Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Roswell, etc.
Category: Alex/Isabel
Summary: Just read it
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Post TSAP
"Fairy
Tale" Part 1/1 *Inspired by T. Braxton's song* Isabel/Alex
It was the
event that everyone in town was talking about. The Annual Roswell Carnival was
opening up that weekend and it seemed like everyone was going. Pink and blue
fliers were thrown about through the school, circulating like gossip. Holding
the flier in his hand, the adrenaline pumping through him like a drug, Alex
Whitman walked down the halls of West Roswell High. It was the perfect place to
go with Isabel, he thought. Max and Liz were going for sure, they always did.
Maria persuaded Michael to escort her, as well as Kyle and Tess.
He was
crazy about this girl, but she didn't give him the time of day. He had hoped
that it would be like the movies: the most popular girl in school falls in love
with the school loser. They were friends, but that wasn't enough. He wanted to
be hers. Though they were different in so many ways, he felt that their
feelings for one another came from the same place.
There she
was. Her bouncy blonde locks seemed to fall gracefully on her shoulder as she
brushed it with the comb. His heart increased to an imaginable speed, watching
her with such desire. Isabel Evans. The girl that every guy desired, but
couldn't have. She was the girl that every girl envied, for so many obvious
reasons.
Isabel
closed her locker and made her way down to her next class. Alex looked down at
his binder where the flier was and hesitated.
"Hey
Alex," She greeted as he speeded past her. "Where are you
headed?"
He slowed
down and walked beside her, his smile formed. Looking at her was one thing, but
talking to her was something else. It was like he was talking to an angel on
earth, maybe that's what she really is.
*~And if I was wrong
I know I don't deserve this, yeah
Don't stay too long
I need to hear those words
You used to tell me~*
"Hi. I
have history with Johnson. You?"
"English."
She answered casually, waving at friends as they walked by her. He didn't quite
know how to ask her about the carnival, but he had to. He needed to.
"There's
a carnival thing this weekend, right?" He asked cluelessly, hiding his
binder from her.
Isabel
smiled kindly and nodded,"Yeah. Everyone's talking about it. Where have
YOU been?" It was followed by a friendly giggle. Now, he really felt
stupid.
"Are
you planning on going?" He asked, not making any eye contact with her.
She turned
to face him, already aware of the fact that he was asking her to go in a less
than subtle way. It was hard to reject him because she did like him. It just
made her feel worse because he constantly pursued her, never giving up.
"I
might not," She replied, thinking about it. "Who knows?"
Alex
smirked in disappointment,"Oh, you're probably going with your friends,
right?"
"No. I
don't think so, not this weekend. They're probably going with their boyfriends
or something."
He touched
his chin nervously,"You're going with Grant?"
"No.
Grant and I- Why am I even explaining this to you? Listen, you and I...we can't
go together because it would be wrong. It's not a date..."
"I
know. It would be a get together, you know. It would be fun. All of the others
are going," He told her, hoping that peer pressure might actually help him
in this case.
She touched
his arm,"Yeah, well they're all linked together romantically. We're
not."
"We
can't go as friends?"
"It
wouldn't work. One thing leads to another...I can't risk that with you. With
anyone."
"So as
Grant is an exception?"
"No!
Will you get off this Grant thing please? You and I, we can't be. Ever."
Isabel's voice grew louder as the mass of people stared at them. They all
looked at Alex with pity. His face dropped to the ground, embarassed and
insulted.
"All
right, answer me this. Have you ever liked me at all? A slight of sparkage? You
know what? Forget it. Just right now, tell me that you don't want to see me
ever again. Tell me that and I will do that. I'll be sure of it!" He
demanded.
Her eyes
closed in on him, unsure of what she should do. She didn't answer him, only
stared at him as he grew angrier. She couldn't blame him, he tried so many
times to be close with her. They were so close before and then it all blew
over.
Alex sighed
and gave up. "Never mind. As if you care anyway." He turned around
and walked down the other side of the hall. She stood staring at him as he
left.
Her purse
was thrown furiously across her plush bed as she walked into her bedroom,
slamming the door shut behind her. She removed her jacket and hung it over her chair.
She felt so lost in such a familiar place, her bedroom. It was supposed to be
her haven, her sanctuary, but it didn't feel right. Turning around swiftly, she
faced the mirror, staring at herself.
Isabel
reached out and touched the surface of the mirror with her fingertips. "Is
that what I really look like? I'm a stranger in my own body. Why can't I be
like everybody else? Why do I have to be this way?" It was a soft whisper,
a low voice that she was speaking to herself. Haughty and arrogant at school,
she was a completely different person at home. Being so cold and heartless, it
helped her to stay away from situations that revealed her soul to the world to
see. She couldn't risk it. Max could, Michael could...but she was different.
