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Alex wakes with a start, sheets clenched tightly in her fists and the remnants of a scream ebbing from her throat. Her eyes dart around the room, looking for even the faintest glow of neon red or green.
There are no lines on her ceiling, or triangular portals showing a wrecked military ship on the ocean floor leagues under the cold, dark Pacific Ocean. Just her normal, purple bedroom, which was painted back when it was still her favorite color. There’s no chill in the air or radio static in her head that always foretold the coming of The Sunken, only a warm breeze coming from her slightly open window. Michael's red jacket is draped over the rolling chair at her desk. It’s still hers, and he’s still gone.
The bedroom door swings open, revealing Jonas. He has a panicked look on his face, and his signature beanie is missing from his head, dark brown hair sticking up in every direction.
“Alex, are you okay?!” Jonas asks, raising what used to be Michael’s nightstand lamp. It’s a remnant from their childhood, and has little white sheep jumping all over the lampshade. She used to tease him mercilessly for it. A sharp pang of longing stabs at her heart.
“I’m- fine,” she lies, sitting up in the bed. Alex runs a hand through her teal-colored hair, cringing at the sweat collected on her forehead. “Just…a bad dream.”
It's been months since Riley closed the portal, and her nightmares haven’t gotten any better. Every single failed loop still plays perfectly clear in her head, a forever reminder of her failures. How she failed to save Michael, how many times she was such a bitch or just a plain terrible friend, and how she sacrificed Clarissa that one, desperate time. Finally, the worst of all, how they all became just like The Sunken, using lies and manipulation to trick a bunch of kids.
“You’ve been having a lot of those since we went to Edward’s Island,” Jonas points out.
“Yeah, just- I guess senior year became like, a solid thing, now that summer’s almost over. Been having weird dreams about it. Like, what if I fail all my AP exams? Haha…”
He raises an eyebrow, not really believing her but drops the subject. “Well, I’m definitely not going back to sleep now,” he starts, taking his phone out of his pocket and looking at the time. “Want to watch a horror movie?”
“Fuck. Yes ,” Alex exclaims, jumping out of her bed. This has become their weird ritual since that night on the island. The first time Alex had awakened from a nightmare, she’d been sobbing uncontrollably, pulling at her hair so tightly that it had freaked the fuck out of Jonas. No matter what he said or did she couldn’t calm down. Not until he brought his laptop into her room and put on some weird children’s movie his mom used to watch with him. Alex had been so flabbergasted by the action that she just stared at the screen, watching the bright colors until her tears stopped flowing down her cheeks. She had been so captivated by the story that she didn’t even have time to think about the wreck of the Kanaloa and the voices of the Sunken.
After that, it became their thing. They watched all sorts of movies, but horror movies had always been her favorite, and most of her friends were too chicken to watch them with her. Except Jonas, he never complained, no matter what she put on.
For a split second she thinks about wearing Michael's jacket, but decides against it. It’s summer, and the middle of the night. There’s no way she’s going to be cold. They both make their way downstairs and at this point Jonas doesn’t even need to ask her if she wants popcorn. It was one of those things you always had to eat with a movie, even if you weren’t hungry. While he does that, she looks through her extensive horror movie collection, pulling out one of her favorites that Jonas hasn’t seen yet.
“I think you’re the only person in the world that watches scary movies after having a nightmare,” Jonas comments as he walks into the living room with a large bowl full of popcorn, generously topped with melted butter.
Alex shrugs, pressing play on the remote. “Helps me realize how silly they are. Nightmares are just your brain freaking out. They’ll never come true.” Except her dreams were reality at one point, though not anymore. Hopefully.
“If you say so,” Jonas responds, situating the bowl of popcorn in his lap. His arm moves to rest against the back of the couch, behind Alex’s shoulders, and her skin prickles a little.
Alex looks down, suddenly self-conscious at her choice of sleep attire. She’s in what she usually wears to sleep in the summer, a ridiculously oversized shirt but when she's around Jonas it’s usually it’s paired with long pajama pants, not the sleep shorts she’s currently wearing. It makes her feel a little self-conscious, and she pulls on her shorts, trying to cover more of her legs.
She sneaks a glance at Jonas, also only now realizing he’s in a similar state of undress. Just in a black t-shirt and boxer briefs. He normally wore a hoodie or sweatpants around her. It was...new, seeing him like this. Like he was finally relaxed around her. Alex tries not to think about it too much, focusing her attention on the movie and periodically grabbing huge handfuls of buttery popcorn.
Halfway through the movie, their air conditioning kicks on again, the vent above the couch blasting Alex with cool air. At first it feels kind of nice, but then that feeling quickly turns into regret because her bare feet and hands turn into icicles. An involuntary shiver breaks through and Jonas looks over.
“Cold?” he asks and Alex nods, rubbing her hands against her arms to generate heat.
“A bit, yeah. Wish my mom didn’t put all the blankets away every summer. I always tell her to leave at least one.”
“Want me to go put the air up?” Jonas offers, moving to place the half-eaten popcorn bowl on the table.
“No, no it’s fine. I’ll live.”
He looks at her for a few more seconds, before lifting his arm up. “C’mon, I’ll keep you warm,” he says and a million reasons run through Alex’s head as to why it’s a terrible idea for her to cuddle with her stepbrother.
Despite all that, she presses up next to him anyway, leaning her head against his chest and pressing one of her bare legs against his own. Jonas’ arm comes down around her shoulder and it feels so hot, like it’s going to make her melt. This is the closest they’ve ever been to each other and it’s strangely exhilarating.
Her heart is beating rapidly in her chest and she prays that he somehow doesn’t figure out how nervous she is. They continue the movie without another word, both of them barely moving a muscle. When the final scene comes on and the credits finally roll, she hears Jonas sigh.
“Well, that ending was...intense.”
Alex smiles up at him, “It’s even better in the UK release. Turns out that part was all a dream and she wakes back up in the cave with the crawlers screaming around her.”
“You are a... very twisted individual,” Jonas says, though his smile indicates that he finds her at least a little charming.
“Yeah, but that’s what you love about me,” Alex jokes but when Jonas doesn’t deny it her traitorous heart does a little flip. She thought these feelings she had for him would go away eventually. That they were just the product of being so close to him in every single time loop and then for years in the alternate dimension. He was cool and kind and brave and smart, even if he didn’t believe the last one. It was only natural she would develop a tiny crush on him. Alex thought it would fade away once they escaped. She hoped that now she was around other people her feelings for Jonas would turn into the kind you felt for a close friend or possibly even a brother. But they never did.
