The Traitor || Chase Davenport

02

"Leo!"

Leo turns to the sound of his name, but his eyes widen once he saw it was the girl he used to call his best friend, the one who supposedly has bionics and never told Leo. He quickly turns around and starts to walk faster down the halls.

"Leo! Leo, stop!"

He stops and turns around. "Or what? Are you gonna make me?" He crosses his arms.

Harley groans and walks towards the Dooley boy, who held out his hands causing her to stop.

"I don't want you any closer than that."

"Look, I'm sorry. I know what you found out about me is a lot to take in. I should've told you."

"Why didn't you? You say that you're sorry, but I'm not hearing a reason why you did what you did."

Harley sighs. "I wasn't allowed to say anything."

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, you and Marcus made that clear. But I want to hear it from you."

"Leo, I –"

"If you considered our friendship real, you'll tell me everything."

Harley nods. "Okay, but not around all these people." She grabs Leo by the wrist and drags him into an empty classroom.

Leo pulls back his wrist. "Talk."

The two sit on the chairs, Leo sitting two seats away from her for safety reasons.

"Everything started at the age of four. I had a family. My parents' names were Samuel and Marie Johnson. Even with jobs, my parents struggled with money. Secretly, my mother made a deal with a man. He offered her money, saying to her that they no longer have to deal with a burden like me. And my mother took it. She let him take me away.

But my father, he had no idea about this. So when the man came to take me, my father tried everything he could to stop him, but.." Harley stops to take a shaky breath. "The man killed him right in front of me."

"So after that, the man took me to some lab. He did many experiments on me, seeing if I had what it takes to be bionic, or in his words 'the perfect bionic soldier'. I was poked by endless needles when suddenly, he had brought a scalpel to my neck and placed it inside a chip."

"That's how you got the scar on your neck." Leo points out and Harley nods. "But what does this have to do with anything?"

"I'm getting there. Gosh, you really are impatient." Harley laughs but stops when seeing the look on Leo's face. She clears her throat. "Right. Anyways, I was held captive by this strange man for months until one day, Marcus' dad saved me."

"But how did he know about you?"

"They were partners," Harley answers. "Marcus' dad had a need for vengeance, and my creator was the perfect example of someone who could do something so cruel."

"When Marcus' dad realized what he had done, he went behind my creator's back and took me in. He helped me with my bionics. He raised me as his own daughter. Then a couple of years later, I was around twelve. Marcus' dad started to change. He became more violent, more evil. Went on about how Davenport needed to pay for what he had done. He manipulated me and taught me that evil was better, I don't need love. Then that is when he decided my mission: Find the Davenport children."

Leo noticed how she fiddles with her thumbs, a sign of anxiety. He also noticed how her hands were slightly shaking. She took a deep breath before looking back up at Leo. That's when he noticed the tears. But he did not reach out to her. Instead, he went a chair closer to her. He was slowly believing her, but he was still being cautious.

"Marcus' dad told me I needed to find the bionic children, gain their trust, make them believe I'm their friend, then break them and their trust once I got to Mr. Davenport. And of course, I was excited because I believed what I was doing was the best. That nothing would stop me from accomplishing it."

"Is that why you had an interest in Chase? Because that helped you gain a foothold to Big D? And did I play a part in this?"

Harley furrowed her eyebrows. How could Leo –

Harley's face softened when she realized. "No, Leo. I did not become your friend to get closer to the Davenports. I may have known about that, but I did not know about your relation to them until you introduced me to them. You and I became friends away before my mission." Harley hesitantly placed her hand on Leo's. "Our friendship is real. We became friends because we wanted to. No mission caused that."

Leo's lips formed a small smile. But it was still noticeable for Harley to catch."Do you really mean it? Everything that you told me, it's not a lie? Because I don't know if I can take anymore."

Harley's eyes become glossy. "No. No more lies. Everything that I'm telling you is out of honesty. Leo, you are my best friend. And I do love Chase and your family. I will admit that I pretended to have feelings for Chase in the beginning. However, it changed after Grandma Rose came into town. You remember that. It was the night Chase admitted his feelings for me.

And no matter how much I tried to push it aside, my feelings for Chase became real. I couldn't pretend anymore. And over time, my feelings for him grew. Then, Future Harley and Leo came, and my future self to told me that I needed to tell you the truth before it was too late, but I couldn't. I can't image the pain and betrayal on their faces, just like how yours was a few nights ago.

But Marcus' dad started to get suspicious which is why he sent Marcus. I knew that I was in trouble. He wasn't stupid. He knew that my feelings for Chase and the family were real. I told Marcus that I wanted to quit, but we both know that if I did, I'm dead."

Leo grips her hand. "Harls, you have to tell them. If what you are saying is true and it gets worse from here, they need to know." Harley shakes her head.

"I-I can't. It's too late now. I had months to tell everyone, but I kept it a secret. If couldn't handle seeing the look on my best friend's face, how can I handle seeing Chase's? You have to promise me you won't tell anybody. Please."

"Harley –"

"Promise! If you really do care about me, you will not tell them, and let me find a way to stop this from happening."

Leo sees the pain in his best friend's eyes as she begs him. He sighs and nods. "Okay! I won't tell them. But, if you back out, I get to tell them."

Harley nods. "Deal."

The school bell rings and the two teens get up from their seats. The two stared at each other, not knowing what to do or say next. So, Harley starts to head out the door to her next class.

"Hey, Harley," Leo calls out. She turns back around just to be pulled into a hug by the Dooley boy. She stayed still until she smiled and wraps her arms around her best friend. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Dooley."