Heroes in a Half Shell

Posted on Fri Feb 23rd, 2024 @ 10:31am by Connor Bruin & Bobby Drake & Iris Walker & Bliss Hawkins

5,199 words; about a 26 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Salem Center, NY
Timeline: August 27th, 1990

“That was the cheesiest movie I have ever seen,” Iris laughed as she and Bobby left the movie theater. "It was basically the cartoon, but live action. Well, except April didn’t wear that Yellow jumpsuit. Somehow, I almost wish she had.”

"I know but that's what makes it great!" Bobby insisted. The dilapidated building was far from the premiere spot in town. Its crumbling brick walls looked pristine when compared to the dank interior. But it was cheap and played pirated movies. Only low lives around Salem Center knew about it.

Bobby threw his hands up and started bobbing and weaving to a nonexistent beat.

"From out of the dark came an awesome sound!
Shouted 'Cowabunga!' as they hit the ground.
From the field of weeds the heroes rescued the flower
'Cause they possessed...Turtle Power!"

“Okay, you’ve officially seen this movie too many times,” she laughed. “Next time, we’re going to see something different.”

"I will never see that movie too many times," Bobby said, "but fair is fair. You pick the next one." But then he bit his cheek. "Ugh. As long as it's not some chick flick!"

“I’m not really a fan of chick flicks,” she replied. “I like action, science fiction, and horror. I love Stephen King movies!”

Bobby perked up at that. Was this chick the coolest or what? "Really? You don't get too scared or grossed out?" He'd tried to get Lorna to watch Creepshow but she was over it in the first few minutes. "What about Creepshow?"

“Oh my God, I loved Creepshow!” she replied enthusiastically. “My parents wouldn’t let me watch it, but my friend rented it for a slumber party at her place. It was my introduction to horror films. Halloween has got to be one of my favorites. I know it’s old, but it’s so good.”

All of that actually made Bobby's feet skip a few beats, along with maybe his heart. "Are you serious? Ha!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Excuse my French, but you're fuckin' awesome, Iris! You're officially my new movie buddy!"

Iris giggled. He was just too enthusiastic. “I usually end up going to movies with boys,” she said. “Girls like boring movies. Well, most girls, anyway.”

"Word," Bobby said. "What other cool guy shit do you like?"

“Comic books,” she replied at once. “But maybe that’s because I’m basically a walking comic book. And cars. My dream car is an Alpha Romeo Spider.”

Bobby grinned like it was school picture day. Dazed, confused, slightly shocked. "No way. The Dr. No car? Shoulda' known you're a Bond girl!"

She laughed again. “That is where I first saw it,” she said. “But seriously, it’s a pretty cool car. I’ve never even seen one in person, but I’ve read about them and even saw a review on TV once. My dad and I like to watch this show on PBS called Car Talk where they test drive cars and then talk about them. I guess that was pretty obvious, huh?” she added with a grin.

At the mention of her dad, Bobby's good mood took a shot in the foot. "Yeah. That sounds great," he said flatly. "Really great. I'm glad you and your dad had that."

Sensitive subject. Iris made note of that, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she changed the subject. “What’s your dream car?” she asked as if nothing had happened.

"1955 Ford T-Bird," Bobby said without hesitation. "Convertible, cherry red. We had one at home that we fixed up together. My dad..." The words came out before Bobby realized what he was saying. He choked back a surge of emotion and kept talking. "... had one when he was in high school, so that was a summer gig we did together when I was little. He was so proud of that and I was too... even though I was only old enough to pass him a wrench." He chuckled a little sadly. "Always the wrong one though."

Was his dad gone? It was a possibility. But it was also none of her business. He would tell her if he wanted to. “That’s a good memory,” she replied simply. “My dad can’t fix anything to save his life. He has to hire someone to paint a room! Well, that’s an exaggeration, but you get what I mean.”

Bobby laughed at her exaggeration as an excuse to sniff away his pesky sad feelings. "Yeah, I do. I'm not so handy myself either. Want something broken, though, I'm your guy!" He made a half shrug and coiled his mouth into a weary smirk. "Not much call for that in the world."

“Of course there is!” replied Iris at once. “Demolition! Got a wall in your house needs taking down? Call Bobby! He’ll do it!”

