"You know, have you ever considered the possibility that if you smiled once in a while, people wouldn't be so scared of you?"

I brushed my dark hair out of my face and glanced over to my side where Eli stood. We'd just finished trading, and after being gone, it felt good to return to leading the sessions. When I came out here this morning, I expected it just to be me, but Eli showed up. There was a smile on his face, one that I clearly saw as fake, but I was happy that he even got out of the house.

I wasn't stupid enough to believe that he was okay, but I was glad that he was up and moving. I didn't like the idea of him remaining locked up inside his house—especially with Fen. So I didn't bother trying to turn him away. Truthfully, I missed the idiot I called my friend and beta.

Or, at least, I did until he began to act in typical Eli fashion.

"I don't care how people view me," I told Eli. "If they're scared, then that's a them problem. This is how I always look."

Eli looked at my unimpressed face, and a small smile broke out. "Yeah, I know." He glanced at the sky and asked, "Do you remember when we first met?"

I did. I remembered the day former Betas Neal and Issac brought Eli back to the pack. I remembered the moment we made eye contact because it marked the start of me never being able to get rid of Eli.

Ironically enough, he never intended to be friends with me, either. In fact, at first, we tried hard as hell to avoid each other, but circumstances kept bringing us together until we eventually became friends.

"You were always glaring, so at first, I was reluctant to become friends with you, but you kept stalking me—"

"Hold on," I interrupted. "Me? Stalk you?" I scoffed.

"You kept showing up at random times and stared at me. Tell me you wouldn't think that's creepy."

I rolled my eyes and lightly shoved him away from me. His smile grew, and his eyes scrunched up slightly as a result. I missed this. I missed being able to sit down and talk to him about trivial matters.

"Let's not forget who followed who around like a lost puppy," I countered.

Eli huffed. "We were friends by then. Doesn't count."

I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to retort, but Eli's phone going off caused me to stop. His brows furrowed, and he pulled out the ringing device. I only got a quick glimpse and the caller, but the clear 'F' was all I needed to let me know it was Fen calling. Instantly, my mood changed.

Eli's, on the other hand, seemed to grow. His eyes lit up as he answered the phone; he nodded even though Fen couldn't see him. The two exchanged words before Eli finally ended the call and glanced back over at me.

"Fen wants to meet up for a run. Do you want to come?" He asked.

Doing anything with Fen was far from what I wanted, and I knew he felt the same. In his fucked up mind, this was likely a scheme to try and get Eli to like him. Having me, there would only ruin his plans. Knowing this, as much as I wanted to say no, I agreed.

"I'll go," I told Eli, and I could see the surprise on his face.

"Really?"

"We haven't hung out much. Besides, I need to go on a run anyways," I told him.

Eli's face broke out into a smile, and we began to leave the training area. But just before we left, something caught my eye—or rather, someone.

Standing alone in the corner of the training grounds was Roan. Had he been here this whole time? Earlier, I didn't see him, but then again, it was Roan, so it wasn't truly surprising.

"Hold on," I told Eli and made my way toward the blue-eyed man.

Roan turned his attention to me as I approached. The conversation we had rung through my mind, and I stopped before him.

"Were you here this whole time?" I asked him.

"Yes, I was," Roan answered plainly.

My eyes ran over him, and from his demeanor, you would've never known something had happened the day before. Nothing had changed in his outward appearance—his expression remained the same unreadable one from before.

And yet, at the same time, something had changed, not with him but with me. I no longer stared at Roan with the same glare. I hadn't started jumping with joy and breaking out into giant smiles when I saw him, but the seemingly small change was more significant compared to where we were before. After talking to Nolan and him yesterday, Roan had left the room, and Nolan had pleaded with me to at least try and get along with the beta.

Even if he hadn't, I doubted that I could've still been rude to him, knowing what he had done and gone through. So I agreed to try and get along with Roan.

"Eli and I are going on a run. Join us," I said to him.

There was a slight rise in Roan's brows, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. He stood there for a minute, just staring at me, and I sighed.

"Look, if you want to go back to wherever Nolan is hiding, you can. I'm just inviting you. The choice is yours."

I emphasized the word "choice." I knew after what Nolan had told me, I knew that Roan didn't do well in new situations. Considering this was very likely the first time I'd been nice to him and the first time he'd been invited out by anyone other than Nolan, I was sure that this constituted as just that. Only this time, Nolan wasn't here to help him make the choice.

His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes kept flickering to his side as if Nolan would pop up out of thin air. I fought the urge to let out another sigh and glanced back at Eli, who was still waiting for me.

I turned to leave from Roan. I didn't have the patience to stand around like Nolan did. There would be times when Nolan wasn't there to help him make decisions, and he'd have to learn to combat them on his own. He couldn't hide behind Nolan forever.

I managed to get a few feet away before I heard him call out, "Wait."

I turned around and found blue eyes filled with a mixture of hesitancy and determination. "I want to come."