A/N: Thank you to the new follows and comments! This was an idea that had sat for a little while and writer's block on my other story allowed me to think more about this one.

The mess hall wasn't unlike the military messes Lauren had been to with her father. This one was just a lot louder because of the age of the occupants. The food actually looked appetizing, so Lauren grabbed a tray and followed Rahna, Kathryn and Indira.

She couldn't help but feel embarrassed when they took a spot near the blonde boy Kathryn had been cooing over. Deciding she had nothing to add to their conversation, Lauren started to eat while contemplating the girls' various features.

Kathryn was a fair-skinned girl like herself. She had a sprinkling of freckles around her nose that made her face look younger than the rest of her body. Her body said adult woman and had the curves to back it up, and Lauren felt another pang of insecurity. Her hair was a dusky blonde and had a light wave to it. When she turned her head, the curls bounced a little. Her light blue eyes were soft and friendly, like a mother.

Indira was as exotic looking as Rahna. Her hair was a chocolate brown and her darker skin was dramatically accented by eyes of a green Lauren had never seen before. Her build was thin and childlike like Lauren's, but she was tall, nearly as tall as the boys they were watching.

The girls whispered excitedly over their lunches while ogling the boys at the next table. "I'll be honest," said Rahna quietly. "I've never seen such a crop of good looking guys. Do you think biotics make them handsome?"

"I'd let them throw me around," Indira piped in dreamily.

"So Kat, there's Blondie over there, but who is his friend?" Rahna asked.

"I don't know, but he came in on my shuttle," Kathryn explained, "so I know he's from Canada. He is nice to look at too. God, have you see his ass? I actually was tempted to grab it when he walked by me getting off the shuttle. It was fine with a capital FINE. But honestly, give me Blondie anyday."

"So how old are you guys?" Lauren's voice squeaked in. The three girls looked at her in surprise. Lauren shrank under their gaze.

"I'm 18," said Kat proudly.

"I'll be 18 in a few months," said Rahna.

"I just turned 15," said Indira. "What about you?"

"I'm 14. Just turned it in April."

Rahna reached around Lauren to give her a big side hug. "Oh, you poor dear! You must be scared out of your mind being in the place far from home! I was already planning on heading to university soon, so to be sent here wasn't much of a difference." Lauren felt even more like a child than she had before. She blushed bright under Rahna's hug and looked away. Her eyes caught the dark haired boy's eyes. Had he been looking at her? Her eyes quickly dropped to the ground. This is just the beginning of a nightmare.

x-X-x

17-year-old Kaidan Alenko was bored. He came to the mess hall with his new bunkmate, Jason Mathewson. His muscular physique had obviously caught a group of girls' attention. He watched the four giggle and titter about, throwing sly looks their way. At least three of them have… It was hard not to pay attention to the girls because they were at the very next table doing a terrible job of being secretive about their interest.

Jason, on the other hand, seemed aloof to the attention. Kaidan got the impression that he was used to this reaction from girls back home. He was definitely a product of his upbringing. Jason was a Nebraska farm boy. His body said he had seen a lot of hard, physical labor. Kaidan couldn't help but wonder if his parents used the boy's biotics. He bet that they probably accepted them. Jason's confident attitude seemed genuine and not a cover.

"Hey, Alenko, watch this…I'm going to make those girls go crazy. You done eating? Just follow me," Jason whispered, giving Kaidan a sideways glance. Kaidan chuckled at the idea of teasing the girls. "I'm sure it will be too easy for you, Jase."

Jason got up and walked toward the girls even though the tray return was the other direction. Kaidan followed, but not too closely.

"Hey ladies," Jason said in his deep booming voice. "Hope to see you around." Then he winked their way. The blonde girl gasped. Jason proceeded on to the tray return and Kaidan could hear the small eruption of squeeing that came from the table as he walked away. But before he turned, his eye caught once again with the quiet girl at the table. She looked uncomfortable and Kaidan felt sorry for her. Poor kid, probably ripped from her parents' arms.

"What did you think of that?" laughed Jason, as they left the mess to head back to their bunks.
"Those girls probably died right there. To be honest, I wouldn't mind getting to know a couple of them, eh, Alenko? The blonde was nice…" Jason used his hands to trace a curvy silhouette. "But the dark haired one with the dark eyes? Wow. Hot. I may have to bang her."

"Wow, Jason, you sure know how to treat the ladies, don't you?" Kaidan said sarcastically.

"Oh, Alenko, they are girls and who am I to deny them this?" Jason gestured toward his own body. "In fact, I do know how to treat the ladies." Then he made a thrusting motion with his hips and nodded his head. "I've had my fair share of them."

Kaidan sighed and was silent. Jason was a meathead. When he wasn't talking about girls, he seemed nice enough, but Kaidan had always been so awkward around girls that someone with so much…experience was intimidating. He decided that he was going to have nothing to do with Jason getting with any of those girls.

x-X-x

"Oh. My. God. He talked to us! It wasn't a dream, was it?" Kat screeched quietly. "I swear he was looking my way when he said, 'Hope to see you around.' He did, right?"

"Hardly, he was looking at me," Indira protested. "I'm sure of it. He looked directly in my eyes. I think he even checked out my boobs."

"Oh, you children, he totally looked at me," Rahna said assuredly. "I'm glad I wore this shirt today. I always thought it made me look sexy."

"So we're at an impasse," said Kat. "We are going to have to do something about this. I like you girls and I don't think we should let boys come between us. So, paper, rock, scissors? The losers can do it again for the dark haired hottie."

"Sure," Rahna and Indira agreed. "You in, Lauren?" asked Rahna.

Lauren's eyes got big. "No, I-I've got a guy back home," she lied.

"Fantastic!" Kat exclaimed. "Glad I'm a single woman. I'll count…one, two, three, shoot!"

The three threw their hands out. All rocks. "Ok, one more time…one, two, three, shoot!"

Kat and Indira threw rocks again, and Rahna threw paper. "Yes! I win! Here I come, Blondie!" she laughed giddily.

Indira pouted quickly, then brightened. "Ok, Kat, you and me for Mr. Nice Ass. One, two, three…shoot!" Kat threw scissors and Indira threw paper. Kat giggled victoriously. "I don't think today is turning out to be such a bad day after all!"