Tobey took another breath as he gingerly sat at his desk. For the past couple of days, he hadn't been able to look Becky in the eye. The fact that she sat right next to him hadn't made it easy, nor the fact that he saw her so much more than he used to. Their collective purpose to protect and defend the city seemed to fade in his mind. He still did all the work that Becky expected and did it very well. The problem was that he couldn't look at her while he worked. Speaking with her had become a chore as well. His thoughts tended to run away with themselves, leaving him a blubbering mess. In the passing glances that he'd cast her way, he had noticed a mixture of concern and frustration on her face.

I know you're worried, he told her silently, but there's no possible way I can tell you what happened…at least…not yet.

His fears manifested themselves when Becky sat next to him. She turned and gently prodded his shoulder. He gulped and turned to see what she wanted. Her bright eyes floored him once more, but he also detected those same notes of puzzlement. Her eyebrows were each pointed skyward and a frown was playing with the corners of her mouth. He tried his hardest to look anywhere else, yet her face had a magnetic attraction. They were mere inches away from each other and Tobey had a tempting thought to simply kiss her and get all of his anxiety out.

No! He rebuked himself sharply. Just breathe…

"Tobey," Becky said, "something's been bothering you lately."

"Wha…wha…whatever do you mean?" Tobey stuttered.

"This!" Becky whispered sharply. "Tobey, you haven't been able to look at me for more than a split second recently. Whenever we talk, your back's always turned and you seem to be befuddled as to what to say next. It's almost like you're hiding something…"

"Who, me? Hide something?" Tobey said through an intense amount of sweat and the thunderous pounding in his chest.

"Yes, you!" Becky harshly whispered once more. "You haven't…spilled the beans, have you?"

"Nope," Tobey said while continuing to pour buckets. "…n…not at all."

"Alright," Becky said. "I trust you. Just remember what happens if you betray that trust."

"Got it," Tobey said, smiling awkwardly and offering a thumbs-up gesture.

The slight growl in Becky's low voice told Tobey all he needed to know. It was a tone that he was all too familiar with. When he was a villain, it was the same way that Becky had used to speak with him. However, this was the first time he'd heard it in ages and it frightened him. He knew that Becky held the power to end his existence if she wanted to. Her strength, speed, and intelligence outmatched any on the face of the planet. Though she'd never spilled blood before, she was very much capable of committing such an act. Thankfully, it wasn't in her character. All he had to be worried about was a permanent separation from her and the severing of their friendship. Somehow, he found that notion to be worse than a physical destruction.

The day seemed to crawl by. Each moment that the second hand clicked off the clock felt like a bell tolling for Tobey's doom. His eyes had some kind of duality to them as they fell this way and that, both avoiding Becky and latching onto her. Ms. Davis had to reprimand him a few times for not paying attention. But he just couldn't help it. His mind wasn't on the lesson, it was on the chestnut haired figure sitting next to him. The girl who both entranced and scared him.

—

The daily trip to the spaceship was an even worse proposition than school. Within its walls, at least Tobey had some type of distraction. Outside, not only was Becky always with him, but she was the very vehicle that delivered him to work. He tried to think of his to-do list while they flew over the lake, but it was impossible. All that ran through his head was the look on his mother's face from a few nights before and the irrepressible joy in her hum. In her mind, Tobey had feelings for Violet and she had entered that motherly phase where she'd do anything to help her little boy out.

…and that's only compounded by what Dad- Tobey thought, then stopped. No. Never. Don't you DARE think about him.

Soon enough, he, Becky, and Bob arrived at their destination. She dutifully transformed into WordGirl, just to ensure readiness for any potential criminal activity. Tobey always found her constant preparedness and organization to be among her most attractive qualities. Plus the fact that her transformation sequence was unbelievably interesting. To an outsider, it simply looked like the placing of two fingers to the chest and the utterance of a catchphrase. But Tobey understood how Lexiconian technology served as her uniform's catalyst. Her headband stretched and contorted, covering her entire body with the familiar red and gold cloth. It ended by turning itself into the iconic helmet that served as the basis for all her public branding.

"Uh…Tobey…you're staring at me," Becky said after she transformed.

Tobey quickly snapped out of his small reverie. "Oh, sorry! It's just…I'm always amazed at how your headband holds your entire uniform."

Becky smiled and rolled her eyes. "Alright, mister. Now that you're speaking with me again, maybe we can talk about getting some file organization done on the supercomputer."

"Uh…yeah, yeah, I'll add that to my list," Tobey said. "By the way, sorry about being so distant lately. I've just…had a lot on my mind."

"It's okay, Tobey," the young alien responded. "As long as you're sure you're alright."

"Yep…never better," Tobey responded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a supercomputer with my name on it."

Becky chuckled and turned to head into her library. She had some of her own organization to do. Her books had become somewhat haphazard in their shelving and she was going to see to it that they returned to their proper place. This was a job that, unlike a lot of other people, she found a great deal of peace in. It was just her, the books, and her never ending train of thought. The locomotive's precise destination depended upon the situations she was dealing with. This time, it carried dozens of mental portraits of the boy genius she'd taken under her wing.

He's so…fickle sometimes, she told herself. He won't tell me certain things, but he'll spill his guts over everything else. Something must have happened that spooked him. Certainly, he wouldn't just cease communicating with me for multiple days for no reason. Hm…what could it be?

Meanwhile, the subject of her thoughts was busy clicking away on the supercomputer. Just being on it rekindled the fire that he'd often felt for his tasks. Through his involvement with Becky, he had learned how to love the people around him. He now knew what it meant to fight with bravery, honor, and a vicious sense of morality. But he also knew what it was to be torn. He saw that in Becky's eyes every time she addressed her family or her friends who had no idea who she really was. It was as if her heart crumbled. She simply couldn't bear the weight of the lie she was forced into living.

Damn it, he thought. I hate seeing her sad and crushed. But, at the same time, she gets so happy when justice is served.

He didn't know what to think. How could a hero possibly build her entire life on the lies she told others? How could she possibly be a beacon of hope and healing to a world so cluttered with the very things that she propagated? Suddenly, he began to have a small seed of doubt. Much as he loved Becky, he also knew her truths…truths that he was sworn to secrecy over. The confidentiality that Becky lived under weighed heavily on his mind. Everything seemed either paradoxical or oxymoronic. Becky was a liar, yet she was also the most trustworthy person in the city. She was a freedom fighter, yet lived in chains to her own identity.

Tobey was just about to go speak with her openly when the supercomputer suddenly began to vibrate heavily. He quickly dove underneath and began inspecting the massive pile of wires and plates needed to run such a machine. All of his normal checks came out clean, but the vibrations continued. He scurried back outside and began typing away, trying to enhance the computer's security programs on the fly. It became blatantly obvious that WordGirl's supercomputer was actively being hacked…by a mind that was just as brilliant as his.