Chapter 6: "Falling Through the Cracks"
1514 Words
He kissed Pepper.
He really did.
It might have been an accident, but it was real.
Alex squeezed his eyes shut. The softness of her lips still lingered on his. There was a strange, bubbling warmth in his chest that he couldn't quite name. That fleeting kiss played in his mind like a loop he couldn't shut off.
He’d kissed girls before—plenty of them, actually. Some were quick, forgettable pecks, others longer, more practiced. But this? This kiss knocked the wind out of him. It hadn't been about skill or fireworks or the perfect timing.
It was about her.
It was Pepper.
And that made all the difference.
His fingers trembled slightly as he reached for his phone. He needed to talk to her. To say something. Anything. The silence between them since it happened was louder than any fight they had ever had. He wanted to laugh it off, maybe. Or at least pretend it hadn't happened. Or better yet, make it happen again.
But as soon as his phone screen lit up, his entire body went cold.
Missed Calls: Antoinette (5)
He froze. A knot tightened in his stomach.
"F*ck," he muttered.
How could he forget?
He had a girlfriend.
Guilt slammed into his chest like a freight train. How could he have let it happen? How could he forget someone who was supposed to matter?
Then, as if fate were toying with him, his phone buzzed again. He grabbed it, breath caught in his throat.
It was a message.
From Pepper.
His heart leapt, but it only took a second for the feeling to evaporate.
Alex, you won’t believe it! Lance just told me he loved me and kissed me!
He blinked.
Read it again.
And again.
But the words stayed the same. Clear as daylight.
His chest clenched, a dull ache radiating outward until it swallowed his whole being. His hands dropped to his sides.
So that was it.
His first instinct was to throw his phone. Instead, he gritted his teeth, sat down on the edge of his bed, and stared blankly at the floor.
The pain wasn’t sharp.
It was deep. Crushing. Quiet.
He’d had breakups before. He’d watched girls walk away, blocked their numbers, even laughed about it afterward. But this? This felt like something important was slipping out of his hands, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
He sucked in a deep breath.
He typed one word:
So?
His phone rang.
Before he could even greet her, her voice pierced through the line.
"What do you mean so?! That means I was wrong about him! And I just had my first kiss!" she whispered harshly.
"Why are you whispering?"
"Because it's late and—"
"Open your window. I’ll be there in two."
He ended the call.
Erika stared at her phone, fuming.
He hung up on her?
After replying so? Like what she said meant nothing?
Seriously?!
When he had his first kiss, he practically wrote a novel about it. He couldn’t shut up for days. She remembered him saying he wanted to marry that girl.
But her? She gets a "so?" and a hang-up?
She was ready to yell when a pebble hit her window. She rushed over and saw him standing in the cold with his hands in his hoodie pockets, looking smug.
Typical Alex.
She opened the window and stepped aside to let him climb in. As soon as he was in, she smacked his shoulder.
"Ow!" he cried, laughing. "You really hit me just now?"
"You deserved it!"
He laughed harder and dodged her second swing, grabbing her waist before she could fall.
They ended up half-sitting, half-collapsed on the edge of her bed, still catching their breath.
"So," he said, grinning like an i***t. "How was the kiss? Did you drool?"
"No! Ugh, you’re such a child."
"So Lance did?"
"Not every first kiss is as embarrassing as yours."
"Hey! My first kiss was magical! I was practically floating."
"You were drooling and stuttering for a week."
He clutched his chest dramatically. "Pepper, you wound me."
She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, seriously. How was it?"
She blushed. "It was... perfect."
He paused, the smile faltering just for a second. Then he picked up his camera and took a photo.
"You just wanted to take pictures, didn’t you?"
"Of course. Your first kiss? It’s historical."
"You’re unbelievable."
"And you’re glowing. So, did you say yes?"
She nodded. "I told him I love him."
Alex froze. She saw his hands tremble and he let out another sigh.
"Tell me you’re kidding." He sounded like reprimanding her already. Alex is acting really weird. She could tell he is very upset.
She shrugged. "I mean, I do. I’ve loved him since we were kids."
He dropped the camera. It landed safely on the bed, but neither of them cared.
"Pepper, you didn’t even think it through."
"Why should I? If you love someone, shouldn’t you just say it?"
"But you barely knew him and you already kissed and told him you love him!"
"That is... the exact order. That made everything real." She answered, still puzzled by Alex's reaction. It made her think about her decision. But what she felt for Lance is real. She shouldn't be bothered by Alex's reaction.
He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "Are you officially together now?"
She raised her brows. He was asking her as if he didn't know her parents. "Not yet. You know how my parents are."
Alex let out a breath. "Thank God."
"Excuse me? You're beginning to look and sound crazy, Alex."
"That's what I am supposed to say to you." She narrowed her eyes. "I mean… that gives me time to talk some sense into you."
She frowned at him.
"It's gonna be tough but we have to tell Mom and Dad," she said with a determined smile.
He stared at her as if sensing something fishy. "By we, you mean you and Lance, right?"
She shook her head and smiled. "We, means you and me," she said pointing her finger at him.
She nodded. "They trust you. You’ll help them see Lance is right for me."
"You know I can't lie."
She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, I can, but not for this kind of stuff."
She rolled her eyes once more.
"Okay, I can but I won't. Besides, I don’t even trust that guy.”
She looked at him with pleading eyes.
"Pepper, you are driving me nuts!"
She gave him a very sad eyes.
"Okay, okay! Fine! Jesus!You're impossible!"
She then grinned from ear to ear.
"I can't believe I was manipulated so effortlessly," Alex sighed. "You could at least say something so I won't sound like an idiot."
She tackled him with a hug. "Thank you!"
He held her tight."I guess I just can't say no to you, Pepper." He let out another sigh. "This is very frustrating."
She hugged him tighter. I love you, Alex, she thought.
"Yeah, right, I love you, too," Alex answered as if hearing her thoughts which made her smile.
I will miss this, Alex thought as he hugged Erika. He probably won't be able to do this once Pepper and Lance will be officially together. He doesn't want to lose her. But he can't bear to say no to her. Not if that is where her happiness lies.
Even if it killed him.
Even if it broke him.
Even when it meant breaking his own heart in the process.
"Do you want to talk about your dad?" she asked gently.
His chest tightened. His heart suddenly went cold and empty. He shook his head. He didn't want to touch where it hurts him most.
"Do you want to cry?"
He almost scoffed.
But then his eyes burned. She placed a hand on his back and rubbed slowly. That small gesture shattered the last of his walls. He felt her touching his own pain and he was trembling inside. He felt vulnerable and weak and that is the last thing he wanted to feel.
He bit his lip. Hard. But the tears came anyway.
"Stop it, Pepper," he whispered. "I don’t want to cry."
She didn’t speak. He refused to meet her eyes because he might breakdown. That is the last thing he wanted to do right now.
Then she did the one thing he didn’t expect.
"Then I’ll cry for you," she said.
And she did.
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks. Those bright beautiful eyes are hurting. But the pain was not hers but his. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
Alex's eyes felt stung. He cursed in his thoughts. But his eyes welled up and he couldn't stop the emotions he tried so hard to suppress.
Then the next thing he knew, he was controlling his sobs painfully while Pepper was crying with him. The boy who had always been in control, who always had a joke ready or a smirk to hide behind, wept with her in the dark.
- Writer
