I awake the second time that day feeling as if it's the first. I can get up off the couch with minimal effort and forget about my annoying hair. It's still perfectly coiffed thanks to Mina. When I make it to the bathroom without leaning against the wall, I know I'm back in business. I hear my front door slam and Mina trill "I'm here!" I finish up and walk into the kitchen. She's can always be found in the kitchen.
"Well, hello to you, Sunshine." I smile at her.
She turns toward me. "Hey! You look loads better! Back to your old self?"
I flex my arms out. "I think so. It's about time for a proper hug! Come here!" I pull her in for a tight squeeze, whispering in her ear. "Seriously. Thank you for everything you have done in the past few days. Saving me at the party, doing my experiments, helping with the ceremonies and rituals, getting my homework, having Max watch the kittens, taking care of me..." I list everything off, "And yet you still had time to plan a party too. You're fantastic!" I let her go to find her red-faced and flustered.
"Gosh. I don't know what to say to that. I mean I was only doing what anyone else would." She sputters out, taking a few tiny backward steps.
"No. You did way more than that. That's why you're family Samina, and always will be." I say fiercely, pulling her in for another hug.
"It's nice to have a family." She whispers into my shoulder. She clears her throat, "Um, I brought La Parilla." She says changing the subject and handing me a bag. "Your favorite, fettuccine alfurrito."
"You always know the right thing to say! Give it here I'm famished!" We eat standing at the counter giggling like old times. She with her Blackwater Bayou burrito and me with mine. Then we head into the dining room. Four massive piles await me. I sigh. "They didn't even go easy on me."
"Nope. They figure they should push you until the day you graduate or go completely bonkers." Mina giggles and takes her place at the opposite end of the table. "But don't you worry, I have some stuff to do of my own." She thunks her heavy bag on the table and pulls out some old texts along with her own grimoire. "I'll be right here the whole time."
"Yay!" I feign happiness and settle myself into the first class. An essay on the different parts of the immunological system and their intricacies. I set up an outline about how it's going to go. I don't have my computer, so I put it aside to write later and grab the next pile. I work diligently on the piles. Diagrams, vocabulary, re-learning body systems. So much work I've missed out on. I don't even notice when Mina disappears and reappears with some iced tea. She hides my computer behind the last pile of work. When I pull the last pile toward me, I realize it's my data from the blood testing that Mina did while I was out. I spy the computer behind it and smile. Grabbing it, I push the data away so I can finish my actual work by writing up my essay. I drink my iced tea. It's a nice blend with calming lavender, brain-boosting rosemary, and ginseng. Mina always makes the best blends. Each time my glass is empty, I find it's magically been refilled. I couldn't say whether actual magic was used. I finish off my essay and email it to my professor, explaining my situation as a reminder.
He replies quickly. "I'm glad to see you are doing well enough to continue your studies. There have been some outlandish rumors. I hope to see you in class on Monday. Thanks for turning in your essay early." I wonder what sorts of rumors are flying about on campus, but I didn't have time to ponder that as my phone beeped. I was wondering where it had been. I know I needed to check in with people and let them know I was okay.
I pull my phone toward me and see the text was from Ben. "Hoping you're doing okay. Mina says you may get out of the hospital soon. I don't know why she won't let me see you. I think you might benefit from outside help. Please, Alyx. If you get this, let me know you're alright."
I thought that was an odd text and realized it was many in a long line of texts from him. I quickly scan through them. "Mina. How come there are like fifty texts from Ben on my phone?" I pipe up asking her.
"Oh, yeah. About that." She looks up from her tome and bites her lip. "I... I had to tell him something." She stammers out. "I made it seem like you were too sick to be seen by anyone. He's so worried about you. It's kind of adorable if it weren't so annoying.
"Why didn't you tell him I got out and was fine? I don't want to give the guy an ulcer!" I whine at her, a little shocked.
"I wasn't sure what to say to him honestly. Bless his little heart, he has been at that hospital every day trying to see you. I put some warding around the place so whenever he enters the building I'm alerted and can show up to tell him to bugger off! He's already flown way past concerned friend and into the creepy category." She tells me.
"I should put him out of his misery," I say. "He really can't be that awful, can he?" I question.
"It's your funeral, Alyx." Mina quips. "I wouldn't answer if I were you. You'll see what I mean."
