Hey, sorry I haven't updated in a week. Been busy (star testing next week!) and my idea bank is empty. SO open to any ideas you readers have! I got a review that someone was confused about the characters and who they're related to (I was scared about that) so heres a little thing I hope will clear that up:

Cammie Morgan + Zach Goode = Mikayla and Dylan Goode

Macey McHenry + Preston Winters = Grace Winters and Evan Winters (not in story yet)

Bex Baxter + Grant Cambridge = Alex Cambridge and Poppy Cambridge (not in story yet)

Lizz Sutton + Jonas Weathers = Emma Weathers

OC's

Emily Hall + Henry Hall (both not in story yet) = Morgan Hall and Skyler Hall

Evelyn Richards + Mat Richards = Nathan Richards and Max Richards (not in story yet)

Minor OC's

Wendy Vandergo

Pricilla White

Andi

Danielle

And there's a brief little family tree moment. Now here's the story!

It had been a whole week after checking the library (even walking farther than I usually do) and all we had come up with was one piece of paper on SCALES. Which clearly stated that in the summer of 1976, SCALES was meeting in Monte Carlo for the Mae'r Prosiect y Ffenics or The Phoenix Project . And since I had no idea what that meant and no homework assignments due this week I had decided to do my second favorite thing (my first being getting lost in the Library), walk through the secret passageways of Gallagher Academy. I had brought one of Emma's flashlights with her batteries that could last up to three months (if you kept the flashlight on every second). "Crap!" I cried as I stubbed my foot on a rock that hadn't been there the last time I was here.

I instantly thought of Nathan. He was the only other person I knew was using the secret passageways of the school. A rock fell somewhere behind me and I moved farther down the tunnel, into unknown territory. I had never been this far. I could tell because I had stuck a piece of paper in between some stones not far from the rock that had appeared.

I grabbed the slip of paper and continued walking down the tunnel. I had to be careful and make sure I was watching where I walking since from this point on I had no idea what was waiting for me. Every so often I would stop and check the walls. Some of the Gallagher passageways had booby traps in them, but most had been disabled by Cammie.

The only thing that could be heard in the passageway was the soft sound of my footsteps against the cold stone. I stopped and shone the flashlight around the tunnel again. Nothing I should be worried about. I focused the flashlight back on the passageway and continued my journey. Water dripped somewhere in the passageway and I passed a hole in the wall. Wait. Hole in the wall? I backtracked and shone the flashlight where the hole was, except it wasn't a hole. "What the heck?" I asked.

There in front of me was a small curved door. Another stone tunnel continued past the door and it curved so you couldn't tell where it went. I stuck the piece of paper in the wall the opposite of the door. I walked through the doorway, touching the stone before dragging my hand against the wall and turning down the tunnel. The tunnel wove for a while and was just like the main one except smaller, and newer. The stones weren't as dirty as the other ones in the main passageway. I shone my flashlight on the ceiling and there were vines growing. Weird. I walked down the passageway keeping the light and my eyes on the vines. Yah stupid me for not looking ahead of me but luckily I didn't run into anything. I just you know, almost did. I returned my gaze in front of me right before I came face to face with a stone wall. "Shit!" I cursed my face an inch away from the stone.

Lucky for me my balance seemed to be on vacation and I lost my balance, my arms spinning in wide circles, and landed on my butt with a soft thud. I grumbled as I helped myself up but thankfully I had changed into jeans and a blue hoodie before walking through the passageways. This would have been like five times worse in my school skirt and white blouse. I looked up at the dead end I had almost ran into and was surprised when I saw a box carved into the wall and a bookshelf filled with exactly 26 books. I took a closer look at the books and noticed that at the bottom of the spine each book had it's one letter. I took a book from the shelf and almost screamed when two lanterns on either side of the wall came to life casting an erie glow in the tunnel. Talk about creepy. Yet the light did reveal writing carved into the little box in the wall.

Place 6 books of

Knowledge

To unlock the

Key

"Um okay" I muttered to myself carrying out the y.

I'm guessing the books of knowledge where the real books with the letter that unlocked the "key" or whatever. And there are six letters. You know what else has six letter SCALES but that ridiculous. Why would the password be SCALES? Oh crap. I just jinxed it didn't I? I grabbed the book that had s on the spine and placed it in the little carved box. Then I grabbed the c, a, l, and e one by one and did the same but when I got to the second s I realized something. There are two of the same letters in that word and only 26 books one for each letter of the alphabet. That means the password can't be SCALES. Right? I scanned the bookshelf and what do you know? Right where the M was supposed to be there was another S. Crap.

I grabbed the book with the S on the spine and the second the book left the shelf the passageway started shaking. I fell against the wall, book in hand, as the wall in front of me started to slowly open. So much for SCALES not being the password.

The wall made a load scraping sound against the stone floor and I would be surprised if no one could hear this. The noise was surely echoing through the passageways. The tunnel made another load noise and behind the wall was a lavish secret library. I gaped at it for a moment before setting the books back to their places and stepping forward. I heard the wall turn back in place behind me but my brain was taking in the rich carpet, plush couches, cherry shelves, airy curtains, windows (in a secret passageway! You shouldn't be able to see the sun streaming in like I was right now), and books older than time itself. I stepped forward and started walking towards the bookshelves. This place definitely had to have something about SCALES, I mean it was the password! I came upon the first bookshelf and looked at the books. Most of them were in German, Farsi, Swahili, French, Japanese, Thai, Welsh, and Swedish. Seriously, no English? Then I saw that there was just as many books in English. I looked up and saw a giant portrait of Gilligan Gallagher staring down at me. Woah. I guess I was so immersed by the library that my spy senses were down (like they seemed to be lately) and I was generally surprised when Nathan came out from behind one of the bookshelves. But of course I didn't show it. "You sure like to snoop don't you Sparrow?" Nathan asked casually picking a book from the shelf.

"And you sure like to stalk girls" I countered turning to the bookshelf and reading the title of some Thai book.

"I am trained for it" Nathan said leaning against the bookshelf.

I didn't smile. "Why so tense Sparrow? What are you even doing here?" Nathan asked taking a step towards me.

"Looking for answers" I said simply.

"In a secret library inside a tunnel in the Gallagher Mansion? Wouldn't it just be easier to go to the other library?" Nathan asked.

"Sometimes you have to search for answers yourself" I said, an emerald book with silver lettering had caught my eye.

"I see" He said nodding and looking down at the book he had picked up. "I've got SCALES: A History of the Secret."

I froze. "What book do you have?" He continued, not seeing or pretending not to see me tense up.

My mouth felt dry and I slowly look down at the book in my hand. "Alone: FBI Mission of the Deep." I said.

"Eh, I've already read it" Nathan said, "But I've never heard of SCALES."

You know he would want to read the one SCALES book that seems to be in existence. "Well most things are kept a secret for a reason" I said turning towards him.

A shadow passed over his face for a moment. "Most things are better kept a secret" He said.

He put the book back on the shelf and I made a careful note in my head about where the book was. When I looked up Nathan was staring at me. "Do I have a bug in my hair or something?" I asked.

"No but you do have a cobweb" He said.

"Oh"

I felt my hair trying to find the cobweb. Of course with all my spy training I was very unsuccessful in finding it. Nathan ran his hand through his brown hair. "Here let me help you."

He pushed off the bookshelf and walked the five steps towards me. I dropped my hands and stared ahead as he picked up a strand of my hair and started to pull the cobweb out. The library was silent and unfortunately that let my mind wander to how close we were standing (so close I could hear his breathing), and how he had his hands in my hair. God, stupid teenage brain of mine! Then Nathan's hands dropped the strand of my hair and we were left standing very close to each other. "Well than-" I turned and came face to face with him.

We were standing an inch away from each other and when I looked up his eyes locked with mine. Then, all to quickly he left, taking the body heat that I hadn't even know we were sharing with him. He ran his hand through his hair again. "Sorry" He said.

I shrugged like it was no big deal. But it was a big deal, my teenage hormones were going crazy (and not because of the powder this time). "No biggie" I said and I shrugged.

"Okay, then are you going to tell me why your in here?" Nathan asked hopefully.

"No" I said, "And how did you even get in here?"

"I saw you in the tunnel and followed you till we got to the bookcase. You did something with the books and when you pulled the last one out the door slowly swung open and I followed you in here when you weren't looking" He said simply.

