Chapter 24: That's the Spirit

The following Wednesday, everyone seemed to be in the Thanksgiving spirit. Seeing as it was the last day of school before our brief break, most teachers were being a bit lenient with the work. Notice that I say most. "You'll have to do this project over the break. I expect it to be fully completed by Monday when you return," Mr. Porter explained and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"He's so annoying," Axel muttered from beside me.

"You got that right," I responded.

"Are you actually going to do it?" he asked curiously and when I nodded, he grinned. "Can I copy off of you?"

"No," I retorted and he sighed, letting out a whiny moan. "Tell you what, you can come over and I'll help you with it."

"You promise?" he asked.

"I promise," I responded.

"You won't blow me off for Sam?" he questioned as he quirked an eyebrow. Though he said it in a joking tone, I could tell he was expressing annoyance he'd been keeping contained for some time.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Sam and I are going to hang out after school. Maybe tomorrow," I lied and he stared at me with a flat look on his face. I laughed quietly, shaking my head. "I'm joking Axel."

"Good," he muttered.

"Although I should invite Sam; he'll probably need help with the Chemistry packet," I started jokingly and Axel sighed loudly.

"You're so annoying," he told me.

"Then why are we friends?" I asked as I leaned forward with my hand under my chin.

"Because you're more fun than you are annoying," he responded, earning a grin in response. I set my gaze on him, examining his features before exhaling quietly in satisfaction.

"Though staring at me may be fun, you might want to pay attention seeing as you're going to have to complete our homework later," Axel blurted after about two minutes.

I blinked a few times as I looked at him before turning to look at the board, not even bothering to correct him when he said that I'm going to be doing our homework tonight.

+++

"Lex? Is that you?" my mother called in a hopeful voice from the kitchen as I held the door open for Axel, who followed me inside with my bag in his hands. He insisted on bringing it from the car and I had a feeling he'd be begging me to let him copy the packet rather than grasp the concepts himself.

"Yeah," I responded as I led the way to the kitchen.

"Oh, Axel, you're here too- great," my mom grinned before turning her attention back to the large turkey sitting in a large pot on the counter. "Do you two think you can help me out?"

"With what?" Axel asked, sounding more than willing. I, on the other hand, really wanted to get started on that Chemistry packet. Axel actually has a curfew today seeing as it's the day before Thanksgiving and I know that if we don't finish this packet by 7 o'clock, he's not going to get it done unless I force him to or give him answers.

"I just need some ingredients from the cabinet," my mom instructed Axel. "And Lex, do the dishes."

I shot a glare at Axel, who smirked at me. When he saw that I wasn't moving, he looked towards the sink pointedly. "You heard your mom, Alexis; do the dishes," Axel teased and I glared at him, watching as he walked towards the cabinet, stretching a small amount to open it. His shirt rode up slightly and I stared unashamedly before feeling one's gaze on me. I looked at my mom to see her staring at me with raised brows and I immediately turned my attention to the dishes, turning on the water.

When my mother finally ran out of tasks to give us, Axel and I made our way upstairs to my bedroom. Just as we reached the second floor, my mom's voice greeted my ears and I felt my eyes widen. "Keep the door open!" she called and I stared at the ground to avoid Axel's glance, which he tossed at me shortly after I turned my attention to the carpet.

"Any reason why she's saying that?" he asked as we entered my room. I closed the door, completely disregarding my mom's instruction.

"I don't know. Let's just hurry up and get the chemistry packet done," I told him.

"Does she know you like me?" he asked curiously and I sighed, reaching for my bag.

"I don't know," I told him as I waved my hand as if silently telling him to hand me my bag.

"Well, did you tell her?" he questioned before pointedly looking down at my hand.

I looked up at him. "Yes, of course, I told my mother every aspect of my feelings for you," I retorted. "What do you think?"

"I wasn't sure," he replied, "which is why I asked."

"No, I didn't tell her," I told him as I reached for my bag, getting a good grip on it. Despite the fact that I clearly had a hold on it, he kept his hand locked around the strap.

"Why not?" he asked with a smirk. "Afraid she'll stop allowing me to come upstairs?" He suddenly yanked my bag towards him and I followed suit, stumbling slightly before stopping a few inches away from him.

"No," I retorted. I looked up at him to see the familiar smug grin lining his lips. "Don't give her a reason to want that door open."

"I wasn't planning to. Were you?" he asked and I scoffed before snatching my bag from him and crawling onto my bed.

+++

Halfway through the chemistry packet, Axel requested that we take a break. I shrugged, hoping that this break would clear his mind. Everything I had to explain to him, I had to repeat twice in order for him to actually take in the information. He seemed so out of it that it was frustrating me. "What's on your mind?" I asked him once I returned from my soda run. Luckily, my mom was in the living room so I managed to avoid any conversation.

I received a sigh when I handed him his soda. He was stretched out across my bed with his head on my pillow and his legs crossed. I crawled across him and he watched me before tucking his hands behind his head. "Can I ask you a question?" he blurted and I slowly nodded.

