Chapter 87 Chapter Eighty-Three
Omniscient Narrative
\[the next day\]
Alex didn't sleep much.
When his alarm went off, it felt like it had rung only minutes after he'd finally closed his eyes. He laid there staring at the ceiling, the same one he'd stared at most of the night, his heart heavy and sore in a way he still didn't have a name for.
School.
The word alone made his stomach twist.
He rolled onto his side and reached for his phone before he could stop himself. No new messages. No missed calls.
Not from Demi.
Alex swallowed and locked the screen, tossing the phone back onto the mattress like it had burned him.
"Today," he muttered to himself, sitting up. "I'll talk to him today, I have to."
He repeated it while he showered.
He repeated it while he pulled on his clothes.
He repeated it while he gathered everything he needed for school, his bags were put into his bag with more force than necessary, he had his phone, charger, keys and other items.
‘I'll apologize’.
‘I'll explain that everything was an accident and I didn’t mean to’.
‘And I’ll make sure i fix it’.
He didn't know how, but he knew he couldn't keep pretending nothing had happened.
The drive to school felt longer than usual.
Alex barely noticed the music playing through the speakers, his thoughts looping over the same memories again and again.
Demi running.
Demi's face when Alex said those words.
The final look he'd thrown back before disappearing into the night.
By the time Alex pulled into the parking lot, his chest felt tight enough to crack.
The school building loomed ahead, loud and familiar and suddenly terrifying.
Alex spotted Demi almost immediately.
He was near the lockers, backpack slung over one shoulder, laughing quietly at something Chris said beside him.
The sound hit Alex like a punch to the gut, it was not because Demi was laughing, but because Alex wasn't the one standing there with him.
Demi looked... different.
Not happier. Not lighter.
Just guarded.
Alex took a breath and forced himself to move.
He wove through the crowd, ignoring the way his teammates called his name, the way Claire gave him a small nod of the head from across the hall.
None of it mattered, not compared to the knot tightening in his chest with every step closer.
"Demi," Alex called out to his best friend.
Demi stiffened as he heard the same voice he was trying hard to have to reaction to.
He didn't turn around.
Alex felt that reaction like a physical blow.
"Hey," Alex tried again, softer. "Can we talk?"
Demi finally turned, his expression carefully neutral, no anger, and there was no warmth.
Just distance.
"What?" Demi asked a bit harsh as he faced the curly headed boy.
Chris glanced between them, clearly picking up on the tension. "I'll-uh- I’ll catch up with you later," he said to Demi, already stepping away.
Demi didn't stop him.
Alex swallowed. "I just- uhm- I wanted to apologize to you."
Demi's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
"For what?" he asked acting oblivious.
Alex winced the tone of Demi’s voice. "You know what Demi."
Demi stared at him for a long moment, eyes unreadable. "No," he said calmly. "I don't think I do."
Alex's chest burned. "I said things I didn't mean. I was angry and-"
"And what?" Demi interrupted. "Scared?"
The word landed too close to the truth.
Alex's mouth opened, then closed again.
Students flowed around them, glancing over curiously, whispering.
"I shouldn't have said it," Alex said finally. "Any of it. I was wrong."
Demi studied him, then shook his head slightly. "You don't get to decide that an apology fixes it."
"I'm not saying it does," Alex said quickly. "I just- I need you to know I'm sorry."
Demi's expression softened for half a second.
Then it hardened again.
"Sorry doesn't undo everything Alex, we’ve been having issues for months now and I don’t think a simple sorry can fix everything now, maybe last week but not now" Demi said quietly.
Alex felt something inside him fracture.
"Please," he said, voice low. "Just, give me a chance to explain, a chance to make it better, please."
Demi stepped back.
"No," he said. "I'm done trying to make things look better, I’m done being the selfless one, let me be selfish and stubborn for once Alexander" Alex winced at the name, Demi had never called him by his full name, it hurts to hear that.
He turned away.
Alex stood there, frozen, as Demi walked down the hall without looking back.
The bell rang, sharp and loud.
Alex didn't move for several seconds.
When he finally did, it felt like he was walking underwater.