Category –fifth wheeler, my very first attempt at a FW fic Disclaimer- I most certainly don’t own Roswell And the song is “foolish games” by Jewel, not me Author’s notes – set the summer after destiny. Dedication- For DC For being so encouraging ( Darkchilde's note: Really, I was probably more “annoying” then “encouraging”, but I’m really glad Gracie wrote this story! )
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You took your coat off, stood in the rain You were always crazy like that. And I watched from my window, Always felt I was out side, Looking in on you.
Tess first came in to see me two nights after Liz melodramatically left max. It had been hot these past few weeks but suddenly it started raining hard. I was staring out of my bedroom window when suddenly she appeared, she must have climbed over the fence gate, I thought. Then I remembered, Alex you dumb ass –she’s an alien.
She was just standing there, looking at me; it started to freak me out, why the hell was she here? How does Tess even know I live here? I should have told her to leave me alone right then and there, but I’m Alex and I don’t do that. So I went and opened the back door, ushered her inside and up to my room. She stood in the doorway of my room staring around it, transfixed by the rock posters and pictures of Maria, Liz and I. I ushered her in and shut the door and sat down on my bed, then gently asked her
“Tess how did you get my address?” she mumbled something about Isabel and didn’t look me in the eye, that how it always was with her at first, never met the eye
You were always the mysterious one With dark eyes and careless hair You were fashionably sensitive But to cool to care
All the main women in my life are beautiful, there are my two best friends Liz and Maria, Liz a doe eyed, brown hair-ed girl next-door type who manages to look good whatever. Maria, once given the nickname pixie who is small and fiery, she’s another one that always looks divine. Of course I can’t forget Isabel the model looking, I’ve- never-looked-bad-before-in-my-life.
And then there was Tess; she’s no Isabel, Liz or Maria for that matter. But have you ever properly looked into her eyes? They swallow you whole, and once your inside you swim in deep blue pools, there’s no coming out.
You stood in my doorway with nothing to say Besides some comment on the wheather
“Your utterly soaked” I said, surveying the blond girl standing just inside the doorway. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue woollen sweater thing, it clung to her tightly and she was dripping all over my pale blue carpet. I strided over to my wardrobe and pulled out a towel and handed it to her, attempting to ignore the spark I felt, Isabel was who I meant to be with, Tess is the girl that tore all that apart.
“It’s raining real hard outside.” She whispered so quietly it was barely audible. I smiled briefly at her
“I know.”
In case you failed to notice, In case you filed to see This is my heart bleeding before you I’m simply down on my knees
The kiss came out of no-where. I had turned away to put on some music, I made some stupid comment about lightening the mood and as I turned around to ask her if mellow rock was okay with her an explosion hit my lips, then almost as soon as she came Tess was gone, a whirlwind running down my stairs, leaving me to try and work out what the hell had just happened. For god sakes why did these alien women always manage to do this to me? As if my life wasn’t complicated enough without this.
I tried calling Tess a couple of times, I got her number off Michael, I knew he wouldn’t ask questions like Max or Isabel, with Michael it was a quick “sure Whitman, whatever floats your boat,” and the number. She never returned them of course, I even thought of calling Maria or Liz for advice, and then common sense came to rescue me as I imagined their voice filling my head
“Tess? Oh my god Alex, get out while you can. That chic might mindwarp you into oblivion, and look how she screwed up all of our relationships? Do you really want her in your life?” Maria would say.
“I’m with Maria here Alex, I mean look what Tess did to me and Max, she’s not to be trusted.” Liz would agree.
I love my best friends, really but I think they’ve got Tess wrong. Then again, what do I know about her? Even though I’ve hardly spoken to her I get the impression I got Tess lot more than anyone else.
These foolish games are tearing me apart And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart
She came to me again almost a week later. I was on my computer, doing some homework when I suddenly heard “Alex.”
As my greeting, I spun around on my chair to see her standing in the doorway.
“You have to stop turning up out of the blue Tess, the next time I might not be here, I could be out.”
“Alex, since when did you have social engagements, or indeed a life?” Ouch, that one hurt.
“I have a life, friends. Wish I could say the same for you.” I said, not sounding at all like me. Tess didn’t flinch.
“I have a life, the other three are my life, my destiny. It’s the four of us. I don’t care if I’m not invited to any of the group activities, my main objective when coming to Roswell was too find the other three, not make friends with a bunch of people who have nothing to do with me.” Message received, loud and clear.