“Alex, I-” Jonas is cut off by the intense vibrating of his phone on the coffee table. The screen lights up, displaying the contact photo for Jonas’ dad. Jonas removes his arm from Alex’s shoulders and grabs his phone, picking it up. She does the same as he talks, scrolling through her messages. She has a few that have come in over the night, mainly Ren reminding her of his party tomorrow and Clarissa asking if she wants to go shopping.
Her repaired relationship with Clarissa had definitely been a welcome surprise after they got out of the alternate dimension. Despite her many tries, she couldn’t change Michael’s fate, but she was happy that the one time she had decided to give up Clarissa didn’t stick. It had been done out of desperation and anger. Clarissa didn’t deserve that; she was hurting just as much as Alex was.
“Okay dad, yeah. See you guys in a few weeks. Love ya’,” Jonas says to his dad, ending the call.
“They’re good?” Alex asks.
Jonas nods in reply, “Yeah, they just woke up. They’re gonna’ stay a few more days in Yellowstone and then start heading to the Grand Canyon.”
“That’s...nice. Good for them,” she comments, not knowing what else to say and Jonas gives her a weird look. She hasn’t seen her mom in nearly a month, off on some couple's vacation with Jonas’ father. Her mom didn’t used to be like this. She was a homebody before and hated being away from the house for too long. Whenever she didn't have work she would cook and bake all day or lay on the couch binging trashy reality tv shows with her and Michael.
Sometimes Alex thinks her mom hates her for what happened to Michael. They used to spend evenings afterschool working on the backyard garden. Alex used to think it was the worst part of her day. I mean, what teenager wants to be digging around in the dirt instead of playing video games or watching crap on YouTube?
She looks through the sliding glass doors next to the living room into the backyard, where her mother’s garden is now overgrown and abandoned. When Michael died, their afternoons together stopped. Now, Alex has to basically wave her hands in front of her mom’s face to get her to look at her. As her for dad? Forget about it. It’s like he never even existed. He hasn’t called or texted her in months.
Jonas sits back down on the couch, not as close as he was before, but still enough. “You...wanna’ talk about it?” Jonas asks and for a second Alex thinks that it’s pretty pitiful that he’s the only family she has left that still cares about her, and they aren't even related.
“There’s nothing to really talk about...Did they say when they were getting back?”
“Yeah, uh, they think they’ll be back like, a week after we start school.”
Another thing that’s changed. Her mom never even imagined missing a first day of school. She went absolutely crazy for them. Picking out the perfect outfits for Michael and her, packing them lunches and of course taking like a bazillion pictures.
Last year, for the first time in Alex’s life, no one cared that she was starting school. Her dad and mom had fought that morning, and when her dad dropped her off at school, all he did was grunt when she told him what time she needed to be picked up. He didn’t come, of course, claimed that he simply forgot. The next day, Alex signed herself up for the school bus.
“Doesn’t it bother you that they just left us all alone?” Alex asks.
He shrugs, “Nah, not really. I was on my own a lot after my mom died. My dad volunteered for a lot of business trips.”
“I mean, it’s just irresponsible,” she points out. “Who leaves two teens who barely know each other all alone for months? That’s like, asking for a teenage pregnancy.”
“What?” Jonas sputters and Alex immediately wishes she had the power to reverse time and punch herself.
“Not that you would ever come on to me! And I wouldn’t either! I mean, you’re hot but not that hot. Well, actually you are. No-wait, that’s not what I-” She really wishes she could shut her fucking mouth.
“Alex, it’s okay,” Jonas interrupts her, and with the light of the tv she can just barely make out a light blush on his face. “I, um, get what you mean. I think.”
“Okay,” Alex manages to squeak out. God, could her life get any worse? Actually, almost one hundred dead people trying to possess her and her friends proves that it indeed could. “Cool.”
“Cool,” he echoes back. “I uh- I think I’m gonna’ go to bed now.”
Alex nods and the second Jonas goes up the stairs she falls face first on the couch cushions, groaning in embarrassment.
. . . . .
The next morning Jonas sits at the island in the kitchen, nursing his steaming cup of very black coffee. After, whatever the fuck that was, last night, he couldn’t even get a lick of sleep. All he could think about was the way Alex cuddled next to him the words that came out of her mouth. He was a normal teenage boy, and under any other circumstances his crush on Alex would be normal, encouraged even. But they were technically family now, which means she has a big, red “Do Not Touch!” sign plastered on her forehead.
He knows that Alex and him have a weird co-dependent relationship with each other. He didn't think it was possible to become so attached to someone after one night, but he somehow did. Sometimes Jonas felt like he knew everything about Alex, like he’s spent years with her, even though in reality they’ve only known each other for a few months. It’s illogical but he feels closer to her than anyone else in his life.
Every now and again he has weird dreams about them together. They’re always walking through Edward’s Island, talking to each other as Alex fiddles with an old, beat-up handheld radio. She always looks so on edge and panicked, especially in the dreams where he’s lying on the ground and she’s standing over him, tears in her eyes and radio static humming around them.
Sometimes they feel so real . Like he could reach out and touch her. Dreams are always supposed to be slightly fuzzy, leaving your mind as abruptly as they come. But these ones stay for good and he’s able to recall every single dream with perfect clarity. Like they’re scenes from a movie he’s watched hundreds of times. Except each time they’re always different, be it slightly or dramatically. It could be something as small as the expression on Alex’s face or the words that come out of their mouths.
As if summoned by his thoughts Alex walks into the kitchen, dark circles under her eyes and her brother’s red jacket dwarfing her body. “’Sup,” she says and he mentally breathes a sigh of relief that she’s choosing not to be awkward with him about what happened last night.
“Coffee,” he replies, lifting the mug to take another sip.
Alex scoffs, pouring herself a cup from the leftover brew and adding a crap ton of sugar and milk. “Lemme’ guess, black?”
“Like my soul,” Jonas smoothly replies.
Alex rolls her eyes as she takes a seat next to Jonas. Her foot knocks against his own and he thinks that this is good. They can still be normal around each other. He can still be normal around her. Even though she said to his face that she found him hot and it leaves him wanting to know if that’s all she thinks of him or if there’s the smallest potential for more.
“Any plans today?” he asks.
Alex smiles, “Yep. Going to the mall with Clarissa. You going to Ren’s party tonight?”
He nods kind of looking forward to it but also not really. “Yeah, I guess. There’s really nothing better to do.”
