It was silent when I entered the house. I retreated back upstairs and into the darkness of Leighton's room. He'd been an asshole, but so had I. Maybe I'd been too harsh on him before. I still cared about him and wanted to be close with him, especially now. I was alone: no parents, no Andrew, and now Matilda was ready to desert. It was only me, and maybe...

'You are a fucking idiot.' My inner voice said. I didn't really want to be sensical anyways as the world around me had simply exploded. I didn't need to be logical anymore.

I prayed he wouldn't mind me sleeping here, because my head was hurting badly and I just needed some rest. I didn't want to talk to Matilda or anyone else. She could sit outside and cry while feeling sorry for herself.

I kicked off my shoes at the door and pulled his sheets back on the bed. I'd left them so carelessly in a heap on the floor. I wrapped myself up to escape the cold and let sleep overtake me.

When my eyes fluttered open, I gasped in shock, nearly jumping off the bed. Leighton laid beside me, eyes closed and breath soft as he slept on his back. His hands were crossed over his stomach which rose and fell in a steady beat. I sat up, looking around the room. It was night; I could tell by the darkness edged around the window curtains. Rubbing my eyes, I started to wiggle out of the sheets.

"Kate," Leighton groaned and his voice made me stop in my tracks. I turned back to him as he rolled on his side to face me. "It's the middle of the night. Just go back to sleep. You don't have to leave."

His eyes sunk to a close as though he waited for me to lay back down again. I listened and relaxed back into the pillows. Leighton's lips turned slightly upward.

"What's going to happen?" I breathed softly.

"I don't know."

"Did you make any decisions?"

"Bodhi's the only one that wants to split, but just about all of us have a different idea on what we should do. I'm starting to think that maybe there is no right answer anymore, that it doesn't matter what we do. I know we have to pick something because I can't stand not doing anything."

I bit my lip, playing with the sheet. "What do you want to do?"

"Stay and fight; at least I'll have fought for a good cause. Maybe the history books will write about us someday." He let out a deep, heavy sigh as his eyes opened back up to me again. I turned on my side to face him. "This is home, no matter how fucked up it is. I can't just stand here and let our people get shoved around so that Tron can play God. Maybe if we have enough rebels, we could overthrow him."

"Like that lord from Gala?"

"Exactly. We just need someone powerful to take the last shot, and I bet we can find someone here, someone who stands a chance against Tron and his power."

We sat in silence, eyes open now as neither of us were ready to sleep again. My eyes traced down Leighton's face and strong arms, taking note of the little details I might never see again.

"I don't want to die, Leighton." I looked back up at him, feeling tears start to swell in the corner of my eyes. "I don't want any of you to die either."

His expression softened as he took my hand in his, holding it against his chest. "You aren't going to, Kate. I promise I won't let that happen to you; I'll try as hard as I can. We're going to be ok somehow and make it through this." I nodded and gave him a weak smile. I could feel the steady beat of his heart in his chest that provided his reassurance. He was my natural remedy.

"I'm worried about Matilda."

"You know Malaki will take care of her. I'm sure she's asleep in his bed right now and he's on the floor wide awake with glee." Leighton chuckled, his fingers wrapping tighter around mine.

"She hasn't been taking this well."

"Have you?" His question was soft but I felt as though I were going to break down all over again.

"No," and this time the tears began to flow. "Andrew is dead and he was right behind me the entire time until he wasn't. I could have done something! Our home is gone and we're going to be smoked out only to become Tron's prostitutes. I don't want my life to end up like that! I don't know if I want to live as a prisoner or die! I just... I just..."

I began to cry harder and Leighton pulled me into his arms, wrapping them tightly around me as I cried into his shoulder. One of his hands held the small of my back while the other stroked my head, playing with my hair.

"It's going to be ok. You couldn't do anything about Andrew and I bet he would never have let you do anything different. You're going to be ok. I promise I will protect you."

I pealed my face from his shoulder, looking up into his eyes. Then he kissed me.

I kissed him hard in return and he jumped in surprise at the fervor I'd placed on him, but he quickly overtook me by matching my pace with his lips. His tongue slipped into my mouth and it danced with mine as his arms held me tightly against his body. We broke the kiss to breathe again and Leighton shifted to flip me on my back as he came to hover over me.

His mouth came back down and latched itself onto mine as one of his hands held tightly onto my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him down against me. I played with his hair before letting my hands run down his back, digging down with my fingernails.

"Fuck, Kate." He groaned against my lips. I dug my fingers back into his hair as he kissed and nibbled on my lips, making me gasp and squirm against him. Shit, this is amazing.

I grabbed the edges of his shirt and started to wiggle it up. He leaned back, taking my hands and placing them against his toned abdomen before tearing his shirt off by himself. I traced along the lines of his body as Leighton sat back up, allowing me to explore.

Siting up as well, I took off my shirt along with my bra, and Leighton pounced back on top of me. He kissed my lips so hard that I fell backwards into the pillows as he worked down my stomach.

I felt his fingers playing with the waist line of my pants and I let him rip them off along with my underwear. He lost his own pants as well at some point before he settled back above me, bracing on his forearms. Leighton kissed my lips as he started to come forward, but I pushed him back.

"I'm a virgin." I breathed, tracing my fingers along one of his shoulder blades.

"I figured." His voice was rough and husky as he kissed me again. "Just relax. I know what I'm doing." He rolled on a condom that I didn't remember seeing before.

