Alex Rider: The Aftermath

Chapter 1: Sick

 Ben Daniels wasn't exactly the best cook. But he could cook, and to him, that's all that really mattered. Who cared how good it looked? It was how it tasted that determined how good it really was. Today, he was attempting to make omelets and bacon, but having very little success. The bacon was burned and the omelets were...smelling really bad. Just then, there was a knock on the door and the smoke alarm went off. Ben cursed, then answered the door. Outside stood Megan 'Megs' Chase (Kitten with K-Unit). Megan wrinkled her nose when the door opened. 

  "Something smells bad," she said immediately. Ben looked at her with annoyance. 

  "That is my cooking, young lady!," he said, mock offended. Megan smiled. "Need some help?"

  Ben gave her a slightly weary grin. "Yes." Megan came in, took out a gun she always had in her belt, and shot the smoke alarm. It went silent and Ben gave her a disapproving look. 

  "Hey! It's not my fault it wouldn't shut up. Plus, I do that all the time to me and Miles's smoke alarms when they do that," she said defensively. Ben rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, I think you think you're on a battlefield and not in something called normal life," he said. Megan glared.

  "Well, at least I can cook!," she snapped, then poured out the contents of the pan in which the omelets and bacon had been sitting in. "I can cook!," Ben protested, but Megan ignored him and started an actual breakfast. 

 Alex Rider, age 15, woke up to the sound of an alarm. At first he panicked, then realized it must be Ben's cooking. Again. He rolled over, hoping to go back to sleep. Yes, sleep sounded very nice indeed. But then...his dreams were plagued with nightmares. He kept seeing Jack being blown up, then her accusing him; You did this. Alex rolled over, tears pooling in his eyes, but roughly wiped them away. No, no, he didn't want to give Ben any more trouble than he was already going to to take care of Alex. That's when the teen registered that he was not feeling the best. His eyes, head, stomach, throat and generally his whole body hurt, his mouth was much too dry, and-

 Alex sprang up and dashed for the bathroom! He made there just in time and vomited violently into the toilet! He felt miserable. Of course, today of all days, he got sick. Today was the day of the test that would determine what grade everyone got for math, and Alex was feeling like crud, he hadn't studied, and he was just normally terrible at math. Suddenly, Alex felt hot and cold at the same time, and he wanted a blanket and didn't want one at the same time. Ah. The flu. It had to be. Well, it wasn't that bad, was it? The flu wasn't that serious, so Ben didn't need to know (even though Alex wouldn't have told him anyway). Alex just needed to stop at the store, grab medication, get better within a few days, and nobody needed to know. But for the time being, he needed to focus on that test. 

 "ALEX!!!! Breakfast is ready!!!," Ben yelled up the stairs. Alex gagged at the thought of food.

  "Oh, and Megs is over!!!," he added. Alex, who'd been brushing his teeth, saw himself pale in the mirror. Megan. Oh boy. She could spot something fishy from a mile away. She was one of the best agents of MI6. Well, even if she did spot something, Alex would find some way to keep her bloody quiet! He couldn't let Ben do anything else for him. He'd done enough already, giving up his room in the small but modern house and sleeping on the couch, and more. Having a sick kid was the last thing Ben needed. After 5 minutes, Alex went downstairs, feeling very dizzy, but hiding it well. On the table was bacon and an omelet and orange juice. On any other day, Alex would've thought this smelled and looked too delicious to be Ben's cooking and would've scarfed it down quicker than logic. But today...Alex really just wanted to throw it away and then go throw up. Again. 

 "Alexxx!!!!!," someone shirked and in seconds a girl's arms were around him in an embrace. Alex immediately tensed at the sudden physical contact. Megan seemed to realize this and released him. 

 "Al! How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!," she said happily, looking up at him (he was an inch taller than her). Alex faked a smile. 

"I'm  

F

 I'm so stressed and tired and...depressed.

I

 Please..

N

 I'm not...

E."

 No, I'm not fine!!! Help me! I'm drowning!!

 "I'm F I N E," Alex replied. Megs smile was gone immediately and now she just looked concerned. 

 Shoot.

"Are you sure? You don't look too good," she commented. 

 "Megs, I'm fine. Everything's fine!," Alex snapped, getting annoyed. Megan Chase, why do you have to be so questioning!?  Megan looked taken aback and a little offended. 

 "Bloody heck, it was just a question!," she snarled back. 

  "Language!," Ben yelled as he pulled on his coat and left. He was going shopping for get-together with the rest of K-Unit that weekend. Alex grabbed his backpack, pulled on a jacket, and started to leave. 

  "Alex, aren't you going to eat?," Megan asked as he left. 

 "M' not hungry," he muttered, then left. She watched out the window as he got on his bike headed away. Megan knew something was up. She just knew it. It took years to have this instinct, but once you got used to it, it wasn't so annoying. Megan got up and headed out of the house, deciding to tail Alex. It sounded weird, but when you're a spy most of the time, your life is the definition of weird. And in general, Megan was just a weird kid. 

A/N: Soooo, there ya'll go! This is my first Alex Rider fanfic so no hate pls! Vote! Comment! I really appreciate it!

Until next time,

Joss.