“Cool. I don’t think I’ll go. Clarissa mentioned some new romcom so I think were gonna’ watch that tonight.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow, then?” Alex nods, and Jonas breathes a sigh of relief. He has every intention of getting as fucked up as possible tonight and he did not want her anywhere near him. He just needed to let go and attempt to forget about the way she looked last night and the pull in his chest that appears every time she’s next to him.
. . . . .
“Okay romantic movies aren’t really my thing but that was… awesome .”
“I knew you would like it,” Clarissa says, smiling. She flicks her blinker on, signaling that she’s making the turn down the street to Ren’s house.
“I mean, I never really got why people were obsessed with period movies. But add zombies and a badass girl? I’m totally in.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty fun. I actually...already saw it.” Clarissa adds that last part with a little hesitance, which Alex immediately picks up on.
“With who, Nona?”
Clarissa bites her lip, glancing at Alex for a second before turning her attention back to the road. “A girl from my college, actually. We met during the summer program. She’s like, really cool. I think you’d like her; you both have that same alt-girl vibe.”
“Huh,” Alex responds, a little speechless. “And she’s just a friend?”
She doesn’t answer Alex right away, pulling in front of Ren’s house where music was booming from inside the house and various teens were chilling in his garage, drinking who knows what from red solo cups.
“I’m not sure,” Clarissa finally responds after what feels like an eternity. “I haven’t really worked up the nerve to clarify things yet.”
Memories of Clarissa before and during Edward’s Island come to the surface. She was so full of hate and vitriol before that this Clarissa might as well have been a different person. It was one of the things that ate at Alex the most. That she would never be okay again, just because she selfishly wanted one more afternoon alone with Michael.
“I’m happy for you,” she says, and she means it. “You deserve it, for real.”
Clarissa lets out an awkward laugh and wipes her palm against one of her eyes, “Thanks...You know, you deserve to be happy too.”
Alex frowns, choosing to look away from Clarissa and fiddle with the window button on the passenger side door. “I am happy. Happy enough at least.”
“Really? No one else in your life? No tall, dark men with a troubled past that smoke cigarettes and listen to heavy metal?” A blush rises to Alex’s cheeks as Clarissa looks over at her, a smirk on her face that means she knows she caught her red-handed. Or red-faced in this situation. “I knew it!”
“Ohmygod Clarissa, shut up, ” she pleads, not at all surprised that her friend was able to clock her so easily. She always knew how to dig up things people tried very hard to bury.
“Oh man, I’m gonna’ tease you about this for the end of time. I can’t wait to tell Nona.”
Alex buries her face in her hands, never wanting to see the light of day. “Please don’t tell Nona. Because if you tell Nona that means she’s going to tell Ren, who is inevitably going to blab his mouth off to Jonas!”
“Okay, okay, chill,” Clarissa soothes, laughing a little to herself. “Your secret is safe with me...for now.”
Rubbing at her face, Alex rolls her eyes, ready for this conversation to be over, “Aughh! Okay, enough of this shit. Let’s go get wasted.”
They both hop out of the car, walking inside the house and looking for a familiar mop of bleach-blonde hair or Nona and Jonas’ beanies. There’s a shit ton of people packed into the house like sardines and with the number of drinks sloshing onto her, Alex knows she’s going to have to take a shower when she gets home. Clarissa eventually finds Nona and Alex leaves them to find Ren, who she’s pretty sure is chilling in the basement.
Sure enough, that’s exactly where she finds him and a huge dopey smile forms on Ren’s face as she comes into his view. The glazed look in his eyes already tells Alex that the little idiot is high out of his mind.
“ Alexxx ! You came!” Ren exclaims, throwing his arms out into a hug that Alex returns. He flops onto the recliner, grabbing a bag of cheetos from the coffee table in front of them and stuffing a handful into his mouth.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, buddy.” She ruffles his hair and looks around, seeing no one else in the basement turned into cozy bedroom. “Where’s Jonas? He said he’d be here.”
Ren makes a non-committal sound, picking up his bowl and lighting it before taking a puff. “Don’t know. ‘Said he was gonna’ go get a drink or something.”
Alex groans, “Ugh, okay, great. I’m gonna’ go look for him. Try not to get too fucked up, little buddy.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Ren salutes, already ignoring her request and packing the bowl with more weed. Well, at least he was in his own home, and not a murderous haunted island.
Alex goes back upstairs, taking a little detour to grab a drink before resuming her search. She didn’t really know why she was so bent on finding Jonas. Normally, they left each other alone at these kinds of things and she should continue to do just that. Drinking and crushes usually didn’t mix well. But for some reason, something in her mind just kept pushing her to find him.
It’s in the living room when she finally spots him, chatting with some girl from their year. Jonas must have said something funny, because she throws her head back in laughter and places an arm on Jonas’ bicep. In a “you’re totally hot,” kind of way. Jealously works its way through her veins and before she can take a step towards them a figure blocks her view. Alex looks up, mentally groaning at the sight of one of the football jocks leering down at her.
“Hey, Alex,” his voice oozes out. “Didn’t know you’d be here.”
She rolls her eyes, not really wanting to deal with this right now. “Can you move? I’m trying to find someone.” She cranes her head to the side, barely catching a glimpse of Jonas before the nuisance in front of her interrupts her view. He looks back at where her eyes just were and snorts.
“I think your step-brother can handle himself. C’mon, let’s go someplace more quiet. I really wanna’ get to know you.”
What he really means is get to know her body and Alex rolls her eyes before hissing out, “Dude, not fucking interested.”
She pushes past him, making a beeline for Jonas. Alex reaches out towards him, trying to grab his arm, before the music cuts out and loud screech of static fills the empty air. She immediately covers her ears with her hands, dropping to the floor. Her heart begins beating uncontrollably and Alex knows that it’s irrational, that Riley fixed everything, but panic still rises in her chest. Her breath starts coming in faster and faster, until it feels like she’s barely taking any in at all.
She waits for the voices to appear. For the distorted garbles of the Sunken to ask her, “ Is. Leave. Possible? ”
Familiar hands grasp at her shoulders and she looks up, tears streaming down her face as she opens her eyes that she didn’t even realize were shut. Jonas is standing over her, calling her name with a desperate plea and she remembers where she is.
“Jonas, Jonas,” she whimpers out, hating the way she sounds so pathetic but unable to compose herself. Alex removes her hands from her ears, now aware of the crowd of people circling her and Jonas, whispering to each other. She hears a few disembodied voices call her a freak and an attention whore. She wants to lash out, and yell at them to shut the fuck up.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to get you outta’ here.” He puts a strong arm around her shoulders and leads her out of the house. She closes her eyes once again, not wanting to look at the disgusted expression on everyone's faces. Alex vaguely hears Jonas talking to Nona and Clarissa, but he continues guiding her. She opens her eyes again when they’re outside and climbs into the passenger seat of Jonas’ truck. He closes the door behind her, and she shakily puts her seatbelt on.
