~I did it! The next chapter is here. I don't own 39 clues. Enjoy, read and review!~

Hamilton froze. Did he hear right or did his swim earlier leave water in his ears? He looked at Sinead for conformation that he was hearing things, but her face was quickly turning white. He looked at Ian, but there was no mercy in his eyes. Sinead slowly stood up and walked towards him. Ian roughly pushed him up, with help from Natalie. Hamilton stood awkwardly as Sinead walked closer.

His mind was on hyper drive. He noticed her hair in front of her face, her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Soon she was in front of him, coming closer, standing on her tiptoes to reach him. Instinctively he bent down...

As their lips touched, Sinead was filled with energy, her heart beating a mile a minute. She forgot that he was a Tomas. She even forgot he was Hamilton Holt. She never wanted to move from his side. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. She felt his warmth his heart, his heart beating just as fast as hers.

"Ew! Hamilton, since when do you like Sinead?" Dan complained. Sinead and Hamilton broke apart, blushing. Natalie and Amy glared at Dan. He immediately cowered lower in the seat. Sinead walked back to her spot, still not able to think. As Hamilton turned around, he took a deep breath before sitting down. He noticed Ian and Jonah smirking and knew he probably was going to end up doing their chores for a while. Madison, Reagan, Ned and Ted looked furious.

"Go on Hamilton. Answer Dan's question." Ned growled. Hamilton looked desperately at the circle for help. He saw no respite from any of the other boys or Natalie. Sinead was still distant and Nora was grinning at the argument. Amy had a pitying look on her face, but when he looked at her, she shrugged. Amy decided she would help him. Eventually.

"I... Um, I...well," he stuttered. Ted rolled his eyes.

"Ah, Sinead, your boyfriend doesn't know what to say." Sinead was knocked out of her reverie.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Really? I couldn't tell." Reagan grumbled.

"Sinead, it's your turn to do someone," Amy interrupted.

"Jonah, truth or dare?" Sinead asked quickly before anyone could revert to the original subject.

"Dare." It was obvious Jonah was a little nervous.

"I dare you to…" she looked around for inspiration; "sing the ABC's" Dan rolled his eyes.

"You're worse than Amy at this," he snorted. Jonah shrugged and started singing. Within three minutes he was done and looking around for a victim.

"Ted truth or dare." Ted thought for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Dare," Ted said carelessly.

"I dare you to…" Jonah leaned over and whispered in his ear. Ted grinned and typed something into the transporter. He lifted out a…

Nerf gun? Why does Ted have my nerf gun? Don wondered, surprised. Then Ted shot a foam bullet at Ian. Ian, who hadn't been paying attention to proceedings, jumped up and pulled out a tranquilizer gun. Ted's smile disappeared and he backed up. Dan's face lit up.

"Shoot him! Shoot him! Shoot him!" Dan cheered Ian on.

"What was that for?" Ian demanded with Dan still chanting in the backround.

"Shut up Dan! That was my dare. Don't kill me!" Ted said, quaking. Ian relaxed his posture and lowered the gun. He sat down as Ted took a deep breath and returned the nerf gun to the machine.

"Um, Ned. Truth or dare?"

"Dare. Truths are no fun."

"I dare you to… jump up and down while saying 'I'm a pink fluffy star over and over." Hamilton snorted and Nora laughed. Dan looked delighted as he pulled out his iPod's video camera. This is going to be so awesome. Ned stood up and wobbled onto solid ground.

"I'm a pink fluffy star, I'm a pink fluffy star," he chanted, jumping simultaneously; but after a few minutes, he had to stop, as he was laughing too hard to jump. Dan was egging him on. Everyone was laughing and having a good time.

After Ted agreed he was done and Ned sat back down, Dan noticed he was breathless. Ned pointed at Madison and tried to talk.

"Truth… or… dare?" he panted.

"Dare," she replied carelessly. He thought as he caught his breath.

"I dare you to wear one of Natalie's dresses." Natalie's face glowed as she looked at Madison. This was going to be trouble.

"Ohh, I wonder which one will look best." Sinead had Natalie push a button on the wall. When she did, the slide reformed into stairs.

"We'll wait for you," Amy called after the retreating girls' backs. Right before she disappeared up the stairs, Madison shot a pleading look behind her. The rest of the group just shook their head. No one in their sane mind would mess with Natalie. That is, besides Dan. But he was a completely different category.

Nora grinned. She was enjoying watching everyone laughing and joking. She knew she would have to prove herself in order to fit in, as these people had already been through so much together.

Nora and Reagan were the only ones left, and she was nervous. She had seen how well these dares had been suited to the person and wondered what she would end up with. She decided not to worry about it and turned to talk to Reagan and Sinead.

"Hello," she said as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"Hey," they replied simultaneously.

"Sinead, your dare was…" Nora started to say.

"Disgusting," interrupted Reagan.

"I was going to say 'interesting.'" Nora smiled and faced Sinead. "What would you say Sinead?"

