🔥Ayoooo i finally updated!!! i know it's been so long, but this chapter really required a lot of time to think and plan out. i really hope u guys like this chapter i have worked SO hard on this! this chapter is about gray and what he was up to during the two years he and carmen were apart! enjoy! (also shoutout to @ fuckyeahmiraculous on tumblr for helping me💞) 🔥

Gray lay flat against the cool, white sheets of his hospital bed as he stared at the ceiling. Gray had just woken up after being shocked by his crackle rod that night in Morocco. He wasn't sure how long he was out, but part of him didn't want to know.

Gray propped himself on his elbows to examine the room. As expected, no one was there. No one had come to visit him. Then again, why would they come after everything Gray had done? He deserved to be alone.

Suddenly, Gray heard faint footsteps echoing across the room. He shut his eyes tight, pretending to be asleep and praying with all his might that it wasn't who he thought it was.

He couldn't bear to see her again.

He slowly opened his eyes to see Chief standing over his bed. But she wasn't in her hologram form. She was there in person.

Gray's shoulders sank with relief as his lips twisted into a tired but warm smile.

"Well, well. Could it be the real you?"

"It's all real this time, Mr. Calloway. The hospital stay and the jolt that landed you here."

"Electrician's trick. I rewired my device so it wouldn't power up any higher than stun mode."

"It did more damage than you know. It must've fried your tracking chip. You've fallen completely off ACME's grid."

Gray's brows raised at her statement, although he wasn't surprised to hear that.

"Once you're discharged, I wouldn't be surprised to never find you again."

Gray watched as Chief walked over to the door. He knew this was her saying goodbye, but he still had one last question to ask.

"And Carmen?"

Chief smirked at him, "Shall I pass along your contact info?"

Gray just stared at her. The offer was too tempting. Gray wanted to call her and hear from Carmen herself that she was safe.

But he wouldn't.

He already hurt her so many times, even after she trusted him and gave him countless opportunities to choose the right path. But he always dismissed her and abandoned her when she needed him the most.

He was so selfish. So cruel.

And now that VILE was defeated, Carmen would inevitably take up the opportunity to start a new life somewhere.

Perhaps Carmen would take a break with her friends, travel the world some more, and maybe even find someone else who loves her the way Gray loved her. Someone more worthy and more selfless than him. Someone who doesn't complicate her life.

They'd settle down, raise a family and live the rest of their lives in perfect harmony.

Just the mere thought of it stabbed Gray right through his heart like a blade. Because he knew he could never have that kind of life with Carmen.

"She doesn't need me complicating her life. I... just needed to know she's alright."

Gray tried to ignore the pitiful look that Chief gave him as she merely said, "I'll be sure to send her your regards."

And then she left.

Gray felt the stab in his heart deepen when he was all alone again. No friends, no family, no Carmen-

Gray shook his head against the pillow. He had to move on and forget her, it was the only choice he had.

Who knows, maybe he'll laugh about his feelings one day.

Besides, he had the opportunity to start a new life just like Carmen, and sitting back and hoping that Carmen was going to fall back into his life and love him like he did her was a waste of time.

Gray glanced out the window of his hospital room, a bright smile on his face as he pictured himself in a nearby future. A future where he was happy and living his best life.

A life without Carmen Sandiego.

***

After being monitored at the hospital for three more days, Gray was finally released into the world, ready to begin his new life.

He took things slow. Gray found a new apartment in Sydney, Australia, and moved in within two days. His room wasn't too big, nor was it too small. It was just right.

It had a bathroom to the left of the front door and a kitchen to the right. A little farther down was a living room, which had a separate door leading to a cozy bedroom. And there was another bathroom next to Gray's bedroom.

Gray finished setting up his apartment on a calm Tuesday night. He had placed some clean dishes and glasses in the cabinets above the sink. He then fixed an arc lamp in his living room. The golden glow of the lamp perfectly illuminated the couches, coffee table, and the TV sitting the room.

