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Lexi gently placed the glittery eyeshadow on her left eyelid, smoothing out her creases and blending her eye makeup out efficiently. She then placed stick-on stars and glitter just below her eye, high on her cheek bone, following the creation on her phone, that Rue had wanted her to try. She sat back, examined her mediocre attempt at her makeup in the vanity mirror and found herself acceptable. She finished fixing her hair, and then glanced over towards Cassie, who had just finished putting together her outfit for the night.
Lexi glanced down at her own dress and grimaced, wondering why she looked like a 13-year-old girl, trying to dress herself up for the first time, whereas Cassie looked like a mature woman about to head out for a night on the town.
As she looked at Cassie, who was appreciating her own sultry outfit in the mirror and scrutinising over the tiniest detail, Cassie caught her eye and twirled around to face Lexi.
“So, how do I look?”
Lexi gave a soft smile and turned her torso towards her and leaned her right arm on the back of the chair, “You look beautiful Cass.”
Cassie threw a beaming smile her way and said, “You think?”
Lexi then stood up and walked over towards Cassie, standing behind her in the mirror, “Yep. I think McKay is going to lose his mind when he sees you.”
Cassie sent another beam towards Lexi via the mirror and fixed her hair, one last time. “Let’s hope so.” She then moved her eyes regarding Lexi’s outfit and tried to return the compliments.
“You look so cute, Lex!”
Lexi tried to give a smile in return, but she couldn’t help grimace and compare the two praises. It was the story of her life; one sister was beautiful; the other was just ‘cute’.
Figures.
Cassie’s phone buzzed on her bedside locker, and she immediately went over to pick it up. She glanced down at her phone and read whatever notification her phone had received.
“Oh, McKay is here!”
She sprang into action by sprinting to her dresser. Cassie swiftly sprayed on some perfume, on her neck and wrists, topped up her lipstick and grabbed her purse. While looking through the contents of her bag, Cassie had begun to walk towards the door, “You sure you don’t need a ride, Lex?”
Lexi, who had been just staring at her sister, shook her head and quickly said, “No, I’m good. I’ll see you later!”
Cassie, oblivious to her sister’s despair, smiled and gave a wave in response. “Okay, text me when you arrive. Oh! We can go on the Ferris wheel later, ‘kay?”
Lexi’s spirits raised a little, happy that her sister was a) making time for her and b) wanting to go on their favourite ride together.
She gave her sister a nod and said, “Okay.”
With one last smile, Cassie was out their bedroom door and down the stairs, said bye to their mom and was out the door to meet McKay.
Lexi walked over to the window that faced the front street and watched as her sister met her boyfriend at his car. Cassie, in her chucky, black boots, quickly ran over to McKay. McKay had sent a huge smile in return and caught her in his arms when she jumped into them. As they hugged, Cassie pulled her head back to plant one on McKay, who enthusiastically accepted her way of saying hello. Lexi couldn’t help the way her stomach pulled and turned, as she watched her sister make out with her boyfriend. She wasn’t jealous of Cassie regarding to McKay, as a boyfriend, but maybe she was a little bit jealous of the fact Cassie and McKay were going to the carnival together, while she’s tagging along with Rue and her sister.
It would be nice to have someone to go with, someone that wants to go with you.
Lexi was used to it. Being an afterthought. The person that wasn’t chosen first. It was her norm. She gave a sigh and walked over to her bedside table and picked up her phone. She sent a text to Rue, saying she would meet her at the carnival in a bit. Lexi then grabbed her own bag, threw on her denim jacket, and made her way downstairs.
She glanced into the living room and saw that her mom was fast asleep, with Too Hot Too Handle playing on the TV. Lexi walked into the living room, turned the television down, took the drink out of her mom’s hand and placed the wine glass on the table. She then put her mom into a more comfortable sleeping position on the couch and closed the curtains. If all goes well, her mom would still be in the same position when Lexi comes home later that night.
She gave her mom a light kiss on the forehead, picked up her set of housekeys and moved to the front door. After quickly locking the door behind her, Lexi went over to her bike and proceeded to climb onto it, only to realise her tire pressure was extremely low on both wheels.
Shit.
Having lent Rue her pump, she knew her bike would be going nowhere anytime soon, so she lowered her bike back against the wall and went to go collect her moms’ car keys, when a thought hit her out of the blue.
Moms’ car is in the garage, remember? It’ll not be home until Monday.
