fanfic100 / 021 friends
Title: Insomnia
Fandom: Roswell
Characters: Isabel Evans
Prompt: 021. Friends
Word Count: 863
Rating: G
Isabel sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the morning to come. Everyone else was asleep, scattered across the couch and floor. Max had even somehow ended up in bed with Jesse. It'd be comforting, comical, in any other situation. At any other time. But now the tension had ratcheted to almost unbearable levels.
Tess stood in the doorway. She motioned at Isabel's coffee mug. "Mind if I have some? Couldn't sleep."
"So we're playing One Big Happy Family, now?" Isabel was incredulous. "Whatever. Take whatever you want. You always have."
"Is--"
"What. You won. They're not going to turn you in. Hell, they're even going to help you get out of town. You destroyed everything, Tess. I can't see that you've got anything to say to me."
Tess winced. Head bowed, she shrugged. "Look, Isabel, I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Alex. I'm sorry about everything. I just wanted to know who we were. I wanted to go home. Can you blame me?"
"That's bullshit, Tess, and you know it. You had Nasedo. You knew who we were. All you wanted was to betray us to Kivar, it didn't matter who you hurt. And now you want us to take pity on you. Right, well, I guess you got it."
"Yeah, sure, I had Nasedo. I had him telling me how inferior humans were. Telling me that this place was a prison. That Kivar would make me a queen if I brought back Max's son." She was getting angry now, fingers into fists at her sides. "I wasn't lucky like you. You and Max, you have a real family. Even Michael had people who cared about him. I was just a tool. Something to be used. I did what I was told to. And, yeah, people got hurt and I'm sorry about that. But what else was I supposed to do?"
Isabel listened to her friends breathing in the other room. When she spoke, finally, her voice crackled with old hurt. "You were supposed to be my friend. You were supposed to be mine."
Taken aback, Tess just stared at her.
"When you first came, you were my friend. The one person who knew who we all were. Max had Liz and Michael had Maria and Liz had Kyle and Alex and I was all alone. Until you came along and wanted to be my friend. And I thought, maybe, you could be mine." It was childish, Isabel knew that. But she couldn't help it. She shook her head. "But that was all an act, wasn't it? You just wanted to get close to my brother. I saved your life, but all that went out the window when you got the chance to make your move. So don't talk to me about being a tool, about being used. I'm pretty clear on that."
The other girl slid into the chair across from her. Dropped her head to her hands. Tried to speak, but couldn't find the words.
"Look, Tess. It's ok. I'm over it. Just don't expect me to be thrilled about the recent turn of events. I was kind of hoping you'd never come back."
"Isabel. I'm sorry. I didn't know...I didn't think. I never meant to hurt you like that."
"Yeah. Like I said, no big deal. I'm over it. I was an idiot for thinking you'd be any different than anyone else. I'll live." She forced a laugh. "At least until the government tracks us down, thanks to you."
"Is--"
"I'm going to bed. You should get some sleep, too. Tomorrow's probably going to suck. I have the feeling getting you away from here is going to mean a long walk through the desert. Fun." She stood up and walked to the door, pausing only when the other girl spoke.
"If it matters, I did want to be your friend. You're fun and smart and beautiful. I wanted it to be like it used to be. You know, when we were us." Tess rose and moved to put her hands on Isabel's cheeks.
The room spun and light flooded in. They were on the shores of a sea Isabel knew wasn't on Earth. She saw herself and Tess, swimming. Laughing. Playing. Knew it was before everything. Before Kivar and Earth and back when they were Vilandra and Ava. When they were happy. She felt, rather than heard, the voice. This is what I remember. What we were. I want you to have it, too. It felt so right. So perfect. Being loved. Having each other.
But those people, who they had been, were dead. Too much had passed. There was too much now to ever go back, and they both knew it. Isabel struggled and broke free of the vision, watching the sea shatter into her dark living room. She didn't look at the other girl. Couldn't.
"Too little too late," she whispered. Walked away.
Two hours later, the entire apartment shook, waking everyone. Liz and Tess were gone. The sky burned. Sirens blared, firetrucks and ambulances sped through town in the direction of the Air Force Base.
