Title: Movie Magic
Summary: Max and Alec go undercover on a movie set, and things get…complicated. MA.
Spoilers: Takes place sometime after "Love Among The Runes," but before "Freak Nation."
Disclaimer: I disclaim, but…can I have Alec? Please?!
A/N: Thanks very much to my anonymous reviewers, Mona, Alec's Angel, and cayenta! All of your comments made me smile, lol! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it! And of course, thank you so much to everyone else too! You made my day! :D
A/N2: This chapter is the one that answers the second prompt that inspired this fic, the RH quote prompt for last October. The prompt was to write something based on this quote: "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." -Oscar Wilde
I again wanted to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him this story would never have been finished. He is the source of all inspiration.
As always, I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter, and please let me know what you think!
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Movie Magic
"And…Action!"
As soon as Skip said those words, Max's breath quickened, nervous energy racing down her spine. She swallowed hard and tried to force her tense muscles to relax. Her heart was pounding in her ears so loudly that she almost missed her cue.
She opened the door to the set. It was the same stage they'd used for the diner, but now it had been dressed up to look like a motel room. A sunken mattress covered in blankets sat in the center of the floor, and a wobbly-looking table with a lamp leaned against one wall.
Alec was already there, standing over the bed.
He was packing a suitcase.
It wasn't real. Max knew that. She'd watched the prop-guys arrange everything just a few minutes ago. But something about the idea of Alec packing his stuff, getting ready to leave, still bothered her, made a hollow ache form somewhere in her chest.
She pushed the feeling back down and focused on her lines.
"What's going on?"
"I can't do this anymore," Alec answered.
"Do what?"
"This," he repeated, roughly jamming a shirt into his suitcase.
"Well, thanks, that clears everything right up."
He stopped what he was doing then and looked at her. Something in his expression made her draw back a little.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" he demanded, still not answering her question.
"I thought I was visiting a friend."
"A friend. That's rich."
The bitterness in his voice made her frown.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're not friends, Megan. We never have been."
It was funny, but Max hadn't been expecting him to call her Megan. It was her character's name, not hers, and for a second, she'd forgotten that it was all just an act.
"If we're not friends, then what are we?"
"You tell me."
Max crossed her arms stubbornly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"No, you don't. That's the problem!" He slammed the lid closed on his suitcase, and pushed himself away from the bed, turning around to face her. "You're driving me crazy, okay? One minute, I'm sure I'm imagining things, and the next, I think maybe there's a chance for…"
"For what?"
"Us."
Max felt her heart start to race just a little faster. She knew the script. She knew where the lines were leading them. Her nerves returned full-force. Arguing with Alec she could do. It was familiar ground. But what was coming…
"Ever since we met," Alec continued, "I can't get you outta my head. Why do you think I stuck around?"
"You stayed because of me?"
"Yeah, I did. You're the only thing keeping me here. The only thing worth staying for."
Max bit her lip.
"What about Kristen?" A picture of Teresa surfaced in her mind as soon as the words left her mouth.
Alec shrugged.
"What about her? She's not you."
Max had almost expected that to be sarcastic, but it wasn't. There wasn't any humor in his voice. He was serious. For some reason, that sent a small shiver racing through her. Then Alec stepped closer, closing the gap between them, and every other thought faded away.
"You're beautiful, you're smart, and you're the strongest person I know. I…I think I'm falling in love with you."
It was a good thing Max didn't have another line after that because she wouldn't have been able to say it.
Alec's eyes were boring into hers, like he could convey how he felt by sheer will. The look on his face was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, intent and focused, but there was something else there too…longing, and something deeper.
Suddenly, the world felt very small, like everything else outside of that room had ceased to exist, and it was just the two of them.
Max watched as Alec's hand came up to rest in the hollow between her neck and shoulder, then slowly slid up to tangle in her hair. He gently pulled her forward, and when their lips touched, Max wasn't even tempted to kill him.