Fuckkkkkkkk
Cursing her luck, and fresh out of ideas, Lexi hung her head and said, “Shit.”
She then straightened herself up, eyes full of determination and began her march towards the Carnival, hoping it was more nearby than she originally thought. She hoped she wouldn’t be too late in meeting Rue, and she wouldn’t forget about her and leave, as she may have done so in the past.
*
Eventually, after meeting Rue and Gia 20 minutes later than they had planned, the three girls made their way around the funfair. They played games, took turns together on rides, and ate cotton candy until their bellies were full. With a freshly sober Rue, Lexi was having more fun with the girl than she had in years. She was pretty sure Gia would agree. However, Lexi could tell her friend was distracted, as she kept glancing over her shoulder, looking through groups of people to find a certain face and dropping out of conversation if she thought she saw something or someone.
Gia and Lexi shared a look every time Rue was distracted; a bit apprehensive about what could have Rue in such a tizz.
Fortunately, their questions were soon answered. As they were walking away after finishing a game of shooting bottles, debating what ride to try next, with Rue in front and the other two lagging behind; the pair were startled when a person suddenly jumped onto Rue and rapidly began to spin them in a circle. All Lexi could see was a flash of pink and brown merge together in one big loop. Once they stopped, Lexi could see that Jules had made her grand entrance.
Gia quickly said her goodbyes, leaving Lexi alone to watch the two girls in front of her, completely absorbed in their own bubble. To make herself look less awkward and alone, she pulled out her phone and pretended to have received a text. When in reality, she was just scrolling through Instagram. She seen that Maddie had posted a photo of her carnival outfit on her insta-feed. Maddie once again, was dressed to impress, as she had on the most daring outfit Lexi had ever seen.
Wished I could be like that…
But go Maddie! Not caring what others think!
Lexi decided to spread her love and gave a double tap on the image, wishing again she could have Maddie’s confidence and beauty.
Lexi quickly placed her phone back in her bag and glanced up to where the girls were. Or, where they were supposed to be.
She glanced around swiftly, tried to see if she could find the curly, frazzled headed girl she came with, only to come up shorthanded and confirmed that there was no sign of her or Jules, anywhere.
Great…
Lexi gave a sigh and again gave anther twirl in every direction; in case she had missed them.
Well, isn’t this just fantastic?
Alone. Again.
Fuck.
Shit.
Lexi cleared her throat, pushed some of her hair behind her ear and began to walk in a random direction, dodging people as they passed her. She told herself she was going to look for Rue, but she knew, deep down, that even if she did manage to find Rue, she wouldn’t want to bother her, as she obviously just wanted to hang with Jules. Alone. She didn’t want to annoy her friend.
As she was walked aimlessly around, she tried to text Cassie, asking if she wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel but without surprise, she received no response. Lexi wasn’t shocked, as Cassie hadn’t responded to her earlier messages either when she texted saying she had arrived. She thought about texting Kat or Maddie, but she didn’t want to bother them, as she was sure Maddie would be with Nate and earlier, she could have sworn she had seen Kat with the new guy, Ethan. As she passed the Nacho stand, she let her thoughts run free.
Well, this is pathetic.
No, stop…It’s not that bad…
You’re at a carnival, alone and everyone else that you know, is with someone. Even Gia left you. No one is responding to you; they are just going on with their own lives. They don’t want to be caught with some dud, who has no one else to turn to but her sister, her sisters’ friends, or her not-so best friend…
As Lexi’s harsh thoughts swirled around her mind, she pushed back some tears and carried on. She then decided, that if she was going to be pathetic and lonesome, she could at least do that at home, eating some popcorn, where no one can watch her, with pity and shame plain in their eyes. If they even noticed her.
Now, with a longing for popcorn, Lexi stopped suddenly in the middle of her strut and began to walk in the opposite direction. She had to offer apologies to the people behind, who had nearly knocked into her with her unexpected halt. Lexi then entered a much bigger crowd, dodging parents with their children and tried to make her way through the throng of people. She got shoved a few times, as people were eager to get to their rides or vendors. Lexi manged to get out of the mob and was near the popcorn stand but still had a bit to go. She sighed and thought to herself, that if she wanted to avoid going through the crazy crowd again, she would have to find another way to get through.
Lexi decided to make her way across the back of the stalls, jumping over abandoned crates and skimmed past people who were working their booths. Lexi had nearly made it out of the ‘put together’ alley way, when her foot got caught on some boxes people had lying around and she fell flat on her face.
