Dangerous Games
A/N: Ok kids, remember how a few weeks ago I told you to get some songs? Well this is how that's gonna work:
When you see this //Artist - Song\\ play that song and don't stop until you run into one of this ___________________ or into another song. If you see something like this ****** it just means a change of place in the scene, not a different scene so keep playing!
So anyway, the songs I used for this chapter were:
//Papa Roach - Last resort\\
//Crazy Town - Butterfly\\
//Sugar Ray - Fly\\
//Plumb - Damaged\\
Enjoy!!
*This is part of your Christmas present honey, have fun! **kiss kiss**
_________________________________
Max sat in math class, staring into space. Her headache had not subdued in any way and she was concentrating hard on clearing her mind in an attempt to help. However, she was finding it quite hard to concentrate in not concentrating with someone singing loudly behind her. She couldn't help but singing along softly.
"Don't want no short dick man..."
Three seats away Alec snorted and sat up straight. Max gasped softly, had she been singing that loudly?
Getting curious she turned around to see who had been singing the old pre pulse song. She saw a dark haired girl five seats away, still singing. Max frowned, she could've sworn the singer had been right behind her.
The bell rang a few seconds later and Alec laughed as they made their way out of the classroom.
"What's up man? Let us in on the joke!" Iker and Dave, who had both been seating closer to Max than Alec, came up behind the two transgenics.
"What? You didn't hear Max singing?" Alec contained her laughter enough to ask them.
Dave and Iker frowned "Singing?"
"Oh come on! What are you two? Deaf? She was singing so loudly I was sure the teacher was going to hear!"
"I didn't hear her." Iker shrugged "We were probably busy PAYING ATTENTION" Dave winked at Max who smiled.
"I'd love to stay and chat but I need to change for gym." Max rushed off ahead of the boys, even though they were headed for the same place.
As she walked she tried to convince herself that the girl in math class had been singing loud enough for everyone to hear and people just weren't paying attention. She started to walk faster when she realized she couldn't help but hear every little conversation going on around her. Unimportant stuff, just girls talking about boys and makeup, boys talking about girls and sports.
Walking inside the deserted locker room was a relief for her mind. The pain in her head was making her woozy. She changed slowly into her gym clothes and waited to actually go into the gym until the locker room became too crowded for her comfort.
Alec was already there when she entered. He started to walk over to her but the gym teacher intercepted him and made him help her with the mats.
"Gather around class! We're going to spar today. Alec, MJ, would you two like to go first?"
The transgenics nodded and stood at opposite sides of the mats. The rest of the class surrounded them.
They gave a little bow and Max could hear the small appreciative hisses coming from the horny teenagers around them.
Their moves were controlled and restrained. To everyone else there they looked powerful and well trained but Max knew Alec was holding back, she sure as hell was.
After a minute or so of soft kicks and punches Alec kicked Max's legs and pretended to fall on top of her.
"Are you feeling ok?" He whispered.
"No, are you?"
"I'll live."
"I don't think I will but have a nice life." Max joked and Alec laughed a little.
"Hey, are you all right?" The teacher rushed over to them.
"I'm not feeling too good Mrs.. Crick may I be excused?"
"Certainly Maxine. You should probably stop by the infirmary."
Alec rolled off Max and helped her up. "May I take her? I daresay this is all my fault, I should've kept my balance."
"You can take her. She'll be ok, she probably just had the wind knocked out of her."
Alec supported Max all the way to the locker room.
"Don't tell me your head isn't killing you!" Max whispered urgently.
"I have a bad headache but I can handle it. You don't look like you can handle yours though, you're turning an interesting shade of green."
"I'll be fine. I just need a coffee and some peace. My ears hurt too."
Alec raised an eyebrow "Your ears?"
Max just shrugged.
"Side effect I guess. I'll go to the coffee shop for the rest of the class. Meet me there afterwards?"
"Oh great! Leave me here alone to fight the Neo wannabes!" Alec protested with a smile.
Max appreciated his efforts to cheer her up but the truth was, she was in too much pain to be cheerful.
*************
"Hey there, I've got some good news for you."
Max, who had been resting her head on her folded arms, looked up at the sound of Logan's voice.
"How did you find me?" She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced, it was too bitter for her taste but she didn't have the energy to get up and get sugar.
"I ran into Alec. So anyway, the rest of your classes were canceled because of some assembly for the juniors. Since I don't teach them I have the next hour off so I can drive you home. Alec told me you weren't feeling too well."
"I'm not. Where is he?"
"He said he had some stuff to take care off and that he'd catch us later."
"Ok, let's go." Max took her ice latte with her and they left the coffee shop.
*************
"Dak, you wanted to see me?" Alec sat down on a bench next to the dark haired beauty.
"Yup. I need some help with..."
Alec started to feel woozy, he tuned Dakareth's voice out, it was almost as if the sound of her voice could hurt his ears somehow.
"Alec? Are you paying attention?" Dak snapped her fingers.
"Yeah yeah, hum... could you... whisper? I think someone might be overhearing." Alec whispered to her.
Dak frowned "So? It's not as if the dance decorations are a big secret or anything... So anyway, could I count you in?"
"For what?"
"Help! Geez Alec, where are you today?"
"Hum... I just... didn't sleep well last night. I think I'll go home and take a nap." He stood up and looked around his backpack for his car keys.
"Ok, fine. We'll talk later."
"Yeah."
"Tell MJ I hope she feels better soon!"
"I will" Alec said as he walked quickly to his car, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it.
*************
//Papa Roach - Last resort\\
Max took deep, calming breaths.
"Traffic is terrible at this hour. Try to sleep, this might take a while." Logan turned up the music and Max groaned. She turned it off and glared at Logan.
"Classic music upsets you?" He asked.
"Yes! It would even if I didn't have this monster headache! I'm sick of this music, it's bad enough I have to hear it all day at school."
Logan shrugged and turned his head back to the road.
Max looked out the window at the hideous traffic. There seemed to be some kind of traffic accident ahead because she could hear yelling.
And honking
And yelling
And honking
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. The honking was making her crazy, the yelling was hurting her ears.
The guy on the car next to theirs turned his music up and sang along. Max would've gotten out and beaten the crap out of him and his stereo if she could only move.
The pain was intensifying
It was paralyzing her.
She covered her ears with her hands as the guy behind them honked.
The guy beside them beeped too, the traffic was clearing up but the guy in front of them didn't seem to notice this, he just wouldn't move.
"For pete's sake." Logan honked loudly.
The sound traveled from the car to Max's ears, it bounced around the car in waves. The pain was excruciating. Max pressed her hands against her ears even more forcefully as the full blast of sound hit her.
She tossed her head back and let out an ear piercing scream.
*************
Alec was driving fast, he was trying to get home before his head split in two. Something was wrong, so very very wrong.
His cell phone rang then, the noise startled him so much he almost drove off the road. He fumbled around his jacket for the damn device and answered it quickly, more than ready to get rid of the annoying ringing.
"Yeah?"
"Alec!"
"Logan? What's up."
"Are you driving?"
"Hum... yeah."
"Pull over."
"What?"
"Pull over! Now!"
"What's wrong with you man? I'm in the middle of the freakin..."
"Alec PULL OVER!"
At that precise moment something exploded on the back of Alec's head, almost as if he'd been hit with something hard. He pulled over instantly, ignoring the stream of obscenities that emanated from the people driving behind him.
He closed his eyes and threw his head back. "Logan, what's going on?"
"Where are you?" Logan's worried voice in his ear was far from comforting.
"About four miles away from home."
"Put the hood of your car up and lie down on the back seat. You are probably going to pass out in a minute or two. I'm driving over to get you."
"I'm gonna WHAT?"
"Do it Alec!"
Alec pulled all his remaining strength together and did as he was told. The pain in his head was blinding him. He curled up on the back seat and closed his eyes, hoping with all his might that what Logan had said was true. The pain was so intense he couldn't wait to pass out.
It took only a few minutes for his world to go black.
____________________________
When he came back to he found himself on the back seat and Logan at the wheel. His headache was receding a little but he was sweating like a pig and shivering too much.
"Welcome back. Sorry it took me so long to get here, I had to drop Max off at the house and get a cab to come and get you. I called sebastian on the way here. He said as soon as you start sweating the fever will go down a bit and you'll start feeling better."
Alec winced, it was too much information to take in at once.
"What happened?"
"You passed out from an 'overload' as Sebastian called it." Logan kept driving through traffic.
"How did you know I was gonna... oh, Max right?" Alec tried to sit up but his stomach didn't agree with the movement so he laid back down.
"Yeah, she seems to be presenting the symptoms a bit faster and stronger than you. She was still unconscious when I came here to get you."
Alec groaned "What's happening to us?"
"Gene therapy. They are trying to enhance your sense of smell and your hearing. Probably taste too. Your body shut down to repair itself and fight the effects, we knew it might happen."
"When will this torture be over? Did Sebastian say? Because I have a dare to complete tomorrow night and it's gonna be hell on earth if I have to go to a club like this."
"He didn't say but you have a day to recuperate."
The two men remained silent for the rest of the ride. When they got home Alec was just about to go inside when Logan stopped him.
"Alec, I need you to get Max. I left her in the car."
Alec frowned "You LEFT her in the car?"
"I can't touch her, I couldn't carry her."
"Right." Alec grumbled and walked to the car. He opened the door and gasped.
"Logan! She's seizing!"
"Oh crap!" Logan rushed over to them but Alec was already holding a shaking Max in his arms.
"Get the door!" He instructed Logan.
As soon as they were inside Logan rushed off to get some milk.
"Could she be seizing because of the tryptophan? How do we know she's seizing because of the tryptophan?" Alec asked the older man.
"We don't. For all we know that could happen to you any moment now."
But it didn't. Alec held Max close to him and made her swallow some more milk. It took almost an hour for the shakes to stop.
Alec sighed and relaxed against the headboard "We need to know if her seizures are being caused by of something here."
Logan nodded "I agree, I'll call Sebastian now."
Alec was glad Logan had such a great, geeky friend. They had certainly been depending on Sebastian a lot.
Max stirred in his arms and he pushed the sweat soaked hair away from her forehead. She opened her eyes and tried to focus.
"Hey there." Alec whispered.
"Alec... Oh my God Alec! Are you ok?!" Max sat up quickly and instantly regretted it as a wave of nausea cursed through her body.
"I'm fine. Logan called me and made me pull over before I passed out." Alec smirked.
"... Why are you giving me that look?" Max eyed him with suspicion.
"You were worried about me weren't you?"
"No I wasn't! ... I was worried about the car!" Max covered up even though she knew Alec could see through her bullshit. "You don't take good care of that baby. She's always dirty and... muddy and... she's too much of a car for you!"
Alec's smile grew wider "If you think the car is dirty you should spend a night with the driver." He raised his eyebrows a few times and gave Max a sexy look.
That earned him a slap on the head.
*************
The doorbell rang just as Logan was getting off the phone with Sebastian. He opened the door with a puzzled expression only to find a kid standing on the other side.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"Mr.. Cale! Hi."
"Hum... hi." Logan was truly puzzled by the boy with greasy black hair standing in front of him.
"I'm Tom... from your history class?"
A light bulb went off in Logan's head "Oh Tom! Hi! What brings you around?"
"I hum... I'm looking for MJ? I heard she wasn't feeling well and I just thought I'd check up on her, see if there's anything I can do?"
He looked a bit agitated and more than a little self conscious.
"Well... MJ and I don't have much contact, I don't even know if she's home. Why don't you try knocking oh her door? It's right around the back."
"Oh... yeah ok, I think I'll do that. Thanks!"
Tom turned his back to Logan and walked away quickly. Logan noticed the back of his school shirt was drained with sweat and he was opening and closing his fists quickly. Logan wasn't sure Tom was even aware he was doing that.
He went to the basement door and locked it from the inside but instead of going back to his computer he stood by the door and listened, just in case.
*************
After laughing at Alec's cheesy line Max sank back down on her bed and closed her eyes. The seizure had tired her out but at least the headache was mostly gone.
Alec had left her for a few minutes to take a quick shower, he hadn't even bothered to close the door and she could see the hot steam pouring out of the bathroom in waves.
"You better not finish all the hot water or I'll have your ass."
"You promise?" Alec responded from the shower and Max grunted, she was too tired to go in there and hit him for that one.
Someone knocked then and Max groaned "Alec, can you get that please?"
"Max you are WAY closer to the door! Not to mention fully clothed."
"Yeah but I'm tired! ... Pleeeease?"
Alec grunted something that sounded like a fine and strode out of the bathroom with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. He sung the door open.
"Hello" He greeted the stranger.
"Hum... hi." Tom offered no explanation as to why he was standing in front of Alec's doorstep sweating like a pig.
"... Aren't you a bit too old to be selling cookies?"
"Uh?" Tom frowned.
"Boy scout? What?" Alec wasn't making much sense but then again, neither was Tom.
"I believe girl scouts sell cookies, not boys." Tom answered.
"Whatever, so... can I help you?"
Max, who had after her seizure removed most of her clothes only to remain in a form fitting tank top and her six-year-old boy panties, sat up in her bed and glanced at the door curiously.
"Alec, who is it?"
"Hum... who are you?" Alec asked the big nosed intruder.
Tom glanced past a half naked Alec at Max, barely clothed and stretched out on her bed, or was it her bed?
"I'm uh... sorry, my mistake." Tom turned around and walked away quickly.
Alec shrugged and closed the door.
"Alec, who WAS it?"
"No one."
___________________________________
//Crazy Town - Butterfly\\
Wednesday night came soon enough and with that Alec's dare.
He walked into a little club full of people around his age followed by Luke, Nikki and Melissa. His confident strides took him across the room and all the way to a table on the back that had been reserved just for them.
Alec turned heads while he walked, both male and female. His form fitting jeans and tight black shirt made girls look at him with lust and guys stare with envy.
The four members of the elite sat down around a circular table that reminded him of Crash. Luke ordered a bottle of tequila for them, which arrived a few minutes later along with 4 shot glasses, some lemons and salt.
The conversation so far had revolved around cars and chicks, much to the girl's disgust. Alec couldn't help but be amazed at how normal the kids looked for brain washed, gene altered super teenagers that is; even if they WERE doing a stupid dare that would leave most of them with a hangover the size of Texas.
"Remember kids! We all have to drink a whole bottle of this shit!" Luke reminded them while pouring the first round.
They laughed and joked around while they drank. The loud music and atmosphere seemed to increase the teenagers' euphoria even though Alec noticed they were still quite lucid after five shots. He was even more weirded out when Luke walked up to him and said
"I can't believe you're not hammered yet! How many have you had? Six?"
"Seven." Alec responded automatically and Luke whistled.
"I can hold my alcohol well." He offered as an explanation.
"I can see that."
"Well what about you? You've drank as many as I have!"
"I've had practice" Luke winked at Alec and left him to go dance with Nikki.
Melissa, who had been drinking way faster than the rest of them and was probably up to her tenth shot, walked up to Alec and sat on his lap. She tried to tell him something but she was giggling so much it was impossible.
Alec drowned his eight shot and restrained himself from pushing her off his lap. Lately he'd been feeling bad about doing anything with drunk girls, damn Max and her shitload of humanity.
"Alec! Body Shot!" Melissa shrieked and pushed the tequila bottle and Alec's glass off the table. He caught them before they hit the floor and thanked his transgenic reflexes, which still worked to perfection even after all that alcohol.
The cute blonde hopped on the table, leaned back and raised her shirt. She handed Alec the salt and lemon and giggled again.
Alec sighed and closed his eyes.
'Oh well, all in a day's work.' He thought before diving in.
________________________________
Max had been waiting up for him, he could tell. She pretended to be asleep when Alec walked in but he ignored her gesture and undressed on his way to her bed. He sat down by her feet and removed his shoes and socks.
"Don't you even try to pretend to be asleep, I know you want all the juicy details."
Max dropped the act and sat up "So, how was it?"
Alec chuckled but he became serious again in an instant "It was bearable."
"Bearable?"
"You should have seen them Max! We drank so much alcohol those kids should have been dropping like Clinton's flies! But they were barely tipsy! I mean... Luke drove home!"
Max raised an eyebrow "So did you."
"Exactly."
Max hugged her knees "How do you think they're doing it?"
"Training."
"What?"
"Luke said he'd had practice. My guess is they do this really often, combined with some good old fashioned gene therapy."
Max bit her lip "All this from a simple little weekly shot?"
"No."
Logan's voice at the top of the stairs startled them both.
"Logan! You scared the crap out of me. How long had you been standing there?"
"Long enough to hear Alec's theory. I think you're right but they are probably using something more than just the shots for the gene therapy."
"How do you know?" Alec got up from Max's bed and walked to the bathroom for his toothbrush.
"Sebastian came through. Preliminary tests show that the gene therapy in those 'flu shots' are to enhance your hearing and sense of smell, maybe even taste."
"Well that explains it. I'm sorry for saying your mac and cheese smelled like feet." Alec joked to try to lighten the mood but Max wasn't amused.
"Did he say anything about my seizures?"
"As a matter of fact he did. Alec, can you remember when you stopped having the seizures?"
Alec pushed his toothbrush to the side of his mouth and said "Surmh"
He went to the bathroom and rinsed before continuing "They started giving us a little pink pill that tasted like copper if you took too long to swallow it, after taking it for a couple of weeks the shakes went away for good."
"How long were you taking it for?" Logan sat down on the couch and watched as Alec took something shiny from his jeans pocket and crawled into bed with it. Logan found that strange but said nothing.
"Oh I don't know... six months maybe."
"Then that's it. They started to cure your seizures Max but you never completed the treatment."
"So I got a few months of peace and now they are back? That sucks."
"Sebastian thinks they might be a bit worse than you're used to for a while until your system balances out again."
Max rolled her eyes "Calm before the storm, figures even my health wouldn't last."
But Max's thoughts weren't really on the chemicals in her brain but the gold chain she'd seen Alec take from his jeans. She'd seen him transferring that same chain from one pair of pants to the other just yesterday and she was wondering what that was all about but for some reason she was sure he wouldn't tell her if she pushed.
She also knew he'd tell her when he was ready.
____________________________
Alec walked into the cafeteria expecting to see Luke, Melissa and Nikki to have a hideous hangover but they looked completely normal to him.
"Hey Alec my friend! How's it hangin'?" Luke motioned him over to their table.
"How's your head? Hangover from hell?" Nikki fussed over Alec and he smiled.
"Mild headache, how about you?"
"Oh we're fine. You'll be fine too you know, soon." Melissa smiled at him from across the table.
"What do you mean?" Alec played dumb.
"She means you'll be able to hold your booze better with time." Dak, who had just arrived with Max, explained to Alec and sat down next to him.
Alec left the matter drop and concentrated on his hot lunch, which tasted like rubber and looked like glue.
"So, you all have your bathing suits ready?" Dak bit down on an apple and offered the rest of it to Alec who gratefully accepted it.
"Bathing suits?" Max frowned.
"For the car wash." Melissa shrieked.
"Oh yeah! Well I'm all set." Max smiled.
Alec choked on his apple "You have a bathing suit?"
"Well of course I do silly! Don't you?"
Alec coughed a few times and hit his chest to force the 'unchewed' piece of unexpected apple down his throat "I do but I didn't think... I mean you don't... ugh forget it."
Max chuckled and opened her yogurt. It was always nice to know she still had some surprises left for her 'roomie'.
************
Max sat through Mrs.. Hooke bio class bored out of her mind. She'd read and memorized the whole book two nights ago and now had absolutely nothing to do.
Lucky for her Amanda had something to tell her. She passed Max a tiny piece of paper while the teacher wasn't looking.
'Your dare has been moved up for today, we have something different planned for friday. Dak will meet you outside at 3 o'clock. Good luck!'
Max smiled. Bungee jumping in just a few hours! Her day was definitely looking up.
************
"MJ! Ready to go? I hope you don't mind the change of plans. Luke scored big time so we have something else to do tomorrow." Ashley announced.
"Scored what?" Max frowned.
"Hey guys! Ready? Let's hit the road, it's gonna be a long ride." Dak interrupted the conversation.
The girls and Sean piled into his car and they drove off. Max pulled out her cell phone.
"Who're you calling?" Ashley, who was sitting next to her, asked.
"Alec. I didn't see him for the rest of the day so he'll be waiting for me." Max waited for him to answer.
"Yello." Alec's voice sounded a little far away.
"Alec?"
"Max! Where are you?"
"On my way to the bungee."
"I thought that was tomorrow."
"So did I."
"You're in a car?"
"Yeah."
"Ok well listen, I ran into Logan and he said he needed to talk to us. I think he found some more information on the mansion."
"Ok well..." Max looked up and realized that Dak was staring at her through the mirror of the car and she was frowning. "Dak, is everything all right?"
"Yes of course, why wouldn't it be?" She looked away quickly.
"Hum... ok, you just looked a bit uncomfortable there for a second." Max was trying to keep the panic away from her voice. Had Dak overheard somehow? But how?
"I'm ok, I just have cramps."
"Are you sure those are cramps? You're not getting nervous on us are you Dakareth?" Sean joked.
"They are Cramps Sean! Or would you like me to pull up my skirt and show you?"
Sean raised his arms in surrender "Hey I believe you!"
"Max, is everything ok?" Alec's voice startled her, she'd forgotten he was still there.
"Yeah. I'll... I'll call you later ok?"
"Fine."
They both hung up and Max turned to the girls with concern, she'd just realized something.
"Hey guys? Are we supposed to jump wearing SKIRTS?"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. Here, put this on." Dak handed her a pair of jeans and tossed another pair in Ashley's direction. Then she yanked her skirt off and slipped on her own pair of jeans without even a glance in Sean's direction.
Max looked down at the jeans Dak had given her and frowned.
"Dak... this are my jeans."
"Well duh! What did you expect me to do? Give you a pair of Sean's?"
"No I mean... how did you get them?"
"Skipped fifth period, went to your place and got them."
"But how did you get in?"
Dak rolled her eyes and turned around to face her "What is this? Twenty fucking questions? I just did ok!"
Sean placed a hand on Dak's knee "Hey, chill ok? I'm sorry if my comment upset you."
Dak was fuming "No one says chill anymore Sean."
But Max was under the impression that Dakareth's sudden outburst hadn't been due to Sean's comment. Something was very wrong and she was going to find out what it was soon.
*************
//Sugar Ray - Fly\\
The bungee was HUGE! It was on top of a hill and the drop seemed to be like a thousand feet. Max couldn't wait to get up there.
"Ok, well here we are! Who want so go first?" Ashley asked.
"I'll go!" Max volunteered.
"Great! Well good luck! Elevator's right over there." Dak pointed out the way. Max reached into her backpack and came up with the disposable camera she'd bought less than a week ago.
"Hey, would you mind taking a picture? I want to send this camera to an old friend of mine back home." Max explained.
"I'll do it!" Sean took the camera and wished Max good luck.
She rode the elevator to the top of the hill where a guy was waiting to strap her gear on. She supervised the process and pretended to be a bit nervous.
When she was finally given the 'go' she stood on the edge of the platform and looked down. Her friends looked like ants from so far up.
She smiled, spread her arms and tossed her head back before jumping over the edge.
Suddenly the world was passing her by, she felt free and relaxed like she hadn't felt in a long time. All her worries, her concerns disappeared in those few seconds of the freeing experience.
The air on her face, the free fall feeling, the adrenaline rush, they were all great but they couldn't erase the feeling she got when she got a glimpse at Dak's face. Suddenly all her good feelings were replaced with good old fashioned uneasiness that she couldn't seem to be able to get rid of.
______________________________
"So she was staring at you? I mean really staring?"
"Yes! Alec, I really think she heard you!"
"That's impossible! You said you could barely hear me yourself!" Alec ran a hand through his hair and sank deeper into Logan's couch.
"Well something strange is going on with that girl, it can't be just coincidence."
"Right now I think we should concentrate on this." Logan walked into the living room and sat across from the transgenics.
"Something was bugging me about the information I got on the house. Remember what I told you? The house was built in 1979 by a man named Alfred Young, he was a very wealthy man, had his own business, something to do with the internet? Well I knew something was off, I just didn't know what. So I analyzed all the information and then I remembered."
"What?" Alec leaned forward.
"The information said Mr.. Young made his fortune with some internet business, only the world wide web wasn't invented until 1989."
"... Crap. So we should assume all information is wrong. The place was probably not even owned by a Mr.. Young!" Max buried her face in her hands.
"Well we can't be sure. What I AM sure of is that you two need to get back in that house. I think the secret to this must be somewhere in that strange office."
Alec glanced at Max and smirked "Time to get out the old cat suit!"
________________________
Max and Alec climbed up the brick wall with ease but Alec still found a reason to complain.
"You know, you could have just gotten your 'boyfriend' to disable the cameras for two minutes instead of having us climb!"
Max rolled her eyes "I'm not even going to comment on that one."
They reached the main bedroom balcony in no time. Max pulled herself up and got to work in the lock.
She had that door open in seconds and the two transgenics crawled in, staying low and out of the camera's range. Alec pushed the fake wall and Max got in, she held it open for him and let it close softly behind him.
"Is this room bugged?" She whispered.
Alec closed his eyes in concentration for a few moments then shook his head.
Their night vision kicked in and both transgenics looked around the room.
"I'll take the computer." Alec sat down on the huge computer chair and turned it on.
He shook his head "Here's another thing that doesn't fit. This house is supposed to have been abandoned since 1996, this computer has Windows 98."
Max shrugged "Maybe the elite has been using this office."
"Oh please, they wouldn't be using Windows 98! This thing takes twice the gestation period of an elephant to load up!"
"Then this house has more secrets than we thought." Max walked around and discovered a safe.
"Look Alec!"
He smiled "What are you waiting for? Crack it!"
Max pressed her ear against the safe and got to work on it while Alec looked through the files in the computer.
After a few minutes he sighed "Well this is all useless crap. No one in their right minds would keep information in a computer that runs with Windows anyway."
"Shhh" Max scolded him. The safe opened with a click and she smiled, satisfied.
Alec was out of his seat and next to Max in a second. "So, what is it?"
Max pulled out a few red candles, some kind of torch, a yellow liquid that seemed quite flammable and something that looked like floor plans.
Alec spread the plans on the floor and Max kneeled next to him.
The drawings looked like plans but they didn't make much sense, the base of whatever they were looking for seemed to be tilted and the whole surface divided in quadrants.
"Can you make sense of it?" Max asked.
Alec shook his head and took out a small digital camera that Logan had given them. He snapped a few shots of the plans and the other stuff and crammed everything back in the safe.
"Well, I think we have what we came for." Alec turned the computer off and Max closed the safe.
"Uh oh." Max's eyes widened.
"What?" Alec asked.
"How the hell are we going to get out of here?"
"Oh crap!" Alec ran to the wooden fake wall and pushed it but nothing happened.
"The door opens only from the outside! How the hell could we have forgotten that?" Max smacked her forehead and leaned against the wall. "Our cell phones won't even work in here!"
"Oh no no no no, there must be some way of opening it from the inside! Just help me look for it."
They spent the next twenty minutes running their hands over every inch of the walls, looking behind every book in the bookcase, checking the desk but they found nothing.
"That's it! I'm knocking this wall down!" Alec roared in frustration.
"Alec calm down! We can just wait here until Logan gets worried and comes looking for us."
"No Max! We're getting out of here now!"
"Alec! What's wrong with you?"
Alec sighed and whispered "I really really have to pee."
Max burst out laughing at his statement and he just scowled.
"Can't you hold it in?"
"I've been holding it in for too long!"
"Well pee in that pot!"
"I can't"
"Why not?"
"The plant is plastic."
"So?"
"So I just can't!"
Max raised her eyebrows "Fine, have it your way."
Alec jumped up and down a few times, loosening his neck and shoulders, then he gathered up speed and crashed against the wall.
He bounced back like a rubber ball and the wall didn't even dent.
Alec let out a string of obscenities while Max laughed like a maniac. She took out her pocket knife and scraped off a bit of the wall.
"Bad news rubber boy, this wall is made of some metal... probably titanium."
"Oh you've got to be shittin me!" Alec groaned.
"Nope, we're stuck in here until Logan misses us."
Five minutes later Max had her back to the plastic plant.
"Don't look!" Alec warned her.
"Alec you've never had a problem peeing in front of me!"
"I'd never peed on a plastic plant before!"
Max shook her head "You're one screwed up guy."
"And you're just noticing that now?!"
"Oh shut up and pee."
A few seconds went by in total silence.
"Max?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you cover your ears and hum?"
Max rolled her eyes but covered her ears and hummed the tune of Mary had a little lamb but with her super hearing she could still hear the distinct hiss. She smiled and kept humming.
*************
Four hours later the two transgenics were still stuck in the small office. Alec was sitting down on the floor with his back to the fake wall and Max's head on his lap. She'd fallen asleep hours ago and he'd fallen deep into thought.
His eyes were closed but his forehead showed signs of hard thinking. Maybe it was the pitch blackness, maybe it was the trapped feeling, either way her head on his lap reminded him of so many things, so many nights lying just like that with someone that looked so much like her. The pain afterwards, having it happen again. So many people, so many lives, that night in Africa...
Alec's eyes filled with tears and his hand unconsciously reached for his right pocket.
Max stirred then and his hand shot back to it's original position on her hair.
"What time is it?" Max mumbled and looked up.
"Hum... late." Alec turned away from her and tried to blink away the tears but Max noticed.
"Alec are you..."
"No! I just got something in my eye. Dirt."
Max frowned and sat up. "What's going on? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine ok?" Alec turned away from her completely.
"Hey... we are going to get out of here you know? Logan won't leave us here to rot!"
"What? Of... Max I know that! I'm not 4!"
"Well you look upset."
Alec turned around quickly to look at her "Has it ever occurred to you that I might not be such a shallow guy?"
"Have you ever given me a reason to?" Max snapped back at him.
Alec stood up and yelled "How dare you even say that to me? I gave up everything to come on this little 'save the world' mission with you!"
"Oh and I didn't?" Max stood up too and placed her hands on her hips.
"You chose to be here because you love playing hero Max."
"Oh and you don't?"
"No! I just came to look after your sorry ass!"
"Well I can look after my own ass thank you very much!"
"No you can't Max! You can't! You only managed to survive this long without me because you are a loner but either way you were not going to be alone in this! If you'd just taken off on this little quest with just Logan one of you would be dead by now!"
"I can look after both of us!" Max was yelling now too.
"If you really believe that then what the hell am I doing here?" Alec lowered his voice a bit.
"This is a three men job. If it weren't I never would have asked you to come."
//Plumb - Damaged\\
Alec became quiet for a few moments "So that's all I am to you? A man for a job?"
Max's face softened "No Alec I..."
"I'm just an intruder in your little untouchable love fest am I not?"
"Alec..."
"You know what? It's fine. I'll be gone as soon as we get out of here and you can go back to watching your own ass and crying over your broken relationship."
"Alec..."
"It's just that... I really thought we were getting somewhere. You and me, I thought we were becoming friends."
"Al..."
"But god knows you'd never become friends with a killer now would you? Us inhuman trained assassins are below you! Go ahead and run back to perfect Logan. I'm sure he'd never kill the ones he loves."
Alec leaned back against the fake wall and banged the back of his head on it. Then he slowly sank down to the floor with his eyes closed.
Max's head hung low as she made her way across the small room and crouched down by Alec's feet.
"I'm a killer too Alec. I killed my brother with my bare hands!"
Alec looked up slowly "Yes Max but you managed to remain pure in spite of that. Your soul has gone by untouched. Unlike some of us soulless bastards."
Max's hands rested on his knees "The fact that your heart can ache like it does right now tells me that you still have a soul in there. A damaged one, no doubt. But then again, we all have our secrets don't we?"
Alec closed his eyes and Max's arms went around him. He clung to her with as much need as she did to him. Her legs straddled his in an effort to get closer to his heart, to warm him from the inside.
He pulled back a little to stare into her deep brown eyes. They were damp with tears. Her lower lip trembled and he had to concentrate on something other than her full lips to keep his head straight but he was quickly losing the battle with rationality.
"Max..."
Her knee hit a dent in the floor that they'd missed before and the wall they were leaning against swung open, forcing them backwards.
___________________
Alec landed on his back with Max on top of him but as soon as her knee left the dent the wall started to swing shut again.
"Crap!" Alec pushed himself back with Max still in his arms. Max screamed as the door closed over the tip of her sneakers. It cut through the rubber like butter.
"Max! Oh my God are you ok? Your toes!"
Max covered his mouth with her hand and wiggled her now exposed toes to show him she was ok. Then they slowly made their way out of the room.
Once they were safely outside and on the ground Max groaned "Let's just hope no one saw us."
Alec shrugged "Let's just deal with things when they happen. Why don't we go home? I'm tired."
Max frowned "Alec..."
But he was already heading for the woods.
*************
When they got home they looked around for Logan but he was nowhere to be found.
Max sat on the breakfast bar while Alec uploaded the pictures they'd taken.
Logan stormed in then, running his hand through his tousled hair and looking desperate. As soon as he saw the teenagers he relaxed.
"Where were you? I was worried!" Logan scolded them.
"Where were we? Where were you?! We spent four hours stuck inside that office!" Max jumped off the bar and confronted Logan.
"I was looking for you! Only you never told me exactly where that damn house is! I got lost in the woods and only now found my way out."
"You got... how could you get lost in the woods?!" Max shrieked.
Alec shook his head "You city people have no sense of direction." He mocked.
Both Max and Logan have him a look.
"Anyhow, why don't you come here and take a look at what we got?" Alec gave his seat to Logan and wandered off to find something to eat.
Logan sat down and frowned "What am I looking at?"
"The contents of a safe."
"Candles and a torch? Why would they keep that in a safe?" Logan flipped through the pictures.
"No idea, but the floor plans might be useful." Alec returned with a box of cheerios.
"Are you sure this are floor plans? They don't look like anything I've ever seen." Logan tilted the picture "Maybe it's a part of a whole, maybe we're missing something."
Max frowned and leaned closer to the screen "I don't know... something about that looks oddly familiar."
"Well that's still not very helpful is it?" Logan rubbed his forehead and moaned "I think this is a dead end. I'll give it some thought. In the meantime why don't you two try to catch a few hours of sleep?"
"I think I will." Alec yawned and walked to the basement door.
"Max? You coming?"
Max opened her mouth to say yes but then she looked at Alec and felt a sudden pang of something that felt suspiciously like guilt.
"Hum... I don't think so. I got enough sleep already. I think I'll just stay here and help Logan."
Alec shrugged "Fine."
He closed the door behind him and Max sighed before getting ready for a night on the couch.
___________________________
School the next day was hell for both transgenics. Max had been too uncomfortable in the couch to get any sleep and Alec had been to worried by his outburst to even close his eyes.
By third period he realized that he wouldn't make it through Bio without one of Luke's wonderful caffeine pills. Alec tracked him down in the hall and requested a magic pill, which Luke gave him immediately.
"Tired?" He asked Alec.
"You have no idea. I've been... studying late."
Luke nodded "I know what that's like. Listen, drop by my place around eight tonight and bring MJ with you. We're having a little... get together."
Alec frowned "Ok... sure, we'll be there."
Luke grinned "Great! I'll see you there! You're gonna love it."
Alec was left in the hall to wonder exactly what was it that he was going to love.
*************
Alec knocked on Luke's door hours later and waited next to Max. There was noise coming from the inside, lots of it.
Several seconds passed and Alec was just about to knock again when the door swung open.
The noise inside was deafening, music turned as up as it could go.
Max winced as they stepped inside.
"The walls must be a mile thick." She glanced at Alec who nodded.
"Nikki! Turn it down a bit will you?" Luke yelled over the noise.
The pretty blonde close to the stereo turned it off and smiled at the newcomers.
"We're the last one here? When will we ever be on time?" Alec joked.
"You are on time." Dak, who had been sitting on the couch, stood up.
"So what's going on?" Max wanted to know.
Luke smiled "I scored for us!"
Max frowned, she'd heard that before.
Dak shook her head "Here, try this." She handed Max a tiny envelope with white powder inside.
"Try it?" Max's eyebrows almost became one with her hairline.
"Smoke it, sniff it, we have some needles around if you're into that."
Alec took the envelope from Max and peeked inside.
"Hum sorry guys but we told you before, we don't do drugs." Alec gave Dak the envelope.
"This are not drugs! Well... not exactly." Ashley giggled "They'll give you a buzz but you won't get addicted! They're safe!"
Iker grabbed Amanda's arm and wiggled his eyebrows "Oh I think they can give us a bit more than a buzz"
Amanda giggled.
"Hum... I really don't think..." Max started to say but Dave interrupted her "Come on, what are you? Afraid?"
"Of course not!" Max exclaimed "I just don't think..."
"Well you just have to do it. If you're scared then... you're not who we thought you were." Dade took a pill from his twin brother's hand and popped it.
Max turned to Alec, her eyes screamed the question 'What should we do?'
His head dropped and he mumbled "I don't think those things are going to do us much anyway, we ARE immune to most drugs."
Max sighed, it was all for the sake of the mission right?
"Hand over that envelope."
_____________________________________
Guys I know I said it'd be two weeks before I updated again last time but exactly a day after I posted I got an eye infection and had to stay away from my computer for a while so... sorry about that.
Now I'm getting surgery so it might be a little while before I post again but fear not, I will post again! Even if I have to dictate the whole thing to someone over the phone!
Ok, done with surgery (2 days ago) and now I'm back (and I really shouldn't be here) I just wanted to let you all know that I did not read this over and the spelling check was just an automatic one so if you find anything incredibly incoherent (other than a mistake with the dare dates, I noticed that but I can not change it right now, my eyes are killing me) let me know.
So now, I'm not very happy with the songs in this chapter, I just wanted to get the ball rolling. However, the songs in the future chapters will be a bit more relevant ;) so stay with me!
Here's the list of remaining songs for this story, remember to get the ones at the top first!
Aimee Allen - Revolution
Lenny Kravitz - American Woman
Joan Jet - Bad Reputation
Bush - Chemicals Between Us
Our Lady Peace - 4 am
No Secrets - That's what Girls Do
Punjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke
Offspring - Original Prankster
Tweet - Oops Oh My
Verve Pipe - Bittersweet Symphony
The Donnas - Take it Off
Robert Miles - Fable
Mushroomhead - Sun doesn't shine
Evanescence - Imaginary
Linkin Park - Crawling
P.O.D - Youth of the Nation
Coolio - Gangster Paradise
Truth Hurts ft Rakim - Addictive LP version
Safari Duo - Played-A-Live
Fatboy Slim - Yo Mama
Goo Goo Dolls - Here is Gone
Sugarcult - Pretty Girl (The Way)
Alex Syntek - Sexo Pudor y Lagrimas (yes, it's in spanish. Expand your musical taste ;))
Blu Cantrell Ft Sean Paul - Breathe
Nina Gordon - Tonight and the Rest of my Life
Lamb - Lullabye
Gus Gus - Is Jesus Your Pal
Chantal Kraviazuk - Feels Like Home
Hardknox - Attitude
Lifehouse - Hanging by a Moment
Enigma - Modern Crusaders
Vertical Horizon - Everything you Want
Black Lab - Learn to Crawl
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Godsmack - Whatever
Guana Apes - Open your Eyes
Nada Surf - Ice Box
Rammstein - Helleluja
Seether - Out of my Way
Sepultura with Mike Patton - The Waste
A/N: Ok kids, remember how a few weeks ago I told you to get some songs? Well this is how that's gonna work:
When you see this //Artist - Song\\ play that song and don't stop until you run into one of this ___________________ or into another song. If you see something like this ****** it just means a change of place in the scene, not a different scene so keep playing!
So anyway, the songs I used for this chapter were:
//Papa Roach - Last resort\\
//Crazy Town - Butterfly\\
//Sugar Ray - Fly\\
//Plumb - Damaged\\
Enjoy!!
*This is part of your Christmas present honey, have fun! **kiss kiss**
_________________________________
Max sat in math class, staring into space. Her headache had not subdued in any way and she was concentrating hard on clearing her mind in an attempt to help. However, she was finding it quite hard to concentrate in not concentrating with someone singing loudly behind her. She couldn't help but singing along softly.
"Don't want no short dick man..."
Three seats away Alec snorted and sat up straight. Max gasped softly, had she been singing that loudly?
Getting curious she turned around to see who had been singing the old pre pulse song. She saw a dark haired girl five seats away, still singing. Max frowned, she could've sworn the singer had been right behind her.
The bell rang a few seconds later and Alec laughed as they made their way out of the classroom.
"What's up man? Let us in on the joke!" Iker and Dave, who had both been seating closer to Max than Alec, came up behind the two transgenics.
"What? You didn't hear Max singing?" Alec contained her laughter enough to ask them.
Dave and Iker frowned "Singing?"
"Oh come on! What are you two? Deaf? She was singing so loudly I was sure the teacher was going to hear!"
"I didn't hear her." Iker shrugged "We were probably busy PAYING ATTENTION" Dave winked at Max who smiled.
"I'd love to stay and chat but I need to change for gym." Max rushed off ahead of the boys, even though they were headed for the same place.
As she walked she tried to convince herself that the girl in math class had been singing loud enough for everyone to hear and people just weren't paying attention. She started to walk faster when she realized she couldn't help but hear every little conversation going on around her. Unimportant stuff, just girls talking about boys and makeup, boys talking about girls and sports.
Walking inside the deserted locker room was a relief for her mind. The pain in her head was making her woozy. She changed slowly into her gym clothes and waited to actually go into the gym until the locker room became too crowded for her comfort.
Alec was already there when she entered. He started to walk over to her but the gym teacher intercepted him and made him help her with the mats.
"Gather around class! We're going to spar today. Alec, MJ, would you two like to go first?"
The transgenics nodded and stood at opposite sides of the mats. The rest of the class surrounded them.
They gave a little bow and Max could hear the small appreciative hisses coming from the horny teenagers around them.
Their moves were controlled and restrained. To everyone else there they looked powerful and well trained but Max knew Alec was holding back, she sure as hell was.
After a minute or so of soft kicks and punches Alec kicked Max's legs and pretended to fall on top of her.
"Are you feeling ok?" He whispered.
"No, are you?"
"I'll live."
"I don't think I will but have a nice life." Max joked and Alec laughed a little.
"Hey, are you all right?" The teacher rushed over to them.
"I'm not feeling too good Mrs.. Crick may I be excused?"
"Certainly Maxine. You should probably stop by the infirmary."
Alec rolled off Max and helped her up. "May I take her? I daresay this is all my fault, I should've kept my balance."
"You can take her. She'll be ok, she probably just had the wind knocked out of her."
Alec supported Max all the way to the locker room.
"Don't tell me your head isn't killing you!" Max whispered urgently.
"I have a bad headache but I can handle it. You don't look like you can handle yours though, you're turning an interesting shade of green."
"I'll be fine. I just need a coffee and some peace. My ears hurt too."
Alec raised an eyebrow "Your ears?"
Max just shrugged.
"Side effect I guess. I'll go to the coffee shop for the rest of the class. Meet me there afterwards?"
"Oh great! Leave me here alone to fight the Neo wannabes!" Alec protested with a smile.
Max appreciated his efforts to cheer her up but the truth was, she was in too much pain to be cheerful.
*************
"Hey there, I've got some good news for you."
Max, who had been resting her head on her folded arms, looked up at the sound of Logan's voice.
"How did you find me?" She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced, it was too bitter for her taste but she didn't have the energy to get up and get sugar.
"I ran into Alec. So anyway, the rest of your classes were canceled because of some assembly for the juniors. Since I don't teach them I have the next hour off so I can drive you home. Alec told me you weren't feeling too well."
"I'm not. Where is he?"
"He said he had some stuff to take care off and that he'd catch us later."
"Ok, let's go." Max took her ice latte with her and they left the coffee shop.
*************
"Dak, you wanted to see me?" Alec sat down on a bench next to the dark haired beauty.
"Yup. I need some help with..."
Alec started to feel woozy, he tuned Dakareth's voice out, it was almost as if the sound of her voice could hurt his ears somehow.
"Alec? Are you paying attention?" Dak snapped her fingers.
"Yeah yeah, hum... could you... whisper? I think someone might be overhearing." Alec whispered to her.
Dak frowned "So? It's not as if the dance decorations are a big secret or anything... So anyway, could I count you in?"
"For what?"
"Help! Geez Alec, where are you today?"
"Hum... I just... didn't sleep well last night. I think I'll go home and take a nap." He stood up and looked around his backpack for his car keys.
"Ok, fine. We'll talk later."
"Yeah."
"Tell MJ I hope she feels better soon!"
"I will" Alec said as he walked quickly to his car, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it.
*************
//Papa Roach - Last resort\\
Max took deep, calming breaths.
"Traffic is terrible at this hour. Try to sleep, this might take a while." Logan turned up the music and Max groaned. She turned it off and glared at Logan.
"Classic music upsets you?" He asked.
"Yes! It would even if I didn't have this monster headache! I'm sick of this music, it's bad enough I have to hear it all day at school."
Logan shrugged and turned his head back to the road.
Max looked out the window at the hideous traffic. There seemed to be some kind of traffic accident ahead because she could hear yelling.
And honking
And yelling
And honking
She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. The honking was making her crazy, the yelling was hurting her ears.
The guy on the car next to theirs turned his music up and sang along. Max would've gotten out and beaten the crap out of him and his stereo if she could only move.
The pain was intensifying
It was paralyzing her.
She covered her ears with her hands as the guy behind them honked.
The guy beside them beeped too, the traffic was clearing up but the guy in front of them didn't seem to notice this, he just wouldn't move.
"For pete's sake." Logan honked loudly.
The sound traveled from the car to Max's ears, it bounced around the car in waves. The pain was excruciating. Max pressed her hands against her ears even more forcefully as the full blast of sound hit her.
She tossed her head back and let out an ear piercing scream.
*************
Alec was driving fast, he was trying to get home before his head split in two. Something was wrong, so very very wrong.
His cell phone rang then, the noise startled him so much he almost drove off the road. He fumbled around his jacket for the damn device and answered it quickly, more than ready to get rid of the annoying ringing.
"Yeah?"
"Alec!"
"Logan? What's up."
"Are you driving?"
"Hum... yeah."
"Pull over."
"What?"
"Pull over! Now!"
"What's wrong with you man? I'm in the middle of the freakin..."
"Alec PULL OVER!"
At that precise moment something exploded on the back of Alec's head, almost as if he'd been hit with something hard. He pulled over instantly, ignoring the stream of obscenities that emanated from the people driving behind him.
He closed his eyes and threw his head back. "Logan, what's going on?"
"Where are you?" Logan's worried voice in his ear was far from comforting.
"About four miles away from home."
"Put the hood of your car up and lie down on the back seat. You are probably going to pass out in a minute or two. I'm driving over to get you."
"I'm gonna WHAT?"
"Do it Alec!"
Alec pulled all his remaining strength together and did as he was told. The pain in his head was blinding him. He curled up on the back seat and closed his eyes, hoping with all his might that what Logan had said was true. The pain was so intense he couldn't wait to pass out.
It took only a few minutes for his world to go black.
____________________________
When he came back to he found himself on the back seat and Logan at the wheel. His headache was receding a little but he was sweating like a pig and shivering too much.
"Welcome back. Sorry it took me so long to get here, I had to drop Max off at the house and get a cab to come and get you. I called sebastian on the way here. He said as soon as you start sweating the fever will go down a bit and you'll start feeling better."
Alec winced, it was too much information to take in at once.
"What happened?"
"You passed out from an 'overload' as Sebastian called it." Logan kept driving through traffic.
"How did you know I was gonna... oh, Max right?" Alec tried to sit up but his stomach didn't agree with the movement so he laid back down.
"Yeah, she seems to be presenting the symptoms a bit faster and stronger than you. She was still unconscious when I came here to get you."
Alec groaned "What's happening to us?"
"Gene therapy. They are trying to enhance your sense of smell and your hearing. Probably taste too. Your body shut down to repair itself and fight the effects, we knew it might happen."
"When will this torture be over? Did Sebastian say? Because I have a dare to complete tomorrow night and it's gonna be hell on earth if I have to go to a club like this."
"He didn't say but you have a day to recuperate."
The two men remained silent for the rest of the ride. When they got home Alec was just about to go inside when Logan stopped him.
"Alec, I need you to get Max. I left her in the car."
Alec frowned "You LEFT her in the car?"
"I can't touch her, I couldn't carry her."
"Right." Alec grumbled and walked to the car. He opened the door and gasped.
"Logan! She's seizing!"
"Oh crap!" Logan rushed over to them but Alec was already holding a shaking Max in his arms.
"Get the door!" He instructed Logan.
As soon as they were inside Logan rushed off to get some milk.
"Could she be seizing because of the tryptophan? How do we know she's seizing because of the tryptophan?" Alec asked the older man.
"We don't. For all we know that could happen to you any moment now."
But it didn't. Alec held Max close to him and made her swallow some more milk. It took almost an hour for the shakes to stop.
Alec sighed and relaxed against the headboard "We need to know if her seizures are being caused by of something here."
Logan nodded "I agree, I'll call Sebastian now."
Alec was glad Logan had such a great, geeky friend. They had certainly been depending on Sebastian a lot.
Max stirred in his arms and he pushed the sweat soaked hair away from her forehead. She opened her eyes and tried to focus.
"Hey there." Alec whispered.
"Alec... Oh my God Alec! Are you ok?!" Max sat up quickly and instantly regretted it as a wave of nausea cursed through her body.
"I'm fine. Logan called me and made me pull over before I passed out." Alec smirked.
"... Why are you giving me that look?" Max eyed him with suspicion.
"You were worried about me weren't you?"
"No I wasn't! ... I was worried about the car!" Max covered up even though she knew Alec could see through her bullshit. "You don't take good care of that baby. She's always dirty and... muddy and... she's too much of a car for you!"
Alec's smile grew wider "If you think the car is dirty you should spend a night with the driver." He raised his eyebrows a few times and gave Max a sexy look.
That earned him a slap on the head.
*************
The doorbell rang just as Logan was getting off the phone with Sebastian. He opened the door with a puzzled expression only to find a kid standing on the other side.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"Mr.. Cale! Hi."
"Hum... hi." Logan was truly puzzled by the boy with greasy black hair standing in front of him.
"I'm Tom... from your history class?"
A light bulb went off in Logan's head "Oh Tom! Hi! What brings you around?"
"I hum... I'm looking for MJ? I heard she wasn't feeling well and I just thought I'd check up on her, see if there's anything I can do?"
He looked a bit agitated and more than a little self conscious.
"Well... MJ and I don't have much contact, I don't even know if she's home. Why don't you try knocking oh her door? It's right around the back."
"Oh... yeah ok, I think I'll do that. Thanks!"
Tom turned his back to Logan and walked away quickly. Logan noticed the back of his school shirt was drained with sweat and he was opening and closing his fists quickly. Logan wasn't sure Tom was even aware he was doing that.
He went to the basement door and locked it from the inside but instead of going back to his computer he stood by the door and listened, just in case.
*************
After laughing at Alec's cheesy line Max sank back down on her bed and closed her eyes. The seizure had tired her out but at least the headache was mostly gone.
Alec had left her for a few minutes to take a quick shower, he hadn't even bothered to close the door and she could see the hot steam pouring out of the bathroom in waves.
"You better not finish all the hot water or I'll have your ass."
"You promise?" Alec responded from the shower and Max grunted, she was too tired to go in there and hit him for that one.
Someone knocked then and Max groaned "Alec, can you get that please?"
"Max you are WAY closer to the door! Not to mention fully clothed."
"Yeah but I'm tired! ... Pleeeease?"
Alec grunted something that sounded like a fine and strode out of the bathroom with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. He sung the door open.
"Hello" He greeted the stranger.
"Hum... hi." Tom offered no explanation as to why he was standing in front of Alec's doorstep sweating like a pig.
"... Aren't you a bit too old to be selling cookies?"
"Uh?" Tom frowned.
"Boy scout? What?" Alec wasn't making much sense but then again, neither was Tom.
"I believe girl scouts sell cookies, not boys." Tom answered.
"Whatever, so... can I help you?"
Max, who had after her seizure removed most of her clothes only to remain in a form fitting tank top and her six-year-old boy panties, sat up in her bed and glanced at the door curiously.
"Alec, who is it?"
"Hum... who are you?" Alec asked the big nosed intruder.
Tom glanced past a half naked Alec at Max, barely clothed and stretched out on her bed, or was it her bed?
"I'm uh... sorry, my mistake." Tom turned around and walked away quickly.
Alec shrugged and closed the door.
"Alec, who WAS it?"
"No one."
___________________________________
//Crazy Town - Butterfly\\
Wednesday night came soon enough and with that Alec's dare.
He walked into a little club full of people around his age followed by Luke, Nikki and Melissa. His confident strides took him across the room and all the way to a table on the back that had been reserved just for them.
Alec turned heads while he walked, both male and female. His form fitting jeans and tight black shirt made girls look at him with lust and guys stare with envy.
The four members of the elite sat down around a circular table that reminded him of Crash. Luke ordered a bottle of tequila for them, which arrived a few minutes later along with 4 shot glasses, some lemons and salt.
The conversation so far had revolved around cars and chicks, much to the girl's disgust. Alec couldn't help but be amazed at how normal the kids looked for brain washed, gene altered super teenagers that is; even if they WERE doing a stupid dare that would leave most of them with a hangover the size of Texas.
"Remember kids! We all have to drink a whole bottle of this shit!" Luke reminded them while pouring the first round.
They laughed and joked around while they drank. The loud music and atmosphere seemed to increase the teenagers' euphoria even though Alec noticed they were still quite lucid after five shots. He was even more weirded out when Luke walked up to him and said
"I can't believe you're not hammered yet! How many have you had? Six?"
"Seven." Alec responded automatically and Luke whistled.
"I can hold my alcohol well." He offered as an explanation.
"I can see that."
"Well what about you? You've drank as many as I have!"
"I've had practice" Luke winked at Alec and left him to go dance with Nikki.
Melissa, who had been drinking way faster than the rest of them and was probably up to her tenth shot, walked up to Alec and sat on his lap. She tried to tell him something but she was giggling so much it was impossible.
Alec drowned his eight shot and restrained himself from pushing her off his lap. Lately he'd been feeling bad about doing anything with drunk girls, damn Max and her shitload of humanity.
"Alec! Body Shot!" Melissa shrieked and pushed the tequila bottle and Alec's glass off the table. He caught them before they hit the floor and thanked his transgenic reflexes, which still worked to perfection even after all that alcohol.
The cute blonde hopped on the table, leaned back and raised her shirt. She handed Alec the salt and lemon and giggled again.
Alec sighed and closed his eyes.
'Oh well, all in a day's work.' He thought before diving in.
________________________________
Max had been waiting up for him, he could tell. She pretended to be asleep when Alec walked in but he ignored her gesture and undressed on his way to her bed. He sat down by her feet and removed his shoes and socks.
"Don't you even try to pretend to be asleep, I know you want all the juicy details."
Max dropped the act and sat up "So, how was it?"
Alec chuckled but he became serious again in an instant "It was bearable."
"Bearable?"
"You should have seen them Max! We drank so much alcohol those kids should have been dropping like Clinton's flies! But they were barely tipsy! I mean... Luke drove home!"
Max raised an eyebrow "So did you."
"Exactly."
Max hugged her knees "How do you think they're doing it?"
"Training."
"What?"
"Luke said he'd had practice. My guess is they do this really often, combined with some good old fashioned gene therapy."
Max bit her lip "All this from a simple little weekly shot?"
"No."
Logan's voice at the top of the stairs startled them both.
"Logan! You scared the crap out of me. How long had you been standing there?"
"Long enough to hear Alec's theory. I think you're right but they are probably using something more than just the shots for the gene therapy."
"How do you know?" Alec got up from Max's bed and walked to the bathroom for his toothbrush.
"Sebastian came through. Preliminary tests show that the gene therapy in those 'flu shots' are to enhance your hearing and sense of smell, maybe even taste."
"Well that explains it. I'm sorry for saying your mac and cheese smelled like feet." Alec joked to try to lighten the mood but Max wasn't amused.
"Did he say anything about my seizures?"
"As a matter of fact he did. Alec, can you remember when you stopped having the seizures?"
Alec pushed his toothbrush to the side of his mouth and said "Surmh"
He went to the bathroom and rinsed before continuing "They started giving us a little pink pill that tasted like copper if you took too long to swallow it, after taking it for a couple of weeks the shakes went away for good."
"How long were you taking it for?" Logan sat down on the couch and watched as Alec took something shiny from his jeans pocket and crawled into bed with it. Logan found that strange but said nothing.
"Oh I don't know... six months maybe."
"Then that's it. They started to cure your seizures Max but you never completed the treatment."
"So I got a few months of peace and now they are back? That sucks."
"Sebastian thinks they might be a bit worse than you're used to for a while until your system balances out again."
Max rolled her eyes "Calm before the storm, figures even my health wouldn't last."
But Max's thoughts weren't really on the chemicals in her brain but the gold chain she'd seen Alec take from his jeans. She'd seen him transferring that same chain from one pair of pants to the other just yesterday and she was wondering what that was all about but for some reason she was sure he wouldn't tell her if she pushed.
She also knew he'd tell her when he was ready.
____________________________
Alec walked into the cafeteria expecting to see Luke, Melissa and Nikki to have a hideous hangover but they looked completely normal to him.
"Hey Alec my friend! How's it hangin'?" Luke motioned him over to their table.
"How's your head? Hangover from hell?" Nikki fussed over Alec and he smiled.
"Mild headache, how about you?"
"Oh we're fine. You'll be fine too you know, soon." Melissa smiled at him from across the table.
"What do you mean?" Alec played dumb.
"She means you'll be able to hold your booze better with time." Dak, who had just arrived with Max, explained to Alec and sat down next to him.
Alec left the matter drop and concentrated on his hot lunch, which tasted like rubber and looked like glue.
"So, you all have your bathing suits ready?" Dak bit down on an apple and offered the rest of it to Alec who gratefully accepted it.
"Bathing suits?" Max frowned.
"For the car wash." Melissa shrieked.
"Oh yeah! Well I'm all set." Max smiled.
Alec choked on his apple "You have a bathing suit?"
"Well of course I do silly! Don't you?"
Alec coughed a few times and hit his chest to force the 'unchewed' piece of unexpected apple down his throat "I do but I didn't think... I mean you don't... ugh forget it."
Max chuckled and opened her yogurt. It was always nice to know she still had some surprises left for her 'roomie'.
************
Max sat through Mrs.. Hooke bio class bored out of her mind. She'd read and memorized the whole book two nights ago and now had absolutely nothing to do.
Lucky for her Amanda had something to tell her. She passed Max a tiny piece of paper while the teacher wasn't looking.
'Your dare has been moved up for today, we have something different planned for friday. Dak will meet you outside at 3 o'clock. Good luck!'
Max smiled. Bungee jumping in just a few hours! Her day was definitely looking up.
