After I had changed, I sat in the bathroom for as long as I could until I heard Dex pounding on the door.

“Come on, princess,” he called out, and I couldn’t help but scowl at the pet name. “I’ve got to change too, you know.”

I opened the door, glaring at him as I made my way back outside with the rest of my team and my mentors. I ignored them all and just took a seat as far away from them on to couch.

Dex was out in thirty seconds, and since he was the last one to change, we were now all sitting around, waiting to return to the Defensive Affairs Unit, even though I would have loved to have gone back home.

“Come on, Violet,” Hank tried to cheer me up on the drive back from the beach once everyone was changed back into their regular clothes. “There’s no reason to be upset. You did great and you kicked Randall’s butt! Aren’t you proud of yourself?”

I wasn’t going to answer him honestly and tell him that yes, I was pretty proud of myself. It was the first time I actually could control my powers, and even though it was a test, it would have saved my life if it hadn’t been.

Nay was on the other side of the RV, wrapping up Anthony’s injured arm. She had told us after we had started driving that no one was supposed to get hurt during this training session, but she wasn’t surprised that someone did get injured.

“Blood in the RV,” RV practically sang. “This brings back memories!”

Hank laughed. “Maybe you should save them the story about Aiden’s father and the bloodbath for after their first real mission after they’ve finished training.”

“Aw,” RV whined, and I couldn’t help but be curious. “But it’s a nice story!”

Hank snorted. “Nice, sure. You just say that because you can’t bleed.”

“But, still!” RV protested. “Let me tell them the story!”

Nay looked up at the ceiling of the RV warningly. “RV.”

“Fine,” he sighed in defeat. “I guess it would be best to wait until after their first real mission so they won’t get spooked. It did happen on their team’s first real mission, and we definitely don’t want a repeat of it…”

This made me feel uneasy. There was a bloodbath on our parents’ first mission? Obviously they had all come out fine, but… still. That was intense.

The rest of the ride was filled with awkward silence, and I really wished that someone would say something to break it. I would have preferred it be RV, but I was really okay with it being just anyway.

“The five of you deserve a real day off,” Nay informed us now as the RV came to a sudden stop. “So here, you’re free.”

The doors opened, and we made our ways off the RV to see what they were talking about. I was surprised when we were face-to-face with a gigantic, shiny mall. My four teammates seemed surprised as well.

“We’re really getting a day off?” Aiden asked our mentors now, since this was the question on all of our minds.

Nay nodded. “You’re really getting the day off. Go on, now. Have fun. You’ll see that each of you have thirty dollars in your pockets.”

All five of us shoved our hands into our pockets, and sure enough, there were thirty dollars in each. This seemed to be enough initiative for Aiden and Kristie, who then left us and made their way into the mall together.

And that, just like it had been on the beach, left me with Anthony and Dex.

“And then there were three,” Hank grinned at the three of us, but we still didn’t budge. “I must say, we’re not very surprised that the three of you aren’t very trusting.”

Dex’s eyes narrowed at his third cousin, as if he took this as an insult. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Hank didn’t seem to notice that he had just insulted the dark boy. “Well, the three of you just aren’t as trusting as Kristie and Aiden are,” he informed us nonchalantly. “Anthony is too smart to trust just anyone, Violet isn’t too used to human contact yet so she doesn’t know who to trust, and she also doesn’t really know what to do, and you, Dex… you just don’t seem like the kind of guy that trusts easily.”

Dex let out a scoff, rolling his eyes before making his way toward the entrance of the mall. Obviously, he wanted to prove Hank wrong. Something told me that Dex was just the type of guy that liked to prove people wrong no matter what, especially when it was about him.

“Just like I thought,” Hank chuckled as he watched Dex go. “That boy sure is a tough one.”

I grumbled under my breath, “I don’t know who he thinks he has to prove himself to.”

None of them heard me, and I was glad. That wasn’t exactly something I had meant to say out loud.

