Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

"Hey..." Esther looked up from her book, eyeing Kent as he awkwardly rubbed his neck from where he now stood beside the couch she sat on in the lobby area of the apartment.

"Hey." Esther didn't know what else to say as she watched the male try to awkwardly figure out what to say next, amusement coursing through her veins at how awkward her usually loud and outgoing friend was.

"How are you?" Kent's question made a laugh ripple from Esther's throat as she gently placed her teal bookmark into the book before gently shutting it.

"Really? What are we... Middle school students texting? Talk to me like we used to. Don't be shy and make it weird." Esther teased which immediately made Kent's slightly larger ears flush red as his blue gaze fell to the ground now.

"Sorry. I just feel like ever since we escaped from The Monarch and settled here... You're almost avoiding me. Maybe I'm wrong, but, I just felt like you didn't really want to hang out lately." Kent's words caused Esther to falter slightly as she realized that he was right in some ways.

At first it had been normal... They could joke around like they normally did. But something had always made her take a step back from him...

Sure, they'd had history but now... Now that she remembered all the memories she'd shared with David... It almost felt like she was betraying David by allowing Kent the memories that David was now missing out on.

"I mean... I understand what you mean... But..." Esther paused as she thought over the conversation she had the night previously with Joelee. Remembering what Joelee had said caused her to flinch as she rethought what exactly she was going to say to him now.

She didn't want to ruin their friendship but she knew he wanted something more.

"Things are different now... We're not the same people we were before we were kidnapped. Things aren't going to be completely the same... You know?" Esther chose her words carefully, trying her best to spare his feelings but he didn't seem to understand what she was trying to say as he took a seat next to her with sympathy clouding his baby blue eyes.

"I guess I never stopped to consider that... You must've gone through just as much as I did at The Monarch... The constant shock therapy... The painful serums... I'm sorry for not considering your feelings sooner, Esther." Kent's words caused her to immediately deflate as she realized he definitely was taking this conversation in the completely wrong direction than she had intended.

"Actually... I wasn't meaning that, Kent. I'm saying... Over time... People change. Feelings change. You start to... Grow out of things. You understand?" Kent still looked confused much to Esther's disappointment as she released a groan before rubbing her head in an attempt to find a more blunt but yet gentle way of telling him that she no longer had a crush on him.

"I'm saying... We should let go of our childish crush, right? It wasn't ever really serious... I mean... You're younger than me and if I was too young to consider being in a serious relationship, then you definitely were. We shouldn't ruin our friendship by making it awkward and dating." Esther's said slowly but Kent immediately looked away as she spoke, Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed rather heavily before giving a hesitant nod.

"Yeah. You're right. We were just kids. We're adults now so we need to get over it and move on." Kent's reply seemed almost forced but he looked up with a soft smile, awkwardly patting Esther's head before he stood rather quickly.

"I have to... Clean my walls. See you later." Kent murmured as he turned to make his way towards where Esther knew the stairway was, not noticing the tears forming in Kent's eyes as he made a quick exit.

"Well that wasn't what I meant by letting him down gently but being blunt is probably the only way he would've understood." Joelee's voice startled Esther as she quickly turned to gaze over her shoulder, realizing Joelee was standing behind the couch now.

"How long have you been standing there?" Esther questioned suspiciously as Joelee moved to the side of the couch instead so that it wouldn't hurt Esther's neck to look at her.

"Not very long. I'm fast when I want to be. Comes with having to walk fast when I worked at my grandparents restaurant. But that's not the point. Are you avoiding talking about it because you don't want to or are you guilty because you hurt his feelings?" Joelee questioned as she eyed Esther who immediately heaved a soft sigh, playing with the ends of her thigh length hair thoughtfully before she finally gave a reply.

"Both? You know that I had to tell him though. I don't want him to find out the complete truth yet but I can't be with him obviously. I have a family to worry about now." Esther murmured after she glanced around to make sure nobody was around to overhear, focusing her pale green gaze back to Joelee who gave a soft, almost sad smile.

