AN: Hey people! I'm early this week, but everyone was so good with their reviewing I had to reward you with a little bit of a chapter. Part Two of this chapter will hopefully by out by next week; start to bug me about it if it's not. You people seemed to like the last chapter a lot even though it was extremely jumpy, thankfully. This chapter is also sort of like the last, well structure wise at least. As always, two reviews until I start writing the next chapter. Enjoy… or not… bwahahaha! Warning, things are not always as happy as they seem, sorry… I had to do it to make room for the following plot. Don't hate me! The chapter after next will be the full Alex chapter! Yay!

The morning after was always portrayed in those romance movies and TV as some sacred experience, like it's the one thing that no amount of drama or problems could get in the way of. The main character was supposed to get that one ounce of happiness with her lover by the end of the film. They were supposed to talk about how great of a time they had, how much they loved each other, about how they didn't want to get out of bed and face the world. It was supposed to be a sanctuary. Oh how the media misleads us.

I'd imagined the nights like the previous with Alex an embarrassing amount of times, and with each of those times pictured a movie worthy morning after. Did I get what I'd hoped for the night of? All that and more. Did I get my peaceful morning after? Hell no.

Instead of waking up in a hopeless mess of sheets and limps, tied together like the connections within your two hearts, I woke up alone and freezing my ass off. Instead of a warm breakfast in bed, I received a container of aspirin and a glass of water (not that I wasn't extremely grateful, because I had a bitch of a hangover). She could have at least left a cute little note, damn it! Or called, that would have been nice. But no, I received nothing but sore limps, a major headache, and a terrible morning full of depressing thoughts. So, to put it sort, I was pretty pissed off.

(Alex's POV, earlier that morning)

Bad Alex! Very, very bad Alex! What the hell were you thinking? She was drunk as shit, and her judgment is always clouded! But damn was it amazing… like seriously, awesome. I'd definitely wanna do that again. NO! Stop it! Never again!

No matter how enjoyable it was (so damn enjoyable) it was a terrible idea. It wasn't my fault though; Marissa could be extremely persuasive when she wanted to be. A seductress by nature it seems. I had no chance from the very beginning. But I really shouldn't have kissed her; I really, really shouldn't have kissed her.

That's why I left so early for work. Because it shouldn't have happened. She probably didn't even want it to happen. God, she might have even been blacked out. I'd tried to leave without a second thought, and had actually made it outside the front door without turning around. I wanted to treat her like she was just another one night stand. Like all I felt for her was pure lust and need to satisfy a craving. I wanted her to just be another notch in my bedpost, to be able to leave nothing but maybe a text saying 'Be gone by the time I come home'. But in reality she meant so much more than that. I was willing to bet that she was… it for me. I couldn't be so cold.

So I climbed out of my jeep before I drove away, walked back into the house and decided to which extent I should acknowledge what had happened the previous night. I couldn't stay until she woke up, I'd be late for work and I'd have to confront her. I couldn't leave a note because that'd be awkward if she was blacked out and didn't remember a thing. So… aspirin and water. I leave that for her on a regular basis, so nothing would be out of the ordinary, but that would also let her know that'd I thought about her before leaving. Yes, that's what I'll do.

Finally after getting distracted watching her sleep, I arrive at work unsurprised to find Kris there. She'd been helping out around the club ever since coming to Newport, and was trying to fight against that inspector's case.

"Hey, did you ever find Marissa last night?" She greets me with cheerfully. I merely grunt in response thinking that'll explain everything to my close friend. "You're here awfully early."

"I hadn't noticed."

"Bad night?"

"Just the opposite actually."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Hey, if I wanted to walk about it, why didn't I bring it up?"

"You should know by now that your stupid, immature, abrasiveness whenever you're in a bad mood lost its effect on me a long time ago. I have a feeling though, that it doesn't get you very many new friends"

"You seem to like my stupid immatureness enough. I think I can make plenty of new friends."

"Fine then, don't talk to me. I'll just be over here, investigating shit for you because I like doing free labor." She slammed down whatever stack of papers she was carrying and looked at me through those hazel-colored eyes of hers.

Her guilt trip worked and I stopped what I was doing, looked at her and said, "I slept with Marissa last night."

Kris shakes off this news so fast someone who hadn't known her since the second grade as I have wouldn't have known it affected her at all. But I saw her eyebrow twitch in the slightest way and I knew she was angry, practically her only tell. "Huh, I thought people generally got put into better moods after getting laid."

