"Mooorning," Zack sang as Alex slumped into the front lounge. He had a critical hangover; his eyes half shut and his hair splayed all around his face. Alex cringed at Zack's chipper tone as he threw himself down onto the couch with a groan. Zack had never in his life been up before Alex, so naturally Alex was very confused.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, his voice hoarse and groggy. They had been travelling all through the night to get to Arizona and the bumpy ride plus alcohol had not been a good combination for a pleasant night's sleep. He slowly got to his feet to grab a cup of coffee from the pot Zack had evidently brewed. He watched as Zack fled to-and-fro; grabbing different shirts and checking himself in the bathroom mirror.

"I've got a date," Zack declared nonchalantly, continuing his search for the perfect shirt.
Alex narrowed his eyes questioningly as he brought the steaming mug of coffee up to his lips. "A date?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Zack responded, stopping to flash Alex a smile. "I'm just taking Char for some breakfast," he spoke before continuing through the pile of shirts.

Alex felt his throat run dry, as if it weren't already. His jaw locked and his hands clenched around the mug. If this were a cartoon, the thing would've shattered completely in his strong grip; if it were a romantic comedy the mug would've flew through his hands and smashed on the ground in shock. However, Real Life Alex kept a firm hold on the mug, trying his best to appear casual. He gulped hard; a million thoughts rushing through his mind all at once. "Oh?" he spoke, although the inflection would suggest it was more of a question.

"Mhm," Zack hummed casually, finally picking a shirt and throwing it over his lean, muscular build.

"I didn't know you guys were..." Alex trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, he just hoped Zack would grasp what he was hinting at.

"Oh," Zack let out a chuckle, "we're not like, a "thing"," he used quotation marks around the word, "but she's a cool girl, I'd love to get to know her," he shrugged before making his way into the back-room to fetch who-knows-what. Zack breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him. He was a terrible liar and he secretly hated doing this to Alex; anybody with a brain could see Alex clearly wanted to uppercut Zack. However, Zack was on a mission and he refused to give up until Alex cracked.

"Zack?" Charlie called out as she stepped onto the bus; her sweet voice quiet so as to not wake anybody who might be sleeping – AKA everyone but Alex and Zack. "Oh, hey," she spoke as her eyes locked on a very rough looking Alex.

Alex immediately tried his best to perk up. His eyes roamed over her body; she was dressed in some floral shorts and a strappy pink shirt which revealed some of the tanned skin of her breasts. Alex felt his breath hitch in his throat as he quickly looked away, not wanting her to catch him. Although he appreciated the outfit on a superficial level, he felt a pang in his chest; it definitely seemed like an outfit you'd wear on a date. "Hey," he breathed, combing his hand through his hair to try and tame it somewhat – he was unsuccessful.

"You don't look so good," she teased with a small smile. Alex laughed, looking down and avoiding eye contact. She wondered if he remembered what had happened between them last night or whether the 20 shots he had taken immediately after had clouded his memory. All the while, Alex couldn't get the kiss out of his mind. It kept replaying; how gentle and tender it was. Something about it was so different, he just couldn't really put his finger on it. However, one thing he was certain of, he had been a complete jackass; handling rejection just wasn't his forte.

"Yeah," he mumbled with a chuckle, sipping at his coffee. An uncomfortable silence ensued and enveloped them; it ate away at Alex – he knew this was his fault. They had been getting along so well, he had truly been enjoying her company (which was rare for him when it came to females) and now they had to endure long, awkward pauses all because he couldn't think with his brain, and not his dick, for one second.

"Is Zack ready?" Charlie finally asked, nibbling on the inside of her cheek. The sound of Zack's name in Charlie's mouth made Alex's stomach turn. His skin seemed to pull tight as the muscles in his face clenched and his eyes glazed over with mild anger – he was trying his damnedest to remain as calm as possible, although he hadn't been good at that in the past.

He gulped, looking anywhere but at Charlie, "Uh, yeah," he muttered. He got to his feet and dragged himself towards the back-room. He knocked a couple of times. "Your date's here," he announced in a hushed voice, trying his best to sound playful but it still came out laced with poison. Charlie was certain she wasn't supposed to hear the snide remark, but she had regardless. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but chalked it up to Alex still being bitter about last night – that being if he did actually remember what had happened.

