Now that my research paper is done… TENTH CHAPTER EXTRAVAGANSA!!

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I wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but it was getting dark out since Cody last checked. We agreed to stay inside the bunker for awhile; after that near death experience, I was in no hurry to go looking again. And Cody, thankfully, was convinced as well.

Of course, staying inside the bunker wasn't easy either. The raptor turned out to be more trouble than I thought.

That being said, it was not vicious in any way; I wasn't sure if it was because I saved it or that I was the first thing it had seen in awhile, but the creature seemed to think of me as its mommy now.

But it didn't see Cody as its daddy, unfortunately…

The raptor would hiss and snarl if Cody ever got too close to me or it at first. It eventually learned he wasn't a threat, but it still tried to keep him away from me.

So Cody was now sitting on the other side of the bunker, annoyed.

"Remind me why you saved that thing again?" He asked, sighing.

"Cody, you saw what had happened… If I didn't help it…" The raptor was walking around the bunker at the moment, staying close to me. It was playing around with an empty water bottle, kicking it and chewing it.

For a dinosaur, this thing was adorable.

And for a geek, Cody's adorable too…

Yeah, I know he is... So much cuter than Trent and…

WOAH.

I nearly slapped myself. Was I honestly thinking thoughts like that?

My mind drifted to Trent.

I was in a relationship with him… We've been together a year now!

But how much longer will it last?

What? What do you mean "How much longer"?

Face it. You've been fighting for weeks. That doesn't seem like a good relationship to me.

So we've had our arguments! All couples do! We can't agree on everything… Him and his music… Always cutting into our time together…

I recalled last week, when he cancelled our date because he had a recording session to do.

His music is more important to him than you.

Shut up! Trent cares about me! And I… Really like him!

Can you even say "Love" out loud?

My eyes widened a bit. My inner self was winning this battle…

I couldn't even think the word…

I looked at Cody. I had been seeing him differently before… Since we got stuck in this bunker and I was away from Trent, something about Cody had changed…

I remembered when I was staring at him last time.

His eyes…

They were the same; caring, loving… They were masked by annoyance and fear, of course, but… I could see right through it.

I found myself looking deeper; I didn't just see the things from before… I saw something else. Something divinely pure, and shining brightly in his eyes.

I saw true, pure love in his eyes.

Cody…

My mind was slowly putting the puzzle in my mind together…

"Gwen?"

My thoughts shattered.

"Oh thank God… I called your name, like, 4 times…"

I hid my face as I felt it grow warm.

"Uh… Heh heh…" Cody rubbed the back of his head.

"So…" He cleared his throat. I wanted to change the subject fast.

I eyed the raptor.

"Oh, hey…" I grabbed it, much to its annoyance. "Do you think you can tell if this is a boy or girl…?"

"Um… I'm not sure… Could I see it?"

I held the baby towards him as he got up. It hissed, barring its teeth.

"Hey… Easy…" I stroked the top of its head. "He's a friend…" I knew it couldn't understand me, but I felt like I should at least try to talk to it…

Surprisingly, it calmed down enough for Cody to safely grab it.

"Alright…" He lifted it up, looking at it closely. "Hm…" I don't even know why I cared about its gender so much…

"Well…?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Well…" He sighed. "I'm not certain… But I'm pretty sure it's a boy," He said, setting the baby down.

A boy…

"…Were you going to name it…?" He asked, smiling slightly. "I mean, now that you know…"

"Hm…" I thought to myself as the baby walked to me.

The baby was brave… I could name him something like courage; he stood right in front of that T. Rex and around his dead family… He was incredibly brave…

He was pretty wild and hyper sometimes too… Every now and then, he'd have a burst of energy and run around the bunker playfully.

He really seemed to care about me… He protected me closely from Cody, although I'm sure he'd do the same for anyone else.

And above all, he was incredibly cute…

Perhaps it was because of the thought from before, but the idea quickly jumped into my head.

I smiled warmly.

"…Cody Junior,"

Cody turned red.

