This is a one-shot but, I may or may not do a chapter story using this as a prequel. Let me know in a review whether you want just a sequel or a full story, please and thank you! Your opinions are much appreciated and, while flames will be read, I will also roast marshmallows on them. I honestly don't know where this came from. Enjoy!
Key- Flashback, Thoughts
Disclaimer; Do I look like Antony Horowitz? I am a girl, for one and two, this is FAN fiction… Duh!
Flaws; We all have them. Some people though, need a nudge in the right direction to realise that flaws are something that make us human.
Alex Rider was considered perfect by some, and a criminal by others. But he knew that no one was perfect. That was why four words kept swirling around in his head: We all have flaws.
He was cycling home from school on a Wednesday afternoon when those four words once again entered the forefront of his mind; they had plagued him since the previous Saturday, ever since he had met the girl in the park.
He had just gotten out of the bank after talking with the heads of MI6 about a possible threat from SCORPIA. If the threat was alleviated any further then action a severe course of action would have to be taken. Even worse though, was that his entire school was the target. His bullet wound twitched as he thought of the international criminal organisation.
Of course he had been thinking about a lot of things as he passed the park and, as it had been a wonderfully sunny day, had sat under a tree with decent shading to think about his life since being forced into working for MI6. He had been confused about something though; when he got the call he was expecting a mission. He had sighed and moaned and told himself he would refuse.
You would think that he would have relieved it wasn't a mission. Except…he wasn't. He had had his usual reluctance before entering the Royal and General but upon leaving, had had an epiphany.
He liked being a spy, when he had a choice. He had realised he wanted to carry on being a spy, but only if he was treated as an official agent.
Being so deep in thought, he had unconsciously allowed his guard to slip, so he had been taken completely by surprise by the bell like female voice that interrupted his thinking…
He smiled fondly as he remembered his reaction, her reaction to his reaction and their resulting conversation…
Did he really want to work for the people who constantly used him for their own gain? They had taken away all sense of normalit-
"Hi there" came a beautiful bell like, surprisingly American voice from a few feet to his right.
He would forever deny jumping about a foot in the air in surprise.
He looked over, seeing a girl around his own age looking down at him. Her whole face was alight in amusement; in the slight upturned curve of her painted-bright- red lips, glinting whole heartedly in her unusually and startlingly blue-and-silver eye, accented by the dark eyeliner, mascara and smoky eye shadow combo. She was wearing black skinny jeans with electric blue pumps and a grey tank top that had "Sarcasm- The Body's Natural Defence Against Stupid People" printed on it in purple print. She wore emerald green jewellery, a necklace, bracelet and earrings. Her hair was unusual, in that it was midnight black and knee length with rainbow coloured tips. A full fringe framed her face.
His assessment was complete in a matter of seconds. She caught his eye and grinned, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. "Let's start again shall we?" she asked, still smiling widely. He found himself smiling back and he nodded in agreement. They were silent for a moment before she started, "You looked lost, I thought I'd come say hi" she looked at him.
"I wasn't lost" he stated in a confused tone before realisation dawned on her face. "Oh! Sorry about that! I meant lost in thought"
From there they had talked about school and other inconsequential subjects. They had gotten up and walked to a Costa Coffee shop nearby for a drink- tea for her, coffee for him. It had started to get chilly as the usual grey of the clouds moved over the sun. He knew he should be more wary, but his instincts had never been wrong before and they told him he could trust the mystery girl explicitly. He had, for some reason brought up how he felt that everyone close to him thought he was perfect or doing something dodgy. He had been surprised by her reaction.
She was looking at him with a strange expression on her face- Sympathy. "I know how that feels trust me kiddo. But just remember that no one is perfect, and that's not a bad thing; At least not always. Our imperfections make us, who we are. Give us our own identities and personalities. We learn to deal with these imperfections in different ways, learning more about ourselves in the process. We all have perfections, Alex. You're only human after all" she smiled at him and picking up her on the shoulder New York bag, had started to walk away.
"Wait!" he called after her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, "Will I ever see you again? I mean, I would love to have another chat sometime" he asked hesitantly, remembering that she had an American accent. She smiled, "Sure thing kiddo, we'll meet again sometime. Catch ya later" she threw casually over her shoulder.
He hadn't doubted for second that they would meet again, despite a lack of contact details either way. He only realised later that, even though they never exchanged names, she knew his name. It surprisingly didn't feel like something to be worried about and it felt so right. He had also noted something about her that was a little bit inhuman, and hadn't missed how she had stressed the "you're only human." He knew he wouldn't forget the New Yorker; she was too noticeable for that.
As he had lay in bed that night and thought over the day's events, he remembered that speech on flaws, he would remember it when people judged hi unfairly and he would remember it word for word.
Because she was right, if he had no flaws he would be like a robot with a pulse; a tool for MI6 to use and exploit. His flaws made him sarcastic and witty, willing to fight. And when they would meet again- because, somehow, he knew they would –he would remember it all over again, with a smile on his face.
He smiled as he thought about his motto and his determination to stick to it, no matter what. No matter how many bad guys he would fight down, bullies he would face and accusations he would always keep his motto in his head and recite it, because if there was one thing about him that could never be changed, it was his personality. Because…
…We All Have Flaws.