OW! Ow, ow ow!
She let out a yelp and a few curse words of choice. Lexi had landed on some pieces of plastic and cardboard and just managed to dodge the glass bottles people had left lying everywhere.
I swear, some people have no respect for the environment.
Like, the trash can is right there –
“Hey, you alright?”
Lexi had continued to lay in her spot on the ground but jerked her head up when she heard a gruff voice speak out of nowhere. She turned her head and caught sight of the outline of the person that had spoken to her, and she noticed how the person was hidden well into the shadows. All she could see was a little bit of smoke that had begun to float towards her, in her direction. As Lexi squinted her eyes and tried to make out who could the dark shadow be, the hidden figure started to make their way forward and Lexi gave herself a little gasp once she realised who had witnessed her fall.
Oh shit…
Fezco.
Fuck!
Rue’s friend and drug dealer. And her one-time past crush.
Fuck, act cool.
He put out whatever he was smoking and made his way over to her. As she continued to stare at him in a daze, he again spoke to her and crouched down in front of her, concern plain in his gorgeous blue eyes.
“Hey, you okay? You didn’ like, bang yo’ head of the ground or somethin’?”
Realising what a creep she must be for just staring at him, Lexi quickly began to move herself and hastily gave a response, “Y-yeah, I’m fine! Just a little accident,” she let out a dry chuckle, and kept her head facing the ground, as she felt the blush rising from her chest and up towards her cheeks. “Just tripped over some of things people left on the ground, no biggie! I’m good!”
As she brought herself to her knees, she quickly let out another yelp, as pain shot through her right knee.
Jeez, I must have landed harder on the ground than I thought!
As she had scrunched her eyes in pain, she forgot about Fezco being in front of her for a second and wallowed in her misery.
Could this night get any worse?!
“Shit, you okay? Um, here, let me help you up…”
Lexi flashed her eyes open again and was slightly taken aback about how close Fezco was to her face. He was that close, that she could smell him.
Hmm, the weed smell is not too overpowering…and it seems that he’s wearing a woodsy aftershave or something…god, get a grip, Lex…
He continued to stare at her with concern in his eyes, eyes growing more worried the longer she didn’t answer his question.
“You didn’ like, hit yo head or anythin’?”
Lexi shook her head and peered into his eyes, “No sorry! I like, spaced out for a second,” she let out a nervous giggle, “Um but, I’m fine, just a bruised knee. I’m all good.” She flashed a smile his way and attempted to stand on her own but couldn’t get herself up a few inches without letting out another hiss of pain. As she again scrunched her eyes, she felt two hands hook underneath her arms and a voice spoke directly into her ear.
“Okay, Supergirl, lean all yo weight on me, aight? And push with your other leg, ‘kay? That should get you up pretty quick, with less of the pain, word?”
Lexi, humbled with embarrassment and most likely red as a beetroot at this point, gave a simple nod and let Fezco help her up.
“Okay, count of three, aight? Okay, so, 1…2...3!!
On three, Lexi pushed what she could with her other leg but truthfully, she felt how Fezco had basically lifted her up, her leg barely having any weight to push at all. Fezco had straightened her up and let go of her when she was brought to full height. However, she began to stumble, and his hands quickly shot out and grabbed her waist to keep her from falling to the ground. Again.
Ohmygod, he’s touching my waist!
Chill, Lexi, chill…
Once she was rightened, she sent a bashful smile in his direction, “Thank you.”
He slowly dropped his hands from her waist and gave a slight smile in return, “No problem.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, with Lexi debating what should be her next move. She bit her lip, dropped her gaze down towards her knee and then brought her head back up to meet his own gaze.
“Um, again, thank you so much! You’re literally a life saver,” she gave a breathy laugh, “Um, but I suppose I have to go, rest my knee for a bit or something, before I could even attempt to go home.” She let out another chuckle before raising her hand in a wave and said, “Thanks again Fezco, see you later.”
Lexi turned and began to wobble away from Fezco, eyes already scanning the area for anywhere she could sit and rest. However, the odds did not seem to be in her favour, as the Carnival appeared to have become much busier in the time she was down. She was about a few feet away when she heard Fezco speak again.
“Yo, you Rue’s friend, right?”
Startled, Lexi turned to face Fezco and tried to steady herself in the process. He stared intently at her and had moved a bit forward when it looked like she might fall again but caught himself when she became more stabilised.
