Elena

Confusing. That's the only word I can find to describe H's behaviour. Confusing. I've been trying to push him out of my thoughts for the past few hours, ever since he kissed me then left me in his training room. He has made a habit out of it; kissing me then leaving. I don't know how to describe what we have, but it's obvious something's going on. And it shouldn't. . . it shouldn't because it won't last.

My hand pushes the door of the children's building open, stepping outside. It's finally lunch break, and considering I skipped breakfast, I feel like I could eat a horse. My fingers tug the short sleeve of my shirt, trying to cover the bits of the tattoo peeking out. I think pretty much everyone has used to it by now, but I still get glances whenever my shoulder is bare and it makes me feel self conscious and like I don't belong here. And in reality, I don't.

Air gets knocked out of my lungs as my back harshly meets the rough surface of the brick wall, my lips parting in shock. Cold hand is pressed against my throat, putting light pressure on it while the fingers are digging into my skin, surely leaving marks. My eyes meet the pair of cold blue ones, belonging to the soldier whose name I believe is Tyler. The same one who had punched me, the same one who was so against me when I was on the meeting about Rogue.

"It was you, wasn't it? You and that dumb prick of your brother," he seethes, his proximity to my face uncomfortable. "The attack was your fault."

I notice a few soldiers watching us in the background, but none of them makes a move to help me. It's not that I need their help, but it baffles me they'd just stand and watch this. Unless they're with this sack of human trash.

Just to spite him, I force out a laugh, my eyes glistening with fake amusement. "It's sad, really, how you have a brain, but don't use it. Why would we risk our lives if that were the case?" I don't waste time to lift my knee and collide it with his crotch, watching as a grimace twists his features, his grip on my throat loosening.

My palms flat against his chest and I push him away, but he's quick to lunge back at me, my back hitting the wall again. I lift my left fist as if I'm going to punch him, his hand clamping over it to prevent the punch, twisting my wrist painfully. While he's busy doing that, I fist my right hand, punching him in the throat, a gagging sound leaving his mouth as the result. It works every time.

"Stupid," I mutter as I bend down swiftly, pulling a pocket knife from my boot and unfolding it. My fingers grip his shirt and pull his body toward me, and in the last moment, I push him against the wall, pressing the blade against his throat, applying light pressure on the skin. "Now, listen here," I say in a threatening tone, my eyes glaring into his. "If you ever pull this kind of shit with me again, or God forbid with my brother, I won't hestitate to slit your throat. I'll enjoy doing it."

His breathing is ragged, a sheen of sweat covering his face. "Bitch," he mutters.

"Correction, bitch with a knife pressed against your throat," I snap, taking a step back, looking at him with disgust. "Stay away from me."

I fold the knife again, pushing it back inside my boot, angrily walking away from the scene. I make sure to flip off the small group of people that were watching us. My apetite is gone, anger and anxiousness taking over me. How many people share his opinion? I'm sure if they riot, H would step on their side, and David would be forced to kick us out of the base. I'd like to think H wouldn't do that, but he puts the army before anything else. I don't blame him.

Instead of going to the mess hall for lunch, I walk into the main building, all the way to David's office. I take a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door, not really expecting to find him inside. If that's the case, I'll wait for him, he's the only one who can help me with this situation. Luckily, his firm voice comes from the other side and my hand twists the handle, opening the door. As I step inside, he raises his eyebrows in surprise, straightening in his seat.

"Elena," he greets me, nodding. "Is everything alright? Take a seat," he offers, his hand motioning to the seat opposite of him.

I close the door and walk toward him, lowering myself onto the seat, my clammy hands clasping in my lap. "I know you did a lot for us, David, and I want to thank you," I start. "I came here to ask you to put your trust in us once again."

"Wait, what's that on your neck?" He asks, a frown appearing on his face. "Who did that to you?"

"I doesn't matter, I took care of it."

"Are you sure?" I nod in response and he sighs, displeased with my answer. "I told you if someone disrespects you to come to me, I won't allow that kind of behaviour in my base, especially not to my special guests," he says, a kind smile gracing his lips. "Now, tell me, what is it?"

"It's about what happened on the field yesterday," I say. "I'm sure most of the soldiers blame us for it since it was so obvious Vortex was prepared for the attack, which means there is a possibility of a traitor in the base."

"Yes, my son mentioned it to me, I was planning to call a meeting."

I frown in confusion. "Son? Wait. . . H? He's your son?" It would certainly explain why does everyone respect him so much and why is he on such a high position. But I don't want to assume anything, maybe he earned it the hard way.

