Author's Note: Read, people. READ MY CRAP. YOU ARE BRAINWASHED INTO READING IT. YES. YES! (evil laughter)
OHANDD. FYI, the song is 'Stay'. By Nick Jonas. Hehee.
ANNNDDDD. This is kind of insipired by all the Nelena news. Yeahh, I'm psyched about it. Cuteness! (squeals)
Name of Story: Stupid Cliches
Summary: "I hate fairytales. I hate clichés. I hated the fact that I had to let him go." Alex knows about cliches. About how the best friend always gets the guy. She thinks they're cute. That is, until she realizes her role is the girlfriend. NALEX ONE-SHOT
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairings: Nalex
Rating: K+
OMJ
They were best friends.
Her and him.
Is that possible? Two people of the opposite sex having a friendship without one of them having more feelings for the other? For it to be a 100% platonic relationship? I highly doubt it. And I really couldn't say anything when he introduced us. Because, well, what was I to say? 'Yeah, this probably isn't going to work out. See, either you'll cheat on me with her, or you're going to end up dumping me for her in the near future. Most likely. Might as well save myself from the heartbreak, huh? Nice knowing you, Nate. Really liked you. See ya!'
I've always been pessimistic, but I still take chances. It's a really odd mix, you know? So I didn't do anything. I decided to roll the dice, though the odds where stacked against me.
The thing is, he totally followed the plot line.
'What plot line?' My God, don't tell me you don't know. The classic best friend lover thing. The girl likes the guy, he's completely oblivious, goes out with some bitch, realizes he's desperately in love with the girl, they get together. How cliché? God, it just pisses me off. Because deep down, I was sure I didn't have a chance. But I'd liked Nate since, well, forever. And I wanted t enjoy my time while I had him.
Anyways, I didn't feel like I fit the description. I was Alex Russo, after all! Converse sneakers, sarcastic, loves pranks, ditches class, and I'm a freaking wizard. How does that compare? I didn't think they compared at all.
But he wasn't letting me try to rearrange the story. Secretly, I wondered if this was all a joke. Like, Zora from So!Random was going to jump out and me and scream 'You just been Celebrity Prank'd!' But no, it never happened.
See, I would call at night sometimes, oblivious that they were hanging out. And I instantly felt bad when I realized they were – and he was ignoring her for me. And as much as I'd apologize and say I could call back later, it wasn't a big deal, he wouldn't have it. He insisted on talking to me to hear what I had to say. So I always tried to just make it quick so they could go back to hanging out.
It was totally not me. I am possessive, I am clingy, I am controlling. But the thing is… I knew I could fall in love with Nate. And, if I'm honest, I really didn't want to. But I also did. And I didn't want to get my heart broken. So I was preparing myself, letting it take the course.
If you love something, let it go.
You know, I was utterly horrified with myself. I mean, no matter what I did, I was that girlfriend who the best friend secretly hated but wanted the boy to be happy.
What I don't find amusing? The guy doesn't get it at all. I mean, sure, the girlfriend may have been a bitch, but she loves him. Isn't that obvious? When he leaves her right when they're about to get married, she still loves him. And he just ups and leaves, all 'oh, I'm not in love with you!' I didn't want to be that girl, who was in love with a guy who would never love her. But I was digging myself a grave, and I was terrified to lie in it.
Not that it stopped me.
I tried not to be that girlfriend – I honestly did. Not even kidding. When we went to the movies, if it wasn't a date movie, I'd offer for her and some other people to come. I asked her to come with me to his gigs. I did everything to not be the bitchy girl. I tried not to make out with him in front of her – I mean, that always seems to tear them apart. Not that he seemed to get that she was uncomfortable, of course, because he's a guy, and, duh, guys are oblivious. So he'd try and kiss me anyways, but I like to thing I did a pretty good job at it.
But I was growing more and more scared of letting Nate go as our relationship grew longer and I knew that it would end soon. Because of her. Caitlyn.
In all honesty, she was a nice girl. And that was the worst. It was fucking impossible to resent her for making me know I couldn't have Nate. That, though he may think so right now, I would never be first. It would always be her. Always. And there was nothing I could do to change that.
I hate fairytales. I hate clichés. I hated the fact that I had to let him go.
Because no matter how many times I had told myself not to, to watch myself, to look before I fell and make sure they were ready to catch, I was falling in love.
That's just the thing about falling. You can't look before you fall, as I had deluded myself into thinking. No, that would be jumping. Falling is unexpected, scary, thrilling, makes you shut your eyes and pray. Because you don't know if you'll end up broken, or if they'll save you by catching you, and I was positive he wouldn't catch me.
And that was what made scarier.
So I was falling, and I had no idea what to do. Because Nate was sure he was in love with me, and I could see Caitlyn getting more and more torn because of it.
