A/N: Thank you for the kind words and reviews! They make my day. Now, without further ado, the second chapter:
Scarlet plunked herself in a chair aboard the Rampion, still holding Wolf's hand. She had never been happier. Except maybe with Grand-mere.
"So... Cress, right?" Cress smiled and nodded. She was studying Scarlet, like she was trying to grasp what Scarlet was like.
Winter sat to Scarlet's left and, of course, Wolf sat to Scarlet's right.
"So, uh, Cress is going first?" Cinder asked.
Once they all finished swapping stories, Scarlet decided she liked Kai. She approved him as a match for Cinder. They were obviously in love with each other; sitting slightly turned towards each other, grazing each other's fingertips, making split-second's eye contact before looking away, a ghost of a smile always lingering on their lips.
She also really liked Cress. She was so sweet and quiet, and she balanced Thorne out perfectly. She kept throwing out longing glances his way, although he could not see them.
Scarlet also noticed that no one said much about how Wolf fared while she was gone. Wolf must've noticed too because his smile had disappeared from his face.
When everyone had went off to do whatever job they had to do, Scarlet cornered Cinder.
"Hey, Cinder?" Cinder turned around.
"Yeah?"
"No one said anything about how Wolf was while I was gone, but Thorne made the comment of 'Finally talking again.' Do you... have any idea what happened?" Cinder averted her gaze.
"Um..." Cinder began and Scarlet stepped closer. "Well, soon after you were, uh, taken, he got hurt. Thorne and Cress, as you know, were in a satellite. Wolf was out cold for a couple of days before we got to Africa.
"When he woke up, the first thing he asked for was you. We told him what had happened and he was... Angry. Devastated. Dr. Erland sedated him again.
"Right before we found Thorne, he woke up, and he thought it was a dream. After we had confirmed what happened... Well, after that he wouldn't talk, he just sat in a corner. He wouldn't smile or laugh. It was like... the life had drained out of him."
Cinder's voice cracked. A tear leaked out of Scarlet's eye. She hated thinking about Wolf in that state.
"When we found you, it was the first time he had reacted to anything since he found out about your kidnapping. I tried to help him but..." Cinder's voice hiccuped and she sat down on the floor, arms wrapped around her legs. Scarlet's tears were coming out uncontrollably. She knelt next to Cinder and took her hand.
"I-I could've h-helped," Cinder began, her breathing ragged. Scarlet tightened her grip on Cinder's metal hand.
"You did your best..." Scarlet trailed off, unable to say anything else through her tears.
"There's so much more I could do... But I just... can't. I don't know... I feel like I'm completely useless." Scarlet let out a bitter laugh.
"You're anything but that, Cinder. I should've been there-" Cinder shushed her quietly and tightened her arm around Scarlet's shoulders. Scarlet was crying even harder.
The girls sat there for another half-hour, saying nothing, but comforting each other.
A/N: That was really short. And really sad. I meant for it to be a happy chapter but... er, it didn't exactly turn out that way, did it? The next chapter I know will be happier, promise. Anyways, reviews are always welcome and dearly loved, positive or negative. Thank you for reading! ~Aurum19 (And, just because, I'm gonna give you a hug, er, through the internet. *hugs*)