Gally marched over to the girl. She was swing the ax, bring it down with a grunt. He was quite impressed with her strength. He could see the sweat running down her face. She went to swing the ax again, but Gally caught it by the handle, preventing her from swinging it forward. She stumbled with a yell.

Gally watched as she swung around with a snarl. She froze when she saw Gally. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Seems like I'm always making you eat, Pipsqueak." He shoved the plate and water bottle into her hands.

She growled at him. But sank down to the ground, chugging the water. Gally watched her for a moment and dropped the ax beside her.

"You're getting through this faster then I expected." He nodded towards the pile of split logs.

He saw her give him a look, swallowing the bite of apple before speaking.

"Well you idiots have been using a dull ax for who knows how long. Spend an hour sharpening it and then you'd be done faster. Work smarter not harder Gally." She rolled her eyes.

He couldn't help it, he smirked. Again he was impressed with her.

"Is there anything else I can help you with Captain Gally?" She snarked.

He didn't realize he had been staring at her. He ran a hand through his hair.

"No. Eat and finish the wood. If you finish before the end of the day help the guys at the MedHut."

He spun away and stomped away, he had to get away from her. His heart had sped up, and he felt dizzy again, he just wanted to stand and watch her. She had a flush to her face, and she pulled her hair up and away from her face, but her flyaways that came loose had turned into tight curls in the heat. She had also stripped off her long sleeved shirt, showing off her toned arms.

He shook his head, what was the girl doing to him? She was making him feel things he didn't have a name for or answer too. To hide from these weird feelings he tried to push her away, but the more they argued or had face offs the more he wanted. The more he wanted to provoke her into tifs. He liked the way her face flushed and her crystal blue eyes lit up like electricity...she was fantastic.

He stormed away, he needed to cool off and clear his head. He couldn't let that spitfire of a girl distract him.

____________________________

Charlie

It was weird, Gally flip flopping between moods, I understood why he was struggling, but did that give him an excuse to act the way he did? He was shy, and kind last night, and today he looked ready to strangle her. Their face off this morning was weird. I could feel another layer of tension between us. I definitely felt my heart speed up when he had taken a step closer. But was that my fight or flight response or because he stepped into my personal space and...I liked it? And wanted him to step closer ... He made me want to punch him but also stare into his eyes. The shuck is wrong with me?

I stood up with a growl and grabbed the ax. Gally had the right idea, physical work was a good stress relaver. The rythmic timing of swinging the ax, the physical exertion helped clear my mind. Or at least clear it of that darn ox of a boy with beautiful steel blue eyes.

It didn't take me much longer to finish the wood pile. With one last grunt and thump of the ax I finished the last piece of wood. With a satisfied smile I put the ax and stone back in the tool shed. Picking up the plate from lunch and my water I dropped it off and made my way over to the MedHut. Where I met a kid named Lee, who seemed to be incharge of the area.

He told me I was to pass up the planks to the guys on the roof. The guys around me all froze when I moved among them; freezing and watching my every move. It was uncomfortable. I hated it. Grinding my teeth I shoved everything I felt deep down, trying to ignire it all.

Picking up a plank I brought it over, almost tripping over someone's hammer.

"Shuck sakes! Pick up after yourselves!" I muttered, kicking it away.

"Hey! Don't touch my stuff!" Some kid yelled.

"Then clean it up!" I yelled back.

"Maybe you should, seeing as your just a girl, it's all your good for!"

I growled and closed my eyes for a brief second taking a slow inhale. It's one day. Get through one day. Maybe I'll ask Newt and Alby for a punching bag. And draw a face on it. I passed up the plank to the guy on the roof without a word. On my way back the same kid from earlier slammed into my.

"Watch it girl." He spat.

I didn't respond, just kept walking. I grabbed another plank, and trudging back to the construction sight. The guy was walking back to the pile and smirked at me, he stepped too close to me. I tripped over something and with my hands full I landed on my knees, falling forward the plank in my hands snapped. The guy beside me sniggered. An evil glint in his eyes.

"Hey Lee! The girl can't seem to hack it and broke a board!" He called.

The kid came jogging over.

"Seriously?! We only get so many! Come on girl!" He threw his hands up frustrated.

I stood up, glarring at both the guys. The kid was smirking behind Lee's back.

