Song of the Chapter: This Is It - Rogue (Moombahcore)

(Evee's POV)

I have to get out of here. These people are completely insane - not to mention they have no idea what they're doing. The guy who carried me here - Noisestorm, I think ... what kind of name is that? - is sitting outside of the tent, supposedly 'keeping watch'. The other one, Phantom, must've figured out that I don't trust them and told the others. I don't think he wants me leaving, but I'm not sure why. Maybe he thinks I'll turn them in. Honestly, I might. I don't like the idea of them roaming the forest and accidentally kidnapping people. At least they sort of helped me. I'm feeling a lot better after eating something and drinking some clean water.

How am I going to escape? I can hear the river from here, and I know if I follow that, I might be able to find something - the bridge to Vancouver, maybe. That is, if I go in the right direction. The problem is getting out of the camp without anyone noticing.

I think it's about three in the morning, so most of them are asleep. I can see the flickering shadows of the fire through the tent walls, and know that a few are sitting there, doing whatever the heck it is they do.

I've always been told I'm a good actress. Maybe I could persuade Noisestorm to let me go. Or maybe I can get him in here, and he'll fall asleep. I remember that when he offered to take watch, the guy named Muzzy (what is with these names?!) refused to let him have any caffeine, so he shouldn't have anymore energy than the rest of them, right?

I can hear the remaining artists telling each other that they're going to bed, and reminding Noisestorm to stay awake and holler if anything happens. I have to think of a good way to get him in here. I'm just a quiet, introverted girl. What can I do?

A few minutes pass before I decide to give it a shot. "Noisestorm?" I call quietly, my heart fluttering nervously.

I hear him sigh from outside. "Yeah?" he answers.

"Can you come in here for a second?"

"Why? Muzzy's exact words were 'things could happen'."

"I'm scared."

He sighs again. "Well, what do I have to lose?"

I don't mention that he has a lot to lose, since I'm about to escape.

He unzips the tent and crawls in. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know." I hug my knees and rock back and forth, and it's honestly not hard to fit into this role. I'm pretty nervous about being on my own again, but these guys freak me out.

"What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know," I repeat. "I just feel ... scared. I have anxiety." That part isn't a lie, although it's gotten better over the years.

He scoots closer to me until we're almost touching. I'm suddenly a little more uncomfortable than I anticipated. "It's okay," he says. "I'm here. I won't let anything hurt you."

I want to laugh out loud, but I don't. Instead, I fight to look relieved. "Thanks." I lean over until my head is resting on his shoulder, only because I feel like it would help my act. In reality, I sort of have the urge to punch him or something. "You know what?" I mumble.

"Yeah?"

"I think you're pretty nice."

His shoulder moves, and even though I can't hear it, and can feel him holding in his laughter. "You do, now do you?"

"Yep." I yawn, and he yawns, too.

Getting him to talk isn't very hard. He's a loud person, but he keeps his voice down as he tells me about some crazy things. I can tell he's pretty excited. Eventually, he gets me laughing, although I don't understand most of his jokes.

I realize that it's now or never. I have to do something. I do the first thing that comes to mind. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" I ask.

"What?" He gives me a curious look.

Without waiting for a better response, I grab the collar of his shirt and kiss him. I don't know what made me do it, because he's still kind of weirding me out, but I guess it works. But it's not a quick kiss, either. I make it longer. I've kissed boys before, some as boyfriends, others as actors, but only one I've kissed like this. He was my best friend, and when my father finally said I could start dating, we became a steady couple. I loved him, but then his family picked up and moved unexpectedly. I haven't seen him since.

I feel like I'm betraying him as I'm kissing Noisestorm, but I feel like I have no choice. I have to get out of here.

Although, I have to admit that Noisestorm is a good kisser. At first, he's taken by surprise, but then he seems to melt into it, making me feel a little better about the whole thing. He's warm and his arms are comforting, and I start to feel my actual nervousness disappear. I notice that he smells like fireworks, but not in a bad way.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? my conscious screams at me. I gently break the kiss and smile, praying I don't look as panicked as my conscious made me.

Noisestorm smiles, too. "That was ... better than expected. I guess I do believe in love at first sight."

I flop down on my back. "I'm so tired," I laugh.

He copies both my movement and my voice, flopping next to me. "I'm so tired."

I shove him lightly. He shoves me back. I roll over so my back is facing him and grin to myself. It was pretty easy to get him on my side. All I have to do is wait until he falls asleep.

I hear him yawn and adjust his position. I steady my breathing and hear him steady his. In only five or ten minutes, he's snoring softly, totally asleep.

