Charlie stumbled backwards as Corben shoved past, face sharp and drawn. He was a about to follow after the older teen when a sweet voice cut through the silent aftermath of Corben's outburst.

"My love, what has angered you so?"

He could have sworn it was Kai, but the look on her face, and the words, the sound, it was all wrong. Corben stopped, his gaze darkening further, before turning around and going toward her.

His face did not match his actionscas he pressed his forehead to Kai's. "Princess, I wish we had just run away, alone, together."

Kai's gaze was soft as she touched her hand to his cheek. "Who said that we could not do so now?"

Corben shuddered, breaking the spell of the moment. Kai inhaled sharply and leaned back, Carmen grabbed Charlie's arm and dug her fingers into it. "I can't do this Kai. Not right now, not anymore."

"A pity," Kai looked startled, as if she had not meant for those words to come out. "That my love should suffer so."

Charlie could see Corben's face, sweat dotting on his brow, a strained expression tugging at his features. "Kai please, please, just fight it for me, fight it for me just this onc-" he his words were cut off as he pulled Kai into a kiss, fingers grasping at her back, her hands gripping desperately to his arms for balance as he towered above her.

Charlie felt heat and embarrassment rush through him, and Carmen made a small sound, like a kicked dog, tightening her hold on him.

Avery was standing on the other side of the clearing, wide eyed as he stared at the two of them, lost in each other. Charlie was going to be sick.

Corben suddenly reeled back, shoving Kai away as he stumbled down to his knees, chest heaving. Kai let out a cry and flung her arms around him. "Corben, I am so sorry. I tried to stop it, I really did, I'm sorry, please, please don't cry."

But she was crying as she held him, and Carmen was making strange noises and a headache was starting to jam it's way into his skull.

"Corben, what the f-"

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Avery took a tentative step forward. "Corben, are you... ok?"

Kai brushed a lock of white hair off his forehead. "Give him a moment," she said in a low voice. "He doesn't need more problems added to him."

When he had finally stopped shaking, Kai leaned down and murmured something unto his ear before rising and walking over to Avery. She grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him back across the clearing, to Charlie and Carmen. "Follow me."

They didn't fight it, just listened, until they were far away enough to talk without being heard, or at least, that's why Avery thought Kai had dragged them this far.

"Charlie, don't get mad at him." Kai's voice was firm, reminding him of a teacher from years ago. "Neither of us can help it. When the game pulls out a cutscene, we can't fight it, no matter how hard we try."

She turned her attention toward Carmen. "That goes for you too. You can be jealous of me all you want, but it's not like either of us chose to be in this position. And Avery..."

She trailed off, then chewed her bottom lip. "Actually I didn't have anything to tell you. You're pretty chill."

Charlie made a face. "Still, Kai, he didn't have to react like that afterwards. He acted like touching you was burning him."

Kai pinned a glare on him. "You don't know how he felt, but I can assure you, a makeout session with the princess was not what he needs right now. The last time this happened, Maylea ended up dying, so you better watch what you say."

Carmen inhaled sharply. "So it's true?"

Avery rolled his eyes. "Of course it's true! You think Corben would really get this worked up over Maylea not dying?"

Carmen stuck her tongue out at him. "For your information, he was just as annoying and abrasive when Maylea almost drowned, so yeah, I think he would be like this, even if she wasn't dead. Maybe Corben is just like that. Did you think of that, Avery?"

It happened too quickly, but at the same time, it was like the world stopped, freezing that moment. Kai slapped Carmen right across the face, a red mark immediately blooming from the shape of her hand. "You watch your mouth!"

Carmen took a hiccuping breath, eyes wide as Kai continued. "You have no clue what kind of stress the two of us have been under, just in this simulation alone. And now you want to complain about life outside of it? So maybe he could stand to be nicer to Maylea, but you weren't the one who saw him there, more broken than any one person should be.

"You're not the one who has to see the face of his sister every time he looks at Maylea, or has to deal with the guilt of letting her get in life or death situations, not once, but twice in the past two days. You're not the one who's dealing with all of it, so you're not the one who gets to judge him!"

Carmen burst into tears and turned and ran, leaving the three of them behind. "I've got her," Charlie said, eyes narrowed at Kai. A heartbeat, before he turned away too.

Avery stepped forward and grabbed Kai's hand, still trembling from the force of her words. "That was too much, Kai."

She slumped forward, and Avery caught her so she could lean against his shoulder. "I'm just so tired," she murmured. "I thought we found a way for it to work out, but... I can't stand to listen to her talk about him like that."

Avery stroked gently at her hair, murmuring small sounds of encouragement. "Just let it all out, Kai."

"She keeps talking about how much she likes him, but then she'll go and do something like that and completely tear him apart. But I keep feeling like she's done something to him already."

Kai let out a small groan when Avery started to rub at her shoulders, her body loosening against his own. "He can't stand to be around her, I can see it in the way he stands, and the words he doesn't say when he talks about Carmen. Something happened, Avery, I just don't know what it is."

Avery lead her over to a tree and let her settle against it before sitting down himself. "Kai, you don't have to fix anyone, least of all Corben. His problems are his own, and maybe he just needs to suck it up and deal with it."

Kai shook her head. "We talked so much on the way here, Avery. About Maylea, about his childhood, about his... his sister, about everything. Avery, he's had to deal with everything on his own since losing her, so what he really needs right now is someone to help him."

Avery pressed his lips together. "That still doesn't mean it has to be you, Kai. Surely he has other people to turn to?"

