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Fic: Dating the Cleverest Boy in the World. Chapter 7.
Here you go! This chapter was supposed to be quick and easy, but then everything decided to happen differently to how I'd planned it and the whole thing became awkward and difficult. Grr! Still not overly happy, but it's all there at least. All mistakes mine. (Gosh, what ringing endorsements I give my own writing. *kicks muse*)
Fic index post here.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: 2025 (AU post-Sound of Drums)
Characters: OCs (many!), the Doctor (10th), Lucy, Jack.
Rating: PG-13.
Wordcount: Approx. 5400 words
Chapter 7
Monday morning, 17th of November 2025.
Allison arrived at the lecture hall nice and early. ‘Do not let romance interfere with your studies’ she had told herself quite firmly before starting the course, and, although she had acquired a boyfriend despite her best intentions, she was still going to try her hardest to balance the two.
She found Chelsea waiting for her - surrounded by several of the other girls in their class - all of them eager to hear more details about her sudden romance. And once their curiosity was satisfied the talk naturally segued into discussing outfits for the Christmas parties.
They coolly ignored the sudden outbursts of laughter from the boys, all studying something on Mike’s phone, and Allison hoped it wasn’t a snapshot of herself and Alex - especially since he hadn’t shown up yet...
He still hadn’t arrived when Professor Trinder appeared, and she figured that he probably wasn’t going to come. Maybe he didn’t want to distract her? Then she got caught up in the lesson and forgot about Alex, not worrying about his non-show until it was time to pack up - when Mike came sauntering up, looking so smug that she knew something was up.
“So- Alexander the Great couldn’t face the heat, could he?” Mike declared, and Allison frowned, puzzled.
“Huh?”
“You’ve not seen this?”
Mike - with entirely too much schadenfreude in his eyes - held forward his phone, which displayed a page from PotterAtUni, a rather obnoxious blog which chronicled life in Cambridge with a Harry Potter-esque slant. Allison had never been much of a JK Rowling fan, and generally didn’t pay much attention.
Until now.
Draco Malfoy spotted!
Comedy Night at the Student Union was enlivened last Friday thanks to everyone’s favourite bitchy blonde wizard. Although he had attempted to dress up like a regular student, the evening’s entertainer spotted him in an instant, and in his usual, amusing manner (I’m sure you’re familiar with his style) proceeded to question the safety of Master Malfoy’s charming companion. The young wizard took umbrage at this imposition and threw a hissy fit, declaring that everyone knew that J.K. Rowling had totally redeemed him, and just because his dad was a Deatheater shouldn’t make anyone jump to conclusions. After this dressing down he flounced out, complaining about the poor quality of Muggle entertainment.
If anything else is heard from Draco, be sure that our reporters will be on the case.
***
When Allison burst through the door of Alex’s flat not many minutes later she was still fuming. She wasn’t entirely sure where her ire was directed - it was probably a combination of Mike (for being an ass), the blogger (for being rude) and Alex for not showing up (and making her look like an idiot).
Josh was sitting at the table, sans Jamie and with several books in front of him. Matt was on the sofa, looking like he was full of cold, but still with a book in his lap.
They both looked up when she entered, but before she could ask them where Alex was the boy in question emerged from the kitchen with a large tray full of tea cups.
“Allie! Your timing is perfect. I’ve been experimenting with tea. Do you want a cup?”
She shook her head and held up her phone.
“Have you seen-”
As he put down the tray on the table next to Josh she noticed his T-shirt, bright green and emblazoned with a large Slytherin symbol. She stared at it, bewildered.
“... this?”
He grinned.
“The Malfoy thing? Oh yes. It’s brilliant, isn’t it? And to think I almost didn’t bring this shirt!”
Josh shot him a dark look.
“If I’d known you still had it I would have stolen it from your wardrobe and burnt it.”
Alex looked hurt.
“Hey - no dissing Slytherin!”
“It’s not the shirt I have a problem with per se - it’s the shirt on you. Allison, can you explain to him that it doesn’t suit him?”
She looked from one to the other.
“What kind of parallel world did I just walk into? Don’t you care that they took the piss out of you?”
Alex’s eyebrows went up about an inch.
“Um... No? I was a jerk, they called me on it - and in quite an inventive way too.”
“But... what’s-his-face, the comedian guy...”
“Insulted me to my face. Very different.”
She felt like saying that he was weird, but that felt a little superfluous. Instead she folded her arms, still not placated.
“You know everyone else thinks you didn’t show up for the lecture because you were too embarrassed? Mike was pretty much dancing with joy.”
Clearly this had not occurred to him at all, judging from the look on his face.
“Really? Guess I’ll have to go tomorrow, wearing the shirt. Or something else suitably Draco like...” His brow furrowed.
“Don’t suppose you’ve got anything that says Ravenclaw? Where would sell something like that...”
“Wait. What? Ravenclaw?”
“Well you’re obviously a Ravenclaw.”
“Huh?”
“Matt’s a Gryffindor, and Josh-”
“Josh,” the boy in question cut through, “refuses to put on the Sorting Hat because it’s ugly.”
Allison took a deep breath, closed her eyes and counted to ten.
“Can I just call time out?”
Josh chuckled.
“Oh you’re going to have to get used to this. He tries to fit into just about any story you can think of. Usually works quite well too. Half expected his father to calls us ‘filthy mud bloods’ when we met.”
“You’ve met his father?” she asked, astonished, and her words seemed to create a sudden deafening silence. Alex froze, Matt tried to pretend that he wasn’t there and Josh lowered his eyes.
“Just the once,” Josh finally said, as the quietness was becoming oppressive.
“We... don’t talk about it,” Matt added after a moment.
She turned to Alex, who hadn’t moved at all.
“What is this? What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Alex said, voice flat, and she could feel her temper rising again.
“Well clearly it matters! What could possibly happened that you don’t talk about it?”
He was still immovable, but anger was now apparent underneath the stony surface.
“My father was involved, what do you think happened?”
“Oh. I... I didn’t think...”
Bad things, clearly. Had he broken out of prison? That was entirely likely, since Alex wouldn’t have brought his Matt and Josh along for a visit... And something had happened - something involving his friends...
A loud beep cut through the tenseness, and Alex sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Damn. Lost track of the time. Um- I have to run. Apparently you can’t heckle a comedian these days without having to go talk to a counsellor. So I’m gonna have to go explain that yes, I am perfectly aware that I have issues regarding my father, and no, I do not need to talk about them.”
Allison studied him for a long moment.
“Maybe you should. Talk about it, I mean.”
He shook his head.
“No I shouldn’t. I- I’ll explain later, OK?”