Zack smirked a little at Alex's tone; the annoyance was evident and therefore proved his tactics were working. Although, he hoped Charlie hadn't overheard since that would be pretty difficult to explain. He opened the door and flashed Alex a wide grin before waltzing past him and into the front lounge. "Hey," he chirped, pulling Charlie into a friendly hug. He heard Alex's footsteps follow him and he could feel the taller man's glare burning a hole in the back of his head.

"Hey," Charlie responded, a little taken aback by the hug but she reciprocated it anyway. "You ready to go?" she asked with a sweet smile as the muscular man pulled away from her.

Zack peeked over at Alex who had his hawk-like gaze trained on the pair, slowly sipping at his coffee. "Yeah, let's go," Zack smiled back at Charlie. "See ya later, Alex," he called, wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulders and escorting her off the bus.

"Enjoy your date!" Alex chimed back, his tone sounding a lot more disingenuous than he had hoped.

"What was that about?" Charlie muttered to Zack as the pair walked across the tarmac. Zack had now removed his arm from her and the pair were just walking casually.

"Beats me," Zack mumbled with a shrug, acting completely oblivious.

---

The rest of Charlie's day had consisted of eating fast food, playing video games with the guys and finally watching The Maine perform. They had been so excited to be in their home state, and apparently so were the crowd because the reception was the craziest Charlie had seen the entire tour so far.

After spending the morning with Zack he disappeared to go lift weights or something, Charlie presumed. She'd also managed to avoid Alex for the rest of the day too, which felt like it should be a bonus, but kind of disappointed her.

She wished last night hadn't happened. The pair had been having so much fun just being friends; laughing and playing and being silly. Although, she couldn't deny the fluttering in her stomach when he kissed her. Or the goosebumps that sprung to life up and down her arms. Or the almost electric-shock feeling across her skin when he touched her. However, none of that matter – she wanted to be Alex's friend, but unfortunately it seemed he had no idea how to do that.

The typical parking lot party ensued almost immediately after The Maine's set. John bounded off stage and wrapped his arms around Charlie; lifting her into the air and twirling her around with excitement. The pair had become a lot closer recently, although it was purely platonic. Charlie just enjoyed John's energy. It was almost like he just left good vibes in his wake. She was sure that was why as soon as his feet hit the tarmac people were dancing around, taking shots and enjoying themselves.

Although Charlie did enjoy John's company, she would be lying if she said her want to be around him was easily boiled down to that. She knew how much Alex had hated her and John being close, and although she wasn't sure if that was still a trigger for Alex, she enjoyed the prospect of getting him a little riled up. In fact, it was the same with a lot of the people she hung out with; Tyler, Jack, Zack – even Adam, for crying out loud. Everybody likes a bit of attention, and she couldn't help but feel a little giddy when she was stood speaking with someone and could see Alex watching in her peripheral vision.

"I need a drink, do you want anything?" John asked with a sweet smile. His tall frame towering over Charlie 5'Something height. She shook her head no and John darted away with Jared and Pat in tow.

"Hey," she heard a voice pop up behind her. She jumped a little but immediately knew it was Alex. He hadn't been sneaking up on her recently, and she wasn't sure if she appreciated it that or kind of missed it.

"Hi," she responded bluntly. She looked around, as if to try and appear busy, but it didn't work.

Alex slid to stand in front of her; his hands in his pockets and his eyes anxious. "So..." he spoke awkwardly as if Charlie were supposed to know why. She tilted her head questioningly. "How was your date?" he finally asked, his voice seemingly lacking emotion.

The corners of Charlie's lips twitched into a smile as she analysed the look on the tall man's face; not an inkling of satire or irony. "What?" she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Your date," Alex repeated, "with Zack," he raised his brows and sipped from the solo cup in his hand.

Charlie was very confused at this point. Why was Alex under the impression her and Zack had actually been on a date? Was he trying to trick her into confessing something? Or did he have a legitimate reason for thinking this? "...We didn't go on a date," she spoke after a while, the statement sounding a lot like a question.

Alex furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Yeah..." she continued speaking like Alex was crazy. "We went shopping to get Zack an outfit for a date, but we didn't go on a date," she explained.

The crinkles in Alex's forehead deepened as he tried to piece this information together in his mind. "What?" he repeated, more to himself than anyone else. "Zack has a date... that's not you?"

"Correct," she confirmed, feeling like she was being quizzed.

"Zack has a date?" he asked, his voice more shocked at that statement than anything.
Charlie let out a small laugh. "Yeah, some girl he sees when he's in Arizona..." she shrugged.

"Molly," Alex whispered to himself, a bulb in his brain finally flicking on. He closed his eyes and looked down, feeling like an idiot for practically interrogating the small blonde before him.

