A/N: Hey, so taking in on what I have left to put in this story, I think that after this chapter there might be two, three, or four more after this. Sad I know, but I believe that I don't disappoint, so I guarantee that you will hate me at the end.
So now that that's taken care of, I'll just get rid of the disclaimer and you can read on.
Disclaimer: I do not own Cyberchase, you know what I own.
McKenzie
Daisyfan5534
Chapter 8
"Excuse me?" Kim managed to finally say.
"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?" the girl said. Kim thought she was the leader of the clique.
'Just play along, Kim.'— "Uh… Yeah, I am."—'Nailed it.'*
"Figures. So I'll catch you up to speed on what goes on in this town." She said. "I am Madison, only the most popular girl in this town."
"Well, we're not exactly sure on-" A black haired girl from the group spoke but Madison elbowed her in the arm, shutting her up.
'Best friend who's a punching bag.' Kim thought.
After elbowing the girl, Madison looked at the other two girls in her clique, then back at Kim.
"I'm about to give you the best offer in the world here. How would you like to be one of us?" Madison said. "Come on, I don't have any actual red heads in my group."
Kim hesitated on the offer, mostly because she was shocked on who asked her. It was her sister- her twin sister, who she hasn't seen in years. The sister who ditched her at the orphanage. Back to Madi's offer, Kim thought it be a good idea to see if she knows anything about the Cybersquad.
"Uh, sure." She said.
"Great." Madi said wrapping her arm around her as they started walking, her clique following. "I never did get your name, what is it?"
'Shit, I forgot if people asked for my name.'
Kim quickly searched her mind for a name to match her disguise.
"Katie!" Kim said quickly, and then she nodded at it. "Yeah, Katie."
"So, Katie, why did you move here?" Madison asked.
"I wouldn't say that I moved. I live in an RV and my dad can get a job anywhere, so I've been traveling the country. This was my mother's hometown, so we're going to be here for a few days unless my mom wants to stay here permanently, but I don't think that's likely." Kim decided to use the story she told Mary Beth for her cover story.
"Well that sucks, but you do look like someone who travels a lot." Madi said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the undercover blond asked.
"Don't worry, Katie. You're new, so I won't be rude." Madison said.
"Okay…"
Kim's sister was officially boring. All Madi did was talk about boys, clothes, and gossip about everything. So far, nothing about Matt, Jackie, or Inez. When Kim talks about guys, it usually ends with something about how she can kick their ass at something. Kim couldn't care less about clothes, unless she was going out, then she cares a little bit. Plus, Kim isn't a leach. If she hears gossip on someone, she keeps her mouth shut about it. She'd rather hear the truth.
She sort of wondered how her sister would react if she pulled off her red wig, reveling that she was her twin. But Kim thought it was a bad idea to do so.
Kim glared at Madison, who was going on and on about a pair of shoes. She had to get out of there to see what the Cybersquad was up to. Thinking that Madi was too busy talking to notice her, Kim reached into her tote bag and turned on her SQWAK Pad. Once it was on, she checked to make sure it was on vibrate and sent a message to herself.
"That's probably my mom, I should go." Kim said after everyone in Madi's clique heard something vibrate from inside her bag.
"Oh, then let me give you my number." Madison said opening her purse.
"There's no need… I might be leaving in a few days, so there isn't really a point." Kim said.
"Okay, well see you around, Katie." Madi said before turning to leave.
"Bye, Madi." Kim said as she walked away as fast as she could.
After giving herself a fist bump in success, Kim started heading back to the park.
It was weird to see her sister after six years, but she was kind of glad that she did. Madi seemed to be having a good life, and that was good enough for Kim. So she went off in search of the Cybersquad.
Kim remembered that Inez wanted to use the microfilm at the library, so Kim figured that she'd find all of them there.
After staking out at the microfilm for the past hour and a half, Kim thought it was pointless and she thought she'd have a better chance of finding one of the kids herself.
She agreed with herself and she started to leave, until her luck changed.
'Well, what do you know? There's Jackie.' Kim thought as she saw the girl walk into the library.
Kim trailed her to the line of computers and Jackie sat down at one. Kim just sat down at the one diagonal from her, trying to not draw attention to herself. After a few minutes of pretending to look up cats, Kim would glare at Jackie from time to time, and she seemed to be more upset each time.
After a while, Jackie got up and left. Kim waited a few seconds, before moving to her computer. Using her computer skills, she was able to retrace what Jackie did and she found her answer.
