WARNING!: I forgot to warn you earlier. I am *NOT* a Max/Rachel shipper. I
never have been and I never will be. I'm a Josh/Laura shipper. So if you
don't like the pairing, don't read the stories. And those of you who are
fiercly loyal M/R shippers, please don't leave nasty notes in my review
box. Otherwise, I might be tempted to come up with a horrible cliffhanger
and just stop writing. Get it? Got it? Good.
Stuff between * * is italic. I can't get the italics to work right. _______________________________________________________________________
It was almost five when Josh got home. He still couldn't believe how lucky they had been not to lose Berto today. Not only was his expertise in nanotechnology uncommon, he was also a great friend. Josh wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Berto.
"Morgan, I'm home," he called. "Sorry it took so long. We had some unexpected..." he trailed off. The house was utterly silent. It felt empty. "Morgan?" He walked to her room. She wasn't there. A sliver of fear worked it's way into him. He tried the other rooms. It only confirmed what he'd already felt; Mindy was gone.
He ran around the house, double checking all the rooms. Nothing. He checked the backyard. No Mindy. Okay, calm down, he thought to himself. Maybe she went for a walk or something. She never did like to just stay in one place. The chances that she was taken by a Dread agent are pretty slim.
Mindy was on her way back to the house. She walked along the oddly desserted beach. This part of the beach had always been quiet, she remembered. It didn't make any sense to her because it was a great surfing spot. Josh must love it.
The man following Mindy was coming up behind her. She didn't even notice, she was so busy looking out at the waves. Now seemed to be as good a time as any. There was no one else around. His feet moving silently over the sand, he approached her. When he was close enough, he reached one of his arms toward her.
Mindy whirled around, startled as a hand touched her shoulder. As she turned, she let out a scream, in turn causing the man who'd been following her to scream.
In the house, Josh heard his cousin scream. He was off like a shot out the door.
Mindy's breath came out as short gasps. Her hand was on her chest, trying to slow down her rapid heart rate. She stared at her the man before her for a second. "Jesus, Pete. You about gave me a heart attack."
"*I* almost gave *you* a heart attack?" asked Pete. His breathing and heart rate were just as bad as hers.
"Don't you have something better to do than scare the living shi-"
"Morgan?!" yelled Josh. They both turned to see him running from the house.
"I'm over here Josh."
"Are you alright?" he asked as he ran up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No thanks to him." She jerked a thumb in Pete's direction.
"Alright, what did you do to her?" asked Josh. He looked expectantly at Pete.
"Me? I didn't do anything."
"Bull-fucking-shit you didn't do anything." Mindy glared at him. "You don't go sneaking up on people and then try to act like it's not your fault they freaked."
"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you," he insisted. "I just wanted to say hi and you had your back turned."
Mindy opened her mouth again. "Alright," said Josh before she could speak. "Everybody just calm down. You," he turned to Pete," should know better than to sneak up on people. Especially her. She could have broken your nose again. And you," he turned to Mindy, "shouldn't take it so personal. He probably didn't realize he would scare you like that."
The two in question folded thier arms across their chests and looked away.
"And where exactly did you learn that phrase?"
She gave him a wry look. "Josh, I'm almost 19. You didn't seriously expect me to use 'gosh' and 'darn' forever, did you?"
Josh rolled his eyes. She had him there. So he changed the subject. "I thought we could order pizza for dinner. Sound good?"
"It's fine with me as long as there's no anchovies."
"Did you wanna come over for dinner?" he asked Pete.
"Sure. Thanks."
Josh ignored the whiney look Mindy gave him as they started back for the house.
Both boys were still stunned after dinner. Mindy had to be the only girl they knew who could eat half of a large double cheese pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and extra sauce in one sitting. Granted, they did that kind of stuff all the time, but Mindy had always been a fairly light eater when they were kids. And the kicker was she washed it down with two cans of rootbeer. And here Josh had gone through the trouble of buying a case of diet sodas for her.
"Were you planning on a belching contest later?" inquired Josh as she downed the last of her second can.
"No, but if you think you're up to it, I'm game." She put her feet up on the coffee table and crossed her ankles.
"Think you still got it, huh?" Josh had a mischievious look in his eye.
"I *know* I still got it. How about you?"
For his answer, Josh let out a very loud belch. Pete snickered.
Mindy smiled. "Nice. You still have *some* skill."
"Think you can do better?" he asked. His eyes challenged her.
