What's this? AngelicSpring updated? *looks out the window* Is there a full moon out tonight?

...

Oh wait. There's no moon yet.

Anyhoo, stupid intro aside, yes, it's me Angel. Why I updated early is beyond me, but... Maybe it's because there's this chapter I made (not this one, sadly) that I'm really looking forward to. Haha. So excited. XD

To thank our awesome, ever-so-loyal reviewers: emmelinekat, NatalieKfan, Reginaa2111, addicted2reading9 and I_Luv_Hamilton_Holt (how's it going? I'm so glad you're still following this story! Thank you so much!) ! Thank you so much, amazing people! Much Love, Peace Out to y'all! Hugsies and Kisses!

Moving on -

Ian stomps in, glaring at me. "What in the name of pigeons is the matter with your brain?" he exploded, his hands clenched into fists. He oddly smells like lemon-scented dishwashing soap.

I chuckle mischievously. "Shall we begin with story and ignore meanie Ian here?"

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own anything aside from the plot bunnies.

Start -

"Don't you dare ignore -"

With the story. Enjoy!

oooooOooooo

Chapter 6

Jonathan leaned against the pool table, twirling the cue stick along his wrist. He looked impassively at Alex who was taking a long drink from his root beer. Droplets of condensation fell on his denim pants. "Are we playing or not?" he inquired edgily, glancing swiftly at his watch. "Unlike you, I'm awfully busy and –"

"It has come to my knowledge," Alex interrupted smoothly, standing up from the black recliner and taking a cue stick for himself. He seemed unfazed with other guy's intolerance. "That our dear Victoria has been missing in the premises for quite a while now..." He gave the older boy a meaningful look.

Which Jonathan returned with expressionless eyes. "So?" he retorted, looking closely at Alex as he arranged the billiard balls and deftly placed the white cue ball in the middle. "Am I supposed to know where the heck she is every second of the day?" Dang, too much words, he thought, suddenly alarmed though his features revealed nothing. He could see so much in that. He cursed himself silently and promised to be more casual.

Alex made a face of agreement with the boy's incredulity and gestured for him to make the break-shot. "No, no. That's not what I meant," he amended, smiling thinly with his amber eyes glinting threateningly. "I just hope you know better than to feed and encourage her somewhat insane actions."

Jonathan remained outwardly impassive and waved a dismissive hand, positioning himself and the cue stick. "I think you do that part better than I do," he admitted with a hint of sarcasm. He gave the stick one quick and expert thrust, sending sixteen pool balls rolling in different directions. He watched as three of the balls swooshed inside different holes. "Isn't that what the two of you do best? Support one another to the point of absolute stupidity?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow at him.

Alex laughed good-naturedly at the statement. "I suppose so," he replied, still chuckling. He eyed the table keenly and went on the left side of the table where the cue ball lay a good few inches away from the edge. He gave the stick a few trying pushes. The stick made a clicking sound as it made contact with the cue ball. "Let's just hope that she isn't taking some matters in her own hands."One more ball went in, only managing to budge the 8 ball as it rolled. He walked towards his mug of root beer and took a long sip.

Jonathan eyed him wordlessly. He quickly took his turn, only grazing the coveted black ball with one of the two balls he managed to send in the holes.

"The Council wouldn't like that very much," Alex continued as he took his turn, sending one green ball to its end. "Neither would I." He levelled a blazing, significant, golden look at him.

Jonathan swallowed as he hit the cue ball effortlessly, finally ending the game as the 8 ball fell into the black hole. "Point taken," he said, putting the pool stick down on the table. As he exited the room, Jonathan paused. "I don't need you letting me win next time, kid," he said, sounding annoyed, without turning to look at him. "Longest game we've had."

Alex chuckled at his ill-tempered departure. "Longest game you'll ever have," he murmured ominously with a smile to match, gulping down the rest of his root beer.

xxxOOOxxx

Ian Kabra leaned back on one of the seats of the newly-crafted MS 760 jet, his laptop wide awake in front of him. He rested his head on his hands, not daring to open his eyes to check if something was wrong. Because everything is wrong. The Wi-Fi is horrible – can't even open Yahoo without getting a 'Unable to connect to the Internet' memo every five minutes or so. If that's not bad enough, a single page takes about ten minutes to load. Their basement had better reception than this! Hamilton and Jonah are on the controls, probably on the verge of sending this whole thing spiralling towards the earth, managing to set the whole thing on fire first while they plummet.

And Daniel.

It always has to be Daniel. The primary source of his headaches.

Ian, after running his fingers through his jet-black hair for the nth time, rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "Daniel," Ian started with his eyes still closed. Just count to ten, Kabra, he thought, taking a slow breath through his nose. And whatever you do, just don't strangle the kid. "What went in that head of yours –"

Dan grunted in annoyance. "Oh, why don't you just get over it, Cobra?" he griped grumpily. Ian made him sit on a corner with about ten seatbelts strapped on him and he was told not to talk for a whole hour. Of course, he was grumpy... and hungry. "Do you have any chips?"

Ian observed him for a long second, pretending that while he's speaking, Dan has his mouth shut with layers of duct tape. "Do you know what Amy is willing to do to me if she finds out you sneaked in and joined us?" he asked him steadily.

Dan pretended to look excited. "Is she gonna ban you from the house?" he suggested eagerly. "'Cause I'd like that. I really would." He nodded his head vigorously, showing Ian that he likes that idea very much.

