Chapter 10
Invisiboy is just as I remembered him from the photos… Neatly dressed in his hero garb, perfect, bouncy hair, stunning eyes covered with a mysterious mask, pearly white teeth, and brawny muscles that weren't too big, and weren't too small. He was absolutely perfect… And I didn't like it one bit.
"Do you have the ruby?" Voltar asks, getting straight to business.
"Got it right here." He says, while reaching into his pocket. He pulls out the biggest gem I had ever seen. I wonder how he even fit it in his tights. It sparkles with every turn and the red color was enchanting. It was beautiful.
Voltar snickered to himself and snatched the gem out of Invisiboy's slender but strong fingers.
"Now I'll be taking this-" Invisiboy states while gently grabbing my arm at the elbow. He slings me over his shoulder with great ease and I didn't even have time to react before everything became a blur. In just a few moments we were at a strange place.
Frightened, I finally had time to scream. "Aaaaahhhhhhh-"
Invisiboy cuts me short when he places his hand over my mouth. "It's okay! I already saved you." He murmurs comfortingly.
I'm hyperventilating. "Wha-what makes you think-" Oh gosh I'm having a hard time breathing. "Th-that I was scared… of them?"
Invisiboy reels back. "What?"
"Y-you heard me!" I try to say confidently.
"I'm confused…" He tells me.
"And if you wanted to save me, then why didn't you come right when I was kidnapped? That was a while ago!"
"I was vacationing…" He tells me sheepishly.
"Where? You'd think that you might have noticed that the person you were stalking was MIA." I say roughly. I'm really annoyed… But maybe that's just because I know that this man had taken a secret picture of me bathing…
"The moon."
Was this guy joking?
"N-no I'm serious!" He tells me, seeing my un-amused expression. "It's the only place I can go without being hassled. Being a super hero is tough…"
I sigh exasperatedly. "Well, do you want to tell me why exactly you stooped to stealing something just for me?"
"Oh, I didn't. Actually it was a fake. Made purely out of glass."
"What?"
"Well yeah, did you really think a super hero would commit a crime?"
"You've already committed one." I mumble.
"Did you say something?" He asks.
"Nope. Not at all."
"Okay. Anyways, they won't know the difference. I mean, they're the L.O.S.E. gang!" He laughs.
"L.O.S.E.?- Oh… Well you do know that they have an evil genius on their side, right?" I challenge.
"Who, the 'Doktor'?" He howled in laughter. "Oh my- you really are adorably clueless, you know? That Doktor is a no good, failure at everything. While you were trapped there, did you notice what percentage of his experiments failed?"
Okay, that was it. He is really on my bad side now! "You know what? You can go ahead and-and- and rot on the moon for all I care!" I yell, throwing him the best insult I could muster.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" He asks, honestly confused.
"You are such a jerk, let me out of wherever we are!" I yell at him, frustrated.
"But why?"
"B-because- just because, okay?"
"Okay, okay. You know, usually damsels in distress are happier when a handsome, hero comes down to rescue them."
"Yeah, well I wasn't a damsel in distress." I say… That was partly true…
Invisiboy sighs. "Well, I guess it was too good to be true."
I'm wary, but I ask anyways. "What do you mean?"
"That I was ever going to get the girl of my dreams." He says, gazing in to my eyes.
To my annoyance, I feel my cheeks redden. "W-well I guess that's just t-too bad." I stare back into his blue orbs that somehow seem bigger. Oh curse my gentle heart! No, don't feel sorry for him Pamela!
"B-but that's okay… I'll take you back to Metro Town." He says, sounding completely broken.
"Thanks…U-um, where are we?" I ask, trying my best to tear my eyes away from his. Admittedly it was hard, though I can't place why…
"Oh, just on my Private Island. It's just a little ways from Metro Town." He explains. "Okay, let's go…"
"W-wait." Why did I say that? "U-um, maybe you could show me around a little."
"Really?" He asked so excitedly, I could have sworn I seen ears and a wagging tail appear.
"Uh-yeah" I say. Why was I doing all of these things? Just because he showed me some pouty eyes? "Just a little while…"
"Perfect!"
Invisiboy led me around, showing me just how simplistic his little dwelling was. It was actually… nice. "So why did you fall for me?"
"W-what?" He asked, blushing.
