Hey guys! Another shorter chapter here, so, you're welcome and sorry... I guess.

Also, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my loyal readers/reviewers: HeartlessCrimson, TunelessLyric, and pepergirl001. You guys give me the drive to keep writing this! :D

Hope you enjoy!


As soon as the locker room door slides shut behind me, I hear an eruption of commotion and voices from the inside, but I pay it no mind. I have nothing more to say to any of them right now.

I feel as if I'm in a daze of stupefaction as I aimlessly walk through the hallways of the giant ship. My steps are slow and deliberate, my athletic shoes hardly making a sound as I walk. Everything looks different, seen in a new light, both literally and metaphorically. I can hardly remember the last time I walked through these halls without my visor filtering everything in sight.

However, my trance is broken when I catch the scent of food coming from the cafeteria and suddenly realize how hungry I am. Feeling a tad ambitious in my current state, I follow the smell all the way to the large eatery.

Of course, I've been inside the cafeteria before, but never has it been so crowded. The grey, school time lunch tables are filled with crewmen, medics, soldiers, Freelancers I've never even met, and anyone else in between. I feel small and insignificant, like the new kid on the block as I take my first step into the loud room. I only receive a few curious glances as I try to appear casual while I weave through human obstacles and reach a basket filled with assorted fruits.

With my back to everyone, I quickly sift through the produce and snatch one of the few available cameo apples along with a partially green banana. With both in hand, I turn around and nearly jump in surprise when I come face to face with the casually clothed (and rather short) Agent Connecticut.

"Sorry," She says apologetically, noticing my fright, "I just wanted to get in there. Do you mind Texas?"

She's pointing at the basket right behind me, and I do a double take as I answer, "Wh— oh, sure."

Flustered, I step out of her way and quickly make my way toward the exit, any thought of staying and eating in here long gone. It isn't until I'm almost at the door, my mind clear enough, that something occurs to me.

I freeze before doing a complete one-eighty and locking sights on where Connecticut was just standing, but she's gone. I immediately scan the full room, standing on my tip toes and looking over the tops of people's heads to try and catch a glimpse of her. However, she is nowhere to be found. It's like she vanished into thin air.

I furrow my brows in a troubled manner before reluctantly turning around and starting to walk out of the room again. I try not to let it bother me as I head towards my room, but I can't help the nagging thought that keeps crossing through my mind:

Agent Connecticut was never in the locker room, so how the fuck did she know who I was?

… … … … … …

It's late, nearly ten o'clock, when I hear a knock at my door.

I almost miss it, the Director or Councilor usually just summon me to where they wish to talk, so I'm not used to hearing the sound anymore. Shooting the door a suspicious look, I lay my plex pad down next to me as I slowly sit up on my bunk. I slip my feet into some tennis shoes before cautiously walking up to the door and reaching for the button to open it. I pull my hand back a moment though, unsure, before deciding to get whatever this is over with and hitting the button.

When the door opens to reveal who is standing in the hall, my wariness is thrown away but I'm still left surprised when I see North's guilty form in front of me. Clad in his white t-shirt and jeans, it's clear that he's nervous about being at my doorstep when looks down at the ground before giving me a sheepish smile.

"Um, hi." He says awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

Moving my right forearm high on the doorframe, I raise my eyebrow and deadpan, "Hello."

"I, uh," He starts, "I just wanted to see you. To see how you're doing with… everything."

I can't help but shake my head and snicker slightly at his words, "I've been dealing with "everything" for over a year now. I'm fine."

When I finish my sentence with a tiny smile, I see his body physically relax. His nervousness is gone and he reverts to the North that I've come to know these past few weeks. He grins, showing off his white teeth, before taking a step closer to my unmoving form.

"I knew you would be. You're you." He states happily, but then becomes serious and lays a soft hand on my left shoulder, "Honestly, I actually came here to make sure you knew that you're not alone anymore. You have friends here now, and if you ever need anything, I— we're here for you."

I hear his slip of the tongue, but pay it no mind seeing as my focus is somewhere else. His hand, pleasant and comforting on my shoulder, is distracting me. Until just now, I hadn't realized how much I missed real human contact, even affection. His light touch is different than a handshake, it's deeper, more personal. It makes me feel content.

Looking in to North's light blue eyes, I suddenly realize that he's waiting for some kind of response from me. I take a split second to pull myself back together, trying to ignore the radiating heat of his hand, before giving him a jerky nod.

"I know North." I say before making a, personally, bold move and softly squeeze his extended wrist with my left hand, "Thanks."

His response is a warm, stunning smile that everyone should witness before they die, before his face suddenly contorts in to something unfamiliar. I only have a moment to identify it as uncertainty before he drops his hand off of my shoulder and takes a step back. His head hangs slightly to the side, for some reason, refusing to look at me.

Feeling an inexplicable chill run through me, I furrow my brows in confusion at the sudden change of demeanor, "What's wrong?"

At my words, his head jerks up to look me in the eye before he puts an obviously forced smile on his face, "Nothing."

Not accepting his explanation, I take a tentative step forward and gently urge him, "Hey, you're the one who just said we're friends. You can tell me what's wrong."

His strained smile wavers ever so slightly, but he doesn't let it fall, "No really, it's nothing. I have to go anyways. See you tomorrow morning?"

His body is now half turned away from me, obviously wanting to get away, but also not wanting to be rude. To give me something to do, I restlessly run my hand through my hair as I try to decide whether or not to give him the benefit of the doubt. I watch as North's eyes become more and more desperate with each passing second before I make my decision.

"Okay… Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." I say and take a step back into my doorway.

I expect him to bolt out of here without looking back, but he surprises me again when he turns to face me completely. We lock gazes, and out of the corner of my eye I can see his right hand start to reach out to me. However, it only gets so far before he sighs sadly and lets it drop back to his side. With the uncertainty still present on his face, he wordlessly turns away from me again and, this time, doesn't hesitate before walking down the hall and out of my sight.

When he's gone, I let out my own, more steadying sigh as I take one more step backwards and shut the door. Once I hear the air compress and the lock click, I suddenly find that I don't want to move anymore. I stare at the metal door in front of me with blank thoughts. The only thing I'm able to comprehend in this moment is an unusual, but unbelievably pleasant feeling swirling around inside of me.

"What's this?" Omega finally makes himself heard and chuckles as best he can, mocking my feelings from inside my head.

...

"Shut up, asshole."


Good? Bad? Is this... this thing that just happened right here... is it acceptable...?

I've been debating this pairing since before this was even a story, so tell me your thoughts on it. In the end, I'll go with my gut, but input is always great. (It also probably didn't help that I listened to "Still Into You" by Paramore the entire time I wrote this :P)

Please inform me of any mistakes. Thanks :)