CHAPTER 2

Alex pall but sprinted down the narrow hall, panic tightening his throat almost to an unbearable level.

No! Shit! Shit! Shit!

So, he had been tempted in the past. So, he had feelings for Fidget. Big deal. But he shouldn't have acted on them.

But he did.

And the worst part was yet to come, a fact he knew without a doubt; Rikki. Was. Seeing. Fidget.

They had been dating on and off ---or so he guessed, it wasn't like he followed them around asking questions--- for more than a couple of months, and, as far as he could tell, were perfectly in love.

Frantically, he made his way to the bunks and flopped down onto a bottom one that was currently uninhabited, one thought swirling throughout his mind.

Fuck. I'm fucked.

This wasn't right. This couldn't happen. He couldn't betray Rikki like that. Hell, he couldn't betray Fidget like that, either. This wasn't fair to her.

But he loved her. As a friend, firstly, and later as more; he would be devastated if she left. He needed her friendship, her support, even more than he wanted her as a lover. Hell; he couldn't even remember when he had started thinking of her as a woman, and not just a teammate.

A thought suddenly struck him.

What if she tells Rikki?

Oh great. Then he could loose two of his best friends.

I'm screwed.

Wait a second... what if Fidget did like (the other 'L' word was far too frightening to contemplate, right now) him? What if he had hurt her by walking away like that? She did grab him, after all...

This situation keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

But... Could he really give her what she wanted in a relationship? Knowing he was getting way ahead of himself, his quelled his thoughts.

He wanted something, or better yet, someone in his life. One-night-stands didn't count. He had his share of those; all the female fans who couldn't keep their hands off him. They were all pretty, but they couldn't offer him a serious relationship.

But she could.

If she wanted to, that is. Which was highly doubtful after the night's antics.

What if she does tell Rikki, what'll happen then? Will he forgive me?

The thought was laughable. Forgive him? But... It wasn't like he did this a lot ---act before thinking...

The storm of panic was quieting down now, and he realized how sleepy he truly was. He needed to talk it through with someone. Some one he could trust; someone who understood. And there was only one person who could help; Grinder.

Making his decision, he buried himself underneath the mound of down comforters on Grinder's bed, the familiar scent of his best friend acting as a security blanket. Snuggling down into the heavy material, he laid his head on the pillow and his eyes drooped immediately. He'd think more in the morning and when Grinder came back, he'd talk to him and get his advice...

XXXXXXXXXX

Opening his eyes slowly, Alex took in his surroundings. Dim sunlight streamed in through the window, creating a beam of pearly light that fell on red hair and a fair-skinned face, making the owner of the body almost glow.

He hazily mused that she looked much younger in her sleep then she really was. Instead of looking twenty-five, she looked like she was still a teenager. Half of her face was buried against he pillow, her copper lashes fanned out on her cheek. But that full, lovely mouth was barely parted, and the one visible corner was graced with a natural sarcastic curl. For just a moment, he had the sudden irresistible urge to kiss it off.

Then the memory of last night hit him hard, and he was instantly, coldly awake.

She, however, was not. And Rikki and Grinder wouldn't be back until the afternoon. At least he had time to come up with some sort of plan. What he needed was some time to run over his thoughts, and he knew the best way to do it. Grabbing a pair of loose nylon shorts, a T-shirt and a light jacket, he swung off the bunk.

Forcing himself to resist the urge to sneak one more look at Fidget, he quietly and calmly padded his way down the same hall he had rushed down the night before. Grabbing his running shoes, he headed to the bathroom.

Alex quietly shut the door behind him, the cool, sterile bathroom somehow reassuring. Groaning, he scratched the stubble covering his face absent-mindedly, while casting a critical eye at himself in the mirror.

He looked terrible, to say the least. He had slept heavily enough, but his dreams had been dark and troubled. Didn't shrinks say that when you have problems in your life, they come out in your dreams? He was starting to believe it, after last night. Dark circles outlined his cloudy blue eyes and his hair was a tangled, sweaty mess.

Shivering in the cool morning air as he stripped, he pulled his shorts and T-shirt on, he haphazardly avoided his thoughts on the subject of last night. Thinking of things now would just complicate things later.

Trying to look more awake, he ran his fingers through his dark hair. In a flash, the memory of Fidget's lips pressed to his and her running her fingers through his hair was enough to make him look away from the mirror. Looking down into the reflective steel sink, a hot wave of shame settled in his stomach.

Cursing himself silently, he forced himself to look back into the mirror with renewed determination.

I'm going to sort this out. I will find a solution to this. Last night is not going to tear this team apart.

