The original characters and places are owned by Susan Collins.

Chapter 3

The night after the afternoon at the arcade was unexpectedly beautiful. While the pair was driving home from the arcade, the stars seemed to pop out of the sky and shine as if they were in a movie. By the end of the night, Gregor had made his first official friend Gregor had made in Virginia, even though he had lived there for 3 whole years. When Ella got to Gregor's' house, they had an extended goodbye, and just as Gregor was about to leave the car, the one thing that Gregor didn't want to happen happened. Gregor's mom walked out of his house, strolled over, and knocked on Ella's car.

"Hey my kiddo, who is this beautiful girl?" his mom questioned.

This threw Gregor for a loop; he just looked over at Ella and blushed almost instantly. He didn't want to admit it, but she was gorgeous. Ella's features were nice and distinct. She had beautiful green eyes that shimmered and sparkled like a beautiful emerald, and also a reassuring white smile which, when she would smile, would instantly comfort Gregor.

"Earth to Gregor, as I said before, who is this lovely young girl you are in a car with" snarled Gregor's mom. It was unusual for Gregor's mom to see Gregor with anyone other than his family, but there he was with a girl in a car alone, actually smiling. This is all Gregor's mom could have hoped for. Gregor was finally starting over and forgetting about his past.

"Mom… she's just our neighbor, and we just went to the arcade." Gregor retorted as he pointed at Ella's house to signal which house she lived in.

"Hello Grace, I've heard much about you from Gregor today. I took your son to treat him to a little something. I kinda fell off my roof yesterday, and he was kind enough to come help me," responded the slightly scared Ella.

"Aww, that's so nice of you. Thank you for taking out my son. I hope you two had a good day, I leave you two alone now," Grace said with a lovely smile.

"Well, Ella I better get going, thank you for taking me to the arcade I had an amazing time" And with that Gregor got out of the car and started to head inside.

But before he could get inside his house, Ella shouted, "Gregor, THANK YOU SO MUCH TODAY WAS AMAZING! I WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW AT SCHOOL RIGHT!"

"Of course you will. I will see you then I guess." with that, Gregor went into his house and to his mother's dismay, he ran straight to his room to ignore his family.

That night was one of the first of many nights where he didn't have any nightmares, but instead, Gregor had positive dreams, dreams about what life might hold for him. Maybe he could tolerate living up here for a while. After all, making one friend wasn't that hard. To be honest, what had the Underland done for him? They held his dad captive for two and a half years, and forced him to fight in their stupid wars; he nearly died every time he went. The only redeeming facts were how kind they were to him sometimes. But was that actual kindness or had they just been using him to save themselves?

3 months went by like a bolt of lightning ever since he made his first real friend in 3 years. During those 3 months, it started to become easier to make new friends, but these friends he didn't hang out or even trust as much as Ella. Gregor knew if it was a life-or-death situation, they would most likely leave him for dead. Even though he knew that he still liked being included. Ella had become a necessary part of Gregor's day. Every morning, Gregor would wake up and Ella would take him to and from school, and they were always talking nonstop in class. They were like two peas in a pod.

This feeling of community distracted Gregor from the Underland, and if not for his battle scars and the picture of Luxa Gregor would have totally forgotten about his past. The only things that Gregor could never forget are his mentor Ripred, his bat Ares who sacrificed his life to let Gregor and the rest of the Sunderland live, and lastly, he would never forget his first and only lover Luxa how could he forget her he had spent so much time with her.

Anyway, life was going amazing for Gregor for once. He had good grades; he had friends, he even was running track again. The Underland hadn't been on Gregor's mind for weeks, but this all changed on a quiet, nice day. It was like 60 degrees in the winter and sunny, which was kinda unusual. He walked into his home from school to see his little sister Lizzie in a heated argument with his mom and dad in the living room. He only heard tiny parts of it when he walked into the living room.

Lizzie screamed "I'm going back to the Underland and theirs nothing you can do to stop me"

His mom responded with " No you're not young missy, also how would you get there? You're not even old enough to drive!"

"Gregor will drive me. I know he wants to go back too," stammered an upset and distressed Lizzie.

Gregor didn't know if he wanted to go back to the Underland. Gregor was having a rough time, considering what he should do. He could either stay where he is with his new friends and know that he will be safe almost every night, or he could go to the Underland where he would have his old friends and his lover who may or may not already be married to another man.

Lizzie went up to Gregor in front of their mom and dad and asked, " Gregor, can you please take me to the Underland? We will get to see luxa."

