FTF: I would like to make it clear that this chapter was written in a hotel during a youth group mission trip while we were sleep deprived and had no access to our previous chapters, so we are not completely responsible for the weird parts of this story.

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Before entering the room in which Skylar's new friend was pretending to scrutinize post-modern art Owen hung back to let Skylar walk a few feet in front of him. He then hurried after her "to give the appearance of a harassed trainer trying to suppress his adorable but overly energetic pet monkey," Saige had said dreamily, ignoring the weird looks everyone was giving her.

Skylar stood just off to the side of her friend, rocking back and forth on her heels, humming her own little song. "I think it looks like a bacon version of the Mona Lisa," she said after a bit.

Elliot tried to ignore her, but it was hard to do when the only other thing to pay attention to actually did look more like breakfast meat than art.

Skylar moved so their shoulders bumped, then jumped away. "Watch where you're going!" she cried.

"What? But I… what are you doing?" he asked as Skylar twirled around watching an imaginary skirt flare out.

"Watching my skirt."

"But you're not wearing – whatever."

Owen walked up and glanced at Skylar. "Very nice skirt twirling, Skylar." He turned to the still-confused Elliot. "She isn't bothering you, is she, Mr.-" he paused.

"Spencer."

"Really? That's my friend's last name, too. Not Skylar, another friend… anyway. Skylar's a little silly sometimes, but so is everyone else, right?"

"Owen," Skylar looked him straight in the eye, "be truthful – doesn't this look like bacon?" Without waiting for an answer, she looked at Elliot. "When did you get here?"

Elliot looked at her blankly for a few minutes, then turned to Owen. "Your girlfriend is weird, dude."

"That's what I tell him all the time!" exclaimed Skylar. "Wait… how do you know Ashley? Are you spying on us?" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Do you have ESPN?"

"Well, yeah, my apartment comes with free cable… I mean… WHAT?" babbled Elliot, completely taken off-guard by this psychotic teenager.

Owen was still too pink-faced from the "girlfriend" comment to bail Elliot out. Besides, this was information they needed.

"Free cable? That's it? I have DirecTV. Where's your apartment? My friend can hook it up for you. You'll have to pay him, though. Just buy him Star Trek on Blu-Ray and he'll be happy." Skylar paused to look at the new painting they were standing in front of. It reminded her of spilt applesauce. "So are you a cowboy or Indiana Jones's long-haired stunt double."

"I'm just here to keep an eye on that man," said Elliot absentmindedly. To Charlotte, watching from the other side of the room, he seemed to catch himself and change his expression. "I'm a private investigator for the City of Angels agency. Can you keep a secret?" He, Owen, and Skylar leaned closer. "His wife thinks he's having an affair." Owen was unable to keep the offended expression completely off his face. He knew for a fact that Randy's parents had divorced several years ago, and neither had remarried. He surreptitiously stepped on Skylar's foot to restrain her form pointing this out.

"Ow! Owen, my foot hurts!" Skylar hopped around on one foot for a bit before Owen grabbed her by the arms and held her still.

"I know. Horrible, isn't it?" said Elliot, misinterpreting their reactions. "But some people choose that path."

Charlotte nudged Sean. "Owen's still holding on to Skylar."

"Maybe he wants to make sure she doesn't fall over," said Sean with a faux-innocent look on his face. After a beat, he and Charlotte burst into giggles and had to turn away to calm down.

"Wait, if you're a private investigator, does that mean you know how to pick a lock?" Skylar asked, changing the subject. "Also, if your name is Spencer, why does your ID say 'Josh Baker'?"

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FTF: Please review. 2 reviews for 5 chapters makes me a sad panda.