Rosie couldn't wipe the smile off her face. She was trying not to appear too happy, lest she make Alex suspicious, but...well, it was hard when she was finally receiving all her attention. Even if she was tasked with rearranging Alex's filing cabinet at the moment. (Alex had asked the class for volunteers and, of course, Rosie was the only one who had raised her hand. And, if a few students snickered and someone whispered, Teacher's Pet...well, she didn't particularly care.)

"How did this even get this way?" Rosie asked playfully. "There's no organization to any of this! It's like you just jammed everything in here when you were done with it..."

Alex laughed, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "What can I say? It's my secret messy shame."

Rosie giggled, blushed under Alex's gaze. Her eyes dropped to her hands, almost shy suddenly. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but didn't get the chance because at that moment, Alex's phone buzzed.

Snatching it off the desk, Alex looked at the screen and immediately smirked. She proceeded to type furiously, biting down on her bottom lip.

Rosie watched her, frowning at the way Alex's cheeks pinked slightly as she typed. She looked way too happy for it to just be a normal text...

Just as quickly, Alex set her phone back down, still smiling. "I'm going to run to the staff room quickly," she said. She pressed her palm to Rosie's shoulder, offered a smile, and Rosie felt her entire face heat up.

Once the door clicked shut, Rosie smiled brilliantly, fanned herself with one of the stacks of papers from the filing cabinet. She'd just returned to the task at hand when Alex's phone chimed again.

She couldn't have said why she did it, other than out of some perverse curiosity, but she moved towards the phone to look at the screen. She didn't know what she was expecting, given Alex's obvious joy, but it wasn't a simple Jo at the top of the message.

Rosie felt her heart beat faster. 'Jo'? Was that a male Jo or a female Jo? Could have been either...and she couldn't decide which was worse.

Before she could decide, though, another text popped up. And this time, she had the chance to read the whole thing...

"I can't wait to have you all to myself... I'm going to hold you down and eat you out until you're screaming my name over and over and over."

Rosie felt like she'd been punched square in the chest. She couldn't catch her breath. She couldn't see straight. On shaky legs, she found a chair to sit in, not trusting her legs to support her.

Alex was seeing someone? Or, at least, sleeping with someone? She'd never mentioned anything about dating...

Before she'd fully digested this turn of events, she could hear Alex's heels clicking down the hallway and she scrambled to dry her tears and control her emotions lest Alex ask too many questions.

Alex, though, was trained in reading body language and failed to miss her sudden tension. "Everything okay?" she asked, soft smile on her lips.

Rosie nodded, too quickly to be entirely genuine. "Yeah," she squeaked, "Fine."

Alex studied her, brow raised. "Are you sure? You can tell me..."

She shook her head urgently. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound came out strangled. She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. She took a few shaky inhales and tried again. "I, umm... I'm not feeling well. Would it be okay if I went home?"

Alex looked at her with concern, nodded slowly. "Feel better, Rosie," she said with compassion in her eyes.

Meg flung the door open to end the incessant knocking. "What. The. Fuck?" she asked when she found Rosie standing there.

Rosie flung herself into Megs' arms, already sobbing.

For a moment, Meg blinked in stunned silence, then rubbed a hand up and down Rosie's back. Then, sensing her parents snooping, she gently tugged Rosie towards her room. "Spill," she demanded as soon as she shut the door.

In between sobs and hitching breaths, she explained, "Alex is seeing someone!"

"What?"

She nodded earnestly. "I fucking saw the texts! Some chick – or dude – talking about eating her out..."

"Shit..." Meg hissed. "Bummer."

A beat.

"Bummer?" Rosie repeated dubiously. "Are you serious right now?"

Meg blinked dumbly for a few moments. Then, "Well...yeah? End of story, right?" When Rosie seemed confused, she explained, "It's not like you had a shot anyway – maybe it's time to set your sights on a more reasonable target. Someone you can actually get..."

Rosie opened her mouth to retort, but couldn't seem to find the words to suit her anger. "Some friend you are," she muttered darkly.

Meg heaved a sigh. "Rosie, I'm just being honest, okay? I'm not trying to hurt your feelings..." She shrugged helplessly.

"Well, don't!" Rosie snapped.

"Don't what?"

"Try to spare my feelings!" she lashed out, "Or whatever this bullshit is... I don't need it – I need my best friend!"

Meg scoffed. "No, what you need is a reality check..."

"Fuck off."

"You're awfully needy lately," Emily teased when she answered the phone, playful smirk on her lips. She could practically hear Alex roll her eyes in response, which only made her laugh. "Miss me already?"

"Actually, I was calling to check on Rosie," Alex corrected, "She said she wasn't feeling well when she left..."

Emily frowned. "She seemed fine when she got home," she said. "If a little angrier than usual..."

"Angry about what?"

She sighed, shrugged. "I wish I knew. She doesn't tell me anything anymore."

A beat.

"Should... Should we still go away?" Alex asked.

With a sigh, Emily said, "I think giving Rosie a few days to herself might soften her up a little... God knows breathing down her neck all the time hasn't helped."

Alex nodded, chewed her lip for a moment. "If you think it's for the best."