Love is a battlefield

 Alex was in a storm of sorts. He didn't think Eddie could fix it. Fashion was not a problem. It was just his/her brain needed fixing.

He/She wanted to text all of it to Eddie, but after the fifth text, Eddie said he'd talk to Alex at the pizzeria.

Yes, Alex's brain was on overdrive. This was just not supposed to be happening. He/She cringed at the thought that he might have a disease or was that an attention disorder.

"You still like Eric, don't you?" Eddie wanted to know when Alex brought over the iced tea at the back booth where they could talk in private. Naturally, no one was eating in the dining area.

"Of course, I do." Alex nodded. He/She said things were good with Eric. "But.." Alex winced hard, "It's just..things are so slow."

"What does that mean?" Eddie doctored up his tea with some artificial sweetener and squeezed the lemon in his tea.

"I don't know," Alex sighed. "He's really sweet. We hold hands." He/She nursed his bottom lip. "It's just I'm waiting for something big.." Alex sighed now, a little nervous.

"You need to think this through," Eddie looked Alex straight in the eye as if THEY needed to wake up. "If you just go for it with this guy you met at the coffee shop. I mean, you don't even know his name. You don't even know if he's even into you."

"Well, he smiled at me." Alex smiled as if that had to count for something.

"You think?" Eddie gave Alex a dead stare. "He might have been smiling at the girl behind you, or that he finally tied his shoes, or maybe it's some dumb TV show he saw on YouTube," Eddie told Alex maybe they should break up with Eric if Alex couldn't stop having these fleeting feelings with just anybody.

Alex nodded as if Eddie could be right, but he didn't want him to be. Oh, it was a rush of excitement in Alex's head. The guy was just so cool. If only they could just kiss. 

"It's like he's..he's Liv's twin. You know, if..if Liv were a man." There, he'd said it. Maybe it sounded stupid, but Alex sensed it. This guy could be so Liv. Alex knew it was wrong, but it made them dizzy at the thought. THAT GUY just might be his soulmate.

"Do you want Monkey Pox?"

"What?" Alex's eyes lit.

"They say it's going around, especially with men in full-on relationships."

"What?" Alex squinted as if they'd never heard of such matters.

"Strangers doing it with other strangers," Eddie told him HE better be careful.