Chapter 20: Operation S.N.E.A.K.Y

Both Abby and Chad whipped around to see the Kids Next Door, all the members, standing a few feet away from them on the pavement with their weapons ready. They looked murderous—Wally especially. Nigel cleared his throat, causing Abby's dark eyes to wander towards him.

"I asked you a question? Chad is our enemy. He is a teenager, Numbuh 5," he emphasised, crossing his arms and tapping one brown boot on the floor impatiently.

Abby stood up silently, causing Chad to do the same. She scratched at the back of her head, the braid getting in the way as she did so. "Uh, Abby wanted ta tell ya guys something."

They didn't move, weapons still whirring angrily. So, Abby cleared her throat.

"Chad's tryna help me and I honestly think he's alright. He hasn't done nothin' hurtfu—"

"What in the world are you saying, Numbuh 5?!" Wally jumped in, face red-hot. "Have ya finally gone psycho or somethin'? That's Chad we're talkin' bout; the traitor!" He tried to stalk towards them but Nigel held him back. Abby observed him with wide eyes; it was the first time Wally had willingly spoken to her after the awkward conversation in his room. She hadn't expected their proper conversation to go like this.

"Numbuh 4, let me deal with this," he advised firmly before turning to Abby and Chad again. The latter crossed his arms, head lulled to his chest slightly. Abby, on the other hand, clasped and unclasped her hands together as if looking for touch and reassurance. The both of them stood there as if they had been caught romancing the other by their parents.

Abby just wanted them to know that Chad wasn't as bad as they had thought. Sure, maybe he was an enemy to the Kids Next Door but even she could tell that once he became a teenager, it was his job was to work for the teens. That wasn't entirely his fault.

"Numbuh 5, as a Kid's Next Door agent, you cannot hang out with Chad," Nigel spoke, raising an eyebrow. "He will only betray us in the end. That's what teens do."

"Yeah, listen to Numbuh 1, Numbuh 5!" Hoagie piped up, meekly. "You can't trust him."

She glanced at Wally who seethed silently, his grip on the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A tightening ever so slightly. Abby could see his knuckles turning white and let out a sigh.

"He ain't a threat. I'm sure of it. Besides, Abby's not a Kid's Next Door agent. I haven't been able to help ya guys in any mission, have I? Chad's gonna help change that. He promised ta-"

"Which is none of your business," Chad cut in, glaring at the kids aiming their weapons menacingly at him.

"Why you-" Wally was stopped by Hoagie grabbing him, preventing him from lunging out at Chad. Abby stared at the tall blonde boy beside her, eyebrows furrowed.

"Boy, whaddya think yer doing?" she harshly whispered. "Abby'll take care of this."

"Nah, they're stuck in their ways," he sneered. "They'll never change." He shook his head before he casually walked ahead, hands in his pockets. "Tell your dorky friends to put their weapons away; I'm outta here."

But she didn't need to as they had overheard their conversation. As Chad said goodbye to Abby, he shot a lethal glare in the others direction before he stalked off. It was silent between them; three against one.

"So that's it, huh?" Wally spoke through forced restraint. "Yer just gonna hang with that idiot and not even care about us?"

Looking into his sharp green eyes made her insides flop. Her eyes glanced down at his lips involuntarily despite the situation, and she could feel her whole body heating up again just at the thought of what had occurred between them. Clearing her throat quickly, she forced herself to get back to reality. It wasn't the right time or place to think about that.

"It ain't like that, boy-"

"Well, that's what it cruddy looks like to me!" He growled, green orbs flashing with venom. "How could ya?"

"Chad's offered to help. He said he can help get ma memories back!" she said, voice rising an octave. The other kids now stood awkwardly, weapons lowered and weight shifting on each leg. Hoagie and Kuki shared a look.

"That's just a load of crud," Wally bit out through ground teeth. "Can't ya see he's just lyin' to ya?"

"It don't seem like he's lyin'." Now, Abby was getting defensive, hands clenched into fists. "Why can't ya just trust me?"

"Trust ya?" He scoffed bitterly in return. "You don't even remember him, so why should we trust what you say about him?! You should be trustin' us!"

