♛ALEX ROSEWOOD♛

I press the button on my frozen phone harder in hopes that it will end up working however, when it doesn't, I chuck my phone to the end of the bed. I lay down on my back and run a hand through my hair in frustration.

I need a new damn phone.

I sit up and walk towards the TV, grabbing a console from the bedside table. Yeah, that's right- Rodrigo made sure to put an Xbox up in my room. What can I say? Video games are a must.

I hear Dylan walk into our room before closing the door and I frown as I wonder where he went. He knocks on my door, peering in and I look up at him. It's quiet for a moment as he gazes at the console in my hand. He looks like he wants to say something but I beat him to it. "Bro, how about a game of GTA?" I ask him curtly.

He nods, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he takes a seat next to me and grabs the console I hand to him.

"Where you from?" I ask, starting up the game.

He shrugs, "I was down at the lobby getting some food."

I let out a small breath of air through my nose which can be classified as a laugh. "Always eating, huh?"

He laughs loudly, "Don't act like you're any better."

I grin, staring at the screen as we select players. "Wasn't going to."

Suddenly, a feeling of nostalgia overcomes me and I fade into a dwell of memories. Dylan and I used to do this all the time and yet here I am, surprised that we're in the same room, let alone talking and joking around with one another.

I remember him once being at my house and us sneaking out to go smoke a joint in the back garden. It was eighth grade then but I can still remember it clearly.

"Bro, Nathaniel gave me a joint." He had said as he placed the Xbox console down on my bedroom floor amongst all the junk food we had being snacking on. I had looked at him and raised a brow. "You got it here?"

He smirks. "What do you think?"
I grinned at him. "C'mon then." I had said as I placed my console down, too, stretching my arms above my head. We both made my way out of my room when an idea had struck me. "Got a craving for tequila?" I had asked with a mischievous smirk.
Dylan smiled at me devilishly and I explained to him how he was supposed to distract our maid back then- Liane- so that I could sneak into the liquor cabinet.

"Liane!" He called out for her while I waited by the wall beside the kitchen. A short, stocky women with black hair and golden skin came out, a dishcloth in hand and a smile on her face. "What's wrong Dylan?" His face immediately paled and I could see on his panic-striken face that he hadn't thought of what else to say.

"Erm... Uh... I-I'm... I... uhm..." He stuttered causing me to face palm myself. With Liane's back to me, Dylan looked over her shoulder and gave me a pleading look. I shook my head and laughed silently, not wanting to help him out.

"Dylan, please, if nothing is wrong, I need to get back to wo-"

"Iaccidentallypoopedonthefloorinthebathroom." He had said in one breath. I was about to run into the kitchen when I doubled over in laughter, trying to keep my hysterics silent as Liane cringed.

"You did what?" She screeched.

"I- I couldn't hold it in! I needed it really badly."

"That doesn't mean you have to do it on the floor!" She groaned.
"Im sorry!" Dylan blushed. "But it was already coming out and I didn't have time to get to the toilet in ti-"

"That's enough," Liane had said in disgust.

Needless to say it took me a little longer to grab the tequila bottle due to my laughter. After I finally got hold of it, we headed to the nearest park and plonked ourselves down under a tree where we shared a joint, drank a bottle of tequila and laughed about Dylan's horrible idea of a distraction.

"Bro?" Dylan asks me questioningly which causes me to jump back into reality.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. " I mutter under my breath, starting the game.
I smirk at him over my shoulder and give him a wicked grin.
"You ready to get your ass beat?"

Dylan laughs, "I should be asking you that."

After a few rounds, I give up and slam the console onto the bed in annoyance and exasperation. "I'm done. I can't keep playing."

Dylan smirks, "Don't be a sore loser."

I send a glare his way and he chuckles. "You seem distracted?" He says more like a question rather than a statement. I sigh deeply, tugging at my hair.

"Yeah, I am."

"Why is that?" Dylan asks from beside me as he shuts off the game. I shrug despite knowing the reason. However, I don't particularly feel comfortable with talking about it to Dylan.

"You seem to really like her." He says casually, removing the disc from the machine. My eyes snap to his and I frown, "Who?"

"Sophie." He says as if it's the most obvious thing in the whole world however, the way he spits her name out like it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth makes my back straighten and my eyes narrow slightly.

"Yeah, what about her?" I ask tersely.

He shrugs nonchalantly, "It just seems like there's some chemistry between you two."

I shake my head at his idea and I laugh. "That's a load of bullshit."

Dylan laughs with me and then leans against the wall so that he's looking at me, "I'm glad."

Once again I narrow my eyes slightly, not quite sure what he means. I raise an eyebrow at him, encouraging him to elaborate.

