Chapter 10

Several weeks had passed since Alex and Paige had last spoken to one another. They saw each other on a day to day basis, but neither had said anything to the other. Alex waited patiently. Something told her that Paige would come around, but another part of her highly doubted the possibility. Paige was the most stubborn girl she'd ever had the privilege of knowing. She found it both appealing and frustrating.

Alex laid on her bed taking a small nap before Rachel burst in, loudly talking on her cell phone, waking her up. Alex groaned and covered her head with the pillow in a feeble attempt to block out the sound. Alex couldn't understand what was being said at the moment. She couldn't have cared less. She just wanted her beauty rest before diving head first into her homework.

Rachel finally closed the cell phone and grinned broadly, noticing how annoyed the brunette girl was. "Alex... get up." She called across the room.

"I don't wanna..." Alex said removing the pillow from her head momentarily to glare at the other girl.

Rachel chuckled at Alex's whining. "Come on get up." She said as she walked over to Alex's side of the room. "Get. Up. Now." She stated carefully enunciating every word.

When the brunette wouldn't listen, she pulled the pillow off from her hands and proceeded to hit her on the head lightly until she obliged. Alex sat up within seconds. "Alright I'm up."

"Good. Now get ready we're going to the movies." Rachel cheerfully chirped.

Alex shook her head in frustration, "How many times have I told you that I can't."

Rachel playfully shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but once more wouldn't hurt would it?" She sighed in defeat once she realized the other girl wasn't going to respond.

Rachel and Stephanie had made plans to go to the movies. They had tried several times to get Alex to join them during the day, but she declined every time. They would have asked Whitney, but the girl always said no or rather just shook her head.

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Stephanie wrapped her arms around herself in attempt to warm up. The temperature was dropping more and more each day. The wind was blowing and causing her ears to freeze. Georgians were not used to this kind of weather. In all four years of being at Lakeshore Prep she still had yet to become accustomed to the weather. She was used to the inconsistency in the weather around November. One day it could be extremely hot and the next it could be freezing cold. One could never predict.

She blithely walked through the breezeway towards the dorms. She had been excited about going out all week. She always enjoyed the weekends. It was the only time the girls at Lakeshore could get off campus for long periods of time. During the week the girls were allowed to spend approximately an hour, maybe two, give or take.

Quickly her attention was taken away from the events of the evening when she noticed someone ahead of her smoking. It didn't take long for her to recognize who the girl was. Paige sat on a small bench smoking the cigarette as she did most days.

"It's kind of nippy. What are you doing out here?" Stephanie asked in rather horrible attempt in making conversation.

Paige inhaled the cigarette feeling the toxins fill her lungs. "What does it look like?"

Stephanie blushed lightly at her stupid question. She didn't know why she expected Paige to be any different towards her than usual. "Good point." She looked down at the ground contemplating what to say next. She opted to leave the girl alone. "Well anyway it's been nice talking to you." Stephanie said as she walked a few steps back. She was still facing the blonde.

"You too." Paige huffed. She put the cigarette out quickly. "You guys going to that party tonight at Brady's?"

Stephanie shook her head. "No Rach and I are going to the movies." Paige nodded her head feigned disinterest. "But Alex..." She noticed she instantly had Paige's attention at the mention of the girl's name. She inwardly chuckled. "She's staying in tonight."

Steph could have sworn she saw a slight smile cross Paige's lips, but it was gone before she could process it. "That's cool." Paige said plainly.

"See ya around Paige." She said fairly pleased that she had managed the converse with the girl and not had her head bitten off by her bitchiness.

Paige nodded her head before running off without another word. Steph chuckled as she felt like she had entered a parallel universe. Paige Michalchuk had actually been anything other than hostile. She also seemed overly interested in Alex which didn't pass the auburn haired girl at all.

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Rachel had tried on several outfits that night. Every article of clothing could be found in a tall pile in the center of their room. She had tried on her entire wardrobe. A few blouses had managed to land on Alex's bed which paid any attention to. Her nose was stuck in her Chemistry book. She had a lab to complete before the falling Monday. The one time she did look up she found herself overly amused to find the other girl putting so much effort in an outfit she was wearing out with her friend.

The blonde must have become comfortable with something because she finally sat on her bed putting on a pair of shoes. The black boots were nice looking. They went perfectly well with the checkered shirt and red top that she'd chosen.

"So are you sure you don't want to go with us tonight?" Rachel asked her roommate for the hundredth time that night.

Alex rolled her eyes at Rachel's antics. "No Rachel. I've already told you. I have a lot of work to do. I can't go out tonight."

Rachel attempted to put on her best pout, but it only caused the other girl to laugh. "Come on Alex." Alex shook her head in 'no' once again. "Please... I'll... I don't know. I'll do something..." Alex laughed a bit turning her attention back to the text book that lay in front of her. "Ooooh I know. I know I'll buy you some Reese cups from the vending machine."

Alex raised an eyebrow at the blonde who was now pacing across the room like a mad woman. "That'd be great if A I actually liked Reese cups and B I wasn't allergic to peanuts hence why peanut butter is probably not the best choice in sucking up." She let out a slight chuckle.

