Authors Note: Some people may be confused by the time changes. The flash backs are out of order and are supposed to leave gaps that will later be filled. Hope people are enjoying this as the end is no where in sight.
Disclaimer: Tomb Raider and its characters are the property of Simon West, Paramount Pictures and Eidos Interactive. This story is strictly for my own personal pleasure. Any similarities between this story's plot and any others is purely coincidental. No plagiarism is intended. The lyrics of the weapons are concealed belong to Biffy Clyro.
I'm wearing it under my face.
An expression and an admission of my disgrace.
But I'm sure I will make it okay.
I'll try to give you something better.
I'm wearing it today.
You with a grin on your face.
Me with a bag in it's place.
I've tied a rope round my neck, trying to win your respect.
Conceal the weapons.
Death shares everything I have.
But I hate the way I conceal the weapons.
Blame it on the staring match between the two of us.
Chapter Three: Admission.
Essex, 1992.
A year had passed since Alex had first joined Lara's school, and since then they had developed a posse of friends. There was Reginald Carter, Keif Macarthur, Michael Smith and Eric Whithers. It was the middle of the summer, the sun was shining and there were only a few cirrus clouds dotting the sky like delicate brush stokes. Alex, Lara, Reginald and Keif had been wondering around all day when doing nothing was on the agenda. Michael was one of those who said they would be in, and then slept until two in the afternoon and forgot about the plans. Eric was on holiday in Tennessee. They had wondered aimlessly around the nearest town, checking out the usual haunts: the video store, Buskers and all the local record shops. They finally got tired of walking and went to their favourite café. It had three floors: the ground floor had a take-away sandwich bar and a few scattered tables; the third floor had another food counter where one could order hot food and a delicious English fry. This floor had enough tables to comfortably seat a hundred-and-fifty people. The pseudo-second floor was where the group headed, hoping it was free. It had two couches facing each other with two low wooden tables joined in the middle. There were a number of small poufs, and a baby chair leaned against the wall under the stairs. A banister ran along two sides as it was more of an after thought between floors. One could look down and see all the people drinking hot beverages below. Luckily, today it was empty.
Lara and Reginald were seated on the couch nearest the stairs, while Keif sat next to Alex on the opposite Chair. In order to keep the employees happy, they all bought hot chocolates, which came with marshmallows, and Reginald ordered a warm chocolate muffin with cream. They chatted for awhile about nothing important before Lara and Kief become lost in the conversation between Alex and Reginald on why the guy in the red suit always dies in Star Trek. Eventually Claire and Denise, relatively new acquirements to the group, appeared at the top of the stairs. Alex, being a gentleman, went to sit on one of the poufs, giving up his seat which Denise quickly took, leaning against Kief. Claire tried to squeeze in between Lara and Reginald, who budged up to make room. The topics soon moved on to whether Denise should get her tongue pierced and plans for going up to the Download festival before one the waitresses asked them to leave. Some days they could stay for hours, but today was particularly busy, and twice Alex had dropped one the balls that he was attempting to juggle onto a table below. He insisted that he wanted to join the juggling club, and any aspiring juggler should have a set of balls handy. It really was amazing how far this eclectic group had come, despite the mounting bets in the teachers lounge, especially now that two of the group had 'gotten together'.
Claire and Denise- after a long goodbye with Kief- eventually disappeared, and the gang made to go to Alex's house, but half way there they decided to take a short cut through the yet unfinished bypass that cut through the field beside Alex's estate, which had a dozen or so nice sized houses, all identical apart from the lawns and coat of paint. They had two floors, and the kitchens led to a glass conservatory. The group slipped and slid un the loose stones until they eventually reached the cliff part at the end, overlooking the unkept field, with grass and weeds up to your elbows. They spent some time rolling the larger boulders down the cliff, loud booms randomly ringing out across the field, followed by the rattling of loose stones cascading down the steep slope. Several people over in the estate looked over, but were too far away to recognize faces, or tell the young hoodlums to stop making noise.
Reginald eventually took charge, as always. They scrambled down the cliff, bringing a barrage of stones with them and almost losing their footing numerous times. Eventually at the bottom, they realized that a small river ran along the cliff's edges, no wider than five feet at any given point, and meandered through the green sea. Running along the edge, they eventually found a grassy path and made a bee-line for the estate after several brushes with the river, which had a habit of just appearing. Coming up to a barbed wire, they realized that the river ran across the whole border of the estate, which started in a two metre rocky precipice where building work had been going on.
