*Two weeks later*

Cole's POV

"So guys," I start. I'm in my room with Lloyd, Kai, and Jay. Zane is still mad at us for the pool, so he's sitting in the lobby instead. "I was thinking, and I really, really like Nya. Without anyone but you guys knowing, I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend in secret. I knew Zane wouldn't approve, but I wanted to see what you guys thought."

All of the guys have different reactions. Lloyd looks happy. Kai seems skeptical. Jay seems to zone off.

"Go for it! You only have one life, and if you're going to spend it in here, might as well make the most of it," Lloyd encourages me. I've noticed that both Lloyd and I have gotten looser on our adherence to the rules. We use to be super strict, but we're more like Kai and Jay now.

"She's stressed right now because of all that's happened," Kai tells me. "Are you sure you should put this on her to a keep a secret?"

"And are you sure she likes you? Because if she doesn't, then it'll make things awkward between you guys," Jay adds. I sigh.

"I'm fairly sure that she does, and I can try to take some of that pressure off of her," I inform them. None of their expressions change.

"Did you ask Juliet if she likes you? Juliet is really good at seeing those type of things," Lloyd asks.

"She said she wasn't sure," I admit. Now, Lloyd starts to seem more skeptical.

"Are you sure she's not just being friendly?" Kai asks. I nod.

"I'm nearly 100% sure. You know what, I'm going to ask her out now. Thank you guys," I announce.

"Good luck bro," Lloyd pats my back.

"Thanks. Hopefully it's a yes," I respond, and he's gone.

"I'm going to go for a jog. Text me how it goes," Jay says, leaving my room with Kai next to him.

---

I wait in the lobby for Nya. When she walks through, as she'll eventually do, I'll pull her aside and ask her to be my girlfriend. Lloyd and Juliet are also in the lobby, sitting on the couch talking. Zane is also sitting in an arm chair in the corner. Several people walk through, but finally, Nya walks through.

"Nya, can we talk?" I ask her.

"Can we talk later? I'm running late to meet up with Skylor," she tries it brush me off, but I grab her wrist softly.

"Please, it'll be quick," I plead. She gives in.

"Okay, I'm listening."

"Nya, since the day I saw you, I thought you were beautiful," I start. Her eyes widen, and her jaw slacks a bit.

"Cole...," she tried to interrupt me, but I cut her off.

"Please let me finish. Every day that's passed, you've became more and more beautiful, and as I've gotten to know you, I've been able to see that you're beautiful on the inside too. Nya, will you be my girlfriend?" I ask her. Her face looks deathly pale.

"Cole, I look at you like a brother. You're an amazing person, but I don't like you that way. I'm sorry, and I really need to go," she picks up her phone and walks out the door. My chest aches as she walks away, and I'm left with wide eyes. Lloyd notices and walks over with Juliet.

"She said no?" he asks. I nod, my throat tight.

"I'm so sorry Cole," Juliet says.

"I should have listened to you guys. You were right," I admit. Lloyd pats me on the back.

"It's alright, you'll make it through."

---

After I recollect myself, I decide to go on a walk around the town. I walk while looking around. I want to take in everything. That's when I see Kai and Skylor sitting in front of the cafe, evidently flirting. I quickly walk over to them.

"Hey Skylor, Nya said she was coming to meet up with you. Where is she?" I interrupt their conversation.

"The three of us were eating, but she felt sick so she left," Skylor informs me. Kai nods in agreement, popping a blueberry into his mouth.

"She said no, didn't she?" Kai asks. I nod sadly.

"Wait, what happened?" Skylor asks the two of us.

"He asked Nya to be his girlfriend, and she said no," Kai abridges the story. I nod in verification. I zone out and look into the distance. In the distance, I see two figures, one wearing a blue shirt and the other with dark hair. They're walking toward the forest.

"I'm gonna go," I tell them, and start following the two people who are going into the woods. I quickly walk to catch up to them. Once I'm out of Kai and Skylor's sight, I start to jog. When I get close enough, I can verify that it's Jay and Nya.

"What are they doing? They never hang out," I say quietly to myself. I track them through the woods, but I'm too far away to hear their conversation. They reach a large tree when jay bends down and picks up a rock. The rock turns out to be a keypad, and I take note of the code. The front of the tree then opens, and the two of them enter.

I wait twenty minutes, so they won't suspect someone following them. I retype the code in, and enter. I'm greeted by a dark set of stairs. I head down, and after a couple minutes of me being cautious and quiet, I reach a room. There's a couch, a lot of tools, and inventions everywhere. Jay and Nya sit on the couch with a machine in front of them. Jay is leaning forward and fixing something while Nya looks down at the blueprints. I stay peaking behind the doorway.

"And once we do this, then it'll be able to create the key?" Nya asks Jay. He nods.

"Yep, and we'll be able to take these stupid things off and finally get out," Jay informs her before turning back to the machine. My eyes widen. They've been making a machine to be able to escape. I don't want to leave. My dad always wanted for me to be like him, not my own person. In here, I can be my own person with my own family.

"Jay," Nya interrupts his work. He looks up.

"Yeah?"

"Once we get out of here, will you still want to be with me?" she asks him, confusing me on what she's referring to. He completely stops working and faces her.

"Of course. Nothing could take me away from you," he grabs her hands, and my heart drops.

"You're the best Jay," she tells him before she starts leaning in. My eyes widen as their lips touch. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer. She places her arms on his shoulders and runs her fingers through his hair. The continue to kiss, and as soon as my voice comes back, I interrupt them.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask roughly. The two of them break apart and look at me. Both of them look terrified.

"Cole," Nya starts. I shake my head and walk over so I'm in front of them.

"How long has this been going on?" I ask them harshly, gesturing between the two of them.

"We've been together for almost three weeks," Nya informs me. My chest tightens.

"How long have you two been hanging out in here?" I question again.

"Since the first day I got here. Skylor had him hang out with me while she did something, and we clicked," she answers weakly.

"Who else knows?"

"Kai and Skylor are the only other ones."

"Is that why you and Kai discouraged me asking Nya to be my girlfriend?" I direct towards Jay, who hasn't said anything since I came in.

"Cole, can you calm down please?" Nya asks. I huff.

"Calm down? I just found out the girl I like and my best friend have been dating behind my back!" I snap. Nya seems taken aback.

"Cole, please," she tries to get me to calm down.

"And this," I gesture towards the machine with rage flooding through me,"you guys are going to leave here?"

"We all are. We can be free," she elaborates.

"What if I don't want to leave?" I ask a rhetorical question. "I'm not letting you guys take away the family I've built here." I look around and find a wrench sitting on the ground. Jay's eyes widen.

"Cole..." he starts, but it's too late. With all my might, I smash the machine with the wrench. I go over and over again, demolishing the machine, until I'm tackled to the ground by Jay.

"We were so close," Nya starts to cry, and remorse floods through me. Jay slowly gets off of me, and I look down at the wrench in my hands before looking up at the fragments of metal on the table.

"I'm so so...," I start, but Nya interrupts me.

"Get out," she deadpans.

"Nya..."

"Get the hell out!" she yells before she starts crying again. Jay wraps his arms around her, also in tears. Quickly, I rush out, leaving the two of them and the broken machine behind me.

A/N so that happened, whoops 😬 

Happy thanksgiving to anyone who celebrates it! I hope you guys all have a good day

I was wondering what grade you guys are in. I'm a sophomore in high school.

how did you guys like this chapter?