Welcome back, everyone. It's good to see you again. I am glad you enjoyed our first chapter. I appreciate getting to know daphrose's fans. You are all very polite.

To answer a question from Random Girl, various characters from the Lab Rats world will be making appearances in this story. I suppose you'll have to keep reading to find out who they are. And for PurpleNicole531, perhaps I can refer you to some of my friends. Storyteller, Speaker, and Reporter are some great ones. Or perhaps daphrose will let you borrow me.

Without further ado, we shall read chapter two . . .

* * * The New Kid * * *

Adam wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned at his teammates. He took a swig from his water bottle and stuffed his ball into his bag. Basketball practice was officially over for the day. He said goodbye to his friends and left the gym, leaving the sound of squeaky shoes on the hardwood floor behind him.

Outside the doors to the gym stood a brunette teenage girl with her arms folded across her chest. "I've been waiting for eight minutes!" she said impatiently.

"Sorry, Bree, practice went a bit late," Adam apologized. "How was cheerleading?"

"All right," Bree said, fixing her ponytail – though Adam thought it looked fine. "Stephanie was being a jerk – like usual. But we got a lot of practicing done. We're ready for the big game at the end of the month!"

"Me too," Adam said with a grin. "Coach has been working us hard. Well, let's head home."

"Okay," Bree said as they started to walk out the front doors. Suddenly she wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, Adam, you smell like a sweaty ape!"

"I know," Adam said with a smirk. "And it bugs you, which makes it even better." Bree rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove.

Adam Charles and Bree Greenburg were cousins and close friends. On Tuesdays Bree's cheerleading practice ended at the same time as Adam's basketball practice. Since they lived right across the street from one another, they often walked home together.

Adam took every opportunity to joke and jab his younger cousin. It irritated Bree, but that made it even more fun! Adam and Bree were so close they were almost like siblings.

They walked down Main Street in the middle of Mission Creek, wearing their Mission Creek High School gear loud-and-proud. The blue and white uniforms/jerseys sure stood out in a crowd.

Mission Creek was a cozy little town; the kind of place where everyone knew everyone else. Quaint, identical houses sat side-by-side in the neighborhoods. Down Main Street there were several shops, each proudly displaying their goods in the window. Adam couldn't help but drool as they passed the candy store, but Bree quickly pulled him along.

As they walked down one of the streets they needed to go down in order to get home, Bree suddenly began to rub her arms. A strange look came over her face. She looked like she had smelled something rotten.

"Bree, what's wrong?" Adam asked quickly.

"Oh, nothing," Bree assured him. Adam might not be all that bright, but even he knew that "nothing" meant "something."

"Bree, seriously, what's the matter?"

Bree sighed. "You see that corner over there? Well, when I was walking down this street last week, I saw something just plain awful."

"What?" Adam prodded.

"Well," Bree continued, "I saw a little girl – maybe eight or nine – just skipping down the street. But coming in the opposite direction was this . . . really weird boy. When he reached the girl, he shoved her out of the way. And I mean he shoved her . . . hard. She fell in the gutter and even scraped up her elbow. She started crying, of course. But then that other boy just kept walking!

"I ran up to him as people started to get around the little girl and make sure she was okay. I told that boy to get back there as fast as he could; he needed to apologize. Well he looked me in the eye . . . and he downright refused! I tried to argue with him, but he kept right on refusing!

"I would've continued to insist that he come back, but that kid gave me the creeps! Ugh, Adam, it was just weird! I tell you, there was something off about him.

"Anyway, he walked away, and I wasn't really in the mood to go after him. So I went back to the little girl and talked with her mom a bit. We both agreed that we didn't like that boy. The girl – her name was Jenny – was fine. But that other kid was such a jerk! I can't even . . ."

"Okay, Bree, just calm down," Adam said, placing a gentle hand on his cousin's shoulder.

"Yeah, right, sorry," Bree muttered.

"That's definitely weird, though," Adam mused. "That kid . . . did you recognize him?"

"No, I've never seen him before," Bree answered. "He definitely doesn't go to our school. But he had this really weird look about him. He wore an oversized black hoodie that practically covered his face. He had these beady little eyes . . . ugh, it was weird. I felt like there had to be something physically wrong with him. He was so . . . so creepy!"

"Did you catch his name?"

Bree paused for a moment to think. "Yeah, actually, I did. I asked him sometime during our little argument. I think he said it was 'Spike.' Weird name, huh?"

Adam stopped walking. "Spike?" he repeated slowly.

"Yeah, why?" Bree asked.

"You're sure he said Spike?"

"As sure as I can be. I mean, there was a wailing girl in the background and I was too angry to think straight. But I remembered because it sounded like a really strange name. Adam, why do you look so worried?"

"Nothing," Adam said quickly. He attempted a smile, but he could tell it wasn't very good. "Bree, I'm sure it's nothing. Just a little coincidence is all."

"Adam Douglas Charles, you tell me what's going on right now!" Bree said, stamping her foot on the ground.

"I thought it sounded familiar," Adam muttered. "Let me look into it more before I say anything else. Please Bree?"

"Fine," Bree conceded. "But you'll tell me at some point!"

"I promise, I promise!" Adam agreed.

The rest of the walk home was silent and occurred without any spectacular event. Adam went with Bree to her house first, saying a polite 'hello' to his aunt before continuing back to his own home.

"Spike, Spike, Spike," Adam muttered to himself as he walked through the door. "There's no way! Is that what Chase was talking about? Is he afraid of him? What exactly does Chase know about this 'Spike'?"

Ah, so now we know a bit more about this Spike person, hmm? He's not very polite at all.

Feel free to share what you liked or did not like about this chapter. I will come back again tomorrow around this same time to read chapter three: Face to Face with a Villain. See you all then!

~ The Narrator