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Her eyes narrowed as he continued spouting off his big mouth. She gave him a smile before shoving him hard, "Fucker. I swear you were only born as punishment from the She Devil. Or maybe you were adopted at the same time because she knew you'd be a giant pain in my ass from the start."
She did, however, light up at the mention of an arcade. Pac-Man was a weakness that she hated he knew about. She couldn't be mad at him for much longer anyway. Alex grinned and hooked her pinkie through his again, yanking him in the right direction, "I'm gonna fucking crush you. Are you ready for this? Do you have tissues on you?"
Alex's eyes widened when he leaned in closer and gave way that she hadn't done a very good job at covering her tracks. She'd been shut off from the outside for long enough that she'd managed to avoid most hateful acts. Of course, she was tormented for being a robot by her own kind, but she'd never had anything harmful happen to her. She was lucky given the fact that she often caused a lot of problems for people.
She cleared her throat and felt her face burning, "I really need to work on a way to make it look like I'm doing something that's fixing it. Or a better cover story. Like, 'oh would you look at that, I just have a magic touch.' That'd work right?" Alex laughed unsure of herself. More often than not, she only went out to meet with people she knew. It was always odd for her to talk to someone who wasn't aware of her personality flaws.
Her eyes lifted to his and she stared at his outstretched hand when he introduced himself. She took it hesitantly and tried to smile like she was used to shaking someone's hand. "Alex Harper, college student and tech whiz," Her title didn't sound quite as good as his. Nor did she have the accent to make it better. "I'm really glad I could help, uh, even if I was being totally nosy," She laughed again.
Alex buried her face in his shoulder and shook her head, there was no moments of cuteness between them. Not if they could help it. Most siblings could say that they loved each other and that they were happy to be part of the other's life, but not them. It wasn't that they didn't feel it, but they'd built up their own language more or less of insults that doubled as affectionate remarks.
With all that implied, Alex never took the time to question whether he cared about her or not, but that didn't mean he couldn't ditch her. All he needed was to meet a nice girl that loved him outwardly and she was certain that she'd fall to the wayside. She'd blame her overactive mind on the way she reveled in what few affectionate moments they had. There was always a chance that she'd never get to hug him again and for the longest time, she'd wondered if it was possible for him to be permanently taken away from her because of his condition.
Pulling away, she punched him in the arm, "You're an asshole, you know I hate it when you do that."
"Oh Em, you really know the way to my heart. No people, ever. Heaven," Alex could cheers to that. If only she had a fool proof way of getting rich quickly. Sure, she was great with computers, but that didn't quite lead her to a career path. It was cheating if she got a job to fix them, since she barely even needed to touch it. And she was pretty sure she could get rich hacking into plenty of things, but she also liked not living in a cell. Besides, if she ended up in jail, no one would be there to watch out for Sam.
Her nose scrunched at the term fancy and she nodded, "I don't blame you, dude. Fancy chicks are either into really cool and kinky stuff, or they're prudish and snobby. I grew up around that hell, it's not usually worth getting involved with." She had never looked back at that life that she almost had. In fact, she couldn't even stomach thinking about herself in some fancy get up.
"Hell. Yes. Fuck 'em straight to Hell," Alex lifted her glass before tilting the rest of the contents back into her throat. She set the glass back on the bar and made a little hoot of excitement. "This is why we're friends."
Alex felt her lips twitch at his joke and she nodded, "Actually, yeah. But I have an acute sense of when someone is about to shake their laptop violently." She'd seen it one too many times and heard the echoes of frustration that came from the devices as they were being shook or poked at repeatedly. Anything to get the voices in her head to quiet down, she was willing to do.
"I'm okay, I had a drink already, and it's really no trouble." Especially as she just needed to tap into her freaky-deeky magic and it would turn on without much trouble. Under her fingertips she could feel it starting to hum and her eyes glazed over as she stared at the screen. It was always weird fixing the computer without actually taking it apart. All she had to do was touch it and it told her the rest. After the brief conversation she had with his computer, she pressed the power button and felt it breathe as if in relief.