“How did you get in anyway?” I said, trying to change the subject.
“I thought we already established that I am alien, I can change the molecular structure of things, therefore I can un-lock doors.”
“My mom’s downstairs!”
“I know, asleep on the couch, I didn’t make a sound to wake her.”
I grunted, I didn’t know where she got off, letting herself un-invited into my hose like this. I turned the chair around to face the computer again but spun around again and stood up as I heard the door snap shut and she swiftly crossed the room. I felt the familiar confused feel sweep over me and I swallowed hard as she pulled me down so she could kiss me. I felt to my great surprise that I was kissing her back. We must have been kissing for quite a long time but it felt like a matter of seconds before she pushed me off, threw me a coy smile and disappeared down the stairs again. I wiped the frosty pink lipstick that had been smeared across my cheek off and whispered to myself out loud, staring at the open door leading to the stairs, which she had just descended
“This has got to stop”
You were always brilliant in the mornings Smoking your cigarettes and talking over coffee If philosophies an art broke moved you, you loved Mozart As I clumsily strummed my guitar
However much I told myself the next time she came I would ask her what all of this meant and really confront her, it didn’t happen. We exchanged no words, we simply kissed and this time we went the next step, we had sex. I lost my virginity to Tess Harding. I always thought it would be Isabel I made love too. Yet there I was sitting on the bedroom floor watching her while she lit a cigarette.
“Smoking’s bad for your health” I stated, its funny what being friends Liz parker can do to you.
“You think?” She muttered sarcastically. “It doesn’t matter if I do it, if I get lung cancer Max can heal me.” I felt a pang of jealousy as she spoke Max’s name.
We didn’t speak for a while, I started at her as she inhaled her cigarette and stared out the window, suddenly I did something I hadn’t done in months, I reached under my bed and grabbed my guitar. I started playing something, not a song. I just played what came, Tess looked over and smiled.
“Your not bad at that.” I shrugged and asked but returned the smile.
“I’m no Mozart.” At the name Mozart she smiles. “Don’t tell me you like Mozart.” She looked away.
“Nasedo played it all the time, it has memories and for a human he’s pretty talented.”
“Really? For a human.” I Joked my eyebrows raised.
“I guess your not so bad yourself.” She said leaning closer to me, her cigarette burnt out and forgotten.
“For a human” I said before we kissed.
You’d teach me of honest things Things that were daring, things that were clean Things that knew what an honest daughter did mean I hid my soiled hands behind my back Somewhere along the line I must have gone off track with you
One day, after we had slept together and she was lying next to me in bed. I was staring up in the ceiling, and she was turned around so I couldn’t see her face. I asked her.
“Tess what does this mean?” I said, still looking at the ceiling
“What do you mean, what does this mean?” She replied with a question.
“What are we just having sex, is that what this is.” I demanded to know.
“Alex, you haven’t read too much into this have you?” She still hadn’t turned to face me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you never meant anything to me, Max is who I love, not you.” I bit my lip and to my frustration I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, I pushed them back down.
“Is that so. So this whole time you’ve just been stringing me along, none of anything meant anything to you?”
“Oh Alex, I never meant to hurt you but Max is my destiny.”
“Screw that Tess.” I yelled, forgetting I was in my house and people could hear me.
“Look at me and tell me it meant nothing.”
“Alex I…”
“Look. At. Me.” I spat out.
“No!” She yelled, and suddenly she was up out of the bed, slipping on her clothes as fast as she could, as she turned to run out of the door she turned and said.
“You read to much into it, I don’t love you.” But I couldn’t help noticing I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes.
Excuse me I think I’m mistaking you somebody else Somebody who gave a damn Somebody more likes myself
She didn’t come back for weeks, I didn’t want her to come back, or so I told myself. And yet I did. I missed the way she used to laugh, and that look she got when she was about to kiss me, and the way she twirled her blond hair around her fingers.
She truly did screw everything up.
These foolish games are tearing me apart And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart
When I finally gave up hope she came back, as I was playing the first song I ever wrote for her (I wrote so many I lost count) I could feel her behind me, I didn’t turn around.
“It won’t work. The others will never get it.” She spoke softly.
“They don’t have to know.” I replied
“Alex…I think that. I think that…”
“What?” I said harshly turning to face her. Hey eyes were as tired as mine. She started to un-certainly say.
“I’m in love with…”She trailed off but the kiss that followed left me in no doubt who she loved.
You took your coat off stood in the rain You were always crazy like that