Index
Fan Fic
The Wild Blue Yonder
"Well," Tana answered, unsure of how Alex would react," Jake called me last week. His mom died on Monday, so I'm in town for the funeral."
"Oh," Alex replied, obviously taken aback by her reply. "Where have you been staying?"
"With Jake's family." Tana watched Alex's face turn from surprise to jealousy and finally anger.
You've been staying with HIM for a week?!" Alex asked, trying to calm his anger so as to avoid calling attention to them. "No wonder you didn't tell me!"
"Alex!" Tana whined in a loud whisper, "What do you think I did this week? His mom died! I was being a friend. I wanted to surprise you, or I would've told you. It's not that big a deal!"
"Not that big a deal? Tana, put yourself in my place. If you found out that I'd been staying with my ex's family for a week without telling you, you'd be mad."
"Not if her mom had died! Alex, listen to you! Where'd this jealousy come from?"
"I've always been jealous, Tan. This guy knows you better that I do… much better. How could I ever compete with that?" Fed up with Alex, Tana stood up to leave. "You don't have to compete, you've already won." She began to walk away before turning to say, "I've got Jake's sister's car. I'll leave directions to the house, and I'll be ready to leave with you in an hour." With that, Tana left, stopping only to give Marcus directions to the house.
An hour later…
"Tan," Jake said, wrapping her in a hug, "Thank you so much for being here for me. It meant so much to me."
"It's no problem, Jake. You know you'll always be my best friend." Tana hugged Jake harder. Than, hearing a loud roar disturbing the midnight calm, Tana pivoted in her place on the sidewalk and watched as Alex's bus barreled down the quiet residential street.
"Y'know," Jake teased, "The neighbors are gonna wonder what kinda people I hang with, what with this huge bus showing up in the middle of the night!"
"Oh, shut up!" Tana retorted. She turned to the now-parked bus and motioned for Alex to come down.
When Alex saw Tana's gesture, he reluctantly stood from his seat by the window and made his way off the bus and over to Jake and Tana.
"I wanted to introduce you two," Tana told them, "Cuz I know you've only seen each other once before, and it wasn't exactly the ideal situation." Tana laughed uncomfortably as Jake and Alex eyed each other warily. "So… yeah," she said. "Alex, this is Jake, my best friend from high school, and Jake, this is my boyfriend Alex."
Jake stuck out his hand for Alex to shake, and Alex obliged. (Although he did it for Tana, not cuz he had any interest in getting along with this Jake character.) "Nice to finally meet you, Alex," Jake said with a false bit of perkiness in his voice. Glancing at Tana, he added, "You're making her very happy."
*What's he up to?* Alex thought. *No guy could ever give up Tana this easily; without any bitterness.* "I hope so," he answered. "I mean, I try."
Tana looked from Jake to Alex, realizing the extreme tension. In an effort to get things calmed, she moved to hug Jake a final time. "Jake, if there's anything, I can do …"
"I know, Tan," he laughed, "I'll call. Now get going!" Giving Jake one final squeeze, Tana turned and allowed Alex to lead her to the tour bus.
Yawning, Alex climbed from his bunk and stumbled toward the front of the bus and the refrigerator. "Yo!" he whispered loudly to the driver, "What time is it?"
"3:30," the driver answered. "We're just past the Oregon state line. We'll get to Portland just in time for the radio show," he continued as he guided the bus through the black night.
In the weak light of the fridge, Alex noticed Tana sitting on the sofa next to the kitchen area. Quietly making his way toward her so as to not to wake her, he say next to her and put his arm around her.
"I needed to think," she whispered, causing him to jump a bit.
"I thought you were sleeping," he said. Then, pulling her into an embrace, he asked, "What's on your mind?"
"Everything. Alex, do you remember when we talked a couple weeks ago?"
"I wish… I wish… I wish we could have a normal relationship like normal people," Tana said, missing Alex with all her heart.
"But we're not normal people, Tana. We don't live normal lives."
"No, Alex, you don't live a normal life. I'm 22 years old, living and working in Orlando. I went to a normal high school and have a normal college degree. I'm as normal as they come. You're the one who's not normal," Tana said, angrier at her situation than at her boyfriend.
"Don't do this to me!" Alex pleaded, regretting his job and all it required. "Please! Don't you think that I'd be with you every second of every day if I could? But I can't, and you and I both know that."
"I know," she said, her voice softening. "I just miss you so much!"
"I meant it, Tana," Alex said, searching her eyes for a hint of what was going on in her head.
"I know," she assured him. "But the thing I can't seem to figure out is: Will love be enough? We came from totally opposite places; 2 different worlds. Already we've begun to realize how hard it is. In these two months, we've had to build a relationship despite miles between us. How strong can a relationship be when you don't have enough time together? How long can 2 people live a life like that? What if we're together a year from now? Will it be even harder for us then? Easier?" Tana sighed as she allowed everything she'd said to sink in.
"Tana," Alex began after an extended silence. "I don't know. I can't promise you that we'll be able to overcome the gap. I don't know what's gonna happen to you and me, but I know that I can't give up. I'm not gonna turn my back on this relationship, cuz the strongest relationships come from building trust and overcoming differences. I can promise you that I'll do everything in my power to make this work, but we both hafta promise in order for us to get through this. Can we do this, Tan?"
"I think it's worth the try."
Index
Fan Fic
The Wild Blue Yonder