Here's a nice long one for you - a lot more action (i guess?) than characterization in this one. Might not be what you expected. Read and review please! You guys are great. Thanks!
Chapter 5: Got Me Ten Feet Off the Ground
Later that night, Paige scurried about the first floor of the house, tidying, dusting, cleaning, and returning things to their rightful places. Alex watched from the couch, amused.
"Paige. Hey," she said, attempting to catch Paige's attention, "You do know that it's just Jesse coming over? The rest of us already live here."
"Are you really content living with all this stuff lying around?" Alex exaggerated a scan around the room. The place was virtually spotless. Before Paige had begun her compulsive cleaning, the place was already just shy of virtually spotless.
"Umm, Paige? Are you serious?" Paige set down the roll of paper towels in her hand, and took a seat next to Alex on the couch. Changing the subject, she said, "Say what you just said again."
Alex, completely perplexed, raised her eyebrows and said, "What - I said 'are you serious?'"
"No, before that."
"Umm...yeah, I don't know, what did I say?"
"Something like...'the rest of us live here already'."
Alex, still confused, smirked and said in her squeaky voice "The rest of us live here already," she continued in her normal voice, "What was that for?"
"I just like to hear those words coming from you," she paused then continued, "Alex, we live together now. This is, extraordinary, this is beyond extraordinary...it's just..."
The opening of the front door interrupted the completion of Paige's sentence. A gush of cold air filled the room, and Jesse appeared, shivering and stamping the snow from his boots onto the rug.
"Man, Toronto winters, eh?" He smiled his charming smile at Paige and Alex. Paige sprung up off the couch. "Jesse! Long time no see! How have you been? What are you up to?"
"I've been great, you know, just been busy with work and such. How are you doing?" He unraveled the scarf from around his next and removed his jacket, holding it up as if to say 'Where should I put this?'.
"Oh, I'll take that!" She took his jacket and continued, "I'm fine. It's been a little crazy the past few days but things are settling in at the store." Alex, bored with the small talk, turned the TV on.
"That's good to hear," he paused, "You look really nice, Paige." Alex's attention sharpened at this, though she remained apparently fixated on the TV. Paige smiled, half cocked her head to the side, "Thanks." She gazed intently at him for a second before looking down to observe her appearance.
"Oh my gosh. I'll be back," she said hurriedly, after realizing that she was wearing plaid pajama pants and a sweatshirt and her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. As she climbed the stairs to change, she wondered if Jesse meant what he said, or if he was being sarcastic. Even when she was dating him, she had never been sure of his sincerity. He was so overly charming that she wound up believing almost everything he said. She abandoned the thoughts when she saw the picture of her and Alex, tucked in the corner of her mirror. 'Who cares about Jesse' she thought, 'Look who I've got now.' She grinned at the picture, admiring the way Alex's eyes were just barely open. She glanced at herself and the mirror and figured that Alex was probably not too pleased with her current appearance, and proceeded to fix it, applying makeup, letting her hair down and changing into a small t-shirt and pink sweatpants.
Paige made her way downstairs, reaching the last step to find a lip locked Jesse and Ellie.
"Ell! Excuse me, but ground rules are ground rules! They go for you, too!" Ellie rolled her eyes at Paige's facetious comment, then smirked at the quizzical look on Jesse's face. Paige joined Alex on the couch as Ellie explained the ground rules to Jesse.
"Hey," Paige said as she linked her arm underneath her girlfriend's.
"You changed," Alex said, observing the freshly applied makeup, neat hair and colorful clothes. Alex preferred the way Paige looked right before she went to bed. Freshly cleaned, makeup less face. Messy hair thrown on top of her head. Big sweatshirt and pajama pants. A little tired, and a little vulnerable. Alex always thought that Paige had so much natural beauty that she didn't need makeup or fancy clothes. No matter how many hints she tried to make at this preference, Paige always assumed that Alex liked her when she was dolled up. Don't get her wrong, Alex certainly appreciated the way mascara could accent those beautiful sky blue eyes and the way her long wavy hair framed her face. She loved the way a dress hugged her curves just so and she loved the way her ass looked in a pair of tight jeans. But, the way she saw it, Paige had two kinds of beauty. 'Trying' beauty, and 'not trying' beauty. Alex much preferred Paige's 'not trying' beauty. She felt that when she was sporting her 'not trying' beauty, Paige was really herself; not pretending, not deceiving - just herself.
"Yeah, well I looked like death warmed over."
"I thought you looked nice," Alex shrugged, still fixated on the TV. Paige remained silent. Alex was so frustrating to her. She always said things like that. She always implied that she'd rather Paige look a mess Not that it was a bad thing necessarily. In fact, it might be the best compliment you can receive - to be told you look nice when you're wearing scrubby clothes and no makeup. But Alex never appreciated it when she cleaned herself up a bit. 'One would think that I would look even better to her with makeup,' Paige thought. She sighed.
