The Partnership

Everyone cheered for him as he walked through the crowded room, a blank expression on his perfectly chiseled face. He didn't bother to look at anyone, practically ignoring the standing ovation he was receiving. His hands were tucked into the front pockets of his black pants and he slouched as he strode forward. It was as if he lived in his own little world, away from the rest of us.

That was the thing about Grayson, he never really payed much attention to anything as I've been told, but when he did, it was either important or naked. People said the only thing he cared about was his job and I was inclined to agree. Whatever he lacked in social skills, he made up for in his abilities. No one was as agile as Grayson, no one was as fast as Grayson, no one could aim a gun like Grayson, and no one could make anyone feel as small as Grayson did.

Or so I've been told.

Grayson had been on a secret operation in France, infiltrating a mob that had integrated from Russia, he'd been gone fifteen months without outside contact. His assignment was to bring in the mob boss' right hand man, but Grayson being the outstanding agent that he was, decided he wanted to bring down the entire organization. License plates, social security numbers, previous credit card payments, all of their dealings, all in a file placed on Ivan's desk this morning without flaw.

What about me? I arrived twelve months ago from the CIA in America, now I'm working classified investigations for the FBI in Canada. I've never met Grayson, but the girls here can't seem to stop talking about him.

Oh, did you hear about how Grayson mutilated that Spanish drug dealer last year?

My personal favourite is when he shot Bruno Mars in the shoulder to save his life!

Yeah, okay Tiffany.

Finally, I'll get to meet this Grayson guy in person.

Grayson exited the concrete room through a wooden door on the other side, leaving the rest of us in silence. Everyone seemed used to this because they simply walked back to a different room to continue their training of sorts.

Behind that wooden door was Ivan's office and I was yearning to know what was happening behind that door, but I refrained from acting on that thought and simply walked out of the other door.

I walked through the now familiar halls of the FBI operatives building and found my way into the training room. There were punching bags, barbells, all sorts of draining equipment, all for us. I smiled as I spotted Tyler in the corner of the room, doing chin ups on a bar. I made my way through the nearly empty room, my eyes focused on Tyler.

His eyes were closed, as if he was concentrating on the movements of his toned muscles as he lifted himself over the bar repeatedly.

"I still can't do those." I commented one I was nearly in front of him. His eyes opened and he dropped from the bar gracefully. "How many?"

"I lost count at fifty." Tyler said with a smirk, running a hand through his gelled blonde hair.

"Cocky much?" I asked, giving him a hug. "I missed you."

Did I forget to mention that Tyler just got back from Cambodia? Not even for a mission, he just wanted to help take care of the sick children. I really wanted to go with him, but Ivan sent me on a mission just as he was leaving. Plus, the mission was child's play.

"I missed you too." He replied, his voice muffled by my hair as he returned the hug. I broke away quickly, wiping my hands on my pants.

"Gosh, you're so sweaty!" I exclaimed, making a disgusted face.

"What'd you think I'd be? Aside from hot, of course." Tyler smiled, flexing his muscles and kissing one of them. I couldn't deny the fact that he was hot, because he was, but agreeing with him would only inflate his giant ego.

"Yeah? Well I'm cool." I said awkwardly, wondering where I was going with this. "Cooler than an iceberg..."

"You know the icebergs are melting, right?" He stated as a matter of factly, looking my dead in the eye.

"Wow, way to make it depressing AF." I said, crossing my arms. "Did I just say 'AF' out loud?"

Tyler nodded, pursing his lips. "Oh dear lord." Suddenly Tyler engulfed me in another hug, rubbing his sweat all over me.

"I missed you so much, Izzy." Tyler said, lifting me up for a few seconds.

"I missed you too, silly." I laughed as he put me down. Before I'd even taken a breath, Tyler captured my lips with his. The kiss was one of longing, making it almost desperate. I hadn't expected it, but I wasn't hating it either. I kissed him back, my hands flying to his hair.

Someone cleared their throat from behind us. We broke apart instantly, well, I did. Tyler was still trying to kiss me as I jumped back, nearly falling over. There stood Ivan, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sir." I greeted him respectfully, blushing like crazy. I've never been one for PDA.

