There You Go Again

by inspire-the-writer-x3

After Hayley's heart is broken, there's no better thing to do but to immerse herself in monster hunting; especially when there's a rare but vicious monster on the loose. But what happens when she finds herself falling for someone she'd never expect?

8. Just Friends

Hey everyone,
So I haven't updated for a while huh?
Sorry! I've just been so busy with family and friends and school!
But after many frustrating days of writer's block, I've finally gotten an idea of how to finish this whole story! YAY :D
Leave me a review on where you'd like this story to go and what you thought of it(:

inspire-the-writer-x3
(note: this is one of my shorter chapters, so sorry to those who like long ones!)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Troop.

SYNOPSIS: After Hayley's heart is broken, there's no better thing to do but to immerse herself in monster hunting; especially when there's a rare but vicious monster on the loose. But what happens when she finds herself falling for someone she'd never expect?

–

Chapter 8: Just Friends

I had been avoiding Jake for the past 3 days.

Yes, I know what all of you are thinking. Why was I avoiding Jake in the first place? Was it going to solve anything? Was it going to change anything?

Well I couldn't deny it to myself any longer. I had feelings for Jake- the kind of feeling where you couldn't help but smile when they smiled; laugh when they laughed; cry when they cried. And that terrified me to death.

Since when was Hayley Steele the one scared of commitment?

I used to be- and guess in a way, still am, the relationship junkie. I had been in more relationships than Jake and Felix combined together and for some reason, when a problem in my relationship emerged; instead of being devastated about the break-up, I'd let go and move on.

But Jake was making it incredibly hard that I had so foolishly kissed him. And in my defense, I blame the fact that I was almost killed by a vampbug.

After the incidents involving the attack by a Gus look-a-like and the kiss with Jake that unfortunately erupted about a billion fireworks within me, the two Troops had become much more strict and focused on our missions. Gone were the outings, the funny chats and the smiles we all wore each day. Everyone had suddenly lost interest in anything but getting rid of the Vortex and solving this mystery so they could resume to their previous lives.

This brought me to a sad revelation- Felix and Yuki were taking 'a break'. They said it was for the best that they concentrate on taking down the Vortex and Gus before something irreversible occurred. Everyone was surprised they had stopped seeing each other because they had been so good together and everyone could tell by the way they looked at each other that it was love. Yuki had cried her eyes out when Felix had suggested it and the 3 girls spent the night in the living room watching romantic comedies and eating as much strawberry and chocolate ice-cream as humanly possible.

Keiko and Akira, on the other hand, had been more fiesty than usual. They weren't officially together but Akira would always be a gentleman by opening the door for her or getting her a drink immediately when she said she was thirsty. Keiko had turned giggly and seemed more chirpier than before and it seemed they finally had their happily ever after.

And Jake and I?

Well, to put it quite frankly, there was no Jake and I.

After the night of the dance, I was just so content to be in Jake's arms. When we shared the bed later that evening, it just felt perfect- like I was meant to be right there, right then. Though when morning came, I realised what had happened and what couldn't happen. I had to stop this thing with Jake right away.

So quite successfully, to my surprise, I started to avoid Jake. On the day right after the dance, I'd skip my meals or eat them at an earlier or later time. When it came to research, I told them I'd rather do it alone because I needed to learn about the vampbug- the creature that had camoflaged itself to look like Gus, as it had become a personal matter. Attacking innocent people was one thing but tricking Hayley Steele was another. This monster was just asking for its butt to be kicked by the Troop.

And soon, it just fell into a pattern. At first, I saw Jake's confused gaze meet my eyes and I felt vulnerable. I wanted to run to him and scream at him- asking him all the questions that haunted my dreams. What did he feel for me? What about Leanne? What did this mean for us?

But the feelings passed. I couldn't lead myself on anymore. One way or another, I had to get over Jake. It was a silly crush and it sucked.

So this would explain why Akira, Keiko and Yuki had skipped school for the rest of the days we were staying in Japan to help us wrap up our missions without anyone being in danger again- especially me.

"Any other information on this Vortex, Felix?" Akira asked.

"Not currently," Felix replied, "I do believe the Vortex is building up its powers or being further developed by its master if it hasn't attacked in the last 3 days,"

"Then we should be ready for a surprise attack right?" wondered Keiko as she scribbled something down onto a piece of paper.

"Yes, we should," Akira smiled at Keiko which made her blush, "Jake, anything come up on Gus' record in the Troop files?"

"Not currently," Jake answered, tapping away on some device, "I've put out messages though telling anyone to contact us if they see any suspicious behaviour or Gus. His picture is on it and if he does show up in this town, I know we'll be able to find him,"

When Jake started to speak, my heart started to beat fast and I felt heat creep onto my cheeks. I ducked my head as I didn't want him noticing how he made me feel. Heck, even his voice made me want to kiss him senseless.

