27)

1 week after.

Everything had changed in SPD. The whole place was dull, as Sky was constantly fighting with Syd, but controlled himself as she was carrying his kid asper her. Bridge and Sophie lost their charm, Kyle hadn't smiled in days, and Tylor simply sulked. And the cause for all this was Z, who had changed, she wasn't the sassy Z she was before, she wasn't the sweet Z like when she was with Sky, she had hardened up. So much that she snapped easily, and lost her temper at the smallest of things, not on Sky ofcourse. She didn't even try to socialize with Syd or Tylor because it just made her blood boil.

Sky entered the command centre and saw Z working and said "Everything under control Z?"

Z looked back at him and her heart started to beat faster, and she nodded "Yes."

Sky who was also feeling his heart thump hard thought of a way to stay longer near her and said "Uh Z... What's your problem with Syd?"

Z sighed, as she paid more than required attention towards the pen in her hand, "Um... well I... just can't stand her anymore."

Sky looks at her intently and says "Why? You were inseparable before. You were bestfriends."

Z sighed, not getting any apt reply, "I need to leave." and she starts to walk away as Sky holds her hand, his body getting a tingling sensation as he does and says "Don't walk out on me Ellie."

Z turns back in shock and says "What did you say?"

Sky who was still holding her hand, looked shocked himself and says "I don't know... I don't know why but I just called you Ellie, that's weird."

Z smiles fondly "No it's not actually."

Sky's heart beats even faster on seeing her smile the first time genuinely, after he regained consciousness, and that too so sweetly that he could just melt.

Just then a cadet comes in "Commander Tate."

Sky reluctantly left her hand and saw her walk away while he turned to the cadet.

Z walks out of the command centre smiling, thinking he atleast remembered something about her. Her heart completely fills up with love as she gets a push from her inner self to get back her love, so she goes to the lab, hoping to find the two people she needed.

She entered to see Bridge and Sophie working on something and says "Guys... I really need your help!"

Bridge and Sophie were pleasantly surprise on hearing a familiar chirpy tone in Z's voice that they missed so much.

Bridge says "Anything Z."

"I need to find Justin."

The next day, Syd sat on a park bench, feeling guilty of taking control over the whole situation. She was scared, what if Sky snapped out of his memory loss one day? And the way she was hurting Z, was hurting her as well. But another voice in Syd's head reasoned that Syd deserved all the good in life after her heart was broken by Justin. Justin. Just the name caused her heart to flutter. But then why was she with Sky? But Sky still thinks he and Syd are a couple. She wanted to get back at Sky for not treating her the same way before like he treated Z. But even if he remembers nothing about Z, the way he looks at her is proof enough that he is fighting an internal battle on a daily basis between his heart, his love for Z AND his brain, his relationship with Syd.

Suddenly Tylor came up and sat beside her "Don't forget to come to the SPD annual ball." as he gave her a pamphlet.

Syd looked at him, his face had lost any glow that he had.

She smiled "Distributing pamphlets everywhere are we?"

But Tylor didn't smile, he just nodded and left.

She sighed and got up and left.

After a tiring battle which Bridge, Kyle and she had won and contained the criminal, Z went to the room she shared with Sophie and saw the same pamphlet on her bed and crushed it in her palm and threw it in the dustbin.

Sky who was in his room, only thought about Z's smile. That had been the single-handed highpoint of his day, of the entire week actually. He saw the pamphlet and sighed as he opened his cupboard and looked for a towel to go take a shower but his head got dizzy as he got hazy unclear images of a brunette coming out in a black towel combing her wet hair just near where he was standing infront of the cupboard.

Sky then walks backwards and sits down on the bed holding his head, while his heart bumping badly on his chest. Once he calmed down, he shook his head and got up to look for the towel, but his hand touched something hard and he removed it out to see it was a yellow and black scrapbook and there was a big Z written on it.

"Z...?" comes out of Sky's mouth as he opens it and starts reading it.

Z came into the command centre and sees Kat's worried face and asks "What's up Kat?"

Kat says "It's Sky. He's not answering his morpher which is peculiar because he always answers it on the first go."

By the time Kat finished she saw Z had already ran out of the command centre.

Z came running towards the commander's room but stopped infront of it thinking whether she should enter or not. She then thinks about Sky being in trouble and puts in her morpher in the scanner and punches the security code Sky had told her when they were together and sees Sky on the floor with her scrapbook near him.

She gasps and rushes to him and tries to wake him up, "Oh my God Sky! Wake up!"

She then splashes a bit of water on his face, and he doesn't wake up, she checks for pulse and lets out a big sigh of relief on getting it and immediately connects to the central command and says "Kat! Sky has fainted! I'm in his room!"

After three hours.

A very tensed group of people are waiting outside the infirmary as Kat walks out of Sky's room and says "Apparently Sky was overloaded with information which his brain could not process. We had removed any and every reminder of the time that he had forgotten from his room or anywhere, but maybe we left a few out which caused this. But he's fine now. He's ready for visitors."

Everyone rushed in, and Syd ran faster and hugged Sky as Z stood beside her looking at him with concern.

Sky looks at Z, and doesn't understand why he feels like Z should have been the one hugging him not Syd. He then says "Syd. You can leave me now." while his eyes were fixed on Z.

Z looks down from his intense gaze and asks "How are you feeling Sky?"

Sky sighs "Much better."

Z breathes a sigh of relief and nods.

After 2 days.