"Yeah, right," Bobby agreed sardonically. "And then the roof and the pipes and the entire foundation with it. Trust me... not a lot of people need their houses knocked over." Like usual, he changed the subject from himself. "What about you? Plan on being part of the X-Men forever or do you have a secret career lined up?"

Her mind briefly flashed to the president glaring at her sternly over the desk in the Oval Office, but she shook the image quickly. “I’ll stay as long as Professor Xavier lets me,” she replied. “I hope I can stay forever. I really like it here.” If she could get out from under this blackmail- because that’s what it was, really- she would tell the professor everything and hope for the best. Worst case scenario, she was sure the US government would love to put her talents to use.

"I've been here for a long time now," Bobby said. "Ever since Scott broke me out of jail because they didn't know what else to do with me." He shrugged. "It's as a good a place as any. I don't know where I'd be or what would've happened if not for the Prof... and Scott."

“Yeah,” replied Iris. “I’m not sure where I’d be, either. Although probably I’d just be back in Michigan saving money for college. So boring.”

"College girl, huh?" Bobby pressed his lips together in thought. "What would your major be?"

“I don’t even know,” she replied. “I don’t even know what I’d want to be. But this- what we’re doing- this feels like it means something. Like it’s valuable, ya know? Worthwhile.”

Bobby suddenly felt flushed in his cheeks and beneath the collar. "Yeah, me too. Wait, you mean like with our non-romantic friend date tonight that's totally platonic and stuff or the X-Men save the world thing?"

“Well, I meant the X-Men stuff, but this, too,” she replied. “Making friends is always worthwhile.”

"Right... friends..." Bobby tried to mask his sudden feelings of disappointment with self-deprecation. "I've never been good at those. The others... the old team... they're more like family. We fought all the time until one day we just... clicked. I can't really pinpoint when we all became friends." Once he felt like he'd thrown her off his scent enough, he risked a smile. "I'm glad we made the chance to be friends."

“Me, too,” she replied. Bobby was cute. And funny. And nice. Perhaps in another time, she might have considered asking him out on a proper date. Well, and if she weren’t so little. As if any guy would find me appealing, she thought. “Oh, look!” she said, pointing to a well lit shop nearby. “An ice cream parlor! Should we get ice cream before heading back?”

"Psssh! Who are you talkin' to?" Bobby laughed. "Hell yeah I want ice cream!" He even ran ahead and opened the door for her. "After you."

“Thank you, sir,” she said, giving him a little curtsy as she walked through the door. “Ooo, it smells amazing in here. I’ll bet they make their own waffle cones.”

Bobby grinned at the curtsy but didn't say anything. The smell of the old town hangout brought back so many memories for him he got pulled out of the moment.

"Hi, welcome to Shecky's, best burgers, ice cream cones, and milkshakes in the state!" called out someone from behind the counter. "Take a seat at the bar or grab a booth and we'll be right with you!"

"You want a barstool or a booth?" Bobby asked, gauging her answer for a hint as to her demeanor. "Bar gets better service but they talk your ear off."

“Hm… probably booth,” Iris replied. “I think I’m too short for the bar. At least in a booth and I can sit on my knees if I have to.”

~I got a lap you could sit on~ Bobby thought. Perhaps it was expressed through his eyes. "I'm sure we could get you a phone book or something," he teased with a wink. "Come on. I know a booth that's practically a seesaw. I'll sit on one end and you on the other."

“Okay, I’ve got to see how that works,” she laughed.

Bobby beckoned her over to a corner booth that was clearly used so seldom it didn't even have place settings. "You slide on down to the end," Bobby said, pointing near the wall. "Then me and then the magic happens."

“Why does that make me nervous?” she muttered, sliding into the booth.

"Up, up, and away!" Bobby planted himself on the loose end of the bench and cackled with glee. However, Iris was small enough that instead of just bouncing up in place, the propelling force lobbed her sideways and planted her straight in his lap. "Uh... um... I... that..." Bobby just stared at her wide-eyed while his mouth fumbled for words.

At first, Iris was so stunned, she just blinked several times. Then, her face broke into a smile and she began laughing. “I take it that’s not what usually happens,” she said, still laughing.

Bobby shook his head, still stunned. She hadn't moved yet. She was laughing. A girl was sitting in his lap and she was enjoying herself. A pretty girl at that with the brightest smile he'd ever seen. The combination made Bobby dry-swallow a gulp in his throat. It also triggered a biological reaction happen south of the border that he prayed to the patron saint of perverts Iris didn't notice.

