Chapter 26

Friendly Banter and Drunken Crowds (Part 2)

The group made their way uptown to the streets that were blocked off for the block party. There were thousands of people covering the streets, all dressed up in some kind of costume or outfit for the occasion. The group made sure to stay close together so they didn't get lost in the crowd or separated from one another. Since the bars were off the table, everyone also made sure to have a good buzz before leaving.

Grabbing Alex's hand tightly, Olivia help navigate them towards some of the booths and food stands.

"You've got to try these caramel apples, Alex. They're literally so good!" Olivia spoke loudly, close in Alex's ear so she could hear.

"I can't wait!" Alex replied back, squeezing Olivia's hand with all of her might.

After about 100 steps, they were finally in line for the massive caramel apple booth.

"You guys look so good!" Casey complimented, snuggling close into Trevor's embrace.

"So do you!" Alex agreed with a smile. Casey and Trevor had dressed up as Peter Pan and Wendy.

"He looks great in tights, right?" Casey said with her eyebrows wiggling. Trevor only gave a slight laugh as he planted a kiss on Casey's cheek.

"They're super uncomfortable though," Trevor chimed in. "They're hugging me the wrong way."

"Yeah, that sucks," Olivia said. "Hopefully it'll get better throughout the night."

"And who are you two supposed to be again?" Elliot asked, turning around to join in the conversation as the line slowly moved forward.

"Alex and Piper from Orange is The New Black," Olivia answered.

"Ahh," Elliot said. "So wait, is Alex Alex or is Alex Piper?"

"She's Piper."

"Got it! Where's your glasses, Blondie?" Elliot leaned in to ask. He had never seen her without them before.

"Back at the townhouse. I have my contacts in."

Elliot nodded.

"Nice costume, Muscles," Alex added.

"Thanks," Elliot said with a shit-eating grin, flexing his muscles. He was dressed up as Macho Man Randy Savage. "Suits me well, huh?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"What're you doing, El?" Kathy asked laughing, watching him continue to flex.

"Flexin'!"

Kathy shook her head as she continued to laugh. She was dressed up as an 80s workout mom, dressed top to bottom in neon tights and sweatbands.

"I wish this line would hurry up. I am dying for one of these apples," Amanda groaned, turning to also talk to the group after the line inched forward.

"I can't wait to try them," Alex said with a smile. "Great costumes by the way!"

Amanda gave her a smile as she twirled. Her and Johnny were dressed up as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. "Thanks Alex! You guys too!"

"Hey, we should all get a group photo!" Casey said, pulling her phone out. She asked the person behind them in line to snap photos of them. The group took several; one with their arms linked, one with funny faces, one with poses that suited their costumes, and several other various shots. Afterwards, the group spent time taking photos of each other as the line slowly shortened.

"I'm gonna send this one to my parents," Casey said, holding up her phone to show Alex the photo of them; they were back-to-back, Casey's hands together as she stood on her tiptoes looking to the sky innocently, and Alex with one leg sticking out and her fingers in the shape of a finger gun, giving pouty lips to the camera.

"They're going to think we're crazy," Alex laughed, looking at the pictures on her phone as Olivia and Elliot were play-fighting. She pulled up a picture of her and Olivia; Olivia's tongue resting on Alex's cheek as Alex was laughing. She couldn't tell why, but she loved that picture the most out of the ones they had taken. She had decided it was because she genuinely looked happy. And, it was a good showcase of how silly Olivia was. And Alex loved that about Olivia. She smiled to herself as she set the photo to her lock screen.

Pulling up her texts as they were almost ready to order, she sent her mom one of the pictures of the group. She slid her phone back in her pocket as she re-took Olivia's hand in hers. Olivia turned and smiled at Alex before leaning up to give her a kiss.

After a few more moments, everyone was finally able to order an apple. Olivia ordered 2 plain caramel apples for both her and Alex. Casey got one with nuts, as did Trevor. Kathy and Elliot ended up getting candied apples instead, and Amanda and Johnny got one candied and one caramel, agreeing to go half on them.

