They deserved more, though - what they deserved was each other, and maybe it could happen. All Alexa needed to do was take the first step. She just needed to say what her heart was yelling at her to say, rioting from within its caged walls. She had the power to change everything, right here and now.

"The longest twenty-seven minutes of my life."

That power would be going to waste this evening.

"Alright, alright. How can I make it up to you?"

'Tell her to take you on a date! Tell her to kiss you! For the love of god, tell her to kiss you!'

"Carry me to your bike," Alexa joked, shutting out the incessant screaming in her head.

It was a joke - an obvious joke. The only way it could have been more of a joke is if Alexa was performing stand-up in front of a live audience, adding wacky sound effects and puppets to her routine. The joke had apparently been unfunny, for Alexa's field of view changed as she was lifted from the ground. Becky had swept her off her feet, literally, and very much figuratively, but she had already done that part many days ago.

"Becks?" she managed to croak out. Her throat was dry, far too dry to ask the dozens of questions that sat on her tongue.

"I-I don't know if they were technically married, but it'd be a waste of a good gown to not carry you like this at least once tonight."

Alexa was stunned into silence - a habit that wasn't uncommon whenever Becky was taking the initiative. It reminded her a lot of the day she fell into the redhead's arms. A sturdy, yet gentle hand tucked against the back of her legs, her other hand placed firmly against her back, keeping her steady. It was the same position, but the feelings were incomparable. There was no tension, no panic, and no terror associated with this. She didn't feel fragile - like any false move or sudden spill would cause her petite body to break. She felt cared for, she felt protected, she felt loved. The affection was coursing through Becky's veins like electricity, and Alexa could feel its frenetic energy.

With nowhere to look but up, she found herself marveling at the different features of Becky's face. Her eyes were radiant, sure, but there was much more than that to take in. Her jawline was chiseled like granite, polished like marble - only the most skillful of artists could create such a magnificent sculpture. If Alexa wasn't hanging onto Becky's neck, her fingers would undoubtedly be brushing against those rosy, rounded cheeks, thumbing the outline of her jaw with touches light as feathers.

And her lips - god, her lips. Lush, pink, softer than the finest silk. She didn't need her lips to meet Becky's to confirm this - she could just tell - but what she wouldn't give for their lips to say 'hello.' They were so enticing, inviting Alexa to cross the invisible street separating them for a quick chat. She wouldn't be long, she told herself. She just wanted to be a good neighbor, and good neighbors said hello. She moved her face steadily closer, until the space between them was but a distant memory. She was almost there, almost across the street, where she could snatch Becky's lips away for a small conversation. Almost. Just a little more.

Overcome with embarrassment, Alexa buried her face in the succulent space of Becky's neck, careful to avoid poking her decorative bolts.

"You okay?"

"I'm cold," came Alexa's muffled reply. She was cold, everywhere except for her face - the greatest source of heat on the planet was in her cheeks.

"Don't worry - Harley Dent's right here. Your carriage awaits."

Alexa would have to take her word for it. Any thoughts of moving her face from Becky were discarded like trash. She nestled her face deeper into the curves of Becky's neck. Her nose was rubbing against plush skin, smooth like the rest of her. She closed her eyes, attempting to make the most of these few seconds of tranquility. This was her new home, her shelter, cuddling the girl she desired most.

That was until they reached Becky's motorcycle, parked feet away from Alexa's driveway.

Delicately, like a lily finding its place in a bouquet of flowers, Becky placed Alexa on the back of her motorcycle, while she took her position at the front.

"Carriages typically have horses pulling them," Alexa remarked as Becky searched for her keys.

"Cool. Let me just go rent some from our local horse store."

"It'd only cost you a couple hundred bucks."

"Doesn't sound like a very stable decision."

"Quit foaling around and get your keys."

"Man, that was good. I've always liked the cut of your jib."

"You don't even know what that word means."

"Does anyone?"

As their battle of puns and witty remarks slowly dwindled, Becky pulled her keys from her unnaturally deep pockets with a quiet 'Aha!'

The key was only three-fourths of the way into the ignition when Becky spoke again. "So," she started, as she tossed a helmet to Alexa. "You talk about me a lot?"

"Only to tell my mom about your awful music opinions."

Becky spun around. "Is that all?" she asked with an air of levity.

Even with the added undertones of humor, Alexa just couldn't tell her the truth about what she and her mother spoke about. She couldn't tell Becky that her name was like a drug - she was addicted to bringing it up at the dinner table. And there was absolutely no way she was going to mention the night her mother caught her muttering Becky's name in her sleep.

Alexa strapped the helmet to her head before wrapping her arms around Becky's waist, hugging her close. She didn't need to be told this time - she was more than willing. "That's all."

"If you say so."

Alexa didn't like the grin on Becky's face as she began to pull from the sidewalk. This was going to be a long night.


The long night's festivities had already begun, and they both knew it, even before Becky managed to completely park her motorcycle. The voices of the students were heard from the school entrance, the ongoing chatter blending into a mishmash of different sounds. For Alexa, it was music to her ears. They were the sounds of a job well done for the Student Council. Though she had no direct part in a good majority of the setup, she was still eager to see the fruits of their labor. Making their way to the back of the school, the sounds of the students becoming louder with every forward step, Alexa was hardly able to contain her enthusiasm.

Dual gasps escaped from their lips as they soaked in the scenery. Everything was exactly as Alexa had envisioned. No, she corrected, it was even better. The decorative lights, the booths stacked with prizes, bobbing for apples! This festive wonderland had come a long way from the pile of wood and crooked tents that it used to be. Seeing the picture clearly in her imagination was one thing, but seeing it now with her own eyes was something completely different. It was like they had jumped headfirst into a fairy tale, the tiled floors and large, open space adding more to the fantasy-driven atmosphere than Alexa could've imagined.

And the costumes! Seeing the monsters, the TV characters, the superheroes, the magicians, and even the occasional warrior princess. It all made her giddy with excitement, ready to join the party of ghouls on this Hallows' Eve, where tricks and treats were the law of the land.

