A/N: Grrrr.... Sorry for the late update. Been busy with real life sucks I know! Somewhat short chapter but I will update next chapter by Tuesday.....hopefully. It's going to be in E POV!! hehe Don't own Twilight or anyone in twilight. Meyers does! :) Thanks soooo much Maddux. My awesome beta!!

I have a problem that I cannot explain,

I have no reason why it should have been so plain,

Have no questions but I sure have excuse,

I lack the reason why I should be so confused,

I know,

how I feel when I'm around you

,I don't know,

how I feel when I'm around you

,Around you

Roulette, System of a Down

Previously on In The, Army?: He let me go and, yet again, I was too stunned to move. Even as he walked off, making his way to Drill Sergeant Davis, I still made no effort to move. I was left even more bewildered than ever before. What was I suppose to do about such a crazy person?

Maybe you are just as crazy as he is? You did enjoy that. Didn't you?

Did I?

Week 4

The days seemed to drag on and on. It all became routine and repetitive. I moped around, no longer my usual self. I was too absorbed in what was - Drill Sergeant Mason. He was in my every thought and every dream. Those around me noticed my cold, distant attitude. They all tried in their on way to help me but how could they help me when they didn't even know what was wrong with me?

My feelings ranged from lust to shame and in the end, to anger.

I hated myself for wanting him so much. Every time he yelled or grabbed at me, I could feel myself dripping with desire. What happened in the Sand Pit last week only intensified my desire for him.

With the lust came the shame. I now craved and looked forward to his punishments. At times, I would find myself talking when I knew he was around, just to get his punishment. This wasn't normal behavior, was it? I felt different from everyone else. Like I was craving the forbidden fruit. I was ashamed that his punishments left me so aroused. I felt wrong, somehow. No man has ever affected me the way Mason has, and I don't know why. I just don't understand my irrational reaction to him.

By the end of the week, the only feeling left was anger. I was angry at myself, at him and at the world for allowing such an exquisite creature to exist.

He was handsome, even with his scars. I found myself just staring at him during our morning classes. His strong jaw line, pouty, full lips, and best of all, his bright, green eyes. I often wondered how he would look with a full head of hair. Just like all the other Drill Sergeants, he sported a typical, military buzz cut.

Because it's fun.

I said that over and over again, like my own personal mantra. I was determined to confront him once more. I was not some weak child he could walk all over. I was an adult, a perfectly healthy, happy adult. I wasn't a toy. And I was, most definitely, not his toy

I wish I could say that Drill Sergeant Mason was the only one that preoccupied my mind, but he wasn't. Jacob was becoming more and more insistent in meeting with me. I could feel his desperation through his letters. Eventually, I agreed to meet with him. Only because he threatened to storm our trailer and yell for me until he finally found my bunk.

I spoke to Stanley and asked for her help. She had done this twice already and never came close to getting caught. I trusted Stanley but I wish I could say the same for Mallory. Mallory was known for her deceptive ways. Stanley assured me over and over again that she was trustworthy. The date was set for tomorrow and I couldn't have been more nervous.

It took me a whole week to finally realize that there is someone I could talk to. Someone that seemed to know a lot about Mason. Someone that was hiding something. Emmett. I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of him sooner. I went to him, ready, and with determination. I would not be taking 'no' for an answer.

I found him at the very end of our cleaning area. I was thankful we spent so much time cleaning our weapons. Unfortunately, Weber was with him and I desperately needed to speak with him alone.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" I asked timidly. They looked up at me with suspicion. I had practically ignored them for a whole week.

"Hey, Bells. What brings you to our neck of the woods?" Emmett asked.

"Actually, Emmett, I was hoping I could talk to you. Alone?"

Angela looked somewhat hurt, but she took the hint and left without another word.

"What is your problem, Bella?" questioned Emmett. I could feel my eyes starting to water

"I'm sorry. I just needed to talk. I didn't mean to hurt her. I'm just so confused. Please, Emmett," I whispered desperately.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"I need you to tell me about Drill Sergeant Mason."

