Hello! Miss me? Haha. Here's the second chapter up(: hope you enjoy it as much as the first, if you did enjoy the first.

Thank you to the wonderful eight reviewers, you completely made my day(: and about the mary sue, she's gonna be appearing more frequently to be honest. and i'm sorry if you don't like her. totally respect that, cuz i get annoyed by some mary sues as well.

There'll be a bit of action in the next chapter. Just a brief intro of how things will be in camp. Anyway, enjoy!

For the first time he could remember, the classroom was absolutely silent. Jones and Blunt had whisked Alex away the moment they'd laid eyes on him. He barely had time to throw him a sympathetic glance before he got engulfed in a sea of the bloody SAS men.

They wore equipment similar to the men who had escorted that sadistic bitch into the school. He would have liked to examine their bodies, but they'd been put in body bags and taken away by some more brainless brawns. Which was what he secretly referred the SAS men to.

It had already been three hours since the whole incident, and there still hadn't been an explanation. Some of the guys had tried passing notes to him, seeing as he was Alex's best friend, asking him what was going on. But one of the SAS men, buff, black, but rather short, had taken the note, crunched it up, threw it into the air and blew a bullet through it. The rest in the class got the message. And no one had any interaction after that.

The senseless jock that'd questioned the bitch just now raised his hand, and Tom watched one of the SAS men walk over to him out of the corner of his eye.

"Can I go to the toilet?"

"No," He replied, looking. He seemed to have a Scottish accent.

Obviously not wanting to question any more authority, he just kept quiet and nodded meekly.

That was the last straw for Tom.

"Hey," He called out, purposely overly casual with his tone. Meaning to insult. From the deepened scowl the black guy wore, he saw it worked.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" He didn't bother calling one of them over, he just asked in general, not acknowledging their authority. He watched the black guy start towards him. But another one stopped him, and walked over in his place.

"Sorry, but not now. We've got to make sure the building is secure."

"Hasn't it been three hours?"

A flash of irritation crossed his features. "We need to be really thorough so you kiddies are safe."

"Ok, then where's Alex?"

"We can't tell you that at the moment."

"He's with Jones and Blunt isn't he. What are they talking about?"

Surprise and curiosity overtook the irritation, "how do you know about Jones and Blunt?"

"I know more about them than you," His reply was confident, even though he wasn't.

"You're like another cub then?"

"Cub… That's the name you guys gave him when he was training with you… Bloody hell. You're K – Unit!" Realization dawned, and with it, an even stronger dislike for the men.

"I guess you're not another cub then. So I don't have to answer your questions. Just sit down, shut up, and stop being so annoying."

Tom watched him walk off, his neck muscles tenser than it had been before. Inwardly, he smiled. Mission accomplished.

One hour passed… The second hour… The third… The fourth… Oh wait, he looked at his watch. It had only been four seconds. He moaned. How the hell did Alex manage to do this type of thing for weeks? If something didn't happen soon, he'd start chewing off his fingers one by one, just for something to do.

He was almost going to, when the door of the classroom swung open. Blunt walked in, followed by Jones… Then Alex. He'd changed into a uniform that looked practically identical to the ones the SAS men where wearing. He had a dark bruise flowering on his cheekbone and was walking with a limp. And he had a gun in hand. He stared at the ground, as if wishing it'd open up and swallow him whole. Sensing Tom's gaze on him, he looked up for a brief moment. And what Tom saw made him feel for his friend. There was darkness in his eyes, which could be described as hopelessness. The spark that he knew so well was gone. His jaw was clenched and though his eyes were dry, Tom could hear his silent tears on the inside. He shook his head, slightly, and looked down again, standing behind Jones and Blunt.

The SAS men stood at attention, their heels coming together, back ramrod straight, chin high, eyes looking forward. Under other circumstances, Tom would have snickered. But not then.

This sucks more than that time I knocked Harry Banes unconscious for taking my Mars Bar and the principal called Ian, Alex though bitterly as he felt his entire class's gaze on him.

"Good afternoon," Mrs. Jones spoke first, "we have done a thorough security sweep of the building and we have deemed it safe. There is no cause for alarm or panic as of now.