Lexi sucked on her bottom lip and then began to answer his question with a nod of her head, “Um, yeah, since like preschool.”
What? Why did you say that?!
She closed her eyes in a grimace and said, “Ugh, sorry, I don’t know why I said that.”
He let out a chuckle of his own and began to make his way towards her, “Nah, you good. You met where you met.”
Lexi gave a little chuckle in response and let him carry the next part of the conversation. Fezco hunched his shoulders and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Um, y’know, I, uh, I have a booth over there, just round the corner, if y’know, you want to rest yo leg there or somethin’? You don’ have too but I, uh, don’ really see any free space for you to rest, y’know what I mean?”
Lexi smiled at his rambling and nodded, “Uh, yeah, that would be great, actually! If you, uh, if you don’t mind?”
He had already begun to shake his head before she could finish her sentence. “Nah, girl, don’t worry about it.” He gave her look and then said, “Just gimme a sec.”
She nodded and watched as he went back over to collect his stuff, including what looked like multiple rolls of tickets. She wondered briefly what he could be selling. Fezco wasn’t even gone a minute before he came back over to her, walking towards her with his slow swag.
He reached her and then gave her a slight smile and gestured her with his head, “It’s just over here.” He then paused and said, “You need like, a piggyback ride or anything? I could, uh, Ion, carry you or you could lean on me or something?”
Lexi could feel her soft blush amplify immensely at the thought of Fezco carrying her and quickly shot him down, “Oh no! I’m fine, really! Just a little rest and maybe some ice and I should be fine. Really! Thank you though, for the offer.” She sent a small smile towards him, and he gave her a nod back.
They made their way at a slow pace, with Fezco slowing down greatly, as anything much faster and Lexi wouldn’t be able to match his pace, especially with her limp. Silence fell between the two, allowing the outer noise of noisy children, firework explosions and screams from fellow ride attendees fill the void. Lexi glanced over towards him a few times, thinking of ways to start a conversation, so he wouldn’t think she was a total loser.
“So, uh, what was your name again?”
See, he doesn’t even know your name.
Loser.
Then again, are you surprised?
Lexi gave him a glance and saw that he was already staring at her, waiting for her response.
“Lexi.”
He gave a slow nod and returned to face the front, “Lexi….” He drew her name out, as if he was examining it. “I like that, that’s a nice name.”
She could feel her blush go into overkill but at this moment in time, she lost the will to care. “Thanks.”
They shared another smile and then both faced ahead of them. They had reached the corner he had mentioned earlier and easily came around it. Lexi could see ahead of her and tried to figure out what booth could be his.
“Which booth is yours?”
She seemed to have caught Fezco off guard, because when she asked her question and peeked over at him, waiting for his answer, she thought he must have been looking at something in her direction, as he glanced briefly towards the ground below and scratched his neck.
He’s scratching too hard; I can see the red already developing on his neck…
He cleared his throat and pulled out what looked like a cigar from his pocket and put it behind his ear. “Uh, yeah, you see that boy with the hat at the pretzel stand? That’s me.”
Lexi gawked at the little boy at the pretzel stand, who had a frown on his face and his arms crossed, looking like someone had just peed in his cereal. Lexi thought back on any conversation she would have had with Rue in passing about Fezco and tried to remember anything about his relation to this little boy.
“Is that your brother?”
Fezco gave a nod. “Yeah, that’s Ash.”
Lexi piped up, “Oh, cool! I didn’t know you had a brother. Don’t think I’ve seen him before…”
Fezco just gave a shrug and said, “Yeah, he not really the sociable type. Keeps to himself.”
Lexi gave a nod and a slight grimace when a pain shot through her knee as she walked, “Oh, well, suppose it could be worse. He could be…”
Selling drugs?
In a gang?
Doing something illegal?
Playing with guns?
You’re a genius, Lex. Truly.
A real good one!
She struggled of how to finish that sentence and ended up saying the first thing that came to her mouth, the first thing that wouldn’t hopefully offend Fezco or, you know, actually hit the nail on the head with her use of words.
“…drowning kittens?”
Fezco jumped and sharply turned his head towards her, “What?”
