A/N: Holy shit. I have 110 reviews on this story. I also haven't updated since October, which was, like, three-and-a-half months ago. God, I know you all must hate me. I totally hate me too, for saying that I was back and updating again and then ... not updating. My life's been hectic, I have a lot of stuff going on, but I really am sorry. I feel so bad, beyond words. To be honest, I just ... I abandoned this story again, though sort of unconsciously. I know, I know. I said I wouldn't. I lied. I did. I didn't mean to – it just ... happened? Anyways, I'm back writing (again), so here's another chapter because when I accidentally stumbled across this story again yesterday (I was looking at the favorite stories on someone else's page, saw mine, clicked it, saw 110 reviews, screamed, then cried a little 'cause I felt so bad, abandoning it, then saw three messages in my inbox asking me to please update and felt even worse), I knew I had to continue it. I don't want to make any more promises I can't keep, but ... I'll try REALLY hard to update it more. I feel like I'm getting more inspiration for it, especially seeing that I broke 100 reviews (woot! never would've thought that would've happened in the beginning of the story) just made me really happy and made me want to write more.
Disclaimer: Waiting for the rights to WOWP. And waiting. And waiting. And still waiting. *sighs*
Also, sorry for the long A/N. Kudos to you if you actually read it! And here's chapter ten ... finally.
--
Dean was so damn protective.
It would be sweet, actually, if it wasn't so annoying. But it was annoying – it was like everywhere she went, he was there. Or if he wasn't, then her dad was there. Or Max. After that night, when the letter had come, she'd begrudgingly, upon Dean's insistence, told her parents everything about Riley. Now, it seemed, everyone was on Alex watch.
She needed to get out. It was suffocating, the way someone would be standing outside the door when she was in the bathroom, the way she couldn't even walk down the hallway at school without Dean holding onto her waist, her hand. She needed to escape, if only for just a few hours.
So she hatched her plan.
It was a good plan, if she said so herself - possibly one of her bests. It was simple, but that was why (she hoped) it would work. She'd decided that her best chance to escape was during school. She'd go to that one girl's bathroom that had two doors (A/N: think those airport bathrooms that have two doors) on different ends of the bathroom. With any luck, Dean would be facing the other way and she'd be able to run down the hall and out the building without him seeing her.
She was still nervous, though, because there was a chance it might not work. She'd never tried a stunt like this, running away from Dean. Sure, she'd snuck out of the house all the time, but sneaking away from Dean, when he was on super watch-Alex-at-all-times mode? That would be much harder, she knew.
She figured that she would also slip a note into Dean's backpack or his pocket so he wouldn't worry too much. She just needed some breathing room, really, because these past few weeks had been so suffocating. She knew their intentions were good, but she really couldn't take it anymore.
Sighing, she stared impatiently at the clock in her last period class while she waited for the bell to ring. She was nearly a month-and-a-half pregnant now. She wasn't showing yet, but the morning sickness (more like all-day sickness) had definitely been getting worse this week, and that made it much harder for her to blend in at school. She knew that there some kids who were suspecting, what with her fainting spell and constant throwing up.
There must be something wrong with the clock, she decided. The seconds seemed to tick by slower than molasses. Classes weren't usually this long, were they? Maybe Max had accidentally placed a spell on the clock to make it slow down - she wouldn't put it past him.
Deciding she had nothing better to do, she pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and began writing her note to Dean.
Dean,
Don't worry. I just needed to get away have some breathing
room for a bit. You guys are suffocating me, watching over me
all the time. I promise you, I'm fine. The baby's fine. I'll be
back home later tonight, no later than six. Promise.
Love you, Russo
She signed her last name at the end of the note – she knew he'd know it was her – and folded it up into a little square. Slipping it into his pocket seemed like the best bet, though she hadn't quite figured out how she would do it without him noticing.
She spent the rest of the class period contemplating this until, finally, the bell rang. In a hurry, she jumped up from her seat and waited impatiently for Dean to get his stuff together.
"What's the rush, Russo?" he asked her, smirking.
"I just really have to go to the bathroom," she lied, "And if you didn't make me go everywhere with you and wait for you all the time –"
"Alright, alright," Dean cut her off, "I get it. Let's go." He swung his backpack over one shoulder and led the way out of the room. When they reached the bathroom, he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to go in. "Well?" he asked, "We don't have all day - I thought you had to go really bad?"
"I do," she answered, note still clutched tightly in her hand. Doing the only thing she could think of, she reached up to hug him. "I love you," she whispered in his ear, casually dropping the note into his back pocket. At least that was taken care of.
"Love you too, Russo." She grinned at him and pulled herself out of his arms, scurrying into the bathroom. Not wasting any time, she bolted over to the other door, peeking out. When she saw Dean facing the other direction from her, staring at something down the hall, she fled from the bathroom as quiet and quickly as possible, never looking back once.
--
She wasn't sure how long she ran for. It was probably only five minutes – maybe less – but it felt like it had been way longer than that. She stopped on a corner, breathing heavily from her run, probably twenty or so blocks from the school; she couldn't be sure, though, because she'd made so many turns.
