I looked down and saw a note. My hyper, excited mood instantly vanished, and my heart practically drooped.

Fun's over. Might want to add a little 'goodbye' to your loved ones in that video, because it'll be the last time anyone sees your faces again.

We're coming for you. And we have a plan.

Cammie's POV

I stared at the note, and I immediately stepped out into the hall to see if I could catch who left it there. But it was like it dropped from the sky-I saw nobody. Not even a dang foot print. I groan and lean against the door frame, staring at the note. Maybe Liz could find a finger print, or something.

"Cam?" Zach came up behind me and put his arms around my waist, standing behind me and placing his head on my shoulder. I could feel him breathing as he read the note I held in my shaking hands. I could feel his grip get hard and tense as he finished reading it.

"They won't get you. I swear to you-I won't let them touch you." Zach growled. Cammie smiled softly and pecked his cheek.

"I know you won't. It's not me I'm worried about." I frowned.

He stepped back and turned my body to face him. Everyone else had crowded around us now, and Tristan took the note out of my hands and passed it around to everybody.

"What do you mean 'it's not you you're worried about'?" Zach exclaimed. "This is all you! The whole reason we're here-the reason we're trying to take down the Circle, is because of you. They want you, and we're trying to stop them for your safety. You are the most important here, Cam. You're the one that they want. Who in the hell are you worried about other than yourself?"

Cam stared at him, wide-eyed. And then she looked at each other her friend's faces. Because as Zach ranted on about her best friends trying to protect her, reality caught up to her. They weren't silly, normal teenagers who had slumber parties and got drunk at a kegger. They were spies, they were assassins. Their lives were in danger every minute they were on the mission.

But the reason they were on this mission? Was because of her. She was the reason their lives were in danger-everybody. Mr. Solomon, her mom, Zach, Bex, Liz, everybody. Wasn't it the reason she ran away? So she could bring down the Circle by herself? Without anybody getting in the way and getting hurt? She had been so selfish, letting her friends stay and protect her. If she was the one they wanted, she was the one they would have to get. She hated the thought of her friends getting hurt- or possibly even dying for her.

She swallowed thickly and blinked a few times, coming back to reality. All of her friends were staring at her with worry, and she shook her head a little.

"That's the problem." She whispered, knowing they could hear her. "That's the problem with this." She waved her arms wildly around her, motioning to the apartment, her friends, the mission. "You guys are all in danger because of me. They only want me, so I'm the only one who should be here."

Everyone blinked.

"Cammie..I didn't mean it that way." Zach said quietly.

"I know you didn't, Zach." I said.

"Cam. We don't-do you know how worried and sick we would be if we didn't know where you were? You could be rotting in a cell right now, dying. It's better that we're here with you." Bex reasoned.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about this anymore. Was she right? Was it better that they were here with me? Without them, I would be dead by now. But I looked at all of them, and I noticed bruises and scratches on their faces. I noticed Grant had a bloody bandage around his arm-in fact, all of them had a bloody bandage somewhere on their body.

Those were because they were trying to protect me.

"We love you, Cam. We're not going to let you go on a nearly impossible mission by yourself." Grant shrugged.

I smiled. That killed some of the guilt I was feeling inside. It didn't disappear completely, and I'm sure that it never will. But it was too late now.

And why dwell on the past? It was the present now, and I'm going to make sure that none of them get hurt because of me.

"I guess." I stated, signaling an end to the topic.

"Let's go to sleep." Macey suggested, rubbing her eyes wearily. "All that dancing around made me extremely tired."

"I second that motion." Jonas said, rubbing the back of his head and messing up his hair adorably. He walked over to his duffel bag and pulled out pajama pants for all of the guys. He tossed it to them, and Bex, Macey, Liz and I went to the bathroom to change.

I think Macey was still going soft on me, because she let me wear my own pajamas instead of forcing me into a short, see-through night gown. I put on shorts and an oversized T-shirt that went right above my thigh. I brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed. Liz and Jonas were already snuggled up on the floor with a bunch of pillows and blankets around them-same with Macey and Tristan. Bex and Grant were sleeping on the couch, and Zach would join me on the bed.

Normally we would argue over who got the bed or not, but considering I almost died tonight, they were going easy on me. Zach was the last to leave the bathroom, having called out "Nose goes!" and tapping their nose last. He flipped the lights off and tried not to step on anybody as he trudged over to the bed. I scooted over and he lifted the covers to get underneath, and a blast of cold air hit my legs. I shivered and pulled them up to my chest.

Parts of my body were still aching from the multiple blows they took. He got under the covers and I turned to face him. It still amazed me how through the pitch black, I could still see the gorgeous color of his eyes. I placed my arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

He blinked, surprised, but willingly hugged me back.

