Maybe

"...it's wrong to say I love you too, 'cause I know you'll never do." Kyle sang quietly under her breath as she walked down another corridor. She had just finished a class and was headed for her homeroom classroom, where the children could do whatever they wanted in the boundaries of the room.

She paused in the doorway of her homeroom classroom and spotted half of the boys having a paper ball fight. With the homeroom teacher. She'd thought that being in a boarding school would have more disciplined children. Or that was what Selena had told her. Kyle rolled her eyes at the scene with a small smile on her face but continued in and headed to the back of the classrooms to the corner with easels set up to face the wide windows. It was her little happy place to go to after all the hullabaloo of the day, and with more classes or activities to come later, she needed the time. Her close friends Chloe and Madel were already there, with Chloe at an easel next to Kyle's usual one holding a paintbrush and a wooden palette and Madel looking over some pictures that she had taken with her camera.

Chloe and Madel were nice, but she missed the gaiety of her New York friends. Most especially-

"Hi, Kalina." Chloe greeted the girl with a smile and put down her palette while Madel looked up from the camera and smiled at her friend.

"Hey, Kal, you're finally here!"

"Chloe," Kyle nodded to the two as she placed her bag and books down beside her stool and pulled out her sketchpad, "Madel. Lovely day isn't it?"

"Is she blind?" Madel asked Chloe who looked back at her with a raised brow before they turned back to Kyle. "Are you blind?"

Chloe sighed and shook her head.

"Madel..." Madel rolled her eyes, mumbled a 'sorry' and turned back to her camera. "Unfortunately, Kalina, there is nothing lovely about the day. In case you can't see, my dear," she pointed her paintbrush out the window, "there are clouds out. And, it's raining quite heavily."

"Well, as Miss Chapman says, 'think positive, be positive'. And it you look at it, the rain isn't too bad. At least it's not winter, or that would be a hail storm right there."

"Good point. I'll get back to this then." Chloe pointed to the half painted paper in front of her and picked up the palette. Kyle nodded, knowing better than to lose the concentration of her friend.

Lost in her world of sketch, her brain drifted to other topics while she half listened to Madel talk about where she took her pictures.

Her friends. Oh, she had plenty around here, but she still missed her old friends. Who wouldn't? They did so much together. Went on so many adventures.

Not that her boarding school was boring. It was pretty fun too, lots of activities, events, and as long as they were accompanied, they were allowed off the school grounds. She was hardly bored, with the extensive collection of books they had in the library and with nature everywhere, the money Selena was sending was usually spent on her art materials. She hadn't given up her dream of being a designer either. One look into the dorm room she shared with another girl named Kryzel and you can see her pin-up mannequins, B.o.I or Board of Inspiration, cloths and materials of different kids and more all scattered in a neat way.

What the place lacked was complete interaction. In fact, at her first dance here, nobody asked her out. She wasn't exactly expecting anyone to ask the new kid out, but when she arrived at the courtyard where the event was held, it seemed like nobody there had dates. It hardly seemed like a dance at all either since people were just talking to each other or playing games, under the watchful eye of the supervisors and chaperones. It was more like a get-together. And it ended pretty soon after, leaving most of its attendees bored out of their minds.

"Kalina." A voice called. "Hel-low?" Madel waved a hand before Kyle, who blinked, already broken from her trance. "You still there?"

"Uh, yes. Why?" Chloe raised a brow at her and pointed at the redhead's sketchpad.

"Madel was asking about him."

"Huh?" Kyle looked down, feeling a blush come on when she realized that she had been drawing him.

"Oohh..." Madel cooed as she too looked down at the picture. "Who is he?"

"A," she closed the pad and bit down on her lip, "friend." She was about to stuff it into her bag when Madel grabbed it and started flipping through it, with Chloe looking over her shoulder.

"A friend, huh?" Madel grinned and showed Kyle the page she was at. It was yet another picture of him, but it was just his face and neck. "So much intricate detail." Madel flipped through the pad again while Kyle continued to blush. "Especially the baby blues."

"Um, well," she started while playing with her hair, "if you saw them, you would be mesmerized too."

Chloe smiled sweetly at Kyle as she handed the pad back to her red-faced friend. "I'm sure we would. What's the name of this friend?"

"Private."

"No offens, but-"

"That's a silly name."