In response, she let out a belch of her own. It was slightly louder and longer than Josh's. Both boys got disgusted looks on their faces. Mindy had to laugh at their expressions. "Looks like I win, cuz. Unless one of you can do better."
"No fair. You had 2 cans of soda," mumbled Josh.
"You just can't stand losing to a girl." She shook her head. "Typical male."
"Hey," said Josh with a warning tone. Then he got a strange look in his eye. It was a look Mindy knew well.
"Josh, no."
He didn't answer. Instead, he casually stood and walked closer to the couch, where she was sitting. Before she could move, he lunged forward and tackled her. She let out a shriek as he began to tickle her.
Pete just shook his head as he watched their display of affection. Some things, he thought, will never change.
Later that night, John Dread watched the video one of his agents had filmed from outside the window of Josh McGrath's house. He saw Josh tickle his cousin until she cried uncle. It was obvious that they were very close. Not quite disgusting close, but close. He couldn't be certain that the girl knew about her cousin's little secret. Not that that really mattered. What mattered was he'd just found a big weakness of Max Steel.
Josh couldn't sleep. Pete had gone home some time ago and Mindy was in her room. He glanced at his digital alarm clock. 11:19pm. Sighing, he sat up and switched on the light. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. For a minute or two, he just sat there. Then, he opened the drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a framed picture. From behind the glass, a pretty girl with short black hair smiled at him. He stood next to her, his arm draped across her shoulders. She was snuggled up to his shoulder. Laura. God, he missed her.
"Hey," said a voice from the doorway. He looked up to find Mindy standing there in an oversized shirt and some shorts. "Can't sleep either, huh?"
"Nope."
She came over and sat down next to him. She peered at the photo before looking up at him. There was a sympathetic look in her eyes. "I was sorry to hear about you and Laura."
"Yeah, so was I."
She smiled a little. "It's wierd. My whole life, I could never picture you with anyone but her."
"I know. Even when we were little, you kept telling us we were going to get married someday. We thought you were nuts. We weren't even old enough to think about relationships."
"I still can't believe you cheated on her, Josh. I expected better from you."
He looked at her, confused. "Who told you why we broke up?"
Now she looked confused. "You don't know?" When he shook his head, she explained. "Laura's been writing to me. I usually get a letter once every couple of months."
Josh was surprised. Laura had been keeping more contact with his cousin than he'd been? "How much did she tell you?"
"Everything she knew." Mindy brushed her hair behind her ears with her fingers. "That you kissed another woman and kept swearing there was nothing between you and that other girl. Rachel, wasn't it?"
He nodded. "I know I screwed up." He sighed heavily. His fingertips brushed over the Laura's image. "It's too late now," he said sadly.
She shook her head. "No it's not."
He gave her a look. "Going on a research trip for a year seems pretty final to me."
"Pete rammed that one into your head didn't he?" He looked away. Mindy laid a hand on his bare shoulder. "A year's not forever Josh. And isn't she coming home soon?"
"Morgan, 9 more months is not soon."
She looked at him, surprised. "Josh, don't you watch the news? The company that owns the ship she was on is in a lot of legal trouble. Something about illegal dumping of toxic waste. The trip was cancelled. All the students are being sent home."
He looked at her. His eyes seemed to beg her not to be lying.
"It was all over the news today. The company has a lot to answer for and a whole lot of fines to pay. They're going belly up."
"So Laura's coming home?"
"Probably within the next week. I'm going to bed now." She stood and kissed him on the cheek. "'Night." There was a small smile on her face as she left the room. As soon as she shut the door, she heard Josh exclaim excitedly. "Yes!" Mindy shook her head and went to try to sleep.
Josh turned out the light and laid back down. He drew the sheets up to his waist, leaving his shirtless torso exposed. He locked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. It was too bad about Laura's trip being cancelled like that, but he was still happy about it.
He still couldn't sleep. He knew his cousin had thought telling him about this would cheer him up. And it had. Only now he was to excited to sleep.
Finally, at about 1:00 in the morning, Josh managed to drift off to sleep. A smile was still on his face. One thought still stood out even as he began to dream; Laura's coming home.
Mindy managed to get to sleep eventually as well. The reason she couldn't sleep had appeared last night at the skating rink. She couldn't stop thinking about that guy who had rescued them. A frown still creased her brow as she began to drift off into a restless slumber. She just couldn't shake the feeling that, not only had she seen him before, but that she knew him as well. Her last concious thought that night was, who *was* that guy?
