Problem

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra hadn't ever been to Alex's place of work for many reasons. One of them being that he would be in a place filled with scantily clad ladies who might distract him from his sole purpose of being there. And another being that he might just get googly-eyed at his best friend as she performed.

Which was why he decided he would wait for her right at the end of her shift so they can just walk back to the dorms together.

He did, however, get very curious as to how she performed. Judging by what she usually told him, it would be tame. And it was a chance to see Alex in a dress. He paid for a soda and sat right at the back so Alex wouldn't see him and think he was going to make fun of her or something.

When Alex got on stage however, the surprise on his face was genuine and he wasn't entirely certain that what Alex had said about her performances were true. Yes, she was in a dress. But it looked like it belonged more on doll that was half her size. And the way she was moving about the stage like she commanded it, though intriguingly sexy, was definitely not something Ezra thought she would be comfortable with.

Even as she was walking off stage to thunderous clapping, Ezra sat there in silence, his jaw slightly dropped.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alexandra, as she was known, had been steadily gaining momentum as a performer at Dirty Little Secrets. While by no means a top draw, the tiny girl with the deceptively powerful voice's star was rising. After a few short weeks it seemed as though she had started to come out of her shell and blossomed into a commanding stage presence. Her timid, almost reluctant demeanor had suddenly melted away one night, revealing a confident performer who had no issues with delving into the more risque elements of her craft.

The revealing gold ensemble, complete with heels, was a far cry from the long, flowing gowns Alexandra had usually chosen. She moved about the stage with a previously unseen confidence, casting a flirtatious smirk to a patron here and there and even shimmying over to a chair to add her own provocative moves to the bridge of the song before finishing off her last performance of the night with a flourish.

And just as soon as the young woman, face lit up with a broad smile at the applause she exited the stage to stepped into the dressing room, the switch flipped off. She flushed a faint crimson at one of the directors offering her moderate praise and sheepishly went to change. There was no fanfare, no basking in the afterglow of what was, by far, her strongest performance on stage yet. Alex washed off her heavy makeup, pulled her hair out of its complicated bun and tugged on a simple pair of jeans to go along with a grey sweater that was far too large.

The long, lean figure waiting for Alex just outside the backstage entrance was a familiar one. "Hey!" She exclaimed, scampering toward Ezra, her sneakers thumping against the club's hardwood floor. She lunged at Ezra, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself off the floor in the process. He'd been the last person Alex talked to at school, just mere hours before, and yet she still greeted him like an excited puppy. "You ready?" She asked, settling her feet back onto the floor and peering up to Ezra. She didn't like to stick around the club much when it was going like this. She wasn't one for loud, crowded places.

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra couldn't stop staring at Alex even as she jumped on him with a hug. When she let go and looked up at him, he was still staring at her.

It wasn't a big deal. It shouldn't have been but seeing the way Alex moved about on stage and then seeing her bounding up to him like an overexcited little puppy, it was like seeing two completely different people.

"Uh yeah, of course." He slipped his hand around Alex's and walked out of the place without another word.

Once they hit the warm air outside, Ezra tugged at Alex's hand and cleared his throat. "So that...you do that every night?" He asked in what he hoped was a completely normal tone.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"That?" Alex's head tilted as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. She'd already taken Ezra's hand and allowed him to lead her out into the warm, night air. Her head shook as she gave a dismissive shrug. "Four nights a week until school starts. Then just two." She replied, utterly clueless as to the true nature of Ezra's question.

The persona of the girl who was not striding alongside Ezra, the hand that held his swinging merrily as she nearly skipped along the sidewalk, looked a far cry from the diva-like presence that had been on stage just a half hour prior. Gone was the makeup and fancy hairdo. The slinky, revealing gold ensemble had been replaced by jeans and Alex's father's old college sweater that was practically swimming in. There was nothing about the bounce to her step that displayed any trace of the vamping she'd done on stage.

"Oh!" It had taken a moment but it all had finally sunk in. Alex's mind tended to wander wherever it pleased with little regard to Alex's direction. It had just sunk in how different the performance Ezra had seen was from her description of her role in the show. "That was a first." She admitted as she turned a smile up to Ezra. "I used to be nervous, like, shaking when I went on but lately I've felt... good. More in control." She shrugged again and waved off the thought. She knew what had changed and what preparations she had to make before taking the stage and that was a conversation she wasn't intent on having tonight. "Why?" She asked. "Was it... too much?" Again she turned her eyes up to Ezra expectantly. His opinion mattered far more than most.