David looks surprised I didn't know that. "Yes, but I'm not exactly the father of the year."

I nod, not wanting to pry into their business, so I brush it off. "About that traitor. . . I think it's possible Vortex was spying on Hazard and Rogue, tracking every single activity, so they naturally saw our meetings with Ace and concluded there might be an attack coming their way. But that's just how I would react if I were Vortex leader."

David suddenly smiles, my eyebrows scrunching in confusion. "You're just like your father. He was a brilliant critical thinker, not to mention his usage of logic and battle strategy."

My lips pull in a sad smile at the mention of my dad, the sense of nostalgia washing over me. "As far as I remember, he always spoke highly of you as well. I only hope he would approve of our decision to come here."

"He might've been from Vortex, but I'm sure he would be proud of you and your brother for deciding to do what's best and choosing your side," he says. "If my son did the same thing, I know I would."

When I feel we've stranded too deep into this conversation, I decide to change the subject, wanting to avoid confronting with any emotions. I was taught to do that almost my whole life. "Can I count on your support regarding this traitor matter, sir?"

"Of course." He nods, smiling. "I'd like to see you on the meeting I'll hold later today. My son and his most trustworthy friends will be there as well."

"With all due respect, I don't think that's a good idea. It's better we stay away from meetings and official business until we figure this out," I say. "But thank you nevertheless."

"Hey, Elena?" He calls once I stand up, prepared to leave. "I have to say I laughed so hard when I heard about that knife incident with my son. He's so used to everyone obeying him, I'm sure his face must have been priceless."

I try not to laugh at the memory. "I'm pretty sure he still resents me for that."

We wrap up our conversation and I leave his office, some of the tension now dispersed. There's still some time of lunch break left, but I'm in no mood to eat or socialise, so I simply go to my room to relax shortly and think this through. Confusion washes over me when I see a sandwhich wrapped in a foil on my nightstand, my hand pulling a note underneath it.

You can't win battles on empty stomach. Or break rules ;)

Eat this.

Yes, that was an order, Tiger

- H.

A wide smile spreads over my lips, my apetite suddenly returning and my mood increasing. I don't think twice before grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite.

. . . .

Loud pounding on my door wakes me up from my slumber, a groan leaving my mouth. I feel like hell and I probably look even worse, but the excessive knocking forces me to get up and angrily walk toward the door, completely prepared to fight the person who dared to wake me up.

Waking someone up in the middle of the night is a special type of evil.

"No," is the first thing I say when I open the door, finding Tori and Jess standing on the other side.

"Nuh uh, let's go," Tori tells me.

"To bed? With pleasure," I reply groggily and turn around, but both of them grab my hands, pulling me back. "Ugh, what is it? I'm a terrible company when I'm tired, not to mention I curse and complain and--"

"Shh, don't ruin this," Jess says, covering my mouth with her palm. "No, shh!" She points a finger at me when I begin mumbling incoherent words. "I'm gonna remove my palm on three and you'll-- ew, the fuck!" She exclaims when I lick it, but doesn't remove it.

"I'mfgonfhb," I mumble angrily, my words muffled. I try to move her palm, but she places her other hand on the back of my head, keeping me in place. "Fuff ffyou!"

"I promise it'll be fun," Tori says, speaking to me as if I'm a wild animal, her hands lifted. "Just relax. Jess, let her go."

Jess slowly loosens her grip on me and I jump back, prepared to curse them out. I take a deep breath, deciding to stay calm. "I'm sorry girls, but we're not friends at midnight okay, night is for sleeping," I say. "We'll be friends around six am again, love you, bye." I wave, plastering a fake smile.

They just stare at me in silence and I let out the longest sigh in history. I glance down at my sweatpans and black shirt, deciding I don't give a shit how I look and just follow them. I can always run away later and return to sleep. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"On the east side," Tori says. "We'll sneak into the men's building."

"To get some dick or what?" I ask impatiently. "No thanks, I'm too tired."

They cover their mouths to muffle their laughter while I roll my eyes. My arms fold over my chest to keep myself warm when we exit the building, a deep scowl etched on my face. I bite back a smile when I remember I'm breaking yet another set of rules by doing this. I can practically hear H's smug tone, scolding me for doing it.

Tori and Jess prove to be skilled in avoiding any soldiers seeing us, the darkness of the night only working in our advantage. "Why weren't you in the mess hall today?" Jess asks curiously.

"I was busy," I mumble an excuse, shrugging. "Which is why I need to sleep," I add quietly, but since she rolls her eyes I assume she heard me.

