He's Just a Kid

The Secret's Out

Adam, Bree, and Chase were all in their new and improved mission suits, ready to go save Mr. Davenport. Leo was walking them through some extra information he had on Marcus: The fact that he was also bionic with all of their abilities combined, and the layout of the lair they were going to.

I was still too shocked to do anything at all.

Marcus. My Marcus. The one I kissed, the one I cared about, the one I liked.

The one I thought liked me.

He was the one who kidnapped Mr. Davenport, he was evil like Leo said. Everything had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. The Marcus I knew was gone. I had been fooled. Fooled more than once, it seems like. And I was too stupid to see it.

I couldn't believe I had almost compromised my relationship with Leo because of a lying idiot.

But . . .

Why wasn't he looking at me?

Bree was fixing her glove when she noticed the look on my face. She nudged me, trying to get me to cheer up. It didn't work.

"Hey, cheer up," she told me. "We'll get him back. I promise."

"I should go with you."

I didn't know why I said that, and Bree was just as shocked as everyone else in the room. Apparently Chase, Adam, and Leo heard it and stopped their conversation just to tell me why I shouldn't come.

"You'll get yourself hurt!"

"You can't go up against a bionic superhuman, you're not bionic!"

"I can't let anything happen to you!"

The last one was Chase, and everyone was staring at him when he said it. The passion in his eyes, the way his voice cracked when he said those words. It was so out of character.

He blinked, coming back to himself and turning beet red. "I . . . I mean, we can't let anything happen to you. You're our best friend, Abby."

It took me a second to find my voice again after his outburst. "I need to go with you guys," I repeated slowly, making sure they understood me. I folded my arms nervously. "You need all the help you can get, and . . ."

"And what?" Bree asked me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "What is it?"

My heart was pounding like a bass drum against my ribs at a rapid speed. This was one of the stupidest things I could ever do. I could practically see my mom yelling at me, scolding me for doing what I was about to do. But what else could I do? Adam, Bree and Chase were going up against Marcus, who had all of their bionics combined into one chip. Everything they did he would expect it. I needed to go. Because he wouldn't expect me.

I breathed out shakily and released, transforming in front of them. Bree yelped and stumbled backward into Chase, Adam screamed and Leo stared at me wide-eyed. I was standing before them in my cat form, the fur on my body standing up slightly with fear. I did it.

I gave away my secret.

This is the part where they call me a monster and never talk to me again. Or they'll turn me over to the authorities, or . . .

I couldn't finish the thought.

I was prepared for it. I was prepared for the words about to come out of their mouths.

". . . surprise," I mumbled, slipping my glasses off.

Chase did something I didn't expect. He broke into a grin and rushed forward, his eyes dancing with excitement. "This is incredible!" he exclaimed. "You're bionic too? That's awesome!" He whirled around to face his family. "Guys, do you see this?"

Everyone was staring at me with awe, not fear. They looked like they wanted to ask me more questions but I cut them off.

"It's not bionics," I explained. "But, I can't tell you what it is, because I don't know."

My ears flattened slightly before I shifted back into my human form. We all rushed out the door on the way to Marcus's lair, Leo staying behind. We now had something Marcus didn't.

We had the element of surprise.

We had me.

The fear inside of me grew as we neared Marcus's house. I had no idea what to expect when we got there, and the tension with everyone else was evident. Especially Chase.

As we ran, I turned to him. "You going to tell me what's up?" I panted.

He glanced at me and reddened. "I'm . . . fine," he gasped. "Just . . . worried is . . . all."

"About?"

"You."

It was my turn to blush. I stared straight ahead, my feet continuing to pound on the pavement as we ran. Bree was the only one breathing smoothly. Probably because this was considered jogging or maybe even fast-walking to her.

I cleared my throat. "Why are you worried about me?"

I saw his jaw clench as he looked at the ground for a second, watching his feet smack against the ground. "Because I like you."

My heart skipped a beat. And it wasn't because of the running.

Chase liked me? Since when? I looked up and saw Bree's pace falter slightly. She definitely heard that and was as shocked as I was, if not even more so. Chase always said he didn't have time for relationships, that school was too important for distractions, that he didn't need to worry about someone while he went on missions. All of those things made sense.

Then why on earth did he like me?

I was shaken from my thoughts when Adam announced we had arrived at Marcus's house. How they knew where Marcus's house was, I had no idea, but my guess was they probably visited him once or twice. My mom would never let me visit a guy.

Speaking of my mom, I couldn't help but notice how dark it was getting. If I wasn't back at my mom's house soon I would be dead, whether from Marcus or my mom.

The thought that Marcus could kill me made me so sick.

We rushed up the driveway and around back like Leo instructed, and we were faced with the blank blue wall. Now, how did we get in?

Before we could think about that for much longer, the wall shimmered, revealing a large, open door. Marcus sauntered out of it.

My heart pounded when he met my eyes. And again, his mask crumbled for a second to reveal shock, pain, fear, and hurt before he quickly covered it again and deliberately looked away from me.

"Didn't expect you to bring a friend," he chuckled to the others. "But, hey. The more the merrier. Let's get this over with, shall we?"