His bedroom contained his now made bed, a dressing table and a closet. He even mopped and cleaned his entire apartment, despite the fact that Gray hated cleaning.

Once he was done, Gray let out a pleased sigh as he admired his hard work. He then collapsed onto the couch, feeling the cushions bounce underneath him.

So far, so good. Gray thought to himself.

Gray then glanced at the empty walls and shelves of his living room and bedroom. (Which he could see through the open door.)

Well, not exactly empty. Gray did have one picture of his mother hanging in his room. It was taken two months after Gray was born.

In the picture, his mother was sitting on a rocking chair while holding baby Gray in her arms.

He had inherited his mother's warm brown eyes and her brown locks. That always seemed to put a smile on Gray's face as it reminded him that he was connected to his mother in a way.

Gray's mother died in a car crash when he was seven years old.

His father, however, was a completely different story. Gray's dad had abandoned both him and his mother the day he was born and died a few years later.

Gray tried to ask his mother why he left, but she always shooed him away and said he was too young to understand.

Gray wanted to know the truth about his father, but there was no one left to tell him.

***

A few weeks later, Gray got his job back at the Sydney Opera House. There was a lot of explaining to do. But thankfully, Chief had already contacted the company and created a backstory so Gray could naturally get his job back if he ever decided to return. He was grateful for that and vowed he'd thank her in person one day.

Everything after that was great! That was until Gray had his second shift at the opera house.

Gray was setting up the lights backstage as the opera roared throughout the house. He walked over to the other side of the stage to fix one of the lights, when he noticed something peculiar....

.....The curtains.....

They were red. Red like her taunting lips. Red like her signature fedora and coat.

Oh no.

And the equipment... they were grey. No, bluish-grey. Like her striking eyes-

Guess you just... remind me of someone I used to.

I have one of those faces. Enjoy the show!

"Hey, Graham! We need you over here!"

Gray snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards one of his co-workers.

"What's wrong?"

"One of the lights is acting up. Can you help us fix it?"

"Sure, I'll be right over, mate."

For the rest of the night, Gray tried to forget what happened and focused on his work. He avoided looking at the curtains and tried not to notice the color of the equipment. But it wasn't long before Carmen clouded his mind again. This time, it was right after his shift.

Gray was trotting down the numerous stairs outside the opera house when he noticed something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

Gray was standing in the exact spot he asked Carmen out for coffee.

"Is this the address of an outback guide?"

"A good guide's easy to find online. This is the address of my favorite cafe in Sydney. I'll be there Friday night at 8 p.m. You?"

"Let's see if I make it back from my tour in one piece."

Gray snarled at the memory. He massaged his temples and tried to clear his mind.

He had to forget her. He had to! Gray was supposed to forget about Carmen! Not think about her! Or more specifically, think about him asking her out!

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the memory out of his mind! It was glued to him.

"Hey! I never got your name!"

"Carmen!"

Gray felt his chest tighten and his hands clench into fists. "Stop it!" He barked at the memory.

"You are a cheeky one."

***

After his fiasco at the opera house a couple of weeks ago, Gray decided it would be best if he found another girl to have eyes for. It would keep his mind off Carmen as he would have someone else to think about, and it would add some flavor into his life.

At least, that's what he told himself.

Tonight, Gray had a date with a woman named Claire. A 22-year-old woman he had met on a bus a few days ago. She had dirty blonde hair, fair skin tone, and deep blue eyes. She was pretty cute and definitely had a thing for Gray, but it didn't make him any less nervous since part of him wondered if this really was the right way to move on from the scarlet thief.

"Ahh, don't overthink the situation, Graham," He said to his reflection in his bathroom mirror, "This is the perfect way to get over Carmen! She won't be stuck in your head 24/7 when you're dating someone else."

With shaking hands, Gray reached for his bottle of hair gel. Gray stared at it gloomily and fiddled with the bottle before sighing heavily and popping the cap open to apply the gel to his hair.