"Well," Kyle shrugged, "yeah, it wasn't his parents who named him. His older brother did."

"And what would be the name of this older brother?"

"Skipper." The other two looked at each other.

"Figures." And they turned back to their work, with Kyle trying her best to stop the extra warmth in her cheeks. It was hard though, for she had been caught. They knew about him now, and they were bound to tease her about it later, if not now.

Kyle sighed as the bell rang, ending their session and announcing their next.

It was just too much, she thought as she struggled to carry her books and bag.

She'd been daydreaming about him again.

Kyle lugged her schoolbag over her shoulder and nudged the door with her other one, her hands already full with her books. She was crossing the lobby to stairs when someone called out to her.

"Hey, Kal." Kyle turned to face Jessica, a classmate of hers. "There's a cute boy waiting for you."

The redhead blinked her dark green eyes.

"Huh?" Jessica merely shrugged and pointed up.

"In your room." The other girls with her giggled and whispered among themselves. "Go check."

"Oh-kay?" She watched them with a weird look on her face before bounding up the stairs, curious as to who this 'boy' was. She never had personal visitors before and Nigel had made it clear that no one was to mess with her. Jokingly, of course, but it seemed like the boys were scared out of their wits because of him. Nigel could be as intimidating as he could be charming, and Kyle was glad she at least had a connection in this new world of hers. She opened the door and walked in, at first not noticing the boy sitting on the carpeted ground in the middle of the room. She placed her books and bag on the chair and turned around, pausing when she finally saw the boy, who was now on his feet and grinning at her.

"Well, Kyle, it's very nice to meet you."

"Private?"

"Ohkay, I'm guessing you don't want me here, so I'll just-"

Kyle ran, practically throwing herself around him as she giggled. "Private!"

"Whoa." The boy blinked and steadied the both of them before they could topple to the ground. "That's a nice welcome." She grinned when she stepped back, all feelings of tire gone.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just came for a visit."

She pouted but it grew into a smirk as she crossed her arms.

"From America? To here? For a visit? Have you finally lost it, Mr. McGrath?"

Private rolled his eyes and threw his hands down. "Okay, fine. I sneaked along with Uncle Nigel on the plane on his way back here just so I could get a free trip back to London. I always wanted to see where my father grew up in. But I am serious about the visit. I really did come to see you."

"Does Skipper know?"

Private bit his lip and looked to the sky. "By now he should. Hopefully he hasn't done something embarrassing like phone up one of our enemies and demand where I am." He chuckled nervously and rubbed his arm while Kyle giggled.

"That would be pretty embarrassing for him, don't you think?"

"I suppose so..hopefully he hasn't done it though."

"I think we both know what your brother would do by now."

He rubbed his head with a sheepish grin. "He's going to kill me when I get back, isn't he?"

"Well," she crossed her arms in triumph and grinned up at him, "you didn't think this through, did you?"

"But the opportunity was right there! I couldn't help it!" Kyle rolled her eyes and Private suddenly lit up with a thought. "Do you want to show me around?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Why? Scared that I'll find something incriminating about the perfect princess?"

"No," she shook her head with a tiny giggle, "I'm sure you're tired from your 'flight'. We can do it tomorrow, if you still have the time?"

"Actually, yes. One whole week. But are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yes. You can rest here for a while. The lady in charge is in the hospital for a month or so and the substitute's just her teenage niece. She's not as strict as her aunt, so the girls are using the opportunity to host parties and whatnot."

"And I won't be a bother to your plans?"

Kyle sighed and looked away. "I'm not in the mood for a party. I'm also tired from today's events. We did a lot today, and well, this is the second time I've been back to my room after this terribly long day. I haven't gotten a single bit of rest from it all."

"Gosh, Kyle, you've changed."

She crossed her arms and raised a brow at him. "Like you haven't?"

"I mean, you're a bit more..."

"More what?"

"Reserved, is it? I can't quite place it."

"Is, that a bad thing?"

"I don't know really. I like the old Kyle better though."

"Oh well, she isn't all gone."

"I can see that. And thanks. I'm a little exhausted from all the sneaking around. I was afraid Uncle Nigel would send me back once he caught me. It's a good thing I had a valid reason and no school. I'm pretty sure my fate was depending on the 'no school' thing though."

"Well then," Kyle smirked and got up from her bed, "the bed's all yours, Mr. McGrath." Private grinned at her and slipped under the covers.

