A/N: I actually have a reason that this took so long. No internet for a month and nothing to work on this with even after I got the internet until like a week ago and then didn't even remember I was supposed to be working on this until a couple days ago.

Don't know why I bothered though... It's not like anybody reads this thing...

Chapter 9: Not What I Expected

The next morning, I decided it was time for me to talk to my teammates, whether they wanted to talk or not.

I decided to start with Rudy. My incredibly irritating Knight definitely needed to have a chat with me... Before I put his head through a window. I was about one more silent treatment session from doing so to the fluffy wolf.

Upon finding he was not in the kitchen, living room, or Lindsey's room, I headed to his. He rarely actually hung out with anyone but Lindsey. And when he was hanging out with anybody else... He did it in the kitchen or living room. Therefore, by process of elimination, there was only one place for him to be unless he'd left.

I knocked on his door, knowing that Ritchie and Rajan were the ones who knocked while Lindsey and I waltzed right in most of the time. But this was a little to serious for that kind of casual approach. This wasn't going to be a casual chat... Probably.

"Who is it?" He asked, then after a moment of me not replying, he came to the door.

I tried to keep a professional expression on my face. It came out as a neutral poker face, but that worked too. Rudy opened the door slightly, his eyes widening in fear until he actually registered the neutral expression on my face.

"We need to talk." I said calmly.

"Yeah... Okay... Sure... Come in..." He hesitated a bit to open the door and let me in.

After a moment, though, he stepped aside and let me enter. I walked past him, staying as professional as I possibly could. I didn't need to get angry or do anything stupid. I just needed to be a good leader and discuss my reasoning with him. If it went well, I could heal the second rift that had formed in my team. I just had to keep calm and talk rationally.

I hoped I could keep my shit together that long.

I sat down on his desk, and he sat, somewhat awkwardly, on his bed and looked at me.

"Rudy." I said after taking a moment to think of what exactly to say. "I've been handling this entirely the wrong way."

I thought it best to open honestly. He blinked.

"... You're admitting to doing something wrong?"

"Yes. But I didn't come here to discuss my flaws, so don't get ahead of yourself."

He flushed slightly. "Alright... Um... Continue?"

"I've been handling this the wrong way, but so have you and Ritchie. You know you're handling me allowing Atlas into the team the wrong way."

He looked down, "... Yeah..."

"However, at this point, I'm not mad at you." I said calmly, "I'm past that. I'm utterly done with your shit. But I won't do anything. You're my Knight, remember? The one who promised to stay by my side."

He looked mildly upset when I mentioned that, but nodded in agreement.

"Can... I explain myself...?" He asked hesitantly.

"Of course, Rudy. I didn't come here to chew you out, either. I came here to talk." I tried to smile.

"Well... I didn't tell Lindsey the whole truth when I told her I was mad at you for letting Atlas into the team... I am upset about it, since he tried - and failed quite epically - to kill you... But that's not entirely why I'm mad... Soph, I saw the way you were looking at him... It was the same look you used to give Rajan before your relationship with him went to shit. I'm mad because you not only started trying to replace Rajan with some random kid, but with a random kid who tried to murder you." He struggled for a second to find words he could use to continue, "I'm... I'm worried, mostly... Not so much mad at you... I don't want you to get hurt again. It was bad enough watching you almost bawl your eyes out over Rajan when you thought I was asleep..."

I flushed a bit this time. "Oh... You saw that..." I coughed, "Well... Rude... All you had to say was you didn't want me to date the guy. That's all it would have taken, seriously. I wasn't actually going to anyway... However... I might try to... Ah... Get in his pants a couple times. But that's just me being a horny bitch. He's hot."

Rudy laughed. "Wow, Sophie. You admitted to that way too easily for me to be comfortable."

I shrugged. "Hey, honesty is the best policy. It's why I'm actually a good thief."

"Wouldn't being honest typically prevent you from being a good thief?"

"No, because I don't deny stealing anything. I get in less trouble with Henry if I admit I stole something from his stash."

He chuckled quietly. "Good point."

That had been easier than I was expecting. And very very relieving. It was nice to not be mad at my Knight anymore.

Now I had to talk to Ritchie... And possibly Rajan too, you know, since I was already trying to make up with people.