Lexi spoke very quickly, “Oh you know, how young boys can be, “she gave a nervous giggle, “I mean, I have this cousin, Jacob. He’s like nine and one day, when we went to visit his family, he said he wanted to show Cassie and I something really cool, and he took us down to this river. Like, I don’t know what I expected, maybe show us how he could do a handstand under water or something, I don’t know but next thing you know, BAM!” she smacked her hands together (for dramatic effect, I suppose), “he took a newborn kitten out of his pocket and THREW IT in the river! Of course, Cass and I freaked out and I remember how I just rushed in and found the kitten, like ASAP! Poor thing, it was freezing! And wet! Anyway, we told our Aunt Sally, and she was furious with Jake, which in turn made him furious with us.” Lexi gave a shrug and turned to face Fezco, “So, that’s how we got out cat, Sparkles!” Lexi then gave a frown, “Although, we didn’t realise mom was allergic, so we had to give him away to our Uncle Freddie, but we still see him occasionally.”
Lexi had finished her rambling and looked Fezco on the eye, who in turn just looked at her with astonishment on his face.
“Woah…that’s nasty, man. Can’t believe he was gonna kill that kitten, that ain’t right.” Fezco shook his head.
Lexi, happy he had agreed with her and didn’t think she was a total idiot, spoke again. “Yeah, I know! So, yeah. At least your brother isn’t doing that.”
They had nearly made it to the booth when Fezco gave the retort, “You damn right he don’t do that; would have to clip him round the ear, man, if I ever caught him doin’ anything that bad.”
They were just a few inches in front of the booth, when Fezco turned to her, “Hey, uh, you want a pretzel?”
Lexi gave a smile in response, “Yeah, that’d be nice, please.” The finally stopped in front of the booth and Lexi decided to keep quiet, allowing Fezco to speak to his brother. Lexi let the child stare at her with complete boredom on his face, and she continued to wait for Fezco to start the conversation. However, his little brother beat him to it.
“Welcome to Pretzel Mania, can I take your order?”
Taken by surprise of his politeness (although she ignored the dry, monotoned voice) and before Fezco could interject, Lexi decided then that she would speak up and converse with the little man. “Uh, yeah, could I have a pretzel please? And do you have any mustard?”
Fezco’s brother’s face curdled, and he responded with a “Huh?”
Was I not clear? Did I mispronounce something?
Oh my god, did I not say PRET-ZAL?
WHAT DID I SAY?
As Lexi got lost in her confusion, Fezco cleared his throat and spoke to his brother.
“Just get her a pretzel, man. With the sauce.”
Ash, if Lexi remembered correctly, gave his brother the same look of confusion and then gave a big sigh before marching to the back on the booth. Once he left, the pair turned to face each other, Lexi with her furrowed brow and Fezco, with a bashful look on his face.
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”
Fezco again just cleared his throat and said, “Nah girl, you good. We must be just slow tonight for pretzels. Boy must be gettin’ confused easily or some shit.”
Lexi gave a little nod and was distracted when Ash came back with her pretzel and sauce. Lexi flashed a smile in thanks and reached down into her bag for her money.
“Em, how much?”
Ash had already begun to respond, “That’ll be – “
“– On the house.”
Both her and Ash turned their heads towards the voice, both gawking at Fezco for giving her free food.
“Oh no, I couldn’t possible – “
“Yo, man, what the fu – “
“It’s alright, Lexi,” began Fezco, while glaring at his brother before turning to her, “take it. Honestly, it no problem.”
It didn’t sit right with Lexi, which prompted her to further argue her point, “No, really, you have already done so much for me! I really don’t mind – “
He cut her off again, “Alright, think of this as you paying me back.”
She looked at him with confusion, “By not paying you guys?”
Fezco got a little bit of colour in his cheeks but other than that, kept a straight face. “Yeah.”
The pair continued to stare at each other, for so long that Lexi could hear little Ash huff and walk away from the pair. She finally caved and unwillingly, tore her gaze from his beautiful blue eyes. “Okay,” she said, “Again, thank you.”
Happy he won the battle, he gave a little smile and said, “No problem.”
Lexi took a bite out of her pretzel and waited to finish her mouthful before saying, “This is really good!”
He gave a little grin and said, “Really? Glad to hear it. Spent all night making those.”
Sensing he was joking, Lexi retorted, “Well, your baking skills are amazing, well done!”
She was gifted with a gorgeous smile, and she willed her stomach to stop doing flips. She was so enticed with his smile, that she almost didn’t hear the voice to her left.
“Yo, Fez! What the fuck? Thought you was standing back by the popcorn station, man! Took me forever to find you.”
