Chapter Three: Between the Lines

The sound of an ear-wrenching drill overcame the silence of the night as a feeble looking man stood on a ladder in order to help his current companion. No words had been exchanged between the two except for what the weaker man's job was. He did as he was told, afraid if he were to disobey his commands his consequences would be dire.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, the man's work had been finished. Pulling his goggles off to get a better glance at his work, his eyes widened and in a matter of milliseconds, his life had ended. The murderer of his savior took a slow breath and released it, savoring that very moment of his freedom. He smirked to himself as his metal mask fell to the floor, the sound of his soon-to-be victory echoing in his ears.

"Hn, it's time."

'This isn't right. I need the other microchip.'

A sigh filled the air as a pair of brown eyes kept their focus on the task set before them. A lone hero stood on the large balcony of the Baxter building, hoping it would stay that way.

"Hey, what are you doin' out here?" a gruff voice called out, surprising the scientist just a bit.

"Nothing, I'm just getting some air," the flexible man stated as he looked up at the stars in his failed attempt to make it seem as though he were actually outside to do what he had said he was doing. His knowing friend shook his rock-like head as he approached Mr. Fantastic.

"You're buildin' that machine for the general, aren't you?" Reed looked away, turning half of his attention to his work, the other half staying on The Thing. "I'm guessing Susie doesn't know anything about it?" A terrified look suddenly appeared on Reed's face as he turned around giving his best friend a pleading gaze.

"Don't worry," Ben assured. "My lips are sealed…well, they would be if I had any," he said jokingly as Reed smiled, nodding his head.

Turning back to his work, the fiancé of the Invisible Woman glanced over his shoulder, one more favor ringing out in his head. "Could we just keep this between us? I just don't want to tell Johnny," he stated.

Before Ben could reply, the two looked over to the balcony edge, the sound of flames roaring through the night filling their ears. Reed frowned, his cover being blown.

"Don't tell Johnny what?" said boy-like man asked as he landed safely on the concrete of the balcony. He sported the new Fantastic Four suit, which was rather ridiculous yet fitting on the young man.

As he approached the two older males, he glanced over at the large satellite behind reed and he smirked a bit as a playful expression came across his face. "Are you building that thing?" Johnny asked as Reed shook his head, though he could not actually lie and say no. The younger man of the three shook his head as he walked up to the two. "If Sue finds out you're gonna get an invisible kick in the nuts," he joked as he chuckled a bit.

Ben stopped the boy from going any further as he gave the boy the best sincere gaze he could make with his stone like eyebrows. "We're gonna keep this quiet," he stated as Johnny looked over at Reed and nodded his head.

"I know."

Reed gave the two a thank you as he relaxed a bit. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Sue's rage. It was scarier than most unnatural things or criminals he had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

"Does Lil know about this?" Johnny asked curiously as gave the satellite a curious gaze. Reed sighed as he nodded his head, crossing his arms.

"It was difficult to convince her, but I got her to keep quiet about this all," he explained as Johnny smirked at the thought.

"So, what did you bribe her with?"

"Heh, she gets to try out my newest toy I told you about before first."

"That's it?" Johnny asked unenthused by the offer his friend had taken. He shook his head as he stretched and made his way inside the building.

"Where's she at, anyway?" Johnny asked curiously as Reed and Ben looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"I don't know, actually," the scientist said as he thought for a second. "She might be in her room."

"If not-"

"I got it," Johnny stated as he waved a thank you and goodbye to his teammates and friends. Deciding that the night was still young, though it was already plenty past one in the morning, the flamethrower made his way to his room to quickly change. Then he would find his favorite source of entertainment.

The darkness of the night seeped through windows of the Baxter building's pool room, though the lights shielded the only person in the water from the abyss. The room was silent with the exception of the sound of ripples running through the water.

Tide, or rather, Lily, took a quiet, deep breath as she kept her eyes closed. She sat on a platform of water in the middle of the pool, ignoring everything around her and only concentrating on the water beneath her. She had been so concentrated on her mediating she had not noticed the soft click of the glass door to the pool room.

She continued on with her relaxation method as she pictured herself on a lone beach, no signs of human life for miles and miles. She smiled to herself as she stepped into the waves of the ocean, but as she did she froze, something didn't feel right. She stared out at the blanket of water as she narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, a high pitched shriek filled the air, making Lily cringe at the sound. She quickly covered her eyes as she winced from the shrill noise. Her eyes widened as the water beneath her began to disappear, leaving nothing but dried up sand. The scream continued before it became too much for the young woman to handle.

Her eyes snapped opened and she gasped as her once strong platform exploded, causing her to fall into the pool, massive waves forming from the minor explosion. Lily, out of reflex, quickly began to thrash in the water, the current stronger than she had anticipated. She gasped, receiving no air, but water instead. She squeezed her eyes shut as a burning sensation filled her lung, her nose filling with water. Suddenly, a hand firmly grabbed her own, pulling her as quickly as it could. She coughed loudly as she tried to get rid of the water she had accidentally swallowed and catch her breath. She took short breaths as she tried to calm her nerves down, holding tightly to her rescuer.