“But seriously, you two,” Nay sighed, cutting both of us off before we could say anything back to Hank. “Just go inside and have fun. This isn’t a test, this isn’t training, it’s just a chance for you all to act like regular teenagers again. Or, in Violet’s case, for the first time.”

I still didn’t like the idea of this, but I went inside with Anthony anyway. Nay and Hank entered the mall as well, but immediately went in the opposite direction of us.

“So…” was all I was able to say to the nerdy boy. I didn’t know if I was supposed to stay with him or leave him. “What now?”

The boy with glasses shrugged. “I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever been inside a mall. At least, the first time I’ve ever been inside a mall as a teenager.”

I just stared at him. Was he being serious? I hadn’t ever been inside a mall either, but that was because I had rarely even left my room. Why wouldn’t have he gone to the mall with his friends, or at least by himself?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Anthony smirked now, and I was surprised until I remembered he was a genius. “I didn’t get out much when I was back at home. I wasn’t nearly as bad as you were, but I didn’t have many friends and I just spent my time studying. Even though I just had to look at a page once and I memorized it.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous about that. Having a photographic memory would have come in handy a lot.

“I’m going to go to the food court,” Anthony informed me now, giving me a little wave before turning around and making his way away from me. I was going to ask if he knew where the food court even was, but I stopped myself because I remembered that he had a photographic memory and we had walked by a map when we entered.

So I was by myself, just like I liked it. Except now, it was a little weird. I would walk by stores and never go inside, and I couldn’t help but feel like people were staring at me as if I was insane. This was why I liked being inside my room alone, not in public alone.

When I saw Kristie and Aiden through a window of one of the stores, I decided to go inside that one. As much as I usually liked being alone, it was weird when I was in such a public place. I just felt like people kept staring at me.

Kristie seemed very interested in all the clothes that were around her, and Aiden just seemed to like that he was just in her company. Anyone else who saw them probably thought that they were dating. They sure put out that vibe.

“Hey,” a new voice said before I could get to my two teammates, and I turned around in surprise to see that it was a boy. “What’s up?”

I just stared at him, unsure of what I was supposed to say. Was this how normal people acted? They just walked right up to a stranger and spoke to them as if they knew each other?

That was when it hit me. This boy did know me. I just didn’t know him.

“I can’t believe this,” I muttered under my breath, growing angry now. They said that this wasn’t training; they said that we really did have a free day. I couldn’t believe that I had actually fallen for it again.

“Sorry?” the boy asked me now, leaning a little closer toward me.

I didn’t like this at all. I was being hit on, again, and if I went anywhere with this boy, who would probably give me a fake name, I’d most likely almost die for the second time that day.

“I’m Chandler,” he introduced to me now.

Sure, his name was Chandler. Did Hank and Nay really think that I was stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice? I was about to prove them wrong.

I took a step forward, but it was more menacing than flirty. “You know, Chandler,” I started, trying my hardest not to grind my teeth together. “Kristie is right over there.”

I pointed toward my breathtakingly beautiful teammate, who was busy looking through blouses like any normal girl would. Aiden was right by her side, and I didn’t even care enough to wonder where Anthony and Dex were.

“What?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Randall had chosen me because I was closer, and obviously this “Chandler” guy had as well. Well, I wasn’t about to fall for it again. If they wanted to test us so badly, they could go test Kristie for all I cared.

“I know what you’re doing,” I snapped. “It’s not going to work. I might have fallen for it earlier at the beach, but I’m not going to fall for it again. So just go ahead and tell Hank and Nay that this is all pointless.”

Chandler now gave me a look, but I still wasn’t about to back down. I didn’t want to admit it, but I actually was really insulted by the fact that Nay and Hank thought I was stupid enough to fall for this an hour after it had already happened.

I turned away then, wanting nothing more to do with him. But before I could even take two steps, he called out, “Hey, wait!” before grabbing onto my arm.