"God, Bella, not this again. What do you want to know?"

"How well do you know him?"

"Pretty well." he replied a bit reluctantly.

"How do you know him?"

"Fuck, Bella, I thought you wanted to know about Mason, not me! What does it matter how I know him. I just……know him, ok? So, ask away."

"I'm sorry! Ok, ok. Umm….." My mind went blank. What did I want to know about him?

"Oh, I got one. Why does he mess with me?"

"I thought he answered that one already?" he replied with a small smile on his face. My eyes widened.

"He talks to you? About me?"

His smile grew but it didn't really reach his eyes. "On occasion."

"What does he say about me?"

"Only what he tells me," he replied, curtly. He was not going to make this easy.

"Which is?" I asked, yet again. This was actually going a lot better than I thought it would. I was sure I was going to have to do a lot of begging and pleading.

"He might have mentioned something about seeing you in only a PT shirt. Or you throwing yourself at him at the Sand Pit."

"WHAT? I never ever threw myself at him!" I glared at him while he laughed. I could feel my face heating up and that only brought on another round of laughter from Emmett.

"Look, I know you want answers, so just ask," his tone of voice was all business now. My mind was reeling with questions. Emmett knew Mason, but how? Are they related? Friends? Lovers, maybe? That last thought sent a shiver to my very core but it was possible.

"Why is he really picking on me? I know he said it was just for fun, but I can't believe that's the real reason."

He closed his eyes and I could tell he was deep in thought. "That is his main reason. If you haven't already noticed, he enjoys inflicting pain. That's what he prides himself on."

"But, why me? What have I done to deserve his attention? I mean does he do this with every new recruit?" I asked urgently.

"I don't know if he's done this with other recruits. He does like the noises you make, actually. It's that simple really. Those little noises of pain you make? That's what attracts him to you. Plus, you're beautiful, young and most importantly, you project innocence. Well, you project it because you are innocent," he replied with a huge smile.

"You have got to be kidding me right? Noises?" I asked dumfounded. That didn't even make sense. "Wait. Did he describe me as beautiful or did you just add that?"

He chuckled before answering, "Yeah, from what I hear, your little whimpers are fucking sexy as hell." Then his eyes narrowed, "I can't remember who called you beautiful, me, or him."

I could feel my face turning 10 shades of red.

"So, what, is he just going to keep messing with me, or something?"

"Or something. Look, I don't know exactly what's in his head, but I do know him. He does like playing with his food before he eats it. Maybe, once he fucks you, he'll leave you alone. Shit, I dunno."

I could felt hurt by his statement. "Is that what I am to him? Something he needs to fuck?"

"Shit, I'm sorry Bella. I guess I should warn you that he is incapable of caring for anyone. He never sticks around and from what I know, he never will. I'm really sorry for not saying something earlier. Shit, I'm such a retard," he actually looked upset with himself.

Incapable of caring? For anyone?

I was upset, but not surprised by what Emmett said. Mason projected anger and loneliness but, he was filled with so much passion.

"He's dangerous," I whispered, mostly to myself. "Am I in danger?"

YES!

He's is a danger to me. Why wasn't I running away in fear? Instead, I found myself wanting him and intrigued by him.

"No, not at all. He's really not that bad of a guy. I like you, Bella, I really do. If I thought you were in any danger, I would have warned you, but you're not. I mean, he would never do anything you wouldn't want him to do. He would never force himself on anyone."

"How crazy is he, Emmett?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know the answer to this.

Suddenly, Emmett smiled at me with a creepy look that reminded me of Drill Sergeant Mason. He looked completely different, almost like an evil version of himself. "Bella, he's as crazy as I am. Do you think I'm crazy?"

I felt my eyes widened. "No, I guess not."

He laughed and I could tell his sweetness had returned. Was he related to Mason? How dangerous was Emmett? My train of thought was stopped by Emmett.