"I have some information for you." Ivan said, motioning for me to walk with him. I turned to Tyler and threw him an apologetic look before giving him a small wave goodbye. He returned it with a sad smile on his face.

"Happy eight month anniversary babe." He whispered before going back to the chin up bar. As I walked away, I smiled at him.

"You have a roommate." Ivan stated out of the blue.

"I do?" I questioned, curiously looking at him.

"Yes. I've arranged for Grayson to live in your dorm for a while. We gave his to someone else while he was gone because we thought he had gone cold. Therefore, he has to stay with you. You're one of the only experienced agents who doesn't have a partner."

"So... He'll be my partner in solving crimes?" I tried not to laugh at my own joke so I accidentally snorted trying to hold it in. My eyes widened and I covered my mouth I'm mortification. It was a good joke though.

Ivan just ignored me and walked away. I started to laugh a little bit as I headed back to my room. That was a great joke.

I made my way to my room, opening the door when I got there. Grayson was sitting on the couch, watching the soccer game. "Hey roomie!" I exclaimed, waving excitedly.

Grayson just looked at me before standing up and headed to the spare room, completely ignoring me.

Nice to meet you too, sir!

--------

Okay so I'm redoing this book, forget what you've read :O

Anyone going on vacation? - I'm still in Cuba, so...

"Hey."

"Can you talk?"

"Hi."

"Hello."

"I'll poke you."

That last one was the only one that generated a reaction from Grayson. He laid on the spare bed, facing away from me, while I sat on the other side of it. He craned his neck to look at me, perking a dark eyebrow.

"I'll do it." I threatened, lifting a finger, wiggling it a little. Grayson had almost a challenging look in his eyes. Agonizingly slowly, I brought my finger towards his tan flesh. He watched it every inch of the way until I was a hair's-length away from his arm, then, he flipped over completely to face me and grabbed my finger with his fist. I made an 'O' formation with my lips.

"Don't touch me." Grayson rasped, his voice deep and dark, making it sound mysterious. I shivered a little bit, but then, I broke out into a grin.

"Mission achieved!" I exclaimed, getting off his bed and skipping around.

"You act like the energizer bunny on crack." Grayson stated bluntly, sitting upwards, watching me with his calculating green eyes.

"Thanks?" I replied unsurely, tilting my head as I stopped skipping.

"That wasn't a compliment in any way shape or form." Grayson spoke agitatedly, getting up from the bed and walking out of the room.

"Well, it depends how you take it." I stated, adding the usual spring to my step as I followed Grayson. "Do you want something to eat?"

Grayson didn't reply, he just kept walking until he was at the front door. He opened it and walked out, probably expecting me to stay put. Ha, nope. I walked out along with him, closing the door behind me. "So, where ya goin'?"

"Somewhere you're not." Grayson snapped, turning a sharp left down a random corridor.

"Ouch. I'm wounded by your harsh words." I joked, holding a hand to my heart. The truth is, I'm used to jerks like Grayson, I grew up with people like him. Of course they weren't as attractive, but I don't think it makes much of a difference.

"If you were normal, you would be."

"Good thing I'm not normal then."

"Yes, because being a hyper, commercialized rabbit is so much better."

Well, I'd rather be an energizer bunny than the grouch that lives in the trash can from Elmo.

Grayson made another seemingly random left turn, simply leading to more rooms. I followed him silently until he found his way to the elevator. "Were you lost?" I snickered, stopping beside him as he clicked the down button. Grayson didn't reply, he just looked straight ahead.

"You know our apartment is just to the right..." I trailed off, looking up at him. A few wisps from my two braids got in my face, so I hastily removed the blonde hairs from my line of sight.

Grayson continued to ignore me, but I was determined to make good conversation. I've always wanted a roommate so I am going to make this work.

We stepped into the elevator and Grayson pressed the main floor button. I leaned back against the railing, feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the mirrors there were in this particular elevator. As the doors started to close, Grayson jumped through them. The door censors must've not caught him because the doors kept closing, leaving me alone inside.

