Returning Shadow's Chapter 6, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

Hola! I have two songs that I recommend y'all listen to while you read the beginning…haven't done that in a while.

Maps by Marron 5
OR
What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts

Hope you all enjoy this chapter…if anyone is actually reading this thing.

Nicole's POV:

"I'm getting really tired of that shooter to poke his head up again…" I groaned.

Arianna looked up from her book, "Be patient Nikki, besides where would I be going anytime soon?"

Unfortunately she had a point. How in the world would a would-be-assassin break into a GUN facility? Especially when Ari had a guard on her 24/7, it would be rather difficult to break in.

"Fine…but I just don't like it." I sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

My sister's face darkened. "Alright…just alright. Have you seen the new guy around lately? Shadow came in a few days ago asking about him."

Manic had pretty much vanished after being released from the medical bay, two weeks ago. Personally, I didn't care what happened to tall, dark, and annoying. But if he really was Star's son, then I knew we should probably find him.

"Not sure where he's gone, but I'm sure he'll pop up soon…"

NOVA started to beep suddenly. I pulled out the mirror and flipped it open. "Ugh…Shadow want's me in the debriefing room…again." I glanced at Ari, "Sorry."

"It's fine. Go save the world, again." She smiled sadly.

Without another word, I raced out of the room. Five minutes later, I was being bored through the same debriefing for the past few weeks.

It was literally exactly the same…except for one thing. Half-way through the lecture Nova buzzed. I bit rushed I checked the text message…and my heart almost stopped right there. I stood up, "Will you excuse me for a second?" I rushed out of the room before anyone could answer and sprinted down the hall.

It's Ethan. I'm outside the GUN outpost you're at, but the guards aren't letting me in. Do you want me to break in, or do you want to get down here and let me in?

When I reached the front door I shook myself awake. "Whoa! Hold it Nikki! There's no way it's Ethan… First of all, he never could have tracked you all the way over here and second of all, how would he have gotten your number. Also, that text did not sound like what he'd say. I mean force his way in? What's he going to do, sing himself in?"

I took deep breaths. "Just relax…then again it's probably a trap." Quickly, I brushed myself off and fixed my red-goggles. I pushed the door open and stepped out…to yelling.

"Look kid, scram!"

"I told you I'm waiting here for someone so lay off, Bucky!"

I stared in shock as the GUN guard and Ethan glared daggers at each other.

Ethan looked…different. Way different… For starters his clothes were different. Instead of a t-shirt he had a black top under a gray long-sleeved jacket with leather straps up the front, leaving it partially open. His pants matched the jacket and his shoes were gray with black stripes. He had a black hip and thigh gun holster, each holding G-32s (same gun Shadow and I use). The other thing that was 'different' was the way he…just was. His face looked more determined, fiercer, etc.

I felt my face heat up, but one advantage to having dark fur, it's hard to see blushing.

Ethan glanced my direction then glared back at the guard. "And here they are, idiot."

Poor Richard…he took one look at me and practically dragged Ethan onto the facility, apologizing every second. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry, Miss Ultimate! Sorry, Mr.! I didn't know!" You get the picture.

Ethan only rolled his eyes, took me by the arm, and steered me inside the building.

I followed a bit shocked…until it passed. I shoved him off me, "What are you doing here?! Didn't I tell you to forget about me? Charity is dead! Now get out of here before someone sees you!" I turned away from him

Ethan grabbed my arm and yanked me back around. Hard. "I'm not here for you. In fact, this has practically nothing to do with you. I'm here for a job. A personal job."

I wasn't sure what was more surprising. The fact that he wasn't here for me, or the fact that he said, job…and something told me it didn't have to do with waiting tables.

The brown hedgehog released me and began to walk away. That was when I finally noticed what was on the back of his jacket. "A black tiger insignia…Oh chaos, he's a Mercenary again."

Rather quickly, I caught up with him and…pulled of his jacket. "Who are you and what have you done with Ethan?" I pointed at the design in question.

