When her classes ended for the day, Alita opened her bag to return her book inside. At that moment, she remembered she was supposed to replace Axel's ruined shirt because it was the first thing her eyes fell on when she opened the bag.
It had slipped past her mind this morning when she agreed to hang out with Kayla and Brian after her classes today. Now she will need to call and cancel. Another option was to go meet her friends, then after some time, she would ask Kayla to accompany her to the clothing store. But if she did that, how will she explain to Kayla the reason why she was replacing a man's shirt? And what would she say if she needed to tell her how the shirt got ruined?
A long silent sigh escaped her lips and she dropped her head on the table before her. The only solution was to cancel on Kayla and Brian and go to the store by herself. After that, she will just go home and have a well-deserved rest.
Left with no other choice, she picked up her phone and dialed Kayla's number.
"Hey, Lita. Are you done?" Kayla's voice echoed over the phone.
"Yeah I am, but I can't come with you guys today. I just remembered I have to be somewhere." Alita said. She held an apologetic look on her face.
"What? No way. You already said you'd be here."
"I'm sorry, Kay. I'll make it up to you guys. I have to go now. Bye." Alita hurriedly said the words all at once and ended the call. She knew Kayla would be pissed but she had to do this for her peace of mind. After letting out another silent sigh, she headed out of the school.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked when Kayla dropped the phone with a frown on her face.
"She's not coming. She said she has to be somewhere." Kayla replied, annoyed.
Brian narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "That's odd. This is why you shouldn't be taking her to clubs, Kay. What if she meets a bad guy who will hurt her or break her heart? You were the one that said she was too inexperienced for this..." He rambled on and Kayla looked at him, a small frown forming on her face.
"Brian!" Kayla called out when his rambling didn't stop. When she got his attention and he stopped talking, she asked, "What are you saying, and why are you reacting like this?"
"I love her, Kay. I don't want her to get hurt, but it seems you have successfully pushed her into the arms of another." He blurted the words without even thinking. When he realized what he just said, he pressed his lips together. He never intended to say it out loud, at least not like that. But the sudden announcement that Alita couldn't spend time with them because she had to be somewhere had sent him into panic mode.
Kayla sat as still as a rock, her eyes wide and lips parted in shock. She couldn't believe what she just heard. "You are in love with Alita? Since when?" Her voice dripped with disbelief which had flooded her entire being.
"For a long time now." Brian answered breathily.
"What's stopping you from telling her?"
"I'm scared she would reject me. I don't want to ruin our friendship. I was thinking of passing the message across through actions instead of words by spending more time with her, but she suddenly has somewhere to go." Brian answered, dispirited.
"That's not enough reason to assume that she is going to meet a man, Brian."
"I know. I just panicked and said the first thing that popped into my head." He let out a sigh. After a long pause, he asked, "Do you think she will accept?"
"I don't know man. You will have to find out by telling her." Kayla lay down on the couch and covered her eyes with her palm. They've been together for three years and she didn't even suspect that Brian had feelings for Alita. He had managed to hide it so well and she probably wouldn't have known if this had not happened. Somewhere within her, she was already feeling sorry for him because knowing Alita, he would very likely be rejected.
***
After visiting four clothing stores and not finding what she was looking for – nothing even close to it – Alita was exhausted. It's been four hours already. How can one shirt be so hard to find even in popular clothing stores? An idea popped into her head and she wondered why she didn't think of it earlier. She would have just paid him for the shirt instead of jumping from one store to another in search of it.
Deciding to do just that instead of visiting another store, she headed home. She quickly went to the kitchen to fix something up for her grumbling stomach. Immediately after she finished eating, she heard a knock on her door. Having already sensed who was at the door, she walked straight to it and opened it. Her eyes locked with his and the smile on his face almost made her melt on the spot. Okay, as much as she hated to admit it, this guy is extremely good-looking. His inky black mane appeared slightly disheveled, giving him a boyish look.
"Good evening, Alita. May I come in?" His luscious voice pulled her away from her thoughts and she berated herself internally. She moved away from the door to let him in.
Axel waltzed into the house like he owns the place and made himself comfortable on the sofa. His eyes lazily roamed around before they finally came to rest on the person he had come here for. His heart fluttered as he drank in her appearance. She was simply dressed in a pair of jeans and a top, nothing fancy, but she looked like a goddess in his eyes. A goddess he didn't want to forget about any time soon. Her eyes held questions to which he may or may not have answers, and there was a slight frown on her face making her look...
"You know you look cute when you frown, don't you?" His silky smooth voice echoed in the room.
The frown on Alita's face faded as her eyes subtly widened and her cheeks reddened. No one had ever been bold enough to speak to her like this, not that she had given anyone the chance to. But this one didn't even wait to be given the chance before he began his ferocious attacks on her fragile heart. Well, too bad he is a vampire. If had been human, maybe she would have...
Wait! What was she thinking? How did her thoughts even get to this point? She closed her eyes to gather her thoughts. When she opened them again, they glimmered with renewed determination to get rid of him and make sure he stays away from her.
"Mr. Axel –" She started.
"Just Axel, Alita. No honorifics." He corrected, cutting her off.
"Axel," she continued, not wanting to hear him speak anymore. His voice was affecting her strangely and she didn't want to get distracted. "I couldn't get the exact design of your shirt so I think it will be better if you tell me the price so I can pay for it."
The smile on Axel's face faded instantly and he stared at her with an unfathomable gaze. When he didn't say anything apart from staring at her, Alita became confused. Why isn't he saying anything? And what is that look? Is he angry because she couldn't get the shirt?