Hidden Love

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Angel, Max, Alec or any other characters from DA. I wish I did!

A/N: I'm really touched by the awesome reviews I've been getting and I almost uploaded this too soon but I reined myself in.

OMG I am sooo sorry about the whole underlined italics thing! I don't understand how that happened! I swear I didn't do it! I mean it didn't look like that when I was editing before publishing. This stupid thing! I didn't check to see what it actually looked like on the site (I went straight to reviews) so this is a lesson for me -check every chapter! LOL

Chapter 3 -Fright to flight: Scaredy cat

Max walked through the entrance of Jam Pony on time for once in her life. She walked over to her locker and found OC and Sketchy talking about the ball. Everyone in Jam Pony was in a buzz of chatter as they talked about the ball. Max joined Original Cindy and Sketchy.

"She was da bomb! I'm telling you." Sketchy tried to convince OC about his date.

"Whatever you say wigga." OC laughed.

"What's up?" Max asked listening to their disagreement.

"Hey Max. How was your night?" Sketchy asked.

"Great." Max said raising her eyebrows to show her two friends her disbelief. Then Max got lost in thought.

Alec walked into Jam Pony a few seconds after Max. He walked over to join the small group of friends. Max didn't notice his presence as she remembered her mysterious romance.

"Hey Alec." Sketchy said as Alec joined them.

"Hey guys." Alec said back. He looked at Max who was totally lost in thought. Alec ignored the fact that she hadn't even noticed him again. "How was your date with Rafe?" Alec asked Max.

"Hmm?" Max said returning from her reverie.

"Oh she had a good night aiight. Di'n't even show up at home last night." Original Cindy said looking at Max with a knowing smile.

"Nice." Sketchy nodded his head at Max.

Max's eyes widened at OC to give her a too-much-information look.

"Oh." Alec raised his eyebrows at Max. He was confused. He thought that she was absolutely set on the Logan thing. He had no idea that she was serious about seeing other people. He thought that Rafer was just a mischance. 'Wonder if Max would ever…' Alec didn't even dare to think it. Being with Max was an impossibility. Even if it was his only secret wish that overshadowed everything else sometimes. He pushed the thought away.

"I guess things with Rafer went better than you expected, hey Maxie?" He said masochistically.

Max gave him one of her looks of pure tolerance. "No. I met someone else." She finished with a disgusted face at Alec.

Alec raised his eyebrows at her. "Really? What's he like? A rich guy who likes to save the world?" Alec asked cheekily.

"Not that it's any of your business but he's perfect. Exactly like me."

"He must be a rude smartass then." Alec prodded Max.

Max gave Alec a death-glare.

"Well, that's nice and all Max but I just so happened to find someone who might be the one." Alec said not showing how serious he actually was.

"Poor girl." Max said walking away to start delivering packages.

As Max took a package to get away from Alec she realized that his voice had triggered memories from the night before. She wondered why he could even be associated with anything to do with the man she had met last night. She tried to compare their voices but she found that task ridiculous. She had never ever paid attention to Alec's voice and when she thought about it, the only way she could describe it: it was a whining, irritating voice. On the other hand, the man she had met the night before's voice was husky and mesmerizing… Max got lost in thought again.

By lunchtime Max had analyzed the entire conversation from last night. And it only made her more curious about the golden-masked…Greek God was how Max thought of him.

She got back to Jam Pony around lunchtime and went to join OC and Alec for lunch. They sat on the benches beside the lockers.

"Hey, when's the next party again?" Alec asked the two temperamental women.

"Dunno." Max said looking at OC, hoping that she had the answer.

"Tomorrow night." OC informed them.

Max and Alec each smiled to themselves.

OC saw each of the transgenics get lost in a happy little bubble of their own. "Why're you two so happy?" OC asked looking between them.

"I think I met the love of my life last night." Alec said telling the truth, his mind in a kind of uncaring bliss.

"Me too." Max said too quickly surprising OC, Alec and herself.