Both Lexi and Fezco turned to stare at the intruder, and Lexi’s gaze fell to one of the seniors at her school. Calvin Blake. Senior, over 6ft 4, handsome and totally conceited and obnoxious. Nate Jacobs just beat him out for Douchebag King, no. 1. He stood gawking at Fezco, entirely ignoring Lexi, and waited for Fezco to respond to him.
Lexi had turned her attention back to Fezco, who had been already sending little looks her way. He then jerked his head towards the back of his booth and spoke to her, “Ayo, there some seats back there if you want to sit.”
Clearly understanding his polite dismissal, Lexi gave a nod and limped across the open space, towards the back of the booth. As she walked away, she could hear the beginning of their conversation.
“Yo, man, what you got?”
“Wha’chu lookin’ for?”
“Have you got any blow…”
Lexi could hear Carter trail off as she rounded the corner and it hit her as soon as she faced the back of the booth.
He’s a drug dealer, Lex. Remember that!
It was common knowledge that Fezco was the main town’s supplier for drugs. Hell, she even remembered that when she saw first saw him that night! However, as they talked, she had completely forgotten about his chosen profession.
That’s probably why his little brother looked so confused!
He doesn’t need a reason to sell pretzels!
It’s a cover, you idiot!
Feeling like a complete fool, Lexi sat down on one of the stacked plastic chairs and aggressively tore into her pretzel, drowning her misery with carbohydrates. While she ate her pretzel, gloomily, she began to people watch from her little plastic chair, resting her knee and making up storylines for other people’s life to entertain herself. She was currently studying an old man making cotton candy on a stand a couple of places away; imaging he was doing this part time, as he still enjoyed making cotton candy for young ones and their families, as he enjoyed the look of pure excitement on their faces when they devoured his treats, when a voice suddenly broke her out of her imagination.
“Why you back here?”
She was brought back to reality when Fezco’s brother, Ash, sat beside her and began to munch on a hotdog. Startled, she quickly looked around to see if Fezco was nearby but was disappointed and went back to face his brother.
“Um, Fezco said I could sit here? I fell earlier and um, landed on my knee and it took quite the hit,” she let out a soft chuckle and then cut her laugh short when she saw the look of complete disinterest on the young boy’s face. She cleared her throat and said, “Do you, um, know where he is, by any chance?”
He stuffed some of the hotdog in his mouth and spoke through some parts of bread and sausage, mustard on his chin, “He wit customers.”
Not needing to hear much more, Lexi gave a nod and took another bite out of her pretzel. The pair contently sat in silence for the next few minutes, munching on their respective foods and enjoying the peace.
Ash quickly finished his hotdog and gave a little nod to Lexi, before heading back inside the booth. Alone again, Lexi began to think she should leave soon, not wanting to overstay her welcome and wear out Fezco’s hospitality, when the man himself appeared from around the corner. Without much control, Lexi couldn’t help but send a beaming smile in his direction.
“Hey!”
He gave her smile in return, “Hey yo’self.”
He sat down beside her on one of the little plastic chairs. He stretched out his legs beneath him and turned his head towards her. “Uh, sorry ‘bout the interruption before.”
Lexi shook her head, “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have monopolised your time like that.”
He shook his own, “Nah, girl. Was happy to help.”
Lexi sent a beaming smile back in his direction and settled back against the chair, happy to be relaxed in his company. Silence consumed the duo for the next few minutes, both thinking of things to say yet neither too desperate to fill the quietness with chatter. However, Fezco broke it after a thought entered his head.
“So, uh, you got many Halloween plans?”
Startled, Lexi cast her gaze in his direction and thought about his question for a second. “I don’t know. Usually, I just end up following my sister to whatever or whoever is throwing the ‘craziest, most important’ party of the night.” She finished, rolling her eyes and turned her attention back towards him. “What about you?”
Fezco just shrugged his shoulders, pulled the cigar looking roll-up from his ear and lit it up. The smell eventually made its way over to Lexi and she easily assumed that it was weed, having been around the smell enough times to recognise is.
God, you’re such an idiot. Does he look like he smokes cigars?!
Fezco eventually broke his silence, blowing out a puff of smoke, “Nah, girl. Halloween a big night for me, business wise, so I just follow where most people gonna be at and chill, man.”
Lexi just nodded, as his statement made sense. “Have you thought about a costume?”
Fezco gave chuckle, “What? Nah. I was just gonna rock up in whateva I find in my closet, y’know what I’m sayin’.”
