*Gaia King's POV:

(Takes place the night of Chapter 29, a few hours before)

"Alright, this should be everything" Danny sighed as he zipped his book bag filled with equipment and medicine.

I was carrying a heavy book bag filled with food, just like the rest of my friends. We also dragged along a large black plastic bag filled with bottles of water.

"Everyone ready to go?" he asked us. We nodded.

"Don't forget to go to my parents' house and tell them that we are okay" Shimizu reminded Noah, walking up to him. He then gave Noah a note. That note was his address.

"I won't. I promise, I will head out tonight."

"Just be careful, and don't get caught. Stay low" Danny told Noah as he gave him money for a cab. Danny gave him a brief hug before turning to us.

"Alright kids, it's getting late. Let's head out."

We quietly made our way from underground into the outside world. It was about fourth degrees outside, so it was freezing. I hated winter. The only good thing about being out there was that there was no wind to make it feel colder, and we had on coats with hoods.

I looked up at the night sky. It was cloudy, but I could still somewhat see the millions of stars that were glowing brightly. Silence was all around us, except for Shimizu and Mohammed talking to each other. No animals were around at all. The moon was so big and bright, I didn't think we even needed flashlights.

Port Orford was only a half a mile away, but with the heavy book bag I was carrying on my back, and the heavy plastic bag I was trying not to drag on the rocky ground, it felt like forever.

Instead of using the side of the main road as a sidewalk, we decided to cut through the woods, that way, no one could see us. Another reason was because mine, Shimizu's, Beval's and Robin's eyes lit up in the dark, thanks to our elemental power. The shades of ocean blue, fiery orange, sparkling purple and forest deep green, shined gracefully. We would've been easily spotted as experi-babies.

We were only five minutes into our walking and Kimberly was already complaining.

"My back hurts from this heavy book bag" Kimberly groaned. "Are we almost there?"

"No, we should be there in another ten or fifteen minutes. Stay strong, I know this is a lot of stuff to carry, but you will be okay" Danny replied to Kimberly, not phased by her complaining.

"What boat are we going to use?" I asked Danny. He stroked his chin.

"A boat that is medium to large and doesn't rely on gas. We may need a sailboat. I know how to use a compass, so I know how to get us there."

"Wow, you're so smart Mr. Danny. It seems like you know everything" Katie smiled in awe.

"It's Danny, not Mr. Danny. I'm not that old yet, I'm almost twenty-two" Danny chuckled. We laughed along with him.

"Oh! I just remembered something!"  Shimizu yelled out randomly.

"Yeah?" Robin asked.

"Hikari's sixth birthday is in four days. I almost forgot her birthday!"

"Are you really thinking about that at a time like this?!" Kimberly asked Shimizu in annoyance.

"Don't worry, you will be home to tell her happy belated birthday" Beval smiled at Shimizu as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Since we are going to be in the middle of the ocean, does anyone here not know how to swim?" Robin asked. Mohammed slowly raised his hand.

"I don't. But I wish I knew how to" he sighed, a little ashamed and embarrassed.

"We'll teach you someday" Shimizu said as he patted Mohammed's head.

After fifteen minutes of back and arm pain, we finally made it out of the forest, revealing Port Orford's dock.

The dock was massive. Hundreds of boats both small and large were there. Some were tugboats, some were motorboats, others were sailboats.

The water stretched as far as my glowing green eyes could see. It was calm and quiet, but the sound of crashing waves still filled my ears.

As we were walking to the boardwalk, I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned around to see Beval looking at me.

"You nervous?" he asked.

"No, not really. I'm just a little worried. I don't want to get lost at sea"  I gulped.

"Yeah, you're nervous" he chuckled.

"Fine, I am."

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head. If we got Danny on our side, then we will be alright" Mohammed said with a thumbs up. "He does know how to use a compass after all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right" I said as I rubbed my arm.

"Hey, should we place our things on the boardwalk?" Robin walked up and asked us, struggling and grunting as she dragged over the bag.

"Yeah we should, let's drop our stuff right here and give our muscles a break. Once we find a boat, we will come back and get our stuff. How does that sound?" Danny asked after he, Kimberly, Shimizu and Katie walked over to us.

"Sounds amazing" I answered in exhaustion.

We dropped our things and began looking for a boat, searching the very left part of the dock.

"How about this one?" Mohammed asked as he jogged over to a slightly small motorboat. The boat was black and white in color. The roof only covered half of the boat, leaving the other half out with no roof.

