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Fez would say he doesn’t really know why he’s at this party, but he’d be lying. It’s the same reason he goes to most parties: the need to sell. If there’s another, secret reason, a reason that has his eyes darting around the room, well, that’s his business.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t bored, though. He’s sitting back, almost fully horizontal on the couch, with his cup almost empty. He could go refill it, but he doesn’t want to get that drunk that quickly. It’s early.
People mill about the room, moving half-heartedly to the bass pumping through the speakers. It’s not bad music, he has to admit. At least the party has that going for it.
Just as he has the thought, the music cuts out for a second, like whoever’s phone was connected to the speaker has walked a bit too far. The heavy bass is replaced with the buzz of conversation. His heart stutters as he hears a familiar voice. He can’t tell where it’s coming from at first, has to look around a bit, but then he spots her. She’s leaning against the wall, half-hidden by this couple making out aggressively in the middle of the room. A half-empty Gatorade bottle hangs loosely by her side.
Lexi Howard.
Here’s the thing about Lexi. Fez knows better. Mouse’s death haunts him like a ghost, and when his high wears off and he’s left alone with his thoughts, his brain nearly explodes with all the possible things that could go wrong. Protect Ash. Stay out of trouble. Keep Ash out of trouble. Hope Faye doesn’t overdose before she and Custer get to be together again.
But he can’t remember ever feeling like he did when she came into the store, bright lipstick and a bright smile, like he got some kind of electric shock. Even just seeing her tugs at the edge of his mouth; he has to stop himself from smiling like a goof.
He meant it, when he said talking to her was one of the best parts of his whole year. There was something in the slow way she opened up, how she looked away when she said something smart, like she didn’t want you to know she knew it was smart.
How her face gave away nearly every one of her thoughts.
She made him laugh.
The urge to see her again had been like a constant itch. And now here she was. Just across the room.
Fez still remembers the hum of possibility that filled his chest when he was talking to her at New Year’s. Right now, that feeling clogs his throat. That night, they had migrated closer and closer as the night progressed, like he couldn’t stop being pulled into her orbit. He feels like that now; he’s leaning forward in his seat.
Needless to say, he’s thought about her a lot.
When she came to the store he was so floored he barely knew what to say, what would be enough to convince her to stick around just a little longer, just so he could hear her laugh again. Before Cal Jacobs crashed the fucking party.
Ugh. What a family of assholes.
He couldn’t help but wonder, when she came to the store just seconds before Jacobs showed up. When he’d asked if Lexi had told him who he was.
Fez has the feeling she’s more than everyone takes her for, and all he wants is to peel back all her layers.
Metaphorically, that is.
Okay, maybe literally too. Sue him! She looks good, especially tonight. Her hair is pulled to one side, exposing the long line of her neck. She’s wearing a dress that stops just by her knees - it’s a kind of style that probably has a name, but it’s not like that’s something Fez would know. All he does know is that it looks seriously Lexi.
He wonders if it means something, that he already feels like he has this sense of who she is. Now all he has to do is go talk to her.
The music starts up again, halfway through a different song, and he takes it as a sign. He pushes himself off the couch and weaves between people, slowly side-stepping the movements of the crowd.
“Lexi Howard,” he says, and he can’t help smiling. He likes saying her name, the way it tastes on his tongue. He’s caught her by surprise, he can tell in the flicker of her eyelashes. But then she grins, wide, and warmth spills inside his chest.
“Hi!”
All his attention is on her, drinking her in, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees her sister immediately turning to talk to someone nearby. Good. He gets her all to himself.
He gestures to the party around them. “You havin’ a good time?”
She scrunches her nose a little bit. She really is adorable. “Kinda? I always feel at parties like this there’s something I’m missing. Like a joke I’m not really in on. Does that make sense?”
There it is, that Lexi Howard honesty. It’s like she can cut to the core of what everyone else is too much of a bullshitter to say. Fez has always been an outsider at these parties, no matter how he’s treated. “Yeah, I get you. It’s like, they’re all in a movie, and you’re just watching.”
She looks at him almost strangely when he says that - not like he’s surprised her, but there’s something else.
“Honestly, the only time I feel like I actually had fun at one of these kind of parties was - was New Year’s,” she says, kind of smiling down at her feet. She says it like she’s telling him a secret.
“Yeah,” he says. “I feel you.”
“So, how are you? With the whole, um, Cal Jacobs thing?”
Cal fuckin’ Jacobs.
He shrugs one shoulder. “It’s all cool. I should’a just stayed out of that Jacobs family shit, it’s none of my business.”
“Do you mind me asking what happened?”
“Yo, trust me, you do not wanna know what’s going on in that family.” Seriously.
Thankfully, she takes him at his word. “I’m sorry about not giving you a heads-up about… all that. You deserved to know he was … digging around.”
“Is what it is. Comes with the territory.”
She nods. “Right, of course.”
That’s the other thing about Lexi. She knows who he is. She knows who he is, knows what his life looks like. And she’s still here, leaning against the wall, looking at him like there’s no one else she’d rather talk to. His chest is tight.
