Roswell Fanatics

Just The Way You Are

By: KaraGail

"Disclaimer: The characters of "Roswell" belong to Jason Katims, Melinda Metz, WB, and UPN. They are not mine and no infringement is intended."

Category: Alex and Isabel

Rating: Teen

Setting: This is an AU fic. The idea came from a late night viewing of Grease 2. I liked the idea of this girl falling for a guy behind these dark shades and not really knowing who he was. So out of that came this story. Hope you enjoy!!

Part 1

The bell over the Crashdown door sounded, causing Liz Parker to look up from where she was wiping down the counter to find her best friend, Alex Whitman, entering. He was wearing a smile that split his face wide and caused her own smile to appear and wonder what had gotten him all excited.

“Hi Alex” Liz watched her tall lanky friend make his way to the counter and sit down on his favorite stool. “What can I get for you?”

“Orange soda on the rocks, my dear lady.” He slapped his palm against the counter.

Liz chuckled at his antics and quickly got him his drink. “Okay, tell me what has you in this great mood.”

Alex wasn’t surprised that his friend knew he had something to say. They had known each other forever and there were no secrets between them, “Is Maria here?”

Liz nodded and rolled her eyes “She’s in the kitchen with Michael.” She turned and yelled into the window “Maria Get out here ”

Soon after, Maria came through the swinging door straightening her apron over her alien theme uniform. “What’s the problem? I was a little busy” She pouted as she stopped beside Liz. Her boyfriend, Michael Guerin, happened to be the cook and she often spent her free time with him in the kitchen.

“Alex has something he wants to tell us.”

Maria looked at her male friend and could see the excitement in his face making her curious. “What is it?”

“Well you know how we thought The Whits would disband after everyone but me graduated last year?” he waited for both the girls to nod. “Dave, the drummer, met this guy who owns a club over near the University campus and wants us to play this Friday night.”

“What? ” Both girls screamed and ran around the counter. They all three jumped for joy and hugged each other before settling in a nearby empty booth to discuss the news.

“So your first gig is Friday?” Liz quizzed with a frown, ”Not a lot of time to prepare.”

Alex grimaced at the thought “I am a little scared. I haven’t been on stage in a long time and plus the manager of the club doesn’t know that I’m only 18. Dave lied to the owner and told him that we were all College students.” he shook his head, “Do you think I pass for a 21 year old?”

Maria looked at him critically before shaking her head, “You dress like you are still in high school with those baggy shorts and button up shirts.” she began to smile, “This means we need to take you shopping for some decent clothes ”

Alex groaned. Maria and Liz had always nagged him about his choice of clothes but he thought they were comfortable and liked them. Then he saw their eager faces and knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of this. Somehow he had just got roped into spending hours at the mall getting a make over by his two best friends.

He tried one more stalling tactic before he gave in, “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing is wrong with them, Sweetie. We just need to make you look older instead of the teenager that you are. You are going to be playing in a college club, Alex. You need to dress a little differently.”

Liz nodded in agreement “Don’t worry, Alex. After we are done with you no one will even ask how old you are.”

Alex sighed, “Okay if we are going to do this then we have to keep it a secret.” He raised an eyebrow at the girls “we can’t let anyone else know that I’m doing this. You know how this town can get with the gossip. If one person finds out then everyone will know in a matter of days. It will be safer if this stays between us and the guys in the band.”

Maria groaned knowing how hard keeping a secret was for her “I can’t tell Michael?”

Alex shook his head “We need to keep it between the three.” He held up his pinky “Let’s pinky swear that it will not go any further than this table.”

Both girls reluctantly put there pinky around each others and made their childhood pact knowing that nothing would break there pledge and this would become just another of their secrets that they would keep for life. It may have been childish but it was something none of them would ever break.

Alex went to get out of the booth “I’ll go home and get some money and meet you back here in an hour.”

Liz and Maria got out of the booth as well and hugged their tall friend “We are so happy for you, Alex. This is so exciting.”

Alex smiled and enjoyed the hug that he was receiving from his best girls. He could always depend on them to support him in any endeavor he took on. Finally he let them go and headed for the exit with a smile on his face at the thought of the hell he would be going through that night at the mall. As he pushed the door he was greeted by Liz’s boyfriend, Max Evans, and his sister, Isabel, who were entering.

“Hi, Alex” Max smiled at him as Alex held open the door for the siblings.

“Hi Max. Hi Isabel.” He watched as they both went through, his eyes could not help but rest on the gorgeous tall blonde as she walked in just ahead of her brother without even giving him a second look. He sighed as he watched them both slide in the booth he and his friends had just vacated. This was nothing new. Isabel Evan’s had been ignoring him since the first day he saw her in 4th grade. She was part of the popular crowd while he was a known geek who’s best friends happen to be girls.

Turning he left the restaurant trying to forget that, even though she was way out of his league, Alex had been in love with her since that very first day. He knew his feelings would never be returned so he tried his best to stay out of her way and hope that she would one day find someone who would make her happy.

****

Isabel Evans knew that everyone wanted a piece of her. The guys wanted her and the girls wanted to be like her. The attention had hardened her to the point where she was known as the “Ice Queen” of Roswell High. In reality she was the opposite of what she put out for everyone to see and she made sure to keep it that way. If her popular friends only knew that she spent many hours at the local orphanage and homeless shelter donating her time and energy, they would think she was crazy. She was revered as a goddess by many people in Roswell but Isabel knew that she had flaws and tried to make up for them by helping others.

It was Friday and the tall blonde found herself heading to lunch surrounded by her crowd that consisted of Stacey Richards, Vicky Delaney and Brittany Daniels. They were not always the best of friends and would stab each other in the back at the first opportunity, but they needed each other to remain popular. Isabel chuckled at that thought, ‘They need me to remain popular.’

She continued into the quad walking pass the table that her brother and his best friend, Michael, sat with their girlfriends heading toward the popular table. She was almost there when she heard a commotion behind her which caused her to turn to see what was going on. Isabel saw that it was Stacey starring down at a dark haired boy who was sitting at the same table as her brother.

“Hey Alice.” She said toward the boy who was sitting there eating a sandwich. “How is that computer dating going for you?”

He seemed to ignore her and continued to eat but the small blonde girl, Maria, stood up and got in Stacey’s face “His name is Alex, so why don’t you go eat your lunch so that you can barf it up later.”

Isabel couldn’t help but smile at the spunk that Michael’s girlfriend showed toward the other girl. With a shake of her head she turned back and headed toward her table again already forgetting about the scene that just broke out.

“So what are your plans tonight, Isabel?” Vicky Delaney asked as she sat down across from the tall girl.

She shrugged, “Nothing exciting. I think I’m tired of the high school boys I’ve been dating,”

Vicky leaned across the table with a smile, “Great then you can come with us tonight. We are going to try to meet some college guys”

‘Where are you going?”

“My older sister told me about a club near the University that has live bands on Friday night. I asked the others to go earlier.” She raised an eyebrow at the tall blonde, “So how about it?”

Isabel gave it only a second thought before nodding her assent. She was bored of Roswell and the highschool scene and she was ready for a night out. Hopefully she would be lucky enough to find someone who was more mature than the jocks she had been dating.

TBC...

A/N: I loved Grease 2 also!! This story came by after I went to work out at the gym and I had the soundtrack playing (yes I really do have the cd ) I started to think about how Isabel would treat Alex if she had no idea who he was and thought he had just stepped out of her fantasy (hence the Cool Rider that Stephanie sings about).

I hope you two continue to enjoy the story (not so sure if any one else is )

The song in this part is "Bad Day" by Fuel. If you have any song ideas that can be used in future parts please let me know. I am open to suggestions.

Part 2

Alex looked down at the black leather pants and wondered, once again, how Maria and Liz had gotten him to wear them. They were not his usual style, preferring baggy jeans. But he had to admit they weren’t as uncomfortable as he would have thought they would be.

Glancing back up into the mirror that he stood in front of, he took in his whole new look. The girls had gone completely overboard while shopping for him a few days ago.

Alex had complained loudly but they had insisted that if he wanted to be a star then he would have to look like one. Hence, the leather pants and the new t-shirts that showed off more of his chest and arms than he was used to in his baggy clothes and button up.

He chuckled at the memory of Maria barging into his changing room to give him another shirt to try on. She had stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open as she gazed at his bare chest. After a few a moments she had spun on her heal and quickly left the room only to reappear a few minutes later with a smaller size shirt.

“Show it if you got it.” Maria had declared when he had quizzed her on her choice.

The final torture of the evening had been when they had taken him back to Liz’s room above the Crashdown and spent hours finding the right style for his hair. Somehow, they had managed to have the strands sticking up all over his head with some type of gel that made his brown hair stiffer and even darker.

Despite all of their hard work, Liz and Maria had deemed that something was missing.

They had found him at school this morning wanting to apologize since neither one could get off from the Crashdown and make the show. He had smiled and told them it was alright and that he would probably freeze up on the first song and they wouldn’t miss much. Liz had admonished him for saying such a pessimistic thing and then told him they had bought him one more thing.

“We were worried that even with the new clothes and hairstyle you would be recognized.” Liz smiled widely as Maria fished into her book bag, “So we got you these.”

Maria pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and handed them to him, “These are also for good luck.”

Alex took them and frowned, ‘You sure it won’t look weird for me to wear these in a dark club?”

Maria shook her head, “You’re a star, Alex. Besides people will just think you are on drugs or coming down from a hangover.”

Both girls hugged and kissed him wishing him luck and making him promise to call them both first thing in the morning to let them know how it went.

Taking a deep breath, Alex slipped the glasses on his nose before leaving the small bathroom of the Club where he had brought his clothes to change into. He did not need for his parents to catch him walking out the door in the new clothes and wondering where their son was going.

The guys were already on stage getting their instruments tuned up so Alex quickly climbed up the small steps and picked up his own guitar.

“Looking sharp, man ” Dave said with a smile in his direction, “But I think the rest of us are underdress if we are planning to go to the MTV music awards.”

Alex shook his head and chuckled with the others, while pulling the strap of his bass over his shoulder, “Cut it out. The girls did this so that I can get away with working at a bar.”

Mark, the keyboard player, looked him over, “Maybe we should get Maria and Liz to help us all out.”

‘I wouldn’t tell them that or you will be spending 4 hours out of your life at the mall shopping.”

All the guys seemed to wince at the thought of shopping, “Well your secret is safe with us.” Mark said just happy that they had gotten a paying gig.

Alex nodded and looked at his watch, “ Well we better get started and try to liven this place up a bit. How about we start off with a few crowd pleasers before hitting them with our own stuff?”

The guys readily agreed and soon had the crowd dancing and singing along with them. All of Alex’ fears had flown out the window as he began to play the music that he loved. He was on a high as the crowd rocked to the band and he just hoped no one would bring them down.

*******

Isabel couldn’t believe the crowd that packed the small club as she made her way through the doors. It had been too easy for her to get pass the bouncer outside. All she really had to do was flash a little skin and bat her eyes at him and soon she and all of her friends had been admitted into the dark smoky club that was already jumping with the loud music playing.

She followed Vicky and the others to a table that was miraculously unoccupied at the moment. Not long after they had sat down, drinks had been sent to the table of beautiful girls. Isabel pushed her drink away from her, not being a big drinker herself, and started to scan the club looking for someone who would hold her interest.

“This band rocks ” Stacey shouted over the music.

Isabel had to agree that they were pretty good as she finally glanced over at the stage. Her eyes automatically landed on the bass player who was singing into the microphone. The song no longer held any importance to her, it was the singer who grabbed her attention as he stood there looking like he had just walked out of one of her dreams. Even the fact that he was head to toe dressed in black, which was a fashion faux pas in her book, made him more appealing.

“Man that guy is hot ” Vicky said dreamily as she strained to see the stage over the heads of the crowd, ‘And his voice is amazing.”

Isabel began to hear the words again and was surprised that it was one of her favorite songs by Fuel. She tuned in and noticed that even though she was a fan of the original, this band did the song justice.

Had a bad day again.
She said I would not understand,
Left a note and said I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
She spilled her coffee, broke her shoe lace,
Smeared the lipstick on her face,
Slammed the door and said, I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
And she swears there's nothing wrong.
I hear her playing that same old song.
She puts me up and puts me on.
And had a bad day again.
She said I would not understand.
Left a note and said, I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again.
And she swears there's nothing wrong.
I hear her playing that same old song.
She puts me up and puts me on.
Oh and I had a bad day again.
She said I would not understand.
She left a note and said, I'm sorry I
Had a bad day again. She left a note and said, I'm sorry I had a bad day.
Alright, ooooo, ooohhhhh.