"Thank you, milady." Before he closed his eyes, he looked over at her with a frown and sat up. "Wait, what about you?" Kyle took off the clip in her hair and nodded toward the other bed.

"My roommate, Kryzel, is having a sleepover with her friends. The room's all mine for tonight." He nodded at her and placed his head on the pillow. "I'm just going to change." She looked back at him as she said that, but noticed that he was already asleep. Aw...he must be so tired...and it's so sweet of him to come all this way for me...she quickly changed and washed up, looking over again at the boy sleeping in her bed. She sighed out loud, envying his peace until she felt a yawn come on and shuffled over to the other bed, immediately falling asleep when she touched the pillow.

"Kyle." Private gently shook the girl on the bed. "Kyle, wake up. You're sleeping. You need to wake up."

With a small cry, the girl sat up, breathing heavily. She looked around and found herself in her room, with the boy looking at her in concern as he sat beside her. "Pr-Private?"

He frowned at her terrified tone but inquired in a gentle one.

"Are you alright?" She sighed and looked down at her hands, not wanting to look at him. "You were on the verge of screaming back there."

She shook her head and pulled the covers closer around her. "It was just a bad dream."

"About what?"

"Nothing, really..."

"Tell me. It'll help."

"Ohkay..." She paused, not really sure if she should tell him. She took in a breath and nodded, turning to him. "It was, it was about you, actually."

"Me?" The boy blinked but quickly hid his shock when he noticed the look on her face. "Why? What happened?"

"I was thinking about what you guys do for a living before I slept, so I guess the nightmare was the result of this."

"So it's about our jobs?" But why me? Just me? Not Skippah or Kowalski or Rico? "How about the girls? Was Selena, Marlene or Barbie in it?"

"Actually, the whole team was, with the girls in cages, but I guess the focus was on you. You were the one strapped to the table."

"A table? You mean like a metal one? The ones you see in movies before the villain does something to the hero tied there?"

"Private, I'm not joking."

"Well..."

"It's happened before?" She asked and the boy winced at the ghastly tone in it. "You mean to tell me you almost...?"

"Not even close. I was just strapped there. I never did get to know what they were going to do to me because the guys were already unstrapping me from it and we were out of there."

Kyle sighed deeply and looked down at her hands again. They seemed more interesting than the thoughts running through her head at the possibility of Private getting hurt.

"This is bad..."

"It's nothing to worry about, really. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I mean," she looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Private, what if you never come back from a mission? I hear the boys always say that you could be the first to fall if it ever came to it."

"You can't believe that."

"It's so hard not to believe in something when you already have evidence. I know what spies do, Private."

"What would happen to you if you did get caught, and you couldn't find a way out?"

"That's not possible. We always have a back up plan."

"Yes, it is. And plans fail all the time. What is it your brother always says? 'Expect the unexpected'?"

"I can't quit, if you're asking me to do that. You have no right to tell me what to do either. You're not Skippah and he's the one in charge of me."

"What does your uncle think of this?" The boy didn't answer and avoided her eyes. "He supports this too?"

"Yes."

"This is ridiculous! Don't they know how old you are? You're too young for this. We have an age limit in America for people to serve the country."

"I started about the same age Skippah did...and it's not the military, remember? Skipper did serve in it, but we..."

Kyle shook her head and took his hands in hers. "You're not your brother, Private. Use some common sense here. You could actually...go, some day."

"Actually, I was already a target even before I was forced to do this. Supervillain 101, Kyle. Always get your enemies' loved ones. They're the weaknesses. And I don't want to be a weakness. I want to be useful to my brother, not drag him down."

"You're not dragging him down..."

"I am. You can't deny it. My uncle was already an agent before I was born, so he left Skippah in charge of me. We actually had a normal life before some guy thought that Skippah had potential in the spy business and decided to recruit him. Skippah didn't want to let me go nor did the guy, so I was forced along. We were normal once, Kyle. Not anymore. And that's how I pictured it from then on."

Kyle sniffled and threw her arms around his neck. "Private. I'm just glad you're still here, okay? Forget about what I said. I'm just happy you're still here, with me." Private hugged her back and rubbed her back comfortingly for a while before pushing her gently away and getting to his feet.

"Maybe I should go..."

"What?" She blinked, took the covers off and got up, following after him. "Why?"

