2. New Girl (1/2)

i didn't expect to

have five reviews so fast. i got my first review within an hour of

publishing it. i'm glad you liked it. i meant to add this chapter

yesterday but it was new year's eve and i had a friend over so i

forgot. please review more.

new girl

"you look

terrible," jack said when alex came down for

eakfast.

"thanks jack,"

alex said sarcastically, "i feel terrific now."

"what happened at

the movies?" jack asked as she made alex his usual eggs. "you're

usually full of chatter on saturday night. you just went to bed

without saying a word."

"have i changed?"

alex asked suddenly. at first jack didn't answer as she put his eggs

on a plate.

"i've practically

raised you alex," jack said looking at him seriously. "you've

always been changing. it's part of growing up."

"i mean have i

changed in a bad way?" alex asked, his appetite being chased out

by his haunting thoughts.

"of course not,"

jack said. "you're a very good person alex." she could tell

that she wasn't making him feel better.

"i just feel so

empty jack," alex said. "it's almost as if mi6 gave my life

meaning. now that i'm back all this school life seems so shallow. i

mean girls are fighting over guys and vice versa when there's who

knows what going on in the real world. it feels as if i'm not in my

own skin anymore," he said picking at his eggs. "i don't

know jack," he said with a slight shake of his head, "i

just feel so alone. my parents are dead. my uncle is dead. even my

godfather is dead. i love you and all jack but you don't really even

belong here. i'm the only one left and i'm too young to do anything

about it."

jack walked around the

bar and hugged alex tightly. "we're going to have a wonderful

christmas alex," she said. "chuck full of ginger

ead

people and a christmas tree with lights." she put alex out at

arms length. "you're going to catch up with your studies and i

promise," she said looking at him in the eye, "we're going

to have the best christmas you have ever had."

alex smiled a little

and was finally comforted by her words. he started eating his eggs.

"you should go do

something with tom today," jack said watching him eat. "maybe

you can hook him up with lainey." alex's face lit up with

laughter just like he had in his dream.

-

"you aren't

serious right," lainey said when alex called her about going out

with him and tom.

"you seem to be

the type to appreciate the strong and silent type," alex said

into his cell phone as the smell of ginger

ead wafted out of the

kitchen. jack had got to work straight away.

lainey laughed in her

musical way. alex smiled. he seemed to have gotten over his distrust.

she had sparked something in him that he had kept tucked away for a

long time. sabina had put it into words but she would have never said

it if alex had never met her.

"is sabina

coming?" lainey asked.

"well i called her

today and she said she was going christmas shopping," alex said.

"you looked a bit

forlorn on the way home," lainey said. "i hope nothing went

wrong between you two."

"no," alex

said, "not really."

"you want to tell

me about it?"

lainey asked. it was

almost as if she was sitting right next to him.

"later," he

said considering.

"today?" she

asked making sure he'd tell her.

"maybe," alex

said.

"maybe,"

lainey repeated and alex could hear her laugh slightly.

"so will you

come?" alex asked.

"hold on,"

lainey said. she put her hand over the receiver but alex could still

hear her. "hannah! do i have any appointments today?"

in the background he

could hear christmas music playing. he could here lainey's soft

footsteps as she walked through a hallway. there was a yell and a

scuffle as lainey dropped the phone.

alex looked at his cell

phone to make sure he was still connected. he was. he furrowed his

ows. "lainey, lainey are you there? hello?" he said as

lainey fought hannah.

"do you know if i

have any appointments?" lainey grunted as they rolled over away

from her phone.

"i don't think

so," hannah trying to twist lainey's arm, "why?"

"i have a date,"

lainey said slamming hannah on her back the pulling her elbow up

behind her head.

"okay, okay,"

hannah cried wincing in pain. "you win!"

lainey crawled over to

the phone again. "sorry about that," she said.

"my aunt's taking

karate. it's very humorous," she said as hannah laughed and

rubbed her elbow.

"no pun intended,"

hannah mumbled.

lainey laughed. "she's

not very good."

"just because

you've got one of those silly looking black belts," hannah said.

"give me one of those red ones any day," she joked.

lainey rolled her eyes

and heard alex laugh. "very funny," she said.

"you have a black

belt in karate?" alex said. lainey emitted a noise that said she

did indeed, "me too."

"cool. maybe we

could beat each other up sometime," she joked making him laugh

again.

they talked like this

for about a half an hour while hannah and jack interjected at

different times.

alex was putting a face

on a ginger

ead man when lainey told him she was going to

ooklyn.

"since when?"

alex asked licking the icing off his fingertips.

"since i

transferred yesterday," lainey said.

"why didn't you

tell me?" alex asked.

"well you didn't

exactly feel like talking to me did you," lainey said as hannah

tickled her nose with a feather duster.

"i suppose i

didn't then," alex said as he heard an almighty sneeze.

"sorry,"

lainey said before sneezing one last time. "hannah attacked me

with a feather duster." lainey turned her phone to her neck as

she went after hannah. she grabbed the feather duster and shoved it

in her face.

"how do you like

that, huh," alex heard lainey say as she laughed. hannah yelped

in pain as lainey remarked, "ha! honked your nose." there

was more of her laughter.

"go fetch,"

she said as she threw the duster to the other side of the room.

"lainey!"

hannah called and chased her into her room where she locked the door.

"ah peace,"

lainey said and sat on her bed. "now, what were you saying?"

"i really don't