I laid awake in bed well past midnight. The fight I had with Loki wouldn't shake from my mind. "Maybe you were the one pulling the strings..." "You want the stupid clown?" "Maybe Tony didn't act on his own will..." "You wanted Tony..." How could he say that to me? Does he really believe me to be that unfaithful? "You want the stupid clown? Next time, don't let me get in the way..."

It took hours for me to fall asleep, and it was still only a light, almost awake sort of sleep. When I rose the next morning, I felt groggy and like a million worries rested on my shoulders. I wasn't one of those people who forgot what had happened the day before when they just woke up, only to remember it a few seconds later. I was the kind that remembered everything at once and regretted it.

It would be lovely to have the ability to forget about the regrets of yesterday, even for a few minutes. Perhaps that was what I liked so much about sleep, there was no thinking involved, no regretting, you just existed in another world, perhaps with other problems, but nothing that couldn't be solved by waking up. If only I could wake and find the argument last night had been a dream. I was dreading having to explain everything to Kameron. I prided myself on not holding grudges or getting into fights often, unlike her. I didn't like to have to admit that my relationship was feeling strained.

I sat up and stretched, then tapped my finger on the bed as I thought about yesterday. I left too soon. We could have resolved this. We will resolve this. Neither of us are ridiculously stubborn. I will not let an argument like this come between us, I'm going to talk to him when I see him at school.

I didn't see him at first. He usually stopped by my locker for a moment in between classes to say "hello" and check in on me, but not today. He was there at English class, but not until just before it started, then he left as soon as it was over. I didn't want to chase him down the halls, so I bided my time until lunch, where I would have plenty of time to find him and have a talk.

He wasn't at our usual table, which was to be expected. I saw him moodily picking at his food as his gang shouted and hit each other in a more-or-less friendly way. When they saw me approaching, Erik and Aldrich jumped up and formed a barrier between me and the table.

"Hi, Erik, Aldrich," I said politely.

"Boss don't wanna see ya," said Erik, hopping straight to the point.

"Oh, really?" I asked, looking between them towards Loki, who glanced over for a moment before returning to his food. The table was quieter now as the rest of the boys watched the increasingly tense situation.

Aldrich nodded before adding a word of encouragement. "Don't worry, he'll come back to you eventually. In the meantime, I hear that Tony has a soft spot for you." He grinned as his friends catcalled and laughed. Normally, that would have made Loki jump up in anger, practically turning green with possessiveness at the mere mention of anyone liking his girl, but today he just sat there, looking as if he wasn't even paying attention.

I sighed deeply, pinching my lips together. Tony, what have you started? "I think Tony's over it now," I said coolly, then waited a moment before saying, "I want to talk to Loki."

"No can do," Erik told me.

I crossed my arms. "I'm going to talk to him." I guess even if they like me, they're committed to Loki first and foremost. So much for hoping they would be on my side.

"Sorry," he shrugged without looking very apologetic.

I rolled my eyes, feeling irritated. I tried to go around Erik, but he pushed me back. I tried Aldrich's side, he was gentle, but firm nonetheless. I crossed my arms again, glowering a little at them, then spoke directly to Loki. "I know you can hear me. We need to have a conversation. I don't like letting this fester." When he didn't say anything, I raised my voice slightly. "Loki! Get over here, now!"

That got his attention. He looked over at with me raised eyebrows. "I don't take orders from unfaithful girlfriends."

"You really believe that I'm unfaithful?" I said heatedly. "You know practically everything about me and you know plenty about Tony, and you think I was the unfaithful one? What do I have to do to prove it to you? Do we need to have a fist fight to let off some steam?"

His eyebrows went higher. "You really want to do that?"

"No," I said. "But if it gets your attention and allows us to have a conversation, then I'll do what I've got to do. I'm just going to keep coming back if you make me leave now. I want to settle this with you."