It was a page that reminded Kim of Spacebook that was used in Cyberspace. She turned her head to make sure Jackie wasn't coming back then back to the screen reading the posts on the computer. Most of them were insults and rude comments, but the worst part was when Kim found out who commented the most on the page. Someone who went by the screen name: Madigurl68.
Kim felt her stomach turn into a knot as she logged off and left the library.
'So that's why Jackie's been so upset lately, she's being cyber-bullied.'
Kim sat at the steps of the library thinking about the screen name. There might be a lot of girls with the name Madison in this town; it couldn't be her sister. Then again, the town is small; when she read the bulletin board yesterday, she saw that the town population was about seven thousand.
Kim leaned her head back to the blue sky until she heard a familiar voice.
"I don't get why you're going to the diner for your date a half hour early."
Kim looked ahead and saw Matt walking along side a teen. Because of the red-brown color in his hair, she figured that he was Matt's older brother.
"I want to surprise, Madison when she gets there." Matt's brother said.
'Madison? Why does her name keep popping up?' Kim thought.
"You know she's cheating on you." Matt said to him.
The older brother tripped him and he fell to the concrete. Kim felt her jaw drop then quickly closed it as she drew her eyes away from the siblings to pretend to look for something in her bag. She didn't want them to catch her watching. The knot in her stomach tightened.
"I know my girlfriend, and she wouldn't cheat. Go hang out with your stupid friends." The brother said before leaving Matt on the ground.
'Matt's getting beaten by his brother, that explains his limp.' Kim thought.
Matt got up and climbed up the library steps with his sore ankle and he entered the building.
'Normally when I see someone abusing a kid, I bite their head off. He's lucky that I'm undercover.'
Kim walked across the street to the park. After walking for a while, she managed to sit down at a bench.
'Two down, one to go.'
After a while of sitting, Kim pulled out her poetry journal and a pencil. After pulling lose strands of her red wig behind her ear, she turned to an empty page and started doodling, to try to pass the time and to blend in with the rest of the people minding their own business at the park. Drawing various stars and flowers trying to make each one look better than the last, before drawing a heart with a crooked line going down the middle. Right now she's sitting on a bench in a world that she swore she'd never come back to, trying to figure out what's wrong with her friends while running from someone who likely wants her dead. She felt very alone.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here, girls."
"Just leave me alone, Madi!"
Kim looked up, pulling herself back into reality as turned her head to the source of the yelling and saw Inez, sitting on the half-dead grass with her back up against the tree behind her, and surrounding her was Madi and rest her clique.
"You ran pretty quick from the library yesterday." Madison said.
"How would you know?" Inez stood up to stand her ground. "It's not like you read."
"It's a hot-spot for nerds. I just had the feeling that I'd find you there." Madison smirked.
Inez opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it; for she had nothing to say. Madison took advantage of that as she noticed the book in Inez's hand. Inez noticed her eye her book and tried to move it behind her back, but Madison was too quick for her.
"So, what's this you're reading?" Madison said as she ripped it out of Inez's hand.
Inez yelled at the brown-eyed blond, demanding to give the book back as she reached for it before two of the girls from Madi's clique grabbed her arms, restraining her from doing anything.
'No wonder she's so scared of me. I look like the girl who's bulling her.' Kim thought.
"I reiterate, give it back!" Inez said as she tried to fight against the two girls holding her defenseless.
"Hm… Maybe if I read this, I can use big words no one cares about, too." Madison smirked.
Kim noticed a guy walk up to Madison. He seemed about thirteen, maybe older.
"Uh… Madi?" he said.
"What?" Madison said as she turned around. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Inez was able to pry herself free, rip her book out of Madi's hands, and run off. Kim wanted to make sure she was all right, as she wanted to with Matt and Jackie, but this could be an opportunity to find out what else she didn't know about her sister.
Madison noticed that Inez got away. "You better have a good reason for coming up to me."
"It's about the newspaper." The guy said.
"Then why didn't you say so?" Madison said. "Am I going to be on the front page?"
"Well… no. You see, you're not really front page worthy." The guys said.
"Oh please, what could be better than me?" Madison said.
'Should I answer this…?' Kim thought.
"There are some things we consider more important." The guy said back.
"Then I want my money back." Madi said.
"But that's over a hundred bucks, I don't have that kind of money." He complained.
"Well, you owe me. So bye." Madi said before walking off with her clique.
