Alive
By: Aviantei
26 mph
"Yo, Cunningham," Liz says, breaking the silence first. I squeeze Alexander's hand, halfway daring him to try and worm his way out of my grip. I'd think it's more funny than offensive if I did, but he manages to keep his cool pretty well with three wide-eyed teenagers staring us down—always able to operate under pressure, I suppose. "Funny seeing you here."
Alexander shrugs. "Not much of a surprise for me to run into Takeshi up here. Didn't expect the rest of you to be hanging around, though." Yeah, and you didn't expect to see anyone up here at all, really, I can't help but think, holding back my snark. Alexander gives that smug little smirk of his to Takeshi. "If you start bringing everyone up here, we won't be able to get any privacy."
"Yeah, you're one to talk," Takeshi says, unable to decide if he wants to look more at my face or where I'm holding onto Alexander's hand. "At least I only brought IG pilots around. Sure, we've seen you hanging around with your pal before, but I didn't get the memo that Velshtein was getting a new member."
Luca meows, and Amy looks even more stunned than before. "Takeshi, you've met her before? Oh, sorry, that's rude. I'm Amy Stapleton, and this is Luca." She hefts up the cat in her arms, causing him to squirm. "It's nice to meet you."
What do you know, a child prodigy with some manners. Mariya could stand to learn a thing or two about tact from this girl. I dismiss her concerns with a wave of my hand. "Don't worry about it. I'm Kirsten Ashburn. Nice to meet you and all that." I catch Alexander glancing at me, as if he's concerned that I'm behaving. "And don't worry, Takeshi, you aren't that out of the loop. I don't see myself being in a professional race anytime soon." Funnily enough, just messing around in the simulators and getting to test copilot things with Alexander is enough for me. "You could just say I'm Alexander's plus one."
"Ha, I knew it!" Liz says, pumping a triumphant fist. She turns to Takeshi, slapping his back. "I told you they were dating. You owe me lunch."
He groans. "Yeah, yeah, I know…"
"Well, to be technical, we weren't dating then," Alexander says. I can't decide whether I feel glad or disappointed that Alexander only reserves his flustered side for me. "So I don't know if I'd call that a win or not."
Liz pauses in the middle of her victory celebration, and it's Takeshi's turn to laugh. "So that means I win, and you owe me lunch."
"It does not! They're a thing now, so you were wrong 'cause you said there wasn't anything going on."
"Oh, that's bullcrap and you know it."
"A tie?" Amy says, trying to quell her teammates' rising voices.
"How about it means you both lose?" River asks, at last making his way over to us. From his haircut to the way he walks, I can't tell if he's trying to be emo or if that's just his natural disposition. Well, whatever floats his boat. "Though if you're so eager to burn money, you can cover my lunch while we're at it."
"Like hell!"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Their onslaught fires off with such smoothness that I can't help but laugh. They may be a bunch of professional racers, but they're also a batch of kids at heart. I'm glad they can still joke around with each other, even though there was probably some tension with the whole team swapping nonsense the other season. Good for them.
Seemingly thinking the same while the strong willed trio continues to bicker, Amy giggles while Luca yawns. "You guys…"
Though it takes a little bit of time, the good-natured ribbing ultimately dies down, with everyone settling into a casual talk about the off season. No one says any specifics about the strategies they have—gotta keep those trade secrets in competition, I suppose—but they all seem to be working hard, and I can tell that they're all happy to be in the sport. Just being around their enthusiasm is enough to make me feel content.
Funny. I'm not even jealous. Absentmindedly playing with Alexander's fingers, I let the chatter wash over me. I'm glad I got to be part of this.
Alexander mistakes my hand squeezing onto his as a sign that I'm getting antsy. "You doing okay over there, Kirsten? I don't think I've ever seen you stay quiet for so long. Don't tell me you're feeling sick."
I jam my elbow into his side to show him just how healthy I'm feeling. "I'm constantly impressed at how you say incredibly rude things while also insisting on being a gentleman at others," I say, voice in my perfected deadpan. Alexander rubs his ribs, and I stick out my tongue. "Can't you appreciate that I'm letting you talk with your friends even though we're going on a date?"
"Oh no, are we interrupting you?" Amy asks, the only one of her teammates that looks mildly apologetic. Takeshi and Liz look like they want to prod at Alexander some more (a sentiment I can get behind), while River doesn't seem to care one way or another. "We don't mean to take up your time. I'm sure you two are busy."
If I were a better person, I'd take the high road. But I'm a trouble-making little shit, so I give Liz and Takeshi a quick grin before I latch onto Alexander's arm. "No need to worry, Amy. I'm gonna have A-lex-an-der all to myself pretty soon, so I can stand to share him for a little bit."
Amy and Takeshi have managed to form twin blushes, Liz mouths "Alexander?", and even River has raised an eyebrow. Alexander takes advantage of my close quarters, to snatch on my shoulders and steer me towards the exit. "Okay, leaving now—"
"Coward!" I say at the same time that Takeshi calls, "You're just running away?"
"I'm not running away; I'm going on a date," Alexander says, looking back over his shoulder and directing me back towards the door all the while. "Don't you worry, Takeshi. We'll see each other on the track soon enough."
"Takeshi's not the only one you'll face on the track," River says, Liz adding her approval. Even Luca lets out a yowl. "Just you wait."
