-1Author's Note: Thanks for the comments and reviews. Please let me know what you think of this update as well. It didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped.
The flag-stone steps of Robbins Hall's back porch were cold, uncomfortable, and sitting on them earned Alex some raised eyebrows and odd looks. None of those things mattered. All that mattered was catching Izzie before she went in. She wouldn't want to see him, not after the way he had let Rebecca manipulate him into leaving the dance with her. He had to explain though. He needed to explain. He also wanted to give her the small blue box that was in the pocket of his suit jacket.
Letting out a nervous sigh, Alex rises to his feet when he hears the tinkle of her laughter coming around the corner. The chagrinned look on his face gives way to a scowl when she rounds the corner with Dennison Duquette the third. He didn't know the older boy very well, despite the fact that they lived in the same dormitory. They ran with two very different crowds.
"Thank you for walking me back." He heard Izzie say sweetly. His scowl deepens when Denny's head lowers towards her's. At the last minute she turned her cheek, facing him, her gaze widening when she catches sight of him. Her eyes narrow for a split second before she turns her face back towards Denny's. "It was nice to meet you, Denny."
"Believe me, the pleasure was all mine," Denny responded smoothly. "Perhaps we can plan our next meeting."
That smooth talking son of a bitch. Alex started towards him, ready to stake his claim, then he remembered he had no claim. He had left her in the middle of a dance so he could listen to his ex-girlfriend cry over how stupid she had been to break up with him. Every time he had tried to leave, she would grab his arm, sobbing harder. "Perhaps," was all Izzie said back. She wished him a good night, waiting until he was gone to stride towards Alex, or rather passed him. "I'm not talking to you."
"I don't blame you. Can I at least explain?" Alex hurried up the stairs, blocking her entrance into the house.
She shook her head, a lock of hair falling across her eye. "There's nothing to explain. I made a mistake. I thought…You know what, it doesn't really matter what I thought before, because as of right now we're no longer friends. You're too confusing. You I.M me like I'm your buddy, but then turn around and say stuff about how much you love my smile. You meet me outside in the morning so we can walk to class together and then practically run from me before we even get to the classroom. You invite me to a dance and then you take off with your ex girlfriend. I'm sorry, Alex, but I'm tired of all the confusion. I'm tired of wondering if I am your friend or if I am something more. I might not be as pretty as Rebecca or her friends, but that doesn't mean I am so desperate for a boy to like me that I'm going to let some asshole play head games with me." Shoving past him, her hand grips the door knob. He grabs her arm. "Let go!"
"Izzie, please," Alex pleaded. She shook her head once more. It was to dark for him to read her eyes or see much of her facial expressions. "Please?" Another shake of her head. She started to yank her arm away, he held on tighter, grabbing her other one. He wasn't sure why, but he couldn't let her walk out of his life. Her lips parted, most likely to ask that he let her go again. He crushes his mouth against her's before she can say anything. He can feel her hands slide up his chest. His heart starts to race. Then she did it. She shoved him. Hard. He stumbles backwards. Her hand flashes out, smacking him across the cheek.
"You…you…" Her voice was thick, and in the moonlight he could see a tear running down her cheek. "You ruined it! You ruined my first dance. You ruined my birthday. And, worst of all, you ruined my first kiss!"
He couldn't win. Nothing he did where this girl was concerned was right. Addison had told him to stay away, to just run back to Rebecca or find someone else. He hadn't listened. For some reason the girl before him had some kind of hold on him. "I'm sorry." He let's her go. "I shouldn't have left you like I did. I didn't even want to. Except I didn't have a reason to say no after you said it was okay. I'm not blaming you. You're a nice person. You were doing what you thought was the right thing. I don't even know why she wanted to talk. It's not like I haven't told her over and over again that we're done. We were done the minute she said she wanted to break up. And, if we hadn't been we would have been when I met you. I like you. A lot. I like you more than I've ever liked any other girl. And, I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry! Here." He reaches in his pocket for the Tiffany & Co. box. It wasn't anything spectacular. Just one of their silver heart toggle bracelets with her name engraved on the heart. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. A happy birthday be my girlfriend kind of thing. "Happy Birthday."
Her fingers shook a bit as she took the small box. "Alex, you…you shouldn't …" The rest of what she was going to say hung in the air when she opened the package. Her lips parted as she lifted the bracelet from the soft cotton bedding it rested on. "I…thank you…I've never…I…" He could see another tear roll down her cheek. Damn it. He couldn't do anything right. Sighing, he starts to walk away, then turns back when she calls his name. This time, it was her lips that met his. It was tentative at first, just her lips pressed against his. He was the one to deepen it, to pull her into his arms. It was a bit awkward, but she caught on quickly, kissing him back with as much fervor as he had. It was, he hoped, the first of many kisses.