*Edited Version*

Chapter 13: Surprise! Wait, what? I Hate Surprises…

Liz's P.O.V.

This is really bad…

I paced the metal area as my breath quickened. I glanced at the glowing panel once more, the ticking causing fear to set in.

Come on… think Liz.

I walked over to it and examined it more closely.

You're not going to die.

I shifted my arm and felt something rub against it. I had almost forgotten about my emergency bag. I zipped it open and rummaged through all the components. Finally, I found the items I had been looking for. A wire cutter and protective goggles. I bent down until I was eye level with the bomb.

Wires seemed to connect to various parts of the device. Think, look at how it's made. The red is connected to the device while the blue is connected to the yellow and the yellow is connected to the outer shell, but the black is just… there. I gently took hold of the black wire.

"What? This isn't even put together correctly. All I have to do is…" I spoke to myself. In a single fluid motion I ripped the black wire from the device.

The bomb went blank. I let out a deep breath and allowed myself to slide down to the metal floor.

Suddenly, I heard something shift. One of the metal walls began to rumble and it slid open, revealing a narrow platform. I crawled over to the entrance and peaked inside. My eyes went wide at what I saw.

"Bex?"

Cammie's P.O.V.

All four of us stared down at the strange hole.

"Are we just going to stand here?" Macey asked.

Zach shushed her and continued to stare down at the ground. "There's something down there. It isn't quick sand. Come on."

Zach jumped into the muddy ditch and immediately sank through. Grant followed his example leaving Macey and I staring at there now vacant spots.

I sighed. "Let's go before they do something stupid… or more stupid."

I jumped in and as soon as I did I felt dirt fill my nose and mouth. I suddenly landed on a hard metal surface. I coughed and stood up, wiping the mud away.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Grant and Zach stood frozen as if they had just seen a ghost.

"Zach? Grant?" I tried to get their attention.

They turned to look at me and finally acknowledged my presence. Out of nowhere, I felt a body collapse on me.

"Owe…" I groaned.

Macey rolled herself off of me and gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

I sighed and stood up.

"What's going on?" Macey asked.

Grant pointed at a narrow opening where I'm guessing a wall was supposed to be. I walked over to it and looked through. A big warehouse stretched out in front of me. Random machines, boxes, and a lot of workers. It looked like any old factory except there was one difference. A small cell was in the corner of the room with two people in it.

Villains have definitely gotten creative… Near the cell, hiding behind crates of metal, was Liz.

"We have to go help her," I exclaimed before making a move towards the door.

Zach held me back before I could go in.

"What?" I snapped.

He nodded his head toward a group of people that were entering the large area. One of them was a boy that reminded me of Zach in a way.

"Is that your brother?" I asked

"Yeah," he nodded. "But he shouldn't be here. He wasn't responsible for trapping Bex and Jonas. This is a trap."

As if on cue red lights shined and sirens blared, but through all the noise I heard a cold and dark voice saying, "Hello brother."

(***)

The next thing I knew we were running through the factory with a bunch of middle-aged men chasing us. Yep, this was an ordinary day for a Gallagher girl. I skidded to a stop when I came to a dead end.

Everyone had split up. Grant and Macey went the opposite direction and Zach and I headed for the cages. Zach glanced at me for a brief second. "Ready?"

"I was born ready," I assured him.

We charged into the crowd with our fists raised. Seven, five, four, two, none. Soon, all of the guards were on the floor. Zach smirked at me, clearly impressed at my ability.

I returned the smile before we ran to the cell. Bex and Jonas stood in front of the bars.

"Bex!" I shouted when we reached them.

Bex gave me a weak smile. "And here I thought my best friend had forgotten about me."

I smiled at that comment.

"Step back," Zach ordered.

Bex and Jonas took a few steps away from the bars. He took hold of the lock and took a deep breath. In a fluid motion Zach snapped the lock off the cell. He tossed it aside and shook his hand before lifting the hatch and opening up the cell doors.

I pulled Bex into a tight hug. "I was so worried."

"I know. You're Cammie," Bex laughed.

