Chapter Two

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update, my aunt is in the hospital and I've been busy with that stuff, but I'll try to update at least once every 2 weeks, or so.

Update: I found out my aunt, who is like a second mom to me, has cancer. So I'm having a hard time. That's why it's been so long in between chapters. Please keep her in your thoughts and I'll try to post more of the story soon.

On a different note, I'm going to start writing in third person and putting Kyle's monologues in brackets. Because it's easier to let you know what's going on in third person as apposed to just what Kyle is seeing.

[I lay in my tub, thinking about the events of the previous day. I couldn't sleep with the lie I had told Nicole weighing on my conscience. I knew I deserved whatever came to me and I would willingly accept it. It was only 3 a.m. and I was waiting to hear any sign of stirring from Jesse's room. I needed to talk to her; we had to figure out what our next step would be. Jessi was the only one who knew the truth and was the only one I could count on. The thought was a little lonely; I had gotten used to being in this with my entire family and now it was only Jessi and I. I wondered if she felt the same…]

Jessi couldn't sleep and she figured it was the same for Kyle. Stretching, Jessi stood and walked over to her bedroom door. She didn't even have to look to see that Kyle was already outside her door. "Come in Kyle," Jessi whispered.

"How'd you know it was me?" Kyle asked. Jessi just gave him a look that said he'd asked a stupid question. "Never mind. So you couldn't sleep either?"

Jessi turned from Kyle, sat and leaned back on her pillows. "Yeah, probably due to over thinking…" she answered.

Kyle took a seat on the other side of Jessi's bed and also leaned back. Staring at the ceiling, Kyle asked, "What are we going to do Jessi? How are we going to take down Latnok without Nicole and the Tragers knowing?"

Jessi turned her body to face Kyle. "I'm not sure," she answered. And she wasn't sure, of anything right now, except for the fact that she had to help Kyle. It made Jessi a little happy that she was the only one who knew Kyle's biggest secret, and even more that they were now having a clandestine meeting in the dead of night. Jessi wasn't worried about Latnok, at least not as worried as she could see Kyle was.

Kyle turned on his side and faced Jessi. "Jessi, are you sure not telling the Tragers was the best idea?" Kyle asked.

"You saw how much Nicole was worried when you went off to destroy the pod fluid, how worried do you think she'll be if she knows not only you and I are in danger, but the rest of her family is too? We can handle this, we just need to find out where they are and what kind of resources they have at their expense. If we can't stop them we might just have to give them what they want…"

Kyle furrowed his brow and propped himself on one elbow. Staring straight at Jessi, his gaze intense, Kyle stated, "That's not an option, Jessi. I know what they want; they want the formula for the amniotic substitute, and they aren't going to get it. You of all people should understand my outrage at them restarting the experiment. Not to mention the fact that they're trying to clone me!"

Jessi expression changed to one of concern; she knew she had said something wrong. "I understand what you're saying and I'm only suggesting it as a last resort. Don't worry it'll be like Plan Z… We always have Foss and Declan to help us too…"

Kyle calmed at Jessi's reassurance. "You're right… we aren't completely alone in this…"

[I watched Jessi as she smiled at me, and I wondered why I had never realized how beautiful she was… Laying here next to her, speaking in low whispers, meeting in secret, brought a new kind of excitement to my life. It was new to me because it was the sort of excitement I didn't dread; the kind that made my heart skip a beat and send shots of electricity through my body. Before either of us noticed, we were talking, and not about Latnok or the Tragers, but just everyday things. Things that didn't matter, like what bad television show she was watching this week or what books I'd recommend reading… it was the most normal, natural moment I'd had in a long, long time…]

Neither Kyle nor Jessi realized they were asleep until a knock rapped on the bedroom door. "Jessi it's time to get up! … Come on we're leaving for school in fifteen minutes!" Jessi could barely tell it was Lori through the foggy sheet of sleep that Lay over her, until Lori walked into the room that is. "Oh my god!" The door slammed behind her.