The memory of a rock falling in the tunnel came back to me. Maybe it didn't fall. This was good! Because that meant that Nathan didn't know about SCALES. The again he could have told me something about it. "So are we just going to stand here all day or are we going to go back before curfew?" Nathan asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh yah let me just get something first" I said trying to find the spot where the SCALES book was.

Nathan shrugged and walked past the shelf and over in the direction of the couches, leaving me alone. I quickly found the book and stuffed it in my pants so it was unnoticeable. If any of you tried that, you'd have a giant bulge in your pants but I have my ways of making it unnoticeable. I walked out from the isle and Nathan was looking at a photo only a shelf away. I walked up to him, "What's that?" I asked.

He stuffed it in his back pocket. "Nothing important" He said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh really"

"Yah" He said stiffly, "Now let's go."

"Okay" I said and we started walking.

At the last bookshelf I grabbed the photo out of his back pocket. "Hey!" He yelled but I jumped up onto one of the shelves.

A bookshelf is really easy to climb depending on how stable it is and how much room you have for you feet. Lucky for me the bookshelf wasn't very stable and I only had about four inches to place my feet unless I wanted to send ancient books to their doom. But I was a good climber and Nathan was to big to climb after me and he wasn't going to knock down a bookshelf for a photo. When I climbed to the top of the dusty bookshelf I unfolded the photo in my hands. It was sort of worn out and it was a colored photo of a beautiful dark haired woman with her hair braided down her back, the woman had on a big smile and was staring lovingly at the man next to her. The man had light brown hair and dazzling bright blue eyes, there was no doubt that this was Nathan's father and I was proven right when I saw the two young boys laughing and hugging each other. The taller boy was obviously Nathan and the boy next to him was probably his brother, he had dark hair and eyes like Nathan's mother but for some reason he struck me as being kind of like Nathan. You sure can learn a lot prom a picture.

I climbed back down and landed on the ground with a soft thud. "I'm guessing that's your family" I said handing Nathan the photo back.

He swiped it and shoved it in his front pocket. "Just don't talk about it" He said quietly.

We started walking. "Well your mom's really pretty" I said.

"Stop" He said.

But for some reason I couldn't stop. "And I never knew you had a brother."

"I said stop!" Nathan yelled swinging back on me.

"Why?" I asked getting into his face.

"Because-" He said quietly, "Because it's not a happy story."

He turned back around and we continued walking. We turned and started walking along side the longest bookshelf in the library. Of course mysterious Nathan wouldn't have a happy family story. It only figures and add the long list of mysteries that he is. It also probably adds to the long list of this that would make him more desirable to girls. Figures.

We were coming to the end of the bookshelf when I looked over and a title made me stop dead in my tracks. "Mae'r Golfan Aur" I whispered.

"What?" Nathan asked turning around.

I slowly picked the book from the bookshelf. "Mae'r Golfan Aur" I said louder, "What is this book doing in a secret library?"

"I'm just taking a guess and saying it's being a book" Nathan said.

"No, but it's only logical that the most important books would be in a secret library" I said, "Right?"

Nathan nodded, "I guess so."

"So then, what is Mae'r Golfan Aur doing in a regular library?" I asked.

"Hiding in plain sight?" Nathan said, it coming out more as a question than a response.

"Yes but why would they have two copies of the same book then?" I asked him.

"I don't know Morgan. Maybe because if the first book got damaged than there would be a back up" Nathan said.

"Or maybe because if you went in and out through the secret door and through the tunnels than someone would get suspicious" I said, everything finally clicking in my brain.

"Okay let's go with that" Nathan said. "Why does it even matter anyway?"

"You've got your secrets and I've got mine" I said.

"Whatever" Nathan said turning around.

I quickly grabbed the book off the shelf and followed him the the stone wall. "Okay genius, now how do we get out of here?" Nathan asked.

"Wish you didn't follow me now" I said staring at the plain wall.

"No kidding" He mumbled.

I ignored him and found a little peg. I stomped on it and heard the little gears go off and the wall slowly start to swing out. Beckoning Nathan and I into the darkness.

Well now another end of a chapter where I ask you to please review :) but first I must say, I won't be updating often it might take me a week (like this chapter) or more. Thanks for the positive reviews, anyone want to give this story anymore reviews?