A/N: Thank you for the reviews those of you brave enough to click that blue button at the bottom of the story. Let the mystery commence :)

Right and Wrong

Chapter 2

Thomas stood on the small balcony of Raven's apartment late at night, trying to rid his mind of the images keeping him awake. He thought fresh air might help, but it was to no avail. The images weren't very disturbing—except for the dreams he'd had about men in suits and sunglasses dragging him places, but those were very rare. Most of his dreams consisted of green strings of code making up everything around him. Just that night, he dreamt of lying in bed, gazing at Raven, but seeing her and everything around them in green. He didn't think they were serious, so he hasn't said anything about them. They probably just resulted from spending too much time online.

A man crossing the street three stories below caught his eye. He looked eerily like the men that would attack him in his dreams, but that had to be a coincidence. Men like them were everywhere; the city was full of business men. But this man…even at a distance he seemed mechanical, almost too precise in his movements to look human. When the man turned, he saw an earpiece and instinctively stepped out of sight back into the apartment. Somewhat surprised by his own actions, he shook his head and retreated back into to the living room.

Boxes were piled around the couch, both empty and full. They'd just started packing Raven's apartment for the move that day, having finished with his. Her apartment was much bigger, her pay checks the cause of that. It was also much brighter, but he knew Raven didn't care about interior decorating, let alone painting the walls a different color then white when nothing was technically wrong with them. She was much better than at keeping her apartment clean and clutter free, though her office was absolutely no exception. Her office almost looked like an extension of his entire apartment.

He glanced in the direction of the bed room and decided against going back at the moment, he'd only be lying awake. He walked into her office and sat at the desk chair, noting that it was too old and that they shouldn't bother packing it. He wondered if they should have different offices or just share a room with different computers. Searching for information was sometimes more fruitful with two heads instead of one, not to mention a little more fun.

Her office walls were covered in old calendars and notes, even old notes he'd written, even the most mundane and unimportant were stuck somewhere for posterity. He leaned closer to make out some of the writing:

"There's leftover pizza in the fridge, I thought you'd be hungry after that ten hour meeting. Probably see you tomorrow–Thomas"

"Forgot some papers at work, be back by 5 maybe –Raven."

"Where is my silver flash drive? I know you have it! –Thomas"

"I know I told you this before the business trip, but remember to back up those new downloads. I love you –Raven"

His eyes wandered to a picture frame that sat just next to the computer monitor. It was of him standing in a semi deserted area of a football stadium, having gone to a Rage Against the Machine concert. It was the only picture she had of anyone in the entire house. She'd lost contact with her family years ago and never dwelled on it, saying it was better this way. Thomas viewed it almost the same way with most of his family, though he'd been separated from his parents forcefully by way of nature, not his consent, he having been orphaned at 17. When he thought about it, it wasn't until he met Raven when he could fully let his misery and confusion about his parents leave him.

They'd met in college. It was a miracle he'd even been accepted, let alone given a full ride. Just before graduating high school, he'd been given a scholarship by an anonymous donator wishing to give the money to a student going into technology. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up, thought he didn't much care to further his education. If it was handed to him on a silver platter when everything else ever given to him in his life was on a neon green plastic plate, he had enough common sense to know what choice to make.

He'd heard of her as a freshman, but hadn't physically met her until junior year. She was almost a phantom then, a ghost woman with an incredible school record and reputation among professors and students alike, but she was too real to be a ghost. Whenever he saw her, his heart fluttered, if only for a moment before he pushed away the half thought-out notion of even being able to talk to her let alone satisfy a few less than clean fantasies of his. At the same time, it was much more than that. He wanted to see her mind at work, he wanted to challenge her in some mental way, mathematically or psychologically, to see her abilities and limits up close and in person. There was something just so breathtaking about simply being in the same room as someone just as…he couldn't for the life of him describe someone like her. Was this him falling in love? He denied it many times, knowing and for the most part accepting that a woman like Raven would never be interested in a man like him.

That changed rather quickly after actually meeting her.

He'd been noticing some odd occurrences with his computer at home, nothing serious, just little things. At first he thought he must have been making some small errors here and there, but as some time went by, he noticed that they were only things someone as knowledgeable about computers as he would actually pick up. Just as he began to be suspicious, he received anonymous messages through some phantom program he knew nothing about:

"Hello Neo" was the first, which wasn't terribly abnormal, until something else was typed in. "Or are you Thomas right now?"

