Well, I've decided to keep going on this story; my friends will get really angry if I don't. Okay, this chapter is going to be kind of a big step. It's gonna change from funny to suspenseful in barely any time, so just bear with me, please? Ooh, the suspense. . .(hums "Twilight Zone Theme", but then abruptly stops and starts singing "Wayne's World") Grr! I HATE YOU, CRIS! Oh, and by the way, in case you haven't already realized it, this story is what would happen if the world of FMA took place in the 21st century. Time for another long chapter, probably my longest one yet.

Chapter 11: There're Firsts For Everything, Even Love

Finally, it was a Saturday. Another weekend, another opportunity for free time and total relaxation.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I GOTTA GO IN FOR A MEETING?"

Well, for Kay, maybe not.

"You have to go in for a meeting, Hamilton," Mustang said over the phone, keeping calm.

"But it's Saturday! The only whole day I get off during the week!"

"Doesn't matter, Nightmare. When a meeting is called, you have to come in, regardless of what you're doing. . .By the way, what are you doing?"

"Drawing?"

"Exactly. You don't have anything to do that's important. Case closed; you're coming."

Kay groaned. "Fine. Where's the nearest military headquarters?"

"About a fifteen minute drive from your house. We only have ten headquarters in the US, six of them being on the East Coast. And there are two of them in New York, surprisingly."

"Fascinating. Okay, I'll be down there soon."

"Good. See you then."

"Bye." Kay then hung up the phone and growled lowly. "I hate that Mustang," she muttered under her breath.

"It's not nice to hate," Al said. He was sitting by Kay while she was talking on the phone.

"But it's Mustang. Even you hate him."

"You gotta give the guy a little pity; he has a god complex bigger than his mini skirt obsession."

"You stole another one of Ed's lines."

"So?"

"Yeah, you're a moron. Well, I gotta go down and go to a meeting."

"I heard. Can I come?"

"Military personnel only, Al."

"Damn. Well, I guess I'll be waiting for you here while you're gone."

"Okay. I gotta get my uniform on anyway." Standing up, Kay was about to walk over to the closet and retrieve it, but Al grabbed her wrist before she even took her third step. She turned around and rolled her eyes at him. "Al, let me go."

"But I don't want you to go." Without warning, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. But within a few seconds, Kay pushed him away.

"I wish I didn't have to, but it's only gonna be for a few hours anyway." Kay then got back up and walked over to the closet, and this time, Al didn't hold her back. She opened the door and pulled out the dark blue uniform, staring it over a few times before finally closing the door again.

"Um, Al, can I change alone?" She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"You're no fun," he groaned as he finally got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Shaking her head, Kay then proceeded to put the uniform over the clothes she was already wearing. It was cold anyway, and she was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

Walking over to her vanity mirror, she then picked up her eyeliner and started to put it on, a thin line of it on both eyelids to make her eyes look darker. Next she picked up her brush, and with a quick few runs of it through her hair, she was all ready to go.

"Kay," Al called from outside her door, "I just thought of something. You don't have a ride."

Kay gasped. "Oh crap, you're right. Wait. . ." she smirked. "Is Muds still here?"

"Yeah, he's downstairs. Why?"

"You'll see! He's gonna be my ride."

"And how are you gonna convince him?"

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"Oh, Muds!"

Murdoc looked up from the magazine he was reading to see Kay looking at him from the bottom of the stairwell. "Wot is it?" he asked.

"I need to get a ride to a meeting. Can you give me a ride, please?"

The Satanist scoffed. "Yeah, right." He continued reading his magazine. "I got betta' things t' do."

"Please, Muds? It's really important!"

"No."

This is hopeless, Kay thought. Unless. . . "Then, Muds, I guess you won't get to see all the hot military chicks that hang out outside the office before the meetings."

"Wot?" He looked up from his magazine again, his attention completely drawn to Kay.

"Yeah, there are a bunch of 'em. Mostly blondes, with the occasional military goth chick."

