"I have been humiliated, I have been shamed, the very thing I live for has been tampered with--and I'm supposed to stand for this?"

"You were warned," was all Tam said to Keefe's tyrade of rants, not even bothering to look up from his book. "Plenty of times."

"How was I supposed to know you were serious?" Keefe demanded, throwing his hands into the air.

"Please, Tam's always serious," Linh teased, leaning towards her brother with a grin. Her hair was in an elaborate bun, courtesy of me, but pieces were coming undone and framing her face. "Aren't you, Tammy?"

"Only when you threaten Shadowmaster," he replied, completely deadpan. He rubbed the stuffed murcat that sat beside him on the picnic blanket, dubbed Shadowmaster by the collective scheming of me and his sister. Keefe had been ecstatic to find out about his existence, and had immediately tried to kidnap him--to which Tam had reacted quickly and severely.

"I think you look good with pink hair," Sophie said. "Very manly."

"I know I look good, Foster, that's not the point." Keefe turned an icy glare back to Tam, who had finally shut his book and was leaning back on his hands, smirking at Keefe from under his bangs. "The point is that my pride and joy has been assaulted."

"Guess we better put an end to operation Kill The Hair, Dex," Fitz said with a grin. "That might send him over the edge."

Keefe put a hand to his chest, gazing down at his friends with an offended look on his face. "Does nobody care about my feelings?"

"Sure we do," I assured him. "Just sit down. You're making me feel short."

Keefe huffed and flopped onto the grass, missing the blanket by a foot. He sighed dramatically and spread his arms as far as possible, invading both Sophie and Fitz's personal space.

"Well," Fitz said, picking Keefe's limp arm up and putting it behind him. "Now that that's settled--"

"Linh?" a shocked voice gasped from somewhere behind them. "Tam?"

The twins turned, and Linh jumped up with a squeal. "Oh my gosh!"

Tam's face lit up and he grinned, the genuinity of it warming the entire space. "Elia!"

I followed their gazes and saw a laughing teenage girl standing a few feet from their blanket, her face currently buried in Linh's shoulder. Tam leapt to his feet and jogged over, reaching her in time for a hug of his own.

"Wait a second," Keefe said, propped up on his elbows and squinting at the twins. "Is...is Tam smiling? Did someone die?"

"Just his insecurities, I suppose," I said, fiddling with my hair and pretending not to care about the way Tam was hugging the girl. It didn't matter.

"You know what, I think I have homework to do," I said suddenly, getting to my feet and taking out my pathfinder. "I should get that done. See you guys later." The last thing I saw were my friend's confused faces before the light whisked me away.

I arrived at Everglen's gate with a strange tightness in my chest. It was a feeling I knew well, from all the times watching Keefe flirt with Sophie--jealousy.

What is going on with me? I wondered as I trudged up the path to my front door, walking forlornly through the halls. I don't even like him like that....

I opened the door to my room and shut it behind me, flopping onto my bed with a sigh. It would go away. I just had to be alone for a bit.

Nobody bothered me for a while, which was fine with me. I needed to think.

What was wrong with me? Why did I have to choose the boys who would never like me back? First Keefe, now Tam....

A knock on my door jerked me from my thoughts.

"Go away, Fitz, I'm busy!" I shouted, getting up and walking to my desk in case he decided to come in anyway.

"Uh, it's not Fitz," a voice said awkwardly. "But I can leave, if you want."

I froze. Tam.

"No, it's fine!" I said hurriedly, jogging over to the door and opening it. "I'm not that busy, anyway."

"Oh." Tam rubbed the back of his neck, his silver eyes looking everywhere but me. "Um, okay. Well I just came by to see if you were okay. You left pretty abruptly, so..."

"I'm fine," I said, and he nodded. We stood there for a second, neither of us sure what to say.

"Well, I should probably go then," Tam said finally, taking a step back. "If you're really okay?"

"Perfectly," I assured him. He hesitated, before nodding and turning around.

Watching him leave, a pressure built in my chest, forcing the words out before I could stop them. "Who's Elia?"

The question made him freeze. Tam turned around slowly, his arms wrapped around himself. "She was our best friend from Foxfire. Pretty much the only one we had. And then Linh got banished, and I left with her, and we never saw her again. I honestly thought I'd never get to. We didn't even get to say goodbye."

I blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Tam reached up to tug on his bangs. "Yeah. It's fine. It wasn't your fault."

Another small silence. "Are you two only friends?"

Tam groaned. "Not you, too. Linh is such a sister about it. Yes, Elia and I are just friends, and that probably won't change."

"I just had to ask." I took a deep breath. "Tam, I....I know that you probably have a lot on your mind, what with coming back to Foxfire, The Neverseen and now Elia....But if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

Tam hesitated. "Thanks, Biana."

"And I hate to do this to you, but..." Another deep breath. "Tam, I think I might like you."

My heart started pounding as his eyes widened. He stared at me for a couple of seconds, before sighing and crossing his arms. "All right, Biana. Who put you up to this? Was it Keefe?"

I blinked, not sure how to process what he had just said. "What? No, I'd never do that."

Tam shook his head. "Seriously, who?"

"Tam..."

"You can't possibly think I'd fall for that," he continued.

"Why not?" I demanded. "Is it so hard to believe that I actually might like you?"

"Yeah," he said, leveling me with a stare. "It is. I'm a Shade, I'm a Wayward, I'm a twin and a former Neverseen member....Biana, how could someone like you ever like me?"

I didn't answer. I just walked over, grabbed the back of his head and pressed my lips to his.

I felt him start in surprise, but slowly, he started kissing me back. His bangs brushed my forehead as his fingers tangled in my hair. We broke apart, breathing hard, with Tam staring at me in amazement.

"Believe me now?" I asked, grinning despite myself.

"I think I'd be an idiot not to," he told me. He leaned down again and I reached up to meet him.

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So.......yeah. Sorry about the beginning, the perspective is kinda weird. I had to go back and change it from third to first, so that's why it's kinda wonky.

Also, the title is a Voltron reference, for anyone who's read the comics. Jealousy, thy name is Keith...*sighs* good times. But volume three is coming out, so yay!