Title: Angels in a Cage: Chapter Twenty-three, Booths
Rating: PG-13 [language, mature conversations]

Summary: Chris sobers up. Alyssa leaves David's and hangs out with Chris.

 



Staring at the ceiling of the hotel room, Chris sighed. Now that he was sober, he probably should man up and go home to his wife and figure things out. However, he truly had no desire at all to face her. He did not need Susan to attempt to explain away what he had seen. He understood. She was into Jerry now – or more precisely, he was into her. It mattered not. He just wanted a nice and clean divorce. Get her out of his life, out of his band’s affairs, all of that.

Deciding there was no better time than present to take care of the situation; Chris rolled over and reached for the phone. His fingers hit the clock radio first, bringing his attention to the time. It was two in the morning, not a time his lawyer would care to hear from him. How had he lost so much time? Actually how had he gotten to that hotel? What day was it?

Figuring at least that was something the front desk could answer, Chris rang the desk. Discovering it was Saturday night, not Friday like he thought, panic shot through his blood. It had been over a day since he spoke with Alyssa. She had to think he … well maybe it was not as big of a deal to her as it was him. No, it had to be a big deal. She was being stalked by some fuck and he disappeared for days on end. How was he to prove he was there for her when he wasn’t?

Simple. He would call her then and explain why he hadn’t talked to her for more than a day. Only his explanation of being passed out drunk did not seem like a good one – especially since he wanted out of his marriage to Susan. Regardless it was the truth and he had no need to lie to Alyssa. He would just call her and–

But fuck. It was so late at night.

No, no. She had said he could call at any time. He was going to call and talk to her, explain his failings and… he wasn’t sure. Make plans to see her again seemed to be a decent goal.

Picking up the phone again, Chris easily dialed Alyssa’s number. The phone seemed to ring forever, almost making him feel guilty for calling. However, the unthinkable happened: her answering machine picked up. For a long few seconds, he tried to decide if and what message he should leave. But no, he had called her. He would leave a message.

“Hey, Aly, it’s Chris. Sorry it’s so late. I’ve been… nevermind. I’ll give you a call tomorrow. I hope you’re well. I miss you,” he quickly muttered and hung up.

Though he could hardly be considered sober, his first thought was to drown away his thoughts once more as soon as he hung up. However, Chris avoided the minibar somehow and stumbled down to the hotel lobby. With the late hour, the restaurant and bar were closed, but he needed something, food or booze or pills. He could not just–

“Mr. Cornell?” the front desk agent spoke up as he made his way towards the front doors.

Chris stopped and looked over at the uniformed man, “Yeah?”

“Mr. Vedder left strict instructions that you were not to leave the hotel without–”

“Well he’s not fucking here, is he? I’m a grown man. I can do what I want. What is still open near here?”

“Sir, I–”

“Food. I need some food. If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone who will,” he growled.

The desk clerk shifted slightly, “There is a Denny’s three blocks from here.”

“Which direction?”

“Right.”

“Thank you,” Chris muttered and headed out of the hotel.

Denny’s was not ideal, but it would do. And it was somehow better than finding booze and drugs – maybe.



Stretching Alyssa’s foot collided with David’s head, causing both to break into giggles. He tugged on her foot, pulling her off the couch and into his lap on the floor. His fingers quickly danced over her ribs, causing her to laugh, giggle, and wiggle. He continued tickling her for a few minutes before suddenly wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. She resisted, wiggling and trying to break free, but he held her close, only loosening his embrace to allow her to pivot to look in his eyes. Before she could react, David kissed her quickly.

Her eyes went wide and she forcibly pushed him away, scrambling away from him, “That is not okay.”

“Aly, I tho–”

“No, just no,” she got to her feet. “I’m going home now.”

“No,” he reached for her hand, just missing her fingers. “I’m sorry, Aly. You don’t have to go. I promise nothing is going to happen. Really.”

Alyssa shook her head, looking around for her bag, “We are friends and friends only, David. You just kissed me. I do not feel comfortable staying here with that hanging in the air. I’m going to go home. I’m sure my parents would like to see me and be certain I’m okay. I just can’t–”

“Don’t go. Let’s talk about this,” his fingers closing around the strap on her backpack.