"Good job Jake," Akira nodded as he turned his gaze to look at me, "Yuki, Hayley- any other abnormal news in the headlines lately that may be because of a certain Vortex on the loose?"

"It's been pretty quiet around this neighbourhood," I explained, flicking through a few pages, "A few petty crimes here and there but none look suspicious enough to be a monster attack. Although...there was a bank robbery yesterday at around 2pm in the main district of town,"

"Oh I have the details here, Hayley," Yuki chipped in, "It says that a masked man and a dog-like creature walked into the robbery and shot anyone who was in the way with some sort of laser. Only a few seconds of the whole ordeal was caught on camera as the man was smart enough to shoot it so there would be little evidence. In total, they made away with a little under 1 million dollars,"

"What a strange time to steal so much money..." Felix observed, "Wouldn't everyone be in town at around 2 in the afternoon? How could they get away with it?"

"I'm guessing monster tech," Jake thought, "But I reckon the more important question here is how do we get the money back and catch the criminal without any evidence or any clues to know where to start?"

"Well I think if we go back to the crime scene and interview any witnesses, we may just have enough information to do some research and solve this whole fiasco," I grinned, "And everything can go back to the way it was,"

Jake rolled his eyes at me and left the table. I was in shock. Jake never walked away from me or something I said unless it hurt him or angered him deeply. Yuki and Felix gave each other pleading gazes but all of a sudden, ripped their gazes' from each other and Felix left the table to go talk to Jake. Keiko smiled lovingly at Akira who just winked back.

"Hayley?" squeaked someone next to me.

I turned my head and met with Yuki's wet brown eyes. My eyebrows immediately furrowed in concern.

"What's wrong, Yuki?"

"Can we talk outside for a second?" Yuki suggested; her eyes watering up even more.

I nodded and we both got up, leaving Akira and Keiko in their own little world. As we walked out the door, I wondered what Jake and Felix were talking about right now. And though I was avoiding Jake, my heart longed for him.

"How can you sit there, Hayley, and watch the man you love walk away like that?" Yuki asked me, distress clearly showing in her eyes.

"What...what are you talking about?" I spluttered.

"I mean, you are in love with Jake and you are letting him walk away, when clearly you do not want to. And I have only known Felix for a few days properly but I feel like I know him and I know it is love and I know he feels it too but we have to let it go because of this stupid mission. The worst part of this all is that Keiko's in her own fantasy land with Akira and can't get it through her thick head that I am in pain. Even at our slumber party, she could only talk about Akira. And Hayley, I can not do this anymore," Yuki screamed, as she stopped to sob.

"Yuki..." I sympathised, as I sat down on the front porch with her, "You know what love is really about? Love is about making sacrifices; no matter how much it hurts. Yuki, I'm sure Felix still loves you somewhere in his heart but getting back together now isn't the right time. We need to eliminate everyone from harm before we can make ourselves happy. It's part of being in the Troop,"

"But...it is so hard," Yuki cried, "I thought Felix was the one but when he suggested us take a break because you nearly got killed, I thought...I just couldn't believe he would even say such a thing. We were all saying it was mutual but it was not. He said he wanted out before he went back to America and it all got too serious. I did not want to let it all go- these few days that we had been together had been the best of my life,"

Suddenly the door swung open and Yuki and I turned around. We saw a shy-looking Felix and a pissed off Jake standing in the doorway.

"Yuki...hey, I think we need to talk," Felix murmured, finally looking up to meet Yuki's eyes.

"So what? You can rip my heart out all over again?" Yuki spat out as she wiped away any stray tears from her face.

"You know I didn't want to or mean to," Felix sighed, "C'mon, give me a chance to explain everything,"

I gestured Yuki to follow Felix into the house and give them some time alone. Yuki shook her head at me but I gave her a reassuring smile and she caved in. She nodded at Felix and so they went into the house with a slam of the door.

I suddenly realised though, I was now outside the house, alone with Jake, also known as the boy I was avoiding! I gasped in disbelief and walked towards the door to twist the knob but was pushed to a wall by a strong pair of arms. My breath caught in my throat as I found myself staring into chocolate brown eyes- the same ones that I had missed terribly over the passed few days.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Steele?" Jake gritted through his teeth.

"I'm going...umm..." I stuttered, as I was lost in Jake's eyes.

"That doesn't answer my question," Jake mumbled lowly, "Tell me why you've been avoiding me,"

"I haven't been avoiding you!" I fought back as a reflex, but he only pushed his body closer to mine as if it was going to squeeze the answer out of me.

A noise from the back of my throat was my only reply when I felt the warmth of his body press against me. All rational thoughts were lost and I felt the urge to kiss him again. But this time, the feeling of his lips not on mine was almost unbearable.

"Want to try that again, Hayley?" Jake whispered in more of a pleading tone than commanding.

