A:N/ Agent DragonEye- Thanks for reviewing! Ok to clear a few things up, in the last chapter with the whole walkie-talkie thing, what happened was this: Lucie panicked because there were guys running up to the cabin and she was supposed to be watching them, so she knew her aunt would be mad. Since she was panicky, she couldn't figure out how to use the walkie-talkie, so Squid just grabbed it from her and got the message to the warden. Get it? LOL, I'm really sorry if that was confusing. I wrote that chapter after midnight and I was really tired!

Thanks to everyone else who is reviewing, too! I love reading your input and hearing what you have to say. I'm also trying to read some of yall's stories. Progress is slow, but I'm working on it.Hugs to everyone On with the story!

Lucie walked in the cabin wincing, already prepared for her aunt. Mr. Sir and the two other men had the three boys by their collars and the warden was standing with her hands on her hips. She turned to face Lucie when she heard the door slam shut.

"I thought I told you to let me know as soon as one of these boys tried something tricky. They got all the way up here before I knew it. And why was Squid the one who got the message to me?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Lou. I was talking to Stanley and didn't notice them getting away. Squid was just trying to help."

The warden took the walkie-talkie from her niece and threw it onto the couch. "A lot of help you are." She sighed heavily and then looked back at the men. "Well, at least Squid warned us before they could hear anything."

The men all nodded and Mr. Sir said. "Lucie, tell Squid he gets double shower tokens."

"You, on the other hand," The warden squinted her eyes at Lucie. "Did not do what I asked you to do. Therefore, I want you to dig every day for the rest of the week. And maybe some next week, too. Depends on what kind of mood I'm in."

"That's not fair!" Lucie stomped her foot and groaned.

"I asked you to do one simple thing and you didn't, so I have to punish you." She pointed at the boys. "And as for you three, no shower tokens for a week, no rec room privileges, and two holes a day for the next week."

Lucie woke up before the sun the next day, got dressed and joined the guys in line in front of the library.

"What are you doing out here again?" Squid asked when he spotted her at the end of the line.

"This is my punishment for letting those jerks get up to the cabin. A week of this."

Squid shook his head.

"Oh, poor baby." X-Ray said sarcastically as he walked by her with his shovel. She shot him a look and he did the same back to her.

Caveman turned around and looked at her with a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes. She knew all too well how he felt.

Lucie let out a frustrated cry as another load of dirt fell into her hole. This time, it wasn't Squid, but X-Ray and Magnet together who were tossing their dirt into her hole. Squid repeatedly told them to stop, but they had decided what was going on was partly his fault and they were mad at him, too. Finally, Zig Zag stopped digging and looked at them with annoyance.

"Cut it out, already. The girl's got enough problems without you jerks doubling her digging time."

X-Ray and Magnet didn't reply, but reluctantly stopped flinging their dirt at her.

"Thanks, Zig." She said, and Squid nodded at him.

Armpit was just laughing quietly to himself, apparently able to find humor in any situation and Caveman and Zero were being quiet and keeping to themselves, as usual.

When the water truck finally came, Lucie eagerly, but with trouble, climbed out of her hole and met Squid who was standing nearby waiting to speak to her.

"Don't worry about them," He told her, shaking his head. "Magnet's just mad cause Zig Zag is on my side and X-Ray just takes any opportunity he can to start something."

They took their places in line and got their water. Lucie joined Squid leaning on the ground leaning against a pile of dirt. They sat in silence, just enjoying the short break. Squid guzzled down most of his water and then took Lucie's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. She smiled at him as she used her free hand to take another sip of water.

"I know you hate digging, but I'm glad you're out here with us."

"I wish y'all could be in there with me instead." She told him, looking toward the cabin. She thought about how nice and cool it was in there and about how there were comfortable couches and lots of food. She sighed as she looked down at the dirt underneath her, cracked, hot, and dry.

"No one deserves this." She said quietly. Her mind shot back to what she and Squid had heard while they were in the closet. Would it be soon that these bulldozers arrived and made the jobs easier on these boys? But what was her aunt looking for that was worth marrying Mr. Sir for?

"Yo, Squid, Hot Lips. I think y'all need to get back to your holes." Armpit said loudly, bringing Lucie back from her thoughts.

Squid nodded and stood up. He stuck out a hand to help Lucie up and she took it.

