Part 4

Louisa's fingers were tingling as she awoke. Another Freddy dream, with Alex.

It was hot. She couldn't get used to this heat, she thought, touching the cold wall behind her, knowing that Alex would be asleep on the other side. Her shoulders were red with sunburn and the straps of her pyjamas rubbed the skin as she sat up, leaning on the wall. Emma had noticed it yesterday, and warned her to keep her shoulders covered.

It was 7am. Sam wouldn't be awake yet. The thought of spending the afternoon with Alex made her heart beat a little faster. Would it be awkward without Sam there? She wondered if he'd be awake, listening for movements behind the wall. She glanced at the small bedside table where her drawing lay. The glove hadn't magically appeared more real overnight. Maybe Sam would let her bring her chalks into Alex's.

Sam agreed to let her take the chalks next door whilst she went to her aunt's birthday. Alex, when she arrived, wasn't long out of the shower, and his hair was still damp, sticking to his forehead. His mother was on her way out to work, saying a quick hello-goodbye as Louisa entered the flat.

She wanted to re-enact her dream, with both of them sat together on the floor as she drew, but she couldn't draw with him watching her. She knew that. He offered her his desk, which he'd cleared.

She sat down on the swivel chair, placing her drawing in front of her. Alex took the glove from the shelf, the claws dangling in the air. Louisa took the glove by the claws, relieved to feel that they were soft. Of course they're soft. She arranged the glove into a flat position as it had been last night; the claws spread out, and then looked back to her drawing. She sighed and ripped the page out of the sketch book tossing it aside.

"Don't you like it?" Alex asked her.

She shook her head and looked at the fresh page in front of her. With a brown piece of chalk, she began to draw the glove, starting at the wrist.

"I'm just gonna be on my Xbox," Alex told her, turning on the TV.

Louisa nodded, disappointed that he wouldn't be there to bend in for a kiss, but glad that he wasn't going to watch. The drawing worked better with chalk, she decided, having done the entire main glove. Now for the blades. This was where it could get difficult. The first blade came out just as she wanted it to, and she was engrossed getting it to look perfect. She couldn't hear the sounds from Alex's game. She didn't notice when they'd stopped.

He appeared beside her, giving her a start.

"Oh!" she yelped, her high pitch echoing in the silent room. They both laughed a little.

"Didn't mean to," Alex said. His hair was completely dry now. "I'm making a sandwich. You want one?"

"Yeah, please." She'd been there an hour now. Alex looked down at the drawing.

"It looks good. You like peanut butter?"

"Yeah." Louisa looked at her hands. They were covered in brown and grey chalk. "I need to wash my hands."

She met Alex in the kitchen. He had laid the two sandwiches on the stone coloured work surface, alongside two glasses of orange juice. They ate in the living room. It was the first time Louisa had been there. The room was the same size and shape as Emma's living room, but unlike Emma's cream coloured walls, the walls were a pale blue, and the couch a dark blue leather.

After surfing through TV channels, and concluding nothing was on, Alex decided they could watch a film. He returned from his room with "A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2", his favourite. It was the film Louisa had seen the least of lately, despite it being part of her collection. The first scene with the school bus had given her many nightmares since the first time she watched it at the age of twelve. Given the fact she'd had two nightmares in five nights, she thought this would mean she'd most likely have one tonight as well, but she couldn't tell Alex that.

The large window at the front of the room allowed it to be lit naturally. Louisa imagined the two of them sat together in a cinema, as the first scene had her on the edge of her seat. If they were in the cinema he could hug her, or laugh at her for being afraid. As the film progressed, she relaxed, sitting back on the couch, unaware of how close she'd gotten to Alex. His aftershave was strong. She felt her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket, it was Sam calling her.

"Hey," she said as Louisa answered, "you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, realising how close she and Alex had been sitting as they made eye contact. "I'm fine. What's up?"

"Everything's gone a bit behind schedule. We didn't get to the restaurant til later, then the food took forever. We're still waiting for dessert, then I have to go to Shelly's for an hour. Are you okay to stay with Alex? Does he have any plans?"

Louisa looked up at Alex, into his dark brown eyes. They were beautiful eyes. "Sam's going to be a while. Do you have any plans? I can go back next door if you do."

He shook his head. "No. No plans. You can hang here."

"That's fine," Louisa told Sam. "I'm fine here."

"Oh good, I promise I'll try get back as fast as I can."

"Don't worry. I'm fine here." She hung up the phone call. She was still so close to Alex, and wondered if she should move away a little, even if she didn't want to. "Everything's gone behind at her aunt's birthday," she told him.

"They always do with her dad's family," he answered, also not moving. "Her mum's side is way cooler. Well, the ones I've met."

Louisa tried to stop herself from grinning. "All two of us?"

"Yeah, all two." He grinned back at her. Did he like her?

They went back to watching the film. Louisa wanted to lean on Alex. What if he shrugged her off? Then she would still have another three weeks to feel embarrassed passing him in the corridor. It was when the film finished, and they were watching the credits, that she felt his hand hold hers gently, his fingers tickling her palm.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers again.

"I don't know," she shrugged, stopping herself from giggling like a nervous little girl. "Whatever. It's your house."

"You're the guest. I mean, we could go back to my room, you could draw some more, we could watch another film, or stay here?"

"I don't know." She let her head fall onto his shoulder then, breathing in the aftershave. "I guess I'm good here."

He moved his hand from hers, placing his arms around her shoulders. She looked into his eyes again as he moved closer to her, his lips touching hers. She opened her mouth letting his tongue enter, touching hers, her hand holding his body close to her. The kiss felt like it lasted forever. Their eyes met again when it ended, and they just sat there, in the silence.

"Yeah," Alex said eventually. "You're way cooler."