Yes, I am back from my hiatus. It is a new semester and I am a little sad. No more creative writing class. Oh well. I still have fanfic. Okay, so down to business. Read 'NeoFlock' by Talon666 and 'Dark Blue' and 'Maximum Ride: Wings vs. Wands' by Madeline Cullen. Excellent stories, excellent authors. So, I suppose that is all I have to say. Here's my new chapter. Finally.

I carefully shut the laptop, which punctured the peace and quiet of the night. I'd been getting non-stop comments on my blog for an hour. They were all saying how glad they were to know that I was okay and that they were sure things would work out with me and Skye.

I wanted them to be right, but at the present moment, I didn't see even the faintest glimmer of hope for the two of us. As far as I could see, it was over and there was no changing that.

Frustrated, I got up to pace. I didn't know why, but whenever I was faced with a problem this always helped. Maybe it was the back and forth motion or maybe it was the simple act of doing something. I didn't know, but it worked anyway. So, that was what I did.

It would be so easy for things to go back to the way they once were. All I had to do was trust Skye again. And there was the problem. I couldn't trust him. It was in my nature. I had learned at an early age to be wary of who I trusted. Skye had broken my trust and even though I knew he didn't mean to hurt me, he still did. Besides, what was to stop Tanner from controlling him again?

I kicked a tree in disgust. What was wrong with me? Why did I attract bad luck like some sort of magnet? Why couldn't I have been born normal? What was the whole point of my life?

"Something wrong?" a voice whispered from very close behind me.

I whipped around to see Cory, who chuckled at my reaction, causing me to blush. Thank goodness it was dark outside.

"You all right Mel?" he asked me again, walking even closer to me.

I shrugged. "I'm as fine as a girl who's far away from home, has a boyfriend and a best friend that can't be trusted, and who's being chased by crazy lunatics can possibly be."

Cory scowled and made a grunting noise. "Why did you call him," he said, nodding in Skye's direction, "your boyfriend? I thought you said you two were finished."

I groaned, walking back over to the tree that I had been leaning against. I sank back down on the ground, hugging my knees. "We are." I told him. "I don't know why I said that."

Cory slowly and carefully walked over towards me. I never really noticed how graceful he was. Maybe if I had paid more attention I would have known what he really was.

He sighed, coming to a stop directly next to me. "I know how bad he hurt you Mel." He dropped down next to me. "I wanna help you get over him."

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Cory was way too close to me. I turned my head away and whispered, "I can deal."

He touched my hand lightly, making me gasp. "You don't think you want me, but you do." he whispered back. "Right now, you're still hung up on him."

I turned back to glare at him. "Okay, 'him' has a name. It's Skye." I didn't know why that made me so mad, but it did.

Cory pulled back a second, smirking. "Okay, okay. Sorry. I forgot it was still a touchy subject for you." He stared at me and, after a while, I turned my head again. "This is going to take longer to fix than I thought, but I'll do whatever it takes to have you."

I closed my eyes, tight. I wished he would just go away and leave me alone. Of course I was mad at Skye, but that didn't mean that I wanted to be with Cory now. I just wanted to be alone.

"Melody Isabelle Smith." he whispered, gathering my hair up in his hand and tossing it over my left shoulder. "You have no idea how long I've been wishing for this moment to come. Just me and you. Alone."

I shuddered. "We aren't alone." I said, reminding him that Jewel and Skye were sleeping just a few feet away.

He chuckled. "Well, we're basically alone." He took in a deep breath. "Look Mel, Skye had his chance. He blew it. Let me have mine." He brought his face close to my neck and placed a light kiss on it.

I almost let out a squeal and I scrambled away from him. He was going way too fast. I didn't even like him that way. He had been my best friend for years.

Cory sighed heavily. "Won't you at least look at me?" he asked pleadingly.

I considered for a moment and, slowly, turned to face him. He stared at me with hungry eyes, his tongue licking his dry lips.

"Mel, when we were kids, did you ever wonder what it would be like to be with me?" he asked, curiously. He continued to stare at me with that same expression on his face.

I took in a shaky breath. "Of course I did." I admitted quietly. "I thought you could be the one person who would love me even with my wings." Even as a five year old I thought that.

He walked closer to me, on his knees, and took my hands, looking deep into my eyes. "I thought about telling you the truth and then running away with you everyday since we met."

I suddenly felt very warm. I turned my head slightly, but Cory released my hands, gently grabbed my face, and turned it towards him.

"Cory," I began, my eyes darting over to Skye.

"You still love him, don't you?" he asked sadly. The look on his face was painful to see. He took his hand off my face, expecting me to turn from him.

I didn't though. For some reason, I couldn't. When I answered his question, I found myself nodding. "I may not be able to trust him, but there is no getting over him."

Cory stared at me for a minute and then said, "But what if you don't really love him?" He looked hopeful. "What if you just think you do? What if you're actually supposed to be with me?"