"If mom wants us to stay here, we have to listen to her. It's honestly not that bad there are so many people you can make a new here, it's not that bad. "

The joyous expression that had been plastered on Lizzie's face quickly turned to sadness; a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, leaving a glistening trail. Gregor watched, his heart aching. Lizzie spun around, stormed toward her room, and before entering, shouted, "Gregor, you've changed for the worse!"

With that, Lizzie ran into her room. That brief conversation had hit Gregor right in the heart. He felt like a monster. He had just said he didn't want to return to the place he had sworn he would try to never leave. Gregor didn't even know himself anymore and what was he going to do now live his life and forget about the past and live in the now?

Gregor, being very conflicted, went to the only friend who would want to hear him. This person was his next-door neighbor, who was his new best friend. When he got to her house, he knocked on the door, and, to Gregor's surprise, Ella's mom answered the door with a grin on her face.

Ella's mom just said, "Hello Gregor, what is the reason you're here today"

"I'm here just to talk to Ella," said a nervous Gregor.

"Ellas upstairs in her room, now you two have fun," and with that, she moved out of the way.

With that, he walked right into her house. This was not his first time over at her house, so he somewhat knew his way around. When he got to Ella's room, he knocked and an annoyed reply followed, "Who is it?"

Gregor, who had been feeling a little displeased and done with life, to be honest, due to the incident from just a bit ago, responded with, " Who do you think it is stupid?"

And it seemed as if his rager side took over for him, and he kicked down the door. But to his dismay, he saw a half-naked Ella turned away from the door. Gregor instantly knew he had fucked up. Before Ella could turn around, Gregor, who was still feeling the adrenaline from his rager abilities, was able to close the door. On the inside, Gregor was dying. She was so beautiful, her figure was so defined and it was as if she was carved out of stone. Gregor didn't know if he could look at her again without melting.

Ella's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as she was stunned. Did her crush just walk in on her while she was changing, the sound of the zipper catching on her dress echoing in the sudden silence? She felt as if she was going to die; her heart pounded in her chest, and her breath hitched in her throat. What if he comes back in? Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible after all. The idea did fill her with butterflies. I wish he would; she thought as she got dressed.

On the other hand, Gregor just wanted to die. He has fought huge rodents and humans, but seeing this woman he was stressed. She was so beautiful and then there he was. He wasn't ugly, but Ella was perfect and he wasn't.

About four minutes later, the door opened, and Gregor cautiously walked into her room. This time, he saw Ella wearing a beautiful but short blue dress. Her stunning appearance astonished him again; he pushed those thoughts aside. He was in desperate need of talking to someone.

"Ok Ella, you might be wondering why I came here to speak with you, well it's because I just need someone to listen to me."

"Hey Gregy, I'm here for you nevertheless the situation. Ok, what's wrong?"

Gregor began to talk about his struggles, his voice thick with frustration as he described the constant arguments with his family, the isolating loneliness he felt, and his difficulties adjusting to school in Virginia. While this was happening, Ella started to slowly move closer and closer next to Gregor. Eventually, Gregor just couldn't handle the stress and pressure that was being put on him. He just needed a hug. Exhausted and emotionally spent, he got up and rushed to Ella, embracing her fiercely. The hug felt great, and after the hug, Ella just allowed Gregor to relax and just lay on her lap on the couch. The pair just lay on her bed while Ella just rubbed his hair for hours. It seemed as if time had stopped.

Gregor loved that someone cared for him. He was starting to catch feelings for Ella, but he didn't know if he could give his whole heart to her yet.

Gregor's POV

After he had said his goodbyes, he headed straight home. When he got inside, he ran right past the whole family, who had been worried sick because of his disappearance. He pushed them off and ran right into his room, closing and locking his door.

Gregor just lay on his roof. He couldn't believe what he had just done. It felt like he was cheating on luxa, but what had she done for him other than be so beautifully stubborn? Would it be ok if he moved on? He already moved on about returning to the Underland for the moment. What if he moved on completely?

Ella's POV

OMG OMG OMG, this can not be real! Not only did Gregor come and talk to me, he actually gave me a hug, and laid on my lap. This night was perfect for Ella, though Gregor did see her half-naked. She hoped he liked what he saw. In the last three months, Ella had been working constantly, not for her this time. No, it was to look good for Gregor, and it has been working well, I guess. She just laid on her bed all night, which happened to have the scent of her love interest. The longer she stayed in the bed, the more potent his scent became. At this rate, it was going to be impossible for Ella to sleep.

That night, neither person was able to sleep. They were both caught up in what happened today. Will they end up dating or are they destined to be friends forever?