The brown-haired girl giggled as she probed her opponent's defenses.

"5-1! Watch out Nigie! You're falling behind!"

"Only because I've been letting you win, Lizzie! Now you're going to see what I can really do."

It was 10:00 P.M. on a Saturday. In the arcade section of Hap-Happy Land, Nigel and Lizzie were engaged in a breathaking game of air hockey.

"Then let's see you try to stop this!", replies Lizzie. So saying, she sent the puck ricocheting to the opposite goal.

Usually, their dates followed a dreary pattern: Nigel sneaking off roughly once a minute on KND business, Lizzie progressively getting fed up with his behavior, and him falling down on his knees and pleading for forgiveness at the date's end. But not this time. This time, things have gone almost perfectly. The reason is simple: the KND villains are on vacation for the weekend. There were no artefacts to retrieve, no civilians to rescue. Nigel would never have believed that evil adults are familiar with the concept of vacation, and that the more prestigious villains had a resort island in the Bahamas. But he accepted the truth after seeing top-secret photos of Father in a bathing suit, surfing. And so all was well for the moment.

Nigel tried to monitor the puck's progress as it bounces left and right. He fails-the object slips past his guard and falls into the goal, producing a clanging sound that he's starting to know well.

"Blast!" he fumed. "All right, you won't catch me off guard again." Nigel tried to fight fire with fire, sending the puck ricocheting to the other side. However, Lizzie blocked the white circle and responds in kind. They began hitting the puck against the walls faster and faster. It all came down to which child possessed the better reflexes, and that was Lizzie.

Clang!

"7-1, Nigel!"

Time for a change of plans, decided Nigel. He placed his mallet at the center of the slot, hoping it would prove a sufficient obstacle. Then he sends the puck to his girlfriend's side, giving her the initiative. Carefully, Lizzie angled the puck and fired. Her aim was true: the piece of plastic passed through the right-hand gap left by Nigel's mallet.

Clang!

"No fair, my side is tilted!" shouted Nigel angrily. At this point, he threw all caution to the wind. He pushes forward his body to the one-third line and launches a series of fast attacks on Lizzie. Surprisingly, one of them actually made it past her defenses.

"Aha! I've got the right strategy now."

Her counterattack sailed right past his extended arms. Clang!

Frustrated, he slammed the puck down the playing surface. Since it slipped forward a bit too much, he pushed it back. Unfortunately he pushes too hard, and before he could stop the puck, it fell into his own goal.

Clang!

Lizzie giggled again. "I win! And you know what that means, Nigel!"

Nigel groaned. "I know, I know. We get our pictures taken at the photo booth."

"Well come on then, let's go!"

The carnival's photo booth was modern and fairly tasteful, although Nigel was convinced it was a brainwashing device. Photos were taken against a wall, specifically a vast, brightly-colored picture of of the amusement park. The photographer lead Nigel and Lizzie to the right position, then went into a blue photo-taking booth.

"Okay, we're ready to go!" he shouts. "Now remember, face the camera and smile." A second later the man re-emerged. "Kid, you're facing the wrong way." he tells Nigel.

Because of course, Nigel was looking completely to the side. He grudgingly turned his head in the correct direction. However, as the photographer retreated to the booth, he suddenly put his right hand in front of his face.

The adult chuckled. "Kid, I can't see your face if your hand is covering it."

Lizzie gave him a pleading look. "Come on, Nigel, don't cover your face! You promised we'd get some pictures taken!"

"Ughh! Okay, fine. Let's get this over with." He lowered his hand, and the photo shoot proceeded without further interruptions.

"Now was that so hard?" said Lizzie as they emerged from the building.

"I'm sorry, Lizzie, but photo-shoots just aren't for me!" protested Nigel. "I can't do this mushy stuff. "

"Hmph. Well I think you'll come around eventually. Numbuh Two likes mushy stuff."

"Yes well, Numbuh Two is an anomaly among boys. And kids. Anyway, we've done pretty much everything in the park." he asserted in a business-like tone. "So, what do you want to do now? Watch some fireworks? Go for a walk on Mars?"