"I totally forgot that. Scheiße. You're right. I'm a horrible roommate."

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Alex had just completed her homework. She turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels. She knew that Rachel wouldn't be back till later on so she could enjoy watching Animal Planet without any kind of hassles. Rachel and Stephanie had decided to watch "Halloween" and Alex, who was never a fan of scary movies, had decided not to go. In truth, she was too scared to watch the movie and had used the lame homework excuse to get out of watching that movie.

Alex had taken out her Drawing Pad in attempt to draw something or anything for that matter. She failed horribly in the fight. She gave it up momentarily and took out the picture that she had started weeks ago. The same body outline was on the paper. She reached underneath the bed and grabbed her charcoal pencils. She wasn't able to comprehend what was going on at that moment, but she felt drawn to the figure. It lacked definition and detail. It lacked everything that made a picture and yet she began to draw on it. Soon she was comfortably lying on her stomach with her feet facing the headboard; completely engrossed in her drawing. The moments of her solitude were cut short and she was interrupted by an unwanted knock on the door. She tossed the drawing pad back underneath the bed. "Ugh." She groaned loudly. She didn't want to get up, but the knocking continued until she finally yelled. "Alright alright I'm coming."

She groaned one last time before she opened the door to find the intense turquoise eyes of a familiar face staring at her. She felt as if those eyes had the intensity to burn a hole through her.

"Hey..." The blonde said bashfully.

Alex couldn't wipe the confused grin across from across her face. "Hey..."

"I know you're probably wondering why I am knocking on your door. Right?" Paige asked while hugging herself. Alex had learned this to be one of the girl's nervous habits.

"Yeah the thought may have crossed my mind." The brunette said with a smirk crossing her face.

The two stood staring at one another for what seemed like hours, but if someone were to have timed it'd have only been seconds. "Are you going to invite me in?" Paige asked quietly. Her voice was nearly a whisper.

"Well that depends."

Paige nervously tightened the grip around her waist. "Depends on what?"

"Whether you're going to tell me why you're here or not." Alex responded as she propped herself against the door.

"You let me in and I will..." Paige cleverly stated as she began to regain some of her confidence.

"Uh uh...Nice try Michalchuk."

"Please?" Paige asked with the cutest puppy dog face ever. This would happen to be the first time Alex had ever heard that word come out of her mouth.

Alex caved in without having thought twice. She removed her arm from the door allowing Paige access into the room. She closed the door behind them and motioned for Paige to have a seat on the bed. Paige hesitated momentarily before following suit. She slowly sat beside Alex after a long debate with herself.

"So?" Alex said wasting no time. She was eager for the blonde to reveal herself.

Paige's eyes wondered around the room nervously and finally fixated on the wall. The dullness suddenly became some what attractive to her. "So... I came here hoping for a chance?" She said quietly. Alex could tell it was taking everything out of her to be honest. She was quite amused, but she didn't let it show.

"What do you mean a chance?" Alex asked curiously.

"Look... I get it if you don't think I deserve one. I know we got off to a bad start, mostly my fault, but I want a chance to get to know you."

Alex looked around the room. "What's the catch?" She asked seriously before noticing Paige's discomfort. "Where are the cameras?"

Both girls chuckled nervously. "No catch and no cameras." Paige answered with a small smile.

"Really?" Alex asked disbelievingly.

"Scouts honor." The blonde said with her two fingers going through the motion. She and Alex both began to chuckle lightly.

"Alright in that case... " Alex said trying to find the remote. "You can watch this with me." She turned on the television to her favorite channel.

"Animal Planet?" Paige asked. Alex looked at her disappointedly and nodded. "No I actually love it. Just kind of sucks Steve Erwin isn't on there anymore... poor guy." She continued sadly.

"Yeah I know right?" It took her a moment to catch on. "Wait a second..." Amusingly, Alex looked at the other girl who now seemed confused. "Paige Michalchuk enjoys Animal Planet?"

"I can't help it. I love Kangaroos. They're like my weakness or something..." She noticed the girl beside her grinning widely. "Shit... why am I even telling you this? You're going to use this as like ammunition or something aren't you?"

Alex nodded her head dramatically. "Yup I believe so. You're such a softy."

"If this gets out and I'll know whom to come after Nunez…. I mean Alex." The brunette smiled at the sound of hearing her own name. The girl really was making an effort.

"Alright whatever you say..." Alex said before mumbling. "Softy."

"I heard that." The blonde said before looking back at the screen.

Both girls continued to sit on the bed in a comfortable silence, neither wanted to ruin the fragile moment between them, but Alex finally took the initiative to speak.

"Hey Paige..." The girl turned her head from the television to make eye contact with her. "You're nothing like I expected." Paige shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she tried to contain her bashfulness, but it overwhelmed her. She simply nodded and turned back to watch the show. To the outside world, the two could seem like they were old friends, but if one looked a bit deeper it was obviously the budding of an amazing relationship.