I watch Daniel exit my room and sigh heavily. That kid should learn to mind his own business. I pick up the few chip bags laying around the concrete room. Now I have to leave.

"Raiden?" Ashlynn calls, knocking on my closed door. At least the ginger had the common decency to close it.

"Who's there?" I ask, knowing full well it was Ashlynn.

"You know who it is. Can I come in?" She replies.

"I'm not sure who it is," I say with a soft smile. "How can I let you in?"

"Are you... joking?"

"Come in, Ashlynn."

She enters the room with a quizzical look. "Are you okay?" she asks, gently closing the door behind her. "It's not like you to joke."

"I joke... sometimes," I reply with a soft shrug. "Not too common, but it happens."

"Are you in a good mood then?" Ashlynn seems suspicious, but there's a mild amusement in her eyes. She takes a few steps away from the door.

"Quite the opposite actually," I say. "I'm in an awful mood. The joke covers it up. At least, that was my original intention. You didn't really go along with it."

"Sorry," she replies plainly. She's not sorry. "So what put you in such a bad mood? Was it Kody? You weren't really friends with him, were you?"

"You could call it friendship. He trusted me. I killed him. Then ginger comes in here accusing you of murdering me. It's just been a rough 24 hours."

"Hold up." She interjects, "you killed him? Didn't you say he knew who the killer is? Why would you kill him? Was Kody the killer? No, that doesn't make sense. Do you know who did it?"

"He came to me about 12 hours ago, claiming to know who did it, but he didn't have proof. I told him I needed proof. Less than five hours later, I wind up in a room full of smoke and a dead Kody. I should've trusted him. He was terrified. I'm such an a**hole. It's my fault he's dead. I even had a bad feeling about him going after proof. Kody wasn't the killer. I'm sure of that. His burns weren't self-inflicted. Whoever killed him continued burning him long after he was dead. I should've stopped him. I should've trusted him. He knew..."

Ashlynn steps forward and rests a hand on my shoulder. "It's not your fault, Raiden. He would've died either way. You just... sped up the process."

"I thought you were supposed to be good at cheering people up." I murmur, looking away from her but not shrugging off her hand.

"You're the one who decided that. I never claimed to be any good at anything." That's true. She technically didn't.

"Well... I thought you were." I say, turning to look at her again.

"I can be." She shrugs. "But keep in mind, you're not the only one having a bad day."

"What happened?"

"Everything happened. You know it. Kody was a great source of information. Not to mention, you're upset now, and that clouds your judgment." She looks into my eyes with that defiant glare that I'd learned to expect.

"So..." I pause, preparing a second joke. "Are you upset over me?"

Ashlynn nods, leaving me completely confused. "I suppose you could say so."

"I... uh didn't mean that literally." I admit quickly, but she just nods again.

"I know. I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were."

"It sounded implied. Anyway, that's beside the point. Why don't we talk out your issues so we can get back to business? Things are spiraling out of control, and we can't afford to waste time."

I shrug and glance down at the floor. "Daniel was just here. Again. He seems to be everywhere nowadays."

"What did he want?"

"He claimed that you wanted to kill me."

"And? What did you say?"

"I... lost my cool. But it's fine. Daniel's gone along with his 'friends.' It annoys me that he seems to understand everything about everyone. I hate it. He doesn't know me. He doesn't know you. What gives him the right to act like he gets us? You know?"

"So really, if I understood that correctly..." she raises an eyebrow and looks at me suspiciously, forcing me to meet her gaze. "...you got upset over me first."

"No..." I scoff. "That's not it. He pisses me off. That's all. With or without you."

"What if he's right? What if I am the killer?"

"You're not. Don't even talk like that. If you were, I'd be dead right now. You could've killed me ages ago. I don't believe it for a second."

She nods. "That's good." Her defenses disappear and she sighs. "All that aside, are you really upset over Kody's death?"

"Yeah," I say, trying not to sound too sad, but I can tell from her expression that I'm failing. "Even Caspian doesn't think I cared. Is it really so hard to believe that I care about a select few in the human race?"

"No, it's not. I wouldn't have guessed originally, but you're actually an emotional person." Ashlynn smiles weakly. "You know, that actually scares me. I probably wouldn't have worked with you if I'd know how sentimental you can get."

"I don't think sentimental is the right word. I'm not even that upset over Kody dying. I'm sad that I couldn't stop it. I should've guessed. Sure, I liked the guy, but I can live without him. I just wish I hadn't been involved in his death."

"I wouldn't say you were actually involved. Had you stayed with him, you both would've died. It's better that one of you survived, isn't it? Think about it that way."

"There's the pep talk I was waiting for." I return her weak smile but shake off her words. We wouldn't have died. "You're wrong, though. I can defend myself." I reach into my hidden sweatshirt pocket and pull out my trusty handgun.

"Where did you get that, anyway?" She asks, not seeming afraid of it at all.

"I always carry one or two on me."

"This was originally a school event." Ashlynn reminds me with a suspicious look.

"Yeah. I carry them at events, too. Nobody ever looks. It's really easy to sneak weapons into places. It's even easier when nobody even knows you exist. It's not like I'm going to shoot anyone unprovoked or anything. I just have to be able to defend myself. I feel vulnerable without them."

"And nobody has ever noticed them?"

"No."

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's the truth. Look at me. I'm not lying."

She takes my advice, looking directly into my eyes. She searches my expression for any sense of a lie. When she doesn't find it, she turns away. "Yeah. Fine. You're telling the truth."

"Of course I am. We're past lying to each other. At least about important things."

Ashlynn raises an eyebrow and stares me down again. "Important things?"

"I'm kidding!" I exclaim, "I don't lie to you, Ashlynn."

She nods. "Sure you don't." Her tone holds a certain teasing nature that erases all concerns of her actually being upset over a simple comment.

I shake my head and sigh. "So, you believe me, then?"

"I suppose I do." She shrugs. "Are you feeling better?"

Caught by surprise, I just return the shrug. "A little, yeah."

"Did Kody really not tell you anything?"

"I asked him not to. I guess I got my proof."

"I am sorry, you know, about his death. I can tell he meant more to you than you're willing to admit."

"I hardly knew him, but you're right." I think back to Daniel's 'friendship advice.' Yeah right. Why would anyone want to make friends here? "I hate Daniel."

"What does he have to do with Kody?"

"He doesn't."

Ashlynn shoots me a puzzled look, but I don't clarify. It's useless to even try.

"I have to leave."

"Leave?"

"This room. I can't stay here. It's probably better to go now rather than later."

She nods but doesn't reply.

"Hey, Ashlynn?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't die, okay?"

"I'm trying not to."

"Thanks." I move away, getting the rest of my things. I'm ready to go when I notice Ashlynn hasn't left. "You should leave, too."

"I will. Just give me a minute." Ashlynn smiles a little and waves. "See you around, Raiden."

I return the small smile. "I'll let you know if I figure anything out."

She nods, and I leave. We both know better than to say a proper 'goodbye.'