"B-B-Besides," he stuttered, "Carmen has probably moved on with her life already. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if she found someone else like I did."

Later that night, Gray and Claire met up at a restaurant near Australia's coastline, and (to Gray's dismay) it was right across the same cafe he had his 'cuppa' with Carmen.

He cursed to himself, which earned a raised brow from Claire.

"Everything alright?"

Gray turned back to her, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Claire nodded and turned back to the waiter to reserve a table for them. And of course, since the universe loves Gray, the table they had was right outside the restaurant where Gray had a perfect view of the cafe.

Gray asked the waiter if they could sit somewhere else, but he said that this was the last empty table, and it would take about an hour until they could get another one.

Not wanting to stay in this place longer than he needed to, Gray decided to deal with it and ignore the cafe. He sat on the opposite end of the table and fixed his chair so he was facing away from the cafe.

He carried on with the date and engaged in some small talk with Claire. They talked about their jobs, family, hobbies, their exes-

"I don't have an ex," Gray blurted, tapping his fork against his empty plate.

"Okay... have you ever fallen in love?"

"Do you trust me?"

Gray's heart sank to his gut at Carmen's voice. He quickly brushed it aside and tried to keep his focus on Claire.

"No, I haven't."

"Hang on tight, don't let go."

Gray shut his eyes tight and aggressively ran his hands through his hair, trying to get her out of his mind.

His gaze then drifted to the nearby windows of the restaurant. There, he could see the cafe sitting across the street through the reflection of the glass.

"But we are the good guys?"

"Absolutely."

"Graham? Is something wrong?"

Gray snapped out of his thoughts and turned back to Claire, swiping his hands out of his now messy hair.

He realized he had created a scene and was now receiving suspicious glares from the people sitting near them.

"No. No, I'm fine," Gray finally spoke, avoiding eye contact with the citizens, including Claire.

"You sure? You've been acting strange all night."

"It's just some stupid hallucinations. Hopefully, they'll go away soon."

But they didn't go away.

As weeks passed, Gray found it more and more challenging to forget Carmen because something in his heart kept him from moving on, and he couldn't figure out what or why.

One night, as Gray lay in bed, he pondered over this. He stared up at the ceiling as he did, hugging his pillow against his chest.

"I bet it wasn't difficult for Carmen to move on. So why is it so hard for me?" Gray asked himself out loud.

The moon wasn't visible that night as it was covered by storm clouds, and Gray didn't bother to turn on a light. His room was only illuminated by a single street light and the murky clouds that gave the room a grey appearance.

Suddenly, a car drove by Gray's apartment. Its bright headlights shone through Gray's window, cascading a white glow in his room for a split second before the room turned grey once more.

A long yawn escaped Gray's mouth. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep more than anything.

Still hugging the pillow against his chest, Gray turned away from the window and tried to fall asleep.

"I'm begging you! Give up trying to stop us! Because I don't ever want to be put in a position to hurt you again."

"Then apologies, because I won't stop trying to take down VILE. Not ever. And definitely not now."

"Goodbye, Gray."

No... please don't go!

"Carmen, I have to know, are you a spy?"

Not the cafe again!

"Something like that."

"But we are the good guys?"

"Absolutely. Only you need to forget this ever happened."

BOOM!

The raucous sound of thunder booming across the night sky caused Gray to sit up in bed like a jack in the box. He was panting and drenched in sweat. He screamed at the memories like they were nightmares.

No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was a dream... no, 'dream' makes it sound unreal. It was just another flashback Gray had while asleep.

Gray growled, "Great! Just great! I can't even sleep without thinking about her!"

"Only you need to forget this ever happened."

Not again!

Gray buried his face into his sweaty palms as Carmen's enchanting voice repeated the last sentence over and over again, to the point where it drove him insane.

"You need to forget this ever happened."

