Continuing Transmission

Numbuh 5 knelt down, her eyes fixed on the discarded sunglasses as she picked them up off the ground. After staring at them for what seemed like a perpetuity, she held them close to her, closing her eyes to prevent any tears from squeezing out.

'I…I can't believe he's really gone…' she thought. 'He…he really left…And, it's all because…he thought we would be betta off without 'im.'

She stood suddenly, anger kindling her body, as she turned to look at her other crestfallen teammates.

Her eyes settled on Numbuh 4.

"You…!" she hissed, walking towards him.

The blond Aussie jumped back as she tried to lunge towards him, but Numbuhs 2 and 3 grabbed her arms, preventing her from doing so.

"Dis is all your fault!" she yelled, trying to break away from the others.

"Mah fault! How is all this mah fault!" he asked defensively.

"If you hadn't a' said all those things 'bout Numbuh 1, he wouldn't have left!"

"Ah was only tellin' tha truth!"

The dark skinned girl was finally able to pull her arms free from the other two. "But didja hafta be so harsh 'bout it! I mean, would it have killed ya not to blame like dat! Couldn't ya have just said what he needed ta hear without drivin' him away!"

Guilt flashed in his eyes, and coursed through his body. But he looked back up at her. "Yeah, well, Ah didn't see you tryin' to help him any just then!"

She lowered her fist, as the thought occurred to her.

"Ah mean, ya didn't hafta agree with me! When he asked if anyone agreed, ya could've said somethin'! Maybe then, he mighta stayed!"

'He's right,' she realized. 'I didn't say anythin'…If I had…maybe he wouldn't have left…'

She couldn't bare the idea that it was her fault that Numbuh 1 had left, that he was gone because of her. But it was.

'It's not my fault,' she tried to tell herself.

But it is, another voice told her.

'No! It's not!'

You should have spoken up before. But since you didn't, he's gone. It's because of you.

'But…'

There's no excuse. You should have said something. You had your chance. And now, he's gone.

The Quiet One gave in. 'It's my fault…It's my fault!'

She ran, away from them. She didn't want to be there. It was too painful, she had to get away. As she ran back to her room, silent crystalline tears streaked down her cheek.

Numbuh 4 turned away, the guilt in his heart growing with every passing moment. Numbuhs 2 and 3, concerned for their friends, looked at each other. Exchanging tacit glances, Numbuh 2 ran off after Numbuh 5.

Numbuh 4 clenched his fists tightly, and he could feel the nail digging into his skin. He felt terrible. He had just been responsible for his leader leaving, and then he tried to redirect the blame onto Numbuh 5. 'Wondaful…' he thought sarcastically to himself. 'Is there anythin' ya can do right? Yeah maybe……in my dreams……'

He suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. He turned to Numbuh 3, rubbing his sore scalp. "Whaddya do that……?" He stopped in mid-sentence, however, when saw that that Asian girl had tears in her own eyes.

"Why'd ya hafta go and do that!" she asked. "You hurt Numbuh 1's feelings, and then Numbuh 5!"

The tears suddenly began to flow, streaming down, as she began to sink to her knees.

"Numbuh 3…!" He caught her in his arms, gently lowering her to the ground, until she was sitting down and he was kneeling beside her.

She buried her head into his chest, her tears dampening his orange sweatshirt. He said nothing as she cried. He simply held her as she trembled in his arms.

Hours seemed to pass until Numbuh 3's sobs diminished into sniffles. After drying her tears, she looked up at Numbuh 4. "Numbuh 4, I'm sorry…I-I didn't mean to…"

"It's alright Numbuh 3," he said, looking away from her. "Ah deserve it anyway. Ah only mess thin's up."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah it is. Ah can't do nothin' right."

"Don't say that, Numbuh 4!"

"But it's true. First, Ah drive Numbuh 1 away, then Ah upset Numbuh 5, and you too. Ah'm an idiot."

"No, Numbuh 4…"

"Ah've messed everythin' up! Maybe…maybe it shoulda been me insteada Numbuh 1…"

"No!" she cried, grabbing his sweatshirt and burying her head deeper into his chest. "Stop talking like that! Numbuh 1's already gone! I don't wanna think about losing you too!"

He felt that she was crying again, but for a different reason this time.

"I don't want you to leave! I can't even think about that! I can't imagine what it would be like without you!"

"Numbuh 3……Ah……"

"I don't want you to leave me!"

His heart broke, as she began to sob again. Gently, he wiped her tears away, then placing his finger under her chin, he lifted her head up, so that they were looking into each others eyes.

"Numbuh 3," he said soothingly, "Ah'll neva leave ya."

She sniffled. "Y-you pr-promise?"

He smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah. Ah promise."

He pulled her into a firm, tender embrace, and whispered in her ear, "Ah care too much 'bout you ta leave you."

Hearing those words, she pulled back. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He flushed, looking down at the ground, away from her wondering gaze. "I's jus' that…Ah…" How was he going to say this?

"You what?"

He looked into her eyes. ''ere goes nothin'.' "Ah…Ah like you Numbuh 3…Ah like you a lot…"

She tilted her head to the side slightly, before a smile appeared on her face. "I like you a lot, too, Numbuh 4!" she said.

"No…Ah-Ah dun mean it that way……Ah mean…Ah really really like you……"

Her smile slowly faded, as she began to understand his meaning. "You……y-you do?"

He nodded. "Ah……Ah've really liked ya for a long time, and……" He felt his cheeks burn again, and he closed his eyes, waiting for her rejection.

But it never came. "I…I like you a lot too, Numbuh 4," she repeated, a little quieter this time.

He looked at her, about to tell her again that that wasn't what he meant, but stopped when he noticed the serious look on her face, as she looked to the side, her cheeks tainted a light ruby color, and her raven bangs fell over her eyes.

