He had returned to the field, and once again it was dark. The rain had past several hours ago, but the grass was still damp, and his clothes became soaked on contact. He pulled out a comic book that he had brought along, put on his glasses, and began to read, despite the lack of light. The comic was actually a book that he had written and illustrated in full color. It had taken him almost a year, but it was now completed, and he was the only one allowed to read it. Kuki had tried to steal it from him one day, but he screamed at her, so she backed away, her eyes big and coated with salty tears.

It was sort of manga, and sort of traditional cartoon style. Sure, some drawings were too big and sometimes the ink was smeared, but overall, it looked very presentable. Perhaps you couldn't sell it in a comic book store, but maybe it would have taken off at school. The story was about a sweet, yet powerful girl from Japan who met a burly, but lighthearted Australian boy, and they teamed up to create the perfect crime-fighting duo. Maybe the reason Wally didn't want anyone to read it was because of the slight romance moments in it between "Paul" and "Suki".

When he began drawing the first romantic page, he was very nervous. He didn't want it to look bad, or gross, and he certainly didn't want anyone smart enough to read it, because they might catch on to who Paul and Suki might be based on. In the end, however, he had created a scene that was probably identical to the real thing. The perfect kiss that he and Kuki would never have.

Wally flipped through it, having memorized all 50 pages of the comic. He stopped at page 28, the page he hated most, but one that reflected how he was feeling right now. All the words in the book had been spellchecked, due to his lack of love towards grammar and spelling. Now all he had to do was read it.

They were stranded in the middle of the ocean, water up to their necks. When they fell under, it stung their eyes with a burn that could be only described as excruciatingly painful. Paul Needles turned himself to Suki Kanban, a soft look in his eyes.

"Well, here we are. There ain't nuthin' we can do 'bout it."

Suki nodded, and clung to his arm. "What do we do now?"

He froze, and smiled at her. "I know we're just friends right now, but, um...we...could kiss."

They both blushed, despite the freezing temperature of the sea, and leaned closer to each other, their lips nearly touching.

Out of nowhere, a strange whirring sound began to vibrate the waves, and they pulled apart before their mouths met. "What the crud is that?" Paul muttered.

"I think...it's a boat. Yes, it's Bart's boat! Oh, Bart, you got my call?" she yelled over the sound of the motor, as the boat approached the couple. Paul sneered. Bart Materwhield was Suki's ex-boyfriend. Why did he have to show up so suddenly? Well, at the very least, he could save them from drowning, and maybe Suki would later realize that she wanted Paul, not Bart.

"That's right, babe. I'd go out to sea for ya any day," he replied, failing to acknowledge Paul's presence. Suki giggled, and as she grabbed onto the starboard side of the boat, Bart took her hands, pulled her up, and swept her off her feet into the air. Then, he dipped her down, as if they were dancing, and he began to kiss her.

And all Paul could do was watch helplessly.

He groaned, and smacked the comic book shut. Sure, it was only one or two pages, but the fact that it was based on his life to begin with made him very angry. It was a love triangle, that was for sure, and Kuki was the very root of it all. He almost felt like it was a war to capture her attention and woo her over. Matthew was winning. Wally was losing. Big-time.

Wally yawned, and lay down on the grass, spreading his arms out and stretching his toes so that they were as relaxed as possible. He had to get his mind off of her. Rolling the comic up and tying it with a rubber band, he tried to think of something else. Platypuses. He liked kangaroos and platypuses. He decorated his locker with stickers and articles from National Geographic Kids with them. Even Matthew couldn't make him dislike those animals, but he was teased constantly about it.

"Eh, Wally?" he had said the week before. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you don't like Kuki."

Mmhmm. You know what he said next. The torture of being paired with a kangaroo was not only disgraceful and sickening to Wally, but he was also being ridiculed about his culture, which was enough to get him to slap Matthew across that pretty little cheek of his that was probably kissed by a hundred girls. So maybe he got a couple hours of detention. It was worth it to see Matthew shut up for once.