"That doesn't look like a good one. All eight of us wouldn't be able to fit, and if we could, it would weigh the boat down and it might sink. We wouldn't be able to sleep anywhere comfortable because the boat is so tiny. Half of us would have to sleep out in the open, which brings me to...rain. What if it rains? The roof only covers half of the boat. Secondly, the boat runs on fuel. We don't need the stress of keep putting in oil in the middle of the ocean" Danny argued.

Mohammed, a little embarrassed, scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, never mind then" he nervously smiled.

"How about this? Let's separate and search for sailboats. It will be easier and quicker that way" Danny suggested.

"I'll go with Shimizu and Katie" Mohammed pointed.

"Sure, you can come with us" Shimizu smiled. They turned on their flashlights and began searching.

"I'll go with Danny" Kimberly suggested.

Her and Danny both left to search, leaving me, Beval and Robin alone.

"Well, I guess it's just the three of us now, let's find ourselves a nice boat. What'ya say?" Robin winked at us as she turned on her flashlight.

"Let's just get this over with" I groaned. "I'm so cold."

"Aw, you poor little baby. It's going to be alright" Beval teased as he hugged me tightly. I hid the fact that I was blushing.

"Whatever."

I pouted and walked faster than Robin and Beval to get ahead of them. I still wasn't feeling well and wasn't in the mood to joke around. But also, I was still processing what I did a couple days ago, when I used my powers against Kimberly. It still amazed me that I was that powerful, but it also scared me. I wondered what else I could do with my powers.

As I was deep into my thoughts, I turned around to look at Robin and Beval.

They were standing near a boat, examining it, wondering if it's fit enough to travel across the ocean. Robin began stepping inside to check it out.

"Robin, what are you doing? I don't think we should go in there!" I shouted to her as I jogged over towards the boat.

"What's the worst that can happen? I'm just checking things out. I want to see if we can find anything that will come in handy during our trip. Don't worry so much," Robin said from inside the boat.

I sighed in defeat.

"Alright, be quick and be careful" I groaned. "I'm going to go look some more. If you guys need help, shout for me" I said to Beval.

"Okay" Beval nodded, flashing his light into the boat, watching Robin.

I began walking away from Beval, becoming deep into my thoughts again. I guess you could say that I was daydreaming. But I didn't even walk twenty feet until Beval shouted at me.

"Hey Gaia! Do you mind if I come with you? Just in case Robin takes forever?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure" I replied, looking outward, refusing to look back at him. I could hear his fast footsteps coming closer and closer to me. I tried to hide the fact that I was becoming nervous.

Usually, I didn't care if I was alone with Beval or not. But at that moment, I got sweaty, nervous and even shaky. It was like I couldn't be chill or relaxed around him anymore. I wished things could just go back to normal: back to when we all were in San Francisco, the most beautiful city in America. I missed walking downtown with my friends, going out to eat and having sleepovers. I missed watching TV as we eat nachos. I missed not having to hide for my life all the time. I missed not having to watch my back every time I hear a noise. I missed not seeing news clips of people like us struggling in the F.E.M.A officer's arms as they were being taking away to the camps. I missed having my life back. All this worrying, all of this stress, was too much to bear.

As we both were examining boats, I glanced at Beval. Unexpectedly and surprisingly, I caught him staring at me. He quickly looked away.

"Huh? What was that about?" I thought to myself.

"Wanna sit down and take a five-minute break?" I asked him with a smile.

"You know what, that would be nice. My feet are killing me" he replied.

I sat down to the right of Beval, our feet hung over the boardwalk. I notice that he was glancing at me again, so I asked him a question.

"What's on your mind? You're staring at me a lot."

"Oh, it's nothing really, I was just thinking about how amazing your powers are. You shocked me when you went against Kim. I never knew you were that powerful."

"Ha, I'm pretty shocked myself. Here I was thinking that I could only make things grow, but come to find out, I can do way more than just that. I wonder how powerful you yourself can get when you're angry. You might can make a tornado or a hurricane destroy the whole damn city of San Francisco" I giggled.

"Hmm, I might. I mean, San Francisco isn't all that anyway. I'll see what I can do" Beval said as he stroked his chin.

"What?! The city is gorgeous, especially downtown at ni-"

"I never said it wasn't gorgeous" Beval interrupted as he crossed his arms. "I just said it wasn't all that. It's not like a Las Vegas or a New York."

"Oh, okay" I responded, placing my hands on my lap and clenching my pants. "So, how do you feel about destroying the headquarters? Are you afraid?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"Of course, I'm petrified, but I know that if we want to stop W.E.A, it has to be done. We don't have a choice here."