He studied me for several long moments, the boys around him silent as he contemplated. I'd had fights with my siblings before, one tactic that usually worked on the younger ones was to keep coming back until they were no longer angry. If you tell them you love them enough times, eventually they'll smile.

"We'll talk after school," he finally said.

I wanted to protest, to insist on having a conversation this minute, but I didn't want to push him. "All right," I said after a moment. "I'll see you later then."

**********

I was out before Loki, waiting by the stairs. He took his time getting to me. I had already told Kameron to have Thor take her home so she wouldn't be waiting on me. She still didn't know Loki and I had a fight, which was actually surprising since she usually picked up on that stuff.

"So," Loki startled me a little when he spoke. I hadn't heard him approach behind me. "You're the one who wanted to talk." His eyes were smoldering like hot emeralds as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

I took a breath. "I'm sorry about last night. I overreacted a little. You were upset at Tony, and I took that personally. I was upset that you thought that I was cheating on you and didn't take it well. I should have handled it better, and I apologize." Now was the time I would find out what kind of man Loki was. If he agreed that the entire thing was my fault, I didn't see how I could stay with him. If he admitted his faults, I didn't see how I could ever leave him.

He was quiet for several seconds, studying my face. I met his gaze, not bothering to try to disguise the concern in my eyes. "I believe you're right," he finally said, breaking my heart a little. But I forced myself to stay quiet until he had finished speaking. "You flew off the handle a bit. But that is the only time I've seen you do that, so I have a generous amount of grace for that. I was upset because you didn't worry about it other than the breakdown you had on scene. You're not careful enough around people, and sometimes that scares me. But I am also at fault. I was furious at Tony, and I took that out on you because you defended him. I know I am over-reserved, and I tend to be suspicious of people, but I do truly love you, Alina. I loved you since I first saw you and even until this very moment. I have not stopped loving you through this. I can't make promises about the future, but I can swear that at this moment, right now, you are my everything."

My heart, which had previously split right down the middle, stitched itself back up again as I listened to his words. Yes, he was temperamental and apt to be difficult, but I could hear the truth in his words, and felt it myself.

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close. "I love you to," I whispered in his ear, heart warming at his corresponding squeeze.

**********

Loki was overjoyed Alina had admitted where she was in the wrong. After living with his father and brother for so long, he couldn't imagine having another person in his life who refused to own up to their mistakes. He hugged his girlfriend tightly, relieved to be in her arms again. Their fight was over. This was the first, though certainly not the last, but he was now confident they could pull through.

With that all over with, he offered to drive his beautiful sweetheart home, but she refused because she had to take her car back. "Then let me take you out tomorrow," he said. "I think we need to celebrate."

Ali smiled brightly at him. Gosh, he loved her smile. It was so bright, sometimes he imagined it could light up the world. And it was always big, very seldom did she curve her mouth in a small way.

"Sure," she replied.

**********

The date went well, they ate at a roadhouse. Loki wore a cowboy hat, just to make her laugh, setting it beside himself when they were seated. They talked practically non-stop. Loki could be talkative in his own way, in his own time, but Alina was a true chatterbox. She was always content to listen to him, but always had a story to contribute to add to the conversation.

Sometimes he couldn't believe they had ended up together. He was in charge of the largest group of bullies at school, seen as the dark man of the place. She was the new, cheerful girl who tried to be kind to everyone. Nobody in school would have put them together. Before he had met her, neither would he. And yet here he was, across a table from her, smiling and nodding along to the story she was telling about how she had made her sister snort up a single drop of chocolate milk, and he was loving every moment.

Funny how life worked out that way.

Valentines wasn't far off. He knew he wanted to do something wonderful for Ali. It would take some time to come up with it, but whatever it was, he wanted it to express his love for her. He wondered what she was thinking about getting for him. He was about to ask her what she wanted to do on Valentine's Day, but she leapt right into another story about other eating mishaps.

Well, he thought. I guess it'll just have to be a surprise.