He gave her a quick kiss, then got his jacket and trainers, turning around in the doorway and looking from Josh to Matt.
“You two - behave.”
“Yes Master,” Josh said drolly, saluting, and Alex shot him a furious look.
“Dammit Josh! Will you let it go!”
Josh shrugged, and Alex hesitated for a moment, then left - taking great care not to slam the door.
They all looked at each other, then Matt broke the silence.
“Josh - do you have to antagonise him?”
“Oh come on, it’s not me it’s him! If he wasn’t such a paranoid jerk-”
“But you make it worse!”
Allison watched, feeling like she’d walked in on a domestic, and then decided that a cup of tea was what she needed. Taking a seat at the table and grabbing a cup from the tray on the table she took a deep drink - and then nearly choked.
“Oh my god, what is that?” she asked, staring at the innocent-looking brown liquid in the cup, and the other two stopped arguing.
Josh leaned forward, took the cup from her and had an experimental taste.
“Hmm. Earl Grey and Lapsang I think.”
“Early Grey and Lapsang? Why would anyone do that?”
Josh chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
“Welcome to Alex’s World. The answer to that question is always ‘Why not?’”
She turned this over in her head.
“Yeah, I can see that. Actually-” she looked from one boy to the other, and decided that this was a good opportunity for getting some info on Alex.
“Can I ask... If you were me... would you date Alex?”
It was an odd question she knew, but she was used to having her family and friends on hand for parleys about anything and everything, and she missed having a sounding board or five.
Matt and Josh’s eyes met, and then they both smiled.
“Oh yes,” Matt said.
“In a heartbeat,” Josh added. “It’s just...”
“Just what?”
The boys exchanged looks again, and then Josh carefully leaned forward on the table. Allison braced herself for whatever was to come - probably something about his father...
“Alex is... He’s the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Well more like a blue whale in a goldfish bowl. Honestly, it’s like living with a caged tiger or something - he is so bored, you have no idea. But for once his uncle actually put his foot down, so he’s stuck here. Which is probably good for him, considering how he usually gets to do whatever he wants.”
Allison frowned.
“But he seems to do that anyway - he’s missed around half the lectures so far, but has got some kind of deal with our Professor...”
Josh shook his head.
“But he’s here. And he doesn’t want to be, which is tricky for him to come to terms with, cause he’s been spoiled rotten his whole life.”
“Well sorta,” Matt added. “He is spoiled, but his mum and uncle are also way strict.”
That didn’t make much sense, but then little to do with Alex did, so Allison decided on another question. Quizzing people was fun, and Josh was obviously up for dishing the dirt.
“What are they like? His mum and his uncle?”
There was a long pause, as the boys seemed unable to come up with an answer. Finally Josh had a go.
“Well his uncle is... kinda mad? It’s not really possible to explain, and I’m sure you’ll meet him sooner or later, and then you’ll see for yourself. His mum - she’s alright, really. Much more normal than anyone else. He takes after her more than he thinks. Hey - if you can get her to like you, you’ll have it made.”
Finally something useful. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Oh it’s very simple - just explain that you’re aware that you’ll never be good enough for her miracle of a son, and you’ll be off to a flying start.”
She smiled her best ‘bitch please’ smile.
“Very funny.”
Matt raised an eyebrow.
“Still true.”
She stared at him in silence for a second, then slowly shook her head.
“OK I’m screwed. She will hate me.”
“That’s her problem, not yours,” Josh pointed out. “You keep giving him hell!”
“Very well,” she said, a slow smile spreading across her face, because this situation was too familiar for words. “And what exactly were you fighting over before I got here?”
Matt laughed.
“Oh she’s got your number Josh!”
“Actually, can I ask something else?” she cut through, a little nervously. “This whole thing about his father...”
“Ah,” Josh replied, glancing at his watch and then gathering up his books and other paraphernalia.
“Can’t talk about that, sorry.”
“But-”
“That’s essentially what we were arguing about, K? This whole bloody secrecy thing he has going on. It pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe. And I just realised that I’m going to be late for my lecture if I don’t run now.”
A few seconds later the door closed behind him, and Allison found herself alone with Matt.
He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
“So, how do you like the mad house?”
She shrugged, smiling.
“I come from a large family, so to be honest this feels perfectly normal.”
Matt opened his mouth, and then a odd look flickered across his face and he swiftly grabbed a tissue and sneezed. After having very carefully wiped his nose, and tossing the tissue in the bin next to sofa, he finally spoke.
“Listen Allison, the thing about Alex is that... well his family - in many ways - really is as far from normal as you can get. When we met his Dad...” he paused, thoughtful, “it suddenly became obvious why he never talked about him, or... anything to do with that part of his life. I’m not saying that Josh doesn’t have a point, but some secrets are secrets for a reason.”
“Um... thank you?” she replied, and Matt shrugged.
“Alex is my best friend, and I want him - and you, obviously - to be happy. And that’ll probably involve more compromises than in most relationships, because of who he is. But he’s worth it. Wanna watch something?”
“Sure,” she said and Matt moved over and made some room for her as he turned the TV on.
“How did you get to be so insightful, anyway?” she asked, and he smiled.
“Guess I’m the straight guy in this whole crazy thing. As normal as they come, me.”
Seeing the look on her face, he chuckled.
“Well comparatively.”
***
When Alex returned - looking relatively calm - Matt suddenly decided that he should probably be in bed. It was clearly just an excuse to escape, although he certainly looked like it might be partly true.
“You been OK?” Alex asked, and she nodded.
“Matt’s good company. And you?”
He shrugged.
“I’m always OK.”
She raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled.
“It’s true, I’m fine.”
He made his way over to the sofa and sat down next to her.
“Guess I just feel that I ought to have pointed out that I’m not... easy. I’m not sure I should inflict myself on anyone.”
She folded her arms and looked him up and down.
“You obviously don’t know me very well. Apart from the fact that I’ve told everyone about us, I don’t walk away from things. You’re stuck with me now!”
He grinned.
“Oh I do like you.”
“But - I’m not just going to sit here, letting you be all mysterious. Relationships require some give and take. And I think talking is a good thing.”
“You mean about my father, right?”
She nodded, and he sighed deeply.
“You sure?”
She nodded again, and he sat still for a long moment.
“Look, my issues are... well they’re not abstract. It’s not things I’ve been told, it’s things I’ve seen. And I don’t want to ‘come to terms’ with how I feel about that. I never want to reach a place where I can think about it without horror.”
She stared at him as the words sunk in (‘Some secrets are secrets for a reason...’) and her brain scrambled around for some way of dealing and making sense of the things implied.
“But... isn’t he like... locked up?”