The boy frowned and took the jacket back. "I'm still me…you just haven't seen this side." He turned on his heel and marched towards the center of the building.

"Where do you think you're going? You're not stealing from GUN, no matter whom or what you are?" I teleported in front of him and spread my arms out as if blocking his way.

Ethan stopped a foot away from me then leaned towards me. He looked me straight in the eyes, "I need to see Shadow. I'm not going to steal anything, quite the opposite in fact. I'm here to help with Arianna's assassin."

I stepped back as if I'd been slapped. "What?"

"You heard me," he pushed past me, as if I was invisible. "Now where is he?"

At first I didn't answer, then a bit shakily. "Follow me, but be on your best behavior." I started to turn to lead, then paused, "And don't say anything about the whole 'Charity' incident, okay? I'd hate to have to do something I might regret."

Before I could turn away, I felt Ethan grab my arm. His grip tightened ever so slightly, "And you don't say anything about Ethan Lavson…because I'd hate to do something I would regret."

I forced myself to look into his eyes. They were steady and deadly serious. I felt my blood go cold as I realized the boy I was looking at was a complete stranger…a stranger who would kill without hesitation. A bit too quickly, I lead Mercenary Lavar to the debriefing room.

Shadow hate's interruptions…but I think he hated the fact that I brought a complete stranger into the middle of a GUN facility.

"What in the name of Chaos were you thinking?!"

"I'm right here you know…" Ethan crossed his arms. "And she knows me…sort of."

Shadow glared at me with the 'explain' look.

"I ran into Ethan for about a day on my year-long mission." This was true…Nicole knew Ethan for a day, Charity knew him a lot longer.

Annie and Topaz started whispering in the back. Miley just looked back and forth between us. Jr and Arnold…well they ignored me and glared at Ethan as if saying, "Do you want to mess with me?"

"And by Chaos, why did you bring him in here?!"

"Maybe because I have information on your would be killer." Ethan nodded towards the small clip that was repeating over and over again.

That got everyone's attention.

Reluctantly, Shadow agreed to hear the mercenary out. …It was really weird to have Shadow sitting next to me during a briefing.

Ethan pulled out a flash drive. "I'm breaking about a hundred mercenary codes by doing this…but they'll get over it. No one likes him that much, anyway." He plugged the drive in and pulled up a file.

"Meet Scourge. AKA- Anti-Sonic. AKA- Sonic the Hedgehog."

I gasped in shock as a green version of Sonic popped up on the holographic projection. The strange Sonic itself was odd, but the leather jacket and three slash scars across his chest didn't help the picture.

Jr. looked like he was going to be sick. "My Dad?"

"Not exactly. Ever heard of other dimensions? Well, he's from a parallel dimension of…you know what? Let's keep this simple. He's the evil version of Sonic, and a thug for hire. Unfortunately, this means someone hired him to take a shot at Arianna." Ethan shrugged, "I don't really care about that part, nor would I be able to help out with that. I just hunt down the people who do the dirty work…"

Shadow frowned, but nodded slowly. "So explain why you know it's him, if you would…"

"Simple. You don't see him leave." Ethan pulled up the video and played it for the hundredth time.

I frowned, "That could just be a teleporter or some sort."

"No, because if you slow it down all the way…" He played with the computer then replayed the clip. "You'll see a green streak just barely leaving. The other reason is Scourge likes to get payed, but get caught? Not so much. If any other hired assassin was given this job, they would have set multiple death traps such as poisonous gas on the stage, poison in food, several snipers, and the assassin would have been near to finish the job with a knife or hand gun. The fact that the hired just took a shot with a sniper shows he had faith that he would succeed in one shot. Scourge invented self-pride in skills…it's him."

I glanced at Shadow and saw he was seriously considering…then again, we didn't have much to go on.

"And where could we find this, 'Scourge,' character?"

Ethan shrugged, "I've spent the last three weeks at a mercenary hideout and he hasn't showed his face. He's probably getting new orders from his 'boss' and trying to raise the pay."

