Alive

By: Aviantei

19 mph


Thanks to our rigid schedules (and by that I mean Alexander is a responsible pilot and insisted on being ready to report on time for his next round of IGPX training in the morning), we didn't have a lot of options to fly out somewhere and come back again. I'd been using my much needed shower as an opportunity to figure out what the hell we could even pull off on such a short schedule without setting off another fan riot, but Alexander suggested that we go for a drive somewhere he could show off just what that fancy price tag was capable of.

And, really, I'd heard much worse ideas, so I follow him out the door to his car, plopping into my usual spot in the passenger's seat and putting the to-go mug of coffee Alexander was kind of enough to make me (and about the only thing he did in my penthouse without explicit permission) into the closest cup holder. A sigh slips out of me as I melt into the leather.

"Fuck, I missed this."

"I didn't hear you say anything like that about me," Alexander says as he starts up the car, and I stick out my tongue at him. What can I say? The car seat is way more comfortable than he is. Alexander works on exiting my building's parking garage, and soon the sunlight is putting the tint in the windows to work. "I'm glad you decided to come, though. I was worried I'd never hear from you again."

"Oh, I see. Your plan all along was to get me into your car where I couldn't easily run away from serious conversations. Very clever." Alexander's expression shifts from relief to worry, and I gently smack his arm. "Don't start getting all nervous like I'm some time bomb. Just talk to me like normal."

As much as I would have liked to see him flounder a bit more, Alexander draws in a deep breath and composes himself in a near instant, his eyes staying attentive on the road, even though there's not much traffic headed outside the city. "Alright. Were you planning on avoiding me forever?"

There's nothing I can do to hide my grimace except be glad that Alexander probably can't see it with his eagle-eyed stare on the road. I pick up my coffee and take a sip, trying to think of the best way to give an answer that doesn't sound one-hundred percent awful. But he's being blunt and honest, and there's no point in playing games when I've already spilled my guts about being bored beyond belief. "That was the plan, yes." I take another drink, satisfied at Alexander's correct doctoring of my drink. "Considering we went quite a while without you ever knowing that I existed, I'd say it was a solid strategy."

"You're forgetting the part where I would have gone looking for you." He says it so seriously that I almost spit take all over his fancy dashboard. Should I be so surprised, considering that he ended up at my door anyway. "Though I'll admit that I didn't expect a stranger to call me with your address. That worked out a bit better than I expected."

I let out a non-committal hum, still thinking of all the ways I can go and murder Mariya once I get the chance. "I'm more impressed you answered a call from a stranger."

"I thought it might be you calling from some different number." Alexander's voice is quiet, but with the radio off and his engine hardly making any noise, it's easy to hear him. "But it was someone else. Sounded like she knew you. Have any ideas?"

"Yeah, she's a little brat who needs to know when to stay the hell out of other people's business," I mutter, but I don't sound nearly as upset as I want to. Mariya may have a habit of stretching boundaries as far as she possibly can, but she still knows there are lines she's not allowed to cross, as few of them she respects. She wouldn't have risked calling Alexander if she wasn't sure I would forgive her—and, dammit, she's right, I'd rather have this stupid car ride with Alexander than never seeing him again.

Alexander chuckles at my response. "I'm guessing you didn't go around handing out my number, then."

Oh, trust me, I didn't have to; Mariya's the reason I know anything about you in the first place. At the rate I'm using my coffee to avoid awkward pauses in conversation, it won't last the next half hour. Outside the car, IGPX City slowly starts to thin out, turning into nothing but dusty highway and a desert that feels like it stretches on forever. "My friend's kind of an expert at sticking her nose into places it doesn't belong." She's also the scariest hacker I've ever come across, as well as my number one enabler for stupid things. Can I really get mad at her behavior when I'm pretty much the worst role model ever? "Sorry if I compromised your security or whatever."

"Well, I haven't ended up with a stream of fans calling me, so we're still safe on that front." I let out a small sound of agreement, watching the rocks whiz past outside the window. Mariya definitely owes me a favor after this mess. I'll have to think of a good one to exploit from her. "While we're being honest here, I want you to know that I was pretty upset with you."

"Oh?" If I had any sense of sass left in me, I'd come back with something snarky. I can't really imagine Alexander upset over much; even when I broke into his mech, he sounded half disinterested by the situation—though that might have just been the boredom eating him alive from the inside.

Alexander nods, his eyes flickering to me for the slightest of movements. "You just started putting words in my mouth without even giving me the chance to talk back. I almost thought you were picking a fight to have something interesting to do."

"I don't do that anymore," I say, though there's no real reason to.

"That so, huh?" I wave for him to continue on, more because I want him to be able to make his point before he goes digging into all my poor life choices. "But, yes. Like I said, it felt like you might have just been going off on me to see what would happen. And then you wouldn't answer my calls, and I wondered what the hell was the point of forcing yourself into my life if you were going to just do this at the end of the day." Though there's a strain in his voice, none of it makes it into his voice or tightens up his body language, the perfect composure of an IGPX pilot who's used to driving way more dangerous equipment than a fancy sports car under way more pressure.