Over the next hour Isabel danced with her friends and talked to a few cute guys who came up to her, but her eyes never strayed for long from the tall musician on stage. When she heard him tell the crowd they were going on a break her heart began to race as she realized this was her opportunity to talk with him especially when she saw him head over to the bar.

She wondered why she felt territorial when she saw some girls checking him out since she had yet to even talk to him. She knew, though, that because she had taken hours preparing tonight in her best low cut red dress there was no way that she wouldn’t be able to make him forget the other girls in the bar.

Seeing the stool beside him free she quickly slid on to it as she heard him ask the bartender for 5 bottles of water and waited for him to take notice her. She sat there with a smile on her lips as he continued watching the bartender while beating a tune, with his index fingers, on the counter in front of him.

Deciding she needed to take the plunge she commented over the music that was now blaring from a music system, “You guys sound great !”

He turned toward her and all she could see was her reflection in the dark lenses of his sunglasses. For a minute he just sat there starring at her and she wasn’t sure if he was at a loss of words or if he was deciding if she was another one of his groupies. “Thanks. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t do well especially since this is our first gig in a long time.”

“Well you wouldn’t have known it because you guys are really good.” She smiled at him turning on the Evans charm that usually got her anything she wanted.

The bartender chose that moment to return with the bottles of water and said, “These are on the house.” he smiled at them, “You guys are awesome. Do you think the boss will get you back next week?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe if we are good enough” the guy beside her said with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“Well if you want... I know some of the staff would talk to him for you.”

Isabel watched as her mystery guy smiled, causing her heart to flip in her chest. His smile was a killer one that spilt his whole face and made her want to smile along with him.

“Thanks.’ He grabbed the bottles “I better get these back to the band. We get dehydrated up there pretty quickly.”

“Let me help.” She stood up with him and grabbed a couple of bottles not wanting to leave his company just yet.

He stood there for a second again just seeming to assess her, as she stood there beside him, before turning and walking away. She followed him through the throng of people not losing site of him as they approached the side of the stage where there were a small set of steps leading to the top.

Turning he took the bottles from her and set them all down on the stage, “Thanks”

“Not a problem” she smiled and then held out her hand, “I’m Isabel Evans.”

Again he seemed to take a second before reaching up and shaking her hand, “A.C.”

“A.C.? Does it stand for anything?” she wondered allowed

***

Alex could not believe that he was in this situation with the girl of his dreams standing right in front of him and her hand in his. He still recalled the moment when he had turned and saw her sitting beside him looking right at him. After all the times she had passed him by without even a glance the moment had felt surreal. And now she was introducing herself and he had almost told her who he really was but then remembered where he was and had somehow come up with his initials. It wasn’t a total lie.

Their hands were still in the others and Alex quickly took his back wondering if she had thought it was creepy that he had held it for so long. He on the other hand had enjoyed the sensation of her smooth skin against his and he wondered if he had ever felt anything so wonderful.

Noticing that the guys from the band were starring at them he finally spoke, “Well I better go. Our break is almost over. It was nice meeting you, Isabel.”

He turned and climbed up the steps not noticing the frown on Isabel face as he walked away from her. She had expected him to make some kind of move on her or even ask her out but there had been nothing. Shaking her head she turned and went back to the table that her friends were gathered at wondering if she had done something to turn him off.

“That was Isabel Evans wasn’t it?” Dave asked Alex in awe as they watched her lovely figure make her way through the crowd.

Alex nodded as he saw that the table that she went to was occupied by Vicky Delaney and Stacey Richards along with a few College guys. He was definitely glad that he was in disguise. If those girls had gotten the slightest hint that he was up here they would have made his life miserable.

“You know her?” Mark asked, “She was like the hottest girl in school even when I was there. Man look at her now. I think she even got hotter.”

Alex couldn’t help but look at her. It was an affliction he had since the fourth grade. Anytime he knew she was near his eyes would automatically seek her out just to bask in her beauty. Letting out a sigh he watched as a college guy came up to her and they began to talk.

Deciding to put her out of his mind, Alex picked up his guitar again. For the thousandth time he told himself to get over Isabel Evans there was no way she would ever be interested in a geek like him. He would just have to live the rest of his life with the memory that one time she had spoken to him and made him feel important. There was no way he would ever feel that way again.

******

“Come on , Max, Pick up.” Isabel growled into the cell phone listening to the continuos ring in her ear.

How had everything gone to hell so quickly? She still could not believe that Vicky and Stacey had ditched her while she had been in the restroom refreshing her make up. When she had called them on their cell phone Isabel was informed that they had gotten a better offer from some college guys and had gone off with them. They were both sure that Isabel would have no problems getting a ride home.

‘The nerve of them leaving me stranded here’ she thought as she paced the front of the club, her phone still clutched in her hand. She had hoped to call her brother to rescue her, but she had to concede, after the fourth try, that he wasn’t going to answer. “Wonder how much taxi fare is going to cost me?’

“Is everything alright, Isabel?” a male voice asked from behind her causing Isabel to turn around to find out who here knew her.

Standing there was a tall dark haired boy with worry in his eyes and a slight frown on his face as he took in her agitated state. Isabel looked him over trying to figure out where she had seen him before. Then a flash of memory hit her as she saw Stacey taunt this same boy at lunch earlier that week. He was friends with her brother’s girlfriend.

Isabel gave him a slight nod as she recalled that he had asked her a question. Hitting redial on her phone she hoped that Max would finally answer, “I’m just calling my brother to see if he can come pick me up.”

Alex looked around the almost deserted parking lot and wondered what had happened to her friends. He knew that she had been with Stacey and Vicky most of the evening but, somewhere in the middle of the last set, they had vanished. Not seeing Isabel, he had figured that they had all left.

It was almost 2 in the morning and the band had just finished their last set so the crowd had thinned out considerably. He had quickly changed back into his regular clothes and was now helping the band load their equipment into Dave’s van. When he had spotted Isabel over near the entrance looking furious, he couldn’t stop himself from going over and making sure she was alright.

“I think Liz told me that Max and she were going to a late movie with Maria and Michael after work tonight. No telling if he even has his phone with him.”

Isabel frowned at that and shook her head, “That’s just great. Now what am I going to do?”

Alex looked at the agitated blond and then over to his Volvo that sat a few parking spots over, “If you don’t mind waiting for a few minutes I would be glad to take you home. I think you only live a few streets over from me.”

She glance over at his car and then back to the boy in baggy jeans. He was definitely not someone from her crowd and Isabel wondered if she should try to call someone else. It only took her a moment to nix that idea and to trust this non threatening guy. If Liz and Maria could trust him then she would just go on blind faith and do the same.

“Okay that would be great.”

Alex was surprised that she agreed to let him help her. He had figured that she would have gone to other lengths to avoid being seen with him driving her home, but she had agreed, “Let me finish helping the band and I’ll be right back.”

Hearing this Isabel eyes widened, ‘You know the band?”

He nodded slowly wondering if she had guessed that it had been him on the stage and talking with her earlier.
Alex deciding he would worry about it later and pulled his keys from his pocket, “Why don’t you go ahead and get into my car while I finish up.”

She wasn’t looking at him though, instead her eyes were on the van and the other band members, “Is A.C. still here?”

She wondered if maybe she could get a ride with the singer and maybe get his number.

Alex frowned slightly, ‘Guess she doesn’t suspect anything.’ “No he took off right after the last song.”
Isabel sighed in disappointment turning back to the guy beside her who was still holding his keys out for her.

Taking them she headed toward the car and settled herself into the passenger seat. She shut her eyes for a few minutes all of a sudden realizing how tired she really was and she longed for her bed.

A few minutes later a tap on the drivers window had her opening her eyes to him standing there pointing toward the lock. Isabel leaned over and unlocked it and watched as he opened the door and folded his tall frame into the small space.

Alex felt his palms sweating on the steering wheel as he maneuvered the car out of the parking lot. He was even more nervous than he had been on stage in front of the crowd. Isabel Evans always had this affect on him and he was still amazed that he had been able to talk with her without stuttering.

They drove silently for awhile as the radio played softly between them until Alex found his courage, “Did you have fun at the club?”

She turned her head toward him and away from the passing darkness of the night that she had been watching outside of the passenger window, “It was great up to the point where I went to the restroom and my friends ditched me.”

‘So that’s what happen.’ he thought.’ Her friends are a bunch of morons anyway ‘

“I don’t mind giving you a ride.”

“I appreciate it.” Isabel smiled softly leaning her head against the head rest.

Alex looked over at her and smiled when he saw Isabel’s eyes droop and fighting it, “Why don’t you shut your eyes and rest? I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Isabel couldn’t fight the yawn that escaped as she set the seat back and shut her eyes taking his suggestion. Any other guy would have made a move on her if she dropped her defenses like this but something about him made her trust him to get her home safely.

He sat there in the silence of the car unable to believe that the beautiful blonde was beside him asleep. This had to have been one of the best nights of his short young life. So far, not only had he rocked the club with his music and singing but he had also talked to the girl of his dreams without passing out.

Alex still recalled how, as he stood on stage singing, he had looked out into the crowd where his eyes would automatically search her out. She was a knock out in her red dress and high heel shoes that had every man in the club drooling with desire for the tall curvy blonde. He had seen her many times laughing, dancing and having a good time with the guys who had the courage to come up to the stunning goddess that he thought she was.

Sighing he ran a hand through his hair and turned back to the road knowing that she would never be his. Isabel was a princess and a princess would never have anything to do with a lowly frog.

****

“Isabel?” Alex called to her wondering if he should shake her awake, “Your home.”

She turned her head with a groan and opened her eyes slowly looking at him, her eyes slowly adjusting, before realizing what he said. With a small stretch she looked out the window to see that they were parked outside of her house, not at all surprised to see that her brothers jeep was the only car there.

Isabel sat up and opened the passenger door “Thanks for the ride.” She reached back and grabbed her purse, “ I really appreciate it, Allen.”

Hearing the wrong name slip from her lips, Alex’ heart sank as he realized that she didn’t even know his name. Deciding not to correct her he nodded and watched her head up the small walk and into her house.

He folded his arms over the steering wheel and rested his forehead wondering how stupid he had been. Alex was still, and always will be, invisible to the Ice Queen Of Roswell.

Taking a deep breath he sat up and headed his car for his home while making another vow to forget about, Isabel. Shaking his head and chuckling, he wondered how long he would be able to keep to it this time.

TBC...

A/N Thanks for the wonderful FB. Prepare yourself for more angst as the story continues. After all they are in high school

Trude, you know how much I loved Lois and Clark so that was a huge compliment that it reminded you of them.

LovinGuerin2Much, I am glad you liked the last part. I was definitely going for that "Who's That Guy" scene in Grease 2. I had all of her friends who would have never given Alex the time of day going gaga over him (I must give that movie more props since I will be getting more ideas from it)

Cameramandc, I think your question will be answered in this next part. I had a fun time with Liz and Maria and the make over.

Grace52373, but when will Isabel find out who he is? hmmmmmmmm


Part 3

Sunday evening Isabel was eating dinner at the Crashdown with her brother and Michael. Her parents were still out of town and the three of them had decided to go out rather to cook anything at home that would cause them to have to clean up later..

“So, Isabel, how was the club on Friday?” Michael mumbled around a fry that he had just stuffed into his mouth. It was his day off and somehow he still found himself in the café.

“It was really great.” She smiled ignoring Michael’s bad manners and thinking about those moments with A.C. at the bar, “There was this great band playing that really had the place hopping.”

Max frowned in thought, “I think that’s the same band that the girls wanted to go see but had to work instead.”

“They really missed a good show.”

“Yeah, well maybe they will be just as good this Friday.” Michael said before biting into his hamburger.

“This Friday? They will be at the club again?” Isabel quizzed them excitedly. Could it be that she may have another shot at getting A.C. to ask her out?

“What about Friday?” Maria came up to their table and refilled each of their drinks.

“That band you want to see this Friday.” Her boyfriend smiled up at her. Maria was the only person that could get Michael to stop stuffing his face with food and to speak clearly.

“The Whits?” Maria smiled thinking of her tall friend and how proud she was of his accomplishment, “I hate that we missed last Friday but we will definitely be there this Friday.”

Liz joined Maria at the end of the table both wearing the exact same smile. Isabel wondered for a minute if they knew something that she did not.