Without even thinking twice about it, I grabbed onto his shoulder and flipped him right over mine so he was now on his back. This definitely caught him off guard, so he didn’t even fight back when I got on top of him and straddled his waist.

Surprisingly, he smirked at me. “If this is what you want, baby, you just had to ask. But we’ll need to get more of a private room, yeah?”

I punched the side of his head. “I’m not falling for it!”

Suddenly, I was being pulled off of him. I turned my head to see that it was Dex that had yanked me up, but Hank and Nay were right behind him. Along with many other concerned bystanders and workers…

“You definitely didn’t seem like the kind of girl that would do this,” Dex informed me, still holding me back by holding onto my arms.

“Do what? Fight in public?”

“No, straddle a guy, in public or private.”

“Violet,” Nay scolded, as if she was my mother. “What just happened?”

I shot her a look, a look that told her I wasn’t stupid. I knew what they were planning and the last thing I was going to do was fall for it again.

Kristie, Anthony, and Aiden had made their way toward us now, and Chandler was still on the floor. I didn’t know if my blow had hurt that much or if he was just in shock, but I wasn’t that worried about him at that moment.

I crossed my arms over my chest, looking smug. “I wasn’t going to fall for your stupid test again.”

“Violet, this wasn’t a test.” Aiden was the one who told me, but I didn’t believe him. “You just attacked an innocent guy!”

Were they all in on it now? Was I the only one that hadn’t been told that we were going to be tested once again? What was with them?

The looks that they were all giving me made me feel queasy. Chandler was now starting to get up, moaning as he held a hand to his head. This was a test… right?

“Crazy bitch,” Chandler muttered as he pushed himself up, making his way by me and smashing his shoulder against mine as he went by. I stumbled back. “What a psycho.”

I just stood there in complete shock. I was… I was wrong.

“Violet…” Nay began, but I wasn’t about to let her finish. I spun on my heel, darting off as quickly as I could toward the entrance that we had entered through. I knew that Anthony could have easily caught up with me, but he didn’t. He knew, just like the rest of them, that I didn’t want to be bothered.

I stomped up the steps to the RV and nearly slammed the door shut. This made RV start in his sleep. “Violet, dear,” he told me in a sleepy but gentle voice. “Please be careful.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, even though I didn’t mean it.

“You’re always so upset whenever you come inside,” RV observed out loud, and I wasn’t even in the mood to bark at him as I sat down on the couch.

The rest of my team and my two mentors didn’t join me in the RV until fifteen minutes later, and I didn’t know if it was because they knew I wanted to be alone or because something had caught their attention. Neither really mattered all that much.

“What happened in there?” was the first thing Nay asked me, and it only confirmed to me that this had not been a test at all. “Why did you attack that boy?”

I was too ashamed and embarrassed to answer, especially in front of all of my teammates. So I stayed quiet.

“Violet,” Hank tried now, gentler than Nay.

I swallowed, still not wanting to speak, but I knew that I had to. “I thought this was another test,” I almost whispered now. “He hit on me like Randall did. I thought that this was another training exercise.”

The RV went silent, and I felt even more embarrassed. They could have at least said something. Whatever they were going to say had to be better than this awkward silence.

Dex was the first to speak. “You’re not the most terrifying looking thing on the planet.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “There’s bound to be at least one guy on the planet that’d show interest in you.”

I just scowled at him. That definitely didn’t sound like a compliment, but it was as close as I was ever going to get with Dex.

“I think Violet’s very pretty,” Kristie voiced now, and I wished that she wasn’t so stupid so I could actually believe her.

Anthony shrugged. “She’s a lot prettier than when we found her, that’s for sure.”

I scowled at him now, and his eyes widened when he realized that he had said the wrong thing. Obviously, Anthony didn’t know how to give compliments either.

“It’s just that, uh…” he tried to explain, stumbling over his words as he continued. “When we found you, your hair was all matted and knotted, and you weren’t wearing any makeup, and you were really pale because you never went outside. Well, you’re still really pale now, but… uh… It’s not as bad as it used to be!”

