Okay! Here is chapter 9! Whoo!

This is actually a very long chapter. I'm pretty sure it ends up exceeding the other chapters.

And yes, the other 2 guardians are introduced in this chapter ;D

Also, I'm actually feeling better from my flu. I just woke up that Monday morning with the freaking flu and I stayed home from school today and yesterday, so I'm feeling better. But I already have a feeling that I'm going to have a shit-ton of homework when I get back tomorrow -_-

I freaking hate school…

But good news is that I had nothing better to do today so I decided to upload this chapter, and I made it longer too.

So, with that being said… Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Well besides the made up characters and this story. So if you plan on suing me, tough luck.

Previously on the last chapter...

He shrugged before pulling me into a kiss. I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked at the sudden movement. But then again I would also be lying if I said I didn't like it even just a tiny bit. But as fast as he kissed me, he pulled away just as fast. "Goodnight." He yawned, shooing me up the stairs. When I did get to the top, he locked it from the bottom.

Through the end of the day I have come to a conclusion: Jack acts drunk-like when he's sleepy.

I sighed and crashed on my bed, drifting off to sleep wondering why he kissed me back there

Chapter 9: Goddamn Hormones

The next day

(Jack's P.O.V)

I can't believe I almost told Karen that I thought I liked her last night.

And thank god she isn't awake right now to ask me what it was that I was supposed to tell her last night. Well even if she did remember and ask me, I would have just pretended that I didn't know what she was talking about or just tell her that I forgot what it was and move on with my life.

I sighed. Now that I think about it, I can't stop. Whenever I think about her I can't stop. This is disastrous. I haven't felt like this about anyone since middle school.

Goddamn hormones.

I sighed again as my eyes traveled to the clock on the wall in the living room. It's almost 9. Sandy and Alexa are obviously at school. Both in high school. Although Alexa is a 14 year old freshman and Sandy is a junior.

And then there's Melissa, who is also a high school senior, just like Karen. But she goes to a different high school. She is also at school as of right now. The rest of us have already passed high school.

I could faintly smell the aroma of pancakes from the kitchen while Chloe helped Aiden cook breakfast. Usually it would be Sandy and Alexa but since they're at school, Aiden does it for us. And I have to admit, Aiden's cooking is great. And I mean that in the most non-gay way ever.

"Alright guys! Breakfast is ready!" Chloe said, bringing two plates of pancakes from the kitchen and onto the dining table while Aiden followed after with some more plates.

Ron came up to the table and sat down on a seat, pouring a shit ton of syrup onto his pancakes, smiling at Chloe as she passed by. Bunny and Alan sat down next.

"Jack, go wake Karen up." Aiden said, nodding his head towards the staircase.

I groaned. Great, first I couldn't stop thinking about her, now I have to go wake her up. "You give the food to her this time, Aiden. I'm still tired." I told him, faking a yawn.

"You've been up for almost two hours. Plus we're not bringing the food to Karen; we're bringing Karen to the food." Aiden said, walking back into the kitchen.

I just stared at the spot he was standing at earlier. He came back out holding four glasses. "Are you serious?" I asked him.

He set the glasses down on the table and gave me a look. "Dead serious Jack."

Chloe came out next with a large container filled with juice, as Aiden counted out how many more glasses he would need. And then he walked back into the kitchen.

"Come on, Jack. She seems like a nice girl, we can at least treat her at home when she's not there." Chloe said.

"Do I have to?" I asked the exact moment Aiden came back out of the kitchen.

"Yes." He insisted.

"Just go get the girl, mate! Stop being such a lazy bum." Bunny said, having enough of this discussion.

"Jack." Aiden said, giving me another look. "Go. Now."

I tsked. "Fine, mom." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I got up off the couch reluctantly and dragged myself up the stairs.

Once I was upstairs I started heading for the rope. I reached out to pull the rope but ended up holding onto it instead, as if I was mentally preparing myself to face her.

With a deep sigh, I pulled the rope and walked up the stairs. When I got up there, I noticed she wasn't in bed. But the light coming from the bathroom gave me a pretty good idea where she was.

I slowly went over to the door to knock on it. I brought my hand up, balled into a fist, bringing my knuckles to the door, ready to knock, right when the door pulled open.