"I just don't think she'd be right for you. I don't think you two are compatible." He continues. As soon as the words leave his mouth, I tense, my voice catching an edge to it.

"And what makes you think that?" I ask defensively.

"I mean she's an Elite-"

"Was, an Elite." I correct him.
He waves it off dismissively,

"She's just... the opposite of you, I guess: fake, selfish, superfici-"

"The way you're judging her before you've even got to know her is fucking sad," I snap. He holds his hands up in surrender although the glint in his eye makes me madder. He wanted to bring this up. That's why he came in here.

"I was just sharing with you what I thought about her."

I roll my eyes, "I don't care what you think about her. And so what if I do like her? Huh? Is that not to your approval?"

He smirks, one that makes my blood boil. "So you do like her. I thought you had better standards." He comments. I spring up from the bed. Sophie doesn't deserve this. I'm so sick of people treating her like she's some irrelevant person who doesn't actually care or have legitimate feelings. I'm so fucking sick of it. Everyone judges her meanwhile she's the most amazing person I've ever met.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah, so I like her. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, my eyes widen.

I like Sophie. Shit.

Oh fuck.

He grins, "No, but since we're on this topic what do you see in this girl? Honestly... is she good in bed or something?" And just like that it's as if he flipped a switch, held a flame to close to a candle. Insulting me is one thing, but insulting Sophie is another. So is calling her useless and untrue names to accusing her of doing something she hasn't done. And it's one thing I will never tolerate no matter who it is. She's being hurt enough, fucked over enough and most certainly judged for who she is not enough.

"What I see in Sophie is none of your fucking business. And no, I'm not sleeping with her. Unlike the girls you sleep with- Sophie actually has respect for herself." I start. All I see is red.

Red. Red. Red.

I tug at my hair, trying to restrain myself from punching his face in and reconstructing it. He gets up from off the wall, casually placing his hands in his pockets like he didn't just pass a major dick comment. "Don't be hypocritical now, Rosewood. I'm not the only one who can't seem to stick to one girl. I'm sure majority of the girls at Ridgevale would agree." He sneers back. I want to retort back at him, tell him that he's a fucking liar. That I don't do that. But I do. And I'm not proud of it.

I walk closer to him, until he can feel the anger radiating off of me. He stands rigidly now, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Did you really think you could come here, play a video game with me and then think I would tell you all about my fucking life?" I spit. "What I do, say and who I hang around with or even who I fucking like, is none of your business so don't ever ask me again." I yell venomously. When I'm finished, I am out a breathe and run a hand through my hair. I need to cool off before I punch him. In his face. And then that pathetic excuse he calls a ballsack. I take a step back and grab my phone from the bedside table before walking out of my room. As I'm about to leave, I pause and let out a long sigh.

"Get out of my room." I say over my shoulder before walking out of our hotel room, with a slam of the door.

When I'm finally in the hallway, I tug roughly at my hair. What is wrong with me? Why can't I keep a lid on my emotions when it comes to Sophie? I beat up that fucktard- Geoff, who assaulted Sophie- at the club and now I want to punch Dylan.

So. Fucking. Badly.

My eyes land on room 135 and I sigh. How pathetic am I? I just have an argument about the girl I like with the guy I once called my best friend and then I go to that exact girl to cool off. I know I should knock myself for being so desperate but at this point, all I want to do is see her. She always knows the right thing to say.

I hesitate to knock on the door considering the late hour but I do it nonetheless. I knock twice and wait for a response, getting more annoyed by the second. I look down the hallway, trying to be patient but I eventually give up and raise my hand to knock a third time when the door swings open revealing a very confused Sophie.

"Alex?" She asks. Her hair is placed in a ponytail while she has a pair of pajama shorts and shirt on. I look down at her unicorn slippers and remember back to the day I snuck into her house.
When my gaze meets hers she looks uneasy, "Can I come in?" I ask quietly. She nods, a frown still etched onto her gorgeous face.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She opens the door further, moving to the side to give me space to enter.

I take in their room and how similar it is to ours. She leads me to the room she's staying in and I follow her silently. She takes a seat on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she pauses the movie on the TV screen. I set my phone down on the table and then take a seat next to her, bringing my legs up as I sigh.

"What's wrong?" She asks gently, facing me.

I tug at my hair, "I had an argument with Dylan." I rest my hands on my knees and she gives me a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry. Wh-what was it about?"

I stare at the blue sheets on her bed before meeting her gaze. Her smile falters slightly as she presses her lips together.

"Should I be worried?" She asks.

I sigh, "No, 'cause what he said isn't true." She frowns at me in confusion, her eyebrows knitting together.

