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Nerves vibrate up and down my spine as I patiently wait for Jess to arrive at our meeting spot. My fingers constantly run through my hair fighting back against the nervous energy; the continuous movement helps me think about something other then the fact I'm about to go on a date with Jess. I pause when I realize that my anxious twitches are also messing up my hair. Shit. I need to fix this asap.

Frantically I reach down and grab a spoon that's within my reach. I squint into my small reflection straining my eyes to see the damage I have caused to my looks. However, the small metal globe continues to make my nose look huge, and it shrinks my head vividly. Stupid spoon.

"Hey, whatcha doing?"

Jess's voice nearly gives me a heart attack, and I forcefully throw the spoon across the kitchen. It lodges into the wall with a large clang, and a chuck of rock falls to the ground with the metal.

"Opps."

Jess begins to laugh and eyes me with an amused gaze. I smile in return as my heart continues to beat out of my chest. My hands begin to feel extremely warm and clammy. Consciously I tap them casually against my jeans in attempt to seem less nervous. Jess cocks her head to the side and pouts dramatically.

"Did you do something with your hair?"

Shit she noticed. I probably look like a total idiot.

"No! I uhhhh just…"

Struggling to make a sentence appear, my cheeks begin to burn. I can already tell my face is bright red, which only causes me to blush even more. My hand flies up to my head to begin its attempt to fix the messy locks. To my surprise Jess reaches up and grabs my wrist. Slowly she brings my arm back to my side, and her reassuring gaze fills me with warmth.

"No don't. I like it. It's cute."

I release a sigh of relief, and head spins at the idea she might think I'm cute. Sure it's not hot or sexy, but I can deal with cute. Well that is if it's not little brother cute. My shoulders begin to tense up again, but my brain lectures me to calm down. I take a large inhale that reinforces my minds nagging. I snap back into reality in time for Jess to be looking around the kitchen for some hint on what we will be doing.

"So what's the plan?"

"Oh we are just going to sit here."

Jess's baffled face turns to hide her shock, and she begins to scan the room more intensely searching for the reason why we would stay here. I guess she didn't pick up on my sarcasm. This makes it a tad more awkward. I clear my throat drawing her attention back to me, and my hands reach under the table to grab the picnic basket I packed. It took a lot of smuggling food past Jeb to fill this baby. My mental smirk greets me at all those times I snuck past Jeb to the extra supply room.

"I'm joking. We are going to have a little picnic. Food a la Jamie!"

Her face lights up with delight excited to learn that I was joking about staying in the dining hall. Fingers try to open up the lid to my basket to get a sneak peak at the food, but I swat her hand away quickly shoving the carrier further behind my back.

"NO PEAKING!"

Instantly her hands fly up in surrender, and giggles greet my protest.

"Alright oh master Jamie."

"Now that's more like it. Follow me."

My body turns to begin to lead the way down the pathways to the spot I have picked for our private late night dinner. Unexpectedly a soft delicate hand wraps into mine, and my stomach swirls at the gesture. My eyes shift over to Jess; she's staring straight ahead, but I catch her lips playfully smiling in triumph. My fingers grip a tiny bit tighter.

After a short walk we reach our destination. I stop before the crop fields in the middle of the main cave area. The mirrors are tucked into the shadowy deeps so the area is not bright like it usually is. Instead its dark, and the night sky can be scene through the holes in the ceiling. A soft breeze blows through sending a refreshing breath of fresh air into our lungs. For some reason my brain drifts off to Joy. I wonder what she's up to…

"The crops… why are we here?"

I try to conceal my overly excited grin when I turn toward her.

"Oh just wait and see."

Gently I begin pushing long strands of wheat to the side so we can begin to make our journey through the large area. The strips of plant tickle our legs as we stroll through. I continue to grow more and more impatient with each step we take. Once we reach the middle a large cotton blanket is set up in a nice area where I have recently picked the crops earlier today. The soft fabric looks inviting, and perfect. Jess's smile begins to replace the features of terror that were there earlier.

My hand guides her to the blanket, and when I let go, I bow deeply and theatrically.

"Here we are madam."

