When I sit myself down in a cubicle- just in case somebody walks in on me half naked- I pull my phone out and call Alex. He picks up on the second ring and I sigh in relief.

"Sophie? Where are you?" Alex asks.

"I'm in the bathroom."

"Are you okay?" Alex asks with concern.

I nod before realising he can't see me."Yeah, but I kind of need a favor."

"Mmh?" He hums. I can hear him shuffling on the other end.

"I need a shirt." I say.

He pauses, "What happened?"

"I gave it to that girl that Courtney threw her smoothie at."

"Okay, let me see if Nina or Christy have an extra one ."

"Alright, thanks. When you get one, I'm in the bathroom closest to the cafeteria."

"Sure, see you now." He says before hanging up. I slip my phone back into the pockets of my jeans before sitting down on the toilet seat with a sigh.

It's only my first day back and so far it's already being horrible. I can only imagine what the rest of this week is going to be like.

The one thing I just don't understand is why Courtney just can't let me be. I get it that she wants power, control and authority but what is really the point? I already went against her when I moved to the Rebels so what else would I do? I just want to be left alone. It's not like I could even leave the Rebels and go back to the Elite; they wouldn't take me back. And she can't be trying to tear me and Alex apart because we're not even together!

Courtney wants me out of the Rebels but also out of the Elite. Maybe it's the case where "if I can't have you, then no one can" but I don't see why she would do that. She doesn't need me. I was of no use to her. Courtney doesn't get upset unless she's some how involved. Cleary, she is.

I hear the door to the bathroom open and close softly which wakes me up from my reverie of thoughts. "Sophie?" I hear Alex ask softly.

I shuffle behind the door of my stall. "Over here,"
I hear his sneakers squeaking on the floor before I see them beneath the door and I admire how white they are.

How on earth does he keep them like that?

"Did you get it?" I ask.

"Yep," he says, "Why you hiding in the stall?"

"Cause I don't have a shirt on, duh?" I respond.

"So?" He asks, "It's not like I'm going to complain."

I roll my eyes, "Just give me the damn shirt."

His laugh bounces off the walls and I find myself smiling as he slides a bag underneath the door.
A black Nike sports bag comes into view and I bend down to open it. When I do, a pair of large track pants and running sneakers can be seen along with a black shirt.

I pick the shirt out and open it properly. This shirt is way too big to belong to Nina. A whiff of Vanilla and Axe suddenly hits my nose and I realise that it's Alex's shirt.

"Uh, Alex?" I ask.

"Yeah?" He responds through the door.

"Is this your shirt?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Why didn't you get one from Nina or Christina?"

"They didn't have." He answers.

"Oh." Is all I say as I slip it over my head.

"And I also like you in my shirts so..." He mutters.
I pause and smile, but don't say anything. When I've put the shirt on properly, it comes up to just mid-thigh- fortunately I'm wearing long jeans- and I'm basically swimming in it. But nonetheless I feel cozy and the smell of Alex brings me comfort.

I open the door with the bag over my shoulder and when Alex turns around and looks at me, he eyes my up and down while his lips twitch at the sides.

"Shut up," I mumble as I shove his bag into his chest and wash my hands. "I'm taking it that this is your gym clothes?"
He nods at me in the mirror.
"Why do you have it here if we don't have gym today?"

"I forgot it here the last time I had gym and I skipped that class so they were still clean." He explains and I nod. I dry my hands and then lean against the sink. Alex and I stare at each other through the mirror and I chew on my lip nervously.

"What's up, Princess?" He asks me, dropping the bag and coming to my side. I sigh and turn to face him.

"It's all my fault, Alex. If Chloe hadn't spoken to me, she wouldn't had to deal with all that."

"That's not your fault, Sophie. You didn't plan this." He reasons.

"But it was because she spoke to me! Me!" I exclaim. "How could I be so stupid?"

"This is not your fault. This is all on Courtney." He frowns.

"Courtney will target anyone who talks or associates themselves with me," I mumble, more to myself. "That automatically puts you at risk."

