Confide In Me
A/N: Hey guys I was up the other night and decided to write a new story! Well, before you read I'm warning you this IS an AU! This is Max and Alec without their transgenic abilities!
Chapter One: Five Seconds
The outside world is a bitter, harsh, and unforgiving battleground. Few people will make it. But sometimes, the best way to get away from it is to finally face the music and live with it.
Alec slouched in his chair as he signaled for another round of beer. If he couldn't get away from his life, hell, he was going to try to forget about it.
His hazel eyes then wandered away from his empty mug to a brown-haired girl dancing on the pool table. There were only two empty mugs in front of him, indicating that he was still sober. Alec noticed that there was a crowd of men gathered by her dancing area, and he knew at least one of the pigs would try to take her home tonight.
It would have been easier to stay where he was and just mind his own business, but something clicked when he caught her deep, chocolate brown eyes. They were opaque and lacked life; he knew it wasn't because she was drunk, but because she was here for the same reason he was.
She was trying to forget.
Placing a fifty dollar bill on the table, he didn't even bother to get his change; his focus was fixed on the woman swaying her hips provocatively on the pool table. This little action of hers was bringing her about a mile into danger zone.
Alec got up from his stool and made his way through the crowd of men, filling his senses with the intoxicating smell of booze. He completed his expedition and stopped right next to the "dance" table.
Alec held out his hand. "C'mon," he said, clenching his teeth and ignoring the dirty commentary added from the other men.
She stopped and eyed him from head to toe. "What makes you think I'll come home with you, buddy? Are ya that cocky 'bout your looks? You think you can come here like a peacock and flash your feathers at me, thinking it'll get you somewhere. If you're lookin' to impress, you've got the wrong girl."
Weird analogy, he thought.
Alec smirked, astounded that she could still manage to be sarcastic in her present state. "I didn't say anything about my devilishly good looks, but if you think so—"
"Don't flatter yourself, pretty boy," she interrupted, her eyes narrowing at him, not quite fully being able to concentrate.
"Huh, pretty boy? I didn't say anything about that either," Alec replied, acting oblivious to the effect he was having on her.
"You are such a—"
The blonde-haired man's face went from amused to startled when he realized she was falling—fast. Instinctively, he jumped on the table swiftly and caught her just in time to break the fall.
"Smart aleck," she breathed, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, making it fall back in his arms.
Would you look at that, Alec thought. She guessed my name.
"Show's over, big guys," he announced, standing up with the night's performer in his arms.
There were sighs and groans of disappointment from the audience, but Alec thanked God that they didn't break into a fight.
So, there he was, carrying the damsel in distress to his car, when she whispered a name.
"Sam," she sighed, burying her face deeper into his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Sam, he reiterated in his head. Great, she has a boyfriend.
"Let's see what your real name is, Dancer." Smirking at the new nickname he had given her, Alec searched for any wallets or at least a cell phone to help him out.
"Aha," he said triumphantly, finding her driver's license buried in her front left pocket. He held it up to his face as if it were a piece of gold.
"Max," he murmured, "that's an unusual name for a girl." His eyes scanned through the obvious; he already knew she had brown hair and eyes, but where did she live? She began to stir, and he thought his prayers were answered.
Max groaned, taking in her surroundings as she brought a hand up to massage her forehead. "Where am I?"
"In the smart aleck's car, Dancer," Alec answered in a teasing tone, trying to mask the awkwardness of the situation.
"What did you call me?" she asked, rubbing her temples, attempting to alleviate the pain. Her eyes widened when her vision cleared and she saw her license in his hand.
Noticing Max's reaction, he raised his hands like in those cop shows, still holding the piece of plastic. "I needed to know where you lived," he defended.
She gave him a deathly glare. "What are you? Some kind of stalker? I'm walking home!" Max yelled, grabbing her license from the stranger.
"I was just trying to get you home," he added calmly.
She threw him another dirty look and hissed, "I'm sure that's what they all say," through gritted teeth.
"Who the hell is they?" Alec responded, in the way any man would respond when being accused of something he wasn't capable of. He was furious, but yet, slightly amused.
Max turned to open the door. "You're sick." Then, she noticed it was locked. "If you
don't let me out right now, I'm gonna yell 'til your ears bleed."
With that response, Alec didn't hesitate to unlock the door. "A simple thank you would've been nice, Dancer."
He heard her curse under her breath as she opened the door. She slammed it so hard it made Alec jump. He was just glad the windows didn't shatter.
That girl needs anger management, he thought.
The smugness on Alec's face was wiped off when he watched her try to walk in a straight line. He was worried—about her. He knew she wouldn't make it "safely" to her house, and to add icing to the cake, he heard the loud rumble of thunder, undoubtedly indicating a wet storm.