More giggle pass, and she finds her seat in the warm cotton. I immediately follow her, and sit close so we are touching. I notice a light shade of pink invading her cheeks.

"Here lean back."

My head goes back and my shoulders shuffle as they try to get in a comfortable position. Jess mimics my moves, and soon she is right beside be gazing up at the giant sky beyond the hole in the cave. The stars twinkle and greet us. It's so vast and beautiful; the idea that there are numerous planets we don't know about blows my mind. I begin to reply all of the stories Wanda has told over the years.

"Crazy isn't it? That the souls came from a place billions of miles away?"

Jess's body squirms next to me, and her elbow pushes into my side.

"Yeah I guess. I wish it wasn't that way though."

Immediately I prop myself up on my elbows to examine her face.

"Why? We wouldn't have Wanda then."

Her eyes avoid mine when she responds.

"Wanda's great, but wouldn't you rather have your family back?"

My thoughts go fuzzy with confusion.

"Wanda is part of our family."

Sitting up, Jess eyes me expectedly. Her gaze gives the impression that the answer is obvious.

"Like our real family Jamie. Your mom and dad. My parents…"

A spark of frustration flies through me. Since when does she not like Wanda? I guess I have never seen her talk to her, but I only assumed it was because she was a little shy. Doubt begins to creep up into my brain. Quickly I change the subject.

"So want to try some of the food?"

Nods of agreement answer, and I begin shuffling through the basket to find our first part of the meal. I dig out some cupcakes that were the toughest object to sneak by Jeb.

"Who says we can't start with dessert?"

"You are a genius!"

Jess snags the delicious treat out of my hand, and immediately begins to dig in. I smile triumphantly knowing I did a job well done. Mid-bite into my own delicacy my ears pick up on some brushing from the grass. Footsteps follow and soon I can pick up on some voices.

"This is my favorite spot to come when no one is looking!"

Flutters spin in my stomach, and instantly I am more alert. That's Joy's voice.

"Well I'm glad we are going."

The flutters then turn to sickening hurls. Isaiah is with her. My mood suddenly worsens, but when they emerge from the crops, my breath catches. Joy's green eyes are somehow even greener with a splash of make-up. They twinkle with happiness, and her smile is wide and bright. Her short hair falls delicately in loose curls, and her cheeks are rosy and alive. I can't seem to take my eyes off of her.

"Oh hey Jamie."

Joy acts surprised, but I can see through her false gasp. It's like she was expecting me to be here. Suddenly I begin to feel irritated. Did she do this on purpose? Is she trying to ruin my date?

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

Joy wraps her arms around Isaiah, and he grins down at her. I instantly snake an arm around Jess's shoulders.

"Well I'm showing Isaiah one of my favorite places."

Her tone tries to convey innocence, but I am having a hard time believing her. My eyes begin reading her every gesture.

"Really? Huh… Joy can I talk to you for a second."

A pout unfolds on her lips and her eyebrows lift slightly in shock.
"Yeah sure. That is if Isaiah is ok with it. I don't want to leave him alone."

Of course Isaiah has to agree. More frustration builds inside me, and I just want to pull her away myself.

"Uh yeah sure that's fine with me. I'll just stay here with Jess."

I snatch Joy's hand tugging her away from the group. Each step away from Isaiah seems to do wonders on my attitude. Though I still want to punch him in the face, which is strange. I mean yeah normally Isaiah is annoying and cocky, but I never really want to resort to violence. I need to figure this shit out.

As soon as we are far enough away to not be heard, I sharply turn back to Joy.

"What are you doing?"

"Well I'm on a date with Isaiah."

"No shit Sherlock."

Joy immediately glares at me in response to my comment. Guilt pings me, but I remind myself that she is purposely sabotaging my date. I try to recover myself in the argument.

"You knew I was going to be on a date with Jess! I told you we were going to be here."

"Oh well I didn't know you meant here."

Innocence plays in her eyes, and I try to hold on strong to my point. It's getting increasingly more difficult with her eyes gazing into me.

"Joy come on don't give me that. Why are you even here with Isaiah in the first place?"

Innocence disappears and her defensive mode begins to carry over.