Of course, thinking about his bully made him wander back to Kuki. He loved her. When he started to like her, back when he was still a newer member of the KND, he wanted to believe that liking her was a huge fairy tale. She was the fair princess, and he was but the humble prince. They were the perfect match. As time passed, Wally began to realize that no book was perfect. There always had to be a problem and a plot, and fiction is supposed to imitate real-life, so obviously, his love for her could not go without a problem or two. Lately, they might as well have been Romeo and Juliet, and he would have thought that they were until he noticed that neither of their fathers could care less.

Alas, his thoughts were interrupted by his watch beeping at him. It was Numbuh One, probably calling in to check on him. He had lost track of the time, despite the fact that he had a watch right under his nose (honestly, how stupid could you get, he thought), and he might be needed for an evening mission.

"Numbuh Four, do you read me?" Numbuh One spoke sternly and seriously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. What's the problem?"

"Kuki--ah, Numbuh Three's gone missing. We've searched the entire tree-house, and we've tried calling her watch, but she's not answering. We thought she might be with you. Is she there?"

"No, she's not," Numbuh Four answered, surprise printed in his voice. "I thought she went out tonight to go shopping with 'er school friends."

"Something has to be wrong if she's not answering her watch. Numbuh Four, would you mind taking your evening off to investigate where she is? I'd rather have an exact location on her before being forced to guess for the entire night. I would trust you with the Code Module, but I don't think this operation would get too serious. If you can't locate her within the hour, page me and I'll retrieve it from the Moon Base." Numbuh One began to scribble notes down in a book.

"Copy that, Numbuh One," Numbuh Four said, signing off, and picked up his comic book. This mission couldn't be too hard, could it? "I mean, how hard could it be to find Kuki?"

He searched the roads. He searched the sidewalks. He searched the mall. He searched a hundred houses. He searched everywhere. Before he knew it, an hour had past, and he was required to call Numbuh One and request the Code Module to track her. Wally groaned, and pulled on his hood to protect his ears from getting frostbitten. "She ain't here...where is she?" Kicking a pebble off the sidewalk, he passed the movie theater. "She's not in there. I'm sure I checked there." He blinked. "Wait, did I check there?"

Wally pushed the doors open, and pulled his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. out, surveying the area. He ran up to the counter, and looked at the list of movies. If Numbuh Three really was here, he would have to pick the right theater to get into, and he only had enough money for one movie ticket. That seemed to be a no-brainer. There was only one Rainbow Monkey movie showing this week. He paid for his ticket, and put his back against the wall. He peeked around the corner, and soon ran into the theater.

The movie appeared to have recently started, but popcorn and snacks already littered the floors, some from careless people and some from previous showings. Wally ducked in and stepped down the stairs. He flicked on the built-in flashlight in the gum ball gun, and shed some light on the darkened room. No Kuki here. He snuck between rows of seats, avoiding crushed popcorn and pools of soda, and checked every seat. This went on for a while, and it was enough torture to have to cover his ears in disgust from the movie that was playing. As he was getting ready to check the last row, he recognized a familiar head from the back. The hair was of an ebony hue, and it seemed to have an arm draped around a girl with hair of the identical shade. She turned her head to grin at him, and he exchanged the look with a kiss on her cheek.

Wally wanted to aim the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. for the seat in front of him and fire it with a hundred gum balls. Although he vowed to never cry over a stupid thing like a girl, hot tears were hidden behind his glasses. Why could he never get what he wanted? He shakily turned on the video phone in his watch and called Numbuh One, lowering the volume. "N-numbuh One? I've found Numbuh Three."

"Very good. Where is she?"

"She's at the movie theater." His eyes drifted up to the movie screen, a large purple talking monkey singing a song about the snow.

"What is she doing?" Numbuh One asked.

He glared at Matthew. "She's on a date," he snarled.

