1A/N: Another update? Oh yes...I've been feeling the Palex hard core as of late. Enjoy!

Chapter 5:

The living room of a small apartment in an unfavorable part of Toronto was dark except for the blue flicker of a tv that sat at one end of the room. A few crumpled beer cans could be seen scattered about the coffee table. A man lay passed out in an aging arm chair. An empty bottle of whisky had long since fallen on the floor next to him. Emily Nunez watched her latest boyfriend, Ken, as he snored with his mouth agape. They had begun the evening watching a Maple Leafs game on the television, but sometime after the second period, she noticed he was out cold. She continued to drink her beer in silence.

Alex's bedroom down the short hallway was a completely different scene. She was pacing around the small room muttering things to herself. She had been doing this since she had gotten home from the Dot a few hours earlier. Occasionally, she would pick something up and throw it across the room in frustration. She stopped pacing for a moment, and shook her head. She leaned over to pick something up to hurl across the room, but she stopped and paused as soon as her eyes fell on what had found it's way into her hands.

It was a picture frame that had been concealed underneath a pile of her clothes. The frame held a picture of Paige and herself. It was one of those pictures where one person held the camera out and ended up only getting their heads in the picture. In this particular photo, Alex had been holding the camera, and Paige was kissing her on the cheek. They were captured in an orange glow as the sun had just been setting. They had taken a picnic basket and blanket to the park and spent the afternoon together. Alex's eyes focused on the picture and she simply stared at it for a moment.

She reached her right hand up and laid her head in her palm. She massaged at her temple briefly before saying to herself "I've got to get out of here." She tossed the frame down onto her bed and grabbed a jacket from off of the floor. She exited out of her room, and shut the door quietly behind her. She realized her mom was still up and out in the living room. The latest man disaster was still passed out in the arm chair.

"Where are you going?" her mom slurred in her general direction.

"Just out, mom. I'll be back in a bit." Her mother simply nodded and continued to stare blankly at the television screen. She walked down the hallway and found herself exiting the apartment building out into the crisp December air. Her breaths came out in clouds of smoke. Usually, there were noisy cars driving by, or some sort of disturbance coming from inside the apartment building itself, but tonight it was eerily quiet. She began walking down the sidewalk at a comfortable pace. After a few minutes she reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a pack of menthol cigarettes and a lighter. It was a habit she had quit before, but eventually picked back up sometime after graduation.

She walked without a destination in mind. She had went through several cigarettes before she stopped, and it dawned on her where she had ended up. She had found herself in the very park that the photo from earlier had been taken. It was completely empty except for her. She walked over to a tall maple tree where she and Paige would often come to watch the sunset. Her eyes instantly fell upon a small carving at the base of the tree. They had carved a heart with the word "Palex" inside of it. They nearly didn't get it carved because they were giggling so much. It had actually began as a joke with Marco. He started calling the two of them "Palex" because they were inseparable. At least...they were at the time the carving took place.

Alex squatted down and ran her fingers over the pattern in the bark. She traced each letter with the tip of her finger. As her mind wandered off to a better time, she almost swore she could feel Paige there with her. She shivered slightly and pulled her coat more tightly around her.

"It's cold tonight." The voice startled Alex out of her thoughts and she quickly stood up and turned around. There she was. Paige Michalchuk. Alex leaned against the tree. She wasn't quite sure of what to do with herself. She felt as if she could barely stand on her own. Her legs had turned to rubber. "You know...it's ok. I need to tell you a few things." Paige continued once she realized that Alex was probably not about to interrupt, much less say anything at all.

"Alex, I don't know what the hell happened this afternoon at the Dot, but it really threw me for a loop. If it's the one thing that I know about you, it's that you're definitely not shy. And you definitely don't usually have a problem telling someone what you think about them. So, why the runaway act? Besides...I kinda thought...we had been through that already..." Paige got increasingly quiet as the last sentence escaped her lips.

"Paige." Alex attempted to speak for the first time, but her throat had dried out so much that it barely came out above a whisper. She cleared her throat, and began again. "Paige, you know why I did the things I did back in May, and I thought we were over that."

"Yea, but I thought we decided to be friends as well, and uh, the last time I checked...friends who haven't seen each other in months typically don't storm out as soon as they see one another." Alex sighed heavily and took a cigarette out of her pocket and lit up. As she exhaled deeply Paige only shook her head. "I thought you quit."

"Actually, I did...for a while at least." Neither girl said anything and a tense moment passed before Alex finally spoke up. "I didn't know how to handle seeing you. I've been trying to figure it out for myself all night, but it's as simple as that. I guess, while you were gone, it was easier not to think about you, and then there you were. I guess it brought everything back and made things ten times harder."

"It's funny, that's exactly what Sam said it probably was."

Alex raised an eyebrow at this last statement. "So, who is this Sam girl really anyways?"

"Honestly? She's just a really good friend of mine. She's been the only one to keep me sane in Kingston. It was a lot harder than I ever expected it to be. I nearly had a breakdown my first month there. She helped me sort through my head."

"You could have called me ya know?" Alex interrupted.

"Yea, but I guess I sorta was trying to distract myself from thinking about you too, and calling you wouldn't have made that any easier."

"I know...I know...I get that. I just don't understand how we ended up like this."

"Maybe...it was just better for us." Paige said, and neither girl spoke for a while. "I missed you. I may have tried to distract myself, but there was never a point in time where I didn't miss you."

"I...missed you too." Alex confessed.

"Well, here's a brilliant idea here hon, but let's not let that happen again, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan." Alex said with a grin.

The two talked for nearly another hour with increasing comfort as each word poured out of their mouths. They updated one another on what exactly was going on in their lives, and laughed at the absurdity of their day.

Paige's phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the display. "Oh, hang on a sec. It's Sam. Holy shit, it's nearly midnight. She's probably wondering where I am." She flipped open the phone and had a brief conversation with Sam. "She was trying to drill me for more information once she realized I was here with you."

"Figures.." Alex said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Paige hit her gently in the shoulder.

"I was just kidding. You know I need to be properly introduced to this Sam character anyways. I think I may have made a bad first impression." She wiped at a fake tear. "Such a tragedy...really...but honestly, Spam has a point. It is getting late. Let me walk you home."

"Her name is SAM, and fine, I'll let you walk me home." Both girls shared a laugh as they set off for Paige's house.

They experienced a comfortable silence during the walk with both girls occasionally stealing a glance at one another. As they reached Paige's block, they caught one another and just shook their heads at one another and giggled. They still had goofy grins on their faces as they walked up the driveway to Paige's home.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight." Paige said.

"Yeah...would you..maybe like to get together sometime tomorrow?" Alex asked a bit hesitantly. "With Spam?"

"SAM! And yeah, that sounds like a plan." Paige said smiling from ear to ear. "I'll call you tomorrow to make plans?"

"Sure thing. The number's still the same."

"Good. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Paige said as they stood in front of one another for a few long awkward seconds not really knowing what to do.

They shared a quick hug before Alex made her exit down the driveway. "Bye Paige."

Meanwhile, from Paige's window upstairs, Sam had watched the entire exchange. "Oh yeah, they're so not over." she said to herself with a knowing grin on her face.