How To Break Up With An Alien (9 page)

"Does she know this Ace guy, then?" Simone skimmed one of the racks, not really looking at any of the dresses.

"Yeah, she wasn't exactly for us dating at first, but now she is probably one of our biggest fans." I picked up a long pink dress with a sweetheart neckline and tossed it over the other dress on my arm.

"Why would she not be a fan of his?"

I had to choose my words carefully. I didn't want to lie to Simone, but I couldn't just blurt out that Ace was an alien, and human and alien relationships were usually forbidden. My relationship with Ace was frowned upon, an intergalactic war almost broke out, and we had to sign a peace treaty between Calta and Earth with the conditions being that I would someday marry Ace.

I shrugged. "The whole age thing, I guess."

Simone nodded. Good, I didn't want to have to explain any more.

"Alright, are you ready to try some of these on?" Mom came around the corner with another mound of multi-colored taffeta in her arms.

"I guess it's now or never." I took the mound of dresses and headed to the dressing room with Simone and mom following close behind.

Luckily I was able to find an open dressing room. There were about eight other girls filling the narrow space, stepping out of each room and staring and taking turns walking down to the three-way mirror. I opened the last door on the left and hung my dresses up on a rack that was already filled with someone else's castoffs that they didn't put back.

"Come out when you get the first one on!" mom yelled.

I peeled off my shirt and jeans and slid the first cheetah print dress off the hanger. I picked a horrible day to wear a hot pink bra and boy short panties. As I slid the dress down over my waist, the panties bunched up, creating a giant tubular set of wrinkles right along my middle. The pink bra didn't help my cause with two shiny straps poking out of the top of the dress. I couldn't get it zippered on my own and I was not sure that it would have zippered anyway, so I just settled for leaving it open.

I stepped out of the room, careful not to step on the giant red train. "How do I look?"

Simone covered up her mouth. "I think if we just added in those boat shoes you always wear, you could probably be hot mess Barbie."

I tried to bend and shimmy, but I was afraid to rip the thing, so I just kind of bent and swayed. "So, this one is a no?"

"A definite no," mom said and handed me another taffeta mess from the rack behind her.

After going through at least a dozen other choices, I was ready to give up and just go in a pair of jeans.

"Can you try one more on? My choice?" Simone asked, holding up a white dress.

"White? Really? Isn't that reserved for brides and first communions?"

Simone rolled her eyes and hung the dress on the back of the dressing room door. "Just try it."

Reluctantly I closed the door and tried on the dress. When I stepped back out both my mom and Simone just stared at me?

"That bad?"

I looked down at the dress. It reminded me of Marilyn Monroe's signature dress with its sleeveless v top that fitted my curves and the circle skirt that flowed out my knees. It made me want to recreate the scene from Seven Year Itch where Marilyn stood above a manhole and steam sprayed her dress up.

"It's beautiful, honey. You look amazing!" mom gushed.

"It really does look good on you." Simone stared down at the dress, running her hands along the fabric of the skirt.

"Do you think it is too old fashion?" I stared in the three-way mirror. The dress hugged me in all the right places and the white against my olive complexion actually made the dress look more cocktail party than wedding party.

"I'd say vintage. I'm sure your boyfriend will appreciate vintage." Simone looked at my reflection in the mirror, but it was almost as if she wasn't really looking at me, but through me.

I nodded. "You're right. I'll take it."

Chapter 16

I couldn't even remember the last time I had someone spend the night at my mom's house. Well, I guess someone that they knew about spending the night. Ace didn't count. By the way my mom and stepdad Brian gushed over the whole situation; one would think I never had a friend over.

"Look at that. On the job less than a month and you already have a new friend!" As Brian spoke bits of pizza sprayed out of his gigantic mouth.

I had no idea what my mom saw in Brian. Not only was he unattractive with his shaved head and furry everything else, but he had the personality of a squirrel. Chatting, chatting, chat, chat, chatting about nothing.

"Yep." I tried to ignore him and wished that I would have warned Simone about my family before we got back to the house.

It seemed only natural to invite her over after shopping and since Ace hadn't been around n awhile, I assumed I wouldn't have to worry about him beaming in.

"Simone found a great dress for Alex to wear to the dance next weekend." Mom joined in the conversation.

"Oh, yeah, we finally get to meet that boyfriend you've been talking about." Brian smiled, holding a piece of pizza in one hand and a greasy napkin in the other.

"I've already met him." Elijah piped up from the end of the table.

I turned my head toward him so fast I almost got whiplash. What was my little brother talking about?

"And how did you meet Alex's boyfriend?" Mom smiled sweetly at Elijah.

Elijah rolled his eyes and went back to stabbing his piece of pizza with a plastic fork. "Duh, he comes into Alex's room every night and they spoon."

A piece of pepperoni slid down my throat, causing me to cough as the whole piece stuck like a plug.

"Wow, that's pretty cool, Elijah." Simone looked at him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah." Elijah looked up at Simone, still stabbing his pizza. "I don't actually see him, since sissy locks her door, but I hear them talking all the time."

Mom laughed. "Oh, honey, that doesn't mean he is in the room with her! That is the video chat Alex uses to talk to him. He lives in Arizona so there is no way he would be in her room every night."

I let out the deep breath I didn't know I was holding. Good thing my mom just assumed that it was the video chat Ace I was talking to and not the alien that beamed into my room at night.