"And Logan?" Original Cindy was shocked, her eyebrows almost reaching her hairline.

Max swallowed. She hadn't thought of that. "I don't know." Max said regretting saying anything in Alec's presence. Knowing his big mouth he would probably tell Logan if he had the chance.

Just then Rafer walked into Jam Pony spotting Max and walking over. Max didn't notice him until he was walking towards her.

"Max." He said standing beside the benches.

Max looked up at him in surprise. "Hey."

"Did you go last night?"

"Yeah. I was looking for you but then…" Max didn't know how to finish the sentence. She looked down.

"I was also looking for you. Sorry I was late."

"It's alright." Max's expression was forgiving. "I left early anyway." She told a half-truth.

Rafer nodded. "Yeah, I looked for you too but then I found someone else to dance with." He said sheepishly.

Max laughed at his expression. "It's alright. Really."

Alec thought about how much Max's story coincided with the girl he had met the night before. He looked at Max surreptitiously while she spoke with Rafer. He tried to compare her to the girl from the night before but there were too many differences. The mask was too much in the way to compare faces. And on top of that the girl from the night before was blonde, nice to him and completely willing to talk about herself and her problems. He highly doubted that Max was capable. He shook his head almost laughing at the thought of Max being the mystery woman who had stolen his heart the first moment he saw her. Alec stood up and told OC that he was going to carry on with more deliveries. Max was still talking to Rafer. He didn't feel the need to listen in.

The next night Max arrived at the club with Original Cindy. As they got in OC met up with her date and Max told them that she would be fine alone and that they should go and enjoy themselves. OC knew that Max was looking for her mystery man.

Max had dressed up in her blonde wig and mask just like the flyer had indicated. She wore a black skirt and a black shirt that covered her barcode so that she didn't have to cover it with make-up.

As Max looked around the crowded club, she began to panic. What if he didn't show? Eventually Max had run through every imaginable possibility of him not showing up that she was sure he was a figment of her imagination. She somehow couldn't believe the magic that had transpired between them. Max looked everywhere for him. What she didn't know was that as soon as she moved into one section of the club, Alec was leaving that section and looking in another for her. If Max was worried that he was only a dream then Alec was downright petrified. He scoured the club for the beautiful girl, each minute that passed making his fear double in force. Then after awhile Max and Alec ended up in the same section and they were staring at each other like an unbelievably beautiful mirage. They walked towards each other and reached out as if to make sure the other was real. Then Alec pulled her to him and did something that he had been thinking about for the past two days. He crushed his lips to hers and pulled her closer still.

Max stood up on her toes before he lifted her from the floor leveling their heights as they kissed. A few people stared at them. As they broke the kiss to study one another's faces, having not seen the other for awhile, Alec gasped.

"What?" Max asked, confused by his sudden hitch of breath.

"You're just so beautiful." Alec said, telling half of the truth. He had actually gasped because she looked so familiar. And not just déjà vu familiar. Alec never forgot a face. Even if it was only half of a face, the other half covered by a mask. As he released the girl from his vice-like grip so that she could stand on the floor once again, he noticed that she couldn't understand the confusion on his face.

"What?" Max asked again getting a little frustrated.

"You look extremely familiar. Like I've met you before." His eyebrows creased.

"Yeah, the other night at the ball." Max laughed, wondering how much this guy could possibly get around, forgetting someone he had spent an entire night talking to.

Alec shook his head fervently, ignoring her insinuation. "No. Even before that…" He continued to scrutinize her face. He reached for her silver mask slowly.

Max pulled away. "No, you'll see me at the end of the third event remember? Rules!" She said taking his hand from the edge of her mask. Max saw him sigh in defeat. She laughed again at his expression.

Alec really wanted to know who she was. Where he knew her from. How he could have such a connection with her. So many similarities. Then he looked the girl up and down, only pulling his gaze from her face for the first time then. She looked great again. Her black skirt flattered her perfect legs.