With a mental shrug she told them, “I went and they were great. Which reminds me,” she looked over at her brother, “I tried to call you to come get me when the girls ditched me. Your phone just rang and rang.”

Max looked at his sister with a sheepish smile, “I left it in the car when we went to the movies. I guess I forgot about it.”

“How did you get home, Isabel?” Michael asked a little worried over the girl he had known for years and thought of as a sister.

“Their friend Allen gave me a lift.” Isabel nodded toward the two girls.

“Allen?” Liz frowned, “We don’t know an Allen.”

Isabel looked at her confused, “That tall guy who is always around you?”

“Alex? Your talking about Alex?” Maria asked also frowning at the girl in the booth.

“Alex?” Isabel could have sworn that his name was Allen.

“His name is Alex Whitman.” Liz stated “He is our best friend.”

“What was Alex doing at the Club?” Max asked looking up at his girlfriend who he thought look cute in her waitress uniform.

“I think he helps with the band.” Isabel answered before his girlfriend had the chance.

Maria looked over at Liz silently communicating with her that they had to remain quiet. They had promised Alex and only in a dire situation would they reveal their secret.

“Maybe he can get us into the club.” Michael smiled thinking that Alex could get them in for free.

His girlfriend quickly saw through him and slapped him lightly on the back of his head, “I will not use my friend that way.”
Liz grinned at her best friend as she argued with her boyfriend, “Uh...Maria? We better get back to work.”

They both said goodbye to the three in the booth and headed back behind the counter. Maria was the first to say what she was thinking, “Can you believe the princess? We’ve gone to school together for the last 8 years and she didn’t even know his name. For God’s sake, he is currently in her science class.”

Liz nodded sadly as she glanced over at the stunning blonde, “ Out of all the girls at East Roswell. Why did Alex have to fall for her?”


********

Monday morning Alex walked into the one class he had with Isabel. Science. He found his seat but couldn’t stop himself from looking over at her sitting in her usual spot far across the room surrounded by her friends and admirers.

“Attention class” Mr. Drummond held up his hands waiting for the noise to die down to a bearable pitch, “I am going to try something a little different for the next two weeks. We will be discussing Astronomy and I want to pair you off for a report which will be due a week from this Friday.”

At the mention of Astronomy, Isabel stopped doodling in her notebook and looked up at the teacher with eagerness. They were finally getting to a subject that she really cared about. In fact not many people knew that she was a closet stargazer.

“I know you have been in certain pairs all year, but I have decided to switch you up a bit.” he smiled at them and picked up his list of names, “For the next two weeks you will be assigned a new partner, and for some, a new seat.”

Alex inwardly groaned at the thought of giving up his current partner who just happened to be one of the smartest in the class. He just had to hope that he didn’t get stuck with one of the jocks or cheerleaders who would expect him to do all the work.

For the next few minutes the teacher called out names and had students moving around. Alex let out a sigh of relief when Stacey and a few other jocks were paired off together. He knew he could handle anyone else Mr. Drummond put him with.

“Evans.” The science teacher looked to the girl in the back, “You will be with Mr. Whitman.”

Hearing the name of her new partner, Isabel looked around the class until her eyes landed on the tall boy who had rescued her last Friday night. ‘Had he been in this class all this time?’ Grabbing her books she made her way through the maze of desk and students to the empty seat beside him.

“Hi” she flashed him one of her best smiles.

“Hi” he returned her greeting while watching her get settled. He was surprised to see her turn to him and start talking.

“Thanks again for taking me home Friday.”

Alex shrugged, “Like I said, it was no problem.”

“So.... I hear that the band will be at the club again this Friday.”

He nodded and smiled, “The manager booked them again. Seems they had a lot of calls and demands for us to return.”

“I guess I will see you again Friday night.” Isabel returned his smile thinking that there was no way she would miss another chance with A.C.

Before he could respond, Mr. Drummond began class by telling them what he expected of the assignment. Isabel flipped open her day planner to the due date and made a note before realizing what day it landed on. Her 18th birthday was the following Saturday and even though her parents were throwing her a party, it would be Isabel who would plan it. Her family were used to her taking over any events that they planned and even went so far as to call her the “Christmas Nazi.”

Close to the end of class they were given a few minutes to discuss ideas with their partners. Isabel turned back to Alex wanting to schedule a time when they could get together.

“How about we meet at my house after dinner to brainstorm some ideas.”

Alex grimaced and shook his head, “I can’t tonight but we could meet after school at the Crashdown. I usually go spend some time with Maria and Liz since they work most weekdays. We can get some preliminary things taken care of before I need to leave at 5.”

Isabel nodded her agreement just as the bell rang for the end of class. She put her books away and stood from her seat, “I’ll see you there about 4:00?”

“I will try to come up with some ideas before then so we can have something to start with.” he began to put his own books away.

Hearing this from him made her mentally sigh in relief. Her new partner would actually hold his weight on this report. Isabel’s usual partner, Stacey, barely even knew where the library was. Thinking of her friend she looked up to see them waiting for her near the door.

As she moved toward them she looked over her shoulder at him still sitting in his desk, “See you later, Alex.”

********

Alex looked at his watch again and sighed loudly. Isabel was late. He had been sitting at the counter of the diner for the last hour nursing his second Orange soda and telling himself to be patient and that she would show up. He himself was already late and he had to leave soon.

“I’m sure she will be here soon.” Liz commented as she stopped in front of Alex but knew that she was lying to her best friend.

He glanced at her and then back at his watch shaking his head, “Will you do me a favor? Would you make sure Isabel gets my notes?” Alex handed her some sheets of paper, “Tell her that we will get together before class tomorrow.”

Liz nodded and watched as he got up from his stool and slipped his book bag on his shoulder, “Bye, Alex. See you tomorrow.”

He gave her a small smile and waved over at Maria before leaving the diner. Slipping the papers under the counter she continued to watch him walk away not noticing when Maria stepped up beside her.

“The Ice Queen strikes again?” Maria asked as her eyes also followed their tall friend, “I can’t believe Mr. Drummond paired the up.”

The dark haired girl turned to her best friend and gave her a small smile “ We better get back to work.”
10 minutes later the bell above the door signaled a new arrival which caused both waitress’ to look up. The smiles froze on their faces as they saw Isabel entered and glanced around the room. ‘So she finally shows up.’

Isabel stood there for a moment looking for Alex and was surprised not to find him. ‘Must be in the bathroom’ she thought and found an empty booth deciding to go ahead and start on the work.

Maria looked over at Liz with an evil grin as she realized Isabel was in her section. When her friend mouthed ‘Behave’ to her she sighed and tried to reign in her anger at the tall girl, “What can I get for you?”

“Hey Maria. How about a Cherry Coke?” Isabel smiled at the petite blonde.

Deciding she better leave before she said anything Maria nodded and tried to escape. She was stopped by Isabel who was oblivious to the animosity that was in the waitress’ eyes.

“Have you seen Alex? We were to meet here and go over our project.”

She turned back to the taller girl, “It’s 5:20, Isabel. He just left a few minutes ago after sitting here for an hour. Alex has other obligations that he has to attend, so he had to leave.”

Isabel finally noticed the flash of anger in Maria’s eyes before she left her table and she wondered what she had done to upset her. She had gotten a little side track after school and let the time slip away from her. She really hadn’t thought it would be a problem since they had 2 weeks to do the project and it was one of her favorite subjects.

With a small sigh she pulled out some paper and a pen deciding to do the project by herself. It wouldn’t be th first time that she had done all the work on her own and it probably won’t be the last time. She wasn’t surprised that Liz brought her drink to her instead of Maria.

“Here you go, Isabel.” Liz said placing her drink on the table and then some sheets of paper, “Alex left these for you.”

Isabel picked up the pages and quickly scanned over the contents surprised to see that they were ideas for their project. He had kept his word to her and had come up with some topics that would be interesting to do as a report.

“I’m sure Alex would have stayed longer if he hadn’t had his shift at the hospital tonight.” Liz smiled slightly, “He said he would see you before class tomorrow.”

Isabel nodded as she continued to read through his notes but her head popped up as she took in what Liz had said, “Alex works at the hospital?”

Liz’ smile deepened at the thought of her friend, “Alex volunteers in the pediatric ward of the hospital every Monday and Wednesday night. His mother is a nurse there and she got him working with the children when he was 12. He actually loves spending time with those kids”

Isabel was all to familiar with volunteer work but had never met another teenager who enjoyed helping others. “What exactly does he do at the hospital?”

Liz slid into the other side of the booth happy to discuss one of her favorite people, “Sometimes he takes cares of the babies in the nursery and other times he spends time with the children in the cancer ward.”

“You said his mom got him involved?” Isabel asked curiously.

“Yeah, he has been doing it for so long that just recently he was promoted to be the leader of the volunteers.” Liz said proudly, “You should see him with those tiny babies. They wrap their tiny little fingers around him and he becomes a puddle of mush.”

Isabel returned her smile as she imagined Alex holding and rocking an infant to sleep. She knew that her brother and his friends wouldn’t even have the slightest clue on what to do if one cried. “I’ll apologize to him tomorrow for being late.”

Liz nodded ans slid out of the booth needing to return to her tables. She had one more thing to say before she left, “Alex is a great guy, Isabel. He sees the good in everyone and everything even when he shouldn’t. But don’t make the mistake that he doesn’t feel anything when he gets hurt.”

Isabel watched Liz walk away and she wondered just what she had meant. With a shake of her head she slipped all of her papers back into her bag and threw some change on the table. Since Alex wasn’t here there was no use of staying in the noisy restaurant so she decided that she would head home and work on the project.

********

“Hi Alex” Isabel smiled as she took her seat the next day in class.

He looked up to see that dazzling smile and his heart leaped in his chest, “Hey Isabel”

“I’m sorry I missed you yesterday at the Crashdown. I got a little sidetracked after school” She shrugged not going into anymore detail, “I got your notes from Liz and all of them are great.”

Alex felt himself blush slightly over her praise of his work, “Thanks”

They fell into a comfortable conversation over the next few moments as they decided which idea they were going with and how they were going to split up the work. Isabel pulled out her day planner and opened it to the next two weeks and putting it on the table between them.

“Here is my schedule. Why don’t you fill yours in so we can kind of get an idea of the best times to meet?” she handed him a pencil and watched as he filled in the times he would be unavailable.

Alex noticed in her book that she had many days scheduled to go to either the Orphanage or the homeless shelter. She had them marked as a priority and he couldn’t help but wonder about it, “Do you volunteer?”

Usually Isabel did not talk to others about her charitable nature, but after finding out about his own volunteer work she decided to open up to him. “I volunteer at the Orphanage and the Homeless shelter at least once a week.”

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as she unknowingly confirmed what he had known all along. Isabel had a good heart and not everyone got to see it. “I volunteer over at the hospital.”

She nodded, “Liz told me last night. Sounds very interesting. Maybe I will stop by one evening to see what it’s all about.”

Alex nodded a little excited over the prospect that Isabel wanted to see what he did there, “You’re welcome anytime.”

“Okay, since class is about to start, let’s get together in the library at lunch today. We can get a jump on this report since it looks like we will be busy most night to get any work done.”

‘Sounds like a plan.” he nodded wondering how he had gotten so lucky to have a partner like Isabel Evans beside him. He knew she would never want to have anything to do with him but that would not stop him from enjoying any moment they did spend together over the next few weeks.

TBC...

A/N:Thanks for the FB from LovinGuerin2much, Grace52373 and Trude. I am so glad you are enjoying my fic


Part 4


Alex slipped his sunglasses on his nose and gave himself a cursory glance in the mirror before stepping out of the men’s bathroom. The adrenaline was coursing it’s way through his blood as he made his way to the stage where his fellow band mates stood around setting up their instruments.

“Hey ” He called to them as he stepped up onto the stage.

“Hey dude ” Dave looked up from his drums as Alex picked up his guitar, “So what’s the plan for tonight? Same line up as last week?”

Alex shook his head, “Let’s mix the songs up a bit.”

They began to discuss what songs worked best until Alex looked up and spotted Maria and Liz as they made their way to the table he had reserved for them. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face and noticed that both girls had the same expression as they looked up at him while their boyfriends followed them with scowls on their faces.

As they were being seated, Alex noticed the fifth person in their group. Isabel was sitting down in between her brother and Michael but her attention was directed at him as their eyes connected for a brief moment. Alex didn’t think he would ever move from that spot as long as she was looking at him.

“Hey Dude. Is that Isabel Evans again?” Dave asked following Alex’ gaze.