"Oh.. my… God" Alex mumbled, her mouth full as she chewed the sweet, sticky, and juicy apple. "These are so good!"

Olivia gave her a smirk and lifted her eyebrows at Alex before folding her arms.

"What?" Alex said almost unintelligibly, chewing her apple.

"You're not supposed to talk with your mouth full." Olivia continued her smirk as Alex hung her head and laughed, knowing she had been caught.

Alex made sure to swallow her bite before responding. "You're right. I guess your messiness is rubbing off on me," Alex teased.

"Hey!" Olivia said, her tone shocked, causing Alex to laugh as she took another bite. "I'm not that messy!"

Elliot and Kathy turned to stare at Olivia which just made Alex laugh harder. Olivia sighed as she shook her head and bit into her apple, the juice dribbling down her chin.

Alex brought her napkin up to Olivia's chin and wiped it clean. "You were saying?"

"Shut up," Olivia grumbled with a chuckle.


The group made their way through the streets after finishing their apples, stopping at various booths for treats and games, trying to keep themselves away from the drunken crowds of people hogging the sidewalks near the bars.

"Oh!" Alex said excitedly, looking at a ring-toss game. "Liv, win me that stuffed cow! Please please please!" Alex had the biggest grin on her face as she squealed, looking at the stuffed pink cow.

"Which one?" Olivia asked, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist. There were about 5 different colored cows.

"The pink one! It's so cute!" Alex couldn't help but squeal again as she leaned against the side of the booth to get a better view of the cow.

Casey quickly leaned in to whisper to Olivia, "Cows are her favorite animals."

Olivia nodded and gave Casey a thumbs up before slamming a 5-dollar bill on the wood, the worker giving her a bucket of rings.

"I got this, babe. One pink cow coming up." Olivia quickly interlocked her fingers and stretched her arms outwards, cracking her fingers as she began to throw the rings at the bottles. How hard can this be?

Apparently, hard. She didn't land a single ring.

"Alright, alright. Hang on now." Olivia slapped another 5 down and began tossing again. Elliot had won Kathy a stuffed frog, and Trevor won Casey a stuffed whale and a stuffed bear. Amanda insisted she didn't want Johnny to win her anything; she had enough stuffed animals in her dorm room.

Again, Olivia didn't land a ring. She hung her head down and grabbed out another 5.

"What's wrong there, Benson?" Elliot teased, waving the frog in front of Olivia's face.

"Fuck off, El. I'm concentrating." Olivia flipped him off as she threw a couple rings, missing them.

"Come on, Benson! You're better at nailing chicks than you are these rings," Johnny chimed in, earning him a death glare from Olivia and an eye-roll from Amanda. Alex also gave him a death glare. "What?"

Olivia was down to 3 rings again. She let out a few puffs of air as she threw the first.

Miss.

She took in a deep breath as she threw the second.

Miss.

Before tossing the third, Alex put her hand on Olivia's arm. "Let me try, Liv."

Olivia smiled only slightly as she handed the ring to Alex.

Alex quickly licked her lips before tossing the ring lightly at the bottles. Elliot immediately started snorting in laughter. Olivia's mouth was wide open. Seriously?!

Yep. Alex threw one ring, and managed to land the bottle. Perfectly.

"What the…" was all Olivia could say, Elliot bent over laughing as he mercilessly teased Olivia.

"Elliot, stop it…" Kathy said, wrapping her arms around Olivia's shoulders, watching as the worker handed Alex the pink cow, her hugging it tightly. "You okay, Liv?"

"Oh, just peachy. Can't even win my girlfriend a freaking stuffed animal." Olivia huffed as Alex made her way to Olivia, kissing her cheek.

"What's that for?" Olivia grumbled.

"Getting me my stuffed cow!" Alex had the biggest smile on her face as she planted a few more kisses on Olivia's cheek.

"I didn't get it for you, Alex. You're the one who won it." Olivia was having a hard time not sounding grumpy.

"Baby. You paid for it. Who cares if I'm the one that threw it? You still tried for me and that's all that matters. Thank you." Alex now placed a kiss on Olivia's lips, who couldn't resist how sweet Alex was.