Annie smiled. "Taking out a Sonic? This will be easy. I can do that in my sleep."

Across the room, Jr frowned in his sister's direction.

"It's not that easy," Ethan explained, "Scourge isn't exactly Sonic. For one, he plays dirty. Another thing, he's trained in a vast amount of weapons, has Sonic speed, and can teleport through time and dimension using Warp Rings…that last one is rather annoying." He frowned slightly, "And don't forget his girlfriend, Fiona."

Topaz rolled her eyes, "That guy actually has a girlfriend?"

"Yep, and she's annoyingly loyal to him. Fiona Fox is more dangerous than Scourge when it comes to weaponry. Her hand-to-hand combat is really good too." He went back to the holographic image of Scourge and clicked on something else.

An orange fox wearing leather jacket and pants showed up. I could see two guns and a combat knife, but something told me she had a lot more weapons on her person. I decided I didn't like her.

Ethan flipped back to Scourge, "Shall I go on?" He directed the question at Shadow.

I glanced at my Mentor, who had his expressionless face on. "How about we talk in my office… I'd like to see what a mercenary has to offer." He stood up and motioned for Ethan to follow him.

Ethan looked a bit surprised, but nodded and followed.

After the two of them left, Annie smirked at me. "Is that your boyfriend?"

I didn't answer…because to be honest, I wasn't sure.

Ethan's POV:

Convincing Shadow the Hedgehog that I knew about his daughter's assassin was a lot easier than convincing the Mercenary Council to let me back in…which was the weirdest thing ever.

I had arrived at the old Juice Bar two days after I'd left the old mining town (I drove at top speed the whole 48 hours). Outside the door, I hesitated then entered.

At first, no one noticed me. The old place looked exactly how it did 6 years ago. Same smell; same furniture; same everything. Even old man Johnny was still running the joint.

I walked up to the bar with my head down.

Johnny was wiping down glasses, as usual. "What can I get you, sir?" He didn't look up from his rag.

I sat down and looked around a bit hesitantly. I shook my head, "Mercenary's pick on the weak, remember idiot?" "I'll have some cranberry juice, Johnny."

The old man turned around, "Cranberry, uh? Not a popular choice in here, but still a good choice. Several years ago a kid used to order it all the time," He chuckled. "Loved that kid…wonder what's happened to him."

I smiled slightly, "Eh, almost got killed…twice. Now probably a third time."

Johnny froze in front of the dispenser and slowly turned around. His mouth dropped open, "Ethan?"

Slowly, I nodded.

His face broke into a grin. Rather sloppily, he filled the glass and brought it back to me. "What are you doing here kid, last I heard, you went Tommy."

I winced at the word. "Keep it down, Johnny. I'm trying to not be noticed. When's the next council meeting?"

"Well, it's in about an hour. In fact, they're going to officially throw you out of the order." His face grew serious, "Now looky here kido. You aren't coming back here again, they'll kill ya!"

I looked down at the glass, "I know, but I only got one shot. I'm going to try and do it…" I ran my fingers around the top of the drink, "Will you help?"

"Oh, shoot. You know I can't do that," Johnny was polishing his glasses again, "You're a great kid, but I can't go against the code. I'm sorry."

"It's not against the code. In fact, you'll be respected for it."

"What do you have in mind?"

"You're going to capture me and take me before the council."

Johnny dropped the glass and it shattered. "WHAT?"

"Shh! I know it sounds crazy, but this is how it has to be." I smiled at him, "You won't actually capture me I'll just be 'tied' up in the back room. You bring me out and I can plead my case before the council. You can say you drugged my drink, etc." I downed the cranberry juice. "It's the only way; I can't do it without you. Please, Johnny."

One hour later, I found myself in the back room tied up with the worst knots known to man. I could hear the commotion in the front room with the drinking and gambling. Yep, this place never changed.

The meeting started an hour late, as usual. The one council member present pounded order and the hub-bub died down to a whisper.