"If this stupid shank hadn't tripped me I would have been just fine." I pointed to the kid.

Lee turned around, and the kids smirk had disappeared into one of hurt and mock pity.

"No! I just saw her falling! Seemed like the board was too heavy. I mean she's only a little girl, and these boards are heavy."

"She carried one already just fine." He looked at the guy and then turned back to me, arms folded and a frown. "Break another one and I'll have to fire you. We only get so many boards each supply day!" He scolded me, all the guys had stopped what they were doing to watch.

My face burnt with anger and humiliation I chucked the broken board into the scrap pile and went to grab another board. I managed to make it all the way without a problem. I climbed the ladder and handed the board to the kid up top.

On my way down I froze.

"Hey! Be careful there, it looks like your sitting on a low spot, I'd be careful if I were you, looks like it's caving!"

The guy looked at me rolled his eyes and waved me away. With a growl I climbed down the ladder and went to find Lee.

After explaining what I saw, he glanced at the roof and back at me. He also rolled his eyes and waved me away.

"There's no support beam! And it's already sagging! It's only a matter of time!" I snapped at him.

"What do you know? I've been incharge longer than you've been here. If I say it's fine, it's fine."

With another growl I stormed away. I hated this place. I hated this job trial. I hated my life. I grabbed another board. The kid who tried to trip me tried again. I stopped walking as he passed, he still tried to kick my ankle. Blinking away the frustrated tears I kept my chin up. I would show these boys!

I climbed up the ladder, passing the board to the kid. As I shifted my weight back to the ladder I felt a shift in the roof. I froze. The kid obviously didn't feel it.

"Hey! Hey, kid! Stop!" I yelled.

"Why?" He yelled over top of the hammering.

"The roof is shifting! Stop! It's not stable!"

He rolled his eyes and kept wacking the board. I could feel it sinking and shifting lower.

"Stop!" I screamed.

He didn't. I tried to grab his arm without moving too much. He needed to stop hitting the board, it was caving. The ladder I was standing on shifted, making me yelp and try to sablize myself. But all that ended up doing was cracking the roof board more. The kid finally felt it and froze, fear in his wide eyes.

It happened so fast I couldn't react, or stabilize myself. The board cracked all the way through. The kid grabbed onto me and we both went crashing down in a loud scream with the roof boards and ladder. I felt my stomach drop. There was a thud and pain. White hot pain. I felt pain shoot through my side and across my back. My breathing cut off. Tears sprung to my eyes. I couldn't see anything but the blinding pain in my side. Black spots danced in my vision.

There was an instant rucks of boys standing around me and the other boy. Gally and Lee came shoving through the crowd.

"What the shuck happened?" Gally hollard over the noise.

The kid from the roof scrambled to his feet. Apparently I broke his fall. He seemed to be fine he pushed off me making me gasp and cry in pain. The shrap pain shot through my side.

"She pulled me off the roof!" He cried.

I was still gasping and trying to breathe. I couldn't even defend myself. But at the moment my focus was the pain in my side. I must have cracked or broke a rib.

"Yeah! She broke a board already today, and said I tripped her, when she's just a clutz. And she was whinning to Lee about something! She's done nothing but cause trouble!" Said the short kid.

Lee was looking down at me with a frown, I could see the internal battle behind his eyes.

"Well? Lee?!" Gally demanded

Lee looked up from me and glanced at the two boys and then at Gally then back down at me. He closed his eyes and nodded. Giving into the lies the other two said. I closed my eyes, tears leaking out my clamped eyelashes, from the pain and from the anger, hurt and humiliation.

Gally rubbed his face with a large hand.

"I'm sorry Charlie your fired. Go...somewhere." He turned and shooed the guts away.

"Get this cleaned up!"

I was left alone, no one bothered to look at me or help me. I bit my lip and gingerly got to my feet. Pain exploded through my side. I had to get back to the Homestead. I needed to laydown. I slowly, painfully slow I made my way across the glad. It was humiliating. Why did these guys hate me so much?

Back in my room, I tried taking off my boots but couldn't, it hurt to move. I gave up and lay down with a lot of gasping and stifled cries. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to get up. I lay there as I heard the supper bell ring. My stomach growled but even moving my arm on that side sent pain through me.

I somehow managed to doze, but it was riddled with pain. I woke up with tears running down my face. There was a knock on the door.