Well, maybe just a little bit. But there'd be time for that later.
Much later, she thought, sighing softly as Alec deepened the kiss.
Sensation after sensation washed over her, making her feel lightheaded, warmth quickly following behind.
"Annnnnd…cut!"
A cheer went up among the crew, breaking whatever spell they'd been under. Skip joined in the applause. "Melissa, Brian, fantastic performance, guys!" he congratulated.
Max blinked.
Alec was still holding her.
He seemed to realize that at the same time she did and they broke apart suddenly, both stumbling back. Max felt her cheeks burning scarlet and looked away. Alec cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Thanks, Skip," she heard him say. She knew he was trying to sound casual, but it had come out strange…hoarse, and maybe a little breathless.
The director didn't seem to notice.
"Okay, people," Skip began, turning around to address the rest of the crew, "I think it's safe to say we don't need to do a second take, but let's check the gate, and then we can get started on the next scene."
The crew was immediately in motion, and Max and Alec were hustled off the set and back towards hair and makeup. The makeup artists worked quickly, adding blush, doing touch-ups, and checking costumes.
Max waited for them to finish and tried not to think.
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Alec sat slumped in an uncomfortable chair, his head tipped back, his eyes closed. It probably looked a little strange, but he didn't really care. They were done filming, and he was alone, so he didn't have to worry about keeping up the act.
Only problem was, he wasn't even sure which act he was talking about. He was playing a lotta roles these days: Brian Whitman, James the movie character, Max's boyfriend when Logan was around, and now, he'd added another one to the list. He'd mentally dubbed it, "So what if Max and I kissed? I'm fine. It's no big deal. Nothing's changed."
Okay, so, it didn't exactly roll off the tongue. But the name still fit.
Besides, it was true.
They'd kissed, but they'd only been following a script. None of it had been real. They'd both just been pretending.
Alec sighed again, trying not to think about how Max's lips had felt against his own, the thrill that had run through him when he'd touched her. The kiss had been…
Amazing. Incredible. Unbelievable, his brain quickly supplied.
But that didn't mean anything. Of course kissing Max had been good. She was a hot, transgenic female, and he was a red-blooded, transgenic male.
He would have felt the same thing kissing any one of the X5 females in TC.
Yeah. Right.
Alec suddenly had the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall.
Why did he always do this? Why did he always go for the ones he couldn't have? Did he enjoy torturing himself, or did he just have really inconvenient taste in women?
Alec snorted.
Inconvenient was an understatement.
It didn't matter how he felt about Max. She didn't love him, and never would. She loved Logan. Yeah, she'd "broken up" with him, but that was just because she wanted to protect him.
And who knew how long that would last?
It was only a matter of time before she told Logan the truth, and their on-again, off-again relationship wound up on again. And someday, when they found a cure for the virus, it would stay that way.
The best Alec could hope for was her friendship. They had that now…sort of. It had taken a while, and there'd been a lot of arguments in between, but eventually, they'd called a truce. Maybe it was the night she'd told him about Ben, or maybe it was working together so much in TC, but when Max looked at him, he didn't see loathing in her eyes anymore. Annoyance, anger, and occasionally rage, sure, but no loathing.
Lately, he'd started to think that he was seeing something else there too, but-
Alec cut off that thought before it went any further.
He wasn't gonna go there.
Thoughts like that were dangerous, with too many ifs, and maybes, and could bes, and he'd only wind up driving himself crazy.
No, it was better if he just forgot everything. The kiss, the way it had felt to say those things to her…all of it.
Because even if he hadn't been able to convince himself that he was fine, that kissing Max wasn't a big deal…he knew one thing for sure.
Nothing had changed.
Alec sighed.
That was the thing, though.
Nothing had changed…but everything was different.
TBC…
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A/N: Well, Alec's finally started to admit how he feels. Next chapter, you'll get to see how Max does, lol. ;)
The next chapter should be up in a couple days.
Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
Ani-maniac494 :)