He gets in and starts the car and takes a deep breath before speaking again. “We’re you-um- drinking?”
“Just one can of beer,” he replies as he puts his seatbelt on. “I’m sober enough to drive two blocks.” Jonas starts the car and less than five minutes later they’re in front of their house. The windows are dark, of course, and Alex wishes that her parents were here and able to care enough to comfort her.
They walk into the house, the darkness sending a shiver up her spine. He goes up the stairs with her into her room and watches as she removes Michael’s jacket. “Do you wanna’ talk about it?” he asks, and Alex shakes her head.
“No.” He wouldn’t understand and she could never tell him. How on earth could she even begin to explain vengeful ghosts and the hundreds of time loops they went through. How could she tell him that they became the very same thing they were trying to escape from? She’s glad her friends don’t remember; she’s glad Jonas doesn’t remember. This was her burden to bear; she couldn’t put them through it again.
“I’m here, if you need me,” he tells her and she gives him a tired smile. He closes her door with a click and Alex lets out a bone-tired sigh before crawling into bed and praying that for once, she doesn’t dream of a single thing.
. . . . .
Like most of his nightmares, it starts on Edward’s Island.
He doesn’t know why he keeps dreaming of the island, especially after only visiting it once, but he can’t really do much about it. Normally, Jonas doesn’t even know he’s dreaming. But every time the dreams start here, he’s very aware of it. Like lucid dreaming, except he can’t control anything he does or says.
Like usual, Alex and him walk through a forest, talking about things they’ve never talked about before and trying to ignore the jagged, static-y taunting of spirits. Whenever the ghosts take control of Alex, he desperately tries to find a way to wake up, he doesn’t want to hear the distorted and cruel words that come out of her mouth.
This time though, it’s different. They’re climbing down a ladder, the space around them pitch black except for the rungs of the ladder that their phone flashlights illuminate. They eventually reach the bottom of what looks like to be a World War two bunker, cobwebs hanging off every surface and rusted beds that look like they’ll collapse the second you sit on them.
Alex and him talk, like they usually do, about portals and navy ships and someone named Maggie Adler. His dream-self spots a tape recorder, and stands in front of it. A song is playing from it, one he knows all too well.
“It’s- just with everything that happened, she could have come here,” he tells Alex, who does not look very confident in his beliefs.
“C’mon Jonas, let’s just get in the cave and remember why we’re here, okay?”
He feels himself growing even more frustrated, “Can’t you just help me out with this? Please?” His voice sounds painfully desperate and Alex sighs before walking back over to the tape recorder.
“Alright, but quickly.”
She pulls out a handheld radio that seems to be a staple in these dreams, carefully flipping through channels. The eerie red glow coming off the tape recorder grows brighter as she searches through the channels. When she finally lands on the right one, the music only becomes more distorted and a flash of white light nearly blinds him.
He thinks he hears his mother’s voice, before Alex calls out his name and everything goes black.
Screams jolt him awake and it takes Jonas less than a second to jump out of bed, rushing as quickly down the stairs as he dares to Alex’s room. Without a second thought he opens the door, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as Alex continues to scream and thrash against her sheets. He rushes to her side, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her awake.
Her eyes snap open, contracted pupils darting around before landing on his face. Alex’s screams die down and Jonas releases her, watching as her chest rises and falls with her heavy breathing and a bead of sweat trails down her forehead and into her teal hair.
“Jonas,” she croaks out, just as pitifully as she did at Ren’s party. He doesn’t know why she keeps having these nightmares and it fucking worries him. What the hell happened to her to make her cry out in fear nearly every night?
“I’m here,” he whispers, taking her clammy hand in his. He wonders if it always looked this small. “Do you need anything?”
Alex doesn’t answer for a few seconds, worrying her bottom lip in between her teeth. “Can you stay with me? Until I fall asleep?”
“Alex, I don’t think-“
“ Please? ” she pleads him and he can’t find it in himself to say no. He could control himself for one night. He could act like the brother that he’s actually supposed to be.
“…Okay,” he breathes out and Alex scoots over. Her bed is a queen size, but with Jonas’ large frame it ends up being a snug fit. His dad would kill him if he ever found out he did this. But thankfully he’s over a thousand miles away and he thinks Alex won’t ever tell a soul. At least he hopes.
“I didn’t realize my bed was so small,” Alex comments and Jonas can’t help but laugh.
“Nah, it’s just me. My dad did always says I was built for football.”
Alex looks over at him and wrinkles her nose. “Ugh, please don’t say that. I can’t stand football players.”
“Really? But I saw you talking to one at Ren’s party. Thought you liked him or whatever.”
Her face blanches and she quickly shakes her head, “Hell no! I would like, rather die.”
“Good. They’re all meat heads anyways.”
Alex laughs, and Jonas stills as the skin of her arm brushes against his. “I saw you talking to that cheerleader, Jess? At least I think that’s her name.”
Jonas tries to remember what she’s talking about, and then recalls the face of the girl he was talking to before Alex had her panic attack. “Oh yeah, her. I didn’t even know she was a cheerleader. She just started talking and laughing at everything I said. It was a bit weird.”
A snort escapes Alex’s mouth and Jonas watches as she makes an effort not to laugh in his face. “She was flirting with you, Jonas.”
“Oh.” In hindsight, now the way she was acting made sense. Jonas never really considered himself a funny guy. “Eh, whatever. She’s not my type.”
“Oh yeah, your type is Carmen Sandiego.”
He raises an eyebrow at her, “I have no idea how you know that but you’re not wrong. I like women who can kick my ass.” She hums in reply and the sound of her ceiling fan spinning on high fills the space. Alex sighs and moves on her side, facing him. Jonas turns his head, a little surprised to find her staring at him. “Hey, um. No one like, did anything to you, right?”
Her eyebrows furrow, confused. “What do you mean?”
“Like, your nightmares aren’t because some douche forced himself on you, right? Because if that’s the case gimme’ a name and I’ll go kick some ass.” And probably do worse, but he doesn’t vocalize that.
Alex shakes her head, the action causes her loose teal-colored hair to fall, revealing her long, tan neck. “No, there was nothing like that. I’m just... fucked up.”
Jonas adjusts his position on the bed, mirroring her pose. “You’re not fucked up Alex, everyone has nightmares. Hell, even I had one tonight.”
“About what?”