He nodded finally able to break his gaze and turn his back on the crowd that was filling the club. Somehow he had to block her from his vision tonight so he could focus on the music, but knew that would be next to impossible.

*****

“They really sound great ” Maria yelled over the music to Liz.

Her friend grinned, “He looks good too.”

Maria nodded and grinned back at her both thinking that they had a hand in Alex’ transformation.

“Hey ” Max yelled “Your boyfriends are right beside you ”

Hearing him Liz leaned over and kissed Max on the cheek, “Sorry sweetie”

Maria went to glance at her own boyfriend when her gaze landed on Isabel who was totally absorbed in the band. Her eyes never once left the stage and specifically the tall lead singer. She kicked Liz lightly under the table to get her attention and motioned her head toward the tall blonde who was transfixed on their friend.

A few minutes later the band called for a break and both girls watched as Isabel excused herself and made her way to the bar where Alex already was talking to the bartender. They were curious at what was being said so they told their boyfriends they would be right back and headed over to their friend.

*****

“Hi” Isabel smiled sliding onto the stool beside A.C. as he stood there waiting for his bottles of water.

“Hey” he returned turning toward her and took in her beauty. She was wearing her black leather pants that always left him drooling whenever she wore them and a dark blue button up shirt that was almost indecent if she head left one more button undone. Checking out her outfit made him glad that he had left his own leathers at home and settle for the designer blue jeans the girls had talked him into. Otherwise they would have looked like they were a couple with a leather fetish.

“I bet you are surprised to see me back here tonight.”

Before he could respond, Liz and Maria came hurrying over, “You guys sound great ”

Alex grinned hearing the love and pride in their compliment, “Thanks. How is the table?”

“Perfect.” Liz said as Isabel watched quietly. She knew she had nothing to be jealous of from these two girls but at the same time she wanted his attention on her and not on any one else.

“Isabel told us how great you sounded last week.” Liz turned to include the tall girl.

She nodded, “I was just about to tell A.C how much I enjoyed last week. When I heard you were playing again this week I knew I had to come back.”

Maria frowned slightly at the name Isabel called Alex and turned to Liz in confusion. Being the smart one that she was, Liz shook her head gently and mouthed “later” to her knowing that they would be having a long talk with Alex later on.

“I did get some good news. The manger has booked us for the next month. We will be playing every Friday night for the next 6 weeks.” He flashed them his patent smile, “Seems the crowd like us.”

Isabel was tempted to flirt with A.C and say something like ‘I know I like you” but after looking at Maria and Liz she knew she couldn’t say that line in front of them and not live it down.

Just then the bartender brought him back his waters and Alex took them, “Well I better get back on stage. I’ll see you girls later.”

Alex thought he had managed to escape until he heard Maria yell, “Talk to you soon, A.C. ”

*****

There was a sense of deja vu as Alex changed his clothes quickly before going out to help load up the equipment. He had just placed his guitar in the trunk of his Volvo when he heard Maria yell his name across the parking lot. Turning he smiled as she and Liz came rushing over to him, both pulling him into a three way hug.

“You were wonderful ” Maria gushed into his left shoulder and Liz agreed into his right, “Fantastic ”

“I’m glad you girls got to see the show.” he pulled back to look at them both of their eyes shining with affection for their tall friend. “So what did the guys think?”

Liz chuckled, “They thought you were good but they were also a little jealous of how Maria and I kept talking about the hot singer.”

Alex felt heat rise to his face over Liz’ comment,”So they had no clue it was me?”

Maria shook her head, “No clue. Which reminds me...What’s up with you and a certain Ice Princess.....A.C.?”

He slipped his hands through his gel free hair and shrugged not able to explain what he didn’t understand himself. Alex was about to ask them their opinion, when he looked up and saw Michael, Max and Isabel heading their way, “Hey guys Hey Isabel ”

“Hey Alex ” Max smiled coming up to them and wrapping an arm around his girlfriend, “I thought we would see you earlier. Where have you been?”

“Working actually” wanting to change the subject he asked, “Did you guys enjoy your table? I made sure you had a great view of the stage.”

Michael growled , “A little distance would have been nice. Then maybe I wouldn’t have heard how hot the lead singer looked all night.”

Hearing this, Liz and Maria looked at each other before bursting out with laughter, “He was quite yummy wasn’t he Isabel?”

All eyes turned on the tall blonde who had remained quiet as her eyes scanned the parking lot. At the sound of her name she turned back to the group, “What?”

“The lead singer, A.C. was gorgeous, wasn’t her?” Maria grinned as her eyes traveled from Isabel to Alex hoping for some type of reaction.

“Hmmm” Isabel nodded as she returned to her search before turning to Alex, “Did he already leave?”

Alex sighed inwardly sighed knowing that A.C. had been the only reason she had come tonight, “He takes off right after the show.” not wanting to discuss his other persona anymore he turned back to his best friends, “I better go finish loading up our gear.”

“We are going to see if there is any place open for a late night snack. Want to join us?” Maria asked knowing that Alex was a bottomless pit when it came to food and he was always hungry.

Glancing down at his watch he shook his head, “I can’t. It’s already 1:30 and I have to go into the hospital this morning so I better not.”

Isabel stood back and watched as each girl kissed Alex on the cheek and gave him a hug. Those three had a very close relationship with each other. and she wished she had someone like that. She watched Alex walk away and head back toward a side entrance then glanced over at the two couples beside her. There was no way she was going to continue to be the fifth wheel tonight.

“Alex ”

He turned, surprised to hear his name from Isabel’s lips as well as seeing her jog toward him. For a second he absently wondered how she was able to run in those high heeled boots., “Yeah?”

“Do you mind if I catch a ride with you?” she motioned behind her to their friends, “I don’t think I could take anymore of their kissing and cooing at each other.”

He laughed with a grin and shook his head, “No I don’t mind but you will need to give me a few minutes to finish up here.” Once again he pulled his keys from his pocket and handed them to her, “It will be safer waiting in the car.”

Isabel accepted the keys, her fingers brushing his palm and for an instant she noticed how soft and warm his hand was against her finger tips. She thought about how he took care of those children at the hospital and knew that his hands would be gentle. “Thanks” she murmured confused at her thoughts and stepped away.

Alex set his hands on his hips and watched her walk away and back to their friends, a frown slightly on his lips. His body felt like he had touched a live wire at the feel of her and he was still pulsing with the energy that shot through him. After a moment he shook his head and went back inside to continue removing the instruments.

Thirty minutes later, Alex and Isabel were just hitting the outskirts of Roswell’s city limits. They had lapsed into a comfortable silence as they listened to the music coming from the radio. Noticing that they were near one of his favorite spots, Alex had the urge to show her.

“Do you need to get home right away?”

Isabel turned to him with a slight frown, “Why?”

Alex gave a shrug, “There was something I wanted to show you, but if you need to get home I won’t stop.”

She raised an eyebrow questioning what he wanted to show her. Should she be worried about him trying to take advantage of her? Looking at him her mind and heart both told her that this guy would never hurt her, “Sure.”

He couldn’t help the smile that split across his face, “Great. I won’t keep you long.”

Isabel’s heart skipped at his smile seeing how his whole face seemed to light up with pleasure that she had agreed to do something with him. There was just something about Alex Whitman that made her all warm and safe inside when she was with him.

A few minutes later Alex turned the car into the parking lot at the edge of Frazier Woods and parked the car in the empty lot, “We’re here” he turned the engine off.

She looked around, “Frazier Woods? What could you possibly want me to see here?”

Alex reached across her and opened the glove compartment to find the small flashlight he kept there, “You’ll see”

“You expect me to go tromping around the woods at 2:00 in the morning? I don’t think so.” She grumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself and sat back in her seat not planning to budge.

Alex sighed and glanced over at her. What had made him think she would enjoy seeing his special place?, “Okay, never mind.” He set the flashlight down and placed the keys back into the ignition, “It wasn’t that special anyway.”

Isabel saw the disappointment that crossed his face knowing that just a few minutes ago he had been excited. But then she had to pull her princess routine and spoil his mood. Reaching over she place her hand on top of his to stop him from starting the car, “I’m sorry. Can we go see your surprise? I promise no more complaining.” She held two fingers up in a Boy Scouts Salute.

He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, “I have the feeling you wee never a Boy Scout, Miss Evans.”

She responded with her own laugh, “My brother was. Does that count?”

Alex saw her eyes shine with the laughter they were sharing and he nodded. Taking the keys from the ignition he picked the flashlight up again, “Come on. It’s only a short walk from here.”

Isabel followed him to a dirt trail that led them into the woods. Worried that she may trip on the uneven path, Alex reached back and took her hand not at all surprised by how perfect her hand felt in his. He had always imagined that their fingers would entwine and he would look down and not know where hers started and his ended.

Soon they reached a small clearing that was occupied only by a huge rock that was nestled near the woods. He motioned for her to sit there and let go of her hand. Isabel looked at him wondering if she had misjudged him and he was crazy, “What are you going to show me?”

Alex smiled and sat down beside her before pointing up towards the sky with one finger causing her eyes to follow. She gasped out loud unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Oh my God ” she cried as she took in all the starts that were twinkling against the night sky, ‘It’s beautiful.”

He murmured an agreement although his eyes were looking at her rather than the sky. Alex had wanted to se her expression and wasn’t disappointment when she saw the vastness above her. She quickly began to point out certain constellation that she knew and also let him find a few of his own.

Finally she turned and asked him, “How did you find this place?”

Alex chuckled, “About 2 years ago my dad decided we needed to do some manly bonding rituals so he brought me to Frazier Woods for camping.” he opened his arms wide inviting her to look at him, “As you can see, me and macho manly adventures don’t exactly mix well. I happen to enjoy music and computer not sports and other things that my father does.”

He ran his hand through his hair and gave a sheepish smile, “It was late at night when I realized that if I wanted to use the restroom then I would have to find a private spot. After taking a short walk, I wound up here and when I saw the stars I just sat here until my dad came looking for me.”

Alex looked back at the stars, “Now every time I have a problem, I come out here and stare in awe up into the sky and I remember that I am just a small dot on this earth and that my problems are just as small and insignificant .”

Isabel sat listening to him explain his connection to this place and she wondered what problems he could possibly have. She had never needed a place for silent meditation, but if she did then this would be the perfect place for it.

They sat for a few minutes more before Alex looked down at his watch, “I better take you home. It’s almost 3 a.m.”

She nodded and reluctantly rose from the rock that had been surprisingly comfortable. Without thinking about it she reached out and took his hand in hers causing him to glance down at their hands for a moment before looking up at her with a smile, “Come on”

*****

Almost half an hour later he pulled up at the Evan’s house and Isabel turned to him, “Thanks for the ride and the stargazing.”

He nodded with a slight smile, “Anytime.”

Isabel returned his smile and then leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek in a chaste kiss, “Goodnight Alex. See you in class Monday.”

Alex was frozen in place at the feel of her lips against his skin but finally he said, “Goodnight Isabel.”

As he watched her make her way up the walk and steps, Alex couldn’t help but smile. He raised his hand and let his fingers brush against the spot that still tingled from her kiss. With a shake of his head and a loud sigh he cranked up his car and went home where he knew he would be dreaming of the beautiful Isabel Evans.

TBC...

(The line about them holding hands and Alex not knowing where his ended and hers began came from the movie Sleepless in Seattle. I figured if Tom can say it then so can Alex )

Kara

A/N: This part is for you Trude


Part 5

“So what’s going on with you and Isabel?” Maria asked on Sunday afternoon over lunch of pizza at the Flying Pepperoni.

Alex shrugged as he swallowed the bite of pizza he had just taken, “Nothing. We are just assigned partners on this astronomy project.”
Liz raised one eyebrow in question, “Didn’t look that way to me Friday night. It looked like she was flirting with A.C.”

He gave an exasperated sigh. Alex had known that the girls had invited him to lunch to get the details out of him but they were going to be sadly mistaken. He was as clueless as they were, “That was A.C. not me.”

Maria frowned at his comment, “You are A.C., Alex”

Alex shook his head, “A.C. is the guy who wears leather pants and sunglasses and that’s not who I really am.”

He set his slice of pizza back on the plate and leaned back in the booth looking at both girls, “Isabel doesn’t want the real me and if she ever did find out who it was behind those glasses she would be very disappointed.”

Liz reached over and placed her hand on top of Alex’s hand. She always hated when he put himself down, but at this he had a point, “I’m sorry, Alex”

Seeing the sadness in Liz and Maria’s eyes for him, he gave them his most charming grin, “It’s okay, girls. I know the truth and maybe one day I will wake up and realize that I am no longer in love with Isabel Evans. Then maybe I will find someone who will love the real Alex Whitman.”

