Disclaimer: See Chapter One ;)
Summary: Everyone must look good for an awards show.
A/N: This is the first version of chapter 7. This was the original ending I wrote, rather than the original ending I wanted. You may notice that this is very similar to the previous chapter. That is because they are the same chapter. I rewrote vast sections of this one to get the ending I wanted. Because this is a unique little piece itself I have kept this chapter included with this story. I may eventually remove this and post it separately, but for now it lives here.
by Barbara C.
Part Seven: Elastic
The tenth story ballroom of one of London's most exclusive hotels was an extraordinary sight. Modern touches blended with old world charm to give the place an elegant, yet comfortable atmosphere. A large stage with a podium atop of it was set up along the north wall. The floor to ceiling panelled windows that flanked the room on three sides were curtained behind the stage, but along the south and east walls the vast expanse of London could be seen twinkling against the night sky. Three sets of large oak doors lined the west wall leading out into a lounge of sorts and the elevator banks.
Currently three hundred or so of Acceleration Games' contributors, sponsors, athletes, select fans, and their dates were meandering between the dozens of tables set up beneath four glittering crystal chandeliers that lit the enormous room. Another hundred guests were expected to arrive shortly in order to attend the awards banquet that was being held there in less than an hour.
Alex stood alone along the south wall of the ballroom, away from the stage and the chaos of people trying to find their seats, not to mention the doors on his right that more people were streaming in through. As he stood alone, the solitude allowed him a chance to think. As he tugged awkwardly at the bow tie that had come with the tux, he decided that tuxedos and everything that came with them were overrated. Fidget had tied it well, but tight. He paused in thought, why had he let Fidget tie it for him? In fact, she had tied all their bowties tonight. His, Grinder's, and Rikki's even though they were all capable of tying the stupid things themselves.
Speaking of Fidget, he thought. Where was she? He thought back to their conversation earlier in the team's hotel suite. After she'd played mother hen to the three men, she'd gathered up an armful of stuff and wandered into the bathroom. Then, never came out.
"Fidget, it's time to go," Alex had complained as he and the others waited outside the bathroom door of their shared suite.
"But I'm not ready yet!"
"You haven't been ready for the last hour! How long does it take to throw on some clothes?"
"Get over it! I'm doing the girly thing tonight."
Alex and Grinder looked at each other quizzically mouthing 'girly thing' to one another.
"Look, Alex is up for a bunch of awards and needs to be there early, so just leave without me. I'll be there in twenty."
"Look, we can wait-"
"No," the voice from the other side of the door commanded. "Alex needs to be there early. Besides," the voice paused, "don't you all have dates that you're picking up or meeting or something?"
Panic raced across Rikki's face, as Alex responded, "Diana's meeting us there."
The team manager, however, began backing up toward the door. "Candace is going to kill me! Bye, see you guys there!"
The sound of something either rather heavy or very forcefully being put on the counter echoed out from the bathroom. "What did he say?!"
However, Rikki was already out of the room and Alex and Grinder weren't about to repeat his last words. "Couldn't say for sure," Grinder responded.
Alex was quick to add, "He looked panicked when he left, probably forgot to pick up his date."
"I distinctly heard the name Candace," she accused. This was followed by a long pause and then. "He has a date?" The question was more an incredulous exclamation than a true question, as though Rikki having a date was somewhere between being hopeless and being a miracle. Another pause, then, "I distinctly heard my sister's name. Tell me he is not bringing my sister. If she finagled her way... ow!"
Both Grinder and Alex asked if she was all right.
"Fine, fine. I'm fine. Get going so I can finish getting ready. I'll meet you upstairs in twent- eighteen. Now get outta here."
And here he stood, waiting. Diana had been prompt about her arrival time and was currently mingling. Rikki and Fidget's sister, Candace, were making contacts with other party goers. Grinder was somewhere doing something, and Fidget had yet to appear.
Fifteen minutes later and a lot of small talk with fans, Alex felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, Alex felt his heart jump. Standing in front of him was a petite redhead with vibrant blue eyes. Her hair was loose to her shoulders and she wore the tiniest black dress he had ever seen. He would have asked for her name immediately if not for one thing; he knew her. Little Fidget had grown up sometime over the last hour into a bombshell.
"Fidge?"
The redhead rolled her eyes at him. "What? Have I been gone so long that you've forgotten what I look like?"
There was a long and uncomfortable pause before the sports star replied. "Um. You look...different." His eyes never left hers, though he motioned to her hair and waved his hand downward. It was another moment before Fidget looked like she was going to respond. She looked upset, like she wanted to strangle someone. "In a good way," Alex added hoping that the comment would cool her ire.
"In a good way," Fidget sarcastically mimicked glaring at her friend. "Look," she confessed. "None of this was my idea. I mean well, sort of, I needed help so I went to Candy. She was the one that made me get this stupid thing," she tugged at the hem that fell mid-thigh. "And I already had the stockings and stilettos," she motioned down to her nylon encased legs and leather bound feet. "Don't ask. They were the only things I owned that went well with the dress." She paused thinking of something else to say.