"What isn't true?"

I sigh again, debating whether she should know what it was about or not.

Screw it.

I need to get this off my chest.

"What he said about you."
Her eyebrows rise in surprise as her mouth forms an 'o' shape.

"Oh." Is all she says.

I nod begrudgingly. She sighs next to me, resting her head on the headboard and closing her eyes.
"He doesn't know what he's talking about, Sophie."

She looks at me and smiles, "I know."

I give her a small smile. "But that doesn't mean he had the right to say what he did."

"Why are you so upset? He was insulting me, not you." She asks me.

"He has no right to say those things about you. Especially when he's dead wrong." I answer, my anger coming out again. "And if someone insults you, I take it as an insult."

Suddenly, a warm feeling spreads onto my cheek and I lean into the touch of her palm. She moves my head so that I'm looking at her and my gaze moves to the small space between us.

Were we always this close?

The smell of strawberries fills my nose and I sigh contently before looking at her beautiful swirls of chocolate that captivate me.
"I don't care what he says or thinks, I know you don't think that of me. That's all that matters. Dylan is irrelevant in my life." She says softly. I nod in her hand and continue to stare at her, her gaze unwavering and her hand unmoving.

I'm relevant in her life.

My gaze travels to her lips and I lean in slightly, the room now filled with an electricity. I touch her hand on my cheek and pull it away. I'm about to intertwine our hands when a loud voice sounds from the front door to their hotel room.

"Damnit!" I hear a whisper shout. A loud thump is heard and then a string of substituted curse words.
Sophie laughs quietly next to me, the moment we just had diminishing as if it never even happened.

When I give her a questioning look, she grins. "It's Rachel. She went to Cole."

I nod in understanding before smirking. Soon enough, the door swings open.

"You're not going to believe it-" Rachel cuts her self short as she looks at us. A smirk forms on her face, "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Sophie blushes and shakes her head, "Nope. Enjoy your time with Cole?"

Rachel nods although her cheeks turn pink. "I'm going to go to bed. Night lovebirds." She says tiredly, walking out the room. Sophie rolls her eyes before Rachel calls out, "Love you!"

"I love you too!" Sophie yells back. I shake my head with a smile. Damn... what is it with girls and saying I love you?

"What?" Sophie asks me curiously.

I grin, "Nothing."
She laughs softly before bringing the covers over her.

"You okay?" She asks me with concern. I look at the ceiling and every single memory of me and Dylan replays in my mind; the pranks we did, the illegal shit we got up to, the parties, the drinking, the jokes, the girls, everything. I've known Dylan since first grade, we were best friends, and now I can't even stand to look at him. It angers me. But it also saddens me. I knew everything about him and he knew everything about me yet he feels like a stranger right now. Like somebody I never knew. I don't get why he just cut off. What did I do? What happened?

"I guess it just hurts a little. That's all. I... I miss being buddies with him." I say so softly that I wasn't quite sure she even heard it.
"I just wanna know what I did- what I did to make him hate me, you know?" I ask, finally turning to look at her.

She's staring at me intently and She gives me a sad smile.
"Sometimes... you don't have to do anything wrong, anything in particular, to cause someone to move on from you. Some people just drift apart while growing up or they just reveal who they really are. Even if it's not who we want them to be. And sometimes, situations can also force people to do things we never thought they would."

I stare at the girl in front of me- the girl who's being hated for what she is not and my heart swells. She's so strong. So brave.

"Do you think Dylan was forced into a situation?" I ask gently.

She shrugs, "Who knows? Everyone has their own story."

"You're really wise, you know that?" I ask her, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She blushes and grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers.

"I'm always here for you. You know that right?" She asks, her eyes searching mine.

What did I do to deserve Sophie?

I smile, "It works both ways."
She gives me small smile and nods.

"I know." She whispers. I put an arm around her shoulder and pull her to me, placing my chin on her head and resting our linked hands between us. She rests her head in the crook of my neck and I feel her physically relax before she wraps her arms around my waist so that our fingers are no longer intertwined.

In this moment, when we're holding one another- nobody here to judge or interrupt us- I realize how much she really means to me.

She pulls back from me and runs a hand over her face, our bodies no longer holding onto one another and I try to ignore the disappointment that consumes me.

"So... do you want to watch a comedy or an action movie?" She asks eventually.

I get comfortable on her bed, making sure to leave enough space between us.

"Your pick, Princess."

****

♕ SOPHIE COOPER ♕

The sun shines through the curtains of the room, illuminating it slightly. The soft roar of the waves can be heard and I rub my eyes ferociously as I try to rid them of their sleepy state. When I sit up, the popcorn and other snacks Alex and I ate last night are nowhere to be seen and I sigh in relief.