She sighed before she answered. "Yeah, I guess. You're welcome." Olivia forced a smile as she grabbed Alex's hand, making their way through the streets once more.


Everyone checked out a few more booths and listened to one of the live bands playing before deciding to make their way back to the townhouse after a few hours. The crowd was beginning to get a bit more rowdy, and everyone else was beginning to feel hungry, their buzzes wearing off. They had decided on ordering wings from one of the wing joints when they got back.

"So, what do we name her?" Alex said, holding out the cow at arms length.

"We? Hmm. Well, she's your cow, Alex. I think you should name her," Olivia said, her hand on the small of Alex's back as they closed the distance to the townhouse.

Alex shook her head. "Nope. I want you to help me. How about… Delilah?"

Olivia pursed her lips. "Too formal."

"Betty?"

Olivia shook her head. "Too country."

"Roxanne?"

"Too complicated."

Alex sighed. "Okay, then you name some suggestions."

"Hmm… Caroline?"

Alex stopped walking for a minute as she surveyed the cow. She shook her head and kept walking.

"Maggie?"

Alex stopped again, looking over the cow. "No."

"Uhh… how about Pinky?"

Alex stopped and looked at Olivia.

"You know, 'cause she's… pink?" Olivia suggested warily, unable to read Alex's expression.

Alex smiled as she held out the cow again before giving her a big squeeze. "Pinky it is!"

"Would you two cowpokes come on?" Elliot teased, a good distance ahead of them.

"Shut up, Elliot," Olivia laughed, flipping him off with both hands.

"I want wings! I am gonna smash down so many!"

"Bet I could eat more than him…" Alex mumbled so only Olivia could hear as they walked up the steps to the front door.

Olivia smiled as she entered, a devious plan cooking in her head. She wanted to get Elliot back for his teasing over the ring-toss game. "You know what, Lex?"

Alex turned to look at Olivia, Pinky deep in her embrace.

"I bet you could too. And, I think you should show him up again. Please, do it for me?" Olivia batted her eyelashes at Alex, her smiling big in return.

"Hey, Muscles?" Alex asked, turning to walk to the kitchen where he was taking everyone's orders.

"Sup Blondie?"

"Just how many wings are you going to smash?" Alex asked, arms folded with Pinky stashed safely between an arm and her side.

Elliot looked up from the counter, an eyebrow raised. "Probably 20, at least. Why?"

"Hmm," Alex said, bringing a hand up to tap on her chin. "Get me 30."

Elliot smirked before responding. "You challenging me, Cabot?"

Alex gave a smirk back. "You're damn right I am, Stabler."

Olivia immediately started laughing and clapping her hands. "Yeah, baby! Get him!"

"This again?" Kathy groaned. "Liv, don't encourage them!"

"Dude, don't even try it. You're going to lose again," Casey chimed in.

"35 and you've got a deal." Elliot held out his hand.

There was a brief silence before Alex extended her hand, shaking with Elliot. "Deal."


After an hour or so, the delivery driver came to the door with 250 wings, and about 10 different sauces. Everyone decided to just order them plain and let everyone put their own sauces on.

Elliot counted out 35 wings for both himself and Alex and placed them each in their own respected bowls. "What sauce you want?"

"Barbecue and Buffalo, please."

"Together or separate?" Elliot asked, grabbing a stack of bowls from the cabinet.

"Together."

"Eww, really Lex?" Olivia asked, her nose scrunched in disgust.

"What's wrong with it? It's just like a spicy barbecue!" Alex defended, leaning against the counter.

"I'm with her on this one, Liv. I think I'll do the same." Elliot dumped barbecue and buffalo sauce into two separate bowls before sliding one to Alex, who lifted it up and poured it directly over the wings. She then began tossing them together as everyone continued their conversation, grabbing their own bowls and wings.

"Barbecue is the only way," Olivia said with a satisfied moan, closing her eyes as she devoured a wing.

"Asian Zing is the best," Casey said, sucking her fingers clean from sauce as she grabbed a beer from the cooler.

"Nah, y'all need to try hot honey. Adds such a nice sweetness to it," Amanda chimed in, chomping down on her own wing.

