Chapter 7: Gravity

Maybe it was cynicism, maybe it was because he'd been foolish himself with it; but Dylan Michalchuk barely believed in love.

Don't get him wrong, he loved Marco very much, but after seeing how it tore apart so many of his friends, left him miserable for months, and made his sister act like an idiot, he really couldn't say he was a fan of it.

Marco and Hazel's 'Palex Plan' certainly wasn't easy for him. Sure, he wanted Paige to be happy – but could Alex really be the one for her? That he wasn't sure about. He'd seen Paige with her other boyfriends and how she would dive head-first into their relationships without thinking, and he was sure that this was just another instance. Paige fell in and out of love easily, that was just her personality. Sure, this time it was taking her longer to fall out of it, but it would happen, as it usually did.

And what about Alex – could he trust the girl who had so quickly broken her heart? Did she really love her?

Dylan remembered the night Paige told him she was seeing Alex like it was yesterday. He was home on his semester break, taking full advantage of the luxury of napping away from loud roommates, when he was awoken by a soft tap on the door. She had never looked more at peace when she told him about this girl, Alex. Alex Nunez, Marco's former adversary-turned-friend, Ellie Nash's euchre partner, and suddenly, the love of his sister's life. She talked about how she had been wonderful for her, how they both brought the best out of one another. He couldn't help himself as he questioned her sincerity, but she quickly assured him that what she felt was honest.

It was almost surreal. Here was his baby sister, formerly the most boy-crazy person he ever knew, suddenly a grown woman, sharing with him her most private feelings about Alex, feelings that she probably had yet to mutter out loud, much less share with the girl she felt them for. He even momentarily thought that Alex was the one for her.

The moment passed the day Paige came home crying from the mall after Alex had broken up with her.

Ever since then, he always found it hard to be around Alex, but he made the effort. Although he led Marco to believe that his only incentive for the bet was the money, he genuinely wanted to know for himself if they everybody was right and his intuition was wrong.

So here he was, at the Tim Horton's near Alex's apartment, watching her enter the coffee shop alone.

"Hey," Alex said cautiously, taking a seat.

"Hey, Alex," Dylan answered. They both sat stiffly; never before had they been alone with one another.

"So…you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, about Paige." He figured there was no point in rambling.

"What about?"

"I want to know about your intentions," he stated plainly.

"Looks like succinctness runs in your family," she laughed, rubbing her temple.

"Seriously, Alex. Paige is my sister, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think she might still in love with you." Something about the way that Alex made jokes when he was trying to have a serious conversation made him feel confrontational. Alex was the perfect person to start an argument with.

"Why would you hate to admit that?" she asked, her eyes flashing.

"Because I'm sure you'll break her heart again."

"Excuse me?"

"You broke up with her, remember?" Dylan noted how she fiercely stared at him, but he didn't let that affect him.

"She seemed fine after, hooking up with Spinner and all."

"Are you going to keep throwing that at her?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down.

"How is this any of your business?" she asked in return.

"She's my sister."

"And what? You think that I'd intentionally hurt her or that I'm leading her or something?" Alex asked, not caring about how loud she was getting. "We're just friends – she knows this, I know this, why can't anyone else get that into their heads?"

"Because you're not just friends. And you two never will be, not if she's still in love with you."

"What are you, a shrink!"

"No, just someone who actually cares about Paige," he replied coolly.

Alex shook her head. "Look…I'm sorry if I'm leading her on or whatever…I'm not doing it on purpose."

He finally looked her in the eye. "Apologize to Paige if you plan on being 'just friends'," he said firmly.

"Don't accuse me of not caring about her," she added quietly.

"Alex, I know you do; but you're doing a crappy job at showing it," he said, running his hand through his hair.

The sat quietly, the tension dissipating.

"When'd you realize it?" Alex asked suddenly.

It took a moment for him to understand what she was asking, before realizing it for himself. "I think I always knew," he said.

Alex nodded, looking at him expectantly for him to elaborate.

"Remember in elementary how your teacher made you write up what you wanted your life to be like 20 years from now? Most people wrote they wanted to be firefighters or singers or teachers, but everyone put that they wanted to have a husband or wife and have kids and live happily ever after. Not me; I couldn't just force myself to write 'I want to have a wife and kids and whatever,' so just wrote that I wanted to be happy and accepted for who I was. I got an incomplete for 'lack of information', but from that moment on, I was positive. I even told my mom the next day, but she kind of brushed it off, saying I was going to grow out of it, that I was too young. At least she's gotten past that delusion," he said, smiling. "She really likes you, my mom."

"Really?" Alex said, smiling back.

"Yeah; dad too. They miss having you around and stuff. She said that you appreciated her more then me and Paige did. Might be true," he said honestly, knowing of Alex's own home life. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Of course, I'm sure they don't miss walking in on you two making out all the time, but they've never actually said that out loud."

She blushed.

"How about you?" Dylan asked.

"What?"

"I shared and unfortunately for you, I'm all for reciprocity. So how'd you know?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't do the whole 'sharing-caring' thing very well."

"I promise I won't comment or judge. I'm just curious," he said softly. He held her gaze so she knew he was being sincere.

Alex shook her head. "I'll probably regret telling you." She sighed, and looked at her lap. "I think I always knew, too," she said hesitantly. Dylan leaned forward, her voice so quiet he could barely hear her. "After seeing my mom and all her stupid boyfriends, I knew I wasn't going to let some asshole treat me bad. I could never trust a guy, ever. After Jay, and spending more time with Paige, it because clearer to me, you know? Did I want to be like my mom for the rest of my life, a miserable alcoholic, with a new boyfriend every week, or did I want to be happy and myself and have a shot in life? I was pretty much going down the same road as my mom, until Paige made me realize I was worth something. She's amazing like that. So coming out, it just made sense to me," she said, like it was no big deal.

Dylan felt an epiphany come over him, and he could barely stop himself from grinning. He laughed in surprise.

"What's with the look?" she asked defensively. "You're smiling at me, you never smile at me…and it's creepy."

"I just realized it. You love her. I never thought you did, but man I must've been blind to doubt it. I thought Marco was crazy, but he's right."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's always going on about how you two are 'meant to be', and at first I thought he was just being Marco – you know, high attention to detail, making everything so angst. But he was right about you two."

"That's fantastic," she said sarcastically.

"Alex, tell her. Trust me, she wants to hear it. She deserves to hear it."

Alex cautiously looked at Dylan, as if evaluating if he was trustworthy or not. "Does she know?" she asked softly. Her indirect admittance made Dylan smile go broader.

"No; she's convinced that you've moved on. Are you going to tell her?"

"Eventually. But not now," she said, sighing as if she had just relieved a burden off her shoulder. Dylan reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"Tell her soon, Alex. I was lucky with Marco, but eventually, Paige'll move on for real and she may not give you another chance."

She promised she would. He got up and ordered two coffees. They talked – about everything and nothing for hours, and he quickly found himself happy that Paige found someone like Alex.

The surprise hug that Alex gave him as they said goodbye was worth more than winning any bet.