And aside from her giddiness, Alexa also felt proud. The Student Council was a disorganized heap on its off days, a shambling corpse of its former glory, but on its good days - on the days where some of its members were able to put aside their petty, juvenile differences and work together - they were a well-oiled machine. Whatever the endgame was for Mandy and Sonya, they had failed miserably, for the Fair was alive and well.

Alexa felt someone tugging at her gown. It was Becky, the redhead transfixed with the kaleidoscope of sights and sounds. Alexa didn't have to ask - the awe was evident from the look on her face, the magic enveloping her like a blanket, surrounding her with its warmth. Alexa couldn't be happier. It was the only thing she wanted from this whole venture, for Becky to have this experience, to feel the wonder she was robbed of as a child.

"I've got goosebumps. Silly, right?"

"Not at all," Alexa reassured with a smile. "You never had the chance to celebrate Halloween growing up. You deserve to enjoy every minute of this."

Becky was still distracted by the hustle and bustle of the students milling about, but she managed to pull her gaze from the bright lights and focus on the other, brighter light in her life. "Thank you, Lexi. Really." For the second time tonight - perhaps one time more than Alexa's heart was able to handle - Becky stared at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"S-sure."

Alexa felt every individual muscle in her body lock up, pins and needles rushing to her hands and feet as she succumbed to the nervousness. Not once has Becky ever had to qualify a question in this way. It had to be of the utmost importance - a question so meaningful that she was left with no choice but to give Alexa ample time to prepare for it. And Alexa was ready. Whatever Becky had to ask, she would be there to answer it.

"You think I could fit two of those apples between my teeth?"

Sometimes, Alexa wondered if Becky lived in her own dimension, far removed from the rest of humanity.

"No."

"You sure, because my jaw-"

"Becks." Alexa held her hand up, stopping Becky before her apple-related tangent went any further. She wasn't mentally prepared to deal with that. "Apples later. Nikki first."

"Ah, right. Let's go see if we can't find the good doctor."

It was tricky, getting Becky to keep walking with her and not come to a grinding halt at every booth they passed by. There was so much to do, so many different booths to explore - from tossing rings to collecting candy, to taking a large mallet and swinging it down onto unsuspecting pumpkins. Neither of them understood the purpose of that one, but judging by the pieces of pumpkin guts and seeds painting the floor, it was a popular attraction.

Alexa could see Bayley, running her own booth, dressed as some sort of blue monster. Though her attempts at scaring the other students were largely a failure - she looked far too huggable to be scary - her attraction had garnered much attention. Trevor and Johnny's joint booth was a little more successful on the frightening side of things, challenging students to test their mettle, earning a prize if they held in their shrieks. Given the amount of prizes left and the frequency of shrieks in the air, they were doing a good job.

"Look at that!" Becky yelled again, upping the total to five yells in three minutes. She pointed to a nearby attraction, her arm narrowly avoiding the blonde's nose.

Alexa turned to check what had gotten Becky so riled up. There, in the far corner of the Fair, an old, decrepit-looking structure of some sort towered above the tents. Shrouded in artificial mist, it's peak illuminated by the moonlight, this structure gave off a more menacing vibe than any other attraction did. Alexa tried to read the lopsided sign hanging from its front wall, tilting her head slightly.

"I think that says 'Haunted House?' How did they do that?" She remembered there was a decent amount left in their Student Council budget, but she never imagined the money could produce something of this caliber.

"Oh, we have to go check it out."

"No!"

"No?"

Alexa gulped, fear creeping in from the back of her throat. Halloween was at the top of the list for her favorite days of the year, but entering a haunted house was her greatest fear. Her last memorable experience saw a five-year-old Alexa Bliss running back through the entrance at the sight of a masked teen. In her memories was the imprinted image of her little legs carrying her as fast as they could, plowing into other kids as she ran from the terrors lurking inside. From that day onward, she vowed never to step foot inside of a haunted house ever again, and if Johnny and Trevor's horror-centric booth was anything to go by, she was making the right choice.

"You scared of little haunted house?" Becky chided, nudging Alexa in the ribs.

"I am not scared! I just… had a bad experience when I was a kid. That's all."

"D'awww, ain't that precious?" Becky pinched Alexa's cheeks, only to have them slapped away immediately. "And you're not scared?"

"Nope."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not even a little, tiny bit."

"That's good. These things kind of give me the creeps, you know?" Becky shuddered in such an over-the-top manner that it caused Alexa to snort. She knew what Becky was doing, but adored her for it nonetheless. "Might be best to avoid them, for my sake."

"For your sake."

In response, Becky did something that Alexa would never forget for as long as she lived. She winked at her. Maybe Alexa had been wrong this whole time. Maybe it wasn't Nikki who was soft - maybe she was the soft one. Her gooey, marshmallow-y center was melting under Becky's heat. Who gave her the right to make Alexa feel this way with a simple blink of the eye?

Moving past the haunted house, they continued their search for Nikki. Luckily, it was a search that didn't last long. A high-pitched 'Lexi!' cut through the noise like a knife through butter, and the pair were able to locate her with ease. It would be hard not to notice her, the brunette bouncing up and down in her cramped booth. She beckoned them over with frantic arm flailing, and Alexa was becoming concerned - what if she hit her head?! She sprinted over to Nikki before the Scot could injure herself in excitement.

"You two made it! And - oh my god!" Nikki gasped. "Your costumes look so good! They match mine!"

"That was the plan," Alexa explained. "It was Becky's idea."

"Come on. You're making me look like a sap here."

"Aren't you?"

"You guys!" Nikki placed a hand over her chest, touched by the gesture, that they would bother to include her at all. "You're the best. Oh, I'm actually going to start crying." She was fanning her face, doing everything possible to keep her eyes dry. The display was very dramatic, and very much Nikki. Alexa almost felt sorry for the vampire impatiently waiting behind them, wanting desperately to play the game at Nikki's tent.

"You might want to take five, Dracula," Becky said. She urged the young blood sucker to head out with an emphatic 'shoo!', and after a slight grumble of annoyance, he did just that.

