Okay so here's part 4 of this. I don't know why I keep going but here anyways lol. I think this motorcycle looks cool so this is the one Ben shows her.
Erica's Dorm
Spy School
10:00 AM
Saturday
July 5th
Erica's POV:
I went into the bathroom and changed while my parents and Ben laughed and talked. I put on some white shorts kinda like the ones I wore the night before and a green and blue tie-dye shirt.
No one seemed to care that we both left my room seeing as my mother and father were with us.
We got some weird looks at him being shirtless, but my parents outweighed that.
We stopped at his room and he went in to the bathroom to change into something new.
He came out with a black jeans jacket, teal tank top, and green shorts with blue- pineapples? that looked oddly like a swim suit.
"Blue pineapples?"
"What? I thought they were cool." He laughed.
We left and Ben continued to help me, despite my protests.
"I can take you back to your room and just pick food up and bring it back instead."
"No." I whined. "But I can walk just fine."
"Erica. Stop complaining and suck it up. I'm helping you whether or not you want to be helped. Because you need to be. And I wouldn't be a very good new boyfriend if I let you walk on your recently hurt leg, now would I?"
"You gonna keep throwing it at me?"
"Yeah. Because eventually you'll get that I want to be here for you through whatever. It took forever to get you to even consider dating me. I want to prove it was a good choice."
"You don't have to though."
"But I want to. And I will. So again, stop complaining and tell me where your car is."
"Over there." I pointed a little ways out on the left of the parking lot.
"Woah." His jaw dropped a little. "That's your car?"
"Yeah." I said simply.
"Your car is a neon green Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat? That seems a bit flashy for you."
"Kinda. I borrowed it one time and liked it so I continued to borrow it."
"You stole it?"
"Borrowed." I corrected.
"Stole. You need to return it E. Aren't they gonna figure it out?"
"Well I went back later and left a briefcase of money and a note saying it was for the car."
"Where'd you get the briefcase?"
"Borrowed it from the bank."
"Did they know you borrowed it?" He asked with a knowing smirk.
"Not exactly." I smirked.
"So you paid for a stolen car with stolen money? And no one caught you?"
"I'm a good borrower." I shrugged.
"Well thief. But okay." He teased.
"Hey! I needed it for something a while back and I liked it so I went back and left the money."
"Why'd you like it so much?"
"I really like green and it's a cool car."
"You like green?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah it's my favorite color. Why?"
"Well most everything you have is black."
"Because you can't infiltrate most places in green."
"OH." He laughed. "Keys."
"Huh?"
"Keys." He repeated, with his hand out.
"What?"
"I'm obviously not letting you drive." He stated as if it were obvious.
"Says who."
"Me. I didn't let you walk. You're definitely not driving."
"I don't want to ride in the car if you won't let me drive."
I wasn't quite sure why I said it, but I did.
"Fine. We'll take my bike."
"You have a motorcycle?" I asked, shocked.
"Brother does. Let me borrow his old one since he's got two." He explained.
"But it's illegal to drive a motorcycle under 18."
"He is 18. He's 2 and a half years older. He got one on his birthday and saved up for another not long after."
"I meant you. You're 15."
"And? Since when are you concerned about breaking the law? You're 17 and steal cars and money and gods know what else. This is nothing. Just a ride on a bike that my family bought with money we earned."
"But you don't seem the rule-breaking type."
"Says who?" He smirked.
"Like everyone."
"Because no one finds out when I do break the rules."
"Really?"
"I sneak out all the time. Ride around the city after midnight when no one's out."
"Seriously?"
He nodded.
"Where is it?"
We were now at the edge of the forest.
He helped me sit on a stump.
"I'm gonna go grab it. I'll be right back."
"Why can't I come with?"
"Can you climb on your leg?"
"Climb?"
"That's what I thought. So again, I'll be right back." He said with a mysterious smile.
He was a lot different than I thought. And even more amazing. Now he was mysterious and more intriguing than ever.
After a few minutes he slowly rode over with a light blue motorcycle and a red helmet.
He braked and hopped off. He pulled off the helmet and shook his head to fix his hair. He put the helmet under his right arm and helped me up with his left.
"Ta-da!" He said sing songingly.
I smiled and shook my head.
He turned and put the helmet on my head gently.
"Seriously Ben?"
"What?"
"Why did you give me the helmet? You're the one with the more important brain up there." I smirked.
"My bike, my rules." He shrugged and hopped on the bike. "You coming?"
I sighed and got on behind him. I put my arms around him and he rode into the woods.
"The woods?"
"Yeah. Can't go out the front gate and especially not in broad daylight. I know a secret way out. Brother and his friends found it years ago."
"Wait you know a secret tunnel that I don't?"
"Yeah. While the great Erica Hale knows a lot, there are somethings she doesn't. Should I remind you of our ski trip a little while back?"