"Yes! Molly!" Charlie exclaimed; the name ringing a bell. "Yeah, he has a date with her," she chuckled. A small silence ensued. "Why did you think I was going on a date with him? I mean, not that it's any of your business anyway," she rambled a little with a shrug. She was intrigued but she didn't want Alex thinking she cared about his opinion.

Alex thought back to the misleading conversation he had had with Zack earlier that morning. Had he heard him wrong? Why would he lie to him? He shook his head, "Uh, I don't know," he mumbled, deciding not to get Charlie involved in whatever was going on. He couldn't really think of any reason Zack would pretend he and Charlie were dating, but he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with him. "It doesn't matter," he added with a small smile.

Charlie nodded uncomfortably as the conversation seemed to simmer to an awkward nothing, "Okay." She went to walk away. Maybe grab a drink; join Rian in a game of beer pong; perhaps a spot of dancing with Jenson. Alex grabbed her arm lightly and pulled her back. She glared down at his fingers on her skin, although the area seemed to heat up (as well as her cheeks). Alex caught the look and quickly let go, an apologetic glaze over his eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Charlie shot him an expectant look, folding her arms. "Uh..." his mind blanked for a minute as he looked at her. The small amount of light cast shadows across her face; accentuating her long lashes, the curves of her lips, the structure of her cheekbones. She coughed, pulling him back to reality. "Oh, uh," he mumbled, blinking a few times as he refocused and met her eyes, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for last night," he spoke, a little rambly, "and I do wanna be friends," he added, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

A small smile crept onto Charlie's face as she caught the genuine sparkle in Alex's brown orbs. "We'll see," she teased, although from her tone Alex could gage that he had a very good chance. He couldn't suppress his smile as the girl finally turned to walk away.

The night continued as they always did; lots of drinks, dancing and dumb decisions. People were getting sloppier and less-able by the minute. Charlie had no idea how, but by some work of magic Zack had talked her into lying flat across one of the beer pong tables. She watched as he whispered into a very intoxicated Jack's ear. Jack seemed a little confused by whatever he was being told, but he was far too gone to question it.

Zack stood at one side of her and poured some form of alcohol into her belly button. The liquid was freezing cold and she immediately wanted to jump up, but stayed still so as to not spill it all over herself. People had gathered around; laughing and chanting as Jack ducked down to suck the liquid from her stomach. He laughed uncontrollably, slobbering as his lips met her skin and drank the liquid. He was giggling like a school girl, so much so that Charlie was terrified he would spit it back out and all over her before he finally swallowed it. The experience was disgusting, but the alcohol coursing through her convinced her that it was hysterical.

"Yo, hit me." Alex had stepped forward and nodded his head towards Zack, indicating for him to pour another shot into Charlie's belly button. Charlie gulped. She hadn't even noticed Alex watching. In fact, she hadn't even seen Alex since their conversation earlier on in the night. The man smirked down at her confidently. Almost like shy, nervous Alex from earlier had completely melted away.

Zack let out a soft chuckle, grinning wide as he poured more liquid onto Charlie's skin. He felt accomplished; this wasn't exactly his plan (his plan was just to have Alex see Jack doing the body shot), this was better.

Alex placed his large palms on either side of Charlie's thin, exposed waist – due to the revealing crop-top she was wearing. A tingling sensation instantaneously ran up her spine upon contact. Alex moved his face closer to her skin; the feeling of his breath on her caused a rippling shiver. He placed his lips around the liquid and smoothly sucked it from her – clearly he had done this before, which didn't shock Charlie in the least.

He dipped his tongue into her naval and traced a vertical line with it; the action excruciatingly slow. Charlie watched his every move carefully; being in this position with him made her cheeks flush and a knot form in her stomach. She could feel herself becoming increasingly hot and bothered. His tongue flicked upwards, lightly knocking against her belly bar. His lust filled brown eyes met hers with a wink and she felt a lump form in her throat. Her breath halted as he let out a playful chuckle – knowing exactly what he had done to her.

Everybody cheered and laughed as normal, which was both a blessing and a curse – on one hand nobody, except obviously Zack, had noticed Alex's strange behaviour, but on the other hand Charlie was alone in thinking Alex was being ridiculous. She flung her legs round and hopped off the table before storming through the crowd. The show continued like nothing had happened; some other girl hopped onto the table and the party resumed.

"Woah," Alex chuckled, jogging to keep up with Charlie. "What's up?" he smirked as the pair came to a stop behind one of the buses.