***

After dinner Simone and I were able to escape down to my basement. Even though I found Brian extremely annoying, he was pretty handy and finished the basement into a mock theater a few years ago.

Three rows of giant, plush red chairs pointed toward a giant projection screen. Behind the chairs stood a mini bar, complete with a giant popcorn machine and soft drink dispenser.

"Whoa, this is pretty cool." Simone stopped in front of one of the many movie posters that decorated the dark paneled walls. Brian rejected my choice of movie posters. He wasn't that big of a Dustin Hoffman fan and said he would not put my Tootsie poster up. I wished he would have at least taken down some of the science fiction posters. The old ones from the 1950s were kind of funny, but the modern Star Trek ones were kind of embarrassing to have around. Especially since Brian made sure to have each of them highlighted with special lighting they used in museums.

"Yeah, it's why I haven't offed Brian yet. He is pretty good at this creative carpentry." I stepped behind the bar and dug out a container for popcorn. "Sorry about my family by the way. They are a little dysfunctional to say the least."

Simone shook her head. "They aren't bad. At least they care."

I walked back over to Simone and set the popcorn tin on one of the chairs. "Alright if we are going to do this girly slumber party thing right, we need a scary movie."

"And then do we paint each other's toenails and talk about boys?"

I laughed. "How did you know all of my favorite things?"

We picked out a cheesy horror movie that was one of my mom's favorites from high school. It was something with aliens and dinosaurs attacking a big city. I tried not to laugh too hard at how much the movie aliens actually looked nothing like the real aliens I'd met. Most aliens were definitely not green, but sometimes they did attack for no reason…like if someone gives the thumbs up sign.

Just as we got to a part in which the humans tried to join forces with the dinosaurs against the aliens, my phone vibrated.

I looked down to see Ace's face staring back at me from the small screen with a simple message,
Can we talk?

"Shhhh, no cell phones in the theater." Simone giggled, thrusting another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"It's just Ace sending me a text."

Simone rolled her eyes. "Can't you tell him you are with a friend? He seems kind of needy if you ask me."

It had been awhile since I talked to Ace, but I was torn. I didn't want to upset Simone and have her never talk to me again and I didn't want Ace upset either.

I have a friend over, can we talk later?
I texted him back.

K
.

I hate one word texts. Always so cryptic and you never knew what the other person actually meant.

"Alright, now that the boy is out of the picture, let's get back to girl time." Simone smiled and pulled a bottle of deep red nail polish, the same color as her hair, from her purse.

"Oh, me first!" I wiped my hands of popcorn grease and set my phone down. I would just have to worry about Ace and his feelings later.

***

That night I dreamt again. My dreams had become so vivid that I swore they were real. I was in my Fall Ball dress standing in my living room, but when I opened the door for Ace it was Brody standing there instead.

He placed a yellow corsage around my wrist and whispered, "You look beautiful." My mom took pictures and even Simone was there to comment on how we were the perfect couple. Before I could leave, Simone's slender fingers grazed my forehead. Then she started flicking it like Chinese water torture.

Ow.

Then I realized the flicking wasn't in my dream. I snapped my eyes open to see Ace's coal black eyes staring right down at me. Quickly, I grabbed my glasses off the nightstand.

I looked behind me to see that Simone was still sound asleep, with the covers completely over her head.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"We need to talk." His voice was so low, yet I understood every word.

I nodded. I took his hand and slowly led him downstairs to the basement bathroom. No one would be able to hear us there.

"Did you really need to come here in the middle of the night when you knew I had a friend over?" I crossed my arms across my chest. Not that I cared that Ace would see me in my pajamas without a bra on, but I needed something to do so I could prove that I was not happy about him coming.

"Alex, what has gotten into you? You haven't been acting like yourself at all," he answered back with another question. Typical Ace fashion.

"How am I not acting like myself? Because I'm not letting my whole life revolve around you?" I tried my hardest not to shout and my voice came out in a scratchy whisper.

Ace shook his head. The downstairs bathroom was rather tiny and we practically stood toe to toe between the shower and sink, but he stepped as close as he could to bridge the space between us.

"I never said I wanted you to revolve everything around me. I want you to be your own person." His fingers trailed down until he placed my hands in his. They weren't warm at all, but cold, almost too cold. It felt like I just stuck my bare hand in a pile of snow. I pulled my hand back quickly and rubbed my palms up and down my arms to gather some heat back into my fingers.

"Alex?" He waited until I looked up at him. The black of his eyes were glazed over. It might have stung to hold his hand, but I thought letting go hurt him even more.

I let out a sigh. "I don't know what I want anymore. It just seems like my whole life changed in an instant and now I'm trying to wrap my head around all these changes."

"I really don't understand where this is all coming from. One day we are fine, then you start school and suddenly you want me out of your life."

"I never said that!" I snapped, maybe a little too harshly, because Ace took a step back, widening his eyes.

"Then what do you want, Alex? What do you want from me?"

I looked at his face. I remembered the first time I saw his face was the day he saved my life and now my life had become anything but ordinary.

"I don't know what I want." I sat on the toilet seat, putting my head in my hands. "It's like my brain and my heart are playing ping pong. One part of me wants a normal senior year with new friends and to go off to Columbia."

Ace kneeled down before me, gently taking my hands in his. They still stung, but I couldn't let him know. If they were warm I would have known that he was happy to see me, but their cold chill told me that he may have been just as worried as I was.