The pair held each other for a few more seconds until Alex hesitantly pushed her away from him.
".. You should probably get home right now," he finally spoke.
Reina tilted her head in confusion before finally nodding. "Alright," she muttered.
Alex led Reina out through the front door quietly, then softly uttered a "good night" to the departing farmer. He slowly closed the door at last before finally heading back to his bedroom to lay on his bed. He fumbled with the helmet he picked up along the way, and traced his index finger over the little crevices that mark his helm.
"Ah, man.. does time fly by," he muttered in thought. He placed the helm beside him and stared up into the blank ceiling above. Pieces of memories flooded his mind as he recollected his days back in high school.
It was the Fall of Year XX.
Alex was already on his third year of high school. Taking a deep breath and combing his hair back, he turned the knob to face the crowd of people already circling around his classroom. Pretty girls flocked to the quarterback all-star as he walked down the hallway with his trusty gridball in hand. He shot a flirtatious wink as he passed by a group of cheerleaders, all of whom fought over who winked at who and all that. His best friends, as well as his fellow teammates, Paul and Jonathan, trailed behind him as they strode through the crowd of girls now surrounding them. Everyone in the school knew them, or at least, of them. It was almost impossible to lead a normal day without hearing the constant cries for the football all-stars, or see the rows of fan-based posters that littered the walls of the school. Whispers of awe and envy were heard all around them as the group of popular jocks walked by in glowing confidence.
"Alex!" a voice called from the crowd.
Alex knew that voice well, and turned around to see the prettiest, and most popular girl at the school at the moment, Haley, approach him with a tight hug.
"Hey princess," he smiled as he kissed her. All around them, the fangirls.. as well as fanboys, watched in extreme jealousy as the perfect couple held hands.
"You ready for the game tomorrow, babe?" Haley cooed.
"You don't even need to ask," Alex bragged. "We've got this since day one."
Haley smiled and sidled up to Alex as they made their way towards the gym for the main event.
...
Alex shifted around in his bed as he recalled those old memories. "Damn.. has it been a couple years already since then?" he muttered. His consciousness began to slowly slip away as he closed his eyes.
...
His next memory took him back to the week before graduation. In this scene, Alex and Haley met up on the rooftop of their school. It was lunch break, and the two were standing some odd distance away from each other. Haley had her head down while Alex stood still in place, unmoved by the emotionally broken girl in front of him.
"So, that's it.." Haley spoke as her voice cracked. "One smooth move was all it took, huh?"
"I don't know what you're tal -"
"Cut the crap, Alex. I've heard the rumors." Her fist clenched. "And seriously, of all the girls in this school, you choose to mess with that soccer girl, who just happens to be Jonathan's girlfriend? Your best friend. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Alex stared blankly as she continued. "So, tell me. How am I not good enough for you? I have stayed beside you as your friend for so long, while you went and chased all the other girls in school. I thought.. I thought you would change when we got together."
Alex averted his eyes and nonchalantly shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, I obviously haven't," he answered bluntly. "They're all only crushes, Haley. You know I'm too busy with training to think about this stuff."
"So I'm no different compared to every girl you've smooth-talked your way into?" she spoke, her eyes welling with tears. "After everything.."
Alex paused for a long period of time before he finally responded. "Don't get me wrong. You're beautiful, Haley.. but c'mon, I'm pretty sure you might fee-"
He didn't have to finish his sentence for her to understand. Much to his surprise, Haley ran up and landed a resounding slap across his face. Alex's eyes widened as the pain seared across his cheek where she hit him, and he stood his ground.
"You're no better than your father!" Haley blurted before walking away.
...
... ...
Alex's eyes flew open as he quickly sat up in bed.
"Dammit," Alex cursed as he ran his hands through his hair.
"I'm trash.."
He placed his hand to where Haley slapped him. "Now that I think about it, it took a really long time before she talked to me again.." he muttered.
He stared out through the window of his bedroom, and through the blanket of moonlight, he spotted a flower sitting persistently among the trash that littered Pam's yard.
"Huh.. a daffodil," he whispered.
The familiarity of the object made him smile, as he thought about the first day he met Reina in early spring. "Dandelions and daffodils," he muttered, recalling the mess that circled around them as Dusty made the mistake of pouncing on the newcomer. Memories came right after the other as he recalled all the spontaneous yet reckless moments with the clumsy farmer. Slowly, his heart began to pick up its pace as feelings bubbled up from inside him.
He clutched his fickle heart tightly, and suddenly, it sinks from the immediate thought of unbearable worry that has plagued his mind for a while now.
His chest heaved as he took a deep breath. "I hope.. I hope what I'm feeling isn't just another phase."