Title: All the World's a Stage Author: Anna Hutchinson Email: anhutchinson@vassar.edu (Feedback eagerly devoured!) Classification: S, V, Angst. Not exactly M/S UST, but NoRoMos might want to skip this one. Rating: PG Spoilers: The End Archiving: Yes to Gossamer. Anywhere else, you know the routine: my name stays on it, and let me know! Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. They belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and FOX. Yada yada yada. Summary: The boy from "The End" has some angst, and ponders the lives of the three FBI agents he's met. ************************* Boy, I wish we got shows like this where *I* live. I don't really know the names of any of these shows (except for the Simpsons and King of the Hill, of course, but they're only on in the evenings). The daytime cartoons all blend into one after a while. But they sure are fun. Plus, it's nice not to have to think about chess for once. I don't even really like chess that much. Mom and Dad sure got excited when they found out I could play. It's always been their hobby more than mine. You'd think my dad was out there playing instead of me. They get so excited every time I win. They especially liked it when I made the news last week. I wish I could tell them that I hate chess, but I don't want to hurt their feelings. Sometimes it stinks that I can read minds, because I can read my parents' minds and I know that they are mostly disappointed in me. I know that for the first twelve years of my life they didn't think I'd ever amount to anything. I mean, look at me. I'm twelve years old and I look like I'm eight. My dad thinks I'm a wimp. He never says that, of course. But I know. I wish that I didn't have to know these things. I wish I didn't know that my parents aren't proud of me, or that these government people want to hurt me. Sometimes my talent can be entertaining, though. Usually it's just a babble of voices, and I wish it was quiet. But those FBI people -- they have interesting thoughts. Heh heh. I'm so tempted to tell those three exactly what they all think of each other -- but I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I wouldn't make trouble for people. I wouldn't interfere... well, TOO much, anyway. But boy, it's so tempting. That guy Fox is really dumb. If only he knew what was going on in those other women's minds! He's clued in about that brown-haired woman who keeps following him around like a lost puppy -- he knows that she only came back for one reason and it WASN'T the X-Files. But he's not interested in her because he's in love with the red-headed one, Dana. I'm glad -- I like Dana. She's really nice, and she doesn't talk to me like I'm five. But anyway, Fox is in love with Dana but he thinks that she isn't interested in him. It's funny because Dana is in love with Fox but she doesn't think he's interested in her! They're both so silly. You don't even have to be psychic to figure out how they feel about each other. It's obvious in the way they look at each other. Poor Dana. I know other things about her, too. I know that she went through a lot for that guy, and she thinks he doesn't notice or appreciate it. I also know that she spent an hour crying last night over this brown-haired woman. But she's too proud to tell him any of this. That's one of the good things about my talent, I guess, is that I never have to be scared to say things to people, because I know how they will react to me. If only Dana knew what I knew. I tried to hint at it earlier, but then that horrible brown-haired woman came in. I want to tell HER some things too. I want to tell her to go away and leave Fox and Dana alone. But I don't think she would react well to it. She's got it bad for that guy. I don't really understand why. The guy's a perv. I've seen the things that he thinks about when he looks at Dana and it makes me want to "shut the radio off" more than ever. But then again, Dana thinks very similar things when she looks at him. Huh -- grown-ups are weird. I hope I never get to be like that. Anyway, I like watching this hidden part of these people's lives. It makes me forget that I'm so scared for myself. I still think mushy romances are gross, but I really like Dana, and I know that being with that guy Fox will make her happy. She deserves to be happy -- a lot of bad stuff has happened to her. Anyway, it should be interesting to watch. If something doesn't happen on its own soon, I may have to step in again; break my own rule. It will be worth it to see those two together. It's so funny to see them so scared of each other and what they're thinking, when really they're thinking the same thing all along. Grown-ups are sooooo weird. THE END. ********************************** Thanks to all those who have very kindly sent me feedback in the past! If you enjoyed this story, please let me know!