a/n: This chapter gives you a good idea of what Alex is really like. Read and always review...
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Alex sat in the park, leaning against a tree. She held a book in her lap, but she paid it no attention. She watched the birds in the sky and listened to their chirps. It felt so good to be out of that stuffy school. It was a beautiful October day and her leather jacket kept her just warm enough.
Her birthday was soon. Only a few more weeks and she would be seventeen. She couldn't wait. Although, she didn't know what she'd do for her birthday. Maybe she'd just go and chill at the arcade. Catch a movie, take a walk in the dark where there are no houses. She didn't know. She wished she had enough friends to do something big, but she would never tell that to anyone. That was a secret she'd take to her grave.
Running her hand through her black and white hair, she sighed. She was bored. She was beginning to wish she had taken Bakura up on his offer to go to the arcade. Of course, she could always go now, but she'd look really stupid. Looking stupid was not one of the things Alex did often. She was a loner, whether she liked it or not. No one could stand her.
No one except for Bakura. He was strange. He seemed to be trying desperately to be her friend, and it was annoying. Did he like her or something? She shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted was for him to ask her out. Gross. But maybe it wasn't that. Maybe he really did just want to be friends. Maybe the only reason he was bothering with her was because he knew what it was like to be alone. Little did he know, she also knew what it was like. More than he knew, or would ever know.
Maybe she should give him a chance. Check out the arcade with him. Maybe give him a few fashion tips. She laughed at the image of Bakura dressed as a punk. So, maybe just a black shirt and pants. It would look pretty cool with his hair now that she thought about it. His hair wasn't /that/ bad, really. It was just... really long. If he'd do something like his friend, /that/ would be cool.
His friends were okay. They were just... boring. That one kid... the one with the cool hairdo... with a little encouragement, he could be fun to hang with. But Bakura's friends were Bakura's friends, not hers. And she didn't want them. Not at all. They weren't compatible with her. Neither was Bakura though. Wasn't she considering hanging with him? So would it really be all too strange to check out his friends too? Maybe she /should/ go to the arcade.
No.
The only reason she was considering hanging with Bakura was because he had perused her and been patient with her attitude. His friends hadn't done anything. Bakura might be worth a shot. His friends weren't.
She sighed, knowing she should take a break from all of her thinking, but what else could she do? She had finished her 'project.' It was an ongoing thing, her project. There was no end to it. It would go on until she got tired of it. Her mother had this project once and now it had become Alex's. It was a stupid thing really, especially for a punk. She looked down at the little black book in her lap. There really wasn't much time to do her project anymore. Once winter came, it would be over. At least until Spring. But until then, what would she do? Without her project to pass the time, what would she do? She hated winter. She hated the snow and the ice. She hated the cold and the wind. There was nothing good about it. Except for maybe hitting people you hate in the face with snowballs. Or iceballs, even better.
What it all boiled down to in the end was that her life was pretty boring. She got up in the morning, went to school, then to the park to do her project, came home and ate dinner and went to bed. If anyone knew how boring her life was, she would be ridiculed. She had nothing to do over weekends. She usually just sat and watched TV or read. Sometimes she'd write hateful poetry about life and how it sucks, but then she'd rip it up and throw it away. She never wanted anyone to know what she wrote about.
Some days she'd be so bored, she'd lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling, making patterns out of the ripples in the paint. She came up with a lot of things, but her favorite was the dagger that she could always find easily. Every now and then she'd have daydreams about that dagger becoming real and just falling into her, through her. Then she'd realize that her chest really did hurt and she'd have to take a pain pill. She had grown out of that habit though... it used to scare her mother.
When she first learned about her daydreams and her pains, she would run down to her mom and cry about it. Keep in mind she was about eleven, though. She'd never do that now. Her mother had been so worried. Alex had seen a psychiatrist for a while about it, but when everyone realized it wasn't doing any good, she stopped seeing him. It turned out it was just from a memory. A painful memory that when she thought about a dagger piercing her chest, it felt like it actually had.
Here she was again. Thinking. About everything and nothing all at the same time. People wonder if that's possible, but it is. Alex knows that well. She'd replay all the moments of her life sometimes. One day it would be all the good. The next, all the bad. All the painful ones. The few times she had cried. She hadn't shed a single tear in three years and she was proud of it. She intended to keep it that way. When she had cried, no one had ever been there to witness it. To everyone's knowledge, she was a cold hearted girl who couldn't feel pain or sadness. Or happiness. But the truth was, she had nothing to be happy about. How can someone laugh for no reason at all? Who could do that? Laugh at nothing?
