Behind the Belie

Chapter Two

     Taking a seat on the ground, I leaned back against one of the logs sitting close to the roaring fire. Rather than socializing, I watched the dancing flames, waiting for Newt to come back. He said he had gone to speak with Alby about 'something important', which I assumed was something that had to do with me.
     My eyes wandered, eventually falling on the horde of boys gathered around a dirt circle. Out of sheer curiosity, I stood and walked over. The boys made a gap for me when I nudged my way through, standing at the front of the crowd to watch. Inside the ring, two boys were fighting each other. Not fist fighting— though there was some kicking— but tackling and shoving. I noticed the small gap between the crowd and the ring itself and I realized they were trying to push each other out.
     Well, one was trying. The other was easily holding him back and waiting for the perfect opportunity to win.
     "Who's the tall one?" I ask one of the boys standing near me. "The one winning."
     "That's Gally, he's the Keeper of the Builders. And reigning champion of the ring," He joked.
     I nod and ask, "No one's ever beat him?"
     He shook his head in response.
     There was a pause in the conversation for a moment as I thought. Finally, I said, "I want to fight him."
     "Really? You think you can take down Gally? He's practically double your size," He laughed.
     I shrugged slightly, "I wanna try."
     At last, Gally shoves the other boy out of the ring. The boys who had gathered around looked at me in shock as I stepped into the ring, "My turn."
     Gally raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "Oh yeah? You wanna give it a shot, greenie?"
     "What did you think 'my turn' meant?" I step back, "Go on then."
He circled me for a moment before trying to get his arms around me. Sliding to the side, I watched as he nearly fell forward, barely catching himself. His eyes narrowed at me and I smiled innocently, "Give it another shot."
     Gally came at me and managed to get a grip on my thigh, pulling roughly so I fell back. At the last moment I managed to grab his shirt and shift my weight so he landed on his back with me on top of him. Standing up and brushing my hands off on my jeans, I looked down at him, careful to stay out of his reach. "If I understand the rules correctly, I'm supposed to be pushing you out of the ring. So uh- you mind getting up?"
     His face flushed slightly with anger and embarrassment as the boys around us laughed. "Alright, greenie. I'm not taking it easy on you anymore," He said as he got up.
"Are you sure that you were before? You seem like you're wearing yourself out, big guy."
I was getting cocky, that was my downfall. He managed to get a good tackle in, nearly taking me out of the ring. I tried to bait him, standing near the edge of the circle and waiting for him to dive at me, but he read me like a book. In two seconds flat, I was shoved onto my back just outside the dirt circle.
He stood above me and offered me his hand, seemingly as a sign of good faith. As he hauled me to my feet, he lowered his voice and said, "Nobody beats me."
"Maybe I'll have to change that someday," I hum.
"My name's Gally," He says, changing the subject for now.
"So I'm told. I'm Y/N."
     "Well, Y/N, you've got nerve. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing in a place like this."
     I realized our hands were still locked together from when he had pulled me up and I cleared my throat awkwardly. Both of us pulled our hands away, stuffing them in our pockets. "Bravery is always a good thing, isn't it?"
     "Sometimes bravery leads to stupidity."
     "And sometimes it leads to problem solving," I hum argumentatively. "But I guess in certain situations it can be dangerous." Changing the subject, I tilted my head and looked up at him. "So, I'm told that you're the Keeper of the Builders?"
He nods, "Why? Eager to try it out?"
"No thanks," I murmur with a slight laugh. "I'm not sure how good I am with my hands."
"Well, that's why you find out. For the next few days you'll see how well you fit with each of the jobs here. I'm sure Newt already explained all of those to you earlier."
I nod in confirmation, "Think I'm gonna have to pass on the Slicers though. As necessary as the food is, I don't want to be a part of providing it."
"Agreed. I'm not sure how they can stomach it. Don't get me wrong, I can handle blood just fine, but killing animals doesn't sound like an enjoyable day-job."
There was a momentary lull in conversation, both of us seeming to run out of things to say for a short time.
"Well, I uh- I guess I'll see you around," I say awkwardly.
He cleared his throat and nodded. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, as if he was thinking of saying something, before he shook his head. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
I felt a tap on my shoulder as Gally walked away and turned to see Newt standing with an eyebrow raised. "You were talking to Gally?"
"Fought him, actually," I corrected. "I nearly beat him in the ring."
"You almost beat Gally in a fight?" He asked, seemingly disbelieving.
I nod, "Just tried to outsmart him, really. I did for a while, but he caught on."
"He doesn't usually talk to many people outside of the Builders anymore," Newt said thoughtfully. He dismissively shook his head, much like Gally had before. "Never mind that. It's nearly time for Lights Out. You'll be staying in my room until we can get a more permanent living space set up for you. After all, you're the only girl and you'll need privacy."
"I'm assuming you have a room because you're Second In Command?" I questioned curiously.
     "It's one of the few things considered a privilege here. Alby and I each have a room of our own, as do all of the Keepers."
     He walked me into the Homestead, leading me up to the second floor and down the hall. Opening one of the doors, he lead me inside and I looked around.
     The room was simple and small, expected in a place like this, without much inside. There was a desk and a chair in one corner, as well as a bed in another.
     "If there's anything you need, you can come find me or Alby. For now, you'll be staying in here."
     "Thank you," I say with a small smile. "You know, you didn't have to give up your room for me. I could've sufficed for a few days."
     "I don't mind," He shook his head. "Right now, you'll need it more than I do. You have a lot of adjustments to make. You've handled everything very well today. I'm sure it's been a long day for you though, you should get some rest. I'll come wake you up tomorrow morning for breakfast."
     I nodded once more and he left, leaving me alone with my thoughts for the rest of the night. For the first time, I allowed myself to truly feel everything that was going on. Thinking everything through was much more difficult than I thought it would be.
     Curling up on my side in the bed, I wrapped my arms around Newt's pillow and buried my face in it. I had woken up in a strange place with no memories. I was alone, the only girl in a small world of boys.
     As my eyes filled with tears, I shook my head and blinked them away. Closing my eyes, I did my best to fall asleep.
     Compartmentalizing my feelings was just going to have to become a part of my daily life here. Though I was sure the other boys had learned that for themselves in their time here.

     Finally, an edited second chapter. Hopefully I'm doing much, much better than I did the first time. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far.