Thankyou all for the lovely feedback you guys have given me on Chapter 17. Special thanks to: Zeppo104, Black Thoroughbred Filly, minimaddi, themadhatter14, RandomRandoms14, EvilGeniusBookWorm13, Rand0m-H0ttie, i. hate. rachel. berry, KarmaHope, Angel-of-Energy and Tessa2943! It's so great to know you appreciate my hard work and dedication to this story :D
There You Go Again is nearly finished- there's only a few more chapters, including this one, left to go. And to confirm any rumours: there might be a sequel after this story, but it has not been decided yet.
WARNING: This chapter is super sweet teehee. You might get some cavities ;) Make sure to review if you like it!
So please take out some time to leave me a review before the it all finishes!
inspire-the-writer-x3
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 18: I Love You
"Are we...are we alive?"
Felix chuckled at Jake's question as I slowly opened my eyes and carefully moved my limbs. Discovering I was sitting quite awkwardly in a cardboard box full of packing peanuts; my legs and arms hanging out of the container in an odd fashion, I furrowed my eyebrows. Wasn't I standing up when I shot at the Vortex?
From the corner of my eye, I saw Keiko and Yuki run towards me. I stretched warily; trying to sit back up and get out of a box. My head was spinning from all the action that had just happened, and as I touched my head, I felt a small cut on my head.
"Hayley, are you ok?" they asked with clear concern.
My throat was dry as I replied. "Yeah I think so. I'm just a little dizzy,"
"You better sit down," Keiko suggested as she helped me readjust my position to a more comfortable one, "That explosion after your amazing shot was insane!"
"What?" I exclaimed a little too loudly so that my head once again throbbed, "What explosion?"
"The point that you shot; just as the Crystallix approached the portal forming in the sky had enough intensity to destroy both without having to suffer the consequences from if you only destroyed one," Felix began to explain; his body casting a dark shadow over my tired form, "If you destroyed the Crystallix, the Portal would remain open and could break the existence of time, thereby destroying reality. If you closed the Portal, Poison could've opened it again, although there would've been a small chance she would've succeeded in her plan. The Gods of Creation wouldn't have liked being bothered again after one failed attempted,"
"Speaking of Poison, where is she?" Yuki squeaked.
My eyes widened in realisation that Poison could've still been around to attack us. Felix, Keiko and Yuki seemed like they had also come to the same conclusion as they spun around quickly and inspected the area for an suspicious behaviour from a villain that had the power and the will to kill us all.
Sounds of a struggle caught our attention as we all diverted our attention to one of the darkest corners of the abandoned warehouse. Keiko lifted me up carefully as she assisted me in running over with Felix and Yuki to the source of the noise.
"I think it would be wise to give the weapon to Yuki," Keiko suggested as she took the mini-laser gun from my clammy hands and tossed it to her twin sister, "You are hurt and will not act rationally if a threat does persist,"
I opened my mouth to protest at Keiko's words; clearly showing that I was offended by her suggestion, but Felix cut me off.
"Keiko means well, Hayley- and you know that," Felix whispered reassuringly, "We just don't want you to get hurt,"
Nodding slightly, we progressed to the corner. Yuki and Felix hid behind one large box, with Yuki ready to aim as Felix murmured something into her ear. She giggled softly; failing at keeping her concentration on this suddenly serious situation. Keiko gave her a stern look and instead of Yuki apologising for her actions, she only shrugged cheekily. For the first time in Yuki's life, she had just stood up to her older twin, because her love for Felix was stronger than the hold Keiko had over her. I thought Keiko would've been furious at Yuki's change of heart, but Keiko only smiled.
"Jake!" a familiar voice screamed out, "Watch out behind-"
Felix's face appeared shocked when he heard Akira call out Jake's name. What the hell was going on in front of them. With a definite nod from Felix, the four of us got up- only to catch a glimpse of horror.
Akira had a few visible scratches on his face, as he fell on the ground defeatedly. Keiko was about to get up before I held her back. If she entered the scene, she may have been hurt to. She closed her eyes to stop herself from watching her boyfriend suffer. Jake, however, was flicking through a little black book desperately, as if he was in search of something drastically important. This time, I got up to go help him, but Keiko shook her head at me.
