Feeling exhausted, I place my food down on the table and let out a loud sigh, grabbing Michael's attention immediately. He looks up from his own food with raised eyebrows, clearly not expecting me or the noise that came from me.
"Well good morning to you," he says, regardless of the fact that it's dinner time and I want nothing more than to just pass out and go to bed.
I had spent all day working on shooting and I'm exhausted. In fact, I wouldn't put it past me to just fall asleep right here, right now, on this table. I hardly got a second to breathe or take a break as Major Hood and Luke are definitely taking advantage of every second they can get with me.
Obviously, I'm incredibly appreciative that they're so ready to train me to my best ability but it's definitely taking a toll on my body.
Sure, I've been improving slowly but surely but I'm still not there yet. There's still a lot of work to be done and that's incredibly evident. This is enough to exhaust me and make me want to do nothing more than pass out and go to sleep.
Major Hood and Luke definitely don't have much sympathy for me as they've been pushing me to my limits and making sure I'm giving it my absolute all at all times. I've tried to do just this but my body is practically giving up on me.
"I could fall asleep right here," I say, bending my arm on the table and resting my cheek against my hand. I might as well take advantage of this moment before Luke comes into the cafeteria and demands for me to start eating.
Never would he ever let me get away with taking a nap during mealtime.
"Please don't," Michael says, taking a sip from his water. "I don't know what I would do if I had to sit here and talk to myself."
I can't help but laugh at this as I sit up from my spot, not wanting to get caught in such a lazy position. Tiredness continues to overwhelm me, nonetheless, as my eyes drift off towards anything that isn't the food in front of me.
I don't even want to think about touching it right now.
"Word on the street is Damien paid a visit today?" Michael asks me with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't remind me," I say, dramatically rolling my eyes. "I've never wanted to hurt someone as much as I want to hurt him."
Damien is the epitome of an asshole and if I could beat his ass, I certainly would. He's pleasured by everyone else's suffering and seems to only want to make my life a living hell. The same applies for Carter Hewson.
I can't imagine what Declan would think if he knew the truth of his once friend. It's absolutely appalling that someone I grew up with would be so willing to help contribute to something that could easily be the reason that I don't make it out of the final round.
I obviously would never dream of doing that to someone who I know so personally. Especially after the experience, we shared at my graduation party; the experience I wish so desperately that I could take back.
"What happened?" Michael asks me.
"He found out I'm Declan's sister," I say, cringing at the memory as I know more than anyone that this is absolutely the worst-case scenario. Michael's eyes widen, clearly just as surprised as I had been. "They took the letter and brought it back to me but unfortunately, it revealed the biggest secret of mine."
"They had the letter?" Michael asks, bewildered by the thought.
Nodding my head, I feel anger bubble inside of me at the memory of them carelessly tossing it on the ground as it's clear they have no idea how much that letter means to me. Hell, if they did know, they certainly didn't care.
Instead, they showed it off in a way as if to tell me that they had won.
I have yet to read the letter, which is probably stupid on my part but I haven't had a second to do so. Instead, I asked Luke to hold onto it and keep it in a good spot in his cabin and out of reach of others. He quickly promised to do so and I'm hoping to read it tonight in order to finally see what Declan has to say as I've been desperate to hear from him.
"Yup, we have no idea how they got it though," I say, my attention drifting off as this thought is still taunting to me. The thought that there is a traitor here is absolutely terrifying as I know this isn't good news for me. "Someone here is playing both sides."
Michael's expression drops and I see the way this seems to scare him. This is a threat to absolutely any person here as the traitor is going to know all the ins and outs of our army and has the advantage of using it against us once we're out there.
"Holy shit," Michael says. "And Lieutenant and Major Hood have no idea who it is?"
"Not in the slightest," I say, my jaw clenching as I pick up the fork on my tray and begin to push everything in front of me around.
I need to take my frustration out somehow and unfortunately for my food, it's the easiest thing for me right now. Even just pushing it side to side provides me the slightest bit of comfort as it gives me something to occupy myself.
"Holy fuck, what are they going to do?"
"No idea," I say considering I don't even think they know. I think there's a lot of planning that needs to take place that goes beyond just training me until I can't move anymore. Obviously, I need to be trained relentlessly but I also want them to focus on the task at hand and that's finding who the traitor is.
"That's terrifying," Michael says, his tone dropping as he looks around him. "Especially considering no guy here seems like less of an asshole than the next."