“Oh yes. But it’s a... very unusual sort of prison, since he’d get out of an ordinary one within hours, if not minutes. This one is much more secure, but sometimes... sometimes he bends the bars a little. Can’t really say much more, it’s all classified.”
“Okay...” she said faintly, half-wishing to know more, and yet wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.
He smiled gently, as if reading her mind.
“So I have issues, but usually they’re all filed away in a box in my head labelled ‘My Issues’. And unless someone starts poking it - which means I have to bash them around until they stop - I never open it. I don’t want - or need - to talk about it, or to cry on someone’s shoulder, and ‘the love of a good woman’ will not magically make me overcome it. My father is what he is, and nothing can change that.”
She nodded, and tried a smile of her own.
“You are remarkably well-adjusted, everything considered,” she finally said, taking his hand, and he shrugged.
“I think it’s growing up amidst so much crazy - I became all laid-back in response.”
“Guess that makes sense. Anything... anything else I ought to know?”
He thought for a long moment, and she wondered what kind of secret he might see fit to share.
“I’m allergic to aspirin.”
“...right.”
He held up his hands, feigning innocence.
“You asked. Not that I’m prone to headaches or anything, but don’t ever give me aspirin. Seriously, it could kill me.”
“I will keep that in mind,” she said drolly.
“Excellent. Now have you had any lunch?”
“Not yet...”
They ended up having a lovely lunch, during which Alex expanded at length about why he liked Draco and not Harry, and she almost forgot their Big Discussion. But now and again she’d remember, and wonder exactly what his father had done, and just how traumatised Alex might be - and what impact this might have on their relationship.
***
As it turned out, having Alex as a boyfriend - rather than just a friend - didn’t alter anything very dramatically. Now there was just more kissing, an improvement Allison was very pleased with.
Although she did discover quite a few new things, one of them being that - the denim jacket apart - he apparently did not posses any kind of coat. Nor any jumpers, sweaters, cardigans - not even a scarf or a hat. (She made sure of this by looking through his wardrobe very carefully, a privilege that she knew automatically came with her girlfriend status.)
But when she brought it up, he just shrugged and said he was made of teflon - which made her frown, since she could still remember when her brother Toby had thought the same, and the weeks he’d had to spend in bed as a consequence of this attitude.
The coat issue actually threatened to become A Thing when they began working out their outfits for the Costume Christmas Party... The theme was movies, and - very casually, if she said so herself - Allison brought up the Big Damn Movie, after she’d rejected various thing like Luke and Leia, and Draco and Hermione.
“What about Serenity? You could be Mal, and I could be... oh I don’t know... Kaylee?”
He chuckled.
“That’s an idea. Except not Mal.”
“Why not?”
“Two words: Hero coat.”
She frowned.
“Hero coat?”
“Hero coat. Don’t like them, won’t wear them. You got me into a suit for the formal dinner, but that’s as far as I’ll go.”
(And very dashing he’d looked too, even though he’d whined a great deal.)
Finally they settled on Wash and Zoe. Allison wasn’t quite sure about going as a black character, but Alex hand waved her worries away - as long as she didn’t look like a minstrel, no one was going to mind. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was so keen on the roles partly because it’d let him ‘dress up’ in a Hawaiian shirt, and partly because of the tight trousers and leather vest she’d managed to get hold of.
Although the best part came just before they left - as she was checking her hair (which Chelsea had curled for her), Alex smiled mysteriously.
“I... got you something. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”
He brought out a large, flat box, and when she opened it she found a perfect pair of Zoe boots inside.
She pulled them out, nearly speechless.
“Oh my God! Where did you find these?”
“Didn’t ‘find’ them - had them specially made.”
“But- that must have cost a fortune!”
He chuckled. “I’m loaded, in case you forgot. And it’s totally worth it for the look on your face.”
She decided not to argue, and just to pull them on. They (of course) fitted perfectly, and she felt like bouncing. Best boyfriend ever.
“Is Josh coming?” she asked as they finally set off, and Alex looked at Matt - who looked very dapper dressed as Bond - then shook his head.
“Dunno. He’s been trying to talk Jamie into coming with him, but has had no luck so far. Jamie’s not one for big crowds apparently, but Josh can be very tenacious...”
Josh’s tenacity had evidently paid off, they soon realised.
The two of them had opted for Breakfast at Tiffany’s as their inspiration - and whilst Josh looked exceedingly rakish in a perfectly cut suit, it was Jamie’s transformation into Holly Golightly (black dress like a glove, suddenly dark brown hair done up to perfection, long gloves) that had most of the room gazing in awe. Allison had to quell a momentary pang of pure jealousy, because she knew that she’d never look that effortlessly stylish.
Even Matt and Alex seemed to have been transfixed.
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?” Matt muttered, and Alex tilted his head.
“I’m thinking that I’m going to send a picture to Jack and count the seconds until he appears.”
“Dressed or naked?” Matt asked, and Alex looked at him with mock surprise as he pulled out his phone.
“Naked of course! And then he’ll get an orgy organised.”
Matt laughed as Alex indeed snapped a picture with his phone - but much to Allison’s disappointment the mysterious Jack never materialised.
Not that the party wasn’t lots of fun on its own, even if it never became an actual orgy...
Hours later they were squashed into someone’s room, still talking and drinking and eating, and Allison thought that university was the best thing ever.
They’d lost Matt earlier on when he’d wandered off with some of his fellow medical students, but the rest of them were still together, more or less.
Josh and Jamie were squeezed into a tiny two seater sofa (cheap and cheerful IKEA model), and Allison and Alex were on the floor nearby, caught up in a discussion with some philosophy students that Alex was cheekily running rings around with bizarre theories that Allison felt sure wouldn’t make any kind of sense in the morning when they were all sober.
At one point Josh got up to see if he could locate a loo, and after a moment a stranger - dressed as a cowboy, and rather ruggedly handsome - plonked himself down next to Jamie. Allison - curious - half turned to see how Jamie would deal, since from Allison’s limited experience Josh’s new beau was almost painfully shy, and she felt a little worried.
“So tell me gorgeous, who are you?” the stranger began, a wide grin on his face.
Jamie studied him the way one would a cockroach.
“Touch me and I’ll break your arm.”
Allison’s mouth fell open - Jamie was about half the size of the ‘cowboy’ and looked as fragile as porcelain. Clearly this wasn’t the response the suitor had been expecting either, and he took a moment to rally.
“Whoa... Calm down girl, just sayin’ hello.”
Jamie’s blue-green eyes went even colder.
“And I’m not a girl. Please go away.”
The guy did a very long double take (whilst Allison felt thrilled to finally get some kind of confirmation as to gender), and Jamie raised the most dismissive eyebrow Allison had ever seen.