"Alright, enough with all these silly questions. Let's go find Weber. Are you done sulking now?"

I laughed, "Yeah, I think so. I'm just really confused. I'm not sure what to feel. You know?"

"I understand. One piece of advice, Bella, just let yourself go. Don't deny who you are. Accept yourself and be happy with yourself. Honestly, it's not your fault. No girl could ever resist Mason. Or boy."

My eyes enlarged and my face flushed. He laughed so hard that tears fell from his eyes.

"I'm just fucking with you. Come on. Wait, one more thing," his voice suddenly turned grave, "He's not some broken toy that needs to get fixed. He enjoys what he is and he will never ever change. Understand?"

I simply nodded, unable to answer.

"Alright, let's go do some damage control."

The conversation with Emmett only left me with more questions.

I woke the next day in excitement and fear. Excitement, because I would see Drill Sergeant Mason. Fear, because we would be sneaking out tonight. Angela had forgiven me almost instantly but, unfortunately, Stanley was a little sour. I never meant to give them the cold shoulder. Angela and I made our way to our first formation. We quickly found Emmett and made our way towards him. Then, a horrendous smell hit us.

"Oh. My. God. Emmett is that you?" asked Angela.

Of course we knew it was Emmett. He looked…drunk? His eyes where bloodshot and he was swaying a bit.

"No?" he managed to slur after awhile.

"Did you sneak out?" I whispered.

"No?" he slurred, a large grin on his face.

"You're going to be in a lot of trouble. At least try to stand up straight," I whispered once again. I looked around for signs of any Drill Sergeants. I slowly put my hand on his elbow trying to keep him straight. PT was going to be brutal on him. It was Monday, so we would be running three miles. I looked around once again, but I was now in search of Drill Sergeant Mason.

"He's not going to be here," chuckled Emmett.

"What was that?" I asked innocently.

"Drill Sergeant Mason, he's not going to be here this morning. He's sick," he replied, with a wicked smile on his face.

"What do I care?" His smile grew and he arched his eyebrows as if to say 'Seriously?' I rolled my eyes at him.

So, no Drill Sergeant Mason, today. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

We began our run and, just as I suspected, Emmett fell out. A Drill Sergeant stayed with him but I was surprised to see that he wasn't yelling at him to hurry up, like he did with the others.

I spent the rest of the day longing to see Drill Sergeant Mason, but he never showed up. I didn't see Emmett, either. I began to worry about both of them.

All too soon, the day was over. I was to wait in bed until Stanley or Mallory gave me the signal. I couldn't sleep, I tried, but I kept tossing and turning. I was starting to regret this. We were going to get caught, I just knew it. Before too long, Stanley appeared and slightly tapped my shoulder.

"Come on," she whispered. I dropped off the bunk, slowly, and followed her out the door where Mallory was waiting. She was talking to the two females that were on Guard Duty and I watched as she slipped them some money.

"Alright Bella, I'm going to run out first. Wait five minutes and run towards the tree line behind our trailer. You know where I'm talking about, right?" whispered Stanley.

I simply nodded my head. I was suddenly feeling very sick.

"Okay. Keep going, about 10 yards, and then stop. Look around and you should see me flashing my light. You brought your flash light, right?"

Again, I nodded my head in acknowledgement. This was such a bad idea.

Stupid, stupid Jacob.

"Ok, good. Once you see me walk to me. Whatever you do, DO NOT TALK. This is super important, ok? It's that easy. If you get caught, you don't rat us out, ok? Just take the fall. We will do the same. Got it?" she asked, somewhat nervously.

You can do this.

"Yeah. I got it." I whispered, my voice hoarse.

"Alright. Mallory will be right behind you, ok? Here I go," she whispered, once again. With that she opened the door and ran out. My heart actually hurt, it was beating so fast. I looked at my watch over and over again.

FUCK!

