One Summer, One Goal

n i n e t e e n

"I know I can treat you better...than she can, and any girl like me deserves a gentleman."

"So tell me why are you wasting time, on all your wasted cries when you should be with me instead, I know I could treat you better....better than she can...ohh..."

"Give me a sign, take my hand, we'll be fine...promise, I won't let you down. Just know that you don't have to do this alone. Promise I'll never let you down..mhmm..."

"I know I could treat you better...than he (she) can, and any girl like you (me) deserves a gentleman."

"So tell me why are we wasting time on your wasted cries when you should be with me instead...I know I could treat you better...better than he (she) can."

Alex smiled,"That was actually an awesome duet," He said, complimentimg our Treat You Better duet, "We should do it again sometime."

A small grin creeped up my lips, "We should. I like spending time with you," I told him smoothly, "I feel comfortable... in a way."

He put away his guitar then leaned against his bed, placing his arms behind his head with comfort, getting himself cozy.

There was silence.

"Do you want to watch a movie or something?" Alex suggested, propping up his slightly cracked laptop from the tantrum he threw after having a talk with his parents.

I shrugged,"Why not? We could watch the Last Summer?" I told him, sitting next to him on his bed.

He chuckled, "Ewe, no, what about Merry Kissmas?" He said, tapping his chin in thought, "Well, I think it's quite a nice idea if you think about it."

"I'm honestly shocked you're interested," I nodded in agreement.

Alex smirked, "I pay attention to what my future girlfriend wants," He said with an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

I ruffled his hair roughly while he chuckled at me, "Keep dreaming, douchebag!"

He completely rolled his eyes at me, turning his attention back to his computer. He pressed his lips together while scrolling, "Now just got to open the app..."

Somehow, he didn't actually click Netflix but a file in his taskbar. As soon as the file opened, there revealed his family's wretched past photos, signifying his so-called perfect, covered up life.

Alex's face grew red as a tomato, doing his best to close that forbidden file of his lagging laptop.

"You have a lot of photos down here," I said in awe, stealing the gadget from his grasps while he tried to retrieve it from me.

Rolling his eyes once again, trying to keep nonchalant, he scolded me, "Give that back, Audrey," He huffed.

There were photos going on down there: from their younger, smiling selves, to the thousandth photo: their not-so happy present selves.

When a picture of a dirty face, baby Alex being fed with chocolate ice cream by his father caught my eye, I couldn't help but pull out a smile.

"This is so cute..." I said, examining the image closer, quickly identifying Alex's beautiful blue eyes.

Alex snickered, "I was trying to keep that photo a secret, actually," He told me, coughing, "But looks like that has been revealed."

"Hey, it's an alrighty photo..." I told him as he went over to my side in Dennis' desk where I made myself comfortable, "Look at the smile on Mr. Cooper's face!" I made him realize.

That's when I spotted a pic of him and his mother and father, ripped off gift wrappers, and discarded ribbons on the floor. It appears to me that the parents were hugging Alex as they surprised him with a new Golden Shepherd.