Jessi sat up, quick as lightning, and turned towards Kyle's still sleeping form. One of his arms rested across Jessi's stomach and as much as she didn't want this moment to end she knew Nicole wouldn't be far behind Lori's scream.

"Kyle… Kyle you have to go!" Jessi whispered trying to shake Kyle awake.

Kyle's eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Jessi and smiled. "Hi…" He said.

Jessi couldn't help but smile down at him, "Hi… No wait… you have to get out of here Kyle! Nicole's coming!"

As if on cue Nicole's voice came from the other side of the door, "Lori what's wrong? Is Jessi okay?!"

"Oh, uh, yeah mom, she's fine… I, um, accidentally walked in on her changing. No big deal… It was more of a shock value thing than anything else."

Jessi was thankful that Lori was such a good liar, at least when it came to lying to her parents.

"What do you mean Nicole's coming?" Jessi didn't have time to answer because she could hear the knob turning.

"Jessi it's time to…" Nicole started.

"Uh, mom! It's cool, I'll make sure she's ready!"

"Don't be ridiculous Lori. I'm already here; I can do it myself," Nicole stated.

Just as the door was fully opening, Jessi grabbed Kyle and rolled them both off the bed and on to the floor. Jessi landing on top, her face was dangerously close to Kyle's, he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Kyle looked confused and surprised at the same time. He wasn't sure what was going on, but at the moment he didn't care.

Jessi could feel Kyle's breath on her cheek and in that small stretch of time, nothing else existed. Their breathing matched, their heart beats in sync, they were the only people in the world. "Oh my gosh, are you okay Jessi?" Nicole's voice shattered the perfect moment to pieces.

Jessi's eyes got big, she held a finger to her lips, signaling Kyle to stay silent and she quickly stood up. "Um… yeah. I was just, um, looking for my, um, purple shirt. I thought I shoved it under the bed…" She pretended to look for it. "Nope, not there…"

"This purple shirt?" Nicole asked holding up the shirt hanging from Jessi's dresser drawer.

"Oh, um, yea! Wow, thanks, you found it!" Jessi walked around the bed to Nicole and took the shirt.

Nicole smiled her usual suspicious smile. "Uh, huh, well hurry up. You guys don't want to be late…" Nicole turned to Lori. "Can you wake Kyle up, please?"

"Oh I'm pretty sure he's already awake…" Lori said under her breath.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, I'll go make sure he's up, mom…" Lori left for Kyle's room and Nicole left soon after.

Jessi went back over to Kyle and held out a hand to help him up. "Okay, well, we got by Nicole so don't get caught sneaking back to your room… I'll go out there and make sure the coast is clear." with that Jessi grabbed Kyle's hand and walked him to the door and peaked out. No one in sight. "Okay we're clear…"

Kyle slunk back in to his room successfully, but when he got there he wasn't alone.

"Busted!" Kyle turned quickly to see Lori leaning against the window sill, arms crossed.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked, though he was pretty sure he knew.

"Oh, um, I don't know, how about the fact that I found you and Jessi asleep in the same bed this morning?" Lori loved gossip and Kyle could tell she was waiting for something interesting.

"Nothing happened…" Kyle said walking over to his dresser to find something to wear to school.

"Yeah right! Mom would've flipped if she was the one that found you two! So spill!" Lori had a flare for the dramatic, but Kyle wasn't going to feed in to it.

"Really, nothing happened. We couldn't sleep, so around 3 a.m. we decided to hang out and talk. We fell asleep. No big deal…" Kyle pulled the freshly laundered shirt over his head.

"Uh, huh…" Lori wasn't buying it.

"Um, Lori…?" Kyle looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"I kind of need to finish changing…" Kyle stated.

"Yeah and?" Lori looked at Kyle for a minute. "Oh… OH! Ew… I'm so out of here." Lori quickly retreated from the room.