'It's official; Madison is a bitch.' Kim thought. 'Not the one that I classify myself as, but still.'
Kim started putting the notebook and pencil away in her bag. She wanted to go back to Cyberspace.
"Can I sit?"
Kim looked up and saw the guy who was talking to her sister.
"Yeah." She said.
"Shawn." He said as he sat down.
"Katie." Kim said as she shook his hand.
"You're new." He said.
"That obvious?" she said back.
"Small town. You see the same faces everyday." Shawn said.
"Yeah, I guess so." Kim said.
"Well, sense you're new, I might as well give you a heads-up about-"
"Madison?" Kim finished.
"You know?"
"She let me join her clique."
"You're serious?"
"Said she didn't have any actual red-heads in her group."
"That makes sense."
"What's her deal anyway? In some way, I've seen her bully three kids."
"Three? Try most of the kids in this town. She picks on some more than others."
"Something tells me that you're one of those kids."
"You're damn right." Shawn said.
"What's Madi got on you?" Kim asked.
"I work for the 'Children's Newspaper' here in town. It's basically a way to get kids and teens more involved with the community." Shawn explained.
"And Madi wants the front page?" Kim said.
"You heard the conversation that I had with Madison, didn't you?"
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. So you owe her money?"
"She pays me to take pictures of herself for the front page."
"How much do you owe her?"
"One-fifty. Maybe two hundred. The paper pays me ten bucks every few weeks; I don't have enough money to pay her back." Shawn said. "I spend my money on my little sister, because she has cancer. My parents are working hard for money, so every little bit helps, right?"
Kim knows about cancer and other diseases on Earth. Oddly enough, there's something like cancer in Cyberspace also. When she worked with Lucky on the police force, one of the cops got it. He survived, luckily, but she could kind of relate to Shawn.
"That's sweet of you to do that." Kim said.
"Yeah, if only Madison cared. Not just for me, but for everyone."
"She's just a sponge." Kim said. "She will soak up popularity like it's water. You just need to squeeze it all out."
"Easier said than done." Shawn said.
The two sat in silence for a bit. Kim looked around and she could see the café, which made her release a high-pitched chuckle.
"What was that?" Shawn asked.
"Oh, it's just something I do when I think of something… devious." Kim asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I live in an RV and I'm leaving town tomorrow. Might as well go out with a bang, right?" she said.
"What do you have in mind?" Shawn asked.
"Just be in the café tomorrow with your camera. Let's just say that Madison's going to get the front page of the newspaper." Kim said.
"I have no idea what you have in mind, but I like it." Shawn said.
"Good, well I better get going." Kim said as she stood up. "See you tomorrow."
"See ya." Shawn said before Kim walked away.
A portal opened in Kim's room as she stepped out. The blonde pulled off her red wig as she walked to the bathroom. Tossing her wig in the box that she left in the bathroom that morning, Kim pulled out her green contacts, and threw them away.
After turning on the faucet, she cupped her hands in it and used the water to wash the fake freckles off her face… until she couldn't feel her legs.
Kim fell face first out of the bathroom. She looked back at her orange tail on the bathroom floor. "I forget," she said as she rested her head on her hand. "I always forget." Kim doesn't wear make-up, so it's not much of a habit to sit on the counter like she does when she brushes her teeth.
She heard someone knock on her door. "Kim?" it was Digit.
"Shit." She muttered to herself.
It was difficult, but she managed to get into the bathroom and shut the door. Her back was up against the door, because she doesn't have a lock for it.
"Kim?" she heard Digit say.
"I'm in here." Kim called from behind the door.
"You okay in there? I thought I heard something fall." the cyboid asked.
"I fine, I just… stubbed my foot on the bathtub." Kim lied. "I could use some privacy, Dige."
"Oh right. Sorry."
Kim waited until Digit left and heard the door to her room close. Once he did, she groaned in annoyance.
"Why can't I just be normal?" Kim said as she ripped a towel off the bar it was hanging on. "Oh yeah, I live in Cyberspace; nothing's normal here.
After Kim's tail changed back into legs, she stood up and turned the sink faucet off. She picked up the box that her wig and tote bag was in and walked to her room to change back into her normal clothes.
Kim walked out of her bedroom and to her desk to push a button on her home phone to listen to her voicemails.
She sat down in her chair and started typing on her keyboard to check Motherboard's system to make sure there aren't any viruses she missed.
"Kim, it's Ms. Fileshare. Thank you for sending Matt, Jackie, and Inez to help out at the library."