"Alright, so what are the stakes this time, Blondie?" Elliot asked, tying a large napkin bib around his neck.

"Let's make it interesting. Next double date we go on, whoever loses has to pay for the meal for everyone. So, if you lose, you pay for Kathy, Liv, and I. If I lose, I'll pay for Kathy, Liv, and you." Alex too tied a napkin bib around her neck.

Elliot pondered the deal a moment before nodding his head and smiling, holding out his hand for Alex to take. "Deal. Winner gets to pick the restaurant."

"Great counter-offer," Alex grinned, shaking Elliot's hand. "Come on, I'm starving."


Both Elliot and Alex had their heads laying on the cool marble of the kitchen island, slumped in their seats. The both of them had eaten 32 wings a piece, and were tied with only 3 wings left.

"Alex, you're gonna make yourself sick, baby. Why don't you guys just call a tie?" Olivia rested her head on Alex's back as her palms rested on her sides. She knew better than to try and wrap them around Alex's stomach.

Alex only groaned into the island.

"Yeah, El, come on," Kathy pleaded. "Please be done with this. You're gonna get sick and I'm not dealing with it." She carefully rubbed Elliot's back.

Casey groaned from the couch, her head laying on the arm. "I barely could eat 12, how are you guys at 32??"

"Yeah, come on y'all, just call it," Amanda said.

Trevor and Johnny were playing Xbox and had long forgotten about the deal; scarfing down their wings as soon as they arrived so they could play.

Elliot was now the one to groan before picking his head up from the table. He reached in his bowl and picked up a wing, surveying it before making a disgusted face and throwing it back into the bowl, leaning his head down once more.

"I'm down. How about you Blondie?"

Alex lifted her head up and stared into her bowl. She picked up a puny, pathetic looking wing and quickly ate it. "33," was all she said before belching and laying her head back down on the table. Casey thought it was the perfect opportunity for a picture, so she snapped one; Elliot and Alex, heads down on the table directly across from one another, with Olivia and Kathy in the background, looking half-annoyed/half-concerned with their partners.

"Don't you ever stop?" Elliot mumbled. "You're perfect for Olivia. She's finally found someone more stubborn than she is."

"Hey!" Olivia defended as Kathy laughed.

Alex couldn't bring herself to laugh. Her stomach was so full and expanded, burning and full of chicken and sauce. So all she did was groan.

Elliot lifted his head and picked up another wing.

"Elliot Peter! You put down that wing," Kathy growled.

Elliot ignored her as he quickly munched it down, throwing the bones back in the bowl. "33."

"You're sleeping alone tonight," Kathy scolded.

Alex let her arms dangle at her sides as Olivia rubbed her back before whispering in her ear. "Al… call it babe."

Al? Al.

No one had ever called her Al before. It was always Lex or Lexie. Never Al.

Alex turned her head to face Olivia and gave her a smile. "Did you… call me 'Al?'"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah. That okay honey?"

Alex smiled wide as reached back to give Olivia a saucy kiss; Olivia smacking her lips afterwards at the taste. "It's perfect." And with that, Alex found a second wind. She picked up her last 2 wings and quickly cleaned the bones, throwing them in the bowl before smacking the counter. "35."

"Al…" Olivia said, worried about how sick Alex was going to feel.

"How the fuck, Alex?" Casey asked.

"Dunno." Alex laid her head back down on the counter and groaned, clutching her stomach. "Need to lay down. I win, Elliot."

Elliot took in a big breath before going back to his bowl and finishing his wings. "Nope," he said, still chewing. "We tied, Cabot. Looks like I'll pay for me and Kath and you pay for you and Liv."

"Fine," Alex moaned, clutching her stomach harder.

"You need to lay down?" Olivia asked.

"Mhmm."

Olivia turned Alex around in her chair so that she was sitting sideways on it. She then put one arm under Alex's knees and had Alex drape her arms over her shoulders.

"Babe, you can't carry me," Alex grumbled.

"Yes I can," Olivia said, lifting Alex up from the chair as she made her way up the stairs. "Say goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight, Alex."