I nod my head, knowing this to be true due to the way they've all spoken to me. Not a single person here has stuck out as a little bit better than everyone else, besides Michael, of course. At this point, it truly can be anyone.
"They're going to have to think beyond torture because that clearly didn't work," Michael says.
"Yeah, or else they could lose control of this place completely," I say.
The second people start seeing that Luke and Major Hood are incapable of finding out who the monsters are, that's when they'll start testing limits. I'm fearful that they'll test limits with me and try to purposefully irritate Luke and Major Hood.
Especially if no one minds the consequences.
"That's a terrifying thought."
I give him a look as if saying 'you think?'. It's mostly terrifying to myself because I know I'm going to be the one suffering as a result of it. Luckily, I am now in Luke's cabin so their access to torment me in any way is limited. Additionally, Luke's practically always around me and he wouldn't let them get away with any verbal abuse or anything along the lines for a second.
"What if we-"
Michael is cut off by the sound of the door opening, the sound being louder than anyone else as we both look over. My attention is quickly taken over by the sight of Luke and Major Hood, who walk side by side, seeming unbothered as neither one of them say a word.
People in the room quiet down softly as they take notice of who walked in, clearly afraid of talking too loud. My heart begins racing at the sight of the person I had spent the day with while training; who constantly made butterflies swarm in my stomach. Especially when he would sneak kisses in when no one was looking.
Luke walks in with confidence, his hair gelled back and down for the first time in a while. He wears all-black attire, a look that makes him look that much more intimidating as he wears the color better than anyone I've ever met in my life.
Then again, everything he does has me in an absolute haze.
I watch as his lips curve into a smirk, Major Hood walking by his side seeming just as confident as him. They definitely don't fail to notice the way everyone goes silent whenever their presence is made known. I can definitely tell the two of them relish in it as they try to hide their amusement, instead, remaining silent as they strut their legs towards the food.
"Lila."
Snapping out of my trance, I look to see Michael looking at me with a raised eyebrow, having definitely noticed my attention that wasn't on him in the slightest. I shake my head, trying to snap myself out of my longing gaze.
"Sorry, what'd you say?"
"I asked if they have any suspicions as to who it could be," he says, shoveling food into his mouth. "They've got to have cameras or something around here."
"I don't know but someone is transferring the message to Damien," I say. "It wouldn't surprise me if they have our complete plan and layout for training."
Michael's eyes widen in horror as his eyes seem to frantically look around the room to see if anyone looks the slightest bit suspicious. I don't react considering I've already had my time to react and accept this all.
"What the fuck? And Damien didn't give any hint as to who?" Michael asks, his voice lowering as he looks me dead in the eye.
I just shrug as if to say no one has any idea. I don't know what the plan is on finding out considering we couldn't even find who it was that took me from my cabin. They need to put up better cameras and really get to work or this is just going to be a continuous cycle.
"If I find these fuckers, I swear I will-"
"We'll find them," I say pushing my tray away from me, suddenly not hungry at the thought of everything that's going on.
I don't want to think about the idea of not finding them considering that could lead to the death of all of us. I know Luke won't give up and I know he'll do absolutely everything he can in order to ensure that this plan of Damien's is ripped to shreds.
No way will he let him get away with this.
Michael opens his mouth once again but is quickly cut off when a deep voice says from behind me, "Ms. James, I really hope you are planning on eating that."
I recognize the voice instantly and cringe in the slightest as I know exactly what he's referring to. Even though we are on the terms we are, I would be an idiot to assume he'd let me get away with things that could potentially have a negative impact on my training abilities.
I turn around slowly, preparing to come in contact with the person I was gawking at no more than a few minutes ago. My face no doubt shows my cringe as I spot just who I expected, Luke. He stands with a raised eyebrow and his strong, muscular arms crossed over his chest.
"Of course, Lieutenant," I say with a sarcastic smile considering he'll never let me get away with leaving a bite left on my tray.
At this point, I feel comfortable with still messing around with him in the slightest. I can validate this because I will finish eating this, as he asked, and I know he won't rip me apart for messing around.
"I'm not leaving until you finish it all," he says placing his own food next to mine and taking the seat beside me. I bite back a smile because it's evident that this is his sly way of sitting next to me and taking advantage of the situation.
Well played.
"Yes, sir," I say, not feeling a need to say it shamefully.
He makes himself comfortable as Michael eyes the two of us suspiciously, luckily refraining from saying anything. I take the opportunity to continue digging into my food as I don't say anything further, waiting on someone else to speak up.