Isabel stood at the window, lost.
Fandom: Roswell
Characters: Isabel Evans
Prompt: 021. Friends
Word Count: 863
Rating: G
Isabel sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the morning to come. Everyone else was asleep, scattered across the couch and floor. Max had even somehow ended up in bed with Jesse. It'd be comforting, comical, in any other situation. At any other time. But now the tension had ratcheted to almost unbearable levels.
Tess stood in the doorway. She motioned at Isabel's coffee mug. "Mind if I have some? Couldn't sleep."
"So we're playing One Big Happy Family, now?" Isabel was incredulous. "Whatever. Take whatever you want. You always have."
"Is--"
"What. You won. They're not going to turn you in. Hell, they're even going to help you get out of town. You destroyed everything, Tess. I can't see that you've got anything to say to me."
Tess winced. Head bowed, she shrugged. "Look, Isabel, I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Alex. I'm sorry about everything. I just wanted to know who we were. I wanted to go home. Can you blame me?"
"That's bullshit, Tess, and you know it. You had Nasedo. You knew who we were. All you wanted was to betray us to Kivar, it didn't matter who you hurt. And now you want us to take pity on you. Right, well, I guess you got it."
"Yeah, sure, I had Nasedo. I had him telling me how inferior humans were. Telling me that this place was a prison. That Kivar would make me a queen if I brought back Max's son." She was getting angry now, fingers into fists at her sides. "I wasn't lucky like you. You and Max, you have a real family. Even Michael had people who cared about him. I was just a tool. Something to be used. I did what I was told to. And, yeah, people got hurt and I'm sorry about that. But what else was I supposed to do?"
Isabel listened to her friends breathing in the other room. When she spoke, finally, her voice crackled with old hurt. "You were supposed to be my friend. You were supposed to be mine."
Taken aback, Tess just stared at her.
"When you first came, you were my friend. The one person who knew who we all were. Max had Liz and Michael had Maria and Liz had Kyle and Alex and I was all alone. Until you came along and wanted to be my friend. And I thought, maybe, you could be mine." It was childish, Isabel knew that. But she couldn't help it. She shook her head. "But that was all an act, wasn't it? You just wanted to get close to my brother. I saved your life, but all that went out the window when you got the chance to make your move. So don't talk to me about being a tool, about being used. I'm pretty clear on that."
The other girl slid into the chair across from her. Dropped her head to her hands. Tried to speak, but couldn't find the words.
"Look, Tess. It's ok. I'm over it. Just don't expect me to be thrilled about the recent turn of events. I was kind of hoping you'd never come back."
"Isabel. I'm sorry. I didn't know...I didn't think. I never meant to hurt you like that."
"Yeah. Like I said, no big deal. I'm over it. I was an idiot for thinking you'd be any different than anyone else. I'll live." She forced a laugh. "At least until the government tracks us down, thanks to you."
"Is--"
"I'm going to bed. You should get some sleep, too. Tomorrow's probably going to suck. I have the feeling getting you away from here is going to mean a long walk through the desert. Fun." She stood up and walked to the door, pausing only when the other girl spoke.
"If it matters, I did want to be your friend. You're fun and smart and beautiful. I wanted it to be like it used to be. You know, when we were us." Tess rose and moved to put her hands on Isabel's cheeks.
The room spun and light flooded in. They were on the shores of a sea Isabel knew wasn't on Earth. She saw herself and Tess, swimming. Laughing. Playing. Knew it was before everything. Before Kivar and Earth and back when they were Vilandra and Ava. When they were happy. She felt, rather than heard, the voice. This is what I remember. What we were. I want you to have it, too. It felt so right. So perfect. Being loved. Having each other.
But those people, who they had been, were dead. Too much had passed. There was too much now to ever go back, and they both knew it. Isabel struggled and broke free of the vision, watching the sea shatter into her dark living room. She didn't look at the other girl. Couldn't.
"Too little too late," she whispered. Walked away.
Two hours later, the entire apartment shook, waking everyone. Liz and Tess were gone. The sky burned. Sirens blared, firetrucks and ambulances sped through town in the direction of the Air Force Base.
Isabel stood at the window, lost.