Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider nor How to Save A Life by the Fray.

Mild cursing, just forwarning you. Lyrics in Italics.

Tom was walking down the streets of London. He was twenty-six now and he was settled down with a wife, but something was bothering Tom on this night, but it was not the fact that his wife was pregnant with their little girl. It was his friend Alex Rider, whom may be dead for all Tom knew. Tom Harris has not seen his friend for… he looked at his watch, exactly a year, in 30 minutes. Which would then be 11:00 o'clock at night, and thus explaining why Tom was wandering the streets at this hour.

This was the last place he had seen Alex, the place where he saw his friend walking away a year ago. Tom walked into the restaurant where he met his old school friend and sat down in the booth in front of the one which they had conversed a year ago. Tom had wanted to talk to Alex, because then he would occasionally leave his own wife months on end, and return home battered and bruised. Tom knew that Alex was still encased in his spy work, even if he didn't want to be. And Tom now needed to talk to his changed friend, his memory wandered back to that night.

Step one, you say you need to talk,

He walks, you say sit down, it's just a talk

He smiles politely back at you

You stare politely right on through

Some sort of window to your right

Tom was standing outside the restaurant, the cold wind blowing across his face as he waited for his friend Alex Rider to show up. He glanced down both sides of the sidewalk and bounced slightly on his toes trying to keep himself warm. Then he saw Alex. The blonde head was walking in his direction, and stopped in front of him smiling, rubbing his hands together.

"Hello Tom." Alex greeted.

Tom shifted his feet, then told his friend, "We need to talk Alex."

Tom could tell his friend felt the uneasiness between them, and Tom knew that his friend had figured that, whatever the conversation was, it wasn't going to be a good one. Alex has probably heard those five simple words so many times, then found himself launched into a gut-wrenching mission.

"About what?" Alex asked questionaly. This is what they needed to talk about, he lost the trust in his friends because of this crazy nonsense. Tom saw Alex back up a step, and sensing that his friend would soon come up with a swift lie and walk away Tom said,

"Don't worry about it, just come on, and sit down, it's just a talk."

Tom gestured to the door of the resturaunt, and seeing his reassuring smile Alex stepped inside, Tom following soon after him. And they sat down at the originaly arranged table, sitting across from each other. Alex smiled at Tom, Tom smiled back but he was still unsure of how to start this, and avoiding eye-contact with Alex, he stared out the window to his right. Watching whatever people stayed up this late, walking around.

As he goes left and you stay right

Between the lines of fear and blame

And you begin to wonder why you came

Tom was still avoiding eye-contact with Alex, he was afraid for his friends life, his well-being. What if he went on one of the crazy missions he does, and he never returned home. Never returned to his wife, to his friends. Tom knew it wasn't Alex's fault, but he always hoped that Alex could find a way out of MI6, that he could finally go into a retirement and work as normal people do. And if he wanted to stay as a protector to the city of London, and protecting people he could always become the average everyday cop, yes? But now Tom was beginning to sense Alex's uneasiness as he sat in the booth. Tom could feel him becoming unsettled, a bit of it being slightly offended that his friend wasn't making eye-contact with him, and because

'He knows,' Tom thought bitterly. 'He knows what I want to talk about'

So he turned back to Alex, who was looking over him with a bit of concern in his eyes,

"Are you alright Tom?" He had asked.

The present day Tom shook his head at the memory. There Alex was, being concerned for him, when really the conversation was about Alex himself, although the boy didn't know it yet. Tom sighed aloud, and went into the same booth that they were in a year ago. It was a strange feeling, then Tom felt his eyes water as he remembered the partially blank look in Alex's eyes. There was no more play, no more carelessness, or risk. Just...just things that should never enter a humans eyes, things that are so horrible that no word could match the possible meaning. Even then and now, Tom knew, part of Alex's mentality was gone. The mentality of just living freely.

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

There was a lot of bitterness at that moment in Alex Rider, although Alex wasn't in the restaurant, our current Tom could see Alex sitting in front of him, at least the ghost of him. Smiling down at Tom, concern in his eyes, his blonde hair sweeping across his forehead. Tom let out another depressed sigh, and wandered back into his memories of the past.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tom had answered. He now looked at his friend, finally making eye-contact.

Let him now that you know best

Cause after all you do know best

"Alex…" Tom started. "I-… I know you are still involved with MI6, and I'm not blaming you, but I know what's best for you Alex, and," Tom paused trying to find the right words. "And I know that you want to stop, but I also know that you have this little feeling in you that makes you not want to stop...But Alex... You have to stop. I mean you have a wife, and you could have a family and everything."

Tom looked at Alex, and saw that Alex didn't have any written response on his face, except for the fact that he closed his shoulders together, showing that he was unsure of how to respond to what Tom was saying to him.

Try to slip past his defense

Without granting innocence

Lay down a list of what is wrong

The things you've told him all along

Tom was trying to slip past Alex's defensive wall. A wall that had become far too strong for someone at such a young age. A wall that was now always put up, and never let down. He also needed to tell Alex everything, but cannot say that it wasn't his fault. As many men may see the situation, they would say that it indeed wasn't his fault, and that MI6 was still blackmailing him, but to Tom it was a different story. To Tom it seemed as if Alex had given up fighting against MI6, that he had given up fighting for his freedom.