"Kim, it's Bobby. I got the stuff for you, just come to the club with the cash then we can trade."
"…"*
The blonde slowly stopped what she was doing and looked at the phone that had only silence come out of it. The silence went on for thirty seconds before Kim heard a beep from her landline; indicating that there weren't any more voicemails.
Kim took a deep breath to keep herself relaxed. She knew who sent the quiet voicemail. But the question that ran through Kim's mind was: how did he get her number to her landline. Only the rulers of every cybersite and her closest friends or allies knew that number. She trusts them enough to know that they'd never give out any kind of information. Especially if it was about her.
Kim sat there in silence for a bit before swiveling her chair side to side. Her eyes glared at the photo album at the edge of her desk, which she received yesterday.
Kim picked the big, brown book and walked over to her couch. She put the album on the table in front of her recalling what Annie told her:
"This will explain everything."
A cybercoop landed at Control Central. Digit came out of the control room to investigate and saw Slider get out.
"Hey Slider." the cyboid greeted.
"Hey, Dige. Is Kim okay, I heard about what happened?" Slider asked.
"I think she's been in her room all day today, so I don't really know." Digit responded.
"Can I go check on her?" Slider asked.
"I'm not stopping you." Digit said.
Slider made his way to his best friend's room and knocked on her door.
"Kim." After no response he opened Kim's door and walked in. Slider saw her sitting on her couch holding a piece of paper; she didn't even look up. She just kept her eyes on the paper. Slider walked over to her, she still didn't look up at him. She didn't even speak.
It wasn't until Slider was standing over Kim in silence for a few seconds before she spoke.
"McKenzie." Slider looked at her. "Kimberly Jean... McKenzie." she gave Slider the paper she'd been holding. "That's my full name."
Slider looked over the paper: It was a letter about her parent's death, but it was from her parents.
"I went to Earth." Kim started. "Apparently my parents were rich and I sort of ran into their maid. She gave me a photo album and I found a letter." Kim explained bluntly. "My parents were blackmailed by this couple and they threatened to kill Madi and I." Kim looked up at Slider, he noticed and he sat down next to her.
She leaned into him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Slider wrapped his arm around her.
"My parents were forced to commit suicide. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for what they did." Kim felt Slider's arm tighten around her.
"Come on, Kim, you don't need to cry." He said.
"I'm not crying." Kim said as she pulled away to look at him, his arm sliding off her shoulder. "What am I, three?"
"You were when your parents died." Slider pointed out, but the look on Kim's face made him regret what he just said.
Silence filled the air for a few seconds.
"Kim," Slider put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. "I know that family is a rough spot for you, but I just want you to know that you're not alone. You've got Motherboard, Digit... You've got me, Kim." The blonde smiled a little before wrapping her arms around Slider's neck, hugging him before he spoke again. "You always had, and you always will."
Kim felt her soft smile fade at the last part. "Yeah... Always..." She said, praying it wasn't a lie
"What's up with you?" Slider asked as he pulled Kim away to look at her. "You're acting weird."
"What do you mean?" Kim asked.
"I don't hear from you in almost a week, and you just had a panic attack. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Kim, please tell me the truth."
"Well... Uh..." – 'Come on, Kim; tell him. There is no possible way that he could be watching.' – "It's just that... my nightmares." Kim lied. "You were right, I needed help. I've been seeing a therapist and I managed to get a little bit of info on my nightmares, but not much."
"I told you so." Slider said after a few seconds of silence.
Kim punched him in the arm once he said that. After she did Slider shoved her, but Kim fought back and she ended up in a headlock.
"I hate it when you put me in a headlock." She said.
"I know." Slider said. "That's why I do it."
He eventually released Kim.
"I'm sorry." Kim said after silence fell.
"Sorry for what?" Slider asked.
"For calling you a jerk." Kim said.
"No, I deserved it. I shouldn't have gone behind your back." Slider said.
"You really think I would have said yes if you didn't?" Kim said.
"Well then that's why I did it." Slider responded.
Silence fell between the two, once again. 'Kim, you have to tell him the truth about… you know. If you don't something will happen to you. Same thing if you do. Lose-lose; nice job asshole.'
"Slider," Kim started. "I need your help with something I'm dealing with."
"Okay, what is it?" he asked her.
"It's… The portals." – 'You're a gutless turd.'* — "A virus managed to get into Motherboard's system and the portals malfunctioned."
"How does a virus get past your firewall?"