"Alright! Let's get started. First of all, your taxes are due in three weeks. You know what to pay and not get in trouble so no need to go over that."

A mercenary tax…that's probably the weirdest tax known to man because there's no written amount you pay. You're either pay a lot of money (if you're feeling generous) or you pay as little as possible. The money goes to freeing a fellow mercenary from a jail, a gang, or whatever else or it goes to new weaponry. (It's usually the last one, so some people are a little more generous then needed.)

The meeting continued for quite some time until finally,

"Lastly, we have the matter of Ethan Lavar."

The room practically exploded with yelling and shouting. It literally took five minutes for everyone to calm down.

"Alright, now that that's over with, we can continue. Now may the attorney's step forward and present their cases."

Why does the Turner Trial's feel like an actual trial? I never asked.

"Um…Hi. I'm Buddy Swiftfoot and I'm the defendant."

"I'm Carol Samuel and I will be bringing this Turner to justice."

Great…Buddy's dead.

The 'trial' began and yeah, Buddy pretty much died within the first ten minutes.

After a half an hour the thing basically escalated to dangerous levels. Finally they had the vote.

"All in favor of stripping Ethan Lavar's mercenary status, say I."

"I!"

"All apposed?"

Silence filled the air then,

"I!"

I could just imagine everyone turning towards Johnny.

"And I can prove it!" I heard footsteps and the door opened.

Johnny came over and knelt down, "You sure about this? The crowd would be willing to kill you with the drop of a hat."

"Yes…" 'I hope'

"Alright…" He helped me up gently then led me to the door. When we got to the doorway, he shoved me out and I fell to the floor. "Okay, that hurt…"

The crowd erupted with screams of hate and vengeance. After order was restored, the council man ordered me to be brought forward. Unceremoniously, I was shoved to my knees.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" I looked up at the raccoon.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I knew your father. He was a good mercenary, sorry about his arrest."

I shrugged, "That's what happens in this business, it's just how it rolls."

A few mercenaries nodded in agreement, their faces softened slightly.

"I'm Rock Raccoon, the 5th council seat."

I whistled, "Impressive, how long you've been sitting?"

"Four years. So what are you doing here? Are you and idiot, or just like adventure?"

I smiled slightly, "A little bit of both, sir. I'm just hoping that I can make my case fully heard." I glanced towards Buddy, "No offense, old friend."

The fox shrugged, "Eh, can't lie about what's true."

That got a few laughs and the tension in the room started to ease.

Rock chuckled, "So what brings you here, Lavar?"

I looked back up at the council member. "Well I wasn't counting on speaking in front of such a large group, but hey, nothing can be perfect when you're a Lavar."

That one got more laughs as many people knew that the Lavar's seemed to be cursed even the simple missions seemed to have some misheard complication.

"But despite that fact, I was wondering if there's a way to go un-Tommy…that didn't involve being killed."

That statement made the room go silent.

Rock frowned, "Well there's nothing in the code about that so I don't see how it could happen…"

"But there's nothing in the code that doesn't say it can't happen. After all, no one has ever tried."

It was true. Every Tommy usually ran for their lives. None of them ever tried to come back.

Buddy stepped forward, "5th council sir, I believe this Tommy should have a chance. For one, he didn't run from the Assassin's when they arrived at his house. He fought them, stood his ground, just like a good mercenary should."

I smiled, "It almost got me killed, but hey. Nothing's ever perfect."

More laughter. I looked around and noticed many of the mercenaries were nodding in agreement. Several I knew or my father knew, but there were quite a bit of strangers.

Buddy continued, "Another thing, he isn't a full Tommy. He never hunted mercenaries. If anything, we hunted him. He never gave away secret's to anyone."

Rock looked down at me, "Is this true?"

I started to nod, but stopped in the middle. 'Charity…chaos she's Nicole Ultimate!'

"This isn't true?"

"Well…"

Men started growling again.

"I had a friend that I explained a few things to…but she's fine."

I heard a few guns slide from holsters.

