Kaidan felt a nervous lump form in his throat. His heart was pounding and his mouth had gone dry, but he couldn't swallow. He wouldn't swallow for fear of looking stupid. She was standing so close to him that he could feel her breath on his face. The look in her eyes was so alluring that he didn't realize they had stopped talking. Instinctually, he leaned in, closing his eyes. His lips met hers and they were full and warm like he'd imagined. He hoped she couldn't feel how terrified he was. This was his first kiss.

When Kaidan discovered he was a biotic, his parents were somewhat supportive, but his already introverted ways became more entrenched. As a small child, that just meant that he was quiet and liked to play alone. As he entered puberty, it turned into near isolation, especially after getting that L2 implant. He especially feared girls for the specific reason of knowing what happened when he became aroused. That now innate behavior changed after these few months in Brain Camp.

He'd seen that his physical manifestations of biotic power were no longer strange to the other kids here. There had been more than a few awkward occurrences of biotic discharges from others that Kaidan understood completely. No one was a freak here, save the turian, and he liked that feeling of comfort and acceptance. This was why he took a chance, finally, after nearly 18 years. With Rahna.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her waist toward his. She was exciting and he hoped for many more times like this. His hands moved under her shirt to touch the smooth skin of her back. Electric blue waves of energy flowed off both of them. Kaidan felt free. He deepened the kiss, and his body began to beg for more.

A door opened loudly and there was a gasp. Kaidan and Rahna quickly turned their heads toward the noise. The quiet, empty hallway they were in was empty no longer. About 3 meters away stood Lauren Shepard. Her mouth was open, but her eyes quickly went to the floor. "Um…sorry," she said, then quickly walked away.

When Lauren was out of sight, Rahna looked back at Kaidan. She smiled at him gently. "That was nice," she said. Her fingers were stroking the back of his neck, making his implant site tingle. He smiled back, but suddenly it didn't feel genuine. "Yeah." He hoped his voice didn't sound as insincere as he now felt. Why was he feeling guilty?

He eased himself a step back from Rahna, giving her a quick kiss on her hand. "I have to go. I lost track of time. I'll see you later in class."

"Absolutely," she said quietly, grinning.

Kaidan turned and followed the direction that Lauren seemed to be headed just a few minutes prior. Why did her seeing them bother him?

x-X-x

Lauren walked as quickly down the hallway as she could without looking like she was running away from Kaidan and Rahna. It was humiliating to come across a pair of teens making out, but these two in particular made it unbearable. For reasons Lauren didn't understand, she felt wounded and tears began stinging her eyes. This shouldn't have been a surprise to her in the least bit. She saw the way they acted together in class every day. But she also saw him every morning herself, didn't she? She shook her head resolutely. Of course all of that meant nothing.

She found the doorway to the running track and turned in. At least here she could actually run away from her problems. Grateful she was already in her sweats and tank, she started a slow jog around the track. She needed to get that sight out of her mind. She let her steady footfalls start a chant in her mind. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care.

Indira was on the far side of the track, so Lauren picked up her pace to catch up with her, but as she started to take off a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. It was Kaidan. Lauren smiled lamely. "I'm really sorry about barging in on you two. You'll need to find a better hiding spot next time," she said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here…," Kaidan began, but he really didn't know why he was there.

Lauren turned and kept walking on the track with Kaidan trailing her. "Maybe you should talk with your bunkmate, Jason. I know he and Kat have a few places they like to go. I hear about it every night. It's cool, Kaidan. Rahna's great. She's perfect for you." Lauren just wanted to escape, but Kaidan got a hold of her elbow this time, stopping her.

"Hey, I'm trying to talk to you," he said. "Just let me finish, ok?"

The girl crossed her arms impatiently. "Fine. Talk."

Kaidan scratched the back of his neck. He really didn't know what he wanted to say. Should he apologize? Why would he apologize? He'd done nothing wrong, but for God's sake, why did he feel like he had?

"I, uh, I just wanted you to know that I'm not like Jason. I don't move in on girls like that. So…"

"So Rahna's in good hands. I know, Kaidan. I saw." Lauren rolled her eyes and took a step away. "I should go."

Kaidan's face went dark. "Then go. People get tired of the chip on your shoulder, you know. Nobody here owes you anything, so stop acting like a goddamn spoiled brat."

Her eyes flashed in anger. "I'm not a brat, and you know it. Maybe I'm just tired of being a freak among freaks. I thought since you were singled out too that maybe we had something in common, but I guess not. I hoped too much."

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Hoped for what?"

"Shit," she whispered, then looked straight at him and demanded, "Just get the hell away from me!"

"Hey, you know that I was serious at lunch. You are an amazing person. I'd kick anyone's ass who talked bad about you. I care about you," Kaidan said cautiously. "You-you're like a little sister to me."

"Thanks," Lauren said sarcastically. "I don't need your protection. Go take care of Rahna, if you need that so badly." She quickly walked away and this time Kaidan didn't pursue.

x-X-x

Back in their bunk, Indira saw quietly while Lauren fumed. "Why does this make me so pissed? I had no claim on him. If anything, Rahna has had most of his attention, right?"

"I'm sorry, Lauren," Indira said quietly. "What I said at lunch didn't help either. I guess this is just something everyone has to go through at some point in their lives."

"It doesn't make it suck any less though."

Indira nodded silently, her face creased with concern. "What are you going to do tomorrow morning?"

"Oh hell…," Lauren whined, staring up at the ceiling. "I forgot about that. I guess I'm going to work on my own, whether he wants to be a team or not. Up until now I had always been alone in life. He was just a little bump in the road." She faced Indira. "I decided I am going into the Alliance Navy after all this. Then I can kick ass legitimately. I'm not letting any jackass guy get in my way."

"Good for you!" Indira agreed. Her smile was true but her face was pale.

"Indi, are you ok?"

"Actually, I'm getting a pretty bad headache. Can you help me get to the infirmary?"

Lauren wrapped her arm under the taller girl's shoulders and helped support her weight.

"Let's hurry," Indira said unsteadily. "This is getting really bad fast."

A/N: Thank you to all my new favorites and follows! I'm so pleased you are enjoying this...hopefully as much as I am writing it!