Saving U(S)

Chapter Twelve

So I'll make sure to keep my distance
Say "I love you" when you're not listening
And how long can we keep this up, up, up?

Alex laid on the grass, earbuds in, watching the clouds pass overhead, gray and ominous looking. It would rain soon- by noon, probably. She would have to find some shelter.

She didn't want to go back to the hotel, Servando would most likely be there, and it hurt too much to see him.

Life will come our way,
It has only just begun.
The world will die alone
The frail will fall below

Alex readjusted the volume so her ears wouldn't hurt. Her sister, Jeri, had introduced her to the band Breaking Benjamin, and this was their song, Failure. She didn't usually listen to rock, but the music really suited her in the moment.

Time will take our place.
We return it back to one
The calm before the cold,
The long and lonely road.
Look for the light that leads me home.

"God..." she whispered, tears hanging on her lower lids, threatening to spill over. Why did it have to be so hard?

Tired of feeling lost, tired of letting go.
Tear the whole world down, tear the whole world down.
Failure.
Drive the cloud away,
We will fall from last to none.
The dark before the dawn,
The world will carry on.

Rain started to fall, softly misting. Alex forced herself off the grass. At least with the rain falling, no one would notice her tears.

We bury the sunlight (Failure), we bury the sunlight (Failure).
Failure! Failure.
We bury the sunlight (Failure), we bury the sunlight (Failure).
Failure! Failure.

It was falling steadily as the song ended, coming down in good-sized drops. It was the first rain Houston had had since they'd arrived.

Alex ducked into a nearby convenience store to escape the rain. While she was there, she bought a bag of chips and a Dr Pepper and watched the small tv in the corner. It was on the local news channel that was centered in downtown Houston. The anchorman was showing the weather for the day. Rainy, rainy, rainy-

Alex nearly choked on her Dr Pepper when she saw Pinoe and Kling on the screen.

"Oh no," she moaned, mentally face palming. "This can't be good."

----------------------------------------------

Pinoe slapped the tech guy in the face with a newspaper.

"Fuck off!!!" Kling yelled, climbing onto the desk and kicking the mugs of coffee everywhere. "Moe! Get the camera!!"

"I shouldn't have signed up for this," Morgan moaned before sprinting towards the cameraman and sweeping his legs out from under him.

"Tykwando is paying off, eh?" Kling yelled, grinning, while punching the security guards in the stomach.

"Sadly yes," Morgan grimaced, rotating the camera to Pinoe.

"Hello America!!" Pinoe grinned, mimicking a news reporter. "This is Megan Rapinoe reporting from downtown Houston!!"

"Cut to it, Pinoe!!!" Kling shouted from backstage.