"I'm cool wit' that. When does the meeting start?"

"In a half an hour. And the headquarters are fifteen minutes away."

"Then there's not a moment t' lose! C'mon, we'll take the Geep." Murdoc then stood up and put his magazine on the couch he was sitting on.

"You brought the Geep?"

"Yep. C'mon, let's go." The two then ran off outside, got into the dune buggy, and sped off down the road.

Completely unaware that they were being watched from a nearby tree by three people.

Or rather, three Homunculi.

"And there she goes," Envy sneered. "Why couldn't I take her right there?"

"Calm down, Envy," Lust said in her usual smooth voice. "As if kidnapping her and killing that man she was with would make her join with the likes of us."

"Eh, it's possible."

The two turned to look at their comrade, Gluttony, when they heard him produce a loud slurp, probably to keep all the saliva in his mouth. "C-can I eat her, Lust? Please? She looks so tasty!"

"Silly Gluttony, you can't eat her," said the female Homunculus. "But when the occasion calls for it, you can eat her friends."

"An even better deal! That tall one with blue hair looks like he's made of candy."

"Yes, and we all know how much you love sweet things, you pig," Envy muttered. "So, what do we do? Threaten to kill her friends unless she joins us?"

"I've got an even better idea," said Lust. "Have you seen the way that other Elric kid looks at her?"

"I don't get it."

"Eventually, he's going to ask that question. Most couples have to go through it eventually. Just think; if she says 'yes', then he'll find it."

"Find what? I am confused beyond belief!"

"You'll see, in time. It's just a good thing I was the one who wrote that letter; you have absolutely no clue to what's going on around you."

"Shut up, you gothic Barbie!"

"At least I look good. You really need to be introduced to a new invention."

"Which is?"

"A mirror."

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Sure enough, within fifteen minutes, the Satanist and Kay had arrived at the military headquarters. While Kay hopped out of the Geep, Murdoc looked around for any girls. And, of course, to his displeasure, he didn't see any.

"Uh, Kayla?"

"Yeah, Muds?"

"I don't see any girls."

"Not alot of girls in the military, dude. I just said that there were so you'd give me a ride." Kay started laughing, but Murdoc felt like any moment, he was going to strangle her.

"Ya li'l bitch!" He tried to grab her arm but missed her, and she was soon completely out of his grasp, hopping up the steps of the building and finally into it.

"Eh, I'll jus' let 'er walk 'ome," he said to himself. "Then she'll 'ave plenty of time t' think about trickin' the likes of me." He then started the Geep up again and drove off.

Meanwhile, inside the building, Kay made her way down the main hallway and looked for the room Mustang was holding the meeting. She passed door upon door upon door, and just from the lack of noise coming out of each one, she could obviously figure out that the meeting wasn't going to be held in any of them. After a few minutes of searching, she completely gave up.

Until she heard two very familiar voices coming from down the hall.

"Ed, why did we have to come down here?" one voice asked.

"I just need to kick Mustang's ass for interrupting us," the other voice answered. "It'll take less than ten minutes, then we can go back home and continue what we were doing."

Kay's eyes widened slightly. "Cris? Ed?"

The two blondes looked down the hall to where Kay's voice was coming from. "Kay?"

With a smile, Kay ran down the hall towards the two. They produced small welcoming smiles of their own as she stopped right in front of them.

Cris raised an eyebrow. "Well, aren't you cute in your little military uniform," she mocked.

Kay nodded and playfully saluted them. "Kayla Hamilton, Nightmare Alchemist and dog of the military, reporting for duty."

Ed laughed. "Being a dog of the military's not a good thing, kid."

"No duh, braniac. So, you guys here for the meeting, too?"

Cris shook her head. "No. Guess what moronic sap called us up while we were busy-"

"Mustang called you, too?" Kay did this to stop Cris from saying what she didn't really want to hear. "He shouldn't have called a meeting today; I only have this day off!"