"You two are the cutest. I'm just sad that Lexi never invited me to the wedding," Nikki teased with a smile so wide that Alexa could count her teeth individually.

"We eloped. Lexi's idea."

"Uh. No. Our wedding would be extravagant, and everybody would be there."

"Our first dance would have to be to 'Beauty and the Beast,' right?"

"Obviously. We wo-" Alexa paused. She turned to Nikki, feeling her watchful gaze, the Scot's toothy smile overtaking her face. Why did this happen so often? "Um, so." Alexa played with a lock of her hair, thinking of ways to change the subject.

"Oh! Why don't one of you play a game!"

Alexa internally thanked Nikki for the assist, her friend having caught on to Alexa's discomfort. She supposed playing a game wasn't a terrible idea, and it was a simple enough game to understand - throw a ball, knock over the six empty bottles, win a prize. It didn't really scream 'Halloween,' but the ball had the wicked smile of a carved jack-o-lantern, so it was, if nothing else, thematic.

"I do want that stuffed pig," Alexa said, pointing to a spotted pig sitting on a lonely shelf. "Every time I try, the bottles just won't go down."

"Not a problem! They don't call me 'Big Arms Becky' for nothin'." Becky snatched a ball from the counter, confidence radiating off of her like steam from a sauna.

"Nobody calls you that."

"Calls me what?"

"Big Arms Becky."

"Why, thank you, Lexi! My arms are pretty big."

Alexa was tempted to punch Becky in her arm, but she couldn't. Her arms were fairly big, after all.

"Hey," Becky said, catching Nikki's attention. "How did you set this all up anyway? I mean, where'd you get the stuffed toys from?"

"Okay okay, so! After Alexa approved everything, a few of us went to the store and told them that we needed all of the toys in stock! It was a really long process that-"

"On second thought, how about I just throw this ball and you get me my prize?"

Though she was offered more, Becky only took the solitary ball. It was standard Becky fare. The Irish girl was way too cocky for her own good sometimes. Yet, the way she was positioned - her feet inches apart, her tongue circling her lips, her eyes studying the bottles carefully. She was like a pitcher on a baseball field, poised throw her ball as swiftly and fiercely as her muscles would allow.

Alexa hated how many times her mind wandered to Becky's muscles.

Becky hit her mark with ease. All it took was a single throw for the bottles to meet their untimely end. They fell over immediately upon impact, crashing to floor. Nikki and Alexa both cheered while Becky let out a confident 'Told ya!' Alexa didn't complain. She earned the right to brag, at least for now.

"I'm actually impressed," Alexa said as Becky handed her a stuffed pig.

"See, what did I tell ya? Do I ever disappoint?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna not answer that."

"Fair." Before Alexa could continue to trade barbs with her, Becky approached Nikki. "Thanks for this, you know? Without you, neither of us would be here right now."

Nikki stepped from within her booth, running over to Becky and latching onto her. Her grip must have been stronger than the redhead had been expecting, her attempts to shake her off proving to be futile. "It's kind of hard to breathe."

"You'll get used to it," came Alexa's reply. Alexa was already used to Nikki's bone-crushing hugs. "We should probably keep it moving, though." She motioned to the line behind her, growing in length as they hogged all of Nikki's time and attention.

Becky nodded in agreement. "Let's get some quick pictures before we go. A doctor and her monsters. This'll be fun to look back on."

Alexa hadn't known Becky to be sentimental, but she was always ready to take as many pictures as her phone's storage space would allow. Nikki didn't say much of anything, but her bouncing only increased in speed, threatening to shatter the earth beneath her feet, at the mention of picture taking. Alexa took that as a good sign.

"Here, get one of me and Nikki." Becky gave Alexa her phone, intending to keep some of these precious memories for herself. She jogged back over to Nikki, Frankenstein and her creator standing side-by-side, posing for the upcoming picture.

Alexa examined the phone between her fingers - a different model than her own device. How did one even open the camera? She scrolled through Becky's phone, clicking on any app that might take her to the camera screen. It wasn't the green, pear-shaped icon. It wasn't the icon that looked like a camera - that was apparently a mobile game. It wasn't the icon that read 'Flash,' Alexa learned, blinding herself momentarily as a white light repeatedly flashed in her face.

"Do you know how to work that phone?" Becky questioned. They were a fair distance away, but the flashing of her phone led her to believe that Alexa had no clue as to what she was doing.

"I think I know how to work a cell phone in 2019!" Alexa shouted. She was lost, but she was positive that she would find this stupid camera. Continuing her random clicking, Alexa accidentally opened Becky's texting app. She didn't mean to snoop - it was such an invasion of privacy to read through someone's text messages! - but there was little to see. Becky wasn't an avid texter, the only conversation being one with Alexa. At least, that was what she assumed. She strangely couldn't find her name anywhere in the thread of messages, but it was their messages. She recognized the most recent of the bunch, the text from just thirty minutes prior, but her name wasn't anywhere to be seen.

She froze. She found her name. Only, it wasn't her name.

big stupid gorgeous crush

Alexa couldn't tell how many times she read the words - how many times her eyes scanned each and every letter, making sure that her mind wasn't playing some cruel trick on her. She couldn't have been reading that right. She checked it again.

big stupid gorgeous crush

The words weren't registering in her head properly. There had to be some sort of explanation for this, other than what she was thinking. This couldn't be - it wasn't possible. Was it?

She thumbed over the name, fingers shaking worse than a rickety ladder, and Alexa knew a thing or two about rickety ladders. Her number, along with the large list of calls between them, was listed there. Another thing stood out to her amongst the numerous calls, however.

It was her picture, a plain picture of Alexa, with hearts littering half of its space. It was a throwaway selfie - a picture of her smiling face that she had sent at two in the morning some number of days ago. It wasn't an odd occurrence. They had sent each other a multitude of selfies before bed. She could make a collage with the amount of pictures Becky had sent her. Though usually, their selfies were silly in nature. Puffy cheeks, tongues hanging loosely from their mouths, eyes shut tightly or opened wide as saucers. This picture was different. It was a picture Alexa sent to show Becky how happy she was in the moment.