Just then Josh reappeared, looking from one to the other, eyes narrowing.
“Sorry mate, but you’re in my seat.”
“Okay...” The cowboy - obviously understanding when he’d lost the battle - stood up, still looking somewhat thrown.
“You two- right.”
He studied Josh carefully, and Allison wondered just how drunk he was.
“You know that your boyfriend is pretty vicious, right?”
Josh did a double take of his own.
“What are you on about? Jamie is not a boy.”
The student opened his mouth, then slowly shook his head, and Allison knew how he felt.
“I... I think I’m gonna go before I say something un-PC.”
Jamie smiled a tiny, superior smile.
“You do that.”
As the cowboy lumbered his way through the crowd, Josh sat himself down again.
“Been practising some of those anti-people-skills you excel at?”
Jamie shrugged.
“Better safe than sorry.”
Josh shook his head, looking exasperated.
“Most people are nice, you’ve got to stop being so antagonistic.”
Jamie shrugged. “Not interested in ‘people’.”
“You’re interested in me, and I’m people!” Josh shot back, and Jamie studied him for a long moment.
“Guess that makes you the exception that proves the rule? Or maybe you’re just too gorgeous... Honestly I’m still not sure what I’m doing with you.”
Josh smiled, slowly and widely.
“Oh I think you know exactly what you’re doing with me...” he said, voice so low Allison could barely catch it, leaning into Jamie and clearly forgetting that they weren’t actually alone; his hand sliding around Jamie’s waist with an unspoken intimacy that made Allison turn back to her own group rather swiftly.
But she found herself a bit preoccupied, as she emptied her bottle. Josh and Jamie seemed to have nothing in common except sex and an interest in clothes, and yet... And yet there had to be something more to it, because Josh was exceedingly determined to keep hold of Jamie, despite the latter’s extreme reticence. And considering he could get girls - and boys - to fall into his bed simply by snapping his fingers, clearly there had to be something there. Not that good sex was not a perfectly valid reason...
She’d not got further in her musings when a girl appeared in the doorway, asking if anyone knew a bloke dressed in a tux?
Allison and Alex shot each other a look and - seeing that Josh and Jamie were otherwise occupied - went off, discovering Matt passed out on a bed.
Moving him was out of the question, but after a lot of asking around they discovered that the owner of the bed was staying the night in someone else’s bed, and the room mate wasn’t bothered about a stranger, being three sheets to the wind already.
Alex, as always sensible, removed Matt’s phone, keys and money, and, after putting a bin by the bed and leaving a small light on, the two of them found themselves wondering where to go next.
Allison decided that kissing would definitely help the decision making process, swiftly forgetting where they were until a passing stranger called out ‘Get a room!’
Allison thought of Matt - passed out and gone for the night - and Josh, who’d be heading to Jamie’s any second, and looked up at Alex with a wide, mischievous smile.
“You’ve got a room!”
“I... do...” he said slowly, and she pulled him closer. She was on the happy, bold side of drunk, her body buzzing pleasantly, and she knew exactly what she wanted. How was it Zoe had phrased it? ‘I need this man to tear all my clothes off.’ She liked being Zoe very much at that moment - she hadn’t had sex in forever (or at least that’s what it felt like) and after seeing Josh and Jamie...
“Well?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and slipping a hand under his shirt, caressing his back.
But to her great puzzlement Alex didn’t grin wickedly and drag her off, as she had hoped and expected. Instead he frowned, tilting his head.
“Are you sure? You don’t think it would be... rushing things?”
She stared at him, shocked, as illumination suddenly hit.
‘Oh my god he’s a virgin!’
It was a possibility that she’d never even considered. He was Alex, and he was good at everything, it stood to reason that he’d be... experienced.
Looking at him, she didn’t quite know what to say.
“I... Uh... If you’d rather wait-”
“I didn’t say no,” he said carefully, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Sometimes he was infuriating - what kind of person deliberately weighed up whether to sleep with someone, as if trying to work out whether to have dessert or not, looking like they were counting calories in their head?
“So?” she asked, impatiently and not entirely happily, and then he laughed in that way that made her feel as if her stomach was falling through the floor.
“Your wish is my command, my lady.”
“Took you long enough,” she muttered and grabbed his hand. Thank goodness his flat wasn’t far away.
***
“I could get used to this.”
At his words Allison tilted her head and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. Her head was resting on his chest, where she’d been drifting off to sleep, lulled by the soft beating of his heart.
“This whole girlfriend thing,” he clarified, “I could get used to it.”
She tried to hide a smile, and wasn’t quite sure if she succeeded - she felt tired and sated and happy, the night’s rather fabulous conclusion having worn her out quite thoroughly. Well, fabulous and a bit odd, because it was Alex.
She had felt not entirely unlike a new toy, eagerly taken out of its box and explored for the first time... But of course Alex was the type to have read every manual possible before diving in, and added to that he was apparently not familiar with concepts such as embarrassment or doing-things-by-halves.
(She wasn’t sure what kind of manuals he’d been consulting, but they’d certainly been thorough and well written, with plenty of diagrams... This line of thought had led to an unshakeable image of Alex gravely studying internet porn, note pad in hand, and she’d collapsed into giggles. All in all it was good that his ego was as big as it was, because the sudden laughter hadn’t put him off in the least.)
Stroking his chest now, smiling at the memory, her hand hit upon his pendant, and the smile faded.
“You know I could swear you weren’t wearing that earlier on.”
He shrugged.
“Well I can promise you it was there. It’s not very exciting though compared to other things...”
Ignoring the hints in his words, she turned it over in her hand.
“What’s inside?”
There was a pause before he replied.
“Secrets.”
“Really?” she asked, curious, and tried to prise it open.
“Oh you’re fun to mess with. Here let me- it’s old and gets stuck.”
With a little pop it opened, and showed two tiny photographs, one on each side.
“My grandparents,” he explained, “the Lord and Lady Cole.”
She looked at them for a moment, then turned her head to look at him again, and saw what he was smiling.
“Oh yes, you’re sleeping with the aristocracy.”
She didn’t quite know what to say, and he elaborated.
“Everyone always focusses on my Dad and forget Mum, which is very silly of them. I’m actually second in line to the title, which makes me want to run out and get my Cousin Geoffrey married so he can sire some offspring asap.”
”So - you don’t want to be a Lord?”
His eyes twinkled, and he pulled her closer, softly stroking her back.
“Nope. I’m as much of a Lord as I’ll ever be, and that suits me fine. And actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if Aunt Emily has somehow barred me from succession... Ought to look in to that. Tomorrow. Right now I think sleep is what I need.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, contemplating what a lovely pillow his shoulder made.
Best boyfriend ever.
