ParisLove-

thanks for the cover! I love it! :) If anyone has any covers made, I would love to see it and even put it up in a chapter haha :)

~~Six months later~~

"Ayeeeee you lovebirds, you wanna include me into your conversation?" I frown as they obviously appear to be talking about me. Pearl and Sky whisper amongst each other away from my ears for a few seconds as they shoot glances towards me. I recognize the looks, the looks that I've commonly seen for the past six months ever since Dr. Yuen diagnosed me with PTSD. I've grown for the better since then. Of course, the line of healing is not a straight line so i experienced some setbacks.

Still, as Dr. Yuen put it, I'm his most interesting patient as I have improved spectacularly despite what I have faced. It's his words, not mine. He's even written a research paper based off of me. At first, my family was against it, but I thought it was intriguing and convinced them to let it happen. As a side-note, my family was surprisingly helpful and patient with me the entire time. They have certainly earned my trust back. My father and I still have a rocky relationships, but we are better than before.

I want to say that I'm 100% healed. I certainly feel fine.

Regardless of my improvement, I..I haven't held a weapon since I killed Acerbi. I think I can handle it, but I'm just nervous.

My PTSD was triggered through the accumulation of a lot of traumatic events. I believe the first traumatic events may have began with the death of the twins. That was the time i distinctly don't remember what occurred after they were murdered before me. There is a blank memory there that only Jacob knows. I wonder if that memory will remain blank for the rest of my life.

Speaking about Jacob, the dude has perfected the disappearing act. After he recovered, I saw him once or twice. We never had more than a certain amount of time to converse or hangout. Then, he disappeared.

Once again, Jacob leaves me without a word. That motherfucking bastard. Excuse my language. He could have at least sent me a postcard.

Eh, I may be exaggerating. He's not all bad. Sometimes he comes back and visits as he acts all normal around me. He's the same as usual, but he avoids my questions upon his whereabouts like a plague. How will our relationship move on if we cannot trust each other? Well, it's not like we could have a solid relationship in the first place with my PTSD. I'm thankful that he at least visited sometimes. Regardless, I haven't seen him for well over a month now.

Let's not focus on that dude. He makes me think of violence, which is not good for my mind.

"C'mon, any day now." I huff in annoyance as Sky and Pearl do that silent conversation they do. I'm 100% sure they are not telepathic, so I don't understand how they communicate like that. I guess it's cute. They do it a lot. By now, I should be used to them officially dating but it's still rather strange. If only I could do that with Jacob...there I go again, thinking about him...

"We weren't talking about you, Shay," Pearl takes a seat to my left. I scoff at her obvious lies.

"Yeah, whatever you say. Are you two going to help or what?" I point to the shit ton of papers, pamphlets, and packets piled all over the table. In fact, I can't even see my table anymore because of the amount of papers here--my table is pretty huge too.

"Of course we will." Sky pulls a chair across from me.

"I don't even know how you two convinced me to do this." I frown and stare angrily into the papers.

"You're burning holes into the papers..." Pearl teases me as she throws a paper airplane at my face.

"Stop that." I swat it away before remembering that I need it. I unfold the stupid creases and place it back on the table. "I want to get this over with."

"Over with? This is really important!" Pearl gasps as she stares at me in fake horror. That's only because she already went through the process that she knows there is meaning behind it.

"I don't even want to go to college. I'm applying a year late anyways compared to you two. Even if I did want to go to college, I'll just go to the same university as you Pearl." Do I even want to go to college anymore? I do want a normal life, but is college the right decision?

"Shut your trap." Pearl's feisty personality surfaces. Her red hair is lose and wild right now, making her more fiery-looking. "You are going to research colleges with us. I will not having you just applying to UChicago just because I'm there. That's not how you apply." I can tell that she's getting really into this. Sky, on the other hand, is yet again on his laptop typing away furiously.

"Ah wait." Skyler says in the middle of Pearl and I's conversation. "I've just completed your portfolio and resume. You are welcome." He turns his screen in our direction.

"That's mine?" I read the resume and portfolio. It sounds a lot more impressive than I am. I don't even know if I actually did some of this. "Since when did I get such a high GPA and all these honors and awards?"

"To be honest, I was surprised too." Sky smirks, amused.

"Oh, shut up." I roll my eyes at him.

"I may have tweaked a few words here and there. Some are exaggerated, but otherwise, I pretty much followed what you have..." Sky points out to some of the stuff. "I searched up your records from Elite, and you shockingly had some good grades. I had to double check to make sure it was the right person."

"Fuck you." I flip him off. He's being annoying.

"Stop fighting, you children." Pearl harrumphs and scolds us sharply.

"Yes, ma'am." We salute her in our best posture, which gains an annoyed laugh from Pearl .

"But really, you did get a high GPA there. It's impressive." Sky leans over the screen and whistles in appreciation. "I think it's close to what I got, though I got it in college."

"Also, you shouldn't complain. I'm planning on applying to graduate school soon." Sky flicks my forehead and shakes his head.

"You're such a butt." I flick him back before he can move away.

"Why do I bother?" Pearl rolls her eyes at us and moves the laptop in her direction .

"Since when did you get 2400 on a SAT exam? What the fuck." Pearl stares at me like I'm a stranger. "That's impossible. I know you're smart, but 2400? Seriously?"

"I think I took that in sophomore year?" I shudder at the memory. "Dude, my mother made me pour over a shit ton of prep books. Then, Elite freaking made us go to some SAT boot camps on Saturdays'...SATURDAY'S YOU HEAR ME! Pretty much everyone got over at least 2100. The parents' reps depended on it. The students were so damn competitive over it. Vicious even." Let's never talk about the dreaded SAT exam.

"Anyways, it's a stupid test. It does not measure the full potential of a person. I think anyone can do well on the test, but that doesn't mean they're smart or stupid." I grow rather heated. I am not a huge fan of standardized tests, or just standardized anything. It's stupid and useless.

"You do know that getting perfect score on the SAT gives you a huge boost on your college portfolio?" Pearl frowns and then reads something that shocks her even more. "You were a Presidential Scholar Finalist. NO WAY!"

"What's that?" I blink in confusion. I've never heard of that award before.

"I think you misread that. She was a semifinalist." Sky pointed out once more. He looks at me and says, "A short summary of this award: it's really prestigious. You should be honored. Only a select amount of individuals are able to become a candidate, let alone a semifinalist. Consider yourself special."

"You got the award, didn't you." Pearl and I say in unison.

"Yep." Sky has a smug grin. "I got to meet the President of the United States. Talk about life goals."

"Eh." Pearl and I shrug and try to appear disinterested.

"I sound great. Thanks Sky, but won't college admissions see right through. I mean, I did do most of the things listed here, but you make it sound so much cooler and better. I can't even believe you put my weapon training on there. Isn't that illegal?"

"Even if they dig deeply, which they won't, everything is foolproof. I made sure that everything seemed credible. Plus, I worded your stuff so it didn't sound illegal."

"This sure as hell sounds illegal and unfair." I feel dirty at how we are applying. This doesn't seem fair to all the other applicants. Having attended Elite, I will automatically be a step above from the rest since a lot of influential parents put their students there.

"Fine, I'll cut it down a little to the ones you actually did." Some of my guiltiness must have rubbed off on Sky. He takes the laptop back and concentrates on it.

"So where do you plan on applying?" Pearl rummages around the paper and picks a random school. "Tulane University?"

"i haven't even looked at any of these. You're the one who put all this junk on here. How did you even have even have a box full of college mail and other college crap?"

"I have my ways." Pearl says vaguely. She literally got the huge box with Sky and turned it upside down. The box threw up so many papers. Poor trees.

"Alright, let's start with your major. What do you want to apply as, or have a career into?"

"Hell if I know." I shrug. "I'm too young to decide my fate."

"C'mon, you must interested in some fields?" Pearl takes out her own laptop to search up careers. Then, halfway through, she stops and shuts the computer. "I think I know you well enough by now to know what you are interested in."

"I've seen you with Dr. Yuen. You've even helped him out with his research. Have you thought about entering into medicine?"

"I do like learning about the mind. I think it's rather interesting. I also want to invent things, or use my hands to do stuff."

"Biomedical engineering sounds like it could fit you. How about--?" Pearl rattles off all these majors. She even starts drawing some diagrams for me. I don't know how long we talk, but soon Sky clears his throat.

"I've finished. It's a lot more slimmer now. Oh, and there is someone at the door."

Pearl and I turn around together to look at the person. It's Jacob.

"Hey." Jacob waves as he leans agains the door frame. Curse him for looking so goddamn attractive. His shirt is very fitting and I noticed he has bulked up quite a bit. He almost has similar build to my brothers, though he's slightly less as muscular. It suits him.

"What are you doing here?" I try to remain pleasant though my fists just crumpled the papers in my hand impulsively.

"Oh, we need to talk." Jacob gives a small confident smile. He nods toward Pearl and Sky. "Can I borrow her?"

"That depends." Pearl narrows her eyes and replies with a clipped tone. "What's the reason?" She knows how much of a douche Jacob as been.

"Don't worry. It's a long and overdue conversation I need to have with her." Jacob holds up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

Pearl has her claws out still, but tucks them away when Jacob appears genuine. "Fine, but I'm watching you."

In another moment, this would have been funny watching Pearl threatening him. She's still quite smaller than him, but obviously she's protective and fierce. Oh how I love Pearl.

I exit the room with Jacob. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean? I don't want anything but a talk with you." He replies.

"Yeah, right. It's been more than a month since I last saw you. The last time I saw you barely even counted as seeing you." I sound more bitter than I like.

"Aww, do you miss me?" His eyes flicker with a unrecognizable emotion. His eyes are much more different than the Jacob from six months ago. There's gentleness, but at the same he's hardened. He feels far away once more, though he appears to have that fake friendliness all over again.

"You're pushing it. I'm tired of your shenanigans. I really can't keep waiting on you." We head outside towards the garden.

"Fine. I guess I'll start with saying that I like you. I like you a lot actually." Jacob confesses as he stares into my eyes.

