Alex does not feel getting into another silent fights with Monique again but she thought it won't stop until she is gone from her life. She stared at Monique's eyes. She saw her smirked. There was confusion in her eyes. She was perplexed and puzzled.
As Monique approached the table, she rolled her eyes at someone and sat next to Charles. Alex calmed herself when she felt Alexander's hand held hers. He looked at her eyes deeply. She stared at his as if it's telling her everything will be alright.
She heard a song playing in the restaurant.
"Something 'bout our future love, future love, future love..."
The song echoed in her mind and she shook her head. Her eyes transfixed at him figuring out his actions. She shook her head and snapped out of her daze. She just felt Monique did not want to mess with her at the moment. She stared at Monique who was now quietly eating while she was anxiously looking at the table. She noticed that something was missing. A flash of panic crossed her heart.
"That was Charles's gift to me when we where younger. It was a sign of our friendship. How could I lose it? Where could it be?" She thought to herself. She calmed herself while staring at the food in the buffet table. She stared at her empty plate when Alexander tapped her on her shoulder. She jerked and looked at him frantically.
"Looks like somebody is in a deep thinking. Did I disturb you?" He teased.
Alex smacked him on his shoulder.
"Why do you always have to tease me when you see me aloof?" Alex glared at him.
"You look cute when you're mad" Alexander replied. He smiled at her.
She blushed and The couple beside them heard Alexander.
Alex felt people looking at her and she looked around and noticed Charles and Monique staring at them. They smiled from ear to ear.
"Ah, why are they looking at us like that? What did I do now?" Her ears are now flashing red and Alexander pats her on her back.
"I'm sorry Alex." Alexander smiled at her genuinely.
Alex just stared at him. She rolled her eyes at him and stood up. She left the table and went to the buffet table to breathe and remove the coming awkwardness between them.
Alexander was shocked when Alex left without saying a word.
"Nice move brother." Charles teased him.
"Nice try flirting with her." Monique said and giggled.
Everybody in the table laughed.
"Uhm, that was embarrassing. I have to catch up with her. I want to make sure she is alright." Alexander said.
He stood up, scanned the area and spotted Alex in the fruit section.
As he took 2 steps, his mother, Andrea, says,
"Go get her Al, I know you like her." She whispered softly, only the two of them hearing it. She winked at him and helped herself to eat.
His eyes flashed a determined look. He turned his head to her.
"Yes I will, mom. Thanks." He replied at her.
She nodded and smiled back.
He felt his mother's support. He hurriedly walked towards her and got a plate to join her. He catched up to her and said,
"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of everyone. I did not intend to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to make you laugh." Alexander apologetically said. He plastered a sincere smile at her.
Alex looked at him and giggled.
He looked confused and asked, "Why are you giggling? Was there something I said that made you laugh?" Somehow, he was delighted to see her like that. A burden finally escaped his heart.
"Why do you think it was something else? I wanted to get away from being embarrassed and calmed myself down through getting food. It makes my mind forget about it but seeing you here and apologizing is really..." Alex trailed off. She looked at him and laughed while her one hand covering her mouth.
He looked deep in her eyes.
"Really charming and cute." She puts up her faint smile and withdrew her eyes from him, scanning the buffet table. She picks up fruits and yang chow. She also got hard boiled eggs and sausages. Her eyes looked at her plate with gluttony. She almost drooled. She felt Alexander's hand touch her mouth with a tissue.
"I know you are hungry but you don't have to show it." Alexander said.
She felt guilty looking at him. She wanted to runaway from him.
"Was I actually drooling?" She mumbled. A flash of pink crossed her face. She got the tissue from his hand.
He was stunned when that happened but he did not let her notice.
She did not look at him and said, "Thanks."
Alexander felt guilty again and said, "I'm sorry Alex. I did not want to..."
She turned around and said, "It was no big deal. At least you know one thing about me." She smiled at him.
The atmosphere felt warm all of a sudden when he felt his sweat drip from his forehead. She noticed the sweat and was about to swipe using the tissue but Alexander beat her to it by holding her hands a centimeter away from his forehead. He felt the tissue on his forehead. The sweat was wiped clean and he felt time stood still between them. She withdrew her hand and he felt disappointed. His hand still on hers. He grabbed the tissue from her and threw it in the trash. His action was so swift that she did not have the time to react.
"Let's return to the table and eat." He suggested.
Still in a daze, Alex was shaken up when he spoke.
"Ok." She replied.
They approached the table when they saw everybody is jolly.
"Remember when Charles was younger, he tripped in one of those scattered planks on the ground and fell flat on his face. That was really a cherry on top that day. He stood up tall after and walked like it was nothing but everybody looked at him like something was in his face." Andrea giggled.
"There was dirt on his whole face. He noticed many stares at him when he walked past the mirror and looked at himself all of a sudden." Tom added.
"Yeah, his face turned gloomy and immediately ran to the washroom to remove it. It took him long enough until he left the washroom. His face was bright red back then and ran to his room." Andrea laughed.
"Mom, that was a long time ago." Charles shamefully said.
"Well, we all did have our own moments." Monique giggled.
"It seems like Monique wants to share some of her moments." Charles curiously said.
Alex and Alexander approached their seats and sat down. Monique suddenly felt the atmosphere warm until she noticed Alex and Alexander were back. She did make a fuzz about it and shared her so called moments with her new family.
"Well, I think it was when I was little. I wanted to get cookies from the cookie jar. I was so hungry back then." She reminisced.
"What happened then?" Charles asked.
"Well, I was in my room when I decided to go for the kitchen. When I was inches away from the kitchen, my mom just came out of nowhere and she startled me good."
Everybody laughed.
"That was not the best part. I saw her with the cookie jar and there were no cookies in it."
"Where were the cookies then?" Andrea asked.
"She ate them all." Monique mockingly said.
"That's unfortunate." Alexander said.
"It's in the past now. Thinking about it makes me laugh about it." Monique replied.
Alex saw how Alexander and Monique interacted. It's like there is more to his story that meets the eye. Surely enough there is something between them that doesn't add up to her theory.
"I will find out what is between Alexander and Monique. I am not convinced they were biologically siblings." Alex thought to herself.