He had always thought that she looked pretty. But now……he couldn't take his eyes off her.

That's when the real meaning of her words struck him. "Ya do?"

She nodded, still not looking at him. "The reason……that I act the way I do is because……because you're around……And, when I'm with you……I dunno, I just feel……happy……"

Numbuh 4 stared at her. She really liked him. He couldn't believe it. After all the years of dreaming, hoping, and wondering, he finally knew how she felt about him. And, lucky for him, it was what he was hoping for all along.

Slowly, he leaned forward, until his lips gently pressed against hers. She didn't resist; rather, she leaned into the tender kiss, deepening it, as neither wanted to never let go.

The kiss was soon broken, as Numbuh 3 once again buried her head in his chest. "Numbuh 4…I'm kinda scared…"

"'Bout what?"

"Well…Since Numbuh 1 left……I'm afraid that…our team's gonna…break up…"

"No it won't," he said.

"How do you know?"

"Ah'm not gonna let it. Since Numbuh 1 left because of what Ah said, Ah'm gonna keep our team togetha. And, Ah'm gonna try ta get Numbuh 1 back."

"But he tore up the information packet-thingy."

"Well, Ah'll get tha info from the KND IHQ. Ah'm sure they'll have somethin' there."

He looked down at her, a smile on his face. "So dun worry. Ah won't let anythin' 'appen to our team."

"You promise?"

"Yeah, I promise, everythin's gonna be okay."

Numbuh 2 ran down the familiar corridor to Numbuh 5's room. He was really worried about her. Running off the way she did……it wasn't like her. She was usually so calm and laid back. But this……this wasn't the Numbuh 5 he knew. This wasn't the Abby he knew. Even before they were the Kids Next Door, she was the one who usually kept common sense when things between them got tough. He always looked up to her, just like he looked up to Numbuh 1.

He noticed the door to her room was slightly ajar. Slipping in, he looked around until he found her lying on her bed.

Her red hat lay next to her, and her face was buried into her pillow.

"Numbuh 5?" he asked timidly.

"Go away," she muffled.

But he didn't. Instead, he sat down on the bed next to her, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He pulled it back, however, when her shoulders trembled under his touch, and a sob escaped her lips.

"Numbuh 5? Are…are you…crying?"

"No!" she said, still muffled in her pillow.

But he didn't believe her. "You are, aren't you? You're crying…"

She growled, slightly frustrated, gripping the pillow. She didn't want him to know. She didn't want anybody to know.

But it was too late now. He knew. Sighing, she lifted her head, wiping away her tears.

It was slightly unnerving to Numbuh 2 to see someone like Numbuh 5, so calm and collected, crying liking that. The two sat in silence for moments.

"What's wrong?" he asked after awhile.

"Nothin'."

"I don't believe that. You wouldn't have been crying like that if it was nothing."

She said nothing, instead just stared at the wall ahead of her.

"Look, I know you're upset about Numbuh 1 leaving. We all are. But…"

"I's not jus' that!" she told him, looking at him over her shoulder.

"It's not? Then what?"

She turned onto her back, then sat up, looking at him. "Ferget it. Jus' ferget it."

He watched as she slipped on her red hat. "Um…can I ask you something?"

"What?" she asked, almost bitterly.

"Why do you always wear that hat?"

She looked at him, almost in disbelief. "Doncha 'memba who gave Numbuh 5 dis hat?"

"…Not exactly…"

"My ninth birthday party?"

After thinking about it for a minute, the memory came back to him. "Oh, yeah. Num – Nigel – gave you that hat, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't he give you that hat because he couldn't think of anything to get you?"

"I guess."

"But that's your favorite hat, huh?"

"Yup."

Silence settle around the two again, before Numbuh 2 cleared his throat.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"What?"

"Do you…do you like Num – Nigel?"

"Sho I do. He's my best friend."

"But……Do you like like him?"

She stiffened, looking up at him, before looking away.

"You do, don't you?"

"Yeah, so what!" she practically yelled at him. "It don't matta."

"Well, have you told him?"

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"'Cause Numbuh 1 already has a girlfriend."

"You mean Lizzie?"

"Who else would I be talkin' 'bout?"

Numbuh 2 looked at the ceiling. "Well…he doesn't really…" he muttered.

But Numbuh 5 heard him. "What?"

He looked at her. "Um…well…I wasn't supposed to say anything, but…"

"You betta tell me if ya know what's good for ya."

"Well…I kinda went into Numbuh 1's room one time, and I found a letter on his bed from Lizzie. Numbuh 1 told me not to tell, but…"

"But…?"

"……Numbuh 1 and Lizzie broke up because Lizzie moved away."

"She what!" Numbuh 5 asked, not sure if she could believe what she heard.

He nodded. "She moved away a couple of months ago."

A flicker of hope sparked in her heart, but she shook it away. "But I still can't tell him how I feel…"

"Why not?"

"Because…I mean, what if he still likes Lizzie? Just because they broke up doesn't mean he don't like her no more. I bet da only reason dat he broke up with her was 'cuz long-distance relationships don't work."

Numbuh 2 shrugged. "Maybe. If you talk to him, you'll find out."

"I dunno…"

"Come on, Numbuh 5. You'll never know if you don't tell him."

She looked away. "Well, it don't matter now. I can't talk to him anyway."

"But…Numbuh 5…"

"Numbuh 1 put me in charge since he left. I gotta get ta work. There's a lotta stuff ta do since he left."

She got up, walking away, leaving Numbuh 2 alone, trying to collect and gather her thoughts. 'Numbuh 1 broke up with Lizzie……he musta been upset……and now, we drove 'im away.'

She sighed. 'How am I gonna live with myself now? What am I gonna do?'

Transmission Interrupted