Shades of Gray

19. Your Gray

Graham stirred groggily from his slumber to the clang of the cell door opening. Carmen was being thrown back inside by a prison guard, thankfully conscious this time. She limped over to the cot and flopped down on it, wincing in pain as she did. From her sitting position, she leaned back on the wall and rubbed her eyes wearily.

Graham sat there for a while in silence before carefully inquiring, "Are you alright?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how stupid they sounded. Of course she wasn't alright. They were both prisoners of V.I.L.E., after all.

Carmen raised an eyebrow at him. "Doing fantastic. Thanks for asking."

"Sorry, that was a dumb question to ask," Graham said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Um... so do you still hate me?"

He half-hoped Carmen's crazy hostility the night before (or whatever time it was; it was hard to tell in a prison cell) had just been a stressful dream caused by his own exhaustion.

But Carmen's response quickly shot down that idea. "I don't know," she sighed anxiously, dropping her head into her hands. "Maybe? Maybe I feel the exact opposite? I don't know anymore."

She raised her gaze after a long silence to lock eyes with him. "Who are you, really?"

Graham could hear the torment in her voice as she asked the question. He wanted nothing more than to hug her, but he knew the gesture would not be appreciated right now. He had to convince her it was really him.

"I've been Graham Calloway, a simple electrician at the Sydney Opera House," Graham told her. "I've been Crackle, an operative for V.I.L.E. But neither of those are who I want to be anymore."

She blinked at him, confused, so he continued.

"I want to be Gray. A good guy at heart, even though he makes mistakes. Someone who helps people and makes their lives better. But most of all, I want to be your Gray. "

Carmen weighed this statement for a moment before suddenly throwing her arms around him. It took Graham's brain a few seconds to process what was happening. Carmen Sandiego was... kissing him? Graham decided to stop trying to figure out what was happening and enjoy the moment.

She pulled back after what could have been an eternity, tears shimmering in her eyes. "If you're going to be my Gray, I want to be your Carmen. What do you say?"

Graham's heart swelled. Instead of responding, he kissed her back. "How's that for an answer?"

Carmen laughed joyfully. It was such an alien sound in a V.I.L.E. prison cell, but at the moment, Graham didn't care how horrible this place might be. As long as he was with Carmen, he was alright.

"I love you, Gray," she whispered, her breath warm on his face.

"And I love you, Carmen," Graham was smiling so wide it almost hurt. He didn't think he could ever stop smiling again.

"Don't you ever die on me," she ordered him, burying her face in his shoulder. "If you do, I'll kill you."

"I don't plan on it," he replied, smirking. "But what I do plan on doing is getting out of here. And I need you to help me figure out how in the world we're going to pull that off."


Oooooh, now things are happening!!!

I'm sincerely sorry for the long hiatus. I've been extremely busy over the past few weeks, but thankfully things are calming down a bit now!

I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to give you all something to read since it's been such a long time since I last updated. Despite how brief it was, I hope you enjoyed it! Fingers crossed it won't be a month-long wait until the next update.

As always, you guys are awesome. Thanks for sticking with this story and with me!

XOXO, LovelyCatPaws.