Author: TippierCoffee.

Disclaimer: I do not own—nor do I claim the right to—the show Codename: Kids Next Door. All credit goes to rightful owner: Mr. Tom Warburton.

LTLY series: 1. Learning To Love You; 2. Again; 3. Alone; 4. Ever After.

A/N: This story will mostly contain original charaters, though Wally and Kuki will be present in some chapters.

Enjoy :)

Prologue.

There was a time when Sheila Sanban Beetles resisted people. A time when she tried to keep potential friends at bay. Why should she bother when no one could ever tell the difference between her and her twin—Sakura—anyway? Many times she got in trouble for 'being mean' or 'being a bully', but in her opinion she was just being honest. People didn't care if it was one or the other; Sakura or Sheila. Therefore, Sheila didn't care about their feelings. Still, she was envious. Sakura had so many friends and always laughed. Everyone loved her a lot more than Sheila who was more reserved and got in too many fights. When there was a problem, Sheila got blamed, even if it wasn't her fault, and even if she didn't start it.

There was a boy in their class as well. Owen, his name was. Owen Wilson, just like the actor. With his big smile, round brown eyes, and ragged brown hair, he annoyed Sheila more than anything. Not because he laughed or goofed around, he could do whatever he wanted. But he was loud. The loudest seven-year-old Sheila knew, but others would disagree and say she was the loudest. Owen kept bugging her in recess when she went to a corner and played with the little knight figures. He also came up randomly in class, trying to see if he could guess which one she was. The strange thing was, he hadn't gotten it wrong a single time yet. Sheila and Sakura could swap places, swap clothes, swap friends and behaviour, and he was the only one—besides their parents—who could tell.

Today, he came again, carrying that same irritating smile. His small figure blocked the lamps and made it hard for Sheila to figure out whom was conquering whom. She looked up, angled emerald eyes meeting round brown ones.

"What do you want, Owen?"

"Sheila!" he smiled. "Definitely Sheila. And you said to me last week, that if I could tell Sakura and you apart all week, you'd play with me."

"So?" she rolled her eyes at him, hoping he would go away if she looked down and continued her game.

"So… it's been a week now and I haven't gotten it wrong a single time. I wanna join your knights game."

A sigh escaped Sheila. Tiny in comparison to that of her teachers and parents whenever she got in trouble. Her eyes fond him again, bouncing in his spot, his small hands knitted into fists brought up to his face. His eyes shimmered with anticipation. Another sigh.

"I guess I did promise you."

"Yey!" he bounced.

"Though I don't get why you wanna bug me so cruddy much."

Cruddy. A word she heard her father use on a lot of occasions. She liked it, and she never got in trouble for it, so she took on his legacy and used in as many situations as she could. She wasn't sure her mother liked it though. Whatever.

"Well…" Owen chewed, picking up the red knights from the other side of the castle. "You always sit alone, and your sister has so many good friends. I just thought it'd be fun to join you. For you too."

Sheila sighed once more, her eyes resting unimpressed on Owen. He was such a weirdo, and yet, the shadow of a smile forced its way onto her lips. Maybe she could tolerate Owen. He might be good enough.

He was the first one to tell them apart when they were seven. He never failed, he never got it wrong, and could never be fooled. He kept her company when most others wouldn't, and made her happier. He had sleep overs at her house where they built blanket forts, and she got annoyed when Sakura would sneak into them whenever they told scary stories. Sakura could never handle scary stories, and always sat and hid herself in Owen's arms. Sheila could tell by his eyes he felt bad for scaring her sister, but Sheila didn't care. Owen and Sakura might talk every once in a while, and play pony and princesses together. But Sakura would never have with Owen what Sheila had with Owen. They were best friends.

On a rainy day when they were almost nine, they went outside without coats, Sheila and Owen, and they had a war. They tumbled about and slashed mud balls at each other. They rolled on the ground, pretending to fight, smearing mud on each other's cheeks and necks. Whenever they were in this position, one on top of the other, they counted down from three. Whoever hit zero first, won. Sheila didn't give up, Owen didn't give up, and eventually they were both drenched to the bone. They reeked of wet grass, mud dripping off them, their clothes stuck to their bodies. They bathed together in Sheila's parents' tub. Sheila made fun of that thing Owen had between his legs, and he made fun of her for not having one. Then they splashed around, new fight, water everywhere. But they had fun.

Owen was Sheila's best friend. They hung out almost every day and went to school together just as often. They spoke about everything together, kept secrets, went on adventures in the park. They slung soft balls of grass after people and ran away in fits of laughter. There was no one more fun in the world than Owen. Sheila became more of a tomboy, as people liked to call it, while Sakura remained girly.

When they were twelve, Sakura started getting into diaries, and got curious about make-up and boys. The thought alone made Sheila shiver. What was so special about boys; weren't they all like Owen? Goofy, sometimes irritating, fun to fight with, enthusiastic about horror movies they weren't supposed to watch. At almost thirteen, Sheila and Owen regretted that one. They slept over at Owen's and he nicked a 15+ horror flick from his parents' bedroom. Though they both pretended they could stomach it, they ended up building a blanket fort for the first time in ages and cuddling up together in it. It was safe. But they got in trouble once they had to confess about being scared.

He was her best friend. The only one she really had. Most people stayed away because Sheila was 'that weird girl who got into fights, and she wasn't charming at all.' But one day, something happened. Owen missed school, he didn't answer his door, and when she came home, a letter awaited her. It was Owen's scrawny handwriting. Easy enough to make out, but not pretty at all. And the words made a storm of tears blind Sheila.

Hey Shei.

Sorry about this, I know it's sudden, but my dad decided to move out of nowhere and only gave us today to pack. When you come home, we're probably already gone, headed for another state. I don't even know where it is, I don't think my mum does either. She's really mad.

I'll contact you when I get there, give you my address. Maye we can still meet up. We should be able to, we're best friends. Let's stay in touch!

Owen.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter of Ever After.

As always: Criticism and/or advices on improvements are welcome and highly appreciated :)

-TippierCoffee