"Well, everyday is our day off, Kay. We're just here to kick his ass for interrupting our fun again."

Kay groaned. "Do you guys even know what P.S. stands for? Or what it even means?"

Cris looked like she was deep in thought trying to figure this one out. "P. . .p. . .pr. . .pre. . .marital. . .ohhh! No, we don't. Even though we're not legally married, we don't believe in that kind of stuff."

"Cris, you just want to have sex with him 'cuz he's the hottest guy you've ever fuckin' seen!"

". . .So?" Ed shrugged his shoulders. "I am." The blonde alchemist then noticed a strange look on Kay's face, and it became entirely clear to him. "Oh, I get it! Someone's still a virgin!"

Kay blushed. "So? And I'll stay one until the time is right."

"When will that be? The next Ice Age?" Both blondes laughed, and Kay blushed even more.

"It's not funny, you two!"

"What, Al hasn't popped that question yet?"

"No! He respects me too much to ask that!"

"Have you seen the way my brother looks at you, Kay?" Ed asked. "I bet he'll ask it within the next few days!"

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna do it if that happens."

"Riiiiight. We'll see, Kay."

"Yes, we certainly will!"

"Is everything alright out here?"

All three teenagers turned and saw the door they were outside of was opened a little, and Hughes was poking his head out.

"Uh, we're fine, sir," Kay said politely. "My two friends were just annoying the HELL out of me, that's all."

"Okay then. Then, can you three come in? The meeting's going to start a bit late, but we need the hallways clear."

"Why do the hallways have to be clear?" Ed asked.

"Mustang never told me why; he just said that this was what had to be done."

"Right. Mustang. Well, I'm tired of waiting for him to show up, so just tell him that his ass-kicking appointment is going to take a while. C'mon, Cris." And with that the blonde boy turned around and walked down the hall, Cris following close behind.

"See you later, Kay," she said quickly before turning around and continuing to the exit with Ed.

Hughes just watched and sighed. "Those two are hopeless. You'd think they could take two hours out of their lives to go to a meeting."

Kay shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess they're acceptions to that thought, Hughes."

"Yeah, I know. So, are you gonna stay for the meeting?"

"Yep. My ride probably already left me here."

"Well, if that's the case, come on in. I'll introduce you to some of the others." Hguhes finally opened the door completely, and Kay walked in.

Inside the room, she could see that there were about ten-or-so other officers in small divided groups, casually talking about random topics. Suddenly, she felt Hughes put his hand on her shoulder and walk with her over to a small group which consisted of four people.

"Men, this is one of our new recruits, Kayla Hamilton," he said. "Kayla, this is Feury," he pointed to a young man with short black hair and glasses, "Breda," next to a portly man with short red hair, "Falman," then to a man, a bit older in appearance than the others, with gray-ish hair," and you, of course, remember Lieutenant Havoc from the Alchemy testing,", and finally to the man with a cigarette hanging loosely out of his mouth. All of them either said a very casual "hi" or nodded.

"Um, hi, everyone." She looked at Feury. "Hey, weren't you the guy from that dog issue?"

The officer sighed and nodded. "Yes, that was me," he confessed. "I'm still trying to get over that moment when he was shaking him around."

Breda grumbled. "Man, and I still hate those vermin."

Kay laughed at this. "Then, you're more of a cat person, I assume?"

"No, not really. But, that's just me. I don't have anything against people who like 'em; it's just them I can't stand."

"Um, hey, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"

Hughes looked down at the young girl. "Yes? And you can just call me Hughes if you want."

"Um, okay. Who are those two over there in the corner? The two with the black hair." She pointed to them, but tried to stay as unnoticeable as possible.

The two she were pointing to looked kind of creepy, just by the looks on their faces alone. One of them had short hair, slicked back, with pale skin. The other had golden eyes and a long, thin ponytail.

"Oh, those two are Kimblee and Colonel Archer," Hughes replied. "They're a bit of a creepy bunch, so if I were you, just stay away from them."

