Authors Note: Hello everyone, the story is far from over so don't get bored yet! Next chapter should be more interesting but I hope you all enjoy this one just as much. It's a bit of a roller coaster but hopefully you all deal. Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Facing Reality

Alex sat Elle down on the bed; she was paralyzed temporarily with shock it seemed. "It's happening! It won't stop!" She began to shriek.

Alex tried to grab her shoulders but she shook him off; her eyes were wide with sheer terror. Her inability to control her volume level didn't seem to help the situation more, "Alex! They're coming for us!" Alex continually tried to grab her to stop her from freaking out.

"Elle!" He tried.

"Alex my aunt! She's out there still!" Alex tried to grab her wrists but she smacked him hard against the face, "GET OFF ME!" She stood up fuming.

Alex held his jaw and gaped at her, "Elle… Stop…" Alex tried to keep his voice calm, but he was reaching boiling point.

"I can't stop! We can NEVER stop, Alex! We're trapped!" She screamed.

"Elle." Alex said louder as he gripped the towel around his waist tighter.

Alex felt his anger begin to rise as she didn't listen to his attempts to calm her. "Alex, what do we do? We can't escape it; we'll just be caught again! We can't go back but we can't stay safe-"

Alex slammed her against the wall as painlessly as possible. He cupped his hand over her mouth while he held one of her wrists above her head; Alex pressed his body against her to keep her still. He stared deadpan into her terrified blue eyes; Elle's eyes were so wide but they managed to focus only on his icy blue rimmed eyes. "Elle, listen to me." He said very slowly.

Elle could feel the annoyance in his voice; it intimidated her and strangely excited her. "I will fix it. All of it. Silent Hill isn't coming for us; we'll survive the curse of the founding families. I will end the pain if it means slaughtering everyone who tries to hurt you or I." Alex said in a dark tone.

Elle whimpered against his hand; his lower half was pressed tightly against her. "We're in this together Elle, and if you ever try to hit me again I'm not going to take it as lightly as I have. I'll have to restrain you and calm you if you ever do that again. You wouldn't enjoy it that's for sure." Alex explained to her in the same thick tone.

Alex never felt so angry at Elle before, although he couldn't explain whether it was the blinding terror that bothered him so much or the fact that a curse could haunt her so badly she could no longer find comfort in him. "I'm going to let you take a moment to settle down now." He said in the same clear tone.

The feeling of being ordered to do something had never intimidated her before, yet every bone in her body trusted him. Alex was doing this for her, not just to shut her up. He actually cared about her sanity as much as she cared about his. "Are we clear with what is going on?" Alex asked staring into her eyes in his currently heavy tone.

Elle nodded shakily. Alex let his hand uncover her mouth; he kept her one arm above her head just in case she wasn't clear enough for him. Elle examined his face over and saw the fire in him that kept them both alive in Silent Hill. The light hearted Alex wasn't present now, only the primal serious Alex stood before her; part of her couldn't stop trailing her eyes back to his lips.

"Alex," She said in a fearful tone.

Alex stared at her, indicating she could speak. Part of her didn't want to be fine; Elle didn't want him to forget that not everything could be stopped. "What if we can't escape it?" She asked breathing shakily.

"We'll escape it." Alex attempted to settle it with a simple sentence.

Had Elle not been so intent on him seeing things her way she could leave it at that. "Alex," She whispered so her voice didn't crack, "You can't protect me from everything."

"Yes, I can." He glared, not willing her to tell him differently.

"How can I ever be sure?" She asked him feeling for once he didn't have all the answers simply because he could never save her if the Gods wanted her dead.

Alex said nothing; he lowered his eyes deep in thought. Elle nodded, "That's what I thought." She attempted to push him with her other hand.

Her other hand slammed against the wall above her head, bringing her back to realization that Alex was still angry. "We're supposed to be in this together. If you can't trust me then you're completely blind." He snapped at her.

"Blind?" She glared in confused anger.

"Too blind to understand that I could NEVER live with myself if something happened to you. I would give my life before I would let them get you." Alex let his tone rise.

Elle felt as if he reached inside her chest and just gripped her heart. "What?" She dropped her voice to a whisper.

"You are the only person I have left; the only person I ever really gave a damn about. I can't live without you and I'll be damned if a bunch of Gods want to challenge me on my will to protect you."

Elle felt a twisting pain in her throat; it was as if she swallowed a lemon whole. Her eyes began to tear up as she looked at him. Alex looked at the tears that began dripping from her eyes. She knew he wasn't bullshitting her for once in her life. "Alex…." She whimpered; her chest heaved with pain.

"I didn't mean to make you cry." He averted his eyes.

Elle shook her head, "I'm not sad about what you said. I'm just seeing it for what it really is." Elle said; her face gave into the pain of forcing back tears.

"I don't think you do. I doubt you ever will know what I mean. It's not something I can just say so easily." Alex looked into her cerulean eyes.

"You don't have to say it… I can still feel it." She closed her eyes and blinked back some tears so she was no longer crying uncontrollably.

Alex and Elle locked eyes once more. She knew there was something deeper in her best friend's words, but part of her couldn't deal with moving forward; she had to draw the conclusion for him. He would surely agree like he always does. "You care about me and I care about you. I get it; it's what best friends do. We watch out for-"

Alex leaned forward slowly, "Bullshit." He smirked.

Elle looked at him confused, "What?" She asked him.

"This 'best friend' thing you always bring up to hide behind… is bullshit." Alex said leaning closer.

"I don't hide behind anything! We've been friends for nearly our whole lives! It's what we are, Alex!" Elle furrowed her brows at him feeling her chest and cheeks begin to burn.

Alex shook his head staring her dead in the eye, "There's always been more to us. You know it and I sure as Hell know it."

Elle pursed her lips and stared back at him. It was nearly impossible to believe he had noticed; he was usually the one shying away, even back in high school. "You mean a lot to me, Elle. I know for a fact something happened last night, I know we were intimate. If we were completely drunk and felt attraction to each other it's a sure sign of real attraction." Alex reasoned with her.

Elle stared at him. "Alex, you can't…. I mean how does anyone know what it really meant? You don't even remember and… we might have thought we were someone else… You can't base intimacy off-"

"You always were clumsy with words." Alex raised one brow.

Elle watched as he leaned his head closer to her lips; he paused questioningly once he was close enough, "Can I?" His voice was meaningful and hard to deny.

Elle looked at his lips and nodded slowly; over seven years she waited for this. She closed her eyes and let him come closer. The phone rang, causing her eyes to open. Alex paused feeling the moment begin to slip away, "It could be Wheeler." Elle whispered pointedly.

Alex glared back at the phone before looking at Elle darkly before making up his mind, "Fuck Wheeler."

Elle inhaled deeply as Alex pressed his lips against hers. Elle felt the softness of his mouth, and something about it was so familiar. Alex parted his lips; Elle opened her mouth and allowed his long tongue entry. His hips rubbed against hers as they got deeper into the kiss.

Elle attempted to move her wrist but as soon as she did Alex held it against the wall harder. Elle whimpered slightly; this side of Alex was a side she wanted to see more often. Alex could hardly believe after all this time he was actually making out with Elle. So many years he wanted to kiss her, now they were going at it against the wall of the hotel room.

Alex removed his tongue from her mouth smoothly and began placing kisses on her soft pale lips. Elle opened her eyes once he pulled back; a light blush spread across her cheeks. Alex smiled at the sure sign she enjoyed it. "Now do you believe me?" He asked her softly.

Elle smiled, "Yeah. I do."

Alex released her hands and gripped the towel around his waist once more. "I should probably stop trying to kiss you in a towel before something bad happens." He said sheepishly.

Elle let out a laugh as she attempted to regain blood flow in her arms. Alex headed back into the bathroom, giving her a rather caring smile. Elle waited until the door was closed before she let her knees give out under her. She silently shook in school girl excitement with the biggest smile the limits of her face would allow. She silently began thanking the ceiling with great zeal.

Alex got dressed wondering what had come over him. It was rare for him to be so hard on her, but clearly it had worked. He made his point and she even agreed with him. Alex placed his shirt on finally and made sure he looked alright in the mirror before finally heading out.

Elle had managed to move herself up onto the bed comfortably. "So, did you want to go out for dinner tonight or would you rather stay in?" Alex asked feeling slightly awkward.

"I'd rather stay in but, we should probably go out to get it." Elle said to him softly.

Alex nodded, "Sounds good to me." He said to her.

Elle stood up and walked over to him, "You know… I'm glad you did that back there." Elle smiled pointing at the wall.

Alex smiled, "You know, I didn't think I could ever do that." Alex said to her honestly.

"Why not?" Elle questioned him. "You've dated girls in high school, what makes me any different?" She didn't quite understand.

Alex looked at her for a minute, "I guess you've always meant more to me than they did."

Elle felt a tingle in her chest but managed to ignore it for the most part. "How long have you been feeling like this… exactly?" Elle wondered as they headed out of their room.

Alex looked up and expelled air slowly from his lips as he thought. "Close to seven or eight years." Alex said looking down at her.

Elle hit his arm, "And you never told me!? Oh! Who's a sissy now?" She asked him with a big smile.

Alex laughed and lowered his head before looking straight ahead as they made it out onto the street. He thought back to a high school romance of Elle's no one would ever forget; his lips curled into a smile. "Well, you know, I didn't want to ruin your romance with Gumpy."

Elle let out a loud laugh, "What was I thinking, right? He was such a jerk, and everything to me. You know he once ditched me to hang out with his jock pals who were planning on racing each other in shopping carts? What a ridiculous thing to ditch your own girlfriend for! I mean, could you even imagine it?" Elle shook her head, "I don't know what I saw in him."

"I guess you found that Forest Gump accent sexy." Alex teased.

Elle shoved him again, "Well if a certain boy had only asked me out I wouldn't have stayed with that jock for so long." Elle said to him.

Alex smiled at her, "So you've liked me for a while then too?" He elbowed her lightly as he raised up his chin triumphantly.

Elle rolled her eyes, "Yes Alex, but the guy is supposed to make the move; it makes girls like them more and unable to refuse. You should know all this by now!" Elle stated as if it were code of law.

Alex scoffed at her, "You could have given me some hints at least. The 'best friend' thing isn't exactly a sign saying 'take me Alex' its pretty much a steel gate." He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I guess I got what I deserved with Gumpy then." She said to him in defeat.

Several thoughts crossed his mind. He had a few girlfriends in high school, but mostly he only asked them out because they had hit on him first. Alex thought about Elle back then; she had dropped some hints but nothing he ever really thought about until now. Elle had gone as far as stealing one of his shirts on him, and then she lied pretending she thought it was her fathers. Alex hadn't thought about that in years.

As they reached the outside of the fried chicken restaurant Alex stopped and looked at her, "You know that night when we saw the fireworks?" Alex asked Elle shyly.

"Yeah. How could I forget a day like that? It was so unusual back in Shepherds Glen." Elle nodded; it was one of the few times in Shepherds Glen she actually did something fun.

Alex thought about that night as they had been standing near the lake; the memory began to rush on back to him. "I was going to ask you that night." He said to her turning his head slightly to look at her.

Looking up, Elle began to wonder, "Why didn't you?" Elle asked him sadly as the wind ruffled his hair.

"I guess I got a little nervous." He shrugged.

Elle nodded as she thought back to that night, "I guess that isn't so unusal." She decided.

Alex looked down at her face, "Look, I didn't say it back then but, you made me feel like I belonged somewhere; I wasn't an outcast with you around. That means more to me than you know." Alex shrugged looking down.

Elle knew what he was talking about. It seemed that her home was the only place he felt like an actual human being. At home, Josh was his only source of comfort and compassion. It didn't seem fair.

Elle nodded her head quickly, "Then again, you ended up committing yourself that same night. Way to go, Alex." She said to him with crossed arms.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Alex laughed lightly as he held the door open for Elle to enter first.

"You still owe me for that mister. I'm not letting go of that one." She looked back as she headed inside.

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