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Original:(I forgot, maybe June 7?)Edited: July 2 2025hopefully you enjoy

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏Ali P.O.V.:

The bell rang, and the hallway buzzed with students rushing to their classes. There he was—Evan—hovering near Alicia like he owned the place. He kept talking, words tumbling out faster than she could follow. Alicia shot me a look that said, "Save me from this."

Hah, the amazing Alicia Kheng asking for help. Not something I'd see every day.

Then I heard her say something close to, "Look, I've got a boyfriend, so why don't you just leave me be?" Her tone left no room for argument.

I forgot our agreement from like, two days ago. Why did I allow myself to be dragged into this? As long as I'm not mentioned, I am safe.

I could see my classmates in the hallway turning around, curious about who this "boyfriend" of hers could be....Normal P.O.V.:Mid-science lecture, Ali felt his phone buzz. He checked it - and of course, the infamous M.A.T.A. symbol lit up on the screen. Right in the middle of science class. The one class he needs to focus on. How unfortunate.﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏The two managed to sneak out of class, before discreetly heading to the library, where Alicia scanned her hand on the book. Then, the secret entrance on the shelf opened, as they stepped inside....In the control room, a transmission screen lit up- General Rama appeared as usual, with Agent Bakar and Rizwan there.

The general got straight to the point. "We've intercepted chatter from Komeng's network," he began. "They're planning to ransack a shipment of C-Tech components scheduled to arrive at the North Harbour this afternoon." he stated.C-Tech isn't just standard tech - it was core-grade intel tech developed by M.A.T.A.'s R&D division. Dangerous in the wrong hands.

"They'll be targeting the storage crates during the offloading window, just before sundown," General Rama continued. "Our intelligence suggests Komeng has upgraded his gear - we may be dealing with more than just brute force."Alicia gave a quiet nod beside Ali, her eyes fixed on the screen."This is a containment and intercept mission. Priority is to prevent the crates from leaving the dock. We don't want that tech circulating outside M.A.T.A., especially in enemy's hands."

General Rama's voice remained steady. "Agents will move in pairs. Track their movements, intercept if necessary, and secure the crates before extraction. You deploy immediately."

[Back in school]

Ms. Munah's voice cut through the silence, explaining trade economics with a flick of her stylus across the digital screen. Alicia kept her pen moving, her handwriting neat as always-but her mind wasn't fully there.

Ali had done better than her today.

She replayed the moment at the docks—Komeng's gang trying to scatter, the chaos, the rush.

He didn't hesitate. Covered her without fumbling. Knew exactly where to move and when.

Not that she was jealous. Well—maybe a little.

She tapped her pen once against her notes and let out a quiet breath, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Focus, Alicia.

Ms. Munah switched the screen to a breakdown of regional tariffs. Alicia straightened up, expression unreadable as ever. Her focus locked back in.

But what was she feeling?

This is all a fake.

Right?

So why did her chest tighten a little when she thought about how he moved in front of her, calm and sure, like it was second nature? Why did it bother her that it seemed like a reflex to always protect her?

She tapped her pen again, slower this time. Ms. Munah's voice droned on, the lesson fading into background noise.

"It is just pretend," she thought, in an effort to calm herself down.

Probably.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏note: I'm a bit lazy so bear with the skips, and also since it is more of a romance, I focus less on mission detail.

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