"Why did you fall for me? I mean, I'm just your average everyday girl."
"I-I think, extraordinary woman, would describe you better." He says.
I blush a deep red. Why did I blush? I didn't like him, I liked Doktor Frogg. "So?"
"W-well… Okay, it's really corny, so don't laugh." He says, looking sheepish.
I just nod.
"Well one day, you bumped into a kid… He was crying, and you looked so concerned for him. I was just about to help him, but you already offered your hand. I remember you asking him, "What's wrong?" and he told you that he was lost. You went out of your way to help that little boy find his mother… Even though she was just around the corner. But the way you held his hand so-so sincerely- like you were his mother… I knew that you were a caring person right then and there. He fell in love with you, and I did too…"
He let out a chuckle and continued, still staring me straight in the eyes. "I started to see you more often, but I just watched you from a distance. You were a hero without the powers… And you became my ideal woman. It was just the little gestures, really. Like when you would smile so warmly to a stranger, and that person's day would be better just by your small action. I don't know. I-I guess I was just too shy to introduce myself, so I became your boyfriend without you knowing it. When I would use my invisibility-powers, I would see the real you behind the closed doors of your house. You seemed lonely, and it was like you didn't even know it. And when you slept, you would mumble about your father, and tears would trickle down your face. I started to know you like you would never know me… I wanted to become your ideal man, just the way you became my ideal woman."
That was a lot to take in… I mean, I didn't even think that anyone seen me help that little boy. It didn't really even mean that much. I even forgot about it…But the way he said it… It made me feel like I made a difference in the world… just by helping him. I don't know why, but the more he spoke, I began to forget all about the bad qualities in him… Was I… falling for him?
During my musings, I seen Invisiboy's eyes lid a bit, and he started to lean towards me. For some odd reason I found myself leaning in as well. Ever so slowly, he reached his hand to the side of my face, still never breaking contact with my eyes. Our lips were inches apart. Just a little further and we'll be kissing… But I didn't want this. Why was I doing this? And why did it feel right and wrong at the same time? He was so close I could feel his breath…
"Hold it right there!" Hollered a voice I knew all too well. The voice that always had a certain nagging tone to it.
"Voltar?" I ask, bewildered, and finally able to break the gaze that Invisiboy and I held since he confessed.
"The one and only!" He said proudly.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Doktor Frogg peering from behind Red. He looks upset… almost depressed… No, I'm sure it was my imagination. Doktor Frogg wouldn't get upset over me.
"What are you doing here?" Invisiboy shouts, rising to his feet, eyes narrowing.
"It seems that I've been tricked, hero." Voltar explains, saying the last word as if it was dirty. "Now we're here to take our revenge and what's rightfully ours!"
"And what would that be?"
Voltar raises an arm slowly to add suspense and then points roughly at me. "Our hostage!"
Oh how that word irks me.
"Doktor Frogg, the Camerogerbot!"
In a few moments blurs were sent about. One was the colors of Invisiboy's garb, and the other, a silver blur.
"Give it up, Invisiboy! This machinery is designed specifically for your defeat! You'll never win!"
Suddenly, the blurs stop. Invisiboy is staring at the machine… the same way he was staring at me…
"Your manipulation powers can't affect the robot! He's got no heart!"
"Manipulation powers?" I murmur quietly to myself. It couldn't be… But maybe-
"Victory!" Voltar hollered out.
"Drat! Foiled by my own move…" Invisiboy complains. How was the fight over so fast?
"Well Pamela, time to go. We must leave this 'hero', to wallow in shame. Mua-hahahaha!"
Before I know it, I am wrapped in a hug from large arms. "It's good to have you back Pamela!"
"Thanks Red." I say, looking off into the distance.
"Are you okay?" He asks, concerned.
Was I okay? I was so easily manipulated by this Invisiboy, who was supposed to be a hero, I was saved by the villains, and to top it off, I thought that I was falling for the said 'hero'. It took me a while to figure out I liked Doktor Frogg, but in just mere moments, I was ready to kiss Invisiboy. No, I wasn't okay… I was a despicable human being. Everything I knew was wrong…
"Pamela?" Red called out my name.
"I-I don't know…" I tell him honestly. "I- I was about to-"
I couldn't breathe.
"-kiss him…" I whisper. But Red heard it.
