Accept

Verb – 1. agree to receive or undertake (something offered or proposed). 2. regard favourably or with approval. 3. believe or receive as valid or correct. 4. take on (a responsibility or liability). 5. tolerate or submit to.

Wow, really who wrote this rubbish?

The next morning, after getting ready for school, there was still no sign of Xandrell... by now I was almost worried. He hadn't been obsessing over me for almost ten hours, something was very wrong. Had my mother thrown him out or something?

"Xandrell?" I called running down the stairs. My mother was sat at the table in her dressing gown stirring a mug of coffee. She looked up at me with tired eyes. I blinked at her. "Something wrong, Mum?"

She shrugged. "Little one was keeping me up." She gave a little groan and ran her hand through her hair. "And I miss your father. I do worry about him when he's on his 'business' trips."

I frowned at her. Why did she worry? It wasn't like Dad was going to go around sleeping with other women when he was on military duty. To me that just seemed insulting to him. Was she that insecure in their relationship? However I decided not to ponder too much on this.

"Have you seen Xandrell this morning?" I asked, hanging off the banister.

"He left for school early." said my mother frowning at a crack in the wall. "He said he had something important to deal with."

I blinked. "Did he say what exactly?"

However my mother didn't seem to hear me, she continued to frown at the crack in the wall. "He confuses me you know. It's like... he's not like normal boys your age."

I sighed and went to the kitchen leaving my mother with her musings to get my breakfast. "You don't know the half of it, Mum." I mumbled under my breath.

"And he thinks the world of you, Amy." called my mother.

I froze in the process of pouring out my cornflakes. She didn't know why he was obsessed with me the way he was, but how was I meant to explain the real reason he acted the way he did. "Does he?" I called back, unfreezing and pouring milk onto the cornflakes.

"It's strange." said my mother, almost quieter, more thoughtfully. "Very strange."

I picked up my breakfast and made my way into the living room and over to the table and taking the seat opposite my mother. "How's it strange anyway?"

"It's the way he talks about you." she said taking a sip of her coffee. "The way he looks at you... the way he thinks..."

"The way you're not going to tell me about?" I said after swallowing a large mouthful. "You're almost as bad as Xandrell this morning."

"He told me last night, he completely adores you." she murmured, stirring her coffee again. "I believe he has no bad intentions... he said he wanted to be there for you, be with you, and protect you... he wants to take care of you..."

I shook my head sadly at her swallowing another mouthful of cornflakes. "What exactly were you asking him last night?"

She swayed her head from side to side. "Just this that and the other."

"That doesn't really answer my question." I said glaring at her as I finished my breakfast. "What's up with you today? I was wrong, you're worse than Xandrell this morning."

She suddenly looked up at me as if she were really seeing me clearly for the first time that morning. "What's with you this morning?" she suddenly asked. "It's all Xandrell this and Xandrell that. If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a silly little crush on him."

"I do not!" I snapped, immediately. "Now do you know why Xandrell left so quickly this morning?"

"There you go again!" cried my mother. "Xandrell this and Xandrell that! A school-girl in love, that's what you are!"

"I AM NOT!" I bellowed grabbing my schoolbag and standing, glaring at my mother. "Now tell me why he's left for school so early!"

My mother glared at me. "He said something about James or something."

"What?!" I cried leaping a foot in the air starting for the door. "For the love of God, Mum, couldn't you have stopped him or something."

"No." said my mother dreamily, going back to stare at the crack in the wall.

I glared at her before running out of the house, slamming the door behind me and sprinting down the road.

If I was right, and I knew Xandrell the way I thought I did, James would be lucky if he was at school with his bones intact. My heart pounded against my ribs as I rounded the corner and sprinted up the road to the school. The old rusty iron gates stood ajar. I pushed them open and dashed through the student entrance and along to the student leader's office near the library, where James and Lucy had been coming in early to organise things for prom. I wrenched open the door and rushed inside.

"Xandrell!" I yelped, looking around.

Xandrell was stood in front of James. He turned and grinned at me as I entered. "Hey Amy. You caught me up then?"

"This has to be the first time you've ever been early, Amy, what gives?" asked Lucy from behind the computer and I was amazed that both James and Xandrell sniggered.

I blinked. Had I just walked into another dimension or something? James and Xandrell were being civil and Lucy had just made an intentional joke. Usually her jokes were the sort of thing everyone else laughed at but she hadn't intended it as a joke and didn't find it funny herself.