His eyes search mine.
"If you're suggesting that I ditch you, that's not happening."

I shake my head, "I don't want to hurt you, Alex." I respond softly.
Alex doesn't deserve all the drama that comes with knowing Courtney. That comes with knowing me.

"I don't care. It'll hurt more letting you go for something as pathetic as this." He whispers. He tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear and I look up at him. The sincerity in his eyes makes my heart swell and I realise just how much he really means to me.

"Okay," I mumble. He gives me a gentle smile before pulling me into his chest and I wrap my arms around his waist, burying my head into his shoulder. I inhale the scent of Vanilla and Axe and sigh contently. I could stay here forever. For all of eternity.

When I pull back, some unknown emotion runs through his eyes and I try my hardest to decipher it but it's gone faster than it came.
"What you did for that girl was really sweet, Sophie." He comments.

I shrug. "I guess."

He purses his lips, "C'mon, we're already late." He grabs my hand and my arm tingles.

Can he feel how clammy my hands are?

He drags me out of the bathroom and by the time we're outside, the hallways are empty.
"Where you going to?" He asks me.

"Chemistry," I groan to which he chuckles at.

"Lucky you." He teases me as we walk to my class.

"You're so lucky you didn't take Chem."

He looks at me with a cocky grin.
"Lucky I am indeed."

I roll my eyes at how smug he is.
When I finally reach the classroom, we stop outside and I look at him.

"I'm pretty sure this is where you say thank you," He raises an eyebrow at me.

I roll my eyes, "Not after that comment." I respond, pushing pass him. His laugh floats down the hallway and as I grab the doorknob to this horrid class I look over my shoulder to give him one last smile.

He winks at me and I blush as I push the door open. The minute the door reveals my classroom, the students go quiet and the stand-in teacher stops the lesson.
"Excuse me miss, why are you so late?" He asks in a gruff voice.

"Sorry sir, my locker didn't want to open and my textbook was in it." I give the blonde man a broad smile and he narrows his eyes at me before gesturing that I go sit down.

I let out an inaudible sigh of relief, making my way to the back of the class where Nina and a few of the others are. My fellow classmates eye me curiously and when I pass Kelcy and Chris I hear Kelcy say: "Well they clearly had fun in the janitors' closet since she's in Rosewood's shirt."

I stop still in my tracks and I turn towards her with ferocity in my eyes. She gives me a smug smile and I glare at her as I flip her the bird.

"Miss! Please take your seat and stop disrupting the lesson!" The teacher scolds me. I mutter a "sorry sir" and quickly take my seat.

I glare at the back of Kelcy's hair once I'm in my seat and try to ignore the dull throb in my heart. It hurts that she would actually say something like that considering we were best friends.

I guess the key word is were.

****

As the final bell rings, I spring out of my chair and rush out of English. Alex skipped that class and when I asked Martin where he was, he shrugged and said he could be anywhere. Obviously I was disappointed with that because I take any opportunity to spend time with Alex whenever I get one.

I hope he remembers that he has to take me to Sunny Smiles. Why?
Because even though I got my car back, Alex said he thinks it'll be better if he continued to drive me to school so that Courtney cant target my car again because knowing her, she would. Of course I jumped at that idea because it means I get to spend more time with Alex.

I'm such a love-sick puppy, I know.

As I close my locker I text Alex, asking him to tell me when he's outside while I go to the library.
Fifteen minutes pass and there is still no text from Alex and I've already checked out two books: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and 'Animal Farm'. Strange choices, I know.

I hold the two books on one arm while I fish my phone out of my back pocket and try to call Alex. I hold the phone between my ear and shoulder as I hitch my bag up further on my shoulder. I grab my phone again and it goes straight to voicemail. I sigh, ending the call and shoving my phone back into my pocket. Maybe he's by his locker? I highly doubt it but it wouldn't hurt to check.

I go down a different hallway, the one opposite to mine. My footsteps echo around the building and I wonder where the actual hell this guy could be.