"No really, she's an honorary mercenary." 'Sort of…'

Rock rubbed his chin, "Can anyone support your claim?"

"I can," Buddy stepped forward. "Her name's Charity Amni, I'm the one who made her an HM."

"And why, pray tell, did you do that?" The council asked.

The fox smiled, "If you'd seen her, you would have too. She's smart and knows how to work a gun. She literally took down 10 mercenaries and sent us running. I was one of them."

Everyone was impressed by that fact…although I think Buddy was exaggerating it a bit.

Rock smiled at me with a glint in his eyes, "A friend, uh?"

I frowned, "We broke up about a month ago. I don't want to talk about it."

Buddy looked a little surprised, but shook his head clear. "He's fine."

"Well…it's true that it's never been done before which means…new policy's."

Everyone let a small groan leave their lips. One thing all mercenaries hated…was new rules, or policies.

"Alright so if Tommy hasn't hunted down any mercenaries, or given away secrets of the council can be reinstated as a full mercenary and rank must… Suggestions?"

The room started to shout out.

"Re-take the mercenary test!"

"Not crack under torture for five days!"

"Do three jobs on their own!"

"Re-take the ranking test!"

"Die!"

As you can tell, some people still didn't like me…which wasn't surprising.

After a few more minutes and Rock calling his fellow council members, they decided.

"Alright, here's the proposal that is being voted about all over the world at all the council meetings.

If a mercenary who has been marked as a Tommy Turner hasn't hunted down any mercenaries, or given away secrets of the council can be reinstated as a full mercenary and rank if they do the following:

1. Retake the ranking test.

2. Do three jobs. Two may be simple like body guarding or transporting. The last one must be a more difficult job and involve a person the public knows. This could be as hard as guarding the president, or helping a council member with some issues among the mercenaries.

3. Be re-sworn into the council, meaning they must pass the Mercenary test again.

"All in favor?" Rock raised his right hand.

More than half the room did likewise.

"All opposed," Hands shot up, but not as many.

Rock called in the voting and now we just had to wait until the rest of the mercenary world came in.

Five tense minutes went by until, "Alright it was close but the issue…"

I tensed up ready to run for my life.

"…passed."

I released my breath and relaxed. Knowing mercenaries, they would respect the decision of the council. I would probably be roughly treated, but hey, Lavar's never have it perfect.

Buddy cut my ropes away and slapped me on the back. "Woah…that was terrifying."

"Yeah, and I'm never hiring you as my lawyer ever again."

He chuckled, "I guess I deserved that…"

After all the congratulations (and a few, non-congratulations), I was pulled into test's and job applications.

Without too many details, I took the mercenary test first. It lasted a whole week, as it was designed to test if you knew the code. I passed that test without much panic.

Then came the ranking test. Too much of the surprise of the judges (and myself) I turned out to be equal to the rank of a tiger, almost Phoenix rank. Buddy fell out of his chair when he saw the insignia on my jacket.

The two jobs were just transport jobs. I drove a van for two companies (both owned by mercenaries) without any trouble…minus a flat tire.

The last job was the trickiest to get a hold of. Part of the issue was a lot of the council was against having an ex-Tommy in their office…and it wasn't like I knew the president.

That's when I got the idea to go to GUN. After pulling a few strings, I managed to find out where Nikki was and get her number (seriously, how did a mercenary find out Nicole's phone number?). That's when I drove over to GUN and got in that argument with the guard.

After texting Nicole, I just sat there. I slightly heard a door click open, but the guard lost it right there.

"Look kid, scram!"

"I told you I'm waiting here for someone so lay off, Bucky!"

I heard a slight gasp, and glanced over. Nicole was standing right there, the look on her face a bit confused, but other than that she looked normal.

Black pants with a red t-shirt actually suited her in this form. On Charity…not so much.

"Ethan, she's not Charity. And you're not the same…act normal."

After leaving a befuddled guard behind, Nicole pushed me away. "What are you doing here?! Didn't I tell you to forget about me? Charity is dead! Now get out of here before someone sees you!"

