Summary: 50,000 words in a month. Ben versus Riley. Chaos will ensue.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Note: Hey, everyone! Long time, no see! Well, I'm finally back with another story (and it's not a one-shot this time). I started this in the months of August, and now it's into November. You know what that means—NaNoWriMo is going full speed ahead. Hopefully that means fast updates…

And thank you, everyone who reviewed my last story! And a special thanks goes to Califaction, once again, for awesome beta skills.

Once again, Riley Poole was on his laptop.

Ben knew now to expect nothing less from his friend, but it still amazed him that the techie could stare nonstop at one screen for more than an hour at a time. Whenever Ben attempted it his eyes got all fuzzy and heavy, and he couldn't close them without a permanent imprint of the screen flashing before him. He wasn't a big fan of the Internet, anyway. He knew how to use it at its mostbasic he ever did on his own laptop was search the occasional topic on Google or watch snippets of the news.

But Riley couldn't be torn away from his own laptop. He was the only one who was allowed to touch it, and if anyone tried to do anything on itwithout his permission he'd scold them in a typical Riley fashion—usually just a slew of incomprehensible words that somehow translated to "Never do that again. I'm warning you."

On this particular day, the first day of August, Riley was busier than usual. His hands flew across the keys nonstop, pausing only for wrist-stretching breaks. His big blue eyes were focused on the screen, following whatever he was doing with an intense scrutiny. At times he would stop to click on something else, but he would be back to typing almost immediately. Ben watched him for a few minutes, but the unusual silence soon began to stretch on. With no comments from Riley, being in the same room with him was a little dull.

So Ben, after excusing himself from the room, made his way across the hall to the library. There was only one other time Riley had been this way: It had been two years ago, just a few months before their adventure in search of Cibola. Riley had spent months cooped up in his apartment, typing silently just like he was doing now. He'd rarely visited them, and during those times when he did, he always seemed as deep in thought as Riley could get.

It was during that time that Riley had been writing his book.

The library in Ben and Abigail's mansion wasn't the largest library he'd seen, but it was pretty big, he had to admit. There were bookcases on the two walls that faced each other, and at the end of the room, on the last wall, there was a wide window with a window bench that looked out on Abigail's garden. She was far from being a professionalgardener, but Ben liked to look at it, at least. The library was basically split down the middle; one half of it was Ben's half, the other was Abigail's. Ben's half tended to contain mostly nonfiction, biographies, and the like. He'd never really ventured into Abigail's half, and he didn't think he particularly wanted to, either. He could spot at least one colorful, pink-bound book on her shelves.

As he entered the library today, he bypassed both sections and went straight to the window bench on the back wall. He sat on the lightly cushioned seat and picked up the book that was lying facedown beside him. It seemed that Abigail had been reading it earlier. He turned the book over, and the cover that he had seen so many times glared back at him. The words seemed to glow, as if on fire: "The Templar Treasure, by Riley Poole."

He'd felt guilty many times over. It hadstarted when Riley had come to his doorstep all those months ago carrying a cartload of his books, and Ben hadn't even knownthat the book had been released yet. He'd tried to act normal, but the sight of the books finally in print made Ben's heart soar for his friend. It was all he could do not to leap upand shout "Congratulations!"

And, of course, there was the time when Riley's book hadcontained all of the information they needed about the President's Book. The look on his friend's face when he saw that Ben still had the book packaged was not one that Ben was likely to forget soon. He knew it would stay burned in his memory.

Everyone else had read the book: Ben's mom and dad, the local bookstore owner, the girl Riley had been so excited to meet, now Abigail. Even Sadusky had read it. Now Ben knew it was his turn. It wasironic that the techie's best friend turned out to be the last to read it.

And it became even more painfully ironic when Ben opened to the front page and saw the dedication.

To Ben.

You helped me out of my cubicle. I know I'll find something to help you with someday (even though it won't be nearly as bad as my cubicle).

Also to Abby.

I'm glad you got together with Ben. It was the best decision you've ever made.

Ben remembered, with a hint of a smile, that the book had come out just around the time that he and Abigail had broken up. He amused himself with picturing the look on Abby's face if she had read the dedication in that time, then quickly turned the page. However much he wanted to laugh, he didn't want to look at the two dedications anymore. They meant more to Ben than Riley could have guessed. He wasn't quite sure if Riley had intentionally put the double meaning in the last sentence of the dedication, but just reading it made the guilt return. Riley was such a dedicated friend; Ben was still amazed at how the techie could put an insult and a praise in the same sentence without missing a beat.

He flipped past the table of contents and the first page greeted him. It suddenly hit him. This was the first page of his best friend's published book. It had never really seemed that big before. Sure, Riley had written a book. But the word "published" had never meant so much before. Ben took another moment to savor this new realization, then began to read eagerly. He owed this to Riley.