[Ezra Cooper]

He nodded quietly when Alex didn't seem to get what his question actually was. Or maybe she did, and she was trying to downplay it. He saw her practically every day, how did he not see the difference?

When it looked like Alex was getting it, Ezra turned her head slightly with his eyebrows raised. Okay, so she was saying she'd never done it before. But the way she moved on stage, it was like she was born on it. Admittedly, Ezra had been thinking with his little head the whole performance but now that he had fresh clean air in him, he was starting to see things that weren't exactly...Alex.

"Uhm..." Ezra turned his head just as she looked up at him. He didn't want her to see what he actually thought about it. It wasn't...bad. It was good. It was...really good. But had that really been Alex up there though?

"Uhm...what would you say was too much?"

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex frowned a little at the inquiry that came as a response to her question. She performed in a burlesque club, of all places. The lines between at and smut was a thin one. She didn't feel like her performance or stage persona had crossed any lines. After all, her legs were just about the only thing her ensemble had revealed and that was nothing new for her. It didn't cover any more or less than the shorts she wore for track or the skirt for cheerleading. She didn't think the little shimmies or hip shakes she used on stage were any more provocative than the ones found in a few of the more risque cheer routines either. It all wasn't adding up. Was Ezra upset? Did she go too far and simply didn't realize it?

"I don't... know?" She turned her gaze up to Ezra, concern touching her bright, expressive eyes. Alex studied her friend's features for a moment before continuing. "I want your opinion." She insisted, her voice soft as she gave Ezra's arm a gentle tug. Alex, much like most teenage girls in the world did care to a certain extent what other people thought of her. In the end she was usually able to shrug off any negativity and find her own way but she was in the presence of a young man who's words carried far more weight than just about anyone at the Academy.

[Ezra Cooper]

It didn't take much for Ezra to basically become a puddle of goo ready to be mashed into whatever Alex wanted him to be simply by using that tone and looking at him like that.

"I wouldn't say it was much but..." he reached a hand up to the back of his head and rubbed lightly. "I didn't know you could move like that." He chuckled, a little nervously. He knew her cheerleading moves were also a little risque at times but this had been a whole other level. He'd always seen Alex as a tumbler, not a dancer. Tonight opened his eyes, that's for sure.

[Alexandra Lawson]

"I guess I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" Alex replied, her tone dropping huskily as she peered up to Ezra with a playful, mischievous gleam dancing in her eyes. She could handle the night's performance being seen as a shock to Ezra. It wasn't as if she was any more of a dancer than she had to be as her role on the cheer squad did center mostly around tumbling and aerial acrobatics. Still, it was a necessary skill to keep her spot on the team. "Just because I never showed it, doesn't mean it hasn't always been there." She reasoned before a wave of sheepishness washed over her.

"Oh, god." She shifted closer to Ezra so she could bury her face into his arm. "You're making me self-conscious." She brought her free hand up to help shield herself from Ezra's gaze. Ezra had never made Alex feel bad about herself or anything she'd ever done but his thoughts on her mattered. He was the one she was most concerned about making uncomfortable and it, in turn, made Alex far more self-aware than she already was. "Just tell me I looked cute and didn't mess up and we can go get something to eat on the way back to campus. Okay?" And with that she dared tilt her head upward. One eye peeked curiously out to await Ezra's reaction.

[Ezra Cooper]

The drop in her voice was something even newer. Ezra was finding things out left and right about one of his oldest and dearest friend tonight and he wasn't entirely sure if he was liking how it made him feel.

But just as fast as it made him feel weird, the moment Alex practically buried herself in his side, Ezra was back to being the guy who may be in love with his best friend. The literal girl next door.

He pulled her close and gave a genuine laugh. "You were insanely cute and you so did not mess up." He reassured her and gave her a little squeeze. "Come on, up you go." He stopped them in the middle of the pavement and crouched down in front of Alex, patting his shoulder so she would get on.

