...

IT WAS ALMOST FOUR o'clock when they had to gather back at the clearing. Levi walked ahead of them, breaking anything in his way. With his raven hair and leather jacket he seemed very out of place among the rich hues around them. He reminded Ella somewhat of a tyfoon of destruction and she watched with amusement as he cursed under his breath every time a branch came near his face.

"You do remember nature is the reason we can breathe," Ella said.

He glanced back at her, his brown eyes catching the sun like liquid gold.

"Do you enjoy getting on my nerves?" he said.

"Immensely," Ella replied," I think it's the only thing that will get me through this camp."

Levi scowled at her, but before a chuckle could leave her lips Alex already spoke up.

"Don't scare her, Levi," Alex said as he walked behind her," don't worry, babe, I'll protect you."

"Thanks for the offer," Ella said," but I'll have to decline."

"You break my heart," Alex said, his voice laced with mock hurt.

Ella rolled her eyes good-naturedly. They stepped out in the clearing soon after, a small crowd already gathered. The clouds above them were a whirlwind of black and grey, though faint sunlight still managed to seep through it. It washed over the wooden house, where a group of teenagers was sitting, and spilled honey over the landscape, warmly highlighting the smiles.

Something she quickly noticed was how people stuck to them. Apparently Alex, Levi and Will were very popular, because as soon as they passed the trees, delinquents followed, laughing and walking with them every step of the way. All the attention seemed to be on their every move, like they were gods treading on mortal ground.

"Who's this?" a curly-haired girl asked accusingly as she looked at Ella.

"She's in our group,"Alex said as he slung an arm over her shoulder," aren't you, babe?"

Ella shook his arm off, but before she could reply, the girl was already screeching.

"What?" she said," how can she be?"

"That's unfair!" another one exclaimed.

"I wouldn't mind having her in my group," a red-haired boy smirked.

"Sorry boys," Alex grinned," but she's ours."

"Wouldn't be able to survive without her now," Will added with a sweet smile.

"I would," Levi muttered under his breath.

Ella had to resist the urge to elbow him in the ribs.

"I can't just accept this bitch being in your group," the curly-haired girl said.

"Take it up with Clarkson if you have a complaint," Ella said, her bored eyes already wandering towards the lunch supplies set out in front of the house.

"I'm taking it up with you now, aren't I?" she challenged.

This normally would have been the part where she would have resorted to violence, but Ella clenched her fists instead.

"Are you fighting?" a voice bellowed from behind.

"Go away, Clarkson!" the girl frowned in annoyance.

"You'll be punished for that, Maas," Clarkson said, but the girl didn't seem to care as she continued sizing Ella up.

"It's not worth it right now, Tamara," her friend warned.

"Ignore her," a voice suddenly called out," go on, fight. I'm bored out of my mind anyway."

Ella looked to the left and immediately spotted the source of the sound. There, leaning against a tree, stood a beautiful girl dressed completely in black, from her leather jacket to her pumps. Jet black hair fell around her dark skin, her caramel eyes watching the whole scene unfold with amusement. The only hint of color on her were her lips and nails, both a dark fuchsia.

"Go away, Ava," Tamara scowled," don't you have someone else to fuck with? God knows you usually do."

"Unfortunately for you I don't have anything to do right now," Ava smiled as she pushed herself off the tree," so come on, entertain me."

"Don't try to make an enemy out of me, Ava," Tamara warned.

"I make enemies out of everyone," Ava smiled as she stretched out leisurely," it's what I do."

Tamara cursed under her breath, before glaring at Ella.

"Don't think this'll be the last you hear of me," she said.

"We're in a camp with like, eighty people," Ella said," of course it won't be."

Tamara scowled at her before storming off, her friends following close behind.

"Wonder why she was angry," Will said.

"You sweet, innocent child," Ella sighed as she patted him on the shoulder.

When she looked back to the girl again, she suddenly noticed how Alex had started to tense beside her. He had a look in his eyes which was akin to love, but not completely; in that silent way only reserved for those who had broken your heart. Ella knew it all too well, had seen it in the past, in the eyes of a guy who was now her ex.

"It's not like you to help others, Ava," Alex said.

Ava turned her head towards him, smiling slowly as she ran a hand through her silken hair. Earlier, she had looked like a model, but right now, Ella understood why the girl was here.

Her smile could only be described as dangerous after all.

"I'm not," Ava said," I actually was looking forward to a fight." She sighed. "Well, I should have expected that Tamara wouldn't follow through with it. That girl's all talk and no action."

"And you are?" Ella asked, her voice more curious than challenging.

Ava looked her over, that wild smile on her face again.

"You'll find out soon enough, new girl," she said.

"Don't worry," Alex said," she wouldn't do anything to mess up her hair."

"That's absolutely right," Ava said," I'm glad you know me so well, Alex."

Alex' flirty demeanor seemed to have vanished completely, his voice a bit clearer. It sounded like the most honest he had been until now, his coffee eyes unreadable.

"Don't you have hearts to break?" Alex said.

"Don't you?" she countered.

The awkward atmosphere seemed to affect even Will, who tried to stand in between the two. It was Levi who broke the tense silence though, his hand on Alex' shoulder having a calming effect.

"Let's go," he said as he nodded his goodbye at Ava.

"Bye bye," Ava said as she waved at them, silver rings glittering on each finger," good luck with them, new girl. They're quite a handful."

"I know," Ella replied, before flashing a smile at the whirlwind of a girl.

Even though she seemed to make Alex really uncomfortable, Ella had to admit Ava seemed like exactly the type of person she would hang out with. Making friends in this type of place usually meant becoming friends with someone who had a criminal record though, but then again, so had she.

"Not on the best of terms?" Ella asked as she watched the tenseness flow out of Alex.

"They're childhood friends," Will said," but Ava and Alex went through a, well -"

"Messy break up," Alex said curtly.

Ella refrained from prying further as Will changed the subject, her eyes on Levi instead.

"Didn't know you were the type to calm someone down," she said to him as Will babbled on with Alex.

He glanced at her, before looking in front of him again. "I'm not."

"Yeah sure you're not," Ella smiled," you big, bad wolf."

"Don't call me that," he scowled.

"I'm not saying anything," Ella said.

Levi didn't sneer back, a feat she had thought impossible, and they neared the back of the crowd.

"Come on, Clarkson!" somebody yelled out," give us food! This is child abuse!"

"I don't get paid enough for this," Clarkson muttered as he walked to the front of the crowd, annoyance washing off him in waves.

"Why are they so understaffed?" Ella asked," I've only seen Clarkson and like, two other people."

"They don't hold it out here," Will said as he flashed his teeth in a cheeky grin," we're apparently not that easy to deal with."

"Most of them have a mental breakdown within a day," Alex said, his usual amused glint back in his eyes.

"I don't doubt it," Ella said as she looked at the screaming and rowdy crowd.

"There are lunch bags in front," Clarkson said," your food is inside. Take four per group and -"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as people snatched the bags away, immediately scattering after. Her group didn't seem to be in a hurry at all though as they walked towards the front. She frowned at first, but a moment later she could immediately see why. Where they went, people backed away, watching the guys with reverence and a hint of fear.

"You sure you aren't the big, bad wolf?" Ella said to Levi, her eyebrows raised.

As a guy handed Levi a lunch bag, his eyes downcast, Levi looked her in the eyes, attractive even in all his arrogance.

"I never said I wasn't."