Max did the same thing to him. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt. He looked roguish and mischievous in his current attire. The formal and casual both looked good on him. Max felt slightly flushed. Almost like she was in heat but she knew that it wasn't the right time of year for heat. She was amazed by the feeling she got when she looked at him. Then she noticed his dark blonde hair. It was in a perfect disarray. They both walked between the people towards the bar. Max followed after Romeo trying not to lose him in the crowd. Then a gang of sorts pushed their way in front of Max blocking her view and her way to the bar. She got irritated. "Do ya mind? I'm tryin' ta walk here!" She said to the men standing between her and the direction of the bar. The gang members all looked at Max with unfriendly emotions flickering across their faces. Irritation, anger-from the biggest one standing near to Max. A few other ones' faces turned disturbingly friendly. Max stood her ground.

"What?" The leader asked before looking at Max. Then he absorbed the sight of the seemingly harmless girl. He began to smile suggestively at her.

"Do you mind letting me through?" Max crossed her arms and jutted out her hip.

"Sweetheart you can do whatever you like with me." He leered moving closer to her.

Max didn't like this guy's attitude. "What's a girl gotta do to avoid getting hit on by a bunch of thugs?" Max asked cheekily.

The gang was riled by her insult. The leader thug took the insult as an invitation. He leaned towards her and tried to put his hand on her waist but before he knew what had hit him Max had taken hold of his collar and had kneed him hard in the crotch. He hunched over and the rest of the gang was outraged. The three guys left all advanced on her. One shouting over the loud music: "Now you're dead!"

Max realized that she would have to kick all their asses. She surveyed the scene. She looked for Romeo. She had already lost him. As long as he didn't see her taking any of these guys down it was okay. She didn't want to be different in his eyes. She had just met him and as far as she knew she was still pretty normal to him. Max had a stray thought about Logan. She wondered if things would have been different if she hadn't always acted like such a freak. She internally shook her head. Logan would never judge her about who she was but it was still a difference between them. She wondered how this new guy would react if she told him that she was made in a test tube.

Another guy with a switchblade approached from the front as the largest of the three circled behind Max. She took them both out trying not to rip her skirt.

Alec walked up to the bar and turned around. The girl was gone. Alec ran back the way he had come searching for her. Then he saw a rather mean looking guy approaching her with a knife in his right hand. Alec saw red as he rushed over. He tapped the man on the shoulder and as he turned around Alec punched him in the face knocking him out cold. Max smiled sheepishly at Alec as he saw three other guys lying on the floor writhing in pain and trying to crawl away. He looked at Max with his head tilted to the side, trying to make sense of the scene. Max walked over to him.

"Thanks." She said flattered that he had actually protected her from something. It was rare for that to happen to Max. She was always protecting herself. But she still regretted him seeing any of that.

"Let's get outta here." Alec said in a normal voice tone, surprised that Max could hear him. The pounding music would have made a normal person have to shout yet they could hear each other perfectly. They took each other's hands as if they didn't ever want to be separated again and they headed to the roof of the building. They walked to the edge of the roof and looked for the best place to sit. Max spotted a raised area at the edge of the roof and pointed. It was extremely high and narrow. Alec looked at her like she was insane.

"Why do you always find the tallest, most dangerous place to sit?" He asked her.

"Are you scared?" She teased.

"No." Alec said widening his eyes and shaking his head.

"Because it's beautiful looking out over the city." Max explained.

"Alright." Alec said; ready to give the blonde beauty anything she wanted.