(And if she tried really hard maybe she could manage not to think about the fact that in two day’s time the holidays would start and they’d go visit his mum... Because that was a whole new level of daunting.)
Chapter 8.
Fic index post here.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: 2025 (AU post-Sound of Drums)
Characters: OCs (many!), the Doctor (10th), Lucy, Jack.
Rating: PG-13.
Wordcount: Approx. 5400 words
Chapter 7
Monday morning, 17th of November 2025.
Allison arrived at the lecture hall nice and early. ‘Do not let romance interfere with your studies’ she had told herself quite firmly before starting the course, and, although she had acquired a boyfriend despite her best intentions, she was still going to try her hardest to balance the two.
She found Chelsea waiting for her - surrounded by several of the other girls in their class - all of them eager to hear more details about her sudden romance. And once their curiosity was satisfied the talk naturally segued into discussing outfits for the Christmas parties.
They coolly ignored the sudden outbursts of laughter from the boys, all studying something on Mike’s phone, and Allison hoped it wasn’t a snapshot of herself and Alex - especially since he hadn’t shown up yet...
He still hadn’t arrived when Professor Trinder appeared, and she figured that he probably wasn’t going to come. Maybe he didn’t want to distract her? Then she got caught up in the lesson and forgot about Alex, not worrying about his non-show until it was time to pack up - when Mike came sauntering up, looking so smug that she knew something was up.
“So- Alexander the Great couldn’t face the heat, could he?” Mike declared, and Allison frowned, puzzled.
“Huh?”
“You’ve not seen this?”
Mike - with entirely too much schadenfreude in his eyes - held forward his phone, which displayed a page from PotterAtUni, a rather obnoxious blog which chronicled life in Cambridge with a Harry Potter-esque slant. Allison had never been much of a JK Rowling fan, and generally didn’t pay much attention.
Until now.
Comedy Night at the Student Union was enlivened last Friday thanks to everyone’s favourite bitchy blonde wizard. Although he had attempted to dress up like a regular student, the evening’s entertainer spotted him in an instant, and in his usual, amusing manner (I’m sure you’re familiar with his style) proceeded to question the safety of Master Malfoy’s charming companion. The young wizard took umbrage at this imposition and threw a hissy fit, declaring that everyone knew that J.K. Rowling had totally redeemed him, and just because his dad was a Deatheater shouldn’t make anyone jump to conclusions. After this dressing down he flounced out, complaining about the poor quality of Muggle entertainment.
If anything else is heard from Draco, be sure that our reporters will be on the case.
When Allison burst through the door of Alex’s flat not many minutes later she was still fuming. She wasn’t entirely sure where her ire was directed - it was probably a combination of Mike (for being an ass), the blogger (for being rude) and Alex for not showing up (and making her look like an idiot).
Josh was sitting at the table, sans Jamie and with several books in front of him. Matt was on the sofa, looking like he was full of cold, but still with a book in his lap.
They both looked up when she entered, but before she could ask them where Alex was the boy in question emerged from the kitchen with a large tray full of tea cups.
“Allie! Your timing is perfect. I’ve been experimenting with tea. Do you want a cup?”
She shook her head and held up her phone.
“Have you seen-”
As he put down the tray on the table next to Josh she noticed his T-shirt, bright green and emblazoned with a large Slytherin symbol. She stared at it, bewildered.
“... this?”
He grinned.
“The Malfoy thing? Oh yes. It’s brilliant, isn’t it? And to think I almost didn’t bring this shirt!”
Josh shot him a dark look.
“If I’d known you still had it I would have stolen it from your wardrobe and burnt it.”
Alex looked hurt.
“Hey - no dissing Slytherin!”
“It’s not the shirt I have a problem with per se - it’s the shirt on you. Allison, can you explain to him that it doesn’t suit him?”
She looked from one to the other.
“What kind of parallel world did I just walk into? Don’t you care that they took the piss out of you?”
Alex’s eyebrows went up about an inch.
“Um... No? I was a jerk, they called me on it - and in quite an inventive way too.”
“But... what’s-his-face, the comedian guy...”
“Insulted me to my face. Very different.”
She felt like saying that he was weird, but that felt a little superfluous. Instead she folded her arms, still not placated.
“You know everyone else thinks you didn’t show up for the lecture because you were too embarrassed? Mike was pretty much dancing with joy.”
Clearly this had not occurred to him at all, judging from the look on his face.
“Really? Guess I’ll have to go tomorrow, wearing the shirt. Or something else suitably Draco like...” His brow furrowed.
“Don’t suppose you’ve got anything that says Ravenclaw? Where would sell something like that...”
“Wait. What? Ravenclaw?”
“Well you’re obviously a Ravenclaw.”
“Huh?”
“Matt’s a Gryffindor, and Josh-”
“Josh,” the boy in question cut through, “refuses to put on the Sorting Hat because it’s ugly.”
Allison took a deep breath, closed her eyes and counted to ten.
“Can I just call time out?”
Josh chuckled.
“Oh you’re going to have to get used to this. He tries to fit into just about any story you can think of. Usually works quite well too. Half expected his father to calls us ‘filthy mud bloods’ when we met.”
“You’ve met his father?” she asked, astonished, and her words seemed to create a sudden deafening silence. Alex froze, Matt tried to pretend that he wasn’t there and Josh lowered his eyes.
“Just the once,” Josh finally said, as the quietness was becoming oppressive.
“We... don’t talk about it,” Matt added after a moment.
She turned to Alex, who hadn’t moved at all.
“What is this? What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Alex said, voice flat, and she could feel her temper rising again.
“Well clearly it matters! What could possibly happened that you don’t talk about it?”
He was still immovable, but anger was now apparent underneath the stony surface.
“My father was involved, what do you think happened?”
“Oh. I... I didn’t think...”
Bad things, clearly. Had he broken out of prison? That was entirely likely, since Alex wouldn’t have brought his Matt and Josh along for a visit... And something had happened - something involving his friends...
A loud beep cut through the tenseness, and Alex sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Damn. Lost track of the time. Um- I have to run. Apparently you can’t heckle a comedian these days without having to go talk to a counsellor. So I’m gonna have to go explain that yes, I am perfectly aware that I have issues regarding my father, and no, I do not need to talk about them.”
Allison studied him for a long moment.
“Maybe you should. Talk about it, I mean.”
He shook his head.
“No I shouldn’t. I- I’ll explain later, OK?”
He gave her a quick kiss, then got his jacket and trainers, turning around in the doorway and looking from Josh to Matt.
“You two - behave.”
“Yes Master,” Josh said drolly, saluting, and Alex shot him a furious look.
“Dammit Josh! Will you let it go!”
