Lie to me

This was not his plan, it was not what he had planned at all. When Alexandra had told Lucas she didn't want to be with him anymore he had been furious. Then he had thought he could win her back, he had thought he would have time to do it. But when he had seen Alexandra's parents it was already too late to go back. The second he had realized who they were, it all blew off his plans. They had made a smart move, he couldn't deny it, but he had to be smarter than them. He had thought about every possibility, every solution, every exit to solve this problem, but in the end, he was sure he had to tell his father. Even if he didn't like the idea, he needed him to be part of his plan. Lucas was walking to the lab, ready to confront Charles and Alice when he saw Alexandra waiting for him outside his lab.

"God, this girl never gives up," he mumbled to himself, annoyed, yet proud. If she had not given up after what he has done earlier, maybe frightening her was not a solution. He had never known why, but she had never been afraid of him, even when they first met, like he would never hurt her. Yet, there was a solution he didn't like that would made her go away. He had hoped he would not have to use it, but now she was here and now he had to.

Alexandra had walked back home, gotten changed and run back to the lab. She wanted to see Lucas before he could see her parents. She wanted him to tell her. After all, they were still a couple few days ago, he could do that for her, couldn't he? When she saw him arriving, she tried to keep calm. She didn't want him to react like he had done earlier.

"I hope you're not here because about what happened earlier 'cause you're wasting your time," Lucas said immediately when he stopped in front of her. His tone was normal, distant, yet polite.

"Lucas, I need you to tell me what's going on."

"Why?"

"Because I have to know."

"There's nothing for you to know."

"Of course there is something. Why don't you want to tell me?"

"I think my father told you to stay out of it, didn't he?" Lucas' voice was calm, yet his eyes were betraying his impatience.

"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone. Just let me know," she said, almost pleading.

"I have nothing to say. So now move on, I have a job to go to." She stopped him, putting her hands on his chest. He stiffened under her touch. He missed her so much, her touch, her skin, her lips… 'No', he told himself, 'Think straight. Don't let her drive you crazy.'

"Lucas…" Her eyes were begging him for the truth, her hands were still on his chest and her body was inches from his.

"I think I've been clear," he said coldly. Yet, he didn't have the courage to push her away. He could feel their bodies tense from their closeness, breathing at the same time, like they were connected.

"It's bullshit!" She pushed him with her hands. "What's going on between you and your father?"

"Like you said, it's my father, not yours. It has nothing to do with you. And even if there was something I would not tell you."

"You owe me that."

"I owe you nothing," he snapped coldly. "We are not together anymore, remember?"

"You said you loved me 2 days ago and now you're avoiding me? What is that supposed to mean?"

"You made it clear that we were not together anymore. I got the message. So I have nothing to tell you." That was rude. Yet, she was sure something very important was up otherwise he would not talk to her like that, or so she was hoping. If Lucas had to work with his father and Damon, it had to be important. She had to find out what it was.

"I know there's something wrong. If you really meant what you said, if you really loved me then you would tell me," she challenged him. It was a weak move but she didn't know what else to do.

"You made your decision, you broke up with me. It doesn't matter anymore what I said 2 days ago."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Deadly serious."

"I don't believe you," Alexandra stated firmly, yet Lucas saw uncertainty in her eyes.

"You should, because it's the truth."

"Liar. You're lying. I know that you don't believe a single word you've just said." She didn't want to believe him, she couldn't. For sure, he did not believe what he had said or he had been a really good liar in the past.

"Oh yeah? I don't?" Lucas quickly glanced around and spotted a blonde girl walking in their direction. He waved at her to come and she did so, smiling. "Look at that," he commanded Alexandra as he stepped closer to the girl, murmured something in her ear that made her giggle and kissed her hungrily. Alexandra gulped, anger boiling inside her, her heart hammering in her chest. The girl seemed surprised yet at the same time she was enjoying it. Lucas stepped back and smiled at the girl. "You can go now," he said simply. The worst for Alexandra was that actually the girl did leave them, beaming at her. "See, she is more my type of girl."

"Blonde and stupid?"

"Quiet and obedient."

"I know who you really are, better than anyone, Lucas. I am not giving up." She said, trying to convince him as much as she was trying to convince herself.

"Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes you?"

"You want to punish me because I dumped you? Ok, go on, play that game. You still owe me an explanation about this morning." She tried to focus on the main reason why she was there. She was feeling so helpless in front of him, all the self-confidence she had in her had faded away the minute he had kissed that whore. Even if she would not say it out loud, she was convinced she was his first priority, that if he had to choose, it would be her, always her, only her. She would have never thought he would humiliate her like he just did. She had been sure she knew him better than anyone else did and he knew her better than anyone else did. Actually, he knew her so well that he was humiliating her on purpose but also hurting her pride.

"Look, I just don't have time to be responsible for every little thing that goes wrong in your life! Everything is not always about you, the world doesn't turn around you, ok? Grow up. Isn't it time for you to find another bad guy to piss off?"

