No one thought that Alex and Garroth would become a couple. They were too different. Garroth was incredibly extroverted, and Alex was more on the shy side. He flourished in athletics, and she shined in academics. They hung around each other's siblings, not each other.

Alex fell first. 

First, it was because she was always at his house. And if she wasn’t there, it was likely he was at her house. She was constantly around Kandi and Vylad. Through association, she was around Garroth. They shared a class together, and that caused them to be closer to one another. It started off as a crush. She would smile like a fool or blush. As time went on, it progressed into something different. She tried her best to hide it, and she was successful in concealing it from both Garroth and Laurance. From the twins, however, she failed. She failed even more in realizing that Vylad had feelings for her until she formed a relationship with his brother. 

Garroth fell when he noticed she was there. He always knew she was there, but he never thought twice about it. He just saw her as his siblings’ best friend or Laurance’s little sister. He didn’t think twice about her most of the time. Suddenly, one day, it changed. He took a second look at her, and he began to notice her more often. He started to notice how she styled her hair or things she did absentmindedly. Garroth didn’t know how, but he fell for her, hard. 

The rest was history. 

It was rocky at first. Laurance hated the idea of their relationship, and Vylad had a newly found jealousy he was finding a hard time conquering. Kandi was worried that Garroth would break Alex’s heart, but Cadenza was thrilled Alex found an interest in someone. In the meantime, Alex and Garroth remained in their honeymoon phase. 

It was a Monday. It was the last week of football. It was the last week of cheer. Despite this all, Alex and Vylad shared a project together that needed to be worked on. Vylad had a club he attended, and Alex had cheer practice. School wasn't a far walk from the Ro'meave household, so the youngest Zvahl and Ro'meaves walked there together. 

It was already chilly. After all, it was mid-October. Alex had docked herself out in a winter jacket, finding herself to be cold easily. It was long, nearly touching knees. It was nice considering her skirt was fully covered. Besides, the day was cold, and it had been off and on with rain. The wind made it cold, and a spring jacket wouldn't do anything to prevent a chill.

“Did you see your grandparents off this morning?” Alex asks, clutching onto her backpack straps with both hands. She was in between the twins, looking between the two. 

“No, mom wanted us to go to school instead. They were leaving around 10:00.”

Kandi looks over to Alex, little care that her grandparents had left. She wasn’t close to them, and she was well aware they had only come to Phoenix Drop for Garroth. Her grandparents had talked very little to the rest of the family. 

“I see,” Alex says. “You’ll at least have a sense of normalcy now. . . I guess.”

"As normal as being a Ro'meave can be," Vylad mumbles, rolling his eyes. 

Alex turns to look at Vylad but keeps quiet. He had been in a mood all weekend, and she couldn't blame him for it. She was at least able to escape to her house. 

With a slight shake of her head, Alex drapes an arm around Vylad's shoulder. "You could always become a Zvahl. Laurance has enough sweatshirts with the name on it." 

"Vylad Zvahl, eh? No offense, but I think I hate it." 

"Glad to see you've warmed up to the name," she says. Alex cracks her neck before giving a crooked grin. “I like Alexandra Zvahl. Got the first and last letter of the alphabet for initials. I think VZ sounds pretty cool.” 

While it didn’t make him laugh, Vylad’s mood did brighten. It was enough to enter through the front door with a smile on his face. And with Zianna’s distracted mind, she didn’t put much thought into the smile when she saw him. 

The kitchen had more voices than it normally did. The sound of two sopranos bounced off each other in conversation. With a lifted eyebrow, Alex looks over to Vylad and Kandi with a questionable stare. 

“I thought you said your grandparents left at 10:00,” she says, confusion lacing her voice. 

“They were supposed to,” Vylad responds. 

The voices quickly die down when they hear the front door shut. Jackets are hung up in the entryway, and shoes are kicked off. There isn’t time to decide if the three wanted to run and hide or remain at the door before both Zianna and Ethel made their way towards the group of three. 

Zianna’s face is kind, but Ethel has a sense of judgment across her lips. Her expression is directed towards Alex, and this causes Alex to look between both Vylad and Kandi.

“I forgot I was supposed to go home today after practice,” she lies. “We can work on the project online if you want.” 

Vylad slowly nods his head at this, watching Alex quickly scurry to put back on her jacket and shoes. “I can walk you home,” he offers, the aura in the room bothering him. 

Alex goes to decline his offer, but Zianna accepts it for her, telling Kandi to go with the two so Vylad doesn’t have to walk back alone. The three are outside the door faster than it took them to come inside. 

By the time the three minors are out of earshot, Ethel turns towards Zianna. She is still skeptical of the situation, and she instantly jumps to conclusions. Ethel likes to think she is good at reading people. And while she is, she is also good at putting her own opinions in as facts. 

“I thought you said she was with Garroth?” Ethel asks. 

“She is.”

Ethel narrows her eyes at Zianna. “She seemed awfully friendly towards your youngest son.”