I had been relaxed, but now I felt nervous. Slowly, he advanced forward and I sucked in a breath. It stung terribly in a way I'd never known before and I cried out in pain.

Leighton halted, waiting for me to adjust to him. "You good now?"

I closed my eyes, feeling my body tremble before the pain started to subside and I nodded. He picked up a slow rhythm that burned but also felt nice to some extent. His breathe was labored, the mattress creaking. I kissed him and he dug his fingers into my hair. He looked blissful even if I couldn't feel the degree of pleasure he felt then as I looked up at him.

I closed my eyes as I felt him kiss my neck. A wave of happiness rolled over me and it was so strong. Everything appeared to become lighter and more lovely to the eye when I opened them, watching Leighton's eyes close and roll back.

Moving my hands over his chest, Leighton opened up his eyes to look down at me and then stopped dead in his tracks. I froze too. Had I done something wrong? What if I made a weird noise or said someone else's name? Fuck, whose name did I say?

"What the hell?" It was a whisper before he pulled out totally, then scrambled backwards away from me. His body disappeared as he landed on the floor, making a strange squeak sound on the wooden floors.

"Leighton?" I shot up, watching him stumble to pull on clothes.

"Your eyes. What the hell?" He pulled on his underwear, staring at me as though I were a wild animal.

"What do you mean?"

"They're goddamn yellow!" Leighton hissed and pulled on a shirt. "What are you? Dammit! They're monstrous..." He didn't stay long enough for me to even think about an answer. He slammed his door shut and I sat alone, naked in his bed with goosebumps on my arms. Silence hovered around me as I was too shocked to move; it had all happened so fast. As the wave of confusion settled around me, the shock that numbed my body evaporated as an energy overtook me.

I ran to look into his mirror, amazed to see two golden orbs where my brown eyes should have been. I noticed along my hands that the veins had taken on a golden hue as well, no longer blue.

What the actual hell?

I stood there a long time until the golden eyes faded away and I could see myself in the mirror instead of a monster. I was a monster, a yellow-eyed beast.

Then I began to sob again. Tears streamed from my eyes as I fell back into Leighton's bed, wrapping myself in his sheets to fight the cold and the pain in my lower body that had started to beat in my abdomen. I'd given myself to him and been such a freak that it drove him away. I wanted him, and now he'd never want me. He'd been afraid of me and I was afraid too.

My dark thoughts wouldn't leave me as I recounted all the night's events. Everything had been going so well. He'd had sex with me, and then ran away when my eyes became little stars in my head. Why was I such a freak? What was I?

I'd never heard of eyes that could change color along with veins. There wasn't a species that had the color change except for myths regarding vampires and werewolves with yellow eyes when they either were hungry or changed into the wolf form. I knew I wasn't either, because that would have been ridiculous if they existed and I didn't want to bite anyone in the neck or have the tendency to change into a scruffy dog.

Perhaps there was some explanation for my eyes somewhere in books. I didn't know which kind or where to find them; my pursuit would useless and futile. I doubted that anyone in this entire kingdom kept a well stocked library as it was far too expensive. Besides Andrew. I flipped on my side and closed my eyes, trying to block out the world.

When I finally dropped into sleep, it was fitful. I woke up alone in the morning and my entire body hurt, making me groan. I cried for a short time before growing angry at myself for being so pathetic. After commanding myself to dry my eyes, I didn't think about anything else and I got dressed quickly, anxious to talk to Leighton and terrified at the same time. I didn't know how I was going to explain myself as I didn't even know what I was either.

Maybe he would accept me, but that was a long shot. I looked myself in the mirror and saw a regular girl, but I'd seen those golden eyes and now knew without a doubt that I wasn't normal.

There was a knock on the door and I jumped. "Leighton?" I asked.

"It's Matilda." Her voice sounded off, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Listen, can we talk about... last night?"

I opened the door and she stepped in, dressed in someone else's shirt and floral pajama pants. "What are you wearing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her cheeks turned red. "Oh, the pants I think one of the guys got from their smuggling and this is a shirt Malaki gave me. I know I look ridiculous."

I bit my lip, taking a seat on the edge of Leighton's bed and she slipped down beside me. "You look lovely, Matilda. You've always been beautiful."

"So have you. I can imagine a lot of guys who think so." I wanted to scoff and cry, to tell her about last night but I didn't. I couldn't handle her being afraid of me either or pitying me. It would just have to wait. How much time did we even have?

"You wanted to talk about last night?"

"Oh yes. I wanted to say I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me to think that way. It was so dark and terrible. I don't want to become one of Tron's women and I couldn't believe myself for asking you to come with me. I was selfish and stupid. That step in self preservation was too far and please don't think I'd ever do that to myself or you."

"I'm sorry if I made you feel terrible, Matilda. I know you care a lot about these men just as I do and you're grateful for all they've done for us. And I was just so upset because I was scared that you might go through with it without me and I'd never see you again. I can't lose you."

She pulled me into a hug and I squeezed her hard, feeling tears start to swell up again as I fought to push them down.

"We are in this together forever, ok? I'm not ever leaving you."

"Me neither." I replied and we sat together in each other's arms.

"Matilda! Kate!" Someone from down the hall screamed. "The fire is starting! The fire is starting!" We both pulled back and then I could smell it: that distant memory of smoke filling my nose though now it was no longer just a memory.