"What you under went earlier this afternoon is regrettable, however, it is fortunate that none of you were harmed. I'm sure all of you are looking for an explanation on this matter, and… " She looked to her superior for clearance, and she found it in his cold, lifeless eyes. "I'll leave it to Alex to explain it to you."

From the way his head snapped up, and the faint scowl he wore, Tom was pretty sure he hadn't been told before hand about this.

He took a reluctant step forward, wincing slightly when his injured knee gave way. Looking into the faces of each of his classmates, he found himself at a loss for words. Then he met Sarah's eyes, and remembered his thoughts as she was about to get gunned down. No, why her. Why the heck did he think that anyways? She gave him that slow smile again, and he found the words he needed to say.

"Urm, hi," He flinched at that lame opening, but continued. "I guess you all are wondering what the hell just happened. So here's the thing I guess. Those people were sent by some organization that I pissed off. And they're after my head. So I guess they'll use all of you to get to me. I didn't mean for it to get this way. And I never expected that it'd affect any of you in any way at all. I know this is a really lame excuse for the danger I put you guys in just now, but…" He looked away, outside the long windows, onto the school field, where there were over a dozen parked SUVs and agents waiting for instructions. "There's nothing we can do about it now I guess."

He was about to step back, when a couple of the arrogant jocks raised their hands.

"Yea?"

"So you're saying," Aaron Sanders sneered, "is that all of us are in jeopardy because of a screw up you made?"

"Yea I guess so."

He smirked, and leaned back into his chair, high fiving one of his accomplices, "why should that surprise us?"

Alex looked at him. No one moved. The tension in the room was practically tangible.

When was it going to stop, damn it. He'd given up everything he had in his life. Everything. Including Jack. And he still had to put up with this type of shit. WHY. He was so freaking tired. He'd saved to world, millions of lives. He came back; he acted normal to appease his friends. He lied about everything to everyone all the time. He did his homework, he studied, he kept himself fit, and he had been practically perfect. He'd been everything everyone wanted him to be. He'd done everything everyone had asked him to do. And yet, he still had to put up with this. The taunting. The rumors. The pitying looks. The disapproval. Enough was enough.

He squirmed under his gaze, but was unwilling to back down. "What? Huh Rider? What'd you do? Drugs, gangs? Huh?" He immediately regretted speaking when Alex started walking towards him. His hard, brown eyes never wavered from Aaron's blue. And Aaron seemed unable to look away.

Alex stood right in front of Aaron, from his seat, Aaron saw his fist tighten over the gun. And he swallowed.

"Ms. Jones."

"Yes Alex," Her voice was unsteady, unsure of how he would handle the situation.

"If they go according to the plan, and if they sign the Secret Service Act, can you allow them clearance?"

"Are you sure Alex? I'm not sure how long it will be for…"

"Will they be safe if they don't go according to plan?"

"No, I can't be certain."

"Then do it," all this while his eyes had stayed locked on Aaron's. He saw terror in them. Close to the terror he'd seen when the woman had put the bullet in his chair. He wasn't sure how that had made him feel.

He took a step back, and saw him sigh in relief.

He turned to Mrs. Jones again, "I want to speak to Tom. Outside."

"Of- of course."

It was the first time he'd seen her flustered, and for that, he sent her a small smile. Then he met Blunt's eyes. And he knew that they understood each other. There was nothing Blunt could blackmail him with anymore. Nothing. But he'd still work for them, for the exact same reason. Because he had nothing to lose.

He jerked his head towards the door, and Tom got the signal, followed him out. Tom felt weight of the entire class's eyes on him. But that didn't mean anything. Because the moment he stepped into the hall and saw Alex down on his knees leaning against the wall. He knew the weight he carried was insignificant compared to his friend's burden.

"Alex… What is it?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"Jack's dead" He looked up at Tom, showed him the grief he had been hiding.

Not caring if anyone was looking, Tom sat down beside Alex and engulfed him in a hug. Right now, he couldn't help but think, you're dead inside too.

...~~~...~~~...

"Scorpia." It was made as a statement and a question together.