"Alex, you need to get out of MI6," Tom started again.

"Tom, i-'

"No Alex, tonight you are going to listen to me okay." He said in a soothing voice. "You could have an amazing life if you left MI6. You have a wife who loves and cares for you, you have friends that would die for you Alex. You could have a child, a happy child. If you don't want to stop protecting people you could be a police officer or something. Your life could be that great Alex."

And pray to God, he hears you

And pray to God, he hears you

'Please listen to me Alex,' Tom had prayed silently. 'Please just listen to what I have to say and stop with MI6'

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

The present day Tom now had tears streaming down his face as he remembered what had happened after he told Alex. How a flare of anger danced in Alex's brown eyes, showing Tom that Alex didn't listen to him.

As he begins to raise his voice

You lower yours and grant him one last choice

Drive until you lose the road

Or break with the ones you've followed

"Do you think I want this Tom?" Alex had shouted at him. "Do you think this is seriously what I want to do with my life?"

"Alex," Tom said in a soothing voice. "You have two options, you can keep going with this MI6 crap, with the possibility of getting yourself, killed. Or you could fight against MI6 with more vigor then you have ever done before, setting yourself free of their horrible missions."

Tom became very, very uneasy when his friend had gotten a sudden interest in the table. Tom hoped he would make the right decision.

He will do one of two things

He will admit to everything

Or he'll say he's just not the same

And you begin to wonder why you came

'What if he admits it?' Tom thought. 'God I'd probably tackle him on the spot. I hope he listens to reason. He needs to admit that he has given up fighting against MI6, that he has stopped, but is now willing to start up the fight again. To final get himself free of the horrible place. But what if he doesn't listen? What if he says-'

"I'm sorry Tom," Alex said in a hard voice, interrupting Tom's thoughts. "But I have done everything I possibly could to fend off MI6. I have done everything humanly possible. I'm not the same person I was before Tom, I changed because of MI6, and I have tried to stop them but obviously I failed." And without another word, or a wave goodbye, Alex Rider stormed out the door and onto the street. Tom felt like his heart was about to stop, tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched his friend disappear into the night. Little did Tom know that that was the last he would see of Rider in a while.

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

The twenty three year old Tom was sobbing in his seat now.

'What if I said something different?' He asked himself bitterly. 'What if I didn't let him leave?'

Maybe things would have turned out different. No. No not maybe.. Things would have turned out different! The court room wouldn't have proclaimed him dead because of the length of his absence! His wife wouldn't have been in such a state of depression that only the arrival of her husband could revive her. Tom was the last person to see Alex before his mysterious disappearance, and Tom could feel the guilt eating away at his heart. What if he did something else! And what angered Tom was the fact that MI6 was remaining silent,

"What did you let them to do you?" Tom wondered aloud. "What did you let them do!" In his rage Tom banged his fist on the table, and let out another sob.

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life

"Ah shit Alex..." Tom said, he was aware of the strange glances he was getting from costumers and staff, but Tom didn't care. "Why didn't you fucking listen to me?" Tom momentarily let more tears slide down his face, and as he stared down at the table he wondered.

'I lost you Alex, what did I do wrong? What made you leave? God if I had only known that this would have happened.'

Tom did notice a person slide into the seat in front of him, probably the manger or staff or whatever going to ask him to leave because he was causing a disruption to the peace in the restaurant, but Tom really didn't care. His watched beeped and more tears flowed down his face, dotting the table. 11:00. exactly a year of Alex missing,

"Shit Alex why didn't you listen to me?" Tom asked out loud.

"I didn't have my head on straight." Came a small, sad response. Tom nearly jumped out of his seat and looked at the male seated in front of him. He had watchful brown eyes, and fair hair. His palms rested on the cool table and Tom could see a long white scar racing down his hand and stopping abruptly at the joint of his wrist. The man looked sad, ashamed; disappointed in things he knew he had down in the past that he soulfully regrets.

"Alex...?" Tom asked slowly. Alex Rider nodded from across the table.

"As soon as I was thousands of miles away, in Nebraska, I realized my mistake." Alex said looking down. "I realized that, you were right. That if I wasn't going to do the spy work anymore then I needed to fight, and I had given up. If I hadn't even thought about what you told me, what you said to me. Then I'd be dead right now and-"

But Alex didn't have a chance to finish his long apology because Tom had tackled him in a huge bear hug.

"I don't care how, where, or when you find out what your mistake was, just thank god you found out before it was too late." Tom said.

"Tom don't you understand," Alex said pulling away from Tom, looking him straight in the eye he said. "You saved my life."

How to save a life

Now I know that in the song it never ever said that he succedded in makeing his friend come back and change his mind, but thats how I made it because I didnt waant a sad ending or anything. Cuz I dont like sad endings, which is why I hate character deaths but if it must happen then it must. And I also know this song was about a kid with a drug addiction, but it can be interperted in different ways so ya...

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! but be nice I'm still young... :)

Review!