"Hey, kiddos," the waitress said. "Do we need some menus or do you know what you want?"

A squeak came out of Bobby's mouth.

"You gotta speak up, hon," the waitress said. "I don't speak field mouse."

Being put on the door by the waitress who had walked up at the worst possible time made Bobby fumble for words that just wouldn't come out.

“Menus, I think,” replied Iris, finally sliding herself back onto the bench next to him. “Dessert menus. I’m pretty sure we’re after ice cream.”

Bobby just nodded, his cheeks too red to speak.

"Rightio," said the waitress. She slid two menus onto the table face down. "Desserts are on the back. I'll give you two a few minutes." She walked away after giving them a wink.

"I'm sorry," Bobby croaked once they were alone again. His cheeks were still aglow and his downstairs situation was still incriminating. "That... that wasn't supposed to happen."

“It’s okay,” replied Iris, still grinning about the situation. “It was funny. Although the waitress probably thinks we’re dating now.” She shrugged, glancing over the desserts on the back of the menu. She’d never much cared what other people- especially complete strangers- thought.

"Heh, yeah, that's so crazy," Bobby said rather unconvincingly. "I mean could you even imagine? I sure can't. Not me, no, sir-ee..."

That was weird. She gave him a strange look. “You okay, Bobby?” she asked. “Why are you acting so weird?”

"Weird?" Bobby's voice had finally descended to a pitch hearable by humans but it was still a borderline falsetto. "Uh..." He cleared his throat and finally managed something at least approximately his normal tone. "Nothing weird is going on whatsoever." He tried to fold his hands over his lap as discreetly as possible. "How about strawberry? I could go for strawberry."

She continued scrutinizing him for a moment and then it suddenly dawned on her. “Oh my god!” she said finally. “You have a girlfriend, don’t you? That’s why you’re feeling out about someone thinking we’re dating!”

Several faces flashed through Bobby's mind of people he had become close to in recent weeks and months. None of them could he call his significant other. "Uh, no," Bobby said. "I am... what they call... unattached." He stared straight ahead and only glanced at Iris from the corner of his eye. "I just really want some, um, ice cream. Strawberry, chocolate, cookies 'n cream, it all sounds so good right now!"

Iris would never have guessed in a million years what he was really thinking, so she just shook her head and thought, boys are so weird to herself as she looked over the menu. “Ohmigod!” she exclaimed, spotting a hilarious image on the menu. “They have something called The Kitchen Sink! It’s twelve scoops of ice cream, plus five toppings served in an actual sink! We’d have to bring about four more people with us, though. It says serves six.”

"Yes! Let's do that!" Bobby exclaimed far too loudly. He waved at the waitress. "We'll take the Kitchen Sink! And two root beers! PLEASE!" Bobby lowered his head into his hands which were propped up on his elbows. Fortunately his little problem had finally started to go away. "Oh... that was loud."

“Are you out of your mind?” Iris laughed. “So you see how little I am? You really think I can eat six scoops of ice cream?”

"Not the size of the dog in the fight," Bobby said, "but the size of the fight in the dog." He chuckled at his own joke before realizing his own faux pas. "Not that you're a dog. Far from it. Not at all, actually."

“Well, thanks, I think,” she said. “But I still don’t think I could eat six scoops of ice cream.”

Bobby laughed at that. "Don't worry. I can do more than six!" He tapped his temple. "No ice cream headache, yeah?" And then he cackled fiendishly. "Just dig in as much as you want and I'll clear out the rest."

“Okay, but if you throw up, you get to clean it up,” she countered jokingly.

"They got a mop in the back." Bobby shrugged. "So how come you don't come out to play often? You're like the most friendly person at the mansion. Can't figure out why we didn't hang before... you know."

“Before everything went haywire?” she asked. “I got here after everyone went missing. And then there was a weird accident and I got lost- long story- and then… well, I’m pretty easy to miss.”

Bobby gave a half shrug along with a half smirk. "I dunno about that..." His smirk shifted into a grin. "I managed to find you easy enough earlier. Maybe you just need to let yourself stand out more."

“So you’re saying I should just play my flute more?” she said half jokingly.

"Sure," Bobby offered, "and anything else that gets people's attention."

The waitress returned with an hones to goodness kitchen sink with twelve scoops of ice cream and two root beers. "Bon appetit," the waitress said. "Anything else?"

