Notes: My return to simple foof

***

“What are we doing here Max?” Isabel asked for the seventh time that evening. The club conveniently called ‘The Dive’ was packed tightly with local kids milling about in an endless cloud of underage cigarette smoke. It made her nose tingle and surely her clothes would stink when they got home. She really didn’t want to be in the presence of Alex right now. They’d had a huge argument over her dating Grant the last time they’d spoken to each other. That was two weeks ago and they’d avoided each other since. She didn’t want to come, but Max ‘ordered’ her to.

“We’re being hunted by homicidal aliens with really bad cases of skin cancer and what are we doing? Nothing that’s what.”

“We’re supposed to be enjoying ourselves,” Max said. “It’s been nothing but chaos and headaches the past few days and I thought we needed a little downtime.”

“Thank you fearless leader,” she muttered.

“Now you sound like Michael,” he said looking directly at her. “Besides, I thought you liked Alex’s band.”

“That’s not it and you know it,” she sighed shooting him a dirty look. “Where is Michael anyway?”

“Over there pretending he’s not watching Maria sing.”

She saw Michael off to the side looking up at Maria, then jerking his head away. Then looking back again.

“You two are impossible,” she said quietly.

The Whits finished their song and the crowd broke into applause cutting off any retort from Max. Isabel’s eyes wandered toward the stage. Seeing Alex standing there with his bass tightly gripped in his hands and staring down at the floor. He looked adorable in his short sleeved black button up shirt and dark jeans, but she shoved the thought away as quickly as it came. She could tell he was nervous about something. Although they were doing great up there so she couldn’t imagine why he would be.

“Now I know you all couldn’t possibly get tired of me,” Maria said into the mic, causing a small herd of laughter from the crowd. “But I’m going to be sitting this next one out, it’s not really my song to sing.”

Isabel looked over to Max who merely shrugged. Maria had an amazing voice; Isabel wondered why she would not be singing the next song. Alex stepped up to the microphone and cleared his throat.

“Okay,” he said. “It wasn’t my idea to sing this, but being told at gunpoint who was I to argue?”

Isabel laughed, then caught herself. She was supposed to be objecting to being here in the first place.

“This song is still pretty new, so if we screw it up please be patient.”

The slow wailing of the guitar filled the room before Alex started to sing.

“Matter of fact, you’re on the right track
My future looks black and blue
Didn’t take long, to see I was wrong
I still got it strong For you

I’ll come running yeah
If you want me too
I’ll come running yeah
Because I’ve done it yeah
Without you

I’d give my last shirt
To take back the words
That brought all that hurt upon us
Both made mistakes
Had some bad breaks
We got what it takes to go on

Isabel’s jaw was on the floor. The song was hitting way to close to home with her. Wasn’t he mad at her? Wasn’t he hurt that she had gotten involved with Grant before the whole Max and Michael stay away from him fiasco? Alex had some harsh words for her last time they spoke. He threw her saying that she couldn’t be with anybody right back in her face. He said he didn’t think he could handle it anymore. He didn’t see how he couldn’t make her happy or why she ran off to someone else. He’d walked away. And she put on her bravado and pretended it never happened. But as she heard these words…

I’ll come running yeah
If you want me to
I’ll come running yeah
Because I’ve done it yeah
Without you

As the band went into the solo she knew then she could never push him away. That no matter how hurt he would be, how much torture it would be to see her with another. He would still be there. He’d come running the minute she needed him. Just like he was saying.

I’ll come running yeah
If you want me to
I’ll come running yeah
Because I’ve tried it yeah
Without you
Without you…

The crowd was quiet for a millisecond before irrupting into a deafening applause. Even Max and Michael were pumping their fists in the air and shouting.

“Thank you,” Alex said before stepping away and Maria came back into view.

She started to clap and knew she needed to talk to him. She told Max she would be waiting backstage and all he did was give her a stupid grin and nod. She sat on the sofa the club had in the back and waited for the set to get done.

Fifteen minutes later she heard the crowd roar again and the drummer and two guitarists came back and waved to her before heading out the back door. Maria walked in giggling like a schoolgirl and Alex was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Until he saw her sitting on the couch. Maria looked at him funny then turned her head to see what he saw and her laughter died like his smile. She patted him on the shoulder and walked off leaving them to talk. Alex stared at her not saying a word, and Isabel began to shift uncomfortably in her seat. He brushed his hand through his hair and sighed loudly.

“You’re obviously here for a reason,” he said. “And I don’t think it’s to play the staring game with me. So what is it?”

“The song,” she said. “Was it about…I mean did you write it for…”

“You know it was, and you know I did,” He said quietly.

“Did you mean it?”

He looked at her with watery eyes before squeezing them tightly and turning his head again.

“Every word.”

She walked over to him, put her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead gently.

“Why do you do it?” she asked.

“Because I’m an idiot,” he said softly. “Because no matter what you do or what goes on your life where you’re going to walk away from me… I’ll never stop loving you.”

“Thank you,” she said. “But you know I’m still not ready for…you. I can go tell Grant right now the same thing and he’ll know I won’t go back to him so I have to know Alex. Would you still be here when I am ready?”

He smiled sadly and kissed her briefly before walking toward the door and onto the floor. He looked back at her still standing there and waiting for his reply. He stayed quiet for another minute and when it looked as if she were about to run out he finally spoke.

“Isabel?”

“Yes?” she said whirling to face him again.

“I’ll come running.”

Back to Area 51 (Section IV)