"When the time is right, we will strike,"
I sighed as I crouched back down again. My eyes never left Jake's frustrated face, until they drifted to a large, metal rod that hovered above Jake's head.
"Jake!" I screamed.
But I was too late.
The bar hit Jake at such a force that he was knocked out instantly, the little black book falling out of his hands. Tears formed in my suddenly blurry eyes. An indescribable pain spread through my chest as I helplessly watched the only person who could've done this deadly deed, pick up the book Jake had in his warm hands before. I felt Keiko's worried gaze as she studied my tortured face. The last thing I wanted to do was to draw attention to myself when Jake and Akira were clearly suffering, so I turned my head and buried it in the palms of my cold hands.
"I should commend you two intelligent Troop kids for following me out of the explosion. But, I should also tell you it was rather foolish. I mean, what were you two idiots thinking? Bringing no back-up or weapons in a pitiful attempt to defeat me?" she laughed spitefully.
"We did not bring no back-up or weapons, Poison," Akira spat; shuffling his position a little so that he was squatting down, "We are smarter than you think,"
Poison cackled as she flicked her dark purple hair over her shoulder. "You truly are dim, Akira. And to think that I believed you were an actual threat to obtaining the Carlisle Book of Spells. It really is hilarious," she mocked; wiping an imaginary tear from laughter away from her eye.
"Want to see something even more hilarious?" Akira said; a mischievous glint present in his dark eyes. Poison remained stoic though as she lifted a thin eyebrow. "This,"
Akira extended his right leg out as he swiped it under Poison's feet. With an ungraceful thud, she fell onto her backside, as the supposed Carlisle Book of Spells escaped from her hands. Shakily, Akira got up and doing some fancy kick, sent the book flying into the air so it landed next to Keiko's form. She grabbed it clutched it to her chest tightly.
"Felix, Yuki, Keiko and Hayley," Akira laughed softly, "I know you are there, so please, get up and fight! The battle is not over as long as she continues to breathe!"
We looked at each other reassuringly and grinned brilliantly as all four of us stood up. Even when I was supposed to be strong and defeat Poison once and for all, my eyes couldn't held but wander to Jake's lifeless form on the floor. His chest still rose up and down so I knew he was alive, though he still could've had some serious injuries. Akira and I must've noticed the same thing as he winked at me- mentally telling me the plan. I smiled.
"You imbeciles! You have ruined everything!" Poison growled; her eyes glowing a vicious red.
"You are the lowest of the low, Poison," I snapped, "How could you have done that to Jake?"
I attempted to remain unaffected by her angry presence as she stepped closer to me. Behind her, I could see Akira sneak up to Jake to see if he was alright. Keiko and Felix were trying to work out what the book had that was so crucial to Poison, while Yuki had her mini-laser gun targeted on Poison, so that if she seemed like she was going to hurt me, Yuki could've taken her down before any harm was done.
"Aww Hayley sweetheart, you really did love Jake, don't you?" Poison teased. My nostrils unconsciously flared from denial. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Hayley- love is stupid. One day, that person you love will get up and leave you for some other rotten girl and you'll have to deal with the consequence that the one they want isn't you,"
"No Poison, love isn't stupid," I fought back; trying to stop the quiver my croaky voice. "Love is a beautiful thing. I mean, waking up to dreams about them, thinking about them all day, holding their hand and sharing many hugs and kisses brings warmth into our otherwise empty lives. And even when it's not reciprocated," my gaze shifted to Jake, "It's better to have loved and lost is than to not loved at all. Love's exhilarating and dangerous and new and unexpected and it's just..." I paused, sighing to myself, "It's the best thing in the world,"
And I hadn't lied to her face. All this time, I had been lying and denying to myself about my supposed love for Jake. I couldn't take the fact that I was cheated on by a guy I thought I loved, while the next day, the guy I actually did love cheated on the one he loved with me. It was too confusing and complicated, so being the relationship coward I was, I avoided Jake like he was the plague. I was terrified of being rejected and of the spark that he set off in my heart every time he touched me. I wanted to run away from this new realisation because I was terrified of the staring faces and the gossip behind our backs and the feeling of letting someone into my life to fill the void left by Brett. It was all too frightening because love was all a risk.
