Chapter 03
*Anything italicized is someone singing or someone's thought bubble
*BOLDED + ITALICIZED = FLASHBACK OR MEMORY
*=lyrics have been changed to fit the story
"Ivy, I have some great news!" Harper yelled as she ran into her dorm, making Ivy look up from the book she was writing and look at her friend.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Chase heard me sing!" Harper yelled.
"What?!" Ivy yelled in return as she stood up and walked up in front of her friend and roommate.
"But he doesn't know it was me!"
"Really?"
"However..."
"However what?"
"Since he doesn't know it was me...he's looking for the girl with the voice."
"The voice being you?"
"Yeah."
"Harper, do you know what this means?!" Ivy began.
"Yeah, it means he's looking for me and who knows what he wants!" Harper answered.
"But this also means that you just might have finally hooked him!" Ivy said with excitement.
That was when Harper's eyes calmed down for the first time since she found out, and thought about what her friend had just said. "You're-you're right, Ivy. But what if I also made him mad?"
"Harper...he's not mad if he's looking for a girl with a pretty voice like yours." Ivy answered.
"How do you know that?!"
"Because..." Ivy began as she looked into her best friend's eyes. "...he cares. If he didn't care, he wouldn't look for her, which in this case, is you. And plus, maybe this is a sign that you need to show off your Music App!" Ivy smiled at Harper, making Harper feel a little bit better about herself.
"Maybe you're right." Harper said as she began to walk towards the door and leave. She leaned her back against the door out in the hall, and looked at the ground.
(SONG: "What if I shine" – Barbie Rock 'n Royals) [Don't ask. And 3 words are changed.]
"But she could also be wrong."
I spend too much time thinking about/who I'm supposed to be/I play by everybodies rules/that don't seem right to me/I'm cruel but polite/on the outside/but when I get a chance/I run and I hide/if your eyes are closed it's hard to see.
What if I back down now/cuz I'm afraid of what might happen/what if he turns away/when I show him who I truly am/what if I lose my breathe/when I throw those big doors open/or tonight/just tonight/what if I shine.
Harper pushed herself off of her door and slowly began to walk down the halls to get to the training room after a while of just standing there.
Should I even care/they're all sitting there/and everyone's staring at me/if I step out in the spotlight/maybe I'll be set free.
What if I back down now/cuz I'm afraid of what might happen/what if he turns away/when I show him who I truly am/what if I lose my breathe/when I throw those big doors open/or tonight/just tonight/what if I shine...I...shine.
Harper reached the training area, and noticed Chase across the way at the panels again. She stood there and stared for a long while, as her heart raced with every second she watched him try to figure out who had the voice he heard.
I spend too much time thinking about/who I'm supposed to be...
But what if I sing out loud/because anything can happen/what if I stand up proud/and show him who I truly am/he's gonna call my name/as I throw those big doors open/cuz tonight/just tonight/I'm gonna shine...I'll...shine.
(End of song)
Harper smiled some before taking a deep breathe and walking towards Chase. She stood by his side for a little while, and saw that he was looking for a Music App, something she had (and sometimes couldn't control it). How so you ask? Well, let's just say at this moment, she began to hum as she watched him do his work.
Chase heard this and looked at her. "Are you humming?" He asked, making Harper stop and look up at him. And the moment Chase looked into Harper's eyes, something inside him changed. He saw the goodness that she showed to Leo inside them. It was like they changed what he felt about her, just for a moment.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to distract you." Harper said snarkily before walking away and around the corner.
Chase watched as she disappeared around the corner, and shook off what he had just felt and went back to work. But he didn't know that Harper was watching him from the doorway she just went through for a little while long, before walking away completely.
XXXXXXXXXX
Bree was in the mentors' quarters, planning the talent show, when Harper walked in and sat next to her on the couch, which made Bree stop what she was doing and look at her.
"Can I help you, Harper?" She asked as she set down her stuff and gave her student her full attention.
"What does Chase look for in a girl?" Harper came out and said what was on her mind, which shocked Bree.
