Chapter twelve || Alex’s POV

Loading my plate with food I walk towards the dinner table sitting myself down opposite Lilah.

It's routine at this point. Her and her parents comes over at least once a week and we eat dinner, I sit across Lilah, my mother sits besides me who sits across Lilah's mother, whilst Lilah's father sits across my other mother.

Given I have two moms I call one of them ma and the other mom so avoid getting them confused with eachother. It became natural calling them these names by the fourth grade. Since in the second and third I would call them both mom and I would only confuse myself.

'How's school Alex?' Lilah's dad looks at me as he sits down besides his wife, 'did you and Lilah get in any of the same classes?'

'Sadly not.' I respond before putting a potato in my mouth.

Neither of our parents know that we aren't friends anymore and to avoid having to explain the non existent reasoning for why we aren't, we pretend we are.

'Maybe next year,' my ma laughs, 'it's like the teachers are purposely separating you two to avoid you guys talking in class,'

Glancing at Lilah I awkwardly laugh at her comment continuing to eat my food. Initially I was supposed to go over to Katie's house with Brylan but I had to cancel since Ma forced me too. She complained that I kept ditching the dinners to do other things.

Keeping quiet I listen to Lilah and I's parents talk soon zoning out of their conversation looking up at Lilah instead. Watching her she leans her cheek on her fist picking at her food.

She's never been one to eat in front of people and I picked up on that habit when it started in freshman year when I would catch her eating on her own. She won't eat now but once everyone leaves she will.

Finishing quickly I excuse myself before getting up off the table picking up my plate. Walking around the table I brush past Lilah bending down slightly.

'You should really eat,' I whisper quickly before straightening my back again and entering the kitchen.

Rinsing down my plate under the tap I place it into the sink before heading towards my room. I open the door and enter leaving it open in case someone calls for me before sitting on my bed.

'Guysss are you having fun without me?' I text the groupchat slouching.

We had a whole thing planned for us to watch movies in Katie's home theater room they recently got. Although Damon invited Colton, Noah and Jacob I was invited alongside Brylan and now I can't go.

'No. Katie literally up and left to go take a shower and Damon's friends went after her to piss Damon off and now I'm left alone with him and it's so awkward,' Brylan replies making me laugh.

She always complains about how much she hates the basketball boys, especially Damon since he's definitely one that acted the most entitled of the bunch.

I put down my phone before sliding off my bed and picking up my guitar. I've been playing for year and it's honestly like my healthy drug. At least four times a week I practice for the fun of it and I know all my favorite songs and a few of my friends favorites.

Gently hitting the guitar with my fingers I think of a song to play before hearing the parents laugh at something. Remembering people are here an idea pops in my head.

'Say you'll never let me go,' I begin to play feeling my fingers brush gently across the cords, 'deep in the bones I can feel you...take me back to a place only we knew hideaway.'

Smiling I cross my legs letting the guitar rest properly against my chest. 'We can waste a night with an old film- smoke a little weed on the couch in the back room...hideaway.'

Feeling eyes on me I look my eyes up at the doorway seeing Lilah standing there watching me. My eyebrows rise since I can't tell if she just got there or if she's been there for a while.

'Say you'll never let me go,' I mutter before I stop playing leaning my head up to look at her face head on causing her to shift her eyes from my guitar to my eyes.

'Sorry. Didn't mean to bother you.' She apologizes beginning to leave.

I remember when that used to be our favorite song.' I frown, we used to force our parents to play it all the time and they where sick of it. In all honesty I never liked it either but it made Lilah happy so I pretended.

It was only after we stopped talking I started enjoying the song but now I don't know if it was the song or memories I enjoyed.

'We used to play it all the time...yeah.' She responds rather coldly but I can't really tell if it's in her nature or she just doesn't care.

'Why did you stop talking to me?'

I'm not really sure why I asked but I've been wondering for a while. We where friends one day then we got separated into different classes and grew apart.

She stopped talking to me and I didn't want to push her, feeling she was just having a bad day. Turns out she wasn't having a bad day and was just choosing to talk to other people, so me not putting an effort to talk to her that day only made us grow apart.

Looking at me for what feels like forever she most likely doesn't have an answer and neither do I. But here we are awkwardly standing in a room that we once used to play hide and seek in.

Creasing my eyebrows I pat the ground besides me, 'you can come in if you want too,'

'Okay.'