But taking the risk with Jake might've been the best thing I had ever done.
"That was the sappiest piece of crap I've ever heard," Poison admitted cynically, "I mean, really? Love isn't the best thing in the world, dear; power is. And soon, it will eternally be mine!"
"Now that's the biggest crap I've ever heard," I smirked, as Akira threw the Carlisle Book of Spells in the air. Poison's head lifted up as my eyes located the object flying through the air. I bent a little and with all my might, jumped and grabbed the book. "Coz you can't have eternal power without this book,"
"You set us up," Yuki squeaked. "You used the Vortex and the portal and all that other stuff just to create a show to find the book!"
Poison scoffed. "No, you pathetic child- that's too much effort, even for me. I already knew the two Troops were onto me already, so I had a back-up plan. The Carlisle Book of Spells was that for me. So if you wouldn't mind, Hayley, would you hand over the book before I take your life?"
I glared at her. "Not a chance,"
Stealthily, I slid the book under her legs- glad that she had gotten rid of that dreaded cape. Her eyebrows furrowed with infuriating anger as she attempted to grab the book, but it slipped through her bony fingers. She growled.
"You think you're so smart, Hayley, don't you?" Poison laughed bitterly, "Well you're not. I'll just turn around now, grab the book and be on my way now,"
"Don't think so, Poison," a warm, husky voice stated flatly.
Poison and I both turned around and were shocked to see a pale-looking Jake with a mini-laser gun in his hands, ready to shoot. Felix and Yuki were holding hands as they wrapped their arms over the book, while Keiko and Akira held plasma cannons that had somehow turned up. My best guess was that they raided Mr Stockley's car for weapons.
"The authorities are on their way now, Poison," Akira informed, "Mr Stockley's got all the Troops on the phone- including the International one and they'll be down within the hour. So what I suggest you do is surrender. We don't want to hurt you,"
"You may not suggest such a thing!" she snapped; suddenly grabbing me as her thin arms locked me against her bony stomach in a rather strong attempt to strangle me, "Let me go or the girl dies!"
Physically and emotionally, I couldn't breathe. I knew I was going to die. Akira and Keiko put down their weapons as an action of surrender. Everyone started to panic internally, unsure of what Poison's next move was until Jake got up and limped forward, so that the nozzle of his gun was touching Poison's chest.
"How about- hurt Hayley and I'll end your disgusting existence?" Jake smirked.
"Kill me and you'll kill her. I turn to stone when you kill me," she simply replied. I whimpered as Poison tightened her grip on me. It suddenly occurred to me that my arm was twisted in a weird position and if she kept torturing me, it would certainly break. Jake's attention diverted from the burning eyes of Poison's, and his previously dark expression was replaced with a much softer one.
"Look at me Hayley," he commanded softly. I didn't want to glance at Jake and then become lost in his deep brown eyes just as I was going to die. That would've been so much more painful than Poison taking my life away before Homecoming Dance, or graduating or getting married...or having a possible future with Jake; if I had to watch the one I loved watch me fade away. "Hayley, trust me and just...listen to me. Open your eyes,"
Shaking slightly, my eyelids fluttered upwards as I stared at Jake with fear. He could tell that I was scared. Slyly, his hand came up to my cheek and ran over it tenderly with his thumb. "You're going to be just fine, Hayley," I attempted to smile back at him, even when Poison's hand covered my mouth. He was about to say something else, but all too soon, Poison forced me to turn around; away from Jake's reassuring touch.
"Have you come to a decision, Jake Collins?" Poison grinned.
"There was never a decision to make," Jake shrugged nonchalantly, "I'd always choose Hayley,"
She nodded with content. "Good...now let me go free out the-"
Abruptly, Poison was cut off. Her grip became strong- just like it was made out of stone as all warmth left from her body. I couldn't help but suffocate then, as I began to lose consciousness. But just in the nick of time, Jake shot at the statue and it crumbled beneath me. As I fell, Jake caught me and smiled.