Karen was drying her hair with a towel while she opened the door. She seemed surprised to see me here.

"Jack." She started, taking her towel off of her hair and hanging it to the side. I brought my hand back down to my side as she did that. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Um…" I started, feeling a sudden shyness, which was weird, since that is not a trait people would use to describe me by. "We all wanted you to have breakfast with us downstairs. You wanna come?" I asked.

Her eyebrows rose in shock but it seemed to be a pleasant shock. "Really?" she asked. A smile tugged at her lips.

I nodded at her. Her smile grew. "So, is that a yes?" I asked. She nodded. "Yup."

"Okay then. Let's go." I said, giving her a smile before walking towards the staircase. I could feel her presence behind me as I led the way downstairs.

When we got downstairs we were greeted mostly from everyone with warm smiles. Some even said "good morning" to her as she brightly smiled at them.

I just quickly took a seat beside Ron and Aiden while Karen sat in-between Alan and Bunny. She thanked everyone for the offer of inviting her to breakfast and it was Chloe who replied back as a "no problem"

I watched as she poured the syrup over her pancakes in a neat spread and then she took her fork and cut a piece of it in her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Mmm! Who made these?" she asked.

"I did…" Aiden said. "With Chloe's help."

She smiled at him and Chloe. "This is the best homemade food I've ever tasted." She said as she gave them an approving smile.

Afterwards she caught me staring at her and just offered me a smile as I looked away and started eating my breakfast.

The rest of the day was awkward for me. Almost everyone has seemed to warm up to Karen and she's now officially hanging out around us. I have no idea why it was awkward for me but it was. Maybe it's the fact that I think I have a crush on Karen?

Well whatever it was, I didn't like what was going on.

A few hours later

(Karen's P.O.V)

Wow I seriously misjudged everyone here. Everyone was so nice today. Well excluding Melissa who ignored me most of the time. I tried to make small talk with her yesterday but she just seemed uninterested.

But I didn't mind. I don't usually let these things get to me. Yet I couldn't help but notice Jack being awkward. And one time, I swear he tried to avoid me.

Whatever. The jerk must be on his man period or something.

"HEY GUYS!" I heard a female voice scream all the way from the front doors. Her voice I have not yet recognized.

Everyone's attention faced towards the front door when a beautiful girl came in with a gigantic smile with a larger, elderly man following behind.

"Hey! Chloe! You're back!" the girl said once she noticed Chloe. She went over to her to give her a hug. "Where've you been?" she asked.

Chloe giggled. "I thought I told you, I went to go visit my uncle and aunt in Canada." she said, hugging back.

"Oops, well I guess I forgot." She said, breaking the hug.

"Good to see you all again!" The elderly man said happily in a thick Russian accent.

"Good to see you too, North." Bunny said to him.

'This must be this Alec and Isla that Alexa was talking about yesterday…'

The girl, who I assumed to be Isla, walked around and greeted everyone before she finally noticed me.

"Oh…and you are?" she asked, standing in front of me.

I smiled and held out my hand. "I'm Karen. And you must be Isla."

She shook my hand. "Oh you've heard about me?" she asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.

"Yeah. Alexa told me about you and Alec yesterday, as a matter of fact."

"Great!" she said with a smile.

Now that I have a good look at her, I noticed just how pretty she looked up close. She had pretty purple eyes that are pretty rare. Also her brown hair has green, yellow, and blue streaks on them, plus an extra feather decoration hanging from her hair. Her eyelashes were long and she also wore fairy earrings.

She leaned in close to me to whisper something. "So, whose girlfriend are you? You couldn't be here for anything else but to hang out, right?" she whispered.

I smirked. "Oh, no I'm single. I just may or may not have been a victim of kidnaping." I said.

She gasped and shot a look at Jack. "Jack! To this girl?" she tsked 3 times and Jack looked at her with an 'I'm defending myself' look.

"What!? Her brother owes me money!" he defended.

She rolled her eyes. "Who doesn't owe you money?" is what she said.

I smirked. "You owe him money too?" I asked.

"Yes. 20 bucks actually." Jack answered for her. "She stole it to buy a new dress."