"Don't ever get hurt for me. Promise." I whispered, hearing that everybody else in the room were sound asleep.

"Cam. I would do anything for you. I can't promise not to protect you if-"

"Promise." I urged, pulling back from the hug.

"No." His jaw locked stubbornly, his glare determined.

"If you don't promise, I will be out of this apartment and hunting the Circle down myself, without you guys." I raised an eyebrow, my competitive side coming out. He sighed and rolled onto his back, saying nothing.

"I promise." Zach spit out after a while.

I could feel waves of anger radiating off of him, so I faced my back towards him and fidgeted with the tips of my long hair. I suddenly wasn't tired anymore.

Eventually I fell asleep. Zach and I stayed awake for two more hours, just laying together. I could tell he was angry, so I didn't try to talk to him. I never heard his breathing even out before I fell asleep. I wonder how much longer he stayed up for.

Zach's POV

Bloody hell! I hate these stupid little child games they play. 'Nose goes'? What is that? Whatever. I rinsed the toothpaste out of my mouth and flipped the lights off, tripping over Jonas's arm.

"Sorry," I muttered. He just groaned and shuffled closer to Liz, who draped an arm around his neck.

I lifted the covers and got in quickly, seeing Cammie shiver and pull her legs up to her chest. She suddenly flipped over and wrapped her skinny arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug.

I blinked in surprise, but hugged her back.

"Don't ever get hurt for me. Promise." She whispered. I stiffened. Not this again. Why didn't she understand that I love her?

"Cam. I would do anything for you. I can't promise not to protect you if-" She cut me off.

"Promise." She begged, pulling back. Her bright eyes shone in the low light. Like hell I will.

"No." I glared at her. Why is she being so difficult?

"If you don't promise, I will be out of this apartment and hunting the Circle down myself, without you guys." She threatened. I saw her glare back through the darkness. I knew she could do it, too. She was quiet as a mouse-she could sneak out when we were all sleeping or something.

I wanted to scream at her in frustration. I wanted to grab her shoulders and jiggle some sense into her. I raked a hand through my hair roughly and flipped onto my back.

"I promise." The words tasted like acid to me, and I spit them out venomously. I knew she could tell I was angry with her, so she flipped back over and played with her hair, knees pulled up to her chest. I wanted to scoot over to her side and snuggle her into my chest, but I was too angry with her at the moment. After about two hours, she fell asleep.

It was only then I allowed myself to pull her small, cold body towards me and protect her. If I couldn't protect her when she was awake, I would protect her when she was asleep. Her body was curled up, so I placed my arm around her and fell asleep to the scent of her hair.

I woke up, and Cammie and I were in the exact same position as I put her in last night. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Everyone was already in the kitchen, making breakfast. Cammie gasped and shot up, a tiny shriek escaping her lips. I whirled around and my eyes raked her body, checking for any injuries.

"Cam? Are you okay?"

She looked at me, seeming surprised I was next to her.

"What? Yea! Just a bad dream." She chuckled nervously and quickly made her way to the kitchen. I stared at her curiously, but followed her. We all ate and got ready. Cammie came out of the bathroom looking extremely uncomfortable in a flowy summer-y dress with flowers all over it. She wore a blue jean-jacket over it and these heel sandal thingies. She looked gorgeous.

I walked over to her and pecked her on the lips. She blinked.

"I thought you were mad at me." She whispered.

I sighed. "I was. But then I realized there was no point to be mad at you. So I forgive you again." I smirked. She rolled her eyes. We all piled out into the hallway and were walking towards the elevator when Cammie stopped, wide-eyed.

We all slowed and looked back at her.

"Cammie? You okay?" Tristan asked.

"Do you guys hear that?" Cammie whispered. We all quieted our breathing and listened, our ears straining. There was the faintest of tickings-so faint that you wouldn't be able to hear it if someone pointed it out to you-and if you were a spy, of course.

"What is it?" Liz asked.

"How did you hear that?" Macey asked, bewildered. Cammie opened her mouth and shut it again.

"Guys. Remember in the note? How it said that they had a plan to bring us down?" Cammie asked. We all nodded, wondering where this was going. "I think they've going to bomb this apartment building. That's what happened in my dream, as weird as that is, so I was looking out for it." she said solemnly.

My breathing sharpened-I recognized the ticking now. The rhythmic pattern of it-how it was tick-tick..tick. Tick-tick...tick.

"That's a Circle bomb. I recognize the ticking pattern." I stated.

"Well, shit." Bex exclaimed.