"It was the Red Rose virus."
"Kim, I know machines, not viruses."
"Right. Anyway, it's a virus that seems pleasing and not harmful enough and it gets into the system. Once it does, it will attack what it wants to attack." Kim said. "You know like thorns on a rose."
"Is that why you hate roses?" Slider asked.
"I've always hated roses." Kim said.
"So what did the virus do to the portals?" Slider asked her.
"It made a defective portal in the control room and exploded." Kim said. "I managed to get rid of the virus, but I just need help checking the system."
"Is that it?"
"Yeah… I've been going though a lot lately and I could use the help."
"How much are you going through?"
"I'm going through more than you can imagine. With my nightmares, mentoring the boss's daughter, Matt, Jackie, and Inez getting bullied one way or another by my sister, taking care of Motherboard, and…" Kim put her face in her hands. It hurt her that she couldn't tell Slider about who was following her, but what other choice did she have.
Slider put a hand on her shoulder. "Kim, look at me." The blonde lifted her head to turn it towards him. "You're stronger than this, and you know it. I've seen you survive electrocution, beat up three guys who were all older and bigger than you. It even didn't surprise me when you joined the police force."
"Is there a point to this?" Kim asked.
"There's nothing you can't do. I'm just making sure that you know that." Slider said.
Kim smiled. "How is it that you're the only one who can make me smile?"
With that said, the two friends went on through the night talking about whatever came to mind.
Kim woke up the next morning with her head on Slider's chest who was still asleep with his arms around her waist, lightly pinning her to him, with blanket covering them both from the waist down. How they ended up like that, she was unsure.
Kim shrugged of the question and tried to get up, but Slider's hold slightly tightened on her and she couldn't get up. He didn't want her to leave, but to be honest; neither did Kim. She didn't want to deal with everything she needed to deal with; she just wanted to lie there. And she kind of liked it. Kim couldn't explain to herself why she did, but she felt safe. Something she hasn't felt in a long time.
Kim made herself comfortable on her friend's chest and decided to go back to sleep.
After a few minutes Kim heard her door open, she kept her shut, pretending to be asleep.
"Kim, I-" It was Digit. The cyboid wanted to ask Kim about her panic attack after giving her a little time. After noticing Kim and Slider were asleep on the couch, Digit flew closer to the two and landed on the table in front of the couch. He stared at them for a few seconds remembering Kim saying: "We're just friends."
Digit shook his head before he started to fly out of the room.
"I swear…" he said.
Kim knew he was talking about how she and Slider we're going to end up together. She hated it when people would think that. Kim felt Slider's hold loosen, opening her eyes, she grabbed a throw pillow and put the name to use by throwing it at the cyboid who almost made it out of the room.
Digit almost fell out of the air from being hit. He turned around only to see Kim and Slider still asleep. Digit shook his head before leaving the room and shutting the door.
After hearing the door shut, Kim softly smiled.
"Nice shot."
Kim lifted her head and looked at Slider. Seeing he was 'asleep', she shook her head, letting her head back fall back on his chest. She didn't really feel like getting up, yet.
One hour later…
Kim was walking Slider to the landing bay; his dad needed him to come back to Radopolis.
"Is that what you really want to do?" Slider asked.
"Well, I can't let my sister hurt them more than she already has," Kim said back to him. "Besides I probably won't be much help, and Cyberspace is already like a second home to them, anyway."
"Do you think Motherboard will be okay with it?" He asked her.
"I don't know; I mean, it's just a thought, but the more I think about it, the more I believe it's what they want." She replied.
The two made it to the landing bay and they turned to each other.
"Thanks for coming over."
"I'd do anything for you, Kim." Slider said. "You know that right?"
Kim wrapped her arms around his neck, "Of course I know that."
Slider returned the hug from his friend and they stayed like that for a few seconds before Slider tried to let her go; but she wouldn't.
"Uh, Kim you can let go now."
"You're gonna have to pry me off." She said.
Being slightly taller than her, Slider was able to push Kim down by her shoulders. Kim's hands now rested on his shoulders and Slider's remained on hers as silence now filled the space between them.
Every second going by was way to fast for Kim. Chances are that her days are numbered and she had to do everything she needed before the worst might happen, including goodbyes like she did the other day with Digit. It hurt her too much to say goodbye; afraid that one might be her last. The last time she might see someone, the last thing she might do, the last thing she might say. It's why she wouldn't let go of Slider; she didn't want to lose him.