They walked to the concrete block of sorts and before Max could get up by herself, Alec lifted her by the waist as if she weighed as much as a puppy, and put her down on the high ledge. He lifted himself up with ease. They spoke for a few hours until they heard people begin to leave the club and the music became softer from inside the building. They kept track of time but neither wanted to leave yet. By now he had his arm around Max and her head was on his shoulder. Alec was still trying to figure out who she was. He had made a mental checklist:

-beautiful

-strong

-observant

-intelligent

-blonde

-petite

-no parents

-not scared of anything

-high temperature

The more Alec thought about it the more she seemed to be transgenic. 'What are the chances?' Alec thought to himself shaking his head. There was a comfortable silence that had fallen over them as they looked out over the broken cityscape. As the silver-masked girl rested her head on Alec's shoulder he surreptitiously looked at the back of her neck. It was covered by the choker/collar of her black sleeveless shirt. The shirt left most of the back open for which Alec was grateful. He traced his fingers along her spine and felt her tremble slightly at his touch. He smiled to himself. She lifted her head from his shoulder so that she could look at his face. They once again tried to figure out what the other would look like without their masks.

"You have no idea what I would give to take your mask off right now." Alec said after awhile.

Max honestly considered taking off her mask for him but then decided not to. She wanted them to really know each other before messing things up with names and faces.

Alec leaned towards her face and kissed her cheek before resting his head on her chest, listening to her heart. Max froze and tried to control her frenzied thoughts and erratic heartbeat. As he listened and her heartbeat slowed to its normal pace he realized that it also beat at the same pace as his (faster than normal). He added it to his list. After awhile he raised his head so that he could trace her jaw line with his nose. Inhaling, he recognized the scent that had been bugging him the whole time. It was slightly feline. Just like his own. She was X5 no doubt. Alec pulled away and looked at her face again in a new light. She was different alright. She was the female version of him in almost everyway imaginable. It only made him love her more. Alec backtracked. Did he just admit to loving her? He rethought it. Maybe it was more of the falling in love process. He got an idea.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked his transgenic Juliet.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Alright."

Alec jumped down from the ledge but before he could help the girl down himself, she had already jumped and landed on the lower level of the roof with as much style and ease as him. He took it as an extra confirmation that she was X5. On the way to the street Alec wondered if he should mention that he was transgenic as well. They walked down the street in the middle of the night. As they talked Alec tried to extract information about who she really was without informing her.

Max noticed that prince charming was looking for something in her answers. She turned and faced him on the sidewalk, blocking his path and looking up at him with an accusatory look. "Spit it out." She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

Alec was speechless. She had called him out. He thought quickly for a cover. He wasn't ready for the transgenic discussion yet. Things were so good between them as they were. Complete strangers.

"I have a confession to make." Alec said smirking. He tried to sell the look of innocence as he thought for an excuse. Then he found one. "I don't usually go for blondes." He said hoping that she would buy his 'assassin/professional liar' poker face. She did.

"I'm actually a brunette." Max said laughing at his comment.

Alec was surprised at that. He thought about the strange significance it seemed to have in his subconscious mind. "Wow. When did you dye your hair?"

"It's a wig." Max admitted. "ya know, for the whole disguise thing."

As Alec stared into her big brown eyes, imagining her with brown hair, he thought about Max and how much he missed her. Something clicked in his head. His expression changed from happy to flabbergasted. 'Max.' Was all Alec could think. His face paled and Max noticed the immediate change.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." She said waving her hand in front of his face. Her voice had the opposite of a calming affect on Alec. The more she spoke, the more he recognized her. He thought back to everything that they had ever talked about. Family, boyfriends, friends, upbringing. Then he thought back to his X5 theory, which wasn't so much a theory as a fact. She wasn't really blonde either. Alec went into flight mode.

"I have to go." He only managed to get out one sentence of an explanation before he bolted, blurring from Max's vision.

Max stood there looking around her. A million questions flooded her mind and then one was battering itself around Max's mind. Dying to escape from her lips. "Will I ever see you again!" Max just about screamed after the empty darkness that Alec had left in his wake.

A/N: I need help from you guys with finishing this story because I'm not sure how it should end exactly but I'll ask for opinions in more detail when I get to where I've written up to. I still have a chapter or two left before I need help.

PLEASE tell me what you think. Press that little 'review this story' button. It really affects how often I upload stuff.