11.

I gasped.

"What are you doing here?" I asked the boy I used to be so close to. The boy I used to love.

He smiled. "I couldn't let me best friend die alone, could I?" he asked sarcastically, winking at me. Like he used to.

"I'm not dying, Josh. How could I – the famous Mik – die? I know you want to be rid of me-" I started.

"Hold your horses, Mik," Josh said. I looked at him then, properly. He was a lot taller than when we had last met, and his hair was shaggier, darker and longer, too. His electric blue eyes were drowsy with sleep, while his tan skin was lighter.

He stood up from his chair, his eyes never once leaving mine. I never moved my gaze either. It was as if there was something – a spark – keeping our eyes locked on one another. I smiled to him as my eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing, Josh?" I asked.

A shake of the head was all I got as he pulled my covers away from me – I had a nightgown on – and helped me sit on the edge of the bed, detaching the tubes that were attached to my arms.

For the first time since I'd gone to Gallagher, I felt... strong. When I was finally away from all of the support which was probably keeping me alive, I felt independent, as if I could take on the world. I felt... like myself.

He was holding my hands in his, gently, as if I'd break.

And I loved feeling breakable.

He was a good seven inches taller than me now, his shoulders were broader too and I'm pretty sure I could just make out the outline of his muscular forearms and abs. He let go of one of my hands to caress my cheek where a scar was quickly fading.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, absentmindedly, more to himself than to me. I sighed and leaned into his touch, slightly.

The gap between us was almost non-existent. We were so close I could feel his hot breath, teasing my face, as I'm sure mine was to his. I shivered. Noticing that, he pulled me closer, wrapping his arms tightly around my torso, while mine went around his waist, my head burrowing into his chest. I breathed his familiar scent in deeply.

At that minute, the door burst open, and in walked my seven best friends. And then they all started talking. At the same time.

"Mikayla! Oh, thank god you are okay," Cammie sighed.

"Mikayla Robinson, you scared us half to death!" Bex all-but screamed.

"Hey, Mikayla," Macey nodded.

"SIT DOWN; YOU NEED TO BE ATTACHED TO THE IV!" Liz yelled.

"Who's he?" Zach asked defensively.

"Where's the cafeteria?" Grant. Need I say more?

"Hey, Kayla," Jonas said quietly.

Something washed over me, a wave, causing me to sit down and hold my hand to my head. I squinted at the pain, looking at Josh slightly. He caught on that I was in pain and helped me back onto my bed, while Liz plugged my IV and drip back into my arms. A dose of pain killer was rushed into my veins, at the same time the pain disappeared.

They all crowded around my bed and I could see them all staring at Josh. "Guys, this is Josh Abrams. He's been my best friend since kindergarten, so give him a break," I said rolling my eyes at Grant and Zach who were acting too brotherly.

All my friends introduced themselves to him, all of them shaking his hand and smiling politely. He sat down on the edge of my bed, taking my hand and rubbing circles on my palm in a way that made my heart race.

Cammie noticed. She smiled.

They all looked at me, as if asking if he knew about my occupation. I shook my head. Josh didn't need to be in that kind of danger.

"So," Macey started. "How do you know Mikayla, Josh?"

Josh looked up from looking at my face to turn to Macey. He smiled at the memory of our first meeting. "Mik's sister used to bully me, but Mik, here, stopped her from coming near me. She was my guardian angel," he smiled, a glint in his eye.

I smirked at the irony. Everyone's eyes turned to me. They didn't know I had a sister.

"How did you find out what happened?" Jonas asked, being the first to recover.

"A man came to me. I think he was a teacher or a doctor or something, but he told me that Mik was injured and I guess I wanted to be there for her, like she was there for me. It only seemed fitting," he replied, staring down at me with something – an emotion – in his eyes. One I couldn't place.

"I guess you could imagine how shocked I was when I found out she was shot and in a coma; I just got extremely scared. I mean, I thought I'd lost my best friend," he finished.

He was staring at me, while I was staring at him. We were in our own world, but I could faintly notice the others creeping out, closing the door behind them.

Then everything happened at once.

A shot rang out. But it wasn't aimed at me. It hit Josh. Another shot rang out – hitting Josh again. He fell backwards onto the chair, his face contorted into one of pain, as his eyes screwed shut. His hands were clutching his stomach.

People were banging on the door. It was locked. But I didn't move; I couldn't move. No more bullets were shot; no more banging was on the door.

I came back into the world, to realize that Josh was hurt – like really hurt.

"Josh!" I screamed, jumping up and running to his side. My eyes were wide, staring at the holes in his stomach. I looked back at his face, which now showed fear. Josh never got scared.

I put pressure on the wounds.

"Look at me, Josh," I cried. His eyes looked up into my own. "You're going to be okay. I promise, you'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you. You can't die, Josh. Please, please, just hold on for me."

I heard the banging return on the door, but it didn't register. I felt the tears go down my face, but I didn't take notice. I just continued trying to stop the bleeding.

The door opened.

Doctors rushed in, nurses panicked, attempting to help Josh. Tara came over to me and lifted me off the floor, but I didn't go quietly – I resisted. "No!" I yelled. "I have to be there with him. I'm not leaving his side!" I screamed.

I was hysterical. My whole body was shaking, trying to break free of the doctors' grip. "Josh!" I screeched, when I saw him being wheeled away from me. His eyes were closed; his breathing was coming in short gasps now. He was unconscious. "No! What have you done to him? Josh!"

When I figured out that it was no use, I stopped and just collapsed into the person holding me, crying hysterically. "Ssh, it's okay. He's going to be fine," the person was saying.

