I stare at the ceiling, a little bit of light peeking in from the cracked open bathroom door. Krystal and Inva told me that curfew's at ten, but Krystal is nowhere to be found. I wonder if she'll get in trouble. 

I examine the constellation of holes in the ceiling, wondering where they came from. Surely there's some rule against defacing your dorm. Krystal and Inva gave me the rundown of things earlier. A more detailed tour, an explanation of the training and schedules, a thorough report on every member in the hideout. They explained the basic rules like breakfast in the cafeteria, on time to all classes, curfew at ten, but didn't say much else on rules. When I'd asked, Krystal said that conversation would take place another day.

Even though most Neverseen members have codenames which they're supposed to go by, Krystal told me their real names. Said something about how it pisses them off and how she finds it amusing. 

The Neverseen kind of reminds me of one big, chaotic family. That's never a word I thought would describe the Neverseen. Evil, murderous, crazy? Yup. Nice, caring, friendly? Never in a million years would I have believed someone calling the Neverseen these things.

Everyone here seems . . . normal. Even Gethin, who Sophie's described as super evil on countless occasions.

As my mind sorts through everything I've learned today---about the Neverseen, its members, its way of life---I drift off to sleep. A peaceful, dreamless sleep, something I haven't had in a long time.

~~~

"Marella! Wakey-wakey!"

I blink my eyes open, the room bright with light. I see Krystal's face hovering over mine, smiling kind of maniacally. Jolting up, I nearly smack my head into hers.

"Morning." Krystal smiles.

Rubbing my eyes, I push the covers off me and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. "Morning." Realizing I may have overslept and that oversleeping may not be acceptable here, all the sleepiness drains from my system. I stand quickly, a rush of questions and worries coming out of my mouth. "Did I sleep in too late? Am I in trouble? Did I miss breakfast?"

Krystal puts a hand on my arm. "Calm down. You're not in trouble." 

A breath of relief escapes me and my heart slows down. I can see Krystal barely suppressing a smile at my panic. "Sorry. I just don't want get punished or something."

Krystal's eyes widen. "Punished? Oh no no. We don't do that here."

My eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What? I thought . . . Well, Keefe and Tam both said that the Neverseen was like horrible and punished them and stuff like that."

"Neither of those two were trusted. Our trusted recruits are treated like you are being treated and our untrustworthy recruits get treated like they were," Krystal explains.

"Why am I trusted?" I've done nothing to earn their trust and I literally used to fight with the Moonlark.

Krystal guides me to the cafeteria. As we walk down the hall, she says, "Because Fintan said you could be trusted. He believed that if you came to us, you would stay with us."

"But Fintan barely knows me."

"His lessons with you showed him a lot about who you are. He knew that you weren't happy with the Black Swan." I think back to all the lessons I had with him. How he would always sit there, examining me even when I wasn't doing anything. How he would sometimes ask me about my day and my life. My face must show my realization at his observing me because Krystal smiles. "He cares about you. He wants you to be happy and loved and proud of your ability."

Krystal walks into the cafeteria, leaving me standing in the doorway as I process her words. Fintan---a criminal, a murdered, a person I barely know---cares about my wellbeing, about my life.

I smile slightly at the realization. Someone cares about me. From inside the cafeteria, Inva calls to me, waving me over. As I start to walk over, another thought comes to my mind.

Maybe the Neverseen won't be as bad as I thought.

~~~

word count: 678

sorry for the short chapter. the part i was going to add next seemed too out of place after this last scene so i'm just going to put it in the next chapter.

thank you all for over 300 views! it means a lot to me. 

i hope you liked this chapter and the next should  be out soon. bye loves!!