(A/N: I'm so sorry for taking forever to upload the second chapter! I was working on other things... but right now, Alex Meets Alex is my priority, so you won't have to wait as long next time- I promise! Thanks for waiting for those of you who were reading in April... I will have long car rides in the next few days. I might even finish the story...)
2. Telling the Story
Alex Rider stared at the other Alex in utter disbelief. This boy had nerve! He looked much older than he really was- an image distorted by emotional pain- and thought that he could just order Alex around! What was this guy playing at? Did he really expect Alex to believe his word?
"Hey, I'm just as shocked as you are." Alex (Mr. Clumsy) put the camera back into his hand. It was one of the few things that Alex had had with him on the plane. "How long have you been around?"
"I just got here today. The plane went off course in the storm." Alex wasn't sure why he was telling everything to a total stranger. "I was supposed to go to New York. Now, I'm stuck here until they can ship me back out."
"Only in Texas," Mr. Clumsy muttered under his breath. "Do you have a place to stay?"
"Why do you care?"
"I'm just trying to help. Besides, you could probably stay at Farrior's place with Fisher and me."
Alex made a face. "Farrior and Fisher? What are they, animal hunters?"
"Oh, I call Luke and Carson by their last names. We'll have to figure something out so that everyone can tell us apart. Hey, what's your last name?"
"Rider."
"Okay, then you're Rider and I'm Meyer- problem solved," he decided.
"Hey, I never agreed!" Alex indignantly exclaimed.
"You never disagreed," he pointed out. "Well, do you have a better suggestion?"
"No."
"Then let's go with it."
"Fine," Alex grumbled. This guy was getting on his nerves. But he decided to just live with it.
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"Vivie, I'm home!" Alex called out, letting blond Alex into the house. "Where's Nessa? I need to talk to you guys!"
"Is Vivie your girlfriend?"
"Yeah." Alex forgot everything else when he saw Vivie. "Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey is for horses." She embraced him and immediately glanced at the other Alex. "Hi there, I'm Vivie!" she enthusiastically exclaimed. "You brought a guest over?"
"It's a long story," Alex told her. "This is Alex Rider."
"Great, now what am I going to call you two?" she good-naturedly complained. "Well, at least you two don't look alike."
"Uh, Viv, could you get Nessa?"
"Right. NESSA!" she sang out, then tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear.
"There's no need to shout," Nessa pointed out as she came down. "You brought a visitor over, Alex?" she asked.
"Yeah, about that… we need to tell you something."
"I'm not involved with this," Alex Rider stated, holding his palms up. "I only helped out. I don't want to have to get involved."
"Don't worry about it. Vivie's an expert at this kind of stuff."
Alex Rider scrutinized Vivie. "Really? I am too."
Alex couldn't help wondering what was going on in that guy's head.
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Alex could see that Vivie was… different. She didn't look particularly menacing or threatening, but she'd gone through a lot. She was wise beyond her years. She was also pretty- he could see why the other Alex was attracted to her. She gave him a good first impression.
"I didn't get your name," Nessa pleasantly told Alex. She couldn't be any older than twenty-five. Was she really Vivie's stepmother?
"Alex."
"Well, isn't that funny. You two ran into each other, you're both eighteen, you're both named Alex, and the similarities don't stop there."
"Huh?" both guys asked at the same time.
Nessa smiled. She was plain, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. But Alex also could tell that she had a selfless nature- and that her past had also been rough.
"Nessa, are we ever going to talk?"
"Of course. Alex-"
"Which one?" they simultaneously asked. That boy was annoying! Alex was getting agitated.
"The blond one. The guest?" Nessa pointed out.
"Hey, I'm a guest too."
"No you're not, you practically live here!" Vivie exclaimed and socked him in the shoulder. Mr. Clumsy winced.
"Ow, Viv, do you have to remind me that you're a black belt on a daily basis?"
"Geez, Alex, do you have to get on my nerves on a daily basis?" Vivie retorted, obviously kidding.
"Wait a minute, you're a black belt?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, I know I look far from it."
"Oh… I'm a black belt too," he explained.
"Well, you certainly don't look like it either. You look so… gentle."
"Whatever." Alex shrugged and looked away. He hadn't chosen this like she evidently had. What made her an expert at the same things as him?
Alex decided to not dwell on it and accepted some of Vivie's homemade cookies instead. He decided that one thing was certain- she was an expert at cookie-making…
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Alex ended up telling the whole story, no thanks to Blondie over there. "I turned around and Crisee was gone, so I looked for her. I saw some guy running off, so I chased him and ran Alex over in my mad rush twice. He followed me the second time and helped me to get Crisee back, but the guy got away. And the guy looks exactly like Aaron."
"Who's Aaron?" the other Alex interjected. As much as he told them that he wasn't interested, the questions he asked said otherwise.
"My ex-boyfriend," Nessa explained. "But he's dead, so that can't be him."
"Well, that's why I'm slightly freaked out," Alex explained.
"I can understand that. Well, don't stress about it too much. Crisee's safe, you're okay, don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?" Alex skeptically asked.
"Positive. Just let me know if anything else weird happens out of the blue."
"Um, Nessa, I'm not so sure about that," Vivie interjected. "There has to be a reason-"
"I'm telling you, don't worry about it." Nessa stood up., "Relax a little. It's summer vacation. I'm going to go upstairs. Call me if you need anything."
The other Alex turned around to look at him for an explanation.
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Soon, Alex Meyer was dragging Alex over to a bright red car, insisting that he stay with him. Since Alex couldn't come up with a good excuse not to, he just went along with it. He was curious to meet this guy's friends.
"Uh, Rider, Farrior can be a little immature… so I apologize for that in advance."
"He's worse than you?"
"Yeah, definitely. Am I getting on your nerves?"
"Truthfully? Yes."
He fell silent, and Alex stared blankly out the window.
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Alex tried to not be hurt by Alex Rider's stinging remark, but it couldn't be helped. It hurt anyway. Alex knew that he was only there because he had to be. Fine. But what was wrong with him? Why did the other Alex seem to hate him so much?
Alex decided to keep trying to befriend the other boy. He had the feeling that it would be imperative…