But right here and right now was all that mattered now; the silence between Kim and Slider was perfect, or as Kim would say 'a beautiful moment'. She had to say what she needed to say now before the moment's gone.
"Slider," she started. "I have- to tell you something."
He stayed quiet, waiting for what Kim needed to say.
"Well, I... I kind of..." She stuttered. "I just want you to know that... I... Hope you get home safely." She said. "There's a lot of crazy people driving around in Cyberspace lately. I almost got hit while driving with the kids and Digit."
"I think I'll be fine." Slider said as started to walk away from her, back to his cybercoop.
Kim opened her mouth to say something as she tried reach out to him, but she closed it and felt the weight of her arms drag themselves back down to her side. She looked down at the floor to process what just happened as her hand grabbed her opposite elbow.
Slider got in his coop and shut the door. He looked back at Kim who looked up at him, he smiled and waved goodbye and Kim did the same before he took off for home.
Once he was out of her sight, Kim sighed as she stared off into the depths of Cyberspace.
Her mind was having trouble processing what just happened.
'What's wrong with my tongue? *' she thought. 'You make your own quote and you don't even listen to it.'
Kim turned away from the stars of Cyberspace and walked back to her room. She had some unfinished business to do on Earth.
Among the smell of coffee and hearing a ringing bell when someone opens the door to the cafe, Jackie and Inez were sitting at a small table by the window in the small shop.
The two were waiting for Matt to arrive after they all agreed to meet there when Inez said she found something on the microfilm.
"You know, I've been thinking about something." Jackie said.
"What about?" Inez asked.
"You know that we both have a crush on Slider, right."
"Yeah."
"Well now that Kim's entered the picture, where does that leave us?" Jackie asked.
"I don't know, I mean I'm not even sure if we even had a chance with him, I know I didn't." Inez said.
"Do you think I have a chance?" Jackie asked.
"Well, you have a better chance than I do, but I'm not so sure against Kim." Inez said.
"Do you think Kim would mind if Slider got a girlfriend?"
"If the girl was jealous of Kim and hated her; then I think so."
"What if I was the girlfriend?"
"Well, if you let Kim and Slider have their space as friends, then I don't think she'd mind."
"I guess you're right." Jackie said. "But Kim does have a better chance then me, doesn't she?"
"What do you mean?" Inez asked.
"Kim has been friends with Slider for six years, and we hardly know him for almost three." Jackie said.
"Well you have a point."
"Yeah... You know Digit's shipping them?"
"You're serious?"
"Yeah. He told me when they were hugging each other goodbye."
"That was when Hacker electrocuted her, right."
"Yeah, it was a while after Kim woke up."
"You know, I think Kim and Slider are so close because of her nightmares." Inez said.
"I think you're right. I just wish I had someone who cared for us as much as those two." Jackie said.
"Well, Kim's got Slider, and we've got-" They heard a bell jingle and they turned their heads to the door to see Matt walk in. Jackie and Inez turned to each other and laughed.
The redhead noticed and made his way over to the girls. "Hey, what's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing." Jackie said before she and Inez giggled at their conversation.
"Whatever." Matt said as he sat down at an empty chair at the table.
"So, anything new with you, Matt?" Inez asked.
"Not really. You girls?" he replied.
They both shook their heads and the conversation ended, thinking on what to say next.
The silence broke when the three heard a vibration come from Matt's backpack. Pulling it off his shoulders, Matt opened it and reached inside for his SQWAK pad. He kept his hand in his backpack to avoid the questions of where he got the device.
"Who is it?" Inez asked.
"It's Kim." he said.
"What did she say?" Jackie asked.
With a smile on his face, he answered, "The portals are fixed."
Meanwhile… At the park…
Kim with her hand in her black tote bag she turned off her SQWAK pad and turned back to the conversation of whatever Madison was talking about. She was in her disguise, her red wig itching up a storm and the weird feeling of the breeze on her skin from the knee down thanks to her dress. Dealing with what she hoped wouldn't be a wardrobe malfunction; Kim was waiting for the right moment to convince Madison and her clique to go to the cafe. Although, Kim had a feeling that it might backfire, mainly because one of the girls from the clique was missing.
"Hey, Katie." Kim snapped out of her thoughts to answer to her pseudonym. "When are you leaving?" Madison asked.
"I think I'm leaving today." Kim responded.
"Oh, well that sucks." Madison said before looking ahead. "About time you got here, Megan."