Possibly Bakura.
He seemed just that type of person. To laugh for no reason. To help people out just for the fun of it. Just to know he had done something worthwhile that day. It was a rare time that you found someone like that. Now she had. Was she going to take that chance? Or let it slip by like the rest of her life? Was she going to let the chance to have a good and loyal friend by her side walk on by without a look back? Was she going to look back one day and ask, "Was /that/ my life?" No. She needed to live life when she had it. She had to jump at what might be her only chance at a friend at this school. If she let it go by, what would happen? Would she be a loner for the rest of her life? She loved being by herself, but there were times where she wished for company. Now she had an opportunity to have that company. Was she going to take it?
"Alex?"
She jumped and looked up, squinting against the sun. She didn't see the speaker until he sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely surprised.
"I was walking back from the arcade. I have to pass the park to get home. You said you'd be here, so I thought I'd stop by. You don't mind, right?" Bakura asked.
"Nah, you can chill with me," Alex said, leaning her head against the tree. She was going to take the chance. The chance of being hurt... again.
Bakura smiled. For once, he felt relaxed with her. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the book in her lap.
"It's a book," she said without looking at him.
"What's it about?" he asked, keeping his patience.
Alex smiled internally. If someone responded like that to her she'd probably sock them. She didn't have Bakura's patience at all.
"It's not," she replied. Should she show him? Should she show him one of her weaknesses? Just hand it to him for him to ridicule? Allow him to tell his friends about it so they could make fun?
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
She didn't answer right away, but Bakura waited. She turned her head toward him and looked into his kind brown eyes. Something about him made her trust him.
She looked down at the little black book and let it fall open. Between each of the pages was a pressed flower or leaf.
Bakura leaned over her shoulder to see and his eyes widened. "This is your project?" he asked softly.
Alex closed the book and her eyes went cold. "Keep your insults to yourself," she snarled.
Bakura sat up, surprised. "No! I think it's great," he said, making Alex stare at him, her jaw threatening to drop. "Can I see?"
Stunned, Alex handed him the book and he began to flip through the pages carefully.
"It must have taken you a long time to get all of these," he said as he came across a rose and a rose bud.
"Yeah, it did," she replied. Bakura was sharing her interest in pressed flowers? Or was he pretending? It didn't even matter to her. Anyone else would mock her for it. But he wasn't.
"You don't have many more pages left," he said, handing the book back to her.
"I don't have many more days left of nice weather either," she replied. Soon it would be winter. Horrible, bitter winter.
"I wish it could stay Fall forever. I can't stand winter," he said, leaning back against the tree. Alex stared at him. "What?" he asked, noticing her look.
"I... I hate winter too," she said, somewhat confused. Could it be that Bakura was similar to her? He didn't hate the winter for the same reason she did, but he hated it. Was there more they had in common?
"Really?" he asked. His face looked surprised for a second, but then it subsided into a pleasant smile.
"Yeah," she whispered. She hadn't meant for it to be a whisper, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"I don't really have a hobby," Bakura said, staring into the sky along with Alex.
"This is my only one," she said, fingering the book.
"It's more than I have," he said softly.
"No, you have much more than me," she said, without thinking.
He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
Realizing what she had said, she quickly checked her watch. "Hey, I gotta' go," she said, standing.
"I should probably go too," Bakura said, getting to his feet as well.
They said good-bye and began to walk in the same direction.
"You... live down here?" she asked, pointing down the road, shocked.
"I could say the same for you!" Bakura gave a slight laugh and began to walk again.
Alex followed, stunned. How could she have missed this before? How could they be so different on the surface and so much alike underneath?
They walked in silence, but it was a pleasant silence. One you wouldn't expect Alex to be a part of. A silence that you would find between... friends.
A few minutes later, Alex turned up a driveway and went about halfway before turning back to Bakura, who was watching her leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll have to," she said, for the first time hoping he caught it as the joke it was.
He laughed. "Right. Bye Alex," he said, beginning to walk further down the road, but not before waving.
"Hey, Bakura!"
He turned, surprised.
"I'm diggin' your necklace," she said. Bakura touched his Millennium Ring and looked up at her. In the red glow of the sun he thought he saw something on her face that resembled a grin.
"Thanks," he said with a smile. Then the two turned away from each other and went home.