The two girls looked at each other as he went back to eating but a little slower than he had before their conversation. They just wanted Alex to be happy as they were in their relationships with Max and Michael. There had to be a way for them to help him get over the Ice Queen.

******

Monday evening, Alex walked into the hospital room of one of his favorite patients, Ben Roland a 8 year old with cancer. He had been in and out of the hospital for a couple of years now and Alex had come to care for the little guy who always had a smile for him.

“Hey Buster ” Alex said as he noticed that he was awake. The first thing he noticed was that Ben was back on oxygen and that the little boy was looking tired as he laid there. He made a promise to himself to speak with his nurse before he left the hospital that night to find out what was going on with him.

“Hey Alex ” he smiled up at the tall boy as Alex sat down in the chair by the bed, “Did you bring me anything today?”

Alex chuckled at the eagerness in the little guys voice and eyes. Although he had it approved by Ben’s doctor and parents, Alex would pretend to sneak presents into the room for Ben. The sick boy thought it was the greatest thing that he was able to keep something between the two of them.

Slipping his hand into his coat he pulled out a deck of Yugi-oh cards, “I tried to get the ones you didn’t already have.”

For the next half hour they talked about the cards that he had helped the boy collect over the last 6 months. Noticing that the boy was getting even more tired the longer they talked, Alex grew worried that the cancer was taking over the small little body.

“How was your show?” Buster asked finally putting the cards away in his hiding space under his pillow.

“It was great. They invited us back for the rest of the month.”

Ben nodded his head slowly but his eyes shined with pride over the teenager that he thought of as an older brother, “How about school?”

Alex smiled knowing that the boy wanted to know all he could about life outside of the hospital walls, “I have been working on this astronomy project.”He then began to go into detail of what he and Isabel were working on as the boy listened with rapt attention.

*****

Alex couldn’t believe that they had finally given their Astronomy presentation and that his partnership with Isabel Evans was over. A smile spread across his face as he looked over at her and saw the exact same smile on her lips. They had aced the assignment and both felt a little giddy with happiness.

They had spent most of the week getting together when they could to work on the project. Many times they would be found in the library at lunch with their heads bowed over a pile of books and whispering to each other and at other times they met after school at the Crashdown in the back booth. Their conversations were not always about the report. Once Isabel found out about Alex’s volunteer nature she opened up to him about her own to find out that they had many things in common.

At the end of class when all the other students were filing out the door Alex stopped Isabel, “I just wanted to thank you for being a great partner. I had imagined myself taking up all the slack and it was nice to see how wrong I was.”

Isabel chuckled “I kind of thought the same about you.”

Alex grabbed a book that was sitting on his desk and held it out to her. She looked a little confused as she accepted it, “What’s this?”

He blushed slightly and gave a shrug, “Just a thank you.”

Looking down at the book she smiled when she saw that it was on Astronomy, “This is great, Alex.”

“It was something that I saw at the museum and thought you would enjoy it.” He stood from his seat and grabbed his book bag.

Alex remembered how he had gone purposefully into the center to look for a book in hopes of giving something to Isabel to remember their time together. He knew that come Monday she would be back at her own desk and they would no longer have any reason to talk. Though there had been times when he thought maybe they could be friends but then one of her popular friends would say or do something to make him realize that it was impossible.

Alex stepped away from his desk and was about to step into the crowded hallway when Isabel stopped him, “Alex, tomorrow is my birthday and my parents are throwing me a party. I know Maria and Liz are coming. Will you come also?”

He was taken aback by her offer unable to believe that she had invited him. He had figured that she would have wanted to go back to the status quo before the assignment. Maybe they could be friends?

“Alex?” he raised an eyebrow waiting for his answer, “It’s at 7:00 tomorrow at my house. I hope you can make it.”

Alex watched as she left the room unable to say anything but then finally he broke out in a grin. The girl of his dreams had just invited him to her party and he couldn’t do anything but stand there with a goofy look on his face. He hoped that Liz and Maria would not be working in the morning because he would need them to help him shop for the perfect present.

*****

He saw her the minute she entered the club. The band was halfway through a set and about to take their break when he spotted her in the crowd. Alex couldn’t help the smile that lit his face as she waved at him still on a high from her earlier invitation to her birthday party.

Isabel motioned to the bar and as if in a trance Alex nodded his head and watched her slide on to a stool. He was amazed that she was here. This was the third show in a row that she had shown up for and he wondered who she was with tonight. It could not be Liz and Maria who had to work tonight in order to get Saturday night off for Isabel’s party.

As the song ended he made the announcement that they would be taking a short break and heard the DJ start up some music. Alex made his way down the steps and through the crowd until her reached her, “Hi.”

Isabel had watched his approach and gave him her most alluring smile, “Hi. You guys sound great again tonight.”

He slipped on to the empty stool beside her still surprised that it had been vacant. There was no doubt in his mind that Miss Evans had men lining up at the door for her, “Are you here with someone tonight?”

She wondered for a moment if her would be jealous if she told him she was with some other guy. It had never taken her this long to get a guy to asked her out before, “No. I just wanted to stop by and invite you to my party tomorrow night. I’ll be turning 18.”

Alex was glad that the dark glasses were on so that she couldn’t see his eyes. She would have seen the surprise that she had asked both him and his alter ego to her party, “Tomorrow?”

Isabel nodded, “If you need direction I invited Alex so you can get them from him.”

“Alex?” he asked as he drummed his fingers on the bar nervously. There was no way both A.C. and Alex could be there at the same time, “I’m not sure.”

“Please?” she simply requested taking his hand in hers, “I want you to be there.”

At that moment Alex knew that he would have to tell Isabel who he was. She deserved to know the truth even if everyone found out, “Uh...Isabel?”

Isabel was distracted by the feel of his hand in hers. His finger tips were a little rough from the guitar strings but at the same time she felt a gentleness there, “Yeah?”

Alex opened his mouth to tell her but was stopped by Dave coming up to them, “Dude, come on. We got to get back on stage.”

Nodding, Alex rose from his seat to follow his band mate back. He stopped at the sound of her voice, “Will you try to be there?”

Looking into her eyes he saw the hopefulness there, “I’ll try.”


TBC...

A/N Just a short part. Thanks to Killjoy and Trude who actually seem to like my story


Part 6


Alex was nervous as he checked his hair one more time in the rearview mirror before finally getting out of his car. He was still amazed that Isabel had invited him to her birthday party. The word around school was that it would be the party of the year.

He started up the street from where he had to park his car noticing all the cars that lined up along the side of the road and in the drive way of the Evans. Once he got up the steps Alex took a nervous breath, pulled the small present from his pocket and rang the door bell.

Inside he could hear the music playing loudly as he waited for someone to open the door. When it did open he was disappointed to see Stacey Richards standing there a sneer on her face at the sight of him standing there.

“What do you want, Alice?”

Alex wanted to groan aloud at the nickname she had always called him but he was determined not to let her get to him, “I’m here for Isabel’s party.”

Stacey let out a boisterous laugh and then called over her shoulder to one of the jocks that stood nearby, “Hey Brad Alice thinks he is here for Isabel’s party.”

The jock lumbered over and blocked the door way with his massive body, “I don’t think so, Whitman.”

Alex sighed wishing he didn’t have to deal with this today, “Isabel invited me.”

Stacey brushed Brad aside so she could talk, “Listen, Alice. I’m sure that Isabel was only being polite since you helped her ace the Astronomy project. Now that it’s over you can leave her alone. This party is not for geeks, so why don’t you go back home and play on your computer. Maybe you can find you an on-line girlfriend who will at least pretend to like you.”

Brad and Stacey both laughed at her joke and Alex gave another mental sigh knowing that he shouldn’t have even tried to cross over and make friends with the popular crowd. They would always treat him like the dirt on the bottom of their fancy and expensive shoes.

“Could you at least make sure she gets this present?” He held up the small present that had taken him almost half an hour to wrap in the red paper and bow.

Stacey rolled her eyes but took the present thinking that any present, even from the geek Alice, was a good thing. She would just have to advise Isabel to exchange it for something else once she had opened it.

“Bye Alice ” She said before slamming the door shut in his face and returning to the party after tossing the present on top of the others that sat on the coffee table for the Birthday girl to open later on.

Alex turned and walked down the porch steps dejectedly as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of the new pair of khakis that Maria and Isabel had talked him into buying. As he reached his car door the sound of running footsteps caused him to spin around and see Liz and Maria barreling down the side walk toward him.

“Alex Where are you going? ”

“We saw you leaving from the living room window.” Maria said as they stopped in front of him both trying to catch their breath from the short sprint.

He tried to smile at his two favorite girls but failed, ‘Every things fine. I just don’t feel like going to a party.”

Maria frowned knowing that something happened since just that morning Alex had been bouncing off the walls in excitement, “What’s going on Alex?”

Alex sighed and told his friends what had transpired at the door between Stacey and himself. Both girls were furious and ready to go back into the party and defend their best friend but Alex stopped them with his next words.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Let’s not ruin Isabel’s birthday over something so small,” he touched each girls cheek tenderly, ‘I just have to learn that Isabel and I are different and never the twain shall meet.”

“How about if Maria and I come with you and we can go out like the old days?” Liz asked worried over her male friend.

“No.” he shook his head, “Go back and have fun. Don’t tell anyone what happened, especially not Isabel.” Alex opened his car door, “I’m going to the hospital to spend some time with Buster. I’ll see you soon.”

Both girls watched as he left them standing in the street. Liz turned to Maria and wrapped her arms around the blonde, “How can anyone be so cruel to such a wonderful guy?”

TBC...

A/N Another small part but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Trude (my loyal fan) and to Gamma Rho Girl for stopping in to leave me such great FB. It always brings a smile to my face when readers get into my stories.


Part 7

Alex did not go directly to the hospital but instead he stopped off at the Crashdown for a soda. He knew that he shouldn’t go see Buster in the frame of mind he was in since it would only bring the little boys mood down with him.

“Hey Alex!” Mr. Parker called out from behind the counter as he walked in. With both of his best waitress’ off at the same time, Jeff had to roll up his sleeves and help out in the diner.

“Hey Mr. P!” Alex attempted to smile as he sat down at one of the stools at the counter, “Can I get an Orange soda?”

“Sure.” The older man frowned at the him aware of his despondent mood. After placing the drink down in front of Alex, he leaned against the counter, “Must be a girl.”

“Excuse me?” Alex looked up still lost in his thoughts.

“Must be a girl that brings you here for a lonely drink.” Jeff Parker smiled knowingly, “Want to talk about it?”

Alex looked away and shook his head, “There is nothing really to talk about, Mr. Parker. It’s one of the oldest stories. Boy loves girl while girl doesn’t even know boy exist.”

“Ahhh.” Mr. Parker nodded, “Well if that’s the case then maybe you are better off without her.”

Alex gave another attempt at a smile before returning to his drink and the disappointment he felt at always being on the outside looking in when it came to Isabel.

Mr. Parker wandered off to clear the tables and to give the boy some room. He had known Alex for a long time and knew that he was a great kid. And he wanted nothing but the best for him and his daughter’s other friend, Maria.

Twenty minutes later, Mr. Parker was back behind the counter searching for a supply of straws when his hand landed on a flat and hard object, “I can’t believe I forgot!”

Alex looked up from his brooding, “What is it, Mr. P?”

Jeff pulled out the object and showed it to Alex, “Isabel Evans left this here in her booth yesterday after school and I meant to give it to Liz to give back to her today.”

Alex frowned as he recognized the book that was in the older man’s hand. It was the Astronomy book he had given to Isabel yesterday after class. He had hoped she had liked the book but now it seemed that she had carelessly left it behind at the Crashdown.

With a sigh he held out his hand, “I have class with her. I will make sure she gets it.”

“Thanks Alex” Jeff smiled and handed the book over, “I better go make sure Jose is manning the grill and not on another break.”

Alex nodded as his fingers caressed the book that he had painstakingly picked out a few days prior. With another audible sigh he stood from his stool and headed for the door. He only stopped at the garbage can to deposit the unwanted item before exiting the café with his head held high and another affirmation that it was time that he got over the tall blonde.

*****

Isabel shut the door behind her last departing guest and looked at the time. 2:00 A.M. She sighed and shook her head in frustration and confusion.