I swing my legs off the bed and onto the cool floor. When I walk to the lounge, the sound of voices becomes more distinctive and I cringe slightly. When I finally come fully into the bright room, Rachel is sat on the couch eating a bowl of dry cereal while she watches Gilmore Girls.

When she notices my presence she smiles, "Morning."

"Morning Rach," I say, my voice croaky. I plonk myself next to her and grab some cereal out of her bowl.

"Nuh-uh. Get your own." She teases, bringing the bowl to her side. I pout and she laughs making me grin.

"Why are you so tired?" She asks.

"Alex and I stayed up late watching movies and talking."

She smirks , "Mmhhh..." She hums. "Talking about what?"

I shrug innocently as my attention focuses on the TV, "Life."

"Life together." I hear her mutter. I throw a pillow at her and laugh,

"Hey!" She hits me back, the bowl of cereal falling to the floor and soon enough it becomes a full on pillow fight.

"Rachel and Cole, sitting in a tree," I sing as I hit her arm and dodge her hit. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G"
She glares at me from the other side of the couch.

"You better shut your trap right now, Mrs Rosewood!" She scolds.

I gape at her, "Don't call me that."

She smirks smugly. "What? Mrs Rosewood?"

I narrow my eyes at her. "Rachel..."

She looks away in the distance and pretends to think. "Sophie Rosewood... Got a ring to it."

I jump over the couch, hitting her with the pillow as we laugh hysterically. We move around the room, trying our best not to be hit by the other. Rachel throws a pillow at me and I dodge it, it hitting a vase of flowers behind us. As it tumbles to the floor and shatters into a million little pieces, we both cringe.

"I really hope that was a cheap vase." Rachel eventually says.

"Doubt it." I mutter.

A ping from my phone interrupts my thoughts and I head over to it, reading the messages over.

Alex: Breakfast in the lobby in 15 :)

Martin: Yes! Let's get some motherfucking food!

Christina: Watch your fucking language -_-

I laugh at the conversation before typing in my reply.

"Alex said there's breakfast in the lobby in fifteen minutes." I tell Rachel. She nods and picks up the bowl of cereal off the floor.

"I'm going to go get ready." I say as I walk to my room.

"Yeah, you got to look good for your man!" She yells after me.

"Shut up and clean up the vase!" I laugh with her.

****

I shove another spoon of granola and yogurt into my mouth, sighing at the deliciousness. While everyone sits at the table, eating breakfast, it's noticeable how Alex and Dylan are on edge with each other.

I, being the only one that knows what happened and being the reason as to why they had the argument, notices the spine-chilling glares that they send each other. And let's just say I'm a little pissed at Dylan.

Just a little.

Alex and Dylan are sitting opposite one another while everyone sits around them, me right in the middle between Rachel and Nina. From where I'm sitting, I can look between them and across the table to Christina.
However, I try to avoid looking at Alex at all costs. Why, you may ask? Because I like him. And he probably doesn't. Admitting you like a guy to yourself is like a bus hitting you and then seeing him the next day isn't an easy task to fulfill, especially when we're constantly looking at each other, smiling and making jokes which only makes my heart grow fonder. I don't know what to do now; tell him and be rejected, ask him how he feels or just simply stay friends. Sadly, I'm going to go for the safer one.

Not only that, but I'm mad. Mad at myself for liking a player. And not just any player, the player of Ridgevale High. Mad that I still have hope he'll like me back and mad that I'd take the risk of ruining our friendship; one thing that means the absolute world to me.

"Alright guys," Cole catches everyone's attention, including mine, as we turn to look at him.

"Remember that colour fest I was talking about?" We all nod, recalling the day he mentioned it. "Well, it's today. On the beach. Starts at two. So let's go."

"I think that would be great." I add to Cole's suggestion.

"I agree. I've never being to one either." Christina grins.

"I would love to throw colour at your ugly ass." Nina smiles sweetly at Martin who rolls his eyes in response.

Alex nods, "I think it'll be cool."
I smile as we finalize the plans.
"Since it's already ten, we can all get ready and enjoy the whole day at the beach; surf, swim, relax and then take part in the fest." I nod at Martins idea.

"Then it's settled, we're going to the colour fest." Martin beams excitedly.

I grin. This ought to be fun.

Friday update! Woohoo!
What'd you think? Did it satisfy your need of a Sophex moment?
Are you fangirling? Cause I know I am.

I'm hoping to update tomorrow but I'll be attending a wedding this weekend so I'm not too sure.

Quick Q: Excluding Sophie and Alex, who is your favorite character(s) and why?

Till next time :)

Vote♡Comment♡Share