_______________________________________________________________________
Okay, just for the record, Mindy isn't thinking about Max in a romantic way. It's just driving her crazy not knowing where she knows him from. Come on, I *know* you know what I mean. And Laura's coming into the story. I'm not sure when exactly, but she is. Hope you enjoyed.
Stuff between * * is italic. I can't get the italics to work right. _______________________________________________________________________
It was almost five when Josh got home. He still couldn't believe how lucky they had been not to lose Berto today. Not only was his expertise in nanotechnology uncommon, he was also a great friend. Josh wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for Berto.
"Morgan, I'm home," he called. "Sorry it took so long. We had some unexpected..." he trailed off. The house was utterly silent. It felt empty. "Morgan?" He walked to her room. She wasn't there. A sliver of fear worked it's way into him. He tried the other rooms. It only confirmed what he'd already felt; Mindy was gone.
He ran around the house, double checking all the rooms. Nothing. He checked the backyard. No Mindy. Okay, calm down, he thought to himself. Maybe she went for a walk or something. She never did like to just stay in one place. The chances that she was taken by a Dread agent are pretty slim.
Mindy was on her way back to the house. She walked along the oddly desserted beach. This part of the beach had always been quiet, she remembered. It didn't make any sense to her because it was a great surfing spot. Josh must love it.
The man following Mindy was coming up behind her. She didn't even notice, she was so busy looking out at the waves. Now seemed to be as good a time as any. There was no one else around. His feet moving silently over the sand, he approached her. When he was close enough, he reached one of his arms toward her.
Mindy whirled around, startled as a hand touched her shoulder. As she turned, she let out a scream, in turn causing the man who'd been following her to scream.
In the house, Josh heard his cousin scream. He was off like a shot out the door.
Mindy's breath came out as short gasps. Her hand was on her chest, trying to slow down her rapid heart rate. She stared at her the man before her for a second. "Jesus, Pete. You about gave me a heart attack."
"*I* almost gave *you* a heart attack?" asked Pete. His breathing and heart rate were just as bad as hers.
"Don't you have something better to do than scare the living shi-"
"Morgan?!" yelled Josh. They both turned to see him running from the house.
"I'm over here Josh."
"Are you alright?" he asked as he ran up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No thanks to him." She jerked a thumb in Pete's direction.
"Alright, what did you do to her?" asked Josh. He looked expectantly at Pete.
"Me? I didn't do anything."
"Bull-fucking-shit you didn't do anything." Mindy glared at him. "You don't go sneaking up on people and then try to act like it's not your fault they freaked."
"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you," he insisted. "I just wanted to say hi and you had your back turned."
Mindy opened her mouth again. "Alright," said Josh before she could speak. "Everybody just calm down. You," he turned to Pete," should know better than to sneak up on people. Especially her. She could have broken your nose again. And you," he turned to Mindy, "shouldn't take it so personal. He probably didn't realize he would scare you like that."
The two in question folded thier arms across their chests and looked away.
"And where exactly did you learn that phrase?"
She gave him a wry look. "Josh, I'm almost 19. You didn't seriously expect me to use 'gosh' and 'darn' forever, did you?"
Josh rolled his eyes. She had him there. So he changed the subject. "I thought we could order pizza for dinner. Sound good?"
"It's fine with me as long as there's no anchovies."
"Did you wanna come over for dinner?" he asked Pete.
"Sure. Thanks."
Josh ignored the whiney look Mindy gave him as they started back for the house.
Both boys were still stunned after dinner. Mindy had to be the only girl they knew who could eat half of a large double cheese pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and extra sauce in one sitting. Granted, they did that kind of stuff all the time, but Mindy had always been a fairly light eater when they were kids. And the kicker was she washed it down with two cans of rootbeer. And here Josh had gone through the trouble of buying a case of diet sodas for her.
"Were you planning on a belching contest later?" inquired Josh as she downed the last of her second can.
"No, but if you think you're up to it, I'm game." She put her feet up on the coffee table and crossed her ankles.
"Think you still got it, huh?" Josh had a mischievious look in his eye.
"I *know* I still got it. How about you?"
For his answer, Josh let out a very loud belch. Pete snickered.
Mindy smiled. "Nice. You still have *some* skill."
"Think you can do better?" he asked. His eyes challenged her.
In response, she let out a belch of her own. It was slightly louder and longer than Josh's. Both boys got disgusted looks on their faces. Mindy had to laugh at their expressions. "Looks like I win, cuz. Unless one of you can do better."
"No fair. You had 2 cans of soda," mumbled Josh.