She was stronger than that. Or was she? Her heart had to be concealed; No one
could ever see how she felt.
A slave to
her own body. That's what she was. Alex was who she wanted to be with all the
time, but there was no way her selfishness could lure him in. She cared about
him too much. Risking his life so that she could be happy, that was absurd.
There was a
knock on her door. She turned around to see who it was: Max. He opened it,
closing it gently behind him. His back slumped back casually, his hands in his
front pockets...Oh if he only knew who she really was. She didn't even know who
she was. Ever since the "Vilandra" scenario came about, everything
she ever knew about was wrong. It distanced her from her family and even Alex.
*~From way back when we were just friends
Before this love affair began
Tell me how a love can end
Or how a broken heart can mend
Please tell me this is not the end~*
"What
do you want?" She asked, sitting down on her bed.
He stood
before her, staring down at her like the protective older brother he always
was. "Isabel, is everything going OK? You just came home and slammed the
door. What is wrong? Bad day?"
"Nothing's
wrong."
"There
is. I know there is."
"Well,
maybe I don't want to talk to you about it. It's none of your business, Max. I
can't even have a bad day without you coming around to control me?"
He
immediately felt like it was appropriate to defend himself. "Control? I'm
worried about you." His voice grew louder as he continued to talk. "I
want to know if you're OK."
"Why?"
She asked, throwing back her head so she can see him more clearly. Their eyes
met and for a second, she didn't quite understand why she was being so
negative.
Max sat
down beside her,"Because I -"
"You're
King? Is that it?" She asked sarcastically.
"Because
I'm your brother, Isabel. I care about you, we all care about you. Whatever's
happening to you...I want to know because I want to be there for you when you
need me." He touched her arm, squeezing it tight to reassure her.
Whatever he
said to her, Max could never understand what she was going through. Oh, how she
longed to be in Alex's arms again. After what happened to Max in the white room
and the arrival of the skins, she couldn't think of harming him in such a cruel
way. Love.
Isabel
shuffled around in her bed. It was one of those sleepless nights that she was
experiencing. Her hands reached under her bed, grabbing hold of her yearbook.
The pages flipped to page 48. Whitman, Alex. His innocent smile and naive sense
of humor. She missed him so much, probably more than she wanted to.
Her finger
touched his face, the cold paper interacted with her skin. Isabel's eyes slowly
drifted into sleep, a trance brushing over her as soon as she entered the
"dreamworld."
~*~Dream Sequence~*~
The room was full of a foggy cloud and she
found herself searching for a direction. She continued to walk until she saw a
white light. That was strange. A soft melody started to play, the sound was so
beautiful. Was this really Alex?
"Alex?" She called out, but there
was no answer. Was he trying to block her out? He couldn't. She needed this to
be close to him.
Her foot carried her to another place. A
room, not really a room. All she could see was the bright blue sky over her
head, the clouds moving back and forth in a slow motion. It was so gorgeous,
she thought. To just stare at nothing but the cotton-like clouds, it was being
so free and independant. She was finally letting go of who she was and what she
was so she could be herself...only her. Nothing would separate her from anybody
else, because she was alone. There was nothing to be compared to. She was the
same as anybody else.
"I knew you would come."
Her body jolted to the sudden sound and she
found herself staring directly at Alex. It was his dream, she remembered. She
wasn't supposed to interfere, only to watch. Like a burgler getting caught, she
didn't quite know where to start or what to do.
He took a step closer to her. "You
came."
At lost for words, Isabel reached for her
head and pulled back from him. She had to get out. He would remember this in
the morning, she had to explain it to him.
"I was bored." She told him,
looking away.
"I can see that." He replied.
"I can't change your dream or alter it
in any way...this dream, I didn't create it or anything, all right? So..."
Isabel shifted left and right, babbling as she continued.
He reached out and held onto her hand.
"You are my dream. Don't you see it? My entire life, I've been waiting my
whole life to fall in love with someone like you. It's just a shame that you
don't feel the same way about me."
*~Please tell me now
How the fairy tale begins
Or how it was supposed to end
Please tell me that part again?
Tell me now
(Tell me now baby)
Tell me now
(Again baby)
Tell me now
(Whoo!)~*
Isabel just stared at him, scared of what to
say or how to react. She wanted to tell him that she did love him, too. She
loved him for so long and waited for the day where she could gain enough
courage to admit it. Feeling that her connection to him was getting weaker, she
looked at him.