And that was the last thing I remembered before sleep conquered me.
"Hayley, you need to wake up now," someone giggled impatiently, "Hayley!"
My head jolted up; although it was still slightly throbbing. Slowly, I opened my suddenly awake eyes and rubbed them gently with my fists. A fresh-looking Yuki beamed beside me and she definitely looked excited to see me.
"Hi Yuki," I greeted, "What time is it?"
"Almost seven o'clock. It is starting to get dark now," she squeaked as a reply. I sat up and ran my hands through my messy hair before taking in my surroundings. I was back into the room I was sharing with Jake- the bed I never really slept in with him after all. Disappointment settled into the pit of my stomach; which replaced the dread I previously had when I first found out I had to sleep with Jake in the same bed. "Our flight is in three hours,"
"Our flight?" I exclaimed; jumping out of bed as I ran to my suitcase. "Oh my god, I need to pack and get dressed and take a shower and eat some-"
"Calm down, Hayley," Keiko laughed with amusement as she walked into the room with a mug of hot tea. "Felix has packed everything for you while Jake and Akira have been gone for almost two hours now, explaining everything that has happened to us in these two weeks,"
"What happened to Poison?" I asked; gulping nervously.
"She died," Yuki said flatly, "Keiko and Akira shot at her with cannons that had an opposing ionising radiation, which caused her to turn into stone. We are still unsure of what creature she actually was, but it was her fatal flaw to reveal that to us. Felix worked it out and with you in danger, we just worked together as quickly as possible to free you from any harm,"
"Luckily, you only suffered from light bruising and dizziness from lack of oxygen for a period over a minute," Keiko chimed in, as she tossed me a grey hoodie, "I think this belongs to you,"
The smell of Jake that usually lingered on this particular piece of clothing was now altered to the same scent as me- the faint strawberry shampoo that belonged to Keiko and Yuki's shower. The reality of leaving Japan and my favourite Troop members finally settled in and moisture began to collect in my eyes.
"Oh no, Hayley, are you still hurt?" Yuki asked with clearl concern. Keiko also scurried over, sat her hot mug down on the bedside table as she sat on the bed.
I looked up at them with sad eyes. "I'm going to miss you guys so much when I leave here. I can't believe it's been two weeks ago,"
"On the contrary, it is I who will miss you two so much," Keiko cried, "Who will I talk to without my best friend Hayley and Yuki around?"
"You know I will always be grateful you accepted the path I decided to take," Yuki said solemnly, "Art is my passion and getting into the Prestigious School of Expressive Art is seriously a dream come true,"
"We will stay in touch every single day," Keiko suggested incoherently as tears streamed down her face, "I will call you every single day,"
"And you can tell me how your fairytale is going with Akira," she winked. We all laughed.
"As can you with Felix," Keiko grinned, "Now hurry up and get dressed! You're leaving within the hour! I'll go make us one last round of udon,"
After a quick shower with one last time using that sweet-smelling strawberry shampoo and conditioner and body-wash, I picked out my faded jeans and a white knitted jumper out to wear on the plane, as it was both warm and comfortable enough for the eight-or-so hour plane trip to come. To my surprise, all my clothes and other toiletries that I had brought on the trip had been neatly folded and packed away in my suitcase. I had definitely needed to thank Felix later. I shoved my laptop and Jake's grey hoodie- which I was bound to keep now, after wearing it so many times, into my back-pack to take onto the plane. Without any intention, I felt a bulky object at the bottom of my bag and saw my mobile phone. I inhaled deeply, as I pressed the button continually to turn it on.
4 new text messages, 7 missed calls.
Briefly, I could tell the missed texts and calls were either from my parents, Brett or Roxanne. I skipped the ones from my parents and Brett, as Mr Stockley would've informed my parents by now that I was ok and talking to Brett would've been quite useless, not to mention bland. Even though I was still a bit wary about talking to Roxanne- the girl Brett cheated on me with; strangely enough I was no longer upset with either of them. Besides, she never texted me unless it was extremely important. Touching the screen a few times, I got to Roxanne's message and instantly got excited with what it said.
