WELCOME! Welcome! To another installment of the Knowing Better series. I know it's been a while since the last story but between summer ending and school starting, things have been hectic. But, worry not, I'm back with the monster of a sequel I promised you all.
For those of you new to this series, I strongly recommend you read "Should've known better" and "Does he know better?" before this one, or it wont make much sense. For those of you returning, here's a quick update and notes:
I'm not really good at keeping track of fictional time, so I'm gonna right down some facts. ATTENTION: the dates may not coincide with the original Alex Rider series. Also, if they don't coincide with the other two stories of this series, let's pretend they do until I find the time to fix the previous stories to make everything fit. Let's start:
Alex's birthday is February 13th (as it is in the original series)
Alex was 16 when he went to live with Ben for the first time. After a year, he's 17 during the story "Should've known better"
Alex turnes 18 between "Shoul've known better" and "Does he know better?", when they're already living in Newcastle.
Alex is still 18 during "Does he know better?" where he meets Vict (20 years old). This story follows them through september, october, november, december and january.
Alex turns 19 before the epilogue scene in "Does he know better?" A year goes by between the epilogue and this new story. So, during this story, Alex is 20 and Vict is 22.
I think that's it. These notes are more for my benefit than yours, trust me, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to have them handy. If anyone notices any mistake between this and the previous stories, please let me know and I'll try to fix them. But, as a general rule, let's go with this timeline.
Now, I wanna thank everyone of my readers who so patiently and kindly encourage me to keep writing these stories through your wonderful reviews. I'd like to thank GotTimeForThat specially for letting me use her idea of a tittle for this story.
Without further adue (sorry for the long introduction) I hope you're ready for this ride because things get crazy right from the start. Enjoy!
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Chapter 1: I think Ben has a girlfriend
Alex jogged up the stairs, taking two at a time and reaching Vict's floor in a hurry. He'd already fished the key the older boy had given him out of his pocket to let himself into the apartment and made it with barely a minute to spare. He wasn't used to being the one running late and he hoped they wouldn't miss the movie because of him.
While he'd been getting ready, Ben had tried to call his attention, saying they needed to talk about something important but Alex hadn't had the time. He'd been almost out the door when whatever Ben had been about to say was cut off by the alarm on his phone going off.
"Sorry, tell me later!" He'd yelled halfway down the hall. Whatever Ben wanted to tell him, he was sure it could wait another couple of hours and Alex had a feeling he knew what the older man wanted to say anyway. So no harm done.
With his breathing just slightly heavier, Alex twisted the key inside the lock and walked inside.
The first thing he did was head to the kitchen and gulp down a bottle of water from the fridge to quench his thirst. Then he went looking for Vict.
He didn't have to wander much, given the place was barely big enough for one. Vict was resting on the bed half holding a book that was about to fall from his chest. Alex smiled. He'd fallen asleep reading.
He took a moment to admire the peaceful expresion on Vict's handsome face and his eyes lingered over his eyes. He chuckled when the pair of glasses framing his face brought back the memory of a couple of months ago.
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"Don't laugh" Vict warned, glaring at Alex over the mirror when the blond couldn't quite hide the smirk on his face.
"I'm not laughing" he defended himself, staring away at the other customers on the optic shop to try and control his expresion.
"Yes, you are" he could tell Vict was having a hard time accepting he needed to wear glasses from now on, but he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to tease him about it.
"I just don't know why you're so embarrassed. I think they're hot" and he did, if he thought beyond the fact that he did look a little bit funny. Obviously, Vict didn't share his opinion.
"And what I don't know is why I need them now" he was almost pouting by now.
"Because else the headaches won't go away" Alex answered, turning his attention back to Vict.
"Are you sure I don't look stupid?"
"Au contraire. Trust me, you look good" he smiled up at him but Vict's glare was murderous.
"I don't want any name calling, you hear me?" an accusing finger pointed through the mirror.
"Moi? I would never!" Vict's glare didn't falter "Relax, you don't even have to wear them all the time" Vict took the glasses off and signaled the seller to come over.
"Only when I read!" he exclaimed outraged and then his tone deflated "I read a lot"
"Then you have your solution…"
"Don't you dare"
"... stop reading. Movies are better anyway" Alex was sure, if looks could kill, he'd be buried already.
