I couldn't have been happier to see the limo arrive as soon as school had ended. I wasn't even that bothered by it anymore. By this point, it had become a routine and it seemed like everyone else had stopped staring, or at least not been interested in it now.

"Hey Turner," I smiled as I hopped into the car.

"Hey," he replied back.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Not bad," he put his hands on the wheel and turned it as he reversed out of the parking lot. "Still working on another case."

I wanted to sound like I was interested in his case but I really wasn't. "Is Eric back yet?" I tried to ask casually.

"His case is taking a while longer than expected. He should be on a plane on the way to Scandinavia right now."

My eyes widened. "Europe?"

"Yep." Agent Turner answered as if this was a normal thing. Thinking about it, it probably was for them. "He'll be back here Thursday morning."

I sighed and rested my head back on the seat. Great. I had through two more days without him. And it felt like this Monday would never end.

I left the RUA earlier than usual since I had no training with Eric gone. Instead of going home straight away, I figured I should catch up with Kevin and Debby. I'd left them mostly in the dark about the gymnastics fiasco. I texted them for us to meet up at the ice cream place that was a few blocks away from my house.

I waited for them since I had arrived first. I found an empty booth inside the place and taken a seat. I knew I was pretty far away from Kennedy High since it was the next town over but I still worried that I would bump into someone from there. It was a stupid thing to imagine but the thought of someone like Tasha, Violet and Charlotte catching me in here worried me. I could have probably just made up some excuse that Debby and Kevin were my cousins or something but Kevin had no idea about the whole agent thing so he wouldn't be able to go along with it.

Stop it, I thought as I rubbed my forehead. I was being ridiculous and only stressing myself out with stupid scenarios. But with all that was happening, it felt like my two worlds were very close to colliding.

The ice cream place with nice and quiet. With only a group of girls sitting at a booth near the back of the room and a couple sitting at a nearby table. Watching them being all lovey-dovey reminded me of Eric. For some reason, I longed for that to be us. The kind of people that could go out and get ice cream and just be normal. But this spy stuff couldn't even let us be together at all. I knew I had to move on. Finish this case and catch whoever was making and selling these drugs. Once that was that, I was gone. Back to my life and Eric would forget I was ever in his.

I could feel myself get nauseous at the thought. I shook it out of my head instantly. That was something I would have to deal with later. But it annoyed me that Eric was gone and would be until Thursday afternoon. It was a miracle that I had lasted today without him, but for another 3 days? It seemed impossible. I told myself that it was good that he was gone anyway, it would help me get less attached to whatever was going on between us. But I still wondered whether he had taken that case right after we kissed just to avoid me. Knowing him, it would be something he would do. I needed to accept the fact that work was all he cared about.

And nothing else. Including me.

I heard the sound of the bell ring as the door to the ice cream parlor opened and I sighed in relief to see Debby and Kevin enter. I hoped that the would distract me from my worrying thoughts. As soon as Debby saw me, she dashed to the booth and sat on the opposite side to me, Kevin sitting next to her a moment later.

"You need to tell me everything." she said eagerly.

I shrugged, smiling lightly. "There isn't much to say I guess."

She scoffed at me, "You're kidding right? Not much to say? Becca, you were the top gymnast. It was going to be like, your career or something."

I laughed, "Is that even a real job?" I asked, remembering it was one of the first things Eric had asked me when we met in the park. I shook him out of my head.

"I'm just curious since you were blowing my ass up for quitting only, what a week ago?" She smirked. I looked at down at the tabletop feeling myself go red. "And then you go ahead and quit the next time you visit?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm sorry." I said quickly, trying to cut her off from any more criticism.

Debby laughed, placing her car keys on the table. I realized that she had probably given Kevin a ride here considering that they arrived at the same time.

"I still don't get why you quit," Kevin spoke finally, after listening to Debby and me.

I shrugged. "I lost my passion. I guess when something starts to become more of a chore than a hobby, you know something's wrong."

"So you didn't quit because of me?" Debby asked, raising an eyebrow.

I thought about that for a moment. "In a way, I guess I did. I mean, with you leaving, gymnastics became depressing. The minute I walked into that gym something felt different. I guess you had been the only thing that stopped me from realizing how much I hated gymnastics."

"So I kept you around huh?" Debby asked, grinning.

"And, then when you told me how you'd lost your passion for gymnastics," I continued trying to explain "Something sort of clicked inside me. I guess I just didn't notice it at the time."

They both stayed silent as if they were still in shock by it all.

"Wow..." Kevin said after a minute. "So now what?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What happens now after quitting gym?"

I sighed running a hand through my hair. "I guess I just move on. Continue with life and find something else."

"When are you coming back to school? You seem better." Kevin asked. I could tell he was still confused with everything.

"Soon I'm sure," I answered simply. I had decided that after the spy stuff was over, I would tell Kevin. But he would have to swear at least a thousand times that he would never tell anyone.

"Well, I'm going to go get ice cream, Becca?" Kevin looked at me as I got up.

"Strawberry split," I answered.

