Charlie's POV
"Hey, Avalon?" Nora asks as we sit in Sterling's kitchen. "Why did Monroe let you go so easily?"
I sigh and look away, bored. Sterling is sleeping off the insane amount of alcohol he had consumed, Aaron is still dead asleep, and the rest of us are downstairs. Nate refuses to speak to Avalon, and Danny keeps staring at her. I rolled my eyes when I noticed. Boys.
"To be honest, I think Miles was right. He had no other use for me. Monroe has a pendant, he knows how it works, and he's planning something huge." Avalon replies while avoiding Miles's eyes.
"Something huge?" Miles asks. "What exactly do you mean?"
Avalon shakes her head quickly. "I don't know the full plans. A lot of the time, Monroe would bring me to war meetings, as a sort of possessive thing. I zoned out a lot, but lately, he was planning something with Captain Neville. Something he couldn't talk about in front of others. Even when I was there, he whispered."
She bites her lip and stares down at the table. "Can you remember hearing anything at all?" Miles presses.
"No, Miles!" Avalon yells. "If I knew, I'd freaking tell you." She quiets down immediately and leans back in her seat. "The war meetings had to do with border wars and the Georgia Federation. But I don't know what he was telling Neville."
"If he figures out how to work that pendant, we're all dead, and the people in the Georgia Federation are dead." Miles rubs his hand across his forehead. "This is bad."
"Pendant?" Nate asks. "What pendant?"
"Ask her." Miles says, pointing at Avalon. Nate sits back in his chair, a sour expression on his face.
Avalon lets out a small sigh. "It turns the lights on for a limited radius and a limited amount of time. I don't know how." She says without looking at him. Nate doesn't say a word, and tension spreads through the air.
"Who the hell died?" Sterling asks as he walks in.
"How are you feeling?" Avalon asks, standing up and grabbing him a glass of water. "Does your head hurt?" She roots around in a drawer for a moment, and then slaps down the glass and a small white pill in front of him. "Take that."
"Jesus, woman! I'm fine, I just had a bit too much to drink." Sterling says as he tosses back his pill. Avalon continues to hover around him, unsure what to do. "Seriously, I'm fine."
Avalon stares down at his arm blankly. "I didn't know you liked growing plants." She says.
Sterling forces a laugh. "Oh, yeah. It's sort of a recent thing."
"And poppies, huh? Interesting choice." She says, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Well, you know me, always the interesting one." He says casually. Avalon reaches out and yanks up his shirt sleeve a little bit more. "Careful!" She points to a small mark on his arm.
"You're shooting up heroin!" She accuses. Everyone turns to stare at Sterling. "Aren't you?" He remains silent. "Aren't you!?"
"Avalon… You've had your bad times and I've had mine. It was a coping method." Sterling says calmly.
"Coping method, my ass!" Nora says, shaking her head.
"You need to stop!" Avalon says.
"Okay, Barbie." Sterling says, tugging on a piece of Avalon's blonde hair. She bats his hand away.
"Don't call me that!" She says angrily. "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Are you really angry that I'm doing drugs? You're the one prancing around with two guys, the militia, and you're killing people!" Sterling says. "We aren't the same two twelve year old kids that we used to be."
Avalon pauses. "You're right."
"Of course I am." Sterling smirks.
"Now I know where I got my sense of superiority." She remarks, laughing.
"It's contagious." He agrees.
They smile at each other for a moment, and then she moves away. "I'm starving. Does anyone know how to cook?" She asks.
"I do." I say, and stand. I walk over to the refrigerator and check the supplies. "Does eggs and bacon sound good?"
Everyone lets out a quiet cheer. Conversations start up, and after a few minutes, I hear Sterling let out a yelp.
"Jesus, woman! You're crushing my baby maker's radius." He hisses.
I turn around to see Avalon sitting on his lap. She throws her head back and laughs. "Like you needed it."
Sterling blushes. "Actually, I kind of do." Avalon raises her eyebrows, and I turn my back to them once again. "I've been seeing this girl for a couple of months now."
"Is she a prostitute?" Avalon giggles. There's a beat of silence. "Oh my God, she is!"
"Not anymore!" Sterling insists, causing everyone to chuckle. "You guys suck, screw you."
"Aw, is Sterling getting mad? Should I call your hooker girlfriend in to make you happy, baby?"
"You're the worst!" Sterling says. But he laughs, and everyone joins in. I smile to myself, but I know that we, as a group, still aren't okay. Miles and Danny have something they're keeping from me, I can just tell. Avalon and Nate might be officially ruined.
And under our laughter, something sinister is lying beneath.