Oh boy, what now? "Do you like Sam? At all?" he proceeded.

I narrowed my eyes at him, sighing noisily. Despite the fact that I tell him practically every day, he still feels the need to ask. I decided not to give him a straight answer, seeing as it hasn't satisfied him in the past. "Why does it matter?" I responded.

"I-I don't know. It just does," he responded weakly. "I just want to know."

"I mean, it doesn't really make a difference whether I do or don't," I told him. "Now that I think about it, it makes no difference at all."

"I'm curious," he told me. "I just want to know."

I looked at him, wondering what I could say to mess with his mind a bit. "I guess I like him a little," I lied.

"You like him a little bit?" Axel asked with wide eyes. He rose into a sitting position. "Like how much is a little bit?"

I held up both of my hands. "I like you about this much," I told him as I made about a six inch gap between both of my hands. I moved them inward slightly so that the gap was about four inches and nodded as I examined it. "And I like him this much."

His eyebrows shot up and his eyes bulged. "That's almost as much as you like me!" he responded.

I shrugged as I stared at the space beside his head. If I looked at him for too long, I would almost die of laughter. "I guess you're more susceptible to forming feelings for someone who likes you back," I told him and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're lying, right?" he asked. When I didn't respond, he nodded his head. "Yeah, you're lying."

"Am I?" I asked him, tilting my head to the side.

"Yeah," he nodded quickly. "You are...right?"

I shrugged as I slowly sipped my drink, maintaining eye contact as I did so. "Maybe I am...Maybe I'm not."

"You don't like him!" he blurted. "You've told me a thousand times."

"Then why do you keep asking?" I responded and he immediately quieted down.

"I don't know...I just keep thinking the answer's going to change," he replied.

"Do you want it to?" I asked him after a moment of thought and he didn't seem surprised by my question. I was dreading his answer, rolling my hands in my lap as I waited. Maybe, if he says no, he'll confess his feelings for me. But if he says yes, then I'll know that I should just move on. This is a question that needs to be asked. Whenever I think about his feelings for me, I feel like he does like me...until he does something to make me believe he doesn't, like tell me that a girl in one of his classes asked him to hang out. But he'll do something that makes me feel like maybe he does have feelings for me, like kiss me or genuinely say something flirtatious.

"No," he responded after a moment and a ball of relief welled in my stomach. He stared at me and I just slowly nodded, repressing a grin. Should I ask why not? Should I question his answer? Or should I save it for another day? Before I could decide, he grabbed his paper from it's abandoned place on my bed. "We should probably get back to work."

For some reason, our short but informative conversation didn't satisfy me, but I wasn't going to push it.

+++

"Can we take a break?" Axel asked when we only had a page and a half left of the packet. I looked at him and sighed.

"We have barely two pages left," I replied as I flipped to the last page. He glanced at it and sighed.

"Please," he puckered his lower lip and widened his eyes.

I sighed and put my packet on the place beside my lap as I stretched my legs across the bed. He switched his position so that he was lying down again, stretching his legs, practically kicking mine off the bed. "Ouch," I grumbled and he smirked at me.

"My bad," he replied halfheartedly. I rolled my eyes at him before narrowing them. Does this break mean we're going to finish our conversation? As if reading my mind, he shook his head. "That conversation was over when we stopped talking about it."

I scoffed. "I wasn't even thinking about that," I retorted with crossed arms.

"But I have a question," he started as he closed his eyes, twisting his arms behind his head as he breathed deeply.

"What?" I replied in annoyance. Though agitated, I couldn't hide the curiosity in my voice. What could be bothering him so much that he feels the need to prepare to ask?

"Now, I don't want you to be alarmed at the audacity of this question..." he trailed. I felt my stomach flip a few times.

"Am I a better kisser than Sam?" he asked and a smirk appeared on his calm, collected face. I rolled my eyes at him though he wouldn't see it because his eyes were lightly shut. Though the answer to his question is yes, I'm not going to tell him that. Like he needs the confidence boost...

"I'm not answering that," I answered almost immediately. "Can we just finish this chemistry work?"

"Come on, Alexis," he responded and I heard the amusement in his voice.

"I don't know..." I trailed.

"You know the answer, Alexis, I know you do," Axel retorted. "When you kiss more than one person, you compare them." So does that mean he's compared my kissing skills with Victoria's? I mean, it wouldn't be fair to do so. He's made out with her and who knows what else... I shivered at the thought. I don't want to think about them doing anything like that, especially not with her.

"I'm not quite sure I do," I responded. "I will tell you that he had no idea where to put his hands."

"He just left them at his sides?" Axel inquired and I made a noise of approval, receiving a snort from him. "Now I know for a fact that I'm the better kisser."

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say that..." I trailed. Axel actually opened his eyes to look at me, wearing furrowed brows. "Sam was pretty good at the actual kissing part."

"Better than me?" Axel asked and I shrugged, looking down at my hands.

"I don't really remember," I lied. Of course I remember. I spent multiple days and nights just analyzing our kiss, trying to find something - anything - that could possibly make me feel like it meant something.