He was so persistent. He was determined to be with me. However, I wasn't too sure. "Cor, I-I don't… know." My voice shook. "Maybe."

"Come on Mel." he begged me. "You won't know unless you try. You have to give me a chance." He brought his face so close to mine, our noses were only half a centimeter from touching. "I love you and I won't hurt you like he did. Let me prove it." he whispered.

I swallowed hard. I was so afraid. Here was a guy I had thought I'd known for nine years. A guy that I thought I could love. A guy that I thought could love me back. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was supposed to be with him, not Skye.

Before I knew it, I had tilted my head and leaned in. Our mouths were touching. I shivered, but not from excitement. I felt really cold. There was nothing in this kiss. No lightning. Not like when I kissed Skye. However, I allowed Cory to continue.

Soon, he broke away from me. He stared into my eyes, confused. I knew why he looked that way.

"It wasn't what you expected was it?" I asked him knowingly.

"I-I thought that would be so different." he told me truthfully. "I thought that…"

"Everything would make sense?"

He nodded. "I really thought I loved you Melody. But that… that kiss was just… so… just… nothing. There was just nothing. No passion."

I smiled softly. "You do love me Cory. Just not in the way you thought." I placed my hand on top of his. "I tried to tell you."

He sighed and looked over to Skye. "But how can you love him?" he asked. "How can he be the one for you? You're beautiful, nice, kind, sweet, and a good person."

"Love just is… well, there's no explaining it." I told him, ignoring the 'him' comment. "People who you never would expect to even get along are perfect for each other. My mom and my dad. Max and Fang. Me and Skye."

He shook his head. "So, who's the right girl for me?" he asked. "I mean, if it's not you, then who?"

I shrugged. "There's no way for me to know that. You'll know the second that you look into her eyes." I smiled. "The feeling's mutual. She'll know you're right for her in that same moment."

Cory nodded and hugged me. "Thanks." he whispered before pulling back. "I guess I better get back to sleep. You probably want to be alone for a while." He stood up and walked back over to the place he had been sleeping in earlier.

It was quiet for a minute before Cory said, "Hey Mel?" I looked up and he continued. "Don't beat yourself up okay. You're a good kid. Don't try so hard to please everyone. Do what you think is right."

I nodded slowly. "Thanks for the advice." I told him. "Now get some shut eye. I don't know what we'll be doing tomorrow."

He stared at me for a minute, smiled, nodded, and rolled over on his side. I was now totally alone.

I sighed and began to think. It was almost Jewel's turn for watch. I wanted to know what the heck I was going to do before that. I was the leader after all. We needed some kind of plan. We couldn't just run forever. But, wasn't that plan before Skye got Eraserfied?

I decided to take inventory in the backpack. I'd go get supplies in the morning if we needed any. I'd have to take Skye or Cory with me though. Couldn't leave Jewel with both of them.

I grabbed the back and began opening pockets. No food, some clothes, a hair brush, a couple scrunchies, an empty water bottle, the laptop, a pocket knife, a lighter, and thirty dollars.

Where are my bombs? I wondered. They weren't in the bag and neither were the ingredients I used to make them. They were all gone.

"Mel?" I heard someone whisper.

I looked up to see Jewel looking at me. Her hair was a tangled up mess. She looked like she was about to fall asleep.

"What are you doing up?" I asked, hoping she didn't overhear my conversation with Cory.

"My turn for watch." she mumbled sleepily. She frowned when she noticed me looking through the backpack. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Uh, inventory." I explained. I decided I might as well ask. "Hey, Jewel. What happened to my bombs?" I asked. "And the supplies to make more?"

Jewel sat down next to me and yawned loudly. "Skye used them to get us out of there. See, Tanner had actually found the truck. He had taken everything inside it and then got rid of it." She yawned again. "Skye had the pack. He was supposed to be keeping it." She rubbed her eyes. "See, Skye decided not to tell you what actually happened. I don't know why though."

"And the bomb supplies?" I asked again. "What happened to those?"

Jewel was quiet for a moment. Then she yawned again and said, "Skye had to get rid of them to lighten the load. He wouldn't let me carry the pack while he was carrying you. We flew for hours. Non-stop. Skye didn't want anything to happen to you."

My breath caught in my throat. He had done all of that for me? Then why didn't he want to tell me?

"Mel?" Jewel asked again. "Go on to sleep. You need some rest okay."

I decided not to argue with her. I simply stood up, walked over to where she had been sleeping, laid down, and thought to myself.

Too much had happened in the last few hours. I was too overwhelmed. I needed to come up with some kind of plan of action, but I was too sleepy. Before I knew it, I had drifted off.

Okay, so that's all for this chapter. A lot happened. Turns out Cory isn't in love with Mel like he thought. So, who is right for Cory? Maybe we'll find out, maybe we won't. Are things going to be okay with Mel and Skye? Guess you'll have to wait until next chapter. Updating as soon as I can.