"Why would you ask that?" Bree asked.
"Isn't it obvious? It was for Ivy when I first met her!"
"Wait..." Bree looked closely at Harper's face and chuckled the way she normally did when someone did something stupid and caught them. "...you have a crush on Chase!"
"Keep it down! You know he has bionic hearing...he could probably hear you from here."
"Well, I don't think you'd have to worry about that." Bree said. "Look, just be yourself. I'm sure Chase will like the girl you want to be more than the girl you are being now towards him."
"But...I don't know how to be myself! I've tried, but...it was a fail."
"Harper, smile." Bree said, making Harper look back her way. "If you really want to know what Chase likes in a girl, I'll tell you. He likes a smart girl with no fun."
"Oh, well I'm out! I love having fun and my only smarts are about music!"
"I'm kidding." Bree said as she tapped her shoulder. "Listen..." She began as she took Harper's hands into hers and smiled at her. "...boys are crazy. They don't see what's important to them until it hits them in the face and it's too late."
"But that's not Chase. He always sees the importance in each of his students and tries to help them with it."
"That's what makes him a good mentor!" Bree stated. "What made you start liking him in the first place?"
"I started liking him the moment I saw his eyes...the very first time I stepped foot in this Bionic Academy." Harper explained. "He was just standing there, at the panels, figuring something out. And the look in his eyes, I could tell he cared...even if he showed it really weridly."
Bree grinned at Harper as she squeezed her hands. "Good answer." She said before letting her hands go and picking up her tablet. "Now tell him that."
"What? No! I can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Because he's the mentor...and I'm just a student." Harper began before something just clicked. "If we got together it would be like a 'hot-for-teacher' thing."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to tell him you like him!"
"What are you girls talking about?" A voice spoke from behind them, making them look and see Chase standing there with his tablet.
"Girl stuff! Get out!" Bree yelled at him.
"I need the computer in here. So, keep talking. I won't listen." Chase replied before walking towards the computer in the corner.
"Actually, I was just about to leave. I'll see you at the try-outs for the talent show, Bree." Harper said before standing up and running out of the room.
Chase watched her retreating form before going back to what he was doing...but couldn't consintrate. Bree noticed this and sighed in frustration.
"What's wrong, Chase? You haven't been able to focus ever since you came in here." She asked, which caused Chase to look at her and sigh.
"I'm fine. Just...tired." Chase answered before finding his rhythm again.
"Okay." Bree said before getting up with all her planning materials and walked out of the room.
Chase waited until she was gone before looking for Harper's student photo, and once he did, he couldn't take his eyes off of it.
XXXXXXXXXX
Markus watched as Chase stared at the photo of Harper Craig, the girl that bested him the last time he encountered them, through a hidden camera feed in the lab, when Giselle walked in and saw what her rebuild of Markus was doing.
"I have to say, it's kind of nice to see that Chase found a girl like that. Man she was a fiesty little thing." Markus said before turning off the monitor and walked over to Giselle as she began to work on a plan.
"Yeah, she is. And that is exactly the kind of girl we need to take Chase down." Giselle stated.
"What do you mean?" Markus asked, kind of confused. You see, just like with her first fleet of androids, she couldn't crack the super smarts for Markus. So, she just gave him the abilities of Bree and Adam, and added Leo's bionic arm and energy transferance ability, but left out the smarts...for now.
"She is the key to Chase's breaking point. If we find a way to use her, we'll get Chase to surrender and we will get his chip." Giselle explained. "And I think I already have an idea."
"I like the sound of that!" Markus stated with excitement.
"But I'm going to need to add a new ability to you, if that's okay."
"Go for it. I want to see Chase suffer like the weakling he is."
"Excellent! Let's get started." Giselle then walked Markus to the table, and started her work.
Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I've been busy, and I was having some writer's block. But it's here now and the plot thickens. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to hear all of your responses to it.
Thank you so much for reading, God bless, and have a wonderful day!
~Brittany Bauer