Don't Make This Easy, I Want You to Mean It

It had been weeks of much the same happenings. Alex’s birthday had passed and we’d spent it watching movies in my apartment before partying with the guys at Rian’s house again. Mike had taken to goading Alex every time they saw each other, trying his hardest to make Alex snap. He wanted the entire thing to be started by Alex, so he could play innocent as he always did. I could see him getting closer and closer to breaking with every attempt Mike made, but he was holding firm. For now, at least. Frankly, I knew there was no way this was being dropped before we graduated in May, so something was definitely going to happen between the pair of them, but exactly what Mike was planning or why was beyond me. Regardless of that, I knew I didn’t want to be around to see it. I didn’t know if I could handle it: the thought of Alex being hurt made my chest ache.
Jodie was decidedly less successful in her attempts to cause strife in our relationship. She occasionally accosted Alex when she thought I wasn’t around, flirting shamelessly, but every time I’d happened upon them in this situation, Alex was utterly disinterested. She’d still try to undermine me in his opinion, but there had yet to be an incident where I didn’t come out victorious in the end. She wasn’t the wittiest person I’d ever met.
It had been nearly 2 months since we had first gotten together, and it was finally Christmas break. Almost a full 2 weeks of freedom before we returned to school. The only thing I wasn’t looking forward to was Christmas and New Year’s dinner with my parents and their new neighbours, who had moved in at the beginning of September, just as I was moving out. My parents had become fast friends with them, and they had spent Thanksgiving together, which I’d utterly refused and told my parents I was working, spending most of the day with Marissa and takeout food instead, while the boys spent the day with their families. Christmas, unfortunately, they hadn’t budged on, but Marissa wasn’t going to be alone as Jack’s parents utterly adored her and had invited her round when they’d found out that she was going to be alone. It was beyond cute.
I was currently sitting in my parents’ kitchen, listening to my mother gushing about our neighbours and their son, who she kept hinting that I’d like. I highly doubted he was actually going to be my type, but I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, if he was anything like she said he was, I’d probably have walked out on him at some point over the years. That could get ridiculously awkward, especially with both sets of parents in the room.
What are you doing? Xxx
Alex. I looked up from my phone quickly, noting that my mother was still focused on her gushing and hadn’t even noticed I wasn’t paying attention.
Pretending to listen to my mom gushing about the boy next door. Apparently I’m gonna love him and we’re gonna make babies together and stuff. You? Xxx
It was Christmas Eve. The sky outside was pitch black and there was no way of escaping my mother for another 2 hours. It would be way out of the ordinary for me to go to bed before 10, and I had nothing upstairs in my old room that I could pretend to do to escape either. There was also absolutely no chance in Hell of my mother letting me out of the house tonight. It was ‘family time’, but my dad was watching terrible 70s TV shows in the living room and my mom was prepping for tomorrow’s dinner, so ‘family time’ actually ended in us being in separate rooms while I flitted aimlessly about the house. I was having a crap night.
Great. More competition. :( don’t run off on me. And hearing about our neighbours for about the thousandth time today alone xxx
At least your parents aren’t trying to set you up with boys you’ve never met xxx
“So, sweetie, what do you think?” My mom asked suddenly. I looked up, a little startled. Honestly, I could have sworn she’d forgotten I existed, so her actually addressing a question to me was beyond confusing.
“Huh? What about?” Can you say clueless?
“Tomorrow, when Isobel and Peter come over. Are you going to look after their son? I’ve heard he has a soft spot for blondes…” I sighed. She wasn’t going to give up this whole setting me up thing up, was she?
“I’ll look after him, I guess, but I do have a boyfriend, mom.”
“Oh.” She sounded disappointed and I did feel a little bad for not telling her beforehand, but it wasn’t really relevant. Frankly, I hadn’t told her because she always tried to use it to either control my life or guilt me into letting her control my life. She needed to stop thinking I was incapable of making my own decisions. I might only be a teenager, but I had some inkling of what was good or bad for me. “When did that happen?”
“Around Halloween,” I shrugged.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re getting back into this!” Her tone suddenly became upbeat again and I did my best to refrain from rolling my eyes. Her emotions were more out of whack than mine were. “It’s been so long since you’ve had a boyfriend, let alone one that seems to be lasting.”
“It hasn’t even been two months. That’s hardly a lasting relationship.”
“I know, I know,” she said, waving my off with the vegetable peeler in hand. “But it’s been so long since you’ve had a boyfriend that this is big news. Oh, my God. He should come over tomorrow!”
“He’s spending the day with family.”
Who says they’re not? My dad really thinks I’m gay and is really digging me and Jack xxx
Wow. Just wow. My mom went through the me and Jack phase once too. Speaking of, she actually wants you to come over xxx
“Well, that’s no good. How about the day after, is he free then? This is wonderful. What’s his name?”
“Alex.”
“Oh, the Gaskarth’s son is called Alex! This is going to get confusing.”
Wait, Gaskarth? This is one coincidence too far. Is this an alternate reality where everything is a crap romantic movie?
“Who are the Gaskarth’s?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at her.
“Isobel and Peter. Our neighbours. You know, sometimes I really don’t think you listen to a word I say.” She continued to moan about my attention span and I gladly returned to my phone when it buzzed in my hand. Honestly, I was excited now. Judging from the texts, Alex had no idea that it was my parents he’d spent Thanksgiving with, so he was definitely in the dark about seeing me tomorrow.
His reaction was going to be brilliant.
Dinner at the neighbours tomorrow. How about the day after? I guess you can meet my folks after too, might make them doubt my homosexuality ;) xxx
Mmm, okay. I’ll miss you :( xxx
I smiled as I fired off the text. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

Notes