what

Baileys is great to put on top of ice cream, but you didn’t hear that from me.

Why couldn’t I hear that from you, Mam? Are you like a nun or something?

You’re kidding, Lex. Why would you even consider buying any other ice cream besides Half Baked? I’m offended. But, I heard Jack Daniels washes down ice cream quite well.

Because, Phoenix, I desperately needed ice cream. What else is a girl supposed to do? It’s not like I bought Cocoa Puffs. Thanks for the life advice, tree, I’ll be sure to grab that bottle.

“Phoenix,” Alexa whined, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “For the last time, I am not short. I am average sized. You are the freakishly tall one,” She shrilled, her hands animatedly gestured along with each word.  She tried to muster up a glare, yet the crinkles from laughing still formed around her eyes. As much as the girl said she hated the nickname, she loved to see the boy’s dimples and hushed laugh that accompanied it. “Go where, tree?” Alexa asked, trying to suppress a growing smile.

Phoenix quirked an eyebrow at her only for the expression to be replaced with a smile. “What’s with the camera?” he asked, somewhat confused. “Where’ve you been, babe? I haven’t stopped carrying this thing around since January.” he spoke quietly just so Alexa could hear him, recalling the beginning of the semester. His green eyes scanned the room, the sorority being mostly empty. There were a few girls sat in the living room, their eyes lingering on him, but other than that there was no one to be found. Usually he found Tori attached to Alexa at the hip, so her absence was strange. “I wish I was Picasso,” Phoenix quipped, taking her hands into his and stepping back to get a better look at his girlfriend. “but then I would be dead and… you look gorgeous today, babe. Not that you don’t every day, but…” he stopped himself from speaking, setting his camera and his bag down on the kitchen table. “I have to take pictures of people for my photography project and you’re the only person I could think of to that I wanted to take pictures of.” he shrugged, as though it was the most simple idea anyone had ever thought up. “So, just do stuff. Pretend I’m not here or just talk to me or…” Phoenix trailed off, clicking on the camera and snapping a picture of the small girl in front of him. He looked at the screen and smiled. “God damn, you’re beautiful.”

“Then you can’t be any Picasso,” Alexa shook her head, strands of her long hair slipping from behind her ears and falling across her features, “I need you to be alive and sitting with me.” The girl’s face flushed, matching the chipped polish of her nails. “Thank you, baby,” she muttered, twisting the pendant laying on her neck. “You look handsome. Except you look hot everyday, so that’s an unfair advantage.” Alexa noted all of the girls in the house, sprawled out and seeming to mind their own business. It wasn’t too long ago that Alexa got scolded on behalf of both of them for ‘an aggressive amount of PDA’. Of course, it was because they were both half naked and nearing third base when one of the new girls walked into the kitchen, but since then Alexa had promised to try to be a bit more secretive. Because of this, she leaned against the counter instead of moving closer to Phoenix. The blush rose to her cheeks once again as Phoenix said she was the one he thought of, no matter how many compliments he gave her – the affect they had was always the same. “I can do that,” Alexa replied after a beat. “I can tell you a story about my day. I was walking back into my room after showering this morning, still half asleep and groggy – remind me to go to bed early sometime? It was hell this morning – when this guy was just sitting on my bed,” Alexa began her story, mindlessly tapping her hands on the counter. “Now obviously, I was surprised. A guy on my bed other than you and occasionally our other friends, not what you expect to see in first thing in the morning. I screamed, thankfully didn’t drop my towel. The guy realizes he’s in the wrong room, springs up faster than I’ve ever seen anything do so before, and bolts out of there muttering an apology,” Alexa paused and gave Phoenix a small smile. “Then, this is the weirdest part, in my morning class, guess who was sitting two rows behind me to the right and to the left some? That guy! We live in a small world, Miller,” Alexa finally finished, her fingers still tapping along the table. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, though she thought better of it when she saw the camera already placed in them.

Ever since Phoenix had decided to switch his major to photography, he’d felt like a new person. Growing up, his mother was always behind the lens of a camera, snapping pictures of Phoenix as he got older. His house was littered with pictures in frames and he’d always been fascinated by looking at things through a different perspective. It was a way to clear his head instead of getting angry. Of course, anger still came as did his usual fear and panic, but picking up the camera made it a bit easier sometimes. 

Papers were scattered across the kitchen table, the sunlight reflecting off of the various notes and essays to send a harsh glare back into Alexa’s dark orbs. The project was due by the end of the week and she was trying to, at least to a certain extent, get it done before the day prior. However when she got the message from Phoenix asking to come over, she happily obliged. It wasn’t long after did she hear the knocks from the door; although most of the girls were in their rooms or out, Alexa still jogged to the door. “Hi,” she sang as she pulled the large door open. As soon as she saw the dimpled boy, her lips falling into a large grin. No matter how long she sees him – which is the majority of most of her days since the two started dating – Phoenix always managed to put a smile on her face with just his presence. “What’s with the camera?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.  “Who are you? Picasso?” The small girl grabbed onto his free hand and tugged him into the house, although she could never move him without his willingness, she still tugs on his hand as if it would make a difference. She lifted herself as high as she could go on her tiptoes, tugging Phoenix down the rest of the length, and tenderly placed a kiss on his cheek. “A proper hello,” she spoke gently, her voice barely strong enough to be heard, accompanied with a light laugh. “Now,” she began as she fell back to the heels of her feet, “what is this thing that you so desperately needed my help for?”

So, this is what twenty feels like, huh?