"Fuck you," she hissed, shaking her head in disgust. "Asshole." Why was he acting like that? She was not the one who had acted wrongly. Their roles were reversed now and she couldn't understand why. "You are clearly not the guy I fell in love with, that for sure," she spat, upset.

"You are the one who said that I'll choose myself over everybody else over and over again, because that's just who I am. Your words. Remember? Why are you so surprised now?" He snapped. As Alexandra stayed speechless in front of him, he added. "It's what I thought. Just stay away from me ok? It will be better, for both of us." Then he left her, entering his lab. Her eyes were wet before she could even see it coming. Why was he doing that? He loved her then the minute after he didn't anymore? She was hurt to realize how little she meant to him. She was so disappointed. How could he give up on her so easily? She didn't know what to expect from him after they split, but she had thought he would fight for her, at least a little. She knew Lucas could be bad with people, but he had never been with her. In the past, extreme reactions were for the others, not for her. So that was what happening to the people who deceived him? He would throw you away like you never existed? She felt suddenly very sad. Lucas seemed to be out of her life for good now. It was sudden, yet it was what she asked for. Why was she caring for him anyway? She had dumped him for a good reason, he had betrayed her and now he was showing who he really was. But even if she wanted this to happen, it hurt to feel this hole into her heart. He was the missing piece of her puzzle and she would have to live without it.

Lucas hated himself for hurting Alexandra like he did. He reassured himself that he had done it to protect her, yet he couldn't wipe away the feeling that he was really going to lose her if he had to keep playing the bad guy. He hit the wall with his fist when he was alone in his lab, letting his anger escape before Alice and Charles arrived. Ten minutes later, a knock at the door made him stop working. They were there, with Malcolm, warmly smiling at him. Lucas thought they were definitely good actors. He would have to be very careful with them.

"Lucas, you remember Alice and Charles?" Malcolm started to say.

"Of course," he said, shaking their hands, smiling as politely as possible.

"Ok so, they are working with you for a start. I guess you have a lot to discuss about the portal," Malcolm smiled.

"Yes we do," Charles replied, giving the same warmly smile he had given to Lucas the minute before.

"Good, then I'll leave you there. Call me if you need." Malcolm waved quickly at them and left. Once the door was shut, Charles' smile disappeared and left place for a cold and upset face.

"Boy, you are smart enough to know that if we are here it's because we wanted to be found, so let's just skip the stupid part where you try to explain us why you are here," Charles said. "I already know what you've done those last months. We'll discuss that another time. The most important thing is that you owe us. You haven't finished the work we paid you for."

"Why do you think I'm here?" Lucas replied coldly. "I'm working on it."

"Good. And you're working on what exactly? 'Cause I haven't seen anything yet!"

"Creating a second time fracture is not as easy as it was for the first one. I had to start from the beginning again."

"Well stop that, we've got the calculations for a new time fracture. What we need is the key to use it. We need your device."

"I haven't created one yet. I need your calculations first."

"Don't try to set me up here, I know you don't need my calculations to create it. Don't fool us, it's rather annoying."

"I'm not. You need to tell me at least some of them so I can parameter the device."

"That's better," he smiled evilly. "Alice, my dear, would you give Lucas what he needs?"

"Sure," she smiled at him. Her smile was not as evil as his, yet it was disturbing and slightly scary. She walked to the desk and sat in front of him. "Tell me, what do you need exactly?" She asked in a commanding tone.

Dr Shannon was filling some patients' files when she heard the front door open. She glanced up quickly and saw Alexandra. She had red eyes and she was pale. Her distress was evident and it pained Dr Shannon. She stood up and walked to her.

"Hey Alex, is there something wrong?" Alexandra didn't reply, biting her lips. She was at the edge of crying again. "Is it about your parents?"

"I don't know that yet." Dr Shannon arched her eyebrows, she didn't know what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not about them…" She sighed.

"Is it about… Lucas?" She guessed.

"What do you know about it?"

"Well…Jim told me you broke up."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"He kissed another girl."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I know."

"Why are you here?" She asked, really concerned.

"I guess I needed to talk. To talk to a friend I mean," she said truthfully.

"Then feel free to talk to me. Come on," she put her arms around her shoulders and led her to an empty room. Alexandra sat on a bed and Dr Shannon took a chair.

"It's strange. I am lost and I'm not used to it." Alexandra started to explain.

"How do you feel?"

"It's all confusing. I hate Lucas for what he has done, yet I miss him so much," she sighed.

"Do you know why?"

"I guess… I guess there's a part of routine. It's strange not having him at home. It's even stranger not having him and having my parents instead. I miss his contact, you know, feeling him close to me, touching him." She shook her head. "I don't even know where he is living now."

"He shares a house with Mark."

"Does he?" She said, really surprised.

"Yes. From what I've heard, they're doing well."