“He didn’t come.” she thought to herself as she glanced at her reflection in the hallway mirror. Earlier that afternoon when she was getting ready for her party he mind had been only on one person who she wanted to impress. A.C. would have loved the short skirt and sweater that showed off more cleavage than her mother would have liked.

Isabel had been so sure that he would come and she would finally get that date she so desperately wanted from him. He was all of her fantasies wrapped up into one tall, dark haired mysterious man. AS the evening had progressed with no sight of him her mood had worsened until she got a migraine and just prayed for the night to be over. Unfortunately for her, Stacey and Vicky had other plans and the party continued into the wee hours of the morning.

Walking through the downstairs she picked up a few cups and plates that were scattered around the living room and took them into the kitchen. She didn’t want her parents to come down stairs in the morning and find the mess that would no doubt be waiting for them.

After straightening the kitchen, somewhat she cut off the lights and headed back into the living room where she spotted the pile of presents that she had unwrapped during her party. She had sat there in the center of attention as Stacey had handed her one present after another to open.

Isabel walked over to them thinking she would go ahead and take a few up to her room then and get the rest in the morning. Trying to pick through what she had she was surprised to see an unwrapped gift pushed to the back of all the others.

With a frown she picked it up and not finding a card she wondered aloud, “Hmmmmm...Wonder who this one is from?”

Slipping the bow off she began to remove the paper from around the present. By the black velvet square box Isabel could definitely tell that it was a jewelry box and her excitement level increased as she opened it to reveal a beautiful small ruby heart pendant hanging from a silver necklace.

“It’s beautiful.” She whispered in awe as she quickly put it around her neck and went to admire herself in the hallway mirror, “Perfect.”

Isabel ran her fingers along the heart and tried to figure out who the giver of such a beautiful gift could be. As a yawn over took her she decided she would start asking around tomorrow to see who she should thank for the necklace. For now she needed to get to bed she had a feeling her parents would enlist her and Max to finish cleaning the house from the party.

TBC...

A/N: Thanks to Ghamma Rho Girl, killjoy, truelovepooh and Trude Thanks for reading and keping me going on this story. I know it seems that I am shinning a bad light on Isabel but everything will be clear soon. (Not too soon) Plus I agree that I probably would have made a fuss and gotten into the party but this is Alex who in this story doesn't have that much self esteem (hence the AC persona when he goes on stage) He still believes that he doesn't belong with Isabel because they are 2 world's apart while Isabel (the Popular girl) can't see anything that's right in front of her.

The next part will be more of the same but I promise that it is about to change and one of them will start to see the light

Part 8

Monday at school, Alex found himself sitting back with his old partner as he tried to focus on the teacher and his lesson. His mind, though, kept drifting back to the weekend wondering how it could have started so great only to end so badly.

After leaving The crasdown, his heart still hurting, he had headed to the hospital to see Buster only to find out that his condition had worsened. So for the rest of the weekend he had spent it in the hospital with the little boy and his parents. He hadn’t allowed himself to cry but to be strong for the older couple who was so close to losing their child to this dreadful disease.

Alex decided to focus his thoughts on Buster and not on the blonde who was now sitting back in her old seat. When he had walked into the class late he had over heard her talking and laughing with her friends over her party Saturday night. There was no point in continuing to agonize over the disappointment and rejection he had been forced to feel by her friends.

But trying to put it out of his mind became hard when for the rest of the day he had been harassed by those so-called friends of Isabel’s. Brad, the jock, had cornered him in the hallway and demanded that he stay away from Isabel and if he caught him even looking in her direction Brad would give him a pummeling. Then to prove his point, the jock pushed Alex forcefully into the rows of metal lockers and walked away with a laugh just as the bell ended lunch.

Then to top the whole day off, as Alex was hurrying to his car hoping to end the miserable day, he heard a commotion coming from the parking lot. Looking up he saw Brad and a few of his football cohorts standing near the side of the building laughing and pointing at him and then at the direction of the parking lot. Alex gazed over the rows of cars until his eyes landed on his car.

Alex gasped at what was done to his car. Graffiti had been sprayed in multiple colors all over the hood, roof, trunk and doors. Words such as ‘GEEK,’ ‘NERD,’ ‘WHITLESS’ and even the hated nickname ‘ALICE’ stood out on the automobile.

Alex shook his head and with a deep sigh he continued to walk to his car and unlock the door. Just as he went to get in his eyes landed on Isabel as she stood with the jocks and her entourage as they continued to laugh and shout names at him. He knew she would never stop them from their attack because of her reputation that she had to protect.

So with a sad smile in her direction, Alex got in his car and left the parking lot and the laughing teens behind. He would get over the prank that was pulled on him, but he didn’t think he would ever get over the fact that she had stood there and said nothing.

*****

As Isabel sat down to dinner with her parents and Max she couldn’t help but think about Monday. She was disgusted with herself and her friends. She still couldn’t believe what they had done to Alex only a few days ago.

Her heart had gone out to the tall boy when he had looked in her direction with the hurt reflecting in his eyes. She had wanted to go to him but being the ‘Ice Princess’ that she was Isabel had held herself back. She had not seen him since and wondered if he had been off licking his wounds.

“How is Liz?” Her mother asked Max as the began to eat.

Max frowned, “I haven’t seen her too much this week. She and Maria have been with Alex.” He shook his head, “ He has had a pretty bad week. First his car was vandalized at school and then his friend at the hospital passed away.”

Hearing this Isabel sat up quickly in her seat, “What?”

He nodded at his sister, “Alex volunteers at the hospital most evenings and according to Liz he had formed a special bond with him. When he went over to visit him Monday night he was told that the boy had died right before Alex had arrived.”

Mrs. Evans brushed a tear from her cheek at the thought of such a little boy dying, “ I hope Alex is alright. Seems life has been throwing him some curve balls lately.”

Isabel felt her own tears form in her eyes as she realized that Alex was hurting. She recalled the times when he described his work at the hospital and he was always smiling at the joy it seemed to bring him. But now he was going through a hard time and Isabel knew she had made it twice as hard when she did not stop those jocks from spraying his car or even laughing at him.

‘What kind of person are you Isabel?’ She thought with a sigh wondering if her popularity really was worth hurting someone as special as Alex Whitman.

*****

“I’m sorry to hear about your friend.”

Alex turned to see Isabel standing behind him as he sat under a tree outside in the quad. He had sought out this nice quiet spot in order to get some of his make up work done for the classes he had missed. The last person he had expect to see was the tall blonde, “Uh...Thanks”

Isabel looked down into his eyes and her heart went out to him as she saw the dark smudges that were a sign of too little sleep.”How have you been?”

He shrugged brushing off her concern in that gesture, “I’m fine. I see we got an A on our presentation.”

Isabel couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face at their accomplishments, “The highest in the class.”

Alex nodded, “I’m glad.”

She frowned at his lack of enthusiasm, “Are you sure you are okay, Alex?”

He opened his mouth to reply but the bell cut him off instead he said, “You better get to class.”

Isabel wrapped her arms around her waist as she watched him gather his books together. She could tell that something was definitely wrong with him but decided to put it down to the bad week he was having, “Okay. I’ll see you later then.”

Slowly she walked away from Alex but found herself glancing back at him. Isabel caught hin watching her as she strolled across the lawn and for a moment she thought about turning around and going back to him. But just as the thought crossed her mind he turned and headed the other eay swinging his book bag onto his shoulder. With a sigh she turned back and headed to her afternoon class.

TBC...

A/N Thanks to Trude, adj, brighteyes and Phyco352 for your FB. I agree with you that Alex has suffered more than anyone would be able to stand. But I always thought that he is the kind of person who just didn't have self confidence in himself (especially with Isabel).

Part 9

Isabel pulled Max’s jeep into the parking lot of the club and checked herself out in the mirror. She swore to herself that this was the last time she would come and make a fool of herself in hopes of getting a date from A.C. If he continued to show no interest in her then she would give up.

The band was already playing as she pulled open the door and she got the feeling that something was going to happen tonight. That thought brought a smile to her lips as anticipation raced through her veins. She felt like a predator looking for it’s prey as she searched out the tall figure on stage.

He really looked great up on stage as he worked the audience into a frenzy. Tonight he wore jeans and a simple white t-shirt that seemed to conform to his strong chest. She sighed as the thought that even with those glasses that he constantly wore, Isabel knew that he was gorgeous and she definitely wanted him for herself.

Soon she was sitting on her bar stool and nursing a coke as she waited for the band to take a break. During that time she had college guys coming over to her to see if she wanted a drink but Isabel had eyes only for one guy.

Alex finally called for th break and removed his guitar from his shoulder. It had been a really long week and all he really wanted was to go home and crawl into bed but he did not want to disappoint his band mates.

“Hey Alex. Look whose here.” Dave pointed across the room with his drum stick, “Your princess has come to see you again. Isn’t it like the fourth time in a row?”

Alex looked out in the audience, his eyes automatically landing on Isabel as she starred back at him. He knew she was waiting for A.C. to make his usual appearance but he didn’t think he could take being near her.

“Dave why don’t you go get the water this time?” He asked with a plea in his voice.

The drummer shook his head, “No way man. I wouldn’t want to see what happens if I showed up and not you.” He gave the boy a push toward the steps, “Go on and get it over with. You’ll be fine.”

Alex took a deep breath and then sighed, “Okay.”

As he stepped down the stairs he heard Dave call out to him, “Go get her, tiger!’

He shook his head at his friend and then slowly made his way through the crowd a little surprised at the amount of people who had showed up to see them perform tonight. It seemed word had gotten out around town about their band and most had come to see who they were.

“Hi” Isabel put on her best smile as he sat in the stool that she had saved for him.

“Hello” he returned as he waved his hand to the bartender for his waters, “You really must like our music. This is the fourth time you’ve come.”

Isabel reached over and touched his hand that was resting on the table, “It’s not just the music that I come for.”

Even though Alex did not have much experience with girls he did know that at the moment Isabel Evans was flirting with him. Or more to the point, she was flirting with A.C. With that thought he slowly slipped his hand from underneath hers. She really didn’t know the real him and probably wouldn’t want him if she did know.

Isabel was a little put out when he didn’t seem to respond to her advance but she decided to continue her pursuit, ‘You missed a great party Saturday. It would have been a whole lot better if you had come.”

She then watched as a frown appeared on his lips and for the first time since she met him. Isabel cursed the glasses that prohibited her to see his emotions. There had been many times that she had fantasized how she would remove those glasses with kisses and caresses but right then she felt like ripping them from his face.

‘I’m sure you didn’t miss me.” he finally said, “you probably didn’t notice that one person you invited wasn’t there.”

“I did notice.”

A.C. shook his head at that and gave her a wry smile, “I seriously doubt it.”

“What do you mean?” Isabel asked getting a little angry now. Did he think she was self centered?, “I have been coming here for weeks hoping to get you to ask me out. It’s you that hasn’t noticed me.”

He looked at her silently for a moment and once again she cursed those glasses, “I’ve noticed you Isabel.”

“Then what is it?” She asked exasperated over the whole thing, “Why haven’t you asked me out?”

Again he was silent for a second before he shook his head, “Because you will never know the real me. You would never want to be with the guy behind these glasses.”

Isabel frowned wondering what he meant by that. Was he deformed? Was something wrong that he had to wear those glasses. She was about to reply to that comment when he slipped off the stool and stood behind it.

“I better go”

She could do nothing but watch him go still confused over the conversation that they had just had. She kept replaying it over in her head as he picked up his guitar on stage and a few minutes later the music began again. Isabel was frustrated that he seemed to have forgotten all about her the minute he got back up there.

“Can I buy you a drink?” a blonde college guy asked as he sat down in the seat that was recently vacated.

Isabel looked over at him and then back to the stage where A.C. began to sing, “Sure. How about a rum and coke?”

The college guy gave a smile believing he had scored with the beautiful blonde. Isabel knew different though. She would use him and then throw him away like she had done to so many other before A.C. was ever a blip on her radar.

*****

“Dude, I think your friend is drunk.” Dave pointed out as they finished packing up their gear at the end of the night.

His comment had been unnecessary since Alex had been watching her for most of the evening. He had seen her sit down at the table full of men soon after their conversation at the bar. Soon the College guys were ordering her drinks and slowly getting her drunk.

Alex knew he had to go over there and stop them before she got hurt, “Dave, I’m going to take her home so I won’t need that ride.”

“You’re car will be out of the body shop tomorrow, right?” he nodded to the drummer, “I’ll bring your guitar over in the morning then.”