As she was catching her breath, her phone suddenly buzzed.
Shit.
She'd forgotten about her phone. Yanking it out of her pocket, she read the text message that flitted across her screen.
From: Dean
To: Alex
whats taking u so long, u ok?
Sent Thursday November 25th 2010 at 3:37 P.M.
Well, she decided, she might as well let him know where the note was.
From: Alex
To: Dean
look in your back pocket.
Sent Thursday November 25th 2010 at 3:37 P.M.
It took a moment for him to respond in which, she assumed, he had found her note and was reading it.
From: Dean
To: Alex
russo, u cant do this, where r u?
Sent Thursday November 25th 2010 at 3:38 P.M.
She didn't answer, instead putting her phone on silent and stuffing it back into her pocket. Manhattan was a big city – there was no way in hell Dean or anyone else was going to find her. She could do whatever she wanted for these next two hours and twenty minutes.
She was free.
She was heading down the block in a random direction when a sudden urge to have a bagel overcame her. And not just any bagel, either. She needed a bagel from H&H bagels – she hadn't had one in so long.
Stomach grumbling, she continued down the street. It was a long walk - and Alex absolutely hated long walks (or walks of any kind, really) - but she finally reached H&H bagels on Broadway. Face brightening considerably, she hurried into the store and up to the counter to wait in line. When it was finally her turn, she ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel.
This was freedom, was the only thought running through her head as she bit into the satisfying bagel. She couldn't explain it, the craving she'd had for the bagel, but she figured it had something to do with the whole pregnancy thing. While she ate, she decided to pull out her history book – she was probably going to be here for awhile anyways, so she might as well get some homework done.
She'd just started reading on the chapter about the Civil War when a voice startled her.
"Hey," she glanced up at the familiar voice, narrowing her eyes as Dean pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.
"How did you find me?" she asked, going straight to the point.
Dean cracked a smile. "This is only your favorite bagel place, Russo, I figured you'd be here."
Damn it.
Next time she'd have to find somewhere more inconspicuous.
"Look, Dean, I'm sorry, but I just had to –"
He cut her off. "I know, Russo, I get it. But until we're positive that Riley isn't going to do anything, we have to –"
"He hasn't done anything since the letter," she pointed out, interrupting him, "And I'm sick of being babysat anywhere and everywhere I go." She slammed her history book shut and stuffed it in her backpack. "I'm not a baby, Moriarty, I can take care of myself."
She stood up from the table and tossed the rest of her bagel in the trash, no longer feeling hungry. "Alex," she heard Dean call behind her, but she ignored him, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and walking out of the bagel shop.
"Alex, wait!" She kept walking down the street, trying to lose herself in the crowd, but apparently she wasn't fast enough because Dean had soon reached her and latched onto her arm. "Russo, I'm sorry I've been so overprotective," he apologized, shuffling his feet against the ground and looking down, "But the thing is," he paused here, looking up to meet her eyes, "I really, really care about you, Alex."
She felt her eyes well up with tears at his words.
Stupid pregnancy hormones.
"Oh Dean," she whispered, "I'm sorry too." She reached up to kiss him, feeling every nerve in her body tingling as his lips moved with hers. She couldn't remember the last time they'd kissed like this. With so much passion, meaning it with every bone, every cell, every fiber of every being in their bodies.
After what could've been hours or minutes – she really couldn't tell – they pulled apart, both breathing heavily. Alex rested her head against his chest.
"Let's get you home," Dean said.
Alex shook her head. "No," she decided, "Let's just stay and enjoy the city and do something ... fun. I haven't done something fun in a while."
Grinning, she lifted her head off his chest and looked around. "There's tons of things to do," she pointed out, "We're in New York City!" And then it hit her, "Let's go to the Central Park zoo! Oh, please, Dean, can we?"
"Alright, Russo, whatever you want."
Grinning, Alex towed him towards the nearest subway station, pulling him down the stairs and towards the subway.
--
"Don't you just love these snow leopards?" Alex breathed, hands clutching the wire of the fence, "They're so beautiful, but so dangerous at the same time." Her eyes were trained on the animal, watching it cross back and forth through the exhibit.
"Sure," Dean answered, but his eyes were not on the snow leopards like Alex's where; instead, they were trained on Alex.
Smiling lightly, Alex turned to Dean, "You're not even looking at them," she teased.
"Sure I am," he lied.
"Okay," her grin grew wider, "Then what do the snow leopards look like? And no peeking!"
"Um," Dean started, "Like a leopard? With spots? White spots? A snow white leopard?"
Alex laughed and shook her head, reaching out to twine her fingers with Dean's. "I love you," she said, simply, because they were the only words that could convey her feelings right now.
"I love you more," Dean answered.
Alex rolled her eyes, dropping his hands, but still smiling. "Alright, let's stop this before it gets too mushy."
"Okay," Dean agreed, laughing a bit as Alex reached once more for his hand and started dragging him towards the nearby cafe.