Hours later, Ben placed a bookmark three-quarters of the way through the book and closed it, rubbing his eyes. Even reading a book made his eyes tired. Maybe what Riley said really was true. Maybe he was just getting to be an old man with bad eyesight.

Stretching, Ben crossed the floor into the living room again, expecting to find Abigail with the TV on. Instead, Riley still sat in his same chair, in the exact same position, still typing like a maniac.

"What are you even doing?" Ben asked in exasperation. "You need to do something other than stare at your computer and destroy your eyesight all day. No wonder you have glasses."

For the first time since Riley had opened his computer that morning, the techie looked up. His eyes were only slightly bloodshot. "For your information," he said, "I wear these glasses so I can see close up. And…" He pushed the glasses up farther on his nose by the bridge and turned back to his computer screen. "They make me feel very smart."

Ben leaned over the chair to look over Riley's shoulder, but Riley half-closed his laptop in annoyance. "What?" Ben said. "I was only trying to see what's been keeping you so fascinated all of today."

"You're one to talk," Riley scoffed. "You've been in that library for hours. Books are boring."

"It was your book, actually," Ben said dryly. There was an uncharacteristic silence from Riley, and Ben couldn't tell if he was mad that he couldn't come up with a comeback for that or if he was simply humbled that Ben had finally read his book.

"How'd you like it?" That was all he said, but those words conveyed hopefulness, caution, and a little desperation.

"I actually haven't finished it yet," Ben said. "But what I've read of it is fascinating. I didn't know you could write like that, Riley."

"You doubted my skills?" Ah. The old Riley had returned.

"Of course not!" Ben said. "I was just saying that…"

"Ben didn't think I could write," Riley sighed dramatically. "Well, guess what, Ben. I've figured out a new fun thing to do."

"What's that?" said Ben, though he already knew the answer.

"Write," Riley said bluntly. "And you know what's even better about it? There are all sorts of things that encourage you to write. Like this."

Riley opened up his laptop. A word document was displayed, but Riley quickly opened up the internet to hide it. Proudly, he pointed to the screen.

"Augno…what?" Ben said, squinting. Man, the hours of reading really had taken a toll on his eyes.

"Augnowrimo," Riley said matter-of-factly. "It's developed from Nanowrimo, but August, I found, is a much more manageable month than November."

"What is it?" Ben said, eyes scanning the page. "Some sort of writing community."

"It's more than a community, Ben," Riley said, awestruck. "It's a way of life."

"I'm guessing Augnowrimo stands for something?"

"August Novel Writing Month. You set a goal, and you try to write that many words in a month. 50,000 words is a popular goal. It's my goal, anyway," Riley said.

"So you're doing this to write your next book?"

Riley nodded vigorously. "Only this time it's going tobe more of a fiction book. Based on our Cibola fiasco, of course."

Ben thought about it for a moment. "50,000 words…that should be around seventy-five pages?"

"More like one hundred," Riley boasted. "It's a lot to do in a month."

"Oh yeah?" Ben said. The wheels in his mind were turning. "I bet it's easier than you make it out to be."

Riley's eyes widened behind his glasses. "You're not seriously…"

"Why don't I try it as well?" Ben confirmed Riley's suspicions. "I'll base mine on the hunt for the Templar Treasure."

Of course, Riley couldn't pass up a challenge, and Ben knew that. "How about this: If I get more words than you, you have to wash my Ferrari." He paused, clearly considering this. "No, scratch that. You'll probably ruin it if you do that. How about you have to sit with me through an ultimate Star Wars marathon?"

Ben groaned. "Fine. But if I get more words, you have to promise that you'll watch that Civil War Documentary with me. You know, the one you got me for my birthday."

If it was possible, Riley's groan was even louder. "Ben, that's got to be the most boring thing ever to walk the land of DVDs," he complained.

"You made your bet, I made mine," Ben said.

Riley rolled his eyes. "Fine, but you've just sealed your fate. There's no way I'm sitting through that movie."

"It's fair enough," Ben said. "But you have to start from the beginning. You've been writing all day. You can't count those words against me."

Once again, this warranted an eye roll from Riley. "Fine. Any other demands?"

"Get some sleep, will you?" Ben said, starting to walk out of the living room.

Riley smiled wickedly after him. "There is no such thing as sleep in the Writing Months."

Ben ignored him and closed the door to the living room, then began to make his way up the steps to find his old laptop. This whole thing would be easy enough. He had lived the adventure, after all.

He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Well, that was fun. I'm looking forward to where this will take me…it'll be fun. Reviews always help spark the imagination, also. If you can think of anything you'd like to see (challenges/dares, etc.) between Riley and Ben, let me know! Feedback is good.

And a little sneak peak at the next chapter...the chapter title will be "Ctrl+V." Use your imagination!