Ian rolled his eyes. "She would incapacitate me," he said plainly.

"Yeah... I don't see how that's a bad idea," Dan replied. His jade-green eyes glared out the jet's mini circular window.

"Not if I incapacitate you first," Ian growled, his fingers inching towards the laptop and getting ready to chuck it at his head.

Hamilton peered inside the room from the cockpit. "Is everything going okay there?" he asked, and then he laughed at the question. "Who was I kidding? Of course not!" He continued laughing at his own wit.

"Just fly the stupid jet, Holt, and concentrate on not crashing all of us to our deaths," Ian waved him off. Hamilton made a face at Dan like 'Can you believe this guy?' as he raised his arms in defeat and sat back down. Jonah chuckled from somewhere there in front.

"Ham and Jonah don't seem to mind," Dan pointed out. He looked at all the restraints on him. "Besides, it's not like I'll mess things up. Just look at me as... Boots and you guys are like Dora."

He said what now?

Ian stared at him with his jaw slightly open. Hamilton and Jonah flipped the Auto-pilot button up to look at the kid with the same disbelieving face Ian has. Their expressions were priceless and surely, a sight that majority if the Cahills would pay to see.

Dan, being Dan who usually lets things which he thinks are useless fly over his head, looked back at them confusedly. "What?"

"You still watch that? Dude!" Jonah complained, throwing a balled up paper aimed precisely at Dan's head. "What're you like, five?"

Hamilton sniggered after getting over his short moment of absolute shock. "Can Dora hear what your favourite part was?" he asked mockingly in between laughs.

Jonah joined in, not missing out on any chance of embarrassing Dan. "Does she ask you where you're goin' next?" he laughed insultingly harder than Hamilton.

He and Jonah high-fived at that, yelling loudly at their witty comebacks.

Dan shot them a dirty look. "Yeah. 'Cause Thomas and Friends are for 18 and up," he retorted. He looked at Ian like, Can you believe them?

Ian wasn't looking at him. He was busy slamming the back of his head on his cushion of his seat, all the while muttering unintelligibly about how he hates his life. He also considered a face-desk moment only he really does not need a concussion.

He also dared not point out that if Jonah and Hamilton were so mature, how come they knew that programme so well?

That would only cause too much trouble than he could handle for one day.

xxxOOOxxx

Warm, afternoon sunlight filtered through the slightly agape windows, illuminating the different antique trinkets scattered around the room. A music box with gold trimmings, a ballerina figurine in mid-twirl, a couple of Precious Moments dolls, a collection of angel figurines based on birth months and many other. This old store had been standing in this very spot since 1860 and the grandson of the founder is now looking after it.

"I was wondering if you knew a woman who owned this locket," Victoria told the old man seated on a rocking chair. She held out an antique, gold locket with engravings of intricate vines. She pressed a button on the side and it sprang open. The old man gave her a sideways glance and his old, wise eyes glittered as his shaky hands pointed at the locket.

"Funny girl... with... little blonde... kid..." he wheezed in Russian wistfully. His thirteen-year-old great-grand-daughter came inside the room with a tray of snacks and tea. Her blonde hair is braided into two pigtails and she smiled apologetically at the raven-haired girl. "I'm sorry about my grandfather," she said in a quiet voice, also speaking in Russian. "He is very old. He forgets."

The old man seemed to understand that and shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, no. Young girl with little blond kid," he blubbered, nearly incomprehensible. Victoria gave him a wry smile. "No, sir. I'm afraid the woman I'm looking for doesn't have any kids with her," she said gently. "And it's not a blonde-haired boy."

"Not her kid. No, no," the old man protested. "It's her kid." He nodded understandingly, leaning his head back on the rocking chair and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

The little girl gave Victoria another apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry," she said. "looks like he wasn't much help after all."

Victoria shook her head quickly. "No, I just... I was just hoping since the name of this shop... is at the back of this locket." She showed her the antique locket with a picture of a smart-looking, Russian brunette. "Maybe he knows the family name of this woman."

The little girl smiled warmly. "I'm sure you will find the person you seek," she told her. "Maybe you should try the home-for-the-aged. She might be in there."

oooooOooooo

This is so much fun. Anyways! Thank you for all those people who found my pet baby panda cute and adorable. And if you're wondering, Ian's poisoned dart earned me a cute little bump on my forehead which he paid for by washing the dishes used during the Cahill feast yesterday. Hand washed, mind you.

"Darn right he did!" Amy exclaimed, suddenly popping out beside me. She blows out a strand of reddish-brown hair away from her eyes. "How dare he use his darts on innocent people?"

Innocent? Hehehe... hehe... Suuree... innocent. *sweat drops* Sudden flashback music blares out of non-existent speakers. I quickly wave my hands to make the music go away.

Also, I know you guys don't care so you could just skip this but I'm having major fangirl issues on a lot of ships. (Did I use that term right?) So heads-up to those who love SEDDIE (iCarly), AMUTO (Shugo Chara!) and KUKAIxUTAU (Shugo Chara!) So yay! XD I'd do the less than three thing, but this site won't let me.

QUESTION of the DAY:

What pairing recently has made you all fangirly? Oh yeah, I haven't read the Divergent series so if anybody has, is it good?

Read, re-read and REVIEW?

Love you guys so much, so till next time?

Less than three,

AngelicSpring