The weekend after Homecoming...

"Skylar, you are so blessed to have Blue Crush and Green Wave as your fiances. And while the deaths of your parents and friends still burn for you, I can only hope that you'll lean on the team more and start planning your wedding."

"I knew that the guys will be the right fit for you. Your parents were good people as were McNeil and Finnessey, but they would've wanted for you to move on and find out who wanted them dead. To be real, my money's on Sammons."

"You're about to make waves yet again, Mr. O'Hara. I hope that you're not going to let all this attention distract you from your classwork. Still, it's going to be a thrilling and challenging time for you. Make the most of it and keep yourself grounded."

Those were some of the statements made as the new week came with November soon to arrive. And word of my betrothal to Drake/Blue Crush AND Jorge/Green Wave spread like wildfire all throughout the USA and around the world. Meanwhile, I continued to work with the police and FBI to find out whether Greenlee or Enrique and his team had installed the bomb that took the lives of my parents, Rhea, and Shandra. Of course, I also knew that I had to pay my respects to the McNeil and Finnessey families since I was friends with the two girls who (before all of this) had my back through thick and thin. And with my parents having no other relatives while both sets of grandparents passed away, I was basically a ward of the state. Thankfully, Drake and Jorge's families allowed me to stay with them when I wasn't bunking at HQ.

"How are you holding up, Skylar?"

I snapped out of my thoughts as I soon saw Brian and Jamal both stare at me, concern filling their eyes as they and the others (except for Kendall since she was out on a mission) escorted me to the cafeteria. "I'm hanging on as much as I could," I replied. "Things have been...well, surreal as of late."

"We can tell," remarked Rogelio as he patted me on the back before waving hello at a few soccer players. "And we're very sorry for the loss of your parents, bro. Homecoming night was supposed to be a magical night for everyone, but it turned out to be a nightmare with your parents and even your friends biting the dust. But at least we know that you're loyal to the Youth Hero Alliance."

"For sure," Dominic agreed as we headed to the cafeteria and got in line. "It's going to be rocky for you, Skylar, but you can always count on us to help you out whenever the need arrives. And, you have two guys who are going to be your forever loves as they'll keep you protected with the rest of us. "All we ask is that you let us in the same way that you did for your late friends."

"I will," I promised them. To my fiances, "And I promise you guys that I'll keep things open, honest, and transparent with you. But make sure that you guys do the same as well."

"We give you our word," Drake promised, Jorge nodding in assent.

After receiving our fares and paying for them, we soon found our usual table (the popular kids' table that was near the soda machines) and took our seats. But no sooner than I was ready to dig into a baked potato when the entire room went silent at the arrival of Enrique "Obsidian" Pinero and his team (his sister Catalina and La'Shae in general). And despite them dressed in vibrant colors that matched the sunny afternoon outside, none of them were happy to see me. "What do you want?" I asked tersely.

"You disappointed us, Skylar," Enrique said, his voice calm yet lethally full of contempt. "I had high hopes in you, believing that you were ready to disown the Youth Hero Alliance and become a full-fledged member of my team as my sidekick. Instead, you chose to be with the small fries of this simple league. It's like you're ready to set yourself up for instant failure."

I squared my shoulders just as Jorge stood up and got into Enrique's face. "My fiance's just lost his two best friends as well as his parents," he growled, eyes narrowed in silts. "Show some courtesy, Pinero."

"And why should we, Fernandez? O'Hara knew of what was to happen if he chose to spurn my brother," Catalina remarked, shooting me a dirty glare. "It would've been understandable if he spurned us as well as you all while choosing Miss Sammons, but he chose to enter into a darker web. And from where I sit, the loss of Skylar's parents and the two young women who were his friends was basically justified."

That caught my attention. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that-"

"You know what we're trying to say, O'Hara," La'Shae interrupted just as Kendra arrived in her Velocity persona. "I may have said too much already, but you already know the answers. But remember that you could still make things right, you know? Just say the words and Enrique can be your true friend again...then some."

I shook my head. "You're not saying what I want you to say," I replied, my ire rising. "Did you have something to do with my parents, Rhea, and Shandra's death by planting that bomb?"

"Just leave it alone, Skylar," Drake said gently before Pinero could answer. He shot a glare at the Bolivian teenager and his posse. "We already know that he did."

The trio just glared at me before walking away.

"What characters," Kendall muttered as she took her seat. She shot me a look. "Way to go, Skylar. And kudos for standing by your words. I doubt that you'd get far in life if you stuck with him and his crew instead. With them, you'd only be set up for failure that's instant and painful. Same thing regarding Greenlee and her 'threat.' But now that you'd proven yourself worthy to hang with us, you can have a lot of doors open for you in the future."

I didn't know why, but there was something off about the female speedster today. There was something in her tone of voice that was a bit...ominous and yet so cool. But like the good newbie that I was, I decided to drop the matter and play my role perfectly. "I can at least trust in you guys to keep me balanced," I answered as I dug into my food. "As long as we keep things transparent and honest with each other, I can find myself some hope for a brighter future."

That made everyone at my table- including the human allies and a few jocks- smile widely at my words. "You can count on it," Drake and Jorge said in unison. "We love you, Skylar O'Hara."

"I love y'all too." But now is the time to start my own investigation, I thought as the conversation soon switched to plans for more parties and training sessions. And it starts with a visit to my late friends' homes. Because something tells me that Shandra and Rhea knew something about what's going on. It's time to play 'I Spy' and get answers.

Cumulative word-count so far: 28,538 words.

And so Skylar will play "I Spy" as the next chapter does include a trip to the Finnessey and McNeil homes and he discovers some secrets about not only Greenlee and Enrique but also his own team. And my,  you can't afford to miss out on how things will wrap up as we're now in the home stretch of this novella. I will admit that this story is about to get more nutty than I expected, but I intend to see this through until the end. Stay tuned!

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