"Because Isaiah is great! And why can't I have a date when you have one?"

The awful images of Joy and Isaiah together increase my disgust.

"He just isn't a good fit for you. He's a player and he is just using you."

More anger convulses from Joy. She is trying to remain calm, but her voice shrills loosing her patience.

"Admit it Jamie. You just don't want me to be with any guy. You can have Jess but I can't have anyone. Is that right?"

Defensively I shake my head, and laugh at her accusation.

"No! You can date who ever you want! See if I care."

Disappointment seems to hide in her eyes, but she blinks it away jabbing her finger into my chest repeatedly.

"Fine! (Jab) I (Jab) pick (Jab) Isaiah (JAB JAB JAB!)"

Quickly she turns around and begins to march back to the spot. I follow her closely whispering frantically.

"Well when he dumps you for the next best thing, don't come crying to me!"

A large huff of air flows out, and she picks up her pace. In no time we are back with Isaiah and Jess. Joy practically jumps into his arms when we return. I can't handle this…

"Hey Jess, do you want to get out of here? We've hogged this spot long enough. I think we can let them have it for a while."

My eyes avoid the spot where Joy and Isaiah are sitting. If I see them together again acting all lovey dovey, I might hurl.

"Yeah sure! It was nice to see you guys!"

Jess waves to them while I am already making my way through the field to get as far away as possible. Wild footsteps jog up beside me, and Jess huffs out of breath.

"Woah wait up speedy!"

I pause allowing her to reach me. Once we are together again we continue to walk down in silence. The picture of Joy with Isaiah consumes my brain not allowing me any peace.

After a few minutes Jess brushes her hand along my arm

"Hey Jamie this has been wonderful! But I should really head off to bed. I have the early morning cooking shift."

Disappointment sags on my heart. This is a disaster. My head hangs down sad that the date ended at this note. It could have been so much better. Jess lifts my head and there is a true smile beaming at me.

"I really did have a fantastic time. We should do it again… soon!"

Then her lips brush against my cheek. It's soft and delicate, but it tingles with fire. Even after her lips move away, the buzzing sensation stays, and I stupidly put my hand over the area.

"Bye Jamie!"

Still recovering from the moment, all I can do is lift my hand to wave my goodbye. It floats awkwardly above me not sure what its doing. Even after she's gone it remains there.

A hand contacts my shoulder and spins me around quickly. Mel's concerned gaze snaps me back into reality.

"Jamie! Jared, Jeb, and I need to talk to you."

"Look, I'm pretty tired and I…"

"NO! Now!"

The interruption scares me into listening. This has to be big for Mel to be so worried.

"What's up?"

Jared digs into his pocket and reveals a familiar looking pair of sunglasses. The white slash on the side exposes that the owner is Ian. He wraps his free hand around Mel for support.

"We found these by the city. They are Ian's. The dirt also showed that there was a struggle."

Dread slowly crawls its way into my heart.

"I don't understand."

This time Mel stops Jared from answering. She looks up at him and her gaze lets him know that she wants to explain the rest. Jared squeezes her hand for support.

"Ian and Wanda were captured."

Denial attempts to make its way through.

"No! That's impossible."

"Jamie they have been gone for days! It's the only explanation."

Before I can recall what's going on, my feet are carrying me to the entrance of the cave.

"We have to go save them."

Sadness fills Mel, and it look as if she is fighting back tears.

"We can't."

"Why not!?"

This time Mel explodes loosing her patience with the facts of the situation.

"We have no idea where they are! Which facility they are in! We are useless and on a dead end path with information!"

Silence passes, and my brain tries to organize the information she just gave me. She puffs out breaths still recovering from her outburst. I begin to feel hopeless.

"So what's going to happen?"

More water builds on the edges of her eyes, and they close creating a barrier so it won't spill over.

"We can only hope they escape."

Already fearing the answering to my question, I hesitate before responding.

"And if they don't?"

This time Jeb steps forward beside Mel. His face is grim, and extremely pale. There are bags under his eyes from the stress of the situation.

"We will have to evacuate the caves."

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Were there any surprises? Are you happy the date was a little awkward?

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