A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been going through a lot and have lost motivation in writing most to all of my stories and fanfics. I'm trying, though, and though I am aware that this isn't the best, I hope this chapter is decent enough to pass. Thanks everyone for your patience.

Chapter 18: Operation P.A.R.T.Y

When it was time, Abby opened the door with a dolled up Kuki beside her. The latter beamed at the teenager opposite them who stared at her with narrowed eyes. He then looked at Abby.

"Uh, why's she dressed up? Is she coming with us?"

Abby shrugged, faking innocence. "Ya didn't say I couldn't bring a plus one, ya know."

Chad's laser blue eyes flashed. His jaw popped as he clenched it tightly. He managed to compose himself quickly and nodded, forcing a smile. "Right. Well, I guess that's alright." He then peered over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. "As long as your other dorky friends don't show up, too."

"They won't, boy."

His eyes then raked her whole figure up and down. Chad instantly let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Well, don't you look amazing tonight," he said with a teasing smirk. He spared a glance at Kuki. "You don't look too bad, either, girly."

Kuki grinned and looked down at her puffy pink dress. "Thank you! I made this dress myself," she said, head held high. Chad raised an eyebrow, nodding in disinterest.

"Cool, kid. You got real talent," he said flippantly before looking at Abby, eyes glinting with mischief. "So, you're not gonna compliment me in return?"

Abby resisted the genuine urge to smile and shrugged, trying to fake nonchalance. "You look good, I guess." She took one glance at his outfit; it was more casual than theirs, that was for sure. He was wearing black jeans and a white shirt, his hair gelled back into a quiff.

She had to admit: he cleaned up good. As they walked to the car, Chad opened the passenger door and stared straight at Abby, gesturing for her to get inside. She shot Kuki a look, who just shrugged and happily got into the back. With a sigh, she hesitantly got inside as Chad made his way over to the driver's seat.

"So," Abby cleared her throat, "where's the party at?"

"A friend's house. Don't worry. I'll show you ladies around."

"Ooh, that's so nice of you, Chad!" Kuki piped in from behind with a giggle. Chad glanced up at the rearview mirror, shooting her a tight-lipped smile.

"Thanks."

The rest of the ride there was silent and sort of awkward. Sure, Chad was making conversation and trying to include both of them in but Abby still felt wary around him. It was as if he was being fake around her. Even though she didn't know what exactly he was like, there was something off about him.

Maybe it was the way his face changed when he thought she wasn't looking or the glint in his eyes, what it was, she didn't quite know. But, something told her to believe her gut. Still, it wouldn't hurt to let loose for one night. Abby shook her head as the thought crossed her mind.

She just wanted to spend time with Kuki and possibly Chad, who might actually turn out to be a good guy. Abby didn't want to judge someone she didn't even remember. It felt rude. Especially since he offered her a ride.

As they got out, the house was practically vibrating with loud, blaring music and the place seemed to be swarming with teenagers. Abby didn't know if she was to be surprised or uncomfortable by it. Kuki clapped excitedly and skipped ahead, whereas Chad put a hand on the small of Abby's back, guiding her along with him.

His touch felt safe and so she unintentionally let herself relax under it as they walked inside. There were tons of teenagers doing their own thing; on one half, teens were playing a game, and on the other half, people were just talking and drinking punch. It looked normal, Abby observed, not that she knew what normal even was anymore.

Kuki gave Abby a look and shuffled off to one side and the latter turned to Chad who had just finished bumping fists with some other guy. "So, um-"

"Oh, right, I wanted to tell you something," he said, cutting her off, his eyes squinting as if he was trying to remember some key information. Abby forgot what she was going to say and stared at him, eager to know what it was.

"Ya did?"

"Yeah. It had something to do with our conversation, down at the lake."

Abby waited for a little while and his eyes seemed to flash with recognition. "Oh wait, right." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to ask you if you remembered it."

"Remembered what, boy?"

"Our conversation?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Cree?"

Abby stood there, confused. She didn't recognise that name or even have a face to add to it. "Wh—who's Cree, boy? I got no clue to what yer talking about."

Chad just stared as if he wasn't sure if she was playing a joke on him. "Wait—so you're telling me you don't remember Cree, either?"

"Abby's pretty sure this Cree person wasn't an exception when it came to the memory wiping," she said, sarcastically, trying not to roll her eyes. She just wanted him to spit it out.