He doesn’t really know where to begin. Would she think it’s weird that she’s in his dreams, especially in such creepy circumstances? “I don’t even know how to begin to explain it.”
“Try,” she insists and Jonas takes a deep breath, easily recalling the dream in his mind.
“Well, for some reason, you were there. Holding a radio? I think. We we’re in some weird world war bunker and there was this tape recorder...” As Jonas recounts his dream Alex’s eyes grow larger, her body uncharacteristically still. He finishes telling her about the song and how he thought he heard his mother’s voice. “It’s pretty crazy, right? I mean, I know your brain creates dreams from things you’ve experienced, but I’ve never been in a bunker before or even used a tape recorder.”
“You have,” Alex whispers. “Back on Edward’s Island, when we were stuck.”
“Stuck? Stuck where? What are you talking about Alex?”
“You don’t remember? It was-” she stops herself, releasing a deep sigh. “Never mind, forget I said anything.” Alex turns away from him, grabbing her blanket and wrapping it tightly around her body.
“What?” he asks, sitting up. “C’mon Alex you can’t just say shit like that and then tell me to forget about it.”
“Just drop it, Jonas! I’m tired.”
Jonas grunts in frustration, “Fine, whatever!” He moves to get up from the bed, throwing the blanket off of him. Alex doesn’t even look back at him as he does and he goes back to his room without another word.
. . . . .
Alex thinks that Jonas can be a real ass when he wants to get his way.
Of course, she already knew this. How many times did she have to go through the fight between him and Ren, knowing that no matter what she said or did he always stayed a little piss-y and made the night just a little more difficult. Alex is aware that the fight on the island was probably just due to high tensions and the stress of being haunted by a fuck ton of ghosts but still. Who gave a shit if Ren had another brownie? They were all getting possessed regardless.
She realizes that since they all got free, this is the first fight they have had. Without parents or friends near them to ease the tension it makes the whole situation a hundred times worse. They’re not even talking to each other right now, both spending as much time away from the house as possible. Ren absolutely hates it, having to choose to spend time with either his longest best friend or his best guy friend.
“Will you like, please make up with Jonas already?” Ren begs, they’re currently at the skate park, Alex leaning against a railing while Ren tightens the trucks on his skateboard. “All I wanna’ do is watch the new marvel movie with you guys and you two fighting is making it very hard to actualize those plans.”
“Over my dead body,” Alex hisses, occupying her mind by scrolling through Instagram on her phone. One of Jonas’ posts from last week pop up on her feed and she quickly swipes away from his stupidly attractive face.
Ren sighs, lining up his board along the edge of the pool before dropping. She watches as he skates along the bottom until he pops back up a few moments later. “You guys seriously need to get over whatever the problem is. School starts in less than a month and I am not going to stress myself out just because you don’t want to see each other’s faces. I want my senior year to be chill.”
Alex raises an eyebrow, “Ren, you’re taking like, five AP classes. It was never going to be chill.”
“Okay, fine. As chill as possible then.”
She tells Ren to drop it, and thankfully he does. He drops her off at home a few hours later, since she still doesn’t have her own car, and Alex groans when she spots Jonas’ beat up truck in the driveway.
Opening the door slowly, she creeps into the house, finding it pitch black. “Jonas?” she calls out, waiting for his deep voice to answer her. Hearing no one else, she walks up the stairs to her bedroom. She stops at the landing separating the level with her bedroom and Jonas’, registering that his bedroom door is closed. So, he was home, and he just chose to ignore her. Real mature of him.
Irritated, Alex stalks up the stairs, throwing open Jonas’ bedroom door. To her surprise, he’s in bed and clearly asleep. The blankets are strewn haphazardly around his body, revealing the top of his bare chest and his long, thick legs. Alex blushes, ready to flee from his room until he mumbles something that sounds very close to her name.
She pauses, waiting a few seconds to see if it happens again, and it sure does. Walking over to the bed, Alex stands before her stepbrother, watching as his eyebrows contort and his body twitches. A few pained grunts come from him and she realizes he must be having a bad dream.
Reaching out, Alex places a hand on his hot, sweaty arm, shaking it a few times. It seems he’s a deeper sleeper than her because it has no effect and he continues to groan.
“Jonas? C’mon dude, wake up.” She shakes him again, even harder, finally succeeding when he takes in a gasp of air and opens his eyes.
He looks straight at her in surprise and then sighs, bringing an arm up to hide half his face. “I was having a nightmare, wasn’t I?”
“Yup,” Alex answers, and Jonas sits up, grabbing his thin sheet and wiping the sweat off his face.
“I dreamt of something else this time,” he says and Alex knows she shouldn’t ask, because it’s just going to cause him to prod her with questions again. But curiosity gets the better of her.
“What was it?”
“Your brother,” Jonas replies and Alex feels a boulder drop into her stomach. “He was alive and we were all on the ferry, going back to Camena. You were talking to Clarissa and Nona and Ren and- he came up to me. Asked me to look after you, when he couldn’t anymore.”
Alex feels her nose tingle and her eyes burn as tears threaten to spill down her cheeks. She remembers that loop, it was her first one ever. She thought she fixed everything. She thought she could have it all and still not lose anyone.
“Alex,” Jonas begins, reaching out to take her hand in his. “What the hell happened?”
With her free hand, she wipes the tears away and sits on the edge of Jonas’ bed. Taking a deep breath, she steels herself.
“It started with the cave.”
. . . . .
Jonas sits dazed in his bed as Alex finishes her story, recounting how the spirits took Olivia. She tells him she didn’t want it to be that way, but it wasn’t her choice. They’re free because a young, naive girl gave herself up for the chance of being with her parents again.
He knows how Olivia probably felt. If he had the chance to see his mother again, to hear her voice and embrace her, he would give everything up.
“So, all those loops, that’s what you- we, keep dreaming about?” Jonas asks. The thought of not believing Alex doesn’t even cross his mind. He knows she’s not crazy, and he’s not crazy as far as he can tell. Her story perfectly explains everything.
Alex nods, “Yeah. I dont know if it’s PTSD or maybe our current selves are being fed info from our alternate versions. Either way it’s fucked up.”
“Do you think the others are dreaming of Edward’s Island too?”
She shrugs, “Maybe? I dunno’. We could try asking them?”
He lets out a tired laugh, falling backwards onto his pillow. “Yeah, let’s do that...eventually. I don’t think I have the energy for that conversation at the moment.”
“Yeah, totally. I’m not really in the mood for it either.” She gets off his bed and sighs, “Well, I’m going to bed.”