Just as I notice Michael begin to open his mouth, I catch sight of Major Hood as he joins the table, placing his tray down in order to sit next to Michael. I try not to act surprised as our side of the table fills up and I'm sure it isn't long before Ashton will be joining us as well.
Michael's eyes widen for a split second seeming surprised by this as he looks to me for answers. My only answers that I can possibly muster is that Major Hood could potentially be warming up to me as well. Would it be ridiculous of me to think that they see a friend in me?
"How's everyone doing this fine evening?" Major Hood asks, looking to all of us with a cheerful expression.
"I was doing fine," Michael says, before his attention turns to Luke. I watch him carefully, anticipating what he's about to say as I wonder where he could be going with this. "But then Lila told me we have some traitors at hand."
Luke noticeably tenses up and I know it's a subject he doesn't want to discuss, especially with Michael. In fact, I tense up myself in fear of Luke's reaction to what Michael said. I'm sure he won't be happy to know that I spread this information to Michael but Michael is also my best friend here so I hope he can understand that much?
Or he'll absolutely never tell me anything again.
Especially because that may lead to him thinking Michael thinks he can know the ins and outs of everything. Hell, I certainly don't expect to know everything that goes on around here and I'd certainly say the same for Michael. I just don't think Luke will see it that way.
The thing is, to Michael, Luke is still his lieutenant and really nothing more than that. Due to this, casual conversation between the two is prohibited and I doubt Luke will engage in it. In fact, I doubt he'll ever act in much of a casual manner around Michael in order to avoid more people meeting a softer side to him.
"It's nothing for you to worry about," Luke says sharply, clearly intending to cut off the conversation immediately.
I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to participate in this conversation and piss off Luke. To be fair, I probably shouldn't have gone off and told Michael this information but like I said, he's my best friend here.
"But I was thinking-"
"Enough, Michael," Luke says, taking me by immediate surprise as I feel a hand come in contact with my thigh.
I practically jump in my seat due to the contact that I certainly hadn't been expecting. Especially because I can't tell whether he's grabbing my knee in anger or if it's potentially a moment where he's yearning for contact between the two of us.
"Sorry sir," Michael says clearing his throat, Luke's hand remaining on my leg which causes my heart to stammer. "I just had some ideas on how you could catch them and-"
"Like I said," Luke says, squeezing my thigh which causes me to gulp back deeply. A part of me is convinced he's grabbing it in anger and desire. I just wish it didn't have such a huge effect on me. "It's none of your business."
Michael's eyes widen slightly and I can tell he resists the urge to put his hands up in defense as he knows Luke is being serious. I give him the same look of warning, begging him to not press the subject further as I could face the consequences for bringing it up in the first place.
Luckily, he just digs back into his food and acts as if nothing happened, dropping the conversation entirely. I almost sigh of relief and hope that this will be the end of the discussion and we can move on to something else.
At the same time though, I can't help but wish that wasn't the only thing that was pushed further. I know that Luke has a lot on his mind regarding it and I'd like to hear what he has to say or offer. Mostly because it'd bring me some kind of peace in knowing that it isn't as bad as I'm anticipating it to be.
Then again, I don't know what Luke could say that would make me feel better.
Just as I reach back for my fork, I freeze as I feel Luke's hand move further up my thigh making my throat knot in anticipation. The short shorts I'm wearing certainly don't help as I don't want him to continue here but I really don't want him to stop.
Do I smack his hand away?
"So are we going to plan a surprise visit to their campgrounds?" Major Hood asks, looking to Luke. "Seems only fair to take them by surprise as well."
I don't look towards Major Hood as I know my facial expression will give me away considering I must look like I've seen a ghost as I sit here stiff as ever, not knowing how to react to Luke's large hand trailing up my thigh.
His rough hand feels better than I could've ever anticipated and I'm sure he's well aware of this as there must be goosebumps all over my thigh as it reacts to his touch. I want nothing more than to kiss him in this moment but I know that's not plausible due to our setting. Instead, all I can do is sit here and allow myself to be tortured by Luke Hemmings in the most incredible way.
"I'll think of something. We'll get our revenge, don't worry," Luke says eating his food peacefully, not addressing the fact that I'm incredibly wound up right now as I'm letting him slowly torture me in front of everyone.
It's certainly a bold move on his part but I'm certain that it's a challenge for me to see if I can keep myself together in a crowded place.