"I know you do. But just remember we're your family too. So, no matter what, I'll do my best to protect you if I can. Even from other members of our family. Just know you're saving him further heartbreak in the future so you did him a favor by letting him down before he allowed his feelings to grow. Now that he knows he has no chance he'll start the healing process. But let me see what he needs before you try to talk to him again. I'll see if he needs space or not. Try to make him feel better. But just know you did the right thing. Even though it hurts now, you did." Joelee assured as she gently placed her hand on Esther's arm but the woman said nothing in reply as she instead focused on her book, staring intently at the back of it to avoid the conversation so that it wouldn't continue.

Joelee sighed quietly as she removed her hand, turning to instead follow Kent upstairs, much to Esther's relief at being able to escape the awkward conversation.

"Joe, can you help us hang up a poster?" A girl with pink hair questioned as she poked her head out the door, rock music blaring in her room as a blue haired woman that Joelee recognized as being named Celeste peeked out from behind the pink haired woman.

Joelee hesitated for a moment, listening to the distant sound of Kent grumbling quietly from his room down the hall, quietly cursing himself for potentially ruining his friendship with Esther. Maybe giving him some time was for the best considering how emotional he sounded, and how he normally didn't like to show any negative emotion around others.

"Yeah, sure." Joelee wasn't quite sure why they needed help, considering how short she was in comparison to the pink haired woman alone who appeared to be around 5'8, possibly even 5'9. Let alone Celeste who was a rather tall woman at 6'1, with a tall and athletic stature. Celeste and the pink haired woman were definitely very beautiful, both having beautiful and well taken care of, waist length hair.

Celeste had long teal green hair that had beautiful ringlets of curls cut short around her face while the rest of the seemingly perfect curls hung loosely around her waste. She wasn't curvy but her athletic form caused her thighs and hips to show prominently beneath her dark, ripped, skinny jeans. Her abs and toned arms on full display from the black, sleeveless, crop top she wore that accentuated just how fit the stunning woman was. She had beautiful teal blue eyes that clashed beautifuly with her dark, cool toned skin, her black eyelashes not as long as the pink haired woman's but they were still long nevertheless.

"I'm Stella. This is my girlfriend, Celeste." The pink haired woman held out a hand which Joelee took to shake but Stella gently lifted it to press a kiss to the top of her hand instead.

"Stella, don't scare off our wise and beautiful leader straight after introductions." Celeste scolded as Joelee's face flushed just as pink as Stella's, sleek, cotton candy pink, hair.

Stella was equally as beautiful as Celeste with gorgeous, honey colored eyes that almost appeared gold in certain lighting. Her eyelashes were so long they appeared as though they were fake, brushing against the pale freckles that dotted her pink flushed cheeks. Her skin was an incredibly pale ivory but she had a very small undertone of pink that appeared as though she was very slightly sunburnt. She was a lot curvier than her girlfriend with a less muscular frame, her chest being substantially bigger than Joelee and Celeste's combined while her hips were what her grandmother would call, "amazing, child bearing hips".

Joelee silently smiled to herself at the way her grandmother used to describe people, it was odd but startlingly fitting.

"It's nice to meet you both. I'm glad to have you as a part of our family." Both women seemed touched by Joelee's words, Stella seeming to have an almost sad expression to her face for a moment but it was gone sooner than it appeared.

"Hey, we are a family here. You won't get any judgement or hostility if I can help it. If anyone gives you any problems just let me know and I'll take care of it to the best of my abilities." Joelee assured them before her eyes momentarily fell on the large tapestry that lay draped over their long, black leather, couch.

"That means a lot, honestly. Thank you." Stella dipped her head in thanks before she moved to stand beside the rather vibrant tapestry.

