Chapter 4: I'd Fight for You Any Day

I was doing my hair when the doorbell rang and I glanced at the time. It's a bit early for guests to start arriving. It's only 7:30, I figured. "Lex! Olivander and Camel-toe are here!" my brother called from the bottom of the stairs. I heard a thud and he groaned. "I'm sending them upstairs."

"Okay!" I called back down to them. A few seconds later, the door to my room busted open and my two friends entered. With a scowl on her face, Camilla looked at me. "When did he start calling me that?" she asked.

"I'm not quite sure. I still thought he called you Camisole," I responded.

"Yeah, I liked that one better," she muttered. "What's his nickname for Sidney?"

"Photo-Sid-thesis, last time I recall," I shrugged as I braided my hair in the mirror. Next step, touch up my makeup.

"How's the whole Holden thing coming along?" Oliver inquired and I sighed.

"Surprisingly, it's okay. I mean, aside from the guys stupid teasing, it's not all that awkward," I explained. "But Axel still calls me jealous."

"Speaking of jealous, is Victoria coming tonight?" Oliver questioned from his spot on my bed.

"No, I don't think so," Camilla responded. "Her friends Jessica and Katie are, though. I heard them talking about it in French class."

"Good," I mumbled. "I don't want to have to deal with that discomfort," I responded. "I don't think she's my biggest fan."

"Why do you say that?" Cam asked.

"Because she was on the phone with Axel the other day and he hung up mid-conversation because of me. And whenever she sees me in the hall, she gives me this forced smile. She doesn't even have to because I'm not friends with her boyfriend, but she does it anyway," I explained.

"Maybe you intimidate her," Oliver suggested and I snorted.

"Why?" I asked.

"Axel probably talks about you a lot to her," Cam explained.

"Yeah, he trash talks me," I retorted.

"But that's talking nonetheless. And she knows you two were best friends because she's the reason you guys aren't anymore," Cam replied.

I just shrugged. "Well, she has nothing to worry about." As I finished my eyeliner, I sighed. "Now let's go downstairs and get this party started."

+++

A half hour later, almost everyone was here. Sidney had arrived shortly after we went downstairs and the party was in full swing before half past eight. I couldn't spend too much time with my friends because I was too busy making sure things were going well. When I ducked outside for a breath of fresh air, I noticed Axel on the phone a few feet away.

"I know," he sighed. "Yeah...I will." He kicked at the dirt before sighing again, but louder this time. "Look, you can trust me," he insisted. "Then why are you with me if you can't trust me?" he snapped. A few seconds later, he rolled his eyes as he stared up at the sky. "I'm going to go. Have fun with your grandmother." As he shoved his phone in his pocket, he looked up to find me staring at him. He didn't bother smiling or even acknowledging the fact that I was gazing at him. Instead, he walked past me and up the steps, entering the house.

Time was going by slowly as I kept the house from getting too dirty, lifting up empty cups and tossing them out, as well as sweeping up dirty chips as they fell to the ground, crushed by shoes. "Lex!" Dylan called over the music.

"What?" I asked, making my way to the kitchen, where he was standing.

"We ran out of soda. Think you can run to Holden's car?" he inquired.

"Yeah," I responded, taking the keys from Holden, who was standing not too far away, struggling to open a new pack of cups. I watched for a few seconds as he resorted to using his teeth like a savage.

"Have you seen Axel, by the way?" he inquired and I shook my head.

"No, not recently," I answered before slipping through the crowd. I was barely outside when I heard yelling. With furrowed eyebrows, I watched as a guy held a girl's wrist. To anyone with eyes, it was obvious that she didn't want to be with this guy. She was yelling at him to leave her alone but he didn't seem to care. Shoving Holden's keys in my pocket, I approached him.

"Get off of me, Brody!" the girl shouted as she tried her hardest to pull away from the guy's grasp. It was obviously a hard task; the guy was at least 6'5" and built like a house. The girl was lucky if she reached the 5'2" mark.

"Let her go," I told this Brody fellow. He didn't even glance at me so I said it again but a bit louder.

