Spy School Rewritten/One-shots

Girl Talk [Rewritten]

"You're jealous of Jessica Shang! Because she hugged Ben."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life," Erica snapped. Only, while this was exactly the sort of thing I'd heard Erica say plenty of times, the way she said it didn't sound like Erica at all.

Instead, she sounded strangely ill at ease. As though Zoe had struck a nerve.

Zoe seemed to sense this too. "I don't think it's so dumb," she said. "And just so you know, you don't have anything to worry about. Ben has no interest in Jessica Shang."

"He has a crush on her," Erica said flatly.

"He only thinks she's pretty," Zoe emphasized. "But he likes you. A lot. And if you're jealous of Jessica, I'm betting you like him, too."

"This conversation is over," Erica said.

"Oh, come on!" Zoe protested. "You need to deal with your feelings, not avoid them."

"I'm not avoiding my feelings!" Erica insisted. "Emotions are a massive nuisance to this mission, just as it is for effective espionage. Ben is the primary agent on this mission. If he decides that it is a good idea to flirt with Jessica Shang, this whole mission could be completely compromised."

"But he was just trying to get close to her to gather information." Zoe argued.

"No he wasn't, he wasn't merely just trying to get information, he was approaching her from a personal level." Even though the sound wasn't clear, I could hear the very slight resentment in her voice.

Zoe just giggled. "See? You're getting jealous again!"

"I'm not." Erica demanded coolly.

"Yes you are! Frankly, you don't have any concerns as Ben won't be able to see Jessica anymore after the end of the mission and Ben will just get back to crushing on you!"

"No! I am worried for the sake of the mission because we haven't even figured out Shang's plan! Operation Golden Fist is going down tomorrow and Ben isn't doing anything helpful!" Erica pointed out.

"Aha! You're worried about Ben aren't you? Because he's one of the only people you care about?" Zoe exclaimed.

Erica ignored the question, before promptly stating, "We're here, go grab your skis."

I watched as their ski lift entered the small, unmanned terminal at the top of the mountain, and both of them hopping off to grab their skis secured in the back. Zoe turned to me and gave me a pleased smile, and I managed to put on a confused look so Erica and Zoe wouldn't know I was eavesdropping on them.

As the ski lift Woodchuck and I were in slowly approached the stop, I heard Zoe say, "You never answered my question."

"I'm not gonna tell you." Erica declared.

"Please! I won't tell anyone! Before Ben gets close enough to hear us!" Zoe begged.

Erica paused, considering her circumstances, then finally gave in. "Fine, I...care about Ben."

Upon hearing this, Zoe danced around like a maniac, shouting, "Yes! I knew it! I totally ship immmppppdddd!" Before Erica slapped her hand on Zoe's mouth, and recited her usual threat, "If you tell anyone about this..."

"Yes, yes, you'll kill me I know!" Erica let go of her grasp and Zoe continued jumping around excitedly.

I took advantage of Zoe's distraction to pluck the earpiece out and hide it in my pocket before Erica realizes that I was listening to their conversation. When the chair lift entered the terminal, I couldn't hide the wide grin on my face. 

Erica obviously noticed my expression and demanded, "What's so funny?"

"Uhhm...Zoe's dance is hilarious...hehehe!" Erica clearly knew I was lying but decided just to answer me with her usual icy stare.

I felt a huge wave of giddiness bubbling in my chest. Erica actually cared for me! That means she actually might like me! Maybe she would never start a relationship with anyone, but knowing that I actually had a chance made my day a million times better than it was before. Nevertheless, I still had to perform well and foil whatever plot Shang had. Just thinking about the mission I have on hand was enough to make my day a million times worse again.

Zoe came up to me and proudly pat me on the back while flashing me a congratulating smile. Once again, I just acted confused and stared at her blankly.