GLASS NERVE | alex rider

Ten.

DISCLAIMER: BELLA WILL BE REFERRED TO AS LILITH IN THIS CHAPTER AND ANY ALEX P.O.V. CHAPTER AFTER THIS. BELLA P.O.V. CHAPTERS WILL REFER TO HER AS BELLA, BUT SINCE ALEX ISN'T IN ON THE LITTLE SECRET, HE CALLS HER BY THE NAME STELLENBOSCH CALLS HER. HOPE THIS ISN'T CRAZY CONFUSING :)

( tw : lilith )

CHAPTER TEN
NO WHERE TO RUN

Alex had been informed just shortly after he was snatched away by Stellenbosch, that they'd be stopping in France very briefly to pick someone up. Stellenbosch used 'she' and 'her' and other non-pronouns that were a bit offensive in behavior to refer to the other new Point Blanc student, her patience with the "girl" far from waned thin and making her annoyance with Alex's actions seem quite meek in comparison.

He was politely asked to stay in the plane and impolitely held down by invisible hands as not one, not two, but three guards stood around and watched his every move from outside the helicopter. He didn't see any visible weapons but he knew they had them. He doubted they were permitted to use them on students without the most outrageous reasons, but he knew they were there. Probably a handgun, a taser, maybe something to beat him with if he tried to run. He wouldn't but there was always a chance.

Stellenbosch was gone for a bit, disappearing into Paris to find this girl. For some reason, that had first come to a shock as Alex. There was no sound reason why, but he was concerned for the fact they'd be putting two "mentally" and "emotionally" troubled teens together in the back of a helicopter while Stellenbosch ignored them in the time it took to get to the school. Perhaps they banked on the fact they couldn't fly a helicopter. If they decided to attack, they'd only put them all in danger, plunging them thousands of feet to the ground somewhere in the middle of France.

It hadn't been long since Alex left his home with Jack and his semi-normal teenage boy life and he honestly had to admit that he missed it. Tom came and visited him, albeit angrily at first, the night after Bella stopped by, bringing pizza and a determination to get all the info he could out of his friend. Somehow, someway, Tom just knew Alex and Bella were simultaneously keeping Alex's big secret from him. Whether it was the knowing looks, their skyrocketed amount of texts back and forth, or just how they acted differently around each other, he figured it out.

Tom tried to pry information out of Bella but as expected, got absolutely nowhere. If anything, his chat with Bella actually set him back a decent amount. She managed to disconnect dots and throw Tom's mind into an ever-changing maze that had him questioning every single thing he'd ever thought to be true about Alex.

That's how Tom realized why Alex chose to tell Bella first before him.

Both boys agreed by the end of the night that Bella might need recruited into MI6 in the near future.

Tom couldn't bring himself to be mad at Alex or Bella for long though, they were his best friends and in the end, they were only keeping secrets for everyone's safety. The more people knew, the more danger it put Alex and all his bystanders in.

Last he heard from Tom, Bella was "absolutely fucked" and didn't even make it to school that day because she was doubled over a toilet puking her guts out. Tom blamed it on mono and Alex nearly fainted on the spot. Mono was spread through saliva—kissing. That thing he did he Bella not once, but twice before he saw her for the last time. Only Alex didn't have mono, so he knew it couldn't be that. Then, as if sent by the heavens, Bella sent him just one text.