"Mind your business," he snapped.

"This is my house so this is my business. She wants nothing to do with you, so let her go," I retorted. He released his grip on the girl and she was pulling away from him so hard that she fell on her butt. She stood up, wiping herself off and rubbing at her wrist. "Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Are you?" he inquired as he took a step forward.

"Yeah, you have to leave," I repeated and I was shocked to find myself on the floor. I stared up at him in surprise when I realized that he had shoved me down.

Before I could even get up to react, Axel appeared from behind me and shoved the guy. "What's your problem?" he barked. The guy didn't respond, but he just swung. But Axel didn't go down as easily as me. He swung back and before I could register, Axel was hitting the guy.

A group of people were forming, chanting the typical "Fight!" As if on cue, my brother and Holden broke through the circle, swearing in annoyance. Dylan grabbed the back of Axel's shirt and yanked him off of the guy, who had a bit of blood on his face and on his shirt, which was also covered in dirt. Holden helped me up, seeing as I was still sitting on the floor, watching the fight in a trance. I wasn't the only one staring in shock. I had just notice that Camilla was standing beside me with wide eyes. Thanks for helping me up Cam, I wanted to say.

Axel didn't put up much of a fight when Dylan yanked him away, probably because the guy wasn't hitting him back. Speaking of the guy, he was just getting up and limping towards the horde of cars. Yelling in his direction, Axel used an offensive array of words, but he basically was telling him to leave and that he wasn't much of a man.

"You can't go around starting fights, Axel," Dylan remarked as he released Axel from his grip. I slowly walked over to the pair.

"He pushed your sister!" Axel snapped as he motioned to me with a bloody hand. Dylan looked at me.

"He what?" he asked.

"He shoved me on the ground," I told Dylan with a red face.

"Are you alright?" Axel asked and I nodded.

"Are you?" I asked quietly, earning a nod in response.

Holden was working on dispersing the crowd now, telling everyone to either go inside or go home. "Go get cleaned up," my brother told Axel, who began walking towards the house. I followed him, planning on thanking him once I could form a coherent sentence. I passed Cam, who asked me if I was okay and I replied with a rushed answer. I was set on thanking Axel in private.

I didn't get up the nerve to speak until we reached the bathroom. He entered and I followed behind him, not realizing what I was doing until I closed the door. "Thanks, for...you know...that," I trailed awkwardly.

"Where do you keep the first aid kit?" he asked and I bent down, opening the bottom cabinet and retrieving the white box with a red cross on it while he washed his hands.

He opened it a moment later and I watched as he struggled to do so with bleeding knuckles. With a sigh, I looked at him. "Sit down." He looked at the toilet before deciding to sit on the sink counter. I stood in front of him, opening an antibacterial wipe. I grabbed his hand, wiping off the blood.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Axel asked me. "He pushed you pretty hard."

"Are you okay? He punched you pretty hard," I responded.

"I punched him pretty hard," he replied.

"I can tell," I told him as I lifted his hand in reference. I dropped it before moving on to his other hand, opening a new wipe.

"But are you?" he asked. "Okay, I mean?"

I continued working, digging in the first aid kit as I went. "I'm fine...just shocked."

"I would be too if I was a girl and a guy manhandled me like that," he noted.

"I'm not shocked about that," I shook my head. I mean, I didn't expect him to shove me like that. I approached him with attempts to get him to leave without hurting anyone. "Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked as I continued to fix his knuckles. Since I can't exactly put Band-Aids on them, I'll have to wrap them.

"Hit him," I responded quietly.

"Because he hit you," Axel answered as if it was an obvious answer.

"Yeah but..." I trailed as I placed gauze on his scraped and skinned knuckles.

"But what?" he asked.

"But we're not friends anymore..." I finished.

"That means I can't care about you?" he spoke just as quietly as I was.

"I don't know," I muttered as I finished wrapping his hands. "I just didn't expect that." I looked up at him and saw dried blood on his chin, along with a split in his lip.