In fact, I practically lose it as his hand moves towards my inner thigh, increasing my sensitivity as I tug on the inside of my lip, praying that no one tries to get my attention as I know my voice will give out on me.
"I say we teepee their grounds," Major Hood says making Michael immediately look up in excitement.
"I'm so in," Michael says.
"So that's exactly what we're not going to do," Luke says, shutting it down entirely.
"Why not? I say we fuck with them mentally," Major Hood says as if it's some genius idea.
Luke raises an eyebrow instantly and asks, "By teepeeing their campgrounds?"
"Fuck yeah, it's brilliant," Major Hood says sitting back, a proud look on his features as if he just found the cure to cancer.
I block out the conversation, instead, focusing on ignoring the feeling of Luke's hand on my thigh that's still practically sending shivers up my spine. In fact, I'd believe I was practically accustomed to it if it weren't for Luke tugging on the bottom of my shorts causing me to shoot up and gasp immediately.
The table shakes at the contact, and I instantly feel pain shoot through my knees at the abrupt contact caused by Luke.
Luke is quick as he retrieves his hand in order to free himself from any questionable looks, and everyone in the area turns to look at me.
"What the hell, James?" Luke asks, with a small tone of teasing that only I'd be able to catch onto.
However, to anyone else, I'm sure he seems angry and surprised by my reaction that seemingly came out of nowhere.
I know my face must look as white as a ghost considering everyone's eyes are on me and I have absolutely no explanation. What the hell do I say? This is all Luke's fault and now I'm the one trying to muster up an excuse.
"Sorry, I um," I say trying to think of a good excuse that could possibly make sense. "I choked on um the food."
Major Hood gives me a look before saying, "LJ, you haven't touched your food in the past two minutes."
The nickname leaves Major Hood's lips in a casual manner as he's picked up on it recently, furthering the bond between the two of us. I do appreciate the relationship the two of us have as he manages to make this place feel a lot more normal. On top of that, it's good to know I have some people on my side here.
Actually, scratch that considering he just shamelessly called me out. It's clear that he wanted to leave me speechless as I'm sure he knows that that was a lie on my part in order to get out of telling them the actual reason as to why I had our whole table shaking.
God dammit Luke.
Of course, he had to cause all this attention and now rely on me to make the excuse. I am absolutely terrible at lying and there's no way I can think of a good enough lie to get out of this. Especially when I was just caught in my first lie.
"Oh yeah, I was chewing gum."
"No you weren-" Michael begins but I shoot him a look of warning, as if begging him to just let it go.
Luckily, he seems to get the hint as the look does enough, causing him to shut his mouth and sit back. I feel guilty considering every time Michael tries to say something he seems to get shut down but he really needs to not contribute to this conversation further right now. Unfortunately, he has no idea of the impact of his words at this moment.
I don't need to try to get myself out of this one further.
"You shouldn't have gum in your mouth anyway, Lila," Luke says to me, causing me to look to him and silently beg him to shut up as well. "You should have other things in your mouth."
And this time, I really do feel like I choke on absolutely nothing as I look at Luke speechless. In fact, I can't even think of a response as I look at him one-hundred percent dumbfounded as I'm in disbelief he just said that out loud.
Did he really just say that?
Neither Major Hood or Michael seem phased as they jump into their own conversation, probably unamused by Luke once again 'harassing' me for not eating. I'm surprised they are so quick to let the two of us get away with this conversation as I'd assume they'd be quick to add their input. Luckily, they refrain from doing so.
Just as I'm about to address what Luke just said to me, he cuts me off from doing so as his eyes drift down towards my food and he pushes my plate towards me.
I look at the food that I'm practically sick at the thought of as I can't believe what Luke just said to me. I think the part that has my stomach turning the most is the fact that I can't help but wish we were alone and in Luke's cabin right now, as opposed to this crowded room.
Now, I have to finish the rest of this meal with the taunting thought of how badly I wish I could tease Luke right back. However, I think we've tested our luck enough for the day. I don't need to be put in a situation where I have to find excuses for the two of us once again. After all, we know how horribly that will work out.
God, I am never sitting with him during a meal ever again.
a/n
hi hi!!
sorry for the wait!! this is actually the last pre-written chapter I have and everything moving forward will be 100% new content!!!!!
this was even only half of original content as I rewrote pretty much 2/3rds of this & hate to break it to u guys but this originally had smut lmao but i decided its too soon and we've got plenty of time for that hehe
thank u for reading!! appreciate u all and love u! hope ur week is starting off well!!