"Paige! Why the long face!" Marco exclaimed as he, Jesse and Ellie joined the two girls in the living room, "We're about to watch practically the greatest movie ever made." Paige shook her head as if she was coming out of a trance, then smiled brightly and said "I'm totally ready. Let's start this thing!" Marco put the disc in the DVD player then settled himself excitedly in the armchair. Paige laughed inwardly at Marco's behavior. He was acting so...little kiddish? Must be the effects of pining for Dylan. She mentally kicked herself for laughing; that really wasn't a funny matter at all. She turned her attention to the movie.
Jesse and Ellie occupied the loveseat. Ellie was curled up comfortably in Jesse's arms, leaning her head against his shoulder. Paige and Alex occupied the couch. Paige sat upright, though slouching into the back of the couch. Alex lay on her side with her head in Paige's lap, Paige lazily and subconsciously stroking her fingers through Alex's hair. Marco sat in the armchair, his eyes glued to the screen, popcorn bowl in hand.
"Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash," Marco said along with Billy Crystal. He had been mouthing the words to the entire movie, and now, growing tired of that, had started vocalizing them as well.
Jesse caught Paige's eye, then motioned towards Marco with his eyes, smirking.
"It's like, his favorite movie ever. Don't ask," Paige whispered, giggling.
"Why does that not make sense to me?" he whispered back. Paige, assuming that he was taking a jab at Marco's sexuality, feigned surprise, reached into the popcorn bowl that had come to rest at her feet, and tossed some popcorn at him. He reached out a hand to block the kernels, and said, laughing "I didn't mean it like that!"
"Do you two need some time in the corner?" Marco asked, apparently irritated with their antics.
"Yes, please!" Jesse said almost automatically, then laughed heartily when Paige turned around, face molded into fake disgust combined with shock, and chucked a poorly aimed pillow at him. In her clumsy attempt to throw the pillow, she clipped Alex, whose head still lay in Paige's lap, in the forehead with her elbow.
"Awesome," Alex said sarcastically, lifting her head out of Paige's lap, and sitting upright. Paige looked at Jesse with that familiar 'oops' face that she frequently used. Ellie, who had been half asleep, rose at the commotion. Alex rubbed her head, said "I'm going to get a drink," made deliberate 'come with me' eyes at Ellie, then left for the kitchen. Ellie becoming a little more alert, rubbed her eyes, and said "Bathroom break." Paige looked uneasily at Jesse, who returned the look, then they both released a chuckle.
"Guys!" Marco snapped. They suppressed their laughter at once, returning their attention to Meg Ryan's monologue.
In the kitchen, Alex filled a glass with water, took a sip then leaned against the counter, placing both hands on the edge. Her expression was not happy. Ellie was a little bit intimidated. "What's up?" Ellie asked.
Alex kept her voice low, so as not to be overheard. "Umm, hello? Do you really need an explanation? I guess I could give you a tour of 'Flirtville' in there, I have a brochure right here."
"Oh, yeah, umm, I was kind of out of it. What happened?"
"Your boyfriend plus my girlfriend, who so conveniently happen to have had a relationship in the past month, equals incessant flirting - right in front of me!" Ellie could hear the aggravation in her voice.
"Whoa, totally missed that," she paused for a moment, "Then what are we doing out here? Giving them free time to flirt behind our backs? That's not so smart."
"Good point," Alex said. Ellie could tell she was searching her mind for what to do in this situation. "Well, keep your boyfriend away from my girlfriend, okay?"
Ellie cracked a smile. "Well, keep your girlfriend away from my boyfriend!" In any other situation, Alex would have chuckled at that. But she was too worked up about this. Maybe it would be a little more tolerable if it weren't the exact day that they had moved in together. Probably not, but maybe. Ellie and Alex walked back into the living room. Ellie sat back on the loveseat and pulled Jesse into a kiss, as if to refresh his memory of his current girlfriend. Alex did the opposite. She was in a less tolerant mood. Paige was curled up on the left side of the couch. Alex slumped into the middle of the couch, not touching Paige, but also not making it obvious that she was pissed. Paige didn't even seem to notice.
"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out..." Marco recited along with the movie. Alex couldn't wait for it to be over.
Somewhere during the remainder of the movie, Paige moved closer to Alex, in an attempt to snuggle up next to her. She leaned forward, expecting Alex's arm to extend around her, and when it didn't, she slumped back against the couch. 'Odd' she thought, but then didn't think anything else of it.
As Marco wiped tears from his eyes and picked up pieces of thrown popcorn from the carpet, Jesse and Ellie said their goodbyes.
"Bye Jesse! It was fun tonight!" Paige said. "Yeah, we'll do it again sometime," Jesse replied, with a smile. Alex gave Ellie a look. Ellie returned it, then in attempt to break her boyfriend's gaze at Paige, grabbed his hand and said "Drive careful, okay?" And with a peck on the lips, he left.
The three girls and Marco all headed up the stairs. Paige turned right from the top of the stairway. Alex made a left. Paige turned around, conscious that her girlfriend wasn't behind her, and said "Alex, this way, hon. How soon you forget."
"I think I'll sleep in Dylan's room tonight..." Alex gave Paige a cold look, then turned around and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Paige hurt, confused, standing in the hallway.