Teen Spy: The Observer

Chapter 18

The next day, Kiara is behind her friends in line for breakfast. They are talking about the Eiffel Tower and other stuff, but Kiara hardly pays any attention.

...touching the lips of the one exposed...

She must decode the rest of the riddle, but the last part is giving her a hard time. With the deadline only a day ahead, she really hopes the answer will pop up during the tour tomorrow morning. She suppresses a groan at the naivety of her thought. To make matters worse, Agent Hunter's words keep repeating on loop on her mind. She makes an effort to ignore them and concentrate.

"All right?", a British voice interrupts her.

"What?" She looks behind her startled and sees Agent Hunter smiling amused at her. "Sorry, my mind was in the clouds. Good morning."

"Understandable. I hope you slept well", he says.

Kiara looks at him funnily. His mood from yesterday has vanished and he seems like a different person.

"Yeah, sure..." Kiara lets the last letter trial off, not sure how to continue after yesterday.

Agent Hunter clears his throat, revealing that he too is feels the awkwardness of the conversation.

"Anyway, I-uh- wanted to apologize for what I said." He lowers his voice so only Kiara can hear him and looks uncomfortable. "You were right. I should not have assumed anything and given you the benefit of the doubt."

Kiara pauses to look at him with a serious face, making him squirm. She can see his sincerity. That is why, she lets a smile appear and teases him.

"You don't apologize very often, do you?"

The line has moved on while they were talking, and Kiara fills her plate with food.

"Only when strictly necessary." He says in all seriousness and then returns her smile. "So..."

"We're good." Kiara finishes, knowing what he was going to ask.

Their plates are now full.

"I'm Will by the way." He says more loudly, before Kiara moves off to her seat.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kiara" She plays along, knowing that they have to pretend they don't know each other's basic information. "See you around"

With that, she follows her friends, who are already seated. She can feel their prying eyes and she meets their stares with a smile, amused at her friends' antics.

"He was the hot guy from my team" Ney whispers as soon as Kiara sits down. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, just making small talk and introducing himself." Kiara answers vaguely, faking indifference.

"And?" Jessy asks.

Kiara looked at her friends who had expectant look on their faces. If she didn't give them something, they would continue asking and digging for information. And that is the last thing she wants them to do, especially because it will make her look like she is trying to keep a secret.

"His name is Will." She finally says. "And he is hot, nice and has an accent to die for" They all giggle.

"There he goes..." Ney sighs as she looks over Zoey's shoulder, following him with her eyes as he sits down with his friends.

They all discreetly watch him until Kiara remembers that this is her teammate their ogling and gossiping about. She needs to be careful. If she lets her guard down, she could accidently reveal more information to her friends than she should. Then, she would have a lot of explaining to do. Besides, it could make things uncomfortable during the mission. Kiara subtly changes the focus of their conversation.

When breakfast ends, they return to their rooms to grab their bags, filled with water bottles, portable batteries for their phones and a few other things. They meet back on their way to the bus. As Ms. Lane said, they head to the Eiffel Tower where she explains everything she missed during classes. Though, most of the students are more concern about taking photos and selfies.

A few hours before lunch Ryan approaches Kiara, who has no other choice but to let him. Since the day in the parking lot, Ryan has tried to talk to Kiara several times. However, she has managed to avoid him every single time, not wanting to hear what he has to say. Sometimes, Kiara catches him looking at her, and to be honest it creeps her out a bit.

"I think I gave you the wrong impression" is the first thing he says to her.

Kiara raises an eyebrow in question, not knowing how she could have misread the situation.

"I really do want to go out with you." He says. "I don't know about any bet. But you're right that I was a jerk to Julie and Sasha. And I'm sorry for that."

He makes eye contact and looks sincere, but Kiara doesn't trust him. She knows what she saw that day in the parking lot. She also knows he has a temper, and from what she heard he felt humiliated by the video posted online.

"So, what do you say? Would you like to have lunch with me?" He says charm oozing from every pore of his being.

Kiara thinks carefully what to say to him.

"That apology shouldn't be directed at me." Kiara says. "And thank for the offer Ryan, but I'm not interested"

"I'll prove to you that I've changed" He quickly reassures her.

"The answer would still be no." She says truthfully.

She catches up with her friends, leaving Ryan behind. She feels his gaze on her, but luckily, he doesn't approach her again. He does send a red rose and one of his friends to vouch for him.

He's persistent. I'll give him that. She thinks, not sure what to do with the flower. She doesn't want to be rude, but she also doesn't want to give him the wrong impression. Sydney, however, takes matter into her own hands and gives the rose to a passing little girl.

Finally, lunch arrives, and they eat in a nearby restaurant. Ryan stops pestering Kiara and she gets to enjoy the food. She catches glimpses of Will every now and then in his tour group. Onetime, their gazes meet, and he gives her nod and a smile and another time, she sees him give Ryan a dirty look. She is not going to deny it pleased her and made butterflies jump in her stomach.

As they are exiting the restaurant, onto their next destination: the Palais de Chaillot, Kiara is talking with Jessy when Sasha collides harshly into her.

"The beggar look doesn't suit you", Sasha whispers to her.

"What are you talking about?" Kiara says confused at the cryptic message.

"Ryan would never be interested in you, so stop making a fool of yourself." Sasha says as she flattens her blouse. "Actually, the only way a guy would be interested in you is if there's a bet involved."

Kiara opens her mouth to set her straight but stops herself. It doesn't matter what she says, Sasha will think whatever she wants. Sasha smirks at her lack of response, thinking that she got the upper hand, and walks away.

"And jealousy is not your color" Jessy says to Sasha's retreating back. Sasha turns around and gives Jessy a glare before continuing on her way.

"Don't listen to her." Jessy says to Kiara.

"Thanks, I know.", Kiara says. "If they keep this up, Sasha and Ryan are going to get on my last nerve."

"Mine, too. But don't worry, we've got your back." Jessy gives her a side hug and Kiara leans on her friend's support.

Afterwards, Kiara explains the conversation to Sydney and Zoey, getting more supporting expressions at her and offensive comments towards Sasha.

Once the tour ends, they go back to the Resort, where they eat dinner. More people than the previous night decide to participate in the nightly activity, making the treasure hunt more interesting. When the game finishes, Kiara and her friends stay up late talking.