“Thanks” Alex said as he jumped down from the stage glad he had changed back into his street clothes. With a wave goodbye to his band he made his way over to the blonde who sat with her back to him.

“Isabel?”

She turned and looked up at him with a drunken smile, “Hi Alice! Want a drink?”

He frowned at her use of his hated nickname but he decided to shrug it off and put it down to her inebriated state, “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

“I’ll make sure she gets home” the guy beside her said as he placed a hand over hers, “I don’t think the lady is ready to leave.”

Alex looked over at him and was even more convinced that getting her out of here was the best thing, “I think she is.” he grabbed her jacket from the back of here seat, “C’mon, Isabel”

“Your taking me home?” she stood and let him help her with the jacket. He nodded and she turned to the other guys at the table with a grin, “Alice is taking me home.”

They all snickered at her continued use of the female name for him as Alex escorted her outside, “Where’s your car?”

She giggled and pointed to the parking lot, “I took Max’s jeep.”

“Give me the keys.” he demanded as he held out his hand watching her dig into her small purse and pull out the set.

They made their way to the jeep and he helped her into the passenger side then fastened her in with the seatbelt. It had been a difficult task since Isabel kept stumbling and laughing during the entire Five minute process.

“Okay” he sighed as he got into the driver’s side and cranked up the jeep. As he put it into gear, Isabel reached over and cranked up the radio so that it was blaring in the night.

After being on stage all night the volume of the music didn’t bother him too much. But the song that she landed on made him cringe and then laugh when she started singing along.

“I’m a slave for you. I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.
I’m a slave for you. I won’t deny it; I’m not trying to hide it.”

It was something he never thought he would ever see. Here was the Ice Queen of Roswell High and she was singing and doing the hand motions that the dancers in the video had done. He would have laughed if he hadn’t thought she would remember in the morning and blast him for it.

After a couple of miles of this, Alex reached his limit and turned down the radio, “Are you okay, Isabel?”

She grinned and turned to him, “I’m perfect.”

Then without warning she unfastened her seat belt and stood up in the moving jeep holding on to the wind shield. Taking a deep breath she screamed, “I am Isabel Evans and I am beautiful, smart and can get any guy I want!”

“Sit down, Isabel!” Alex yelled as he tugged her arm and slowed the jeep down. Finally she got back in her seat and he sighed heavily in relief.

Isabel turned to him and leaned closer to him with a grin. Her lips were close to his ear when she asked, “I can have any guy right?”

Alex felt a shiver go through his body at the feel of her breath against his skin, “Yeah I guess you can.”

Isabel frowned as he pulled up into the Evan’s driveway, “I could even have you if I wanted. You would go out with me, wouldn’t you?”

He looked over at her and knew he could never resist if she showed him any sign that she was interested in him, “Yeah. I probably would.”

He got out of the jeep and headed to her side to help her get out. She leaned heavily on him as she staggered up the walk.

“Too bad that you are a geek, Alice. I don’t date Geeks.” she said loudly just as the front door opened to reveal Max standing there in his pajamas obviously awaken by their arrival, “Hi Max! You remember Alice the Geek?”

Although he continued to help her up the steps all Alex wanted to do was place her int the arms of her brother and get out of there. He hadn’t realized how badly it could hurt when she had called him those names and basically reject him.

Max took his sister from him, “Thanks for bringing her home. Our parents are out of town tonight or else she would be getting a earful from them.”

“Thanks Alice.” Isabel laughed as she put her head against her brother shoulder. All of a sudden the energy she had just disappeared leaving her exhausted.

Alex looked at the brother and sister then with a nod he handed the keys to Max, “Goodnight.”

He turned around, stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and start the short walk home. Alex just wanted to put tonight and the past week out of his mind and get on with his life .

Max watched as the young man walked away from dejectedly from their home before pulling his sister into the house and up the stairs to her room. The minute her head hit the pillow she was out like a light. Looking down on his snoring twin he decided that he would have to have a talk with her first thing in the morning.

TBC...

BTW Here is my disclaimer on the lyrics used in this story. "I'm a Slave for you" is sung by Brittany Spears and I don't own it (or want it!) Blame or Thank Trude for that suggestion

Kara

A/N: I want to thank all of those who have been giving me encouragement by leaving such wonderful feedback.

Trude- You really are the best when it comes to encouragement

KarenEvans- Thanks so much for taking a chance and reading my fics. (Good luck on your Exams!)

Killjoy- Even though you are a lamptrimmer I think your okay in my book You give A/I a chance and I, for one, am greatfull

Also I want to give thanks to the following for their great FB and support to me: LovinGuerin2Much, Grace52373, GammaRhoGirl,truelovepooh (thanks for stopping off in my AU world), adj, brighteyes, phyco352 and ayznshorti.

If I left anyone out the I truly apologize.

Part 10- Conclusion

Isabel let a groan slip from between her dry lips as she slowly awoke to the hammering in her head. It took her a minute before she recalled why she was in such pain this morning.

“Good morning, Lush” Max peeked into her room and noticed she was awake.

“Go away” she mumbled and pulled her pillow over her head, “Can’t you see I’m dying here?”

“I brought you something for the headache.” He sat down on the edge of her bed, “I have to leave for work but I wanted to make sure you were okay and to find out what happened last night to put you into this state.”

Isabel pulled the pillow from her face and slowly sat up to take the pills and glass of water from him, ‘I really don’t remember what happened last night.” she frowned slightly, “Did I drive home drunk?”

Max frowned at his sister, ‘You don’t remember Alex driving you home?”

Isabel shook her head and tried to remember but only got a fuzzy feeling of knowing that she had been safe with whoever had driven her home. She wasn’t surprised that it had been Alex Whitman, “I’ll have to thank him the next time I see him.”

Max chuckled, “I don’t think that is such a good idea, Iz. I think it would be best if you avoided him for a little while.”

She frowned again as she sat the water glass on her bedside table, “Why do you say that?”

“You said some thing to him last night that bordered on cruel intentions and it just may take him a while to get over it.”

Isabel couldn’t imagine what she could have said to Alex. Over the last few weeks he had become someone that she could talk to and she would hate to think she had done something to him, “What did I say, Max?”

Max scratched his head, “Well I only know what you were saying as he helped you to the front door. You said that he was a geek and that you would never go out with him because he was one.” he shook his head and looked at her disappointedly, “You kept calling him ‘Alice’ as well”

“Oh my God.” she murmured as she shut her eyes and let her memory clear. Now she remembered and could see the look in Alex’s eyes as she had said those awful things to him.

“Yep.” Max confirmed, “I can’t believe how cruel you were to him. I know your friends call him names and embarrass him constantly at school, but I never thought you would sink that low as well.”

Isabel couldn’t believe what she had done to Alex. He had been nothing but nice to her even when she hadn’t deserved it. She thought back to Monday when he had walked out to his car and seen it destroyed by her friends. She had stood by and said nothing because of her stupid reputation and Alex being the nice kind hearted person he was had walked away without calling the police or reporting them to the school officials.

Quickly she got out of bed, ignoring the pounding in her head, and pulled out clothes from her closet and started for her shower, “I need to go apologize to him.”

Max watched seeing the determination in his twins face, “That’s probably a good idea.” he stood from his spot on her bed and headed for her door, “Mom left you the keys for her car since I will have the jeep today. I think I have Alex’s address and phone number in my room. I’ll look for it and leave I on your bed before I leave.”

“Thanks Max.” Isabel smiled at him as she stepped into the bathroom. Her thoughts automatically returned to Alex and she wondered just what she would say to get him to forgive her for her stupidity.

*****

Isabel pulled up to the Whitman’s with her speech all prepared on how sorry she was for the way she acted the night before. She took in a deep breath and rang the door bell feeling like she was waiting for the hang man to tie the noose around her neck.

When the door finally opened it wasn’t the tall boy that she hoped for but a middle age woman that could be no one other than his mother. “May I help you?”

Isabel returned her smile turning on the Evan’s charm that she had perfected, “Hi Mrs. Whitman. I’m Isabel Evans and I was wondering if I could speak with Alex?”

Mrs. Whitman broke into a smile when the tall blonde introduced herself, “Isabel? You are Isabel Evans?”

She nodded, “Yes ma’am”

“It’s nice to finally meet you and put a face with a name. Alex talks about you all the time.” his mother looked her over, “He wasn’t lying when he said you were beautiful.”

Isabel blushed slightly at the same time as her heart soared at the compliment, “Thanks...uh...Is Alex home? I need to speak with him about something.”

Mr. Whitman shook her short dark hair, “Alex went to the hospital early this morning and he didn’t say when he would be back.”

She sighed in disappointment that she had missed him, “Okay. Thanks Mrs. Whitman.”

Isabel turned to leave but was stopped by the older woman,”Is that the necklace that Alex gave you for your birthday?” she pointed to the pendant around the younger girls neck, “I still can’t believe he dragged the girls from store to store looking for the perfect gift for you.”

She reached up and wrapped her fingers around the necklace feeling a little confused. Isabel had asked every one that she had thought had bought her the gift but none had confessed. Now she found out that the boy she had been hurtful too had bought her the beautiful gift.

‘I have never seen Alex so excited about going to a birthday party as he was for yours. He told me that everyone had a great time. Did you have a nice birthday?”

Isabel was a unable to say anything as she continued to go over in her mind the fact that Alex had bought her a present and had obviously been at her party. She frowned slightly as she tried to remember if she had seen him but was almost positive that she had not.

“I’m so glad he had a nice time since the last week has been so hard for him. First the vandalizing of his car and then little Buster dying.” Mrs. Whitman got teary eyes at the thought of her son hurting so much, “He has been hurt so much lately that I don’t know how much more he can take.”

Isabel felt slightly ill knowing that she had added to the hurt, ‘I better go.”

“Would you like for me to tell Alex you stopped by?”

“No. I will get with him later. Bye, Mrs. Whitman.” Isabel turned and headed back to her mom’s car with a slight frown on her face. She was confused and needed some answers to her questions.

It didn’t take Isabel long to find herself at the Crashdown. She had decided to talk to Alex’s best friends and there was only one place to find them both.

As she entered the café she noticed both Maria and Liz standing behind the counter talking. The breakfast crowd was over and it was yet lunchtime so it was almost empty when the bell chimed over the door.

Both girls looked up at her and although Liz his hers well Maria was frowning at the tall blonde as she came up to sit at the counter.

“It’s okay, Maria. I’ll take care of her.” Liz turned her away and gave her a small shove, “ Go see if those customers need anything else.”

Maria looked like she wanted to say something but stopped when she noticed Liz face, that brooked no arguments, and moved away to do as she was asked.

Liz walked up to Isabel who sat slumped in the stool with her head resting in her hands, ‘What can I get for you, Isabel?”

Isabel looked up at the petite brunette, ‘How about some information.”

Liz frowned, “Information on what?”

The tall blonde sighed, “Alex Whitman.”

“What about Alex?” Liz asked defensively. She had spoken to Max earlier that morning and he had informed her about the night before. Maria and she had been furious over the treatment of their friend and when the object of their anger walked in it had taken all of Liz’s strength to control her temper.

“Was he at my birthday party?”

Liz took a step back a little surprised at the question, “What do you mean?”

Isabel reached up and touched the necklace around her neck again, “Was Alex at my party? I know I invited him but I don’t remember seeing him.”

Liz was torn. She didn’t want to break her promise to Alex that she had given that day but it didn’t seem that Maria had the same problem as she overheard the question.
“Alex was there all of 5 minutes when your friends basically kicked him out by telling him that Geeks weren’t allowed at your party.”

Isabel shut her eyes and inwardly groaned, “Who was it?”

Liz chose that moment to speak up since the damage had already been done, “It was Stacey and some jock. They told Alex to leave and, not wanting to make a scene on your birthday, he left.”

“We tried to leave with him but he told us to stay. He went and spent the rest of the evening at the hospital with Buster.”

Isabel couldn’t believe that her so-called friends had done that to him after she had invited him, “Why didn’t he say anything?”

“Because that’s who Alex Whitman is. He is kind hearted and thinks the best of people even after he is proven wrong time and time again.” Maria had started and now couldn’t stop from her tangent. She was going to let the blonde know the pain and heart break she had caused her friend, “Alex has known rejection ever since the first day he saw you in third grade and you walked right passed him without a glance.”

She shook her head at the memory, “I still remember hearing him, at 8 years old, talk about how you were the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He has watched you over the years from afar and you jave become even more unattainable to him.”

“Maria!” Liz tried to stop her friend.