I was actually a bit hurt that she didn't want to be seen with her, but I pushed it aside. I grabbed her arm and yanked her back around. "I'm not here for you. In fact, this has practically nothing to do with you. I'm here for a job. A personal job."

She stared at me with those red eyes, the shock in her eyes evident. I released her and started walking down the hall, my thoughts turning. "Oh chaos…What am I getting into?"

Suddenly I felt my jacket get pulled off a little roughly. I turned around confused.

The hedgehog pointed at the Tiger insignia "Who are you and what have you done with Ethan?"

I frowned and took the jacket back. "Okay…there's a sentence that I didn't expect…" "I'm still me…you just haven't seen this side." I pulled the jacket on and began to walk again.

"Where do you think you're going? You're not stealing from GUN, no matter whom or what you are?" Nicole teleported in front of me and spread her arms out. It was actually kind of cute…wait what?

I stopped a foot away from her then leaned towards her. I looked her straight in the eyes, "I need to see Shadow. I'm not going to steal anything, quite the opposite in fact. I'm here to help with Arianna's assassin."

She stepped back in shock. "What?"

"You heard me," I pushed past her, a bit roughly "Now where is he?"

Nicole didn't say anything for a moment. "Follow me, but be on your best behavior." She paused, "And don't say anything about the whole 'Charity' incident, okay? I'd hate to have to do something I might regret."

My temper flared, not sure why, but I felt annoyed that she thought everything was about her. I grabbed her arm again and swung her around so she was facing me, almost touching. My grip tightened. "And you don't say anything about Ethan Lavson…because I'd hate to do something I would regret."

I saw her eyes flicker in fear slightly then it faded. She pulled free and almost rushed down the hall. As we walked down the hall, I looked at Nicole. She looked…really bad. Now I know that makes no sense, but I could almost feel her discomfort and confusion just pouring off of her. Out of old habit, I went to place my hand on her shoulder in comfort then shook myself out of the trance. "Nope…not going there."

The meeting with Shadow was a bit…odd. He actually remembered me and wanted to hear how I knew Nicole. I told him that I'd let her tell him that story. He didn't seem too happy about that, but didn't press.

We talked about my father then a pay for the job. The conversation ended with us agreeing on a price that I thought was very generous and a handshake. Shadow gestured for me to leave and I decided it would probably do best if I did quickly.

When I stepped out of the office, Nicole was standing outside, arms crossed. Her short bangs had fallen in front of her face and she looked a little mad. I felt my heart pace go up ever so slightly, and I don't think it was out of fear.

"Walk with me…now."

I decided not to argue.

Nicole's POV:

I was a little angry…which made no sense. I didn't want Ethan to like me, so why was I so mad that he was pretty much ignoring me?

The first ten minutes of the walk were deadly silent.

Finally Ethan broke the silence, "So what did you want to talk about?"

I didn't answer at first. "About you. You're…different."

"I feel different. Is different okay?"

"Um…no." We reached the garden at this point.

Ethan sat down on a bench, "Why is there a garden in GUN?"

"It's for my sister, back on subject." I sat down across from him.

Ethan fiddled with his holster for a moment, gathering thoughts. "You knew me when I was trying to forget my past. I was hiding the part of me that had always been a part of me. I wasn't truly…me, I guess."

"This…is you?" I shook my head in confusion.

Ethan smirked, "Well, is this you?"

I shook my head slowly, "I'm not sure at this point…"

"Well, figure it out Chikky."

My head snapped up, "What…did…you…call…me?"

"It's a combination of Charity and Nikki…well sort of. I take it you don't like it."

"No…I don't." I growled at him.

Ethan just smiled, "Noted and probably ignored."

Yep…different Ethan me no likey.

I clenched my fist. "Ever wondered what a chaos spear feels like?"

"Um…no. And I think I'm good." He slid a little further away from me.

"That's what I thought."