"Whatever."
He rode down a bunch of little hills and stopped, leaned over, and grabbed a rock. He threw it at a tree on the little "cliff" in front of us. Like way up. It hit a little notch, with an accuracy I didn't know he had, and a keypad appeared on the left from behind some moss on the drop-off. He typed in a bunch of numbers and part of the cliff opened up. He went in and I saw it was a curvy stone tunnel. He rode through it and at the end he turned part of the wall to reveal another keypad. More numbers. And it opened to show the back of a McDonald's parking lot. He exited, the tunnel closed, rode out, and parked. I looked back at it and it seemed so obvious now I knew it was there.
"Wow. That was cool. I can't believe I missed it."
"My brother and his friends found the tunnel and made it into a secret entrance/exit. No one knows about it except Griff, Cooper, Jayden, Bradley, Matthew, and me. And you now."
"Cool. Wait the Jayden that lives like two doors down from me? Like the really dirty minded one?"
"The very same." He nodded.
"He's friends with your brother?"
He nodded again.
"Where do you wanna go for food?"
"Wherever."
"Doesn't narrow it down much."
"Let's just go here."
He looked back at me in shock.
"Here?"
"Yeah?"
"McDonald's?"
"Sure."
"You eat here?"
"Sometimes. And their fries sound kinda good right now so yeah."
"Uh okay."
I got off and handed him the helmet. He set it on his bike and he ran his hands through my hair to fix it.
15 minutes later we got back on the bike and drove back into the tunnel.
"So why green?"
"Why light blue?"
"Why green? I asked first."
I ignored his question.
"Why green?" He repeated.
"It's really nice outside." I noticed, still ignoring him.
"Yeah. Really green. So again. Why green?"
"It's my favorite color."
"I know that. I meant why is it your favorite?" He laughed.
I gave in and whispered my answer into his ear.
"You know your eyes are green? That in the sun your eyes almost glow lime green? Or that in the moonlight they shine like emeralds? That they're full of hope and happiness? And mystery and sadness? And brilliance and mischief? They seem ever changing. I look into them and they change shade with the light. With your emotions."
He paused before replying.
"You know your eyes are light blue? That in the sun your eyes almost glow sky blur? Or that in the moonlight they shine like ice? That they're full of hope and happiness? And mystery and sadness? And brilliance and mischief? They seem ever changing. I look into them and they change shade with the light. With your emotions."
"You said the exact same thing I did."
"Because it was the same reason. I could have just said it's my favorite color. Or it was the color I helped my brother to paint it."
"But it wasn't very creative." I teased.
"But it was very honest."
"Whatever. Where we going now?"
"It's a surprise."
I gave up and he took me to a different little cliff that overlooked water. He stopped at a really thick tree. He turned a notch and a little keypad appeared. After more numbers, a door that was part of the tree opened to show a little rack that slid down and out. He lifted up the front of the motorcycle and set it onto it before sliding his hands to the other end to get that part on it too. He pushed the end of it slightly and the rack and motorcycle slowly went in and up into the trunk of the tree.
"How-"
"They may have made a few other things too." He grinned.
"Wait. You said there was climbing."
"No, I asked if you could climb. I never said you had to climb to get to it."
"Have you wanted to do that ever since I told you that after I saved you from Spyder that summer?"
"Yes." He beamed proudly.
"So why didn't you want me to come if you showed me after all?"
"Because then you'd know about that." He pointed to the cliff. "And I was waiting to show it to you until after we got food."
"So we could eat here."
"Bingo. So can you climb or no?"
"Why?"
"I was gonna have us sit on that branch over the water but I don't have an elevator there."
"I don't know."
"Okay, we can sit down here then." Somehow he had a blanket and he set it down for us to sit on right in front of another tree. He put the food down and motioned for me to sit as he did. We leaned against the tree and each other.
We ate and then talked for a while.
After a little bit of quiet he realized something.
"Wow. We got out of your room at 10. Guess what time it is."
"1:45."
"Almost 4:00."
"What? No way!"
I looked at my phone and saw the time change to 4:00."
"Woah."
"Yeah." His face lit up. "I got an idea. Wait right here." He hopped up and jogged away.
I noticed how beautiful it was out there. There were birds all around us and you could hear little waterfalls. After a few minutes he came back with something behind his back.
He showed me what he had.
A guitar.
"You play?"
He nodded and strummed the guitar once.
"No. I just have a guitar to make me look cooler around all the girls I date." He said sarcastically.
"Okay it was a rhetorical question smart ass."
"I'm aware." He poked.
"Where did you get it from? You didn't have time to go back to your room."
"That's a secret place for another day my love." He said with a slight smile.
"How many are there?"
"A lot. You know a lot of them, but I know a bunch you don't. Simply because they're a family secret."
"But I know some and I'm not part of your family."