I write a quick reply. "I've been in and out of sleep and consciousness. This is the first time I've had my phone. Thank you for all your concern. I should be fine in a few days. They say. I'll let you know when I get out."
I immediately get a response. "Thank God! I have been so worried! Can I come see you? Bring you flowers? A goodie bag? What do you want? I'll bring anything."
"I'm sorry you can't see me. My immune system is still too weak. I can keep up with some texting though." I wait a few minutes before sending it off to make it seem like this is an effort. Then I do another. "I'm sleepy, gonna catch some more zzz's."
He texts back almost immediately again. "That sounds scary! I'll be sending lots of good thoughts your way. Get well soon."
I don't answer and check my phone for any word from Sam, Dean or Cas. Radio silence on all fronts. I shoot a text to both my parents, checking in and get up for a short stretch. I want to dive into the research Mina did for me. Sitting back down, I pull the computer towards me. I begin by creating a new file to input data from my experiments. I make a spreadsheet and colorful graphs of each person, compiling cell lines and proteins. I'm going to start collecting more samples and seeing if I can get a protein database going. I want to tell Sam. I know he would be very interested, but I want to have some actual data together before I present it to him. There's a knock at the door and I glance at the clock. It's seven already. "Alyx?! You in there?" I hear Max call.
"Crap! I can't believe how late it is! Mina! Hide my data, will you? I'll go get the door." I whisper at her getting up. I am feeling no more ill effects of the past few days.
I answer the door and Max is utterly surprised to see me. "Alyx? Wow! You look fantastic!" He blushes. "I mean compared to this morning. But well you always... I'm just going to stop right here before I put my foot in my mouth and say you look like your back to your old self." He smiles. "I brought some pizza. Mackenzie River. Mina mentioned it was your favorite."
"Max! Aren't you just the sweetest! Come on in!" I lead him into the dining room hoping Mina got our shit together. We get there and I find my piles of homework and a folded note taped to my computer. I grab it and read it as Max puts the pizza down. 'Everything is good. Data in your office, top left drawer. Have fun on the playdate. See you in the morning for your birthday sweetums!' I shove the note in my pocket and turn my attention back to Max. "That's a lot of food, what do you take me for?"
He sucks on his lip, playing with his piercing before answering as he gazes around. "I... I assumed Mina would be here. I brought enough for her too." He says opening up the boxes.
I laugh and wave the folded note at him. "She cut out early. Said she knew I owed you a 'date'." His mouth forms an O and he quickly turns away. I go over and cuff him in the arm. "She's right you know. I've been telling her how funny you are and how much I've wanted to hang out with you in person."
His pearlescent eyes flit towards mine. "Is... Is it okay? I know you and what's his name broke up. And this isn't anything other than a friendly date. I just want to get to know you more. You are such an interesting person. You're so magnetic and alluring and... and now I'm babbling again. Sorry."
I stare into his eyes, like gathering storm clouds, a hint of fierceness underneath the cool wisps of silver. "I've noticed I seem to have that effect on people. Don't be sorry. I would love the pleasure of your company tonight, Max. It's been a rough few days. If I'm honest, I don't want to be alone." I admit.
The silver flashes, like sunlight striking metal, making it glitter and he breaks out in the widest grin. "Then, my friend, you won't have to be alone. I'll stay as long as you want me to. Now let's get to eating."
I grab the pizza boxes. "Let's watch a movie. You pick." I point him in the direction of my massive DVD collection and take the pizza into the living room. The kittens have disappeared again, but I know the smell of food will call them. I put the boxes on the TV knowing they can't reach it yet and rush to the kitchen for something to drink. "Do you want some beer with your pizza?" I call, my head buried in the fridge.
"That would be good. What kind do you have?" I hear his voice close by.
Startled, I bang my head on the shelf. "Owww! Shit!" I holler staggering back and rubbing my head.
"Oh, damn! You okay? Sorry I scared you." Max rushes over, his hand on my elbow. "Lemme see!"
I giggle and push him away. "It's okay. I'm fine now." I knew I was. I could feel the pain subsiding quickly, my powers of healing doing its job. I made a mental note to tell Rosemarue. I head back to the fridge. "I have some golden ale, some red IPA and a few bottles of something dark and smoky. I'm not 100% sure of what it is." I say pulling out the last two. "What kind of pizza did you bring?"