I'm nowhere near as lucky to have that level of experience, so I awkwardly adjust myself in the seat. "What made you change your mind?" You know, assuming he actually did change his mind and that this wasn't all just a prelude to him revealing that he thinks I'm still a bitch for what a did—which wouldn't be wrong, per se.

"Well," Alexander says, and for the first time ever I see him take a hand off the wheel while he's driving, fiddling with something, "I recognized that you were probably going through the same thing I was, and it would've been kind of stupid to wreck a good thing over something as stupid as that."

I want to tell him that it wouldn't have been a stupid reason to ditch me at all, but I don't get the chance for the words to come out, because the next thing I know, the hot desert wind is smacking my face and getting caught in my throat, completely stealing my words away.

Alexander's fancy foreign car is also a convertible. I shouldn't even be surprised. The wasteland around IGPX city sprawls out around us, flat, straight road cutting through a landscape that shows off nothing but the occasional rock and the wide stretch of cloudless sky above us. Even without color, the sight and speed are breathtaking. I don't even give a damn that the unrelenting sunshine is going to give me one hell of a sunburn once this day is over.

"If you ask me, you're the stupid one," I finally summon my voice to say, volume just loud enough to be audible over the roar of wind as it rushes by. And because I have zero sense of self preservation, I unclip my seatbelt and pull myself up to crouch on the seat, using the dashboard as support as my ponytail whips in every conceivable direction. "How fast did you say this thing can go again?"


"You are so fucking lucky that I'm in a good mood," I say to Mariya. She practically called me the instant I powered my phone back on—hell, I would believe it if she just straight up admitted to making a program to constantly call all my phones until I turn one back on. Wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing that she's done. Instead of pitching a full-out fit, I instead work on starting up my computer so I can get to buying the art things Caleb needs/wants. "Seriously, though, what made you think it would be okay to give Alexander my address?"

"Don't even act like you're upset," Mariya says, as chipper as always. "You only turn off all your stuff when you're sulking, and I can put two and two together."

"For most people, two and two doesn't involve hacking into people's phone records."

"Oh, spare me, Kirsten. Besides, you don't see Cunningham calling me and whining about me giving you his address."

I click through my emails with way more force than necessary, as if beating up my poor mouse will somehow channel all my frustration through onto Mariya through karma or some shit like that. "I paid you, Mariya. What I asked for was work. What you did was stepping out of line."

Mariya hums, not even sounding the faintest bit intimidated by my grumbling. Considering that I also avoided her for a few days, she's probably just happy to hear me go off. "Last I checked, darling, you never told me not to give Cunningham your personal information." I say fuck it and slam my head straight down in a move I'm sure my keyboard doesn't appreciate in the slightest. "You avoiding telling him where you lived was silly anyways. Besides, it all worked out."

I hate when she's right, because it seriously limits my ability to perform a cohesive argument back. And, all things considered, I don't feel as bothered by the idea of Alexander coming over to visit as I thought I would. Stupid nosy genius and her stupid nosy habits. "Weren't you just reminding me to be careful like a week ago?"

"Weren't you actually happy like a week ago?" If hanging up on Mariya would do anything, I'd go for it. Since it won't, though, I grit my teeth and start opening up the massive pile of links that Caleb has sent me, not giving a verbal response. Mariya heaves one of her big dramatic sighs. "Kirsten, you know I just want you to be happy, right?"

I add things from Caleb's wish list to my digital shopping cart, not even paying attention to their price tags or the ever growing total, and say through gritted teeth, "I know."

"Well! So long as you know that, I'll offer an apology for overstepping my boundaries, but I can't promise I won't do it again if it's better for you." That's way more of a concession than I expected, so I'll take it. She's not getting out of that favor, though. As if reading my mind, Mariya almost sings, "By the way, don't you want a new computer, darling? I can practically hear that thing wasting resources from here. Also I can see it by looking over your connection."

"I am not taking a computer upgrade as compensation for your bullshit. And stop stalking me, dammit."

"Oh, you want that as your favor?"

"Like hell! I want you to learn some damn manners!" Already through Caleb's requests, I add a couple other expensive art add-ons to the cart, hoping he'll like them. Funny how it only takes ten minutes of aimless clicking to complete a purchase in the quadruple digits. "Your favor is put on hold, but I'll be calling it in one of these days." And it's in her damn audio recordings, so she can't argue otherwise.

But Mariya just laughs, and it takes zero effort to image the grin splitting her face in two. "Roger, roger! Lucky me, getting to hold a special debt to Kirsten!"

Yeah, there are just some things about this girl I'm never going to get.


[Author's Notes]

And with this transition chapter in place, we now have a clear launching point into the next arc. Wanna take any guesses at what nonsense Kirsten and Cunningham are going to get into next? If you want a hint, I'd say remember that this story has a pairing (as slow burn as it has been). Though I dunno if anyone will come up with the same concept I put into place here.

Next time, it's time for a new kind of adventure of sorts. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[09.09.2019]