Sydney glanced over at Vaughn to see him fiddling with the water bottle. He turned his head towards her and she suddenly turned her gaze back towards the bread in her hand.
Vaughn sighed and continued to watch her pick at the bread in her hand. She wasn't eating it, just sitting there with it and it was driving him insane. Damn her, she knows exactly what she's doing and she likes it.
Sydney turned her head back a little to see if he was still looking at her but the second he saw her head move, he turned his watchful eye back to the water bottle. He hadn't taken a sip of it yet and it was enough to make her want to choke him. Damn him, he knows exactly what he's doing and yet he still does it. I thought he wanted to help me. Oh well, who needs him? I definitely don't. What I do need is that damn water bottle.
Their little game of glancing to towards the other and their goody and then looking away suddenly when the other looked towards them continued until they both let out an angry sigh at the same time.
Damn him for being so persistent.
Damn her for being so stubborn.
"Syd..." Vaughn started to say.
"Vaughn..." Sydney said at the same time.
They both dared to look at the other at the same time and both fought the desire to smile. After all these years, they still worked on the same brain wave. But their little spat earlier was still making them mad at each other.
"It's Paige." Sydney stated.
"It's Michael." Vaughn replied.
Fighting the urge to punch him, Sydney rolled her eyes. "Michael, would you mind sharing some of that water?"
Vaughn rolled his eyes at her and said, "Sure, Paige, if you give me some of that bread in your hand."
Sydney glared at him and tore the bread in half and hurdled a chunk at him. He wasn't fast enough and it hit him in the forehead. Scowling, Vaughn gulped half the water and threw the bottle at her, hoping to return the favor. But she was faster and caught the bottle before it got anywhere close to her face. His scowl deepened as she grinned, immensely proud of herself.
"Why are you so freaking stubborn?" Vaughn asked out of nowhere.
Sydney was caught of guard by the question and was at a loss for words. "I...don't know. Someone once told me that was a good quality."
"Who told you that?" He asked, already knowing the answer to his question.
"A guy I knew a long time ago. He used to be really sweet but now he's different." Sydney answered, knowing it would touch a nerve with him.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he was different because his girlfriend disappeared without a trace three years ago and he hasn't been able to think of much else since then." Vaughn snapped.
Again Sydney was stunned. "What?"
"What do you think I've been doing for the past three years, Sydney?" He paused before adding, "I'm sorry, it's Paige now." He hadn't intended for the sentence to sound bitter but it did.
"I don't know, being assigned another agent and falling in love with her too." Sydney answered.
"Oh God, Syd-" He stopped mid word this time to correct himself, "Paige, that was low, even for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded.
He shook his head, "Nevermind, forget I said anything."
"Already done." She hesitated before asking, "What have you been doing for the past three years?"
"Looking for you," He answered simply.
Once again, she was stunned, "You were looking...for me?"
"I don't know how to put it any simpler, Paige." He caught himself before saying 'Sydney' this time.
Sydney looked down at the ground, reeling from his words. He wasn't really looking for me for three whole years? Was he? Damn, I knew he was persistent, but I had no idea I meant that much to him. Without making the conscious decision to do so, Sydney scooted over towards Vaughn about a foot but still closer to him than she was before. "Sydney," She corrected him, softly.
Vaughn looked up from his hands and noticed that she had moved closer. "Sydney?" He asked. She nodded, her eyes meeting his, silently asking his forgiveness for all the crap she had put him through. He nodded, just barely, telling her that he was sorry and she had nothing to be sorry about.
In a flash, both were on there feet and instantly by each other's side. Sydney reached out for his arms and grasped onto them just below his elbows. He repeated the gesture and held onto her arms in the exact spot she did his.
"I'm sorry." She said first.
"You don't have any reason to be." He reassured.
She shook her head, "I shouldn't have left. I should have talked to you." A single tear trickled down her cheek and his left hand let go of her arm long enough to gently wipe it away. "I'm sorry."
"You said that already," He teased, lightly.
She laughed, "I know."
"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"You wouldn't have if I hadn't done it first." She answered, quietly.
"True," He admitted, eliciting a smile from her, "But I shouldn't have egged you on." He couldn't stand it any longer and took his hands off her arms and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. She abandoned holding onto his arms as well and placed her arms around his abdomen.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I love you, too." He whispered back. Okay, so what brought about this change of events? Was it something I said? What did I say, again? Oh yeah, just that I've spent the past three years looking for her. That can't be the reason that she's suddenly forgiven me and stopped being a stubborn mule, can it?
"Good," She joked. What am I doing? Ten minutes ago I wanted to beat him with the stupid water bottle and now...now I'm in his arms, telling him that I love him and I'm sorry. Things change really fast. I don't even remember why I chose to give up being so stubborn and pushing him away. I think it had something to do with him saying that he spent the past three years trying to find me. Yeah, that's probably it. No man has ever done anything like that for me.
He laughed but before he said anything more, the sound of two men talking reached both their ears. They shared a glance, already planning out a way to escape. Words weren't ever necessary for them. Working together just came naturally.