"Guys-" Nigel tried to butt in but got cut off by Abby's short, bitter laugh.

"It ain't Abby's fault that she can't remember nothing. In this short time Abby's seen Chad, he's been nothin' but kind, and that's the truth."

"Guys, stop, we can talk a-"

"Yeah, well whatever," Wally spat in return, eyes narrowing intensely into slits. "I don't wanna hear your cruddy excuses. You're just like the rest of 'em butt-kissing kids that I hate. Hang out with whoever ya want, I don't cruddy care."

"Numbuh 4-" Before Nigel could stop him, Wally stalked off in the direction Chad had walked in, too, mumbling harsh, incoherent things under his breath as he did so. Nigel face-palmed, running a hand down his face and bringing his sunglasses off his eyes in the process. "Well, this was an utter disaster. Don't you think so, team?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Numbuh 1, why do you have to be so rude?! Can't you see Wally and Numbuh 5 are upset?" Kuki scolded him, the usual bubbly smile vanishing and replaced by a deep frown. Nigel raised a stupefied eyebrow at her as Hoagie groaned, face-palming.

"Oh brother," he mumbled, shaking his head.

Abby didn't pay attention to any of them. She could only watch Wally's retreating back as he became smaller in size. It wasn't fair that they didn't believe her. Especially Wally. They were already on non-speaking terms and this seemed to have made it worse. Abby sighed. She didn't have memories so of course, they knew best, but Chad was helpful. How could she believe that he was their enemy when she didn't even remember him being remotely evil? Until she saw herself, she would have to keep believing that Chad was kind.

Abby bit down on her lip, hard. This time, the Kids Next Door had to be wrong. She would prove it to them.

The next day was seemingly quiet. Wally didn't talk to her as per usual, which she had expected. That very day, her teammates went out again for yet another mission that she couldn't partake in. This one was against Cuppa Joe followed by a secret mission that she didn't bother asking them about. It all sounded exciting, but she couldn't help but frown at the fact that she was practically useless as the others worked hard to kick butt.

Wally, on the way out, stubbornly refused to even look at her. He was too busy joking around with Hoagie who glanced at the brown-skinned girl once before awkwardly turning his head away.

"Uh, aren't you gonna say goodbye to Numbuh 5, Numbuh 4?" he whispered.

Wally spared a fleeting glance at her; it was so quick that she wasn't even sure if he had looked at her. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Nah. We're not talkin' to her cos she's out hangin' out with that blond chump who's also a traitor," he spat, loud enough for her to hear. That wasn't the only reason he wasn't speaking to her-the other day it was because of the kiss. But that was because of embarrassment and confusion. This was much more straightforward.

Abby tried not to sigh and crossed her arms, her bangles clinking together with the motion. She wanted to apologise for everything, but his attitude was making it hard.

"You mean, you're not talking to her, Numbuh 4," Nigel spoke calmly as he walked past, weapon already in hand. "We're just giving her time on her own to think her actions through. She understands the gravity of the situation." Wally stopped in his place and stared at the bald kid's back with his jaw unhinged. From where Abby sat, she could see the heat rising to his face, resembling a red tomato pretty quickly. She didn't know whether to chuckle at the dumbstruck look on his face or feel saddened that he was the only one ignoring her.

Though she understood their dilemma, it still wasn't fair that he wasn't willing to see things from her point of view. So far, Chad seemed like nothing but a trusting guy. Of course, she wasn't going to share everything with him, but he was the only one doing something about her memory loss and being proactive about what to do. The team were doing their best, too, she knew Nigel was, but with Chad helping from the side, things would speed up.

Abby had to trust him for things to go back to the way they were. She was done feeling useless and sitting around, doing nothing helpful for the team when they were going above and beyond.

Kuki smiled sympathetically at her and gave her a short hug. "Things will be okay soon, Numbuh 5." Once she let go, she ran off, which meant Wally was the last one to leave. Awkward silence engulfed them both. Abby didn't know who looked away first, but soon after, she was left alone with no one but herself and the television.

But, she knew she couldn't sit still. After turning the television off, she waited for a little while before getting up and leaving. She didn't want the others to catch her sneaking out to meet the person they didn't want her to ever talk with again.