"We need help hanging this up. It's too heavy for just one person to do and we need an extra person to secure it while we hold it up. Is that okay?" Stella twirled a lock of her beautiful pink hair around her finger as she turned to gaze at Joelee through her eyelashes, giving a smile when Joelee nodded her agreement.

Stella and Celeste grabbed both side of the large tapestry before moving to where their kitchen was, allowing the long tapestry to hang down over the entrance and block the view of the kitchen within. Joelee admired the large tapestry as she began to work on securing it to the wall, the thread being rough beneath her palms but the rough fabric did nothing to affect how beautiful the imagery of the tapestry was.

She assumed both women liked mythology as it was a large tapestry of four women seated next to a lake on a fallen tree while three beautiful water nymphs stood behind them braiding their hair. The four women were all nature based, one seeming to resemble a tree with her brown tree branch appearing mohawk on full display from the direction her head was tilted as she watched her friends being pampered. She had dark skin, appearing to have a bark pattern with swirls of green moss acting as tattoos over her body.

The second woman had long green hair, eyes closed as one of the nymphs braided her hair. Her skin seemed to be made entirely of moss with a few pebbles and stones dotted along her skin almost as if they were freckles. The third was made entirely of beautiful flowers, her hair billowing around her feet in a vast array of beautiful colors. The fourth almost looked like a portrayal that Joelee had seen of the goddess Gaia with hair that appeared to be made of vines while her skin seemed to be molded from clay.

It was the most gorgeous tapestry that she had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on before.

"Artemis made this for us. More accurately she painted it and sewed it. It's gorgeous, no? I was surprised at how quickly she got it done. It only took about a week. We were expecting a much longer wait." A strange feeling of pride filled Joelee at Celeste's words, a smile spreading over her face as she secured the last side before climbing back off of the stepladder that she had used to reach where she needed to.

"She's very talented." Joelee finally replied as she placed the stepladder into a closet much to the women's surprise at the fact that she was even helping them clean up in the first place.

"She is. So when you going to ask her out?" Stella's question startled Joelee which caused her to shut the door a little harder then she was intending to.

Joelee awkwardly cleared her throat as she began to tidy up the room, both women watching in amusement now at how quickly she was cleaning up their space.

"I'm not ready for a relationship. So not any time soon. I've got too many other things on my mind." Joelee finally replied after she had put everything in the living room where it needed to go.

"I understand. Is this also about that one guy who went AWOL... Uhm... Nick?" Celeste casually walked over to the closet and pulled a duster from the closet, slipping it into Joelee's hand as the woman nervously paced around the room.

Joelee stopped her nervous pacing as she subconsciously began to dust literally everything in the living room that she could, even going as far as to get the cobwebs down from the ceiling by hopping to reach.

"His name is Nathan. We were friends for about three years before we were kidnapped. He was one of my best friends so having him leave was pretty hard. But I don't really want to talk about it." Joelee paused and continued pacing after everything was now dusted to perfection, Celeste and Stella exchanging glances before Stella gently took the feather duster away from the shorter woman.

"Sometimes having someone to talk to can help." Stella said as she rushed over to the closet, pulling out some polishing wipes before handing it to Joelee who immediately began to clean again, much to their delight.

"I don't want to burden you guys. I barely know you and as someone who's supposed to be a leader, I need to do better than I have been and lead by example." Joelee muttered as she polished everything to perfection, the gleam of their little wooden trinkets almost startling now from how thorough she was being at cleaning.

"You're no burden. Leading by example is getting help when you need it so the others do it as well. It may help them open up to you." Celeste gently handed a broom to Joelee before gently taking the wipes as Joelee began to do a second polish on the items. It seemed to soothe her and help her gather her thoughts to allow her to clean so the women allowed it... Plus... Free housekeeping.

"You make us feel comfortable. Like we can be ourselves here. We never got that at home." Stella's words caused Joelee to pause her aggressive sweeping as she turned her attention to the beautiful woman instead.

"I'm glad you feel that way. That's why I wanted us all to have a safe haven. Of course I'm trying to find out if the younger kids have a stable living situation to return to but I want this place to be somewhere where they know they can return if they ever feel safe." Joelee admitted after a moment which caused Celeste to smile as she wrapped her arm around Stella's waist.

"That's admirable. My parents definitely don't want anything to do with me so it's nice to have a place to call home. Especially since it's a place where I can be myself." Stella smiled brightly at Joelee who immediately returned it before she continued to sweep.

"My parents didn't like that I had a girlfriend. They refused to accept that their only child liked the same gender. They sold me to The Monarch before I turned eighteen so that they could find an efficient way to dispose of their shame." Celeste muttered which made Joelee growl quietly at how disgusting people could be. She couldn't imagine rejecting her child... They'd have to murder someone for her to ever even consider disowning them... But she'd never do something as despicable as selling her child to a place that did human experiments.

"Well you're free to love whomever you want here. It's not anyone's business but yours so who is it hurting? Just let me know if anyone here gives you any trouble. I'll give the same talk to them." Joelee sighed quietly before finishing up her sweeping, holding the dustpan awkwardly as she gazed at the women helplessly for a trash can.

Celeste took the dustpan before making her way towards the kitchen, gently pushing aside the tapestry before disappearing into the room.

"Thank you for your help. We're here if you need to talk. Anytime." Stella admired the now spotless room, wishing she had managed to sneak the mop into Joelee's hand as well but she would take what she could get.

"Of course. And the same offer goes to you both. You know where I am if you need me." Joelee smiled as Celeste entered the room once more, returning the dustpan and broom to the closet before taking her place at Stella's side.

"Thank you, again." Celeste gave a nod as Joelee turned to make her way out of the room, both women watching her leave as she gently shut the door behind herself.

Joelee released a quiet sigh, rubbing her eyes with the back of her arm before she continued down the hallway, now determined to complete her original quest.

Joelee knocked gently on Kent's door, hearing the furious scrubbing within which only mildly concerned her at the moment as it immediately halted at the sound of her knock.

"Turndown service!" Kent yelled before the furious scrubbing continued, the smell of bleach invading Joelee's sensitive nose but she ignored the strong desire to sneeze as she knocked once again.

"It's me." Joelee called when the scrubbing halted once again, a silence following her words as Kent seemed to debate what to say next.

"Go away, Adele!" Kent finally responded which caused Joelee to snort before she turned the handle of his door to find it locked.

"Come on, man. I can help you scrub the walls aggressively. Let me in." Joelee leaned against the door as she listened to his nervous shuffling within the room.

"I got it, Joe. I'll be fine." Kent sounded extremely tired now as she heard him walk closer to where she stood, a soft thud signifying that he lay his head against the door.

"You will be eventually. But I know how you feel. I know you hate talking about these things but I'm here for you. I feel the same way you do now." Joelee kept her voice low but she knew he could hear her from the soft sigh he gave, the door moving as he leaned against it fully, sitting on the floor now which she immediately copied his movements so that he could still hear her.

"I was never engaged to marry her, Joe. There's the difference between us two. She never really showed me that we had a chance." Joelee's heart clenched painfully in her chest at Kent's words, her eyes closing as she fought back the memories.

"She's my childhood best friend and that's all she'll ever be, I guess. I 'spose I just wanted more, you know? I had fallen in love with her before we... You know. Got loser-napped." Kent continued, a shudder in his breathing showing that he was holding back tears now.

Joelee swallowed heavily as she allowed her mind to wander, focusing instead on his thoughts as his memories swarmed her head instead.

"Hah! I win!" Esther cackled as she slammed her hand down on the cards, not seeming to care that her hand was beat red from everyone else slamming their hands down on hers.

"That's cheating! You peeked!" Joelee exclaimed but everyone knew that Esther had indeed won the game for the fourth time in a row.