One of the men said their goodbyes and continued walking down the hallway or whatever, they assumed it was a hallway, while the other one stopped outside the door and started to fumble with a key to the lock.
In the blink of an eye, Sydney and Vaughn let go of each other –rather reluctantly- and put their plan into motion. Vaughn collapsed on the ground, pretending to be ill while Sydney hid behind the door, waiting for the guard to enter.
After a minute of fumbling with the lock, the guard opened the door and Sydney tried not to let the bright white light blind her and distract her from her job. The guard spotted Vaughn in the center of the room collapsed and noticed that Sydney wasn't in sight. He took one step towards Vaughn to see if he was really ill or just faking it and that was when Sydney chose to make her move.
She crept up behind him and delivered a powerful kick to the back of his head. The guard cried out in pain and surprise but Sydney wasn't finished. When he turned around to face his attacker, she back slapped him across the cheek, followed closely by an elbow to the top of the head, sending the oaf to the ground.
Sydney was going to do more but Vaughn stopped her, "I think you got him, Syd."
She smiled briefly and reached down to pick up the guard's gun. "We may need this."
Vaughn nodded and accepted her help standing up. "So, any idea of what to do now?"
Sydney shook her head and stepped out into the hallway –it was a hallway- with Vaughn right behind her. She looked down one direction and then in the other and then back at him. "I think this is the first time I've ever been lost."
"I don't blame you," He answered, doing the same thing she was. "Flip a coin?"
She shook her head again, "That'll take too long. Just pick a direction."
"You pick," He said.
"No, you pick."
"You're better at this, you do it."
"Vaughn, we don't have the time for this. Pick a direction...left or right."
"Left." He answered after pausing.
"Why left?" She had to ask.
"Because I'm left handed." He replied.
Hiding the smile, she shook her head and started to walk down the hall to their left, "That's probably the stupidest reason to do something ever but if it gets us out of here, it's gonna be my reason every time." He laughed.
"I wonder why there aren't any security cameras or better guards." Vaughn said after they turned the first corner they came too.
"I don't know but I don't like that. He's not that big of an idiot." Sydney said, glancing upwards for signs of a security camera again and finding nothing. Nothing but plain white walls.
"Where is this place anyway?"
"How the hell should I know? You're the one that woke up before me."
"Like ten minutes before you," Vaughn admitted. "And by then, we were in the small dark and dreary room."
"That's pleasant," She commented, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"But accurate."
She laughed and shook her head, turning another corner. Damn, this place is like a fucking maze. Her pace ceased suddenly, causing Vaughn to run into her.
"Syd, why the hell did you..." His sentence trailed off, seeing what Sydney saw.
At the end of the hall, their surprise visitor from the restaurant and the one to hold them hostage stood. Alone. Without any guards. Which was odd enough for any bad guy but even weirder for this particular one. A carefully crafted smile played on his lips as he lifted a handgun and aimed it at the pair.
A single shot fired, followed closely by a cry of pain.
A/N: Unfortunately school has started again and for me that means that I need to take a break and step back from the fanfiction world and get reorganized. In other words, that means that I'm taking a hiatus for at least a week, quite possibly two and maybe even three. I know it sucks but I can't screw up my classes this year because of fanfiction. You can be mad, that's okay but I'm not changing my mind. When I come back, I will have a new chapters and most likely new stories. So, see y'all soon. And thanks in advance for your reviews, they really keep me inspired. And I know, this chapter was very cliffhangery. (does anyone know if that is a word? anyone at all? lol)
daisyduke947- yeah, i like juliette too. i'm going to try and work her into the plot some more but i'm not sure if i'm going to be able to.
Agent Flamingo- okay so there's common sense in syd's head now and i still have yet to say who it was. i have a pretty good idea but i haven't made my final decision about it yet.
Fair Cate- yeah, good ole me, cant have a fic without some form of humor. i love humor and putting a smile on people's faces. i thought the fight scene would be funny and it was.
Julia- that's totally okay. you're reviewing now, hopefully. i hate when the thing doesnt work. happens to me all the time.
Valoriahn- so like the butt kicking? and i know that chapter wasn't very long and i think this one was even shorter but i wanted it to end where it did. i'll try to make the next one longer.
Erin- lol. the fight scene sounded like me and my brother too, only there was less hitting between syd and vaughn. we dont have a new principal but i wish that we did. the one we have now kinda scares me. lol
Rach5- lol. thanks. i thought the name thing would be funny and an excellant chance to show everyone how stubborn they both are. it worked.
TheUptownGirl- i never noticed how stubborn both juliette and vaughn were until you pointed it out for me. so thanks for that and your review. me so happy now.
rainluver- lol. me and my friends have this esp thing going and it's scary sometimes cause we'll like say the same sentence at the same time for like two minutes. we did that once in class and the teacher was like, how long have you two been practicing that? it was funny. thanks for calling me creative and talented. many hugs for you :hug:
Charmed-angel4- okay, so crappy memory insane club. that's our little club and that sounds funny. lol.
Ren201- lol. i've read some of your stories and they're really good. sorry if i havent reviewed. the stupid thing wouldnt work and i called it a bad name and it still wouldnt cooperate. i'll try again when i get the chance. promise.