I do my best to toss the group a wave (a bit of a tricky feat since Alexander's on the lookout for me tripping him again). "Nice to see you guys!" I say before I have to adjust so I don't trip down the stairs. Alexander closes the door so fast that it almost slams shut, and he lets out a heavy sigh. "You doing okay there, buddy?"
He holds onto the doorknob like he's afraid that Takeshi and co. are gonna burst through any moment to pester him some more. "Sorry," he says through a grimace. "Unexpected company wasn't part of my date plan."
"Well, it's not like it's the worst thing that could have happened." I start to make my way down the stairs, hopping over the steps when I feel confident in my balance. "I'm sure Jan and Dew would have been happy to tease you again. Oh! Or we could've run into Hamgra and you would've had to explain yourself to him."
Alexander lets out a strained groan at the idea of it, but his footsteps still follow after mine anyways. "Sir Hamgra doesn't care what any of us do with our personal lives so long as it doesn't get in the way of racing or reflect badly on the team."
I have to wonder if that's the case because Velshtein is so busy that indulging in a relationship would be damn near impossible during the IG-1 seas or because Hamgra knows Alexander is so serious that he wouldn't risk his racing career through doing something stupid. Maybe a bit of both. "Does that mean you happen to think I'm safe enough not to cause any trouble for you?" Having it the bottom of the staircase, I spin around so I can look at Alexander while walking backwards. "I'm not so sure that I would take that bet."
"I would. In fact, I'm taking that bet right now." I lose track of the shit eating grin I wanted to give him as Alexander gives me that easy smile, the one that makes his eyes shine in their full green glory. "Sure, you're a troublemaker, but you wouldn't intentionally cause a serious problem for me. And even if something happened, I'd still stick around with you anyways."
Dammit, I had to get myself involved with a smooth talker; I couldn't stop myself from blushing even if I tried. "Hey, you said it, so I'm gonna hold you to it. Don't come crying to me just because you didn't know better." Alexander rolls his eyes, not taking my threats seriously—not that he's supposed to, anyways. "You wouldn't happen to be trying to butter me up because you're embarrassed to show me off to your rivals, now are you?"
"I'm not embarrassed." He says to so quickly that I have to level him with a deadpan stare. He runs a hand through his hair. "I'm happy to have you as a partner, Kirsten. Please don't doubt that. I'm just…not really used to having a partner to introduce to other people, either. Plus it's kind of weird, since we're more rivals than coworkers, so I don't know the best way to handle things."
Damn, instead of flustered, he sounds worried that I'm upset with his reaction. I step closer to him, making sure to hold onto eye contact. "I appreciate you saying that, but I'm not mad at you." The relief is obvious in his expression. "I get it; this is weird and new for both of us. And I'm even sure where I'm gonna start when it comes to introducing you to my dad." I mean, sure, I'm an adult, and Dad isn't super protective or anything, but it's still going to be weird. "But we can figure this mess out together, okay? You don't have to handle this one all on your own, mister superstar. Put that teamwork of yours to good use."
"Right. I think we can manage that much together."
"I won't say no to you doing something nice to stay in my good graces anyways, though."
Alexander's chuckle is enough to put me at ease. "Of course you wouldn't." Side by side, we continue our trek back towards the parking garage. "Fortunately for you, I had a plan for where we were going after this, so I'm more than willing to accommodate."
I clasp my hands behind my back. "I'll leave you to it."
The funny thing about arcades is that I spent a lot of time in them as a kid. Nate was obsessed with the beat up IGPX racing simulator there, plus trying to win prizes has its own gambling rush as a bonus. Despite that experience, I haven't touched one since I got into high school, namely because much more exciting things happened to catch my attention. Lucky for me, though, even if it's been over a decade, the games haven't changed much, and so I'm still halfway decent at most of them.
Alexander, for all his talent, doesn't have as much luck.
I continue to shoot my toy gun at the screen, taking down the robotic enemies with decent enough precision until the timer buzzes and signals the end of the stage. Beside me and wielding a similar weapon, Alexander clicks his tongue. His score's gotten close to mine, but it's not enough to come out on top. "Damn. So close."
"But not close enough," I say, lowering my shooting arm. "You were improving pretty good there, though. Just a bit more and you'd be a real pain in the ass to beat." All that hand-eye coordination from handling a mech serves him well, and I can only imagine the results with a bit of practice. Alexander glances at me, and I give him an encouraging smile. "Wanna try another round?"
"Maybe in a bit. I need a restroom break." He places down his gun, and I do the same, letting the game time out on its own. Alexander gives me that challenging smirk. "Just you wait. I'll be winning soon enough."
"Looking forward to it." I wave him off to go to the bathroom and step out of the way in case someone else wants to take a crack at the game. The sounds of music and consoles take over the air, with the occasional shout of excitement. Finding the nearest game I can lean against, I settle in and pull out my phone, planning to kill some time with whatever notifications have popped up while I've kept the thing on silent.
I'm not disappointed, seeing as there's a whole swarm of them. Missed calls. Texts and pings from a few messaging apps. Mariya's attempts to reach out to me intermingled with the occasional spam email, with so many of them I can't even put the jumbled pieces together.
Until I do.
Until I realize.
Oh god, no.
[KIRSTEN FUCK ANSWER ME]
[YOU NEED TO CALL HOME]
[Author's Notes]
This story isn't one that lends itself super well to dramatic cliffhangers, but I managed to slip one anyways. And some time for angst. You know, I've determined that my writing is really just Like That.
So, yeah. Next week is angst. Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[10.21.2019]