He was the supposed genius? Obviously he wasn’t smart when it came to people.

“I’m not surprised that guy hit on you, Violet,” Kristie continued now, even though it was obvious that I no longer wanted to talk about it. “You’re very pretty and very nice! Any guy would be lucky to have you, I’m sure!”

She was making it very hard not to like her. I couldn’t help but feel guilty about every mean thing I had said about her, but that quickly went away when I looked up at her and saw her beautiful face and her perfect hair. Kristie Callahan was perfect and I was… barely passable.

The rest of the ride was silent, and I was glad. I didn’t want to deal with these people anymore, but I unfortunately had to deal with Kristie back in our room. If I was lucky, she’d get the hint that I didn’t want to talk and leave me alone.

But then I remembered. She was an idiot.

The next day, I didn’t come out of my room. Kristie brought me an apple to eat, which I appreciated, but it didn’t make me dislike her any less. That was going to take a lot more than just a boring apple.

Instead of eating it, I placed it right on my forehead as I lay on my back on my bed. I closed my eyes, let out a breath, and concentrated. In the next seven seconds, it was no longer on my forehead.

I opened my eyes to see the apple floating about me, and I smiled. This was just what I wanted. Sure, it wasn’t super impressive, but at least I was able to lift something. I was getting there… Slow and steady won the race.

I sat there for about ten minutes, training my own way. I moved the apple up and down, higher and lower, and it was getting easier and easier for me to do so.

But when the door suddenly slammed open, I jumped and lost my concentration. The apple came falling down, hitting me right in the forehead before bouncing off onto my bed.

“Ow!” I shouted, forgetting about the apple as I covered where it had smashed onto my forehead with my hands. I looked over now to see that Dex was the one in the doorway, way too amused for his own good.

Dex smirked at me. “That was smart.”

Using my powers, I chucked the apple right at him. Unsurprisingly, he caught it without even trying. He smirked at me before he took a bite out of it.

“Still good,” he commented, his mouth full. He then rubbed his finger over the other side of it. “Though there is a bruise where it hit your head. I’m sure you’ll get a matching one.”

That was not something I was looking forward to. Having a huge bruise right in the middle of my forehead wouldn’t be attractive, that was for sure.

“What do you want?” I demanded when he didn’t say anything else to me and just continued to eat the apple.

He took another bite. “We have another training session starting in ten minutes. Nay wanted me to come get you.”

I let out a sigh, swinging my feet over the edge of the bed and pushing myself up. “Let’s go then,” I ordered. “We don’t want to be late, do we?”

I passed him, making my way out of my room and down the hall toward the same room that we had first met Hank and Nay. This was the room that we always met him, and the training grounds were right beside it. This building was the only part of the huge base of the DAU that we had been in. I couldn’t help but wonder who else was there, training just like we were.

“You should be a little more excited,” Dex informed me now as we made our way down the hall right beside each other. “You can finally use your powers, so you’ll actually be able to do something.”

I couldn’t help but scowl at him. “How did you know I couldn’t do anything while training? Boys and girls are still separated.”

He shrugged. “Kristie told me.”

Words couldn’t even describe how much that girl drove me nuts. Not only did she have a low intelligence level, but she had a huge mouth, too.

“But,” Dex started now, and I knew that this wasn’t something I wanted to hear. “The whole team starts training together today.”

I was right. I didn’t want to hear that.

Any confidence I had in myself was gone. It was bad enough trying to compete with one person, but now I had to compete with all four of them? How was I ever going to get anything accomplished when I had to be just as good as, if not better than, the four of them.

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I can't wait to move on with this story... It gets a lot better as it goes on, believe me.

Finally, an update. Sorry this took so long! Summer's in about two weeks for me, so it shouldn't be too long until I'm updating regularly again! :)

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :D