"You seem pretty lost in your thoughts," Alex commented, tossing his pizza crust back in the box so that he could use both hands to open his beer. "Is everything okay?"


The trust is, this night wasn't going at all how Alex had hoped it'd be. Brooklyn came into his home with a smile, but it quickly faded as Alex put in one of his favorite alien movies and sat the pizza and beer down on the table in front of them. He'd already taken out three slices, but Brooklyn had only nibbled on a single slice. Actually, the only part of the night so far she seemed to be enjoying was the beer, which she'd already killed three of and Alex was only on his second.


He watched her shrug her shoulders and bend over to place her empty bottle on the table, only to grab another cold, full beer. She sat back on the couch and opened the beer, tossing the cap on the wood in front of her. Brooklyn took a long swig and let out a deep breath, a gentle smile forming on her glossed lips. Alex watched her carefully, not wanting to step on her toes, but desperate to know why she didn't seem to be enjoying their time together.


"It's just," she giggled, her nails sliding under the label of her beer, "I don't want to sound silly, but, has Zack always been so shy about his feelings?"


Alex's heart dropped. Had he known she was lost in thought about his best friend, he could have kept his mouth closed. The last thing he wanted standing in his own night alone with Brooklyn were thoughts of Zack, who had obviously fallen for the girl. Hell, if it wasn't for Zack he never would have met her, and now he was sitting here trying to find away around said boy to swoon the girl.


"Yeah, I guess so. Zack has always sort of done his own thing. Aside from tour, we don't see him very often. Or, we didn't, until you came around. He doesn't like to put his shit on blast until he know every bit of it is either returned, or justified."


"I'm only asking because when he dropped me off tonight, he seemed really hesitant to let me spend the night with you. I don't know how I should feel about that. Maybe he feels threatened by you or he just doesn't trust me. On the other hand, he hasn't made a move. I spend the night at his house and we're always going out, or texting, or talking on the phone.. Yet I have still been friend-zoned. I even mentioned it to him tonight and he didn't get out of the car to stop me from coming up here. Am I over-thinking things, Alex?"


His stomach twisted into a knot. At least Brooklyn was questioning her friendship with Zack without him even having to make a move. On the other hand, he'd bluntly heard Zack state in the past that he's waiting for the right moment to swoop Brooklyn off her feet. Would he be a terrible person to encourage the girl to take a step back, at least long enough to make Zack make his move? Indeed, he would be. But he couldn't stop himself. Here, on his couch, drinking his beer; there was a beautiful girl who couldn't understand why a boy didnt want her and Alex was more than willing to make a move, to make her realize that any man would be lucky to have her.


Now the question was: Since she obvious had feelings for Zack, would he ruin any chance he had by jumping the gun? Perhaps since Brooklyn was feeling so down, so weak about things with Zack, he could fill her heart with good things instead of doubt. She could want him just as much as he wants her.


"You have every right to question it. Zack is a good guy, he just gets a little lost sometimes. Maybe he's waiting on you to make a move."


"Did you not hear what I said? I tired to, just before I came up here."


Alex's heart skipped a beat. Brooklyn wa fully convinced that Zack didn't want her to be more than a friend. Even if he did something right now, he could blame it on a cloud of confusion about where his friend stood with the girl and the booze in which he'd consumed. With that very thought in mind, Alex finished the rest of his beer as Brooklyn took another long sip from her own and replaced it was a new one.


"If you really like him, then you'll wait. But if you decide to wait, you should know that none of this reflect you at all. You're beautiful, Brooklyn, in every way possible. Zack's a fool for not making a move. If I were him, I would have kissed you the moment I laid eyes on you. I would do everything in power to make sure you happy and content. A perfect girl should be treated in such a way. If you were mine, you'd never feel lonely."


Brooklyn's heart was pounding roughly against her chest. Alex could tell just by looking at her that she was breathing faster, her eyes flickering from him, to the beer in her hand. There was even a blush rising to her cheeks. Just that alone told him that he'd made an impact on the girl, now how she managed those feelings would be on her.


A silence fell over the two and Alex couldn't help but chug more of his beer. Brooklyn did the same. Trying to impress the girl sure made a lot more fall out of his mouth than he intended. Frowing at his own words, Alex finished his beer and placed the empty on the table. He grabbed another one, and after taking a glance at Brooklyn, he grabbed one for her, too. She bent forward to discard her own bottle and offered Alex a gentle smile, reaching over to grab the cold glass from his palm.


Their fingers touched, which somehow managed to make the both of them stop moving. Her eyes locked on his while his grazed over every inch of her face. Her teeth were tugging at her lip, but she didn't bother to move back to her spot on the couch. They were only inches apart and Alex could feel himelf getting weaker by the second.


Unable to fight it any longer, he extended his free hand to brush some strand of hair away from her shoulder. His thumb lingered on her cheek bone, gently running his callouses over her skin. She closed her eyes to the sensation and relaxed to his touch. By the time she found the courage to look through her eyelashes again, Alex was only an inch or so away from her face.


They two of them moved slowly to close the gap between them, but before their lips could brush, Brooklyn's phone started to ring. Alex let out a loud sigh and dropped his hand from her face, disappointment rushing through his viens. She seemed equally upset, though she sat the beer down and went straight for the device that was calling for her.


Alex knew just from the way her eyes scanned the screen that it was Zack. With a frown, she looked to Alex and shrugged her shoulders. He knew the night was over, the moment was gone and Zack had won.


"You can sleep in my room. I'll stay on the couch."


"Thanks, Alex," she sighed, collecting her over-night bag with ease. "For everything."

Notes

See how comments can get you updates faster?! Woo!
And it's funny to see that so many of you are team Zack. Makes me happy! (: