Lab Rats

Rachel woke up the next morning and smacked her alarm clock. She wasn't in the mood to get up but she knew her mother wouldn't let her stay home from school. She rolled out of bed and her foot brushed against material. She looked down and picked up the black shirt. She couldn't help but smile as she held it close to her. She moved around her room, finding something to wear for the day.

"Rachel, are you up?" her mother called.

"Yeah, I'm up, Mom," she replied, heading for the bathroom to grab a quick shower.

She emerged some twenty minutes later, feeling much more awake. The only real reminder of last night was the aching in her thighs. She tried to walk as normally as she could as she tossed Tobias' shirt in her backpack. It was then that she also noticed he'd left his jacket. She shook her and tossed that in too.

"I'll see you later, Mom," she called as she headed out the front door. She walked a ways before pulling out the jacket and slipping it on. It was a little big but it felt nice. She continued her trek to school. She was shoving her backpack into her locker when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to see Cassie.

"Oh, hey Cassie," Rachel greeted.

"Hey…nice jacket," Cassie replied.

"Uh…yeah…thanks," Rachel muttered. Should she tell Cassie about last night?

"Where'd you get it?" Cassie probed.

Rachel didn't answer. Instead she grabbed her friend by the arm and dragged her into an alcove.

"Promise me you won't tell this to anyone," Rachel began.

"Ok…" Cassie answered, looking slightly confused.

"It's Tobias'. He sort of left it in my room last night," Rachel said in a hushed tone.

"He went after you?" Cassie gasped.

"No…it wasn't like that. Yeah I was kind of freaked out when I woke up and he was just sitting there staring at me. But…things were ok," Rachel hissed.

"Did he do anything?" Cassie inquired nervously. Did she really want to hear the rest of this story?

"Um…" Rachel bit her lip. "We had sex," she admitted.

"Rachel you did what?" Cassie erupted.

"Shh. I think it helped him. I mean he didn't seem so crazy," Rachel whispered.

"Jake is going to flip out," Cassie ranted.

"No…because we're not going to tell him," Rachel ordered.

"This is going to end badly," Cassie groaned.

"Just please don't tell him," Rachel begged. Her friend nodded reluctantly and they headed to class.

Later that afternoon Rachel was heading towards her locker when she spotted a rose stuck in the lock. She got excited for a moment, pulling it out and smelling it.

"Hi Rachel," Herald greeted. She took a deep breath.

"Thanks for the rose, Herald," Rachel said as politely as she could. He gave her a wink, trying to move closer when suddenly Rachel felt someone hovering behind her.

"Hey," Tobias breathed in her ear, slipping a hand around her waste.

"Tobias…what are you doing here?" she asked. Herald looked crestfallen as Tobias placed a kiss on Rachel's neck.

"I can't come see my girl?" he asked, tightening his grip.

"Of course you can," Rachel replied.

"You left some things last night," she added, pulling out her bag and handing him his shirt. Herald watched the exchange and without a word walked away.

"Who was he?" Tobias asked, as he pulled Rachel into an alcove.

"Just some guy who has a crush on me. Nothing to worry about," she answered. She didn't want Herald to have to suffer Tobias' unpredictable temper.

"I dreamed about you last night," Tobias whispered, pushing the jacket off her shoulders.

"I have to go to class," she said, trying to fight him off. He held her fast, peppering kisses along her neck. God he could read her like a book sometimes. Why did he have to know her weakness?

"I really have to go, Tobias. This isn't the place," she continued, her voice more firm this time. He looked at her, begging her to stay but she just shook her head. She slipped off the jacket and handed it to him.

"I love you," he called after her. She just looked at him over her shoulder as she rounded the corner.

An hour later Rachel found herself sitting with her friends at lunch. She caught Cassie looking at her oddly, pointing to her neck and mouthing the word 'hicky'. Rachel's eyes widened and she quickly covered them up with her hand, supporting herself with her elbow.

"So we cool with staying after today to take this thing out?" Jake asked. He seemed to be back to his old self.

"Yeah. We'll have to do it quickly and quietly. We don't want Chapman spotting us," Cassie answered.

"What do you figure we should morph?" Marco asked.

"We could do lizards, they're small," Jake suggested.

"Man, I hate lizards…almost as much as I hate bugs," Marco complained.

"What do you think, Rach?" Jake asked.

"What?" she asked, snapping back to reality.

"What should morph for this afternoon?" Jake repeated in a hushed voice.

"What about rats," she muttered.

"That could work. We're dealing with them in lab later on today, last period," Cassie informed the small group.

"Rats it is," Jake decreed.

The rest of the passed by rather uneventfully. The group was just finishing up in lab when Principal Chapman walked by. They all tried to look inconspicuous as they cleaned up the stray rat droppings. Marco heaved a rather loud sigh of relief when he left.

"Come on, hurry up and acquire the rat," Cassie hissed at Marco. They had all taken the DNA. Scrunching up his nose, Marco reached his hand in and placed it atop the rat's back. He finally went into a trance and he could pull his hand away.

"So do we have any idea how to access the Kandrona?" Rachel asked, positioning her hair to cover her neck.

"Well that lab station was off limits today…something about a clogged sink or something," Jake answered. He walked the few steps to the sink in question and turned both tabs. Nothing happened at first. He went to turn them back and the station slid back to reveal a doorway.

"Clever,' Marco snickered. Jake motioned them forward as they crept down the corridor. They descended a flight of stairs and finally found the Kandrona. The heating lamps were making the pool glow that sickly pink color.

"So how are we going to destroy it?" Marco asked. Jake motioned for them to find a secluded place to morph. Once in morph they scurried around the edge of the pool.

Man those things way uglier up close, Marco remarked in thought-speech. Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise above them.

We're under attack! Run! Marco squeaked.

Did it just get darker in here? Rachel asked.

And hotter…Whoah I didn't know rats could feel temperature, Cassie added.

Their ears pricked up as footsteps pounded away from them. Tentatively they morphed back into their human selves and looked around. They could hear the Yeerks screeching in pain as they all perished.

"What happened?" Jake asked in confusion.

"I think…somebody helped us," Cassie said. As quickly as they could they retreated, sneaking of the science lab as quickly as they could and headed back to Cassie's barn. They found Tobias just sitting on the edge of one of the horse stalls.

"You're welcome," he said, jumping to his feet.

"That was you?" Rachel questioned, sounding genuinely surprised.

"I guess I kind of owed you for the other night," he said with a shrug.

"This doesn't get you ff the hook for trying to assault Rachel," Jake spat.

"Would you just get over yourself? Rachel's a big girl and can do whatever the fuck she wants," Tobias spat, putting emphasis on the expletive..

"Well you better not being doing that," Jake hissed.

"Jake…it's really none of your business," Cassie said, jumping to Rachel's defense.

"Are you telling me you screwed my cousin?" Jake growled.

"If you have to ask, then you already know the answer," Tobias said coolly, morphing and flying out the open doorway.