time ; diego hargreeves

5 ; the attack

Alex Santiago had a routine.

Ever since buying the tiny apartment for himself, getting out of Mila and Roberto's hair, he'd done his best to do right by himself. He was careful when he went outside, careful not to aggravate an angry white person. He went to work a few minutes earlier to put a good impression in with his boss, who always gave him the side eye because he wasn't white, but he ignored it. He had a life now, a new one, and he couldn't just ruin it by misbehaving. He had to be careful, be careful with his money, and keep his eyes on the ground to make sure the cops didn't have a reason to beat the shit out of him.

It probably wouldn't stop them really, but Alex knew how to defend himself. Cops were bastards, and he and Diego had learned that the hard way, growing up with the skin colour they had, with what they were. God, everything reminded Alex of Diego in some small way. It broke his heart little by little with every reminder of the man he was supposed to be with.

Alex had to earn money and live in the time period he had been thrown in. He didn't know how to time travel. Alex couldn't think about that kind of thing anymore; it always bummed him out and had him up late into the night, crying while he thought about Diego and Klaus and Ben. Not to mention Sally too. God, that had been his little mildly dysfunctional family, but it had worked. He had had a life, a good one, and it had been snatched from his hands. Alex didn't know where or when Diego was, stuck in time without him. It terrified him thinking about how dangerous time travel was.

Alex had been keeping track of Klaus and his growing cult. They had left America, travelling down to Mexico. There was no way Alex could try and find him; the cult didn't agree with telephones or the outside world, not that Alex would even know who to call if they did use telephones. They were just being weird and culty. Alex didn't know how Klaus could do it, become a leader of so many people. He had to admire it though. He was doing well for himself, if making a name for himself that would've been better off being hidden within time. Alex didn't like thinking of the repercussions of their existence in the wrong time period. How much had Alex changed whilst he'd tried to keep to himself and keep his head low? How much had Klaus changed, creating a fucking cult?

He sometimes wondered if Klaus had realised he had come back to life. Alex couldn't really manifest beside Klaus anymore if he had his own body back. He couldn't hop through space to be beside Klaus anymore. He just hoped that Klaus or Ben had realised this, and just hoped for the day that Klaus was close enough for Alex to find him again.

Still, Alex had a job to do; there were going to be a lot of patrons at the bar, and Alex had to put on a smile and ignore the racism.

At least no-one could read his mind.

The bar slowly filled up, and Alex served them with a smile and a polite manner. He was just lucky that the bar served Mexican and Spanish people as well as white people. He was beyond angry that there was a sign in the window that said NO BLACKS and it reminded him of Sally, and how she would've kicked up a fuss and yelled bloody murder at such a sign. Of all the times he had to be in, it had to be where the racism was most prominent, most dangerous. Alex thought about Allison; although they hadn't gotten close, the thought of the intense racism in the country, and her stuck in it alone had him worrying for her. She couldn't talk, and when she appeared, she'd be thrown in to the deep end with no kind of support. Alex wanted to do more, but the entire situation made him feel powerless, leaving him with no knowledge as to what to do.

He looked away from the sign, having to ignore the mixed feelings he experienced, the thoughts that ran through his head.

Plastering a smile on his face, he served a white lady who ordered one of their most expensive drinks. He guessed she was hoping he'd make a mess of it, and then get a replacement free of charge. No, Alex had been working in bars for ten years at least. He knew how to make drinks that hadn't even been invented yet.