And Becky kept it. Not only did she keep it, but she chose to look at it every time she received a text message or a call from Alexa. She wanted to see Alexa's face, her smile. Because she had a crush on her - because she thought Alexa was gorgeous.

It hit Alexa all at once, her breathing becoming rapid and out of sync. She couldn't remember how to breathe. Inhale, then exhale? Or was it exhale, then inhale? Maybe it was two inhales, followed by three quick exhales. None of it sounded remotely correct. But was breathing even important right now? Cloud ten, cloud eleven - neither of those were enough to support her. She jumped straight to cloud one-hundred - if Becky felt the same way as she did, then she had nothing to be scared of! Fears of rejection, of being alone, of losing her friendship with Becky. She could finally lay them to rest - a final nail in the coffin.

"My face is getting stiff over here," Becky complained, holding a grin fit for a photo.

"Right! Sorry! I got it! Picture coming up! Like a… plate of hot food!" Alexa was shouting any words that her brain came up with, unable to keep her garbled nonsense from leaking out. She was surprised that her brain was functioning in any capacity. Once she remembered how to breathe like a normal human being, and not an alien pretending to be one, Alexa began to calm down. She needed to play this cool. She needed to ask Becky while they were alone. For now, she would have to somehow manage to use whatever amount of brainpower that wasn't being spent on panicking and take this picture.

Click!

It was the shakiest picture she had ever taken, but she didn't care. Becky was going to have to live with a slightly angled picture.

"Hmm," Becky pondered, once she retrieved her phone from Alexa. "Not the best, but it'll do. Let me get one of you and Nikki too."

To hell with pictures! All Alexa wanted to do was whisk Becky away to a quiet location and talk about this. She didn't want to abandon her 'keep calm and don't be a creepy weirdo' strategy just yet - she didn't want to give the impression that anything was wrong, despite the agonized wailing coming from her insides.

She walked up to Nikki's side, trading places with Becky. Her gait was off, her brain struggling to send the proper signals to her legs. Walking was as difficult as thinking. She wrapped her arm around Nikki's shoulders, the brunette following her lead. Alexa couldn't take this. She had to say something to someone.

"Becky likes me too!" she blurted, her voice barely above a whisper. She felt like a ventriloquist, a fake smile adorning her face as she whistled words through clenched teeth. This situation had to be handled with extreme care, lest she end up saying the wrong thing. They needed to remain quiet.

"She what?!" Nikki shouted, not-so-quietly.

"Not so loud!"

"But how…?"

"It was on her phone. In big, bold letters. Oh my god. I'm going to pass out, oh my god."

"Okay, okay. Don't panic. This is a good thing," Nikki said, doing her best to calm Alexa down. "Go somewhere private. Talk to her."

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just nervous."

"You'll be fine."

"Will you two goofballs stay still?" Becky shouted. "I'm trying to show Lexi how you really take a picture."

"Right! Don't mind us! Just a couple of goofballs! Keeping still now!"

"You're not very graceful under pressure, are you?" Nikki asked.

"Stop talking."

With another click, Becky's phone snapped a second picture. Alexa's nerves were on fire. The moment of truth was slowly approaching. She wasn't going to let another opportunity pass her by. No, she was ready. There was nothing else to hold her back - no excessive work, no fear of rejection, no worrying about the future. This was it.

Becky held her phone high, gloating with her actions, then her words. "Look at this beauty. Perfection. None of that seventy-five degree angle stuff you were doing."

"Wow, you sure did crush on Lexi! Sorry, I meant you crushed Lexi!"

While Nikki was trying to push them together, Alexa was contemplating pushing Nikki into the nearest sewer drain.

"We should get going!" Alexa butt in, trying to get Becky alone as soon as she possible. "We'll see you later, Nikki."

Becky was obviously confused by Alexa's sudden erratic behavior, but said nothing.

"See you guys later! Good luck!"

Breaking the world record for the quickest goodbye, Alexa parted with Nikki, dragging Becky by the wrist away from her booth.

"Good luck?"

"Ah, she meant with the bobbing for apples!"

"Oh. Yeah, I don't need luck." Alexa felt relief wash over her - a cold rain in the middle of summer. For someone who had once dubbed her a bad liar, Becky was pretty easy to fool sometimes.

Alexa looked around. Alone - they were finally alone, or as alone as they could be for a schoolwide Fair. They stood out in the open, but in a less crowded, less noisy area. This was the perfect spot to confess. Alexa felt her courage rising in her gut. It was either courage or the side effects of a nervous stomach. Something was rising. She pretended it was courage.

"Becky."

"What's up?"

Even in their stupid Halloween costumes, Becky was as beautiful as ever. Nothing could truly hide her beauty - she was still Becky, a girl too beautiful, both in spirit and appearance, to exist. To think, Alexa had once thought this girl was nothing but a delinquent. She had never been so happy to be so wrong about a person.

"We should talk." Alexa wondered if maybe her words would send Becky into a state of anxiousness, or cause her to worry. Becky was neither anxious nor worried. In fact, Becky had little reaction at all. "Becks?"

Becky's head was moving to and fro, the Irish girl paying Alexa no mind. The excitement from being at a Fair had yet to fully leave Becky's body. "Come on! There's so much left to do!"

"Wait, we should talk first."

"Ah, we have our whole lives to talk!" Becky wasn't listening. She had a one-track mind, and right now, the train was moving too fast for Alexa to catch it. "Let's go!"

Before Alexa could protest, Becky was dragging her away with such ferocity that she was afraid her shoulder might pop from its socket. She did want Becky to have a good time, so she was willing to play along, for now.

Besides, there couldn't be that many booths, right?


"Easy as cake," Becky bragged, drying off the remaining moisture from her red locks. Squeezing the water out of the sopping wet towel, she handed it over to Alexa, the latter shoving it into her bag with unintentional aggression.

The night was no longer young. Becky's appetite for fun was insatiable - she had dragged Alexa to just about every booth that they were able to find. Alexa's bag was bulging, filled with so much candy that it was actually beginning to weigh her down. Her shoulder, already sore from Becky's yanking and pulling, was throbbing, crying out in pain. If Becky managed to finish this year off with no cavities to speak of, Alexa would count that as a miracle.

