Title: Angels in a Cage: Chapter Twenty-six, Explorations
Rating: PG-13 [language, sexual situations]

Summary: Alyssa and David hang out, before she uses him as an alibi to spend time with Chris...






After a week of missing school, Alyssa finally stepped back through the heavy doors of Ballard High. She smiled at people as she headed towards her locker, though it was a bit forced. Zack had still not been found. He had not returned to his home nor been seen around Alyssa's house. No one seemed to know where he was; not his family, not his so-called friends, not his teachers. Staying with Chris and then David helped her feel secure, but missing so much school, she had no option but to head back to class if she was going to keep her GPA up. So back to school she had to go.

Standing at her locker with the door open, Alyssa tried to focus on which book she needed to take to her first class, but her eyes flicked to the magazine page taped on the metal door. It seemed absolutely ridiculous to have a picture of Soundgarden up in her locker now. Maybe if she had only just met Chris, served him coffee, it would be okay. But spending the night with him, kissing him... it was awkward to have a poster of him up in her locker – and by extension her bedroom. It was time to redecorate both.

Just as she pulled the magazine posters down from her door, including another one of Pearl Jam, David leaned up against the one next to hers, “Good morning, beautiful.”

Her eyes flicked to his. She wadded up the posters and chucked them at him. Bending over to pick up the paper wad, he unfolded it enough to see what it was. His brows arched as he stood up again.

“Did you break up?” he asked.

Alyssa looked to him again, “What?”

“Did you and Soundgarden break up?” he motioned to the paper before wadding it again and tossing it into the nearest trashcan.

She laughed, “No. I just feel like it's time to change things up.”

He eyes her suspiciously, “Uh huh.”

“Besides, they have a new album coming out soon, so there's probably going to be new pics soon,” Alyssa quickly explained.

David laughed, “Whatever. I don't care what you have up in your locker. I'm just glad you're back here.”

“I can't miss any more days,” she turned back to her open locker and snatched a book before closing the door.

“Aly, it's been a week. I'm sure you're sa – ”

“Here, yes. But otherwise, I don't know. No one knows where he is.”

“Well lucky for you, I quit my job, so I can come to yours with you,” he grinned.

She rolled her eyes, “You work for your dad, David.”

“I know! Which means I can have my job back whenever,” he winked.

She shoved his shoulder playfully, “Come on, walk me to class.”

At the end of the school day, David stole Alyssa's keys from her and raced out of the school. Letting him be, she shoved her homework into her backpack and casually headed out the door. A moment later, the teen boy pulled her car up to the front curb and honked the horn. Shaking her head, she headed towards her car and hopped into the passenger seat, tossing her backpack into the back seat. Blasting the radio with the windows down despite the light spring drizzle, David sang along with Shania Twain about the woman in him. Alyssa merely shook her head, though she smiled slightly.

They arrived at her house in a respectable time and headed inside with her overnight bag and backpack. She shouted a quick hello to her stepmother as the two headed up the stairs to her bedroom. Dumping her things on the floor, she paused, her gaze settling on the posters on her walls. David stepped beside her and casually threw his arm around her shoulders.

“So they need to come down too?” he asked, motioning to the larger posters on the wall.

She nodded slowly, “Yeah.”

“Are you sure you're okay?” he glanced down at her.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Will you take them down while I change for work?” Alyssa pulled away, heading to her closet to decide what to wear.

His brows arched up as she pulled the closet open. Normally Alyssa wore whatever she wore to school to work. Wanting to change was odd, but not as odd as wanting to pull down the posters. With a shrug, he set to tearing down the posters and she flipped through garments in the closet.

Holding up a light sweater, Alyssa turned to David, “What do you think of this one?”

“Makes your boobs look bigger,” he commented and tore down her Pearl Jam poster. “Wear it.”

Her eyes widened and she turned back around, shoving the sweater back in the closet, “Perv.”

“You asked for my opinion,” he pointed out, crumpling the last poster and shoving it into her small wastebasket. “Why does it matter anyways?”

“I just want to look nice,” she pulled out a different top. “What about this one?”

“Skanky.”

“You liked it in the store!”

“No,” he stepped closer. “I liked seeing your cleavage in the store.”

“Ugh!” she threw the shirt at his head, pleased when it covered his eyes. “You are totally a perv.”

“You're hot! I can't help it.”

“Forget it. I'm not changing. Let's go get a snack before heading to the coffee shop.”

After eating a snack with Judith and listening to Marilyn lecture Alyssa for not coming home for the past few days, the teens headed to the coffee shop. With a playful slap on her butt, David headed to a table and pulled out his homework while she headed to clock in and check with her duties for the day. Everything seemed back to normal.