Other messages started popping up, taking him to nearly extreme levels of precaution.

"Don't forget to send your research paper tonight"

"Remember to bring a pencil tomorrow, there's a written test in computer science"

Then it started happening during school, in the computer lab. To say he was paranoid after that would be an understatement.

Really, the only threatening part about the messages was the fact that whoever it was, they knew who he was, as Thomas and Neo. Their intent was not clear, the messages taunting if anything. Some were even useful.

"Your fly's down, just so you know."

He decided not to reply until he had a lead on who this person messaging him was. It was more than likely that it was a fellow student, less likely that it was a professor, but still possible. Sometimes, he felt like he was being flirted with, which ruled out straight males.

"You know, you should smile more often. Your speech today would have been much more compelling if you had done so."

Ok, maybe not the most flirtatious person on the planet, but it did still rule out some people. But he finally had to ask.

"Who are you?"

It was only a few minutes before they replied.

"They call me Trinity."

Trinity. Trinity. The Trinity. You've gotta be fucking kidding me, he thought. Am I being punked? Is this some kind of joke? This can't possibly be real, The Trinity would not reveal themselves to me, let alone stalk me.

In his frenzied processing of the information in front of him, he looked around, not even caring if he looked frantic. The only person in his class with the kind of brain power to pull off the things that The Trinity could was…Raven. But no, not her. Why would she be paying so much attention to him? Why was his double life so important to her? Did she lead a similar double life? Could they possibly have that much in common?

The questions quickly consumed him along with his quieted adoration of her. He chose to test his theory one day. He showed up early to computer science class, and just as he'd hoped, she was the first one there, already seated at a computer station. He sat next to her, trying to act casual, unaware of how fruitless the attempt was. She seemed too focused on her work to care about him, so he pretended to ignore her as well. After class was over, she left like lightning, and he had proven his point, having not received one message within that hour. When he logged off, he noticed she'd forgotten to herself and leaned over to view her screen. He clicked on a document to save and close it, but there it was, the message he figured she'd wanted him to see.

"So you've found me out. Meet me in front of the school."

He was somewhat astonished by the pace of her mind, and how they somehow thought alike. He could have just been sitting by her for the heck of it, but no, she knew he'd been suspicious of her, observant as ever.

So to the main entrance of the school he went. As his eyes narrowed in on her, his mind went incredibly blank, completely oblivious as to what to say to her. In a regular situation, he'd be in the same boat, but this was intensified by the potential that Raven could turn out to be a wanted felon of the cyber world. Extremely cool. Extremely dangerous.

Before she even turned to look at him, his words flowed before he could process his own voice.

"What is this about? No one knows my name. Well, that name, I'm too careful. Is this blackmail?"

She looked at him sideways before fully turning towards him. Her face was neutral, looking neither happy to see her nor surprised at his outburst, though she answered him with less calm then she seemed to possess whenever he saw her, she almost looked nervous, a nearly nonexistent shake in her voice when she spoke.

"I thought it was time we talked, since we have so much in common."

"But-" he stammered, knowing he looked like an idiot, almost staying that way because of the ghost of a smile that graced her flawless face. "How do you know about me?"

She held his eyes in a secretive gaze which silently told him that she was not yet ready to reveal that information. He almost expected her to say it was "classified." He decided to ask an easier question.

"Are you really who you say you are?"

"Yes." She said, looking pleased at the way he'd worded it.

"Then why tell me?"

"Because I know I can trust you."

At that, he didn't want to ask any more questions. His curiosity had peaked, but his heart was unassuming, ready to be trusted by a creature such as Raven. She had wanted to talk to him—they were talking right now! How many years had he spent dreaming about her, wondering who she really was and if such a woman could love him?

Love, that was thinking way ahead. He shook himself to get his head back to the present, realizing that they'd been staring at each other for God knows how long.

It wasn't long before they sat next to each other every day of class or exchanged numbers and e-mails, they even hung out together days they had off work and school. Soon they were spending every waking moment together, finding so much of themselves in the other, finding belonging and meaning in life. The moment they officially became more than friends is one Thomas could never forget.