"Meat lovers and Hawaiian." Max blushes again, his chubby cheeks becoming rosier. "Your two favorites."
"How do you know so much about me and I hardly know anything about you?" I ask incredulously, putting the IPA back in the fridge and grabbing a bottle each of the dark and smoky and golden beers. "I mean I know we've texted a lot, but not about this kind of stuff."
Again, his blush deepens. This boy cannot hide anything from me. "I. Um. I asked around." He states, his eyes downcast. "I wanted to find you first. To set up a date, but people never knew where you were. The library, in class or the lab, were the most common places to find you, but now you never seem to be in them. So, I got curious and asked around more... to find out information hoping I could catch you somewhere. Pin you down for a conversation."
"You did?!" I hide a smile, sitting on the floor and pulling blankets and pillows down on us. He takes a pillow and gently hits me with it. "HEY! The beers!"
He laughs. "I will get you later." He promises. He pulls the movie out of his back pocket with a flourish and hands it to me. "Don't laugh. I know it's a terrible movie, but I really really like it. I can't believe you have it!"
I glance down at the cover, Down Periscope. "It is a terrible movie, but I like it too. A guilty pleasure. I have a few of those." I wink at him, pop the movie in and hit play. I hand him one golden and one dark beer. "Now make sure to drink the dark one with the meat lovers pizza and the golden with the Hawaiian. They will complement the flavors.
"Really? I've never heard of doing that before." He states.
I roll my eyes at him. "Just do it. You won't regret it. I promise." He shrugs as the movie starts. I see him nodding in appreciation when he takes a bite of Hawaiian with a swig of the golden beer. I hide my smile.
I can tell Max has seen the movie about as many times as I have. We laugh at all the best parts, commenting on things and saying all the lines. We enjoy our beer and pizza and by the movies end are both feeling happily buzzed, despite the heavy pizza. I sink back into the pillows. The kittens appeared halfway through to beg for some food, as I knew they would. We tickled their tummies and tuckered them out. Now they lay in their tiny bed, sleeping peacefully. Max gets up to clear the coffee table. "You don't have to do that," I say.
"I know, but we have tons of leftovers and I want to get them in the fridge. You want another beer since I'm going?" I shrug and he disappears with the empty bottles and pizza boxes. I'm impressed he can carry it all.
I smile thinking to myself, why did I not push to hang out with Max. He is the sweetest guy. For the first time in a long time, that ache in my chest left by Tyrion doesn't hurt as bad. In fact, it feels smaller. I giggle. Lost in my own thoughts I don't even notice that Max has snuck back into the living room until I get a face full of pillow. Spluttering, I toss one in his direction. I'm not even close. He tosses another one at me but now I'm ready. I catch it and come at him with it. We have a friendly fight, smacking each other until both pillows explode in a cloud of grey and brown feathers. Laughing and red-faced, I plop down on the couch. Max follows suit and hands me a Red IPA. "Thought we should have the only beer we haven't tried yet." I nod appreciatively. "I told you I'd get you with a pillow later." He laughs.
"Yes, you did. You also evaded my question then." I scold him.
"What question was that?" He smirks knowingly, a tiny dimple appearing in his cheek and takes a sip.
I halfheartedly throw another pillow at him. "You seem to know a lot about me. What other things do you know?"
He seems to get serious, sitting up, moving closer, like he's going to tell me something important. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He boops my nose.
I shake my head and sit up also. Taking a big swallow, I face him. "Actually, I would."
He looks a little ashamed of himself. "I kind of did some research on you. Don't think I'm a stalker or anything, I just wanted to know what kinds of things you were into so we would have things to talk about. I... I mentioned before I... I find you fascinating. I didn't think I'd be able to have a conversation with you. So beautiful and smart! You're amazing! I wanted to be prepared."
I give him a look of sympathy. "Really Max. I'm not that great."
"Don't sell yourself short Alyx. You're a knockout." He reaches over and tucks one of the curls behind my ear. "I can't believe I never noticed you before. Especially since you're a senior this year. Where have you been hiding these past few years, hm?"
I look into his steely determined eyes before replying. "I've been around, hiding in the background. I never took the time to care about how I looked, it was all about my studies and research. But over the summer I came to realize it matters and made some steps to better my appearance."
