Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door. Now that that's done, you must be excited! Have at it!

Chapter 10: The Other Side

Reira and her family left the Gilligan residence early I the morning. When she had arrived home, she had taken her things out of the car, took them to her room and set them away before picking up Rach and burying the both of them underneath the covers of her bed. Reira lay there, curled up in a ball petting the puppy's head for a while. She wanted everything to work out so badly, but in the end, it wasn't up to her – it was never up to her. It was up to Abby, and to the best of Reira's knowledge, she ruined Hoagie's friendship with one of his most cherished childhood friends, and that didn't make her feel good at all. "Where did everything go wrong, Rach?" Her puppy crawled over to her face and licked her cheek, "What have I done." Just as Reira was about to fall asleep, there was a knocking on the front door of the estate. It echoed throughout the house. I wonder who that could be. I just want to get to sleep… Reira heard one of the large mahogany doors open.

Moments later, there was a knocking on her own door. "Reira," her mother called as she opened her door, "One your friends are here to see you." Reira stayed underneath her covers pretending to be asleep. "Reira?"

"Who is it, I'm sleepy," Reira grumbled.

"It's me." Reira uncovered herself and sat upright to see who it was, and was so surprised at who she saw, she had forgot all about her fatigue. There at her doorway, stood Abigail. She looked tired, and it looked to Reira as though she had been crying the entire night. "Hey."

"Hey," Reira said. Though they had grown to be close friends, it couldn't have been more awkward for either of them to see each other, especially after the night before.

"I'll leave you guys alone to talk." Titania closed the door behind her.

"So, what brings you to my home this morning?" Reira asked, putting on a welcoming smile, but then falling back onto her bed.

"I just needed someone to talk to," Abby replied. Reira looked tilted her head up and looked at her, then gestured her to sit at her bedside.

"Well," Reira started, "I may not be that much help, but I'm a good listener."

"Was it really you guys, on the stage during prom?"

"Yup; Sure was," Reira told her cheerfully. Her fatigue was coming back to her.

"So, you guys wrote all of those songs?"

"We all wrote them together."

"All so that Hoagie could dance with me?"

"I wouldn't say that that was the only reason," Reira told her. Abby looked at her baffled. In the course of a few minutes, Reira explained to Abby everything that had happened since they had been assigned their Physics project to the night of the prom. She told her everything: giving Hoagie a ride home, and the group showing up at Reira's that morning, their practices, the Saturday of the accident and how Hoagie got a job to save up money for the necklace, getting the group fitted for their clothing, coming up with plans, and coming up with songs. She told her everything, and when she had finished, tears began to well up in Abby's eyes. "Abby, please, there is no crying in my room."

"I feel even crappier now, than when I heard him talking to me when you were in the hospital." Abby told her.

Reira recalled that in an instant. She remembered the whole thing. "Why is that?" Reira asked, even though it was obvious, she wanted to hear Abby, and her opinion.

"Why else! I had no idea how much he was feeling – how much he was holding inside just so that I would be happy – how much you guys have been working together – how much he's been working and all of it for me. All this time, I had thought he was just butting in. I kept leaving him alone; after all the things he had done for me, I kept leaving him. I kept on ignoring him, and now – I think I've lost my best friend for good." Abby put her hands to her face as though she had a headache, then, she reached into her shirt and pulled out the crescent moon necklace with the five diamonds along the arch. She looked at it a while before starting again. "I wondered for so long who gave this to me. I would read the poem every day. I would even wait around the corner of my locker to watch everyone who passed by. Hoagie would always see me there and ask what I was doing. I would tell him something like, 'Abby's just looking out for the dang stalker how gave me this!' He would always reply with something like, 'Well, you seem to like the necklace, and besides, that poem makes it seem like whoever likes you that much, isn't the kind of person who would stalk you or anything.' That jerk! He was probably laughing to himself back then." Abby sighed. "I had something great in front of me this entire time, and I blew it."

"Do you like Hoagie, Abby?" Reira questioned.

"I was always looking for that person who wrote me that poem," Abby began, "I feel in love with them the second I finished reading it all those years ago. I just never knew that it was Hoagie who I feel in love with. I feel so stupid! I feel like an idiot for what I've done."

"Everyone can have a second chance," Reira started, "All you need to do is reach out and take that chance."

"I don't know how," Abby said, "It would feel so awkward. I can't just go up to him and say I'm sorry for everything. It's not that simple."

"It could be," Reira told her. Abby looked at her, hopelessly. "Just talk to each other about it. Get yourselves on the same level and go for it!" Reira, seeing Abby still unsure about everything, moved from where she was and put her arm around her. "Hoagie really loves you. I can feel it when he sings. He loved you, even when it was painful – he still loves you, even after he told him that you didn't love him back, and he always will love you, even if he has to live without you for the rest of his life." Abby smiled. "And, if you know all of this," Reira added, "Then everything should go fine, and there will be nothing to be afraid of."

"I guess, I've always loved him somewhere on the inside. It took me until now to realize it," Abby said as she wiped the excess tears from her eyes. "I love Hoagie," Abby whispered. There was a slight laugh in her voice, almost in disbelief. She looked at Reira, who was smiling back at her, "I love him."

-oOo-

"Hey kiddo!" Hoagie's father knocked on Hoagie's open door. Hoagie was lying in bed. It was late afternoon. He was able to get some sleep, but, all though he honestly couldn't bare it anymore, he couldn't take his mind of Abby, and the incident that occurred the previous night. Hoagie could feel it on the inside. He was regretting that kiss. He wished that it didn't happen. He hated it, and all ready it was becoming a scar.

"Hey, Dad." Hoagie was happy to have his dad home, and staying home for good, but all he wanted at the moment was to be alone.

"So," Mr. Gilligan began, "What's up? How are you?"

"Honestly," Hoagie started, "I feel like crap. I'm still feeling kind of tired, I guess."

Mr. Gilligan looked at his son, slyly and suspiciously. "Oh, I see. You're having girl troubles, aren't you?"

Hoagie stared into the ceiling for a while, trying to figure out how his father was able to decipher that he was having girl problems out of, "I feel like crap. I'm still feeling kind of tired." In the end, all he could do was nod at his father in agreement.

"Oh well," Mr. Gilligan started, "I never liked it when people bugged me about things like that, so the most I can only hope that you'll be able deal with it by yourself." He sat onto the bed next to his son.

"That's fine. Just forget about it."

"Okay. Well, you wanna go watch a movie downstairs with me." Mr. Gilligan asked.

"Depends – What movie?" Hoagie asked. A movie would be nice, he thought. Anything would have been fine, really. As long as it took his mind off of Abby.

"Oh, it doesn't matter to me really," said Mr. Gilligan, "Action, sci-fi, romantic comedy – I don't really care."

Suddenly, Hoagie got out of his bed, and grabbed his acoustic guitar and his mobile phone. "I know what movie we should watch," he told him, "Come on."

-oOo-

Ch10 Notes: I'm pretty sure that this is the second shortest chapter, the shortest being chapter three. I honestly thought that this chapter was going to be much longer than expected. I was surprised when I had finished it, I was like, "Wow, I don't have anything else to say for this chapter…" Though it is short, I think I got the point across.

Parody/Allusion Count: As of the end of Chapter 10, there stands a total of 15 parodies/allusions. The chapter title is not an parody or allusion for anything. I was looking at it thinking, "I hope that's nothing I did on accident." I hope you guys have got it all. At the end of the last chapter, my guideline for entering answers will be shown. DO NOT SUBMIT ANSWERS IN THE FORM OF REVIEW. ANYONE CAN READ THEM. Thank you!