"Do you believe in fate?" Raven asked. They were at her apartment, his first time there. They'd walked to a café after school when it started pouring, thunder sounding and lightning flashing. Her apartment was close and she didn't want him walking alone in the rain. He'd said he could easily get a cab, but she insisted he not waste his money.

He got the hint.

They'd been quiet, which was surprisingly not awkward.

"Is this a typical conversation starter for you?" Thomas answered, a smirk on his face.

She gave a small smile. "You're smiling more, like I told you to."

"Am I? I haven't noticed." It's because of you. I can't really describe it, but I'm the happiest I've ever when I'm with you.

"You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine."

"I was first. But no, I just wanted to know."

"Do you, believe in fate?"

She tilted her head a bit, shifting her weight so that her chin was resting in her hand, her elbow on the table.

"I love watching you think." He said, not caring that he'd spoken his mind.

She glanced at him with a mischievous grin. She was grinning now. What had come over her? What had come over both of them?

"I've never really thought about fate before…until you."

Thomas was surprised by how serene her words were, how inexplicably rare they were…and how right they sounded. He felt exactly the same way, but hadn't been able to put words to it until now.

But hearing her say it…his heart was pumping so loud he was she could hear it too.

Though he was speechless, his hand managed to find hers. She squeezed it, then brought it to her lips and gently kissed it. The intimacy made his cheeks burn red and his heart stop, but only for a moment before she spoke again, her breath hot on his hand.

"I've been searching so long…I thought I was looking for the answer to how wrong the world is, or to what the Matrix really is. I know there are still secrets out there, and I know still have things to fight for, but…" their eyes met for the first time since they'd locked hands. "when I'm with you...nothing can bother me. You make me so…"

"Happy." He finished. He laughed at himself. "It's a pretty simple thing, happiness—"

"But it's something I've never had. Not really." She interrupted, taking his hand in both of hers now. "I can tell you've lived without it for a long time, too."

He nodded, now completely speechless, though three distinctive words pounded in his head. Though she was basically confessing to him, he was afraid to take it any further himself. He was basically frozen to his spot on the couch, subconsciously reaching his free hand to her face.

"I love you." She whispered, their faces inching closer. "I love you."

They kissed, not giving him the chance to voice his reciprocal feelings. Just then, the power went out.

Back to the present, Thomas heard Raven walk barefoot down the hallway. He swiveled around to see her look around the living room before turning to her office, seeing him there. She walked in, wearing an oversized long sleeved shirt and shorts, rubbing her eyes before sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed her shoulder a few times. She leaned her forehead on his, inhaling deeply, still partly asleep.

"Can't sleep?" She asked groggily. She leaned back, focusing on his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head, knowing that she'd ask him eventually, he can't hide anything from her, though he'll keep trying.

"There's nothing to tell."

She gave him a look that made him love how much she cared about him.

"They're just dreams." He elaborated. "I don't want you to worry."

"That doesn't change anything." She said, sounding more awake then she did just a moment ago. After a few silent moments of absent mindedly caressing his face, she kissed him tenderly.

She sighed when she pulled away. "What were you doing in here anyway?"

"Just…remembering."

She looked over his shoulder to the framed picture on her desk. She huffed a laughed. "Our college days?"

He hummed in the affirmative.

She looked back to him. "Come back to bed."

He hesitated, his mind wired, but his body tired. Her mere presence used to calm his senses, but now the anxiety was creeping back, the feeling of being watched and being lied to. Secrets plagued him along with his dreams that felt more real than when he was awake.

"Please." She said, bringing him back from his thoughts.

He gave a small smile. "What? Can you not sleep without me?"

"I'll never admit it." She said teasingly.

He gave in, letting her love wash over him, distracting him from the current of conflicting thoughts in his mind.

…

A well-dressed man in sunglasses walked down a corridor and sharply turned to face an office entrance.

"Sir."

Another man in sunglasses looked up from his desk, a frown permanently plastered on his face.

"Yes?"

"He's beginning to see things. He's becoming more out of control by the second."

"Even with his fiancé?"

"The distraction is failing. The rebels are gaining ground."

The man at the desk nodded, understanding their dilemma, knowing it had to happen eventually.

"Initiate Plan B."

Time to throw in the Agents! But don't forget the Resistance, they're just as important :) Thanks for reading and stay tuned