Hayley, we're organising the Homecoming Dance this year. Preparations start on Monday when we start school again. See you soon.
The Homecoming Dance was always a big tradition at Lakewood High and finally, it was my turn to help organise it! I was bursting with anticipation; a drastic mood to the one I held a mere few hours ago, when I was terrified in the evil clutches of Poison. The thought of her glowing eyes and her tight grip still sent shivers down my spine.
"Are you ok, Hayley?"
Akira's voice shattered me from my frightening thoughts. I nodded at him and saw him grin from the corner of my eye when I wrapped my arms around his muscular form.
"I'm going to miss you the most," I whispered lovingly, "Don't tell Keiko I said that though,"
"I will not, but I can not promise you I will not hint it," Akira remarked smugly, as I punched him playfully. He placed a kiss on the top of my head and looked down at me. "Promise me we will keep in touch?"
"Of course!" I confirmed enthusiastically, "We will obviously meet again one day. Come down to Lakewood one day!"
"If Keiko and I have time, we will most definitely," he chuckled, "And good luck with Jake. Call me when you get back to Lakewood and tell me how you two lovebirds are,"
I blushed furiously. "Jake and I...we're-"
"Do not say you two are nothing, Hayley," Akira scolded lightly as he grabbed my suitcase and stared squarely at me, "Because there is something there. You just need to be the first one to admit it, since he is a coward,"
"Jake's not a coward!" I argued, "He practically risked his own life to save mine back there,"
"He is confident when it comes to battles because that is all he has ever known. But when it comes to you, he is as foolish as you are when you deny there is an attraction between you two. You can trust me when I saw that Jake and Leanne's relationship is ephemeral because they are not true loves,"
I struggled to retort smartly back at him, so instead Akira winked at me knowingly and I exhaled in defeat. We then began to walk down the stairs together as I thanked him for carrying my suitcase. He just waved it off like it was no big deal- even when I knew my suitcase was probably super heavy.
"Hayley and Akira, you are finally down!" Keiko grinned as Akira kissed her on the cheek. She sighed happily and I was so glad that I had cleared the air with Akira to make the two finally be a happy couple, just like Felix and Yuki. "There is some udon on the counter in the kitchen for you, Hayley. We're leaving in fifteen minutes to the airport. Akira, come help me with Yuki's luggage,"
Akira and Keiko soon left to help out Yuki as I walked into the kitchen. To my astonishment, Jake was already there, bent over with several bandaids over his face and arms as he sipped and slurped on Keiko's famous udon noodles.
"Hi," I waved shyly. His head lifted up as he sucked in the remaining bit of the noodle that hung outside his mouth. Stifling a laugh, his eyes glistened as he smiled at me.
"Good to see you're up," Jake chuckled as he patted the seat next to him. I came over and sat down as I began to use the chopsticks- a skill I had finally managed to perfect while being in Japan. "Akira and I went to visit the Troop and the Japanese Government. Because of the work we've done, Japan will be re-opening their hotels and provide funding for all the infrastructure damaged around the cities, which will improve their rather slow economic growth over the past few weeks,"
"That sounds great!" I exclaimed. I lifted up my hand and Jake could only look at me bemusedly as he high-fived me. "I'm glad that through all this trouble and suffering, we've done such a good thing to the community,"
"We'll be receiving medals, certificates, free trips to Japan for the rest of our lives, courtesy of the Japanese Government and a bonus when we sit out SAT's in a few years," Jake added as he watched my face beam, "And I asked the Japanese prime minister to include you in their honours list so that you can do an exchange program between Yale and any Japanese University, if you'd like,"
I was speechless. Jake had certainly done some amazing things in the past but this...this was incredible. He knew my dream was Yale and to be given even more of a chance to get in, I was utterly and completely grateful. I got up from my seat and tightened my arms around his neck. He hesitated at first; I could feel it in his body language, but eventually, his arms wrapped lazily around my hips. My breath hitched at the contact of his warm arm on my suddenly-very-sensitive hip bone.
