Chapter Twelve: Secret Agent Men

BXR: Here's the second one!

Elisa: Just like we promised!

Johnny: Elisa! It's nice to see that you've finally stopped beating up Tala!

Elisa: Yeah, BXR said that there was something unspeakable here! So it kind of distracted me…

BXR: Good, I'm glad. Now I have a surprise!

Everyone: Gasp! What?

BXR: There's no R.U.C. in this chapter!

Robert: Finally!

Elisa: Nooooooo!!!

BXR: Sorry, it'll be back, I promise! Just because Robert doesn't call us uncouth scoundrels, doesn't mean that we don't act like it! Now, who wants to read the chapter preview?

Tala: *bandaged and on crutches* I will!

BXR: Such a good sport. He's all battered and bruised but he STILL dedicates himself to the cause!

Tala: This chapter will feature:

-Robert's date!!

-Secret Agents

-Ridiculous disguises

-Everyone deciding to tell the truth

-And something unspeakable!

Elisa: I can't wait anymore! Let's go!!

BXR: Alright, Robert, you know what to do.

Robert: Indeed, BXR doesn't own a thing, because she's an uncouth scoundrel.

BXR: Love you too Robert…

Recap: As Tala laid me on his bed and kissed me I couldn't help but wonder, despite all that I felt for him, if this was what I really wanted.

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Chapter Start

The week and a half leading up to the day that we were able to go into town was spent in complete anticipation for it, just because I needed to get away. Ever since Johnny joined our band, it's been a nightmare working with him and Tala. The issues that they had with each other could, at this point, only be solved with a serious fight, a fight that I was sure I would see whether I liked it or not.

But things seemed to look up once that special weekend arrived. The group of us, minus Tala, were going into town to spy on Robert. Once I kissed Tala goodbye, I ran as fast as I could out of sight until I met up with Johnny.

"Hey, do you have everything?" He asked.

"Yup. I got the disguises, binoculars, everything," I nodded.

"Good, everyone else is waiting outside." We left our hiding place and began walking down the hall.

"Johnny, I'm really sorry for the way Tala's been acting," I apologized.

"Don't sweat it. I'm a big boy, I can take it," he assured.

"I know. I just don't want you to get hurt, especially over me." I stared at my feet and Johnny wrapped and arm around my shoulders.

"I would fight for you until my dying day, you know that."

"Yeah, I know." I felt Johnny remove his arm, obviously for safety purposes. "Johnny, I don't know what I want."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm completely clueless right now. I'm not sure if I want Tala or Bryan or you or whoever! I'm unsure of everything lately. I want to be happy, but I don't know how to get there."

"Do you love him? Tala, I mean." Johnny hesitated. I could tell that he was afraid of the answer he'd get. He wanted me to say no.

"It's too soon, I'm not sure." I noticed Johnny's immense sigh of relief.

"Well, have you ever really loved someone?"

"Of course. You."

He stared at me in awe. "You, did?"

"Of course I did! I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it!"

"You said it to Tala when you didn't mean it." The way he said it made it seem like that fact made him believe me less.

"That's because I didn't know what else to say!" I cried. "Johnny please, don't do this to me. I loved you and you know what? I probably still do. I have no clue right now because I don't even know which end is up!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear but kept his hand on the side of my face. "I loved you too, and I know I still do. I just wish that I never fucked up, then it could be me that gets to hold you and not Tala."

As hard as I tried, I couldn't fight back tears. "Johnny, I can't do this anymore! I need to go home or else I'll fucking explode!"

"No, you're not going home." He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his neck. At that moment I didn't care what the rules were, I didn't want Johnny to ever let me go. It wasn't because I loved him, it was because Johnny was always the only one who could make me feel as if nothing was wrong, and nothing could hurt me.

"Am I interrupting something?" I heard a voice ask. I snapped my head up and for the first time, I was relieved to see Kai standing there, arms folded and leaning against the wall.

"No, nothing," I assured, to quickly to be believed. I pulled myself away from Johnny and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.

"Nicole, are you crying?" Kai asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Why does it matter to you?" Johnny snapped.

"Shut up carrot top, or I swear I'll beat your ass worse than Tala ever will. I was sent to come and get you and make sure that Tala didn't find you. Go ahead, before he comes out and sees you with her. I need to talk to Nicole for a minute anyway."

Johnny looked at me for approval and I nodded. "Go ahead. I honestly don't care what happens to me anymore."

"Are you sure? Even if you don't, I do," Johnny persisted.

"I'll be fine Johnny, don't worry." He took one last look at me before walking down the hallway. I waited until he was out of earshot before I asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know what's going on," Kai answered. "Do you mind talking to me about it? I want to be able to try and help you."

"I didn't know that you cared," I muttered.

"Of course I do. I'll admit that I have a shitty way of showing it, but I really do care about you."

"Kai, you tried to rape me. I don't really constitute that as caring about me."

Kai looked away, unable to meet my eyes. "I know. I got out of control. But if you give me another chance, I promise it'll never happen again."

