When Kayden finally found her way back to the dining pavilion, she was relieved to take a seat at one of the many tables lined up. If she was being honest, she'd lied to Bellamy. She didn't really know her way around the camp that well yet, and had gotten lost more than once along the way.

She'd passed by some people on her small excursion. A couple walking hand in hand, a few families. They'd all given her nervous looks but no one had approached her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She found herself missing Bellamy. At least he was the one person who would talk to her.

She sat down and sighed. She'd thought about possibly going to see the Commander, but then realized that the Chancellor probably wouldn't have taken any chances; Kayden's people would have left last night. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye.

I'll see them again, she thought hopefully. Eventually. Her only doubt was whether or not she'd have a child with her by then.

She was snapped from her reverie by a female voice. She turned to see a tanned young woman with dark brown hair in an intricate braid smiling at her. The girl was wearing a tank top and appeared to have been jogging, Kayden observed; noticing the sheen of sweat on her skin.

Kayden didn't know what to say. This was the first person other than Bellamy to speak to her all day. The girl saved her the trouble.

"Hey," she said casually. She seemed nice enough.

"Hey," Kayden said. She didn't want to seem unresponsive.

"I'm Raven," the girl answered, grabbing a fork and a bowl from the middle of the table.

"Kayden."

"I know. I was at the…uh…ceremony last night." The girl avoided the word wedding awkwardly. "And you're the talk of the town. People around here can't get enough. Personally, I think they should shove off. You're just a mutant with super cool powers, after all." Raven winked at her playfully. Kayden immediately decided that she liked her. She couldn't help but smile back at the other girl.

"There, see? She does smile. And no monster teeth. Timmy owes me a back massage."

Kayden chuckled a bit this time. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe she could…

Just when she started relaxing a bit, she heard people approaching the dining pavilion. It sounded like the whole camp was coming for the meal now. Kayden immediately became alert again. People started filing into the area.

Most people just walked in with the crowd and sat down at various tables, not paying her much attention. A few people spotted her though; they pointed at her and whispered to their neighbors like they had when she arrived at camp. Kayden thought she'd get used to the weird looks but she felt the feelings from yesterday resurfacing. She was about to tell Raven she wasn't feeling well and leave when the other girl stood up.

"Wait here," she said. Kayden saw her jog over to a group of people and begin talking to them animatedly. Kayden watched anxiously. She started tapping her leg and looking around; trying to contain her nerves. Raven re-joined her at the table with a plate of food, 6 or 7 people following in her wake. She placed a second plate in front of Kayden.

She was about to thank Raven but was immediately bombarded with a chorus of "heys" and "nice to meet yous". The people Raven had brought with her all took their seats and introduced themselves one by one. Kayden tried to keep up.

The Asian guy with the long dark hair and goofy smile was Monty. Next to him was his boyfriend, Jasper, who dawned a strange set of black goggles on his forehead. Then there was Harper, a sweet shy girl with light hair and kind eyes, Miller, who simply nodded in Kayden's direction, and a few others teenagers all around the same age.

A man with dirty blonde hair and stubble sneaked up behind Raven and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey stop that!" she cried out. Everyone at the table broke into laughter, with the exception of Kayden who couldn't help but stare in envy at the ease with which they all interacted and enjoyed themselves. Up until recently, she'd been acting similarly with her own friends.

The man grabbed Raven from behind and continued bugging her. "Wick! Hey come on, seriously! The new girl's here!" He placed one more sloppy kiss on her cheek before letting her go and sitting down on her other side.

"Hey, I'm Wick," he said grabbing a piece of bread from Raven's plate.

"More like stupid boyfriend," she muttered, shoving him.

"Hey, I'm stupid boyfriend," he repeated to Kayden jokingly. This time she laughed along with everyone else. It felt good to laugh. She started to feel at ease again.

"So," Jasper started. "What do you think of our little operation here. Pretty sweet set up right?"

Kayden gave him a puzzled look. "Sorry?" she asked.

"The camp. He's talking about the camp," Monty clarified.

"Oh. Well it's…" she struggled to find the right word. "Organized."

"You mean awesome!" Jasper exclaimed. "I mean, I bet your camp doesn't have electricity, am I right?"

"Jasper!" Monty said incredulously, shooting his boyfriend a look of disapproval.

Jasper seemed to realize the error of his ways. "Oh… sorry," he breathed.

Kayden took it upon herself to start easing into social interactions. "No," she said, "it's okay. You're right. We actually don't even live in houses. We all sleep in caves like savages." She took a bite of bread, waiting for a response. The table went silent.

"Kidding," she said, breaking into a grin.

Everyone laughed a bit uneasily at first but Kayden felt a wall breaking down as they all started conversing normally. It wasn't before long that she started actually enjoying herself. She even finished her plate of food.

Then more people started showing up. The conversation changed course from a diverse flow to one set topic - her. All of a sudden everyone was asking her all kinds of questions. What was her camp like? Did she have any cool powers? Was the food better here or back home?

Kayden felt like she was about to burst when a familiar voice quieted the crowd. "Hey, guys. Come on, cut it out." She turned to see Bellamy walking towards the table, a plate of food in either hand. Everyone immediately stopped talking.