"That was one time! Oh my god!" Isla shouted at him as I watched in amusement as the two bickered. "I was going to a formal party! I needed something formal!"

"So you steal from me!?"

"It wasn't stealing, it was 'borrowing'" Isla said, crossing her arms.

"Fine then. If it was borrowing, where is my 20 bucks?" he asked, opening his palm out to her in a 'give it to me' fashion.

Isla let out an exasperated groan but dug through her purse and threw 20 bucks at him. "There! Have fun!" she sarcastically shouted.

Jack smirked and picked up the 20 bucks which fluttered to the floor. "Sweet…" he said, putting it in his back pocket.

I laughed at the two. Isla ignored Jack and looked back towards me. "So. Karen is your name right?" she asked.

I nodded and she started talking to me about herself and I did the same with myself. She was actually a very cheery person. I smiled to myself. This might just be the weirdest kidnapping environment ever.

Two days later

Two days past and a lot of stuff happened, I'll tell you that.

First is Aiden. Apparently he's been happier now and days and has been going out a lot. Alexa, Chloe, Isla, and I all suspected it was because of a girl, but we haven't confronted him about it. Everyone else seemed to notice his slight more happiness but hasn't suspected that it was a girl. Aiden seems oblivious to the fact that we're curious of his little Mr. Sunshine side.

Next was Alan. At first we were like enemies, but when I confronted him about it he seemed to let go of the past. Now he's like another older brother, one that's a bit more mature than my real older brother. We didn't talk much but we knew we were friends now, and I was glad with that relationship.

Chloe is like one of my close friends now. When she's not with Ron, she's with me. One time, Ron even came to me, while I was bonding with Chloe, and complained that I'm stealing his girlfriend away from him which made both Chloe and me laugh.

Ron has also made my top close friends list. He's hilarious and I see now why Chloe likes him so much. I probably would have fallen for him if Chloe wasn't dating him. I mean, gorgeous blue eyes, pretty attractive, built, and funny? Now that's what I look for in a guy. Although I haven't admitted that out loud and I'm not planning on doing so any time soon.

Alec is like a grandpa. Well mine is passed and I haven't seen him since I was a baby so I don't know what it's like to have a grandpa. But on the other hand, Alec has way more energy than any other old person I've ever met. Although I call him North now. And I had to admit, he kind of did look like Santa, or what I imagined him to look like.

Bunny is cool to hang out with and he's hilarious whenever he and Jack have a fight. Their arguments, almost everyone ignores but when fists get thrown people start watching and seeing who throws down whom first. It's actually pretty amusing. Like some indoor WWE match.

Isla is just so cheery and energetic it's no wonder her fighting skills are boss. She gets along with everyone and she's so sweet, I just really like her personality. I found out she was 20, and not to mention she's beautiful! Now I know why they call her the Tooth Fairy. Because her punches can knock out almost anyone's teeth.

So next is Melissa. At first we started off not being friends, but I'm guessing now we kind of are? I don't know, it's always hard to tell. It's like one moment she acts like she doesn't know me and the next it's we've been best friends since childhood. I have no idea, but I'd still like to consider her a friend.

Sandy, Alexa and I have been friends since the beginning so I'm cool with them. And then there's Jack.

The past three days were awkward around Jack. Or the opposite. I wasn't awkward at all around him, he was awkward around me. He wouldn't come up to tell me it was time for breakfast, when I was in the living room watching TV with everyone else he didn't talk to me… Hell, he couldn't even look me in the eyes for more than 3 seconds without acting like a Japanese school girl.

He's been trying to avoid me, I can tell. We've only kissed one more time during these 3 days and now he's going through some weird mojo. I'll be lying if I told you I didn't feel anything in that kiss, but I sure as hell wasn't about to admit that out loud.

I tried to ignore him and not think about it but it was hard with his stare boring right into me. He thinks I don't notice. Whenever I look at him, he looks away just in time and pretends he wasn't looking at me in the first place.

And quite frankly, he's starting to piss me off. I don't know what he's doing that's pissing me off, or why it is, but it is. As of right now I'm trying to watch that TV show called "Sherlock" but I am unable to with Jack acting so awkward.

