1A/N
I know this is out of season, but it's been sitting around on my computer for ages and I figure hey, why not be a rebel, everyone else is going to be posting this kind of thing months from now and I can get a step ahead of the same. Huzzah for the wrong holiday:)
Four marriage proposals, three messy break ups, and a total of seventeen over the top couples intent on making everyone around them sick. Alex groaned. She'd only been working for two hours so far with three more to go till the end of her shift, and already the Valentine's Day madness at the resteraunt was getting to her.
The man at table three flagged her down to refill his water glass, and she did so smiling gracefully at him and his date. As she moved away he gulped down all the water she'd just poured and suddenly stood up.
"Amanda, we've been together for three years now, and I just wanted to say I love you." Then he got down on one knee. Alex plastered a smile onto her face and stood with the rest of the staff watching them. "Will you be my wife?"
The whole resteraunt cheered when she said yes, tears in her eyes. Alex groaned inwardly. Valentine's Day was nothing more than an excuse for people who had someone they loved to rub it in the faces of people who didn't.
She idly cleared a table for new guests, teenagers this time, no marriage proposals at least.
Sam was probably having a great day out with her boyfriend. Alex sighed. Her well-adjusted roomate was much better at dealing with people. Why couldn't she be the one giving out congratulations to strangers?
She sighed again and pasted her smile back on as she sat the teenagers and asked for their order. It was going to be a very long four hours.
OoooO
"I've told you time and time again, I don't like Valentine's Day!" Sammy protested as Richard led her into the resteraunt. He'd shown up unexpectedly as Alex was getting ready to go to work, and since he was there she couldn't just tell him to go away.
Richard just grinned at her. "Of course you do! Everybody likes Valentine's Day."
"I don't. Alex doesn't."
"Because we should base the world off of things that Alex likes." He said with an air of distaste.
Sam frowned. She knew Alex and Richard didn't care for each other, but that was no excuse. "I said I don't like it too." Her voice was cold.
Richard turned and saw her face. He winced. "I'm sorry hon, I didn't mean to insult you. Come on! Let's just have a good time tonight."
They were seated quickly and given menus to look over. The resteraunt was a cozy little Italian place, perfect for a romantic dinner for two. Although lately in her mind Richard and romance were different subjects entirely. Sam sighed as she gazed absently at the menu.
"So what're you getting?"
Richard's voice startled her. She glanced at the menu quickly. "The ravioli sounds good."
"Yeah, I was thinking about getting that."
The conversation trailed off. She and Richard had only been dating for a few months, but Sam felt already that their relationship had begun to wind down. They had nothing to talk about. He would start talking about the new sports season coming up and she pretended to listen, or she would start to rave about the latest fantasy novel she'd picked up and he zoned out or gave her his disapproving look.
And now it was Valentine's Day.
Ice skating had been fun, and dinner was good. They made small talk as they ate, but Sam knew it wasn't going anywhere. Everything was fine though, at least until the waitress brought the check.
Richard took out his wallet and Sam grabbed hers. He frowned. "I'm paying tonight, it's Valentine's day!"
"I can pay for myself, I don't mind." Sam said, knowing it would only spark an argument but almost hoping for it at the same time. "Please Richard, don't cause a scene."
He frowned again and let her pay half of the bill.
OoooO
Alex stumbled through the door of the apartment and barely made her way to the couch before collapsing. She groaned as she stretched out, letting the stress of the long day melt away.
She lay there for a few minutes, then forced herself to stand and stagger to her room. She pulled out a pair of pajama pants from one of several baskets of clean laundry that hadn't quite made their way to a drawer and slipped them on.
Stumbling back into the living room she dropped down onto the couch again. A glance at the clock showed it was only ten thirty. Sam probably wouldn't be home for another two or three hours, if she came home at all. Alex sighed and closed her eyes, contemplating taking a short nap.
She woke to the sound of the door opening, and looked at the clock again. Eleven twenty-three. She didn't move as Sammy closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Alex heard her friend sigh tiredly.
"Long day out with lover boy?" She mumbled, still half asleep.
Sam laughed bitterly. "You have no idea." She sighed. "Let's just say that after today Richard and I will no longer be a thing of this world."
"Oh? You finally realized he's annoying?" Alex said, waking up now. "How bout that sappy Valentine's stuff, hmm? Don't you like that?"
Sam glared from the doorway. Alex smiled innocently.
"Isn't it just great that I get all of that when you're the one who wants it."
"Hey, I hate Valentine's Day!"
Sam snorted. "No matter how often you say that I know what you want."
The jovial mood suddenly dropped as Alex sat up and hugged her knees to her chest, frowning and staring into the air. Sam walked over to the couch.
"Oh come on Alex. You need to get over this."
"Get over what?" Alex replied absent mindedly.
Sam rolled her eyes and walked over to the shelf holding their movies. She pulled several down from the shelf and threw them onto the side of the couch Alex wasn't occupying. Her roommate glanced at them curiously, then smiled.
"That's your solution?"
"Hey, it releases tension."
"Sam, I'm not watching The Lion King on Valentine's Day."
"That was a one time thing."
"You did this on purpose."
Sam whistled innocently. "It's not my fault you chose to confess your first crush at the perfect moment for sweet irony."
"He turned me down to the sound of Can You Feel the Love Tonight. How bad can it get." Alex moaned.
"Alex, you were sixteen."
"So?!"
"Just watch the movie."
"No."
"Fine."
The room was silent for a moment. Sam checked the time, eleven thirty-one.
"There's still twenty-nine minutes left of Valentine's Day."
Alex sighed. She threw another movie from the pile at Sam, who caught it and laughed. Gladiator. As she put the movie in she raised an eyebrow at Alex. "Sooo…in the mood for violence? Why's that you suppose?"
The pillow Alex threw hit her straight on in the face. They glared at each other until the opening music started to play. Sam dropped onto the couch next to Alex.
Alex couldn't help but think that this was the way to spend Valentine's Day. Watching violent movies late at night and resenting whatever messed up gene in the human body caused that stupid, defective emotion called love.