Of course, she didn't really know where Chad lived. So, she went down to the small river that they spoke at before, hoping he would be there. The tight clench in her stomach told her that she would find him, but she wasn't sure if he was at the place she was hoping he would be.

Once the clearing came into view, she stood still when she spotted nothing but wood and water. Maybe downtown, then?

Even though she had no clue to where she was going and whether he was also there, she just wanted to get out of the suffocating treehouse. It made her feel worse about her empty self than she already did. Abby roamed the people-filled streets, going past various stores. She wanted to talk to Chad and devise a plan so that her teammates would see that he wasn't a threat.

Clearly, she had gotten too ahead of herself. She hadn't even asked him for Chad's number to keep in contact with him.

As if fate had a hand in things, she spotted a teenage boy that looked exactly like Chad, leaning against the wall of an arcade as if he was waiting for someone. She wasn't sure if calling out to him was the best idea, but before she could make a decision, the boy looked up. And to her luck, it was Chad. He looked surprised, eyes wide but soon he grinned and offered her a lazy wave. She didn't realise there was a huge smile framing her face until she noticed his cobalt eyes glinting as she walked closer.

"You look excited to see me," he joked.

Abby tried to relax her face. "Nah, just surprised I actually found ya here."

"You were looking for me?"

"Abby wanted to talk to ya."

He raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

She let out a slow breath, rubbing her arm up and down. There were so many things she wanted to talk to him about; she wanted the KND to trust him and to work together. She wanted to get her memories back so that she could remember everyone again, most especially Wally. Abby wanted her life back and whether she or anyone else liked it or not, she needed Chad's help, too.

"Can we sit down somewhere or somethin'?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." He led her over to a bench next to them. The place was in a little corner and Abby was relieved that it was a private enough space to speak freely. There was silence between them for a little while and she bit her tongue, not sure how to start. Chad looked over at her, eyebrows pulled down. "You okay? Is this about what happened yesterday? 'Cos you don't need to worry. I'm over it."

"No, it's-" she sighed, adjusting her red cap. "From what I can gather, ya seem like a good person. I want the others to know that too, but they say you're evil." She warily glanced at him. "Are ya?"

Suddenly, his eyes flashed and he turned away. He cracked his knuckles, hand shaking slightly. "They're not wrong."

"Huh?" Abby wasn't sure she had heard him right. She wasn't prepared for this at all. "But, ya said ya could help me-"

"And I can. But I'm not the innocent person you think I am." When she didn't say anything, he continued. "When you become a teen, you do all sorts of things to become one of them because the kids don't accept you anymore. Your memories are wiped," he glanced at her knowingly, "and you're brainwashed with the mission to destroy all kids. In my experience, my memories weren't wiped, luckily, but I was forced to adapt to the ways of the teens. To leave my past behind as a kid and to move forward as a teen. It was hard but that was what I had to do. You become an 'evil' teen not because you want to, but because that's the only thing you come to have left."

Abby didn't know what to say. She just sat there as she listened to him, the wind gently caressing them both as if comforting them. The sympathy she had felt for him before hit her stronger then, after hearing him speak. His bright eyes were dim and absent of any joy that they usually held. She wasn't sure if she knew this information before...but judging from the reaction of her friends' she realised that this was a side of Chad they had never encountered.

Instead of saying anything, she waited. He glanced at her before letting out a chuckle, not reaching his eyes. "You look like you wanna cry."

Huh? She cleared her throat and straightened up, trying to relax her facial features so that she looked neutral. Showing her emotions without a barrier was too easy-she didn't have to worry about any evil people trying to manipulate her as the others had warned her. Chad was sharing his feelings with her, and something in her told her that this wasn't the first time.

"Abby had no idea you felt that way."

"Yeah, well," He shrugged, "not everyone does." When she didn't reply once again, he spoke up. "Everything's just complicated so...don't expect much from me."

It sounded like a warning but she didn't know what he meant by it. So, she shook her head away from that thought; she didn't want to dwell on something that didn't make too much sense. Chad got out his phone quickly after it dinged and typed in something rapidly before slapping his knees and getting up.

"You want to go inside?" He gestured towards the arcade with his head. "Bet I can beat you at air hockey."

