Hey guys! This chapter's a bit boring, so you can skim over it if you want. I just did this so you can get a better impression of what Alex's house is like. Also, I have no whatsoever idea what breed Total should be-if you've got any ideas, please, do tell! Thanks again to my Alex&David readers. :)

-Zero Kiryu 23

Chapter 7; Helper

I spent the rest of the night sitting next to her sleeping form. It was quite relaxing, I'd have to say, her soft rhythmic breathing, and that one time where she shifted and her hand had fallen upon mine. It shocked me for a moment, but after a time I relaxed. I didn't need any sleep myself-sure, I could go to sleep if I wanted, but I liked to stay awake in the night. There were a lot more things to do at midnight than there were at noon.

I thought about getting up and exploring her room, but I didn't really feel like going anywhere other than just staying next to Alex. So, the whole entire time Alex was asleep, I just sat there.

Sometime in the early hours of morn, I heard another person in the house wake up, go downstairs, and then go out to a car, which revved away soon afterward. I guessed it was one of Alex's parents.

When sunlight began showing its golden rays through the balcony doors, I raised my hand and gently prodded Alex. "Alex? You gotta wake up if you want to get stuff done," I said softly, still poking her.

"What?" Alex mumbled, her eyes blinking in the bright sunlight. She gave a long yawn and then sat up and stretched. She then looked at me and with an expression of surprise, said, "You're still here?"

"Why wouldn't I still be here? Do you want me to go?" I said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the worry in my voice. I didn't want to leave Alex so soon…

"No, no no!" She hurriedly said, her hand wrapped around mine. "Don't go! I was just surprised that you actually stayed-I mean, don't you have stuff to do at your house?" I could hear her heart beating quickly.

"No, I finished it all yesterday, actually," I chuckled at her panic. "I'm here to help you today, remember?"

"Yeah, I do," she said, looking away and getting off the bed. "I'll be right back," she called after me as she went out of the room.

I paused for a few seconds, wondering whether or not I should go out of her room and find the kitchen and try to make her breakfast, but then I decided not to. Better take this time and familiarize myself with her room first.

I glanced down at the blanket-a light blue that turned white in the sunlight. The pillow had a light blue covering over it too. I looked up and to the side-she had small nightstand, which was painted white. I scanned her room and confirmed the fact that most of the furniture in this room was white, with intricate designs around the edges. I leaned off the bed and began tracing the swirls and patterns on her nightstand while I waited for her to come back.

My mind wandered; I thought about how Michael and Samantha wouldn't care less about me going out. They knew as well as I do that I wouldn't do anything stupid to reveal our secret…

But was telling Alex a stupid idea?

I shook my head, trying to clear it of these thoughts. I should not doubt Alex's trust-I knew that she would keep it a secret. I tried some breathing exercises and managed to calm myself down. Alex wouldn't betray my secret to anyone; people would think she was crazy.

A minute later, Alex came in, her hair tied back in a ponytail. "Ready?" She said a little breathlessly-it seemed like she had rushed to do her morning wake-up routine.

I leaped smoothly out of her bed and grinned, trying to hide my worries. "Ready."

We went out of her room and down the stairs-her house was extremely clean and organized. Everything was in perfect order-Rachel would've gone berserk at all this cleanliness. Rachel's room was more or less a junkyard of scrap metal and wires-going in there barefoot would be like having your foot attacked by killer ants.

"Clean, much?" I asked her, one of my eyebrows raised.

"Well, what do you expect? My mom's a neat-freak," she said without looking at me. I chuckled in response.

After we went down the stairs, she guided me towards her even-more-organized kitchen. Everything was scrubbed clean, and every single thing that needed to be washed was washed and put in the appropriate cabinets. Everything here was either silver or gray; there was a small island and everything had a granite surface. The stove was a metallic silver, as was the fridge.

"This is nice," I said absent-mindedly, my hand drawing streaks and curves on the little island's surface.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Alex said while she headed over to the fridge. I couldn't help but look at her- was just so beautiful! Her composure was straight and she walked forward with smooth, grace.

I hadn't noticed that I had been staring at her with such intensity when she came back to the island and laid a bowl and a box of cereal down. Alex glanced at me and said, "What?"

"Um, nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Well, no, that's a lie. I'm just marveling at how beautiful you are," I said, grinning.

"Oh wow, um, thanks," she said, giving a small smile and dumping cereal into the bowl.

"Well, after you get some food in you, what are we doing after this?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

"Well, we're going to go out and feed the dog," Alex said, looking up after a bite of cereal. "And then I guess we have to come back here, do homework, clean the house-," she stuttered a little after seeing my expression-"Okay, ignore cleaning the house, and then I guess we can just hang out," Alex finished, giving a little smile.

"Sounds good to me," I said, tapping out a little beat on the counter. Alex would never tell anyone my secret. I knew she wouldn't…

Alex finished her breakfast, both of us silent. She tossed it into the sink and then headed out to the backyard with my following.

I had never known dogs could be so energetic.

The second I had placed my foot outside, the dog was suddenly there, barking and scrabbling at my leg.

What made it comical, however, was the fact that it was tiny. It'd probably fit in my hand-tail and all. My face was incredulous as I saw the tiny ball of fur leaping and barking (or yelping) at my foot, its little paws scratching persistently against me.

The next second, I heard Alex laughing.

Disbelief had covered my face, but the next second, I found myself feeling a little embarrassed but grinning all the same. I bent down and picked up the dog with two fingers-he was so light, in fact, that it felt like I was carrying a pencil. When you added in my extra strength, it was like carrying a tissue.

"Cute dog," I said, chuckling at the dog's attempt to lick my face. Alex was struggling to stop the laughter-she was turned away, but I could see her shoulders shaking from her attempt to stop the giggling.

"You have a nice laugh," I said, laughing too as I put the dog down and wrapped my arms around her.

"Nice laugh? Compared to yours, it sounds like a nerd's laugh," Alex said, chuckling. "Aw, man. I haven't laughed like that in forever."

Soon afterward, with me still chuckling, she gave the food to the energetic dog-named Total-and we headed back inside (Alex had to put Total's food bowl far away so I could go inside safely).

"Homework?" I asked lightly, knowing very well that teenagers hated homework.

"Yeah. Having you here though, makes it bearable," Alex said, dumping the contents of her backpack onto the floor of the living room.

I sat next to her while she struggled to finish her homework-every now and then, I'd point out something and she'd stare at me with a look of irritation. "David, I'm supposed to do this myself," she'd remind me every now and then.

Once, when her irritation at trying to figure out a problem took over, she threw her pencil on the ground and leaned against me. "I don't want to do this," Alex complained, glaring at her homework.

"C'mon Alex. I know you can do this. Don't you want to hang out with me?" I said softly, giving her a little hug. She looked at me with a strange expression, and then sighed. She picked up her pencil, picked up her homework, and then began another round of struggling.

We spent a good couple hours, me waiting for Alex to be done and Alex fighting her way through the mountains of homework. Thanks to my own previous times of education, I already had my education permanently fixed within my mind-so no trouble in school or homework.

Alex finally finished when noon had barely past. Her relief was obvious; she laid down on the ground and closed her eyes. "Finally, thank God that's done. Well, now that I'm done with homework, what do want to do now?" She asked, turning her head to look at me.

"We could go grab a lunch somewhere and just hang," I said, lying down next to her. "Oh! I need to show you something. It's really cool," I said excited. She would totally love it if it weren't for her fear of heights…

"Sounds good," she said, standing up. "I'll go change and then we'll go."

I watched her jog upstairs.

Alex wouldn't betray my secret. She wouldn't. I knew she wouldn't.