Getting out of his car, he stopped and thought about what he was getting himself into. In less than five seconds, he had made up his mind.
Alec raced towards her, disregarding the drops of cool rain that were now soaking his new suit.
Max stopped walking, and Alec thought that maybe she had heard him coming after her.
He was wrong.
The brown-haired girl collapsed to the ground a fair distance away from him. Stunned, Alec ran to her side and fell to his knees beside her. Gently holding up her head with one hand, he let the free one check for a pulse. He sighed in relief as he heard it beating softly, but steady. Alec lifted her up, trying to keep his gaze away from her damp clothes already clinging to her body, and carried this perfect stranger back to his car.
Alec intently watched his "dancer" sleeping on his couch. He figured that if he had no means of finding out where she lived, he would just bring her to his apartment. Sure, she would freak once she realized where she was, but her heart would give out when she noticed that he had taken her tank top and jeans off, not to mention a few more articles of clothing, to replace them with one of his shirts and a pair of boxers.
He had a gut feeling that she wasn't the only one that would die. She would make sure he died first—in a slow, painful death. Alec cringed at the thought.
Her lack of consciousness did, however, provide him an asset. It would allow him to examine her closer.
Alec watched curiously as her brows knitted together when she whimpered. Wanting to reach out and comfort her, he quickly stopped himself, his hand a mere inch away from her. His hazel eyes migrated from her eyebrows to her lightly pink-flushed cheeks.
Wow, he thought, what was a girl like her doing in a bar?
Astonishingly, as if she her eyes were wide open, she mumbled, "Stop staring, you creeper."
He chuckled lightly, but got up, and headed for the kitchen. "You hungry?" he called, sticking his head in the cool fridge.
Pulling his head back, he heard the familiar noise that came from most hungover people—gagging.
Alec rushed to her side like a flash of lightning, lifted her up, and scrambled to the bathroom.
"Sam," she moaned.
"It'll be okay," Alec whispered, so softly she almost didn't hear him.
The next thing Max knew, she was sitting on cold tiles, making her whimper in protest.
"Shhh, it's okay. You're okay."
"I'm not okay," she sobbed, but was cut short with the outflow of her lunch. Max bent her head forward into the toilet bowl, preventing any of the predigested food from touching the ground.
Alec was sitting behind her, rubbing her back, his legs on either side of her small frame. He closed his eyes trying to block out the noises Max was making. Finally, in what seemed to be forever, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and crashed heavily against his chest, almost knocking the wind out of him. His eyes shot open in surprise as his back was shoved against the bathroom wall.
With her head so close to his, his next breath was filled with the distinct smell of her hair.
Unfortunately, he inhaled too deeply and this little action of his hadn't gone unnoticed.
She yawned, then with a stern voice she asked, "What are you doing?"
Oh shit.
"I was smelling your lunch," he lied. It was the best he could do, knowing that if he waited just a second more she would have suspected something. Lying would also save him from the awkward questioning.
"Oh," Max replied quietly, slightly embarrassed.
Well there's a way to shut her up.
Alec wanted to take advantage of her letting her guard down, but he heard her yawn again. It was a sweet sound he hadn't heard in a while and he found himself tolerating all the verbal abuse she had dished out on him today and just letting it go.
To lighten the mood, he added, "It's not your fault. Usually food only smells good before it's digested."
Alec felt her chuckle against him and he smiled.
So, he's not a complete jerk, Max thought, faintly blushing.
She waited until her chuckles subsided before asking, "Why are you being nice? I mean…I practically called you a rapist."
Alec gulped when he felt her squirming on top of him. "I, uh, try not to take those things too personally. I'm naturally a sweet guy."
Yeah, you are, Pretty Boy. Whoa there, Max, what did you just call him? You're probably just tired, she assured herself. Yeah, just tired.
Expecting another sassy remark, he was speechless when she laid her head further back into his shoulder. "Well," she began, but then reverted to, "thank you, Smart Aleck."
The two strangers stayed like that for a while. He held her while she tried fighting the sharp pain in her head.
"I'm Max by the way," she said in a few minutes.
Geez, this girl has something against silence.
Alec smiled at the unexpected gesture.
"Well?" she said, closing her eyes. "I told you my name, what's yours?"
Smirking, he answered, "Well, you kind of already guessed my name."
"I'm serious," was her semi-irritated reply to his cryptic answer.
"So am I."
"Your name's rapist?" she teased. "Stalker, creeper, all of the above? Creepy stalker rapist?"
He shifted uncomfortably under her. "Ha-ha, very funny, Max."
