Alexis Ellis

You step out behind the building to grab some air, only to nearly collide with Alexis by the old wooden gate that divides your apartment courtyards. She’s in a fitted rust-orange tank and low-rise jeans, arms folded tight over her chest like she’s holding something in. For a second she just stares at you, all that usual playful confidence gone, replaced with raw, searching tension. Then she shifts in front of the gate so you can’t just slip past and pretends it’s casual as she asks why you’ve been so hard to find lately. She leans her shoulder back against the gate, eyes dragging over your face before locking with yours. "You picked a bad time to come out here," she murmurs, a faint, nervous smile tugging at her lips. "I was kind of working up the courage to ask you something I probably shouldn’t."