enchanted: a series (pt. 2)
âthe lingering question kept me up 2 am âwho do you love?â i wondered too im wide awakeâ
- enchanted, taylor swift
warnings: swearing, use of quackitys real name
a/n: yes i should be doing work, but will i? no.
traveling is exhausting, so you and alex decided to keep the next day chill, by taking him to run some errands at one of america's most important institutions: costco.
you woke up WAY before alex did,, it makes no sense
the time difference between mexico and california is not even that bad, alex is just a sleepy bum
when he finally does wake up, you grab a quick snack/mini lunch from a mcdonaldâs drive thru
âremember when you tried mcdonaldâs for the first time? you were like a teenager and you swore you would never eat mcdonaldâs again in your life?â
âhowâs that going for you?â
after scarfing down the crispy fries and the not-really-chicken chicken nuggets, you drive down to costco and while out your costco card like a badass
âyou know they have costco in mexico right?â
you have your grocery list in one hand and are pushing the cart in through the packed warehouse with alex fearfully following behind
âwhy is it so packed in here?â
âitâs america. everywhere is packed.â
alex actually doesnât appreciate the random strangers poking him and pushing him around, frequently complaining about it
so, to solve it, you give him the cart
which for some reason instills this weird power in him that makes the crowds part like the Red Sea
now alex is starting to have some fun
you guys buy a shit ton of snacks (that you absolutely DO NOT need)
load up on drinks aka caprisuns
and practically fill your empty bellies with the free samples being given out
alex likes to lift his feet off the ground and let the cart roll forward whenever you guys happen to stumble upon an empty aisle
he almost crashes like every single time and every single time, you laugh your ass off
âplease donât ride the carts, itâs not safe.â
yâall literally get SCOLDED by an employee once alex bumps into a crate of snapple juices
âALEX. THEYRE GOING TO TAKE AWAY MY COSTCO CARD BECAUSE OF YOU.â
âi mean⌠is that really the worst thing in the world?â
âalex you donât understand⌠costco is the holy land. it is the one institution keeping this country afloat. and you havenât even had the pizza yet.â
you wander into the books section, where you find piles and piles ranging from sappy-gross-walmart-romances-with-half-naked-people-on-the-covers to booktok sensations
as you read through the synopsis of two books, debating which one to add to your never ending TBR pile back home, alex finds the giant display of flower bouquets
he takes his time sniffing them, analyzing each color, and feeling the petals to make sure theyâre real and not plastic
a lot of the bouquets had already been taken and the leftovers consisted of broken stems, some wilted petals and empty spaces where it appeared that certain flowers had been taken
there was one bouquet that stood out to alex
small but pretty; a bunch of red-tipped yellow roses that, unbeknownst to alex, symbolized friendship and falling in love something he would learn a lot about during his trip here
he picked out the bouquet as you picked out a winner from your book debate
âas a thank you for introducing me to the heart of corporate america.â
âyouâre so sweet, i might cry and bottle the tears to sell for profit.â
you laughed as you walked to a register to pay
âok now, if you think this pizza is bad, then our friendship is effectively ruined and youâll be sleeping on the street the rest of the time youâre here.â
âWHY IS THIS SLICE SO FUCKING HUGE?â
the two of you sat in one of the small picnic table in the designated food court area at the entrance of the costco
alex was trying the pizza
âactually itâs not bad.â
âiâll take that as a win.â
you guys laugh and talk so much while you eat, it takes you an hour to finish a single slice
once you finish your pizza, you continue talking on your way to your car and wonât shut up to even take a breath
childhood memories, favorite songs, movies, shows, books, trauma, food
the different topics are a rollercoaster of emotions, some more difficult to discuss than others, but for some reason, with alex, even the hardest of stories is easy to tell when heâs the one listening
by the end of the night, youâre on the couch, heâs on the floor sitting on a bunch of blankets and the tv is on, but no one is paying attention
the groceries sit on the dining table, waiting for a lull in conversation to finally be unpacked
the hours tick down, but only certain fairy and cold items actually make it into the fridge by the end of the night
âso whyd your last relationship end?â
the clock read 12:17 pm and neither of you were ready to go to sleep just yet, especially with the conversation now taking a much more serious, much more interesting turn at this late hour
âhonestly⌠i think she was cheating on me.â
âyeah⌠i never found out if she was, but she started dating some other guy really soon after we had broken upâ
âim so sorry alexâŚâ
a worry that had slowly settled in your head was that alex maybe wasnt as comfortable telling you certain things and you felt like you were pressuring him, and he had to give in, considering he was staying in your home
but he felt no pressure. none at all.
in fact, he was more surprised at how easy it was to tell you all this stuff. and how much he wanted to tell you, but only you. he wanted to talk to you all the time and only stop if it meant he got to listen to you speak for hours on end.
after noticing your frown, he was quick to try and turn it upside down
âb-but donât feel sorry for me! honestly, i think i was gonna break up with her anyways.â
he stayed silent at first, almost embarrassed that he was having such a cheesy thought but he knew you wouldnât laugh, so he felt comfortable telling you
âshe wasnât⌠âthe oneâ you know? you know if youâre meant to be with someone for a long time and for a while, i didnât feel like that with her⌠maybe thatâs why i thought she was cheating on me. i needed more of a reason than just âsheâs not the oneâ to break up with her.â
youâd never thought youâd hear alex, of all people, get so philosophical over the concept of âthe oneâ
âso⌠how do you know if someone is the one? is there a way to know, like, for sure that this person is the person youâre meant to spend the rest of your life with?â
once again, he sat in silence.
it was funny to see alex ponder.
he glanced around the room when he did. at the ceiling. at the tv. at you.
as you awaited his answer, you examined the little features on his face. the ones that no video camera or phone facetime could ever do justice.
he had much better skin than you thought he would.
each little freckle reminded you of a star.
the little scar on his lip from when tiger scratched him on stream was a funny reminder of what it was like having a cat.
every little detail of him made you smile.
âi think you just⌠know.â