"Jesus Christ, what the hell was that?"

Lily coughed a bit more as she looked up and met the gaze of a very shocked Johnny. She sighed, relieved he had come to pester her when he did.

"I-I don't know," Lily replied as she closed her eyes, leaning her head on her friend's shoulder. "…It happens when my concentration breaks from meditating," she lied as Johnny eyed her warily.

"I think you're done for the night," Johnny stated as he waddled to the edge of the pool, holding Lily along for the short lived swim. He pulled himself out of the water, Lily following next, and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her shoulders. He'd deal with his soaking self later.

"Thanks for all of this," Lily mumbled as she and her teammate walked out of the pool room and toward the elevator.

"It's my job."

"What?"

"To clean up after you when you screw up," Johnny said playfully as Lily rolled her eyes, a small smile appearing on her face. She glanced up at Johnny as he walked up to the elevator doors, pressing the up button. She tightened her grip on her towel as she looked away, her heart beating faster than she wanted it to.

"Hey." Lily quickly looked over at the Human Torch as the doors to the elevator slid open for the two. "You sure you're ok?" he asked, noticing the woman's strange behavior. He watched as Lily forced a smile on to her face, nodding her head.

"I'm fine, just really surprised I freaked out like that," she explained. "I usually have really good control over my abilities."

"Well, not everyone can be like me," Johnny said playfully with a smirk as his friend rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"You mean, not everyone's a bonehead or moron."

"Excuse me. I find those words to be really hurtful," he retorted back as Lily laughed, a wide smile on her face.

She hated the fact that Johnny could make her feel so good, no matter what the situation.

The young man relaxed as he rode the rest of the elevator ride in silence, his companion also doing the same thing. He would sneak quick glances ever so often, making sure that his friend was alright.

Was now a good time? Was he pushing too far?

"Hey," he started as Lily looked over at Johnny. "Seriously, is there something wrong?"

"I already told you-"

"I'm not just talking about today," Johnny interrupted, surprising the young lady. "I'm talking about everything else," he explained.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily denied as she placed her gaze on her reflection.

"I'm not buying that," Johnny stated as he took a step in front of Lily to catch her eyes. "You're telling me that all of your weird habits just popped up out of nowhere?"

"I don't have any weird habits!" Lily snapped as glared up at her bothersome teammate.

"Don't give me that crap," Johnny snapped back, his cool slowly disappearing and his normally playful attitude replaced with a quite serious one.

The sound of the elevator bell ringing and the metal doors opening stopped the two young adults from arguing anymore. Lily quickly walked around Johnny as she stomped out of the elevator, though Johnny was not going to let this go as easily as she had hoped.

"We're not finished here," he called out as Lily rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"Look," Lily finally snapped as she stopped walking and turned around to face the surprised dirty blond. "Whatever that could hypothetically be happening would be none of your business," she stated as she gave the Human Torch a cold stare. "And if there were something going on you would be the last person I would go to."

Johnny's eyes widened at that as he stared at his best friend. He blinked as the two stood in a long moment of silence. He hadn't been expecting the cold words, and for some completely unknown reason, it felt as if someone had firmly grasped his heart and yanked it swiftly from his chest.

Lily sighed as she turned, continuing down the hall.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Johnny almost yelled as he stomped after the woman, his friendly demeanor gone.

"Exactly what I said."

"Alright, stop!" Johnny quickly walked around the black haired woman as he blocked her way to her bedroom.

"Enlighten me on something," he began. "At first I was hoping I was imagining it, but I can't keep telling myself that I'm just being delusional anymore," he said. "You and me, we aren't like we used to be. Why is that?"

Lily had been baffled for the first time in a really long time. She hadn't been expecting Johnny to say something her, let alone almost yell at her. She had been so wrapped up in trying to avoid too much contact with the fire bender that she hadn't taken the time to notice that the young man had caught on to her antics.

"I don't-"

"I'm not taking 'I don't know what you're talking about' as an answer," he stated simply.

Lily averted her gaze from Johnny's piercing blue eyes, and at that moment he knew; he was right.

"Lily," he called out more softly after taking a few seconds to let his boiling blood simmer down. "Come on. We used to be able to talk about everything, what happened to that?" he asked with a genuinely hurt gaze.

Lily, taken back by Johnny's sincerity, avoided his eyes for her life as she stared at the well to his right. Her palms began to calm up as she did her best to hide her quivering. Her throat quickly became dry as she clenched her jaw shut. The last thing she wanted to do was tell him too much.

"…It's not you."

Johnny blinked at Lily's statement as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you-"

"It's something I have to deal with," she quietly explained as she glanced up at Johnny. "You haven't really done anything to make me act this way."