Suddenly Jack got up and walks into the kitchen. I sighed. I like the old Jack better. The one who helped clean my room when he messed it up with a simple trip. The one who stayed up that night when he was dying for sleep when I clearly wasn't tired at all. Even the annoying, flirty one. Yes I want that Jack back.

The others don't seem to realize his change in behavior so I didn't bring it up with anyone yet.

I sighed again. I really need to talk to him alone without having to say it in front of everyone. And I know just how to do that.

"I'm hungry; I'm going to get some food, okay?" I said mainly to Alexa, standing up. "Mmkay." She said, getting back to her game.

"Get me some chips?" Alan asked. I nodded at him. "Sure." I said to him.

I walked into the kitchen and looked at Jack who was just finishing drinking a glass of water. He put his glass in the sink and wiped his mouth and looked towards me.

He looked into my eyes for 2 seconds before he looked away, walking past me to go back to the living room. I stopped him by standing in front of him. He was still looking away.

"Can I help you?" he sarcastically asked.

"Yes. We need to talk." I said to him.

"About?"

"You."

"What about me?"

"The way you're acting around me. You think I don't notice the way you're acting around me? Well I do. And I don't like it. So we're going to talk about it. Now." I said, crossing my arms.

He sighed. "N-no, not now." He said, trying to walk around me.

I looked at his back as he walked away. "At least tell me what it is…was it something I did?" I asked. He stopped in his tracks.

"In a way…yes." He said, and then he left. I sighed, leaning on the counter to think. I looked into the past three days and wondered just what it is I did that could get Jack acting like this. When I found nothing I groaned in frustration.

Before I left the kitchen I remembered that I was "hungry" which is why I came into the kitchen in the first place. Also Alan wanted some chips. I grabbed some chips and walked out of the kitchen. I threw a packet at Alan who caught it with one hand and mumbled a quick 'thanks', to which I smiled at.

I sat down on the couch and eyed Jack a little who seemed uncomfortable under my stare. I mentally groaned and just rolled my eyes at him.

Well whatever is biting his ass I'm getting to the bottom of it.

(Jack's P.O.V)

Oh god, now Karen's getting suspicious. Just great. This is perfect.

Note sarcasm.

I've been getting weird looks from her throughout the entire day and I just kept avoiding her. When I had enough I stood up and just went to my room. I saw her look at me when I went up the stairs but she didn't follow. Good.

I went to my room and closed the door, sitting on my bed in the slight darkness of my room; the only light was the afternoon sunlight seeping through from the closed blinds of my window. I need some time alone to think.

'Well you've already had plenty of time to think. Three days to be exact. You know exactly why you're acting like this.' The voice in the back of my head said.

'Piss off.' I thought.

Well it was true. I already know what it is that's making me feel like this. And I guess I've always known since that kiss we had right after me and Karen cleaned up her room after the mess I've made. It all started from there. I've been trying not to think about it but it's pretty hard when she's in the house and invading my thoughts at the most random times. It's not just a crush now, I like her.

I sighed. I did not expect it to get this bad. Now I can't even look at her in the eye without losing all confidence. This is totally not me, I'm always confident, especially with my talking-to-girls skills.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn't even notice someone come into my room. I heard the click of the lock and I brought my head up to see who it was in my room.

Well speak of the devil, there she is. Karen Bennett herself.

She turned around and crossed her arms. "We're gonna talk right here and right now and you're not going to make up a petty excuse to leave." She said. I sighed and lay my head back down. I have to get out of here.

She came over and sat down next to me on my bed and stared at me. I looked away and turned my back towards her, staring at the blank TV. "I'm not going to talk so this is completely pointless you know." I told her. She shifted onto the bed so she was facing the same direction as me, except she was looking at me.

"We'll see who cracks first. I can be pretty stubborn." She said.

A few minutes of silence passed by and she was still here. I'm guessing out of boredom she started humming the chorus of a song. She was humming 'Just a dream' by Nelly. I found myself feeling peaceful with her humming. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and let her continue. Then she started singing the chorus.

I smiled. "You have a nice voice." I said to her.

She scoffed. "I didn't come here to preform you a song, I came here to know what is up with you." She said. I got up and glared at her as she just smirked at me. I could only do that for a few seconds before I dropped the glare. Now I was just looking at her. She stared back. My heart started beating faster and I quickly looked away.