Just a few minutes after she got back down in her hole, Mr. Sir's truck came back into view.

"Water again?" Zig Zag asked.

"Surely not."

"Has it been that long already?"

"Maybe somebody's in trouble." Squid suggested.

The truck stopped abruptly where it usually stopped to give D-tent their water. Mr. Sir got out and adjusted his belt buckle.

"Lucie." He grunted.

Lucie pulled herself out of her hole. "Yes, Mr. Sir?"

"You got a visitor. The warden told me to bring you back for the day."

All at once, all the guys turned to look at Lucie. Some with question, some with envy, some with dislike.

"Is it my mom?" Lucie asked, with some hope in her voice as she walked toward Mr. Sir.

He shook his head. "It's a boy."

Her eyes widened and she froze. Could it be…? She looked at Squid. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at her as if waiting for her to tell him who it might be. She just kept walking and got in the passenger side of the truck. She watched all the boys watch the truck drive away and felt a mixture of relief and guilt for leaving them. Then she turned her eyes to the cabin in front of her in which someone there to talk to her stood. She felt her heart speed up. Mr. Sir came to a screeching halt right in front of the door and Lucie hopped out quickly. She bounded up the stairs and only hesitated for a second or two before opening the door. She walked in and her eyes immediately went to two people sitting on the couch. Her aunt looked up and smiled oddly and Lucie's eyes then fell on the other person. He turned around too and after seeing her, he stood up.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Lucie asked, quietly. Her voice was strained because her breath had gotten caught somewhere in her throat.

Jake walked quickly to her and reached out for her hand. "I really needed to see you, to talk to you."

Lucie jerked her hand away. "I don't want to talk to you." She went in her room and slammed the door behind her. A few moments later, there was a small knock on the door and Jake opened it.

"Luc, please talk to me."

"Go away!" Lucie screeched at him. The warden appeared in the doorway behind him and narrowed her eyes at Lucie.

"This young man came all the way out here to see you, so you are going to talk to him."

"No, I'm not!"

"Excuse me? I think you are. Either that or spend the rest of the summer digging holes."

"Aunt Lou, I can't. He-"

"She'll meet you out front in five minutes, Jake." The warden said sternly and Jake turned and left.

"Aunt Lou, you don't understand. He cheated on me with my friend! I don't have anything to say to him."

"Listen, you are my niece and I know what is best for you. I don't want to see you get wrapped up in a relationship with someone like Squid. Or even Caveman, Lucie, they're not good boys. Jake is a normal teenager. He made a mistake but he still cares about you."

"You're wrong." Lucie said simply and pushed by her aunt. She stomped through the living room and out the front door where Jake was sitting on the stairs waiting for her. He stood up and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Talk to me, Luc. You have to know how sorry I am."

"I don't want to hear it. I'm finished with you. I don't need to hear your excuses."

"But I am sorry. I realize I was a jerk and I should not have done what I did."

"Well, Jake, I'm glad you realize that, but also realize that I have moved on. I don't deserve to be treated the way you treated me and I'm never going back to you."

"I love you, Lucie. Please don't tell me that one mistake cost me the only girl I've ever really loved."

Lucie felt tears well up in her eyes but she fought them back. The truth was, seeing him again brought back all the pain of when she had lost him and reminded her how much she had cared about him.

"Don't listen to him, Lucie." Suddenly Squid appeared from behind a building corner and started walking toward them. "I know how guys' minds work. He'll say anything to get what he wants."

"Who are you?" Jake asked, his eyes darting from Lucie, to Squid and then back to Lucie. "Who is that jerk?"

"That's Squid. He's a friend of mine and he is not a jerk. Unlike you."

"Squid? What kind of name is that?" Jake mocked, shaking his head.

Squid walked up close to him, standing between him and Lucie, and spoke in a warning voice. "Listen. You have no business being here. You don't deserve a girl like Lucie."

Jake pretended not to be the least bit scared by Squid's threat, but he nervously adjusted the collar of his polo shirt.

"I don't know who you think you are, or why you think you have a say in what my girlfriend does, but you need to just cut the act."

"I'm not your girlfriend!" Lucie yelled at him. "We're over, Jake. Give it up."

Jake rolled his eyes. "You'll come around. And I'm not leaving until you do." He said matter- of -factly. "And you," he pointed at Squid who had taken Lucie's hand in his. "Stay away from Lucie and stay out of our business."