************
"MJ! Ready to go? I hope you don't mind the change of plans. Luke scored big time so we have something else to do tomorrow." Ashley announced.
"Scored what?" Max frowned.
"Hey guys! Ready? Let's hit the road, it's gonna be a long ride." Dak interrupted the conversation.
The girls and Sean piled into his car and they drove off. Max pulled out her cell phone.
"Who're you calling?" Ashley, who was sitting next to her, asked.
"Alec. I didn't see him for the rest of the day so he'll be waiting for me." Max waited for him to answer.
"Yello." Alec's voice sounded a little far away.
"Alec?"
"Max! Where are you?"
"On my way to the bungee."
"I thought that was tomorrow."
"So did I."
"You're in a car?"
"Yeah."
"Ok well listen, I ran into Logan and he said he needed to talk to us. I think he found some more information on the mansion."
"Ok well..." Max looked up and realized that Dak was staring at her through the mirror of the car and she was frowning. "Dak, is everything all right?"
"Yes of course, why wouldn't it be?" She looked away quickly.
"Hum... ok, you just looked a bit uncomfortable there for a second." Max was trying to keep the panic away from her voice. Had Dak overheard somehow? But how?
"I'm ok, I just have cramps."
"Are you sure those are cramps? You're not getting nervous on us are you Dakareth?" Sean joked.
"They are Cramps Sean! Or would you like me to pull up my skirt and show you?"
Sean raised his arms in surrender "Hey I believe you!"
"Max, is everything ok?" Alec's voice startled her, she'd forgotten he was still there.
"Yeah. I'll... I'll call you later ok?"
"Fine."
They both hung up and Max turned to the girls with concern, she'd just realized something.
"Hey guys? Are we supposed to jump wearing SKIRTS?"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. Here, put this on." Dak handed her a pair of jeans and tossed another pair in Ashley's direction. Then she yanked her skirt off and slipped on her own pair of jeans without even a glance in Sean's direction.
Max looked down at the jeans Dak had given her and frowned.
"Dak... this are my jeans."
"Well duh! What did you expect me to do? Give you a pair of Sean's?"
"No I mean... how did you get them?"
"Skipped fifth period, went to your place and got them."
"But how did you get in?"
Dak rolled her eyes and turned around to face her "What is this? Twenty fucking questions? I just did ok!"
Sean placed a hand on Dak's knee "Hey, chill ok? I'm sorry if my comment upset you."
Dak was fuming "No one says chill anymore Sean."
But Max was under the impression that Dakareth's sudden outburst hadn't been due to Sean's comment. Something was very wrong and she was going to find out what it was soon.
*************
//Sugar Ray - Fly\\
The bungee was HUGE! It was on top of a hill and the drop seemed to be like a thousand feet. Max couldn't wait to get up there.
"Ok, well here we are! Who want so go first?" Ashley asked.
"I'll go!" Max volunteered.
"Great! Well good luck! Elevator's right over there." Dak pointed out the way. Max reached into her backpack and came up with the disposable camera she'd bought less than a week ago.
"Hey, would you mind taking a picture? I want to send this camera to an old friend of mine back home." Max explained.
"I'll do it!" Sean took the camera and wished Max good luck.
She rode the elevator to the top of the hill where a guy was waiting to strap her gear on. She supervised the process and pretended to be a bit nervous.
When she was finally given the 'go' she stood on the edge of the platform and looked down. Her friends looked like ants from so far up.
She smiled, spread her arms and tossed her head back before jumping over the edge.
Suddenly the world was passing her by, she felt free and relaxed like she hadn't felt in a long time. All her worries, her concerns disappeared in those few seconds of the freeing experience.
The air on her face, the free fall feeling, the adrenaline rush, they were all great but they couldn't erase the feeling she got when she got a glimpse at Dak's face. Suddenly all her good feelings were replaced with good old fashioned uneasiness that she couldn't seem to be able to get rid of.
______________________________
"So she was staring at you? I mean really staring?"
"Yes! Alec, I really think she heard you!"
"That's impossible! You said you could barely hear me yourself!" Alec ran a hand through his hair and sank deeper into Logan's couch.
"Well something strange is going on with that girl, it can't be just coincidence."
"Right now I think we should concentrate on this." Logan walked into the living room and sat across from the transgenics.
"Something was bugging me about the information I got on the house. Remember what I told you? The house was built in 1979 by a man named Alfred Young, he was a very wealthy man, had his own business, something to do with the internet? Well I knew something was off, I just didn't know what. So I analyzed all the information and then I remembered."
"What?" Alec leaned forward.
"The information said Mr.. Young made his fortune with some internet business, only the world wide web wasn't invented until 1989."
"... Crap. So we should assume all information is wrong. The place was probably not even owned by a Mr.. Young!" Max buried her face in her hands.
"Well we can't be sure. What I AM sure of is that you two need to get back in that house. I think the secret to this must be somewhere in that strange office."
Alec glanced at Max and smirked "Time to get out the old cat suit!"
________________________
Max and Alec climbed up the brick wall with ease but Alec still found a reason to complain.
"You know, you could have just gotten your 'boyfriend' to disable the cameras for two minutes instead of having us climb!"
Max rolled her eyes "I'm not even going to comment on that one."
They reached the main bedroom balcony in no time. Max pulled herself up and got to work in the lock.
She had that door open in seconds and the two transgenics crawled in, staying low and out of the camera's range. Alec pushed the fake wall and Max got in, she held it open for him and let it close softly behind him.
"Is this room bugged?" She whispered.
Alec closed his eyes in concentration for a few moments then shook his head.
Their night vision kicked in and both transgenics looked around the room.
"I'll take the computer." Alec sat down on the huge computer chair and turned it on.
He shook his head "Here's another thing that doesn't fit. This house is supposed to have been abandoned since 1996, this computer has Windows 98."
Max shrugged "Maybe the elite has been using this office."
"Oh please, they wouldn't be using Windows 98! This thing takes twice the gestation period of an elephant to load up!"
"Then this house has more secrets than we thought." Max walked around and discovered a safe.
"Look Alec!"
He smiled "What are you waiting for? Crack it!"
Max pressed her ear against the safe and got to work on it while Alec looked through the files in the computer.
After a few minutes he sighed "Well this is all useless crap. No one in their right minds would keep information in a computer that runs with Windows anyway."
"Shhh" Max scolded him. The safe opened with a click and she smiled, satisfied.
Alec was out of his seat and next to Max in a second. "So, what is it?"
Max pulled out a few red candles, some kind of torch, a yellow liquid that seemed quite flammable and something that looked like floor plans.
Alec spread the plans on the floor and Max kneeled next to him.
The drawings looked like plans but they didn't make much sense, the base of whatever they were looking for seemed to be tilted and the whole surface divided in quadrants.
"Can you make sense of it?" Max asked.
Alec shook his head and took out a small digital camera that Logan had given them. He snapped a few shots of the plans and the other stuff and crammed everything back in the safe.
"Well, I think we have what we came for." Alec turned the computer off and Max closed the safe.
"Uh oh." Max's eyes widened.
"What?" Alec asked.
"How the hell are we going to get out of here?"
"Oh crap!" Alec ran to the wooden fake wall and pushed it but nothing happened.
"The door opens only from the outside! How the hell could we have forgotten that?" Max smacked her forehead and leaned against the wall. "Our cell phones won't even work in here!"
"Oh no no no no, there must be some way of opening it from the inside! Just help me look for it."
They spent the next twenty minutes running their hands over every inch of the walls, looking behind every book in the bookcase, checking the desk but they found nothing.
"That's it! I'm knocking this wall down!" Alec roared in frustration.
"Alec calm down! We can just wait here until Logan gets worried and comes looking for us."
"No Max! We're getting out of here now!"
"Alec! What's wrong with you?"
Alec sighed and whispered "I really really have to pee."
Max burst out laughing at his statement and he just scowled.
"Can't you hold it in?"
"I've been holding it in for too long!"
"Well pee in that pot!"
"I can't"
"Why not?"
"The plant is plastic."
"So?"
"So I just can't!"
Max raised her eyebrows "Fine, have it your way."
Alec jumped up and down a few times, loosening his neck and shoulders, then he gathered up speed and crashed against the wall.
He bounced back like a rubber ball and the wall didn't even dent.
Alec let out a string of obscenities while Max laughed like a maniac. She took out her pocket knife and scraped off a bit of the wall.
"Bad news rubber boy, this wall is made of some metal... probably titanium."
"Oh you've got to be shittin me!" Alec groaned.
"Nope, we're stuck in here until Logan misses us."
Five minutes later Max had her back to the plastic plant.
"Don't look!" Alec warned her.
"Alec you've never had a problem peeing in front of me!"
"I'd never peed on a plastic plant before!"
Max shook her head "You're one screwed up guy."
"And you're just noticing that now?!"
"Oh shut up and pee."
A few seconds went by in total silence.
"Max?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you cover your ears and hum?"
Max rolled her eyes but covered her ears and hummed the tune of Mary had a little lamb but with her super hearing she could still hear the distinct hiss. She smiled and kept humming.
*************
Four hours later the two transgenics were still stuck in the small office. Alec was sitting down on the floor with his back to the fake wall and Max's head on his lap. She'd fallen asleep hours ago and he'd fallen deep into thought.
His eyes were closed but his forehead showed signs of hard thinking. Maybe it was the pitch blackness, maybe it was the trapped feeling, either way her head on his lap reminded him of so many things, so many nights lying just like that with someone that looked so much like her. The pain afterwards, having it happen again. So many people, so many lives, that night in Africa...
Alec's eyes filled with tears and his hand unconsciously reached for his right pocket.
Max stirred then and his hand shot back to it's original position on her hair.
"What time is it?" Max mumbled and looked up.
"Hum... late." Alec turned away from her and tried to blink away the tears but Max noticed.
"Alec are you..."
"No! I just got something in my eye. Dirt."
Max frowned and sat up. "What's going on? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine ok?" Alec turned away from her completely.
"Hey... we are going to get out of here you know? Logan won't leave us here to rot!"