This is pathetic.

I can't believe I'm actually acting like this. I'll go for it. Right here and right now. I'm taking the risk. I don't wanna be like this for the rest of my life so screw it. I'll kiss her and confess. Besides, she's always kissed back right? Isn't that a good sign?

I looked at her straight in the eye. "Okay fine, you wanna know what's been bothering me for the past few days?" I asked.

She smiled to herself, probably feeling triumphant. The cheeky girl.

She nodded her head. "That's what I'm here for." She said.

I sighed. "It's because of you." I said. She looked at me confused. She was about to speak but I cut her off. "Everything about you. You've been invading my thoughts since that kiss we had in your room a few days ago. And now I can't stop thinking about you…" I said.

She was speechless and her eyes were wide, as if wondering what my next move will be.

"I like you Karen. I really do." I said. Her eyes widened a little more but she just sat there, not saying anything.

So I decided to make the move and lean forward. She didn't move back. So I took the chance to slowly put my arm around her waist and pull her towards me. I closed my eyes right before I kissed her.

Her breath hitched at first and she was unsure for like 2 seconds before she started kissing back. Her hands went to the collar of my shirt and gripped it, slightly pulling me closer. I felt the familiar sparks that I did last time we kissed like this. My face was starting to heat up a little just like my heart sped up, but those were the least of my worries. Her hands went to my neck, leaving tingles there after her touch.

After a few seconds, we broke apart for air. I looked at her and saw she was smiling. Her hand went to my shoulder. I looked at her hand and looked back to her, eyes filled with hope that maybe, just maybe, she likes me back.

She bit her lip and looked down embarrassingly. She then looked up back at me. "I like you too." she said with a genuine smile. A grin appeared on my face and I tackled her into a hug. I buried my face in the crook of her neck and took in her scent.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around me, kissing the side of my head. I smiled and sighed contently. "Be my secret girlfriend?" I asked, almost afraid of her answer. I felt her nod. "No duh." She said as I smirked, holding her closer to me.

This feels better. This feels right. It's like she's my second half I've been waiting for. I sighed in content again before I felt sleep tugging at my consciousness.

And then, all was black.

A few hours later

I woke up in my bed, tucked in and no sign of Karen. I immediately woke up and looked around. She wasn't in here.

Was that all…just a dream?

I got out of bed at the speed of light and looked at the time. It was only 4 o'clock. I got out of my room and pulled the rope going to the attic. Maybe she was in there?

When I went up there, I found out she wasn't there. I ran back down the attic stairs, letting them close. Then suddenly I heard yelling come from downstairs. I then ran down the stairs going to the living room where everyone else seemed to be. When I came downstairs I saw what all the yelling was about. Everyone was sitting on the floor playing Monopoly. Ron was furiously yelling at Aiden who simply shrugged smugly.

"No fair! That was cheating!" Ron screamed. Aiden disagreed. "Check the rules." He said, grabbing the rulebook and handing it to Ron who read them and groaned in frustration.

"Friendship over!" he yelled to Aiden as they laughed. "I hate this game…"

Karen was down here playing Monopoly too. "My turn!" Karen yelled. She rolled the dice and moved her piece and paid rent to Sandy for moving on his property.

I walked towards them and they finally noticed me. "Oh, hey Jack. Care to join us?" Karen asked, pointing to the game.

"No. No idiots allowed." Bunny sneered.

"Ah-ah-ah, you can't have someone join us when we're in the middle of the game." Chloe said.

"Yeah, I know that, but he can be my bitch, carrying my secret money stash." Karen said. Alan, Ron, and Bunny burst out laughing at Jack, leaving everyone else laughing.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, whatever. If you insist that much, I'll do it." I said, smugly, running a hand through my hair. "You don't have to embarrass yourself, just ask." I said dramatically as Karen rolled her eyes.

"You helping me or what your majesty?" Karen asked. I just grinned, going over to Karen and sitting down on the floor next to her. She handed me some of the money secretly and I just sat there, holding the money, occasionally giving suggestions to Karen on what her next move should be.