It had to have been over two hours since they left Nikki, yet Alexa was unable to get a single word in edgewise the entire time. They were running from one attraction to the next, with no downtime in between for Alexa to speak her mind. The telltale signs of irritation were presenting themselves in her mannerisms. Yet, seeing Becky this happy - running around without a care in the world, childlike glee and wonder practically oozing from her pores. It was amazing for Alexa to witness firsthand, and the only thing keeping her from grabbing Becky by the hair and shaking her until she listened.

That, and the fact that Becky's hair was damp from dunking her entire head into a barrel of apples.

"It's 'easy as pie,' dummy," Alexa corrected. "You missed the perfect opportunity to make an apple pie joke. Who even are you?"

"Guess I'm too excited to be thinking about puns."

"Too excited to- Okay, that's it. I'm calling the police. Something is definitely wrong with you." Alexa held her hand to her ear, her lips quivering as she feigned terror. "Hello? Officer? Yes, m-my friend suddenly doesn't want to tell puns anymore and I… I just don't know what to do!" Alexa wiped imaginary tears from the corner of her eye.

"I'm being serious!" Becky chuckled as she jabbed Alexa in the shoulder - the one that wasn't weighed down by sugary, tooth-rotting treats. "It's all thanks to you for letting me put those planning committee dopes in their place."

"We're going to need an extra pair of hands for how many times we've been patting ourselves on the back tonight."

"I'll pat yours anytime," Becky stated. "You really are something special, Lexi."

And there it was again - her eyes. Becky's eyes. They were undiscovered galaxies, constellations and the stars within, waiting to be wished upon. Alexa's only wish was to never lose track of them, to be able to look into her eyes in the darkness and find her way back home. She was lost in them, as anyone would be, but they were also her guiding light, leading her home.

"Becky," she breathed. She needed to tell Becky everything. She couldn't let another second go to waste.

"Hm?"

"I think maybe w-"

"Do you all see?! This is an infringement on my rights as a human being!"

Fate, much like every other force in the world, was not on Alexa's side. Cutting her off before she could bare her soul to Becky Lynch, a sharp, shrill voice broke her concentration. Before she could even think about continuing from where she left off, Becky was already dragging her toward the center of the commotion. Gathered around the dunk tank - which Alexa still could not remember signing off on - were a group of students, listening to the angry tirade of one Sami Zayn.

"I didn't ask to be put up here!" he shouted from atop his perch, sitting above a vat of green, slimy liquid. "I was forced - forced! - by a group of angry Student Council pests! The Student Council is a plague to society, and all of you parasites just stand around and watch from the safety of your ivory towers!"

"How does he come up with this stuff?" Becky whispered.

"Dunno. Maybe he does improv?"

"Well, look who it is!" Alexa cringed at the sound of Sami's voice. A thousand mice squeaking directly into her exposed eardrum would be a much more pleasant sound to listen to. They'd be a lot less whiny, at least. "Excuse me! I'd like everyone to turn their attention to the two egomaniacs standing in the background!"

She prayed that Sami wasn't referring to them, but her prayers went unanswered as she felt dozens of eyes fall on her. Instead of being alone with Becky, she was as exposed as she could possibly be.

"Thanks to Alexa and her lackey, I am sitting here against my will. This is an egregious and deliberate abuse of power. Shame on you. Shame on both of you!"

"You sure do talk a lot for a guy sitting where you're sitting."

This was getting out of hand. She had willingly followed Becky everywhere she wanted to go, but this was too much. They were wasting precious time on Sami, of all people. "Becky," Alexa stated, pulling at the sleeve of Becky's jacket. "I really, really need to talk to you."

Becky held a hand to Alexa. "I won't be long. Just going to do the school a favor and shut his stupid mouth up. Somebody hand me a ball." With ball in hand, Becky took aim at the dark blue target, preparing to send Sami to his slimy doom.

"Ugh, he's not worth it."

"You hear that, Becky? Why don't you listen to our little president and tuck your tail between your legs."

Alexa didn't know if Sami was being intentionally antagonistic to draw people over, or if he was just being Sami, but either way, his words were starting to anger Becky. Much like before, the redhead took aim, keeping her feet apart in a pitcher's stance, and tossed the ball with all of her might. Unlike before, however, the ball missed her target, landing a few inches to the left with a smack.

"You're even worse than I thought!" Sami said, cackling loudly. It was an insidious, evil cackle, fit for a gnat like him.

Alexa's impatience was reaching a boiling point. She watched as Becky grabbed another ball, intending to try her luck yet again. She missed after throwing the ball with reckless abandon. This was followed by another insult from Sami - it was an insult of the perfect flavor, keeping Becky distracted so that she continuously missed her mark, but also keeping her fired up, willing to try again and again. And again. And again.

Alexa lost count of how many balls were piled on the ground beneath them, collecting at her feet. There was no price for the extra attempts, and no one dared tell Becky to quit, the other students holding onto the outdated belief that Becky was a car-stealing, bank-robbing, mafia-running delinquent.

"This is so pathetic," came Sami's most recent insult. "Did you leave your glasses at home?"

"Keep talking and my next target will be your face."

"I'd be scared if you hadn't spent the past ten minutes showing me how awful your aim is."

"Don't need to aim to slap you upside the head."

Alexa had enough of this mindless bickering. Marching up to the target - the target that had eaten up minutes of her life - she slammed her fist into it, sending Sami plummeting into the bucket of liquid goop with a cry of displeasure. The other students were applauding her, but she didn't care. She shoved Becky off to the side, away from the crowd, leaving them and a grumbling Sami.

"What gives?" Becky asked. "I almost had it! Well, uh, maybe after another couple of tries."

"Would you just listen to me?!" Alexa was trying her best to keep her voice down, but her emotions had been shaken so wildly - they were ready to burst. "I've been trying to talk to you, but you keep ignoring me!"

