Hello guys! When I wrote this chapter I was thinking about how Jared could react to Nate's and Burns' love. Hope you like it!

Just in case you are anxious about Wanda's and Ian's story you could skip this chapter and read it after Wanda's - Ch. 6 :P (but not after Burns - Ch. 7 or you'll miss things)

Thanks again for reading! Waiting for reviews!

It was dark already and Melanie just left with the Jeep, Jared was looking at the desert and Burns was still sleeping by my side. The cave was cooler than before, it made me shiver. It reminded me of the time when I was on my own. I used to hide in the basement of an abandoned house, abandoned by the souls and not the humans. The house was still in perfect condition except for a few broken windows and a small opening on the side of the house probably dug up by rats. In the beginning I wasn't afraid of using the whole house, in the hardest days of winter I even dared to start little fires in the chimney, but that was only in the beginning. I spent there around eight months, I didn't have a way to check but I tried to keep a calendar going, so that I didn't go insane. Not speaking with anyone made me start speaking with myself, I told myself how things would get easier, how humans were strong and resilient, how rebellion would go, stories I could invent as many times as my imagination let me. I missed many things, I missed food, mostly all the time, I missed sunlight, I missed my parents and friends but most of all I missed Reilly. We met just a few months before everything started but we were already in love. One day he came to visit me, he was just so different, too kind, too smiley, even too loving for Reilly. That is when I realized something was going on. That same night I run away from home, from my family and from humanity I thought, then I learnt I was running away from souls. I never saw Reilly again nor any of my relatives. I was spooked by Jared who have seen I was awake and was now standing just beside me.

- Oh! You startled me! – I whispered so that I wouldn't wake up Burns. Anyway, the moment I stood up, he would be already awake.

- Sorry man, not my intention. Are you hungry? We'll have a few hours until Mel comes back with Jeb's decision and we'll have to wait for Wanda and Ian to return... – Jared sat on the improvised picnic Mel set that morning a few meters away from where we were. He was playing with a pack of cigarettes.

- You smoke? – I was surprised he could still had that bad habit even now.

- It has actually been a long time since I smoke a cigarette… A very long time – He thought about it while I watched Burns sleep.

It was so rare to be able to watch Burns sleep, he looked so peaceful, so calmed. I was the sleepy one, he always woke up before me and slept after me. His ginger hair was oddly out of place and his freckles were ever more beautiful. We were still holding hands and then I realized how Jared might feel about us, it was the end of the world but it didn't mean everyone was just going to accept our love. A human and a soul. I looked at Jared, expecting something, acceptance or rejection, but he was just entertaining himself with a cigarette, not even lit.

I stood up slowly, hoping Burns wouldn't wake up. He was really worn out, he had to do all the work with the souls and I could barely do anything, just walk through the desert. I sat next to Jared.

- I'll take that food offer now – I said smiling, being as kind as possible, as kind as souls, acting like the guest I was.

- Sure, here you are – Jared gave me a can of sardines and another chocolate bar – It's not like we have much variety so if you want to have more beans, just ask – Then he lit up the cigarette and smoke it slowly, so slowly.

- This is just perfect, thanks. – The sun was rising and from the point we were sitting we could perfectly watch dawn – It's… amazing.

- It really is – Burns had woken up and was standing right before us, still tucked in the blanket. He covered me too while he sat – Jared, is this uncomfortable? – Jared was genuinely surprised

- What do you mean? To learn that not only one more human is around there but that there is a soul protecting him and they know where other humans hide and survive? Hell, no. It's not uncomfortable. – He perfectly knew what Burns was referring to but he obviously had no objections.

I looked him in the eye – Thank you, it's hard enough to survive to souls –