Lexi gave a soft giggle, looked away and then looked back, “Well, how about a gangster? Like, a gangster from like the 1940s/50s? I mean, it’ll look cool and all you have to do is throw on a suit and add your own twist to it? You could be like Al Capone, Meyer Lansky or Bugsy!”
Fezco blew out another puff of smoke and stared at her. He stared at her so long, she began to feel self-conscious. “What?”
He just looked away and shook his head, “You just, I mean, you got some cool ideas, Lexi. Never would even think to do that.”
She blushed at the light compliment. He turned the conversation back around on her.
“So, what ‘bout you?”
She gave a confused glance, “What about me?”
He took another inhale of his rollup, blew some more smoke out and repeated the question again. “I mean, what you thinkin’ of dressin up as?”
Flushed with embarrassment, she tried to avoid answering the question, “Oh, um, I don’t know, haven’t really gave it much thought.”
Blowing out another puff off his substance and reclined even further back into his chair, Fezco challenged her, “Nah, see this is where you wrong, Lexi. You give off the vibe, that you like to plan. Ain’t no chance you haven’t got at least an idea in mind. Hey, you even planned mine in like, 2 seconds.”
Lexi continued to avoid eye contact while she answered his question, “Well, I was thinking of something but I’m not 100% sure I will go through with it.”
He continued to stare at her and waited for her to continued. She rolled her eyes bashfully and finally spoke of what outfit she thought of, the one she deemed slightly embarrassing.
“Um, I was thinking, like Bob Ross?”
Unbeknownst to Lexi, who was staring at her lap, Fezco turned his head sharply to stare at Lexi with fondness in his eyes and let a little, crooked smile, overtake his face. “Yeah?”
Lexi gave an awkward shrug, “Yeah.”
Lexi lifted her gaze in time for Fezco to duck his head back down and look at the joint in his hand. Silence overtook again. Until Fezco spoke up.
“Bob Ross is a cool dude.”
Lexi snapped her head up and excitedly exclaimed, “Really? You think so?”
Fezco finished his joint, sat up and flicked the remainder of it in the trash close to him and turned to Lexi.
“Hell yeah.”
Lexi had just finished giving Fezco a smile when she felt something buzz to the side of her. She looked down towards her bag, fished out her phone and read the text that she just got from her sister.
Cassie: hI lExi jus want let no im hime
Lexi gazed at her phone with confusion. She wondered why her sister was home so soon and after a moment’s hesitation, began to think to herself that Cassie seemed inebriated. Cassie was a flawless texter, she could even text without looking at her phone, so Lexi became slightly alarmed when her text made little sense and grammar-wise, poorly executed.
How the hell did she get drunk so fast at a carnival?
Another text popped through, her grammar as terrible as the previous text.
Cassie: were Are yo I ned you nw
Cassie: I tink im b siq
Cassie: I dot like molllly
What?
Whose Molly?
Molly Wang from down the street? Isn’t she like, eight?
Lexi let out a sigh and ran her fingers through one of her curls. She was so absorbed with her texts from her sister, her feelings mixed with confusion and concern, that she had forgotten about Fezco for a moment and was surprised when he called her to attention.
“Yo, Lexi, everythin’ aight?”
She put her phone back in her bag and made the attempt to stand up. Which she did, successfully; although a little shaky. Fezco followed by also standing up quickly and helped balance her when she was tilting more to the side than normal.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. I have to go; Cassie is drunk or something and she needs me at home.”
Fezco nodded, “No worries, understandable.”
Lexi gave him a grin and spoke, “Again, thank you, for all that you’ve have done for me tonight. You have officially seen me at my most embarrassing moment in life, ever.” Fezco just gave a little laugh at her pathetic attempt at humour. A breeze shifted through the space between, subconsciously moving the pair closer together, as they were now at the back door of the booth. Fezco gazed around and gave a little cough before he spoke.
“How you plannin’ on getting home? Did you drive?”
Lexi seemed surprised by the question. “Oh! No, um, I was going to ride my bike in but then it had flat tires and then I was going to drive my mom’s car but then I remembered that it was in the garage…” she trailed off, noticing she was rambling, “…which brings me back to your question; I’m walking.” She finished and cleared her throat.
Fezco just nodded and then suddenly banged on the back of the booth door.
“Ash! Hey, ASH!”
The little kid walked over and popped his head out the back door, “What?!”