"I have to go, Alex." She told
him. He didn't even blink, only gazed at her scintillating brown eyes.
"Figures." He replied with a
shrug. "It's Ok, Isabel. Go."
*~Now tell me what's wrong
I never meant to hurt you, no baby ooh
Was it the home, the car?
Or darling all those things we thought we needed~*
Taking a step back, she knew it was the
final goodbye. This was it. No turning back. Nothing would ever be the same
between them again. She turned around and walked in the opposite direction, the
sky grew dark and cloudy. A tear fell across her cheek as she walked, each step
more painful than the last. She glanced back quickly with the corner of her
eye, wishing to God that he was still there. He was. Then she stopped walking.
"Alex..." She murmured as if it
was lullaby, singing her to sleep. He smiled kindly at her, a shy expression
crossed over his face.
Isabel started to run back to him as his arm
grew open to hold her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to
him. It was a dream, she couldn't feel him or his arms around her. She wanted
to...for so long.
~*End Dream Sequence*~
*~But tell me even if it ain't true
But baby please don't say we're through, no, no
Tell me how a love can end, yeah
Or how a broken heart can mend
Just tell me this is not the end~*
Her eyes snapped open, staring straight up at the ceiling. She
held the covers tight to her body and wrapped it around her. She had hoped that
maybe he would forget by the time he woke up, she hoped.
Her locker
slammed shut as she began to walk to her next class. Her books were held
tightly against her as she walked nervously down the hall. She had to avoid
Alex. She had to. There was no way she could lose herself like in the dream. It
was much harder to know that the next class was French, with Alex Whitman
himself. She had ditched too many times, if she didn't go, she wouldn't pass.
Her parents would have a fit. What was more at risk?
There was a
crowd outside of the room and she asked the girl next to her.
"Hey,
Nancy. What's up?" She asked, looking around to see if Alex was nearby.
Nancy
smiled politely. "Mrs. Bouvier didn't show. I think something happened to
her daughter and so she left. I think we have free period now...unless they can
find a substitute. I highly doubt it, though."
"All
right. Thanks." Isabel felt a sudden joy rise through her. She could leave
as soon as she signed in for attendance.
A hand
reached for her shoulder. "Hey Isabel." She felt her body tense up as
she turned to face him, a sigh of disappointment brushed over.
"Mrs.
Bouvier didn't show up," She noted, trying to break free of anything
romantic. Maybe he didn't remember the dream, maybe it was HER dream instead.
"Oh."
He remarked, looking down at the ground. He knew, she realised. His hands flew
into his pocket and his back slouched uneasily against the wall.
"I've
got to go to the bathroom," She exclaimed, trying to be as casual as she
could. She started to walk down the other side of the hall, his footsteps were
behind her. She stopped and stared at him.
Then, it
was just like the dream. They both stood staring at each other, unsure of
whatever would happen.
"You
know..." She mumbled.
"I do.
How could I forget? It was unforgetable, that's for sure."
"It
didn't mean anything, Alex." She reminded him.
He rolled
his eyes at her. "You came into my dream and you came to me. Tell me that
you don't care about me, too?"
"I do.
It's just, I can't be with you. You know that. What happened last night was a
dream. It wasn't real. You have to understand that." She explained, using
her hands to gesticulate her meaning.
"I
want to be dreaming all the time then."
*~I wanna know that feeling
That from way back telling me it was true that
Love was sweet and innocent
Cause you and I just can't be friends~*
The more
she pushed him back, the more he fought to be with her. He wasn't going to give
up because she gave him that slight feeling of hope. That hope was what he
wanted to survive on. Remembering that dream so vividly in her dream, she
closed her eyes. He took that chance, her feeling of vulnerability to hold her
to him again, just like in the dream.
"I
want to stay in that dream, too. To not have anyone to tell me what to do or
what I cannot do, to be free...I would do anything." Isabel cried into his
shoulder.
"Me,
too."
"But
we don't live in a dream world, Alex. We can't have this..." She told him.
*~Make all the wrong go right again
Where true love never has to end, ooh
Tell me how
Tell me how our love can win~*
"I
can't just lose you...I just found you." He whispered, his voice almost
broken.
"Maybe
one day..." She replied with a gentle smile, a reassurance.
She didn't
live a fairy tale life, she couldn't risk the life of others so she could be
happy. He was too innocent to know what she was going through. She did know
that maybe she would be able to confront her emotions and allow her heart to
take over. Now wasn't the time. When it was, she wanted him to be there.
*(The End)*