"Oh I know! How about we go to your house and watch the stars?"

"Hey, Numbuh One, there are you!" interrupted a familiar voice behind him.

Nigel whirled around. Abby, Wally, Kuki, and Hoagie were staring at him, out-of-breath and wearing puzzled expressions.

Oh great. Here comes the kissing song. "What are you guys doing here? I?" he inquired crossly. "I told you I didn't want to be bothered."

"We heard you needed help! Something about a crazy girl forcing you to visit Hap-Happy Land." said Hoagie.

"Yeah, we came as fast as we could." added Abby with apparent sincerity. "We received a distress call from a kid in the park saying that Knightbrace was trying kidnap you."

"A kid? Who?!"

Wally, who was removing a huge orange lollipop from a plastic bag he was carrying, shrugged. "We're not sure, mate. All we know is that he had a lisp."

"But you didn't see what he looked like?" Nigel pressed Wally.

"Nope. He contacted us on the treehouse monitor, but the screen was static. We never saw his face. Are ya sure Knightbrace wasn't trying to kidnap you?"

"I think I'd know, Wally. And besides, Knightbrace isn't even here, he's at I.C.R.O.C. [Incredibly Cool Resort Of Criminality]. All our A-list villains are there." replied Nigel snidely.

"But it doesn't make sense Nigie." chipped in Lizzie. "Why would anyone want to make a fake distress call?"

Nigel tugged at her hand impatiently. "We can talk about that later; right now, we've got places to be. Come on, let's go get some pistachio ice-cream." They began to walk away.

"Oh and Numbuh One," noted Abby, "your uncle called again. He says your invitation to I.C.R.O.C. is still valid. He promises he won't kidnap you."

"Thank you Numbuh Five!" shouted Nigel without breaking pace. "Tell him to put the promise in writing. I don't trust a word he says."

Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of Sector V's earshot. She had never felt comfortable hanging out with them, especially Hoagie and Wally. They made no attempt to like her, even in Nigel's presence. Or at least, they hadn't liked her since the boyfriend helmet incident.

But Lizzie didn't get it. True, Nigel himself had come perilously close to ending the relationship after his helmet-induced amnesia wore off. For the first and only time, she was the one on her knees, begging for forgiveness. Her friends were stunned that Nigel forgave her. But the point is, he had forgiven her. He hadn't forgotten, but he had moved on. Why couldn't they do the same?

Maybe they considered her too bossy. She recalled Abby saying something to that effect once. But it wasn't her fault, really. In third grade, before she'd met Nigel, most girls at school said that no boy would ever like her. As a result, she fears the possibility that Nigel might...cheat on her. And she couldn't help it if people mistake her paranoia for bossiness.

"So who do you think made that distress call?"Nigel asked, bringing her back to earth.

"I don't know. It must be someone who wanted to ruin our evening." she deduces, aware of what happened last time Sector V crashed in on her and Nigel.

"Perhaps, but who would want to do that? None of my enemies are that petty. They all have serious motives."

Lizzie scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I can't really help you. I don't have any enemies. "

"Oh hang on a second. I know who's behind this!" said Nigel, snapping his fingers.

"Who?"

"The Six Gum Gang. I raided their headquarters last night and sabotaged their aerial motorcycles. It was one heck of a battle. You should have seen me, Lizzie. I was amazing. I fought off the entire gang. I almost got caught by their heat-seeking lassoes, but I used some smoke bombs and my rocket boots to get away."

"But I thought the kid who sent the distress call had a lisp. And none of those pseudo-cowboys do."

"He could have faked a lisp. It's not that hard to do."

Lizzie raised her hands to the heavens, not liking where this was going. "So what are we supposed to do?! We can't arrest the Six Gum Gang. They're protected by the Delightful Children, remember?!" She wanted to brush off the Delightful Children as stuck-up, anthropomorphic bees, but she couldn't. Alone among Nigel's rogues, they scared her. They already tried to brainwash or squash Nigel flat on a daily basis without provocation. What would they be capable of if angered?