"I could always jog your memory," he blurted. I immediately turned to look at him and he ducked his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

With wide eyes and red cheeks, I looked back at the Chemistry work, picking it up and placing it onto my lap. Without saying anything, he did the same. We worked in silence, occasionally speaking to ask for confirmation on an answer. Not too long before we finished working on our papers, his mom called to ask when he was coming home.

"I have to go," he sighed as he packed his book bag.

"I'll walk you to your car," I started as I got off of my bed. He didn't protest as he zipped up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

As we walked past the kitchen, where my mom was cooking and singing quietly, Axel called to her, wishing her a happy Thanksgiving. She responded similarly, telling him to share the wishes with his family. Dylan was cooped up in the basement most likely playing video games so we didn't have to bother with him. I opened the front door for Axel, following him out into the foggy, sticky air. Deciding to leave the door open, I started towards his car with him in tow.

"I'm sorry if my comment made you feel uncomfortable," he spoke from behind me and I stopped to look at him. I shook my head as I allowed him to catch up with me before speaking.

"It didn't. I just didn't know how to react," I responded as I shoved my hands in my pants pockets.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

I stared at cement as we slowly approached his car. "I couldn't really tell if you were flirting with me or not, so I didn't know how to reply," I admitted.

There was a silence and I felt him staring at me. I didn't really feel like meeting his gaze so I kept my eyes glued to the sidewalk. A short while later, we reached his car and I looked up at him, ready to see him off for a few days while we enjoy our breaks. "I'll see you on Monday," I started, opening my arms to hug him. He returned the hug, mumbling a quiet response under his breath as he wrapped me in an embrace. I think his hugs are the best because he doesn't pull away immediately and he lifts me in the air a bit because of our height difference. I wrap my arms around his neck and he hugs me around the waist and it feels perfect. It's comfortable and warm and and relaxing, not to mention he smells amazing.

My feet touched the ground a few seconds later and as I was removing my arms from around his neck, he turned his head so it was not even an inch from my face. His eyes were staring into mine and he seemed to be contemplating something by the furrow in his brow. Not a second later, his lips quickly met mine before he allowed me to remove my arms from their place around his neck. His hands were back at his sides and I simply stared at him.

As if he hadn't just kissed me, though short and not reciprocated, he patted my head, told me he'd see me on Monday, and proceeded to tell me he'd text me when he got home. I stared at him, giving a halfhearted wave as I watched his car pull from it's spot in the driveway and disappear down the street. I turned to head back inside to find my mom standing there with a curious look on her face. Perfect. Just what I needed.

I took my time heading back towards the house, slipping inside as my mom quickly shut the door, mumbling about how chilly it was. "Think you can help me cook?" my mom asked.

"Actually, I have some work to get done..." I trailed and she smiled at me, tilting her head.

"I wasn't really asking," she said and I sighed, following her into the kitchen. As I took instructions from her on what to do and how to prepare the meal, I felt her gaze on me. I think she expected me to announce what was on her mind so when I didn't, she took it upon herself to do it. "So how's Axel?"

I let out a quiet chuckle, trying to play it off like I normally would. "You just talked to him before we went upstairs," I answered as I stirred the pie mixture.

"Right, right," she muttered before making another attempt. "You two seem closer. I thought I saw you guys kiss out there but I'm not sure."

"Mom..." I started, rolling my eyes so hard I was scared they'd get stuck.

"What? I'm just saying," my mom started. "I want to know if I'll have to take the precautions I'd take with a boyfriend. You know- no bedroom unless someone else is up there with you; you guys can't be alone here; no sleeping over his house; no spending time there unless someone else is home."

I turned around to look at her before shaking my head. "Mom," I repeated, growing annoyed. Give her five minutes and she'll already be planning our wedding.

"I was curious for a while but now I'm pretty sure," she continued to blab. "Why didn't you just tell me you two are dating now?"

"Mom we aren't dating," I told her finally.

She looked at me in confusion. "So you guys didn't kiss?" she asked.

Should I tell her? Would it be wrong to lie? I really don't want to have to deal with my mom acting like he's my boyfriend when he's around. "He kissed my forehead mom. That's something Axel does. We aren't romantically involved at all."

"Really?" she asked. She tilted her head to the side as if she was doubting me. "But I see how you look at him."

"Mom, that's my best friend," I told her. "I look at him like I look at all of my other friends." You know aside from the occasional obsession behind my eyes, it's practically the same.

"Oh...okay," my mom trailed. "What about Sam? Do you like him?"

"No, mom, I don't," I told her with a sigh.

"Why not? He seems like a sweet boy- very polite," my mom smiled and I narrowed my eyes at the mix I was pouring into the pie pan.

"I'm just not interested in him," I told her.

"Why don't you have a boyfriend yet? You're pretty and smart and so funny," my mom started and I looked at her.

"Mom, I don't know. I don't really want to talk about this right now," I blurted and my mom sighed, shaking her head.

"Definitely your attitude," she muttered and I shot a glare at her back as she went back to the stove. I definitely don't have an attitude.