"I'd do it again," he admitted. I wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"This is going to sting," I told him as I wiped his mouth. He cringed slightly so I put my hand at the back of his head, holding him still. I felt his eyes scan my face but I simply focused on ridding his mouth of blood. Once I finished and released him, I turned on the sink, washing my hands. I returned the first aid kit to its place beneath the sink. "Thanks, Axel."

"Anytime, Alexis." I opened the door so we could leave and I saw Victoria's friends, Jessica and Katie, standing there. They looked at the two of us with wide eyes and Axel swore under his breath. I knew that Victoria would be finding out about this in just a few minutes.

+++

Waking up the following morning was hard. Not only was I completely exhausted from not falling asleep until four, but my back hurt and I was sure it'd bruised from my fall the previous day. I wonder how Axel's feeling. I sat up, looking around my room, glad that I hadn't left it unlocked. I looked at my phone to see that it was half past noon and I sighed, getting out of bed.

Once I did my morning routine, which consisted of brushing my hair and teeth, I left my room. I immediately noticed that the hallway was swept up and there was little to no trash, aside from a pile of cups in the corner, which I'm guessing are waiting to be placed into a trash bag. I walked downstairs, suddenly hearing my brother conversing with someone.

"No, mom, we didn't have a party," he sighed. "The guys came over, and then Lex's friends did. We were playing music, but that's it." My mother responded, I guess, and my brother leaned on the kitchen counter, staring at the floor. "Mom, the woman's like, ninety," my brother responded.

I decided not to listen to that conversation and instead, made my way to the living room. Most of the guys were in there, cleaning and picking up. Rather than joining in, I dropped on the couch and turned on the television, clutching a couch pillow to my chest. "Aren't you going to help?" Miles asked and I frowned.

"My back hurts," I replied. I mean, it's not a lie. But if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could do a bit of sweeping and mopping, and I could definitely pick up trash.

"Just let her be," Axel muttered as he held up the recliner for Holden to sweep under.

"How are your hands?" I asked him. Slowly placing down the chair, he clenched and unclenched his hands, shrugging.

"Fine," he responded.

"And your lip?" I questioned.

"It's fine," he answered. "Your back?"

"Sore, but I'll live," I told him. Your relationship? I wanted to ask, but decided against it. I doubt he'll tell me and I don't want him, or the other guys, to think I bothered to wonder about it. I glanced at him before turning my attention back to the television, trying my best not to be distracted by the cleaning boys around me.

"Alright, I managed to convince my mom that nothing crazy happened. We just have to fix up the house. But we can't clean it too well or else they'll know something's up," my brother explained as he grabbed a plastic bag and began collecting trash from the tables.

For a few moments, they worked in silence; the only sound was coming from the television. A phone ringing grabbed my attention and I turned to see Axel looking at his cell and sighing. He put down the broom and put the phone to his ear. "Yes?" he asked.

I wanted to hear what he was saying better so I got up; making sure none of the guys noticed me, I approached the kitchen as I held my stomach. Axel was sitting on the stairs and I could hear him just fine from the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I examined its contents while focusing on the phone call taking place a few feet away.

"They don't know what they saw," he explained. I moved the milk over so I could see behind it. Eggs, cheese, orange juice. "She was wrapping my hands." My eyebrows shot up when I realized he was talking about me. "You're over exaggerating." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, I don't want to talk right now." I grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, closing it and grabbing a spoon. I walked over to the island and sat down, listening intently. "No, every time you call, you're yelling at me about something. All you ever do is yell at me." I slowly ate my yogurt, listening as his voice grew nearer. He appeared in the kitchen and he narrowed his eyes at me. I gave a small wave and he sighed. "I'll call you back, Alexis." My eyebrows shot up and he suddenly realized his mistake, putting his hand to his forehead.

I even heard her shouting. "Did you just call me Alexis?! Are you serious right now, Axel?!" she shrieked.

"I meant Vic," he replied. "She's just here and I looked at her and..."

"You're with her?" Victoria asked quite loudly at the other end of the phone.

"Tell her I said hey," I mumbled quietly and Axel held up his middle finger to me.

