Versus The Captor

2.) Duty Calls

Veracity Campbell:

How's it going? So you just talked to Spyder right? How'd that go? I bet it went interesting, huh? The guy can be that way, but I find it cute. Not that I think he's cute or anything. I never said that, but yeah, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel some type of way towards him. Don't you dare tell him I said that. But anyway, what we did over the weekend is something I want to tell all of you. It's not like I can tell anyone of my friends about because they already know. Plus, if the school finds out, it's over.
It all started on a Friday. Makes sense since everything happened over the weekend. I was at my locker checking the security feed for Bay City. That's my job, which is why I'm making that money. Ladies, take note. So while I'm busy doing that, I had to find the boys. Mack doesn't go to this school so it's not like I could just talk to her. Besides, she has guardian duties during this time. I know right? Crazy. We found that out after we rescued her dad. Did Spyder mention that? No? Heh, maybe I should do more of the talking from now on. Nah, I'm joking. He's the best when recapping loads of information. One of his best qualities by far. What? I can compliment the guy. You better not be smirking either.
I closed the tablet once I saw that nothing was going on. I shut my locker afterwards. Now once I round up the boys, we can head to Mech X to see if anything pops up. As I started to walk, one of them immediately came into sight. He was sitting on the stairs conversating with someone. She was a familiar face. I eventually got along with her after the whole trying to reach to her thing went awry. I still blame the boys for that one and I was glad that she knew I made the most realistic approach. But even so, it took time.
Yup, Georgia Lakers. She was one year older than Mark and two years ahead of us. It didn't really matter to us though. The two were a really good pairing and I thought they were cute. Once Mackenzie got a peek at their romance, she wasted no time in getting to know Georgia. I don't know how this girl does it, but she managed to befriend her in less than two hours when it took me at least a week. She's got skills. I have to let her meet Paige, who I haven't seen since the whole Ryley incident. Hope she's okay.
But I have to say, I think Georgia has been in Mark's head for a while. I won't go into too much detail due to the fact that I can't confirm everything he might be feeling. Sometimes when I catch them in moments like these, I see how they look at each other. The day we helped them get back together, there were only two genuine smiles. Now? I could tell it was something more. I don't think he cares so much about looking like an idiot in front of people anymore. As much as his reputation mattered to him, she just brings out a side to him that we don't see a lot of. I like that.
Ryan, Spyder, and I poke fun at it from time to time. Like a typical brother, Ry would say that Georgia drives him crazy or that he blushes when her name is brought up. I found that to be normal, but it was still laughable. Spyder once caught him sleeping in the lounge on the couch. He said that he was talking in his sleep. Besides from him winning some kind of championship, his girlfriend was mentioned a few times. Again, found this normal and laughed at it anyway. Their relationship is going well, so that's all that matters to me.
However, we do need to get to the robot soon. Leo and I had a talk before I left for school. He told me to remind the team to meet up in the robot. It was important. I wondered why he didn't tell Ryan since he is still the leader. It didn't take long for me to put the pieces together once Leo gave me a look. So, I had to make sure we would get a move on it. I didn't want to interrupt the conversation, but he knew Mech X4 was serious in itself. I cleared my throat loudly. I saw Mark look up and nod. He talked to Georgia for about a good few seconds before getting up. Feeling a little sneaky, I decided to listen in on what they were saying.

"I'll see you at Tony's alright?" I heard Mark speak.

"Yeah. And we're going half and half." Georgia told him.

"Hey, I can pay for the both of us." Mark offered.

"I have money for reason and I'd like to spend it." Georgia replied.

She kissed him as a goodbye and left out the door. That's when I started talking.

"You guys have been hanging out a lot lately." I decided to mention.

"Well with everything going on, I gotta make it up to her somehow." Mark told me.

I nodded.

"Ready?" I inquired.

He nodded. We headed towards the door. Opening it up, I looked out to see the bright sun glowing and lighting up the Earth. We both enjoyed the cool breezes since the heat wasn't exactly pleasant. I spotted Hairbear leaning on a pole. My guess is that he was waiting for us.

"Hey guys." He greeted.

"Hey nerdo," Mark responded, "where's your trio?"

"Spyder got a ride home since he had to grab something and Ryan's-"

"Right here shorty bop!"

And that was the time I realized he had a lot of nicknames. Joining us in front of the school, the pilot of the squad himself made his way to us. He stopped and stood next to Harry.

"I can't wait til I grow so people can stop calling me short." He commented.

"Aww dude," Ryan retorted sounding sympathetic, "that's what makes it fun."

I laughed a little as we all started to go to Mark's car. It was parked pretty close since we had to go right after school. I hopped into the back seat with Harris while Ryan was beside Mark. We closed the door and waited for the car to start up. Once it did, we pulled off and left the school.

"What do you think Leo wants to tell us?" Harris asked.

"Who knows. There's always something going on whether we're aware of it or not," Ryan replied, "I wouldn't be surprised if Grey was in our house just to come and kill us all."

True. Very true.

"Last time he called us was when you had to go out and see your mom," Mark mentioned, "you think it'll involve her again?"

"Maybe. All we can do is guess. Who knows what we're in for this time?" Ryan answered back.

"I'm just glad that we're all doing this," Harris brought up, "for once I'm not mind controlled or something stupid is happening."

"Yeah that was not fun," Mark responded, "you being evil was annoying and causing a lot of trouble."

"V stepped up though," Ryan praised me a bit, "it was like nothing changed. Easy shoe in."

I glanced at Hairbear, who looked a little hurt. I watched Mark nudge his brother.

"Relax I didn't mean it like that," Ryan reassured, "obviously I was pissed off when Tregear did that to you. Best part of it was when I went savage."

"Yeah you went savage all right," I agreed, "and I nearly got my face burned off."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked me, to which I made a face at him, "Harris was the one I blasted."

"Yeah but you need to work on your aim." I told him.

"Yeah you almost messed up my hair too." Mark added.

"Oh god, Mark's hair is slightly uneven," Ryan began to mock, "quick! It's a crisis! Anybody have a comb?!"

Harris and I shared a laugh at that while Mark playfully shoved his little brother's shoulder.