"You just can't stand losing to a girl." She shook her head. "Typical male."
"Hey," said Josh with a warning tone. Then he got a strange look in his eye. It was a look Mindy knew well.
"Josh, no."
He didn't answer. Instead, he casually stood and walked closer to the couch, where she was sitting. Before she could move, he lunged forward and tackled her. She let out a shriek as he began to tickle her.
Pete just shook his head as he watched their display of affection. Some things, he thought, will never change.
Later that night, John Dread watched the video one of his agents had filmed from outside the window of Josh McGrath's house. He saw Josh tickle his cousin until she cried uncle. It was obvious that they were very close. Not quite disgusting close, but close. He couldn't be certain that the girl knew about her cousin's little secret. Not that that really mattered. What mattered was he'd just found a big weakness of Max Steel.
Josh couldn't sleep. Pete had gone home some time ago and Mindy was in her room. He glanced at his digital alarm clock. 11:19pm. Sighing, he sat up and switched on the light. He swung his legs over the side of the bed. For a minute or two, he just sat there. Then, he opened the drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a framed picture. From behind the glass, a pretty girl with short black hair smiled at him. He stood next to her, his arm draped across her shoulders. She was snuggled up to his shoulder. Laura. God, he missed her.
"Hey," said a voice from the doorway. He looked up to find Mindy standing there in an oversized shirt and some shorts. "Can't sleep either, huh?"
"Nope."
She came over and sat down next to him. She peered at the photo before looking up at him. There was a sympathetic look in her eyes. "I was sorry to hear about you and Laura."
"Yeah, so was I."
She smiled a little. "It's wierd. My whole life, I could never picture you with anyone but her."
"I know. Even when we were little, you kept telling us we were going to get married someday. We thought you were nuts. We weren't even old enough to think about relationships."
"I still can't believe you cheated on her, Josh. I expected better from you."
He looked at her, confused. "Who told you why we broke up?"
Now she looked confused. "You don't know?" When he shook his head, she explained. "Laura's been writing to me. I usually get a letter once every couple of months."
Josh was surprised. Laura had been keeping more contact with his cousin than he'd been? "How much did she tell you?"
"Everything she knew." Mindy brushed her hair behind her ears with her fingers. "That you kissed another woman and kept swearing there was nothing between you and that other girl. Rachel, wasn't it?"
He nodded. "I know I screwed up." He sighed heavily. His fingertips brushed over the Laura's image. "It's too late now," he said sadly.
She shook her head. "No it's not."
He gave her a look. "Going on a research trip for a year seems pretty final to me."
"Pete rammed that one into your head didn't he?" He looked away. Mindy laid a hand on his bare shoulder. "A year's not forever Josh. And isn't she coming home soon?"
"Morgan, 9 more months is not soon."
She looked at him, surprised. "Josh, don't you watch the news? The company that owns the ship she was on is in a lot of legal trouble. Something about illegal dumping of toxic waste. The trip was cancelled. All the students are being sent home."
He looked at her. His eyes seemed to beg her not to be lying.
"It was all over the news today. The company has a lot to answer for and a whole lot of fines to pay. They're going belly up."
"So Laura's coming home?"
"Probably within the next week. I'm going to bed now." She stood and kissed him on the cheek. "'Night." There was a small smile on her face as she left the room. As soon as she shut the door, she heard Josh exclaim excitedly. "Yes!" Mindy shook her head and went to try to sleep.
Josh turned out the light and laid back down. He drew the sheets up to his waist, leaving his shirtless torso exposed. He locked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. It was too bad about Laura's trip being cancelled like that, but he was still happy about it.
He still couldn't sleep. He knew his cousin had thought telling him about this would cheer him up. And it had. Only now he was to excited to sleep.
Finally, at about 1:00 in the morning, Josh managed to drift off to sleep. A smile was still on his face. One thought still stood out even as he began to dream; Laura's coming home.
Mindy managed to get to sleep eventually as well. The reason she couldn't sleep had appeared last night at the skating rink. She couldn't stop thinking about that guy who had rescued them. A frown still creased her brow as she began to drift off into a restless slumber. She just couldn't shake the feeling that, not only had she seen him before, but that she knew him as well. Her last concious thought that night was, who *was* that guy?
_______________________________________________________________________
Okay, just for the record, Mindy isn't thinking about Max in a romantic way. It's just driving her crazy not knowing where she knows him from. Come on, I *know* you know what I mean. And Laura's coming into the story. I'm not sure when exactly, but she is. Hope you enjoyed.