He nodded "And me, a chocolate mountain and Debby...vanilla explosion?" he asked.

She nodded smiling at him as he walked off.

I felt slightly offended that Kevin hadn't remembered my usual ice cream flavor but managed to remember Debby's. It was another cruel reminder of my absence while my friends continued to spend time being happy together. This was our senior year and I was truly missing out.

"Okay, so how are you really?" Debby asked when Kevin was out of hearing range.

"What?"

"Becca, don't play stupid with me. You can't seriously tell me all this spy stuff hasn't been hard for you. I mean, hiding it from your mother every day and now quitting gym?"

I shrugged. "It's been tricky I guess but, fine." I felt like I was lying to her. In a way, I wasn't, but I was going through a lot more than I lead on. I felt physically drained and confused. And lately, I had been worrying about my school work. I'd spent all my time in lessons working on the case instead of actually focusing and I didn't know how screwed I'd be when I returned to my real school. And then there was...

"How are things going with Eric?" Debby asked, giving me a sly smirk.

It felt like my heart was physically in pain. "Fine. Nothing's happening Debby."

"Really?" Debby asked, continuing to show her grin. "Are you sure that nothing has happened? When are you going to make your move? You know, like-"

"Debby, nothing is happening between us and nothing ever will," I said more firmly than I meant to.

Debby's smile faded as she noticed my face. I hoped she wasn't catching on to anything. I just wished that I could get over the pain I was feeling about this all.

I sighed as Debby stayed silent. I didn't want to start to distance myself from the only people that were keeping me a part of my old life. The life I would be returning to very soon.

"Hey, there's this thing coming up," I began to explain. "Some event for agents, like a party. You can come if you want." I said more like a question than a statement.

I saw Debby's smile reappear. "Sounds fancy."

I shrugged. "I guess it is. But please... can you come? "I asked more desperately this time. "It's on Friday night."

"Sure. I wouldn't miss it. And I'd love to take a closer look into your spy life." She added excitedly.

It all looked so exciting and cool to her, but I felt like if she knew the truth, her opinion on it would change. My arms and legs ached because all the training I had done with Eric. My brain hurt because of all the information that Eric had taught me about spying. But most of all, my heart hurt. Because of Eric.

Luckily, Kevin arrived back at our booth holding a tray with our ice creams all on it interrupting me from my depressing thoughts.

"Hey, what did I miss?" he asked.

"Nothing," Debby smiled.

Once I had said goodbye to Kevin and Debby, I started to walk back to my house. I took a different route than usual in order to avoid walking past the gym. I just didn't want to deal with the memories right now. Everything was still just so fresh.

I knew it wouldn't be too long till it got dark outside. The afternoon was getting later and later but this was usually the time I would get home anyway since spy training ran so late. But no Eric, no training.

I hoped that once I arrived, I could have dinner with my Mom. She was another person I was distancing from because of being an undercover agent. It had felt like we hadn't spent time together in a while.

When I arrived at my house, the sun began setting and all I knew was that I was tired from balancing everything. I reached the front door of the house and reached out to grab the handle of the door but jumped in shock when it opened by itself.

My mother took a step outside wearing some tight leopard print dress that barely covered her thighs.

"Oh, Becca! I was going to leave you a note honey," she said when she noticed me standing there, looking as surprised as she did.

"Mom, where are you going?" I asked, eyeing her outfit.

"Another charity event." She answered briefly.

"In that?" I asked pointing at her attire.

"It's safari themed" she pointed out.

"Where is this so-called Safari charity event?"

"Uh, Tiffany Richardson's house." She answered.

I crinkled my forehead in confusion. "I thought Mrs. Richardson was on vacation in the Bahamas with her husband."

"She's back, turns out there was a storm there...and they had to come back."

I stared at her weirdly for a moment. I raised an eyebrow and leaned against the door frame. Something felt off but whatever it was, I let it go. "Okay then."

She smiled at me as she walked past. I heard the sound of her heels clacking on the pavement. "I ordered Indian food, by the way, the guy should be here soon, money's on the counter!" she called out.

My plan for us hanging out tonight obviously wasn't going to happen. I part of me longed for the late nights we spent sitting on the couch having Gossip Girl marathons. I watched as she got in her car and drove off before making my way inside the house.

I had managed to have a shower, get dressed and write in a daily log for my agent diary before the Indian food delivery guy turned up. Then I just ate my dinner in the living room in front of the television. It was lonely, to say the least, but with Eric gone, I was now feeling more alone than ever. He was the only one he knew about everything that was happening to me. He was the only one to understand. I had found myself at one point thinking it was good that he was gone. It would give me more time to get over him, but know I felt like I really needed him here. Not even as some guy I like but as the person who was training me and helping me get through the case.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized I had fallen asleep on the couch from the previous night. I quickly got up when I noticed I only had ten minutes to get ready. I tiptoed to my Mom's room and quietly peeked through the door. I sighed in relief when I saw her lying in bed asleep. After the RUA showed me how dangerous the world really as I started to worry a lot about safety. More my Mom's than my own.