"I'm beat. It's getting late and I'm done with being dinner to mosquitoes. Goodnight, younglings." Rachel sighed as she rubbed at her hand, standing up to make her way from the group.

"I'm heading to the bonfire. My hand is going to fall off if we keep playing." Nathan stood up as well, turning his attention to Joelee who shook her inhaler before inhaling deeply from it.

"You coming, Joe?" Joelee's face flushed red as she realized Nathan was holding his hand out to her, giving a bright, brace filled smile before she gently took his hand.

"Yeah, sure. Anyone else coming?" Joelee turned her attention to her friends, face and ears bright red now as she gazed at each person politely.

"We'll head over in a bit." Kent gave a secretive smile as he gazed at Nathan and Joelee's entwined hands, knowing full well that they'd need privacy.

"Mikala?" Joelee turned her attention to the beautiful brunette that she had previously been sitting next to, frowning at the sad smile that Mikala gave her.

The woman had beautiful, dark brown eyes in a thin hooded shape, lidded with brown eyelashes. Her sleek brunette hair that hung down to her waist pulled up into a messy ponytail that worked very well with her beautiful facial structure. She had a curvy, yet athletic figure which the camouflage patterned hoodie and jean skirt did nothing to hide. Her pale skin flushed red from a sunburn from the long day they'd all spent playing volleyball together and hanging out on the swing sets.

"You guys go. Have fun. I'll turn in for the night." Mikala's reply seemed to make Nathan uncomfortable but before Joelee could reply, he pulled her away despite her protests that she needed to make sure Mikala was okay.

"It's finally happening, eh? After four years of waiting?" Alyssa grinned excitedly, not seeming to notice Mikala's expression as she spoke rather quickly.

"Yep! I hear wedding bells in the future." Esther giggled, all immediately going silent as Mikala stood quickly and made her way into the girl's dorm.

"I'll talk to her." Kent's older sister followed after Mikala, Kent knowing fully that she was going to give Mikala the "you're just kids so all of this won't matter in like three years", speech.

"Did you help him pick her promise ring?" Alyssa questioned after the six of them sat in silence for a moment too long for her liking, turning her russet brown eyes back to Kent who immediately arched an eyebrow but replied nevertheless.

"He said rings were cliche. He got her dog tags instead since he's going into the Army after high-school." Alyssa made a face as Kent spoke, causing Kent to release a laugh at her reaction, smiling as Esther laughed at Alyssa's expression as well. He'd always enjoyed making her laugh, he guessed that making people happy was the reason he always acted like an idiot but it always felt special when he made her laugh too.

"Don't worry, Blondie. He got it engraved too. It's a lot more romantic than you think. Plus she'd probably lose a ring. He said he'll get her one when he's back from basic training." Blake grinned which caused Alyssa to turn her attention to him instead, seeming relieved that her friend wouldn't be forced to have something like that as an engagement ring forever.

"I'd just like to remind you guys that we're all teenagers so if he bought an actual engagement ring rather than... Promise dog tags.... Then it'd be kinda weird." A sandy red haired male piped up, causing Alyssa to turn and glare at the tall and rather lanky boy.

"It'd be romantic, Breck. Don't ruin my ship." Alyssa scoffed as she stood to get a better view of the exchange between Joelee and Nathan, wanting to witness the moment firsthand so that she could see the exact moment her ship would become cannon forever.

Breck, Blake, and Derek exchanged glances, deciding they wanted to follow as well just out of genuine curiosity at how exactly Nathan was even going to give her dog tags as a promise ring.

"Do you think it's cheesy?" Kent questioned as he turned to Esther who shrugged lightly, turning her light green eyes to him instead which caused his breath to catch in his throat as the moonlight seemed to cause her eyes to glow.

"I think love is never cheesy if you and your partner enjoy the moment together. Cheesy is a concept that only you can decide on in that moment. It's not really for me to say if it's cheesy." Esther's reply shocked Kent as a small smile spread over his face, his hand slipping into his coat pocket when he felt the box nestled safely within.

