E.C.H.O.

Stage 20 "Mission Complete...or Something Like That"

The look on Nathan's face made Lucas realize that he wasn't going to get away with trying to run unless he left his roommate behind. The boy was frozen. On top of that, he was too busy staring at the girl who had discovered them to even glance at Lucas. Therefore, communicating in any way without having the girl hear was next to impossible.

Lucas made his mind up in a moment. Slowly, he lowered the roses.

The girl's eyes narrowed, yet the lack of surprise on her face confirmed that the boy's gender had already been guessed.

"Look...we're from Ellison..." Lucas began.

Nathan's eyes widened as he seemed to be brought back to reality. "You're a boy!?" He stared at Lucas. "You lied to me!" He gasped in mock horror as he hid his face in his hands and attempted to run wailing down the hallway.

Lucas grabbed his arm and turned him around as soon as he reached him.

"She knows," he muttered.

"Ah..." Nathan lifted his head to shoot the girl a cheesy grin. "You knew?"

The girl's eyes flittered up and down the two, her eyebrows raised. "Geeze...I wonder how I could have possibly guessed." She lifted a finger and pointed at Nathan's chest. "You're missing something, by the way."

Lucas shot a glance at his roommate to see him staring at his chest. Only one orange remained.

"My boobs!" Nathan exclaimed as his hands covered the area.

The girl gave a patient smile. "Well...I guess it's time I got you pervs suspended." She opened her mouth.

Lucas grabbed her in a flash, his hand clamping over her mouth. He twisted her so that her back was to him. She struggled, her voice muffled.

Nathan watched him, eyes wide.

"We need to be quick. Someone else could come at any moment." Lucas looked around. "What should we do with her?"

Nathan shrugged. "What do you usually do in such a situation?"

Lucas shot a glance at the struggling girl. "Get rid of the evidence?"

Nathan's mouth dropped. He looked from the girl back to Lucas.

"What?"

No reply.

"Then why don't you try to explain," Lucas suggested. His eyes flew to the door leading to the stairs. He couldn't help but wonder where Brian had ended up.

Shaking his head, Nathan walked up to the girl. She stopped struggling to glare at him. "Look...we're really sorry about this. But we were kind of trying to do a friend a favor...see...it involves love."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"If we let you go...will you at least give us a chance to explain?"

There was a moment of silence before the girl shrugged and then nodded her head.

Nathan and Lucas exchanged a glance.

Guess I can always knock her out from behind if she tries to scream... Lucas decided before he slowly released his hand.

To his surprise, the girl neither ran, nor did she scream. Instead, she opened her mouth to say something but then the sound of giggles echoed in the stairwell.

Nathan looked at Lucas, eyes panicked.

The girl surprised them further when she turned, threw a door open, and looked over her shoulder. "In here," she hissed.