Ethan smiled at me ever so slightly, "So what have you been up too? You know I rejoined the mercenary's, but what have you been doing?"

"Nothing really…just waiting for a lead on Ari's assassin…which I guess I was waiting for you to show up. I think I hate today…" I grumbled in frustration.

"Well, now I'm hurt and flattered at the same time." He made a little pouty face.

I just scowled in return.

"Well aren't you little Miss Sunshine."

"Back at you."

Silence followed.

I stood up and stretched, "Well, that's all for now. I need to go see Ari."

Ethan stood up, "Of course. See you around." He reached out his hand for me to shake.

I stepped forward to grasp his hand…unfortunately, my foot caught on something. I tripped and fell…right into Ethan's arms.

He pulled me up gently. "You really need to watch where you step."

I rolled my eyes, "Well I suppose I should thank…" My words died in my throat as I stood up straight.

Ethan's eyes locked onto mine and I realized he was still holding my hand.

If anyone asked me what happened, I'm not sure I could explain what happened

One second we were just standing there next thing I knew Ethan had wrapped his arms around me, my arms were around his neck, and we were locked in a kiss.

Ethan Lavson had gentle, sweet kisses…

Ethan Lavar kisses were fiercer…which just was confusing in itself.

Ethan released and stared at me, twirling my short quills in his hand.

I sighed and laid my head against him with my eyes closed.

Gently, he kissed the top of my head, "The agent has a heart…"

"As does the mercenary," I mumbled.

A few moments' passed and my thought cleared enough for the realization of what just happened to sink in. My eyes shot open and I shoved Ethan away. I turned away from him my hand to my mouth in horror.

"Oh chaos. No, no, no, no, no."

I wanted to scream in misery and pain. Part of me wanted to faint into Ethan's arms, the other part wanted to slap him and scream in his face. "This can't be happening all over again…it just can't!"

"Ethan…I-" I couldn't trust my voice. It was too hard to keep the emotion out of it.

I heard Ethan move a little bit. "I know…you can't." His voice was hard and unforgiving. "Goodbye Nicole."

I heard his footsteps fade then crashed down on my knees and just started crying. My shoulders were shaking and the sobs came out of control, as if the pain was too much. I almost screamed.

Not sure how I sat there, but it must have been a long time because when I finally looked up, the sun was going down.

I ran to my room and locked the door behind me.

Song: Heart Attack

Artist: Demi Lovado

Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack

Never put my love out on the line
Never said yes to the right guy
Never had trouble getting what I want
But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough
When I don't care, I can play 'em like a Ken doll
Won't wash my hair, then make 'em bounce like a basketball

But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear high heels, yes you
Make me so nervous, that I just can't hold your hand

You make me glow,
But I cover up, won't let it show,
So I'm puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack

Never break a sweat for the other guys
When you come around, I get paralyzed
And every time I try to be myself
It comes out wrong like a cry for help
It's just not fair
Pain's more trouble than love is worth
I gasp for air
It feels so good, but you know it hurts

But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear perfume, for you,
Make me so nervous, that I just can't hold your hand

The feelings got lost in my lungs
They're burning, I'd rather be numb
And there's no one else to blame
So scared I take off and I run
I'm flying too close to the sun
And I burst into flames

I think I'd have a heart attack

Cosmo: Oh…poor Nikki, she's so sad…

Me: Well, I wasn't going to make it easy. That's sooo boring.

DW: True, but that was just mean. I'm mean, but not that mean.

Cosmo: She's got a point there.

Me: What about what you do to our other favorite girl.

DW: Oh…yeah.

Me: Anyway, Review please. If anyone is still following this story… Sorry the update took forever, but I've been busy and I wasn't in the mood for fanfiction. That plus writer's block equal's: no story writing. Hence why the chapter is ridiculously long…

Nicole: *crosses arms and glares at me* You might want to say bye because I want some words with you…

Me: *gulps* Goodbye! Maybe forever if Nikki kills me. Just Kidding. Till next time y'all!