"What? Of... Max I know that! I'm not 4!"
"Well you look upset."
Alec turned around quickly to look at her "Has it ever occurred to you that I might not be such a shallow guy?"
"Have you ever given me a reason to?" Max snapped back at him.
Alec stood up and yelled "How dare you even say that to me? I gave up everything to come on this little 'save the world' mission with you!"
"Oh and I didn't?" Max stood up too and placed her hands on her hips.
"You chose to be here because you love playing hero Max."
"Oh and you don't?"
"No! I just came to look after your sorry ass!"
"Well I can look after my own ass thank you very much!"
"No you can't Max! You can't! You only managed to survive this long without me because you are a loner but either way you were not going to be alone in this! If you'd just taken off on this little quest with just Logan one of you would be dead by now!"
"I can look after both of us!" Max was yelling now too.
"If you really believe that then what the hell am I doing here?" Alec lowered his voice a bit.
"This is a three men job. If it weren't I never would have asked you to come."
//Plumb - Damaged\\
Alec became quiet for a few moments "So that's all I am to you? A man for a job?"
Max's face softened "No Alec I..."
"I'm just an intruder in your little untouchable love fest am I not?"
"Alec..."
"You know what? It's fine. I'll be gone as soon as we get out of here and you can go back to watching your own ass and crying over your broken relationship."
"Alec..."
"It's just that... I really thought we were getting somewhere. You and me, I thought we were becoming friends."
"Al..."
"But god knows you'd never become friends with a killer now would you? Us inhuman trained assassins are below you! Go ahead and run back to perfect Logan. I'm sure he'd never kill the ones he loves."
Alec leaned back against the fake wall and banged the back of his head on it. Then he slowly sank down to the floor with his eyes closed.
Max's head hung low as she made her way across the small room and crouched down by Alec's feet.
"I'm a killer too Alec. I killed my brother with my bare hands!"
Alec looked up slowly "Yes Max but you managed to remain pure in spite of that. Your soul has gone by untouched. Unlike some of us soulless bastards."
Max's hands rested on his knees "The fact that your heart can ache like it does right now tells me that you still have a soul in there. A damaged one, no doubt. But then again, we all have our secrets don't we?"
Alec closed his eyes and Max's arms went around him. He clung to her with as much need as she did to him. Her legs straddled his in an effort to get closer to his heart, to warm him from the inside.
He pulled back a little to stare into her deep brown eyes. They were damp with tears. Her lower lip trembled and he had to concentrate on something other than her full lips to keep his head straight but he was quickly losing the battle with rationality.
"Max..."
Her knee hit a dent in the floor that they'd missed before and the wall they were leaning against swung open, forcing them backwards.
___________________
Alec landed on his back with Max on top of him but as soon as her knee left the dent the wall started to swing shut again.
"Crap!" Alec pushed himself back with Max still in his arms. Max screamed as the door closed over the tip of her sneakers. It cut through the rubber like butter.
"Max! Oh my God are you ok? Your toes!"
Max covered his mouth with her hand and wiggled her now exposed toes to show him she was ok. Then they slowly made their way out of the room.
Once they were safely outside and on the ground Max groaned "Let's just hope no one saw us."
Alec shrugged "Let's just deal with things when they happen. Why don't we go home? I'm tired."
Max frowned "Alec..."
But he was already heading for the woods.
*************
When they got home they looked around for Logan but he was nowhere to be found.
Max sat on the breakfast bar while Alec uploaded the pictures they'd taken.
Logan stormed in then, running his hand through his tousled hair and looking desperate. As soon as he saw the teenagers he relaxed.
"Where were you? I was worried!" Logan scolded them.
"Where were we? Where were you?! We spent four hours stuck inside that office!" Max jumped off the bar and confronted Logan.
"I was looking for you! Only you never told me exactly where that damn house is! I got lost in the woods and only now found my way out."
"You got... how could you get lost in the woods?!" Max shrieked.
Alec shook his head "You city people have no sense of direction." He mocked.
Both Max and Logan have him a look.
"Anyhow, why don't you come here and take a look at what we got?" Alec gave his seat to Logan and wandered off to find something to eat.
Logan sat down and frowned "What am I looking at?"
"The contents of a safe."
"Candles and a torch? Why would they keep that in a safe?" Logan flipped through the pictures.
"No idea, but the floor plans might be useful." Alec returned with a box of cheerios.
"Are you sure this are floor plans? They don't look like anything I've ever seen." Logan tilted the picture "Maybe it's a part of a whole, maybe we're missing something."
Max frowned and leaned closer to the screen "I don't know... something about that looks oddly familiar."
"Well that's still not very helpful is it?" Logan rubbed his forehead and moaned "I think this is a dead end. I'll give it some thought. In the meantime why don't you two try to catch a few hours of sleep?"
"I think I will." Alec yawned and walked to the basement door.
"Max? You coming?"
Max opened her mouth to say yes but then she looked at Alec and felt a sudden pang of something that felt suspiciously like guilt.
"Hum... I don't think so. I got enough sleep already. I think I'll just stay here and help Logan."
Alec shrugged "Fine."
He closed the door behind him and Max sighed before getting ready for a night on the couch.
___________________________
School the next day was hell for both transgenics. Max had been too uncomfortable in the couch to get any sleep and Alec had been to worried by his outburst to even close his eyes.
By third period he realized that he wouldn't make it through Bio without one of Luke's wonderful caffeine pills. Alec tracked him down in the hall and requested a magic pill, which Luke gave him immediately.
"Tired?" He asked Alec.
"You have no idea. I've been... studying late."
Luke nodded "I know what that's like. Listen, drop by my place around eight tonight and bring MJ with you. We're having a little... get together."
Alec frowned "Ok... sure, we'll be there."
Luke grinned "Great! I'll see you there! You're gonna love it."
Alec was left in the hall to wonder exactly what was it that he was going to love.
*************
Alec knocked on Luke's door hours later and waited next to Max. There was noise coming from the inside, lots of it.
Several seconds passed and Alec was just about to knock again when the door swung open.
The noise inside was deafening, music turned as up as it could go.
Max winced as they stepped inside.
"The walls must be a mile thick." She glanced at Alec who nodded.
"Nikki! Turn it down a bit will you?" Luke yelled over the noise.
The pretty blonde close to the stereo turned it off and smiled at the newcomers.
"We're the last one here? When will we ever be on time?" Alec joked.
"You are on time." Dak, who had been sitting on the couch, stood up.
"So what's going on?" Max wanted to know.
Luke smiled "I scored for us!"
Max frowned, she'd heard that before.
Dak shook her head "Here, try this." She handed Max a tiny envelope with white powder inside.
"Try it?" Max's eyebrows almost became one with her hairline.
"Smoke it, sniff it, we have some needles around if you're into that."
Alec took the envelope from Max and peeked inside.
"Hum sorry guys but we told you before, we don't do drugs." Alec gave Dak the envelope.
"This are not drugs! Well... not exactly." Ashley giggled "They'll give you a buzz but you won't get addicted! They're safe!"
Iker grabbed Amanda's arm and wiggled his eyebrows "Oh I think they can give us a bit more than a buzz"
Amanda giggled.
"Hum... I really don't think..." Max started to say but Dave interrupted her "Come on, what are you? Afraid?"
"Of course not!" Max exclaimed "I just don't think..."
"Well you just have to do it. If you're scared then... you're not who we thought you were." Dade took a pill from his twin brother's hand and popped it.
Max turned to Alec, her eyes screamed the question 'What should we do?'
His head dropped and he mumbled "I don't think those things are going to do us much anyway, we ARE immune to most drugs."
Max sighed, it was all for the sake of the mission right?
"Hand over that envelope."
_____________________________________
Guys I know I said it'd be two weeks before I updated again last time but exactly a day after I posted I got an eye infection and had to stay away from my computer for a while so... sorry about that.
Now I'm getting surgery so it might be a little while before I post again but fear not, I will post again! Even if I have to dictate the whole thing to someone over the phone!
Ok, done with surgery (2 days ago) and now I'm back (and I really shouldn't be here) I just wanted to let you all know that I did not read this over and the spelling check was just an automatic one so if you find anything incredibly incoherent (other than a mistake with the dare dates, I noticed that but I can not change it right now, my eyes are killing me) let me know.
So now, I'm not very happy with the songs in this chapter, I just wanted to get the ball rolling. However, the songs in the future chapters will be a bit more relevant ;) so stay with me!
Here's the list of remaining songs for this story, remember to get the ones at the top first!
Aimee Allen - Revolution
Lenny Kravitz - American Woman
Joan Jet - Bad Reputation
Bush - Chemicals Between Us
Our Lady Peace - 4 am
No Secrets - That's what Girls Do
Punjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke
Offspring - Original Prankster
Tweet - Oops Oh My
Verve Pipe - Bittersweet Symphony
The Donnas - Take it Off
Robert Miles - Fable
Mushroomhead - Sun doesn't shine
Evanescence - Imaginary
Linkin Park - Crawling
P.O.D - Youth of the Nation
Coolio - Gangster Paradise
Truth Hurts ft Rakim - Addictive LP version
Safari Duo - Played-A-Live
Fatboy Slim - Yo Mama
Goo Goo Dolls - Here is Gone
Sugarcult - Pretty Girl (The Way)
Alex Syntek - Sexo Pudor y Lagrimas (yes, it's in spanish. Expand your musical taste ;))
Blu Cantrell Ft Sean Paul - Breathe
Nina Gordon - Tonight and the Rest of my Life
Lamb - Lullabye
Gus Gus - Is Jesus Your Pal
Chantal Kraviazuk - Feels Like Home
Hardknox - Attitude
Lifehouse - Hanging by a Moment
Enigma - Modern Crusaders
Vertical Horizon - Everything you Want
Black Lab - Learn to Crawl
Drowning Pool - Bodies
Godsmack - Whatever
Guana Apes - Open your Eyes
Nada Surf - Ice Box
Rammstein - Helleluja
Seether - Out of my Way
Sepultura with Mike Patton - The Waste