"What do you mean 'what's up'?" she responded in a mocking tone, folding her arms and furrowing her brow in annoyance. "What the fuck was that?" she flung one arm out as if to showcase what she meant.

Alex continued to chuckle, "What?" he asked with a shrug, acting oblivious. "You did it with Jack, right?" Charlie looked away and ground her teeth together in irritation, but Alex continued to laugh – he was truly enjoying this. "You and Jack are friends," he continued speaking as if she were a 5 year old, "I thought me and you were friends too?" he shot her an innocent look and she took a deep breath.

"That was not friendly!" she accused, pointing in the direction they had just came from; where all the commotion was still ongoing. "Jack was all slobbery and practically almost vomited on me," she rolled her eyes. "That..." she pointed at Alex now, the look in her eyes becoming more and more intense, "That was... sexy!" she spat the word out reluctantly, immediately embarrassed.

A cocky smirk crept over Alex's face as his eyes gleamed at her, "Woooow," he breathed in a mock-shocked tone, "That's a super inappropriate thing to say to your friend, Charlie," he tormented, flashing her a fake disappointed smile.

"Ugh!" she groaned, "Yano, you are unbelie-" she began to rant but was immediately interrupted by Alex's body colliding with hers.

He pushed her up against the side of the bus with force. Grabbing her by the hands, he pinned her arms above her head. One hand clutched around her thin wrists as the other caressed her bare side sensually. "Alex!" she began to protest but he blanketed her lips with his; working quickly to shut her up.

The kiss was fervent and profound. Although Charlie had seemed shocked and annoyed, she instantly kissed him back. Their lips seemed to be in a duel, battling for dominance. As opposed to last night, this kiss was more angrily fuelled; it was more urgent and desperate. Alex's tongue slipped into Charlotte's mouth; the taste of the shot he had just taken still lingering on his lips.

His roaming hand travelled down, tracing the skin of her thighs. He forced his way up into her shorts, squeezing her behind harshly. A small moan escaped her lips without warning and the man grinned against her mouth. Their tongues seemed to agree more than their lips did, and they danced together in unity; hot and feverish.

Charlie was shocked at herself, she couldn't believe how easily she gave in to him, but he just had that kind of effect on her. She ached and quivered for his electric touch; his tantalising kisses.

He continued his onslaught of kisses down and along her jaw, before moving to the exposed skin of her neck. "Alex..." she spoke as if to scold him, but it left her lips a moan as he continued his torment. Leaving stinging kisses all the way down to her collarbones. Nipping and sucking gently in certain spots; earning more satisfied noises from the small blonde beneath him. He chuckled huskily into the crook of her neck. His chilling breath spilling over her and igniting her already tingling skin.

"Shhh," he mumbled; his voice gravelly and raspy as he continued his sensual assault. His movements felt so planned and calculated – it was obvious he had done this time and time again. Charlotte flung her head back as he began sucking at a sensitive spot along her clavicle, letting out much-too-loud moans – her arousal growing. He chuckled again, smug that he was earning these noises from her. He moved his face back up until he was eye-level with her. His lips moved in to plant a ghost-like kiss on hers; a kiss that left her wanting more. "Shhh," he repeated in a breathy, low voice.

He pulled back and their eyes met again briefly. His brown orbs were almost black with arousal and lust, but were looking at Charlie with strangled expression – there was something else there, she just couldn't figure it out. She gulped; his eyes on hers, although usually intoxicating, had caused her to collect herself. She tugged her hands free and he immediately allowed her to, taking a step away as she began to glower at him. Another masked feeling flickered across his face as he arched a brow at her.

"What the fuck?" she spat, acting as though she had played no part in what had just happened. He cocked his head in confusion, but his smug smirk remained proudly on his lips. "You can't just..." she gulped, trailing off. "What the fuck?" she repeated, clearly at a loss for words. She straightened out her clothing and dusted herself off.

"Don't gimme that shit," he rolled his eyes with a mirthless chuckle. "You can't moan my name," he moved one hand to the side of her face, caressing it gently, as he used the pad of his thumb to trace along her lower lip. He seemed entranced by his own movements; his eyes intently watching her mouth. Her breath hitched in her throat as his eyes quickly flitted up to meet hers, "...and then act all innocent," he added with a smirk.

Charlotte melted under his touch and gaze, but only for a moment, before she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me," she hissed, pushing past him and walking away.