"Wait a sec. . .Kimblee? Isn't he the guy that likes making things go 'boom'? The Crimson Alchemist?"

"The very guy," Havoc said, puffing on his cigarette. "Bit of a lunatic, if you ask me. I don't like 'im very much."

"Thanks for the warning, dude."

Suddenly, the door opened, and Mustang stepped in, Hawkeye following close behind. Everyone turned and faced him, and Kay stood straight, ready to salute at any moment. Until they all saw Mustang visually scan the room, then form a rather annoyed look on his face. His gaze immediately turned to Kay. "Nightmare?"

She blinked in disbelief and felt instantly nervous as a few more people turned to look at her. "Um, yes, sir?"

"Where are Black Dragon and Full Metal?"

What, can't figure it out for yourself or something, you asshole? "They were here a few minutes ago, sir. They left and said that they'll be rather unhappy with you if you interrupt their, uh, busy schedule again."

"I see. I can't stand those two sometimes, always slacking off and everything, not coming to meetings."

"They probably just want some time to themselves, chief," Havoc said. "They are a couple, after all."

"Yes, but though that may be true, they have other responsibilities."

Yeah, Kay thought. More intimate responsibilities.

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Within two hours, the meeting was finally over, and everyone was busy filing out of the building. Most of them completely drained of brain cells from the Colonel's long speeches. And Kay was definitely one of them.

"Man, I thought he would never stop blabbing," she moaned as she walked outside.

"Yeah, he does have a tendency to not know when people want him to stop talking," Feury agreed, stretching his arms out as he walked down the steps with Kay and the others.

"I know, right? Might as well listen to President Bush blab about how he wasn't responsible for 9-11 for a good two hours, during the time when you would rather be drilling nails into your ears and eyes." This got a laugh out of everyone.

"Or rather how much Mustang wants to become Fuhrer," said Falman. "He should write a book about that."

Kay laughed at a new idea she received on that. "What's it gonna be called? A Waste of Paper?" Even more laughs.

"Okay, I don't like insulting Mustang," Hughes said, trying to hold in the laughter, "but that was hilarious!"

"See? Whoever said teenagers can't be funny obviously hasn't met me." Giggling a bit more, Kay looked out in the driveway, and was surprised to see Murdoc again, leaning right against the Geep, smoking a fresh cigarette. "Hey, there's my ride." She waved to the bassist, who gave a little wave back just to humor her.

"Uh, who is that guy?" Feury asked. "He looks kinda familiar, but I can't quite figure out who it is."

"Oh, him? That's my friend, Murdoc Niccals. From Gorillaz." Kay smirked and waited for the responses.

"Gorillaz?" Feury and Breda said at the same time.

"Yep."

"The ones who played at the Brit Awards a few years ago?"

"Yep."

"THEY'RE AWESOME!"

"I was waitin' for that."

"Can we meet him?" Breda asked. "Muds is an awesome bassist."

"He doesn't really like fans crowding him, unless they're fangirls. And I think I better get home; it's five right now, and I want to enjoy the rest of my Saturday before any other meetings are called." Kay hopped down the steps, looked back and waved to the others, and ran off towards the Geep.

"Hey, Muds," she said as if nothing had happened earlier that day. "I was thinking you were still mad at me or something and wouldn't pick me up."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "Jus' be 'appy that I 'ave a li'l bit of sympathy for people."

"Okay, thank you, Muds. Now, let's go." Both then got into the Geep and pulled out of the parking lot of the building.

"So, didja 'ave fun at ya meetin'?" Murdoc asked.

"Uh, no? That bastard, Mustang, wouldn't stop flappin' his yap."

"What about? Miniskirts or becomin' Fuhrer."

Kay blinked once or twice. "How do you know about him and his obsessions?"

"Episode thirteen, love. Episode thirteen."

"That the only one you've watched?"