And I had to stop it.
Now this? This was me. Oh, it may not seem like it at first glance. But I'm selfish, I think of only myself. And I didn't want to end up with a broken heart while Caitlyn and Nate loved each other and flounced around, and I was just another girl. So I broke it off.
Trust me, it isn't something I … like to remember.
Slowly, I creaked open the door to see Nate, laying on his bed. He seemed in an awkward position, but I couldn't help but smile at the adorable-ness of it. A guitar lay across his chest, and he stared at a sheet of paper that he held above him, brows furrowed. A pencil lay horizontally in his mouth, teeth clenched around it, no doubt leaving a mark on the writing utensil. Just then, he spit it out onto his chest, pulling up a knee. Crouching up slightly, he lay the paper flat against his guitar before picking up the pencil againl and scribbling down something or other.
I gazed at him for a moment as he changed back to his previous position. After a second, though, I took a deep breath, calling out his name. "Nate," I said softly, and he jumped, looking up with tired brown eyes. Immediately, though, they lightened, and he spat out his pencil once more, this time onto the floor, sitting up to throw the paper down and tug off his guitar in a fluid motion.
"Alex," he said, smiling brilliantly. I blushed slightly before looking at his hardwood floor. I assessed it, not wanting to look up. It was silent before he finally said, this time uncertain, "Alex?" I looked up, then shuffled over. My beat up Converse scuffed the ground, and I mentally counted. One scruff, pause, two scruff, pause, three scruff, pause, and so on. When I reached him, he wrapped his lean arm around my waist, pulling me down to him.
"Hey beautiful," he greeted, kissing the top of my head. But it only made me feel worse as I envisioned Caitlyn's head. How long would it be until her told her that? When he greeted her so enthusiastically in the morning? When he texted her back when she bothered him at one o'clock, telling him she couldn't sleep? When he told her that he adored her? How long? A day? A week? A month?
How long until I was forgotten? A bad memory, a mistake?
"Nate," I carefully stated, gently pulling his hands off of me and sitting up. His brown eyes were full of surprise as he sat up, too, and stared at me with concern.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, blinking rapidly, a worried expression battling on his face.
"Listen," my voice was meek, quiet, and I gazed at my hands, which were idle, "I… I really like you." I paused, swallowing, and Nate interrupted, clearly having heard this before.
"You're breaking up with me?" he said, his voice breaking, and I bit my lower lip, wanting so bad to say no.
"Nate," I pled, looking up, "I really like you, OK? It's just that… this is getting in way to deep. Because I might l-l-l" I choked up on the word.
"You might love me?" Nate said, and I could see a glimmer of hope, wondering if it should dare to tread, in his eyes.
"Yeah," I said softly. "But, Nate… you don't love me." I was slowly breaking. "Nate, you… you love Caitlyn. I know it, she knows it, everyone except for you knows it. And I'm not going to put myself through this anymore."
Nate stared at me before laughing, and I could feel my heart breaking even more. "I don't love Cait, Alex," he said, hugging me. "Where'd you get just a silly idea? We're just friends."
'Just friends' could easily turn into 'Just Married', I thought bitterly. "Nate, just… I'm sorry, OK? I really wish things were different. Tell Caitlyn I say hi."
Weeks after that, I was so damn bitter. The best friend won again.
As always.
And I cursed Taylor Swift, who I usually turned to in moments like this, because of her song You Belong With Me. Well, why? How come the best friend got the guy?? I had adored Nate to no end. He just… didn't return the feelings. Infatuation, I'm sure, but… It was hard. And it was all I could do not to cast a spell on him to make him return the feelings.
(I always get caught, so I had to veto that idea.)
And the weeks after, I discreetly watched Nate. He still hung out with Caitlyn, still laughed, but something seemed off.
He'll get over it.
It was hard for me, watching him turn to her for comfort. It was harder knowing that I had planned for that to happen.
Stupid best friend.
Though I could tell Caitlyn was upset that Nate was upset, I could also see she was shining. Shining that I had done that.
And it didn't take long for Caitlyn to admit to him that she loved him. It was bittersweet. And I turned into the arms of a different guy, Dean, not really feeling what I felt for Nate.
I watched the two out of the corner of my eye. And I can't help but have a fight with the writer who first came up with the best friend idea.
Didn't they think of the girlfriend? Didn't they wonder how she felt, watching the guy she loved love everyone else? They didn't fix the problem. They just made it so that a different member felt the hurt.
Was that really better?
Well, maybe. After all, the guy should be with who he loves… even if it was tearing someone (in this case, me) apart.
I broke up with Dean, went from guy to guy, and tried to forget about Nate. Tried not to want to cry every time I saw Nate and Caitlyn, being nauseatingly cute and a goddamn perfect couple. Because it was like plunging and icy knife into my warm-blooded body every single fucked up time.