"Some steps? I'd say you blossomed, Alyx. Not to be rude but some of the old school photos I found were pretty bad." He throws his head back and laughs at the thought of them, tumbling back into the couch.
I smirk. "I bet you're talking about my seventh and eleventh grades. They were probably the worst." I shake my head at the memory.
"Yes. They were awful but look at you now. You grew out of those braces, bad skin, crazy hair and out of that gangly awkward body." He eyes me appreciatively. "I am glad you kept your glasses though. They suit you." He replies, his grin broadening. He continues, "I can't believe you basically got a perfect score on the ACT's and the SAT's. I mean come on! Who does that? How can you say you aren't smart?"
"I may be a little smart," I answer. "But if I've learned anything recently, it's that there's always someone prettier, smarter, richer or more successful than you. However, it shouldn't stop you from pursuing your dreams."
"Beautiful, smart and humble. How'd I get so lucky to find someone like you? Even if..." He sighs and turns to stare at his hands.
"Max? Are you hitting on me?" I start.
He straightens up cutting me off. "You're right. I'm sorry. I know you are hurting and I shouldn't take advantage of that. I didn't realize I'd like you so much. I should probably go." He stands up to leave and staggers hitting the wall. "Woah! I didn't drink that much, I should be totally fine!"
I rush to his side so he can lean on me. "Well, Maximillian you aren't going anywhere in that condition. I won't let you." I wonder if Mina had a hand in this, but instinctually know she'd never set me up like that. Not when I'm so involved with Dean.
"Oh, and you're a nurse too! Man, you are too good to be true!" He teases me, slightly slurring his words now.
"Technically, I'm studying to be a doctor." I correct him sweetly. "But tomay-to, toe-moto at this point." He smiles crookedly. I shake my head. "Come on you big lug! I have a nice soft bed for you to sleep it off in." He leans heavily on me as I escort him to the spare bedroom.
By the time we get there, Max has calmed down and gotten sleepy. I get him onto the bed and pull off his socks and shoes. I'm debating on what I should do next. I want him to be comfortable. I hear a whisper and feel a tug on my arm, "Alyx, stay with me and talk? Please?" He gazes up at me, a soft grey gaze through thick dark lashes and I can't say no to him. Not with those puppy dog eyes.
"Just till you fall asleep, Cupcake," I whisper back and help him get under the covers. Then I sit on the floor so our eyes meet and he clasps my hand.
"I'm going to tell you why you are so wonderful." He says sleepily, reaching for some of my curls. "You love Game of Thrones, Sex and the City and Breaking Bad, but also love Harry Potter, the Whedon-verse and This is Us. You constantly read. I saw the books on your nightstand. The Emperor of all Maladies, Devil in the White City, Ready Player One and Confessions of a Shopaholic, showing that you have a wide range of topics that you are interested in and amused by. You love wearing dresses but can also get down and dirty with the boys in a kickboxing match. You are double majoring in microbiology and pre-med meaning you are smart as hell, determined, and that you have ambitious goals. You work in a thankless job as a lab assistant so you can get experience in research so eventually, you can run your own lab. You volunteer at the old folks home, animal shelter and various other philan.. Philarth... charities. Or used to anyway before Tyrion's death. You're an archer and can kick anyone's butt using multiple types of martial arts, but still want some guy to wine and dine you. Your favorite movies are somewhat unconventional..." At this point, he starts to falter. His sleepiness overcoming him and his hand drops. He pulls a few handfuls of my hair onto the bed so he can continue stroking it without much effort. A few more words slip out. "It Happened One Night, Casablanca, Harold and Maude, pizza, sushi, Pad Thai, Indian." He smiles his eyes fluttering. I'm impressed, he really did find out a lot about me.
"I still don't know much about you Max." I breathe softly.
"You know enough," Max replies and yawns again.
"For now. But I'd like to change that." I tell him.
"I'd like that to." He smiles as he drifts off to sleep.
I stay a bit longer making sure he has fully succumbed to dreamland before disconnecting his hand from my hair. My arm is all pins and needles from lying it at an odd angle and I shake it out. I glance at the clock noticing it's just past ten. I yawn and decide to call it a night myself. I'm still a little tired from all that transpired this past weekend. I walk through the house making sure everything is in order before slipping into my room and between my own lavender fragranced sheets.
