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: If you've heard that Alec is missing…I didn't have anything to do with it! Really! *muffled noises come from a nearby closet, sounding suspiciously like, "Don't listen to her, she kidnapped me!" in Alec's voice*
A/N: As always, thanks very much to my anonymous reviewers, Mona, and Alec's Angel! And of course, thank you so much also to everyone else that's reading, and left comments! You really do make posting this story a lot of fun. :D
I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter, and please let me know what you think!
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Movie Magic
Max paced restlessly in her trailer. She realized what she was doing and sat down. A second later, she was back up again.
She'd managed not to think too much while they were filming, but now that they were finished, she couldn't seem to stop. Her head was spinning, thoughts racing so fast she could barely concentrate.
She'd kissed Alec.
Alec. Ben's twin. Alec, whose case she'd been on since day one. Alec, who'd cost her the one chance she'd had for a cure. Alec, who just wouldn't leave not matter how many times she'd told him to get lost.
Max swallowed hard.
She'd never been kissed like that before. Never felt like that before, either.
But, that didn't mean anything…right? Alec was a good kisser. So what? He got a lot of practice. Max snorted. He'd probably kissed half the girls in Seattle. And that stuff he'd said? It wasn't like he'd meant any of it. He was just a really good actor…wasn't he?
Max sighed.
The questions were driving her crazy, and they just kept coming. Why? Because as much as she tried to deny it, she'd seen something in his eyes, something that made her think…maybe, just maybe, it hadn't been an act.
But if it hadn't been and act, then he'd meant what he'd said, and…
Max paused, biting her lip.
Did she want him to mean it?
"Hey, Max. Mole called, and he-"
Max spun around, startled.
Logan was standing in the door of her trailer. She immediately tried to look nonchalant.
"Oh, hey, Logan."
He frowned.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine," Max said quickly. "Why?"
"You just seem…" Logan's frown deepened a little more. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" She shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway," she added, "you…um, said something about Mole?"
Logan still didn't seem convinced, but he answered anyway.
"Yeah. He called to say they found a vehicle. They're using the back roads so it will take them longer, but they should be here tomorrow."
Max nodded.
"Good. That's…good."
She grimaced at how that had sounded, and apparently, Logan had heard it too, because he looked like he wanted to ask if she was okay again.
"Did you need something else?" Max wondered, hoping to head him off.
"No, I just thought you should know."
Max nodded.
"Thanks. I'll fill Alec in."
Logan's expression darkened a little.
"Right. Well…let me know if you need anything."
"I will."
He turned to leave then and Max stifled a sigh, feeling guilty.
Their conversations had been like that for a while, awkward and stilted. She just wasn't sure what to say to him anymore. It was never like that with Alec. Things between them were, not comfortable exactly, but…easy. Uncomplicated.
Or at least they had been.
Max slumped down onto the small cot that doubled as the trailer's bed, tucking up her legs so that her elbows rested on her knees.
What was she supposed to do now?
She'd never thought about her and Alec being together…well, alright, maybe she had… once or twice. But he was supposed to be her pretend-boyfriend. Thoughts of…togetherness…sort of went with the territory.
It had just never seemed like a real possibility before. It was always one of those out-there ideas, right up there with UFOs and-
Secret government conspiracies to create genetically-engineered supersoldiers? a voice in her head asked. 'Cause, yeah, that'll never happen.
Max sighed again, resting her chin on her arms.
Why did her life always have to be such a mess? It had been so much simpler before. Well, okay, so maybe her life had never been simple, exactly, but somehow, playing escape and evade with Lydecker seemed a lot easier than figuring out her feelings. And, it wasn't just her feelings that she had to worry about, either. What about Alec? What if she was reading into things too much, seeing something that wasn't really there?
If Alec hadn't meant it, and she tried to talk to him, she'd just wind up making an idiot out of herself for no reason. Besides, they were friends -- sort of -- and she didn't want to lose that, corny as it sounded.
Then again, what if there really was something there, and she lost her chance because she was too scared to admit it? Things had started off with Logan that way. She'd seen the possibilities, but she hadn't acted on any of them. If she had, maybe…maybe things between them would be different now.