"Amazing…"She sighed, shaking her head in disbelief. It was like she didn't know Lucas anymore.

"What was the other part?"

"What part?"

"You said you thought routine was one of the reason. What's the other one?"

"I guess that… When you have spent a long time with someone, shared so many things with him, intimate things, like you would have never done with anyone else, then I guess it can never be the same afterwards, no?" She winced.

"You still love him, don't you?"

"If I could stop I would," she confessed sadly, tears filling her eyes.

"I am sorry Alex," Dr Shannon soothed her.

"My life looks like a bad drama lately. I thought I was different from those girls who are looking for a bad romance with a bad guy. Maybe that's what I'm doing, maybe I'm just as stupid as them thinking a bad guy can change into a good one."

"Clearly you're not. You are different, you are unique, never doubt it." Dr Shannon didn't want her to underestimate herself. She liked her and knew she was a good girl. It pained her to see her doubting like that.

"Then why? Why am I holding on to this?"

"In my opinion, this is about love. Lucas is your first love and you can't forget your first love, never. It's going to take time to ease the pain, but you will not forget it. Yet, if he's not the one, you'll meet someone else."

"What should I do then?"

"Wait and see. Give you some time. Just enjoy your life, spend time with your parents, with your friends. I know a girl who misses you a lot!"

"I miss Maddy too," she smiled lightly.

"Then, when it's time, when you're ready, you'll see if you still love him."

"And if I still do? What does it mean? Am I a lost forever?"

"You left him because he kissed someone else, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you can forgive him?"

"I'm not sure. I was so upset when I found him with… her. I decided it had to end. But now he said he didn't care about me anymore, actually he just kissed another girl in front of me to prove it and it's weird because I feel this urge to have him back with me. I am jealous! Can you believe it?" Dr Shannon was surprised. Why would Lucas have done such a thing? Extreme reactions, that what she had warned him not to have and obviously it was what he was doing. Men, they could be so stupid sometimes.

"Do you think he can change?"

"Lucas doesn't know what it means to be a couple. He had plenty of girls in the past but it was not the same. Being in couple is not just fun and great sex, it's about feelings, about saying them, sharing them. Lucas knows how to express himself when he wants to, but he is not able to say the important things."

"Is it something you would break up over? Does it matter to you?"

"No…I guess. I don't know. I mean, it's who he is. I always knew it. How can I love him and hate him at the same time?"

"It's what love is all about." She chuckled lightly.

"Elizabeth…I want this pain to go away." She confessed. Dr Shannon pursed her lips, thinking about a solution to help her.

"Pain, you just have to ride it out and hope it goes away on its own, hope the wound that caused it heals. There are no solutions, no easy answers, you just take a deep breath and wait for it to subside. Most of the time pain can be managed but sometimes the pain gets you where you least expect it. It hits way below the belt and doesn't let up. You just have to fight through, because the truth is you can't outrun it and life always makes more. You're strong enough to handle it. I'm sure you are."

"So you tell me to wait and see?" It was more a statement than a question.

"I wish there were a rulebook for love telling you how to handle it. Some kind of guide to tell you when you've crossed the line. It would be nice, wouldn't it? But maybe there are no rules. Maybe the rules of love are something we have to define for ourselves. I'm sure you already know what you have to do to feel better. Just do it, stop feeling guilty about it." Alexandra took a deep breath and nodded. Yes, she would do that. She would stop thinking about the consequences and do what she wanted to do, what she needed to do. After all, wasn't it what everybody was doing lately?

"Thank you," she said, hugging her.

"You're welcome Alex. Come anytime, whenever you need to. Honestly, don't hesitate, I'm right here."

"I know. Thanks for your advice. I've got to go. It's nearly lunchtime and I eat with my parents. I better go back home now," she explained before leaving her.


Feel the music, feel the story

Alex's part

"Once upon a time somebody ran, somebody ran away saying 'fast as I can I got to go, I got to go'. Once upon a time we fell apart. You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart. Once upon a time we burned bright. Now all we ever seem to do is fight On and on, and on and on and on. Once upon a time on the same side, once upon a time on the same side in the same game. Now why d'you have to go. Have to go and throw water on my flame? I could have been a princess, you'd be a king. Could have had a castle and worn a ring But no o-o-o-oh you let me go […] You stole my star. 'Cos you really hurt me, no you really hurt me." Princess of China - Rihanna & Coldplay


Lucas flirting and kissing a barbie doll just to drive Alex crazy? I don't know if it's a smart move. Maybe he's just gonna lose her in the end if he continues in this way. Yet, it seems to work, she's hurt and want to stay away from him. But for how long? I don't know how much she still loves him and how far she can go to find the truth. Strong girls don't stay still, don't they? J

Charles and Alice, what a great couple isn't it! No, I'm kidding, of course! They seem horrible, don't they? And they seem to know a lot about everything and everybody. Weird, isn't it? Are they smarter than our super genius Lucas? I guess you'll have to read the next chapters to find out!