Chapter 13

Lex was sitting on the couch, watching TV with a bored expression when Mordea burst in.

"Yo loser. The house is yours the rest of the night." She said, searching the ground for her heels.

"What? Why?" Lex asked in confusion.

"Bashford is taking me out tonight, dad is staying over at some hotel working on some business project, and mom's spending another two days with her friends. This means the house is yours. Just don't destroy place, got it?"

"No promises."

"See ya later."

"See you tomorrow morning." Mordea scoffed and left, Lex listening as her car left the driveway. A grin made its way to her face and Lex quickly grabbed her phone from the coffee table.

"Hello?" "Randy! Hey, wanna come over to my place?"

"What?" "Do you wanna come over? I thought what I'd said was perfectly clear."

"Sure! When?"

"Right now. Bring Howard and Nomi and tell them food is acceptable to bring. No questions, see you in twenty minutes or less, bye!" Lex hung up the phone and smirked.

*Randy*

"Why the heck does she want us to come and bring food?" Howard asked over the phone.

"She didn't say. We're probably all just gonna hang out at her place. You coming or not?"

"Yeah I'm coming!"

"See ya there in five." Randy hung up his phone and turned to the nightstand stood next to his bed.

"Nomicon, we're going somewhere." The book turned to an odd sort of red mist and solidified on the floor, becoming Nomicon himself.

"Where are we headed to?" Nomicon asked, adjusting the black and red vest he wore over a white shirt with dark blue jeans.

"Lex's house." Rand answered, putting on his favorite hoodie.

"What will be doing?"

"Just hang out, I'd guess."

"I'm in." "Great! Let's grab some food and get going!"

"Why?"

"She said bringing snacks would be a good idea."

"Alright."

In a matter of minutes, the three males were standing together in front of Lex's door on her porch. Howard knocked on the door rapidly until it swung open to reveal Lex. She was in a gothic day of the dead tank top, denim shorts, and had her hair in a messy ponytail.

"Hey guys! Looks like you accepted my invite!" She chuckled.

"Of course we did! Right guys?" Howard said. Nomicon and Randy didn't respond, since they were busy staring at Lex's attire with matching blushes on their cheeks. They weren't used to seeing her in a thin top with shorts, so this was a bit of a shock for them.

"Quit staring please. It's a bit creepy." Lex said, snapping in their faces. Snapping out of it, they cleared their throats awkwardly and looked around in embarrassment.

"Come in, make yourselves at home." Lex stepped aside, letting them enter the spacious house.

"You have a lovely home." Nomicon commented.

"Thanks!"

"So, we're here and we brought food, but for what exactly?" Howard asked, setting a huge bag of chips down on a table.

"We're having a movie night. My whole family isn't here, so we have the entire place to ourselves."

"Cool!"

"Now follow me to the best TV in the house!" Lex led them into the living room which had a huge TV mounted on the wall with two small stereos next to it.

"How did you afford this?" Howard asked in amazement.

"Having a dad who works for McFist has its advantages."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Your dad works for THE Hannibal McFist?!" Randy questioned.

"Yep. He's pretty high on the McFist business food chain."

"Then how come you live in a normal house in our tiny suburbs?" Howard asked.

"I like it better here. Simple as that."

"Why? You could be living in a penthouse next to McFist in downtown Norrisville!"

"But that's the thing. I don't want to. My family, well except for my sister and Veronica, like simple stuff. Except for our TV. Our TV's awesome sauce." Lex walked over to the stand under the TV which was full of DVDs.

"Let's pick a movie, shall we?" The boys nodded and began looking.

"Oh my gosh! You have Grave Puncher the Movie?!" Randy said, holding the movie like it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.

"Heck yeah! Why wouldn't I?"

"You're a Grave Puncher fan?" Lex nodded and grinned .

"I've been playing it since I was seven."

"You are the cheese!"

"Thanks Cunningham."

"It's decided! We're watching Grave Puncher the Movie!" Randy put the movie into the DVD player, Howard left to go retrieve the snacks, Lex grabbed some blankets and a pillow, and Nomi popped some popcorn.

"Let's watch this thing!" Lex said, jumping onto the coach and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. The rest of them sat down next to her and the movie started.

Halfway through the movie, they were all watching in anticipation with their eyes glued to the screen. Howard was stuffing his face, Nomi was silently watching the movie intently, Lex was curled up cozily in her blanket, and Randy was watching in amazement, all while sneaking a few glances back at Lex. She was peacefully sitting in her makeshift nest of blankets with her back pressed against the couch, her eyes half lidded with tiredness. A little voice in his head told him to do something, by he couldn't bring himself to act upon it. Little did he know that Nomicon was going through the exact same thing. 'What do I do?' They both thought. Lex yawned and stretched her arms, unintentionally leaning her head on Randy's shoulder. He blushed at her, Lex appearing totally oblivious to her actions and his reaction. Nomicon frowned a bit at the action and the feeling he'd had earlier when Randy mentioned Lex during their lesson returned. 'Why do I feel this way? Something is definitely wrong with me.' He thought. Without knowledge of it, Nomi wrapped his arm around Lex' waist and pulled her slightly closer to himself. She looked up at Nomi in surprise, her eyes wide and a faint blush on her cheeks. Randy looked at Nomicon in disbelief, not even knowing how to respond to his sudden display of affection. Nomicon himself didn't even look like he knew what he was doing! He looked right back at Lex with about the same amount of surprise, but felt a sort of happiness he couldn't quite explain. Randy, however, wasn't taking it too well and was clenching his fists in jealousy. He hurriedly turned his attention back to the movie, but still couldn't get over what Nomicon was doing. About forty minutes later, the movie ended and the credits were rolling while everyone was fighting back sleep.

"I guess it's time for you all to go." Lex yawned, standing up and stretching a bit.

"But I'm tired." Nomi said, laying down and hiding his face in a pillow.

"Can't we just sleep here?" Randy yawned over Howard's snores.

"If you're okay with my dad hurting you, be my guest." The two's eyes widened and they nearly leaped from the couch, easily disturbing Howard from his slumber.

"C'mon, I'll take you home." Lex said, grabbing her shoes.

"I'll walk home myself, though I thank you for the offer." Nomi said with a bow as he headed towards the door. After a moments hesitation, he turned back and hugged Lex tightly. She blushed at his action and shyly wrapped her arms around him for a split second.

"Until next time we all meet?" Nomi said.

"Until next time, Nomi." Lex said.

"C'mon you two, your parents probably want you home." She turned to Howard and Randy as she spoke.

"Alright, alright." Randy mumbled as he stood and made his way to the door.

"Up Howard." Lex said, picking up the sleeping Howard with difficulty.

"Here, I'll help." Randy put one of Howard's arms around his shoulders and Lex followed suit. They stumbled out of the house with the still snoring Howard and to his house. After an explanation to his waiting mother at the door, they were relieved of the loss of Howard's weight on their shoulders. They asked along in comfortable silence and eventually came to a stop on Randy's front steps.

"See you at school Cunningham." Lex said with a sleepy smile. Before she could walk away, Randy grasped her wrist and, without a second thought, kissed her cheek. It was for only a few seconds, but it felt like eternity until Randy backed away shyly with a mumbled "bye." Lex stood there in shock, feeling her cheek. A stupid grin made its way to her face and she walked back home in a giddy mood.

What's this? Did both Nomicon and Randy do something affectionate towards Lex in one night? Yes! I can just feel the tension that's gonna form.