OK! NO MORE DISCALIMERS! GARSH! Ok, if I copy something from someone it is purely a coincidence, ok? There. I own nothing blah blah blah…read the prev chapters…

Chapter # 3 – First Time

"Yo, Chica wake up!" Magnet nudged the sleeping Ella.

"Mmph. I don't want to!" Ella groaned in reply

"You have to, El." Ella looked up from an opening in the blanket and saw Zigzag looming over her, a hand extended.

"God." Ella complained as she reached for his hand, but missed. Sending her self over the bed's edge and landing with a loud 'thump' on the splintery wooden floor.

"Come on." Zigzag sighed, trying to mask his laughter.

"Elli! Get up!" Tibby squealed as she bounced over to where Ella lay on the floor. "Boys, you're doing it wrong." Tibby began to kick at Ella and pull the blanket off her. "GET UP YOU LAZY COW!" she shouted. Immediately Ella rose up of the floor;

"Gosh Tibbs!" she exclaimed, dusting herself off and slipping on an ugly orange jumpsuit. Ella tied the arms of the suit around her waist and pulled on her navy blue Chanel t-shirt.

"There we go!" Tibby clapped her hands together. "Now, let's all go outside!" and she ran to catch up to Squid.

Ella trailed behind a bit, looking at the oddly pretty sunrise coming up over the mountain. "Wow." She breathed.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Zigzag surprised her, by stopping and waiting for her to catch up.

"Sure is." She nodded before grabbing his hand and lunging towards the 'library' where everyone else was waiting.

"Ok, girl scouts….. Oh, aren't I a funny one? We actually have some girls! Anyways, get yer shovels and a honeyed tortilla and get to diggin'!" Mr. Sir barked.

Ella, being particularly bitter this morning muttered; "Who pissed in his cornflakes." Barely audible, but enough so that Zigzag and her other tent mates heard. Sending them all into a fit of asinine (a/n – I read that in a GG book…what does it mean, anyone?) laughter.

"Ms. McDermott, do you find something funny." He spat.

"No." she mumbled quietly. Something's happened since she'd arrived the day before with Tibby. Ella is the quieter one. THAT, folks are a change.

"Ok, let's go y'all." X-ray ordered, pointing to the digging spot that'd been marked for them.

"Man, El Chica why've you been so quiet?" Magnet asked.

"No reason." Ella responded briskly, than walking quickly to the front of the line. Zigzag rose an eyebrow in magnets direction and Magnet just shrugged; "I donno dawg."

"Well, since yesterday when they got here she'd changed a lot. Even in the 15 hours we've known El and Tibbs. It's like Tibby is the loud one. Ella just isn't. I know I shouldn't be, but I am." Zigzag confided to Magnet. Everyone always went to him with their problems.

"Well, Dude. I'd talk to her. But I don't know. Do what you think you should, but wait until you all know each other better." He instructed Zigzag.

"Good Idea Mag! Thanks!" Zigzag wiped his forehead from the early morning sweat and ran to catch up to Ella.

Ella walked slowly once she'd gotten a little ways ahead of the group. For a while she felt content to be alone, only the distant voices of Tibby and the rest of her tent mates filled her ears. That is, until she heard footsteps pounding behind her. Ella whipped around to see Zigzag slowing down a few feet away.

"Hey." She greeted him.

"Hi!" He smiled. "Ready for your first day of diggin'?"

"Ha!" she scoffed. "Not in the least!"

"Well, Ella, I know what you mean. Being a new kid is hard. Brings about a lot of changes. I felt so alone and wanted nothing other than to have friends and forget my past when I got here. Except fire. Fire can stay part of my past. I like fire," He stammered out.

Ella gazed up at him with her huge emerald green eyes and started to giggle; "You're silly Ziggy!" Before she stopped walking and just began to stare out into space.

"Um, hello? Ella?" he waved a strong hand in front of her face

to gain attention.

"Yes?" she answered in a soft, robotic tone.

"We've got to go dig now!" he pointed out.

"Oh! Right, that!" and with that she ran off and began to dig furiously between Magnet and Squid and across from Zigzag.

Time Skip

Tibby had just finished digging and was attempting to get out of her 5 by 5 foot hole.

"Ahhh!" she squealed as she fell backwards into it.

Zigzag saw this as the perfect opportunity to talk to Tibby about Ella. He was also finished his hole so the two could walk as they talked.

"Here, lemme help you." He offered Tibby a sun burnt, calloused hand.

She graciously accepted it; "Hey Ziggy! What's goin' on?"

"Um, can we walk (a/n – Tibbs said ''sure, what's wrong?'')? I was just wondering if anything strange is going on with Ella. I mean, this morning when I was talking to her she just kept spacing out and her eyes looked angry. But whenever I would be like; Hello? Ella? She's snap out of it and look happy again. Is anything wrong?" he rambled

"Look, Zig." Tibby breathed quietly. "What El said happened to me, it happened to her. She is so ashamed of the fact that it did we kind of switched stories. And that crying act I put on? Yeah, it was all a practiced act. I swear on my pet horse sugar's grave. Ella is a very strong girl and doesn't like to admit things like that have happened to her. I'm, well, I'm strong but people just don't know it. How else would I be able to make it so believable? Anyways, that's what's wrong with El." Tibby explained.

Zigzag just stood there, his jaw almost touching the dust covered ground. "Wow."

"Yeah. It's scary if you think about it, oh, and please, Ziggy, don't tell anyone, especially El that I told you!" she pleaded.

"Okay. Tibbs, I swear on my lighter's grave." He put his hand over his heart as if he was taking an oath.

Tibby cocked an eyebrow at him, then sighed with relief, remembering his obsession, and reason he got sent here was arson.

"Alrighty. Well, let's go back to the tent or something. And remember, I said and you know nothing."

"You know it." Ziggy nodded as he and Tibby walked back toward the tent.