Alice

"Is he here?" Felix whispers as I let him into the house, his eyes scanning the area as if looking for a burglar or something.

"No," I laugh as I shake my head, "He left for some doctor's appointment about an hour ago... Usually he takes his time - we should have another hour or so before he's back."

Felix throws his bag and jacket on the couch in the living room as soon as he hears those words, disregarding the coat hanger in the hallway, as always. "Well, good." He speaks in a normal voice now, "How has it been between the two of you?"

I sigh as I lead him into the kitchen, pushing one of the bowls over to him. I woke up this morning with the strong urge to bake something, and Felix now has to be assistant, as he always is.

"You mean since I told him about Dean?" I ask for clarification.

It's been two weeks since our weird talk, and we haven't said a word to each other since then. I can't deny that it hurts sometimes, being ignored like that. Living in a house that is not even my own home, and the sole reason for it doesn't even acknowledge my presence... I don't know what his issue is, but I still have serious whiplash from that day, from the way he obviously wanted to be close to me, only to push me away again... It just hurts. I don't need that in my life.

"Well, what else could I mean?" Felix asks, almost as if he could read my mind, as if he saw how affected I was by Elijah pressing himself against me, feeling his hard body on mine...

For fuck's sake, Alice. Stop!

"What is that?!" Felix gasps.

"What?"

"Your face! You were blushing!" He laughs, pointing his now flour-covered finger right at me.

"What?! No!"

"Yes, you were! And now you're blushing even more! What are you not telling me?"

I bury my face in my hands, shaking my head as I groan, really not wanting to get into this topic.

"Alice..." Felix uses his warning voice, and I instantly look up, knowing the consequences I'd have to face if I didn't. But right as I do that I'm being hit with some flour, the white powder now covering my face.

"Hey! I didn't do anything!"

"Tell me!" He throws another wave of flour at me and I reach for my bowl, throwing a handful of sugar right into his face.

"Ow! Sugar?! Really, Alice?!"

"You started it!" I laugh as I wipe my face, and Felix joins right in, both of us now shaking our heads as we try to lose the baking ingredients from our faces.

"Come on, Liss. Tell me." Felix suddenly looks more serious now. Using that nickname will always get me to open up - and he knows that. My brother used to call me that name when he was still a kid, and Felix and him started making fun of it when he grew up.

And so I sigh while I pour the ingredients into their respective bowls again, telling Felix all about that weird encounter with Elijah in the elevator. I tell him about the crazy tension, that I felt like I couldn't breathe, that he didn't even have to touch me to make me feel alive, to ignite this forgotten fire within me...

"Why exactly did you agree to go on a date with that Dean guy?" Felix asks as I mix the ingredients into a smooth batter, watching me with narrowed eyes.

"Because I like him." I shrug. "And he's insanely hot. And he's a gentleman. And he seems nice."

Yeah, okay, those last words didn't really help my case...

Felix just shakes his head, pouring the chocolate flakes into the batter when he asks. "Yeah, okay. Nice is good. And why don't you go on a date with Elijah?"

"What?! Are you kidding me?!"

"No, Liss. Just stating the obvious."

I laugh, shaking my head as I stick a finger in the bowl to taste the batter. "I'm not going on a date with him."

"Why?"

I groan, suddenly regretting that I invited my best friend over today. He can be such a nosy idiot sometimes...

"Because he's rude?! Because he ignored me for two weeks now? Also, he's not even interested. If he were, he would have asked me."

"He might not know how to ask you. Come on, Alice... That guy is the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. He's mysterious as fuck. Of course he's not the charming poster boy that Dean guy is. And you might have crushed his chances when you said yes to that date."

I don't say anything to that, I just focus on pouring the batter into the dish, making sure it's all evenly distributed before I shove it into the oven, heaving a sigh as I lean against the kitchen counter.

Dean had to postpone the date he scheduled, he got called in for some business matters and doesn't know how long he'd have to stay there. I didn't mind that very much, knowing that Jake wanted to come visit me over the weekend anyways. I missed my brother to bits, and I can't wait to give him the biggest hug ever when he shows up here tomorrow.

"Okay, you know what? Enough man talk," Felix suddenly says, pulling me into a side hug. "Let's have a drink. And you better turn up the music, I expect some karaoke tonight, woman."

Elijah

I know I've been acting like an ass.

But it's not like she seemed to mind, and it's not like there was any reason to make an effort. I don't even know if she went out with that idiot already, or whatever the hell it is she's doing all day.

I give her space, though. I heard her talking to that guy Felix on the phone earlier, saying they wanted to bake or whatever, and so I decided to take another walk after the doctor's appointment. He said I have to move more, to give my joints more to work with... But I can't deny that it's been bad, lately. I can't even seem to be able to stand sometimes. It's frustrating, and it fucking hurts, most of all.

When it starts to turn dark outside I turn into the direction of my house, thinking they surely should be done baking by now, right?

Yeah, no, of course not.

As I turn into the driveway, I see a blue car standing there, one that doesn't belong to any of my friends and also doesn't belong to Alice. It must be Felix.

Great.

The second I open the front door I hear the music blasting through the whole house, and as much as I hope they're in her room, it's more than obvious that the noise is coming from the kitchen, or the living room - I'm not sure.