I swear, before the doors closed, I saw Grayson smirk and wave at me through the crack. I narrowed my eyes at the door, realizing that this would be harder than I'd originally thought.

I figured I'd give him some time to adjust as I arrived at the main floor. When the doors opened, I walked determinedly to the training room once more. I passed through the countless hallways of the FBI headquarters until I reached my chosen destination.

I opened the wooden door -- I swear the architect had a thing for wooden doors -- and saw that Tyler had moved to the punching bag. He was beating it so hard, it looked like it was going fly off of the hook it was hanging from.

"Hey, Ty." I greeted, tapping his shoulder lightly. Tyler whipped around in a battle position, ready to fight. "Woah, woah." I said, my lips curving into a smile. I put my hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm back." I announced, stepping towards Tyler.

"So, what was the news?" He asked me, steadying the punching bag.

"With Ivan?" Ty nodded as he started to beat the punching bag once more. "He gave me a roommate, that Grayson guy."

Suddenly, he stopped punching the bag. "Grayson? You're sharing an apartment with Grayson?"

"Um, yeah?" I replied awkwardly, rubbing my hands together. "What's wrong?"

"He's bad news, Izzy." Tyler started, moving closer to me. "He doesn't give me a good vibe."

I rolled my eyes at his antics. "I'll be fine, top notch spy, remember?"

"I'm being serious, Isabella." He said, knowing exactly how I felt about him using my whole name.

All of a sudden, it seemed as if the world had floated away, like I'd been transported into my memories.

"Hello 1703534, what can you tell me about yourself?" A lady in a white hazmat suit asked me, her voice muffled from the plastic.

"I like flowers." I said quietly, though I had a big smile on my face.

"Wrong." The lady frowned, motioning at someone. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of electricity run through my temples.

"What can you tell me about yourself?" She repeated.

"I like flowers..." I said weakly. The lady motioned again, allowing another flow of electricity to run through my body.

"What can you tell me about yourself?" She repeated somewhat angrily.

"I like guns-" I stopped short, hiccuping on my sobs, "-and violence."

"Good girl." The female said, smiling at me. "Here is your new name." Some people untangled the wires and took them off of my head as she handed me a name tag to put around my neck.

It read, Insufficient Single Admin, Ballistic, Energy Limited, Levels Accurate.

Underneath in bold letters it read, Isabella.

I felt hands on my cheeks, but still being in my reverie, I thought it was the woman. I snapped my head back, hyper aware of my surroundings. I saw Tyler with his hands out, meaning it was his hands on my cheeks, not my captor's.

"Izzy, I'm so sorry." Tyler apologized, looking sad.

"It's fine." I croaked, my voice nearly cracking.

"No, it's not." Ty said, coming close to me. He wrapped his arms around me in a warm embrace that I craved. Immediately, I returned the hug, clutching him tightly.

"If it makes you feel any better, Grayson doesn't the seem to talk much, but when he does, it's only rude comments." I reassured him, smiling over his shoulder.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Tyler said, squeezing me tighter.

-------

Dun dun dunnnnnn

I'm leaving Cuba today and it's -17C back home so that's a-mah-zing.

What's the temperature where you are right now? - 17C

Met these great people on the jeep tour, spent most of the vacation with them! ^^

I got out of the elevator and headed back to my room, thinking about how great it would be to be the actual energizer bunny. I mean, he's pink, he's got a drum strapped to his chest, he'd make a lot of money, and he has great sunglasses.

I turned the corner and made my way to the room. I pulled out my key from my back pocket and unlocked the door. No later than when I shut the door, someone knocked. I frowned in confusion before opening the door once more.

Grayson stood there for a moment before pushing me aside to get in. "Were you waiting behind the corner for me or something?" I asked him, but for some reason I had the feeling that was exactly what he's done.

"I don't have keys." He shrugged, heading to the spare room, shutting the door behind him. I smiled and decided that it was time to make dinner. Heading to the kitchen, I realized that I'd have to go grocery shopping sometime soon, considering the fact that we only really had two eggs, some peppers, onions, and cheese, plus some milk.

Okay, an omelet it is!

I pulled out the food that we had and started cutting it into pieces. Ramsey taught me that it was called mincing.