Josh shrugged, and Alex hesitated for a moment, then left - taking great care not to slam the door.
They all looked at each other, then Matt broke the silence.
“Josh - do you have to antagonise him?”
“Oh come on, it’s not me it’s him! If he wasn’t such a paranoid jerk-”
“But you make it worse!”
Allison watched, feeling like she’d walked in on a domestic, and then decided that a cup of tea was what she needed. Taking a seat at the table and grabbing a cup from the tray on the table she took a deep drink - and then nearly choked.
“Oh my god, what is that?” she asked, staring at the innocent-looking brown liquid in the cup, and the other two stopped arguing.
Josh leaned forward, took the cup from her and had an experimental taste.
“Hmm. Earl Grey and Lapsang I think.”
“Early Grey and Lapsang? Why would anyone do that?”
Josh chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
“Welcome to Alex’s World. The answer to that question is always ‘Why not?’”
She turned this over in her head.
“Yeah, I can see that. Actually-” she looked from one boy to the other, and decided that this was a good opportunity for getting some info on Alex.
“Can I ask... If you were me... would you date Alex?”
It was an odd question she knew, but she was used to having her family and friends on hand for parleys about anything and everything, and she missed having a sounding board or five.
Matt and Josh’s eyes met, and then they both smiled.
“Oh yes,” Matt said.
“In a heartbeat,” Josh added. “It’s just...”
“Just what?”
The boys exchanged looks again, and then Josh carefully leaned forward on the table. Allison braced herself for whatever was to come - probably something about his father...
“Alex is... He’s the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Well more like a blue whale in a goldfish bowl. Honestly, it’s like living with a caged tiger or something - he is so bored, you have no idea. But for once his uncle actually put his foot down, so he’s stuck here. Which is probably good for him, considering how he usually gets to do whatever he wants.”
Allison frowned.
“But he seems to do that anyway - he’s missed around half the lectures so far, but has got some kind of deal with our Professor...”
Josh shook his head.
“But he’s here. And he doesn’t want to be, which is tricky for him to come to terms with, cause he’s been spoiled rotten his whole life.”
“Well sorta,” Matt added. “He is spoiled, but his mum and uncle are also way strict.”
That didn’t make much sense, but then little to do with Alex did, so Allison decided on another question. Quizzing people was fun, and Josh was obviously up for dishing the dirt.
“What are they like? His mum and his uncle?”
There was a long pause, as the boys seemed unable to come up with an answer. Finally Josh had a go.
“Well his uncle is... kinda mad? It’s not really possible to explain, and I’m sure you’ll meet him sooner or later, and then you’ll see for yourself. His mum - she’s alright, really. Much more normal than anyone else. He takes after her more than he thinks. Hey - if you can get her to like you, you’ll have it made.”
Finally something useful. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Oh it’s very simple - just explain that you’re aware that you’ll never be good enough for her miracle of a son, and you’ll be off to a flying start.”
She smiled her best ‘bitch please’ smile.
“Very funny.”
Matt raised an eyebrow.
“Still true.”
She stared at him in silence for a second, then slowly shook her head.
“OK I’m screwed. She will hate me.”
“That’s her problem, not yours,” Josh pointed out. “You keep giving him hell!”
“Very well,” she said, a slow smile spreading across her face, because this situation was too familiar for words. “And what exactly were you fighting over before I got here?”
Matt laughed.
“Oh she’s got your number Josh!”
“Actually, can I ask something else?” she cut through, a little nervously. “This whole thing about his father...”
“Ah,” Josh replied, glancing at his watch and then gathering up his books and other paraphernalia.
“Can’t talk about that, sorry.”
“But-”
“That’s essentially what we were arguing about, K? This whole bloody secrecy thing he has going on. It pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe. And I just realised that I’m going to be late for my lecture if I don’t run now.”
A few seconds later the door closed behind him, and Allison found herself alone with Matt.
He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
“So, how do you like the mad house?”
She shrugged, smiling.
“I come from a large family, so to be honest this feels perfectly normal.”
Matt opened his mouth, and then a odd look flickered across his face and he swiftly grabbed a tissue and sneezed. After having very carefully wiped his nose, and tossing the tissue in the bin next to sofa, he finally spoke.
“Listen Allison, the thing about Alex is that... well his family - in many ways - really is as far from normal as you can get. When we met his Dad...” he paused, thoughtful, “it suddenly became obvious why he never talked about him, or... anything to do with that part of his life. I’m not saying that Josh doesn’t have a point, but some secrets are secrets for a reason.”
“Um... thank you?” she replied, and Matt shrugged.
“Alex is my best friend, and I want him - and you, obviously - to be happy. And that’ll probably involve more compromises than in most relationships, because of who he is. But he’s worth it. Wanna watch something?”
“Sure,” she said and Matt moved over and made some room for her as he turned the TV on.
“How did you get to be so insightful, anyway?” she asked, and he smiled.
“Guess I’m the straight guy in this whole crazy thing. As normal as they come, me.”
Seeing the look on her face, he chuckled.
“Well comparatively.”
When Alex returned - looking relatively calm - Matt suddenly decided that he should probably be in bed. It was clearly just an excuse to escape, although he certainly looked like it might be partly true.
“You been OK?” Alex asked, and she nodded.
“Matt’s good company. And you?”
He shrugged.
“I’m always OK.”
She raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled.
“It’s true, I’m fine.”
He made his way over to the sofa and sat down next to her.
“Guess I just feel that I ought to have pointed out that I’m not... easy. I’m not sure I should inflict myself on anyone.”
She folded her arms and looked him up and down.
“You obviously don’t know me very well. Apart from the fact that I’ve told everyone about us, I don’t walk away from things. You’re stuck with me now!”
He grinned.
“Oh I do like you.”
“But - I’m not just going to sit here, letting you be all mysterious. Relationships require some give and take. And I think talking is a good thing.”
“You mean about my father, right?”
She nodded, and he sighed deeply.
“You sure?”
She nodded again, and he sat still for a long moment.
“Look, my issues are... well they’re not abstract. It’s not things I’ve been told, it’s things I’ve seen. And I don’t want to ‘come to terms’ with how I feel about that. I never want to reach a place where I can think about it without horror.”
She stared at him as the words sunk in (‘Some secrets are secrets for a reason...’) and her brain scrambled around for some way of dealing and making sense of the things implied.
“But... isn’t he like... locked up?”
“Oh yes. But it’s a... very unusual sort of prison, since he’d get out of an ordinary one within hours, if not minutes. This one is much more secure, but sometimes... sometimes he bends the bars a little. Can’t really say much more, it’s all classified.”
“Okay...” she said faintly, half-wishing to know more, and yet wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.
