stay alive.

“Oh okay, that’s convenient,” she replied with a light laugh, a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to share.

“So, I decided I’m not going to try and become a hero,” Alexa told Dawn after a moment of silence. “Do I know what else I’m going to do? Not a clue.”

“I’ll be honest, I can’t see the possible consequences from saying no to this, other than you know, us not having to do this.” 

“Getting hit? Getting screamed at? I can think of a lot of things,” Alexa replied.

Wes had really done it now. “No, no– Jesus no,” he stammered back. “Sof and I have never–… nothing’s ever–” he wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. “You’re the only one–” he shoved his head in his hands, sure that face had now become a dark ruby colour. “I’m going to shut up,” he said through the gaps in his fingers.

“Good idea,” Alexa replied. It was hard, to watch him be happy with the fact that Sofia was back, because she could see how much he loved her. It hurt watching him love someone else. It had always hurt.

“Don’t take this as being dramatic, but I was perfectly happy sitting by the fire with a beer and they had to ruin it by being too lazy to do it themselves.” She commented as they walked, picking up medium sized bits of wood as they did. “Did you try?” 

Alexa squinted at her old foster sister. “No,” Alexa replied. “But usually a no to someone comes with consequences.”

Sofìa had always tried with Alexa, even with Alexa and Wes now broken up, she was still trying to be her friend- Sof didn’t know why Alexa didn’t seem to want the same thing. She sighed as she looked at the tent, typically she was good at building things from instructions but apparently not today. “We must have missed something. Were these poles meant for the sides?” 

“I don’t really know what you’re doing wrong.”

“Well then maybe you should just set up the whole thing if you know what you’re doing,” he shrugged back.

“Are you being sarcastic? It kind of feels like you’re being sarcastic.”

Wes could tell that he’d hit a nerve. It was a stupid idea to bring up Sofìa in front of his ex, the reason they’d broken up in the first place. “It’s not mine, before you even begin to think that,” he added. “She kept it from me for four years.”

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Alexa replied. “Should I have had a reason to think that?”

“Oh okay, that’s convenient,” she replied with a light laugh, a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to share.

“What’s a bonfire without a shit ton of alcohol in our systems.”

⛺️- our muses pitch a tent - @alexajackscn​

“Do you remember when I said I was a champion at building these things?” Sofìa asked, tilting her head as she tried to read the instructions again. “Because I take it back, completely. Did we use the wrong screws, or something?” 

How did Alexa get stuck with Sofia when it came to building the tent. Probably because Alexa’s lack of the ability to say no. “THose are the only screws that came with it.”

🌲- our muses go to search for firewood - @alexajackscn​

“Do you think they have ever heard the word ‘no’ before?” Alexandria asked as they moved through the forest, watching the floor as she did to try and spot pieces of wood that would be good for the fire. “Seriously, how did we get roped into this?” 

“Wrong place wrong time?” Alexa replied and then shrugged. “Honestly I don’t know, I’ve never been good at saying no to people.”

“Here I am,” Wes replied slowly, ending his comment with an awkward singular chuckle. Though things didn’t end well between them from his own doing, he still cared deeply for Alexa. But he knew when he wasn’t welcome. Her brother Pj had made it abundantly clear that that was the case. He rocked awkwardly back and forth on his heels, trying to think of what to say to her. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Sofìa’s back in town… with a kid.”

Alexa knew how Sofia got between her and Wes. She knew that Wes never really loved her like he loved Sofia. “Oh, uh,” she started, unsure of what to say, “that’s good.”

⛺️- our muses pitch a tent

“Are we sure we have all the pieces? It feels like some things are missing,” he asked the other, looking through the things they had to set up the tent.

@alexajackscn​

“No, no, it definitely has all the pieces. You’d be surprised on how many tents I’ve set up before.”

🌅 – our muses watch the sunset together

“Now that I’m not at the academy, we won’t accidentally run into each other anymore,” Wes spoke to the other. “That’s probably a good thing though, right? I won’t have to make you hold any more dangerously strong acid.”

@alexajackscn​

“I’m not sure about that one, because here you are, talking to me, and we didn’t accidentally run into each other with dangerously strong acid,” Alexa replied, normally she wouldn’t be so blunt, but here she was, a little tipsy and not at all ready for this.

🏖- our muses hang out by the beach

“I’d say ‘let me tell you a secret’ but I feel like it’s pretty obvious I put a lot of alcohol in this,” Dawn said before sipping some more of her drink. “Want some?”

@alexajackscn​

“I have my own,” Alexa held up her drink. “And mine may or may not also have a lot of alcohol in it.”

“A whole lot more than talking to animals would. I can get in places, out of places, do things without people knowing it’s me. Tell me, honestly, that speaking to animals is any better than that.” 

“You can tell an animal to hurt someone.”

“Yes the floorboards will collapse, you heard me right,” Wes spoke quickly. “It’s fine– this is a bit of a time sensitive matter, I’ll explain what it is when I’m back.” He ran towards his lab, and picked up a conical flask filled with a strong alkali, and ran carefully back to the site of the spill, pouring it on the floor. The cloud of smoke dissipated, and Wesley breathed out, not realising how long he’d been holding his breath for. “I’m trying to synthesise a material for a stretchy suit that retains its shape. What you’re holding,” Wes spoke, taking the beaker out of her hands, “Is a strong acid that I was going to crosslink with this,” he reached into his back pocket and took out a small vial of powder, “Though don’t get close to that– it can cause infertility or harm to an unborn baby if you inhale it.” He smiled awkwardly, hoping that it would counteract the news he’d just delivered.

Alexa’s eyes widened, shoved the beaker back out to Wesley for him to take back. “And why are you walking in the halls with the acid in your hands?”

“Well I don’t really make it a habit of barging into bathrooms, so yeah, I think I’ll be okay.” 

“That’s a good habit not to have. You’d be a great roommate, unless you already are a roommate, then I suppose you’re a pretty good one for that reason.”