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a/n: Who knew they had so much in common? I know, I know, how /cute/, right? Well, that's how I wanted it. Review please and I'll continue. (There may be more cuteness, I'm not sure)
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Alex sat in the park, leaning against a tree. She held a book in her lap, but she paid it no attention. She watched the birds in the sky and listened to their chirps. It felt so good to be out of that stuffy school. It was a beautiful October day and her leather jacket kept her just warm enough.
Her birthday was soon. Only a few more weeks and she would be seventeen. She couldn't wait. Although, she didn't know what she'd do for her birthday. Maybe she'd just go and chill at the arcade. Catch a movie, take a walk in the dark where there are no houses. She didn't know. She wished she had enough friends to do something big, but she would never tell that to anyone. That was a secret she'd take to her grave.
Running her hand through her black and white hair, she sighed. She was bored. She was beginning to wish she had taken Bakura up on his offer to go to the arcade. Of course, she could always go now, but she'd look really stupid. Looking stupid was not one of the things Alex did often. She was a loner, whether she liked it or not. No one could stand her.
No one except for Bakura. He was strange. He seemed to be trying desperately to be her friend, and it was annoying. Did he like her or something? She shuddered at the thought. The last thing she wanted was for him to ask her out. Gross. But maybe it wasn't that. Maybe he really did just want to be friends. Maybe the only reason he was bothering with her was because he knew what it was like to be alone. Little did he know, she also knew what it was like. More than he knew, or would ever know.
Maybe she should give him a chance. Check out the arcade with him. Maybe give him a few fashion tips. She laughed at the image of Bakura dressed as a punk. So, maybe just a black shirt and pants. It would look pretty cool with his hair now that she thought about it. His hair wasn't /that/ bad, really. It was just... really long. If he'd do something like his friend, /that/ would be cool.
His friends were okay. They were just... boring. That one kid... the one with the cool hairdo... with a little encouragement, he could be fun to hang with. But Bakura's friends were Bakura's friends, not hers. And she didn't want them. Not at all. They weren't compatible with her. Neither was Bakura though. Wasn't she considering hanging with him? So would it really be all too strange to check out his friends too? Maybe she /should/ go to the arcade.
No.
The only reason she was considering hanging with Bakura was because he had perused her and been patient with her attitude. His friends hadn't done anything. Bakura might be worth a shot. His friends weren't.
She sighed, knowing she should take a break from all of her thinking, but what else could she do? She had finished her 'project.' It was an ongoing thing, her project. There was no end to it. It would go on until she got tired of it. Her mother had this project once and now it had become Alex's. It was a stupid thing really, especially for a punk. She looked down at the little black book in her lap. There really wasn't much time to do her project anymore. Once winter came, it would be over. At least until Spring. But until then, what would she do? Without her project to pass the time, what would she do? She hated winter. She hated the snow and the ice. She hated the cold and the wind. There was nothing good about it. Except for maybe hitting people you hate in the face with snowballs. Or iceballs, even better.
What it all boiled down to in the end was that her life was pretty boring. She got up in the morning, went to school, then to the park to do her project, came home and ate dinner and went to bed. If anyone knew how boring her life was, she would be ridiculed. She had nothing to do over weekends. She usually just sat and watched TV or read. Sometimes she'd write hateful poetry about life and how it sucks, but then she'd rip it up and throw it away. She never wanted anyone to know what she wrote about.
Some days she'd be so bored, she'd lie on her bed and stare at the ceiling, making patterns out of the ripples in the paint. She came up with a lot of things, but her favorite was the dagger that she could always find easily. Every now and then she'd have daydreams about that dagger becoming real and just falling into her, through her. Then she'd realize that her chest really did hurt and she'd have to take a pain pill. She had grown out of that habit though... it used to scare her mother.
When she first learned about her daydreams and her pains, she would run down to her mom and cry about it. Keep in mind she was about eleven, though. She'd never do that now. Her mother had been so worried. Alex had seen a psychiatrist for a while about it, but when everyone realized it wasn't doing any good, she stopped seeing him. It turned out it was just from a memory. A painful memory that when she thought about a dagger piercing her chest, it felt like it actually had.
Here she was again. Thinking. About everything and nothing all at the same time. People wonder if that's possible, but it is. Alex knows that well. She'd replay all the moments of her life sometimes. One day it would be all the good. The next, all the bad. All the painful ones. The few times she had cried. She hadn't shed a single tear in three years and she was proud of it. She intended to keep it that way. When she had cried, no one had ever been there to witness it. To everyone's knowledge, she was a cold hearted girl who couldn't feel pain or sadness. Or happiness. But the truth was, she had nothing to be happy about. How can someone laugh for no reason at all? Who could do that? Laugh at nothing?