"Yep. I was spendin' some quality time wit' Noods 'cuz I 'ad nothin' else t' do that night, an' 'cuz she's like my li'l sis, an' that episode came on. The miniskirt-Fuhrer rambling was the only part I payed attention to."

"Aw, you're such a sweetie, Muds."

"Calm down, kid. I'm not the sweet type; ya know that."

"Yeah, I know. You're more of the groupie-chasing, man-whore type." Kay smirked.

"Stop callin' me that. It's really annoyin'."

"Sorry, Muds. I know I'm a pest," she sighed, "just like my little brother. He never liked you, and the whole fact that I was obsessed with your band made him think I was even more of a freak than he saw me as."

"Why? What was 'is problem?"

"I'm infamous for liking strange things. Especially when it comes to music."

"Okay. Explain."

"I listen to heavy metal, country, alternative, and emo, all at once."

Murdoc couldn't help but laugh at this. "So, ya listen t' a lot of different music. That's not that bad. By the way, what kinda metal do ya like?"

"Venom, All Out War, The Berzerker. Stuff like that."

"Eh, they're okay; Venom's awesome though. Ever listen t' HIM?"

"Yeah, they're good. But, c'mon, don't you listen to other music besides metal?"

"Nope. I stick t' one genre of music."

"Oh, well, that's you. I can't help it if I'm different. School's hard when that's the case."

"Trust me; I bet ya 'ad it easy compared t' me. My child'ood was pretty rough."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's unbelievable 'ow cruel people can be when it comes t' school."

"I know. There're these kids at school who make my life miserable because I like your band, and 'cuz I like drawing manga."

"Wot? Drawin' manga is a talent, an' ya pretty good at it. I think they're jus' jealous."

"Can't be. They're like some of the most popular kids in my school, and they make my life miserable..." Kay's voice started to trail off.

"Don' get upset, love. Ya gotta stay tough an' jus' ignore 'em. Maybe if ya do that, they won't make fun of ya as much. Y'see, I learned that the reason people make fun of ya is that ya give 'em the opportunity an' reason to."

"Dude, you're acting like you're my father."

"I know I'm not; I'm jus' tryin' t' 'elp ya."

"Thanks, Muds." She turned and looked at the Satanist with a smile. "That means a lot that you're helping me like this."

"Hey, if the others wanna see ya an' I gotta go wit' 'em, I might as well become friends wit' ya. The tension thing is kinda weird."

"Yeah. But, isn't something else weird? You're almost forty, and you're becoming friends with a teenager. People are gonna either think you're a member of my family, or a pedophile or something like that."

"Hey, I'm a celeb. If the paparazzi comes around and asks 'bout it, I'll just tell 'em that you're Noods' friend. Those morons'll believe anythin'."

"Comments on being moronic shouldn't be made by those who are moronic themselves, Muds." Kay finished the sentence with a smirk on her face.

Murdoc looked over and quickly glared at her. "Do ya 'ave t' be such a critic on people? Geez!"

"Calm down; I was kidding!"

"Yeah, I know. Oh and jus' t' inform ya, jus' 'cuz we're friends doesn't mean I 'ave t' like ya."

"Yeah, the feeling's mutual." Finally, the two had pulled into Kay's driveway. As she climbed out, though, she felt Murdoc quickly hold her back by her arm. She looked back and was slightly creeped out. "What is it, Muds?"

"I forgot t' tell ya. Al planned summink for ya when ya get inside. Me an' the other three are 'angin' out in the near the park an' playin' man-'unt."

"But, dude, it's gonna be freezing tonight. You sure?"

"We'll be fine. I'm meetin' 'em there in two minutes, we're gonna be playin' for two or so hours, and we'll come back, pick up the vehicles, and go back t' Kong." He let her go.

"Okay then. Thanks for telling me, Muds. And thanks for the ride. I'll see ya later." Kay then ran up the front lawn and headed into the house.

