La la la. Skinny love
Blake woke up the next morning to the sound of an alarm. She was incredibly tired. She had stayed up late since Zayn was over and after he had left, she had been up even longer, just thinking about everything. She had to wake up early because she would be meeting her mother today. She groaned, forcing her eyes open and reaching for the phone to turnt the alarm off. She rolled out of bed and looking at the clock, realized she would have to get ready quickly if she wanted to be on time. She took a quick shower and then got dressed. She pulled on a pleated, sleeveless blouse and tucked it into a black skater skirt that almost reached her knees. She did her makeup and hair, pulling her blonde locks into a high and loose ponytail. She picked up her phone and sighed as she looked at the time. She was going to be late if she didn't get a move on. She picked up her bag and rushed out the door. She got to the lobby and sat down in a chair, phone in hand, waiting for her ride to arrive. As she waited, she checked twitter on her mobile.
She saw that Zayn had retweeted the tweet declaring her love for him and suddenly she had loads more followers. People were tweeting at her. Some were asking if she was the girl that was in all of those recent pictures with Zayn. Others asked if she was dating Zayn. Then there were those that were telling her to die, as was expected. She rolled her eyes, tucking away her phone and leaning back in her chair. She didn't have to wait much longer for her ride.
A guy with messy caramel brown hair stepped up to Blake and she smiled in disbelief at him, jumping up to greet him with a hug. "Brad?" she asked and he nodded, grinning as he looked down at her. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm your ride?" he answered, not entirely understanding the question.
"Well, obviously, but I thought you were in Australia."
"Oh," he said quietly. "Well, your dad wanted to have a word with me in person, so here I am. Your mum figured you'd be happy to see me."
"Well, she was right about that."
"Right about something for once, right?" he joked and Blake laughed obediently. "So shall we go? We wouldn't want to keep your mother waiting."
Blake nodded in agreement. "No, we wouldn't."
They headed out to his car and drove off. "So I hear you're training Simon's new boys," he commented.
Blake groaned. "Yes."
"As in those sorry excuses for spies?"
Blake nodded. "As ridiculous as it seems." Brad laughed.
"I can understand your frustration. So how terrible are they?"
"I don't really know yet. We haven't started training yet." Brad raised his eyebrows at this and she explained. "Dad thought we should have a week off to get to know each other and settle into our covers."
"That definitely sounds like your dad," Brad consented, forcing himself not laugh at his friend's situation.
"But I can imagine how bad they'll be," Blake stiffled a laugh. "I mean, you should see them. I swear, Niall has chicken legs. And they're all so ignorant of everything. It's almost kind of sad. Like, just the other day Harry asked me what the point of a cover is. But it makes sense though, considering they don't have covers. But it's just hilarious the stuff they don't know. Sometimes, I have to remember not to laugh."
"And how exactly do you stop yourself from laughing?"
"I remember that I'm the one that's going to have to change all that."
Brad chuckled. "I bet that's enough to shut you up."
"That's definitely enough to shut me up."
"I can imagine. Good luck with that, by the way! I tried to talk your dad out of it, saying I would take it and that you were really looking forward to Australia but he wasn't listening. He was convinced this would be good for you. Not really sure how, but it's a challenge. And we all know how much he loves to challenge you." Blake nodded, sighing as she looked out the window.
"So where are we headed?"
"It's a surprise," he replied and she glared. "Oh, come on, you're no fun. It's just a surprise!"
"Spies don't like surprises," she mumbled, slumping in her chair.
"Well, deal with it," he stated flatly, smiling proudly at how he could keep her in the dark.
Soon, the car pulled to a stop, parked. Brad hopped out, rushing to open Blake's door. She looked up at the building before her, which was tall but not really a skyscraper. "New office?" she asked, blocking the sun with a hand to get a better view. Brad didn't answer, instead walking up to the entrance and greeting the doorman like an old friend. Blake rushed up to his side, following him through the maze of a building. Finally he stopped at a door, knocking on it. Blake held her hands behind her back, waiting patiently.
"Come in," a voice Blake knew called.
"Good luck." Brad smiled at Blake before walking away. Blake grimaced, pushing open the door and slipping inside.
The room looked like a normal office. Sitting at the desk right across from the door was a woman who slightly resembled Blake. She had the same blonde hair and face shape, though she looked quite a bit older than her daughter. "Blake." Her mother inclined her head in greeting.
"Hey, Mum." Blake waved with two fingers and walked over to the chair across from her mother, taking a seat. She was careful to sit up straight, knowing her mother was big on posture. "So, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, yes, we need to talk." Her mother remained silent for some time.
Blake sighed, trying to hide her impatience. "About?"
"Something has come to my attention that I was not aware of before." She took in a deep breath, her blue eyes fixing on a smudge on the desk.
Blake waited for moment before prompting her mother to continue.
"It is my understanding that you are not going to Australia?" Blake nodded, hiding her irritation with the fact with poise. Her mother frowned as she finally looked up from the desk to meet her mother's eyes.
"Yes but I thought you knew that-"
"I was aware but no one seemed to deem it fit to tell me what your new assignment was." The frown grew deeper, filling her whole face with lines. "Or maybe, they just knew I wouldn't approve."
"Why would you? Why would they?" Blake struggled and her eyes asked her mother for the answers she was sure to give.
Her mother sighed, looking at her dear daughter, the unshakeable rock of the family, the spy who couldn't be scared, only cautious. "Darling, when your father assigned you to this mission, did he tell you everything?" Blake didn't answered so her mother did for her. "No. In fact, I do believe he didn't even give you the full file." Blake blinked at her in shock. There were things she didn't know? Things her own father had kept from her? Her mother picked up a file. "This is what he didn't give you, what he didn't tell you. This has everything that was missing. I'm sure you'll find it most enlightening. It's a very interesting read. It contains the evidence to convince you that this is not only the most dangerous and risky mission we are currently running, but that it is also the least rewarding."
Blake blinked at her, taking in the news with a doubt that she buried down deep. "And you just found this out now?"
"I was aware of the dangers of the mission and had thought we had abandoned it. We as a group decided Simon and his boys were not worth the trouble." She grimaced.
"So you had no clue I was training them?"
"I had no clue your father was even training them before you," her mother answered quietly and the gravity of it all sank in. Her father didn't keep secrets, not from her mother. Not from her. Not ever. And that meant something was wrong. Something was very very wrong. "You may take the file and read it. Hopefully you will see the gravity of the situation and decide to move on. But the, uh, the choice is yours. You're old enough to decide for yourself. Just..." Her mother trailed off, looking her daughter square in the eye. "Be careful. And think things through. Don't go for this just because it's a challenge."
"I won't," she promised, grabbing the file and heading for the door.
Brad didn't ask what the meeting was about when he picked up Blake. Her face told him to give her time. Besides, she was nose deep in some file and wouldn't hear him. When he dropped her off, he finally questioned her, curiosity winning him over.
Blake shrugged and frowned as she eyed the file. "Oh, nothing. Just, these pop princesses are suddenly getting interesting." And with that, she stalked off, head stuck between the pages.
Dun, dun, dun.
xxrocket