“There is nothing to talk about,” she declared. “You crossed a line I have repeatedly pointed out and–”

David kissed her again, silencing her words. His arms circled around her back, pulling her closer and keeping her from fleeing. Resisting for a long moment, Alyssa wiggled and tried to get away. However the longer he held her, the less weird and awkward it felt. But it was wrong, so wrong. They were best friends and she was sorta with Chris. It was wrong to kiss her best friend – doubly wrong to actually like it.

Feeling her relax into the kiss, he finally pulled back, “Let’s talk about this, please. Don’t run away.”

Sighing, Alyssa released her backpack, letting it swing into his grasp. With a slight smile, he dropped the bag back on the floor. David tugged her back over to the couch, trying hard to hide his elation at the fact she had not run away. She pulled her hand free from his and shifted away from him, but she remained on the couch. Her fingers went to the hem of her shirt and she picked at it while waiting for him to start the conversation.

“Aly, you know I have liked you for a long time,” David finally spoke. “We’ve known each other for two years and… the more I get to know you, the more I want to know you. Sure, I’ve had other girlfriends since we met and you’ve had other boyfriends… but, Aly, you’re the one I really want to be with. And I know that’s a big risk to take since you’re my best friend but…”

“I know you’ve had feelings for me, David. Everyone does. I just… I like us the way we are. I don’t have a friend I trust like I do you. We’re good as friends. We don’t need to fuck that up,” she declared.

“But what if we’re missing out on a good thing by not being more than just friends?”

“I need a best friend. I don’t need a boyfriend,” Alyssa stated.

“But we could be so much better.”

“We don’t need to be. I need you just as you are now. I have a boyfriend. I need a best friend.”

He sighed, “But, Aly… tell me you didn’t feel something when we kissed.”

“I… I did. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to rush into a relationship greater than we already have. And I don’t feel the same… spark that I do when I kiss Chris.”

“Can’t we… can’t we at least try?”

“And risk what we have right now? No. Not at all. I have a boyfriend. And I want you as my best friend. If you can’t… if you can’t be okay with that, then…”

“No,” David instantly declared. “I’d rather have you as my best friend than not have you in my life at all.”

“This means no kissing. At all.”

“Agreed.”

“Are we going to be okay?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” he smiled. “Do you want to go grab something to eat and maybe rent a movie?”

Alyssa looked at him for a long moment before smiling, “Yeah. That would be great.”

With little still open at that time of night, the pair headed to the nearby Denny’s. They arrived quickly and found a booth towards the back of the restaurant, hoping to avoid the druggies and drunkards that tended to dominate the clientele during the midnight hours. Snatching the menu out of her hands, David declared he was going to order for the two of them, making her roll her eyes and lean back in the booth. As he placed their order with the waitress, her hazel eyes glanced over the restaurant. Her eyes glanced over a familiar form and her eyes widened. Hiding her surprise, she excused herself and headed towards the bathroom.

Rather than slip into the ladies’ room, she slid onto a booth bench. The seated man looked up, about to inquire about her intrusion. As soon as deep green met hazel, he smiled. She reached across the table and grasped his hand briefly.


“Aly,” he muttered softly.

“I’m here with a friend, Chris - who would really like to meet you but we’re not ready for that,” she explained quickly. “Where are you staying?”

“The Renaissance Hotel,” he answered.

She squeezed his hand again, “I’ll come see you there. I gotta go back. I miss you.”

Before Chris could say anything else, Alyssa slipped out of the booth and left. He casually glanced over his shoulder a moment later and spotted her in a booth. His eyes flicked to her companion and he instantly felt jealousy shoot through his soul. He had not expected her friend to be a male. But they were just friends, or at least that’s what she seemed to indicate. She would come see him soon and the world would seem right again. He hoped.



Hugging David once more, Alyssa opened the front door, “I know it’s late, but I really think I should go home. I need my own clothes and to see my family and such.”

“You can wait until morning, Aly. It’ll be safer–”

“He won’t expect me to be coming home at this time. I’ll be fine,” she declared.

“But–”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks for… being such a great friend,” Alyssa said before heading to her car. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some sleep.”

Climbing into her car a moment later, she backed out of his driveway. She had no intentions of going home that night or even likely the following day. It depended on Chris she supposed. But she would call home and David and assure both of them she was fine – sometime in the morning. Instead, she headed to the hotel Chris claimed residence of and found a parking spot. As she headed up to the entrance, she suddenly realized she did not know what name he was registered under. Surely, he had not used his real name, that could have caused undue annoyances. However, the problem was quickly resolved with his standing near an ashtray, smoking a cigarette.