I knocked on Ritchie's door, much like with Rudy, although Ritchie, as usual, seemed to know exactly who was at his door.

"... Come in, Sophie."

I opened the door and walked in, then stood, a tad awkwardly, in front of it once I had closed it. His room was, despite what I had done to it when he moved in, a disaster area. Hardly a surprise. It was cluttered with locks and lockpicking tools of all kinds.

"... What do you need?" He asked.

"We need to talk." I said, just as blankly as I had to Rudy.

Ritchie flinched. "Alright. It's about the whole silent treatment thing, isn't it?"

I nodded.

He looked down, "I swear, I'm not trying to be an ass."

I was slightly surprised that that was the first thing he had to say about it. I was also slightly amused, but only slightly. "Elaborate, please."

He sighed, "I just... I don't think you thought this through carefully enough. What if he's more clever than you think? What if he's just a really good liar? A really good actor? A psychopath with no regard for his asshole of a stepdad? I'm worried, Sophie."

I caught myself smiling slightly. "Rich-a-doodle." I said, "Believe me. Even a good actor couldn't have faked how scared he was of me and Dodger, and how freaked out he was by what I did."

"As long as you've thought it through..." He said, though he sounded unsure. "Sorry I've been being a total ass."

"It's alright, and I have thought it through." I looked down, "I thought it through way too damn much, actually. Gave myself a headache."

Somewhat hesitantly, I went to see Rajan. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to him, and upon finding myself outside his room, I chickened out. I had barely even raised my hand to knock before I squeaked, turned around, and ran off. I couldn't bring myself to talk to him.

"I'm such a coward..." I murmured to myself, curled up into a tight ball on my bed.

I should have gone to try and talk to Atlas instead. At least then I wouldn't be doing this. I'd be having a conversation with that handsome little lynx, and regardless of the context of that conversation, I'd be doing something. I was a thief, I needed to do something to stay sane. But recently, I'd spent most of my time in my room, not doing anything, and I was, pretty much, going insane.

Not that I wasn't already.

After laying there wallowing in self hatred for a while, there was a soft knock at my door.

"Who's there?" I called.

It was a useless question in the hideout, as only Rudy or I ever answered it, though I did it far more rarely. Whoever it was wasn't likely to tell me who they were.

I stood up and crept to the door, not entirely meaning to sneak. I opened the door slightly, despite knowing that if it was anyone who had bad news I was likely to scream. I was all out of "calm and professional" for the day, but I could try.

Rajan stood outside my door. He was shifting slightly, obviously uncomfortable. Why was he here.

"... Rajan." I said, the only greeting that had come to mind.

He shifted a bit more. "Um... Hi Sophie." He looked away. "Can I... Talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." I tried to summon just the slightest bit of calm and professional.

I opened the door and stepped aside, letting him enter the room. Maybe he was here to be a whiny douche and try to get me back. Or maybe he just wanted to be friends again. I could, honestly, go with either, as my heart still fluttered at the thought of being with him again, but my brain knew it was a horrible idea.

He stepped in and looked around. "... Not much has changed in here." He murmured, then looked at me. "... A lot has changed there..." He uttered, obviously not intending for me to hear him.

I ignored it, so as not to embarrass him or upset him. Hey, I'd found some of my "professional". Now to see if I could stay calm.

"Is there anything particular you wanted to talk about?" I asked after a moment of awkward silence.

He nodded. "I... Uh... Well... I just wanted to..."

I tried to be patient. He was probably nervous. It wasn't like we did a lot of talking recently that didn't end in us shouting insults at each other.

"I wanted to try and... You know... Make up with you?" He seemed more nervous than I had expected.

I hesitated.

"I know, you probably don't really wanna talk to me anyway..." He said, "And that's ok. I'm sorry, regardless."

I couldn't say anything. I had no idea what to say. I just wanted something... Something very particular, as long as he was here and I had the chance. I grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him. He froze only as long as it took me to bite his lip. He kissed back, pushing me back toward my bed.

We tumbled onto it and I can honestly say I don't know exactly what all we did to each other, just that we had fun and that he wasn't there when I woke up in the morning, sore and full of regret.