"I agree."

I scooted a little closer to Beval.

"You know, I try to act all big and brave sometimes, but in all reality, I'm scared. I honestly don't want to do this. What if you, the others, or even myself gets hurt. Or even worse: what if we die?"

"Hey, we will be okay, I will protect you. I promise. We are a team, we protect each other," Beval smiled as he wrapped his arm around me.

My entire body overheated at that moment, no matter how cold it was outside. Suddenly, we felt rain drops land on our heads. It was coming down more and more.

"Oh crap, had we known it was going to rain today, we would've brought umbrellas" Beval said in frustration as he quickly stood up and placed his hood over his head. I did the same.

"We better head back to get Robin" he added before walking away. But I stopped him by grabbing his arm. I was enjoying my time alone with him and wasn't ready to end it just yet.

He looked back at me. My hand guided from his arm to his hand.

"Can we stay here for a little bit more? I just want to relax and chat for a bit longer" I said with a little smile.

He looked at his hand, then at me and chuckled.

"You know, Mina used to do that: guide her hands from my arm to my hand. It always makes me get butterflies in my stomach. She used to always clasp her hands into mine and would try to salsa dance with me. Haha, those were the times. Sadly, we never kissed on the lips, but her cheek kisses were enough to satisfy-"

"Stop it" I mumbled as I took my hand away. I couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. All I could do was look down and clench my fist.

I was tired of it. I was tired of hearing about Mina, I was tired of her having a impact on him. I was tired of him reminiscing and thinking about her. I was tired of his grieving, even after she was the reason we were in this mess.

"What?" Beval asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"I said stop it!" I screamed in anger.

"Stop what?!" Beval asked, confused I was yelling at him.

"Stop talking about Mina all of the time! She didn't give a crap about you! She was evil! Get over her. She is dead and you will never get to be with her because of that! I don't care if she was your first love, she won't be your last! Do you realize how many girls want you?! You made girls swoon with your looks and your smile! Why are you so hung up over this one girl?!" I screamed, becoming teary-eyed.

"Don't you think I know that?! I know she's dead! I know I must eventually get over her! I know what she has done to us! You don't have to remind me anymore! But the problem is that I only want her, and I can't get over her! She had my heart, and-"

"Even if she didn't like you?! Even if she pretended to like you just to get us to trust her?! Even after she basically sentenced us to death?! Even after she played you?! Why does she still have your heart now?!" I asked in anger, trying to calm myself down and not yell anymore.

"Don't you understand Gaia? The boy you like is still alive, probably somewhere thinking about you like you're thinking about him! You don't know what it's like to have someone you love betray you, so stop being so insensitive! I just don't know what has gotten into you, but I don't like it! Whatever happened to the loveable, sweet Gaia? You're just so different now!" Beval shouted at me. It was beginning to get windy around us as the rain started pouring down even harder. It was as if Beval's anger was affecting the wind.

Suddenly, we heard Danny's voice. He was several meters away, shining his flashlight on us.

"Hey kids, we found a boat! Get Robin, grab your stuff and let's go! It's getting bad out here!"

"We're coming!" Beval shouted back, as if nothing just happened.

He glared back at me with furrowed eyebrows. His bangs were wet, and his purple eyes dulled. He was extremely upset, but I didn't care. I wanted to be truthful with him: he was in love with someone evil.

"I'm going to go get Robin," Beval sighed before walking away, turning back on his flashlight. Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks and looked back at me.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not talking to you anymore about love and relationships. Clearly, you aren't the type to talk to about that kind of stuff," he claimed with a sassy tone before continuing his way.

That was the last straw.

"Beval, I may not know much about love and relationships, but I do know that you are in love with the wrong person!"

He didn't respond or had any reaction; it was as if he didn't hear me. That pissed me off the most. I hated being ignored or being given the silent treatment.

"Beval, don't you realize she was evil this whole time?! Why can't you get that through your thick skull?! Stop being so desperate over a girl who screwed you over!"

No response, he just kept walking towards the boat that Robin was in, getting closer and closer towards it. I could barely get words out now, I was bawling and wailing.

I hurt my best friend's feelings, but it was for his own good. He had to learn the hard way. He had to know who was there for him the whole time. He had to know who really loved him. He had to know that I wasn't going anywhere. He had to know why I was upset.

I began following him. My feet stomping on the wooden boardwalk beneath me.