“Chris?” she spoke softly.

His eyes left the ground and met hers. A smile quickly lit his face and he shoved the cigarette into the ashtray. Saying nothing, he offered his hand and led her into the hotel. The front desk did not glance up as they passed, heading to the elevator. Stepping into the lift, he smiled at her again before pressing the elevator button. His thumb ran over her knuckles, his eyes sparkling.

“I’m so glad you came,” he whispered. “I tried calling a few times but you never answered.”

“I haven’t been home since… that last night I talked to you,” she admitted. “I went over to David’s because I was scared and haven’t been home since. I haven’t even been going to school.”

“They still haven’t caught that fuck?”

She shook her head as the doors open, “I don’t think so. I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

“Stay with me,” he requested.

“At least the rest of the night,” Alyssa agreed, following him out of the elevator.

Smiling he opened the hotel door and stepped aside. She entered the hotel suite and glanced around. He dropped his key and cigarettes on the table near the door before flipping the lock over the door. Chris watched her briefly as she quietly explored the room before returning to his side. He leaned in to kiss her, but she quickly leaned away.

“Aly?” he muttered.

She crinkled her nose, “You were smoking and I wasn’t. I’m not kissing you until you do something about that.”

He chuckled, “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Wandering over to the sofa near the windows overlooking the waterfront, Alyssa sat down and curled her feet under her after kicking off her shoes. Her eyes focused on the city lights, paying little attention to the room or Chris as he stepped out of the bathroom. Flicking off the light, he leaned on the doorway for a long moment, watching Alyssa. He could not believe his luck with running into her at Denny’s, enough to actually appreciate the fact he had stumbled to it to sober up. Things seemed to be looking up for him, perhaps this was the turnaround point. Perhaps things were finally going to be… good.

“Chris?” her soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

His eyes went to hers, he approached her, and sat next to her, “I’m really glad… that we ran into each other tonight. Not being able to talk to you for the past couple of days…”

Her hand quickly covered his, “I know, but… you needed to do that. You needed to figure out things for yourself.”

Chris squeezed her hand, “I understand that… and it amazes me that you thought of that. The past few days… have been hell, but I think I’m ready for heaven.”

“What have you decided?”

“Well, I’m meeting with my lawyer on Tuesday,” he stated.

“Which is tomorrow,” she interjected.

“It is? I thought today was Saturday.”

Alyssa shook her head, “But continue.”

“So I’m going to meet with my lawyer and see what we can do. We’ll go over the band’s contract and see how to best sever her from the band as well as from this marriage,” Chris explained. 

“Doesn’t the band go on tour soon?”

He nodded, “Yeah. We’ve agreed to Lollapalooza.”

“So this all needs to be figured out before then?”

“I suppose so.”

“I think things will work out for you,” she smiled slightly.

“You’re not happy,” he remarked.

“Of course I am. I have no reason not to be.”

He touched her chin, tilting her face up to receive his soft kiss, “You’re not happy.”

“I know this is your life. And that you’re going to go on tour and all of that. It just… makes things hard,” she remarked.

“Well… when are you done with classes?”

“I’m not going to go on tour with you if that’s what you’re hinting at, Chris,” Alyssa instantly responded.

“I… well why not?”

“Because we are not at the point in our relationship that I’m comfortable with that,” she replied. “Besides, you know it’s going to go public that you and Susan are going to divorce. If I’m on tour with you, everyone is going to think of me as a homewrecker.”

Chris remained quiet for a moment, “I suppose you’re right. But the tour isn’t for a month. So we don’t need to worry about it yet.”

“Right. We might not even be… together in a month.”

His eyes widened, “Why wouldn’t we be?”

She shrugged, “Things change. Life happens. You’ll change your mind.”

“No no no. I’m not going to change my mind. I want you in my life Alyssa. Plain and simple. You make everything… brighter and saner and… I really can’t describe it. I know we haven’t known each other long, but this connection… I am not going to change my mind,” he quickly assured her.

“I… I think I’m just tired. It’s like two in the morning,” she commented. “We can talk about this tomorrow before your meeting or something.”

“You’re going to stay right?”

Yawning, Alyssa nodded, “I shouldn’t, but yes, I will.”