Nearly two weeks passed before Josh got the nerve to talk to Crystal about how to get Laura back, when he did, she was less than helpful. "I'll see what I can do Josh, but I'm not going to tell you anything if she asks me not to. I can't betray her like that, you understand, right?" He nodded, and told her what he needed. "I just need to find out if there is any hope of getting another chance with her. That's all I'm asking for, just find out if I have any shot at reconciliation." She agreed, and walked off to start working for the day.
She had been working on hacking into Dreads computer system; she was curious to see what Dread knew about Max and the rest of Team Steel. So far, only a small portion of his files had become available, and nothing about Team Steel.
The search continued right through the next month, but everyone took the 24th off to pick up Laura Chen from the docks. Josh waited at the docks with Crystal, Berto, and Kat in tow. "Hey, over here!" Laura shouted as she spotted the group. Josh ran over to her and lifted her off of the ground. "Hey Laura. How was the last month without me?" Laura looked over Josh's left shoulder and saw Crystal standing no more than ten feet away. "Not bad, peaceful!" Everyone laughed knowing that Crystal could be a loud girl at times.
"Where are your bags Laura, I'll get them for you." Josh put her down as he asked her about her stuff. "Um, I think they're being unloaded over there." She pointed toward the secondary exit from the large research ship. Josh walked away to get them, while Crystal introduced Laura to Kat, knowing that Kat hadn't joined the team until after Laura left.
Josh returned a minute later with all of Laura's suitcases, three to be exact, and that wasn't counting the purse and duffle bag that she was already carrying. Everyone went over to Josh's house along Del Oro's beautiful coast.
By this time, Josh and Berto had helped Crystal find a house near Josh, and Laura would be staying there, but Crystal wanted Laura and Josh to spend some time together before the two girls left. Crystal, Laura and Kat decided to make dinner for everyone that night, and went off to the kitchen to see what was available to cook. "Nothing" the girls said at once. There was nothing in Josh's house to cook that wasn't instant. "Fine, let's take Josh's car and go to the store." Kat knew how to handle Shadow, so she knew that Josh would let them borrow the car. They decided on Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and fresh breadsticks. They picked up the necessary items and hurried back. The girls whipped up an incredible dinner for everyone, and even had Josh call Pete so that he could be there too.
"Josh, can I see you in the kitchen for a minute?" Crystal asked after everyone was finished eating. "Uh, yeah." He followed her into his kitchen and gave her a puzzled look. "Sup?" "Josh, you need to tell that poor girl the truth, tonight. I don't want to hear any argument out of you either, she deserves to know. I talked to her like you asked me too, and while I can't tell you about most of our convo, I can tell you that as long as you are lying to her, you don't have a snowballs chance in hell of reconciliation."
Josh began to remind her that it was against N'Tek policy to inform her of his double life as Max Steel, but she cut him off. "Damnit Josh, you can't keep something like this from her and expect her to trust you, that just doesn't make sense." Josh thought for a moment, and, realizing that she was right, he told her what he would do. "I don't think I can tell her tonight, she just got home and everything, I don't want to upset her so soon. So, I'll tell her in a few days, that will give me some time to think." She agreed, but gave him a warning before leaving the kitchen.
"Ok, but I want you to tell her within the next two weeks, or I will tell her myself. Josh, some of the things that she told me while we were gone nearly brought me to tears, and usually did make her cry, but one thing that sticks out the most in my mind is her telling me that Max Steel is her dream guy. Do you know why he is her dream boyfriend Josh?" "No," He said softly, upset by this news. "Because she said that if he ever had to leave a date early or cancel on her that she would know that it was for something important, and that it wasn't for another girl. I don't think that kiss was actually what made her the most upset, I think that it was just the last straw, so to speak. That is why I want you to tell her, then maybe she'll forgive you for most of your mistakes and take your sorry ass back, k?"
Josh nodded and walked back into his living room where everyone had gathered around the TV. Josh took a seat next to Laura (of course) and Crystal took the only seat available, next to Pete. They all watched until nearly 11:30 when the crowd began to disperse. Since Josh had driven Laura and Crystal, the two girls decided to walk to Crystal's new house, besides, it was only a few blocks away.
Pete had driven himself and offered Kat and Berto a ride back to N'Tek, they accepted, and Berto made Kat sit up front with Pete. "Thanks for the ride Pete." Kat said as she waited for Berto to get out of the car. "Hey, no problem. Uh, hey Kat, um, w-what are you doing tomorrow night?" Kat turned toward Pete and thought for a moment. "Nothing planned, why?" "Well, uh, I was thinking, maybe you and I could go somewhere. Dinner maybe?" Kat accepted and walked into the massive N'Tek building. 'Ok, what is going on here? Why do I feel excited about dinner with Pete? No, there's no way that I could like him. No way. But on the other hand, I don't have to hide my job from him, he already knows. No, this is crazy, he's Pete Costas. I'm just sleep deprived, yeah, that's it, not enough sleep.' Kat convinced herself that she just needed a good night's sleep and went straight to her room.