"But I can't forget!" Gray screamed at the top of his lungs before launching his pillow across the bedroom, which knocked over a vase and a glass of water sitting on his dressing table. The thunder outside muffled the crash of the objects.

Gray didn't bother to clean up the mess. He sat still on the bed, clenching his jaw and fists.

"Why, Carmen? Why?! Why can't I move on? Why can't I forget you?" Gray harshly asked as if Carmen were standing right in front of him.

His questions were only answered with more thunder and rain pounding on his window.

"Why?" He asked the walls again.

Because you still love her, spoke the little voice in his head.

Gray furrowed his brows, his nose scrunching, "No, that can't be right. I'm not in love with her anymore."

Keep telling yourself that.

Gray shook his head. He couldn't be in love with Carmen. It would be wrong considering he was dating Claire now, and Gray loved her. He really did! So why was he still thinking about Carmen?

As Gray thought about it more, he realized that perhaps the voice inside his head was onto something. If Gray didn't have feelings for Carmen, he would've never had these visions...

Right?

Suddenly, Gray heard a faint knock on his apartment door. "Who is it?"

Grumbling, he slowly rose from the bed and went to go open the door, only to see Claire waiting for him.

She wore a nervous smile on her lips, and she was playing with the edges of her yellow sweater.

Yellow... not red...

Claire eventually turned to him, her crystal blue eyes clashing with his.

Those aren't her grey eyes. The same grey eyes I always got lost in.

His eyes then glanced down at Claire's soft, pink lips.

Pink... not blood-red like Carmen's lipstick.

And those freckles on her face... Carmen doesnt have freckles...

"Hey, love!" Claire waved, interrupting Gray's thoughts.

Gray faked a smile, "Hi, Claire! What are you doing here?"

Claire frowned, "Uhh, I'm here for our date."

"Date?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? You invited me to come over and watch a movie with you tonight."

"Ohhh..." Gray said, "But weren't you supposed to come at 6:30?"

"I did! It's 6:35 right now."

Gray narrowed his eyes as he fished his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.

6:35 p.m.

Was he really asleep that long?

"I'm sorry," Gray muttered as he ushered Claire inside, "You look nice tonight, though."

Claire smirked at him as she stepped inside the apartment, "You don't look so hot yourself."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked as he shut the door behind him.

"Well, for one, your hairs a mess, and your still wearing pajamas. Which I don't mind since you still look adorable."

Gray glanced down at his pajamas, which were severely wrinkled from his tossing and turning that night.

"I guess I just overslept," Gray laughed.

Claire's eyes then widened as her eyes drifted to something on the floor.

"Did you drop something?"

"What?"

"The broken vase on the floor... did you drop it?"

Gray whirled around to where Claire was pointing at to see the case he broke earlier laying on the floor. His pillow was sitting just a few inches away from the mess.

"Uhhh yeah! I did drop it."

"Okay.. so do you wanna clean it up?"

"Yeah, i was actually going to clean up like right now!" Gray blurted before he ran to get a broom.

Claire wasn't amused, but she shrugged it off anyway and turned towards Gray's fridge. Meanwhile, Gray began to sweep up the broken pieces onto the dusting pan.

Claire opened the fridge door and pulled out two cans of soda. She tossed one to Gray when he was done.

"So what movie do you wanna watch?" She asked as soon as she plopped herself on the couch. She opened her can of soda and took a long sip.

Gray stared at her. The woman sitting on his couch...

She wasn't an international thief. She didn't go to crime school with me. And she didn't take down VILE-

"I don't know," Gray blurted, taking a sip from his soda as well and placed the can on the coffee table in front of the couch, "Do you have one in mind?"

"Not really. Wanna watch a horror movie?"

Gray shrugged as he took a seat next to Claire. Horror movies paled in comparison to the horrors of VILE. So paranormal films with jump scares didn't scare him one bit.

"I don't mind, just put on whatever you like."

Claire hummed in response as she reached for the remote.