Of course within five minutes of Ace entering he had a tail. Hilary all but ran to their booth, the chance to flirt with all of the Cobras at once seemed like too good an offer to pass up. She ran as fast as a girl could in three inch heels. Alex rolled her eyes at the ridiculous footwear, clicking her chuck tailors together. They were barely held together by a couple of stitches. For a second she looked at Hilary enviously. People liked her right? Alex wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school. Girls scorned at her tomboy ways and guys were either appalled by her appearance or too scared of Ace to even talk to her. These thoughts were uncomfortable so Alex quickly shook them off.
"Heyya boys" squeaked Hilary "Oh and you Alex! Always forget you!" she laughed. It sounded innocent but it was antagonistic. Hilary wanted to belittle Alex but right now Alex didn't have the energy to lift her head. "Hmm" Alex mumbled in a half-assed response.
Hilary's face crumpled slightly in annoyance. If there was one thing she hated it was being ignored.
"Well what can I get you guys?" she giggled placing a hand lightly on Ace's shoulder. Ace flicked through the menu that he knew so well he could recite it himself.
"You must be starving!" Vince cried to Alex and Ace.
"Not really…" Alex leant her head up a little. Causing Hilary to gasp loudly.
"My god! Alex what happened to your face?!" Alex sighed deeply.
"We got into a little fight down at Irby's" Ace answered for her again. "Some Sharks walked in and things got messy"
"Well at least you're okay.." Hilary cooed leaning in closer to Ace.
"He didn't fight he took Alex to his place to look after her" Eyeball attempted to stir things between the three "Then they took a twenty six hour nap together" he continued, laughing under his breath slightly.
"Oh" was all Hilary managed. She lifted her hand off Ace's shoulder slightly only to place it back down more firmly curling her fingers around the muscles.
"It wasn't like that" Alex defended herself "We were waiting until it was time to meet the guys at the junk yard and fell asleep in front of some crappy movie. Don't know why everyone is so hyped up about it" She ended the last word harshly creating some finality on the matter. The constant circle around the subject really irritated her.
This seem to satisfy Hilary. She flipped out her notebook with a flourish and began twiddling with a strand of hair. Each person in turn delivered their order until only Alex was left.
"I'm not hungry" Alex said for the third time.
"You must be! You haven't eaten all day-" Her brother fretted beside her.
"Well I'm not" Alex cut him off coldly. It was her habit to do so.
"You didn't eat yesterday either" Ace weighed in. His voice was cool and monotoned. She felt Vince glare at her. She felt every pair of eyes around the booth glare at her. She felt like a primate trapped in a zoo. Everyone was waiting for her to do something, say something.
"Drop it" She spat back at him. Ace's insides churned slightly. Alex's face was so full of hate and vulgarity. He'd never seen her look like that at anyone and it pained him to think that he had been the one to cause that look.
"If I want to eat I will but I don't so drop it" she clicked the 't' sound into place and eyes fell anywhere but her. Alex dropped her head. Anger still flowed through every capillary, artery and vein in her body, poisoning her.
"Well if we're all done" Hilary was the first one to speak after the out burst. She sounded a little cold and sarcastic. She collected the menus and headed towards the counter. She halted midstep. Turning back towards the booth and in particular Alex. A smirk balanced across her full rouged lips. Alex's eyes were still glued to her own lap.
"I don't think anyone needed to worry about Ace and Alex spending a night together. It's not like Alex is even close to the same league as him."
No one breathed. Everyones hearts stopped. Even Hilary regretted her choice of words. Everyone waited for Alex to rip out her bleached locks or claw at her heavily painted face. But nothing happened. Alex was incapable of moving for a few moments. Her chest felt heavily as it full of taffy or tar. In the painful silence she heard the gentle slick of Ace moving, about to get out of his seat but Alex reacted quicker. She leaped out of her seat as if she didn't feel like her bones had been replaced with lead. She looked up for a millisecond. Just to see the faces of the people she trusted more than anyone else and Hilary. She looked scared. As if she might apologise but Alex didn't give her chance. She turned on her heels and walked out. Disappearing before anyone could follow her.