"It's okay Pamela… You know he was just manipulating you… It's one of his powers." Red explains.
I already knew that… But it didn't make me feel any better about what I had just done.
"Pamela?"
"Sorry Red… I don't recall Voltar mentioning that when we first met…"
"O-oh… Well, let's go home." He says awkwardly.
"Okay…"
The next few days pass awkwardly. Mostly because I made them awkward… Whenever I ran into Doktor Frogg, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes and would dart off like some frightened little mouse. I didn't eat too much, and I was just… not as happy…
"Fian?" I say. He swims around and looks at me. "I… I… I don't even know…"
Why was I so down? Was it because I was hurt at being used once again? Because I was fooled? Because I fell for someone other than Doktor Frogg?
I grab the Frogg plushie that I had found and kept by my side.
No… It was because I seen Doktor Frogg's sad face… Because even though he didn't like me, I dreamed up his depressed face just so I could think that he liked me the way I like him… Because I was so pathetically in love… and he didn't return my feelings.
"Doktor Frogg?" Red inquires.
Snapped out of his work, Doktor Frogg replies. "Huh?"
"When are you going to tell Pamela you like her?"
"What?"
"When are you goi-"
"I heard you!" Doktor Frogg hisses, blushing. "I mean, what makes you think I would tell her such a thing?"
"Well I know you like her, and I kinda think she likes you… so I was just wondering when you were going to stop the drama and tell her you like her?" Red says innocently.
"You think she likes me…" Doktor Frogg sighs. "Impossible…"
"Oh come on Doktor Frogg, it is plain as daylight! And it's so romantic!"
"Oh Red… You have so much to learn about love… Women like her don't fall for guys like me. It's as simple as that."
"I don't know Doktor Frogg. I see the way she looks at you, and she's been sleeping with Doomie's Frogg plushie…"
Doktor Frogg's cheeks exploded with red at the last thing he said. "Eh- well I'm sure it's nothing!"
"It doesn't look like nothing…" Red says in a sing-song voice. Seeing his friend's nervous face, Red smiles. "Just talk to her… Maybe things will turn out better than you expect."
"Yeah… right… And maybe while I'm at it I'll win the Nobel Prize." He replied, waving his claws around. Sure, it was one thing to say that he would talk to her, but for him to actually do it? No way.
Finally deciding that it was pointless to pout over such a trivial thing, I made up my mind to put on my brave face and be content with our current relationship… Friendship… I grimace at the word, but I guess it was better than nothing. Coincidentally, in that very moment, Doktor Frogg saunters by. What a perfect opportunity to show him that everything was just fine with me and him.
"Hi, Doktor Frogg." I say sweetly.
"Huh? O-oh! Pamela! Um, hi."
"Listen, I just wanted to say that… If I've been acting strange around you lately," or more like, if you noticed, "it's nothing you need to be concerned about. Actually… I like you a lot!"
I see his expression loosen a bit, so that's good. "And I just think that you and I are great friends." I finish with a smile. His reaction wasn't what I was expecting… He looked…I don't really know, but his eyebrows were knitted together… Oh, gosh! What was I thinking? He didn't even want to be friends with me! Okay, just act like that didn't just happen. "Or if you prefer… acquaintances." I giggle nervously. "Either or. Well, I'm just going to go now. Bye Doktor Frogg!"
With that awkward finale, I scamper off to wallow in my misery… Okay, so the friends hurdle hadn't been reached… Oh man, this sucks!
"Oh man this sucks!" Doktor Frogg complains out loud in his lab. He didn't have to worry about being interrupted there. "She sees me as a friend… And only a friend! Doh, I knew Red was just seeing things…" Oh how it hurt for his hopes to be brought soaring when she said she liked him, only to be shattered to tiny little pieces when she confirmed that she meant as a friend. Love was truly evil… Wait… love? That can't be right… It was just a crush… Yes, nothing more than liking… Right?
Right?
Heehehehee! Well, sorry it sounds rushed, but I'm in the middle of moving so I'm actually writing this… well, in a rush on my laptop. But I did want to get this out there, so I hope you like! I decided to add some Doktor Frogg perspective in this chapter. Just to show how things are doing on his side.
Well, ciao!
Disclaimer: Oh and LOSE belongs to Nerd Corps. Not me. Only Pamela and the plot belong to me!