Beads of sweat raced down Cayson’s forehead as his sore and exhausted legs traveled slowly up the stairs. The second he returned to the room, he planned on lying down and taking the rest of the day to sleep.

It had been three weeks since they had arrived there, and Cayson’s training had been daily. Even in the short amount of time, Cayson noticed a small change in his muscles.

Training had been awful.

Sean was an experienced fighter, there was no doubt in Cayson’s mind. All Sean had done was use his fists, and he had managed to knock Cayson unconscious more times than not. Cayson’s first day had been, by far, the worst.

After Emery had been used as a bribe to get Cayson on his feet, both Sean and Mason had gone against him. Cayson had a small amount of fighting experience. When Cayson went to throw his first punch Sean blocked it, sending his foot into Cayson’s crouch.

In the first week, Cayson had received a black eye, a bloody nose, a bruised torso, and a shattered confidence. Mason had chuckled the entire time, mocking Cayson in ways Mason would never understand.

The training had been straining physically but surprisingly more emotionally. Cayson had thought of memories he had managed to bury deep down. The boys would never understand.

As he stepped into the hall, Emery’s voice echoed down it.

“I don’t want this,” reaching the room, Cayson hid around the corner. Peering inside, he saw Emery standing with her back to Finley, gazing out the window. “I . . . I want to go home,” spinning around, her eyes were filled with tears.

“I know,” Finley whispered.

“No, you . . . you don’t! I don’t know what I’m going to do here. I can’t live here for years like Sean and the others. I’ve done everything I’ve supposed to my entire life. I’ve been respectful, polite, I studied hard and got good grades!  I . . . I don’t deserve this.” Tears burst from her eyes, streaming down her face.

“You are a good person, Emery. And sometimes, bad things happen to good people,” stepping forward, Finley continued, “but, you’ve already managed to do such good here.”

“Really? Like what?”

“You’ve changed this group as a whole. You changed Marcy’s last minutes . . . you’ve changed my outlook of everything.” Emery met his eyes as Finley reached out to her. Wiping his thumb across her cheek, he wiped up the tears. “You’ve made me believe again.”

“Finley, I-”

“Shh, it’s alright. You don’t have to feel the same way as I do.”

“No, I feel the same way,” Finley smiled. However, his smile slowly faded away as he and Emery pulled towards each other. Everything in Cayson screamed for them to stop, but of course they hadn’t.

Finley and Emery’s lips smacked against each other’s. Finley’s hand traveled down her body, finding themselves against her back. Pulling her closer, Emery’s hands wrapped around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

The two stepped backwards, Finley gently pushing her against the wall. Emery raced to pull of her jacket, her lips never leaving his as she did. Finley’s lips removed themselves from hers and landed on her shoulder. They traveled up her shoulder and to her neck, Emery shut her eyes and enjoyed this moment.

Cayson was so disgusted and enraged, he leapt into the room before he knew what he was doing. Coughing loudly so he got their attention, Emery shoved Finley off her. Snatching her jacket off the ground, she rushed to put it on.

“Cayson, why are you so sweaty?” Emery questioned, as if that would help Cayson forget what he had seen.

“Training,” he eyed the two of them as she stood in front of his bed. “What about you two? Tongue wrestling?”

“Dammit Cayson, why are you so obnoxious?” Emery sneered.

“Maybe because I’m the only person taking any of this serious,” he shot back.

“Taking what serious?” Emery wondered, finding herself moving towards him.

“This whole thing! Since the moment we got here you two have been nonstop flirting. Don’t you have anything else to do?” Emery bit her lip, stopping herself from making a harsh comment.

“Screw you!” She shouted, stomping to the door and shoving past Zane as she exited the room. Finley clapped, a large grin on his face.

“It’s official. You’ve just ruined your chances with her,” Finley began to laugh.

“Its official, the second I touch a gun I’m shooting you.” Cayson had given an empty threat, which Finley knew.

“If you live that long,” Finley commented, standing so close to Cayson their chests were inches from touching. Zane stood in the doorway, waiting for someone to throw the first punch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Judging by the rumors, Ezra will kill you before Emery will even consider her feelings for you.” Cayson ran his tongue over his teeth, angry as he had ever been. “Let’s face it Cayson, we knew this was going to happen. Calm down, you lost . . . everyone saw it coming.”