“So what’s going on with you? I feel like you’re the kind of girl who’s like, really busy with school, right?”
Lexi visibly perks up. “Oh, I’m actually putting on this play I wrote. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before, I’m pretty excited.”
She runs a hand through her hair, and for a second his eyes track the movement, the way her hair slips past her knuckles. His fingers itch.
“I don’t know, you’ll probably think it’s lame.”
“There you go again. I was hopin’ you were gonna move past this shit, Lexi.” He can’t help teasing her, just to see a slight glow of pink on her cheeks. But another part of him can’t help wondering how she got like this - always putting herself down. Fez has seen some injustice in his life, but the fact that Lexi Howard doesn’t think she’s the best thing to walk into any room? It’s up there.
“You’re right. Sorry,” she half-laughs, and he’ll take it. “So, um, it’s this play about these two sisters, but it’s really about one of them. Because, it’s like - ”
Lexi starts explaining her play to him, and it lights her up. It’s so clearly something she’s passionate about, and he could listen to her forever. She talks with her hands, like just words aren’t enough. He catches himself almost staring at her hands, thinking about reaching out and intertwining their fingers. That’s not really a train of thought he can go down right now.
She says something he can’t hear, so he has to interrupt.
“Wait, say that again?” He takes the chance to step a little closer to her, angling his ear slightly towards her.
“Oh, just that, um, it’s semi-autobiographical. ‘Cause, you know what they say! Write what you know, or whatever.”
He looks at her, furrowing his eyebrows a little. “But what about like … people who write about dragons and shit? They don’t fuckin’ know dragons.”
She laughs, looking away for a second. “I don’t know. I guess they’re better writers than I am.”
“Nah, I don’t believe that shit for a second.”
He’s close enough to see her cheeks warm, and it feels like a personal victory. He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, standing by the wall, just talking. He lights up a couple times, but he doesn’t go to get any more drinks - he doesn’t want to lose her in those brief moments it would take to fill up his cup.
He’s laughing at some dumb joke she made when he thinks to himself, this is one of the best nights he’s had in a really long time.
Until Kat Hernandez appears at Lexi’s shoulder. “Hey, Lexi,” and then, a second later, “Hey, Fez.”
Fez nods. Kat turns her attention to Lexi.“Cassie has, like, had a breakdown in the bathroom, so we’re gonna get a ride home. You good to go?”
Lexi blinks. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Just give me a minute?”
Kat nods, then heads for the door. Fez tries to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach.
Lexi looks regretfully over her shoulder. “I guess I gotta go.”
He nods, slowly. He actually got to talk to her again - that’s more than he ever really hoped for. He doesn’t think he’ll ever really get all the Lexi he wants, but this can be enough. At least for now.
But before that thought can settle, she takes a step towards him, and kisses him quickly on the cheek. He feels like he’s been struck by lightning.
“Bye, Fez,” she says, biting her lip. She turns away, and goes to follow Kat’s retreating figure.
Holy shit.
Why the fuck does a motherfucking kiss on the cheek have him rooted to the spot, like some damn thirteen year old?
His brain catches up to the rest of him just as she disappears through the door, and almost subconsciously, his feet start following her. He bumps into people in the crowd, distracted. It’s like his mind is totally fogged over.
Luckily, she’s just pulling on her jacket when he catches up to her, alone in the hallway. His shoes scuff on the floor, and she looks over, and there it is again - surprise, flickering in her eyes. He doesn’t think he imagines the dusting of pink on her cheeks.
“Wait a second,” he says. She blinks those beautiful eyes at him. Almost like he can’t stop himself, he takes a few steps toward her. This close, he can feel the warmth radiating from her. This close, he doesn’t have any nerves, just this confident calm. He leans a little closer, and her eyelids flicker closed. He kisses her.
He only means for it to be one quick kiss, just so she knows… So she knows. But when he’s about to pull back, her arms come up behind his neck, keeping him close. He settles his hands at her waist, relishing in the softness of the fabric of her dress between his fingers. Her lips are soft, a little dry. She kisses him again, and again.
Obviously, it comes with the territory, but Fez has taken his fair share of drugs, meaning he’s experienced his fair share of highs.
But nothing compares to this. Lexi, warm and insistent, a little inexperienced, pressing her lips against his. The scrape of her fingernails against his scalp as he pulls her towards him, the press of her chest against his. This moment feels almost unreal; he’s glad he has her there, anchoring him to the present.
Finally, he pulls back, and her smile lights up her whole face. He feels it in his chest. He steps away, because he knows people are waiting for her.
“Bye, Lexi,” he says, and he knows he’s smiling too. She gives him a small wave, before disappearing out the door. He stands still for a little too long, looking after her.
In the back of his mind, he hears his gr andma’s voice. “ Don't ever fall in love, it's the one instinct that you can't trust.” This is dangerous. He knows it is. But doesn’t he deal with danger on a daily basis?