“Hey, wait,” he calls after her as she walks away. Alex turns, a curious expression on her face. “Do you think you’re going to like, sleep well? After all this?”
She responds with an awkward laugh, reaching up to twirl a strand of her hair around one of her fingers. “Ehhh, probably not. But it’s okay, I’m used to it.”
Jonas frowns, not really liking her answer. He knows he shouldn’t offer what he’s about to, but he does it anyway because the thought of Alex suffering by herself another night makes him feel like a piece of shit. “You could stay with me for the night, if you want.”
At first, he thinks she’s going to decline his offer, but surprisingly, Alex doesn’t. “Okay, yeah. That’d be nice.”
Scooting to the other side of the bed, Jonas lifts the blanket for her as she crawls in. To his surprise, she settles in against his side, her head resting on his chest. Bringing his arm around her shoulders, he releases a deep sigh, the warmth radiating from Alex’s body lulling him into a deep sleep.
. . . . .
For the first time in months, Alex is woken up not by her own screaming but by the chirping of birds rising with the morning sun. She’s warm and cozy and feeling extremely well rested.
A lazy yawn escapes her mouth and she closes her eyes once more, nuzzling her face into her pillow. She feels a warm breath tickle the back of her neck and something heavy wraps around her waist, pulling her close against a solid form.
Her mind bursts in consciousness and Alex’s eyes flit open, staring straight at a wood-panel wall that definitely doesn’t belong in her bedroom.
Jonas shifts behind her, his lips brushing against her neck in a way that gives her goosebumps. She can’t help the blush that comes to her face and doesn’t really know what to do about her current situation. If it was Ren cuddling her, she would laugh and push him off. But this was Jonas, the one guy that she really shouldn’t have a crush on. There was no way she could ever laugh this off.
Well either way, Alex decides should probably put some distance between them and attempts to do just that. She gently lifts Jonas’ arm off her waist and just as she begins to shimmy away his arm snakes around her waist again, pulling her even closer. Something hard pokes against her backside and Alex freezes in place, painfully aware of what the new sensation is.
Her heart begins beating intensely in her chest, and Alex swallows the lump in her throat before trying to speak.
“Jonas?” she whispers. No sound other than steady breathing comes from her stepbrother and she tries again a little louder. “Jonas? C’mon please wake up.”
In reply he nuzzles his face into her neck, groaning as he pulls her body even more flush with his. His erection rubs against her ass and a familiar wetness begins to pool in between Alex’s legs.
“Jonas!” Alex yells, now panicking. There was no way she was ever going to recover from this. How was she supposed to look at him in the face ever again?
A gasp comes from Jonas and he immediately releases his hold on her. “Jesus Christ!” he exclaims, moving away from her in a hurry and falling off the bed in the process. He stands up and Alex’s eyes immediately travel from his bare chest downwards to the very prominent tent in his pants. God, why did he have to be so damn hot?
“Alex, I'm so fucking sorry,” Jonas begins, grabbing his pillow and hiding his behind it. This is the reddest his face has ever been and Alex can’t help but think how cute it is that his ears get red too. “I-I was having this dream and, fuck, I didn’t even know what I was doing and-“
“Jonas, its okay,” Alex interrupts. “I don’t mind, really. It was a normal, human reaction.”
Jonas releases a sigh of relief, “Thank God, I really didn’t want you to think I was a pervert.”
Alex laughs, “It’s totally cool, don’t worry about it.”
“Right,” he says, fidgeting in place. “I guess, I’ll go take care of my problem and try to forget this very awkward moment between us.”
“Right,” she repeats back. “Um, have fun?”
Jonas nods and the second Alex hears the bathroom door click shut she runs back to her room to do something very similar.
. . . . .
A few days later Jonas and Alex are at another party, this one courtesy of Clarissa who wants to have one more rowdy night before starting the journey all the way to her fancy school in New York City.
A group of them sit in a circle by Clarissa’s pool, talking shit and drinking as much as they want. Alex and Ren are trying to throw skittles in each other’s mouths and Jonas smiles into his cup as he takes another drink of whatever the hell was mixed into the punch bowl.
“Alright, I’m bored. Let’s play a game,” Clarissa announces and everyone groans as she places an empty beer bottle on the tile. “No complaints, my alcohol, my rules.”
“Okay, fine. What are we playing?” Jonas bites and the mischievous look Clarissa gives him sends a uneasy shiver up his spine.
“Truth or Dare, of course.”
“You can be such a dictator,” Ren comments and Clarissa just shrugs.
“I could be so much worse.”
Alex and Jonas share a look, she definitely could be much worse. Making everyone play Truth or Dare was much more tame than Truth or Slap and forcing everyone to share their deepest secrets.
For the first few rounds, Jonas is thankfully ignored by the spinning beer bottle. He watches as everyone takes turns admitting to obvious crushes or being dared to lick the floor or whatever else people come up with. In fact, he thinks he might be in the clear until it’s Clarissa’s turn to spin and the bottle lands squarely on Jonas.
The look on his friend’s face lets him know that she's definitely not going to go easy on him.
“Oh my God, yes ,” Clarissa hisses, giving Nona a small high-five.
Jonas releases an awkward laugh, taking a sip of his drink for courage. “Should I be scared?”
“Oh yes, very scared,” she warns him, placing a hand on her chin in contemplation. Everyone else is shouting what she should ask him or make him do except for Alex, who looks weirdly nervous. “Okay, I got it. I dare you...to give a hickey to the last person who texted you.”
Jonas lets out a laugh and rolls his eyes and he pulls out his phone, “Alright, I'm pretty sure it’s Ren though. Don’t get too jealous, Nona.” The screen of his phone lights up, revealing Ren’s last message to him and one more that came a few minutes later that he must have missed. One that’s from Alex. Panic works it’s way through his veins and everyone gathered watches as he stares wide-eyed at his phone.
“So? Who is it?” Nona asks and Clarissa reaches over to pluck Jonas’ phone from his hands.
“Ha! This is gonna’ be awkward. Prepare your neck, Alex,” she warns, showing everyone else Alex’s unread text message.
Alex’s eyes widen and flicker between the phone in Clarissa’s hand Jonas, clearly shocked. “C’mon, he doesn’t count. He’s technically family remember?”
“Those were Ren’s rules, not mine. Plus, it’s just a hickey. Not like an actual kiss or anything,” Clarissa counters and she quickly snaps her fingers in his direction. “Hurry up! We’re not getting any younger!”