We sneak past the soldiers patrolling around the building, smug expressions on our faces. It isn't long before we manage to reach the right floor using the stairs, my eyes scanning the empty hallways. The building is luckily identical to ours, so it wouldn't be hard to find a way out in case someone catches us. The three of us stop in front of one of the flats, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Beofre I can ask any questions, the door opens, revealing Liam wearing a smug expression, his smirk only growing when he notices I'm here. "Ooh, new adition to our little group." He steps aside so we can enter.

We enter inside, the girls moving to greet the boys sprawled across a sofa and the floor. There are snacks and drinks scattered on a coffee table, plastic cups and wrappers tossed on the floor. Alex is sitting on a fuzzy white carpet, his back pressed against the sofa, legs crossed at ankles. Niall is curled on the sofa, sipping from a plastic cup. Louis enthusiastically jumps from his spot on the floor beside Alex, raising his hand for a high-five, my palm slapping against his.

"Oi, sis!" Alex greets me cheerfully, giving me a wave, raising his fist and we fist bump, wiggling our fingers as we pull our hands away

"Hi, babe," Niall says, patting the empty space beside him. "I kept it for ya'."

"Is this a party or I'm about to join some secret cult of yours?" I ask jovially, plopping next to Niall. A slight pain soars through me, the result of the purple patch on my waist.

"Yes, you're one of us now," Louis says while Liam creepily starts chanting "one of us", making me laugh.

"Then where's my drink, so I can celebrate?" I say with a smile, watching as Liam pours me a drink, pushing the plastic cup in my hand. I notice he's slightly limping because of the wound on his leg.

"Cheers," Niall says and raises his cup, all of us following his example.

"H is absent again, huh?" Tori notes.

"As expected," Liam replies, a slight disappointment in his tone.

Before I know it, I'm on my sixth or tenth drink, laughing at something Niall said. His arm is casually draped over my shoulders, but I know it's a friendly gesture.  I believe Niall has realised we won't ever be more than friends, even though he tends to tease me often.

I'm not sure in which moment it started, but it appears everyone is playing some kind of drinking game. I've never played any games of the sort, there wasn't much fun for Alex and me back in Vortex, we'd usually try to come up with ways to entertain ourselves with games we'd made up. One of us always got physically injured while playing those games.

"Truth or dare?" Louis asks Liam.

"Dare," Liam replies, sending him a challenging wink. "Do your best, Chipmunk."

"Wait, wait, wait," Alex slurs, holding one of his hands up. "The game is confusing. Wait, we're still playing the game, right? This carpet is so soft." His hand starts stroking it. "Like a kitten. Fluffyyyy."

"Wow, his tolerance is way too low," Niall says between laughs before shifting on the floor beside him. "It's a pretty kitten, innit?"

I'm surprised Niall is still functioning, I'm pretty sure he's drank over ten full cups by now.

"He's from Vortex, what did you expect?" Louis says jokingly.

Even though I know he meant no harm, my mood shifts drastically. That's all Alex and I ever will be for people in Hazard – two people wearing the mark everyone hates.

"For the record, I hate all of you," Liam says, holding a cup filled with ice he's supposed to put in his pants. "Especially you, Louis."

"Aw, you know that's not true," Louis replies, puckering his lips and sending him the air kiss.

"True, but still, fuck you."

I watch as the game continues, everyone laughing at Liam who's jumping around the room, screaming and cursing. I grab a full bottle of alcohol, my feet silently carrying me out of the room. I notice a tall figure frantically running down the hall, looking as if they were eavesdropping us. I follow the figure, my mind slightly hazy, but my judgment still clear enough. I knock on the door behind which they disappeared, waiting impatiently.

"Elena?" H says as he opens the door, his green eyes showing confusion, cheeks flustered, chest raising and falling in a fast pace.

"Oooh, look who it is," I say smugly, a grin forming on my face. "I saw you, Charming. You were eavesdropping."

"Uh, no I wasn't," he replies, eyes slightly widened.

"Yes, you were," I retort. "You're a really shit liar."

He frowns. "No, I-- wait, what are you even doing here, this is not allowed--"

"Tsk, tsk, troublemaker," I interrupt, laughing lightly.

"Be quiet!" He orders quietly, leaning forward to check the hallway.

"You said you understand me," I mumble. "I could use some understanding right now."

He looks at me, annoyed, confused, curious, and tired all at once. His warm fingers wrap around my wrist and he pulls me inside his flat, shutting the door behind him.