He smiled gently, as if reading her mind.
“So I have issues, but usually they’re all filed away in a box in my head labelled ‘My Issues’. And unless someone starts poking it - which means I have to bash them around until they stop - I never open it. I don’t want - or need - to talk about it, or to cry on someone’s shoulder, and ‘the love of a good woman’ will not magically make me overcome it. My father is what he is, and nothing can change that.”
She nodded, and tried a smile of her own.
“You are remarkably well-adjusted, everything considered,” she finally said, taking his hand, and he shrugged.
“I think it’s growing up amidst so much crazy - I became all laid-back in response.”
“Guess that makes sense. Anything... anything else I ought to know?”
He thought for a long moment, and she wondered what kind of secret he might see fit to share.
“I’m allergic to aspirin.”
“...right.”
He held up his hands, feigning innocence.
“You asked. Not that I’m prone to headaches or anything, but don’t ever give me aspirin. Seriously, it could kill me.”
“I will keep that in mind,” she said drolly.
“Excellent. Now have you had any lunch?”
“Not yet...”
They ended up having a lovely lunch, during which Alex expanded at length about why he liked Draco and not Harry, and she almost forgot their Big Discussion. But now and again she’d remember, and wonder exactly what his father had done, and just how traumatised Alex might be - and what impact this might have on their relationship.
As it turned out, having Alex as a boyfriend - rather than just a friend - didn’t alter anything very dramatically. Now there was just more kissing, an improvement Allison was very pleased with.
Although she did discover quite a few new things, one of them being that - the denim jacket apart - he apparently did not posses any kind of coat. Nor any jumpers, sweaters, cardigans - not even a scarf or a hat. (She made sure of this by looking through his wardrobe very carefully, a privilege that she knew automatically came with her girlfriend status.)
But when she brought it up, he just shrugged and said he was made of teflon - which made her frown, since she could still remember when her brother Toby had thought the same, and the weeks he’d had to spend in bed as a consequence of this attitude.
The coat issue actually threatened to become A Thing when they began working out their outfits for the Costume Christmas Party... The theme was movies, and - very casually, if she said so herself - Allison brought up the Big Damn Movie, after she’d rejected various thing like Luke and Leia, and Draco and Hermione.
“What about Serenity? You could be Mal, and I could be... oh I don’t know... Kaylee?”
He chuckled.
“That’s an idea. Except not Mal.”
“Why not?”
“Two words: Hero coat.”
She frowned.
“Hero coat?”
“Hero coat. Don’t like them, won’t wear them. You got me into a suit for the formal dinner, but that’s as far as I’ll go.”
(And very dashing he’d looked too, even though he’d whined a great deal.)
Finally they settled on Wash and Zoe. Allison wasn’t quite sure about going as a black character, but Alex hand waved her worries away - as long as she didn’t look like a minstrel, no one was going to mind. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was so keen on the roles partly because it’d let him ‘dress up’ in a Hawaiian shirt, and partly because of the tight trousers and leather vest she’d managed to get hold of.
Although the best part came just before they left - as she was checking her hair (which Chelsea had curled for her), Alex smiled mysteriously.
“I... got you something. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”
He brought out a large, flat box, and when she opened it she found a perfect pair of Zoe boots inside.
She pulled them out, nearly speechless.
“Oh my God! Where did you find these?”
“Didn’t ‘find’ them - had them specially made.”
“But- that must have cost a fortune!”
He chuckled. “I’m loaded, in case you forgot. And it’s totally worth it for the look on your face.”
She decided not to argue, and just to pull them on. They (of course) fitted perfectly, and she felt like bouncing. Best boyfriend ever.
“Is Josh coming?” she asked as they finally set off, and Alex looked at Matt - who looked very dapper dressed as Bond - then shook his head.
“Dunno. He’s been trying to talk Jamie into coming with him, but has had no luck so far. Jamie’s not one for big crowds apparently, but Josh can be very tenacious...”
Josh’s tenacity had evidently paid off, they soon realised.
The two of them had opted for Breakfast at Tiffany’s as their inspiration - and whilst Josh looked exceedingly rakish in a perfectly cut suit, it was Jamie’s transformation into Holly Golightly (black dress like a glove, suddenly dark brown hair done up to perfection, long gloves) that had most of the room gazing in awe. Allison had to quell a momentary pang of pure jealousy, because she knew that she’d never look that effortlessly stylish.
Even Matt and Alex seemed to have been transfixed.
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?” Matt muttered, and Alex tilted his head.
“I’m thinking that I’m going to send a picture to Jack and count the seconds until he appears.”
“Dressed or naked?” Matt asked, and Alex looked at him with mock surprise as he pulled out his phone.
“Naked of course! And then he’ll get an orgy organised.”
Matt laughed as Alex indeed snapped a picture with his phone - but much to Allison’s disappointment the mysterious Jack never materialised.
Not that the party wasn’t lots of fun on its own, even if it never became an actual orgy...
Hours later they were squashed into someone’s room, still talking and drinking and eating, and Allison thought that university was the best thing ever.
They’d lost Matt earlier on when he’d wandered off with some of his fellow medical students, but the rest of them were still together, more or less.
Josh and Jamie were squeezed into a tiny two seater sofa (cheap and cheerful IKEA model), and Allison and Alex were on the floor nearby, caught up in a discussion with some philosophy students that Alex was cheekily running rings around with bizarre theories that Allison felt sure wouldn’t make any kind of sense in the morning when they were all sober.
At one point Josh got up to see if he could locate a loo, and after a moment a stranger - dressed as a cowboy, and rather ruggedly handsome - plonked himself down next to Jamie. Allison - curious - half turned to see how Jamie would deal, since from Allison’s limited experience Josh’s new beau was almost painfully shy, and she felt a little worried.
“So tell me gorgeous, who are you?” the stranger began, a wide grin on his face.
Jamie studied him the way one would a cockroach.
“Touch me and I’ll break your arm.”
Allison’s mouth fell open - Jamie was about half the size of the ‘cowboy’ and looked as fragile as porcelain. Clearly this wasn’t the response the suitor had been expecting either, and he took a moment to rally.
“Whoa... Calm down girl, just sayin’ hello.”
Jamie’s blue-green eyes went even colder.
“And I’m not a girl. Please go away.”
The guy did a very long double take (whilst Allison felt thrilled to finally get some kind of confirmation as to gender), and Jamie raised the most dismissive eyebrow Allison had ever seen.
Just then Josh reappeared, looking from one to the other, eyes narrowing.
“Sorry mate, but you’re in my seat.”
“Okay...” The cowboy - obviously understanding when he’d lost the battle - stood up, still looking somewhat thrown.
