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Chapter 11: Mieux qu'un Biscuit aux Pépites de Chocolat

"Come on," Alex said softly, twisting the doorknob. She stepped in before Avery, prompting the shorter girl to follow her inside. The sight that she laid her eyes on evoked a small gasp from her. For some reason, Alex had another room inside her room and the thought made Avery's head hurt.

"I've never brought anyone in here, to be honest," Alex said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Avery very much preferred this room to the one she was in before. The walls were painted forest green and seemed to be filled with more interesting objects and decorations. There was a black, grand piano in the corner of the room and perched against the wall next to it was a guitar case. As she slowly walked around the room, observing her surroundings, she let her fingers run over the lid of the piano; she never would have pegged Alex as a musician.

The wall opposite to her was lined with a few stickers of black music notes blending in so perfectly that it looked like they were painted on. There were Polaroid pictures hung up on a single string of lights that hung from the ceiling on that same wall; they held the images of cities around the world, from Paris to Budapest.

"It's gorgeous in here," Avery breathed. There was a smaller bed in the room and above it hung a couple of posters of legendary musicians including Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra. The bed looked extremely comfortable with its fluffed up black comforter and bounteous white pillows. There was a simple, matte black bookshelf that sat next to it which held many books that caught Avery's attention.

She walked over to the bookshelf and sat on the edge of the bed, Alex following her actions. Avery plucked a classic book from the row, 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, and flipped through the crisp pages.

"Satisfied?" Alex asked, a little nervous.

"Very," Avery responded with a smile as she looked down at the book in her hands.

"I'm glad." Alex let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. The opposite happened for Avery though, as Alex gently took her hand out of the blue. The brunette stood up from the bed, causing Avery to do the same after returning the book to its position on the bookshelf.

Alex led her to the stunning piano and the two sat on the piano bench. A small paper that was on the wall next to the large instrument caught Avery's attention. It was a certificate for a competition that Alex had won and Avery smiled at how it was hung proudly, now knowing that music was something very important to Alex.

"Alexia Rivers?" Avery asked, reading the name that was printed in bold letters.

Alex scoffed and reached over to turn the certificate over. "Alex Rivers," she corrected the freckled girl.

Avery shook her head. "Alexia," she tried it out, "I like it."

The sound of Alex's full name on Avery's tongue brought a small blush to the brunette's cheeks. She chose not to comment and instead placed her hands on the keys of the piano. Avery observed as the taller girl took a deep breath in and started to play. She noticed how Alex's lips parted slightly in concentration as her fingers gently stroked the keys, creating a beautiful melody. Avery closed her eyes, taking in the music, only to open them again in surprise when a smooth voice started to sing.

Cold bones

Yeah, that's my love

She hides away, like a ghost

Oh, does she know that we bleed the same?

Oh, don't wanna cry but I break that way

She closed her eyes once more, taking in the beauty of the music accompanied by Alex's astonishingly beautiful voice. It was refreshing to finally be exposed to Alex's vulnerability and begin to learn about who she was. They had been speaking for weeks now and yet, Avery had never been exposed to this side of the fascinating girl that sat beside her.

As her brain digested the lyrics of the song, she rested her head on Alex's shoulder.

I got a fear

Oh, in my blood

She was carried up into the clouds

High above

Oh, if you're bled, I'll bleed the same

Oh, if you're scared, I'm on my way

Did you run away? Did you run away? I don't need to know

If you ran away, if you ran away,

Come back home

Just come home.

Avery was almost disappointed by the discontinuation of the soothing voice that lulled her into such a calm state.

"Are you asleep?" Alex asked with a hint of humour in her tone. Avery shook her head in response, her eyes still closed and her position unchanged.

"Another one," she requested quietly. Alex nodded and placed her fingers on the piano once more.

****

"I never knew you were a reader," Avery commented as she continued going through Alex's collection of books on her bookshelf.

"As you can see, there are a lot of things you don't know about me, Freckles," Alex smirked, spread out on the soft bed, observing the curly-haired girl as she flipped through the pages of every book.

Avery paused and closed the book she was holding. She was sprawled out on the floor next to the low bookshelf to better obtain the books she wanted to look at. She placed the book in her lap and looked up at Alex, her cheeks heating after realizing that the brunette was already looking at her.

"Why?" she asked. Alex raised an eyebrow in question.

"You said I'm the first person that's been in here. Why? Why do you even have another room inside your room in the first place?" Avery clarified.

"I'm a reserved person and I don't need people in my business," Alex shrugged before she flipped over on the bed to lay on her back.

"But what about your friends?"

Alex let out a chuckle, "We don't talk about interests and feelings or other stuff like that. We just like to have fun."

The freckled girl nodded in understanding, not that she could relate. She realised 'interests and feelings' were something she and Carson often spoke about as she recounted the events from that morning.

"Besides, you're my friend too," Alex added, making Avery smile softly to herself.

"Mine too, Alexia."

"Alex."

"Alexia."

"Alex."

"Alexia."

"Croissant."

Avery seriously contemplated throwing the book she was holding in her hand. But, she couldn't bring herself to do that to the poor book... and Alex. She looked at the cover page once more, 'The Rest of Us Just Live Here' by Patrick Ness.

"Could I borrow this?" she asked Alex with pleading eyes. Alex's gaze shifted to the blue book that Avery held in her hands.

"I haven't read it yet," Alex started but was cut short when Avery's facial features contorted to the puppy face she often used to get cookies from her mother. There was something about how the freckled girl's eyebrows drew together, her already large eyes growing even bigger and her pink lower lip jutting out that swayed Alex to mutter a small 'okay'.

She took notice to the grin that was now blossoming on Avery's face and she rolled her eyes, willing herself to look away. The way Avery made her feel was abnormal and it made her slightly uncomfortable. There was a slight possibility that Alex could have feelings for her, but she didn't want to think about that at the moment. Besides, she could just be misinterpreting a soft spot for a crush.

"Well, it's been a couple of hours and the guys are coming over soon. So unless you want an early introduction," the brunette trailed off, giving Avery the option to leave.

Avery bit her bottom lip in consideration. She wasn't a people person and she wasn't sure she was ready to meet all of Alex's friends yet, but she found her mouth opening and the following words spilling out, "They sounded like pretty cool people the last time we spoke about them. So, sure."

Alex's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the shorter girl's statement. Her look of astonishment was soon replaced with a small smile as she got up from the bed. Avery followed in her actions, brushing the back of her jeans as she stood up from the floor by reflex. When she first realised the tidiness of the room, there was no doubt in her mind that the Aldridge-Rivers had housekeepers who kept the place as pristine as it appeared.  It was only after that she remembered what Alex had said about no one coming in here but herself.

In the time they had spent together in Alex's secret room, Avery had come to learn way more about the brunette than she did previously. She learned that Alex was a lover of music, a reader, organised, tidy and reserved. She was drawn to darker colours but was not afraid of variety. From the room and the outfits that Avery had seen her wear, it would be difficult not to notice that Alex's favourite colour seemed to be a forest or dark green. She also learned that Alex was a damn good pianist and singer.

She couldn't wait to see Alex when she was surrounded by her friends. Would her green eyes brighten in amusement? Would her smile captivate the entire room? Avery was desperate to hear a hearty laugh from the taller girl, one that wasn't soft or a throaty chuckle. One that would make her heart soar and sound like music to her ears.

Getting to know Alexia Celeste Rivers was turning out to be better than any book she had read, any autumn she anticipated or any chocolate chip cookie she consumed.