Yeah, I was hurting, and I wanted Nate to be mine.
Was this how Caitlyn felt? Being the selfish person I am, and caring more about myself then anyone else, I had to say no. Caitlyn could not have felt this way, this thing that nearly threw me over the edge. And just when I thought I was going to be ok that day, I got kicked over again as I saw the two, being cute and giggling and laughing with each other.
The perfect couple. Something he and I had never, and now would never, be.
If I had known that ending things with Nate would hurt more then actually going through with them, I never would have done it.
Then again, there are a lot of regrets I've made.
Too many.
But ending Nate and I?
It was the worst. It was the all time blow that knocked me off my feet and finally had me wondering what the hell I was doing in my life. Had me wondering what the hell I was trying to accomplish.
And that's where I am now – wondering why I let myself lose Nate.
OMJ
"Now, Alex, we're reviewing, could you please pay attention?" My dad snapped while my thumbs moved energetically across the keypad on my phone. Glancing up while my thumbs continued to move, I shook my head.
"Uh, no," I drawled lazily. Dad's eyes narrowed, and before he could speak, I began whining. "Daddy, Justin doesn't have to come to class anymore! Why do I? I have lots of things I could be doing." Glancing down as my phone vibrated, I opened it with a swift click, and Mitchie's message popped up. Slouching in my chair, I groaned, hitting my head repeatedly on the desk. "Harper and Mitch are going shopping – without me," I whined, hoping to get out of Wizard Class early.
"Alex," Dad groaned, shaking his head. "You can't – ugh – your brother – you know what, it's clear you and Max aren't paying attention, what's the point?" Throwing down his piece of chalk, he glared. "Leave – both of you!"
Max stared at him. "Is this really happening?" he yelped excitedly. "Oh, my God. Dad, can I have a cell phone?"
Dad stared at him in confusion. "What? No!"
Snickering, I stood up, ignoring the pang in my chest as I was reminded (of course) of Nate. Nate loved Max – he found him outrageously amusing, and just an awesome person to hang out with. (I disagree, personally.)
"Well, I'm going shopping, Daddy." Without a blink, I snatched his wallet out of his back pocket. "Thanks for the money!" I said cheerfully, running.
OMJ
I went to mall, a scowl on my face – my 'loving' father had only given me twenty-five dollars. I supposed it was just a large soda and a pair of shoes for me today. But I didn't feel too bad – it's not like Harper would be buying clothes. Why she even went to the mall would forever leave me clueless, but that's OK, because, well, she's Harper. Who's amazingly awesome.
But Mitchie's clothes would definitely get me jealous, I thought, groaning as I walked up to the mall. The girls had said they'd meet me in the food court, so my mind was on my cell phone as I shuffled my feet, opening the door with my back. Not paying attention, I smiled slightly at the noise and chatter that surrounded me, loving the escape the mall provided.
Still not bothering to look up (I've been here too many times not to know what I'm doing), I headed towards the food court when – BAM!
I went flying backwards, and my hand gripped around my cell phone while my sunglasses knocked off my head, clattering to the ground. Landing on my ass, I groaned, rubbing my forehead and looking up, the hand that wasn't holding my cell going to my pocket to double-check that I still had my money.
"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," a voice said, sounding incredibly shocked. I looked up to see… Nate.
"Nate?" "Alex?" we said at the same time, and my heart thudded, the urge to stand up and run overwhelming me.
"Um… hey," I said weakly, raking my eyes up and down. Seeing his attire, I recoiled slightly. Nate always looked … perfect. But right now, he looked sloppy and depressed. "You OK?" I asked cautiously.
Nate shrugged, looking at the ground. "Um… yeah, sure," he mumbled, brushing it off. Reaching across to grab my sunglasses, I slowly stood up, then stared at him. A curly hair was falling in front of his eye, and more out of habit then anything else, I leaned across and carefully pushed it back into place.
Blushing as I realized what I had done, I pulled back. "Uh, sorry," I murmured, awkward feelings filling the air. "Awkward silence," I muttered, and Nate cracked the smallest of smiles. "Hey, you can tell me what's wrong," I assured him, gazing at him curiously.
"C-cait broke up with me," he whispered, and my eyes widened. After all, I had broken up with the freaking most amazing guy ever, for this girl who supposedly 'loved' him, and she totally threw that away by breaking up with him.
Sighing, I wrapped my arms around him, tugging him close. "I'm sorry," I whispered, and he smiled a watery smile. "It's not your fault. I mean, I did really like her… a lot. But, I guess… well, I know I'll eventually be better, but I'm scared for our friendship."