Jonas groans, pinching his brow in between his fingers. God, he really wanted a smoke right now. “Alex, we don’t have to-“
“It’s fine,” she cuts him off, her face nearly as red as her jacket. She scoots to the center of the circle and flips her teal hair over her shoulder, presenting her neck to him. “Just do it.”
He tries to swallow the rock that has formed in his throat but it stubbornly persists. Everyone one, Alex included, is staring at him, waiting to see if he’s going to chicken out or go through with it. With a shaky breath, Jonas crawls toward Alex, joining her in the center of the circle. He lowers his head towards her neck and he prays to whatever deity is up in the sky that she doesn’t notice how badly he’s trembling. His lips ghost just above her skin, and he takes in another breath, fists clenching when the floral scent of her perfume invades his nostrils. This would be so much easier to do if he wasn’t painfully into her.
Lips finally make contact with warm skin and Alex shivers as Jonas begins to suck at her neck. His tongue mistakenly brushes against her skin as he performs the action and the way she softly gasps makes him want to sink his teeth into her.
Satisfied with what he’s done, Jonas leaves her skin, arousal pulsing inside him as he gazes upon the deep red mark that he knows is only going to get darker as the night goes on. Without another word they both part, going back to their places in the circle.
“That was...really hot,” Nona says which causes a few murmurs of agreement to ring out from everyone else. He looks over at Clarissa who’s staring at Alex with a satisfied look on her face for reasons he can’t even begin to imagine.
It’s his turn to spin the bottle so he does, asking a half-hearted question when it lands on a person he doesn’t really know. Nerves are still racing through him and even the alcohol can’t seem to calm his racing heart.
“I’m gonna’ go have a smoke,” he says to no one in particular, getting up and walking over to a quiet part of Clarissa’s backyard. He pulls out the carton of his favorite brand and lights a cigarette, taking a deep drag and hoping that it calms him down at least a little bit.
“Can I bum one off you?” Alex’s voice calls out from behind and he turns to face her. Of course, the universe couldn’t grant him a break for even a minute.
He lets out a laugh, “I’m pretty sure I recall you coughing your lungs out a bunch of times.” But he holds out the carton anyways.
“I was hoping you didn’t remember that,” Alex grumbles, placing the cigarette in her mouth. Jonas flicks his lighter on and he stares mesmerized as the small orange flame makes her hair and skin glow.
To his surprise she only lets out a few small coughs before her lungs get used to the smoke. He really shouldn’t be encouraging such a nasty habit; God knows he’s tried to quit dozens of times. But he can never find it in himself to say no to Alex.
“I remember most of it now. I think,” he tells her as they watch the rest of the party drink and socialize. “I was pretty horrible a lot of times.”
Alex chuckles, “Me too. We all were, at one point or another. I think we can forgive ourselves for it, a creepy, haunted island will turn anyone into an asshole.”
“Yeah, ghosts messing with your head and possessing your friends don’t exactly lead to calm and collected actions.”
She laughs and a cool breeze passes right by them, lifting the loose strands of hair that have escaped from her ponytail. Jonas’ eyes trail from her cheek downwards, to the hickey that’s barely poking out of the collar of her jacket.
He doesn’t know what really comes over him in the next moment. Maybe it’s the alcohol or way dimples form on her cheeks as she smiles. Either way Jonas can’t help but reach up and brush his fingers on her neck, ghosting the place his lips just were minutes ago.
Alex sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. Jonas pulls his hand back as if he was just burned, and a heavy tension settles between them. He takes a drag of his cigarette, trying to calm his beating heart.
“I-uh. I’m sorry I had to do that to you. Clarissa is…crazy sometimes,” Jonas tells her and Alex looks away, dropping her own cigarette to the ground and stomping it out.
“It's fine,” Alex quickly says. She digs her canvas sneakers into the dirt, kicking it up. “I kinda liked it.”
“What?”
“As far as hickies go,” Alex clarifies, but it still doesn’t make sense to him. “It was definitely my favorite so far. You got some talent.”
Jonas stares at her dumbly, sweat starting pool in his palm as he lets out an awkward laugh, “You think so?”
“Duh. Makes me a little jealous of the next girl you decide to make-out with.”
Jonas pauses, “That’s…not gonna happen for a long time.” Unless she decides to miraculously want to kiss him. No other girl has even piqued his interest since Alex came into his life.
“Why not? Camena girls don’t do it for you?”
“Well-uh. It’s been a while. Don’t wanna’ go disappointing anyone, y'know? There’s nothing worse than a bad kiss.”
Alex scoffs, “Pft, as if anyone would be disappointed making out with you.”
“No, seriously,” Jonas retorts, he blows his last drag away from Alex and drops the cigarette to the ground, kicking some loose soil onto it. “It’s been like, months. It would be so bad.”
She looks up him, tilting her head. “Okay. Prove it.”
Jonas’ body stills, his eyes comically large as he blinks once, then twice. There’s a playful smirk on her face, and she’s clearly enjoying getting this sort of reaction from him. It kind of pisses him off to be honest, how she can say those kinds of things and not be phased.
It makes him want to get back at her.
He forces his expression to go calm, channeling all those smooth-talking heartthrobs from the old movies his mom used to watch. “Okay. Right now?” Jonas asks and Alex’s eyes somehow get even wider than his was. A blush breaks out on her tan cheeks and her mouth starts spluttering words that he could never hope to make out.
“W-what? No, I mean, that’s crazy. We can’t kiss. Are you crazy?” Her hands are fiddling with the hem of her red jacket and Jonas probably now knows why Alex teases him so much. It’s so fucking fun.
“Why not? It’s not like were related or anything. What’s one kiss?” He flashes a smile at her, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets to hide how badly they’re shaking. Alex hides her face in her hands, groaning into her palms.
Jonas is about to let her off the hook and say he was just joking. But as he’s opening his mouth Alex looks back up at him and speaks first.
“Okay. Tonight, when we get back to the house.”
His mouth closes with a click and he just nods, which makes her nod back. An awkward silence forms between them that only gets broken when Ren demands the two of them come back and watch how many hotdogs he can fit in his mouth. They both do so, maintaining a quiet distance from each other the rest of the entire party.
Jonas is thankful for that, because he doesn’t think he could stop himself from kissing her otherwise.
. . . . .
The car ride back to the house is painfully quiet. Usually, after parties, Jonas and her talk about all the stupid shit Ren did or who hooked up with who or what was mixed into the punch. But this time? The only thing that enters her ears are the murmur of voices from the low radio and the sound of her own breathing.
Eventually, they reach home, climbing out of the car and standing in front of the door while Jonas searches his very full keychain for the house key. Alex doesn’t really know what he needs so many keys and keychains for, but she thinks it’s cute how he never takes anything off of it, only adds to it.