"You could've been killed today," Jake whispered huskily, still holding onto me quite tightly, "You could've died so many times during these two weeks. You could've just left the Lakewood Troop and gone off to heaven, without saying goodbye to me first,"
"Jake, I'm here now, it's-"
His grip grew tighter as he murmured his words so that his breath tickled gainst my neck. "I broke my promise, Hayley- I said I'd always protect you. And even if I didn't and I was mad at you, I still wanted to protect you from any harm Poison or Gus or anyone else could've done to you. But I wasn't there to look after you like I said I would, Hayley. I'm sorry for that,"
"Jake, you don't need to-"
"Seeing you all squashed up in Poison's arms made me realise how fragile us as humans are- and how close I was to losing you. I may have seemed all confident and positive about what I was doing, but I wasn't. I was terrified that one, small slip-up would've cost the ultimate price: your life; and I wasn't prepared to do that. I would've rather Poison escape so we had another time to catch her than for you to be the sacrifice for her demise," he stated honestly. His face had buried into my neck now and my heart almost leapt out of my chest when I felt his warmth against my delicate, pale skin.
"Jake, that's sweet but-"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that after all this, you're still my best friend and I'll always be there to care for you and to protect you from anyone or anything," Jake swore solemnly, "I owe you, at the very least, that. You were so brave and beautiful and I...I just can't explain how much I admire you for your ongoing commitment to the Troop even when you cheer-lead, play lacrosse, and-"
"Jake, will you stop interrupting me and listen to me, dammit?" I snapped; laughter evident in my eyes. He lifted his head from my neck and with dark, sad eyes, melted my insides. All insults and snickering remarks I had towards him suddenly all disappeared. "You're...you're rambling,"
He smirked. "You seem nervous,"
When he looked at me with his big, brown eyes and that dazzling smile of his, my pulse unwillingly sped up and my head began to spin again- not from sickness or anything physically serious, but from the close proximity we were in. If I leaned forward a little, my eager lips would've met with his velvety-soft ones, and I would've been in heaven, as my knees bucked in the hope of him catching me. I gulped audibly as I shuffled my feet, while I played with the collar of his shirt.
"Because it's my turn to ramble now," I smiled shakily. He furrowed his eyebrows in a mix of confusion and anticipation as he ran his thumb against the arch of my back reassuringly. Every time his stupidly amazing thumb touched my skin, a thousand butterflies would erupt in the pit of stomach as electricity filled through my veins as an overwhelming attempt in convincing me to kiss him senseless.
"Jake, you're my best friend too. Even though we bicker and argue all the time, I know that I can count on you to help me when I need it. You put me in front of your own life and even when I think I don't deserve it, you do it over and over again- protecting me every time I protest and try to persuade the both of us I don't need you. But the truth is, I need you- I need you every single day and night of my life. I need you to be there when I wake up in the morning. I need you to be there when I sit through a major exam or when I have cheer-leading practice. I need you to be there when we fight against monsters and when we go to the movies with Felix,"
"I...I need you too, Hayley," Jake stuttered; clearly taken aback by my confession. Leaning forward, my forehead touched his briefly as I inhaled his unique scent. It sent my spirits flying when his delightful smell made me feel like I was in heaven.
And before I could've controlled saying it, my numb mouth blurted out the only thing that could've made me, once again, extremely vulnerable.
"Jake Collins," I smiled honestly; his name rolling off my tongue so fluently that I wouldn't ever mind saying it every single day for the rest of my life, "I love you,"
–
Woo! There you go- a final confession after all this drama. Haha (:
What do you think is going to happen now? Does Jake love Hayley- or will he stay with Leanne? You'll have to review and wait for the next chapter to find out ;)
Did this chapter give you cavities? Hehehe!
Do you like? Love? Hate? Or want a sequel? Please leave a review! It does make a difference and will affect my overall direction of where There You Go Again will go :D
Happy reading!
inspire-the-writer-x3