Shoving past Cayson, Finley charged after Emery. Cayson clenched his fists so tightly, his knuckles turned white. Whirling around, Zane shook his head.

“Now I see what you mean about that guy. He’s a prick.” Zane wasn’t sure exactly what to say, so instead of saying anything he exited the room. Cayson moped over towards his bed, crashing to the ground.

Burying his face in his hands, he took in a few much needed deep breaths. Fighting with Emery and Finley’s harsh words hadn’t been what he was upset over. Cayson was upset that Emery had been crying.

She wanted to go home that badly?

He needed to find a way home, he was sick of everything.

“Cayson?” Roxanne called as she sat down next to him. Cayson removed his hands from his face, staring at her. “Zane caught me up on everything in the hall.”

“So what? You’ve come to mock me now?”

“No, I just came to talk,” she smiled. Cayson leaned his head against the wall. The two sat in an oddly painless silence before Roxanne began.

“You know,” she started, shuffling around so she could pull her knees into her chest. “People think I’m stupid.”

“What?” Cayson wondered, startled by what she had just said.

“Most people take one look at me and they automatically write me off as a moron,” she paused to gaze Cayson’s way before continuing, “but I’m not. Sure, I don’t know every single thing in the world, and maybe I don’t have the world's highest IQ, but those people have it wrong. I’m not stupid. Especially when it comes to people.”

Cayson raised an eyebrow.

“For example, judging by the way Mason is always either with you, running around the perimeter of the camp, or looking for you, he’s trying to protect you. Whenever Ezra leaves his building to walk around and check on everyone, he avoids having to come in contact with you by questioning Sean about your progress in training.”

“Wow,” Cayson nodded, impressed. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? That Ezra hates me? Trust me, I already got that message loud and clear.”

“I was getting to my point . . . Whenever it comes to talking about Emery, you sort of just blow it off-”

“Okay,” he set his hands on his knees and started to rise from the ground. Roxanne latched onto his sleeve and tugged it.

“See what I mean?” He sighed, falling back against the floor with a thud. “And I know exactly why you do that.”

“Why?” Cayson was slightly interested in what she had to say.

“Because you feel like you don’t deserve her,” the room fell silent. Cayson dropped a shade, turning a deadly pale color. He knew that her statement was true, he didn’t deserve her. He didn’t know, however, that he was that obvious about it.

“How . . .” he began, unable to find the words to finish his sentence. Roxanne set a hand on his knee, a kind smile plastered on her exhausted face.

“It takes one to know one.”

“Is it really that obvious that I like her?” He wondered.

“Sort of. It’s obvious to everyone except Emery.”

“How come she doesn’t know?”

“Emery’s book smart, so she just wouldn’t understand why you wouldn’t tell her the truth.” Cayson sighed yet again, Roxanne surprising him.

“What did you mean by it takes one to know one?” He questioned, not only wanting to get off the topic of Emery, but also asking out of curiosity.

“I was the same way. I felt like I didn’t deserve anyone . . . at all. Like I just broke everything I touched and I should spend the rest of my life away from people.” Cayson felt a little odd, understanding exactly how she felt. “And then I met Jack-”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, he was . . . different.” Cayson couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“He was perfect and nice, yeah yeah I know.” Roxanne giggled, Cayson laughing along with her, until their laughter ceased.

“No, he was actually an ass,” she corrected. “He was so rude and obnoxious. . . But he didn’t give up on me. He showed me that I did have a reason to get up in the morning. That my past didn’t . . . didn’t matter.”

“Past?”

“We can share battle scars another time. My point is, you're not worthless. You deserve someone who will make you happy.” The two exchanged sincere glances before each spending each other large smiles.

“Do you miss him?” Cayson asked.

“Probably as much as you hate Finley,” Cayson chuckled.

“Wow, that much?” Roxanne joined into the laughter, giggling before a slight frown crossed her face. She did miss him, more than anything. Cayson studied her expression before wrapping an arm around her.

Roxanne scooted closer, nuzzling her head against his shoulder.

They sat like that for a long time. Neither of them spoke, both trapped in their own painful worlds.