People hide in bushes in the movies all the time, but they never seem uncomfortable. However, when you actually lurk in them yourself, they're just about the most terrible plant.
See, not long after Alex left for Sam's house, I did the same. Alex would be horribly mad if she knew I wanted to come with her, so I left a little later and hid in the bushes. The worst part of it is that she was in there for quite a long time. But they could be talking about how much Sam loves me. I know, dream on.
And finally, I saw Alex standing on the front porch, smiling in a satisfactory way. Were my dreams coming true? Why was she grinning like that?
I heard her step off the porch and approach my bush. What the heck was she doing?
"Okay," she spoke calmly, "you can come out now."
Oh. That's what she was doing.
I scrambled to get out of the bushes, and though I was scratched a few times, I made it out with no visible injuries, which means no worried mother. Alex stood in front of me, her arms folded across her chest, almost laughing.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked.
"Had a feeling," she responded. "It only seemed like you to follow me here and not trust me."
"Nothing personal. I just don't trust anyone with Sam."
Alex chuckled.
"So, how did it go?" I began my interrogation. "Did she say anything good?"
"Well, if you're asking me flat-out if she told me she liked you, no," she replied.
"But does it seem like she likes me?"
"Maybe. We didn't talk about you. The only person we really talked about by name was Carly."
Oh no. They'd been discussing things that play a big role in teenage life, and I doubted Sam and Alex were talking about some funny bit on iCarly. All this time, I'd been right about Sam's views on Carly.
"Does Sam…" I started, "feel inferior to Carly?"
"Sorry, Freddie," Alex said, "but I can't tell you anything that went down between Sam and me. If you want to find out, just talk to her."
"Like she's going to tell me her deep feelings."
"She might if she loves you."
Yeah, right. If.
*****************************
Alex and I walked the rest of the way home in silence, and I thought some more about Sam. She must be more confused than I am with all of this. Sure, I was totally convinced that she hated me, and I had no hope, but at least I didn't have a mostly stranger coming to my door asking me if I wanted to talk. Sam definitely had it worse.
As soon as we got home, Alex followed me into my house. She doesn't like the preparation of her apartment, so until everything is set up exactly the way she mapped it out, she'll be sleeping at my place. I have to admit; having her there is nice, for the most part. Then there are the times we won't stop arguing.
"So, why did you follow me to Sam's?" she asked, pulling on a pair of pajama shorts.
"Sudden impulse," I answered. "Something told me I had to be there."
"For what? You were outside the whole time, and she only said your name once, and it followed 'eww' when I guessed she liked you."
My heart sank. I should have known falling in love with Sam was a bad idea.
"But do you think it was a lie?" I inquired, feeling a twinge of hope in my weak, childish voice. "So you didn't run home to tell me?"
"I don't know."
"Alex! You must have some kind of hypothesis!"
She flopped down on the couch, stared up at the ceiling and said, "Freddie, I do have my hunches, but I can't be sure of anything."
"You're a girl! Aren't you just supposed to know?"
Alex rolled over on her stomach and stared at me.
"To a certain extent, yes, I have an answer. But I'm not telling you."
Oh my gosh. She was too difficult to read for her own good. Heck- she was harder to read than Sam herself.
And then it all went downhill. She slapped me across the chest, and I tugged on her hair.
"Can't you just accept the fact that I'm only helping you half of the way?" Alex shouted. "You're going to have to be a real man and take charge of this!"
"But you've always been the tougher one!"
"I'm not the one who's in love with her!"
An awkward silence fell upon the both of us. It was broken by a sporadic playing of "She's a Handsome Woman" by Panic at the Disco. Alex's phone was ringing.
We looked at each other, wide-eyed and eager, and then both of us leapt for the purse. She was flailing around to snatch it, but my longer arms grabbed the purse before she could. The phone displayed the caller's name boldly on the screen: Sean.
So, I did the naturally evil thing and picked up.
"Hello," I practically yelled into the phone. "This is Freddie, Alex's cousin whom you have yet to meet, Sean. Alex can't come to the phone right now because she's ruining my love life. Okay? Try back later. Buh-bye!"
I flipped the phone shut, and Alex stared into me, her fiery blue eyes almost killing me. I'd made her angry, but I had to do it.
"Was that really Sean?" she asked dryly.
"No!" I shouted sarcastically. "It was Sam!"
"Well, if it was Sam, why didn't you tell her you're in love with her?"
Holy darn, that girl is good. I actually had nothing to say to that- I could only do.
I grabbed one of Alex's high-heeled shoes and threw it at her face. She let out a puzzled yelp and tossed it back at me. Thank goodness my mother wasn't home.
"Give me time, Alexis Jean!" I bellowed. "I don't even know is Sam is remotely interested in me, and you're expecting me to tell her how I feel? Already?"
"Yes!" she was begging now. "You don't know who might like you until you try."
"Drop the after school special act."
I looked back on the days just before, when I couldn't wait until Alex would move in. What I didn't know was that she would be embarrassing me all the time, and I…
Wait. I knew.
It killed me to say this, but I knew. Fear really isn't worth anything, because all you do is lose so much. When I was nine, I was afraid of going into a haunted house, and I lost the chance of being with Sam, who could have made it better. And now I was afraid to tell Sam that I was in love with her, and I would lose out on her again. Only this time, it was serious.
"We're not going to be the great friends we really are unless Sam and I get together, are we?" I questioned.
Heavily, Alex sighed.
"Looks like it. But I don't want to fight with you all the time, and that's all we've doing since I got here."
Feeling that this was most definitely going to switch moods, I came closer to Alex, a sympathetic look of care on my face.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I shouldn't be so pushy. It's just that I really love Sam."
Alex wrapped her arm around my shoulders and whispered, "I know you do. But I'm still not going to let you have that 'let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may' attitude about her. It's not going to get you anywhere."
I chortled, and she followed. We sat down on the couch together, remaining in the same, friendly position we'd been in. It was the first cousin-like moment we'd had since she moved.
Not long after, Alex and I fell asleep. Now, I don't remember exactly, but I think I dreamt about a blonde princess and her brown-haired prince standing in front of each other, flirtatiously smiling. Their beautiful, blue-eyed matchmaker (yes, I said matchmaker) watched happily from a tower above.
If only, if only.
A/N: Sorry this chapter was really short. I don't think I'm that great at writing Freddie's POV anymore, but I'll still try. If you liked, please review!
