A/N: I'm loving the response. Thanks again for the reviews. It's nice to know what yall think. Anyway...this chapter focuses more on Sky and Z...and you'll see how closer they're getting...


Chapter 7

"Closer To You"

"Sweet! This your car?" Z observes Sky's amazing blue two-door convertible with the roof down. While she was taking a walk downtown, he took her by surprised as he parked the car right next to her.

"Come on, take a ride with me." Sky reaches over to open the passenger seat. Z looks at him for a brief moment before smiling.

"Okay." After a brief moment she swings the door open and sits down comfortably next to Sky on the passenger side of the car. "So where we going?" Z asks, looking to the side and observing the car's amazing interior.

"I was thinking the beach. It's a pretty hot day." Sky responds with his hand resting on the wheel.

Z smiles excitedly at the thought. "I haven't been there for years." She bit her bottom lip with something in mind. "Hey, can I drive?"

Sky wrinkles his forehead. "Drive?" He felt uneasy at the thought of someone else driving his car. "But I never let anyone else drive my baby?"

"Please?" Z puts on her puppy dog look which suddenly made Sky feel weak in the knees.

"Do you have your license?"

Z rolls her eyes as she takes out her wallet and shows it to him. "Just because I don't have a car doesn't mean I don't drive." Sky shakes his head still thinking about it. "Come on, I'm 17. I'm a pretty darn good driver."

"But you don't have a car."

"I drive some company van." He wrinkles his forehead suspiciously as Z chuckles. "Never mind that. So are you gonna let me drive or what?"

From behind the bushes, Bridge and Syd watches on as the female took the wheel and presses on the accelerator. "Whoa! Slow down!" They heard Sky yell from the distance as they grew smaller and smaller, their voices quickly fading away. Bridge and Syd then appeared from the bushes as the car disappeared in the distance.

"No wonder he's lagging on his undercover work." Syd mutters bitterly. "Did you take a good look at that girl? She's so not me." She narrows her eyes at the direction they disappeared to. "You think Sky finds her attractive?"

Bridge just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well they're spending a whole lot of time together." There was a moment of silence.

"I'm sure it's strictly business for Sky." Bridge reassures her.

"But didn't you see him laugh?" Syd crosses her arms across her chest and frowns. "He never smiles or laughs like that in the academy…ever!"

Bridge looks at his female companion and smirks. "Seems to me that you're jealous."

"Jealous!" She shrieks, followed by a chuckle. "Oh please, I have everything I want in the world."

"Except for Sky." Bridge muttered as she shot him a dirty look. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I just don't like seeing you like this. You should never feel jealous."

"I told you I'm not jealous."

"Okay fine, but you don't have to always compete with others." He tells her straightforwardly. "Why do you have to prove that you're better than everyone else?" Syd looks at him intently with her lips slightly parted. Bridge continues. "Because you know what? You don't have to. I like who you are and you don't have to prove anything."

There was a moment of silence as Syd slowly looks away from his gaze. "We should get going." She says softly.


Z made a complete stop on a parking area as she turns off the ignition and looks over at Sky with a huge excited smile on her face that hasn't gone away since she took the wheel. Sky, who looked terrified and yet relieved that it was over, heaved a deep breath and immediately grabbed the car keys from her.

"You are not driving my car ever again." He says seriously, half smiling as he got out of the car.

Z playfully chuckles. "Oh come on it wasn't that bad."

"You were going over the speed limit."

"So what? It's not like I got caught." Sky raises an eyebrow. "Hey, you gotta admit." Z softly nudges his shoulder. "You did enjoy yourself right?"

There was a small pause.

"Well, I'm still alive." He thought. "I guess I should be grateful for that."

She rolls her eyes. "You are so boring, Sky."

"Boring!" He scoffs offensively with an evil glare. "I'll show you." Sky immediately takes off his white shirt to reveal is buff physique. Z looks on awkwardly with her lips parted as she quickly looks away in embarassment. "Last one in the water is a little rotten girl!"

Z's mouth fell open as she removed the shirt he threw on her face. "He did not just call me a little rotten girl." She muttered with her eyes narrowed quite dreadfully towards the direction he ran off to. A smile crossed her face as she begins to follow him from behind.


"It's so beautiful." Z whispers as she and Sky sat on a beach towel under an umbrella. They were drying up beneath the heated sun after their fun in the water. Z wore black board shorts and a yellow tankini top that revealed her nice, flat stomach as Sky wore nothing but blue swimming trunks.

"Yeah…" Sky stares off into the sunset. There was a moment of silence as they continue to enjoy the view. Sky then slowly looks to the side, can't help noticing Z's killer figure and her smile. "Thanks for the talk last night. I really needed it."

She turns away from the sunset and looks at Sky. "Yeah, no problem. It was nice to talk."

"Funny how I thought I had problems in life when there are other people experiencing the same things; perhaps far worst than me." He looks down and deeply sighs. "It's just that my father and I were pretty close…and it kills me that he's gone."

Z pursed her lips and looks at him sympathetically. "I admire what you and your father have. I wish I was tight with my parents."

"There's still time. You just need to give them a chance." There was a small pause. Sky averts from her gaze and chuckles. "Sorry, we were having a great time till I killed it with my drama."

"Sky, that's part of getting to know each other. I really like talking to you." She follows his glance and smiles. "I haven't been open to a lot of people till you came along."

He smirks. "I remember the first time we met. You have a hard time trusting me."

"I'm trusting you now aren't I?" She winks at him as he looks away and sighs. The guilt was secretly killing him inside. "I'll be right back." Z smiles eagerly. "I have to go to the restroom."

For the past month now, Sky has gotten to really know Z. There was something about her tough personality that completely draws him to her. As much as she tries to push him away he finds himself coming back for more. Not because it was part of his undercover case, but there was something inside of him that wanted him to come back. He begins to notice it too as they spend more and more time together for the past month. It occurred to him that this never happened before. 'I never let anything or anyone interfere with my work.' Sky thought as it begins to irritate him. 'But I have to turn her in. Then again…I don't even want to…" Was it worth it? He asks himself several times. Is it worth hurting someone he actually cares aboutover a job he's commits to?All he knows…is that he needs to be straight with her.

"Hey, Sky." Z returned with some drinks. "I got us sodas. I thought you'd be thirsty."

He weakly smiles as she tosses the soda can and catches it. "Thanks, Z."

She furrowed her eyebrows due to his sudden odd behavior. "Are you okay?" She asks while taking a seat next to him on the beach towel and popping the can open.

Sky drew in nervous breaths as he slowly lifts his eyes to meet hers. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Okay…" She stares at him weirdly with an awkward smile. "What is it?"

He deeply sighs nervously. "Well…you're not gonna like it."

Z averts from his gaze and bit her apprehensively. "Okay…well…umm," she pauses in mid-sentence, "there's something I have to tell you too."


A/N: Ha, sorry I just had to leave another cliffhanger.