"Not yet." He smirked playfully.
"Oh really?" I smirked back.
"Really. You might not know it yet. But I do."
"What if you propose and I say no?"
I tried to prove him wrong.
"But ya won't."
"And you know this how?"
"I just know. And when I give a speech at our wedding, I'm gonna tell this exact story." He joked.
I laughed and shook my head.
"What if it never happens?"
"Oh it will. I betcha it will." He said confidently.
"You some time traveler or something? Did you use that big brain of yours to make a time machine and see our future?"
"Nope."
"Then how are you so sure we'll end up together?"
"Because I love you more than anything or anyone. Because I've loved you for 3 and a half years, even though you've tried to push me away. Because now that you let me in, I'm not gonna let you push me away again. Because I know in my heart that I want to be with you and only you. And I know I won't give up until I am. Because you're worth everything to me. Because you are everything to me." He said with a small smile, as he stroked my face gently.
"You know before yesterday I knew you were a kind, respectful, legit all around amazing guy."
"Why thank you."
"But until last night I had no idea how romantic you are. You said you've never had a girlfriend before?"
"I did."
"Then how are you so good at all this?"
"I just put everything I have into thinking of dates because you deserve nothing less than the absolute best I can give you. And I also may have planned things like this in my head literally like all the time since the day after I met you... but thank you."
"You did?" I laughed.
"Maybe." He teased.
After another laugh from me he started to get defensive.
"Hey! A guy can dream!" He laughed back.
"Is it better as a dream or a reality?"
"Do you really need to ask?" He rolled his eyes jokingly.
"Not anymore." I countered.
He shrugged.
"You know bro efore yesterday, I also thought you were a smart, athletic, rule following, hard working guy. But I learned you're all that and good at cooking and musically inclined and mysterious and intriguing and rebellious and a lot more than I originally thought."
He nodded as he listened.
"And some of the best things about you is you really listen when I talk. And go out of your way to be sweet and romantic. And you actually tell me how you're feeling. And how much you care."
"I try." He smiled.
"What did I do to end up with someone like you?"
He started laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"After trying to tell me we wouldn't end up together, you just said we did. Even though we haven't yet."
"Shut up smarty pants." I teased.
"Don't hate the player, hate the game." He shrugged.
I laughed. After a little time of him just playing the guitar as we sat there quietly, I spoke up.
"Can you teach me something on the guitar?"
"Sure. What do you wanna know?"
"How to play something."
"Okay. Come here."
He motioned for me to sit in front of him. I moved and he put his arms on mine. He set the guitar in my lap and put a pick in my hand.
"The chords on their own are E, A, D, G, B, E." He made my hand strum each string. "These horizontal lines down the on the neck are called frets. Depending on where you place your fingers, the notes change."
I nodded.
"What song do you want me to play?"
"I don't know. You pick one."
"Alright. Lemme think."
He bit his lip and looked out at the water. He smiled a little and started to play a song slowly. I recognized it and started to sing along quietly.
"I don't wanna die or fade away
I just wanna be someone
I just wanna be someone
Dive and disappear without a trace
I just wanna be someone
Well, doesn't everyone?
And if you feel the great dividing
I wanna be the one you're guiding
'Cause I believe that you could lead the way
I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I never had nobody and no road home
I wanna be somebody to someone
And if the sun's upset and the sky goes cold
Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall
I really need somebody to call my own
I wanna be somebody to someone
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
I don't even need to change the world
I'll make the moon shine just for your view
I'll make the starlight circle the room
And if you feel like night is falling
I wanna be the one you're calling
'Cause I believe that you could lead the way
I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I never had nobody and no road home
I wanna be somebody to someone
And if the sun's upset and the sky goes cold
Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall
I really need somebody to call my own
I wanna be somebody to someone
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
The kingdom come, the rise, the fall
The setting sun above it all
I just wanna be somebody to you
I just wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I wanna be somebody to someone, oh
I never had nobody and no road home
I wanna be somebody to someone
And if the sun's upset and the sky goes cold
Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall
I really need somebody to call my own
I wanna be somebody to someone
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you
Someone to you."
When he finished he kissed my head and I laid my head back against his chest with closed eyes.
I was a little cold and he draped his jacket around my shoulders and hugged me again.
"Ben-"
"Erica it's fine, I brought it just in case you got cold."
"Really?"
"Really."
We sat there quietly for a little while.
"Ben?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you. You know that?"
"I do." He whispered softly. "I love you too E."
"I hope you're right."
"About what?"
"I hope we do end up together."
"We will my love."
"I hope I never lose you."
"You won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
He set the guitar down and put his arms around me. I took his hands in mine and saw him smile. He set his head sideways on my shoulder. And when I looked down, I saw his eyes closed.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you Erica."
I moved so I could lay down. I set my head in his lap and he put one hand on my waist and ran the other through my hair gently.