Biting my lower lip, I didn't reply, letting him lean against me, glaring at anyone who gave me an odd look. Suddenly, though, two familiar faces appeared.
"Alex, where have you been?" Harper groaned, then stopped, staring at me in surprise. Mitchie stood next to her, gaping at me.
"Alex? Nate?" Mitchie asked, eyes wide. I blushed slightly as Nate hastily moved away from me, his own cheeks tinted a slight pink.
"Um… Nate and Caitlyn broke up," I murmured softly, and Nate sent me an annoyed look.
"Thanks, Alex," he grunted, sarcasm slipping through.
"Whatever," I mumbled. "But I better be going, we're, uh, going shopping." Nate smiled weakly, nodding.
"Uhm.. yeah. You, uh, have fun with that," he murmured weakly.
OMJ
That was three months ago.
Not the break up – that last scene.
Nate and Caitlyn's friendship was awkward from what I could see, but I couldn't bring myself to go and talk to him about it as I trudged to the gym, Harper talking about how excited she was for the talent show. Justin was speaking some alien language, and Zeke was tap dancing. Harper was showing off some crazy outfits, and this nerd in gym class was playing trumpet.
Needless to say, my kind of thing. After all, I had a chance to make fun of people. Sure, it didn't help that I still wasn't over Nate, but it was something I couldn't really help. All I needed was more time.
So grudgingly had left my art project, wishing Mitchie and Harper good luck (Mitchie was singing.) In all honesty, I had no one to sit by, because, well, all of my friends were freaking on stage. So I'd done the only thing I would do – I was going back stage. Watching from the sides wouldn't be too bad in my opinion, so I wasn't really that freaked out.
As I sat, I watched numerous people come on, and I snickered with Harper and Mitchie. The three of us watched everything, and suddenly Nate was, guitar in hand. A nervous hand ran through his hair, and he glanced sideways, his eyes coincidentally meeting mine. Over the three months, we'd become kind-of friends – well, acquaintances. And I knew Nate enough to know that he was probably singing a sad break-up song. A song meant for Caitlyn.
Memories flooded me, memories reminding me of when he'd write me songs.
Adjusting the mic, Nate smiled nervously. "I wrote this song awhile ago, so… I hope you like it," he murmured.
The song began, and I could feel my eyes tearing up, knowing how he was still totally into Caitlyn, and I was just… that ex-girlfriend no one cared about.
When the song was over, I stared at the ground. If I cried (which I didn't), I would be sobbing. But my eyes were merely watery, and I blinked, forcing them back. Taking a deep breath, I looked up to see Mitchie gazing at me with pity, and Harper's gaze full of concern as she wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
"Aww, it's OK," Mitchie mumbled whereas Harper awkwardly patted my should.
Shaking my head, I shot them both an overly-large, fake smile. "Guys, I'm fine. It was a really good song."
Looking up as Nate cleared his throat; he murmured softly, "So, that was Stay. I love you, Alex Russo."
OMJ
Author's Note: The end(: Yes, I do realize that you all probably hate me right now, but that's it. Nalex = love. Sure, in my mind, they end up getting back together, but, you know what, if you despise Nalex (I dunno why you'd be reading this…) then you can pretend Alex suddenly hates him and her and Mitchie get together.
Ew. Sorry, I just find that nasty.
Or, you know, she gets paired with whoever else you like her paired with.
Or you can make it in your head so she just dies miserable.
So, that was a very, very lame one-shot. (coughs) And it took me forever to write, too. Then again, I deleted the ending about eight times before I finally thought I could bear it. See, my stuff is mostly crap, but I try to keep it to bearable crap, you know?
Anyways. If you happen to like my crap (haha, that sounds funnyyy!), and you like really good writing, you should definitely check out my colab account. OK, well, nothings up there. YET. But, hopefully, something will up there soonish. Because me and this awesome friend of mine have an epic idea. (And it's Nalex, so if you were wishing this entire time that it wasn't Nalex, then you should most definitely not read this. Or you could anyways, but I always hate reading stuff that isn't Nalex if Alex is paired with someone else or Nate/Nick is… uh, yeah. I'll stop rambling now.) The account name is Sniffing Purple Sharpies. And the link can be found on my profile.
Basically, I put this up because I haven't written anything in awhile, and I liked the idea, it just didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Pretty much, the goal was to aware people of the awful cliché-ness of Nate and Alex being best friends and then falling in love. Yeah. BE ORIGINAL. So pretty much? SCORE ONE FOR THE GIRLFRIEND.
Now, please review for my crap writing. You know, just to prove that my crap writing is actually being read. In fact, I'd probably pee my pants if someone reviewed saying "I read your crap writing." Just that. Yeahh. I have a weird sense of humor. And this author's note is annoyingly long. So, review, lovely fanfiction…ers. (coughs awkwardly)