As I walk, the janitor's closet door opens and nearly hits me in the face. I stumble backwards, clutching the books tightly to my chest. A girl with bleach blonde hair and bright pink lipstick stumbles out, her minidress higher than it should be.

My eyes widen when I realise what she was doing with somebody in there. Without noticing me, she grips whoever is still standing behind the door and bites her lip.

"C'mon. My parents are out of town this week." She leans in to kiss the person and I cringe at the sound. In a split second the door is closed and the last person I wanted to see here, is connected by the lips to this girl.

He wraps his arms around her waist and his muscles ripple. I watch him move to her neck when the girl finally sees me awkwardly watching them as my heart is slowly crushed.

"Babe," She says to Alex.

"Mmh?" He asks, too preoccupied with kissing her neck.

"Babe, Alex." She says and he suddenly stops kissing her and raises an eyebrow. She gestures with her head to me and Alex's face moves so that he can see what she's talking about.

The minute he sees me, his eyes widen and he lets go of the girl.
"Sop-" he starts apologetically.
I hold my hand up to shut him up and he does. I purse my lips.

"I left you a dozen calls. The least you could have done is answered and told me you were... busy." I say.

"My phones in my locker. Damnit, I'm so sorry." He responds, running a hand through his hair.

I want him to feel guilty, for him to apologize and then grab me in his arms and pull me to him but why should he apologize? We're not dating. And it's not like I don't know he does this. I just thought he had stopped. For me.

How pathetic.

"Whatever, Alex." I mumble. "I'll meet you there." I push passed them.

"How are you planning on getting there?" He asks me. I turn around.

"Don't worry about it. Go enjoy your extracurricular activity."
He purses his lips and when the girl pulls him to her again, I turn around and walk away.

I walk outside of the school building and scan the remaining cars in the parking lot, hoping to see one of the Rebels but when I don't, I groan out loud.

Great. What a fantastic day.

I sigh. Caffeine sounds pretty good right now and since I have another twenty minutes to spare, I decide to go to Starbucks since it's not too far away.

I start walking all the while thinking about what I have just witnessed. Why does it hurt so much? I get that I like Alex but seeing him with another girl shouldn't hurt me or disappoint me as much as it does. I shouldn't even care. I should stop worrying about that and worry about the bigger issue- Courtney- and most importantly, my future; I need to start studying for the exams, or at least preparing, instead of worrying about all this other shit. The part that makes me mad though is the fact that I was hoping Alex would still be in the picture in the future. Shit. I need to get my head out of the damn gutter.

One minute I think that maybe, just maybe, Alex has feelings for me too. Like when he touches my hand or wraps his arms around my waist when we hug. Am I the only one who feels the sparks? The fire? And the next he's banging some chick in the janitor's closet while forgetting that we have somewhere to be.

By the time I've reached Starbucks my head is pounding from thinking so hard and my heart is numb. Not to mention my eyes are sore from blinking back tears that Alex doesn't deserve.

When I open the door to the bustling café, the smell of coffee beans and cinnamon waft into my nose and I sigh contently.

Just then my phone rings and I make a point to check the caller ID so that if it's Alex, I can ignore him. However, the name that flashes across my screen makes me smile.

"Hello?" I ask

"Hey, Soph, where are you?" Rachel asks me. I stand off to one side of the door so that people can get through.

"I'm at Starbucks," I respond, tucking my books into my bag.

"Are you there because you had a bad day?" She asks softly. I sigh.

"I just need a drink that I can drown my sorrows in," I laugh with strain.

She chuckles lightly on the other side, "Alright, we'll talk about it when you get here, okay?"

"Okay," I mutter, fishing for my wallet.

"Oh and while you at it, a Vanilla Frappachino will go down nicely, thank you."

I laugh with a shake of my head.
"Okay, one Vanilla Frappachino coming up."

She laughs, "I'll see you in a few,"
Just before she hangs up, I call out to her.

"Yeah?" She asks.

"Erm, is Alex there?"

She pauses, "Yep. And if it makes you feel any better he looks pissed off. At himself."