"We'll see!" he called after her, mocking her earlier remark. Much like with the earlier scenario, it felt like Alex was in with a pretty good chance. By now, it was clear to him that he had some sort of effect on her. It was probably wrong of him to take advantage of that, but he just couldn't help himself. He bit down on his lower lip as he watched her walk away, her hips swaying rhythmically.

As she walked away, Charlie inhaled deeply. She had no idea what had came over her – much like with all of her interactions with Alex. She was pissed at him, but she knew he was right. She couldn't keep playing the victim when she was willingly reciprocating Alex's advances. She sighed and sunk into a lawn chair with the back rest broken off. Drowning in the crowd of dancing and singing people, she felt much better. Finally alone.

"Char!" she heard a drunken voice slur. She rolled her eyes. Well, it was nice while it lasted, she thought to herself.

A stumbling Jack came into view and plopped down in front of her on the floor, crossing his legs like a child. His eyelids were half closed as he rested his head on one of her legs. "Hey Jacko," she mumbled, feeling instantly relieved that it was just Jack and no one else. She combed her fingers through his hair, more to soothe herself than him, although it seemed to, regardless.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his voice sleepy.

"For what?" Charlie asked, not really caring about the answer.

"Messing up the plan," he responded, his words thick with intoxication.

She cocked a brow, "What?"

He flung his head up to look at her, although his eyes were glazed over and his vision was a blur of unfocused lights and movements. "The Alex Plan," he answered with a lazy grin.

"What's The Alex Plan?" she continued to coax. Charlie knew that this information probably wasn't meant for her ears, but she was intrigued.

"Yano, Rian and Zack's plan," he said with a chuckled as if she were dumb for not knowing. His head fell back down into her lap and she continued to stroke his hair.

"How did you mess up?"

"Well..." he trailed off, "I was supposed to be all sexy when I sucked Charlie's stomach," he began. Charlotte suppressed a giggle – both at the fact he had clearly forgotten who he was speaking to and his choice of words. "But I did it gross and Zack said it had to be hot, so I messed it up."

She was even more confused now. "Why did it have to be sexy?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"To make Alex jealous," he responded, "so he'll admit he likes Charlie..." Jack's voice began to fade, almost like he were on the brink of falling asleep.

Charlie's eyes widened. "What?" she spat out, completely unconvinced. "Alex doesn't like Charlie," she immediately defended, feeling her cheeks redden.

"Welllllllllll..." he dragged the word out, "Rian and Zack think so... and they know him pretty well..."

"You know him pretty well too," Charlie stated, her voice soft as she spoke to the lanky boy practically curled up in her lap. "What do you think?"

"I think Charlie's pretty," he responded, followed by a hiccup. Charlie grinned and leaned down to place a kiss on Jack's forehead. "I think she's too nice for Alex," he continued, "Alex isn't nice to girls," he stated confidently. Charlie bit down on her lower lip. She didn't know why but those words caused a pang in her chest.

"Why not?" she asked hastily, not sure if she wanted the answer.

"'Cause the one girl he did love-" Hiccup. "-was really-" Hiccup. "-mean to him." Jack's words were fairly child-like but they got the point across. Charlie listened as the man lied in her lap began to snore, but she continued to comb through his hair.

Charlotte was lost in thought, she couldn't stop thinking about Alex being in love with someone and them breaking his heart. Although, it did make perfect sense. There had to be some reason he was such a jerk, and whilst this didn't excuse his behaviour, it kind of helped explain it. She thought about the prospect of Alex "liking" her. She didn't know how to feel. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, feeling her stomach swell with... Nerves? Butterflies? Shaking her head, she rid her mind of the idea – it was completely inconceivable. Even if he did like her, it didn't change the fact that he was a complete arsehole.

However, the main thing Jack had said that intrigued her was this idea that there was some sort of plan going on. She smirked as ideas began to circulate in her brain. Charlie didn't know whether she just enjoyed the idea of messing with Alex, or whether she genuinely wanted to find out about his feelings just like Zack and Rian, but either way she wanted in. She was so sick of Alex having all of the control. And since this whole 'friends' bullshit was clearly out the window, it was about time she got some payback.

Notes

charlie's outfits
sorry for the long wait for this chapter guys, i've been pretty busy writing one-shots over on my tumblr - you can go check those out if you want to, or even leave me a request :)
anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter. getting it uploaded was such a struggle because my tumblr wouldn't let me log in so i had to make another account and add myself as another author lmaoo very annoying but whatever anyway enjoy lol bye x