Once inside, Kay turned around and saw Al sitting at the top of the stairs, leaning against the wall, his headphones in his ears, obviously waiting for her. The second he saw her, he turned his MP3 player off and placed it in his pocket. He then stood up and walked down the stairs. "Hey, Kayla." He wrapped his arms around her and brought her into a warm embrace. She hugged him back and smiled, so glad to be home. "So, how was the meeting?"

"What do you think? It was fuckin' boring. Mustang calls meetings for the most random topics."

"I know. What was this one's topic? Only you can prevent forest fires?"

Kay laughed. "No, but it would've been kinda funny if that was the actual topic. I wasn't really paying attention to him, so I couldn't really tell you what the meeting was actually about." The young girl smelled the air; someone had been cooking earlier. "What's that smell?"

"I was cooking, and I got a surprise for you. Close your eyes." Laughing, Kay did as she was told. Al then took her hand and led her up the steps. She didn't trip of them or anything, seeing as how she had gone up those steps hundreds of times. He led her through the living room and into the dining room, where he finally stopped. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Kay laughed and did as she was told, gasping at what her first sight was. The dining room table was elegantly set up, two places at it equipped with crystal wine glasses, porcelain plates, and silverware that looked brand-new. Though, it wasn't exactly new. . .

"Dude, is that my mom's stuff?" Kay asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Uh, am I in trouble?" Al looked a bit embarrassed.

"No, you're fine. I ain't gonna use that stuff anyway."

Al sighed. "Oh, thank God."

With a laugh, Kay finally noticed something else rather odd. She was still in her military uniform. "Um, Al, I'm gonna go change. Is that okay?"

"Uh, sure, go ahead. The steaks'll be done by the time both of us change."

"Oh, that's good-did you say 'steaks'?"

"Yes, I did. Now, hurry and get dressed."

"Yes, sir!" After a quick salute, Kay ran off to her room and shut the door. Al just shook his head, laughed, and went back off into the kitchen to finish cooking.

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Kay finally finished dressing herself up, left her room, and walked back down the hall towards the dining room. She had changed pretty much into the same outfit she was wearing that day she and Noodle were doing karaoke, except she had a short-sleeved black leather jacket over her black corset, and instead of her boots, she wore a pair of black combat boots, almost completely covering her ankles (can you say, biker-slut?).(Author's Note: In reality, my parents would never let me wear stuff like this, and that makes me wanna cry. A lot.)

She made it into the dining room, seeing Al leaning against the wall and chewing on a toothpick, which was kind of usual for him nowadays. He had dressed up, too; he was now wearing a gray button-down shirt with a thick collar, a pair of black pants, and a pair of boots, not as big as Kay's at all.

He looked up, and nearly died when he saw his girlfriend in what she was wearing. "Holy mother of God," he gasped. "You look great."

Kay smiled and looked down at herself. "Eh, it's a little sluttish for my taste, but I still like it."

"I love it. Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah. What?"

"Do you like your steaks medium-rare, a bit close to rare?"

"When the juice is still kinda considered blood? Hell, yeah!"

"Oh, that's good. Me, too."

"Calm down, dude. This isn't like you're serving the queen of England or something."

"You're the queen of England?"

Kay scoffed and playfully pushed him. "Shut up. Well, I wish I was the queen."

"Why?"

"Do they still allow decapitations over there? Muds would be my first victim."

"Okay, what do you have against him?"

"I'm kidding! He's just so fun to torture. And he just admitted today that he wanted to be my friend. Weird for someone like him, right?"

"Yeah, I know. So, we gonna eat or what? I'm starving."

"Me, too."

Reaching for the chair, Al pulled it out from under the table and motioned for Kay to sit. Kay only giggled and sat down.

"You're really quite the gentleman, Alphonse," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Yeah, I know."

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9:16 PM. . .

After dinner, which, to Kay, was pretty damn good, Al told her that he had rented a few vampire DVDs to end the night, and, like any vampire fangirl, which Kay was to all levels, she dragged him into her room to get them started.