"I'm not of the general population." That's when a very angry Marissa Cooper entered my club. I guess she remembered what happened after all.

(Marissa's POV, present)

My decision to come to The Baitshop wasn't that of very much thought. Anger, and of course frustration was my main motivation for storming into the purple-streaked girl's club that morning. She had no right to leave like that, without any explanation at all. She could have at least called, or left a note. But no, I obviously wasn't good enough for all that.

She didn't understand how insecure I was about… that stuff, and I'd never done anything like that with a girl before. I did NOT, with a capital N, O, T, know what I was doing. So treating me like I was nothing to her… well, that made me a little upset.

The icing on the cake was seeing that… girl there. Damn her. Trying to steal Alex away from me, MY Alex. How dare she. I'd forgotten her name, so I was perfectly content with referring to her as 'that bitch' at the moment.

And then of course Alex had the audacity to look at me for a second without the slightest interest, look away, and then say, "Marissa… I thought I made it clear you weren't supposed to be in here."

I disregard her comment instantly, but start to wonder how someone could go from being so full of… passion and adoration one night and the very next morning become so distant and indifferent. "Alex we need to talk."

"I'm working."

"Now!" I march over and grab her arm, dragging her into her office.

"There is a lot that needs to be done…"

"You're work can wait one god-damned minute!" She tore her arm away and crossed it with the other over her chest.

"What is so important?"

"Alex!" I yell, but grow quieter and I come closer to her. "We slept together last night."

"Yeah, so."

"So? So? Why are you acting like it was absolutely nothing to you?"

"Because… it was a mistake… that's all." Her words drove threw me deeper than any sword could. Each syllable was another knife cutting straight threw my already fragile heart. "… it was a mistake… that's all." She had already seen me cry too many times, and today I refused to do it in front of her. I refused to give myself a reason to shed a tear.

"How can you say that?"

"Marissa, you were so utterly gone last night it wasn't even funny. I practically took advantage of you and it was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Well I'm not. I'm not sorry it happened, but we need to talk about why it happened."

"It happened because you were drunk."

"You weren't! How can you look me in the eye and tell me truthfully that you never wanted to kiss me before? How can you say that it was all a mistake when you were fully aware of exactly what you were doing, fully aware of how you were making me feel?"

"It shouldn't have happened Marissa, and that's all there is to it."

"So you aren't attracted to me at all then, right?"

She swallowed, treading lightly on thin ice. "You're… an extremely aesthetically pleasing woman."

"Alex, I know there's more to it than that, there has to be."

"No, there doesn't. Fairy tales; they don't exist, that's all they are. Things don't happen like that. One night, one person does not make it all better." She pauses and looks away. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." And she turns to walk away.

She was all the way outside of the room when I made a life changing decision. In that sheer moment of pure fear of losing the most important thing in my life, I knew I had to do something to make her turn around. I had to say something to make her come back to me.

"Alex, I love you!" As soon as my proclamation was made, my hands were slapped onto my mouth. They really didn't want me to say that obviously, but my mouth has quicker reactions than my reflexes.

It was about two seconds of pure suspense as I wondered if she heard me and sure enough she strolls back into the room with a confused look on her face. "You what?"

The cat was already out of the bag. She heard me, and there was no turning back. "I… I love you. I'm in love with you, Alex. And I have been for a while."

"I- You- What? Wow."

"Wow? That's all you have to say!"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Say something. Tell me that you feel something for me, something more than appreciation towards my aesthetically pleasing features." I was pleading at this point, I needed to hear that she felt something… anything.

"I… need time to think."

"What? Alex!"

"Do you really expect some crazy soap opera shit where you pronounce your undying affections towards me, I return the favor, all goes right in the world, and we walk home with Boyz II Men playing in the background? You just told me you loved me, okay? Excuse me for needing a little time to react."

"Lexi, I don't want to wait any longer. It's been too long that I've been hiding these feelings inside of me, I just… I want to be with you." Our close proximity was weighing on my emotions as it always has, but seeing the confliction in her eyes is what was killing me.

"I'm sorry. I need some time." And my world fell down for the first time that day.

To Be Continued…

AN: (Insert Wicked Laugh Here) I'm evil… I know, I get reminded all the time. Review! Tell me how mean I am! You know you want to!