Alex blinked and cleared her throat, suddenly aware that she'd just done that in front of someone who could easily have been a mutant hater. "I think the power button was just jammed," It was a poor attempt at cover, but it was all she could think in the moment. Once the screen came back up asking for his login, she slid off of the chair she'd claimed and turned it back to him, "Your work should, uh, should still be there."
She had to try her best to play it off. It was a silly crush, nothing worth exerting effort towards. "'Like' is a strong word, 'noticed' is probably a more accurate depiction. And it's only because he was attractive. He could be a total freak for all I know, he's been gone long enough without any explanation." She just accepted that he joined a cult and got out before they started sacrificing human body parts. Although, her mind was a messed up place, so it probably wasn't actually that.
Alex lifted her shoulders and dropped them heavily, "I'm just going to wait ever so patiently for my sugar mama or daddy to find me. I'll shake my goodies for money and then I can retire on the west coast or something." That was the life she was meant to live. On a private island, with few technological devices and an endless supply of Jack Daniels. "Sounds way better to me than developing any kind of feelings, whatever those are." She laughed and took another drink.
"But don't let my fantasy derail you. You better be putting the moves on that lawyer. She could actually be your sugar mama for all we know."
She appreciated his sarcasm once again and found herself smiling a little easier. She was terrible at small talk, honestly, she hardly paid any mind to those around her. Typically their devices gave away what little information she cared to use or know, but in this case she had nothing to go on. Therefore, she was stuck searching for things to talk about.
"Please," She responded to the drink question first, for obvious reasons. What was she supposed to say in response to how she's been? Hidden away from the world, looking after her sickly brother to make sure his heart didn't burst while also trying to maintain her own sanity from all the voices that swirled around in her head. But, really, all she could say was, "I've been okay. School, ya know. Still trying to figure adulthood out. So far all I've learned is that Jack is my best friend and beer doesn't cut it."
Alex shrugged, there was really nothing else for her to say about her current situation. "Also that I can't stand to drink at home alone, it's really depressing."
She stuck her tongue out and poked his stomach, "But I'm your idiot, Sammy. And you're stuck with me forever. Sorry not sorry." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. At least, if it were up to her, he'd be stuck. While he worried about socializing and his ability, she worried that he'd leave her behind once he was okay. It was never voiced, but she was pretty sure that he knew it was in the back of her mind every day.
When his arm locked around her neck she cringed, "God dammit, Sam. Not cool! Let me go you dweeb, before I flip you over and break you in half." Which would not take much, he was so skinny. When she found that his hold loosened, she turned into him and hugged him, "I hate you." Which was obviously the biggest lie she could ever tell, but after years of saying it, it had translated into a much different meaning. It was probably the only way she even knew how to tell him that she loved him despite his dweebishness.
Alex laughed, "That's a given. Nobody tops you in my book." She always had liked that they played off of each other, it was the only friendship she had that she felt comfortable saying what was on her mind rather than thinking she needed to tiptoe. Not that she ever tiptoed anyway, but that was also why she didn't have many friends.
Her face fell a bit with Emmett's encouragement. She so didn't agree that she could capture anyone's attention. The very hate crime that happened to Emmett had been her whole life summed up. It was why she had no family, the reason she distanced herself from others. It was one thing to be a mutant, but it was another to not be able to push past basic human interactions. It was so cut and dry with Alex that she often wondered if she'd ever be able to connect with anyone on a serious level.
Someone who wasn't her brother.
"I haven't, I mean, I couldn't. Odds are he's already locked down by some blonde bombshell that would try to claw my eyes out or something." Based on movies she'd seen, it always seemed like the nice guys fell for the psychos and vice versa.
It was kind of terrible, the reason that Alex frequented coffee shops. More often than not, it was to mess with people and she could typically always tell who it was that deserved it. The people who were rude to the baristas, the ones raising their voice on the phone for no reason whatsoever. She was like a vigilante that no one knew about, although her ways of protecting people were a little unorthodox and probably not for the best.
On rare occasions, however, she found that she could be useful in a way that wasn't tormenting. The sudden voice that bubbled into her mind was the only reason she even knew what was going on. There was always a sort of tinny undertone to an electronic devices voice when it came to her. All she heard was 'Yeah, shake me, that'll really make me want to work. You're a real computer whiz.' Her hand covered her mouth quickly to keep from laughing and she cleared her throat before bringing her cup of coffee to her lips.
