Hey guys... This'll be my last chapter in a while, so I tried to make it long. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gone!

DEDICATION: To Caris. I can't say it enough :)

NOTE: And we see the starts of the pairing. Woot!

Chapter Eighteen: Undo It

"Now you only have yourself to blame

For playing all those stupid games...

You're always going to be the same,

Oh, no, you'll never change..."

-Carrie Underwood, "Undo It"

Day one hundred and five, still. Yes, I know. This feels like the longest day of my life.

So, it turns out that we're not about to be killed in Nala's colosseum yet. We're currently in the castle, in the lap of luxury, to be exact. I just took a shower. With hot water. This may be the devil's lair, but I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it.

Oh, look. Another joke.

On the other hand, part of me feels horrible about (kind of) enjoying myself when I don't know how or where Petey is. But I think I came up with a theory: if he lives, we live. And I'm still living, so Petey must be alive. Uncounted for, but alive. And that's something.

I'm regretting ever giving Petey to Nala. I thought it would be the right thing to do, but it turns out that Drake wasn't so grateful. Well, screw him. I saved his life, and he knows it.

Astrid lay back on her four-poster bed (It actually has curtains in between the posters, like I'm a princess or something) and tried not to sigh in ecstasy as her head hit the down pillows. As soon as she began to drift off, a knock came from the door.

"Please, Nala, could you kill me after I take a quick nap?" she asked, only half-joking, surprised when a low chuckle came from outside.

Drake.

"Sorry, I don't want any," she grumbled, rolling over on her bed. "Go away."

"Are you decent?"

Astrid snorted at the irony of it all. She had just spent more then three months with this boy in a church where nothing was decent, and now he was outside her princess bedroom, asking that ludicrous question.

Ah, such is the way of the FAYZ.

"If I say no, will you leave?"

And of course, the door creaked open and Drake stepped in. Astrid, at first, was startled by how different he looked, but then realized with a spurt of repressed laughter that it was because he was clean.

Wow, his tentacle's red? I thought it was a muddy shade of brown...

He must have been thinking the same thing, because he said; "Holy crap, I almost forgot you were a blonde." Astrid rolled her eyes, all humor gone.

"Tell me why you're here, Merwin, or get out." To her eternal chagrin, he chuckled at her demanding tone. "I'm not kidding."

"Whatever, Ellison," he replied, still sniggering. "And I'm here because everyone else is in various stages of unconsciousness. I had no idea that Caine could snore that loud..." The corner of Astrid's mouth twitched upwards.

"What, was I the last person on your list?"

"Yes, actually."

"Why? Still bitter that I saved your life?" His mouth curved downward as he subtly clenched his fists.

"You did something idiotic," he said, his voice almost a growl. "You should have just kept your brother; my life isn't worth anything to you. Or are you like Sammy, you need to be a big hero?" It was Astrid's turn to clench her fists.

"Don't you dare say his name," she hissed, standing up, one hand on a bedpost. Drake's face contorted into an unholy grin.

"Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam Temple, School Bus Sammy, Sam, Sam..." He took a deep breath. "Should I go on?" There were tears sparkling in the corners of Astrid's eyes as she sat heavily back on the bed.

"Just go away." She swiped at her eyes furiously, filled with rage that Drake Merwin was about to watch her cry. "Leave me alone! You should have never came in here." She heard the door creak open and was grateful that he had actually listened, until she heard Caine's voice.

"What's going on in here? Drake? What the heck; party in Astrid's bedroom?" Drake snorted with laughter.

"If it's a party, it feels more like a funeral."

Caine came into Astrid's line of blurred vision, running a hand over his short dark hair. "Um, Astrid? You're crying... Why?" She swiped at her eyes again, in vain. The tears that she had held in for one hundred and five days just kept pouring out.

"Sam," she managed to get out through heaving sobs that just kept getting louder. She felt horrible, and it wasn't getting any better by Caine standing awkwardly next to her. The awkward moment only increased as Orc lumbered into the room, closely followed by Edilio. They glanced at Astrid, who's head was in her hands, and her shoulders were shaking with grief, and then stood there, not knowing what to do.

Lana came in last, dragged by Patrick, and she quickly assessed the situation in front of her. Girl, crying. Boys, clueless. She exhaled loudly and crossed the room to Astrid, pulling her into an embrace. "Ssh, ssh," she whispered. "It'll be okay, ssh." As Astrid's sobs quieted, Lana looked over her shoulder at the four boys.

"What the hell happened to her?" As soon as the Healer hissed those words, Orc, Edilio and Caine held up their hands in the universal gesture for it wasn't me. Lana narrowed her eyes at Drake. "What did you do?"

For the first time ever, Drake looked uncomfortable as Lana shot him a furious gaze. "I, um, might have mentioned Sam?" Astrid shuddered in Lana's grip, and Edilio made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat.

"Jeez, hombre, that's what we call tact." Drake glared at the ground as Lana glared at him.

"Now say you're sorry."

Drake's head snapped up. "What? Ew, no! Why the heck would I... No!" Lana smiled gleefully.

"We're in this together. I don't care if you're a psycho, I don't care if you want to kill every single one of us in this room. We're in an alliance, in case you forgot, and that usually means working together. So shut up, swallow your huge ego, and say it."

After this speech, Lana herded the rest of the group out of Astrid's room, and shut the door. Drake knew they were still there, listening. He grimaced.

On the bed, Astrid had gotten herself together. Her eyes were still red and puffy, but she was no longer crying. Their eyes met, and you could almost feel the awkwardness permeating the air.

"Um," Drake began, his whip twitching involuntarily.

Astrid sighed quietly. "You don't have to say it. I'm fine." This was a blatant lie, and even Drake realized that.

"Um," he said again. This was not a great day for his vocabulary. "Um, Astrid, I- Um..." Her eyes narrowed.

"You killed him, and you can't even apologize?" she burst out, looking surprised at herself, but she couldn't stop once she started. "Jeez, it's not that hard! I'm sorry Astrid, for killing your boyfriend. I'm sorry for completely obliterating the love of your life. I'm sorry for murdering the only one who had a chance to save us!" She was screaming by the end, her cheeks as red as her eyes. Drake flushed.

"That was enough for the both of us, I guess," he said, his voice as cold as ice. He stalked to the door and yanked it open. Lana almost fell on her face.

"What kind of apology was that?" the Healer yelped as Drake pushed past her.

"The only apology she deserved," he spat.

Tut, tut. Drake. Such a bad attitude. And Astrid, such malice. Jeez.

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