I thought I'd heard it all, but apparently there was still way more bullshit that I needed to have force fed to me. "Kai, are you saying that you want me to dump Tala for you? First of all, I really like him and I want to be with him, despite what an asshole he's been. Second, I will get disowned by everyone I know if I take you back again."

"So you never will?"

"Kai, I couldn't take you back even if I wanted to," I sighed.

"You don't believe in second chances?" He asked.

"You already had your second chance, you're on your third. Let's go before they think I killed you." We stated walking down the hallway, trying to ignore the awkward silence between us. Finally, I sighed and asked the question that had been eating away at me for months, "Kai, why did you leave? I want the truth, no more lies."

"Fine, if you want the truth. It was because I thought you were better off with Johnny."

Yeah, ridiculous dramatic bullshit level has definitely risen above 10.

"I knew that he could love you better than I ever could, and that was what you deserved," he continued. "I wanted you to be happy. You deserved to be with someone who would fight for you and go to jail for you like he did."

"But you don't think like that now," I assumed, trying as hard as I could to process all of this.

"No, I don't. now I'm just selfish and I want a real chance to be with you. I want to be given a chance to love you the way that Tala and Johnny have. But the way things look, I'll never get that chance."

"After everything that's happened, no one would talk to me ever again. I can't risk that."

"I understand, and don't worry, I won't tell Tala that you were with Johnny."

"Really? Wow, thanks Kai. That's more generosity than I expected from you," I stammered with surprise. We arrived at the front steps of the school where Enrique, Nick, Adam, Bryan, and Johnny were already waiting.

"So are we ready to go and spy on Lord Fancy Pants?" I asked.

"Ready to go!" Enrique grinned. "Do you have everything?"

"Indeed I do. I have the disguises and I think we should put them on over our clothes now, just incase."

"Alright, what do we have?" Nick asked. I grinned and handed each of the boys a costume. "Nicole, are you sure about this?" He asked, holding up a black suit with a tailed jacket, a top hat, a fake bushy mustache, and a monocle.

"Positive," I grinned, stepping into my fairy princess dress.

"Hey! Why do I have to be the cow?" Enrique whined.

"Because I already gave the Spartacus outfit to Kai."

"You know what?" Johnny asked, trying to stay grounded in his Stay Puff Marshmallow Man costume. "You're lucky that you're as amazing as you are. Because if you weren't, I'd kill you."

"Is this a joke?" Bryan questioned, folding his arms and clad in full priest garb.

"Well, it was the closest thing that they had to an angel's costume for men," I explained. "Adam, come here. I need to help you." I gave him a platinum blond wig and an eyeliner beauty mark on his cheek. "Alright! Let's go!"

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Enrique asked, skeptically.

"Psh, of course it will! Have I ever failed you before? Halloween is coming up, so people will just think that we're on our way to a costume party dressed up as a cow, a fairy princess, Spartacus, the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, a fat British guy, a priest, and Marilyn Monroe. It all makes total sense if you think about it!" We arrived in town and hid behind a stone wall that was right next to the restaurant. I took out the binoculars and handed a pair to everyone.

"Do you see anything yet?" Bryan asked, holding the binoculars to his eyes.

"No, not yet," Johnny answered, trying in vain to lift a pair of binoculars to his eyes. His arms were too fat to bend.

"Aw, poor marshmallow man," I cooed, pinching his squishy arm.

"Wait! I see something!" Kai exclaimed.

"What is it Spartacus?" Nick asked. I looked through my own binoculars and saw Robert leaded a young lady to their table. Both were dressed elegantly, him in a suit and her in a short black dress. Robert pulled out her chair for her and gave her a small, but loving kiss on the lips. As he pulled away and the two sat down, I was able to get a look at the girl's face.

"Holy shit! It's Elisa!" I yelled.

"No. Fucking. Way!" Johnny exclaimed, looking up at them.

"Swear to God! They just kissed!" Nick added.

"Fuck! Enrique you knew about this and you didn't tell us?" I laughed. "How could you keep something like this from us?"

"Ha, ha, surprise!" He chuckled. "That's why I knew, Robert needed to know what to do."

"Oh my fucking God! This is great!" Johnny laughed.

"Of all of the people, I would've never thought that Elisa and Robert would be dating," Bryan added, trying as hard as possible to contain himself.

"Aw look, they're holding hands!" I cooed. "Who has popcorn?"

As if someone up above decided to ruin my day, my cell phone rang and played a text message tone. There was only one person that it could be. I opened it and read it.

"Hey baby, what are you doing?"

"Who is it?" Johnny asked.

"It's Tala," I muttered, my heart beginning to race.

"Why are you so nervous?"

"Because I don't want him to know!"

"But, you're not doing anything wrong," Nick reminded.

I sighed and typed back, "Spying on Robert's date. He's at a restaurant with Elisa!" I sent it and I could no longer focus on the task at hand.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Nick assured.

"Wait! He's taking something out of his pocket!" Bryan exclaimed. All of us became re-glued to our binoculars as Robert opened a velvet jewelry case.

"Fuck is he giving her a ring?" Enrique asked. "I can't see!"