Managing to find some warm butter in the pantry, I placed it on a frying pan and heated it up. I left the kitchen to grab my phone and my speaker, playing S&M by Rihanna, an old favourite.

I swivelled my hips and twirled occasionally as I placed the eggs and the ingredients into the frying pan. Once it was cooked, I figured I'd risk a pan flip today. Putting the flipper down, I lifted the pan off of the burner and jerked it forward and upward, making the omelet spin mid air, landing in the pan perfectly. I put the pan down, my eyes widening in amazement.

It's never actually worked before!

I started to do a happy dance, shaking my butt and hooting. I started to spin, allowing me to realized that Grayson was standing at the entrance to the kitchen. I immediately put my hands down and stopped dancing, my face flushing red.

Grayson just coughed and said, "Water?"

I pointed to the sink, completely mortified. I turned back to my omelet, remembering the amazing task I'd just completed. Suddenly, I wasn't so embarrassed, but I still shut off the music.

"Did you see me flip the omelet?" I asked him excitedly, my mortification dissolving instantly.

"I only saw the aftermath." He sassed, filling up a glass of water. I have no idea where he got the glass from. I have a photographic memory and I still can't remember where the glasses are.

"Haha, very funny." I deadpanned, putting the omelet on a plate. I sighed, "Do you want some?"

Grayson just shrugged so I cut my masterful creation in half, putting the other half on another plate.

I had this little table in the corner of the room with two chairs. The other one has always been for decoration, but I guess now it comes in handy.

I placed the plates on the table, along with some knives and forks. I took a seat, secretly excited to be eating with someone other than myself. That is, until Grayson came over, took the plate and the cutlery, then walked back to his room.

What is he, a hormonal teenage girl going through her emo phase?

I tried not to be too disappointed, I mean, what did I expect? That he'd sit down with me, be a decent, civil human being, and have a nice conversation with me? Well, yeah, but clearly I was hoping for too much.

As I always do, I sat alone in my chair, eating my delicious omelet. Plus, I'm the best company I could ever want.

Kidding, even I annoy myself sometimes.

Once I finished my omelet, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to sleep. Putting the dishes in the sink, I headed to my room, close the door behind me. The familiar grey walls, brown hardwood, minimal decoration, bed frame, bed sheets, all of it made me feel at home because I knew it was mine.

I sighed as I laid down on top of my bed, allowing it to engulf me. I quickly scurried under the covers as the AC turned on automatically.

"Isabella, it's your turn." The now familiar woman called me. There were about a dozen children here, all lined up in a row, observing one another. We were all diagnosed and given the same skills, it was just a test to see who could use them better.

It was my fourteenth birthday tomorrow and I was told that if I did good, I'd get a surprise.

She handed me a pistol as I came forward, they never did teach us the specifics. They just taught us to fight and kill, never the names or the information. I was stressed out and super excited. I was usually very good, but the general excitement put me off.

I loaded it and shot at the six targets down the field. Shoulder, knee, thigh, miss, miss, elbow.

When I was done, I knew I had disappointed many. I was afraid to look up at the lady because I knew her gaze would be one of anger. "Forget about your birthday." She said calmly, containing her rage. I knew that I'd embarrassed her in front of her colleagues who watched behind the double sided mirror.

Not wanting to disappoint, I picked up another round and started to shoot, looking her dead in the eye. The targets were on wheels, moving around. I closed my eyes, listening, feeling.

A vibration through the floor told me where the wheels turned and moved, allowing me to be precise with my shots. Taking six quick shots, I opened my eyes to find each of the mannequins with a bullet through their heads. I smiled slightly, watching as the woman grinned proudly at me, then to her co-workers.

I'd always though of her as a mother, I'd never known a true mother so I'd never known anything different.

I awoke panting, wiping my face with my sleeves. I must've fallen asleep laying here. I sighed, I don't typically have nightmares very often, but when I do, they remind me why I'm here and what I am.

A killing machine.

---------

Poor Izzy, I like her.

A few more hours and I'm flying home. Just thinking about going back is stressing me out, but whatever.

Best subject in school? (Not lunch or recess.) - Science.