“I think this is quite enough,” laughed Iris.

Bobby just grinned. "Nah, that's great. Thanks!"

Rolling her eyes at the youth of America, the waitress walked away to her next table.

"Let's dig in!" Bobby said, taking his spoon to the Neapolitan scoop first.

Iris chose the pistachio. “This is so much ice cream!” she said. “I wish I had a camera to take a picture. Oh well.” She shrugged and tasted the ice cream. “Oh my god this is the best ice cream ever!”

"I know!" Bobby said, spearing some of the pistachio after Iris. "I forgot how much I missed it!" He took a scoop of strawberry and offered it to Iris. "Try this one. You never had strawberry before this!"

Without thinking, Iris simply closed her mouth around the opened spoon and slid the ice cream off. “Mmm!” she groaned happily, rolling the sweet creamy stuff around and around in her mouth until it melted and slid down her throat. “Holy crow, you’re not kidding! That’s amazing! What do they do, grow their own strawberries?”

"Uh..." The way Iris forcefully gripped the spoon with her mouth and slurped it with her tongue made Bobby stare entirely too intently at her throat as she swallowed the bite. His mouth hung open a bit. "What?"

Iris giggled at his expression. “Ice cream so good it blanks out your brain?” she teased.

The melodic tinkle of her giggle brought Bobby back to Earth. "Huh? Uh, yeah! That was it. I think I need more." He dug into the Rocky Road. "Chewy!" he cried out, unable to get the whole bite off his spoon. "So chewy!"

“That’s the best kind of Rocky Road,” Iris told him. “What’s this peach colored one?” she asked, sticking her spoon into it. “Oh, it’s peach,” she replied after tasting it.

"That's one boring," Bobby said. "Try this chocolate chip mint. More chocolate chip than mint!"

Iris took a bite of the mint chip as instructed. “That’s to die for!” she exclaimed, taking a second bite. “There’s chocolate syrup inside the chips! How did they manage that?”

"Hell if I know," Bobby said around a second helping. "All I know is I want more and I don't even like mint!" He took a hard swig from his root beer and couldn't hold back a burp. "Ugh... excuse me!"

Iris giggled. “That’s attractive,” she teased. “You’ll have the girls beating down the doors for sure. Are you sure we’re going to be able to finish this off?”

"Totally, no way, and yes way," Bobby said, addressing her two statements and following question in the order they were given. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

“Yeah, the way is to find a pay phone and invite four more people to come help us finish this,” joked Iris, now trying a double chocolate ice cream.

Bobby heard a familiar hoot over his shoulder and glanced over his shoulder to see Bliss and Connor walking inside. The sound of the clinking bell at the door didn't even fade away before Bobby cursed under his breath. "That might not be a problem," he muttered a little louder.

Iris looked up at the same time Bobby did. “Connor!” she called, waving to her friend. “Bliss! Come join us!”

Bliss waved excitedly at her classmates, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She was in a tied off Def Leppard Pyromania shirt, a short pleated skirt, and black keds. She got to the table and motioned for Bobby to move deeper into the booth.
"Scoot in, Bobby, make room, dude!"

"Yo, hey!" Bobby tried to protest.

Bliss didn't wait for Bobby to complain, she sat down and grinned over at Iris.
"I told this place was wicked awesome!"

Connor frowned at the three of them on one side of the booth, but then decided having the entire opposite side to himself wasn't so bad. He slid in and started helping himself to the trough/sink of ice cream without being invited. It wasn't long before smacking sounds came from his side of the table.

"Dude, Connor, that's gross!" Bobby groaned. "Can you fuggin' not?"

“Well, at least he’s enjoying it,” countered Iris, adding some pineapple topping to the amazing strawberry ice cream. To Connor and Bliss, she said, “I think Bobby’s eyes were bigger than my stomach.”

Connor shrugged and kept devouring scoop after scoop. Their loss was his gain. How could they not be gorging themselves?

"Wouldn't be the first time we didn't finish a Kitchen Sink," Bobby said. "Trying is half the fun."

“You’ve done this before?” Iris asked as she passed a spoon to Bliss. “I would think you’d know better by now!”

Bobby just shrugged. "Try, try again?"

Bliss giggled as she began to dig in with her own spoon.
*Connor, slow down so the rest of us gets some. Remember the word for today is savor. "

She took a bite of chocolate mint before glancing to her right to see Bobby's current predicament. His pants were like a tent at the boy scout jamboree.