Five minutes felt like an eternity. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, five minutes passed. I put my hand on the door knob and opened the door. The cool night air hit my face and I ran as though my life depended on it. I went around our trailer and made my way to the tree line. Everything was dark and lifeless. I made it to the tree line and began walking. I looked around and began to panic when I didn't see a flashing light.

Does her flashlight not work?

No. Of course it works. Finally, after a couple of trips and falls, I saw a flashing light in the distance. I slowly made my way towards it, trying not to make any noise.

"Shhh…She's coming, Mallory. You said she left, didn't you? Where else would she have gone? Just wait," whispered Stanley. I felt relief hearing her soft voice.

"Stanley?" I whispered. My voice sounding so loud in the quite forest.

"Bella?" Mumbled Stanley.

I came from the shadows and saw her and Mallory standing next to a tree. We were now deep in the woods, the trailers no longer visible.

"Yeah," I replied.

"God, I'm glad you found us. I thought you were lost for a minute there. Come on, we have five minutes before we need to meet up with the guys," with that, we began moving though the darkness. I had no idea where we were going, but apparently, Stanley did. She moved thought the forest with focus and determination, none of us making any noise except for our foot steps. Finally, we came to a clearing in the woods. I could see lights and a building in the distance. We stopped by a tree and Stanley brought her flashlight out, once again.

She flashed her light and, within seconds, I saw a flashlight blinking rapidly, about 9 yards away from us. I felt very 007 at the moment. Or, maybe even, Mission Impossible?

We slowly made our way towards the blinking light.

"Black?" whispered Stanley.

"Yeah," replied Jacob. We found him crouched over a fallen tree, alone.

"Where are the others?" muttered Stanley. His eyes locked with mine and he smiled.

"They left. They wanted to get some cigarettes and said they would be back in 30."

"We should go too, Stanley. We have orders to fill," stated Mallory sounding a little annoyed.

"Bella. Are you going to be okay? We'll be back in 30 minutes," asked Stanley, her voice full of concern. I was thankful that she felt concerned for me, even though I had been so distant and cold to her this whole week.

"Yeah. Thanks a lot for helping me. I honestly owe you so much.," I replied softly.

She surprised me by hugging me. "Don't talk too loudly. Make sure you're checking your watch. I WILL be back in thirty minutes. Remember, if you get caught please don't rat me out, ok?" she whispered into my ear.

"I would never do that," I whispered back.

I saw their backs as they made their way into the dark woods.

"Bella," whispered Jacob. He came over to me as soon as they where gone. He hugged me tightly.

"Jacob. What is it you needed to talk about so badly?"

"Bella. I'm leaving this place," he whispered gravely, taking a step back.

"What? What do you mean?'

"I can't take it here. This isn't what I thought it was going to be like. I hate it here. They treat us like crap. I'm running away and I want you to come with me."

I gasp, "Jacob, what are you talking about? You're going AWOL? That will ruin your whole future. Please don't do this. You can't just quit! And I'm not leaving, Jacob."

He looked towards the ground and began to pace a little. "Bella, please come with me. I've tried working things out here, but, it's not worth it."

"Where would you go? What would you do? Think of what you're doing and what you're talking about. We came here to leave Forks, or have you already forgotten that? To be honest, I kind of like it here. It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Are you kidding me? My little sister has more rights than I do right now. They treat us like children. No, worse than children, they treat us like dogs. How can you say it's 'not that bad.?' Plus, I'm not going back to Forks. I was thinking of going to New York. It's not that far from here and I have some money saved up."

"Jacob, please, I'm begging you. Don't do this. You're not a quitter. Just stay," I whispered looking at the ground. I couldn't believe that Jacob was even contemplating leaving. It was reckless and just plain stupid.

He walked to me and stopped directly in front of me. He lifted my chin up, making me look at him. "I know that you just see me as a friend, but I care very deeply for you. Come away with me, Bells. Let me show you how much I care for you. Isn't there any chance for us? I'm begging you, Bella, give me a chance?"

