I dont know when I will be posting again. I lost my beta reader and she is usually the one that helps me work out the kinks in my story. If anyone would like to help me out with this let me know but im pretty much doing this on my own now and I dont know when I will be able to complete it. ~ Indego

Tripping Forward

Chapter 3: The Start Of Something New

She needed to talk to him he had been acting off since they arrived in T.C. He was unusually quite one moment and telling off anyone who tried to talk to him the next. She had enough he wasn't helping everyone with his mood swings and they sure as hell needed everyone's input.

She ran up the first floor steps of his apartment building. Everyone was assigned their own quarters and lucky for them there wasn't many of their own kind there yet. But soon more would be arriving and they knew that eventually they would run out of room.

She cautiously approached his door. She wasn't sure what his reaction to her being there would be. He is ether going to be pissed or his usually smart-ass self.

"Well now or never" She said and slowly brought her hand up and knocked on his door. She heard a slight shuffling sound on the other side. She stood there for a minute waiting for him to either open the door or tell her to go the hell away. But nether came.

"Yep definitely going to be difficult" She banged louder on his door "Alec, its Max. We need to talk."She stood there another minute and waited.

"This is ridiculous!" She screamed at the door. "Ok this has gone on long enough. Alec, I'm coming in. And you better be decent." She pulled out her lock picks "And alone." She added as a afterthought she definitely did NOT want to see that.

It took her less than ten seconds to open the flimsy lock. The apartment was dark the only light source was from the bright moon peering through the drawn curtains. She slowly inched her way into the tiny apartment. Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness she spotted him sitting against the far wall opposite her. He had his legs drawn up against his chest and his head against his knees. Just looking at him she knew something was very wrong.

"Alec. We need to talk" She slowly made her way to him. With every step she took towards him his body increasingly tensed.

"Max, get the hell out of here!" She stopped dead in her tracks. She expected him to be angry but not hurt. Alec was good at hiding his feelings but tonight it seemed like he didn't care.

"No Alec, we need to talk. What's going on with you?"She continued her way forward and sat in front of him.

"Alec, what's going on?"She hesitantly touched his arm. He jerked away and cuddled closer to the wall.

"Get out!" He pushed her away from him. She fell backwards on her back. He never lashed out at her like that before.

She decided to leave him there and bask in his depression alone. She got up and made her way towards the front door. He has never done that before. Well once. He acted the same way after the Berrisford fiasco. He still hadn't told her about what really happened. I can't just leave him, can I? She remembered the day she told him about Ben. He stayed with her that night and made sure she was alright.

She turned back to him. He still hadn't moved from against the wall. Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this? She made her way towards him and sat down next to him against the wall.

"No. I'm staying" She leant her head against the wall. This was going to be a long night.

They both sat there for a few hours. The silence was slowly driving her crazy. I should have brought a book. She knew that he wasn't going to be the first one to break the silence but she needed him to talk.

"Ok so are you going to tell me what's going on?" She hoped he would give her his usually smart-alec response.

"What's going on" he laughed bitterly "Well Max what do you think is going on?" He turned to look at her she could tell he had been crying.

"If I knew I wouldn't be here" She looked away from him. She didn't like seeing this side of Alec. She hated his 'I'm always alright' attitude but it was one that she defined who he was. This emotional side of Alec was one she wasn't used to and one she didn't like.

"You really don't care do you?" He said lifting himself of the floor and made his way towards the kitchen counter. It was cluttered with empty scotch bottles and dirty glasses. He grabbed the only un-drunk bottle and finished it without stopping for air.

"What are you talking about?"She got up and walked to the kitchen counter facing him on the opposite side.

"Biggs and Cece are dead, did you forget that?"He said glaring at her.

"Of course not!"She screamed. He was starting to piss her off which was nothing new they couldn't have a conversation without one of them getting mad.

"Really because you sure as hell aren't acting like you care." He snapped and started pacing in the tiny kitchen. "They were our friends Max! How can you act so uncaring?"

"Uncaring! Uncaring!" She snapped. Does he really think that? Is that what he thinks of me? "You think I don't care?"She whispered. Of course she cared she was just so good at being closed off nobody could see. Nobody knew how much it took to just get out of bed in the morning. Nobody knew how unpleasantly numb she was but it was something she became used to over the years.

"You sure are acting like you don't" he turned and stared at her.

"You think this is easy for me. Having to add two more people to my long list of the one's I've lost." she yelled, as he glared at her.

She sighed "When I heard you went after those guys that killed Biggs I wished I was there with you." She paused to think about what to say next "Of course at first I was mad. You could have gotten yourself and Joshua killed!" she screamed and started pacing in front of the counter "But then I wished that I was there with you to show those men and everyone that you don't mess with my family." She stopped and stared at him.

"You did?" he said with an unbelieving expression on his face.

"Of course" she shrugged.

He turned his back from her "How do you stand it?" he whispered "Losing everyone around you? When I first got out of Manticore I tried to stay detached I knew that this was inevitable but it became too hard… I couldn't. Every time I was around you, Sketchy, OC or Joshua it got too hard to keep all of you at arm's length." He turned to look at her with tears running down his cheeks "I shouldn't have come back I should of stayed away, it wouldn't hurt this much if I stayed away." He looked at the floor.

She made her way around the counter and stood in front of him "It hurts because we are human Alec, because we loved them. It's supposed to hurt." She put her hand under his chin and lifted his head to look at her.

He started to cry harder "I can't do it anymore Max watching my friends drop like flies I can't do it." His voice cracked "I should just leave."

She shook her head "You are not going anywhere!"

He quirked an eyebrow at her "I'm not?"

She put her hands on her hips "Nope, you're not."

He started to laugh at her "And what makes you so sure?"

She sighed and leaned against the counter "Because that's not you Alec, not anymore."

"Really?"He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Really!" she shouted "You don't run away." She sighed on lifted herself up on the kitchen counter "Look you, Sketchy, OC, Joshua and Logan you guys are my family and I'm not letting any of you out of my sight!"

He made a disgusted face "I'm not your brother Max!"

She laughed "Did I say that, no." she paused thinking of the right words to say "But your part of this family Alec, this messed up, highly strung family." She stared at him gauging his reaction "And you are not going anywhere, none of us is going anywhere and I'm not going anywhere. And if you do leave well then I'm just going to have to drag you back here after I kick-your-ass." She smiled as he shook his head at her.

They sat there in silence just starring at anything other than each other finally she broke the silence "Well I better go I promised Dix I would come up with a stragedy plan to get the medical supplies we need." She jumped of the counter and made her way towards his front door "I will see you tomorrow, get some rest Alec." she reached for the door knob but was stopped by his hand on hers.

"Hey Max?" he said shyly avoiding her eyes.

She quirked her eyebrows "Yeah.?"

He smiled and looked her in the eyes "Thanks." He let go of her hand and opened the door for her. That wasn't so bad she thought as she slipped out his door.

Since that night she and Alec had gotten closer with each passing day. She wouldn't change anything and she wouldn't want things any other way.