"No he's getting up, it's a necklace," I corrected. "Shit! That's huge!"

"It's a family heirloom," Johnny explained. "One of the many that Robert won't shut up about."

My phone rang again, and the new message read: "Wow, that's a real shock! I never saw that coming. I'll see you when you get back, bye sweetheart." I sent back a goodbye and closed the phone.

"Shit! They're getting up! We need to book!" Nick exclaimed. We all put our costumes back in my shoulder bag and ran from the restaurant.

"Holy shit, that was a huge shock," I panted, once we got closer to the school.

"I know, Robert and Elisa," Kai chuckled. " I remember when they first met."

"Ha, I remember when Elisa called Nicole while we were at Robert's house and Nicole had to play messenger to their first fight," Johnny laughed.

"So what now?" Enrique asked.

"Back to school I guess. They're about to serve dinner," I suggested. We all walked back to school and into the cafeteria. I chose to walk in a few minutes behind with Enrique, that way I could keep as much distance between me and Johnny as possible. I heard shouting coming from the cafeteria and we broke into a sprint. I could see the commotion before we even got in. Tala had just knocked Johnny on the ground and Johnny had jumped right back up, punching Tala in the face.

They were fighting. Tala knew.

They were already bloody and covered in bruises; this had been going on for a few minutes already. I ran in and tried to get in between them. "That's enough! What is going on here?"

Tala backed away, wiping blood from his obviously broken nose. Johnny staggered back, wiping blood from his lip and unable to stand. "You know what's going on!" Tala yelled. "You were in town with him! You broke your promise!"

"No! I was with everyone, not just him!"

"I was there! I saw you!"

"You were spying on me?" I asked, more in awe than angry.

"I went into town to walk around for a bit and I saw you sitting outside of Robert's restaurant. You two looked awfully close, I can only image what else you've been doing," he spat.

"Nothing! I swear!" Tears started to well up in my eyes, even though I didn't want them to.

"For fuck's sake Nicole, I loved you! And you told me that you loved me too!"

"That's because you backed me into a corner and I didn't know what else to say! It's too soon Tala."

"Fine then, if that's what it has to come down to. It's Johnny or me, take your pick."

I looked from Tala, bruised and eyes full of rage, to Johnny, bleeding and trying to stand tall on a broken ankle. "No," I finally whispered. "Please don't make me do this, I never wanted to hurt you."

"Well it's too late, and that was the wrong answer. It's over. Goodbye," he snapped. I stood in awe, as did everyone else. Finally, I did the only thing I could do. I turned on my heal and walked away just in time for Johnny to regain enough strength to hit Tala again. As soon as I was out of sight I broke into a run until I collapsed against the wall in a hysterical mess. I heard footsteps approach and felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind, protecting me.

"Don't cry," he whispered.

"But I have to. I didn't want any of that, now they're both hurt because of me,"

"It isn't your fault. It was wrong of Tala to make you choose. No one should have to make the choice that you were being forced to make."

The choice between my best friend and my boyfriend. My first love, or the one I should love.

He wiped a tear from my eye and took my hand in his, spinning me to face him. "You lied to Johnny."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You said that he was the only one you loved, but you lied. He may have been your first, but he wasn't your only."

"Who else was there?"

"Me, and you know deep down that I'm right," he whispered.

"Yes, I did." Before I could respond further, he kissed me, and I immediately fell victim to the kiss. It was familiar, it was one that I had tasted before, and I regret that I never tasted it enough. I had always wanted more from him, but never got the chance to get it. The minute that I tasted those sweet lips again, I remembered why I had fallen in the first place. And the spark that the kiss had reignited helped me to realize that something was still there, whether I wanted it to be or not.

He pulled back, leaving me begging for more, and stared into my eyes. "Give me a chance."

I bit my lip. "I need time, it's too soon. I can't do it now."

"So you're saying that it'll happen, we're just postponing it?" He asked.

"Yeah, please understand."

"I do, don't worry." He took my hands again. "I love you Nicole, I really do."

"I-…" I couldn't get the words out.

"I know it's hard, but you need to stop lying to yourself. You need to admit it."

He was right. I sighed and spoke the forbidden words.

"I love you too Kai."

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Elisa: NO!

BXR: Yes…

Elisa: SHE DIDN'T!

BXR: She did…

Elisa: YOU DIDN'T!

BXR: I did…

Johnny: Wow, I guess I understand what you meant by unspeakable.

Max: How dare you!?

BXR: *getting nervous* I'm sorry! It just had to happen!

Max: Well she's not going to stay with him, is she?

BXR: No comment…

Tala: Can I just say one thing? Elisa and Robert? I'm shocked!

Johnny: Aren't we all?

Elisa: No! Fuck mine and Robert's relationship! WHY? WHY? WHY? Did that need to happen? Did you have to have her get back with Kai??

BXR: Don't worry about it!

Johnny: Is there a next chapter preview?

BXR: Nope, because I haven't written it yet.

Everyone else: *sweat drop and fall down*

BXR: Well, that's it for now, I'll begin writing ASAP.

Max: READ AND REVIEW BECAUSE I NEED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!