"Let's go, get lost. Give her some space," he ordered, jerking his head to the side and gesturing to them to leave. Kayden sat quietly and shyly looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. Everyone got up and dispersed from the table, but not before directing a few "goodbyes" Kayden's way. Raven turned to her before leaving and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry about that," she said. Kayden could see genuine concern in her eyes. "You gonna be OK?" Kayden nodded and even smiled at Raven to show that she meant it. The girl returned the expression before walking off with Wick. That left her and Bellamy alone, again.

Kayden turned to Bellamy, her cheeks red. She felt like a child, what with needing his help and all. But she was still grateful for his timely arrival.

"Thanks," she said. "For…saving me," she added. He nodded in acknowledgement and sat down beside her.

"Don't worry about it, they'll cool down eventually. You're kind of just like the shiny new toy." He offered her one of the plates of food.

"Oh, no thanks. I already ate." She gestured at the empty plate in front of her.

"Oh." He looked down at the table awkwardly.

Even though she wasn't hungry, she felt bad so she took the plate from him anyways. She popped a grape into her mouth so he wouldn't feel totally useless.

"So," he started. "You seemed to be making friends. Pretty soon you'll be the most popular person here, I bet." He gave her an uneasy smile.

"I doubt that," she responded. She looked at him and found Bellamy already staring back at her. He turned away, embarrassed.

"I…uh…got you something." He reached into his bag and pulled out a few rectangular items. When he placed them on the table next her, she recognized them as books. "I know it's not much but it's going to be pretty boring for the next few days so I figured…"

"No. No they're great. Thank you," she said, picking the books up and looking at the covers. Great Expectations and Wuthering Heights. She'd read one of them before. She placed them in her lap.

"I'm sorry there isn't much to do," Bellamy said, starting on his plate of food. "Most people are working jobs during the day, and Abby didn't want you to have to be in rotation so…"

"No," she said abruptly. He stopped to look at her. She swallowed and continued. "I'd like to be in the rotation."

"Are you sure?" he asked, puzzled.

"Yeah… Yeah. If I'm going to become part of the group, I have to work with the group too." He nodded understandingly.

"Okay. I'll tell the Chancellor," he finished.

They continued eating in silence. But Kayden felt herself a bit more at ease being alone with him this time.

After lunch Bellamy accompanied her back to their cabin. They managed to keep up a light conversation as they walked. Kayden was relieved to see that she wasn't the only one starting to feel more at ease. Bellamy started opening up a bit more as they talked. He told her more things about the camp, pointed out some markers to help her navigate. She silently promised herself that she'd learn her way around the camp as quickly as possible.

When they made it back, Bellamy told her he was going to speak to the Chancellor about getting her into the work rotation. He said he'd be back later and left her to her own devices. Kayden opened the door to the cabin and faced the structure's one room. She pursed her lips.

These better be good books, she thought.

Bellamy came to get her when it was time for dinner. He told her that she could get into the work rotation as soon as tomorrow.

"Thanks," she finally spoke. They were walking to supper.

"What for?" he asked. His hands clasped behind his back.

"For speaking to the Chancellor for me. Getting me into the rotation."

"That's what I'm here for," he said.

They sat down at a table together when they reached the pavilion. Raven and Wick joined them a few minutes later, kissing and acting all couple-y. Kayden and Bellamy looked at each other awkwardly out of the corner of their eyes.

Monty, Jasper, and a few more people joined the table, and before long they were all talking in animated conversation. Kayden felt at ease, even with Bellamy in her midst. He had to leave part way through the meal though, something about a mix up at the armoury. She realized for the first time that he had a high-ranking military position.

When the meal finished, Kayden watched groups of people head in different directions. Some went to the gathering area, others down to the Wash house. She even saw a group of teenagers heading towards what she recognized as the way to the clearing Bellamy had taken her to. What had he called it? The Hollow.

She wished she could follow one of the groups. If she couldn't join them it would have been nice to actually see people having fun at least. To remind her that this camp was actually capable of being a source of joy for some people. But she wasn't one of the people yet. Not by a long shot.

She walked alone back to the cabin. It was dark out by now, but Kayden wasn't afraid. Just lonely.

She stayed up reading Wuthering heights for a couple of hours when it finally hit her just how little sleep she'd gotten the night before. The night before.

Some anxious thoughts entered her head. Tonight would be the second night that she and Bellamy would sleep together. She didn't think they would… do anything but they still had to sleep in the same bed

She shook her head and forced herself to put the thoughts out of her mind. Just take it day by day, night by night, she told herself. She yawned, and curled up under the covers. The pelts felt warm over her clothes. Before long, she found her eyelids drooping, the gentle flicker of the lantern lulling her to sleep.

Kayden was already asleep by the time Bellamy got back. He tried to take off his bag and gear as silently as possible. And when he turned around to face her, he couldn't help but stare for a moment.

There it was again. That peaceful look she got when she was asleep. He couldn't help but think that it just made her look a little more beautiful. He blew out the lanterns and pulled the covers over her.

He thought about getting into bed but when he looked at her again, he made the decision to simply grab a pelt she wasn't using from the edge and sleep on the floor instead.