"Uh… I… Well, um…" He cleared his throat. "Why?"

"Well… He reminds me of you… He seems to really want to keep me safe…" Cody smiled. "He's a bit hyper…"

"Huh? Who? What? Who's hyper? Not me!" He joked, speaking incredibly fast.

I giggled, blushing as I did. For some reason, this just made me giggle even louder…

"And…" No.

I was not going to say it…

"Come on, you can say it… what, that we're both like babies?"

"…No…"

"Come on! Tell me!"

"Alright…" I said quietly. "Well…" I gulped. My voice got higher as I said the next things. "I think you're both… I think you're both really… Really…"

I practically squeaked the word.

"Lovable,"

I had finally begun to realize my true feelings… And I had just said them aloud.

There was no going back.

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"Hey, check this out!"

The party had found a large, old building.

"Hm… If these teens are smart, there's a good chance they're in there. Especially since it's getting so late,"

"Stay frosty… You never know what could we watching us,"

"Would you knock it off, man? A bear is nothing we can't handle!"

"Alright, cool it you two… Let's move…"

The group headed into the building.

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It watched the creatures enter the old structure, quiet and patient.

It had enough food for now; it had killed a family of the larger creatures with the big toes recently. The smaller creatures it had found had met the same fate; it didn't need them for food, but...

They were in its way.

But these creatures... No, these were much different... It remembered them clearly.

They made it what it was; it was aware of that. But they also made it suffer through immense pains. They tried to command it like parents. They tried to make it a machine.

They didn't expect it to get a conscious.

It knew that it could leave these pitiful, murderous beasts alone. It knew it could move on and avoid them.

But no, it wouldn't.

It knew its purpose; it knew what they wanted. They made it what it was to kill their enemies.

And that's what it would do. That's what it was meant to do.

That's what it lived for.

That's what it loved to do.

...Kill...

It started towards the building as soon as they entered.

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Cody stared at me for a long while, saying nothing. We were simply staring at each other, red in the face. I was too embarrassed to speak, and Cody seemed at a loss for words.

Suddenly, I stood. I was not controlling myself…

I walked over to him, sitting next to him. He continued to stare at me wide-eyed.

"S-so…" He tugged at his collar; I saw a little sweat on his brow. "H-how… How did you say things between you and Trent were going…?" He asked nervously, his voice shaky.

"Oh… Well, we've been… We kind of…"

No more lies. I had had it.

"Oh for God's sake… I'm saying it; it's just not working out between us anymore,"

Cody wanted to speak, but I kept going.

"We're just not right for each other! Our interests are just too different… My art and studies… His music…" I sighed. "He's just been so focused on his songs and music lately… He's cancelled our dates and forgotten about our 1 year anniversary…"

Cody remained silent.

"I just…" I threw my arms out, and then let them flop to my sides. "…I just… Don't feel like we have a relationship anymore…"

Before I knew what was happening, I found myself leaning on Cody's shoulder.

"Well… If you're having that much trouble… Why are still with him?"

"I didn't know what to think before… I was around him, and I was convinced I was happy…" I looked at him. "But since I've been around you for awhile, I've had time to think…"

"…About what…?"

I moved my head closer to his.

"Well… I've realized that maybe I don't like Trent as much as I thought anymore… Maybe we aren't right for each other…"

"…Yeah…?"

He turned to me, staring intently at me.

"I think there may be… There may be someone else out there for me… Someone more caring…"

"…Yeah…?"

We were inches apart.

"I… I think I'm falling for someone else now…"

"…Who…?" He sounded distant.

"Someone I should've given a chance a long time ago… Someone who cares about others more than himself… Someone who cares about me…"

My eyes slowly shut… My lips parted slightly.

A feeling I had never felt flared up in me as our lips touched… Something stronger than anything I had felt with Trent…

I didn't realize it at that point, but I was finally experiencing true love.

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I know Trent and Lindsay didn't appear in this chapter, but as you can see it was very Gwen and Cody centric… But on a more serious note, what will become of the search party…?