"What's going on?" I asked slightly hesitantly.

"Well..." said Xandrell thoughtfully moving forward and slipping his arms around my waist, earning him a glare from me. "I thought that since you talk about these people like they're your whole life, and you are my whole life..." He paused to look down at me adoringly. I groaned. "... I thought it might be nice to come in, and make friends with them too. Your friends are my friends and vice versa, see?"

I shook my head at him. "You think this will make me fall in love with you, don't you?" I hissed.

"That's not the primary reasoning behind this." said Xandrell quietly. "But yes... that might be part of it."

"Xandrell..." I began, about to do what I did best, crushing his happy little boyish attitude to everything with the staggering reality, when Lucy called over to him.

"Ok, Xandrell, I've finished them. That should be a prom info poster to go to each room and some to go up around the school. All you have to do is go to the printing room and take the posters along to the office. Think you can manage?"

Xandrell bounced forward and out of the door. "Of course, Lucy!" he called happily dashing away along the corridor, the way a child playing a game would. I watched him go, feeling the usual almost sinking feeling that came when he wasn't there. The room's atmosphere seemed to sag.

You're in love with him!

I am not!

You so are!

"So where'd you find him Amy?" asked Lucy getting up from the computer and grinning at me. "Swear to God, I have never met a guy who is so over the top about everything and anything. It's adorable!"

I sighed and pulled up a chair. "It's also exhausting." I said finally catching my breath from running all the way to school. "I actually don't have the energy to be depressed anymore."

"You don't have the energy?" James frowned. "What's he been making you do that's so tiring?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Wanna rephrase that James?"

Lucy sniggered and James' ears glowed. "You know what I mean." he said quickly. "Why are you tired? I was under the impression he didn't let his precious little love do anything these days, while he slaved away."

"As is a man's place around the house." I muttered.

Lucy giggled again and even James seemed to be fighting a smile. "Stop it Amy, and take things seriously for a change." he snapped. "That guy isn't right, I don't know what it is, but I don't trust him."

"Well sadly for you James, I do." I snarled at him. "Why have you got such an issue with me having other guy friends?"

"That's not true!" he snapped. "I haven't got a problem with Charlie."

"Charlie's not following me around saying he loves me!" I cried. "Why can't you just say it James? Why can't you just say, 'ok, fine Amy, you wanna hang around with Xandrell, you can' and just butt out and let me live my life."

"This isn't about you, Amy, this is about him." yelled James. "I really don't have a problem with you being friends with other guys, but I don't trust him one bit, there's something weird about him, and..."

"And what James?" I pressed him. "What exactly?"

James swallowed and finally spoke in a much quieter voice. "As your friend, I don't want to see you get hurt again."

I blinked. James' hostility had been trying to protect me? I suddenly felt a tiny pang of guilt as he looked down at me waiting for a reaction. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry." I said quietly after a long moment. "But James, for now, things between me and Xandrell, it's totally... not romantic."

He sighed and shook his head at me. "Yeah... for now."

"I can't see things between me and Xandrell really going any further than where they are now." I admitted shrugging.

"What, him following you around telling everyone you're going out?" muttered James darkly.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" I said with a small smile. "I just want me and him to be friends really. I just want friends at the moment."

James rolled his eyes. "You're a weird teenager you know, Amy." he sighed.

"Don't remind me." I grinned. "So, friends?"

He faked an injured look. "I've been demoted have I?" he asked, before his face broke into a smile. "Yeah. Best friends."

"Amy, come on!" yelped Xandrell hurrying back into the room and grabbing my hand. "We'll be late if we're much longer."

"But the bell hasn't even..." stuttered Lucy just as the bell rang.

Xandrell yanked me out of the room and along down the corridor, but not before I could give James a quick smile, and see that he was smiling back.

The morning had given me some kind of new lease at school life. James was back on my side, thus meaning Charlie would also automatically be back on my side. I thought he was anyway, but this would make it definite. For a while, I was so happy, even Xandrell's constant hugging sessions and obsession appointments seemed almost bearable. The main problem now was one, I knew Xandrell was an alien, and no matter how much that scared me, for some reason, I wasn't afraid of him. Somehow, I just wanted to stay his friend, and to be there for him, and with him, same as he'd told my mother he wanted to be for me. Problem number two however, made me feel more like a teenager... was it just me, or had Tasha been watching Xandrell all through the lesson?... and why did it annoy me whenever she smiled at him?