He raised his eyebrows, a flash of sympathy crossing his eyes before it vanished almost instantly. "She's...she's your sister, Abby."

It felt like everything had stopped in that one instant. Sister? She didn't...she would have remembered that, right? Nothing made sense. It felt as if standing took effort now, too.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Chad pushed, leaning in a little, his eyes darting around. At that moment, though, Abby didn't care. So, she didn't respond. It wasn't until, Chad's large hands landed on her shoulder that she looked up. His eyes pierced into hers as he spoke once more. "Abby, do you remember anything?"

She shook her head, almost ashamed of her answer. In an instant, she was engulfed in a hug and that moment, she didn't care about his motives. She just needed someone to comfort her.

Wally watched from afar, hat pulled down on his head so far that even his face looked like it was hidden. He was scowling at the sight before him. Abby was with Chad, hugging the traitor.

That should have been him, not Chad! If he had to dress up as a girl, he'd do it again for Abby. His heart pounded in his chest, but not in the way that made his heart flutter and made him nauseous. Luckily, Kuki nor the other teenagers had noticed him. They were too busy being snot-nosed brats and drinking and chatting to their lovers to care or even notice. Kuki, on the other hand, was being a look out from up the stairs, being as discreet as possible.

Even though she wasn't really being discreet, considering even Wally could spot her. Instead of waiting around, Wally went to storm right up to them but Chad's eyes landed on him, from behind Abby's shoulder. The short blond stilled as he watched the tall blond mutter something to her, who nodded and hesitantly wandered deeper into the house. Wally watched with a deep frown as she disappeared behind the endless hoard of stupid teenagers.

Chad smirked at him, walking towards him as if he had malicious intent. "I don't remember inviting kids to a party."

"Yeah, well you invited Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 3, didn't ya?" he sneered.

"They were special guests." He shrugged casually. "Besides, Abby confessed to me so I thought it'd be perfect."

If Wally could turn red with rage, he would have right then. His fists shook beside him as he glared menacingly up at the teenage boy that looked down at him as if he was stupid.

"She doesn't even remember ya, ya stupid teen dolt."

Chad chuckled. "Well, she remembers me. And she told me she felt something in her chest that was familiar. If you don't believe me then ask her."

He was seething by this point. "Ya don't have ta tell me twice, buddy," he spat. Wally went to march on over to wherever Abby was, when he was pulled back by the hood. Stumbling on his feet, he turned his head, only to look straight up into piercing blue eyes.

Chad forced a polite smile, one that unnerved Wally. "But before you do that, why don't you join me for a game of Truth or Dare?"

Wally was both mad and lost by this. "Wha-" He couldn't even finish his sentence because he was practically dragged to the front and harshly shoved down onto the floor.

"Yo guys, let's play Truth or Dare!" Chad yelled out into the massive crowd, raising his arms in the air.

"Heck yeah!" Some people instantly rushed over, sitting beside and around Wally, forming a circle.

"This is gonna be fun," a girl added, hooting. Wally tried to scramble up but was shoved down by the shoulders again. His butt roughly slammed against the wooden floors and a loud 'oof' left his lips.

"Oi, I don't wanna-"

"Alright, let's let the little brat—I mean, the obvious teenager here in the red baseball cap—go first, huh guys?" Chad asked everyone with an arrogant grin. Wally growled under his breath and cursed all the stupid teenagers for not figuring him out earlier and now with the obvious slip up.

"I'm actually not here to play-" he said again, trying to get up.

"Sure you are!" Chad cut in yet again, pressing down on his shoulders rather roughly. Wally ground his teeth in irritation, eyes wildly glancing around for help. There was no sight of Kuki or Abby anywhere.

C'mon, Abs, where are ya? he thought in distress. Just as he had given up, one of the girls asked him the deadly question.

"Truth or dare?" she asked with a smug smirk. Wally knew that if she wasn't a girl, then he would have knocked the teeth right out of her mouth.

"Truth," he spat through clenched teeth. Chad snickered from beside him and Wally could feel his hands turning into tight, white-knuckled fists.

"Who do you like?"

"I like ma friends."

She scoffed. "I mean, who do you like as more than a friend, silly."

