Author's Note: We interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfic to bring you this one. Because I can. I'll update the other one soon enough, I just need to get this out of my system before I go crazy. Thanks to my brother for giving me the idea. Never have I feared more that I went out of character…

Abigail Lincoln set down her chocolate milk shake, looking reflective for a moment. She glanced out the window, frowning as she noticed that the sun was well past where it had been the first time she'd bothered to look. Such were the perils off late night sugar. Just great…Numbuh 5's gonna be late if she don't hurry up, She thought to herself, chugging down the milkshake and hopping out of bed.

She had been up all night watching tv because of all the sugar that was coursing through her system. Five milkshakes, two bowls of chocolate ice cream, and a cup of hot chocolate with marsmallows. And a piece of caramel to top it all off. She was paying dearly for her night of indulgence, her hand going to her stomach as she felt it give a sort of quiver. But she couldn't miss the first day, especially with this being her own fault.

Her alarm went off, and she smashed a fist down hard on the top of it. It was silent.

With all the sugar she constantly consumed, one might expect Abby to be a little heavy, but she managed to escape that due to constant exercise. Most of it coming from chasing evil adults with the other Teens Next Door members. She was tall and very slender. Her dark skin was marred only with a few bits of acne on her face. She tossed off her nightgown and threw her short blue t-shirt dress on, glancing at herself in the mirror. Not quite right, she noted, grabbing her hat off of one of the corners of her four-post bed. She set the cap on top of her head and smiled. That's more like it…

She slung her backpack over her shoulder and quickly raced downstairs, deciding to dodge breakfast this morning. It would probably only serve to make her stomach worse, anyways. She strolled along casually, glancing up to watch the trees as she passed. It was September 29th, and the fall was in full color around her. Orange, red, yellow, and brown leaves all whirled about in the wind, somehow serving to calm her. It was a beautiful sight.

"Hey, Abby! Wait up!" Abby stopped where she was and turned around, smiling. A boy just slightly under her height, and a bit wider than the norm for their age, came waddling his way towards her. "So, how's it goin?"

"Hey, Hoagie…" Abby replied, going back to walking. Hoagie matched her pace, hiking his backpack up as was his custom. Abby kept warning him that it was things like that that made bullies realize that he was..well, a nerd, but Hoagie just smiled and kept on doing it. "Numbuh 5 just hopes Rachel or Nigel doesn't have a new mission for us today."

"I know what you mean…it'd be nice to just go home and kick back. But..well..a Kids Next Door operative's work is never done!" He said, quoting his old trainer from the Cadets Next Door.

"We're not kids anymore," Abby said pointedly, "We're teens. And we're the TEENS Next Door. Not the kids. Now we're supposed to worry about school, fighting adult tyranny, AND who to take to the prom.."

"I thought you didn't care about those things," Hoagie asked, looking bewildered. He ran a hand through his brown hair, scuffing it up a bit.

"I don't," Abby admitted, "But it's just that..I dunno, Numbuh 5 has to sit there and watch Rachel and Patton, and Kuki and Wally..and..ugh, all these couples. It's gross, but…"

"But at the same time you want it for yourself?" Hoagie asked, completely reading her mind. "Well, do you have anybody in mind? I'm sure you could find somebody…prom is months away, after all.."

"You're missing the point," Abby said with a sigh, "I'm not sure if it's more about wanting to not have to watch all those gross displays or if it's that…maybe Numbuh 5 wants to have it for herself…" she put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head. "Numbuh 5 had waaaay too much sugar to be talkin' like this."

The sugar had loosened Abby's tongue further than she ever wished for it to. The fact was, it had never bothered her until recently that everybody else seemed to have someone. She hadn't noticed. She did not need a guy to validate her existence, nor would she ever…but sometimes she caught herself thinking that it might be nice. These thoughts were usually dismissed as random moments of either insanity or too much candy, but for Abigail Lincoln, they also brought one last thought upon her, even after she had shaken away the small bit of longing.

An image of the guy she already had in mind, should she ever give up her single life.


"Numbuh 5!" Rachel said, grabbing a hold of Abby's arm and pulling her into a room with her.

Abby groaned. "Haven't you ever heard of vacation? It's quite popular…it's where you just don't do anything. Like, work, for example. You just sit there and do fun things…without working."

Rachel tapped her foot. "Are you done?" Abby nodded. "Good, because this isn't about work, I don't think."

"You don't think?" Abby's eyebrows were raised now, as she tried to riddle it out. As an answer, Rachel handed her an envelope. The name "Abigail Lincoln" was emblazoned on the front.

"It was delivered to the Kids Next Door with instructions to give it to you. They said that the person who wrote the letter - they wouldn't tell them who - wasn't sure if you still lived at your old address, and they didn't want to take the chance that you didn't get it."

"Oh," Abby said, opening the letter and beginning to read.

Liebchen,

Guten tag, mein Abigail. If it is before the first weekend that falls in October, then this got to you on time. I know we have made up for Guatemala, but that doesn't mean that you are not still my rival. No longer my enemy, but I still wish to challenge you. At Choktoberfest in Munich. My homeland, this time, for this round. There is a chocolate milk drinking contest held there each year. I am currently the champion, but I have not yet faced off against you. If this reaches you the week of September 28th, then you have until Saturday to figure out how exactly to beat me.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Heinrich Von Marzipan

Abby started at the letter for a moment, chewing it over in her mind. In truth, she had nothing better to do this weekend. And Heinrich always lost the sugar challenge to Stickybeard, whom Abby beat rather easily.

Then again, he did say he was champion. Abby smiled to herself.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked, trying to take a peek at the letter. Abby knew that her friend was just worried, but she snatched it out of reach - a rather easy task, as she stood one foot taller than the blonde haired girl.

"All right, not my business," Rachel said with a laugh. "I get it. Secret admirer?"

Abby's smile grew all the wider. "Nah..nothin' like that…but I do have plans for this weekend. Do you mind?"

"I didn't have any missions set anyways," Rachel said with a shrug, taking her exit. Abby reread the letter, chuckling to herself as she imagined just how irritated Heinrich would be with her if she won this. He thinks this'll be an easy win, …either that or he's getting cocky. Abby pocketed the letter. I'll make sure to fix that.