The two teens interacted minimally as Alyssa kept busy with work. Her eyes kept flicking up to the door with each jingle of the bells, hoping Chris would step into the cafe. However, if he did, it would complicate matters with David being at the shop as well. They were not supposed to know each other, to meet each other. She could not have her worlds collide. Of course, Chris had already been warned of how to treat her in public. Perhaps she could hide their relationship from David, should Chris show up.

Turning around when the door chimed with the arrival or departure of another customer, Alyssa’s breath caught. She flashed him a quick smile and watched him retreat to his usual table. Glancing over at David, she relaxed as it seemed he had not looked up from his homework to see the new guest. She was beginning to believe she could keep her worlds separate – three small tables apart.

Quickly making a coffee without being asked, Alyssa headed over to Chris’s table. She slid the coffee onto the table, drawing his green eyes up to her. Smiling, she flushed slightly, but did not sit across from him.

“Aly?”

“It’s kinda busy tonight,” she responded softly. “I can’t really sit and chat with you.”

He frowned slightly and glanced around, noticing a young man and two tables with couples, “I see. Can I see you after work?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well I’ll stay until close in the event you decide it’s okay,” Chris stated.

Her eyes downcast, Alyssa smiled slightly, “You don’t have to. I can call you tonight when I get home.”

“Aly...”

Hearing the door chime, she declared, “I gotta go work now. I’ll check on you in awhile.”

An hour later, David leaned against the counter, his eyes turned towards Chris, “You know, he looks just like him.”

“He’s not,” Alyssa argued.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “His hair is too long and dark. And his facial hair is wrong. He’s not skinny enough. It’s not him.”

“Well I suppose if anyone would know, it would be you...”

She rolled her eyes, “Go home, David.”

“Well, I would, but I got a ride here with you. And I’m supposed to be protecting you from that fuckhead,” he pointed out.

“You seem to have no problems getting back and forth from here before.”

He stared at her for a moment, blinking, “Well true. But that doesn’t make the last half of it true; the part about me protecting you from fuckhead.”

“I’m fine, David. I’m not even closing tonight. I’ll have Anne walk me to my car when I leave. I’ll be fine.”

David continued to eye her warily, “I get it. You’re trying to get rid of me so you can go flirt with Chris Cornell over there in the corner.”

“That’s not Chris Cornell. Do you really think I’d play his CD if it was?” 

“I figured it was your way of telling him that you knew who he was.”

“Go home, David.”

“Okay. On one condition.”

“What?”

“I get a good bye kiss.”

She rolled her eyes, “Not going to happen.”

“Then I’m not leaving.”

“David, we’ve been over this before: we’re friends, nothing more.”

He sighed, “Fine, fine. But let me use your phone. And call me when you get home tonight.”

Once David was finally gone, Alyssa returned to Chris’s table. She said nothing as she slipped into a chair across from him, her eyes glancing at the newspaper in front of him. Smiling slightly, she plucked the pen from his fingers, instantly halting his work on the crossword puzzle.

“I get off work in thirty minutes, but I bet if you went and put a large tip in the tip jar, Anne would let me leave early,” she commented softly.

Chris’s eyes went to hers briefly before he glanced around the coffeehouse, “It’s just the three of us, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

“And where is she?”

“In the back, restocking tea, I think.”

Chris quickly leaned across the small table and kissed her quickly, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

She flushed and stood up, “Go leave her a tip and wait outside. I’m going to go ask if I can leave early.”

Meeting Chris outside a few minutes later, just as he lit up a cigarette, Alyssa grinned. He offered her the cigarette but she quickly declined. Eyes widening slightly, he quickly snuffed out the cigarette, returning it back to his pack. Turning down the street the two began to stroll leisurely, not speaking. Chris yearned to reach out and grasp her hand, but somehow managed to resist.

“You’re still at the hotel, right?”

“Yeah,” he responded a bit absently.

“Well it’s only a couple of blocks from here...”

“It is.”

“We could go there and...”

His libido instantly jumped to a conclusion, which he was certain was incorrect. She probably just wanted to talk or something. Quickly deciding that was better than walking silently with her, Chris nodded and increased his pace. They reached the hotel quickly, slipping in through a side entrance so as to not need to bother with the front desk.

“I can’t... I can’t really stay long. I only have an extra thirty minutes,” Alyssa declared as the elevator doors closed.

“Can’t you just call and let them know you’ll be late?”

“... not really.”

“Why not?” he stepped closer to her.

Alyssa turned to face him fully, “Chris, I–”

The elevator reached Chris’s floor at that moment, the door opened. Flashing her a smile, he held out his hand and stepped out. Silently they headed down to the room. Unlocking the door, Chris stepped aside, letting Alyssa step in first. As soon as the door closed, his arms slipped around her waist and pulled her close abruptly. She squeaked, but grinned. Not giving her a minute to protest, Chris kissed her.

“Aly, I’m sorry. I...”

“It’s okay,” she muttered, her eyes still closed. “But I really can’t stay tonight.”

“Just for a little while?”

Her eyes opened, looking into the most soulful green eyes she had ever seen, “Okay. I’ll try. Give me a minute.”

Chris nodded, “I’ll go get ice.”

Waiting until Chris left with the ice bucket, Alyssa blocked her number from the caller ID and called her house phone. Marilyn instantly told her no, but passed the phone to her father anyways. With the explanation that she was staying with David for the night, Alyssa bought more than just an extension of her curfew – just as long as she stayed home the following night.

As the door opened with Chris’s return, Alyssa hung the phone up and turned to him. Their eyes met and she grinned. Not knowing each other for long, he could not quite read her expression, though it was clear something good had happened.

“Aly?” he set the ice bucket down.

She quickly jumped forward, threw her arms around his neck, and pecked his lips, “So, Mr. Cornell, you have me all night long. Whatever are we going to do?”

“Really?”

She nodded.

“I can think of a couple of things...”



Smiling, Chris played with Alyssa’s hair as she slept with her head on his chest. While part of him wanted much more than lazy cuddles and stolen kisses, he accepted that was all she was willing to give that night. Instead, they played cards before giving in to watching movies on television. Conversations seemed so natural and easy with her. He never felt as if she was playing a game or trying to get something from him he was not willing to give. He knew she was not impressed with the fame, even though she knew who he was. She was just sweet and natural and...

Chris sighed and carefully reached for the remote and turned off the television. Wanting to turn off the lamp beside the bed, his fingers stretched but missed the brass twist knob by mere centimeters. Slowly stretching more, pulling Alyssa with him, he turned off the light and began to shift back into the bed. Alyssa mumbled something he could not understand but still seemed to be sleeping.

Her hand drifted down his chest, her fingers dancing over his shirt. Chris’s lips twitched in a smile, very aware she was no longer asleep. He inhaled sharply as her fingers slipped under his shirt, allowing her to touch his flesh. Remaining silent and as still as possible, he wondered how far she would take her explorations.

Suddenly withdrawing her hand, Alyssa sat up on her knees. Chris slowly sat up as well, not sure what was going on. Her fingers grabbed the hem of his shirt and peeled it off. Her hands roamed over his chest, her eyes inspecting in the dim light what her hands could feel. Chris merely smiled, content to let her do as she wanted. As her fingers reached the top of his boxers, her hand snapped back and went to his chest once more. Without any words, she pushed him back down on the bed and quickly straddled him.

Pressing her body against his, Alyssa pulled off her shirt and tossed it aside. Her eyes locked with his in the darkness as her hands disappeared behind her back. He gasped as her bra slipped down her arms and was quickly flung aside. His eyes dropped from hers to focus on her pert breasts. The sliver of light slipping between the hotel curtains seemed to fall just upon her, highlighting the full curve of each breast and her growing nipples. Lips parting in awe, Chris felt his body react to her beauty, his cock hardening.

“Oh my,” she breathed, feeling his arousal.

Instinctively, she began to gyrate on top of him, grinding her body against his. Chris’s hands went to her thighs, squeezing gently. Slowly his hands wandered up her body, delighting in sensations of her baby soft skin. Stopping just under the curve of her breasts, he groaned slightly as she shifted her weight just perfectly to practically sink upon him. She stopped moving, covering his hands with her own. Smiling down at him, she guided his hands to cup her breasts.

“Oh fuck,” Chris muttered, holding each fleshy globe in his hands.

Her movements returned, making his body instinctively press towards her, wanting to push inside her. Only his boxers and her panties kept them separate. He wanted – noneeded – to be inside her, to feel her body pulse and squeeze him.

“Aly,” he groaned.

She leaned down and kissed his mouth deeply, “What about it, pretzel man, what’s your story?”

“What?” he muttered, confused as to why she suddenly had such a deep voice.

Suddenly, Alyssa was no longer sitting astride him. Instead, he was spooning her from behind on the couch. Blinking harshly Chris glanced around, his eyes settling on the television. It took him a few moments to process that a movie, The Usual Suspects, filled his senses. The young woman slept peacefully in his arms, apparently completely unaware of the movie – and the erection pressed against her ass.

It had all been a dream, but his arousal certainly was not. He had no idea how to carefully disengage from holding Alyssa without waking her. His eyes focused on the movie, hoping the mystery movie would chase away his sexual thoughts about the young woman. She wiggled against him. Chris groaned. There was no way getting out of this, gracefully.