"You did not just say that to me" the blond shruged, holding off his answer until they'd paid for the glasses.
"I just call it like I see it"
"If movies are so great then how come we never finish one, huh?" one galce at Vict's smug face and Alex shook a finger at him.
"Oh, no no no. You're not throwing that at me now, I'm not the only one that gets distracted during movies"
"That's because they're not as good as the books" Vict answered, most likely thinking his argument was sound.
"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that"
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Alex walked further into the room and laid face down next to Vict. He closed the opened book and put it aside, resting then the palm of his hand against the sleeping boy's cheek. He stroke the thumb over it a couple of times and pecked him on the other one.
"Hey... I'm here" Vict stirred slowly and snuggled into Alex without opening his eyes.
"Finally" he said around a yawn before deciding to become an octopus and snatch his arm and leg over Alex. The glasses were somewhat knocked off his face so that now they barely covered one eye. Alex laughed, took them off and folded them over the bedside table.
"You know, I do love those glasses" Vict merely buried his face deeper into his side "Come on, we gotta go"
"Mhmmm" was all he got for an answer, but no movement followed the sound.
"We have to go. The movie's at seven"
"We don't have to go…"
"You're not cancelling on me. Now get your ass off the bed or we're gonna miss it"
"We don't even know what the movie is about"
"Doesn't matter" Alex answered, struggling out of the hold Vict had on him "We're still going"
"Okay, okay. Just give me a minute" the blond snorted.
"Yeah, more like five" Vict rolled his eyes.
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By the time they arrived and parked the car, it was 6:52 p.m. and they still had to buy the tickets. Alex was almost itching inside. He hated not being on time with a passion.
"Relax. We'll just miss the first few minutes, at most" but seeing as he got no response other than another impatient glance down the line of people waiting their turn, Vict tugged on his arm and stole a kiss from him when he turned around "Do you have any idea what Ben wanted to tell you?" Alex recognized a distraction when he saw, or heard, one. He began to shake his head but thought better of it.
"I think Ben has a girlfriend" he thought aloud.
"Really?" Vict said around a laugh "That's awesome! I mean... do we think it's awesome or not?" he asked, probably not sure what his reaction should be.
"It would be, I guess"
"What makes you think he has one? Has he said anything?"
"It's not that he's said something. And I won't pry into his business, considering I didn't tell him about you at first, but lately he's way too distracted and cheerful. I mean, more than usual. And he's laid off of me a bit, doesn't ask every little detail of my life. And then there's the car..."
"Yeah, I noticed that too. With how little he let's you have it these days I think it'd be better if we buy one ourselves" Alex contemplated that notion for a minute and was surprised to realize that the idea of buying- owning something together didn't bother him at all. He also recognized he wasn't ready to give the idea more than just a thought, no matter how serious or not Vict had been about it.
"That's why I think he's seeing someone" he decided to keep the conversation on track, taking a step forward when the line moved.
"And you're okay with that?"
"Why wouldn't I be? He's the older one. If anything, he was the one having trouble adjusting to you" and oh boy had that been a bumpy ride.
"I think we're getting better" Vict said pensively. Alex thought so too, but he also believed Vict and Ben's relationship could be better. The line moved again.
"Come on, come on" the blond urged. He caught Vict smirking at him, no doubt laughing at his impatience.
"Feels like we haven't gone to the movies in forever, right?" the older boy asked, clearly amused by Alex's excitement about their date night.
"We haven't" answered Alex matter of factly before plastering a cheeky smile on his face "I wonder whose fault is that?" he received a shove for his troubles.
"Next!" the cashier said and Alex quickly stepped forward to avoid further damage. He asked for the tickets.
"This movie started five minutes ago" the woman said, as if he needed any reminding.
"We know" she shrugged and sold them the tickets. Vict handed him his share of the fee and off they went. Vict leaned in to whisper when they walked into the movie.
"It's not my fault. I've been busy, you know, graduating" Alex snorted and whispered back.
"Like that's an excuse"
As a matter of fact, it was. Vict had finished his college education barely two weeks ago and graduation had been a week after that. Alex still stared at the picutres from that day every night before bed. It was safe to say that it had been the first important event they'd attended together, beyond Alex's football games on the weekends, though that was almost routine by now.