They'd been friends for so long that the thought of losing her as a friend scared him but he'd liked her for so long now... He had to tell her how he felt. It was now or never.

Esther's sudden snort of laughter startled him from his thoughts, causing his smile to falter as she shook her head.

"I'm kidding. It's super cheesy. It's borderline lame. We're teenagers. Why are we thinking about marriage? It's stupid." Esther scoffed as she stood up to make her way over to where she heard Alyssa squealing loudly now.

"Oh..." Kent's heart contracted painfully in his chest as he slowly removed his hand from his pocket, the male suddenly feeling stupid for ever thinking that she'd actually felt that way.

But still.... Maybe she'd change her mind if he asked. Maybe she'd think it was romantic just because it was happening to her....

Kent literally slapped himself as he felt the crushing disappointment weighing down on his chest, taking a deep breath before he bolted towards the bonfire.

"It's about time you finally settled down!" Kent laughed as he pulled Nathan into a hug, ignoring the jealously that his best friend had gotten his girl forever when he couldn't even work up the courage to ask out the one he liked.

Joelee gasped as tears ran down her cheeks, feeling the pain that Kent felt down as well as her own at the memory of that night. She felt the crushing disappointment that Kent had felt that night and it hurt that she was too blind to see how much Kent was hurting back then.

"You were going to ask her out that night?" Joelee whispered which seemed to startle Kent as he released a laugh of surprise, sniffling quietly from the other side of the door before he loudly cleared his throat.

"Thought you didn't do that without permission." He murmured before releasing a shuddering breath, purposefully ignoring her question as he struggled to keep the sobs within his chest.

"Here's a kiss. If you don't like it, return it."

Kent finally released the sob that had been wracking his chest as the memory of the dance her filled his mind. Seeing her in that beautiful golden dress that matched his suit... He'd never felt happier than he had in that moment.

"Oh, Kent..." Joelee whispered as she wished desperately that she could find something... Anything to take away the pain he felt.

If only he knew the truth... She knew it'd break him to know that Esther was married to David now.

"You deserve so much, Kent. You do. You will make someone very happy someday. You're an amazing person. I know you can never fully stop loving her.... But.... You deserve to be happy. You both do. Sometimes what you think you've wanted from the beginning just isn't what's right for you... And... That's okay. It hurts but closing one door opens another to something more beautiful. You just have to find it. You're smart... You're charming. You have so much talent. You can do anything you set your mind to. You are strong, Kent. We will all be here for you. I will be here whenever you need. You don't have to suffer alone." Joelee placed her hand against the door, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks as she closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander away from Kent again so that she could give him the privacy to think freely.

"Thank you, Joe. I-I... I think I want to be alone to scrub my walls some more." Kent's words caused a sigh to escape Joelee's throat but she had expected his reply... She knew he was more secretive about his emotions than others were.

"Okay. I understand. Call if you need me. I'll bring dinner up to you, okay? Take all the time you need to heal." Joelee assured, silently wishing that she could just make all of his pain go away so he wouldn't have to feel this way.

"Thanks, Joe. You're a good friend." Joelee gave no reply as she listened to Kent stand and make his way back over to where he began to scrub the walls once again, hearing him cry quietly through the sound of him scrubbing the walls a lot gentler now.

"Joooooooeeeeee! Dearest! Light of my life! I have a surprise! Come hither, darling!" Killian's voice startled Joelee, turning her attention away from the lime green door she sat in front of as she rubbed at her sensitive ears.

Joelee hesitated to glance back at Kent's door, listening to him scrub the walls for a moment before she finally stood.

"Baaaaaeeee!" Killian's whine caused Joelee to sigh as she turned towards the stairs, hesitantly making her way where she knew her friend was.

"I'm coming! Keep your panties on!" Joelee yelled back which earned her a giggle in response, not noticing as Kent peeked his head out the door to watch her go.