Nigel gave a confident shrug. "Don't worry, Lizzie. I don't intend to arrest them. I was thinking more along the lines of destroying their salon. Something that will scare them into behaving."

After visiting the ice-cream stand, they began to walk back home. Since it was a long way from Hap-Happy Land to Nigel's house, they traveled by air, with Lizzie clinging to Nigel. Five minutes later, they touched down on the lawn behind the house.

As they made to lie down, Nigel felt her hand squeeze his. This was usually a prelude to a request for a big favor. Sure enough, she immediately said, "Nigel, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Please tell me it's not another photo-shoot."

"No it's a lot more important than that. See, my sister's getting married in three weeks."

"I know, I know. And?"

"Well, I was hoping that-"

"What was that?!" he cut her off. For a tremendously loud snapping sound had just rent the night.

"What? I didn't hear anything."

"That sounded like a branch snapping. It came from the hedge behind us." As if to confirm his suspicion, there was distinct rustle in the shrubs.

He began to jog towards the hedge, but Lizzie seized him by the wrist. "Forget it Nigel. It was probably just a fox."

"A fox couldn't have broken a branch that thick. Only a human could've..." he deliberated in a hurry.

"It doesn't matter. Just let it go, okay?"

"It must be the Six Gum Gang. I'll be right back."

"Oh no you don't, mister! If you walk away, our date's over."

He was ready to disregard Lizzie and investigate, but something held him back. What if it was Dixie, Wilbur or Runt in the hedge? He had nothing to gain by breaking his promise to Lizzie. He could deal with the Six Gum Gang tomorrow.

? That would playing right into their hands.

"Okay, you win." he grumbled. "Now, what were you saying about your sister's wedding?"

"Well..." she started, fiddling with her fingers. "I wasn't going to ask this before tonight, but I was wondering. Would you could come to my sister's wedding and, uh, sit next to me?"

"That's all? Of course I'll come!"

Through the darkness, he saw her eyes expand to size of saucers. "Really?! You promise?!"

"Yeah! I'll be there; you can count on me."

She responded with one of her patented crushing hugs. "Oh Nigie. I don't know how to thank you." she whispered into his neck.

Disengaging, he patted his ribs gingerly. "Well for starters, could you ease up on your hugs? I can't be breaking my ribs on a date!"

"Deal! So what should we do now?!"

"Let's just lie down and watch the stars, okay?"

Several minutes passed. Although Nigel's spy-related suspicions were strong, the lure of the natural elements proved stronger still. It was a warm starry evening, as September nights were wont to be. A light breeze was blowing, and the grass under their necks felt soft and cool. And the sky was filled with an endless expanse of gleaming silver dots. It was mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing sight. In fact, Nigel wondered why they'd bothered to the amusement park. This was ten times more relaxing and fun, not to mention cheaper.

"The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" remarked Lizzie thoughtfully, breaking the silence.

"They sure are. They must have been cleaned recently."

"Have you ever seen one up-close?"

Nigel shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. I would need to travel very far away from our solar system, and I wouldn't know how retrace my steps. But I think I know what they look like. I think they're really big, silver coins. The only thing is, they need to be cleaned up from time to time. That's why don't always see them shine."

She raised herself on her elbows, semi-alert."Really? I thought they were diamonds, not coins."

"No way. Diamonds would be too expensive. We're talking about thousands of stars here."

"Coins can be expensive too." remarked Lizzie.

"Yes, but...they could be coins with silver painted on them." he retorted.

"Well diamonds can be painted with silver too!"

They continued to banter and exchange pointless thoughts for hours on end. When they eventually decided to go to bed, sometime between midnight and dawn, Nigel found himself wishing that Labor Day came around next weekend too. And perhaps he could make it happen again. After all, if there's one thing he loved more than serving the Kids Next Door, it was spending time with Lizzie.