Wally could feel himself trembling. He didn't know how to respond to this question. How could he? When he went to open his mouth, not sure about how to answer, Chad made a clapping noise. Everyone's attention went to him, but his eyes were on two other people. Both Abby and Kuki were making their way over by pushing through the crowd of teenagers packed together.

Before he could even process what was happening, he had gotten up and raced over to the girls. Without even thinking, he grabbed Abby's hand and ran out the door with her behind him.

He could hear the hoots and the cheering from behind and he resisted the urge to punch them all in the face. His face was heating up but he ignored it. He didn't know what he was doing but he knew that he wanted to be as far away from the party as possible with Abby right behind him.

Wally did feel bad that he had left Kuki behind, but nothing else mattered. Wally knew where he wanted to take her. Somewhere private and isolated.

"Wai—oi, boy, where are ya takin' Abby?" He heard Abby ask, frantically from behind as they continued to run.

"Ta my house," he replied simply.

"To your house?!" she responded in shock. "What do ya mean? Are ya crazy?! This wasn't the plan!"

"The plan was to see if the party was a secret teenager conspiracy and I don't think it is. It's just those typical teens bein' stupid," he said, panting as those words left his mouth. "I just wanna tell ya somethin' important."

When he didn't hear a response from her, he nodded to himself in determination. Once they reached his house, he raced to the backyard where the lights were dim, the only sort of light coming from the moonlight that hit the bright blue water of the pool they had.

It was only then when Wally let go of her hand. They were both bent over, gasping in as much oxygen as they could. The truth was, he was jealous. Finally getting her away from Chad and the teens relieved him but he didn't know what to do but pry her away from everyone else's eyes. He wanted to tell her he liked her so that his erratic behaviour could be explained but at the same time, confessing when she didn't even remember him seemed to be a recipe for disaster.

He watched as Abby calmed down, his feet trembling in his shoes as he waited. Part of him wanted to scream out that this was just a joke and hide away like a hermit. He didn't know what to say to her about why he dragged her to his house.

"Oi," Abby's voice was tinged with annoyance. "What do ya think you're doin'? Why'd ya bring Abby all the way out here?!"

Dreading that very question, he gulped, feeling as if caught in a trap. He stuttered as he frantically looked around for something to use as an excuse when they met with the pool. Immediately, his thoughts went back to the time when they were together at the beach and a lightbulb went off in his head.

Abby trailed his gaze and stared at it, silently. "You wanted to show me the pool?"

"Do ya remember?" he asked, softly, trying not to tear up. From the corner of his eyes, he could see her fidgeting from one foot to another.

He had a feeling she didn't.

"I-"

He turned to her quickly. He didn't want to hear her say 'no' when every memory with her was important to him. It would be like getting sliced through the heart and that wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to grieve the loss of Abby and how they used to be anymore. He wanted to start anew. Like how she never gave up on him with his swimming, he wanted to do the same for her.

As their eyes met, Wally could feel the panic settling in like cold gravel in his stomach. He hoped his body wasn't as outwardly trembling as he felt it was. His hands were clammy and cold but also sweating and he hated the feeling. Without even thinking, he stepped forward and placed a quick kiss on her plump lips.

Wally pulled away soon after, shocked at the fact that he had kissed her out of the blue. But that feeling soon disappeared and he was more dazed than anything when thinking of and revelling in the softness of her lips. He was more than sure that a dopey smile had framed his face at that moment as he stared at Abby's puzzled face. He swore he could see pink hearts floating around her face. Never had he been so excited about something like that—and he hated pink!

"Huh, that's kinda strange," he muttered to himself, "I'm seein' pink hearts." He giggled like a little school girl.

"Wake up, boy."

"Huh?"

"Abby said wake up!"

This jolted him awake from his momentary daze. At her bewildered expression, the ecstatic feeling of floating in the air of love was destroyed. He gulped, embarrassment seeping in through his veins almost immediately and he wanted to get out from under her questioning, dark gaze.

"Wally," she said gently, the tone in her voice completely different to how it had been before. "This is-"

He didn't want to wait for her to finish her darned sentence. He knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it.

"J-just forget it ever happened, alroight?!" he exclaimed, red-faced and hurt before turning and racing away from his house. Abby watched his retreating back before slowly leaving the area as well, neither of them realising that a third person was watching everything unfold from afar.