I'm sooo sorry you guys! I know it's been ages since I updated, but it seems whenever I go away I get a terrible case of writer's block. –sigh-

Well here's an update. It's not a very big one, but hopefully the next few chapters will be a tad longer than that.

Here you go, Chapter 11! Enjoy!

-OoOoOoOoOoO-

"I'm coming with you!"

"No, you aren't, Nicole!"

"But, Ben, I want to come with you! I don't think you should have to end up alone with Abigail and Connor."

"So I'm not allowed to be alone with Abigail?"

"I did not say that!"

"Well it sounded like you meant it!"

I sighed, listening to the argument unfold in Patrick's kitchen. I could tell Ben and Nicole were equally matched in stubbornness, which didn't seem to be helping them at all. "Does Ben always fight with girls?"

Riley looked up from his laptop, shrugging. "Only if they're as stubborn as he is, which most of his girlfriends tend to be. Just don't tell either of them that I said that, or they'd probably hurt me or something. "

I laughed. "Especially if it was Nicole…" I paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm glad we don't fight like that though. I can't stand arguments."

"Well, we really don't have anything to fight about, do we?"

I shook my head. Nicole suddenly walked into the room, plopping down on one of the chairs in a huff. "That man is so..."

"Stubborn?" I finished for her, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah! I mean, he won't even let me come to the Easter Egg Roll or anything."

"Well, he's probably got a good reason for not letting you go." I attempted to reason with her.

"Like what?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, what if something went wrong? He wouldn't want to put you in a bad situation, right Riley?"

"Huh?" Riley looked up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

I rolled my eyes, while Nicole shifted her chair a bit. "I guess you're right." She sighed. "I just wish he wasn't so stubborn."

"Welcome to my world." Abigail announced, walking through the living room. "Can you guys meet us there in 20 minutes or so?"

We all nodded, and Abigail headed towards the front door. We heard the door open, then click shut behind the pair that had just left. Nicole scowled slightly.

"I never did like her." She muttered to herself, standing from her chair. "I'll be up in my room."

"Alright." I turned around, looking at the bookshelf behind me. I picked up a familiar title, flipping to where I left off.

Riley looked up at me, curious. "What're you reading?"

"Hmm…" I flipped over the book, looking at the cover. "It's a book of conspiracy theories by this one guy… Riley Poole, I think his name is…" I grinned up at him. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Nope, never heard of him." He rolled his eyes. "At least someone is reading it. What chapter are you on?"

"Chapter 13…" I tried to hide my nervous smile. "I've got to say that's my favorite chapter."

"The President's Book." He said proudly. "Yeah, that was probably one of my favorites too."

"Well it's really good." I smiled. "You have a talent for writing this sort of stuff, you know."

"I do?" He blinked. "It's not like you could tell by the number of people actually buying the book. Or reading it for that matter." He looked rather down-trodden as he spoke.

"Aw, you poor thing." I gently placed a hand on his arm. "I can assure you that your book sales will probably jump by the time this whole ordeal is over with."

"You think so?" He asked. I nodded. Patrick walked into the room.

"We should probably be off then." He declared. We nodded, and Riley snapped his laptop shut.

"I'll get Nicole." I announced, heading up the stairs. I knocked on the closed door.

"I'm not coming!" Her voice sounded muffled through the door.

"Why not?"

"I'm just not coming!" She shouted, a bit more forcefully.

"O-Kay." I rolled my eyes, meeting Riley and Patrick at the bottom of the stairs. "To the White House, then."

-OoOoOoOoO-

About 15 minutes later, Ben and Abigail were approaching the van. Ben twisted the camera in his hands absent mindedly, and Abigail still appeared flushed.

"It was empty." Abigail said. "Someone must've taken it."

I saw Riley's shoulder slump and I let out a quiet sigh.

"Brightest men in our country sat at that desk for over a hundred years. Of course one of them found the map." Patrick reasoned. I nodded.

"Look." Ben brought up the picture on his camera. "There was a symbol stamped into the wood."

"The presidential seal?" Patrick guessed. Riley peered over Ben's shoulder for a minute, then turned away.

"No, it's holding a…scroll…" I trailed off, looking at Riley, who stared back at me. 'The President's Book.' I mouthed. He nodded, looking a bit upset.

"I'm not sure what this is…" Ben commented.

"Did none of you read my book?" Riley could hardly contain the hurt in his voice. "The eagle… clutching the scroll."

"You know what it means?" Ben asked, sounding rather surprised. Riley nodded slowly.

"Yeah. But it's not something I can tell you." He gave Ben a strange smile. "It's something I have to show you. In my book."

I saw Ben heading towards the back of the van, but I quickly offered him my copy, glancing at Riley. I wanted to save him a little bit of pain at least.

"Chapter 13." Riley dictated.

Ben flipped to the page, nearly scoffing as he read the title aloud. "The President's Secret Book?"

"The President's Secret Book." Riley repeated. "It's a collection of documents for Presidents, by Presidents, and for Presidents' eyes only. I'm not just talking JFK here. The 18 and a half missing minutes from the Watergate tapes. Did the Apollo really land on the moon? Did it?" He looked at me, and I nodded slightly. "And the coup de grace…Area 51." He motioned with his hands, finishing his speech.

Ben stared down at Riley's book wordlessly, and Abby let out a little laugh. "Come on, Riley, it's an urban legend."

"Is it, Abigail?" He walked over to her, looking her in the eye. "Is it?" He raised his eyebrows at her in the most adorable way, and I couldn't help but grin at him.

"But this is so…" Abigail seemed to be looking for the right word.

"Crazy?" Riley finished with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah!"

"Hmm…" He looked as if he were thinking. "Last time I checked, we pretty much make our living on crazy."

"It's true." I shrugged. "He's got a point."

"I guess so." Abigail relented.

"Same symbol." Patrick pointed to a picture on the page.

Riley sighed again. "It was released in '66 under the Freedom of Information Act. The eagle and the scroll. The secret symbol in the President's Book."

"So the other half of the plank is in the President's Book?" I asked. Riley nodded.

"Yeah." He looked at Ben, the sadness returning to his eyes. "Ben, if it was you trying to convince me… You'd have less evidence and I would already believe you by now."

I looked at the pair, practically tearing up right there. So this was what made Ben and Riley so great together… Riley placed all of his trust in Ben, never doubting him. Ben leaned against the van, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. I silently walked over to where Riley was standing, lacing my fingers with his as I offered him a tiny smile.

Ben cleared his throat. "I'm going to talk to Sadusky about this."

The look of hurt that formed in those beautiful blue eyes was heart-breaking.

-OoOoOoOoOoO-

Probably one of my favorite moments from either movies. Ben and Riley are just so... indescribable! I love them to pieces! And this is just one of those defining moments for their friendship. I really loved it...

Well, I feel like I owe you all a longer chapter because of how long I made you wait for this.

Did you like it, though? Please review! I'd love to know what you thought!