"Just listen to me! Just take my advice for once and forget about her! She never cared about you! She wasn't there like I was there! I never played you! I never tricked you! I never betrayed you! Can't you see?! Stop loving her, because-"

I bit my lip, building up the courage to say what I had to say next.

"She never loved you...like I love you!" I cried out as I followed Beval.

My heart sunk as I said that. My throat began hurting and my hands were shaking.

Beval stopped right in his tracks. It was as if he was a statue. I stopped as well, leaving us only fifteen feet apart from each other. Beval was standing right near the boat Robin was in.

Beval slowly turned his head back, without moving his body. His face said it all. His eyes widen, his mouth was half open, his thick eyebrows were furrowed.

"W-what?!" Beval stuttered as he began facing his body towards me.

I huffed before walking over to him. We were only a couple feet away from each other now.

"You heard me" I said in a serious tone. "Stop loving Mina and fall for the girl right in front of you. I loved you for so long, and I didn't realize it until last year at Mina's party. I was scared to tell you how I felt because-"

"What are you saying? What? How? When? I just don't understand. Gaia, you're my best friend, how can you feel this way about me?! I just don't get it" Beval interrupted. His eyebrow was twitching as he backed up a little. He clearly was uncomfortable.

"That's what I tried to figure out this whole time. But now I realized it was because of how much you cared about me. When I was down, you cheered me up. When I felt insecure at times, you pointed out the beautiful things about me. The way you looked at me gave me butterflies, the way you smiled at me, everything. I love everything about you. You touched my heart and you didn't even know it. I didn't even know it. When you were with Mina or when you talked about her, I felt jealous. I felt like she had all your attention, all your love. I secretly wanted to be in Mina's position. I wanted to hold your hand, I wanted to kiss your cheek, I wanted to be in your arms, I wanted to tell you how I feel."

I moved myself closer to Beval. He still stood there like a statue, not knowing how to react or what to do.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked into his beautiful eyes. He was so warm. Being so close to him, I could smell him. His natural smell was hypnotizing to say the least. His wet bangs covered his eyes a little.

"G-Gaia? What are you-"

"Beval, I love you," I whispered as I leaned in. My forehead touched his forehead. His cheeks were becoming red, but that was okay because mines were too.

I looked down at his lips and kissed them. They were so soft and welcoming. I had dreamed of this moment for so long and it finally happened.

I took his hands and wrapped them around my waist, then proceeded to wrap my arms around his neck.

But what surprised me was that Beval didn't pull away at all. His eyes were still open as we kissed, looking at me intensely. His purple eyes went from dull to glowing brightly within a second. His hands stayed on my waist and I could feel his lips slightly kiss back, but only for a moment before Robin came out of the boat and spotted us kissing.

"Oh my god!" she shouted with a big smile after she came out with a gray case. I supposed they were tools.

Me and Beval quickly pulled away.

"Oh, nothing happened" I said with a nervous smile.

"This is amazing. Oh my goodness. So, does this mean you guys are a thi-"

"No!" Beval shouted at Robin.

"Then, why were you kissing Gaia?" she asked him with a cocked eyebrow.

"I kissed him. I was confessing how I felt about him" I looked at Beval. "And my question to you Beval is, do you feel the same way?"

"No, I mean, I don't know. We have to go now. Um, I don't want to talk about this. It never happened. Let's just focus on leaving this place, please!" Beval replied with a shaky voice. He began awkwardly walking away. "I'm going to go get my things. I suggest you guys follow me to do the same. Danny said he found us a boat," he added.

Without a word, we followed Beval to find Danny and the others. Me and Robin stayed quiet and watched him as he was walking twenty feet ahead of us.

Honestly, I was starting to regret telling him my feelings, mainly because of the way he reacted.

"Don't worry, you did the right thing Gaia" Robin whispered to me as she rubbed my back. I smiled at her.

I truly didn't know how Beval felt. He said no, then said he didn't know. He looked at me crazy when I told him how I felt, but at the same time, slightly kissed back when I kissed him. It was confusing. But I didn't blame him for being so awkward and uncomfortable. I would be too if I was in his position.

Maybe I shouldn't have kissed him so suddenly. Maybe I should've told him after we destroy W.E.A headquarters. Maybe his reaction would've been better had I waited.

I just made up with Robin not long before, and now I had to make up with Beval.

As we approached the others, whom were standing near a sailboat with their belongings, Beval glanced back at me for a second or two. He didn't look happy nor sad. When he noticed that I was looking back at him, he turned his head forward.

I started to feel as though it would've been better had I waited. I swear, love will make you do and say crazy things. Trust me.