I nod, "Uh, right. Thanks, Rach. See you in a bit," And with that I end the call.

Why do I still care if Alex is there?

I shake my head at myself.
I walk up to the short cue and stand behind a short, stocky man when suddenly a dreadful thought hits me.

The Elite- Kelcy, Megan and Courtney- come here every Monday. And today happens to be a Monday.

Shit.

My eyes immediately dart around the place and when it settles on the table they're all sat around, I tense.

I need to get out of here.

No.

When did I start letting the Elite dictate how I live my life?

A sudden surge of determination floods over me and I hold my chin up high. They've ruined my day enough. As if sensing me, Courtney's eyes snap to mine before the others follow her lead. She gives me a fake smile and waves slowly, her smile turning malicious.

I ignore Kelcy and Megan's gaze and give Courtney an even faker smile. I wave at her before stopping mid-wave and flipping my middle finger at her, my sickly sweet and fake smile still plastered to my face.

Her smile drops immediately and she scowls at me. I smirk smugly as the man in front of me moves out the the way and I step forward to place my order.

While I recite my order to the employee, I flip my phone out and wait for my order to be up. While I play Temple Run on my phone, I feel a very familiar presence behind me and I tense. Can't she just leave me alone?

I sigh and put my phone away, turning around with a scowl.
"What do you want?" I spit.

She smiles at me. "I just wanted to know how you're keeping up."

I roll my eyes, "A lot better if you'd leave me alone."

She pouts, "Sorry, Soph. But I can't do that. "

"Don't," I say sternly "don't call me that. Only my friends call me that." She raises an eyebrow at me and chuckles.

"Well you didn't think that a few months ago."

"I was stupid back then. I actually thought you guys were nice people." I respond. She shrugs.

"I don't think much has changed."

I narrow my eyes. "Just leave me alone, Courtney. I couldn't care less about you and your pathetic scandals." I turn my back to her but she turns me back around by the shoulder.

"You should be careful about what you do." She warns me.

I shake my head "I'm not scared of you, Courtney. Go talk about your night with Logan, with Megan and Kelcy." I shrug her hand off my shoulder and turn around where the worker has both my orders. After handing him a five dollar bill, I grab them and walk out.
I cast one more glance at Courtney and she scowls at something Megan or Kelcy says when she returns to her seat.

As I walk to Sunny Smiles, I sip on my Chocolate Frappachino while thinking about what I'm going to say to Alex when I see him there. Should I pretend like it never even happened? Stay mad at him? Or just simply ignore him?

In all honesty, I don't want to talk to him right now. I just want to get there, do what I have to do, go home and take a nice hot bubble bath.

When I push the doors open to Sunny Smiles, Kathy rushes over to me and pulls me into a hug. I stumble, clutching my two drinks to make sure that I don't drop them.

"Sophie!" She gushes. When she pulls back, she pushes her thick, black glasses up her nose and smiles at me.

"Goodness, have I missed you. How was the trip? Alex and Rachel told me all about it."

I chuckle. "It was amazing. But short. Way too short."

She laughs with me too and I look around the place. The yellow and white room with pictures drawn and painted by the children hanging on the walls and the pot plant by Kathy's desk is all the same.

"I sure missed this place." I mumble.

She laughs, "Well this place has missed you too."

I smile at her. "I think I should get to work. Is Lucy here?" I ask.
Kathy takes her seat behind the desk and gets started on her computer.

"No, she's out."

I nod, "Alright, I'm going." I say to Kathy before throwing a peace sign over my shoulder and she laughs as do I.

When I reach my classroom, I push the door open to reveal all the children playing lego blocks on the carpet while Rachel reads a book. I intend to walk in quietly and place our drinks down before I greet the kids but don't get the chance when Henry spots me from the blue carpet and squeals.

"Sophie!" He screams, standing up and extending his arms to me.
The minute the kids all look up and see me, it's like a stampede as they all charge for me. I hold my arms up above my head, trying not to spill our drinks all over the children. They all squeal and talk to me as they attack my legs and waist. My eyes looks at all of their excited faces and I try to make out what they're all saying. However, due to them all talking at the exact same time, I fail miserably.