The rest of the morning went along as usual except for the fact that Eric was absent. But other than that, Cassie helped me get ready and Turner drove me in as usual. When we arrived at the school, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" Turner asked, noticing me.

I nodded. I opened the limo door and stepped out with my bag. I said goodbye to Turner quickly before shutting the door and turning back to the school. There were more signs about prom in there then there was yesterday.

It didn't take me long to spot Tasha in the corner with Violet handing out badges.

"Vote for Tasha Bridowen," she said as she handed buttons out to people walking past. I tried my best to hide an eye roll or scoff at it all. It looked pathetic. How desperate are people for some plastic crown and a sash?

I pursed my lips and gave the girls a tight smile as I approached them.

"Vote for Tasha Bridow- oh thank god you're here," Tasha said when she looked up and saw me. She handed the student a badge and then turned around and looked at the classroom that was behind us.

"Charlotte!" She yelled loudly. A moment later, the classroom door opened and Charlotte appeared holding stacks of paper that were almost falling out of her hands. I quicky grabbed a heap of them from her to avoid them from spilling onto the floor.

She smiled at me gratefully, "Thank you."

I nodded in response and then looked down at the papers. They were all posters with Tasha's face on them. They read "Vote Tasha Bridowen - Prom Queen". I did my best to hide the scowl on my face. This was all starting to get a bit ridiculous.

"Amanda, Charlotte, I need you to go hang these up," Tasha directed at us. "I'm going to keep handing out these with Violet."

Charlotte handed her a stack of the posters and then grabbed two stable guns that sat on the table next to them, along with the hundreds of badges. I stared at Tasha for a moment confused and then noticed that she was waiting for me to leave. I turned on my heels and walked in the opposite direction holding the stacks of posters in my arms. I could sense Charlotte walking along side me although I kept my eyes forward.

"She's kinda bossy today huh?" I asked.

"You mean bossier than usual?" Charlotte added, grinning slightly.

We stopped when we came across a message board and started placing the posters on it and stapling them.

"What's the big deal with this whole thing?" I asked as I pushed down on the stapler and released once I heard the click. "I mean, this whole prom queen thing? Why does she want to win it so badly?"

Charlotte shrugged as she stapled a poster on the left corner of the message board. "I don't know, I guess its just another way for her to prove that she's so popular or something." she rolled her eyes.

"You seem kind of annoyed by that," I observed as I handed her another poster.

"I don't know, I think I might be, but it's just that I'm sick of her trying to show everyone that she's better than them," she answered as she stapled the board, harder than the last time. She looked up at me afterward with a scared look on her face. "Please don't tell her I said that."

I let out a small chuckle. "I won't. Promise." I was just so surprised that even one of Tasha's friends seemed to realize her for who she truly was. Not that they shouldn't be. I knew Tasha was one of those popular high school bitches the moment I saw her. Not that I would ever admit that anyway.

"Do you agree?" Charlotte asked. I felt myself feel conflicted. I had to watch what I said on this mission but I couldn't help but side with the poor girl.

"Sure," I said as I stapled another poster to the board. We had managed to fill the whole thing up and were now moving onto the next board further down the hallway. As we walked further down the hall, I recognized Misty sitting down with someone next to her. She laughed while adjusting her position on the bench. I felt happy to know that she was getting better after what had happened to her.

It took me a minute to realize that the person she was sitting next to was her ex, or at least no longer ex, Henry.

"Oh." was all I could manage to say as I watched the sight worriedly.

Charlotte turned to see what I was looking at and then gave me a knowing smile. "I know right?"

"When did that happen again?" I asked with my eyes still on the couple.

"Apparently last night. Tasha said he went over to see her and they made up. He also promised that he would never take the NT drug again." she held a poster up to the new message board. "Let's see how long that lasts," she said as she pressed down the stapler hard on the board.

"Hopefully, he keeps to it," I said as I continued watching Misty smile. "She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she is," Charlotte said as she pressed down another staple.

"You are too," I said turning my attention back to her. A part of me wanted to tell her that she was too good of a person to be hanging out with people like Tasha and Violet. But, again, I held my tongue for the sake of the case.

I pressed down a staple quickly and then stood back with Charlotte to observe the posters.

"Wow." I simply said as we both stared at the many photos of Tasha's enlarged face.

"Uh huh," Charlotte answered with her eyes on the images too. "And it's crazy how all so sudden she started coming out with all this prom stuff."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I placed the posters on the ground to let my arms rest.

Charlotte placed both the staple guns on top of the pile. "Well, considering the dance is this Friday..."

My eyes widened. "It's what?"

She smirked at me "I know right? Count on our school to bring things up last minute."

Friday was also the agent event. It wasn't like I really wanted to go to it but I would definitely want to go to it way more than this stupid high school prom.

A moment later, the ringing of the bells filled the hallways and Charlotte and I quickly gathered the posters.

"Let's just hope that Tasha doesn't get mad at us for not hanging up these on every single inch of the school," Charlotte said, laughing.

I smirked, "Please if she did that there would be no room left for her ego. "