the hero of the story

It was a sunny day in Vancouver, and Mike was looking forward to shooting some scenes with Allison today. Heck, even if had been raining or sleeting, he would still be looking forward to working, just because he got to spend time with her.

She was so amazing, and he took every opportunity to tell her so. She still blushed a little and giggled whenever he complimented her, but he knew she liked the attention.

It was Tom that told him to be careful. “She’s got a boyfriend,” he said sternly, and Mike had to bite back a laugh because really. It was hard to take Tom seriously when he was decked out as Clark in all his plaid flannel glory.

But Mike was careful. He kept the flirting to a minimum, but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to be around her all the time. Even if they didn’t have scenes together, he still found himself searching the set for any sign of her. His ears were now trained to pick up her voice. He was like Pavlov’s dog, to the point of drooling whenever she spoke to him.

Mike had a crush. He knew it, he accepted it. He was a single guy in his late 20s, and he had a crush. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this giddy around a member of the opposite sex, and he rather liked the feeling.

Of course, there was the boyfriend, Peter, who Mike begrudgingly liked. The guy was nice. He treated Allison very well, and as far as Mike could tell, he had very few faults, aside from being the one who had Allison’s heart.

When Mike got to the set, he immediately spotted Allison. She was sitting in her chair, looking over her script. Mike bounded over, all set to tell her a new joke he’d learned, but his steps slowed as he neared her. She seemed sad. Her shoulders drooped and she sighed heavily, then swallowed what sounded like a sob.

“Allie? Are you all right?” he asked softly, coming up to her.

She looked up, and Mike saw her eyes were red and puffy.

“Mike, hi, how are you?” she asked. She stood up and tucked the script under her arm.

“I’m fine, how about you? Have you been crying?”

Mike stepped closer and placed his hands on her shoulders. He felt her tremble.

“It’s nothing,” she said, but Mike wasn’t convinced. Before he could say anything more, she locked eyes with him and said, “Please. I just...need to be alone for a minute.”

And then she jerked away and dashed off towards her trailer, dropping her script to the floor. Mike was puzzled and concerned, and he didn’t know what to do. He bent to retrieve the script, placing it on her chair.

“She broke up with Peter,” Kristin said from behind him, her voice low. “She found out he was cheating on her with a girl from LA.”

“What?” Mike asked in disbelief. “When did this happen?”

“Last night. She called me in tears after she kicked him out. I’m the only one she told,” she said, staring pointedly at him. “But seeing how you feel about her, I just had to let you know.”

“Shit. That fucking bastard,” Mike spat. “How long was it going on?”

Kristin shook her head sadly. “A long time.”

Mike looked towards Allison’s trailer, and Kristin touched his arm.

“Just give her some time,” she said.

Taking a deep breath, Mike nodded and thanked Kristin for telling him.

~*~*~

The director gave the order to break for lunch, and everyone started to scatter. Allison was in better spirits. Mike made her laugh a couple of times with some jokes, and that seemed to bring back some of her sparkle, but he could tell she still wasn’t herself.

Mike rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension that had taken residence there ever since Kristin had told him what happened. He was just about to go and ask Allison to join him for lunch when a male figure stepped onto the set. Mike thought his spine would crack with how fast he jerked to attention at the intruder.

Peter.

Allison was currently wearing an expression that could only be described as deer in the headlights, and Mike felt his blood boil. He watched Peter try to hug her, heard the sugary tone of his voice, and saw Allison recoil.

“Come on, Allie, we need to talk about this. It was a mistake, I still love you,” Peter said. “Please, let’s go somewhere and talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Allison hissed.

Peter grabbed her hand and tried to pull her with him, and Allison clearly didn’t want to follow. Mike was by her in an instant, roughly twisting Peter’s arm by the elbow.

“Let her go,” he ordered.

Allison blinked, and Peter just stared in shock.

“Hey man, this doesn’t concern you. Allie and I need to talk about some stuff,” Peter said.

“She obviously doesn’t feel that need, so I repeat. Let. Her. Go.”

Mike stood a few inches taller than Peter, so it was easy for him to stare down the other man. The set had grown quiet as everyone who hadn’t left immediately, stoped what they were doing to watch.

Peter let go of Allison, who took a step back.

“You gonna release your death grip?” Peter asked Mike.

“Sure. As soon as I kick your ass out of the building.”

“What are you? Some kind of freak with a hero complex?”

“Peter,” Allison said sharply. “Just leave. We don’t have anything more to discuss. It’s over.”

“If your fearless protector would get his paws off me, we could work this out,” Peter said. He faced Mike again, his lips curled in a sneer. “How ‘bout it? You gonna let go and allow me to talk to my girlfriend, or do we have to take this outside?”

“Oh, I’ll gladly take it outside, asshole,” Mike growled. He started for the door, pulling Peter with him.

Allison, along with several members of the crew, ran after them. Mike shoved open the door leading to the parking lot and hurled Peter outside. He stumbled a bit, regained his footing, and then lunged at Mike. They both fell to the pavement.

The two wrestled angrily, fists flying. Allison tried to get between them, screaming at them to stop. Suddenly Peter swung at Mike, who dodged just in time. Unfortunately, Allison didn’t see it coming, and Peter hit her on the left side of her face. She fell back, moaning and crying.

Peter, stunned at what had happened, froze, giving Mike the opportunity to raise his leg and swing. His foot connected with Peter’s head with a solid thunk, and Peter went down. Mike jumped up, ignoring the burning in his back from being scraped along the cement, and scooped Allison into his arms.

“Get security down here and have him removed,” Mike said, sounding very much like a pissed off Lex Luthor, and everyone scrambled away.

He carried Allison to his trailer and gently set her on the couch. She was sobbing and hiccupping, and holding her face. Mike got ice from the fridge and filled a hand towel. Brushing hair from her eyes with his fingers, he cupped her chin and used his other hand to hold the icepack to her cheek. She winced and bit her lip.

“Sorry,” Mike said.

“It’s okay,” she said, sniffling away tears. “You didn’t hit me.”

“No, I mean, I’m sorry for starting a fight with your boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Allison corrected. “I dumped him last night.” She gave a half-smile. “But I suppose you already knew that.”

“Me?” Mike asked. He blinked innocently, but Allison let out a sad laugh.

“I know Kristin told you, and that’s fine. I also know that even if she hadn’t, you still would have jumped to my rescue.”

“Oh, well, uh,” Mike stammered.

Allison took the ice pack and set it beside her, then held both of Mike’s hands in hers. She pulled him close and kissed his forehead.

“I think they’ve got it wrong,” she said. “I think you’re the hero of the story.”

While members of wardrobe and makeup were having major conniption fits outside, Mike and Allison simply held each other inside.

And Mike knew that even if this was as close to her as he ever got, he would never ever regret kicking Peter in the head.

~end