Bright lights. Sheer pain on all my left side of my body. The world spins and my helmet gets knocked off. My face scrapes with the concrete. Darkness.

I jolt up in a sitting position on the bed. Damn. A nightmare of my death. God... Breathe... Breathe... You're alive... You got a job to do...Save a galaxy from a pending destruction...Jesus why did I get chosen to do this? Maybe I read the Mass Effect codex more times than normal, but still... I-

"Sel. You okay? You look pale."

And here's the Savior of the Galaxy... In blood and flesh...

"Yeah. Just...bad dream." I managed to say, not wanting to worry him.

"I brought you your lunch. I thought it'd be better for you to rest." He said as he put a tray with food on a table. "I...didn't want to wake you. You looked pretty tired." He added, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ah, the infamous 'I'm nervous' give away of Commander Shepard... Wait. Why is he nervous?

"Thanks, J. You didn't have to. In fact, I would've appreciated if you had woken me up from that...nightmare."

"You, uh, wanna talk about it?" he asked nervously, kneeling next to my bed.

You know, this is actually cute... Knowing John instead of Commander Shepard... Same person, different personalities...

"I...no. Not right now, anyway. Thanks though. For worrying. You don't have to, you know." I said.

"Yeah, well. You're my friend. My first one, actually. And we've known each other for quite a while."

Trust me, I know more of you than you can imagine...

"Yeah. We have." We both stayed quiet, wanting to speak unspoken words. Well, at least, that was my case. He was, after all, extremely close to me.

Damn it! Why do you keep thinking like that?

"Your wound's healed. You heal pretty quickly." he said while looking at my leg, breaking the ice.

"Yeah, I know. Well, I knew my wound was healed, but I didn't know I healed so quickly."

"Well, I'm sure you're hungry. And so am I, so lets eat." he said, standing up.

"You haven't eaten?" I asked, surprised.

"No. I, uh, wanted to eat with you. If that's fine with you, of course." he said, rubbing his neck yet again.

"Yeah that's fine." I said, trying not to sound too excited. "We did just finish saying friends, didn't we? You don't have to ask." I said sincerely.

I got up, stretching my sore arms and legs. I then made my way to the table where John was sitting, waiting for me. I sat across him and began eating.

God, this is soooo good... Its been quite a while since I ate something this good, since...

Stop thinking about those times, Sel... You're just gonna hurt yourself more...

Damn... Sorry, Alex... Guess I'll be absent for a long time, huh?

Snap out of it! John's looking at you...

"You don't like the chicken?" John asked with a very small drop of disappointment in his voice. "I should've chosen something else for you. Sorry."

"What? Oh, no. This is extremely delicious." I said with a smile. "I was just thinking about..." Should I tell him? Is he ready to know that the fate of the galaxy will rest on his shoulders in a few years? No... Not yet...

"You don't have to tell me. It's fine. We all got our something's." He said, quoting what he said the first time we talked.

I smiled at him, recognizing the 'We all got something' phrase and thanking his understanding. It felt wrong not to tell him, but he wasn't ready. Not yet, anyway. We ate in a somewhat awkward silence. When we finished, John left to throw away our trash in the kitchen trash can.

I decided that now would be a good time to change into something more comfortable. I found my bag next to my bed and took out a black tank top and track pants. It looked more comfortable than my torn blue jeans and blue sweatshirt. I took my clothes and entered the bathroom to change.

That's when I saw the shower. It was a half bathtub, half shower. An assortment of shampoos and soaps filled a cabinet next to the sink mirror. Towels were stacked in a small cubby next to the shower. It may seem normal to anyone, but for someone who spent three years showering in a small shower of a foster home, this was heaven.

Very tempting...Ah, screw it... Shower it is...

I turned the handle to hot water, filling the tub. I added a lavender-scented bubble bath I found in the cabinet. I then stripped and slowly entered the tub. MY GOSH! It felt sooooo relaxing. Being shot, sleeping in a park bench, and almost breaking your arm off while shooting a sniper can really stress your body. On top of that, worrying that you have to guide the Savior of the Galaxy into the correct path when you have no idea, or at least a very small one, adds to that stress.

Despite the fact that my body begged for it to stay in the tub forever, I stood after some ten minutes and flushed the tub, then took a quick shower. After I had changed into my clothes and more or less dried my hair-it was kind of long and tedious to brush at the best of times- I exited the bathroom. Upon entering the bedroom, I found John... Shirtless.

Did he work out in the foster home? He spent most of his free time with me... But...man, look at those abs...

Selena?

They're so very defined...

You're staring... Snap out of it...

And his arms...

You're checking him out, Selena... Snap. Out. Of. It.

"Oh! Uh, Sel! I, uh, didn't, uh, see you there." John said very nervously as he frantically searched for something in his bag.

"Uh... Yeah. I was...taking a shower..." I said, still looking at him. Damn i couldn't get my eyes off him. And he was noticing it.

"You, uh, need anything?" he said as he quickly put on his white t-shirt.

Show's over, girl. Snap out. Time to go back to reality.

"No. No, I was just... Going to go for a walk," I said, averting my eyes to the floor. "since I doubt we'll be doing anything 'til tomorrow."

"Alright. You...want company?"

He's offering to come with me even after this very awkward moment we just had? Wow... That was totally unexpected.

"If you want. You don't have to if you don't want to." I said, finally raising my gaze to meet his.

"Yeah. I like being around you. You know, as friends..." he quickly added the last part.

"That's...nice of you to say, J. I...like being around you too." I said, feeling heat rush to my ears.

You totally do no regret having said that... Something's happening, Sel... And you know it...

Are you suggesting that I ...

I'm not suggesting anything... I'm confirming it...

Please... You think I'd fall in love with John? I'd sooner ask Jack out...

Whatever you say...

"Well... Where were you gonna go walk?" John asked, breaking my train of thoughts.

"Nowhere, really. Just walk around. Try to forget some things. Maybe sight-see. I used to do this with Ale-Woah. Sorry. Got carried away."

Jeez, Selena. When are you going to stop thinking of the past?

When it stops bugging me!...

"You keep mentioning that name. Was he a friend of yours? You said you lived in this area. Does he live around here?"

No, he actually lives in Texas. Of 2014. Who knew?

Quit being a jerk and answer him...

"Uh, no. He...moved a few days before my parents died. I've no idea where." I lied.

"Oh. Sorry. I can tell he meant a lot to you."

"Well, let's go. I want to come back before sundown." I said, changing the subject.

"Alright, then. Lets get going." John said plainly, clearly understanding that I didn't want to talk about this subject matter.

AN: I am going to regret doing this. I should be studying right now... I hate myself. BUT I would hate myself even more if I let you guys waiting another week. So I decided to cram in this little chapter to sate yourself at least for a while. It doesn't move the story on much. I practically want to just skip the whole "Creating Commander Shepard" thing and jump right into the thick, juicy conflict(s). But patience is wisdom, and unfortunately I lack both. XD Nevertheless, If y'all have any suggestions about what you would like to see in the near future, PM me your requests and I will promptly add them to the storyline wherever it fits. Now I should at least study a little... Tally-ho!

P.S- I love y' ll! Thanks for the reviews, follows and favs! I3yall