Monday, Hallway, Shane's Locker, 8:02 A.M...

This whole Paige thing was really getting to Shane. Last night, him and his boys just barely scraped by their opponent, and for the first time in a while, he messed up a lot. He was dropping passes, forgetting plays, just completely discombobulated. Before the game, he didn't talk up the cheerleaders, and he wasn't cracking jokes like usual. He just sat on the team bench on the sidelines, and everyone noticed it. Seth and Big E both tried to see what exactly was the problem, but he just shrugged them off and told them he was fine. Of course, Alexa also noticed the sudden change in demeanor, but not just during the game. When she tried to get ahold of him after the game, she couldn't find him anywhere. It was Seth that had to tell her that he had already left, without saying a word, which wasn't like him at all. She called him, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

Shane was still in a terrible mood this morning. Boy didn't even want to come to school today, but he decided to go anyway for the sake of punctuality. He hasn't missed a day of school yet, and he didn't plan on doing so any time soon. But now, he had to deal with people asking what was wrong with him. Not to mention, he was pretty sure the entire student body knew about him and Alexa now, so he also had to deal with a bunch of nosy kids as well. Normally he wouldn't mind, but today was not the day. Unfortunately, that didn't stop a certain petite princess from confronting him as soon as she spotted him.

"Price, you've got me worried sick about you! The hell is your problem?" She scolded, glaring directly at her boyfriend.

Shane sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? Stuff happened after the party and it put me in a shitty state of mind. I just didn't wanna be around anyone."

Alexa's expression softened after hearing the melancholy tone of his voice.

"Well... Well why didn't you at least tell me you wanted some time to yourself? It's not like you to plain ignore the people who care about you."

"I know, I know. I should've said something. I'm not... In the best place right now. After what happened at the party, I was feeling great, but then I got home, and I got some news that honestly pissed me off beyond belief." He confessed.

"What did you find out then?" She asked.

"Paige told me... She was assaulted at a party by these bitches I used to go to school with. They insulted her, ripped up her Halloween costume, stole from her, pulled on her hair, and threw a drink in her face."

Alexa gasped.

"That's horrible. Is she okay? Do you know who did it?"

"Yeah, she's fine. The fuckheads who did it were this girl named Carmella, and her two mindless hoes, Maria and Melina."

"Wasn't Carmella the one you said laughed at you after you asked her out on a date?"

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." Shane answered sarcastically.

"Oh shut up. Who cares anyway... You've got me now." She said while grabbing his hand.

Even in his bad mood, Shane couldn't help but crack a smile at her public show of affection.

"You're right. I've got the best girl in the world."

You could hear stuff like, "Awww", and "That's so cute", in the background. Alexa was blushing at his words, and he wasn't even finished yet.

"Hell, I had the best girl even before we became a thing. You were and still are, a great friend and partner in crime. Only difference now, is that we kiss each other a little more. Something that I'm not complaining about at all."

"You really are a sappy bastard aren't you?" Alexa said while giggling.

"Man, Paige says the same thing. Ah, maybe I am. Anyway, yeah. I told her that I had a plan to make sure that Carmella never bothers her again. Only problem is, I now realize that it's a dumb plan."

"What did you come up with?"

"Fuck.. I was gonna ask my dad to drive me all the way back to Arizona so I could take care of it myself. There's no way in hell he's gonna do that. One, he's busy with booking for that nightclub downtown, and two, I'm pretty sure he wants nothing to do with that state ever again. Not after living in New York for the past few months."

Alexa took in what he said.

"That's... Not the worst plan you could've come up with. In fact, I think I can help you."

"What do you mean? You wanna help? I thought you didn't like Paige that much." Shane inquired.

"What the hell are you talking about, Price? I don't even know her, how could I not like her? All I know is that she obviously means a lot to you, and friend of yours is a friend of mine. So, about helping you. If you say your dad can't take you there, then I can just fly you there." Alexa told him.

"Fuckin, what? How?"

She facepalmed.

"I'm rich, idiot! You think I can't afford a first class ticket to Arizona? Think! Only problem is, you gotta find out when you can do this. You've still got football, plus school in general."

A lightbulb went off in Shane's head.

"Thanksgiving break's in like 3 weeks. I can go then. But, how are you gonna get your parents to give you the money for it? Won't they be suspicious?"

"Shane, I'm their "sweet little angel", who can do no wrong. They're not suspicious about anything I do. I let you into my home for weeks without them noticing. I snuck out of my house to... Do stuff with you multiple times already. I can get away with stuff, remember? I'm going with you anyway."

That surprised Shane.

"Really? You wanna come?"

"Dude, duh. What are you gonna do, beat up a bunch of girls? Trust me, as much as I wish you could, you can't. It's 2017, the internet will tear you apart. I'm coming to help put those bitches in their places."

Shane on impulse, wrapped her up in a loving hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." He said.

Alexa smirked.

"I'm the best girlfriend ever, I know."

"Yes you are. And as the best girlfriend ever, you deserve a reward."

He leaned down and kissed her. The petite princess practically melted into the kiss, enjoying every second of it. As they pulled away from each other, they started to notice the ever growing presence of eyes glued on them. Every kid around them, just gawking. Sure, word had spread on what went down over the weekend, but it was crazy to actually see the Queen Bee and the New Kid together, officially. Alexa relished in all the attention.

"That's right! I'm his, and he's mine! Get used to it!" She announced to the students.

Shane blushed at her announcement, not really a fan of all the attention.

"Uh... Yeah. Can you.. Can you guys not stare at us like that? It's weird."

"Dude, this is weird!" A student named Chad Gable yelled from the crowd while pointing toward the two of them.

"Shut up, Gable!" Alexa snapped.

"Whoa, whoa. Alexa, that's not what we do anymore, alright? Tell Chad you're sorry for yelling at him." Shane told her.

"But... But, he-"

He glared at her, and she gave up her protest reluctantly.

"Fine. Gable, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. But seriously, stop watching us like we're some circus freakshow. All of you. It's creepy."

Slowly, the crowd started to disappear.

"Speaking of saying sorry, I gotta go apologize to everyone for being like that yesterday. I almost cost us the victory. Plus, I know the cheerleaders aren't that happy that I ignored you guys completely."

"Damn right we aren't happy about that. You elevate us with your dumb jokes. They make us feel loose and relaxed. Plus, we got a bunch of laughs from your stupid antics. Without you, we felt weird... You can start with Sasha and Emma. Their lockers on on the third floor.

Shane took a deep breath.

"Apology tour time."