"Yeah, I'm at Dylan's house," he managed to phrase correctly. "I'm just going to call you back." A few seconds later, he hung up the phone. "You know it's rude to listen to people's conversations, right?"

"You know it's rude to assume people were listening to your conversation," I replied as I scooped a spoonful of yogurt into my mouth.

"I never said you were listening to my conversation," he responded, earning a flat look from me. "But since you mentioned my conversation, I'm just going to assume you were listening."

"Well, you assume correctly," I replied.

"Aren't you going to say it?" he inquired and I simply stared at him. "'Dude, she's so clingy. Like I swear Axel, she's like one of those monkeys you get at the fair with the Velcro hands. She's that clingy.''"

"Wasn't that what I said that ended our friendship?" I inquired as I spun on the chair, glancing at him every time the chair twirled.

"I think it's more of the fact that you get jealous easily," he replied.

I rolled my eyes at him as I continued to spin. "That...is not true," I explained. So maybe it's a little true. But I wasn't jealous in the way he thinks I was. And I'm not going to admit to being jealous (in the friend way) because he'll just assume that I was in love with him.

"We both know it is," he responded as he leaned against the counter.

"Okay, I'll give you an example of how I felt," I informed him as I stopped spinning, placing my yogurt down on the island. I'd finished it anyway. "Who do you consider your best friend now?"

He stared at me now before slowly shrugging. "I don't know."

I half-expected him to say Victoria. I hoped he didn't because that would've put me in an awkward place and it wouldn't have been much help for my example. "Let's say that your best friend is...Holden."

His eyebrows shot up. "Wonder why you picked him."

I narrowed my eyes at him before sighing. "Fine, then Colton."

"No, Holden's fine," he replied with crossed arms.

"Okay, so you're best friends with Holden and you guys hang out a lot because he's friends with your brothers..."

"I only have a little brother," he blurted. "I'd expect you to know that."

"I do know that, Axel," I responded. "But for the sake of this example, just pretend you have older brothers."

"But I don't," Axel announced.

"Just pretend!" I snapped and he held his hands up, palms towards me. "Like I was saying, he's close to yours brothers; if he's not hanging with you, he's hanging with them, so he's always around."

"Okay," he responded.

"And then one day, a girl comes around and sweeps Holden off his feet," I expressed, even going as far as to make a sweeping gesture with my hands.

"She didn't sweep me off my feet," he responded, mocking my motion.

"Okay, whatever, you catch my drift," I stated and he nodded. "Anyway, she comes around and he likes her, and she likes him. So he tells you, and you're so happy for him because he deserves it. And she's a nice girl. But as time goes on, you start to notice that Holden stops coming around. He rarely hangs out with your brothers, not to mention you. Whenever you ask him to hang out, he can't because he's with that girl. And whenever you ask to hang out at a later date, he can't because that girl has him booked up to his neck with dates and shopping and all these different things. And the time you finally get to hang out with him, she keeps calling and calling and calling, and when you ask what's up, he tells you that he has to leave because his girlfriend misses him. You're obviously annoyed, so you say 'Have fun with your clingy girlfriend' and he has the nerve to get mad at you. I mean, it was an obvious fact; anyone with eyes could see it, except him, of course. And you call later with the intentions to apologize and he tells you that once you get over him, then he'll consider being your friend again. And he makes fun of something you're insecure about- your lack in relationship skills by telling you that you don't understand the demands of a relationship. So if there was any jealousy, it had nothing to do with any feelings you had for him, but for the fact that you felt like he ditched you for some girl."

He just looked at me as I sat there, staring right back at him. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it, pouting his lips slightly. He bit his lip and rubbed his neck, something he does when he's nervous or unsure. I waited for him to respond, only to be cut off by my brother who burst in the room. "I'm surprised you two aren't arguing," Dylan noted.

My shoulders slumped over when I saw Axel kick off the wall as if to say conversation mode deactivated. "Nice going, Dylan," I muttered once Axel exited the kitchen.

My brother, who had a mouthful of Doritos, looked at me. "What'd I do?"