"Yes," Allan Blunt was wearing his characteristic gray suit, even in the dead of summer. "However, despite the severity of the situation, there is another more pressing matter at hand."

"What could be worse than getting my cover blown in my own life?"

"Alex," Mrs. Jone's voice came out soft, soothing.

"What?" He snapped.

"It's Jack… She's dead."

His eyes went dead. The spark within him igniting his anger died. Everything about him died. The main reason he was working for them, the reason he could come back after weeks of trauma and still be ok, the reason he was able to make it through those nightmares with her hand in his was gone.

"You're lying."

"Alex, please, you need to see sense. Jack is dead. There wasn't anything we could do about it. They went for her before they came here. They murdered the two agents who were watching the house as well. Now, we need to take action against-"

But he cut her off again. "Jack isn't dead."

"She is Alex, please. Listen to me, we can help you –"

"Jack can't be dead."

"Oh for Pete's sake," impatience dripped from his every word as Allan Blunt stepped in front of Alex and showed him a picture. A picture of Jack covered in blood. With shaking hands, he reached out and took it.

They had shot her twice, in the abdominal area. And just left her to die. She was in her bedroom, still in her pajamas. Everything was messy, just like she liked it. He doubted they even gave her a chance to struggle. Just pump her with bullets then leave. Damn it, he thought, why'd you have to lie in everyday? Why couldn't you have gone for a bloody walk or something? At least you'd be safe. At least you'd be alive. He felt searing tears build up in his eyes, and he willed them away. He would take time to grief later. But not now. Damn it. I'm sorry Jack, I'm so sorry.

When he looked up at them, Mrs. Jones took a step back. "Alex…" She couldn't find the right words. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world. And, she reminded herself, he had. Many times before.

He tore up the photo and threw the pieces at their feet. Then took off in the opposite direction at a dead sprint.

"Stop him!"

Two SAS men just happened to be reporting for duty and hear Mrs. Jone's order. They raised their guns and aimed, and she immediately cried "No! Don't shoot him."

Confused, they dropped their guns and the first one ran towards him, intending to slam him to the ground, however, he didn't expect Alex to stop and deliver a powerful round house kick to is larynx, followed by an uppercut punch into his gut. Doubling over, he managed to grab Alex's arms and locked them behind him. His partner attempted to restrain Alex from the front, but Alex used the weight of the men holding him as a support, and jumped up, kicking his partner square in the face, effectively breaking his nose.

Two more SAS men hearing the commotion came out to investigate, and assisted in restraining Alex as well. But he would stop struggling, and he managed to considerable amount of damage to his four captors just be lashing out with his legs and head butting them a couple times, before one finally punched him in his face and forced him to the ground in a standard arm lock, pushing him onto his knees with more force than strictly necessary, spraining his right knee.

He panted as he looked up into Allan Blunt's eyes.

"Let me go."

"No, you will listen to me. Now."

When Alex looked away, insistent on rebelling, Blunt yanked his hair, turning his head toward himself. Shock was evident in Alex's eyes; he had never seen Blunt lose control this way before. Never seen Blunt manhandle anyone.

"I said, listen to me now." Blunt had crouched down to his eye level and was looking straight at him. "There's been a security breech somewhere, I don't know where. But it's there. Scorpia was able to obtain classified information of your whereabouts.

That's how this happened today.

There's nothing we can do about your teacher. And there is nothing you can do about Jack anymore. But what you can do is protect the people inside that classroom. We haven't had much time to plan anything yet. But our safest option right now is to send you to Brecon Beacons, all of you, including your classmates. We will be informing their parents and ensuring each of their safety. Now, whether or not they go, depends on you. Its your decision if you want to disclose your… reasons of absense to them. If you do, they will be sent to Brecon Beacons, and undergo similar training as you did. However, you'll be going through the full course.

You might not want to think about it now, but seeing as you no longer have anything tying you down to your life, we are offering you full agent priveliges if, and only if you will work for us. Doesn't have to be now, but think aboout it."

He stood up and signaled Crawly, whom Alex did not notice was there, over.

"Tell him about the message," Was his last words, before he went over to speak in private with Mrs. Jones.