"Shit," Alex laughed as he remembered that the plank across the river had been broken by Reginald on a previous escapade, before the bypass had started. Lara smiled wryly at the guys stupidity. It had been their idea, and now here they were, stuck in a field riddled with nettles, all of them too stubborn to turn around and go back the way they came now that they had been presented with a challenge.
"You're the monkey boy, you go first," Kief gave Alex a shove.
"Hey! I'm trying to climb over a barbed wire here!" He shouted indignantly, one leg balanced precariously on the lower rung of the barbed wire on either side.
"Wouldn't want any mishaps, now would we?" Lara's eyes flickered downwards for a second before giving Alex her most dazzling smile. Alex merely laughed off the comment a little too quickly and decided to chance it. He swung his leg over the other side and jumped. He was glad he was still holding onto the wooden post as he realized the safe-looking grass on the other side was actually part of the river, and his shoes were flooded. Deciding not to tell the others about his little discovery he beckoned them over. Once they were all over and equally as wet as him, they looked around. Except Kief who had jumped a little too far. His right leg was now soaked up to his knee. They all swore profusely at Alex.
"The river looks shallower over here, think I might make a run for it," stated Alex, staring over at the building site just half a dozen feet away. He tried to jump half-way across, only again to realize he had miscalculated. It rose up to his upper thighs. While the guys laughed on the other side, he waded the rest of the way in half jumps, soaking himself further. Climbing up the small edge, he swiftly proceeded to whip his trousers off over his black and white converse trainers in one, fluid motion.
"He made it across?" Lara sounded slightly daunted by the thought of wading through that mass of water that was beginning to look a little like sewerage, if the brown liquid running down Alex's bare legs was any indication.
"The real question is: how did he take off his pants without removing his shoes?" Reginald quipped.
"I am the king!" Alex half yelled in answer to Reginald's question, wringing his hands above his head. "Jump in, the water's goddamn freezing!" he looked over at a pile of blocks.
"I think over here is shallower," moving a few steps down the river, Reginald motioned for Alex to throw in some of the blocks, to further shallow the stretch of water. Hoisting up a block, Alex chucked it in roughly the area indicated, causing a large splash and the further soaking of his mates.
"Hey, watch it!" shouted Kief as Alex proceeded to throw block after block into the river, to no visible avail. Deciding that it should be shallow enough, Reginald jumped into roughly the centre. Unfortunately, this part was actually deeper and filled with sewerage. Reginald, despite being 6'3", was submerged up to his belly button in freezing water. He gave a yelp as he realized his feet were stuck in the sticky goop.
The group were doubled over in laughter as Reginald yelled for help. Alex climbed part way down and reached out a hand to help him out, but was laughing so hard that he kept unintentionally pulling it back.
"Will you stop vibrating and get me the hell out of here!" cried Reginald who was now laughing equally as hard, which only caused him to sink further. Finally getting hold of himself enough to get a grip on his friends out stretched arm, Alex hoisted him out, almost toppling back in at the resistance he met from the sludge.
"Dude, you're covered in shit!" Alex was practically rolling on the ground as Reginald tried to take off his pants like Alex had, only to get them tangled around his shoes. Alex looked over by the fence that enclosed the building site and led to the estate, noticing for the first time the two wooden ladders lying on the gravel. "Shit, there were ladders there," he pointed, and Reginald almost hit him.
"So I'm soaked up to my waist in shit for nothing!" another howl of laughter erupted from their still stranded friends. They draped the ladders across the river one over the other as they weren't that strong, and the others got over without much mishap. Lara gave the two 'heroes' a quick hug, even though she lingered a moment longer in Alex's embrace. They proceeded on their route to Alex's house, climbing over the fence and laughing at the onlookers. They must look a right sight! Soaked trousers, dishevelled clothes, two of them in just their t-shirts and boxers, brown water running down their legs.
Outside his house, Alex ordered them to take off their shoes and socks. Leading them round the back, he ordered Kief to close the gate they had just passed though behind him. In the yard, they draped their socks and shoes over the washing line.
"That's new," Lara had noticed a path of sawed off logs leading to what looked like a small vegetable garden, half of which was hidden by a see through plastic tent, emitting warmth- obviously a green house. The rest of the garden was surrounded by a tall, dark wooden fence, which two thin trees seemed to rest against, leaning over into the garden behind. On the opposite side of the garden, joining the conservatory, was a nice wooden patio, complete with wooden deck chairs and table. Looking into the conservatory, one could see two wooden benches lined with cushions, and sculptures of chameleons and long legged birds made from black wire and multicoloured crystal-like stones. A book lay open face down on the bench nearest the patio. Ancient American civilisations.
"Made it myself," Alex told her proudly. As the others used his key to open the back door, Alex showed Lara the vegetable patch, and told her about all the splinters and blisters he received while cutting the logs and digging up the path and soil.
After Reginald and Alex took a shower- there was a bathroom downstairs and two upstairs- and everyone cleaned up, the guys all begged Alex to make them waffles. Alex acquiesced. His mother was the one who normally made them, but she had left him instructions and he was a good cook, he was sure he could do it. His parents had gone to France for two weeks, and Alex was left on his own, hence the numerous sleep-overs, but they were a good group of friends, and Alex cleaned the house daily. Reginald and Kief took a beer from the fridge and went into the sitting room. Alex's parents left beer out in the hopes that he would take it, but Alex had developed a reaction to it that was probably psychosomatic. Lara wouldn't drink.
Lara watched and laughed as Alex made the Waffle mixture, occasionally mixing the ingredients in the wrong order, and then running out of butter and somehow making a substitute. It was only half three in the day. Ready, he called in the other guys. Placing ice cream, maple syrup and sprinkles on the table, they all tucked in.
"These are pretty good, cheers," Kief mumbled, mouth half full.
"I thought I screwed it up a few times, and then when I ran out of butter and had to make my own…." Alex laughed as his two non-present-at-the-time friends nearly dropped their forks.
"You didn't put anything in it like sperm or any other kind of 'cream' did you? We know what your like," Kief stared closely at his waffle. Alex merely raised his eyebrows. Seeing that Lara was still eating, Kief picked up his fork once more.
"Hey Reg, you bring the video?" That was Lara, and after everyone had finished they went into the living room to watch Ninja Scroll. The sitting room was also filled with small sculptures of animals, this time made of wood, there were two giraffes and a family of hippos, as well as a number of lizards stuck on the wall. There were several paintings on the two walls that didn't have windows. The one above the fire place on the right as one enters the door was a rather nice painting by Alex himself of a scene where two knights on horse back were jousting to the cheers of a crowd with their back to the viewers. A large red dragon was in the background. It must have been done when he was eleven or so. He was definitely the artist in the group. In the corner along the same wall was the television. On the left of the door was another windowless wall and one of the couches, and the wall opposite the fire place had the other, both with throw-overs and cushions. Next to the couch by the window was a leather arm chair with a nice footstool. Kief quickly sat down in that one, Reginald on the couch beside him. With Lara closest to the door, she and Alex both sat down on the Couch furthest from the television as the credits rolled, talking and making fun of various things during the movie, earning them surreptitious glances from their other friends. After the movie and numerous music videos (who gave Reg the remote?), it was half six and time for pizza. Money had been left for take-outs.
As the evening waned on Lara left to go home. Immediately after she was gone, Kief and Reg asked Alex if he liked her, to which he replies no nonchalantly. Not believing a word of it, they proceeded to randomly ask throughout the evening, hoping to catch him unawares. Alex always seemed to open up more very early in the morning, a combination of lack of sleep and low blood pressure made worse by the fact that he had a habit of hanging upside while watching South Park, his favourite show, to which he had all the current seasons. At ten past three, Reg asked him again.
"Alright, alright. Yes I like her," Alex finally admitted, sighing heavily. "You have no idea how hard it is. Reg, I know you've been turned down a few times but this is different. She's my best friend and I spend so much time with her, knowing she doesn't feel the same. I went back to America for a month this summer, and sulked for most of it. I locked myself in my room and couldn't even read or watch TV because I missed her so much. I actually don't like any other girl in school because my mind is focused solely on Lara Croft."
"Damn, you're really serious about her," Kief shook his head in pity as Alex stared at his now pyjama clad knees.
"You know she likes you too, right?" Alex laughed humourlessly at Reg. "You don't have to believe me but its true. She told me awhile ago. It was almost as hard as you to wring it out of her." They spent another half hour trying to convince Alex that Lara did indeed like him, before giving up and changing subject, noticing how uncomfortable it was making Alex.
When the others had finally fallen asleep, Alex muld their conversation over in his mind. Could Lara possibly be interested in him? He would like to think so, but he hadn't seen any signs that she did, though Reg had pointed out that Alex had never been in a relationship, and so wouldn't know what to look for. Whenever Lara snapped at him, or ignored him, Alex felt like shit and spent the time until he saw her again trying to figure out what he did wrong. Maybe she only put up with him because she felt obliged to? That she really hated him. Then there were days like today where everything was right and there was no place he'd rather be. If Alex went a long time without seeing her, he would grow increasingly frustrated and upset until he just crawled under the bed with ear phones, not moving except for nature calls for days at a time. It just hurt so much when she wasn't there, like everything good in his life was missing.
He knew he depended on her too much, but when ever he tried to wean himself off her it was unbearable. He tried to think of everything about her that he didn't like, but he kept drawing up a blank. He liked even those qualities other people found annoying. He refused to put a name to what he thought he felt.
Alex sighed, resigned to the fact that he would be getting no sleep tonight.
Alex's flat, present.
That's why it killed him when Lara broke off all contact with him. Now he was sure it was love, having been in relationships. None of those woman, though he cared about them, hit him in just the right place like Lara did. At some point, his previous girlfriends realized this and, some being not so understanding, broke up with him. He was wounded to the core when Lara angrily shouted at him over the prayer wheels. But it broke his heart when she wouldn't even let him explain. He had a good reason, dammit. After everything they had been through together she had given up on him the first chance she got. He was certain thereafter that she really had felt nothing for him, it was all one sided. He knew that he had denied that she liked him anyway, but the confirmation was shattering.
It was just gone six o'clock. The curtains in Alex's bedroom were shut, blocking out the ailing sun. Alex had been sitting on his four-poster bed that was pushed up by the window, the same one that he had in his previous apartment on White Chapel street. Only the mattress had been changed. The new one was far more comfortable, but the edges drooped over the sides of the bed stand, giving it a slightly-out-of-place feel. The plain white sheets were folded neatly onto one corner of the bed, pillows on top. He had always folded his bed clothing like this, something he had picked up from watching far too much Japanese manga and anime. He had left the lights off, preferring to think in darkness. He was sitting on the edge of the bed furthest from the window, hands clasped between his knees, head slightly bowed in thought. A slight frown creased his brow, trying to figure out what Lara could possibly want from him. With a sigh and decisive nod of his head, Alex got up, planning on taking a shower. He would just have to wait and see.
White Chapel street, South-East London, present.
Lara Croft had decided to walk the rest of the way to Alex's flat as Bryce had asked to come along in order to see a friend of his about a new search engine. Lara had no idea that Bryce was interested in that side of computers, but then again Bryce would have to have a dabble at everything computer-related. Having dropped Lara off some streets away, Hilary had conceded to go with Bryce and keep him out of trouble. She didn't need a repeat of the last time Bryce had went to see a 'friend'. Another fiasco like that was the last thing she needed.
Slipping off a shoulder strap as she neared the flat, Lara noticed Alex waiting outside. Wasn't he going to invite her in? He may be a sell out, but Alex was nothing if not polite.
Lara had thought of Alex a lot in the past few days, her constant dreams involving him seeming to have conjured up the real thing. After the Chinook, Lara couldn't help but feel guilty at how she had treated him, then chided herself for worrying over him. Still, when she saw Powell throw the knife at Alex's chest, then watched him plunge beneath the water only to let out a cry of pain as his lower body was crushed by the orrery, Lara could think of nothing but saving him. She didn't shed any tears as she watched him die, having already decided that this was not how things were going to happen. Her subconscious had already made up its mind to use the triangle if she could to save him even as she gave him the breath of life. The relief she felt to see him standing there, slightly confused could only be beaten by the relief she felt when she realised that he had no recollection of what happened. She knew that Powell had figured out that Lara's feelings towards Alex weren't purely platonic- the scenes between the two in Cambodia being a primary clue. Powell had had men follow Alex as he chased after Lara, and had been informed of Alex's momentary lapse of weakness when he let her go. It was obvious that there were some things the American valued more than money.
Lara had contrived to not tell Alex what really happened, and the fact that up until this point she had refused to see him helped her avoid the questions she knew he would ask. Unfortunately Lara needed help, and Alex was the only man for the job. Ancient American history was a specialty of his, especially the Mayan culture.
As she approached, Alex made his way towards her, a slight look of guilt on his face.
"Um, Lara?" What had he done this time? She narrowed her eyes at him, already regretting setting any wheels in motion. "I haven't done anything," he put up his hands defensively, slightly annoyed at her level of mistrust. "It's just that I've moved apartment, and I tried to ring you but your cell phone was switched off, and no one would answer at the Manor. Look, I live in the North-West of London now, and it would take too long to get there. Can whatever it is you have to say to me be said in a café or something?" Lara acquiesced, and they moved to find a place to talk, Lara a step ahead the whole time.
Authors Note: Thank you for taking the time to read.
Kai.