Kim noticed the girl carrying one coffee cup in one hand and a cardboard cup holder carrying four more coffee cups. Her plan had backfired.
The clique hoarded that cup holder, grabbing the coffee cup they could get their manicured hands on, leaving one more for Kim.
"No, thanks. I don't drink coffee." she said.
"Come on, it's your last day here." Madison said.
"I don't think so." Kim said.
"Whatever." Madison snorted.
"Hey, Madi," Said the girl who got the coffee. "Check it out." she used her coffee cup to point.
Kim's sister looked to where she was pointing. "Oh this is too good." She said.
Kim looked to what they were looking at and felt her stomach cave in. The Cybersquad inside the cafe, the last place she needed them to be.
Madison tugged on Kim arm. "You see the boy in green," Madison said pointing at Matt. "He thinks I'm cheating on his brother."
"Are you?" Kim asked.
"Of course I am, but I can't let his brother know that. So I told him that I'd never cheat on him and to show his brother who's boss if he said that again." Madi said.
'At least I lie to protect others.' Kim thought.
"Girl in yellow, I tease her online. I love it when everyone else chimes in with me."
'What happens in Cyberspace stays in Cyberspace. Metaphorically and literally.' Kim remembered.
"Girl with the glasses, I like to mess with her. It's so cute when she thinks that she actually has a chance against me." Madison said.
"You make fun of her?" Kim said
"It's fun, come on I'll show you." Madison said before dragging Kim along with her clique to the cafe.
Kim felt her heart race as they neared the cafe. At least with the red wig, green contacts, makeup, and a completely different outfit than what she usually wore, the Cybersquad wouldn't recognize her. Well, she hoped.
The ringing of the bell when she along with Madi and her clique entered the cafe was like a punch in the stomach and another when she heard Madison say, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she said in the most sarcastic voice possible. The whole cafe, filled with teens, pre-teens, and kids, went quiet once they heard her voice, they all knew what was coming… if Kim wasn't there. "A snitch, a loser, and a nerd. How precious." The Cybersquad looked at each other in shock. Kim realized that neither of them told each other about their problem with her sister.
Kim looked around the cafe, no one looked like they were going to stand up for Matt, Jackie and Inez. Among that crowd, was Shawn.
He caught her eye and Kim used her index finger and thumb to make the shape of a camera taking a picture. Shawn nodded in understanding then Kim turned back to what was happening. Madison was standing in front of the Cybersquad's table, with two girls from her clique stand on one side of her, while Kim and the coffee girl standing on Madi's other side.
"What do you want, Madi?" Matt asked in annoyance.
"I'm just curious on why you three are best friends, that's all." Madison said. "Oh wait, I know misfits are friends with misfits."
"Just leave us alone." Jackie said.
"Well it's not like I have a choice." Madison said.
"Yes you do," Inez said. "You can leave us alone. It's not that difficult." Inez said.
"What fun would that be?" Kim's sister responded.
Different tones, but same lines that the two lost siblings said.
'Maybe we are related after all.' Kim thought.
"You wouldn't treat your siblings like this, would you?" Matt asked.
"Now what are you talking about?" Madi asked sarcastically.
'What the hell are these kids thinking?' Kim thought.
"You have any brothers or sisters you treat like this?" Inez asked now catching on where Matt was going with this.
"Oh please, I don't have any siblings." Madison said. "And if I did, they'd probably be a loser like you three."
The punch in the stomach was now a stab in the back. Madison completely disowned Kim, her twin sister. Sure it was for popularity reasons, but it still hurt. Wanting to punch her square in the face, Kim settled to her original plan.
"Madi," she said pitching her voice slightly so Matt, Jackie and Inez wouldn't know who 'Katie' really is and so Madison and her clique wouldn't notice a difference in her voice. Madison stopped smirking at the Cybersquad and turned to her. "I changed my mind about coffee, may I have a sip of yours?"
"I knew you'd change your mind sooner or later." Madison said before handing Kim her cup.
With the warm cup in her hand, Kim pretended to take a sip before she spoke.
"I don't like it. Here," Kim said as she popped the lid off of the coffee cup. "You have the rest." she said before dumping the warm coffee on Madison's head. Kim glared at Shawn who smiled at her before getting up with his camera.
Muttering an 'I hate bullies' before dropping the empty coffee cup on Madison's head, Kim stormed out. The entire cafe was shocked with a pleasing feeling, but pleasing became satisfying when Shawn said, "Smile, Madison." then snapping a picture of her dripping in coffee.
