Chapter 5

Two weeks had already passed since that day she was yanked out of the jeep and escorted down into the caves. Two weeks had already passed since she shared her story with the cave dwellers. Two weeks had already passed since she had seen Song. Two weeks had already passed since she had been outside of the caves at all. And yet Skye still didn't know what to do. She still felt like the odd man out, just observing the cave dweller population from the outside. Even though she completely understood his reaction to her arrival, she still didn't quite trust Jared either. She got along with Wanda and Jamie, but she didn't want to cling to their sides or pester them too much. After spending so much time on her own, on the run, working hard to blend in seamlessly with the Souls, she just didn't know how to fit in with other Humans anymore or how to adjust to them.

Skye was laying amidst a portion of already harvested field, admiring the way the sunlight was streaming in and reflecting off the mirrors. Sun was almost setting, so the workers were all done for the day. That left Skye to enjoy the peace of nature within the man-made, underground field without having to worry about the awkward stare of the cave dwellers or that ever present feeling of not belonging. She let her eyelids drift closed and eased her worries out of her mind, even if for a few moments. She focused on her breathing and the feel of the small breeze creeping in from around the mirrors at the top of the cave.

Skye was abruptly startled when she heard a noise quickly approaching her body. She barely had a chance to open her eyes and had no chance to react before a soccer ball rolled into view and hit her in the head. She heard someone curse as she heaved herself into a sitting position and carefully put a hand to her head. She winced slightly as she could already feel the spot of impact becoming tender.

"Sorry! I didn't see you laying there, are you okay?" Jamie asked in a panicky tone as he rushed to where Skye was now sitting.

"Yeah. No worries. You startled me more than anything. A little bruise to the noggin won't take me down," Skye jokingly reassured Jamie as she watched him pick up the soccer ball, "Why do you have a soccer ball anyway?"

"Well, I was actually on my way to play a game with some other people if you wanted to join," Jamie kindly explained as he extended a hand to help her up.

"Umm, sure. Thanks. I have to admit though, the last time I played soccer was a long time ago. I doubt I'm any good," Skye confessed as she accepted Jamie's help standing.

"Not a problem. Not everybody can be as good as I am anyway," Jamie teased as he led to way to where the rest of the group was congregating to play.

"Oh, I'll believe it when I see it, tough guy," Skye threw back at him as she laughed at him.

The two had grown close over the last two weeks that Skye had been there. Not only because there weren't a whole lot of kids in their age bracket down in the caves, but also because Skye just felt naturally pulled to Jamie. He was nice and made her transition to living in the caves a little bit easier. It also didn't hurt that she thought he was pretty cute, although she would never say that to his face. It was nice not having to pretend to be a Soul all the time, but her thoughts still tended to drift toward Song. Skye hoped that she had gotten away that day at the store and that she was okay. Skye was hoping she could tag along the next time the group headed into town for supplies. One, so she could get some stuff she needed from her apartment and two, so she could check on Song. Skye was pulled from where her mind had wandered as they rounded a corner and saw the usual group plus a few extras waiting for Jamie to show up with the ball.

"It's about time, slow poke! Nice to see you join us, Skye," Melanie yelled at her younger brother playfully and nodded in Skye's direction.

"Well, after this guy decided to kick me in the head with the ball I figured the least I could do was come play with everyone," Skye said and she let a smile grow on her face as she looked to see Jamie sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"I said I was sorry!" Jamie shouted before anyone missed the fact that Skye didn't seem too upset about it and started to get on his case for it.

"And I said it was all good, but it's funny to put you on the spot. Tough guy over here thinks he's the best player there is," Skye again joked.

"Is that so? Seems he's forgetting who the reigning champs are!" quipped Jared and Ian from the other side of the group.

"It was one time! I'd like to see you try it again," Jamie challenged the two older men.

Everyone split off into two teams. Skye insisted on being on Jared and Ian's team, opposite Jamie, just so she could rub it in his face afterward if they won. Melanie and Wanda went to Jamie's team and the rest of the people who had joined to play added themselves to the mix. Skye may not have played soccer, or any sports at all really, since before everything happened but that didn't mean she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Her goal was not to go down at all, but she'd have to wait and see how things went once they all actually started playing. As they all circled the field to start off the game, she met Jamie's eyes and narrowed her eyes. Skye let a laugh break through and smiled at him as the game started.

The game was tied at 1-1 as the group decided to take a water break. The game was intense and Skye was having a lot of fun playing. She was better than she thought she would be after so many years without any real practice. She attempted to regulate her breathing back to normal as she drank some of the water that Jeb and some other spectators had brought with them. She may not have felt like she fit in yet, but she was actually starting to like it down in the caves. It felt good, it felt safe, and she already felt so much happier than she could remember being in a long time. The transition may have been a little awkward, what with her stowing away in the group's jeep and all, but she knew that she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"I guess it's going to be sudden death after this, huh?" Jamie said as he got some water for himself to drink.

"Oh you don't even know," Skye argued as she lightheartedly pushed him.

"It's on!" Jamie shouted to her as everyone headed back on to the field to finish the game.

"Next team to score a point wins," Jared explained as everyone got in their rightful spots on the field.

Skye was aggressive from the get-go. She wanted to beat Jamie, if only so she could rub it in his face. She couldn't let him get away with such a cocky attitude, even if he had been joking. She was too competitive for something like that. Melanie was approaching her with the ball and Skye shot into action. She slid past Melanie and took the ball with her as she went. She headed down to the other end of the field, trying to stay a step ahead of the other players. She could tell by the breathing that Jamie was the one behind her. She reared back to kick the ball and as her foot connected with it she felt Jamie collide with her side. He had his foot out, going for where the ball had been previously, and he slipped on the grass and lost his traction. He took Skye down with him as he fell.

He was awkwardly straddling her as he sat up and Skye tried to hide the blush sneaking onto her cheeks as she tried to sit up as well. The two of them snapped back to reality as they heard cheers and footsteps heading their way. They turned their heads to see that Skye's kick was good and had landed right inside the goal. Skye shouted victoriously as she jumped to her feet. Jamie let his jaw drop for a second before he managed to pick himself up off the ground.

"Ha! How's that for being the 'best player'?" Skye sarcastically roared as she did a silly little victory dance around Jamie.

"Fine, fine. You beat me," Jamie conceded sounding a defeated, but he had a smile on his face nonetheless, "You're not allowed to use the 'I haven't played in forever, I'm probably not any good' card anymore."

A/N: Hey, you cools cats! You guys seriously rock! Sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I went to visit my boyfriend right after the last chapter and then I got sick and now I'm visiting my boyfriend again. However, this time I actually brought my laptop so I could write some more for you guys. Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. It seriously means the world to me. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story so far. This chapter was just something a little fun and fluffy. I also wanted something with soccer involved because that was one of my favorite parts of the book and they left it out of the movie! As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think. Until next time!