Chapter 21: Wonderwall

Disclaimer: The Ducks and any reference to the past movies are property of Stephen Brill and Disney. Alex and any new characters are property of me! Any songs I use are credited, and this obviously never took place. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

The song is obviously "Wonderwall" by Oasis

Alex looked nervously at the clock on the wall during her history class on Monday morning. Fulton left for his driver's test almost three hours ago and there was still no sign of him. He'd promised Alex she would be the first person to see his temporary license, even if she was in class. It's not like she cared much about causing a scene.

The seconds ticked by painfully slow and Alex practically jumped out of her chair when the lunch bell rang. There was a good chance Fulton would be waiting for her by her locker. She may be ok with causing a scene, but he tended to attempt to abide by the school's ludicrous rules. Her eyes quickly scanned the hallway as she made her way to the freshman lockers. No sign of Fulton.

"Dude, watch out!" Dean called out as Alex smacked right into him and almost fell over.

"Sorry." She mumbled, regaining her balance and continuing her hallway scan.

"What's with the sudden private eye thing?"

Alex pushed past him towards her locker, trying to see over the heads of guys that were eight inches taller then her. "Have you seen Fulton?" she asked distractedly. "He should been back hours ago."

Portman gazed over the heads of most of the people in the hall. Fulton caught his eye and winked; Portman set his face in a worried frown. "Yeah, he's waitin' for you by your locker."

Alex was hesitant to turn around; judging by the look on Dean's face, something was wrong. "What's wrong?" she asked, her brow creasing.

"Look for yourself." Portman replied harshly before taking off in the other direction.

Alex spun around and caught a glimpse of her boyfriend through the stream of people. He was wearing all black and grey, as usual. He was leaning back against her locker, one leg up against the cool metal, his arms folded, and his head hung, sadly. Alex bit her lip and walked over.

"Hey!" she managed brightly. IF Fulton had failed his driving test, he would be crushed. "How'd it go?"

Fulton glanced up glumly and shrugged before looking back down at his shoes.

Alex felt her heart break as she looked at him. "Not good?" she asked lightly. Fulton didn't answer. Alex touched his shoulder. "Dude, don't sweat it. You can take it over in what? Two weeks?"

"Yeah, I guess." He mumbled back.

"It'll be fine."

"It'd be kinda stupid to take it over again."

"What?" Alex said narrowing her eyes. There was no way he was getting her all pumped up for having a boyfriend with a car and then giving up. "Why?"

Fulton looked up and grinned guiltly. "Cause I already got my license!" he said happily, brandishing his temp. license at her. Alex took the piece of paper and stared at in disbelief. He really had her going for a few minutes.

"Fulton Reed!" she exclaimed back, smacking him with the piece of paper.

"What?" he grinned at her.

"You're such a jerk sometimes."

"But you love me anyways." He smiled goofily. "Dude, if I had my car, we could totally ditch fifth period and go for a cruise. Job hunt after class, right?"

Alex shot him a look. "What about practice?" she asked as the bell rang. "I'm late for class."

"We'll figure it out."

"Have a good lunch, Wheels." She teased.

ZXZ

Alex had been insanely frazzled all day. She was adamantly opposed to the whole Valentine's Day cliché, and because of this, she'd been avoiding Fulton. She dropped her books on the floor as she entered her room, and closed the door with her foot before collapsing facedown on her bed. She heaved a sigh of relief. No one would bug her in here.

Today would be her last day of rest until hockey ended. Late night practices during the week, 5 a.m.'s on the weekends to prepare for the playoffs. Classes to be juggled on top of her new job responsibilities. She figured it was only fair she look for a job if Fulton was. Alex was hired at that coffee shops she'd thrown a fit in (apparently they liked people who spoke their mind) two days a week, as well as at a music store right down the street from the school two additional days. She was hesitant to take the second job, but they sold vinyl. Alex loved listening to her father's records and even had an old turn table in her room in Chicago. Fulton was hired three days a week at a nearby grocery store. This afternoon, his step-father was taking him to pick up the car and Friday he would start working.

There was a knock at the door and Alex remained silent. 'Go away, go away.' She begged silently. Even if it wasn't Fulton at the door (she was pretty sure it was), she was not in the mood to talk to anybody at the moment. The person knocked again, waited for an answer that wasn't coming, and then tested the doorknob.

'FUCK!' Alex cursed at herself. She'd forgotten to lock the door. The door was slowly (almost painfully opening). Alex closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard the person creep quietly into the room. Opening one eye slightly, her gaze fell upon a pair of badly worn black combat boots. Fulton.

'Dammit, only eight hours away from avoiding this damn holiday.' She thought morosely.

Fulton debated whether or not he should wake her up, while Alex debated whether or not he would believe that she was asleep and leave. Fulton stood still for a few minutes and Alex finally gave in, stirring slightly and feigning a sleepy consciousness.

"Hey." Fulton smiled, holding one hand behind his back. "Tired?"