"I..." I bit my lip, struggling to choose the right words, "We needed to talk about us and it scared me that there was an 'us' in the first place,"

"Why? Does the possibility of you being with me scare you that much?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that, Jake. Have you ever thought maybe I didn't want this to happen because you're too important for me to lose. I mean, what if we don't work out?"

"Well if we were together, Hayley," Jake spoke honestly, "I'd tell you we'd work out. And you know why Hayley? Because I may not believe in love but...I believe in you,"

"Jake..." I blushed, but then sighed, "Don't say that Jake, please. It's hard enough falling for you when you're with Leanne,"

"Hayley Steele, did you just admit you've fallen for me?" Jake grinned devlishly.

"Of course not!" I frowned, "I was just saying how we should be just friends and-"

Jake's lips cut me off my last sentence. He pressed his body further into me so I was sandwiched between the cold brick wall and his warm firm body. He smelt so damn good. It wasn't cologne or deodorant; it was just that Jake smell- the scent of determination and bravery. Unintentionally, I wrapped my legs around his hips and gripped them tightly. He groaned inside my mouth and I couldn't help but push his head closer to me even more. His tongue ran against the bottom of my lip begging for entrance and I willingly parted them for him. Our tongues danced with energy as his hands touched everything they could- the apples of my cheeks, the back of my neck and the skin of my stomach all felt like they were on fire from all the tingles Jake's fingers had given me.

Too soon, Jake's mouth left mine as he gently took those magic hands of his and pushed my legs back onto the ground. I looked at him, stunned and surprisenly hurt at his actions. I didn't want my heart breaking again since knowing I liked Jake when he had such a great girlfriend had already nearly torn me apart.

Unlike the previous kiss Jake and I shared at the dance, this one was full of passion and heat- showing how much we had missed each other for the past few days. It was pure torture for him to seperate his mouth from mine after I clearly wasn't done. I wanted nothing more but for him to be close to me again.

"Yep," Jake smirked; his voice still hoarse, "Just friends,"

And with that, Jake walked away from me as he opened the door and walked in, still leaving it ajar for me to come in.

What the hell just happened?

Jake-1; Me- 0.

So now there was a score board. Oh, I see how it is, I thought as I suddenly had a brilliant idea. As Hayley Steele, I knew I didn't like to lose, didn't want to lose and couldn't lose to Jake's games.

I shook my hair as I walked into the room and saw Felix with his arm around Yuki's shoulders. I smiled as I realised they must've talked it out and were on better terms than before. Keiko and Akira were arguing over some game plan for the upcoming days of monster hunting and researching. They were all sitting at the dinner table where we were having a Troop meeting before. Jake, though, was sitting on the couch, flicking through the television's channels with a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Oh hey buddy," Jake winked as he sat the seat beside him, "Why don't you sit down and watch some TV with-"

Quickly, I cupped his face with my trembling hands as I kissed him forcefully, hoping to get a reaction out of him. As soon as my lips made contact with his, he started returning the kiss making the insides of my stomach flutter with butterflies. He pulled me closer so I was sitting on him and in a weird and uncomfortable way, straddling him. Without a second thought, my hands crawled under his shirt and felt the muscles in his stomach clench at my touch. He moaned against my mouth and the tips of my mouth curled in victory. Just as his tongue slipped through my lips to move with mine, I pulled away reluctantly, leaving a very red faced, swollen-lipped Jake trying to catch his breath.

"I think we're going to be very good friends, don't you think Jake?" I smiled wickedly, trying to hide my panting.

"The very best," Jake frowned, as he leaned closer, "Two can play this game, Hayley. Whoever caves first has to do whatever the other one says for as long as they want. Deal?"

"Bring it on, Collins," I stated smugly.

"Are you sure, Steele?" he mocked since I had used his last name, "The stakes are pretty damn high,"

"Yeah, I'm sure and you want to know why?" I whispered into his ear, "Because I'm pretty damn sure I'm going to win,"

"Oh and what makes you think that? I think we have the same chance of winning," Jake answered mischeviously.

"Well, you're the one with the girlfriend. So anything you do is counted as cheating and no one deserves that," I told Jake seriously, "So, I'll see you tomorrow morning,"

Before Jake had the chance to speak, I gave him a light kiss on his cheek and waved everyone a goodnight. And as I climbed the stairs, I could see his chocolate eyes staring at me with a competitive glaze. He winked at me and I couldn't help but blush so I ran up the stairs before he could see me falling for his charm this early in the game.

And as I brushed my teeth I knew that with the score at one all, I really needed to bump up my game. After all, Hayley Steele never goes down without a fight.

–

So what did you think? :D
I hope this was a twist and not expected...but oh well, I seriously tried. Horrible writer's block! I have an idea how it's supposed to end but I sort of forgot how to get there...whoops LOL
I'll try to update before Christmas! I'm really excited for the holiday season!
Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter or the story so far;

inspire-the-writer-x3