Fezco jerked his head and said, “I’m gonna be leavin’ Lexi home. I’ll be back in a bit, aight?”
Simultaneously, both Ash and Lexi began to protest in union.
“I can’ believe you jukin’ me bro – “
“Oh my god, Fezco, no it’s fine, I can walk! –“
“I need you out front man, - “
“Honestly, Fezco, I’m fine – “
Fezco bounced his eyes back and forth between the two and tried to intervene multiple times, but neither would let him. Eventually, he let out a loud whistle and clapped his hands, “Aight!”
Lexi and Ash quietened and looked at Fezco as he spoke. He first turned to Ash; his hands held together in front of him like a prayer.
“Yo, dude, pipe the fuck down. I’ll be gone 20 minutes, tops. If any of those mothafuckers try and mess with you, hit them up and I’ll sort them when I get back, y’hear?”
Ash just rolled his eyes and slammed the back door; Lexi and Fezco took that as his dramatic version of an ‘Okay’ and then Fezco turned to Lexi.
She opened her mouth to protest but he already beat her to it. “Yo can’t even walk properly. It’s decided. So, let’s go.”
Again, Lexi tried to protest but in good nature, Fezco pretended he couldn’t hear her and began to walk backwards, heading in the direction of his car.
“Come on, Lexi. Just think ‘bout it; quicker I leave you home, quicker am back to Ash.”
Lexi playfully rolled her eyes and limped after Fezco, her leg already feeling better as the night had gone on, but it was still not 100% well again yet. Lexi and Fezco made small chitchat as they made their way to his car and when Lexi sat in his passenger seat, she couldn’t help but feel slightly relived she wouldn’t have to walk home with her sore knee. She also couldn’t help but feel the butterflies in her stomach intensify as soon as she got into Fezco’s car. He sat himself in the driver’s seat, quickly turned on the car and set it in motion.
They had been driving for a couple of minutes, enjoying each other’s presence without the need for talking, when the conversation picked up again.
“So, uh, where exactly do you live?”
Felling stupid, Lexi exclaimed, “Oh! Sorry! Um, not too far from here actually. Just down this street, take a left, two rights and then that’s me!”
Fezco just nodded back, “Dope.”
They continued to drive and made more idle chitchat on the way over and made it to Lexi’s house in no time, with Lexi directing Fezco along the way, ultimately telling him what side of the street she was on.
“It’s just this house here.”
Fezco nodded, pulled his car over to the side of the street and parked it just opposite of her house. “No problem.”
He parked but left his car running and Lexi began to make her exit from the car but not before turning to Fezco and thanking him one more time.
“Again, thank you – “
He cut her off, “No need to keep thanking me, Lexi. I was happy to help.”
She gave him a small smile, “Still, thank you.”
He gave a little smile in return and seeing no reason (or any logical excuse) to delay her exit out of car any longer, Lexi collected her bag and went to open the door.
“I’ll guess I’ll see you round.”
She had one foot out the door, when she heard a “Wait!”, which made her halt her in her tracks. Lexi turned her gaze back to Fezco, in time to hear him clear his throat and give a little scratch on his forehead.
“Um, yo. So, um, I was thinkin’, that, uh maybe, could I uh, get your phone number or somethin’?”
Lexi couldn’t help but flash him a glistering smile and she gave him a bob of her head. “Uh, yeah, that’ll be cool.” She continued to smile, rattled out her number and watched as he placed each number carefully into his phone. Once that action was complete, they both gave each other dorky smiles and Lexi again, moved to exit the car.
“I guess I’ll hear from you soon, Fezco.”
He gave a single nod, “Don’ worry, Lexi Howard, you will.”
With one last smile, she stepped out of the car and began to make her way to her front door. She was near her door when she heard her name being shouted across her yard.
“Supergirl! Hey, Supergirl!”
She turned around, with her arms folded into her chest, to beat off the chilly night air and met Fezco’s eyes from his car.
“Yeah?”
He leaned over the console, halfway towards the window and gave her a smirk, “Y’know, you can call me Fez, if yo want. Makin’ me feel like an old man, callin’ me Fezco all night!”
She gave a laugh in response and backed her way to her front door, opened it and shouted back. “Okay! Well, goodnight, Fez-CO!” she ended her goodbye, with uncontrollable giggles. He rolled his eyes at her playfully, and signalled her back with a salute and that was the last image she had of him that night, as she closed her door and heard his engine die off in the distance.