Everyone fell asleep around the same time, midnight, that night. Luckily, most of them were used to late nights and early mornings, and the only one who wasn't used to those hours was Laura. Laura was the lucky one; she didn't have to go to work the next morning.
She had been working on hacking into Dreads computer system; she was curious to see what Dread knew about Max and the rest of Team Steel. So far, only a small portion of his files had become available, and nothing about Team Steel.
The search continued right through the next month, but everyone took the 24th off to pick up Laura Chen from the docks. Josh waited at the docks with Crystal, Berto, and Kat in tow. "Hey, over here!" Laura shouted as she spotted the group. Josh ran over to her and lifted her off of the ground. "Hey Laura. How was the last month without me?" Laura looked over Josh's left shoulder and saw Crystal standing no more than ten feet away. "Not bad, peaceful!" Everyone laughed knowing that Crystal could be a loud girl at times.
"Where are your bags Laura, I'll get them for you." Josh put her down as he asked her about her stuff. "Um, I think they're being unloaded over there." She pointed toward the secondary exit from the large research ship. Josh walked away to get them, while Crystal introduced Laura to Kat, knowing that Kat hadn't joined the team until after Laura left.
Josh returned a minute later with all of Laura's suitcases, three to be exact, and that wasn't counting the purse and duffle bag that she was already carrying. Everyone went over to Josh's house along Del Oro's beautiful coast.
By this time, Josh and Berto had helped Crystal find a house near Josh, and Laura would be staying there, but Crystal wanted Laura and Josh to spend some time together before the two girls left. Crystal, Laura and Kat decided to make dinner for everyone that night, and went off to the kitchen to see what was available to cook. "Nothing" the girls said at once. There was nothing in Josh's house to cook that wasn't instant. "Fine, let's take Josh's car and go to the store." Kat knew how to handle Shadow, so she knew that Josh would let them borrow the car. They decided on Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo and fresh breadsticks. They picked up the necessary items and hurried back. The girls whipped up an incredible dinner for everyone, and even had Josh call Pete so that he could be there too.
"Josh, can I see you in the kitchen for a minute?" Crystal asked after everyone was finished eating. "Uh, yeah." He followed her into his kitchen and gave her a puzzled look. "Sup?" "Josh, you need to tell that poor girl the truth, tonight. I don't want to hear any argument out of you either, she deserves to know. I talked to her like you asked me too, and while I can't tell you about most of our convo, I can tell you that as long as you are lying to her, you don't have a snowballs chance in hell of reconciliation."
Josh began to remind her that it was against N'Tek policy to inform her of his double life as Max Steel, but she cut him off. "Damnit Josh, you can't keep something like this from her and expect her to trust you, that just doesn't make sense." Josh thought for a moment, and, realizing that she was right, he told her what he would do. "I don't think I can tell her tonight, she just got home and everything, I don't want to upset her so soon. So, I'll tell her in a few days, that will give me some time to think." She agreed, but gave him a warning before leaving the kitchen.
"Ok, but I want you to tell her within the next two weeks, or I will tell her myself. Josh, some of the things that she told me while we were gone nearly brought me to tears, and usually did make her cry, but one thing that sticks out the most in my mind is her telling me that Max Steel is her dream guy. Do you know why he is her dream boyfriend Josh?" "No," He said softly, upset by this news. "Because she said that if he ever had to leave a date early or cancel on her that she would know that it was for something important, and that it wasn't for another girl. I don't think that kiss was actually what made her the most upset, I think that it was just the last straw, so to speak. That is why I want you to tell her, then maybe she'll forgive you for most of your mistakes and take your sorry ass back, k?"
Josh nodded and walked back into his living room where everyone had gathered around the TV. Josh took a seat next to Laura (of course) and Crystal took the only seat available, next to Pete. They all watched until nearly 11:30 when the crowd began to disperse. Since Josh had driven Laura and Crystal, the two girls decided to walk to Crystal's new house, besides, it was only a few blocks away.
Pete had driven himself and offered Kat and Berto a ride back to N'Tek, they accepted, and Berto made Kat sit up front with Pete. "Thanks for the ride Pete." Kat said as she waited for Berto to get out of the car. "Hey, no problem. Uh, hey Kat, um, w-what are you doing tomorrow night?" Kat turned toward Pete and thought for a moment. "Nothing planned, why?" "Well, uh, I was thinking, maybe you and I could go somewhere. Dinner maybe?" Kat accepted and walked into the massive N'Tek building. 'Ok, what is going on here? Why do I feel excited about dinner with Pete? No, there's no way that I could like him. No way. But on the other hand, I don't have to hide my job from him, he already knows. No, this is crazy, he's Pete Costas. I'm just sleep deprived, yeah, that's it, not enough sleep.' Kat convinced herself that she just needed a good night's sleep and went straight to her room.
Everyone fell asleep around the same time, midnight, that night. Luckily, most of them were used to late nights and early mornings, and the only one who wasn't used to those hours was Laura. Laura was the lucky one; she didn't have to go to work the next morning.