Hooray! It's Chapter 8! Hello there, my lovely readers! I hope you guys liked the previous chapter!

My apologies if the last chapter felt rushed, writers' block was (and still is) practically shoving me off a cliff with questions like "How will you continue this story?" etc. Planning. I lack planning. I need to plan more for the chapters to come out earlier, so I'm really sorry for all the delays! :(

I've been on holiday these past few weeks, so I AM SO SORRY THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED ALL THIS TIME! When I was reading all my reviews, I wanted to cry because of my inability to post the next few chapters! D': I didn't bring my laptop with me so these kinds of reviews felt like stabs in the chest for me.. I AM TRULY HONESTLY COMPLETELY SORRY, MY READERS, FOR KEEPING YOU WAITING! TTT^TTT

Enough with my ranting. Let's get this chapter going! :D

The comforts of this world were torn away from me, like taking a shard of glass out of human flesh. Lying in Cabin 5 on a real bed, with a real mattress, a real blanket and a real pillow, is all like a dream to me. I haven't slept so peacefully in ages; like a rock. Just pitch black, eyes shut, and snoring. No flashbacks, dreams or nightmares. A feeling of peace sweeps over me as I sit up in my bed. Looking around, I notice only a couple of people are asleep, the rest of them are tidying up and making their beds. I follow their example and do the same.

Just as I tuck my blanket into the bed, I feel a gentle tapping on my left shoulder. I turn to find Haley with a notebook in hand along with a faded box of pencils. A smile slowly creeps across my face when I realize what it is: A welcoming gift. I take it from her gratefully and thank her. She grins and plops herself onto my just made bed and lies down on it before asking, "So Melanie, how'd you find last night, sleep-wise I mean?"

About 7 hours ago…

I feel awkward in this mish-mash of people. Teens and adults surround me, all having fun and stumbling over each other around the now large, bonfire. I lace my fingers together, cupping my now cold, canned spaghetti. Staring down at it, I mutter quietly, "Why do I even bother? I don't belong here" before getting up and walking towards the nearby tree where I met my trio of.. 'acquaintances'.

They're not my friends just yet, I've only just met them half an hour ago. Besides, I don't even know what they think of me. They probably think of me as some quiet yet arrogant brat who thinks she can take care of herself. I think of myself that way sometimes, not that these thoughts aren't necessarily accurate. I left Dad in the woods alone, with a couple of broken ribs. I yelled at him for trying to protect me. I was selfish at the time, in fact, I still am. What kind of sick person would want to be friends with someone like me at all?

I find a hollow log about the size of a shoe-box leaning horizontally across the tree. I pick it up and shake it a bit to make sure there aren't any ants left over living inside. I sit down on it comfortably, acting as if it were a lounge chair. Laughter, crackling firewood, chirping crickets, silent wind, and my breathing are the only things I can hear through the night. Sighing dejectedly, I start picking at my spaghetti with the plastic spork The Fireflies provided me with for eating. "This is new." I say quietly to myself. "It feels.. lonely. So much for doing this together." I conclude, snorting.

Uncle Tommy made this deal with me so that we could do it like family rather than as allies or just colleagues. I don't see him here keeping me company, or anywhere for that matter. I bet it's got something to do with Marlene. I smile a little at the thought. Uncle Tommy and Marlene? Family man and rebel leader? What a weird combo. But it's Uncle Tommy's choice; if he's happy, I'm completely fine with it.

Loud footsteps approach me, along with the huff-and-puff of a jogger. "Hey! Didn't see you there!" It's Haley. Looking up at her, I see her carrying not one, but two cans of our rationed canned spaghetti.

"Had to argue with the 'cook' to get extra. I thought I told you to get to know the two dorks while I got the food?" Haley asks me questioningly, one of her ginger eyebrows raised in curiosity.

I remember now. That was about half an hour ago. The moment Haley let my shoulder go and headed towards the Mess Hall for our dinner, I chickened out and walked right away. I didn't want to face "Gray Eyes" on my own. I was afraid I'd get flustered and stop talking all together.

So I spent that half an hour exploring camp, eventually going to the Mess Hall to pick up my dinner, and avoiding Haley's gaze as best I could. Judging by the look on her face, I'm guessing she caught me walking out, without "Gray Eyes" and his friend. I look away immediately, trying to hide the blush showing on my cheeks. I pray that it's dark enough to conceal it.

Giggling, she simply says to me, "I'm guessing you didn't want to meet Logan without me, huh?"

So THAT'S his name. Logan. First, attractive features, now, a hottie's name, too? I turn to face Haley, this time at eye-level, since she used my recovery period to sit next to me on the hollow log. Placing my free hand on the back of my neck, I try coming up with a lame excuse as to why I didn't greet Logan and.. the other one. God, I'm AWFUL at remembering names.

Haley just shakes her head, with a pitiful smile in her face, and tells me, "Dude, listen. I hate to break it to you, but Logan looks at every new girl the same way he looked at you when we were cracking up." My heart sinks into my stomach in a matter of seconds. A player. That's the LAST thing I wanted him to be, and yet, I'm gonna have to deal with that. I recover from it almost as soon as I got depressed by it.

"I didn't come here looking for a boyfriend, you know that, right?" I say to Haley after stuffing one sporkful of my now cold, canned pasta.

After giving a small laugh, she responds, full of expression, "Jesus. Wow. That's new. Pretty much all the other girls that've come by are always asking me for the 'Tell-Me-About-Logan-Talk' even after giving them that heart wrenching news. That's the part when I tell them to just fuck off and find out for themselves. I congratulate you for not doing so, Miller!" Her voice suddenly filled up with pride at the last bit.

