Logan triumphantly smirks in the background, watching Alexander stare at Nolan, an uncertain but gentle expression on his face. He was right, after all.
“Wonder if he heard you call ‘m cute, Alex. You think he did?”
“You’re despicable. And he’s still a jerk.”
Logan sighs, the moment broken as Alexander turns to glare at him. “Why d’you hate him anyway?” he asks.
Alexander takes a deep breath before speaking. “The first time I ever saw him talk was to tell someone that they were wrong. He acted like a prick while saying it too, all snooty and I’m-better-than-you.”
“Really?” Logan asks, incredulity sneaking into his voice. “Are you sure? Maybe you didn’t understand the situation.”
“And how do you know him so well, huh?” Alexander questions defensively, snapping his gaze away from Nolan. “Why were you so worried about him?”
Logan shrugs. “He’s a really nice guy. I’ve seen him tutoring this one girl in the library- don’t look at me like that! Neither of them seemed interested in each other, dude.” Alexander flushes at Logan’s words.
“I’m not jealous,” Alexander grumbles.
“I didn’t say you were, you did.”
“That’s- I don’t care!”
“Sure,” Logan says with skepticism. “Anyway, she tried to pay him after they were done, and he wouldn’t take it. She shoved it into his bag when he wasn’t looking.”
Alexander opens up his mouth to argue, but Logan starts speaking again. “And he’s done other things too. Like, if there’s someone who looks like they’re gonna cry, he’ll try to get them out of the room. Or sometimes he’ll just make a distraction.” He pauses. “Didn’t you ever wonder why he was so obnoxious sometimes?”
Alexander closes his mouth. “I… No. I didn’t.” His mind flashes back to every time Nolan had spoken out, interrupting the teacher with a stupid question. “Is that… does he really?”
“Yeah,” Logan says.
Alexander turns back to look at the boy on the bed. His midnight colored hair splays around his head like a halo, and Alexander wonders again why his hatred grew so strong.
“Maybe you guys could start over in the morning, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Alexander says distractedly. “Starting over sounds nice.”