She took a bite and impishly reached out across the shared surface of the bench they sat on. The sensation was as if a warm gentle caress was flowing over Bobby's arousal. As she enjoyed the I've cream, her motions were conveyed to her efforts next to her.

"Damn, this is good! "

Bobby let out a gasp. "What the fuck!" His eyes grew wide in shock and surprise at the mysterious stimulation. No one was touching him, yet his pants didn't know that. "... do they put in this fudge?" He let out a gasp, both in relief and repressed pleasure. Was this happening to anyone else.

Curious as to Bobby's apparent excitement over the fudge, Connor sampled it himself and shrugged. It was good but not worth yelling about.

Bliss shrugged and took a scoop of raspberry sherbet. She licked at the purple scoop, taking her time so she could focus. She sighed with delight between swipes across the cold sweetness.
"So....what movie did you guys see?"

"Ninja... turtles..." Bobby grunted. "Damn... does... does anyone else feel an earthquake or some shit?"

"Nuh..." Connor made a grunt of his own in between slurps from his spoon.

“Earthquake?” said Iris, alarmed. “No. Are you okay, Bobby? Maybe we should go back to the mansion. Oh, I hope you’re not allergic to something in the ice cream.”

Bliss gave Bobby a curious glance. Meanwhile the curious sensations only grew more strident.
"Connor's prone to ice cream headaches. Maybe this is what this is. Are you ok, Bobby? Try breathing into a sack, or something?"

"Ice cream headaches?" Bobby repeated, his voice peaking in a high pitch with agitation. "I can turn to fucking ice! I don't get ice cream head..." Why hadn't he thought of that? Bobby looked around to make sure no one was watching and quickly turned to ice form. His back was to the rest of the joint and he kept his head ducked down. No one would see.

But... as soon as he did so... his ice form felt the vibrations coming from Bliss's end of the booth. He gasped at her in shock, his breath coming out in frosty mist. "Are you...?" he cut his hissing whisper of a question off in mid sentence and nodded toward his midsection. His pupil-free frozen eyes were unreadable, but his icy brow knit together with confused suspicion.

Bliss frowned and looked at Bobby with annoyed concern.
"I don't know whatch'er babbling about but this is a no power zone. We got friendlies here, human friendlies. You mess up their lives, I'll turn you into 150 lbs of chipped ice."

If there was anything about Bliss that scared Bobby, it wasn't her threat of physical violence. Her denial was less than convincing. Bobby remained suspicious. But she made a solid point. He reverted back to his normal appearance.

"Slide out," he said, hip-checking Bliss. "I gotta hit the head right now!"

After practically pushing her out of the booth and nearly onto the floor, Bobby half ran, half duck-walked to the bathroom.

Connor watched Bobby leave the booth and then looked at the two girls. <. What's his problem? .> He had to sign the question with one hand because he wasn't dropping his spoon for anything.

Iris shrugged. “Maybe he has a thing for Bliss,” she suggested, not really knowing what else could have prompted such a reaction, but also not really believing that was the problem at all.

Between Connor's eyes narrowing and the exaggerated motion of his pointer and middle fingers closing down onto his thumb in a resounding NO hand sign, his jealous disposition could not be more clear. Then he realized that he had never told Iris that he and Bliss were together.

Bliss's eyes had followed Bobby back to the restroom with that deepened frown. She turned back to the table.
"That boy ain't right, but he was messed up before we got here. I think he's sweet on Miss Iris here."

Connor looked at Iris with a canny eye, then glanced back toward the bathroom where Bobby had disappeared. He slowly turned back around with a sly look on his face. With a smirk on his face, he held up his hands and started making kissing sounds into them. He bobbed his head and pinned Iris with a teasing stare.

Iris only rolled her eyes. “As if,” she said, scooping more pistachio ice cream out of the sink. “Literally nobody would be interested in me. I look like I’m twelve!” She said it so confidently and without an ounce of self-deprecation, it was clear that she simply viewed this as a fact that she was perfectly okay with. “Anyway, he didn’t start acting weird until you got here,” she added.

Bliss finished the spoonful of raspberry sherbet before capturing a bit of Rocky road.
"Don't put yourself down, Iris. You're adorable. And who knows with Bobby? He might like 'em young. But I got questions. Who asked who to the movies?"