"The past few days have been the best of my life. You know when I first met you when you tackled me, I knew I liked you, but what I didn't know was how hard I would fall for you."
"I can relate to that." I laughed. "I had sworn off relationships and feelings and then this goofy 12 year old came along and made it dam near impossible to not like him."
"I did?"
"Nah. I was talking about Mike." I said playfully.
He paused.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"When you had to flirt with Mike back in Vail, did you really like him? Even a little bit?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well I know you're amazing at acting but I can sometimes not tell if you're acting or not."
"I was flirting. Isn't that clue enough I was acting?" I teased.
"Normally, yes. But you were with Mike. Who flirts better than anyone I know. So I wasn't sure if some of it was real."
"He was pretty charming but I don't let emotions get in the way on missions."
"Yeah that's why you kissed me on the mountain." He said sarcastically.
"I thought we were gonna die!" I said defensively.
He snickered.
"Uh huh. Well that's a different story than last time. I believe last time you said it was to 'calm me down' because you 'didn't want my last seconds alive to be terrifying.' But now it was because we were gonna die."
"What's your point."
"You kissed me because you wanted to before we died. Not to calm me down. Right?"
I hesitated, which gave him my answer.
"I knew it." He grinned.
"Is that why you were smiling so much?"
"That and the fact I realized you liked me. At least a little bit."
"How?"
"I'm training to be a spy, Erica. It's my job to know things."
I rolled my eyes.
"Annoying isn't it." He joked. "Imagine hearing that same response every time you asked me a question."
"Ha ha. So how did you figure it out though?"
"Remember riding the ski lift the time Dane came after me?"
"Yeah."
"Remember who you were sitting next to?"
"Zoe."
"Yep. What'd she try to talk about?" He asked with a smirk.
"No." I gasped.
"Yes." His smirk grew.
"How?" I demanded.
"Something felt off to me. So I wanted to talk to you. But I was too far away. And I remembered the earbud you gave me. So I put it in and heard Zoe say she wanted to talk about boys. Being as I knew I would probably be one of the boys discussed, I waited to hear what you had to say."
"Really Ben? You eavesdropped on my conversation about-"
"Tell me you wouldn't have listened in on me and Mike or Zoe talking about you. Honestly tell me you wouldn't. Oh wait, you literally can't. Remember when Zoe and I were talking about her and me and you and me in Aquarius? Didn't you hide in the shadows and listen before finally showing you were there. I just listened in so well, even the great Erica Hale never realized it."
"Fine. That's a fair point. Annoying, but fair. Continue please."
"Well I heard you say how you were upset that I tried to rebound on Jessica romantically instead of a friend. And how I went too far by hugging her. And I was crushed. But Zoe started laughing. And she said you were just jealous of Jessica because she hugged me. And you denied it. But the way you said it made it clear you were jealous. Then you kissed me. And tried to act like it was just for my sake. But combined I could tell you were lying, at least partly. I'd had the feeling you liked me before but on that mission, I knew you did."
"Wait when did you start to figure it out?"
(You can probably skip or skim this next paragraph bc it's just restating of things from the real books)
"Just a little before you did. Washington Monument. You let your guard down a little and acted like a normal teenage girl. Then after I got shot by Murray you put your arm around me willingly and it was after the mission was over, so I knew it was on your own. There were also all the rare little smiles. After we saved you, you stayed after everyone else walked away and thanked me. Said you knew I was the one who led them to save you. And remembered my birthday before I did. Which is practically impossible considering my sense of time. And you got me a gift. You punched Murray's tooth out and said he'd lose a whole lot more if he messed with me again. Just little things you didn't even really realize you did. Or things small enough you allowed yourself to do. But then it got a bit rough for a little. Because you got me expelled and basically spat in my face that it was my fault. And manipulated me into going undercover. And then acted like I was being ridiculous for getting upset at you. But, you joked that I used the grappling hook wrong when I shot it at the guy. And preceded to show off and take out like a ton of guys. When I tried to save you because you fell, you told me to save myself and practically called me an idiot for staying. Dragged me along as we ran. And when I curled into a ball in the ditch, you curled around me. You later thanked me and called me a friend and continued to hold my hand. So along the way I kinda thought you did but I knew for sure in Vail."
"I did not realize there were that many hints."
He shifted so he could lay down too. He turned his head to me and smiled.
"To be fair I was looking for any sign you liked me the entire time so I noticed literally like everything." He confessed with a grin.
"What time is it?"
"Uh it's 6:30 ish."
"I'm kind tired." I yawned.
"Me too. You wanna lay here a little longer or should I carry you to your room so you can sleep?"
"Lay here a little." I said sleepily.
I rolled onto him and rested my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back gently.
"Sleep well baby." He whispered as I fell asleep.
Okay. So, I'm super exhausted and going to bed.