I wait a few moments before quietly grabbing my story bag and violin and crawling out of the tent. I look back just once. I almost hate to do this to him. It's not like it's his fault. "It's not personal," I whisper. He smiles a little in his sleep, almost as if he can hear me.

After a moment, I make myself stand up and, with a glance at the fire and the other tents, I run.

I escape.

●•●•●•●

(Monstercat's POV)

We pull into the camp at about five in the morning. We're all super excited and as soon as we're there, I leap over Stephen Walking and slam my paws on the horn.

The five of us in the car scream, and so do most of the others in the camp. Tristam opens the door and I jump out, landing on all four paws and then standing up. "Guess who we found," I yell.

Phantom is the first one up, but instead of coming over to us, he runs over to another tent and rips the door open. "I told you - WHERE IS SHE?"

I hear Noisestorm yelp and then see him scramble out and around Phantom, who immediately yells at him again.

"What's going on?" Tristam demands.

"He let her get away!" Phantom shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

"Who?"

"She's GONE?!" a guy in a helmet shrieks. "You guys wouldn't even let me see her and she was waiting for me and you wouldn't even believe me but GUESS WHO WAS RIGHT and you didn't even - "

"Calm down, Rogue," Tristam says.

"Hi, Tristam," he sighs.

"I'm sorry?" Noisestorm shrugs apologetically. There's something in his eyes, something unnerving. He's really angry. "And I'm not okay, either, alright? She tricked me."

"Tricked you?"

"She made me feel worth it. She thought I was funny and made me feel appreciated, okay? Not like you guys."

"Hey," I shout, jumping up on the table. "This is only going to work if we all work together. That means everyone is equally as important. I may not be the smartest cat, but I do know one thing: fighting is going to get us nowhere. From what I heard, there was a girl here, and she got away. Did she want to be here?"

"No," one of them mutters.

"Was she with the MI?"

"No."

"Did she want to turn us in?"

"I don't know!" Phantom waves his arms around again. "That's why I didn't want her leaving."

"I don't think so," Rogue says.

"Then we're fine. If she wants to run alone in the forest, then that's her problem. Let's just go and meet up with the others. We got into Vancouver and bought some hotels. We're sneaking the rest of you in today." I nod in satisfaction. "Who's ready?"

"Oh, yeah, WE'RE GOING TO VANCOUVER!" Noisestorm cheers. Rogue and Phantom glare at him and he glares back.

"Get in the car, then." The division I noticed earlier is growing between more of them. This is going to be a long trip.

They climb into the truck and Noisestorm starts to laugh. "Hey, look what the cat dragged in. The Nerds are here!"

Mike and Alex both start to say something at exactly the same time but then cut off laughing. "Hey, Noisestorm," one of them finally says.

We all pile in, some sitting on the floor, some sharing seats, but pretty soon, we're off. We're cruising down - or maybe bumping is a better word - the dirt roads once more, on our way to the big city. Most of our stuff is in the back of the truck, though I'm not sure what we'll do with it once we get there.

About an hour into our drive, Stephen slams on the brakes and, due to lack of a seatbelt, I fly forward and hit the windshield.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?" Stephen asks.

He's right. There is a girl out there, walking along the road. Phantom groans and nods.

"Tristam, go see if she wants a ride or needs encouragement to get one."

"I'm not kidnapping her," he protests.

"We're not kidnapping her, we're just ... it's a safety thing. In case she really does want to turn us in."

Tristam gives in and climbs out of the car. I can't hear him through the truck, but he's talking to the girl, and seeming to make progress. Eventually, the two of them return to the truck and Tristam gives up the front seat so she can sit without being smashed by the rest of the guys.

She climbs in with her backpack and her case thing, takes one look at who's behind her, and says, "You know what? I think I changed my mind."

"You - " Noisestorm growls, trying to get out of his seat, but Phantom slaps his hand over his mouth and holds him back.

Rogue looks like he wants to say something, but he ducks his head instead and hides in his helmet.

"Sorry, Eveelyn," Tristam says. "We're just going to Vancouver, and then we'll work things out. Sound good?"

The girl shakes her head, but gives up and slumps in her seat.

It takes us about an hour to get there. Most of the time, I jump between seats and sit on others' laps and heads, but I always keep my eye on this mysterious stranger. She doesn't say anything.

Once we finally arrive, crossing the bridge safely - they didn't even look inside the truck - and entering the city, Noisestorm leads a wild cheer, filling the cramped space with happiness. The lights of the city are just as breathtaking as they were the first time I saw them.

I glance back at them and can't help a wide grin from spreading across my face. They're finally laughing together again. I don't know what happened while we were gone, but I hope this will help mend the division. Finally, they're all united.

Eveelyn sighs loudly.

Well, most of us.