Even though they never hid their relationship from the world, Alex had to admit he'd been nervous about it; after all, he hadn't been inmune to the ocasional disaproving glance whenever they went somewhere. Having to wear a suit, probably just for the second time in his life hadn't helped matters either, but once he'd stopped worrying about everything else and focused on how radiant Vict had been and how proud he was of him for making it to graduation after a year full of changes, he'd begun to enjoy himself. Just thinking about it brought a smile to his face and, as they found their seats at the end of a row, Alex took a hold of Vict's hand and settled in to watch the movie.
They had no idea what the plot was about. They'd chosen it because it was the earliest one they could see so they wouldn't arrive home too late. Even though it was the weekend, they liked to enjoy their time together alone at home.
When Alex focused on the screen and the first thing he saw was a man with a sword walking into a cave holding a torch, he thought he might actually enjoy the next couple of hours. He liked medieval movies as much as the next guy. In fact, he preferred them. One of the last movies they'd seen was the latest James Bond film, which Vict had thought amusing enough but Alex couldn't bring himself to think so too.
Despite being the one to insist on going out tonight, Alex had trouble focusing on what was happening on the screen. As the minutes passed by, his attention was diverted to the people around them watching the movie as they were. His eyes couldn't stop following the movement of someone getting up and walking down the aisle stairs, presumably to go to the bathroom. A group of people getting into the room late holding bowls of popcorn. Alex spent more time counting how many people walked in and out of the place than paying attention to the screen. By the time he forced himself to stop being paranoid, the leading female actress had already been captured by the enemy.
He sighed and rested his head on Vict's shoulder who, for someone who preferred reading, was completely caught up in the plot.
Someday, he thought, someday I'll stop being like this. All paranoid, and uptight and not feeling safe anywhere but inside his apartment, or Vict's. He knew that his feeling of exposure in big crowds came from his time with MI6 and having to face all those mad men trying to wipe out hundreds of people at once. Not all terrorists walked into a place carrying a bomb, though. A lot of them are wealthy people, known people, thinking themselves better than everyone else. But not all powerful people dreamed on such a big scale, some of them are content with ruining just one life for their personal gain. Alex thought about them as terrorists too.
Alex's attention was brought back when he felt Vict tensing beside him. He looked up from where he was resting against him and saw him staring at the screen with a strange expresion on his face. When Alex looked at it, he understood why.
The kidnapped woman was backing away from the bad guy, her clothes half ripped from her showing just barely enough skin to make the film suitable for the big screen. Her expresion was defiant but terrified at the same time.
"This will not win you the war" the woman said.
"It will win me tonight" the man replied.
Alex sat up straight again when the man advanced on her, his body tense and rigid, his breathing stopped. He looked away when the man grabbed the woman by the arm and ripped yet another piece of the dress she was wearing.
Oh God, he was going to- he was gonna force-
It's just a movie. Just a movie. It's not real.
"Alex" Vict whispered to him but the blond shook his head.
"No"
"Let's go"
"No" he jerked his hand back when Vict tugged on it while half way off his seat.
"Alex, come on. You don't need-" but Alex freed his arm and leaned back into the seat, his eyes glued to the screen "Let's go"
"Shhh!" someone spat from nearby. Vict sat back down, his attention solely on Alex whose breathing was slightly irregular and leaned closer to speak into his ear.
"We can just go" but the blond ignored him, stubborn and determined to not go anywhere and to not look away.
Alex was dimly aware of Vict crossing his arms and leaning back into his seat as well, his eyes cast downward and away from both Alex and the movie. But the blond couldn't worry about it now, not when someone had decided to broadcast on a freaking movie the worst thing, with a difference, that had ever happened to him. Something he'd gotten over with, mostly, and he shouldn't be this affected by it, which is why he wasn't going to leave and even though the scene wasn't leaving much to the imagination, it wasn't terribly explicit either. The whole thing didn't last more than a minute and the camera kept moving towards a window while the screen faded to black.
It's over...
Alex let out a relieved sigh when the next scene went back to showing the main character giving a speech, which he wouldn't be able to remember later, and he was able to relax his shoulders. It didn't go unnoticed by the blond that he and Vict didn't hold hands again for the rest of the movie.
But the movie had to end eventually and even though what happened to that character was briefly discussed later, it wasn't the main focus of the film. Alex wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or afronted by that.
Neither of them said anything when the credits started rolling and the lights went back on. Vict was as expresionless as a tomb and Alex couldn't think of anything to say either. He did clasp a hand at the back of the older boy's shirt when they walked down the stairs and found themselves surounded by the sea of pleople leaving the place, but he let go after they walked out.
Silence followed them while they walked to the car.
Alex wasn't sure what he was supposed to be feeling right now. He was proud of the way he'd controlled his panic and how the whole episode hadn't turned into a flashback, but there was something about watching someone go through that, even if he knew it wasn't real, that left a bitter taste in his mouth. And then there was Vict…
The blond glanced at him and frowned at the angry expression on the other boy's face. His pace was also angry: fast and determined, like he couldn't wait to get away from there… or him.
But why would he be acting this way? If anyone had the right to fuss about what they'd just seen, it was him, not Vict. Alex considered asking what was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He knew what was wrong, watching that whole movie after a scene like that was wrong but he hadn't looked away, he'd stayed and he should be proud of that. Vict should be proud of that too.
They got into the car.
Alex took his time fastening his seatbelt and getting the car started. He risked a glance at Vict but the other boy was looking out the window, his chin propped on a fist. Alex tsked and sarted the engine, getting out of the parking lot and finding his way out into the street.
The more time it passed without Vict saying anything, the angrier Alex got. He couldn't believe their evening had been ruined by something as simple as a movie, even when there was nothing simple about what they'd seen.
"I'm not going to apologize" the blond stated, not really sure why he chose those words to break the silence and knowing full well those weren't the best words to start a conversation. Vict answered without turning to face him.
"Okay" Alex waited for another reply, something else to make that response less dismissive than it was.
"It was just a movie" he added after a while. This time it worked, though Vict still refused to look anywhere else but out the window.
"We should've left" the older boy said.
"Why?"
"You know why" and Alex did know why, he just wasn't going to admit it.
"I was fine" he said instead. If Vict had been worried about him, then he should be relieved Alex hadn't felt panicked enough to run.
"But I didn't want to see that" oh, so this was about him.
"Then why didn't you just left?" and Alex honestly didn't mean it as a jab. Later, though, he would realize how insensitive that comment was.
"Are you serious right now?" Vict spat in surprise, finally turning around to look at him with a dumbfounded expression on his face "You didn't need to see that either!" and back to him.
"I shouldn't have to walk away just because it happened to me too" Alex stated, confident enough that what he was saying was how he actually felt. That's progress, right?
"You're unbelievable!" Vict threw his hands in the air and Alex couldn't quite process the fact they were fighting, for real, something they hadn't done since they met. Not for real. Not like right now. But Alex couldn't concede.
"I'm unbelievable? You're the one making a fuss about it. It was just a movie. It doesn't matter" and apparently that was the wrong thing to say, following a series of wrong things said between them after a wrong choice that left them at odds with eachother.
"It matters to me Alex!" Vict was screaming now, eyes burning into the side of Alex's head and the blond risked taking his eyes off the road to glare back at him.
"But I'm- NO!" Alex janked on the steering wheel but the impact was inminent and the crash unavoidable. All he was able to see before the car got so violently tossed, was the headlights of the other car right outside the passanger side.
All he could hear for a while was the sound of screeching metal and breaking glass. He heard horns, lots of them and then felt another impact from his side of the car. The vehicle driving behind them musn't have been able to stop in time and it collided with them after the first crash had changed the position of their car.
When it all came to a stop, Alex's vision was swimming and his world was exploding in pain. Then, finally, silence.
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Don't hate me! I did warn you things would get crazy pretty fast.
I realize this chapter isn't too long, but I'm gonna need some time to get into the groove of writing again. This one was actually a struggle to complete. I really hope you guys liked it enough to give this new story a chance and I would love to read your thoughts about it: did you like it? Hate it? Expected it?
What would you like to see next? Where do you think this story is headed?
Now, I can't promise quick updates because school is taking all of my time right now, that and work of course. But I'll try to write as fast as I can because I'm really excited about this story. So please, bear with me and have patience. You know me, I always finish my stories. Also… reviews help, a lot, just so you know.
See you on the next chapter!