"Seriously, what is it?" Max asked opening her eyes, slightly agitated.
"Use that big head of yours," he joked, earning him a disdainful groan from her.
She tried thinking, but couldn't quite focus, but then it came to her. "Smart Aleck," she said proudly, like she had answered a million-dollar question.
"Take out the 'smart' part," he finalized.
Max rolled her eyes. "That makes sense."
"Why thank—"
She chuckled because her intended insult was completely overlooked.
"Hey," he whined, so childlike and boyish it made her laugh even harder.
Max brought a hand to her forehead again. "Ow, it hurts to laugh."
"Serves you right for making fun of the smart aleck," he replied jokingly, displaying a fake frown on his face.
Max laughed, making Alec powerless to the twitching he felt on the corner of his mouth.
Alec eventually joined in her laughter and the two strangers laughed together.
"You hungry?" he asked through fits of laughter.
"Starved."
Max didn't know where it was coming from, but she trusted this complete stranger. She didn't know why, but she felt safe around him, something she hadn't felt for the longest time.
"You all right?" Alec asked as he helped Max into his car.
"Mmhmm…thanks."
He smiled softly. He was taking her home now, even though it was like one in the
morning, because she had insisted.
As he was walking around the car to the driver's door, he found it impossible to take his eyes off her. He watched her fighting to stay awake, but knew it was a losing battle. She jumped when he opened his door and was relieved to see that it was only him.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"S'okay," Max managed to slur before falling back into her slumber.
He flashed his trademark smirk.
Alec drove slower than usual, even with the significant absence of cars. He knew it would be too dangerous to drive any faster, considering that every now and then he would glance at Max's sleeping figure.
During their "dinner," she had agreed to give him her address, but of course not without a threat—a very vivid one, too.
"Sam," she moaned again.
Gathering up the courage, Alec took his hand and stroked her flushed cheek. She leaned into his hand and sighed contentedly. For the first time, Alec really smiled. Not just a phony one but a real smile.
"We're here," Alec said, getting out of the car.
He arrived at the passenger's door just as she was opening it. Max stood up abruptly and wobbled due to the swiftness of her movement. Alec caught her by the waist and was surprised by the arm that she wrapped around his.
Together, they made it to twelfth floor. He was more than grateful that they had an elevator. Alec supported Max three doors more once making it to the twelfth floor. Then, he knocked on the hard, wood door and was greeted by two anxious-looking girls.
"Thank God she's all right," a dark-haired girl with blue eyes said in relief, holding a hand to her heart, eyes centralized on her drained friend.
"What happened? Is she okay?" interrogated the other girl, who unlike her two friends had shoulder-length brown hair.
When Alec hesitated to answer, the girl's bright green eyes pierced through his hazel ones, invading his soul without invitation.
"She's okay. She just had a few too many drinks," Alec replied meticulously, careful with his words to avoid getting pulled into deep waters.
"I'm fine, you guys," Max said softly, a kind of voice that hadn't been used with Alec.
The girl with green eyes sighed, a look of concern plastered on her face, her eyebrows knitting together and forehead scrunching up. "Oh, sweetie, why didn't you tell us where you were going?"
The tone in Max's voice saddened, her mood showing in her eyes as they began to glisten with tears. "Jill, you of all people should know why." With that final statement, her knees gave out and she fell, only to be saved by Alec's strong arm that swooped down just in time to catch her.
"Here, I'll take her to her room," said the blue-eyed girl, knowing that her friend needed to rest.
Alec let go of his hold on Max and let her be taken by her friend; losing the warmth from her body, he felt barren.
"Thanks, Kahlan," he heard his Dancer whisper, as she tiredly swung an arm around her friend's shoulder for support. Kahlan wrapped hers around her friend's small waist and slowly made their way to Max's room.
Bye, Smart Aleck, Max said in her head, assuming that this was the last time she'd see him.
Alec watched her go, but when Jill looked up at him, he quickly averted his gaze away from his Dancer to the green-eyed girl in front of him. "I better get going. Tell Sam to take care of her," he said, turning for the door.
He stopped in his tracks when Jill's eyes widened in shock at the mere mention of Sam.
"How do you know about Sam?" Jill asked, her face drained of color and resembling that of a person who had just seen a ghost.
Shrugging, not knowing where he was going with this, he said, "Max kept saying his name. He's her boyfriend, right?"
"Sam's dead," she said almost in a whisper, not looking directly into his eyes.
A/N: Hope you guys liked it. It got revised a little, well this chapter not so much, but ya. Thanks to my awesome beta writtenindreams :D Sorry I haven't updated in awhile I was on vacation D:D my mixed emotions smiley on that haha. Well, please R&R as always...