Shining her phone flashlight on the lock so he can see better, they open the door and enter the house, the cool air from the air conditioning drying the sweat on her arms and giving her goosebumps. Jonas flicks the hall light on and turns to look at her, his stance cautious.
“Um,” Alex starts, not really knowing what to say. “Can I shower first?” She says it partly because she’s genuinely sweaty and mostly because she’s nervous as hell and wants to stall for just a little bit longer. This isn’t the first time her big mouth and bravado attitude got her into trouble but she can’t really find it in herself to back down. Now when it’s for something she’s wanted to do for so long.
“Yeah, that’s cool. I mean, not cool but- You know what I mean,” Jonas stammers, rubbing the back of his neck as his cheeks get red with embarrassment. “I’ll uh- do the same. After you, of course.”
Alex smiles, a little happy that she’s not the only one nervous about what they’re going to do.
She showers quickly and efficiently, scrubbing off any sweat and grime on her skin. Her hair smells faintly of cigarette smoke but she doesn’t bother washing it. Jonas probably wouldn’t mind. At least she hopes he doesn’t.
Half an hour later she’s sitting on the edge of her bed in fresh sleep clothes, her leg bouncing in anticipation as she waits for the shower in the bathroom across the hall to turn off. Alex had forgotten that Jonas liked to take long showers.
As if answering her prayers, the water shuts off, and every sound that echoes through the crack of the door leaves her on edge. She can’t even distract herself with her phone, nothing on it is nowhere near interesting enough to grab her attention at this moment.
Counting the seconds, she continues to wait. Once Alex reaches three-hundred seconds she thinks that Jonas chickened out. That is, until she hears three knocks at her door. She quickly gets to her feet, rushing to open the door and finding Jonas standing there, sweatpants low on his hips, a dark green shirt hugging his torso and water droplets dripping from his hair and onto his shoulder. Jesus Christ, why did he have to be just her type?
“Uh, can I come in?” he asks her and Alex realizes that she’s been staring.
She stands to the side, motioning him to enter and he does so. Even though no one else is in the house but them Alex closes the door, which makes the space around them seem even smaller. Alex wouldn’t ever say her room is tiny, it’s comfy. But with Jonas right in front of her it feels downright claustrophobic.
“Where do you want me?” Jonas asks.
Under me, preferably. Her mind unhelpfully supplies and Alex rediscovers her ability to speak.
“The bed is good, I guess.”
He sits on the bed and Alex follows. They both sit crisscross in front of each other, her knees just out of reach of his. Her heart is threatening to burst free from her chest like out of a scene from Alien and she takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
“It’s actually been a while for me too,” she confesses and Jonas gives her a small smile.
“That’s good, we’ll both suck then.”
As if drawn to each other like magnets, they both lean forward. Noses bump against each other and all Alex can process is the feeling of blood pumping in her ears and the smell of Jonas’ mint toothpaste on his breath.
He takes a deep breath, releasing it. “You still wanna’ do this?”
Alex smiles, never surer of anything in her life. Even if this ends badly, she wants to see it through. If not, she will spend her whole life thinking “What If?” and she’s had enough of those thoughts to last thousands of lifetimes. “Yeah, I do.”
Lips meet and it instantly feels like stars are exploding beneath her skin. Unable to resist, she grabs his face, pressing his lips firmly on hers. Jonas’ hands find her waist, his fingers pressing into her skin and she pulls away, gasping for air.
They stare at each other, his pupils blown wide and a laugh comes bubbling up her throat. She’s never felt this happy kissing someone before. It feels like she could walk on air.
“ Wow ,” Jonas eloquently supplies.
“Wow,” Alex echoes back.
Without another word they meet again, desperation filling up her body like a physical, tangible thing. Alex doesn’t know if it’s because of hundreds of time loops worth of sexual tension finally getting to her but she feels like she’s going to die if Jonas doesn’t keep going.
She pushes Jonas back on the bed, straddling his waist and trailing kisses down his face and down his neck. When she reaches his collarbone she sucks on the part closest to his neck, determined to give him a hickey just as prominent as the one he gave her.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Jonas’ hands slide down to her hip, lightly scratching her exposed skin with his nails. “Shit, Alex,” he moans and Alex feels a familiar warmth twitch beneath her legs. One that she knows belongs to her stepbrother.
“Tell me to stop,” she asks him, reluctantly removing her mouth from his body. Jonas’ hair is sticking up in every direction and his hazel eyes look so dark and heavy that it makes a shiver pass through her.
He lets out a small laugh, one of his thumbs now tracing circles into her thigh. “How can I? This is everything I’ve been dreaming of.”
Alex’s heart tugs painfully in her chest and she kisses Jonas again, her hand snaking under his shirt. “Me too,” she tells him in between kisses. It doesn’t take very long for their clothes to strip from their bodies and fall to the ground.
The emotions she feels are so overwhelming that at one point she thinks she might die. But the way Jonas tightly holds her hand in his grounds her, and she cries as they come undone together.
. . . . .
Jonas lets out a deep sigh as he pulls Alex closer to him, deeply satisfied in a way he’s never been. It’s like nearly morning at this point, but neither of them have anything to do or anyone to see. All he knows is that for now he plans on laying in bed with her for as long as possible.
“I was thinking of applying for a university in California,” Alex says into the darkness of the room. Her head is laying on his chest, ridiculously small fingers intertwined with his own.
“Oh yeah?” he asks her, brushing a stray strand of teal hair from her shoulder.
“Yeah. Maybe L.A.? Dunno’ not sure yet. I just-I wanna’ get away from Camena. Just for a little while.”
“You’re smart and you got killer grades. You could do it.,” he replies, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. God, he had to be the luckiest son of a bitch right now. “My grades have never been the best. I was thinking of going to a trade school after we graduate.”
Alex looks up at him now, her bottom lip caught in her mouth. “You could…come with me? I’m sure there’s like, a shit ton of trade schools in L.A.”
He can’t help the incredulous laugh that comes from him. “Yeah? You’d be okay with that?”
“Of course, Jonas. I don’t- After everything we’ve been through and experienced together, I can’t imagine not staying by your side.”
“Alright, it’s a deal,” he smiles, scooping Alex into his arms and loving the laugh that pours from her. “We’ll get a shitty apartment and a dog that’s way too big for it.”
“And watch horror movies whenever I want?”
“Duh, do you even have to ask?”
Alex cranes her head up, giving him another kiss and he eagerly returns it, excited for the amazing future he knows they’re going to have together.