"I-I'm sorry," Becky apologized. "I've been having so much fun, I guess I've been all over the place." Her expression softened, her gaze focused solely on Alexa, giving her blonde bride her undivided attention. "You've got me - what's on your mind?"

"I. I, uh." Alexa was tongue-tied. They had spent so many minutes wandering the Fair, yet she hadn't spent any of those minutes thinking of the correct way to start this. She was at a loss for words - at the most pivotal moment of her life, she was at a loss for words. Well, she didn't get this far by listening to her brain. No, her heart had always been in firm control, from the day Becky walked in on her, lying face down on a desk. Letting her heart take the wheel was the best decision she had ever made, and she wasn't going to have it let go now.

"I know," she said simply.

"You know? Is this some kind of riddle? I'm awful at those."

So was Alexa.

"I know you have feelings for me."

Alexa couldn't believe those words had come from her mouth, but they did. They were out in the open now. There was no turning back - the road behind her was closing, the street disappearing as she walked along its cobbled pavement.

"What?! Wait, what are you talking about?" Becky was, as expected, in a state of confusion, but Alexa wasn't going to back down.

"I saw it - on your phone. The name. The picture. You don't have to lie."

"Dammit!" Becky cursed. "I knew I should've changed that dumb name. There was no way you didn't know how to work a freakin' camera!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Alexa.

"Calm down!"

"Calm down?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!"

To Alexa's horror, Becky began to walk away from her. She quickly sprinted over, clutching Becky's hand. "Stop!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I have feelings for you too!"

This wasn't how Alexa had pictured it going. She wanted to sit Becky down, to calmly explain to her what she was feeling. She wanted to tell her how her heart wanted to explode every time Becky so much as looked in her direction. She wanted to tell her how silly she used to be for ignoring her, because just talking with Becky - being with Becky - gave her a place to belong. She wanted to tell her how right everything felt with her, and how wrong it would be to let these feelings thrive without ever acting on them.

This confession wasn't like that, but she was acting on her feelings, and she didn't regret it.

"You... you like me too?"

"Yes, dummy. I like you, a lot. I… don't even know how long it's been now. Everything has been so complicated. My feelings are all over the place, but I just know that I like you, okay? I like you. I like you. Now please, let's just talk."

Alexa was beaming. It felt like three tons of emotional weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It wasn't the smoothest of confessions, but she didn't care. It was out there - it was real, she made it real. Finally, they would be able to be together. The weeks were long and tough, trying to deal with her emotions, but everything was paying off. Her legs, her arms, her spine - everything was tingling. Her dream relationship was on the cusp of becoming a reality. All Becky had to do was say 'yes.'

"No."

No?

Alexa assumed she was hallucinating - hearing things that weren't really there, hearing a rejection that wasn't happening right now. But when Becky pulled her hand away, forcibly yanking it from Alexa's own, she knew that it wasn't a hallucination, and it wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.

"Why?"

"I just - I'm sorry. I can't. We can't do this!"

With nothing else to say, Becky sped off, running away from her dejected bride. Alexa was powerless to stop her - she watched as Becky became smaller and smaller in the distance, until she became an unidentifiable speck in her vision. Alexa was having trouble comprehending what had just happened. Didn't Becky like her too? Had she misread? She couldn't have! Her eyesight wasn't that terrible. And the hearts, the 'crush' - did that mean nothing? She didn't understand where she went wrong. Maybe Becky never had feelings for her, and maybe this was all for nothing.

She wanted to lie down on the floor and cry, bawling until the sun came up.

She stopped, taking a second to think, giving at least partial control back to her brain. Her heart was in shambles anyway, too broken up to drive.

'You like me too?'

The question had came from Becky hesitantly, as if she were scared. Why would she say that if she didn't feel something for Alexa? No, there was something more to this - there had to be. Becky wouldn't abandon her, not after everything they've been through. Not after the promises, the tears, the harmony that they felt basking in the warmth of the other's glow. She needed to fix this - she would fix this. She was done waiting.

With the resolve of an unbreakable wall, Alexa broke off into a dash, running as fast as she could to try to catch up with Becky. She tripped and stumbled over pebbles, her heels preventing her from moving any faster. The bright mess of red hair was nowhere to be seen. Becky's physique wasn't merely for show, Alexa realized - she was in great physical shape, her built leg muscles allowing her to flee the scene much faster than Alexa would've guessed.

She tried to think carefully about where Becky would go. She wouldn't leave Alexa here, that much was certain. They had been everywhere around the Fair. Bobbing for apples, the Black Cat Ring Toss, the Candy Cauldron of Mystery, even pumpkin smashing - Alexa's dress was caked in tiny bits of orange from the ordeal. There was nowhere else for Becky to go!

It came to her like a bolt of lightning, striking her sleeping form as she lie prone in her creator's lab. There was one place that they hadn't ventured through, choosing to ignore the massive shadow it cast over the rest of the Fair. She found herself face-to-face with the attraction she hated the most.

The haunted house.

Becky had wanted to step inside, but decided against it, to spare Alexa the embarrassment that came with facing her greatest fear. Well, her greatest Halloween-and-October-related fear. If there was anywhere that would have the highest Alexa avoidance rate, it would be here. There was nowhere else.

Alexa gulped as she looked up and down the outside of the decaying structure. She knew that it wasn't really decaying - that this was all smoke and mirrors, and that the rusted, broken down doors teaming with cobwebs were for show - but memory of her younger self kept speeding through her mind's eye. There was no line at the entryway, and if it weren't for the tenth-grader out front, wearing his tacky hockey mask, this would've seemed a little too real.

Whoever set this up was truly an evil mastermind, the double-doors creaking as she pushed them open with the tips of her fingers. In spite of her best efforts to try and keep them open, placing a stick in between the gap, the doors closed eerily behind her. As she took a step inside, the first thing she noticed was that she couldn't notice anything - the darkness had quickly swallowed the room, the moonlight from the outside having no way to enter its cold, stone walls. She hoped that she'd grow accustomed to the darkness, because right now, she was unable to see her hand in front of her face.

