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Alex had just intended to stop back in at his room, frustrated with everything that was going on at the school with all of the reporters and guests and overcrowding. It wasn't because he didn't like crowds or anything, oh no. In fact, Alex felt more comfortable around large crowds then he did when he was alone. It was the fact that these crowds were always trying to barrage him with questions, one's that he had answered time and time again, and he was too slow to get away from them.

Also he was a bit disgruntled about the library being barricaded off. No new books to read. This was not acceptable.

In any case, he had been spending far more time hiding out in a certain weremantis's room then usual, but was running out reading material over there as well, so a much debated trip back to his room was needed.

The fact that his pets also needed to be fed also factored in to this debate a little bit.

He was lucky in that most of the reporters seemed to be hanging out in different areas today, so the way from the monster dorms to the undead ones were mostly clear. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder, full to bursting with books that he would be returning to his room. His gaze was firmly fixed on the ground as he made his way to the dorm, not wanting to draw attention to himself by making eye contact with anybody. This was probably an inefficient way to deal with reporters who just didn't care and would be able to jump him unexpectedly, but the zomboil was sticking with it.

It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice calling his name that he even realised there was anybody near him. Well, as far as he knew, none of the reporters had even bothered to ask him his name, so it wouldn't be one of them. His gaze shot up from the ground and around to the source of the voice, only to spot a flash of purple hair and a scantily clad reaper ghoul.

Alex...was caught in a sudden state of awkward mental dilemma. Normally he would have had a ready smile for anybody who approached him. Normally he would be only too happy to have a familiar face to chat with. But Mitzi..the last time he had seen her, was on the beach during the trials, when he had yelled at her, blaming her for what happened with Yin. Was she here to tell him off? To apologize? Alex didn't want any apologies, he didn't want any awkward conversation. He just wanted to get rid of these books, get new ones, and get back to his boilfriend's room.

And so, he hesitated, giving her a sort of half smile that looked unsure and possibly a little worried, before answering.

"Ah..hi, Mitzi. What's up?"

Alex shifted back into movement as the ghoul walked beside him, his body tense as though if things went bad, he might be able to distract her and run. The fact that he was even considering trying to run was quite laughable, since after two steps he'd likely be sprawled out on the ground.

Seeing Alex try to run was like watching a baby learn to walk. It was quite pathetic, really.

"The hot springs." He said slowly. "To...chill.." He wanted to laugh, as it just sounded mildly absurd.

"Well..uh..have fun?" He was really really hoping she would just take off on her way. He was not in the mood for this. But no, she just got suddenly silent for a time, and the silence between them started to weigh down on him, making him feel like he should say something else. He was just about to open his mouth to do so when she said something, and his mouth snapped back shut.

Oh jack, she was really going to bring that up right now.

He wanted to say 'Look, it's not your fault, I know you were just trying to help,' to try and stop her before she could continue. He might not have believed what he was saying, not entirely, but if it would get her to move on and get over it, then he could maybe say what he had to.

Except that he couldn't do that. Even now, thinking back to it, at the devestation on Yin's face, at the way he just...wandered off into the ocean as though he just wanted to die..... It made Alex angry all over again, as much as he wanted to suppress it.

"What about it?" he almost snapped at her.

Great, he wasn't able to keep himself from sounding irritated, and now she was turning this into something bigger then it really was.

"You're not sorry, because you don't even understand what you did. This has nothing to do with him being my boilfriend. He's also my best friend, and if you had bothered to try and get to know him, or if you'd just, I don't know paid attention...." Alex just shook his head, completely dumbfounded by this ghouls lack of social understanding. Did she not notice how uncomfortable Yin got when she was around? Had she not had plenty of opportunity to bother to find out why that might be so? And then she had the gall to assume that Alex's reaction was born from jealousy rather then genuine concern for his bonded...

Wow.

"Jack, Mitzi just...I don't even know what to say to you right now that hasn't already been said once before. If you want my forgiveness, if you think a sweet smile and charming words are going to do the trick, then you're going to be sorely disappointed. You need to make things right with Yin, not with me. Good luck." He made as though to walk away from her then, fully expecting a retaliation but hoping she might just leave him alone.

And suddenly Mitzi got it, and knew exactly how Alex felt every jack damned time he somehow managed to upset Yin without knowing what it was he had done wrong. The difference? Alex never went and asked anybody for help with the situation. He figured it out for himself and managed to make things better, by himself. But here she was, pleading for an easy out, asking for Alex's advice.

Practically demanding it from him, if her tone of voice was any indication.

He shrugged her hand off of his arm, eyes suddenly narrowing. He had expected a retaliation, but not for her to grab a hold of him. "Honestly, Mitzi...I don't know how you can make it up to him. If you go anywhere near him, he'll probably run away. He won't want to see you, because it'll just remind him of what happened. Maybe if you weren't a ghoul, you'd be able to talk things out but.." He laughed, and it was a bitter sound. "If you weren't a ghoul, this wouldn't have been as big of a problem as it is."

Let her try and figure that one out. Maybe she could prove she wasn't a complete moron.

"As for understanding Yin...I can't help you." He really couldn't. All of the information the weremantis had given Alex about his culture, his background, the history of his kind...well, he knew that it wasn't information the weremantis wanted spread around. He knew that Yin had only really explained everything to him, and Alex wasn't about to betray the mantodae's trust by telling somebody that he barely knew, and was obviously quite upset about, things about them.

"Yin is probably afraid of you now. I don't know what you can do to make him not afraid of you anymore...except maybe..maybe if you had a boilfriend." He shrugged, because that would at least help Yin not be scared that Mitzi was going to 'chooose' him.

He'd still probably be mortified every time he looked at her though.

Alex's backpack was starting to slip off of his shoulder, so he shrugged it back up, then reached up to run his fingers through his hair, sighing. She seemed..defeated, like what he had said had completely thrown her and she had no argument left. That was certainly fine with Alex, who just wanted to get on with his day with as little drama as possible.

Though she was asking him if he could apologize to Yin for her, and his body tensed again, his posture straightening slightly as he gave her a hard, cold gaze. He was not her messenger boy, and he was not about to do her work for her. If she wanted to apologize, she was just going to have to find a way to do it, or wait long enough that Yin might not be as uncomfortable anymore.

He didn't tell her any of this, however, because he might feel different about it himself, given time, and so he just grunted his non-commitment. "He's...forgiven me for worse." He confessed, "But we are also best friends, above anything and everything else. The fact that he was willing to...to be something more with me after some of the things I've done...well, that just proves that it's possible things could be fine between the two of you someday. Given time." He emphasized the word time, because really, it could be a loooonnnng time.

He was about to walk away, and then he paused, her last words ringing in his head. He turned back to her again, voice cold as he said it "For now? Just leave him alone. That's what you can do for him, and for me. Just...stay away from him." Alex didn't want to see his boilfriend as broken as he had been that day at the beach ever again. Mitzi keeping her distance would definitely help with that.

Alex had to scoff inwardly. Did she really get it? Or did she just think Alex could apologize to Yin for her now and this might blow over in a few days, or even a couple of weeks? Maybe Alex was wrong, maybe Yin would be okay with her again sooner then he thought. But somehow...somehow he doubted it greatly.

So why was he still standing here, talking to the ghoul that had upset Yin as badly as she had? Well, there was really no reason to be. So, with a nod of his head, one that said 'good, I'm glad we understand each other.' he turned and began shuffling his way back up to the undead dorms, leaving the purple haired ghoul behind him.