"Let's get something to eat," she said, getting in line to order, "I'm starved."
"You're starved all the time, Russo."
Alex put her hands on her hips and turned to face Dean. "Yea, well, I have an excuse – I'm pregnant," then, leaning in close to his ear, she whispered, "With your baby. And your baby is hungry and wants to eat."
Dean backed up. "Alright, alright – but you were starved all the time before you were pregnant, too, you know."
Alex shot Dean a glare and turned back to scan the menu. As she read over the food choices, nothing sounded very appetizing, and she suddenly felt her stomach churning.
"You know what?" she asked, turning back to Dean, "Suddenly I'm not so hungry anymore. Let's just walk around a bit and look at some more animals ..." she trailed off as the ever-familiar feeling of needing to puke took her over.
"Russo, if this is about what I said, I didn't mean it, I was just –" he stopped mid-sentence as Alex suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and ran towards the nearest trashcan, leaning over it as she threw up. She felt Dean run up behind her and pull her hair back from her face. Finally, she pulled herself back from the trashcan.
"Your baby didn't like anything on the menu," she accused, the gross aftertaste of throw up still in her mouth. "I'll be right back. I have to go clean up." She hurried towards the ladies bathroom and washed her face before pulling out a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste from her backpack – she'd taken to carrying them around ever since her morning sickness had escalated.
After brushing her teeth thoroughly – she received more than a few strange looks from other women in the bathroom, but that didn't matter – she hurried out to meet Dean.
"You alright?" he asked.
Alex shot him a half-hearted grin. "Your baby is a picky eater."
Dean laughed, "Let's go see the sea lions, alright? Those were always my favorite animals to see when I was a kid."
"Okay," Alex agreed, following him towards the sea lion pool. They stopped in front of the crowded exhibit and alex peered down at the sea lions. "Can you remember the last time we did something so simple like go to the zoo?" she asked.
"No," Dean answered truthfully.
Alex sighed and leaned father over the glass barrier to get another look. "Sea lions are lucky," she commented wistfully.
"You wanna be a sea lion, Russo?" Dean joked.
She laughed and stepped back from the exhibit. "Not really, because I wouldn't be able to do a lot of things if I was a sea lion."
"Oh yea?" Dean asked, "Like what?"
"Like this," Alex answered, and then she stretched up on the tiptoes of her converse and brought her lips to his for the second time that day in a perfect kiss. And in that moment, everything truly did seem perfect.
Little did she know, it wouldn't stay that way for long.
--
A/N: Since I feel so sorry, I wrote an apology song for you. I completely understand if you guys don't want to leave any reviews now – I don't expect you to, because I know I probably wouldn't.
*cue jonas brother's sorry music*
Last updates and last chapters,
Restless nights, writer's block, pain won't go away,
I realize I let you down, told you that I'd update soon,
Building up the strength just to say
I'm sorry, for breaking all the promises,
Abandoning this story,
I told you this time is the last time,
That I would ever leave the story,
But I already left again
Filled with regret, filled with guilt,
Knowing that I am to blame for not updating when I said I would,
And I know you're going to walk away,
Leave me with no more reviews, don't blame you but just wanted to say,
I'm sorry, for breaking all the promises,
Abandoning this story,
I told you this time is the last time,
That I would ever leave the story,
But I already left again
I can't keep writing on my own,
But if you have to leave then please leave just one last review,
'Cause I don't wanna see you and me going our separate ways,
Begging you to keep reading if it isn't too late,
I'm sorry, for breaking all the promises,
Abandoning this story,
It's my fault, I didn't update sooner,
I won't try to leave again,
Please accept my apology,
And some virtual cookies ...
Did you like it??? Sorry, again, really!!!! xD virtual cookies for EVERYONE (whether or not you review) x10000000000. I actually made sugar cookies with my sister yesterday, only I think we accidentally tripled the recipe or something because we ended up with like 75 cookies (no joke, I counted). So everyone can have some virtual sugar cookies (with pink frosting ... for Valentine's day!)
And I would just like to thank the twenty-five reviewers from my last chapter, for inspiring me to continue the story (again): cutiexkarli, Bloodsucker94, gottaxluvxdisneyxchannelx96, Aussie surfer, BellaRose55, X0XSuiteLifeColeLuvrXoX, Marissa-Xtreme Haley Fan, Boris Yeltsin, eddielova09, 0Twisted-Symphony6, wizardlover21, I'm just me2, xXBrittanyXx, Hatsyetta Chocolate, Riana Kaiba, H20Fan345, haily94, xoSolxo, Rochelle Kuchiki, kaylinwriter14, iLOVEdisneyandvampiresxx1996, zakkey, Naturally-Susan, Baby swan-azure orbs16, FishFace4LIFE, Shadow-KissedKK, alexandmason4ever
And special thanks to the two people who PM'd me: kaylinwriter14 and X0XSuiteLifeColeLuvrXoX -- thanks for doing that guys, it helped me realize that I needed to update my story!!!
xoxo, love you all, ashleybee