TYLER'S POV

Hunter asks how I'm feeling today.

"I'm.. alright.."

"Okay" he nods indifferently.

"It's just.. so much to take it and I don't know how to feel."

"Yeah" he says before stepping out of the room. I release the breath I've been holding and shut my eyes. Sleep refuses to come back, though.

Hunter walks in a minute later to my surprise.

"I have good news!!" He says, his eyes lighting up.

"What is it?" A drop of hope lies inside me but I don't dare get my hopes up.

"PRESIDENT KAY SAID YOUR DOOR WON'T BE LOCKED ANY MORE!! YOU'RE FREE TO ROAM ABOUT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!!"

"Really?!" I say, jumping up.

"Yes!!" He's jumping too.

He unlocks the 'cage' door and I run out.

I'm alone.

"The others have yet to break the news to your friends." Hunter explains.

"Oh okay" I sit at a picnic table style table.

"Can I get some water?" I ask.

"Yeah" he exits through metal doors (which by the way are locked) to retrieve a glass of water. Zoe comes out of her cage, looking like sleep definitely isn't her best friend.

She has dark circles under her eyes and her hair is everywhere.

"Hey" she says.

"Hi"

"So we're supposed to.. be together right? But it's fake?" She whispers.

"Yeah, I see you've caught on."

"What does Alfie know?"

"We'll have to tell him.." I say, feeling guilty the only person I figured needed to know was Troye.

Hunter is back with my water and I frantically lace my fingers with Zoe's.

"Thanks" I smile because I think of Troye's eyes and forget who's hand I'm holding.

I sip the water. "You want some babe?" I ask Zoe cheerily, like her presence has brightened my mood.

"Okay" she smiles but it doesn't spread to her eyes.

She drinks the ice water and I squeeze her hand tighter, knowing Hunter is watching.

She whispers in my ear, "pretend that I'm saying something romantic or something. Make it seem like there's things between us that other people simply wouldn't understand" I go along with her directions, I figure she's right because she's actually fallen in love where as I'm not even sure what it's like.

Alfie walks in and looks shocked at our "flirty" state. His eyes travel to our intertwined fingers and he takes a step back.

"Alfie!!" She runs after him and he seems frozen in place (thankfully). She whispers things to him. He nods, his heartbreak better but I knew the traces of sadness were fake because Hunter is still in the room.

"Tyler and I were wondering how you've been" she says, sitting back down next to me as Alfie sits across from us.

"I've been okay"

"Good" Zoe says enthusiastically (even though it's fake).

Zoe leans her head on my shoulder and her eyelids flutter shut.

Troye walks in, David right next to him. Troye's smirking and I wonder why.

David and Troye sit next to Alfie.

"Hunter, I got this"

"Whatever you say.." Hunter says.

"I am your brother. You should trust me..."

This convinces Hunter, seeing as he exits.

"I'm on your side" David whispers.

"I already knew that." Troye says, teasing.

"I was talking to them, smart ass!" David teases right back. I don't feel like I can trust David. I kind of hate him already and I don't know why. I grab Zoe's face (gently) and kiss her cheek softly.

She blushes, as Alfie's smile falls. I wink at him and he remembers it's all an act, smiling greatly at us. I hold her hand under the table and she looks at me. Her eyes are still full of worry but she's okay, I can tell.

I see Troye is unaffected completely by this, I guess he seems to always keep in mind it's not real.

I sigh, still holding Zoe's hand. She sighs in response.

"How are things going Tyler?" Troye asks. It's weird having David here. I guess I'm going to have to accept him as part of this group. I've got better things to worry about, anyways.

"Um.. good. Better now that I'm with Zoe." Zoe and I smile at each other right after that and fake our chemistry. It seems believable considering everyone can't get their eyes off of the eclipse between us right now. I'd like for Zoe to be Troye but obviously that's not okay. 

"I love you" she says, her voice like honey. Her eyes are mostly showing affection but there's a little bit that shows sadness and anxiety. My heart breaks at how hard this is for her. She's my close friend and I want to make this easier on her.

"I love you too" I whisper although I'm surprised those words even came out of my mouth.

"Oh stop it!!" Troye gushes.

I look at him and blush. How can I make myself blush?! Maybe it's how his eyes tell me more than his mouth does. I can see he understands. He's playing his part right. Zoe is too but I see that Alfie is having a hard time.

"Tyler?" He asks, on the verge of laughing at me, which doesn't make sense until I realize I've been staring into his eyes for probably two minutes straight.

"Yeah?" I ask, pretending I didn't realize what I've been doing.

"Nothing" he smiles but then silence sets in amongst us. Zoe lets go of my hand and instead runs her hand through her tangled hair.

"I'm gonna go." Alfie says, yawning.

"Yeah me too." Zoe says.

They get up and leave to their individual compartments.

This leaves me with Troye and David.

"Troye" I say.

"Yes?" He looks up from the table.

"I'm sorry.. about that.. That couldn't have been easy to watch... You realize it's a fake though, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah of course! I mean, like, I understand you can't help it. Im not going to let it affect things"

He reaches his hand out onto the table and leaves it open on the table. I look at his outstretched hand, confused, at first but then I realize he wants me to take it. I grab his hand and he strokes mine with his thumb. David doesn't seem to care, he zones out at the tiles on the floor.

   TROYE'S POV

David and I walk back to my cell/cage.

"So.. are you and Tyler an item?" He asks.

"Yeah." I pause, "you could call it that."

He nods, "okay"

"Why did you ask?"

"Just wondering" he says, implying I shouldn't look into it.

"Okay."

"I'm going to grab some paint" he says but before he steps out, I ask:

"For what?!"

"Oh you'll see." He smirks.

"David!! Tell me!!!!"

He walks out, leaving me to prepare myself for him to throw paint at me or something.

When he walks in, he's immediately confused at my tense, scared state.

"What in the world are you doing?"

"I thought.. you were going to, like, throw it at me" I mumble, looking at the ground, hoping my face would cool down.

He laughs, "no! This is fun, I swear!!"

I stand up and he squirts paint into his hand, rubbing it all over his hand. He presses his hand to the wall, making a hand print in green paint. He takes his index finger and writes:

'Life is like a blank canvas and it's your job to color it'.

"I love that!" I say after he signs it.

"Your turn" he beams at me.

I squirt blue paint on my hand and make my own hand print. Underneath it, I write:

'Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself'.

I sign it and David says he thinks that's very creative. We go along writing quotes and him drawing cool things and we laugh and have a good time.

We laugh, it must be like midnight and he looks at me and I can tell he's about to do something. He rubs his paint covered hand all over my face and I gasp.

"You dick!!" I say, getting my paint on his face as well. He rubs his paint on my hand as well and I try to back up but there's a wall behind me so I lean into the wall, but of course it doesn't work. He steps toward me and hes still smearing the paint across my face. His hands move to my jawline and slightly further down and I figure he's just, if you will, painting the whole picture (see what I did there). He looks at me with those hazel eyes and his hands don't move.

"You're an idiot" he says before leaning closer and pressing his lips to mine as we both lean against the wall now.

When he leans away, smiling, his eyes energetic.

"But I guess I have a thing for idiots with pretty eyes and cute hair" he says before walking out.

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A/N

OKAY SO IM LEGIT FREAKING OUT! I WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL DAVID DOES THIS BUT I DECIDED SCREW IT. SO I WORKED MY MAGIC. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME. I KINDA SHIP THEM BUT AAAGGGGHHH!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH VOTE AND COMMENT LOVES!