"Yeah." Alex faked yawned. If their were flowers concealed behind his frame, she would sweetly assure him that she loved them….and then proceed to vomit all over them. "Sorry, I must not have heard you knock."

Fulton shrugged. "It's ok." He assured her. "I just wanted to give ya this before I left. Nick's gonna be here soon….to ya know bring me to get my wheels."

Alex flashed him a waivering smile. "I told you not to get me anything…after this weekend I don't deserve anything."

"Don't say that." He replied, semi-crossly. Everything was constantly a battle with Alex. Even a Valentine's Day present. Wasn't this what the holiday about? Showering the object of your affections with gifts? She was just lucky he'd cancelled the singing valentine guy.

Alex plundered on. "I didn't get you anything."

"That's ok, I'm getting' a car, dude." Fulton told her, trying to hide his disappointment. "Just here." He shoved a poorly wrapped cylinder shaped object at her and looked away. Alex heaved a sigh of relief as she realized it wasn't flowers.

Carefully, she peeled off the paper and opened the tube. She freed a rolled up poster from its dark confines and gently unrolled it. Shock set in, and she said nothing. Fulton stole a quick look at her reaction and looked away just as fast.

"It…." Alex started softly and Fulton looked back up at her, ready for her to hate it. "It's perfect." She finished with a smile. "Help me put it up." Alex held open the large poster, which was a gorgeous summer sunset in the skies of Chicago. The red-orange rays reflected off the Sears Tower and onto the waters of the Chicago River.

Fulton grinned back at her and grabbed the poster tack from her desk drawer. "Where do you want it?"

"Above my bed so I can see it every night before I fall asleep." She told him.

ZXZ

"How does it feel to have wheels?" Alex laughed as Fulton sped away from the school. She felt as though a huge weight was being lifted from her shoulders as the school slowly faded into the background. Like all that mattered right now was Fulton and the road in front of them. It'd be so easy to just keep looking forward. To keep driving and never go back……

Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you gotta do

The radio droned on in the background as Alex settled comfortably down into her seat. "Dude, it's awesome!" Fulton laughed back at her. "Way better then the bus!" He reached over hit one of the preset stations. Static faded into the local metal station.

"Hey!" Alex exclaimed. "I like that song!"

Fulton shot her a look. "You like Oasis?"

"I love Oasis." She insisted as he tuned back into the previous station.

"Miss Punk Rock listens to British Pop." He laughed again.

"Just keep your eyes on the road, ass." She teased back.


Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Alex sang along to the last few words and looked at Fulton out of the corner of her eyes. He must of felt her gaze, because he turned slightly to look at her. Alex quickly whipped her head around to stare out the window. Fulton keep looking at the road and stealing looks back at her.

"What?" she asked defensively.

Fulton shook his head and smiled slightly. "Nothing." He assured her, fixing his eyes back on the road. If there was on thing he'd learned about Alex, it was her protectiveness over her emotions. No one could force Alex to voice an emotion, and she rarely did. Alex had to be approached symbolically. With Alex, actions spoke louder then words.


And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

Alex stole another look at Fulton and caught his eye. She smiled slightly as she sang, her eyes shinning brightly. Fulton gave in and started to hum along with her during the chorus and last verse.


Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
Today was gonna be the day but they'll never throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me

The song faded out and Alex leaned her head on his shoulder. Fulton smiled to himself and put and arm around her. He may not have gotten an 'I love you' out of the girl….but that was pretty damn near close.

ZXZX

ALEX'S JOURNAL

It's strange…I'm a master at pushing people away, but for some unknown reason, I can't seem to fuck this one up. I never really believed in the whole 'soul mates' concept until I met Fulton. That seemed like some crap they fed you in trashy romance novels and chick flicks to attract viewers. The concept that there's one specific person out there for everyone, one person who completes you….you just have to have the courage and conviction to seek them out. You search through the sand to find that rare coin that washed up from some sunken treasure chest in the sea years ago.

I've done some serious sifting in the last two years, and all I've really come up with is a couple of empty oyster shells. Empty shells with no pearl inside. But somehow, in the middle of Minnesota, I stumbled over my doubloon by accident. I've tried to throw it back to sea. I've tried melting the metal. But the ocean's spit it back out at me, and that metal just formed into something even more precious. He's a resilient little fucker.

Maybe I'm in over my head. This whole perfect life thing never really seemed like it was meant for me. I'm just waiting for all these fortress walls I've built up to keep me safe to come crumbling down around my feet. But they don't. They persist. Which maybe this fortress is preventing me from telling him how I really feel. That I really do love him. This all seems too good to be true. It's something I'm dreaming. In a few hours, I'll wake up and be my old bitter, cynical, hate the world self.

Maybe I'm approaching this the wrong way. Is it possible that I was in over my head before I even met Fulton? And that he was sent to save me from an awful fate, like some Greek God of lore rescuing the seemingly tough damsel in distress? And maybe those tumbling fortress walls are just what I need. Is it possible that I've missed out on reality because I refuse to live it?

I think I'm ready to take the plunge into the dark waters of reality. The water's deep….but boredom can kill you.

ZXZXZ