DISCLAIMER: If I owned Alex Rider I would make this a book and actually earn money from this. Alas, t'was not suppose to be.
A/N: This is shorter than last time. There's also a slight slash implied interaction so if you don't like it...don't read it. There's no actual slash, however. Later on, maybe. I'm not quite sure so I put a warning in the description just in case.
Sweat glistened on his face, catching the early morning rays of sun as they broke through the gap in the curtains. He let out a low groan as his eyes opened, a weary look within the depths. Dark bags hid under his eyes, making him look as though he had been punched in the eye and caused severe bruising. He sat up in bed and held one hand to his head. Russia had decided to attempt to take over England just a few weeks ago. He had managed to stop it, but boy was he paying for the physical strain he put his body through.
It didn't help that everyone knew who he was, Alex Rider. Some kind of celebrity (well, in a way) in the world of espionage. The good guys worshipped him as a hero, the people who were consumed by greed and coldness tried to destroy him. It wasn't exactly a healthy position for a eighteen year old to be in. Alex reluctantly pushed himself out of bed so he could walk downstairs and fix himself a small breakfast consisting of eggs and bacon. He had only gotten halfway through before the loud thud of knuckles on wood interrupted him.
At the door, when he opened it, he wasn't surprised to see his best (and only) friend, Thomas Harris. "Alright, mate? Rough night?" Tom grunted out, shoving his way into the house past Alex.
"Hi, Tom. Won't you come in?" Alex commented to himself as he shut the door. Alex made his way into the kitchen, pausing as he saw Tom consuming his breakfast. Alex shook his head before taking a seat beside Tom and taking his plate back.
"Aw, come on. Don't be out of order." Tom whined, trying to pinch some of his bacon again.
"This is mine. You know where everything is, make yourself some." Alex said, narrowing his eyes at Tom.
"It doesn't taste as good when it's not yours." Tom frowned, leaning back in his seat.
"Why are you here anyway?" Alex sighed, beginning to eat his breakfast whilst smacking Tom's hand away every time it snaked its way over to his plate.
"I went on a date last night, some girl called Chelsea...or was it Courtney?" Tom frowned, thinking to himself. Alex let out a quiet snort. "Anyway. We ended up going to her place. I woke up, she was still out of it and your house is closer than my parents." Tom finished.
"It's really great how you remembered her name." Alex teased, finally finishing the last of his food. "Why did you wake up this early anyway?" Alex inquired, glancing at the clock on the wall. "It's seven am."
"Dunno, I blame college." Tom responded, laying his head on his arms. "I wish I could sleep all day. You're so lucky to not have to go to college."
"I would've if I had the grades." Alex said bitterly, going to wash his plate up. He will forever blame MI6 for failing his GCSEs. Now he was stuck as their little toy, it was either that or working at somewhere such as a fast food restaurant for the rest of his life.
"I forgot." Tom adopted a soft tone, giving Alex's turned back a weak smile. "College is overrated anyway." Tom chirped up, bouncing over to his friend. "The girls aren't all that hot anyway, not as hot as all these foreign chicks you meet. Am I right?" He nudge Alex playfully.
"You have such a degrading way of speaking about girls." Alex chipped in, a smile on his face at his friend's antics. "Maybe if you treated them with respect you wouldn't get rejected nine times out of ten." Tom rolled his eyes, still grinning at Alex.
"You still love me." Tom sung, attaching his arms around Alex's neck. Alex tried to push him off, his lips pursing into a tight line.
"I don't love you, you're delusional." Alex shot back, trying to move away from Tom. Tom only pulled Alex closer, pressing his body up against Alex. "This is why everyone thinks we're dating." Alex groaned, managing to wriggle away from Tom.
"You make it sound like that's a problem." Tom laughed, following his friend to the lounge and plopping down on the sofa. "Besides, if everyone doesn't think you're dating your best friend you're doing something wrong." Alex turned the TV on, sitting on the opposite side of the sofa to Tom.
"That only applies for girls. When it's boys it's just creepy." Alex informed Tom, bringing his legs up so he could cross them.
"Double standard much." Tom complained, grabbing the remote and decided to choose something to watch. He scanned through the channels before finally settling on a channel. "Al, how mad would you be if I managed to set you up? Erh...hypothetically speaking."
"Tom." Alex said in a cold tone, glaring at the boy. "I don't do dates or dating." It's not like it was a choice...well it was. He just didn't feel like getting feelings for someone and ending up with them being used as leverage. Dating in his line of work is dangerous.
"You can't always be alone, Alex." Tom responded quietly, eyes fixed on the TV. "I'm not always going to be around to help."
"What do you mean?" Alex demanded, suddenly on guard. Tom...was he...leaving?
"I have a job offer." Tom sighed, turning to face Alex. "In the technology field. The job is to help develop a software, not sure what it is though. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially for someone my age. You know it's my dream job." Tom's eyes never left Alex's.
"Where is it?" Alex asked, suddenly getting a stab of pain in his chest.
"Corsica." Tom replied after a pregnant pause. "I leave in a month."
"Get. Out." Alex growled, jumping up. His emotions were going haywire. Tom, he was leaving. Everyone left. Why did everyone leave him? Tom reluctantly stood up.
"Mate-? I'm sorry." Tom gave Alex an almost pitying expression. Alex hissed angrily.
"JUST GO! Leave." Alex yelled, pointing to the door. Tom shuffled out, quietly shutting the front door after him. Alex let out a loud scream of frustration as he threw a cushion at the wall. Tom, his only constant in an ever changing life was leaving. Alex was alone. He slumped down onto the floor letting out a quiet sob. He has nothing, absolutely nothing. Sure he had a house, but it wasn't a home. There was a difference. Home was somewhere you belonged. Home radiated love and happiness.
Alex wasn't happy. He wanted somewhere to call home. With Tom, it was almost that. Tom was his home and his home was suddenly being ripped away from him.
Alex didn't like that.