"Apparently, I give you nightmares."

"No. Not you. You know that."

"Still..."

"Do you, want to go?" The boy sighed and sat on his temporary bed, head in his hands.

"Not really."

"Then don't go."

"And let you have nightmares? I don't think so." He got to his feet again and started walking away. Kyle grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"That's not necessary. I was just dreaming about how you would go back and be far away from me...that I'll never see you again."

"Kyle."

"Do you," she blushed at the thought of even suggesting it and looked down, releasing her hold on his arm, "think you can just lay with me?"

"What?"

"Uh," she played with the hem of her shirt and licked her lips nervously, "you know, for security and stuff?" She dared take a peek up at him and saw him thinking intently. In the end he just shrugged and she looked back down when he brought his eyes to her.

"If it makes you feel better, I guess so."

"Re-really?"

"Is it allowed though? I don't want you to get in trouble. This is a girls' dormitory, after all."

Kyle rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Nobody cares. It's not like anybody's going to check on us."

Private grinned at this.

"There's my Kyle."

The shadow flitted back behind the building, avoiding the gaze of a student as she looked back. The girl didn't see anything wrong, shrugged and turned back to the chatter of her friends. Nigel let out a quiet sigh, turned around, pushed open the window above him and entered the building after making sure that there was no one about. He closed the window and looked around, heading to what he presumed to be the stairs leading to the second floor of the building, where most of the rooms were. He had been the one to accompany Kyle into the country and help her get settled into her new environment when the others were busy with work or couldn't come at all. If memory served him right the last time he was here, Kyle's room was on the right, a few doors down from the main stairs.

It was hardly anywhere near midnight, but he had expected his nephew back home hours ago. He had just returned to his empty home an hour ago and immediately panicked, thinking that one of his enemies (most likely the Red Squirrel) had taken his beloved nephew. That is, until he saw the note on the fridge.

Something vibrated in his pocket and the agent took out his communicator, which was very much his cellphone, still keeping an eye on his surroundings. He just looked at the screen then turned on the device in his ear.

"Well?" Came Skipper's impatient voice, loud in his ear. "Where are you? Where is he?"

"Skippah..."

"Give me results, man. I demand them."

"I'm on my way. I don't think he's in any trouble though."

"You haven't even seen him yet. What if he's not there? What if he really was kidnapped?"

"My boy, you should never have left him out of your sight in the first place." An aggravated sigh came form the other end and he could just imagine the office pacing about in the room he was in with Kowalski and Rico watching him quietly.

"Oh, sure. Blame it on me. It's my fault I let the boy sneak off to who knows where. It's my fault, everybody!"

"Skippah..." Nigel sighed and shook his head. The man was being difficult. And very overprotective. Even Nigel knew that Private could hold well on his own. "Look, I'm coming up to the room, alright? I'll only talk again if I have something."

It wasn't like him to do this, much less steal into a building supposedly filled with females. He pledged never to do that, there were female agents for the love of all things sane, but he just wanted to be sure of the situation of his nephew. And he was being extra careful here. He did not want to be in the papers the next day for breaking into a girls' dormitory.

Placing a hand on the doorknob, he slowly opened the door and entered the room, careful not to make any sound. He tiptoed and looked around, seeing two beds. One was unmade and as his eyes drifted to the other, he saw movement coming from it. Creeping slowly up to the bed, the agent paused, along with his heart. There, his little nephew lay, with his arm around her. The man felt a grin slowly grow on his mouth and he couldn't stop it. The two were just so cute cuddled together. He'd never seen a cuter sight then that of his nephew's baby pictures.

"Nigel? Nigel, are you still there? Is Private in danger? Do we need to-"

"Uh," Nigel backed away slowly, turning his voice into a whisper, "negative. The boy is in no danger at all."

"What's he doing?" Nigel opened his mouth to answer, but he just closed it and smiled.

"How about I just send you a picture instead?"

"What?"

"Trust me, my boy. You'd want to see this more than hear it."

"No, I meant, you can do that?" Nigel resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man's mockery and took a picture of the two, glad that he had remembered to take off the flash and shutter sounds this time, (the last time he tried to do this on a mission he almost died )and quickly sent it to Skipper. With a smile down at the two, the man wrote down a note for his nephew, placed it on the bedside table, blended back into the shadows and headed home.