About halfway to Tara the front right wheel hit a pothole, jarring the occupant of the passenger seat awake. Alex was genuinely surprised to find himself still in the Bentley. He knew when he woke up it'd be in his bed the moment he realized he was nodding off, likely by Juliet when she came by to drag him along to her spa trip with Mum.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He could only guess that plan hadn't worked out.
"Butler, are we almost to the airport?" he asked, twisting to look at the manservant.
Butler didn't answer, just kept his eyes on the road and his hands on the wheel. Before Alex could repeat the question a vaguely familiar cloud of television static floated between them.
Holly cursed herself. She'd been so concerned with Artemis that she hadn't even noticed Alex until they were well off estate grounds. Up until now she'd been hoping the younger boy would stay asleep until they got below ground. Now she'd have to deal with him.
Dropping her shield, Holly looked him straight in the eye before speaking. "No, and we aren't going to get there for a while. So why don't you just go back to sleep?"
Alex's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he leaned back onto the heels of his hands at her materialization. Perfect. She had him. She could see the magic from the mesmer clouding in his eyes.
Then, as if physically feeling it, Alex blinked furiously and the magic vanished.
"So I take it you weren't a dream?" Alex asked casually. Then, not waiting for an answer, muttered, "Figures."
Holly was stunned. What just happened? The mesmer was her only option to contain the human without lethal force. Unwilling to use her buzz baton on a child, she decided to try again.
"No, I wasn't. But we do have a long ways to go. You should still go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we get there."
This time the magic danced on the skin around his eyes for a moment before dying out again. Alex didn't even blink.
"Sorry, Captain. I've already slept for about three or four hours, I've had my fill for the day."
Holly groaned internally. It seemed that mesmerizing the big one had taken more out of her than she realized.
"Okay look, some of my higher ups have some questions for Artemis. Now I can't have you awake when we get to our destination so—"
"Alright," Alex interrupted. "I'll see what I can do." Then he tilted the seat back and closed his eyes. In a few moments it looked as though he'd never awoken.
Holly sighed in relief, something she wouldn't have done if she knew who good Alex was at feigning sleep.
AN: Yay! Second original scene!