“Nobody asked anybody,” she replied. “We were just hanging out and discovered we like the same kinds of movies, so we decided to see what was playing.”

While Iris was busy rebutting Bliss's suggestive comments, Connor continued his performance. He pantomimed dipping someone back in his arms and pursed his lips as firm as possible. "Mwuah, mwuah, mwuah, mwuah!"

Bliss gave Connor a playful swat.
"Who taught you to kiss? Sam Kinison?"
With that she threw a napkin in his direction.

After swatting the napkin away, Connor grinned at Bliss and gave her a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. They both knew exactly who had taught him to kiss.

The exchange wasn’t lost on Iris, whose eyes went wide. “Hang on a second,” she said, looking between them. “Are you two dating?”

Connor's mouth curled up into a Grinch grin that claimed his entire face.

Bliss started to reply with an evasive answer, then she saw Connor's face. She sighed and shook her head.
"Well I'm glad to know Connor can't keep a secret if his life depended upon it." She refocused on iris with a fresh grin.
"Yeah, we're dating. The boy is wooing me. Whatever wooing means. Do they still say wooing? It was in one of my literature assignments."

Iris giggled. “I think so,” she said. “But that’s great! I’m so happy for you two!”

Connor pulled out his device and typed, "DO NOT TELL ANYONE ELSE. IT IS A SECRET."

"What's a secret?" Bobby asked, sliding back into the booth next to Connor. "Not you and Bliss fucking? Everyone knows that. You two are stuck on each other like Band-Aids stick on me!"

"WE DO NOT FUCK," Connor argued. "THAT IS WHY IT IS NOT A SECRET."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure, okay!"

“You two are so uncouth,” Iris accused, still giggling.

"Come on, Iris," Bobby said. "Let's get out of here. These two love birds need to be alone."

“I suppose I’ve had enough ice cream,” replied Iris. “Oh wait, here,” she said, producing a tiny wallet out of a tiny purse- she was really playing up the tiny thing- and taking out a $20 bill. “For the ice cream. Tell the waitress to keep the change. Pardon me, Bliss,” she added, indicating that she needed the other girl to let her out of the booth.

Bliss scooted out of the booth to allow iris out. "Sorry, hon, see you back at school." She looked at Bobby with a wicked grin. "I'll see you later, Robert. Iris better enjoy the rest of the evening, hear me?"

"Bye, guys!" Bobby said out loud. As he passed by Bliss, he quietly muttered, "Get fucked." Then, grinning at Iris, he said, "There's something else I want to show you... outside."

Bliss chuckled with Bobby's muttered curse. She had gotten under his skin. To her, that was like blood in the water to a shark. "Blow me."

“Is it more Iceman stunts?” Iris teased, waving goodbye to Connor and Bliss. “Because I think I’ve seen them all.”

"Sorta..." Bobby replied cryptically. He opened the door for her, waved goodbye to the wait staff, and began walking her back to the Porsche 911 that Professor Xavier didn't let him drive until just the year before.

"There's something I gotta' get off my chest," Bobby said, hands in his pockets, swaying a little bit in his stroll. "You said I was acting weird. Well, I was. Not that you didn't notice. 'Cuz I just said how you did. Heh..."

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I know I said I wasn't being weird and now I'm saying different. I'm trying some truth-telling for a change. It's been really cool hanging out with you. It makes me wanna' be honest."

They paused near the bumper where Bobby took Iris by the hand and looked at her for the first time in his whole spiel. "Iris, you're very beautiful and I think you're gorgeous. Don't worry. I'm not trying to get anything. But... the more I kept that back, the harder it got." He clenched his teeth for a moment, willing himself not to laugh at his unintentional pun and for Iris not to read between any lines. "So... I just needed you to know that. If that doesn't freak you out too much, I'd still like to hang out with you." He kissed the back of her hand and gently lowered it before releasing. "No drama."

With that, he turned away with car keys in hand and unlocked the door.

Iris just stood there for a moment, turmoil evident on her face. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the thought “Connor and Bliss were right” flitted through, but she didn’t have time to think of that. Here he was being honest with her and she was busy spying and reporting on their every move. How could she keep doing this? But she didn’t know what else to do.

The words came out of her mouth more easily than she would have thought they could. She looked at Bobby about to get in the car and said, “I’m a spy.”

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