Now, they were just about to finish the movie Interview With The Vampire, and something was about to happen. Something that Kay would never forget.

As the credits finally rolled, Al picked up the remote control to the TV and switched it off. He then threw it on the floor and fell back onto the thick pillows that he and Kay were laying on.

"God, that movie takes a long time to finish," he sighed.

"Yeah, but Lestat's quite a hottie, so I can watch the whole movie without getting bored," Kay said, gmiling dreamily.

"Are you kidding me?" Al looked at her with a look of disbelief. "I'm hotter than him!"

"Yeah, 'course you are, stud."

"Are you making fun of me?" Al smirked in a bit of a threatening, dangerous way.

"Maybe I am." Kay produced her own grin.

"Then, consider yourself dead, Kayla!" And with that, Al jumped on Kay and started tickling her. Kay tried to push him off, but his grip was way too strong, and the fact that she desperately wanted to stop laughing kept her from concentrating on escaping.

Finally, Kay was able to talk clearly. "Okay, Al, stop!" she begged, trying not to start laughing uncontrollably again. Al did as he was told, immediately stopping, but didn't notice that one of his hands was resting someplace unfamiliar when he stopped. He then looked down and saw where his hand was: on her chest. He quickly pulled away, and Kay sat sat up at the same speed, looking away from each other for a few seconds, theirs faces dyed a bright crimson.

"Um. . .sorry about that, Kay," Al said.

"It's okay," Kay said. "It was just an accident," she turned and looked at him, "right?"

"Y-yeah. Just an accident. Sorry if I scared you."

"Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm kinda scared of something else." Al looked in her eyes when she said this, and, sure enough, they held plenty of fear.

"Scared of what?. . .Oh, nevermind. I know what it is."

"Sorry; I guess I'm a big chicken or something."

"No, it's okay. Cris and Ed have been talking to you, too, haven't they?"

"Yup. And what did you say?"

"..."

"And be truthful."

"Well, I said that I. . .wanted to, but I respected you too much to ask you."

"Really? I said that you respected me too much to ask me, too. But, um, is it more out of respect, or love?"

Just hearing this question made Al's breath start to turn shaky. This was a first; he had never really told Kay that he loved her, and they had started dating a few months ago. It wasn't that he didn't love her; he was just too nervous to actually come out and say it.

"Be truthful on that, too."

Okay, Al, he thought. Just say it. What's the worst that could happen? "Both, but more out of love."

"So, you're saying..." Kay's eyes started to tear up.

"Yeah, I'm saying I love you."

"Well, that's a first!" Kay wrapped her arms around Al and started crying, almost silently, mostly tears.

Al was surely surprised. "Kayla, are you okay?" He put his hand under her chin and made her face him. "What's wrong?"

"You have no clue how long I've been waiting for someone other than a family member say that to me and actually mean it." More tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh. Please, don't cry, Kay." He gently wiped her eyes. "I don't want to see you upset like this."

Kay sniffled and nodded. He was sincere; this wasn't a trick, like all those other times. He meant it. "I'm glad that you were the one to say it." She smiled. "I love you, too. More than you can believe."

"Really?" Al looked as if his heart was about to burst with happiness.

"Yeah, 'course I do. Since our first date. My first date. And. . .I'm willing to prove it to you."

"You mean..."

"Yes. I'm ready. Are you?"

"...yes. I'm not gonna chicken out on something this time."

Not stalling another second, Kay took Al's hand in her own, and placed it where she knew it belonged: back on her chest. Al then immediately brought her into a passionate kiss a second after his hand touched her, and pushed her down onto the bed.

Well, even though I said that this story is an Action/Adventure/Humor story, I kinda didn't have room for the Romance part. And, I wasn't gonna put any "details" for our last part on this chapter 'cuz I knew that some of my readers would have my head. Maybe in later chapters, you'll see some action, you little perverts! TTFN! (Ta-ta for now!)