"Unexpected," she mumbled, embarrassed. Nora leaned closer and when she started whispering, Reagan leaned in too.

"Do you like him?" she whispered, trying to keep her voice from carrying. Sinead stared at her hands as she tried to reply.

"I don't… I think… I think so," she finally admitted. To Nora, it looked like this might be the first time she confessed this to herself as well as to someone else. Suddenly, she looked a Reagan pleadingly.

"Don't tell him please, don't tell anyone." She begged. They both agreed. Probably, Nora thought deviously. She clapped her hands and a delightful smile appeared on her face. Everyone looked towards them, and then went back to their original conversations.

"What was that for?" Sinead hissed.

"This is perfect! You like him, he likes you!" Nora whisper-squealed.

"What makes you think Hamilton likes her?" Reagan protested. She glanced at Sinead. "No offense."

"You should've seen him earlier. When Sinead suggested a plan and someone protested, he started defending her. He went on and on how amazing she was. " Sinead blushed as she recalled the memory.

The girls had changed to a different subject and were still talking when Madison descended the stairs. She was wearing a light blue dress that didn't look bad on her.

"How long do I have to wear this?" she moaned. Ned thought for a moment.

"Until the end of the game," he decided. Madison sighed in relief. She sat down uncomfortably and turned to Nora.

"Let's get this over with. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Madison wasn't ready.

"Um, do you like sports?" Nora shrugged. This was an easy one.

"Volleyball is my favorite. Swimming is alright too." Madison nodded, relieved. Nora wasn't sure if it was the answer or that the game was almost over.

"Your turn." Nora turned to Reagan. The younger girl met her gaze solidly.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Reagan replied. Amy noticed Nora's face was thoughtful. "What's your favorite stronghold? Mine's Madagascar." Reagan hesitated.

"Probably Victoria Falls. Madison and I always drop things down and see if they're still intact at the bottom." Reagan smiled at the memory.

"They never are," Madison put in.

"Nope," Reagan agreed as Amy's phone rang. She stood up and wobbled to the edge of the squishy floor onto solid ground. She opened her phone without looking at caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey kiddo. Can you let everyone know it's time to head up to their rooms?"

"'Kay Nellie. Sleep well."

"You too. Big day tomorrow," she said softly into the phone. They both laughed.

"Defiantly," Amy replied.

"Night."

"Night." Amy hung up and returned to the group. "Hey guys, time to head up. We finished just in time." One by one people trickled up the stairs, with Madison in the lead.

After she finished saying good night to Dan, she turned to survey the room. She wasn't surprised to see Ian in the corner looking at his bookshelf. He straightened up and faced her.

"You never did show us that guitar," he remarked, leaning against a door frame.

"It's just so I can practice for Janus c-class." She explained, cursing inwardly. Her stupid stutter hadn't shown itself in years, but being alone with Ian had caused it resurface. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't remark on it.

"Will you show me?" she nodded nervously. She picked it up and started strumming. She played a few chords and started a simple song. After she finished, he smiled and clapped. She noticed he was more relaxed and informal after the captives returned.

"Nice job," he complemented her. "How long have you been practicing?"

"A few weeks," she replied shyly. "I took piano lessons when I was younger, so I can read music."

"How have you been practicing for a few weeks when we found out over the weekend?" Ian probed.

"Actually, Nellie bought it for me and convinced me to try." She lifted a hand over mouth to try to stifle a yawn, but he noticed anyway.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean to keep you awake." He crossed the room to hand her something. It was her other guitar pick.

"Thanks," she said as she placed it on her bookshelf. She turned to him. "Good night Ian."

"Good night love." She blushed at the nickname.

"Ian! I thought you were over that!" she protested. He smiled and moved closer.

"Amy Cahill, you will never completely lose that nickname," he laughed. Her faced turned redder as she realized that their arms were touching and she could smell the light scent of his cologne.

"I… um, I…I k-know," Amy stuttered. His hand brushed a loose piece of hair off her face. She was frozen. Was he about to kiss her?

"Ian," she whispered under her breath, soft enough he couldn't hear her. His hand froze and he moved back anyway.

"Good night Amy," he called softly, heading back towards the staircase heading to his room. She listened to his footsteps fade away.

"Good night," she whispered to the empty room, before heading to bed herself.

~What did you think? If you didn't like it please tell me in a constructive criticism way, not a flame. Thanks to all my reviewers and regular correspondents. Listen round for I am starting a contest. The person who finds the most spelling/grammatical mistakes will get a choice of prizes. I read and review one of your stories, I help you with editing as you helped me or something else (as long as it's reasonable.). It is completely legal to go back to other chapters. Thanks to anyone who helps. I will also list anyone who gives at least one edit at the beginning of the next chapter. I will hopefully go through and fix the errors you guys point out. The contest ends on January 7th. Here are helpful things to review:

-Whether you care if I do one point of view more often than others, or if they all should have equal turns.

- Any relationships you want me to emphasize in the next chapter.

That's actually it. I hope everyone had great holidays. Happy New Year! ~