In another time, I might have been overjoyed. Now, I'm just suspicious, though hope is beginning to accumulate in my heart.

"I expected this reaction a bit." He sighs and runs his fingers through his soft hair. "After I recovered six months ago, I was scared. I was stupid too. I was completely blind to my feelings, ignoring it because I knew it would be stupid to have feelings for you. I was trying to get rid of it since I knew we wouldn't work. Yet, when I finally let myself accept the feelings, it was too late..." He sighs and turns facing my direction. This time he's wearing his heart on his sleeve. I can tell he still likes me, and that cracks my heart open once more.

"But...?" There's always a but.

"My family shit has been sorted out. That's what I've been doing for the past months. I got a leadership position, a huge one. It was a huge opportunity. I..I took it. The CIA has changed directors. The new one and I are almost...business partners. He's put me in charge of my own department, one that focuses on recruitment..among other things. I can't explicitly give you the details due to confidentiality, but there's a reason I have been gone. The process takes a lot out of me and my team..." I can tell he is trying to explain this as clearly as he can. He looks at me for my answer. I honestly don't know what to say. One part is mad, while another part is impressed. Mostly, I'm conflicted how I feel anymore, or what I should do.

Finally, I decide on what to say, "Congratulations Jacob. You deserved it."

"Thanks." He nods.

"But why are you back?" I ask once more.

"Don't be mad please. Your brothers and father are slightly involved with my organization." He waits for my response.

I don't give him the reaction he's preparing for. I calmly clarify, "It's an organization now? I thought you were in charge of a department."

"It is..many things. It's hard to explain, but I guess it's in a way like...Are you still watching Marvel Agents S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"You're comparing this to something fictional?" I utter dubiously. "When you know how to get better at lying, come back to me." I get up to leave. For a former agent, I expected better.

"Wait-" Jacob grabs onto my wrist. I stop and glare at him. Perhaps I don't have complete control over my feelings.

"I came back for you." He whispers. "That's why I came back. I came back for you. For good." I drop my eyes from his. His eyes are expressive as they stare right through my heart. I spent six months trying to shield myself from Jacob. Curse those damn eyes.

He is so cheesy, but his words break down my defenses. I got it bad for him, but I can't allow myself to go through that door once more...

"hey..." Jacob lifts up my chin to look at my eyes. "I know I fucked up. I know I'm so many things, but it's better late than never? I swear I'll make it up to you for as long as I can."

"Stop talking and just kiss me." I roll my eyes and lean forward. Our lips meet finally. He puts his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him ever so slowly. The kiss starts soft, as if he's scared I'm going to break. Then again, I kiss him tentatively, thinking this is to good to be true too.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jacob breaks from our kiss and rests his forehead against my forehead. His fingers caress my cheek delicately. I watch as his lips curl up in a small, quirky smile.

I meet his smile with my own. "You're so cheesy." I tease him.

"Only for you." His smile widens, flashing his teeth. We lean again for another kiss, this time it's slow but sweet. I don't bother pushing down the emotions building up within. I'm just going to go with this. I'm happy, and honestly, I don't even care what happens after this.

"Ahem." Jacob and I immediately jump apart. I'm sure we look like deer caught in the headlights. Jacob and I try to keep a neutral face.

"I'm going to ignore the fact you were just making out with my baby sister." Tony and Dante mouths are drawn into a thin line.

"Nope, I actually don't think I can ignore." Dante looks to Tony. "Can you?"

"Nope. I mean Jacob is our homie and all, but he kissed our baby sis in front of us. No can do." Tony looks back at Dante in an unnervingly calm manner.

"Sorry bruh." They shrug in unison and then grin widely. Oh, their grins look like pure joy.

"Bring it on. I'm not going down easily." Jacob grows confident and smirks.

"Dante...Tony..WAIT!" I try to stop them. I might as well try. Yet, they completely ignore me. Oh, this is not going to be pretty.

I sit back on the bench as the three of them get into a wrestling match.

"Boys..." I frown, but can't stop grinning. This is going to be amusing.

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A/N

THE STORY IS NOT COMPLETED YET! People keep asking me, but don't worry it's not finished! There are still at least two more chapters left :)

who has watched Antman? ME ME ME! I don't like Ants; in fact, ants are gross and should never infest my house haha! I'm a huge Marvel fan though. It was a good movie haha.

How are you? I feel like I've been MIA from Wattpad. it's been a busy summer for me. Never do morning summer classes at 7 AM. NEVER. If you think it's worth getting a few extra credits and saving money, it's not that great. I thought it was okay, but waking up at 6 drains you.

Then again, I shouldn't complain since my friend wakes up at 4:30 AM to swim in the morning.

Yay.

Anyways, question time! Ask questions here, and I shall answer. Any questions are eligible. ASK AWAY. I will try to answer asap:)

That's only if people are still bothering to read this section lol. It's okay if you don't. I don't always read the A/N sections anyways.

Comment and vote if you liked:)

Criticism are welcomed as long as they are constructive

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Love you,

Lystrandra