“You two- right.”
He studied Josh carefully, and Allison wondered just how drunk he was.
“You know that your boyfriend is pretty vicious, right?”
Josh did a double take of his own.
“What are you on about? Jamie is not a boy.”
The student opened his mouth, then slowly shook his head, and Allison knew how he felt.
“I... I think I’m gonna go before I say something un-PC.”
Jamie smiled a tiny, superior smile.
“You do that.”
As the cowboy lumbered his way through the crowd, Josh sat himself down again.
“Been practising some of those anti-people-skills you excel at?”
Jamie shrugged.
“Better safe than sorry.”
Josh shook his head, looking exasperated.
“Most people are nice, you’ve got to stop being so antagonistic.”
Jamie shrugged. “Not interested in ‘people’.”
“You’re interested in me, and I’m people!” Josh shot back, and Jamie studied him for a long moment.
“Guess that makes you the exception that proves the rule? Or maybe you’re just too gorgeous... Honestly I’m still not sure what I’m doing with you.”
Josh smiled, slowly and widely.
“Oh I think you know exactly what you’re doing with me...” he said, voice so low Allison could barely catch it, leaning into Jamie and clearly forgetting that they weren’t actually alone; his hand sliding around Jamie’s waist with an unspoken intimacy that made Allison turn back to her own group rather swiftly.
But she found herself a bit preoccupied, as she emptied her bottle. Josh and Jamie seemed to have nothing in common except sex and an interest in clothes, and yet... And yet there had to be something more to it, because Josh was exceedingly determined to keep hold of Jamie, despite the latter’s extreme reticence. And considering he could get girls - and boys - to fall into his bed simply by snapping his fingers, clearly there had to be something there. Not that good sex was not a perfectly valid reason...
She’d not got further in her musings when a girl appeared in the doorway, asking if anyone knew a bloke dressed in a tux?
Allison and Alex shot each other a look and - seeing that Josh and Jamie were otherwise occupied - went off, discovering Matt passed out on a bed.
Moving him was out of the question, but after a lot of asking around they discovered that the owner of the bed was staying the night in someone else’s bed, and the room mate wasn’t bothered about a stranger, being three sheets to the wind already.
Alex, as always sensible, removed Matt’s phone, keys and money, and, after putting a bin by the bed and leaving a small light on, the two of them found themselves wondering where to go next.
Allison decided that kissing would definitely help the decision making process, swiftly forgetting where they were until a passing stranger called out ‘Get a room!’
Allison thought of Matt - passed out and gone for the night - and Josh, who’d be heading to Jamie’s any second, and looked up at Alex with a wide, mischievous smile.
“You’ve got a room!”
“I... do...” he said slowly, and she pulled him closer. She was on the happy, bold side of drunk, her body buzzing pleasantly, and she knew exactly what she wanted. How was it Zoe had phrased it? ‘I need this man to tear all my clothes off.’ She liked being Zoe very much at that moment - she hadn’t had sex in forever (or at least that’s what it felt like) and after seeing Josh and Jamie...
“Well?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and slipping a hand under his shirt, caressing his back.
But to her great puzzlement Alex didn’t grin wickedly and drag her off, as she had hoped and expected. Instead he frowned, tilting his head.
“Are you sure? You don’t think it would be... rushing things?”
She stared at him, shocked, as illumination suddenly hit.
‘Oh my god he’s a virgin!’
It was a possibility that she’d never even considered. He was Alex, and he was good at everything, it stood to reason that he’d be... experienced.
Looking at him, she didn’t quite know what to say.
“I... Uh... If you’d rather wait-”
“I didn’t say no,” he said carefully, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Sometimes he was infuriating - what kind of person deliberately weighed up whether to sleep with someone, as if trying to work out whether to have dessert or not, looking like they were counting calories in their head?
“So?” she asked, impatiently and not entirely happily, and then he laughed in that way that made her feel as if her stomach was falling through the floor.
“Your wish is my command, my lady.”
“Took you long enough,” she muttered and grabbed his hand. Thank goodness his flat wasn’t far away.
“I could get used to this.”
At his words Allison tilted her head and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. Her head was resting on his chest, where she’d been drifting off to sleep, lulled by the soft beating of his heart.
“This whole girlfriend thing,” he clarified, “I could get used to it.”
She tried to hide a smile, and wasn’t quite sure if she succeeded - she felt tired and sated and happy, the night’s rather fabulous conclusion having worn her out quite thoroughly. Well, fabulous and a bit odd, because it was Alex.
She had felt not entirely unlike a new toy, eagerly taken out of its box and explored for the first time... But of course Alex was the type to have read every manual possible before diving in, and added to that he was apparently not familiar with concepts such as embarrassment or doing-things-by-halves.
(She wasn’t sure what kind of manuals he’d been consulting, but they’d certainly been thorough and well written, with plenty of diagrams... This line of thought had led to an unshakeable image of Alex gravely studying internet porn, note pad in hand, and she’d collapsed into giggles. All in all it was good that his ego was as big as it was, because the sudden laughter hadn’t put him off in the least.)
Stroking his chest now, smiling at the memory, her hand hit upon his pendant, and the smile faded.
“You know I could swear you weren’t wearing that earlier on.”
He shrugged.
“Well I can promise you it was there. It’s not very exciting though compared to other things...”
Ignoring the hints in his words, she turned it over in her hand.
“What’s inside?”
There was a pause before he replied.
“Secrets.”
“Really?” she asked, curious, and tried to prise it open.
“Oh you’re fun to mess with. Here let me- it’s old and gets stuck.”
With a little pop it opened, and showed two tiny photographs, one on each side.
“My grandparents,” he explained, “the Lord and Lady Cole.”
She looked at them for a moment, then turned her head to look at him again, and saw what he was smiling.
“Oh yes, you’re sleeping with the aristocracy.”
She didn’t quite know what to say, and he elaborated.
“Everyone always focusses on my Dad and forget Mum, which is very silly of them. I’m actually second in line to the title, which makes me want to run out and get my Cousin Geoffrey married so he can sire some offspring asap.”
”So - you don’t want to be a Lord?”
His eyes twinkled, and he pulled her closer, softly stroking her back.
“Nope. I’m as much of a Lord as I’ll ever be, and that suits me fine. And actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if Aunt Emily has somehow barred me from succession... Ought to look in to that. Tomorrow. Right now I think sleep is what I need.”
She nodded and closed her eyes, contemplating what a lovely pillow his shoulder made.
Best boyfriend ever.
(And if she tried really hard maybe she could manage not to think about the fact that in two day’s time the holidays would start and they’d go visit his mum... Because that was a whole new level of daunting.)
Chapter 8.