He wasn't sure what he expected from this, this conversation, or interrogation, or whatever you called it. He felt on edge, defensive. Anxious. He wanted a drink more than ever, right now.
"I know. I just..." He fell silent, wishing that the right thens could be changed, but they couldn't. Not until he got his shit straight, anyway...
He hadn't expected her to ask about him, though. Well, not who he was. What he liked? What was important? Alex bit his lip, chewing thoughtfully.
"Who I am," he echoed softly. "I don't think anyone's ever asked me that." He gave her a wry look, then sat back, wrapped in his own arms, into the cozy chair. He thought about it. What was he like? What did he like?
"I like to read, and study. I like Potions, and Charms, and learning new things. I like to figure out how things work." He smiled then. "Kind of like my father, I guess. He figures out how things work, and makes them work another way..." Alex frowned. "But I don't care about that. I mean, about the pranks and jokes. The shop is great, but I like to figure things out and make them work better. I was really looking forward to learning to make Wolfsbane," he added softly, then fell silent again for a moment.
"I like to fly. It's amazing, quiet and loud all at once, and you can really get inside yourself."
He chewed at his thumbnail, then looked at her. "I'm not into Quidditch, like my family, and sometimes going to my grandmother's house where everyone is makes me feel crazy inside. It's so busy and ginger and loud. They all like the same things, and sometimes I wonder if I'm really a cabbage-patch baby or something. I don't look anything like my mother, but I guess I look like Dad. Well, or Uncle Fred, but I don't get that, either. They're twins. If I look like one, I look like them both. But they only ever say I look like Fred, then they get all weepy. I don't want to look like anyone but me, but I guess that's not okay anymore either..."