[Alexandra Lawson]

A gentle smile turned upward toward Ezra before Alex buried her face into him again. She'd asked for the words to be spoken though he had done so with a genuine warmth that caused a flush of heat to touch Alex's cheeks. Compliments from others, as rare as they were, didn't seem to phase Alex much but the kinds words coming from Ezra went straight to her heart and caused a trace of sheepishness to emerge.

"Oh, Ezra, I love you." Alex practically purred like a kitten at Ezra's offer. "High heels are the worst thing ever." She gave a little hop and wrapped her arms around Ezra's shoulders. It was a comfortable position she'd found herself in many times before. The smile remained on her face even as her eyes closed and she went to settle her head against Ezra's shoulder. "My feet feel like they're broken." She whimpered. "How do other girls do it? Really? I don't get it." There was no playful banter or childlike glee to be found in this piggy back ride. The moment she got her arms around Ezra and he stood straight, Alex began to feel the aching exhaustion of the day creep into her tiny body. "Thank you." She murmured softly into Ezra's ear as he started moving again.

[Ezra Cooper]

Having been friends with Alex for a long time, Ezra learned to take her I love yous to mean how it would a sister saying it to a brother. He hadn't ever dared to think that it could be anything more. It was difficult to get disappointed when you didn't really have hopes for it to begin with.

He laughed at her remark about heels and let her climb on to him. "I'll take your word for it." He responded before pushing himself up, immediately sliding his arms under her knees to keep her steady. Her whining got him chuckling again before he shrugged. "I don't know, babe. They're all masochists at heart?" He posed the comment as a question, not knowing the answer, obviously.

At the thank you, Ezra tilted his head slightly towards Alex's and rubbed lightly. Whatever he saw in the club could not have been the sweet girl currently clinging on to him. He must have been seeing things. Yes. That was a perfectly logical reasoning.

"You wanna go straight back? We can call takeout."

[Alexandra Lawson]

"They are." Alex replied without missing a beat, though her tone was still flat and even. "They so are. They have to be." A thin smile touched Alex's lips as she felt Ezra's head gently touch her own. She leaned into the gesture, returning it with affection before settling her chin lightly into crook of Ezra's neck. She shifted some so she could get her arms further around his long, lean body and sighed contentedly. "I'm just wearing regular shoes next time." She weakly insisted, even though it was doubtful her choice of footwear would fit very well with her stage attire.

"Yes." Came the low, muffled response. Alex had little desire to be anywhere other than off her feet, preferably in bed, and watching something where a hockey masked psychopath notches an impressive body count. "Why do you always know the right thing to say at exactly the right time?" She asked, bring a hand up to help stifle a yawn. "You have a gift, Ezra." She cooed before giggling softly. "I would love it if we just went home."

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra let loose a guttural chuckle at her insistence, nodding his own acquiescence. "Regular shoes are the best shoes." He kicked one leg up, revealing his worn blue Chucks that had started to get frayed near the edges.

Nodding at her desire to go home, chuckling at her remark about his 'gift'. "I know right? I'm just really bummed it hasn't attracted a line of girls outside our dorm door. I thought you girls were all the rage for guys just like me?" He shrugged and walked the way back to school.

"You know, I should invest in a harness for you. Then maybe you could actually sleep." He teased a little.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex nodded in further agreement. She was hardly a tomboy and often enjoyed the more girly side of things but shoes were her Achilles heel. Almost literally. She simply could not get used to them. As it stood if she wanted to do anything other than simply walk from point A to point B there was probably a 50/50 chance she would at the very least stumble. And fall flailing to the floor at worst. How she was able to get through her performance earlier in the night without doing so was a miracle in its own right.

"If they're not, they're stupid." Alex murmured against Ezra's neck. She yawned again before pulling away just enough to be able to speak clearly. "What happened to that one girl that liked you?" She asked. "The cute one with the really dark hair? Haley, or something like that?"

[Ezra Cooper]

Ezra was glad Alex was on his back, she couldn't see his smile changing ever so slightly at her remark.

The reminder of the cute girl with the really dark hair made Ezra shake his head and laugh. "She didn't like me. Didn't I tell you, she liked Victor? She was only using me to get to him." Ezra chuckled and waved a dismissive hand.

"Go to sleep, Alex. I'll wake you up when we get food."