I try and answer them, shaking and nodding my head here and there but not knowing what they had said to begin with.
I laugh and send Rachel a pleading look who smirks at the commotion.

"I was just able to calm them down and then you arrive. Thanks a lot, Sophie."

I give her a deadpan look and she laughs.

"Alright, alright, everyone. Let's give Sophie some space to breath and then she can answer all your questions." She instructs peeling the kids off of me. They all pout and when the last one is no longer attached to my legs, I sigh in relief.

"Thanks, Rach." I say gratefully, handing her the Starbucks drink.
She smiles at me and takes a sip.
"Goodness knows I needed this." She mumbles.

I laugh. "You're not alone."

We head towards the carpet where all the kids have gone back to playing and I take a seat on the corner of it.

"How are you?" I ask Paige who is next to me. She grins, displaying her mouth which is missing the two front teeth.

"It wasth fun. But we misthed you." She pouts. I laugh at how adorable she is and talk to all of the kids, asking them how they are and answering the questions they shoot at me one after the other.

Eventually, when they've finally finished interrogating Rachel and I, I decide to let them colour in. Lucy said that she wants them to colour in regularly to develop certain skills that many of them seem to lack so I try to make sure that they colour in at least once day.

While they do that, I decide to replace the old prestick on the posters which hang on the wall as they're slowly starting to fall off. Rachel gets back to her book- Twilight- while I carry on with what I'm doing.

All the while, I think about how I haven't seen Alex yet. I don't want to ask Rachel where he is either for two reasons.

1. She'll interrogate me about what happened.

And

2. I shouldn't care where he is.

I roll my eyes at my stupidity and hum quietly to myself in an attempt of getting my mind off of him. I'm so engrossed in my own world that when three different packets of Rascals are dangled in front of my face, I jump slightly before frowning in confusion. That is, until I smell the familiar scent of Axe and Vanilla.

My stomach churns nervously and I turn around to face Alex who gives me a guilty look.

I raise an eyebrow at him and he gives me a small smile. A nervous smile at that. Have I ever seen the Alex Rosewood nervous? It's strange in all honesty. I'm so used to his overflowing confidence that it's a little frightening to see him so... shy? With a nervous smile, he flips the three packets of my favorite sweets over. Behind each packet there is a word written.

I
Am
Sorry :)

I look up to him and my mouth twitches. "What are you sorry for?" I ask.

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "For leaving my phone in the locker and inevitably missing your dozen of calls."

At the sound of his apology, my stomach drops slightly in disappointment. What I really wanted him to apologize for is banging some girl in the janitors closet when he should've being in the car with me- the girl who actually genuinely likes and cares about him. But then again, who am I to expect that apology? His girlfriend?

I wish.

I decide to suck it up and put my pride in my pocket, pursing my lips. At least he apologized in general. It means he cares. Right?

"Well I'm not too sure if I forgive you but I'll be taking those," I respond, snatching the packets of Rascals out of his hands. His mouth quirks into a grin and his eyes sparkle in amusement.
I gaze at the flavours he bought me and nod my head in satisfaction.

"Sours, Wild Berries and Fruity Flavours." I read them out. "Mmh. Good choice." I comment, looking up at him.

He smirks at me.
"So... am I off the hook yet?" He asks.

I should be mad at him however, I'm not. Hurt? Yes. Most definitely. But at least he apologized even if it's not exactly what I wanted to hear and I mean, he bought me three packets of Rascals!

I purse my lips teasingly.
"I'll think about that one." I push pass him to the book shelves to tidy up the books the kids left on the floor.

"What if I buy you a lifetime supply of blueberry muffins?" He asks.

I smirk at him over my shoulder, ignoring Rachel's curious stare.

"Now we're talking."

I'm done with exams so hopefully updates will be a lot more frequent ;)

Quick Q: are you made at Alex?

Let me know what you think! :)

Vote♡Comment♡Share