As I stared into his eyes, I realized Jacob would be the right choice. I could see us together, happily. He was, after all, my best friend and he was so easy to get along with. He was handsome and caring, but there was just something missing. There was just nothing there; no lust, no chemistry, no spark.

My hesitation must have given him some sort of courage because, suddenly, slowly, he began moving into me. His eyes locked on my lips. I stopped breathing, my eyes widened. Was I really going to let this happen?

No! Don't kiss him, stupid!!

His lips were centimeters away from mine. I closed my eyes expecting his lips on mine, but, suddenly, I heard something. He must have heard it too, because he pulled away from me.

"Ja.." I never got a chance to finish. His hand wrapped around my mouth, instantly silencing me. His face full of fear, surely mirroring my own. He brought his finger to his lips giving me a warning to be silent. We stood there not moving only hearing the sound of our breathing. Did we just imagine that?

Then we heard it again. Someone was coming and before I had a chance to think, Jacob grabbed my hand and we began to run. We stopped shortly after when we heard footsteps fast approaching us.

"Bella, we need to separate. You go left, I'll go right," he voice barely audible.

He was about to leave when I grabbed his shoulder, "Don't go AWOL, Jacob." Pleading with him once again.

"I won't for you. Now go," and with that, he was gone.

I turned around and ran. I made it five feet before my foot caught on a branch, causing me to fall, hard. As I got up, I heard footsteps close in front of me.

"She'd better be here. You'll already in deep trouble."

I tried flattening myself. I didn't recognize who was talking.

"She's around here. I brought her here myself. She was meeting up with her boyfriend.," that voice I did recognize, Mallory. My heart dropped, she'd told on me.

"Well, I don't see anything," said a second, unknown voice.

No! No. No. No.

I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, I heard him.

"What's going on here? Mallory?"

"Drill Sergeant Mason. Name's Sergeant Ricks, Military Police, we found this girl trying to get into the men's housing unit. She claims she was trying to find a missing friend to bring her back."

"What friend is this?" asked Drill Sergeant Mason.

I moved a fraction of an inch and that was enough to be able to see them. They were closer to me than I had originally thought. They had Mallory in handcuffs. Their backs were to me.

"Private Swan, Drill Sergeant Mason," replied Mallory, innocently.

That whore!! That stupid slut!!

Shut up! Shut up!

Why would she be doing this to me? I wondered if Stanley was ok.

"What are you talking about, Mallory? Be careful with your lies!" replied Mason sounding more than angry.

"I'm not lying. She wanted to run away with her boyfriend. I told her not to, but she said she was leaving. I ran after her but, I lost her, so I went over to see if she was at his trailer, and that's when I got caught," she sounded so believable. I was doomed.

They were silent for what seemed like forever.

"I'm sorry about this, guys, but she's lying," stated Mason sounding do calm.

"No, I'm not!," whined Mallory.

"We thought she might be. We had to check it out just in case though," replied one of the officers.

I let out a silent sigh of relief, but not silent enough. Mason turned around in my direction. He had heard me, and I was sure I could see his eyes scanning through my direction, searching.

"I'm not lying, he is!" she yelled frantically, grabbing his attention once again.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, SSG Mason. We should have known better," replied one of the officers.

My heart was pounding. They left with Mallory, screaming about her innocence. I hoped that she was the only one that got caught. Drill Sergeant Mason lingered for a moment before leaving as well, but, thankfully, he never looked my way.

I laid there for a good minute, trying to control my breathing and heart rate. I couldn't believe my luck. How did he know she was lying?

"Fuck," I yelled. My ankle was in a lot of pain. I only hoped it wasn't badly sprained.

"Well, well, Private Swan. I never figured you for the cursing type. I must say, you cursing certainly makes me hard. You truly are full of surprises."

NO!! Why me?

Standing there, in all his gory glory, was Drill Sergeant Mason. He didn't look surprised or angry. On the contrary, he looked ecstatic and blissful.

You're in deep shit now, Swan.

a/n: Hate it? Love it? Please tell me what's up! :) Edwards POV next chapter!