"Charlie? You here?"

Newt poked his head in.

"What's wrong Love? You missed supper again."

He came over and sat down on the bed. Making me gasp in pain and clamp my eyes shut. He shot off the bed, I was panting from the pain now.

"What's wrong? Charlie! Tell me right now! What happened?" He demanded. I blinked my eyes open, he had a fire behind his eyes.

"I think...I broke a rib." I whispered.

Without waiting for any more explanation or permission he slowly and carefully lifted my shirt. I heard him suck in a sharp breath.

"What the bloody hell happened?"

With a shuddering breath, I looked up at him. His usually calm gentle brown eyes were dark and demanding. But his face was still soft, and gentle. I knew I could tell him the full truth and he would believe me. He waited patiently for me to talk. He crouched down beside the bed. I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes, another tear leaked out. And I explained what happened, I told him everything. From the comments to the guy tripping me, the lies, telling Lee about the roof and no one listening, falling and coming back.

His frown deepened.

"You got yourself here alone?"

"Yes." I whispered.

"You need to see Jeff."

"Newt I can't move. It hurts to breath."

He hummed and frowned again.

"I'll bring him here. Don't move, Love."

I couldn't help it, even with the pain I snorted.

"Good one Newt." I whispered.

Newt came back a few minutes later with Jeff. He gently pulled my shirt up to look. He frowned and hummed.

"Okay I need some stuff from the MedHut. Newt, help her sit up and get the shirt off. I need to see the full extent and we're going to ice it and then wrap it."

He got up and left. With Newt's help I sat up at the edge of the bed, and with much gasping and growling I got the shirt off.

Jeff came back and started doing his thing, poking and proding gently. There was a knock on the doorframe. Alby, Minho and for some reason Gally were standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" I growled at Gally, my eyes narrowed, "come to see the extent of my lies, have you?"

"The shuck Tiger?! Who did you scrap with this time?" Minho yelped.

"You should see the other guy." I tried to smirk but grimaced when Jeff pushed on a tender spot.

"Yeish!" He shook his head with a smirk.

It made me smile slightly.

Newt however got up from his crouch beside me and spun towards the doors a fire in his eyes.

"She so happened to fall off the shuck roof of an unstable work sight. Care to explain that one?" He directed this question at Gally. All heads turned to him.

"No one said anything. I left Lee in charge, I was working on the shower."

"Bull shit." I whispered, my eyes narrowed.

Heads swiveled back to me.

"I told the kid on the roof and Lee. But for some jacked up reason no one listened to me. Go ask Lee again, alone, without the minions around. Same with that idiot from the roof!"

Heads swiveled back to Gally, looks of reproach on all their faces.

"Also, how come you never made sure she was fine? She fell off the bloody shuck roof!"

"Dave was fine, he jumped up right away." Gally shrugged.

"Clearly Tiger is not alright. Man. Your more of a shucken slinthead then I give you credit for."

"I can't treat her different because she's a girl!" Gally yelled. His face was turning red, throwing a hand around.

"You're right. You can however, open your shuck eyes and pay attention! Two people fell from the shuck roof! And you didn't ask if they were okay or send them to Jeff. You keep klunk like that up I'm going to have to denote you." Alby said seriously, a frown on his face and his large gorilla arms crossed.

I watched as Gally sputtered and face went reder. Before he could explode Jeff cleared his throat.

"It's not fully broken, definitely cracked, and major major bruising. Definitely bed rest for two ish days. It's going to shucken hurt for a bit."

Gally spun on his heel and stormed away. I could hear him stomping down the hall and a door slammed.

"Jeff, Newt, keep an eye on her." Alby demanded, rolling his eyes and left.

"You didn't eat. I'll grab you some food." Minho nodded.

Newt exhaled slowly. Jeff finished up and gave Newt a bottle of pain killers.

"These are strong. One every 8 hours."

Newt nodded.

"Thank you Jeff." I said quietly.

He nodded sadly at me. "I'm sorry Charlie it's been so rough for you here."

I shrugged my good shoulder. Minho came back with some food and water placing it on the bed beside me and flopped onto Newt's bed.

"So. Charlie. Tell me how your day went." He raised a sarcastic eyebrow at me and smirked.

I couldn't help it but I chuckled sadistically back.

_____________________________________________
**Whoops. Trouble in paradise!**