Possibly Bakura.
He seemed just that type of person. To laugh for no reason. To help people out just for the fun of it. Just to know he had done something worthwhile that day. It was a rare time that you found someone like that. Now she had. Was she going to take that chance? Or let it slip by like the rest of her life? Was she going to let the chance to have a good and loyal friend by her side walk on by without a look back? Was she going to look back one day and ask, "Was /that/ my life?" No. She needed to live life when she had it. She had to jump at what might be her only chance at a friend at this school. If she let it go by, what would happen? Would she be a loner for the rest of her life? She loved being by herself, but there were times where she wished for company. Now she had an opportunity to have that company. Was she going to take it?
"Alex?"
She jumped and looked up, squinting against the sun. She didn't see the speaker until he sat down beside her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, genuinely surprised.
"I was walking back from the arcade. I have to pass the park to get home. You said you'd be here, so I thought I'd stop by. You don't mind, right?" Bakura asked.
"Nah, you can chill with me," Alex said, leaning her head against the tree. She was going to take the chance. The chance of being hurt... again.
Bakura smiled. For once, he felt relaxed with her. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the book in her lap.
"It's a book," she said without looking at him.
"What's it about?" he asked, keeping his patience.
Alex smiled internally. If someone responded like that to her she'd probably sock them. She didn't have Bakura's patience at all.
"It's not," she replied. Should she show him? Should she show him one of her weaknesses? Just hand it to him for him to ridicule? Allow him to tell his friends about it so they could make fun?
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
She didn't answer right away, but Bakura waited. She turned her head toward him and looked into his kind brown eyes. Something about him made her trust him.
She looked down at the little black book and let it fall open. Between each of the pages was a pressed flower or leaf.
Bakura leaned over her shoulder to see and his eyes widened. "This is your project?" he asked softly.
Alex closed the book and her eyes went cold. "Keep your insults to yourself," she snarled.
Bakura sat up, surprised. "No! I think it's great," he said, making Alex stare at him, her jaw threatening to drop. "Can I see?"
Stunned, Alex handed him the book and he began to flip through the pages carefully.
"It must have taken you a long time to get all of these," he said as he came across a rose and a rose bud.
"Yeah, it did," she replied. Bakura was sharing her interest in pressed flowers? Or was he pretending? It didn't even matter to her. Anyone else would mock her for it. But he wasn't.
"You don't have many more pages left," he said, handing the book back to her.
"I don't have many more days left of nice weather either," she replied. Soon it would be winter. Horrible, bitter winter.
"I wish it could stay Fall forever. I can't stand winter," he said, leaning back against the tree. Alex stared at him. "What?" he asked, noticing her look.
"I... I hate winter too," she said, somewhat confused. Could it be that Bakura was similar to her? He didn't hate the winter for the same reason she did, but he hated it. Was there more they had in common?
"Really?" he asked. His face looked surprised for a second, but then it subsided into a pleasant smile.
"Yeah," she whispered. She hadn't meant for it to be a whisper, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"I don't really have a hobby," Bakura said, staring into the sky along with Alex.
"This is my only one," she said, fingering the book.
"It's more than I have," he said softly.
"No, you have much more than me," she said, without thinking.
He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
Realizing what she had said, she quickly checked her watch. "Hey, I gotta' go," she said, standing.
"I should probably go too," Bakura said, getting to his feet as well.
They said good-bye and began to walk in the same direction.
"You... live down here?" she asked, pointing down the road, shocked.
"I could say the same for you!" Bakura gave a slight laugh and began to walk again.
Alex followed, stunned. How could she have missed this before? How could they be so different on the surface and so much alike underneath?
They walked in silence, but it was a pleasant silence. One you wouldn't expect Alex to be a part of. A silence that you would find between... friends.
A few minutes later, Alex turned up a driveway and went about halfway before turning back to Bakura, who was watching her leave.
"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll have to," she said, for the first time hoping he caught it as the joke it was.
He laughed. "Right. Bye Alex," he said, beginning to walk further down the road, but not before waving.
"Hey, Bakura!"
He turned, surprised.
"I'm diggin' your necklace," she said. Bakura touched his Millennium Ring and looked up at her. In the red glow of the sun he thought he saw something on her face that resembled a grin.
"Thanks," he said with a smile. Then the two turned away from each other and went home.
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a/n: Who knew they had so much in common? I know, I know, how /cute/, right? Well, that's how I wanted it. Review please and I'll continue. (There may be more cuteness, I'm not sure)