Author's Note: In this oneshot Alex is sixteen, I suppose it's AU as it doesn't see to fit with Scorpia Rising.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider, etc.

When Snake finds him, he's sitting just inside the door. Snake doesn't know what's eating Cub up inside, he doesn't know about the last two years this agent has spent forgetting what it's like to feel unafraid. Snake hasn't heard about the suicidal missions ordered by MI6 on a sixteen year old boy. Snake doesn't know any of this and Alex isn't going to be the one who tells him.

"…coming to dinner? " Snake waits expecting an answer, and then "Cub? … Hey, Cub!" Alex starts to hear his name.

Snake wonders vaguely that Cub can be so lost to the world.

"Sorry"

"You alright?"

"Shouldn't I be?" Cub seems rather bemused at this. Indeed Snake doesn't have a reason why he should, but all the same…

"It's just... You had this really angry look on you face"

"Oh, sorry" Cub is looking sheepish now. Snake can't help feeling that maybe he's missing something.

"You don't need to be sorry" Snake expects that Cub knows this already, "You're sure you're alright?"

"I must not smile much; I get people asking me that all the time"

"Is that so?" somehow he's not convinced.

"Yeah, complete strangers even. I remember being on a bus when suddenly this woman comes out of nowhere, starts getting on me about the same thing" Cub smiles, as if trying to prove to Snake that he really can.

Alex remembers this conversation; he had only been a spectator at the time. Snake doesn't know that though, in fact he seems to find the tale quite amusing.

"I told her I was fine" Cub continues, "but by then she was telling me about how her husband had said the same thing to her, apparently he killed himself a month later. She just kept talking at me, I couldn't get away until finally she got off the bus."

"she was probably American"

Alex considers this for a moment, thinking of the way Jack always hated cooking. When he gets to his feet he's grinning.

"She was carrying a McDonald's bag when she got on" he concedes.

Now Snake is grinning too, perhaps it's the mention of food that reminds him.

"Cub we need to be in the mess, were missing dinner" and both of them unwilling to forgo the last meal of the day, make there way out of the cabin hoping they're not too late.

The best lie is the one that is made up of many truths.

Of course Alex isn't alright, but Snake doesn't know that.

Author's Note: This story is really just practice for writing dialog. Something that has often seemed particularity difficult to me in the past. If any one has any suggestions or comments about it (or anything else really) feel free to review.

Also in case any one was wondering when I used Alex's name instead it was usually mentioning or alluding to something that Snake wouldn't have known (just as Snake only knows Alex as Cub) If that didn't seem clear in the story or caused confusion in any way feel free to let me know about that too.