"I admit this is touching and I'm grateful to be out of that human zoo, but I don't feel like getting killed today, so why don't we save the hugs for later?" Jonas declared.

I released Bex and turned to Jonas. "You're right. I'm pretty sure Liz, Macey, and Grant need help."

The four of us ran to the others.

"We have to go, now," Grant said in a stern voice.

"The only exit is on those platforms," Liz pointed to the metal platforms that hung above us.

"Then we have to move quickly," Macey added.

All of us ran to the nearest staircase as we ignored all the commotion behind us. Once we reached the platform I thought we were home free, but it's never that easy. The platform began to sway and rock back on forth. All of a sudden the metal cords holding up the platforms began to snap.

"You guys go, we'll find another way," Zach told us.

I shook my head. "We're not leaving you behind."

"We'll meet up with you soon. It'll be alright," he assured me.

Before I could reply, Zach took hold of my wrist and pulled me towards him. He pressed his lips against mine and I felt everything around me slow down for that one moment. My eyes fluttered closed and the kiss deepened.

It was everything I remembered kissing Zach felt like and I didn't want it to end, but I was snapped out of it as Macey cleared her throat.

"You two have time to suck face later," she pointed out.

I saw Zach's signature smirk appear for the first time in weeks. "Go."

He gave me another chaste kiss before running down the steps with Grant and Jonas. I turned back to the other girls who were staring at me intently. "Let's go."

As we ran to the exit a voice echoed through my ears.

"Don't worry. I don't give up that easy…"

Liz's P.O.V.

Macey, Cammie, Bex, and I made small talk as we waited for the boys. We sat at the hotel we had decided on when we were making the plan to head to Japan.

I must have zoned out because the next thing I heard was Bex calling my name.

"Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Bex asked.

"Not that I know of," I answered.

"Well, I think I'm going to get some rest. Are you coming Liz?" Bex asked as Macey, Cammie, and her prepared to leave the room.

I shook my head. "Later. There are some things I want to take care of."

She nodded and the three exited the area of the suite. I sighed and sank into the seat I was in.

Suddenly, I heard the door open. I jumped up, but upon seeing it was Grant settled down again.

"Hey," he greeted.

I offered him a small smile. "You three came back?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they decided to go to bed. I came because I wanted to finish that other conversation."

"I don't know. Maybe it's best we leave it unfinished," I replied.

He stepped forward, slowly decreasing the distance between us. "Can we just talk?"

I sighed and patted the seat beside me. "Come sit."

He took the seat I offered him, only inches keeping us apart. "We kissed and nothing has really been the same between us. I told you how I felt and I just want to know how you feel."

I could feel all my thoughts getting jumbled up in my head and I ran a hand through my hair. "Grant,"

He shook his head and placed a hand over mine. "You feel the same."

"You don't know what you're saying," I insisted, yet I knew that he could see right through me.

"You sure?"

His face was close to mine now and I could feel his warm breath against my skin.

I sighed and looked up at him. "I'm not."

That was all he needed to lean forward and press his lips against mine. It was just like I remembered. Soft and sweet yet it still had a fire to it. A fire that was consuming all my thoughts and making me forget that next door our friends were asleep.

And then Grant pressed me up against the couch and the last word I would use to describe the kiss was sweet. It was just his lips and his tongue and his hands. A feeling that I had never felt spread throughout my body and as Grant pulled away for a second, I felt myself tugging him back.

Grant didn't protest and in a matter of seconds his lips were back on mine. He let his hands run down my body and goosebumps erupted on my skin.

That's when I heard it, the sound of something hard colliding with the floor. Grant jumped back and I turned to look at the person who had caught us. It was Bex.

"Bex, it's not what-," I stopped myself from saying anything else as I stared at Bex's face. It didn't matter what I said. She knew it would be a lie.

She stared at us for a moment before she turned away and left.

I glanced at Grant who sat flustered and out of breath across from me.

I turned away from him. "You should go."

Grant nodded in understanding and immediately exited the suite.

As soon as he left, I fell back on the plush couch and covered my face with a pillow. This is how it feels to be caught in the act of doing something that could hurt others.