Was she nervous? Was that the reason she was rambling? Was she rambling, even? If so, why then was she nervous? This was Alex she was talking to; her buddy, her friend, one of the hottest guys on the planet. A man that any woman except her, and maybe Diana Whats-her-face and Asazi, would kill for. Well, Asazi would kill HIM, not for him, but that was beside the point. It had to be the dress, it was stupid and short and uncomfortable. The whole outfit wasn't her, so why was she wearing it?
Peer pressure. "The hair was her idea too," the redhead accused. "She thought it was more stylish this way." Move the conversation away from the clothes; smart move, she thought. She brushed her fingers through her chin length bob. The style was similar to Candace's, though slightly longer and naturally red, rather than artificially blond. Actually, Fidget would have been the first to admit she liked her hair this way on occasion. She would sometimes get headaches from having her hair up all the time. This was also a more grown up look. Though, she wouldn't wear her hair this way often, it would get in her face and that would be bad in her line of work. But at rare events like the AGA she would be willing to let it down in the future.
"Oh." He looked away.
He didn't care about her fashion faux pas or her hair issues. She seethed internally. 'Oh?' What the hell kind of response was that?
"It looks good on you. I mean, you look fantastic."
Was that a compliment? That was a compliment. What was she supposed to do, she had never been complimented about her clothes before.
"Oh. Thanks."
Lame! "We should find our seats, they're about to start." It only took the two a few moments to find their seats. Team Xtreme and their dates had a table all to themselves near the front by the stage. Candace, Rikki, Grinder, Diana, Alex, and Fidget sat around the circular table. As soon as Candace wasn't occupied with Rikki, Fidget, quietly, laid into the blond.
As Nick Masters began what would inevitably be a long boorish ego-trip, thinly veiled as a welcome to all, Alex looked at the sniping pair seated beside him. The twins had taken the deed to a new artform. He heard the quietyly hissed accusations and denials being hurled back and forth; but unless one was paying close attentioon a person likely wouldn't know they were viewing an argument.
This was quite different from the only other argument he'd seen them have, things had threatened to get physical in that altercasion. The subtlety of this argument likely had to do with the setting, but their eyes told the story. If looks could kil...well it wouldn't be pretty.
Speaking of which Fidget did look nice tonight. Really nice. Alex frowned. In a protective big brother sort of way, he amended and then looked over at his date. Diana smiled at him and then rubbed his arm briefly in a caring way. He smiled back and then turned his attention back to the two sisters.
"What?" the two demanded quietly. Their conversation had finished abruptly when they realized they had a spectator and the two were now looking at him. Candace had a smirk pasted across her face, while Fidget looked...none too happy.
"Uh?"
"What?" the redhead asked again. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I uh...like what?" Alex really wasn't sure why he had been looking at her. And 'like what' he knew even less.
Leaning past Alex, Fidget whispered an apology to Diana about having to borrow Alex for a few minutes. The redhead then grabbed the sports superstar by his bowtie and rose. "Be right back," she told the others.
Without drawing too many stares, Fidget led Alex from the front of the room, along the edge of it to the vacant lobby. A soon as the doors closed behind them Fidget loosened her grip on him. "Look, if you don't like the way I look, just be honest and tell me! If it's the hair or the clothes or whatever, I don't like it when people lie to me and its even more embarrassing when they stare." She paused for a breath. "Just spit out whatever it is you have going on in that brain of yours and get it off your chest. Tomorrow I'll be back to being the same ol' Fidge anyway, so you won't have to worry about"
The remainder of the redhead's tirade was cut short by the most unexpected of events; a kiss. It wasn't some long, drawn out romantic, movie kiss or an awkward teenage slobberfest. It wasn't even an abrupt heated, passionate kiss. It was short Like what was happening was right, but for a reason neither participant could explain.
When he pulled back, it was clear that Alex didn't understand why he'd done it, Fidget could see that on his face, but she could also see that he thought it was just as right as she had found it. A fact that startled both the glassy eyed adults as much as the actual kiss had.
A thunderous applause sounded from within the ballroom as the two stared at each other and then anything but the other person.
"Um. Yeah." Fidget was the first to speak up.
"Yeah," Alex mimicked.
"Maybe we should just go back to our seats," she offered.
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
The original plot of this chapter was to have Dr. X and his cronies crash the awards show. Diana would leap in to attempt to save the day and Alex would save her by taking out whatever/whomever was the major threat by using one of Fidgets garters (Get it? Elastic.) Anyway, Diana was supposed to hustle off to file a report with InterCEPT while Candace interviewed people.
A very different set up from the one I finally used, but no matter how I wrote, edited, or rewrote the original idea, it always came across as forced humor, cliched, preposterous, scientifically unbelievable, and was very poorly written. In the posted version, I kept the title for continuity and am comparing it to heartstrings. Lame, I know, I know, but there was little I could do. Whenever I tried to add the garter in to this version, to bring it back to the plot points of the rest of the story, it just didn't work, meaning this chapter and the story as a whole, just sort of peters out. Don't get me wrong, I like this version, but if I manage to ever write the conclusion I wanted, this chapter will likely be replaced and posted either as non-inclusive within this story or as a separate story all together.
Please, read, and review/respond. I thrive on critiques, it is how I know what my readers want, how to edit chapters such as this, and how to be a better writer overall. Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it.