Things weren't different though. The virus was still there. She and Logan couldn't touch, and there probably wouldn't be a cure anytime soon, if there was ever one at all. And, if she was really honest with herself, that wasn't the only thing keeping them apart. There was so much she couldn't tell him, so much he wouldn't understand. Like Ben. She'd never told Logan about that day in the woods, never told him what she and the others had done back at Manticore. She didn't want him to look at her like she was a monster.
But, in a way, she was. The monster was part of her, and always would be. Alec got that. She didn't have to explain it, because he already knew. He had a monster of his own.
That idea…the idea that if they were together, she wouldn't have to hide anything from him…was scary and exciting at the same time. She'd wanted that freedom once, more than anything. It was part of why she'd wanted to find her brother's and sisters so badly, because she'd been tired of being the only one like her…tired of being alone.
What if…what if she didn't have to be alone anymore?
Max swallowed hard.
She had to know. No matter what…she had to know.
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Alec had decided somewhere around day two of their mission that it was just easier to stay out of Logan's way. Not that Logan had actually said anything, but a guy could only take so much, and the looks Logan gave him pretty much made him feel lower than pond scum. He didn't really blame Logan for acting that way, though. If it had been him, and he'd had Max…
Alec clamped down hard on that thought.
He didn't have Max though, he reminded himself forcefully. Logan just thought he did. That was why Alec was sitting outside, leaning against the trailer, instead of staying inside where Logan was busy doing his Eyes Only thing.
That, and he just didn't feel up to playing Max's boyfriend right now. Not after…what had happened.
"Enjoying the warm weather?" a voice teased.
Alec opened his eyes to see Teresa standing nearby. He shrugged.
"It's not that bad. Just getting some fresh air."
"Well, you must be hot blooded because I'm freezing." She pulled her jacket around her a little tighter and rubbed her arms. "Listen, I just wanted to say goodbye. I shot my last scene, so I'll be heading out first thing in the morning."
"Oh," Alec said, a little surprised. "That time already, huh?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"I'm sorry we never got to have dinner," Alec offered, not really sure what else to say.
"That's alright. I had a feeling you had somewhere else to be."
Alec frowned. What exactly did that mean?
"Anyway, take care of yourself, okay?" Teresa's smile turned mischievous. "And tell Melissa I'm the one who should be jealous."
Alec blinked. "What-" he started to ask, but she didn't let him finish. She walked forward a few steps and gave him a kiss on the cheek, grinning at his puzzled look.
"See you around, Brian," she said.
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Max stood frozen on the spot, watching as Teresa left. She hadn't heard what Teresa had said, but she'd seen that kiss.
Her stomach lurched.
Well, she'd wanted an answer. Now she had one.
She turned to go.
"Max!"
Alec must have spotted her. Max felt the sudden urge to run, but fought it down, and forced herself to turn around.
"Yeah?" she managed, trying to make her voice sound steady.
Alec hesitated, looking like he was arguing with himself about something. He scratched his neck uneasily.
"Can we, uh…can we talk?" he asked finally.
Talk?
Panic bubbled up in Max again. She couldn't do this. She couldn't listen to him say that it had been nice and all, but he just wasn't interested in her that way.
Her gaze hardened and she crossed her arms.
"Talk about what?" she asked.
Alec raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I don't know…maybe about what happened on the set?"
"Nothing happened on the set," she answered flatly.
"Funny, I don't remember it that way."
"Well, you need to get your memory checked, then. We were following a script, Alec. That was all. It didn't mean anything."
For a second, something flickered in his gaze, something raw…but then it was gone.
"Yeah," he agreed, looking away. "It didn't mean anything."
The confirmation was like a punch in the gut.
She'd been right. And that hurt, because, Max realized, she hadn't wanted to be. She'd wanted…
But that didn't matter. Not anymore.
A tense silence descended, neither one of them willing to break it.
Max finally did though, knowing if she didn't say this now, she'd have to tell him later, and she didn't want to have to come back.
"Mole called. They'll be here tomorrow."
Alec just nodded.
She waited a second longer, and when he still didn't say anything else, she turned and started walking back to her trailer. She ignored the way Alec's gaze followed her.
She could pretend that she didn't notice.
After all, she'd done it before.
TBC…
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A/N: In case anyone is wondering, Teresa didn't know that Max was watching. She just turned out to have really bad timing…
The next chapter should be up in a day or two. :)
Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!
Take care and God bless!
Ani-maniac494 :)