If only I could believe them.

{[(A week later)]}

A week later I was being discharged from the hospital. I still hadn't heard anything about Josh; whether his condition was stable, unstable, or what I feared the most – if he was dead.

Solomon signed me out, and took me back to the academy in an old Ford Anglia. He told me about all I'd missed – that the Blackthorne boys had left a while back, and that they all aced there CoveOps exam. He also told me that Zach finally mustered up the courage, and kissed Cammie.

I smiled at that.

My shot wound was completely healed, only a tiny scar was left. When I was in the hospital, I missed a lot of school work, so for the rest of vacation (as we only had 3 weeks of vacation left) I had to catch up on all that... with Mr Solomon.

"Have you heard anything about Josh?" I asked him, my eyes hopeful.

He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road as we turned onto Bridge Avenue. "The doctors won't tell me anything, as we aren't family. I know you're anxious, Mikayla, but you're going to have to let him heal."

I nodded. "I blame you, you know," I smiled.

"Why?" he asked, turning to face me.

"If you hadn't have showed up and got him, he'd still be safe-" he cut me off.

"Why did you take him out of the spy life, Mikayla?" he asked, real curiosity laced in his words. No one had ever heard the story – the full story, anyway.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and adjusting my seat belt. "A year and a half ago, when I was at Blackthorne and we were on vacation, Josh was attacked. Well, I was attacked, but Josh defended me. He was a better spy than I am, and he always took care of me. He was like my older big brother if you like. Like you are doing to Cammie, he tried to protect me from the outside world, from the dangers, but one day, he got distracted, and I had grown so accustom to him being there to protect me, that I wasn't prepared. He was injured, and I had no way of stopping the people who were hurting him. So, I knew I had to do something, if I wanted him to survive."

"But why didn't his parents do anything?" Solomon asked.

"They didn't know he was a spy. So, while Josh was in the hospital, I visited the Director and ordered that Josh have his memory erased so that he could stay safe. He obeyed, unwillingly might I add, and Josh was made a civilian again. But, I knew that he'd still have people after him, whether he knew about it or not, so I gave him a protection detail. DeeDee and Dillon were assigned as his detail. And then you visited him, and now he's back in danger. Therefore, I blame you, entirely."

By the time I finished story time, we had arrived at Gallagher. I smiled when I walked through the foyer, and breathed in the familiar scent of perfume and hairspray. Even though no one was here, the smell lingered in the air like a lost dog.

And then I couldn't help it.

"I'M HOME!" I yelled the sound echoing of the walls. As soon as I said that, a banner fell down from the ceiling, saying: Welcome back, Mikky!

And then I certainly wasn't expecting to see four Gallagher Girl running at me full speed with their arms open. I screamed as we all fell to the floor in fits of laughter. I was back where I belonged, with my sisters.

"Mikayla?" Macey asked. I turned to look at her. "What's going on with you and that Abrams guy?" I smiled.

Yep, I was back.

{[(Two weeks later)]}

So, I finished all my work early, and convinced Solomon to take me to my school. My boys come back a week earlier than Gallagher, so I was on my way to see them. They were all having lunch when I arrived, but they had no idea I was coming. Not even Steve.

Hiding behind the Mess Hall doors, I eavesdropped to what was going on inside there.

"Darren! Give me back my steak!" I heard Chesca Marks yell.

"Shaun, that'll never work! She's our freaking headmistress! You can't date her!" Jordan Ellis sighed, obviously frustrated with Shaun Carter. Shaun wanted to date me? Ha. Now that's funny...

The next one made me freeze slightly. "I might love her... I mean, I felt something when I kissed her..." I could hear Zach speaking to someone. His voice was one of distress and confusion. Aww; Cammie had him confused. How sweet. His voice wasn't yelling, it wasn't whispering, it was just normal, but it faded as he walked away from the door.

"Gentlemen!" I heard Steve yell, attempting to calm the rowdy guys. They instantly silenced. Here's my cue.

I swung the doors wide open and stalked to the front of the room. They were shocked for about a minute, until they started cheering and clapping. I smiled at Steve, as he stepped out of the way, his eyes wide with shock. He was smiling though.

"Hey guys," I said into the microphone. They quieted. "So, I'm guessing you missed me?" I teased. They all started cheering again, while I just laughed.

When they shut up, I continued. "I'm here for a week, until I have to go back to school. So, 7th graders, welcome to Blackthorne. Now, I don't know what Steve, here, is telling you," I started, turning to smile at Steve, "but I'm your headmistress. I don't have the time or the energy to explain so ask one of the others. To the rest of you; welcome back. Freshman – your responsibility starts here. The minute you walked back into this school, was the minute you agreed to the dangers of 9th grade. Sophomores – you're about to start the biggest challenge of your lives. Seniors – This is your last year at Blackthorne, make the most of it," I finished.

"What about us juniors, Kayla?" Zach yelled a smirk on his face.

I winked at them. "Oh," I paused. "This year will be the most difficult yet. You're being thrust into it big time now. Make us proud," I smiled.

They all cheered again, until my smile went from my face, and it turned 'serious'. "Now," I started. They looked a little scared. "Eat," I ordered, laughing as they breathed out heavily and tucked into the food.

I turned around, and saw Steve. "It's excellent to have you back, Mikky," he smiled.

"You know what, Steve?" I asked rhetorically. "It's excellent to be back."

No, Gallagher isn't my home. Here is home.

[A/N: Book 1 never happened. Forgot to say that. So, that's the end! The sequel will be up in about a second called Point Blanc. Please review this story, and the sequel, I put a lot of effort into 'em both.]