The A-squad in SWAT mode are fighting a hideous criminal and Sky and Kat are watching from the command centre. Sky sees Bridge and Sophie send a series of blasts towards the criminal but in vain. He then sees Z and Kyle send kicks and blasts towards the criminal but the criminal blasts them away. Sky's eyes widen as he sees Z being hit by a blast and caught by Tylor and then he sees Z get off him almost instantly and walk away. He could feel something was not right between them. Maybe they dated and it didn't go well. But why was he feeling jealous. He had no clue.

As the A-squad came back, they see that the whole SPD premise is decorated in silver and white for the annual ball. Z and Sophie get into their room and get inside their own bathrooms.

Sophie comes out in a silky pink off shoulder short dress and sees Z sitting on her bed in her night suit and asks "Don't tell me you aren't coming to the ball? C'mon Z it's a SPD ball and it's a necessity for all the top cadets to be present."

Z sighs "Not if I am injured or ill or out of base."

Sophie raises her brow "You don't look injured or ill and you're definitely not out of the base... if I'm not talking to your duplicate that is."

Z smiles "You never know."

Sophie rolls her eyes "I hate it when you do that. Ok how do I look?" she twirls around.

Z smiles "You look beautiful Soph... Bridge is gonna be his babbling best today!" and they both laugh.

Sophie then says "Thanks! But seriously. Come ok? We'll be with you."

Z sighs and nods and Sophie nods and leaves.

In the SPD annual ball, Sky was talking to Kat and Boom in a dark gray tuxedo with a maroon waistcoat inside as Syd stood beside him in a silver and gold maxi dress to accentuate her swollen belly drinking a mocktail looking really disinterested in the proceedings. Bridge wore a black tuxedo with a red shirt as he talked to Sophie and Kyle. Tylor stood in a corner talking to a cadet named Stacey.

Sky was talking to Kat but his mind was occupied by what he had read in Z's scrapbook, he didn't know why but the image of the common room couch came into his head and a cake. He didn't understand the connection. He looked everywhere for her but when his sight fell on the entrance he saw Z come in. She was wearing a midnight blue short strapless dress and her straight, long hair was open, she knew he loved her hair open, so she let her silky brown locks gently cascade down her left shoulder as shorter locks fell behind. Sky was completely lost in her, he felt the urge to go and claim her lips but he stopped himself, he knew Z loved him after reading her scrapbook and he assumed that was the reason for her ill behavior towards Syd, but he didn't know why he was feeling happy on knowing that she loved him.

The whole party went by with Sky and Z stealing glances at one another even when Sky with Syd. He then saw Z getting up from her seat and walking out. Sky noticed her eyes were watery, he just felt like he had to comfort her. He excused himself from the dance as Syd sighed and nodded, and left the party going after Z.

He saw Z sitting on a bench in the terrace. His breathing increased as he took each step near her. Once he heard her sobs he quickened his pace and sat beside her and simply pulled her into a hug as he shushed her, she didn't even resist but hugged him back tightly and cried. Sky felt pain and content as he held Z tightly. Pain because his heart broke on seeing Z like this and content to finally have her in his arms. He shouldn't be feeling any of this but he did, and now he didn't even care why. As she calmed down she pulled out of his hug and wiped her tears. She never felt so helpless in her life even when she was on the streets. Having Sky in front of her, knowing Syd was lying, but still couldn't do or say anything just for him to recover. She felt really weak and useless.

Sky looked at her for sometime and asked "I know that you love me Z."

Z looked at him shocked and he continued "I read your scrapbook. But I don't know how it got into my room. I'm sorry I shouldn't have read it."

Z smiled at him "The scrapbook is yours. I gifted it to you on your birthday last year. And it is true I love you Sky. With all my heart."

Sky was taken aback by the calmness in her voice and the passion with which she told her feelings to him. Z to him now was an enigma, he was mesmerized by her. He'd never seen her like this before. She had really matured from the stubborn, over smart girl he once knew.

Sky let out a breath, staring at her as attraction grew stronger and said "Wow. Z. You know I have a girlfriend right?"

Z nods as she chuckles sadly "Yeah. But that will not stop my feelings for you."

"Well well well way to go Z."

Both of them turned back to see Syd glaring at Z.

Z rolled her eyes as they stood up "What?"

Syd said looking pissed "Sky's my boyfriend. How dare you?"

Z scoffs "How dare I? How dare you Syd. You took away whatever was mine."

Syd squealed "Well you took away what was mine too! Sky was and will be mine!"

Z now getting pissed "Really? Care to explain whose baby are you carrying Sydney?"

Syd was now in tears and goes to Sky "Baby! She's accusing me of... I can't take it anymore. This is our child Sky. Now you know why she wasn't talking to me because she loves you. She's been making sly comments forever now and I can't take it."

Z scoffed "Oh please save it Syd. Don't scoop lower than you already are!"

Sky saw Syd and then glared at Z "How could you Z? Syd is my girlfriend and the mother of my child, and your bestfriend too. You are the one trying to cause problems not Syd!"

Z who felt like she lost everything right at that moment was controlling her tears "Oh yeah? Then why were you here with me instead of being with your girlfriend?"

Sky now became quiet and tightened his hold on Syd's shoulder.

Z couldn't take the tension anymore as her eyes flooded more than ever and she screamed "You know what? I quit SPD. I quit! I'm out of here."

Z breaks open Syd's S pendant from her Z necklace and throws it out of the terrace and rushes away crying leaving Sky and Syd speechless.