"Then why-"

"Johnny, I just…" Lily trailed off as she sighed, feeling emptier than she had ever felt before.

Johnny watched as the 24 year old woman shook her head. She began to walk away, but the flamethrower couldn't end their conversation, not like that. He quickly reached out, grabbing the woman's wrist, but as he did so his eyes widened.

"Johnny," Lily mumbled as she stared into said man's blue eyes. Her own softened, her gaze telling it all. "Please, let go."

The Human Torch, who usually always had something to say, was speechless. His hand slowly fell to his side as Lily turned, walking down the hall and turning the corner. Watching the woman disappear, Johnny stood in silence as he let his thoughts process.

What was that look about? Had he read that correctly? He couldn't have. If that were to be true then what he had seen meant…

"Damn it," the flustered flamethrower snapped. He sighed as he leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced down in Lily's direction as he thought for a moment. Perhaps he was thinking just a bit too hard. He shook his head as he stood up straight, making his way to his own room.

After entering his own bedroom, Johnny fell on to his bed in a heap, not bothering to change out of his jumpsuit. He sighed as he closed his eyes, locking his hands behind his head. He yawned and opened his eyes, sleep not being the first thing on his mind.

"…Lily…what is going on in your head?" he asked himself as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He thought, and thought, and thought some more before he groaned loudly to himself, sitting up in frustration.

"Shit," he muttered to himself as he stared around his room.

Surprisingly enough, the bedroom belonging to the Human Torch was not as destroyed as one would think. It was mildly dirty, that was a no-brainer, but it was a mess that one could clean up in a mere few minutes. The color of his walls was white, something he had always wanted to change but couldn't get around to doing, and were decorated with picture frames and posters. His mahogany desk was covered with random pieces of sheet paper, along with anonymous fan letters and clothes he had been wearing before. His laptop sat safely on his desk, away from all the scraps of paper, and all the random letters. Next to his desk sat his dresser, his beloved stereo sitting at the top.

Deciding to clear his mind, Johnny stood up and walked over to this stereo, turning on his favorite radio station. He walked back to his bed and sat for a bit, letting the music fill the silence that he could not. He sat with his feet planted on the floor, the music doing no good for him. He began to tap his foot at a rapid pace, having no say in what he body was doing at this point. He shook his head as he stood up, walking over to his personal bathroom and striping himself of his logo-infested suit. Keeping his boxers on, he walked over to his rather large closet and grabbed a pair of sweats, pulling them on and leaving his upper body exposed to anyone who wanted to see.

"Brain, this is the worst time to be overworking yourself," Johnny mumbled as he sat back down on his queen sized bed. He scratched the back of his head as he sighed, staring at absolutely nothing.

'Stop thinking about it,' he told himself as he closed his eyes. 'It's not a big deal. You're just getting yourself worked up over nothing,' he said, as if he actually believed himself.

He glanced around his room and frowned.

The room that was once his haven, the room that screamed Johnny, the room that was the only place where Johnny could forget everything was failing to do anything tonight.

He laid down, closing his eyes, and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

"Just forget about it," he said to himself. "You were seeing things."

Had he truly been seeing things? Johnny was known to fabricate stories and he was also known to be able to make the simplest thing turn into a big explosion, but this time around he was sure it wasn't just him. The look in Lily's eyes had been too obvious for him to miss, yet he couldn't believe that he had seen anything to begin with.

'I swear,' he thought to himself. 'I've seen that look a lot.' He groaned once more as he covered his face with his hands. He turned on to his side as he stared out the window over his desk. He frowned as he let his mind work some more.

He had seen many looks in many woman before. There were far too many to name off, but the three most common expressions he had fallen upon during his time seducing women as a young adult were lustful, playful, and the last one was the one he rarely came across, but when he did, he couldn't miss it.

"Defeated."

He mostly came across women who were lustful. Sometimes they were a bit playful as well, but the least likely expression he would come across was defeated. There was only ever one reason that he'd receive that look. When he hunted his women, whether it be on a walk in the park or out in a club downtown, he had a few rules to follow. The most important rule of his book was the one he followed religiously.

'Never tempt someone who's looking for more than what you can offer.'

Johnny knew it himself; he was not the type to hold a long-term relationship. It just wasn't for him. So when he fell upon the very few cases where those women slipped through his barrier, women who wanted to be more than just hook ups, he had no choice but to turn them down, and although he was widely known to be a "player", the idea of having to hurt someone the way he had to just didn't bode well with him, surprisingly enough.

Perhaps that was why he was so bothered at what had just happened between him and Lily. He swore to himself that the look in his friend's eyes was the same gleam he had seen in those kind of women. But it baffled him. She hadn't said anything to him, and he had never caught that sort of feeling from Lily, so why did she look that way at him?

Why did she look as though he had broken her heart?