One corner of Abby's lips quirked up, eyes squinting with amusement. "You're on, blondie."

Sometime later, the grin on Chad's face had faded and was replaced by a frown, eyes clouded with disappointment as he looked up at her.

"You know, I'm starting to regret challenging you."

Abby chuckled, scoring yet again. They had played other games too, and though Chad won twice, she had gotten lucky that day and been winning consistently. He would keep coming back to the air hockey table just so he could win at least once but it hadn't been going according to plan. And she took pride in that and her luck as she watched Chad become less confident each round.

"Sorry, boy, but that's what ya get for claiming you could beat Abby."

His eyes flashed as he regarded her from the opposite end of the hockey table. The dark arcade was filled with colourful flashing lights that settled on his face now and again. Half of his face was covered by a shadow, but it was when he placed his arms on either side of the table and leaned down to look at her properly that she could see his whole face.

"You're just like your sister," he observed after a second. Abby blinked. At the mention of her sister, she felt a sudden urge to find out more about her. Her sibling; someone she shared blood with.

"What is she like?"

Chad froze as if he hadn't realised he had said what he did out loud. He tore his eyes away and moved back as if he had been burnt. "She's just like you," he said flippantly, not looking at her.

Abby could feel a grin taking over. "Really?"

He cleared his throat, uncomfortably. "Yup. Anyway, wanna go another round? I know I'll beat you this time." Just when she went to agree, his phone dinged multiple times. Abby's eyebrows furrowed as she watched his whole posture slacken; his mouth was set in a thin line and he looked deadly serious, all play gone from his face, a shadow taking over. He typed something in as he spoke. "Actually, I have to go back home. I lost track of time and my parents are super mad." He looked up. "Catch you later?"

She nodded. "Mind if we chat about how we're going to get Abby's memories back with Cree next time?"

Chad didn't say anything for a few seconds before he nodded, smiling. "Sure," he said before jogging away. Abby took her time, taking in everything around her, the noises of people playing and laughing and the sound of cars going by. It had been fun while it lasted. She had finally had a chance to get away from being confined to the treehouse and doing nothing about her condition. Though time with Chad was short, it was enough to help her think about something else other than the fact that she was an amnesiac.

If only this could've been with Wally. He would've liked this, she couldn't help but think. She was so confused and lost about everything. There was an empty void in her that only her memories could fill. However, as she looked down at the air hockey table, she could feel a small smile grow on her face at the thought of a certain, stubborn male.

She could just imagine the grumpy expression on his face fading once his scarily vivid pea-green eyes met with all the games in the arcade. She wanted to talk to him about a lot of things that had transpired but with his attitude and time going by in a split second, she didn't know how to begin. With a sigh, she walked out and it was only then that she realised the time had gone by significantly. It wasn't dark but the sun looked dim and as if it was about to set. She needed to get back to the treehouse, and fast.

As she began her walk back, she couldn't wait for her next meeting with Chad to prove the others, especially Wally, all wrong once her memories returned. She would finally be able to connect with the others again and dwell deeper into the strange effect the hoodie-wearing boy had on her.

It would all be thanks to Chad and her sister, too. Her stomach fluttered with excitement, and her steps became quicker. As she walked into the more quieter part of town, near the treehouse, she walked by a pinkish-red schemed cafe with hearts covering the windows. She found herself suddenly stopping in front of it as she looked up. Though she didn't remember, her stomach clenched and she felt a bit queasy. Abby's mind filled with quick blurs of yellow and red. There was a face that popped up, but it was too fast for her to decipher. It just hurt her head and caused it to throb when she tried to go back to it.

However, one thing was for sure. Abby knew this place, somehow. Maybe going in there will help Abby remember more? She was cutting it short with time as the others would be home any second, but she just hoped that Cuppa Joe and the secret mission they were on was holding them up.

That was the thought process as she walked in, the small bell above tinkling to alert new customers. Luckily for her, there were barely any customers, only a few here and there. Abby didn't know what exactly she was hoping to find as she walked in but she certainly hadn't expected to find someone she knew, sitting there. Upon moving to a seat near the door, her eyes quickly spotted someone she hadn't expected.

It was Chad.