Ron was the first to go bankrupt which was kind of predictable from the start. So then he went and teamed up with Chloe to help her win but unfortunately for them, they were the next pair going bankrupt. The next one out was Alexa and she helped Sandy. But then out next was Alan and after that Sandy and Alexa. Aiden being the genius got Bunny out. Eventually everyone else either went bankrupt or gave up. So now it was now Aiden verses Karen and I in the game. Everyone else used monopoly money to bet on who would win. The winner of this game turned out to be Aiden and he and Karen had a petty fight about it as everyone else laughed.

I have to admit though, playing this crappy game got my mind off of what may or may not have happened in my room for a while. But then I remembered my confession, and I began to think if it was only just a dream.

"Hey, let's play twister next!" Alexa shouted. We agreed since we had nothing else to do. She then went running down to the basement to get the game.

"I'll get the snacks!" Karen said, standing up to go to the kitchen.

"I'll help." I said, finding this the perfect opportunity to ask her. I followed her into the kitchen and she started grabbing some chips. When she turned around, I was standing in front of her. She smiled at me. "Here, hold this I'll get the drinks." She said, handing them over to me. I grabbed them as she went over to the fridge to grab a few cans of Pepsi.

"So um…" I started. "What happened a few hours ago? Before I fell asleep?" I asked her.

She looked at me. "You don't remember?" she asked. I shook my head 'no' as my heart dropped, thinking maybe it's because the whole thing was just a dream.

She smirked and went over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck boldly. I stared into her eyes. "This happened." She said, leaning forward and kissing me on the lips.

The shock sent shivers throughout my entire body and I kissed back quickly. But unfortunately, as quick as she kissed me, she broke apart just as quick, leaving me wanting more.

She grinned and went back to pouring juice into the glasses. I just smirked behind her back. So it did happen. Thank god for that.

I smiled and then walked back into the living room and handed out packets of chips for everyone as Alexa came up and set up the Twister game.

That night

We were playing board game after board game. Alan gave up halfway and just fell asleep on the couch and Aiden took a rest but everyone else seemed into it. Isla left for her afternoon job here and Alec went home, but everyone else was here.

"Whoo, guys I'm tired, I'm going to bed now." Karen said, standing up and stretching. She started walking off up towards the stairs when everyone else bid her goodnight. I stood up afterwards, faking a yawn. "Yeah, me too guys. Night." I said, walking away. I didn't fail to see the suspicious glance Ron and Melissa gave me, but I saw he shrugged it off. Melissa watched me walk towards the stairs but then turned her attention back to the TV. With that, I went up the stairs quickly and caught up to Karen who was about to pull the rope to go to the attic.

"Where ya going princess?" I asked, grabbing her hand and spinning her around into my arms. She grinned. "To sleep."

"You're going the wrong way then, my bed's over there." I said to her, suggestively wiggling my eyebrows in a jokey way. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going back in there; your room was the messiest room I've ever seen in my entire life." She said, pushing me off of her and pulling the rope, starting to go up the stairs. The cheeky girl. Playing hard to get I see.

I smirked as I walked up after her. I saw her get in her bed and I got in after her, laying on her left. She looked at me with a playful look in her eyes. "Why are you in my bed?" she asked.

I smirked at her. "Sleep." I said.

"Are you sure? I move around a lot." She said.

I scoffed. "I'm a deep sleeper." I said.

"We'll just see about that…" she said, throwing the covers over herself.

First we bickered like children over the sheets but then we shared and she was now in my arms as I played around with her hair. We fell asleep just like that.

Alright! Finally finished this!

This was originally going to be 10 pages but I added an extra 6 ;)

You're welcome~

Annd yes, this is the confession scene.

But no, this is not the end of the story. This fanfic is going on for a while actually. I have a crap ton of stuff to add, plus the interference of many obstacles, considering Karen is still a victim of kidnapping.

Also, in case you people don't know already, Isla is Tooth and Alec is North.

Okay so you guys know I love your reviews. So please do so! Leave a comment below regarding questions, comments, or revisions, or concerns. You can even leave back hate. I don't mind!

Actually leave a comment below of the answer to this question too: Pepsi, or Coca Cola?

Have a good day, you beautiful people! :D ^_^