Kai's eyes flared. "Who? Maylea? She's dead, and he blames himself. Juno? Half the time they're arguing about something, and he's dead too. Carmen? Yeah, she's his roommate, but you saw what just happened, and after his outburst at Veronica, I don't think she's that great of an option either.

"And Charlie, well he's always trying to rile Corben up, or question his authority, which is hilarious because Corben still doesn't look at himself as a leader, just the unfortunate receiver of our problems.

"So who does that leave? You? Me? Azalea? Out of the three of us, who's the one actually caring about him? Because I don't see you doing it, and Azalea hasn't made an appearance in this issue yet."

Avery cleared his throat. "There's Blair too."

Kai rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah, Blair, who is currently trying to kill all of us and take me back to the castle and be his bride. Like I would want that."

Avery frowned, shifting forward. "Wait, but I thought you said earlier that you can't help it when the game takes control. Maybe that's happening to him too."

Kai threw up her hands. "Does it really matter? We're playing a game right now, and at this point, we either die, or we wait out the consequences of our actions and live."

She got up and fluffed her skirt out. "So if you don't mind, I'll be going to help Corben now, because apparently I'm the only person who cares."

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Carmen swiped away tears, her pace slowing as she stumbling through the forest, unable to see where she was going. Her foot caught against a fallen branch, and her body swung down to meet the forest floor with a sharp cry.

She was too tired to get up, just let herself lie there and cry, her face still stinging from the the force of Kai's hand.

What on earth had Kai been talking about? Carmen wasn't jealous, she was mad. Mad at Corben, mad at Kai, mad at those stupid adults who kept them trapped here.

"Carmen!"

She didn't bother listing her head or trying to see who was coming. What was the point? Maybe if she stayed here long enough, that deranged master and his lackies might take pity on her and let her back out. Then she could hide, truly hide from everyone else and all of these stupid arguments.

"Carmen, I am so sorry about Kai. Are you alright?"

Charlie hovered over her, concern in his eyes. Carmen stared blankly back.

"Define... alright."

He sighed and knelt next to her, lips pursed together as he touched a finger to her cheek, the dull throb of it increasing at his touch. "That was way out of line for her to do that, and I am sorry Carmen. I should have seen it, should have done something."

"Like what?" The words rattled around in her, as if her entire chest a empty, all but those two words, clinking and shifting like coins. "What would you have done? Hurt her? Slapped her back? Shoot her with an arrow?" She closed her eyes, exhaustion pulling at her from deep inside, as if she was sinking through water.

Charlie's hands were cupping her face. "Hey, hey now Carmen, stay with me. I don't need you fainting on me, because I don't think I can carry you all the way back alone."

Carmen's eyes fluttered as she tried to cling to his words, as if they would draw her out from this stifling heaviness of anger and utter exhaustion. "Fainting is for ladies," she murmured, his face gaining a shred of clarity.

His eyebrows crinkled, a hesitation. "I mean, you look like a girl to me."

Carmen groaned in response. "I'm a girl, Charlie, not a lady. Ladies are graceful and rich and never pass out, they only faint."

"So I'm still right."

Carmen wrinkled her nose and tried to swat at him, but the action has half hearted. "I think you'll be carrying me anyways," she murmured, letting waters pull her into unconsciousness.

A scream snapped her out not a heartbeat later.

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"Corben, no!"

Azalea tried to calm the shuddering breaths ripping through her lungs as she edged onto the unsteady surface of the cliff, her eyes flicking from her feet, to Corben, standing at the edge of it all.

"You misunderstood what I said, and I really need you to come back here now."

He took a step back, looking over his shoulder at the drop behind him. "You know," he began, starting to pace along the edge. "I know Mr. James said we could fell pain in this game, but I've also heard that if you fall right, death is instantaneous."

Azalea shuddered. "Corben, c'mon, just come closer to me, please?" I'm really scared to be this close but I still want to talk to you.

Corben motioned her down. "Just sit. You won't be able to see how high you are and your center of gravity will be more balanced, if that makes you feel any better."

Azalea started to lower herself down, then froze. "Corben, if I sit down, will you come closer so we can talk?"

He shrugged, and Azalea sat down the rest of the day, her hand burrowing into the mix of rocks chips, pebbles and dirt. Corben came two paces closer, only two paces away from falling, purposeful or not.

"Good. Will you sit too? I feel really short."

He shrugged again and complied. Apprehension coiled in her gut. He was making this all to easy, listening too well, reacting too perfectly, and she didn't even know if she was doing anything at all right. "Corben, just... talk me through this. Why?"

He scoffed. "Really, Azalea? Why? At this point it would just be easier to ask why not?" He leaned backwards, and Azalea could hear the disturbed pebbles clatter down the drop. "This is all just a game, Azalea, a sick, twisted game created by a sick, twisted man. And I'm tired of playing it. I'm tired of being forced to live and to love against my will."

He rose to his feet stepping back those two paces, and Azalea scrambled up too, running toward him, fear for him overtaking any sense or logic she had left.

"Corben, get away from there!"

Azalea turned her head to see Kai, being held back by Avery, though he seemed to be doing very little to actually stop her. Azalea's foot caught on a raised stone, her momentum sending her further, passing Corben in a moment of weightlessness, before gravity carried her over the edge.

A scream ripped from her throat.

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I feel like a lot of drama happened this chapter, but I also really liked writing it!

I wanted to get this out earlier, but it was 2am and I was literally falling asleep while writing Carmen's pov, so of there any spelling mistakes, please ignore

Now! A question! Who is your favorite and least favorite teen in the book, and why?

Until next chapter! Adios!