She knew she shouldn't laugh, it wasn't his fault that his computer decided to throw a tantrum, they were typically over-dramatic anyway. Alex took a moment before she stood up and walked over, "Uh, hi, sorry to bug you. I just saw that you're computer shutdown and thought I might be able to help? I'm kind of good with electronic devices."
Alex could feel her smile widening when he received her words well. Her eyes watched the way he rubbed his jaw where the new scruff he'd grown was and she nearly missed everything else in his answer. He looked better with facial hair, she decided. It fit the new look he had going for him, but she pressed the glass to her lips before she could say so. At least she still had some of her filter left.
Averting her eyes, she glanced over her shoulder and chewed on her lower lip. Her face felt hot, but she didn't feel embarrassed and she couldn't tell if it had anything to do with the alcohol because she hadn't even drank that much. She looked back at him when he said that he appreciated her compliment and she smiled, "Well, I mean, yeah. You're welcome." She looked down at the glass and tapped her finger against it.
"So, how's life been? Obviously you're doing well working at a hot spot like this, yeah?" Alex lifted her eyes again.
"Seize that opportunity if it's presented to you, man. Not that I think you wouldn't," She smirked. Alex could use a hot lawyer, or a sexy nurse? Something. She just needed a solid distraction from the shit show that her life was. Anything to get her out more and away from Sam so that he could do the same. Neither of the Harper twins had been given much chance to grow. They were so confined from the time they were born and onto their training years. "I'm going to live vicariously through you."
Alex chewed on her lower lip and tried to find words that described the bartender. "He's like a golden retriever except scruffier, a little rough-looking. Blonde, easy-going yet somehow incredibly rigid. I think he went into the army or something," She shrugged and took another drink. As she described him, she couldn't help but sort of smile. Evan was such a golden retriever, she never noticed until then.
"Anyway, he's basically the only pretty face on my radar right now. 'Cept for you of course, Emmmm," She waggled her eyebrows and snorted.
The encouraging answer from Emmett made Alex crack a smile. That was one of the things she'd liked best about her. Emmett put up with Alex's uncontrollable rambling and picked out the more important parts of it. That, and she knew what it really was that Alex was worrying about in all of the words that were thrown together. She nodded and tried to keep her mouth shut while Emmett went on to finish the rest of what Alex had asked.
"Mother fuckers! Did you find out who did it?" Alex was ready to fight them if she did. Although, she knew she was good for a punch or two if nothing landed on her, but she was otherwise pretty useless in a physical fight. She shook her head in frustration herself, "If you need any help getting it cleaned up, Sam and I will come over and help you out. People are so fucked. They just need to pop a xanax and calm the fuck down." She could feel heat crawling up her neck at the words hate crime. It was so typical of people. Wasn't Oregon supposed to be a safe space?
On the up side, the lawyer, made Alex snicker, "That's killer, dude. You gonna try to tap it once the case is settled?" Her eyebrows waggled before she gave the bartender a nod when he dropped off the drinks. She took a sip and it reminded her of the only pretty face she'd seen, "I ran into Evan Smoak the other night, d'you remember him?"
The dreaded question of what she'd been up to made Alex's face scrunch up. Other than locking herself in her room to play video games, trying to quiet the voices in her head and babysitting her brother, there wasn't much to tell. "Same shit, different days. Sam's trainer has been trying to get him out of his comfort zone, talking to people, socializing to see if it's going to make his heart explode. So I've been kind of doing the same thing, except with devices and shit. I hate modern technology, it's so loud." Her fingers reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose and she shook her head. Her life was not all that exciting and she realized her rambling had been pretty Debby Downer-ish.
"How about you, dude? How's things going with the garage? I bet you meet hella people right? Man, I wish I knew jack shit about cars, but cars are so different from computers and phones," She began to ramble again. "Like, pretty soon, I'm going to have to worry about cars though, right? With the advances and shit happening." Alex groaned against the lip of the bottle she held up to her face.
If she could just forget her ability for a moment, she knew that she'd relax, but even with the alcohol, her mind was going a mile a minute. Maybe she needed something stronger. She waved down the bartender and ordered a double of Jack. "You want anything?"