"Ah, Alex," He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm terribly sorry for your, ah, loss. And I'd just-"

"I'm sorry Mr Crawly," He interrupted as the SAS men let him go and helped him, though grudgingly, to his feet. He winced as he applied preasure to his knee and look at Crawly again. "Can you just cut to the chase."

"Oh, ok. Yes, yes. See, Jack didn't exactly die immediately after she was shot. She managed to form some sort of message to you."

Alex blinked, once. Twice. Thrice.

"Ok, so what is it?"

Without looking at him, Crawly passed him a stack of photos and silently walked away.

This time, he couldn't control his tears. He ignored his sprained muscles protests and sank to his knees. Tears streaming down his face. Jack. Oh God, Jack.

Her strength failing her, she hadn't been able to write anything, so she'd resorted to high lighting words in a book. With her blood. He flipped through the pictures of the pages, and could see where she's started to cough out blood onto the paper, he saw where the paper had been crumpled, crushed in her fist as she fought the agonaising pain.

Blinking away his tears and placing the photos in orders again, he was just barely able to make out the message she had spent her dying breaths on.

Alex, he smiled through his pain as he remembered she's bought the book cause the hero's name was Alex, I'm probably dead by now if you're reading this. I want you to know I've never regretted a single moment I've spent with you. Despite your annoying self, always being so heroic and saving the day and making everyone happy but me, I've stuck by you cause I wanted to. Not cause I had to. I love you more than the world, Alex. And I'm so glad that I got to meet you. From now on, I won't be there to nag you anymore. But that's ok, cause you'll always make the right decision. Even if it's the wrong decisions, it's right, cause you made it. I know that doesn't make sense. But the bleeding's making my head spin. Don't blame this on yourself Alex, it was the stupid MI6 fault. You'll still blame it on yourself though right, I can kick your sorry butt for it when I meet you again up in Heaven. I'm proud of you. So proud. I'd give you a hug and kiss if I could. I'll be watchng over you Alex. I love you. So very much. Never forget that. And just cause you'll ignore what I said earlier, I'll say it again. Don't blame yourself! God Bless. I love you. Kisses.

He couldn't help but laugh at her… Jack-ness. Even as she was dying. She'd even printed a small heart at the end.

He took a few moments to compose himself before standing up again. He nodded in acknowledgment at the SAS men, and muttered a word of apology. Then he crossed the length of the hall, to the three of them who were huddled together.

He expected them to stop talking when he was within hearing distance. But they continued talking. And he realised they no longer found a point in keeping things from him.

"Alex," Mrs. Jones scanned his face, his eyes, and felt a small part of her shrivel up and wilt away as she felt the young man's pain. "We're going to take you down to Royal and General now. We need to brief the sergant that will be in charge of your class during their stay at Brecon Beacons." She paused, he nodded, and she continued. "We're not sure of how secure everything is at the moment, so we'll be giving you a gun."She signalled one of the SAS men over. "I'm sure you know how to use this, do not do so unless absolutely necessay. Is that clear? Good, now. After we get back, I will be adressing your class. And then you can decide the further course of action. But remember Alex, this is their saftey at stake. Do not take this lightly. Ok, men! Move out."

...~~~...~~~...

"So that's what happened huh?"

"Yea, in summary I guess."

They were still on the floor as Tom absorbed all that he had been told.

"That means we're going to that hell on earth?"

"Yea, pretty much."

"At least my parents won't be there."

"Yea, well… We're getting the same sergeant as I did last time. So it won't be a walk in the park. At least you guys can feel better since I'll be getting tougher shit."

"You don't say? I wonder why on earth that could be. Isn't life just unfair" Tom's sarcasm charmed a laugh out of him like always. But it was darker this time. More forced. "You don't have to act happy for me you know," He frowned as he helped his friend to his feet.

Alex smiled grimly at him. "Thanks," putting his gratitude into one word.

"Nah… Just, let's not tell anyone we were mushy just now ok mate? You've got the whole secret agent tough guy act to keep up, and I've got my rugged handsome image to up hold."

"Shut up," but he smiled.