Besides, they needed to stay together. They had to stop Dr. X; to keep others safe; to fight. After all, their personal problems were nothing compared to the responsibility they had to the rest of the world.

Right?

Giving his reflection another hard look, he gathered up his sleeping garb and padded back down the hall in his jogging clothes. Slipping the sleepwear into the dirty laundry basket, he glanced at a clock and frowned. 6:37.

Sighing, he walked back out to the main living space of the plane and gingerly opened the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to deal with Fidget this early, he grabbed an extra set of keys. If there was one thing he had learned was that she was not a morning person, and banging on the door in order to wake her up wasn't an option.

He gently stretched; flexing and pulling at the muscles that protested loudly this morning. He had slept in an odd position last night, and could feel himself paying for it.

Jogging had become a routine part of his mornings, the brisk air waking him up far more effectively then anything else. It cooled him to an almost meditative state, giving him time to muse over his thoughts. Which happened to be just what he needed this morning.

Taking off at a slow pace, he let his mind wander back to his camerawoman. Absolutely everything about her was fun and exciting and new.

His love for her, however, didn't come fast and exciting. No, he had oh-so-slowly come to want her, then need her, then love her. In fact, he hadn't even realized he was in love with her for the longest time. His heart had been dormant, just waiting for that one moment.

And it had come, seven months ago. It was a climbing competition, and her rope had just snapped like fucking dental floss, and he had watched her body almost float to the ground. It was then, as he watched --his ears ringing, his breath frozen in his lungs, his heart silent in his chest-- that he just knew.

He had been shocked and frightened and elated all at once --had frozen on the wall. Had lost for the first time ever.

His tongue was thick and cotton-dry in his mouth when he visited her in the hospital. Merely a broken leg, the doctors had said. A miracle she's alive. And he had just sat there, doing nothing, saying nothing --hell, even feeling nothing, shocked as he was.

But she had healed, and things had gone on as they had before.

Well, almost.

Eventually he had learned to hide the flinch he let out whenever she touched him, or the soft gasp when she smiled just so, or the hot flush when she unwittingly shot him an almost-smoldering look. It had been difficult in the beginning, but had just gotten easier and easier. And, well, if she suspected something was wrong, she never said anything.

But… a secret, illogical part of him wished that she would notice; that she would focus all of her attention on him and realize something was not right. The simple fact that she didn't stung in a way unrequited love only could.

But he couldn't blame Fidget for his hesitance. Many times he had battled with himself, whether to tell her or not. On one hand, he didn't want things to become awkward and testy between the two of them. He had been on the extreme sports circuit long enough to know that teams had split up over love before. One the other, he knew inherently that shoving his feelings deep inside himself could only work for so long.

As he had found out last night.

And Rikki and Fidget always seemed so happy together, all teasing grins and taunting smiles. They had plans for the future, and their own special way to kiss, and she wore his satin pajama pants to bed. Simple. Perfect. Joyous. He hated it.

He had learned to conquer jealousy, too. It was hard, at times, to watch them together --her bossing him around, him twitching nervously-- to resist he urge to glower and snarl.

It had astonished him; his envious fury. He hadn't felt jealous of anyone since he was a child, and that seemed like another life, now. And even then, the hot longing for new shoes, or a good ball, couldn't even begin to approach the searing agony he felt over Fidget.

Letting his thoughts flit back to the present, he picked up his pace a little, spotting a nice-looking park. He contemplated for a minute, before making his way towards the green area.

Doing a full loop on the asphalt was relaxing him. The sun was rising into the clear sky, causing the azure atmosphere to be splashed with different shades of pinks and oranges. There wasn't a cloud in sight, promising the day to be filled with warm weather.

All the way back Alex went over the previous night, mentally highlighting the most important parts for his conversation with a certain Brit he planned on chatting with as soon as he got home. As usual, the short jog had refreshed him, and it was with a far lighter heart that he spotted Big Air.

The lights were on.

She was up.

Suddenly, he had the urgent need to flee. He really, really, really didn't want to face this yet. The renewal he had originally gotten from the exercise drained from his body. Unfortunately, running wasn't an option. Putting on a smile, he gritted his teeth, and braced himself for whatever may come.

With a little more force then was necessary, he opened the door and forced his legs to propel him through it. Walking into Team Extreme's mobile house, his nostrils caught the smell of chocolate pancakes, a specialty of Fidget's.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the kitchen, ready to face her.

Sure enough, as soon as he walked into the space she whipped around; mouth set into a thin line of determination.

"We need to talk. Now."

TBC