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Chapter 4

Sunday

HPOV

I woke early even though our flight didn't leave until noon. I needed some alone time to think about what had happened last night. First there was Tommy acting like a jerk at the dance but what had me most concerned was what happened between Jake and I when we got back to the room.

I had just wanted him to calm down. He had been ranting, mumbling and growling. So I asked him to dance with me. What I didn't expect was how I felt in his arms. I felt so safe. It just felt so right, so natural to have him holding me. I think I actually liked it. Then when he said my name and I looked up at him I felt a surge of excitement course through me. He leaned in to kiss me and I wanted him to. When his lips brushed against mine I felt electricity flowing through me. But the kiss never happened. My mom interrupted.

I touched my lips where his had been. I wasn't sure if I was mad at my mom for interrupting or relieved that she did. All I know is that it can't happen again.

Eventually my mom and Jake woke up. Jake took his usual route of pretending nothing happened so I followed suite. We were all packed and enjoying some room service breakfast. There was a knock at the door I answered it thinking it was the orange juice they forgot to deliver earlier. Instead there stood Mr. Cooper.

"Umm, hello, Mr. Cooper. What are you doing here?" Maybe one of us forgot something yesterday.

"Good morning, Hayley. Can I come in?" He smiled and looked into the room.

"Sure." I opened the door wider to let him in. "Mom, this is Mr. Cooper. He was our guide yesterday and one of the chaperones at the dance."

"Hello, Mrs. Steele." He extended a hand. He then nodded at Jake, "Jake."

"Its nice to meet you, Mr. Cooper." My mom accepted his hand. "What can we help you with?"

"Mrs. Steele, we at YFA have been quite impressed by Hayley. So impressed, in fact, that we have extended an invitation for Hayley and of course you and Jake to stay until Thursday. Of course we will cover the room bill for the week and the fee for changing your return flight home."

"That's very generous but I need to get back to work and Hayley and Jake have school." I could tell she was proud, but also practical.

"Actually I already called Lakewood High School and spoke to a Mr. Stockley." He looked right at Jake and me as he continued on. "He was thrilled and it's all cleared through he school. Also, I have contacted Jake's parents and they agreed as long as it was alright with you."

My mom looked surprised by this. "I'm not sure…"

"Please, Mom." I begged. "Think about what a great opportunity this is."

"Honey, I can't get any more time off work."

"Then go. Jake and I can stay here. We'll be fine." I said.

She chuckled. "I don't know about leaving my daughter alone in a strange city with a boy."

I hadn't thought of that. "Mom, seriously! There is nothing going on between Jake and me. He's like a brother to me. An annoying brother." Jake raised his eyebrows at me annoyed.

"Hey!"

"Trust me NOTHING is going to happen. " I continued looking at Jake when emphasizing the word nothing. I hoped he caught my drift.

With a worried look my mom looked between Jake and me for a minute before consenting. "Okay, but only because I trust you both. And I know Jake will look out for you. That shiner on his eye proves it."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I jumped into her arms.

She looked at Mr. Cooper. "They will continue to have separate rooms?" He nodded. "They will be provided meals?" Nod. "Transportation?" Nod. "There will be adult supervision?"

Another nod. "I'll be with them all the time except bed time. There is nothing to worry about, Mrs. Steele." He reassured her.

She finally relaxed. After quite a bit of instruction and some money for some clothes (we only had brought enough for the weekend) we finally said our good byes. She was off, promising to call everyday.

Once she was out the door and on the elevator. I closed the door. Both Jake and I turned to Mr. Cooper. "Okay, now tell us what's really going on." I said.

He smiled at my directness. "Very perceptive. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Mr. Cooper, advisor for the Washington DC Troop." He grabbed his left collar just like Mr. Stockley. Must be an advisor thing.

"I see. So why did you want Jake and me to stay?" I asked.

"Come with me to our headquarters and I will explain everything." He headed toward the door not even looking to see if we were following. Jake and I looked at each other, shrugged and followed.

We arrived in the Troop headquarters underneath the James Madison High School. It looked almost identical to ours inside. Much to our surprise though we spotted another familiar face.

"Let me introduce you to my team. You have already met Amanda, Mandy." I nodded hello. I saw Jake's face break into a grin. I suddenly had a little dislike of Mandy. "This is our version of your Felix, Sandra, Sandy." She looked like a female version of Felix. I think they even have the same glasses. "And the final member of our team is Andrew."

I cut him off. "Let me guess: Andy?" I snorted. I turned to Jake elbowing him. "Get it? Mandy, Sandy and Andy?" Oh I crack myself up. Jake smiled.

"Actually its Drew." He extended his hand. Man did I feel stupid.

"Sorry about that." I said embarrassed. Changing the subject I turned to Mr. Cooper. "So now that we all know each other, why exactly are we here?

"Well, Hayley, we need your help. Sandy, I'll let you explain."

Sandy's face was serious as she spoke. "Troop Grid spotted a monster called a Condylepous. It finds a male host and controls him to find a suitable female to mate. Then it plants its seed by drilling into her abdomen. Once the spawn hatches, it makes its way to the female hosts brain where it proceeds to eat its way out. The spawn is when it's most dangerous. Once it has eaten its way out of the female it grows to enormous size and can destroy an entire city."

I shuttered at the thought of, well all of it. "So where is it?"

"That's the problem. We don't know. Troop Grid detected it a week ago but we have been unable to locate it. All we know is that it has not found a female to mate with yet."

Mr. Cooper continued for Sandy. "That's why we need your help, to track down and stop the Condylepous before it mates. We are aware of your record and couldn't believe our good fortune when we discovered you were in town. We took some time observing you and believe you could help us."

"Well, we do hold the record for…" Jake popped his collar and started to brag but was cut off by Drew.

"Yes, yes we know. Now do you think you could help us?"

"We will certainly try. But I'm not sure what we can do without Felix. He is the brains of our group." Yeah, I'm smart but I know I pale in comparison to Felix.

"We will take whatever help we can get. Time is running out." Mandy said smiling at Jake. Lord, help me. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle it if she spends the whole time making goo goo eyes at Jake.

We all had lunch comparing notes of our Troop exploits. Both sides had some good stories to share. Sandy was a little nerdy and awkward but I was used to it with Felix. Drew was quiet and serious. I wasn't sure he even possessed a sense of humor. I love a guy who can make me laugh and get the job done. Speaking of which, I had to listen to Mandy giggle at everything Jake had to say. Jake of course was just soaking this up.

After lunch we returned to HQ to call Mr. Stockley and Felix. The eight of us conferenced for a while about the monster. I could tell Felix wished he were here with us. I wished it too. We work best as a team. Felix, Jake and I.

Mr. Cooper drove us back to the hotel, stopping to pick up dinner on the way. I brought few of the texts with me back to the room to study.

Once in the room I put on clothes to get comfortable and study the texts. I slipped on some gray flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail. I then carried the texts into Jake's room and plopped onto his bed. He was dressed similarly in dark pajama pants and a blue tank top. Jake was lying on the bed with the TV remote in his hand.

For the rest of the night I sat next to him while he watched TV and I studied. I would occasionally bounce an idea off of him. After a while I heard a soft snore. I turned to look at Jake. He was sound asleep. I smiled and reached for the remote to turn the TV off.

I continued studying for a while longer. My eyes grew heavy. Unable to keep my eyes open any longer I dropped the text onto the floor and fell asleep.

A/N Please review and let me know what you think. It really does help. But if you don't I understand too. I know I read way more stories than I actually review. But if you have a spare second...