"Wonder what Jones is telling them about you."

"Who cares, but I ain't going in till she's done. You?"

"Same here."

"Lets just sleep for a while then, I'm exhausted."

"I'll look out for scary monsters under your bed,"

"Shut up you twit," but he was already asleep.

Poor idiot, Tom thought. Being a super spy must take a lot out of you.

"Alex!"

He blinked his eyelids open and was instantly awake. Then he remembered the nightmares that were happening, and wished he were asleep again.

"Yea, what's up?"

"Think they're coming out soon."

True enough, he could hear the familiar sound of chairs being pushed back.

"We'd better get up,"

"Yea, help me up will you. My knee's busted."

"Loser," But he hauled his friend up anyways.

The first person to dash out of the classroom was Stacey Abbey.

"Alex!" She all but squealed and threw herself at him. He staggered under her weight and almost fell again. "You saved me, you awesome, brave, handsome spy." She planted a huge wet one on him before he could escape from her. Giggling, she let go of him and kissed him again before he could get his bearings right. "I'll see you in camp, muack! Later!" And skipped off.

He ignored Tom's loud guffaws and moved away from the entrance of the class, hopefully avoiding any other incidents like that. Everyone threw him glances, some apologetic, some awed, mostly suspicious. As if the were still trying to figure out if this was a hoax. People like Aaron avoided his gaze altogether and jus walked off.

"Rider, Harris," Crawly made his way towards them. "You will be picked up at 0700 hours tomorrow morning from you homes. You are expected to bring only necessities. No electronic devices are allowed. Especially hand phones. Tell no one except your parents of you location. Ah, Mr. Rider, you will be escorted to the Royal and General after you have packed your things. We will send larger car incase you wish to keep anything of sentimental value. You will not be able to return to your house after today. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, good… Well then," with that awkward dismissal, we walked off, leaving the two friends to themselves once more.

"Well, this sucks. For you I mean."

"I guess so, but it's not like I want to go back anymore… I'll see you tomorrow, bye."

He didn't give Tom a chance to answer; he was already jogging towards her.

"Hey."

"Hey," She seemed surprised he'd called her. "Urm, can I help you?"

"No, I just… I was wondering. Just now, when that guy pointed the gun at you. You weren't scared. Why?" This was a lie. He had just felt like talking to her and said the first thing that made the most sense that had hoped into his mind. Please, please don't think I'm a moron.

"I don't know either. I'm weird?" She stopped, unsure of what to say. "Are you ok? Alex? You look… off."

"Yea, I lost something."

"I get it."

"You do?"

"Yea, I was pretty close to Mr. Baxter. He's a family friend. Like a brother to me," She looked down as she said this, her hair somehow shielding her face. He noticed a tear on the floor.

"I'm sorry."

"Yea, me too."

She looked up now, looked into his eyes.

"Its not going to be fun, is it."

"Is what?"

"The training camp thing. Like the lady said it was where the SAS men trained. And some of the guys got so psyched about it. And I was like, are you kidding me? Look at those guys, do they look like their lives are full of fun to you?" She smiled at this, a quick one, that reminded him a lot like how Jack used to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"You couldn't have been more right."

"Yes, well… I guess I'll see you around Alex." She was already walking off.

"Bye," He called out, still unable to unravel her mysteries.

She turned around and smiled and him again, wide and brief before turning back, her hair swinging as she walked. She took small, leisurely steps. Which could become wide and fast, confident when she needed to be. Like that time she got pissed at Brad Walker for insulting one of her nerd friends. She had all but screamed the cafeteria down, and then sauntered out with a glare over her shoulder. He didn't have the privilege of watching her work her verbal magic, but he did catch a glimpse of her strutting out of the cafeteria as he went in from soccer practice.

It was going to be interesting spending a couple of weeks in close proximity with her. Maybe it would even take his mind off Jack.

"Mr. Rider, the car is waiting for you."

He turned to face one of the emotionless men that he assumed did paper work for MI6 on a daily basis.

"Coming." He tuned to look one last time at his classroom, which he would probably not see ever again, then turned to leave with Mr. Personality, forcing himself not to look back.