"I can't believe you guys never told me." Said Matt.
"Well, how were we supposed to tell you?" Jackie responded.
"And you're the one to talk, Matt. You didn't tell us either." Inez added.
"I guess you're right…" Matt responded.
Silence filled the space between the three.
"So, Madison's cheating on your brother?" Jackie said.
"Yeah, and he beats me when I try to tell him." Matt said.
"That's why you've been limping lately, huh?" Inez asked.
"Yeah, pretty much." Matt said. "And Madison's been bulling you."
"I can't deny that she hasn't. She's a total jerk to me." Inez said.
"And that's why you're scared of Kim?" Jackie asked.
"I'm not scared of Kim. She and Madison are twins; they have identical hair, voice, face… everything, except eyes. That's how I can tell them apart." Inez explained. "And speaking of bulling… Jackie?"
"Okay, Madison's been bulling me too, but not physically…" Jackie trailed off.
"She's cyberbulling you, isn't she?" Inez asked.
"I swear it's the worst form of bulling ever." Jackie said.
"No argument there." Matt said.
"The hardest part about all of it is that, I can't really say that I hate Madison, with out it feeling like I'm saying: I hate Kim." Jackie explained.
"I know what you mean." Inez said. "We see Madison, and she's a jerk. Then we see Kim, and she's…"
"Kim." Matt finished. "There is no way to describe her, she's just Kim."
"I was thinking that Kim was more of the complete opposite of Madison." Inez said. "But I guess there is no way to describe Kim."
The trio laughed in agreement.
"So where are we anyway?" Jackie asked. "I don't think I've been on this side of town before."
"Well maybe that's because of an orphanage shut down six years ago." Inez said as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded stack of three papers. Opening them up, she looked up to see where she was at before turning back to the papers.
"You found something in the microfilm, didn't you?" Matt asked.
"I might have…" Inez said. "There was an orphanage that shut down six years ago."
"So that could be any orphanage," Matt said. "Doesn't mean its Kim's.
"I thought about that so I did some more digging." Inez said as she moved the paper about the orphanage on the bottom, showing a different article. "I went back twelve years, and I found this: Lylah and Jack McKenzie, the richest people in town, are now proud parents of their twin girls, which they named Madison and Kimberly McKenzie."
"You can't be serious." Jackie said taking the papers out of Inez's hands reading it for herself.
"I didn't believe it either, until I went three years ahead, when Kim and Madison would be three and found this," Inez took the papers back and removed the article from the top showing a front page of a newspaper. The headline reading: The McKenzie crash.
"Lylah and Jack McKenzie passed away in a car accident late at night." Inez read. "Their two, three-year-old children; Madison and Kimberly McKenzie, are to be sent to the town's orphanage." On the article it showed a black and white picture of two little girls who looked exactly the same, but the girl on the right had darker eyes than the one on the left. "Don't they look like the ones we know?" Inez asked referring to Kim and Madison.
"Aw… They were so cute!" Jackie exclaimed when she saw the picture.
"Isn't weird that Kim lived in the same town?" Matt asked.
"I think we've seen weirder stuff, Matt. Take half the things in Cyberspace, for example." Inez pointed out before looking behind him. "There it is."
Matt and Jackie turned to what their friend was seeing and they found a tall, metal fence surrounding an area of dirt and dead grass. Among the colorless terrain, were the remains of the building that used to stand six years ago. Matt moved closer to the fence and bent down, sticking his arm through the diamond-shape hole. He brushed some of the rubble away and grabbed something as he retracted his arm.
It was dirty and deflated, but he, Inez, and Jackie could tell what it was. It was a ball, a purple one.
Looking back at the abandoned area, they could see a confused, scared child running away from the place she lived in for three years. It was when she lost everything, when everything deflated for her and dirt covered it up. Only thing that sets her apart from the ball was that she had dirt that she couldn't get rid off. Just like her nightmares.
A/N: Hi, I hope you like this chapter. I think it turned out good. Two more things:
One: Thank you PetiteElefant for helping me out on writer's block. I love you!
Two: Please don't be a bully. And if you are one, I'll send Kim to Earth and have her dump coffee on your head .
I think I only have one or two more chapters to go, and then I'm taking a break for something I'm taking over. Sorry, no spoilers.
Bye!
*- Warm Bodies.
*- Criminal Minds.
*- The Breakfast Club
*- Avril Lavigne: 'Things I'll Never Say'.