She took another two steps forward, then three, then four, until she had walked a grand total of thirteen feet. The fourteenth foot would be put on hold, for as soon as she lifted her leg to take the next step, the screeching of a banshee began to fill the room. The glowing pupils of a mechanical bat were glaring down at her. It's not real, she reminded herself. She was no expert in zoology, but she was pretty sure that bats didn't make those types of noises.

She kept walking, ignoring the voices in her head telling her that this was a terrible, terrible mistake. Her feelings for Becky were no mistake though, so she kept pushing forward, walking through the dark corridors, feeling around the walls with her palms to have some semblance of direction. The darkness was so thick - there were no stars to keep the rooms even remotely lit. Everything was dark. The floor, the ceiling, the walls. The only thing she could do was trudge through it.

Suddenly, as if someone had read her mind, the lights came on. It wasn't just an ordinary light - it felt like a spotlight, and Alexa couldn't determine where it was coming from. She followed the light's shimmering trail, hoping that Becky might be at its end. Instead, what she saw made her scream.

Disembodied heads were aligned perfectly behind a glass window, poles sticking straight through their bloodied necks, propping them upright. It was like a shopping display from the darkest pits of hell. They were fake, she knew they were fake, but their eyeless sockets and open mouths - screaming at nothing, yet creating a terrible sound in her head - were too much for her. She backed away slowly, not wanting to look away from them. She wasn't able to back away any further. She had bumped into someone. It was Becky, surely! She turned around, prepared to hold onto Becky for dear life until she led her out of this haunted house.

A hockey mask stared back at her.

With another scream, Alexa ran. To the entrance, to the exit, she didn't care where she was going. She needed to get out of there. She apologized to her ankles - her joints would be sore in the morning from running in these heels. That is, assuming she survived this godforsaken house of horrors. She continued to run until the outline of a door became visible, specks of light creeping in from its underside. She couldn't find the knob, the darkness still stronger than the small light, so she did what anyone else would do in her situation.

"Open this stupid door!" If they didn't hear her shouts, she hoped that they would hear her banging, her fists pummeling the wooden frame.

When the door was opened, she took off again, running, putting as much distance between her and the haunted house as she could. She didn't get far - her body smashed into someone else's before she was able to stop her momentum, sending them both spiraling to the floor.

"Alexa?!" a voice said from beneath her.

Alexa picked her head up. Brown eyes - those mesmerizing brown eyes that she had come to know and love - looked up at her with concern.

"Becky!" She helped Becky to her feet, taking her hand and pulling her up from the dirty floor. Thankfully, there was no one around to see this spectacle. She was relieved beyond belief to see her. "You idiot!" she said, her relief immediately crossing over into anger. "Where were you?!"

"I was at the churro stand!"

"Chu- Churro stand?!"

"I was hungry! I was going to come find you right after."

"So you weren't in the haunted house?"

"Why would I be in there? We said we weren't going to go!"

Alexa rubbed her hands over her face, not caring if the last remnants of makeup that hadn't already washed away with sweat were wiped off. "Awesome. Just. Awesome."

"You didn't actually go in there to look for me, did you?"

"What do you think, genius?"

"I thought you hated them."

"Are you seriously this dumb?" Alexa stomped her foot in frustration, wondering how someone could be so obtuse. "I went in there because I care about you!"

"Alexa-"

"No!" Alexa stated, cutting Becky off. "You listen to me. I like you, Becky - I really, really do." Her voice lowered as she repeated her confession. "I want to spend all of my time with you. I want to have stupid movie nights, where we nitpick everything for hours. I want to take walks in the park, and go on motorcycle rides. But more than that - I just want to be with you. I can't stop thinking about being with you. I have so many feelings for you, and I don't know what to do with them anymore. And I know you have feelings for me too! So please, just talk to me!"

Like Becky had done twenty-four hours ago, sitting on a dusty park bench, Alexa was pleading. She fought tooth and nail to keep the tears from flowing. If a single drop fell, she knew the rest would soon follow. They were waiting in the wings, ready to spill freely from her cheeks, but she wouldn't let them. "Please," she whispered, one more time.

Becky exhaled through her nostrils, nodding at Alexa's request. "Of course I have feelings for you," she admitted. "You read my phone, so you already know what I think. You're gorgeous, inside and out. I haven't been able to sleep in days, just thinking about being with you - just holding your hand. The Fair is exciting and all, but the thing that made me happiest tonight was being here with you."

"Then why?" Alexa asked. "Why did you run?"

Becky started pacing, walking back and forth with such meaningful, repetitive steps that a rut was soon going to form. "What if we start dating?" she asked, hypothetically. She didn't stop her pacing while she talked. "What if we just start dating and - and we have a grand old time? And we date for months and months, and we learn everything about each other? What if…"

Becky paused, blinking away tears of her own. "What if we fall in love? And then one day, we break up? Just like that. We - we break up and we never speak to each other again? What if we forget about each other forever?!"

"That's not going to happen!"

"But you don't know that, Alexa!" Becky had finally ceased her pacing, but channeled that energy into her throat, shouting her words of fear and worry. "You can't possibly know that! What if we lose this? I'm not willing to - I can't! I can't lose this, because this is the best thing I have! It's the only thing!"

Alexa wanted to scream her lungs out - she wanted to call Becky the biggest idiot in the world for suggesting, for a split second, that they would break up. She wanted to grab Becky by her face and yell obscenities at her for having so little faith in them. She wanted to, but she couldn't, because she knew that Becky was right. But it didn't matter, because Becky being right didn't change anything.

"You're right."

Becky was bemused by Alexa's response. "What?"

"You're right. I can't promise that we'd be together forever, and it would be stupid of me to make that promise. But does that mean we shouldn't even try? Does that mean we should just give up? I care about you so much, Becky. So much. You taught me how to live - how to live in the present and not be scared of the future. Why are you scared now?"

"Because I don't want to lose this."

"You keep talking about 'this.' This - what we have - it's whatever we want it to be. It's not going to disappear. I'm not going to suddenly stop caring about you. So what are you so afraid of? Just stop thinking about all of the ifs. Stop thinking about what's going to happen five or ten or twenty years from now and just focus on tonight!"

