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Alex's heart missed a beat. It wasn't the fact that Sabina was standing here in front of him that made his blood run cold and his heart stop; it was the arm securely around her waist that bothered him. The tanned arm belonged to an incredibly good looking boy with dark hair and amazing brown eyes.
"What are you doing in LA, Alex?" Asked Sabina, her eyes wide with shock.
"Do you remember Jack?" Alex asked.
"Yeah" Sabina replied inquisitively.
"Well she adopted me and we moved to LA" Alex said, trying not to let his eyes drift to the arm around Sabina's waist.
"Alex!" Sabina exclaimed pulling away from the boy she was with and flinging her arms around Alex's neck. When she pulled back she had tears in her eyes, "I missed you so much"
"I missed you too, Sab" Alex smiled.
Sabina wiped her eyes and pulled herself together, "Alex, this is my boyfriend, Corbin."
The boy with the warm eyes and dark hair smiled at Alex and held his hand out, to an innocent bystander it would have looked like a mere gesture of kindness but Alex knew it was a test of strength, "Hi Alex".
"Hey, errm, why have you got your arm around Sabina's waist of you're meant to be working?" Alex couldn't stop himself; the question came out without him thinking about it.
"That's what happens when you manage the shop your girlfriend works for; you can do what you like." Corbin said, a cocky look on his face.
"Oh, how old are you?" Alex asked.
"What is this? The Spanish inquisition?" Corbin laughed, "I'm 20, as it happens."
Alex forced a smile and a laugh, "No, sorry mate."
"No problem, so how'd you know Sab?" Corbin asked.
Alex's insides writhed like snakes; 'Sab' was his name for Sabina. Not this hunk with stupidly brown eyes.
"We knew each other in London" Said Sabina. Alex thought that was a pretty funny wasy of saying they fought and won over Damian Cray in Air Force One. But he supposed that wasn't allowed.
"yeah, anyway I have to be going now, family calls and all that." Alex said, turning to leave.
"Do you have a mobile yet?" Asked Sabina
"Yeah, I just got one today." Alex replied.
"Put your number in then, and I'll call you later for a proper catch up." Sabina smiled, Alex's insides turned to slush. He loved that smile.
"Okay then" The two beautiful teenagers swapped phones and put in their numbers.
"See you later Alex" Sabina called after Alex's retreating back.
"I didn't like him" Said Corbin, Sabina turned on him.
"Just because he's my best friend and he's of the male species does not give you the right to criticise him or hate him. You have to stop being so jealous, Corb" Sabina said, and with that she turned on her heel and walked swiftly away.
Alex looked back in time to see a flick of long brown hair and hear Sabina's raised voice. Maybe all wasn't well in paradise.
--
Two hours later Alex was sprawled out on a sun lounger in the back yard with his nose buried in the latest of the Noughts and Crosses series.
"You okay?" Asked a small voice from beside Alex
Alex looked up to see Amy standing over him; she too was clutching a book.
"Yeah thanks. What are you doing here?" Alex asked, shielding his eyes from the sun with a hand.
"Dad came over to see Auntie Jack. SO I thought I'd come with him."
"Cool" Alex smiled, and he genuinely meant it. "So what have you been up to today?"
"I went to the pool with a friend earlier and then went home and had some lunch. Then we dropped Lu off at a friend's house on the way here. Jack said she thought you seemed a bit down, are you okay?" Amy said, sitting on the edge of Alex's sun lounger.
"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me!" Alex said.
"Okay then" Smiled Amy.
Alex loved children; they never asked awkward questions or pressed a point the way adults of teenagers did. Alex thought back to Abercrombie and Fitch and his heart gave a lurch, it was great seeing Sabina again but for some reason he didn't like the idea of her having a boyfriend. He couldn't get his head around the feelings coursing through his veins. He hadn't known Sabina for all that long and at one point in that friendship it had seemed likely that the two of them would never talk again. But then again they had been through so much together, not only Damian Cray but the whole aftermath of Snakehead. They had spent two days together in London, just talking things over. And now she had been catapulted back into his life.
--
"Alex?" It was six o'clock Monday morning and Jack had just come into Jack's room to wake him for school. "Alex? It's time to get up sweetie"
"Eurgh" Alex turned over in bed and let out a low groan.
"Come on now, Alex." Jack stood with her hands on her hips, her voice stern.
Alex, still half asleep, sat up on the edge of his bed and stretched. "I'm coming" he mumbled.
"Good, breakfast in fifteen minutes so make sure you are there" Jack called as she made her way back down the stairs.
Alex mentally shook himself and tried to figure out why his stomach was tying itself in knots and then he remembered, remembered that today was the first day of his all new American high school. The first day of his new life, as it were. As Alex stepped out of the shower he tried to get his head together, he was thinking about what high school would be like. Would there be all the cliques that were in all the high school films? For a crazy moment he had that stupid High School Musical song running through his mind:
No, no, no, nooooooooooo
No, no, no
Stick to the stuff you know
If you wanna be cool
Follow one simple rule
Don't mess with the flow, no no
Stick to the status quo
Is this how Alex would have to be? Would he have to find a clique? And what if he didn't find a clique, what then? Would he be stuck on his own to eat by himself?
Alex headed downstairs with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he thought that fighting Damian Cray was bad, right now he thought he'd take another round with the horntail.
AN: Thank you to the people who have reviewed this, and if you've put it on alerts than thank you as well! You're what make this possible! But please please please review!
Izzy xx