I shrug and simply say, "It's the truth, though. I came here to make friends and fight for the hope Marlene promised us. Isn't that why you're here?" I ask her out of sudden curiosity.

She snorts and shovels all the contents of one of her cans down throat. She's probably gonna puke it all back up after we finish talking. "Please, do excuse my pig-like manners, and I'll excuse your sudden topic change. You've got two choices for this conversation, and you've somehow managed to avoid discussing the first. I'll move on to why I came to the Fireflies for your sake, okay?"

Gratefully, I give out a sigh of relief and nod my head for a bit.

"Fine then. You want me to be completely honest with you?" Haley asks me, silently in a serious voice.

I frown at her in confusion and lamely reply, "Well, yeah."

"I don't give a shit about these Fireflies."

My mouth hangs open in surprise for half a second. Wait.. What?

"Hang on. You joined the Fireflies, but you don't give a shit about them, anyways? What the hell was the point in coming here for you, then?" I ask her in utter shock.

She gives off a long sigh of melancholy and explains, "Anymore. I don't give a shit about them anymore. I came here for the same reasons as you last year. I came here with my little brother. Just a year younger than me. Was, at least."

"Was..?"

Nodding, she continues, "We worked real hard for Marlene. For the leaders. Most of the people here are just innocents, in case you haven't noticed. Only a few of us are actual Fireflies."

Funny. I didn't seem to notice that there were only a few wearing Firefly uniforms. I ask her quickly, "Why come here if they aren't joining?"

"Food. Protection. Why else? These people are hopeless without us. They can't fend for themselves the way we can."

"Hang on. If the majority of us aren't Fireflies, exactly how many of us actually are Fireflies?"

"2 dozen. 4 teens, including you now, the rest are just grown-ups." Haley answers with a bored tone in her voice.

2 DOZEN?! That's barely the number I was picturing in my head! I was expecting a lot more than this! I want to scream my head off in frustration because of how little there are of us, but instead I just reply sadly, "Well, we're fucked, aren't we?"

She replies immediately, scoffing, "Yeah, no shit." Suddenly, her eyes widen as she shoots me a withering look. "Oi. You keep interrupting me."

I give her a sheepish grin apologetically in response.

"Jesus. It's like you don't want me to be telling you all the shit I've got to say."

I place my can beside our log and lean into the tree, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't mean to. It's just- It's been a while, since I've talked to someone my age, you know?" I tell her, dejectedly.

Haley looks at me like I'm a kicked puppy. "Wow. These past 3 years must've been pretty lonely and boring for you, huh?"

This time, it's my turn to glare at her. She just laughs it off. I wish I was still like that. I've become a cold sociopath in the years of me not socializing; but one thing hasn't changed: I still suck at making friends. Who in the right mind would want to be friends with me, anyways?

Haley just shakes her head at me and playfully punches my shoulder, "Listen, man. If you're gonna be all mopey the whole time you're here, you might as well do it when I'm not around. I'm just gonna try to keep on bugging you till you turn that frown upside down."

Haley. Bless her. She thinks I'm worthy of being her friend. I lace my fingers and place my hands at the back of my head. I stare up at the sky and try to count the stars. Strange. I never thought there'd be so many. The crescent shaped moon's light gleams and shines its light all over the lake, reflecting it back at us. I only just noticed the few canoes lying by the dock of the lake. Stained with age, but in not too bad shape. I don't know how to respond. I take a sudden interest in my worn-out Chuck Taylors and give her a small smile in gratitude. A long silence fills the air, allowing us to listen to the small waves from the calm lake and the chirping of the crickets nearby.

"You know what? I always forget to ask the people I meet this question. What's a hobby of yours that you still wanna do, but can't?" she asks suddenly. I guess she's not really used to silence, she's pretty loud and social, so it does make sense.

This question catches me off-guard. I used to have a lot of hobbies. Gaming was definitely a staple for me, and so was drawing. And soccer. It's been 3 years since I've done any of them really, so what's the point in telling her? But I do anyways. "I had 5 main ones, but my favorite was probably playing on my PS3, there's no power anymore, so I'm not exactly sure how I can play on it at all. I loved doodling and drawing, too. I drew all kinds of shit, but thing is, I can't seem to find any notebooks or drawing paper or anything, really. Soccer was fun for me but I was really shit at it, same case for skateboarding, but it was fun for me since my 'teachers' were super close to me." My 'teachers' were Sarah and Andy. I suddenly feel an ache in my chest. I miss them so much. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I shut my eyes, trying to hold in a sob so that I don't end up bursting to tears. I can't take this anymore. If Haley keeps on asking me about my life before all this, I probably WILL end up bursting into tears.

"Listen. I'm pooped from walking all day. D'you mind taking me to my cabin?" I ask her quietly.

She just giggles and props me up on my shoulders. I pick up my backpack and heft it over my shoulders as I get up, waiting for Haley to do the same. Once she does, she asks me, "Before that, can I finish your pasta?" Typical 'eats-your-food' best friend. I guess she and I are friends now.

I guess..

And so there we have it! Chapter 8!

I'm really sorry this chapter was so disappointingly short, but like I said before: SCREW YOU WRITERS' BLOCK! I've really been having trouble with working on this actual chapter TBH, I've been so caught up with planning via drawings, I didn't have time to work on the fan fic itself! Whoops! I'm an idiot and a clutz! :P

DFTSA! Ciau till next chapter! :D

-LGGH