Hello again everyone! Hope your holiday season was fun and safe.
An experience involving a close friend spurred me to write this story. I'd like to take this oppurtunity to warn you all that later chapters do contain drug use, so if you are offended by this kind of material,I advise you not to read it. Thankyou all who read/reviewed Abduction (and don't worry, I'm no where near finished with that fic, so keep your eyes open!).I hope you will be able to see an improvement in my writing and enjoy this new Thunderbird fic!
Lots of love, Boann!
"Bottom line Alan! You need to grow up!"
"I hate you!"
"You need to grow up…"
"I hate you…"
"You need to grow up…"Alan Tracy, son of billionaire ex astronaut Jeff Tracy
Alan Tracy, Thunderbird
Alan Tracy…
"Tracy!"
Alan jolted awake to a voice. Jolted back into the reality he didn't want to face.
It was a Saturday afternoon and Alan lay sprawled out on the grass of the soccer oval at Wharton Academy.
"Yo, Tracy, you ok?"
It took a few seconds for Alan to realise the voice was speaking to him, "Um, what?"
He looked up to see a boy with short brown hair and gleaming chestnut eyes. Alan knew him as Will Carpenter. Will was Alan's year and captain of the soccer club, though the two didn't talk to each other often.
Will knelt down beside him, "Are you ok?" he asked in a concerned voice
"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" replied Alan
Will looked Alan over, "I came to set up for practise and you were lying here. Just wondered if you'd collapsed or something. It is really hot today, you shouldn't be exposing yourself to the sun like this"
It was at Will's comment that Alan realised how hot he was, "Um, yeah, thanks" he got to his feet with Will's help and brushed himself down.
"Come on," said Will, "Sit down in the shelter and cool off"
Alan followed him and sat in the small shelter the sports teams often returned to during half time. It felt much more pleasant in the cool shade.
"What were you doing out there in the first place, Tracy?" asked Will, picking up a stack of cones and setting them out for soccer practise a few metres away
Alan shrugged, not really knowing himself, "I guess I needed to think. Get away from people for a while. I didn't really mean to fall asleep"
Will flashed a smile, "Well you sure gave me a heart attack"
"Sorry" said Alan sheepishly, "And thanks"
"No problem" was Will's reply, "But just out of curiosity, was there a particular reason you wanted to bake yourself out there?"
Immediately Alan's thoughts were steered to the very thing he was trying not to think about. The one fateful mission that had sent everything askew.
A perilous mission involving an earthquake in Tokyo.
An obstacle the Thunderbirds had faced.
Alan's attempt to work around it, recklessly endangering his brothers and victims of the earthquake. It had almost failed if it weren't for Fermat's quick thinking.
His father's lecture had been the worst of it all. Alan felt like he had failed his own family. But at the same time, he argued against Jeff's scolding for attempting his plan. It might've worked and he was certain that if someone like Scott or John had attempted it, they wouldn't be receiving this lecture. Both his and his father had brought out their stubborn streak and Alan was still bitter about the incident. Although he had remained friends with Fermat, he still held a bitter jealousy towards the blue spectacled genius, and often found excuses to be alone.
"Oh just…family stuff. Really boring, really stupid" he replied lightly
Will looked up at him, "And at the same time it makes you so mad?"
Alan was surprised, "Yeah, exactly"
"You wonder if this issue is worth dwelling on, but at the same time, you want your opinion to be heard"
Alan nodded and gave a disbelieving laugh, "How do you know all this?"
Will shrugged, "Experience. And I have a lot of friends who have been through that"
"Well, the fact that someone knows how I'm feeling really helps" Alan looked at the ground sadly, "Its more than anyone else has"
His dad had been angry. Scott had been cold. Virgil had acted like he wasn't there. John had given him the 'just focus next time and everything will be ok' speech. Gordon tried to show sympathy, but he had failed to make it better, his jokes only reminding Alan of what had happened. Fermat had been annoying. Tintin had been frustratingly cheerful to him, trying to make him forget.
Will noticed his melancholy mood and walked over to him, "Maybe all you need is people to talk to" he said, crouching next to him, "Why don't you hang with me and my mates tonight. We kind of have a get together in one of our dorms every Saturday night. Just chilling, listening to music, having a convo. Might be good for you"
Standing up, Alan didn't see why not, "Yeah, that'd be cool"
Will smiled and gave him a pat on the back, "See you at eight. Dorm 46"
Alan nodded his thanks and meandered back to his dorm. Turning the electronic key and opening the door, he was surprised to see Fermat sitting on his bench, talking to his watch.
Fermat looked up, then back down at the watch, "Gotta go, I'll talk later" he said, logging off
"Who was that?" asked Alan suspiciously
"N…n…no one" replied Fermat
Alan knew his friend too well. His stutter meant he was anxious-or hiding something. "You don't have to hide it from me Fermat, its pretty obvious it was someone at home"
"It was j…j…I was getting some i…i…tips off Scott for my physics assignment" stuttered Fermat, returning to his desk and getting out his books.
"A physics assignment? You're doing that on a Saturday afternoon?" asked Alan sceptically
Fermat shrugged, "I don't like to waste time"
"And I do is that what you're saying?" Alan shot back defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew that Fermat hadn't meant that, but the urge to pick a fight was overpowering that knowledge
"N…n…no" stammered Fermat
"Gee thanks," said Alan curtly
He strode into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He gritted his teeth angrily as he ran a cold shower. Stripping down and standing under the cool jet of water, he tried to release the tense muscles in his shoulders, on which so much had been beared this past week.