"With you?" Faint snickering could be heard in the background.

"No."

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry, Numbuh Four."

"Ah, forget it," he said, wiping his face with his jacket sleeve. "Anything else you want me to do? I'm still free tonight, because no one asked me out on a date." Bitterness coated his words, a sour taste left in his mouth even after he said them.

"Well, I do have a couple things lined up, but if you would prefer to keep Numbuh Three company and escort her home, that would be fine as well."

"I'd rather not. I'm sure that's Matthew's job, anyway," Numbuh Four sighed. He walked back to the aisle where Kuki and Matthew where sitting, occasionally gazing at the movie, and occasionally gazing at each other. He sat in the empty seat to the left of them, which was right next to Kuki.

"You know, I think you should relax. Why don't you call me up when Numbuh Three is ready to go home, and take her back to the tree-house?" Numbuh One suggested. He appeared to be very concerned about Numbuh Four's rash behavior.

"Whatevah," Numbuh Four grunted. He switched off the watch, and glanced over at Kuki. She had not acknowledged his presence yet, the same way Bart had not noticed Paul in his comic. She appeared to be content, and held Matthew's hand firmly. Matthew actually seemed peaceful, for once, rather than worked up in a complex like he usually was.

Wally slid his G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. back into his backpack, and looked up at the Rainbow Monkey movie. He rolled his eyes, and stared once again at Kuki. Her left hand was holding a soda cup, and every time she bent her head over to sip some pop, her lips pursed very lightly, her teeth clenched the straw, and sucked up the sugary liquid. It was a normal task, but Wally seemed to be fascinated by it. If he moved his own lips onto the straw at the same time she did...

Too late. She had put the cup into the cup-holder, and now her left hand was free. He smiled before rubbing his eyes again, and reached his right arm out, taking her hand. Before he knew it, her left hand was holding Wally's hand, and her right hand was holding Matthew's.

She didn't even notice. Kuki continued to watch the movie, no longer looking at Matthew. Her eyes were fixed to the color displays on the screen, and that was all she cared about right now. How was it that he was so mysterious, but Kuki was so simple? Kuki glanced over at Matthew, who genuinely smiled at her. He really did like her, but then again, he also liked every other girl in the school. Kuki didn't know. She was oblivious to the entire world. Then, she turned her head slightly in Wally's direction. His heart skipped a beat.

Uh-oh.

She completely turned her head to Wally, gazing at him with large eyes once again. However, she was not surprised, only content. Today was possibly one of the most peaceful days of her life. Her right hand broke free of Matthew's, who gave her a strange look, and she leaned over to Wally, and embraced him in a hug.

It caught him off-guard, but he enjoyed it, although it was short-lived. "Sorry for ruining your date, Kuki," he apologized, not really meaning it, of course.

"You didn't ruin it, you only made it better," she giggled, taking his hand again. He gently held it, like he was guiding a baby's hand. She was hesitant to give Matthew back her right hand, but then she decided to take it, and he gratefully took it with a tight squeeze. Wallabee didn't mind as much that she was holding Matthew's hand, so long as she was holding his, and in his tiny brain, only one thought came to mind:

Yes.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hey everyone! I don't usually post notes at the bottom of the story, but I'd just like to thank you all for reviewing, and I'm really glad you like it. I know, in the last chapter, I messed up on that "spin the bottle" game, because traditionally, when you spin the bottle, you kiss whoever it lands on. Well, I wasn't thinking. So I crossed Truth or Dare and Spin the Bottle into one game. Truth or the Bottle? Hmm... Also, I'd like to inform you of some changes I'll be making considering the story.

Genre will be changed from Romance/Humor into Romance/Angst

Rating will be changed to T, just in case! It's getting really hard to write for pre-teens/teenagers while keeping it K+.

And I actually might draw the comic page that Wally reads in this chapter, so if you want to see decent art, that might be something for you to look out for.