Done

Glancing down at Ryan's hand on his arm, Tal gives her a new smile. Taking her hand in his, he gives it a little squeeze. "I don't care..." 

As he says that though, he looks up and sees several pairs of eyes on him - most of them with very obviously teasing stares. "On... second thought, let's go outside." He smirks. "Too much of an audience in here." Grabbing a rag that was hanging off the mirror of the car, he flicks it at Miles, who had the cheesiest grin on his face.

Leading the way out to the parking lot, Tal stops a short distances from the open bay doors. With Ryan's hand still in his, he toys with her fingers, shifting his weight a little uncomfortably. "I, um... I'm sorry about last night. I needed to think, but I wasn't being very fair." He sighs before nodding. "I thought maybe tonight we could go out somewhere nice... my treat. Just..." Tal shrugs. "...to be together and maybe..." His sentence trails off as the sound of a motorcycle engine interrupts. Turning to look over his shoulder, he rolls his eyes. "You have got to be kidding me."

Could his timing get much worse? Seeing Tal with Ryan in the parking lot, Alec regrets having chosen this morning to come. But he was here now, they'd seen him, and he wasn't going to just turn around an leave. Parking nearby, he takes off his helmet and dismounts before approaching them a bit cautiously.

Tal's whole body tenses with remnants of fear leftover from the attacks. It was bad enough knowing that Alec was around, but to have him come here now was ridiculous. Backing up a step, he prepares for anything.

Alec stops just a couple feet away and looks between them for a moment before settling his eyes on Ryan, giving her a half smile. "I wanted to talk to you. Mind if I wait around 'til you're free?"

Tal knew better than to speak for Ryan, but right now he was fed up. "She may not mind, but I do," he snaps. "What is your problem? Can you not take no for an answer?"

Alec recoils slightly. "I was talking to Ryan," he replies calmly. "And my problem is just trying to make heads or tails out of something that's between her and me. I'm sorry for interrupting but-"

"There is nothing between you and her!" Maybe it was the fear down deep that drove Tal to lose his temper. Maybe it was the fear that he might really lose Ryan. "Get it through your thick skull, Alec! Leave her alone!"

Alec's brow furrows as his irritation builds. He knew he hadn't been invited, he knew that his timing had been poor, but he wasn't going to leave - not without talking to Ryan. His eyes glance back to her before returning to Tal. "It's not my intention to bother her." He tries to keep his tone on an even keel. "I know you hate my guts, but this isn't about you and me. So I'd appreciate a little respect."

"Respect?" By now, Tal didn't even care if he was making a scene, and he almost forgets that Ryan is standing right there. "Why do you even deserve an ounce of respect? You stomp all over somebody you supposedly care about, you act like a total jerk - at the very least - then you start bothering Ryan all over again, and you think you deserve respect?"

"Why does everybody but Ryan say I'm bothering her?!" Alec finally raises his voice. "I've done nothing by try to be nice! It looks to me like she's got a brother and boyfriend who are trying to run her life for her!"

"She doesn't want you around!" Tal barks. "Now for pity sake, leave her alone!"

"If she doesn't want me around, then why did she kiss me? Why did she say she wanted to see me and she loved me?!" Once Alec said it, he knew it had been wrong. But those things were what weighed most heavily on his heart - the confusion, knowing that she'd returned his kiss, admitted she loved him, then had told him to back off. He didn't understand, and that's why he'd come here today. But as the words slipped out of his mouth, he knew he never should have said them to Tal.

Anger flashes in Tal's eyes and for the first time since Alec's arrival, he looks to Ryan. She'd said Alec kissed her - not the other way around. She'd said she'd struggled with feelings for him - Alec was making it sound like something much more than that. Love was different than just leftover feelings. But which version was true? Who was playing games here? "You're crazy," he hisses to Alec.

Alec's eyes narrow. "Crazy for coming here? Yeah, probably. But I came to find out why your girlfriend's been giving me mixed signals. If you got a problem with that, I suggest you talk to her, not me. But for right now, I'm going to walk back to my bike, sit, and wait until she's free so I can talk to her."

Setting his hands on his hips, Tal scoffs. Looking back and forth between Ryan and Alec, he finally throws up his arms. He didn't know what the truth was anymore. "Forget it. I'm done here." Spinning on his heel, he stalks to his car with no intention of stopping. He wasn't sure what was going on between those two, but he didn't like it, and he'd not be played a fool.

Full of adrenaline, Alec's fists were balled at his sides as he tries to make sense of this whole stupid thing. Was it just bad luck on his part or was he really that dumb? Looking to Ryan, his eyes were full of apology... hurt... irritation... confusion. He'd come here to find out the truth, and all he'd done was cause a bigger mess. But why had Tal gotten that riled to begin with? Alec just didn't understand any of this.