"Alexa."

"Stop letting your fears take over and start living for the present-"

"Alexa."

"-and focus on making every today worth living because-"

"Alexa!"

"What?!"

Alexa didn't receive an answer, not verbally. Her lips were silenced and her words kept tightly within - not by lock and key, not by a cage, but by a force of nature much stronger, more effective, than anything else. Becky's lips were pressed against hers, sealing the gap so no more words could escape. They were trapped, dangling precariously from the tip of Alexa's tongue, never to see the light of day.

Becky kept two digits under Alexa's chin, holding her in place. It was unnecessary, for Alexa wasn't going anywhere. This kiss was everything. Becky's lips were everything. There was no sound, no air, no reason to hear or breathe. She closed her eyes, as did the girl standing in front of her. Seeing wasn't as important as feeling. It was her, and it was Becky's lips - the only two things to exist at this crossroads of time, where nothing seemed to move.

When she returned the kiss, snaking her hand around Becky's waist to instinctively pull her closer, it was like two universes colliding in a marvelous eruption of space and time. Alexa could swear that she was tasting the sweetest honey - those luscious lips were a nectar, its juicy flavor and rich texture sending her back for seconds, thirds, fourths, until Alexa had her fill. She was hungry, so hungry that she dove in for more.

Becky's hand made the ascent up Alexa's back, climbing its own personal Mount Everest until it reached the peak. Alexa felt those fingers playing with her hair, stroking it, comforting her as she leaned into the kiss. Becky's tongue was knocking at her door. It was her neighbor, asking politely to be invited in. Alexa opened her doors, her lips parting as she greeted Becky's tongue at the entrance. They shook hands before settling into a dance - Alexa didn't know the moves, but Becky was taking the lead, showing her the proper way to do a waltz.

And their waltz continued until Alexa's tongue was sore, begrudgingly parting ways with Becky's pink muscle. The kiss was heavenly, but the skies above would always be second to this. She opened her eyes - Becky was smiling, and Alexa was smiling too. Becky moved a lone strand of hair from the blonde's face, running a thumb along her cheek.

"Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"

Alexa giggled. "Maybe once or twice." She stood on the tips of her toes, taking the initiative and placing a brief kiss onto Becky's lips. "So, you're not scared."

"Not anymore."

"Not even a little bit?"

Becky leaned down, planting a small kiss onto Alexa's forehead. "Not even a little, tiny bit."

Alexa was in a dream, she convinced herself, but no dreams were this real, and none this gratifying. Her body was shivering, the icy winds of dusk catching up with her. Before she could complain, she felt Becky drape something across her shoulders and over her gown.

"Your jacket?" Alexa asked, examining the black leather. "But you never take this off."

Becky shrugged. "Looks better on you anyway. So," she began, holding her hand out for Alexa to hold. "Wanna grab some food?"

Alexa grabbed her hand - if she was following Becky, she knew that she had nothing to fear.

She nodded in agreement. "I'm thinking churros."



Alexa found herself yawning. It was the third time in five minutes, but she couldn't help it. Two weeks removed from Halloween, and her Student Council duties were keeping her busy. Nikki and several other members had taken the liberty of doing much of the work the afternoon before, but Alexa insisted on showing up to school early every morning.

Mostly to see her girlfriend before class.

She glanced at her watch. '7:46,' it read. Becky was late. Not late by school standards, but late by 'Kissing in the Student Council room before class' standards. Their priorities were just right, she mused.

The turning of a doorknob caused her to look up. The door opened slowly, very slowly - so slowly that Alexa was sure she was going to march over and open it herself. Before the thought could properly be given its fair share of space in her head, Becky's face peeked in from a tiny crack in the door.

"You in here?" she asked.

"If by 'you,' you mean your loving, caring, adoring girlfriend, then yes."

"I was actually talking about the janitor," Becky joked, opening the door and strolling over to Alexa's side. She sat down next to her, plopping in the empty seat, throwing an arm around Alexa's shoulders. "Guess you'll have to do."

Becky leaned over to plant a kiss onto Alexa's cheek, but the council president held her palm out to block this display of affection. "You're late," she scolded.

"Sorry. I had a run-in with Vanessa. Knocked my breakfast right out of my hands."

Alexa pouted, giving Becky a disapproving look. "You didn't key her car again, did you? I'm not having my girlfriend get expelled."

"Nah, I behaved myself."

"Did you?"

"Well, she might have some garbage stuck to her rear from when I shoved her into a trashcan, but other than that, she should be okay. Mostly."

"You know, we kind of have to thank her. She's the reason why we're not still insulting each other before class."

Becky pondered this for a moment. "True. If I never keyed her car, we wouldn't be together right now. Holy butterfly effect, Batman."

Alexa chuckled. Everything was so surreal. Calling Becky her girlfriend, kissing her, being with her. Part of her couldn't believe it, but another part of her wondered why it took so long to get here. She smiled at Becky - she was always smiling at Becky. "Alright, let's get to work."

Becky looked at Alexa, and then at the pile of envelopes littered across the table. "Do you mean with the kissing or…?"

Alexa rolled her eyes. The answer was obvious. "I'll give you one guess," she said, sliding the envelopes to the floor.

"My kind of work."

As they wrapped their arms around each other, dancing their special dance that was so familiar to them now, Alexa thought about how much things had changed. Life was always going to be complicated, and people moreso. Yet, there was always something more to people than what they showed on the surface. They just needed to be afforded the chance to show who they really were.

Their tongues engaging in a waltz of true emotion, Alexa was happy that she gave Becky that chance - the chance to show her what was beneath the surface.

Notes:

And there it is. It's been a heck of a journey, this one. I've marked this down as finished, for now. I have a few more ideas left to continue their school life, but I'm not entirely sure if/when I'll get back to this. A couple of weeks, a couple of months. Or maybe it'll be a new story altogether and I'll combine them into a series. I think this is a fitting end, but definitely check around in the future for the possibility for more. Check out my tumblr for any future updates, or just keep an eye out!

If you're reading this in the distant future, none of this matters to you and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Hello from the past.

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