I step inside, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever it is they're doing, to just slip in my room and ignore their party. But then I glance into the kitchen, and the sight there has me frozen to my spot, my jaw on the floor as I try to understand what on earth is going on here.

Felix sits on the small couch in the corner of the kitchen, a full wine glass in his hand as he sways left and right, a smile on his face when he somehow tries to sing along to the song playing on the stereo.

Alice, covered in flower in chocolate, stands on top of the kitchen counter, the ladle in her hand acting as a microphone as she sings along to the song, her voice echoing through the entire house. She wears one of those headbands, but her hair is still over the place when she sways to the music, dancing and singing along without a care in the world.

She looks mind-blowingly sexy like that; the happiness radiating off of her, not carrying the worries of the world on her shoulders...

"I'm walking on sunshiiiiine!"

"Whooooahooaaa!" Felix attempts to sing along, the sound of it makes me stifle a laugh, honestly.

"And don't it feel good! Hey! Aaaaaalright now!" Alice whips her head left and right, absolutely forgetting where she is and what she's doing.

Felix just raises his glass, swinging with the music while almost falling asleep. The sight has me laughing out loud now, causing Alice to look in my direction.

Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she abruptly stops her moves, which sends her staggering on the counter. I dash over to her, seeing that she's losing her balance, just in time to catch her when her foot slips from the marble top.

At first she just looks at me with wide eyes, it's almost like time stands still when her green eyes meet mine, the surprise in them obvious when she suddenly turns bloody crimson. She throws her arms around my neck to hold on while she giggles, hiding her face in my chest when she mutters, "That was embarrassing..."

Fuck, she's cute when she's drunk.

"I think it was quite amusing." A smirk appears on my face as I watch how she's hiding, smearing my shirt with the flour that was on her face before.

But then she looks up at, and the way she looks just in that moment... Fucking hell.

The very first thing I noticed about Alice is that she steals every guy's attention, no matter where she is. She just radiates as soon as she steps in a room, having all eyes on her the second she bats her eyelashes. Even back in that elevator she didn't even notice how I was there, but the second she stepped her clumsy foot inside that confined space I couldn't stop looking at her, for multiple reasons. She's just breathtaking, literally.

Felix's snore snaps me out of my thoughts and I look over to the couch, seeing that he already fell asleep. "Can you carry him into my room?" Alice giggles, and the sole thought of them sharing a bed makes me tense up.

"He can sleep in the guest room. It should be ready..."

She raises an eyebrow when hearing my answer, the gears obviously turning in her head when she suddenly gasps quietly, her words slurred when she whispers, "You don't want him sleeping in my room!"

I can't help but look at her, perplexed that she so openly speaks to me. I guess the alcohol did its job, throwing all inhibitions over board...

"No, I don't." I admit, thinking she probably won't remember this conversation tomorrow anyway, and somehow enjoying this honest talk.

"Hmm... Okay." She shrugs, and again I can't help but laugh, shaking my head when she giggles along.

"Let me down... I need to show him his room."

I honestly just now realize that I've been standing here with her in my arms the whole time, the fact that my knee hasn't given me a hard time yet gives me hope.

"No, I'll do that." I speak while walking toward the stairwell, Alice's grip on my neck tightening when she rests her head on my chest.

"You know I can walk, right?"

"Yeah," I laugh, "You almost fell off that counter. I don't think I'm gonna let you walk up the stairs now. No need for an ambulance tonight, right?"

I can't help but smirk at this girly side of her when she buries her face in my chest again, a heavy sigh escaping her throat when I reach her room. Kicking the door open, I walk her to the bed, gently laying her down. She immediately snuggles beneath the duvet, a smile on her face when she closes her eyes.

"Elijah?" she asks when I take a step away from the bed, honestly not really knowing what else to do.

"Alice?"

"Why do you hate me?" She sounds almost vulnerable when she asks the question, and I can't help but widen my eyes as I walk over to her, taking a seat on the side of the bed.

"Why do you think I hate you?" I ask, although I'm pretty sure I know the answer. It's not like I've been the role model for kindness lately...

"I..." she sighs, pulling the covers over her lips as she looks at me, those green orbits suddenly looking so damn emotional that I can't help but feel bad. "You treat me like you do..."

Her words almost inaudible, mumbled into the duvet, and still I hear every single word.

Fucking asshole, Elijah. Great job...

Seeing her like this, all open and vulnerable, I can't help but reach out, brushing some hair out of her face, my thumb brushing over her cheek when I whisper, "I don't hate you, Alice... Quite the opposite."

"I don't believe you..." she mumbles as her eyes flutter shut, her breaths growing heavier with every second.

I watch how she falls asleep, my thumb continuing its journey over her cheek, and I can't help but feel guilty as hell, suddenly. It's like someone slapped me in the face when she said those words. I know I avoided her for the past weeks, but there are so many reasons for that... Reasons I need to get a grip on. It's not really fair, how I'm treating her. I know that.

But I never wanted her to hate me, never.

And so I get up, pressing a kiss on her forehead when she's fast asleep.

"I will make you believe, Alice... I will."