“No Liz. All these years he has defended her against us. He said that she was different from the cold exterior that she showed most people. After last night and what she did to him I only hope that Alex will finally open his eyes and see what Isabel Evans truly has on the inside. Nothing.”

Isabel had sat there silently through Maria’s tirade listening and taking in the fact that Alex had secretly watched her over the years. While she hadn’t even realized he existed until just recently. Tears stung her eyes and she fought to hold them in not wanting to give in to emotion in front of the girls.

“Alex has had a tough couple of weeks, Isabel.” Liz spoke up, “Maria and I both love him like a brother and hate to see him hurt. So do us a favor and stay away from him. He doesn’t need the reminder that he’ll never be good enough for you and your life.”

Isabel sat there for a moment more wondering when things had become so difficult. Getting up from the stool she headed for the door but was stopped by Mr. Parker who had come out of the back and saw her leaving.

“Isabel? I think this book is yours.” he held up the small book, “I found it in one of the booths a few days ago in the booth you were sitting in. Alex said he would return it to you but then some how I found it in the trash."

She took the book and realized it had been the Astronomy book that he had given her as a gift after their report. Isabel hadn’t even realized she had lost it , but now she felt ashamed that she hadn’t taken care of such a thoughtful gift.

“Thanks Mr. Parker” she took the book and left the café with Liz’s words ringing in her ears. “Stay away from him”

As she sat in her mother’s car she began to remember moments over the last couple of weeks with Alex. Specifically when he had taken her stargazing and working together. Over a small period of time Alex had become important to her and she realized she didn’t want to lose him as a friend.

Looking over at the Crashdown she decided to ignore Liz’s order instead she cranked up the car and went to find the boy who had caused so much turmoil in her normally sedate life.

*****

The pediatrics ward of the hospital had been easy enough to find. The tall lanky guy that she was looking for wasn’t so easy. Finally she stopped a nurse who was walking down the hallway.

‘Have you seen Alex Whitman?”

The woman shook her head, “Not in a few days, but if he is here then he may be over in the pediatric cancer ward.”

“How do I get there?”

The nurse pointed down the hall. “Go through those double doors and take a right.”

Isabel thanked her and headed off in the direction. She passed by the window of newborns and stopped and watched as an old woman sat rocking one of the babies. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Alex doing the very same thing.

Pulling herself away from the sight she continued down the hall until she found herself in another section of the hospital. Children were playing in a play area and although they wore masks and other protective gear to keep away germs, they acted like any other child their age. Tears formed in her eyes at knowing what pain these little ones suffered with daily.

“May I help you?”

Isabel turned to find another nurse. This one wore scrubs that had cartoon characters all over and a smile on her face, ‘I’m looking for Alex Whitman and someone told me he may be here.”

“Alex?” The nurse raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you a friend of his?”

A few days ago Isabel would have said yes to that question. But after everything she had learned she wasn’t so sure and so she shook her head at the nurse, “I’m actually wanting to talk with him to change that. I haven’t been a very good friend to him.”

The nurse looked her over and saw the truth in her eyes and gave a short nod, “Alex hasn’t been in since Buster passed away. It was hard on all of us but especially for Alex.”

“His mother said he was coming here this morning.” Isabel frowned starting to worry about him, “I hope he is okay.”

The nurse who badge read ‘Greta Kent’ motioned to the tall blonde, “Come here. I want to show you something.”

Isabel followed her down the hall before coming to a stop in front of a wall of pictures. The first thing she noticed was that the same little boy was in every picture and it dawned on her that this must be a memorable to Alex’s little friend. There were pictures of him with various people and in every one of them he was smiling. But it was the picutres of him with Alex that the smile actually reached his eyes.

“He was so young.”

Greta nodded, “We see these children come in sick every day. Some leave with their parents and some don’t. It is very hard for us nurses and doctors so we deal with it in our own ways. Ben was Alex’s first cancer patient friend that he got to know and it is going to take him awhile to adjust to the loss.”

Isabel brushed the tear away that rolled down her cheek as she continued to look at the pictures, “His name was Ben? Why does everyone call him Buster?”

Greta smiled, “That was Alex. Seems Ben kept threatening to bust out of this place one day so Alex gave him the nickname. It just stuck with all the nurses and the other kids.”

One picture called to her as she stood there looking at the wall. Alex was sitting with Buster on the side of his bed with a bass guitar. Seeing that picture brought back the image of someone else with the same guitar and something just clicked making her gasp.

“Are you okay?” Greta asked worriedly over the young woman who seemed to have gone into some form of shock.

Slowly Isabel nodded, “I need to go. Thanks for all your help.”

“No problem and if you see Alex let him know we miss him around here.”

Isabel headed for the elevators. She had been almost all over town looking for Alex. There was only one more spot that was left and when she found him they were going to have a nice long talk.

*****

The clearing was just ahead and already Isabel’s heart was racing in anticipation. She knew he was here since his car was parked right beside hers but she was still surprised when she heard the strumming of an acoustic guitar.

Isabel came to a dead stop at the sight of Alex bent over an acoustic guitar playing a melody. Then his voice joined in softly,

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

She would know that voice from any where and now her suspicions were confirmed. Sitting before her was not only the man she had desired but also the boy who she had hurt repeatedly. Now all she could do is stand their quietly as the tears streamed down from her eyes as she listened to the pain and sadness that was reflected in the song.

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.

Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

As the last chords left his fingertips Isabel could no longer hold back the sob that wanted to escape. Alex looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see her there. Quickly he turned back around and dried his own eyes.

“Isabel? What are you doing here?”

“Actually I was looking for you.” she brushed at her wet cheeks as he began to strum his guitar again, ‘I think we need to talk.”

“Don’t worry,” he said quietly, “I won’t bother you anymore. I know we were just partners for that project and that’s all. I don’t plan on embarrassing you.” He didn’t look at her but continued to play the guitar. His music always seemed to sooth his soul and he definitely needed it right then.

“What?” she frowned in confusion, ‘You think I came looking for you to tell you to keep away from me?” Isabel kneeled down on the blanket he was sitting on, “I came here because I owed you and apology, Alex.”

He stopped strumming the strings and looked over at her, ‘You don’t owe me anything, Isabel.”

She took a deep breath, “I do, Alex. Not only for the names I called you last night, but for a million other things.”

Alex sighed and decided to let her say her peace and then maybe he could move on from his unrequited love. Setting the guitar down on the blanket beside him, Alex turned and gave her his undivided attention.

Isabel brushed her hair back from her face as she looked into his eyes. She didn’t think she had ever really looked at them. They were a shade of green that she had never seen before and they seemed to look straight through her and see the real Isabel Evans.

It took her a moment to pull herself from those amazing eyes, “Where do I start?” she shook her head, “I think I will start with last night at the club.”

Alex nodded in encouragement but inside he wanted her to stop before the pain came flooding back. He really didn’t want to re-live one of his most embarrassing moments.

“Last night I got rejected for the first time in my life. I wanted someone who didn’t want me and I did a stupid thing by getting drunk just so he might see what he was missing.”

Alex opened his mouth to tell her the truth but was stopped by her raised hand cutting him off from his confession.

“I know, Alex” she smiled at him, “I figured out today that you and A.C. were one and the same.”

He dropped his eyes from hers feeling ashamed over his masquerade. Alex had never wanted anyone to get her by his pretense.

“I’m sure there is an explanation for why you disguised yourself, but we can go into that later.” she caught his eye again, “ When you rejected me it was one of the worst feelings and I lashed out at the first person I could. I saw how you looked at me and knew that you liked me.” she shook her head, ‘I guess I wanted someone else to feel what I was and you just happened to be the unlucky soul.”

“ This morning when I woke up with a major hangover Max was there to remind me of all I had said to you.” Isabel felt the tears well up into her eyes again but she was determined to go on, ‘I felt so bad that I knew I needed to find you and apologize.”

Alex hated to see her so upset and could feel his resolve to stay unaffected by her words start to slip away. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and tell her that everything was alright and that he forgave her, “And you found me here?”

Isabel shook her head and brushed the tears from her cheeeks, “Actually I went to your house and I spoke with your mom. She thought you were at the hospital.”

He nodded as his eyes drifted off into the distance, ‘It had been hard going back since Buster died.”

Seeing the hurt in his eyes Isabel reached out to take his hand in hers, “I know I said this already but I am sorry for your loss, Alex”

Alex looked back at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes, “Thank you”

“Well as I was leaving your house your mom spotted my necklace.” she reached out with her free hand to the pendant and his eyes dropped to it. A light blush came across his cheeks as he realized it was his gift, “She told me of how you dragged Liz and Maria shopping and how excited you were to be invited to my party.”

Isabel shook her head, “I was a little confused because I knew I hadn’t seen you there but somehow you had left me this beautiful gift.”

Alex shifted nervously not wanting to t ell her what had kept him from her party. Seeing his unease she gave him a slight smile.

‘So I went to the only two people who would answer my questions.”

He raised an eyebrow, “Maria and Liz?”

Isabel nodded, “ I went to the Crashdown to get some answers but Liz was not going to tell me anything.”

Alex chuckled, “So let me guess...It was Maria who spilled everything?”

She smiled again, ‘She told me what Stacey and some jock did to you and how you left in order not to make a scene at my party.”

He shook his head, “It’s okay. I should have known better than to have come.”

Isabel frowned, “No, Alex. I wanted you to be there otherwise I would not have invited you. I admit I didn’t notice that you were not there but that was because I only had eyes for A.C. that night. I was hoping he would show up.”

“Then the next week went from bad to worse for you.:” she felt his pain as tears once again formed, “I didn’t help much when I stood by and let my ‘so-called’ friends laugh at you and do damage to your car. I kept telling myself that I had a reputation to protect and so I kept quiet.”

Once again she brushed the tears from her cheeks as they raced down silently, “After Liz and Maria basically told me to stay away from you I found myself at the hospital looking for you. One of the nurses showed me the memorial of Buster and the pictures of you together. I realized what a great guy you were and that I really do want you as my friend.”

Isabel gave his hand a squeeze as she continued to hold it, ‘I know I have made many mistakes, Alex, but I’m willing to change. I just want to know if you can forgive me and be my friend?”

Alex couldn’t believe that the beautiful girl in front of him wanted to be friends. He still could not get over the fact that she had spent most of the morning looking for him, ‘Are you sure, Isabel? Won’t your image be smeared when you are seen with a computer geek?”

Isabel chuckled, ‘I don’t care what anyone else thinks anymore, Alex.” she reached up with her other hand and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. She was able to now see that not only was he the computer geek but that he was also the rock singer who had stirred her longings. Leaning toward him she placed a gentle kiss on his lips and smiled, "I got two for the price of one.”

Alex couldn’t help but chuckle at the same time that his heart was pounding in his chest. Suddenly he felt more bold than he had ever been in his life and fused his lips to hers hoping that maybe, just maybe, he and his princess had a future together.

******

6 months later

The club was rocking with a DJ as the Whits finished setting up for their show. Liz, Max, Maria and Michael were sitting at the table reserved for them. They were watching the couple who stood off to the side and they couldn't help but smile at the dispaly. Their male friend stood there with a willowy blonde wrapped around him holding him close.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into wearing these again.” Alex groaned as he looked down at the leather pants that he had not worn in a while.

Isabel pressed tiny kisses along his neck and up to his ear as her hand ran down his back to his behind, "I think you look sexy in them.”

Alex groaned again before dropping down to press his lips to hers for a long passionate kiss. Finally the sound of catcalls pulled them apart as they looked up to see his band mates grinning at them, “I better get on stage.”

She nodded as he pressed another kiss to her lips and headed to the stage, She couldn’t help but admire the way the leather hugged his cute behind. There were days like this that she couldn’t believe that he was hers. He gave her a wink and her heart melted all over again as he began to strum his bass.

It hadn’t taken her long to dump her old friends after that day in Frazier Woods with Alex. They had spent most of the afternoon just sitting there and talking to each other and at some point words were no longer required as their mouths and hands were all they needed. She had never been as happy as when she shed her "Ice Queen" reputation and let this self proclaimed "computer geek" melt her inside and out. Her new best friends were Liz and Maria whom she found she had many things in common and didn't expect her to lead them around like sheep as Stacey and the others had.

Isabel smiled up at Alex on stage letting the love for him shine in her eyes. And to think he had been right under her nose the whole time.

The End

Disclaimer: The song used in this part was "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton. (Thanks Trude for the wonderful suggestion!) Also the line that Isabel says "I got 2 for the price of 1" came directly from the movie Grease 2. No infringement inteaded with the use of either

Kara