Keaton had spent weeks trying to build up relationships with the members of 13. He wanted - no, needed to know who he could trust when it came to Sorsasta. Someone with his same capabilities had to know about what had really happened to her. When he voiced this thought to Rette and Dare, they had had some... reservations.

"Are you joking?" Dare had questioned, fisting his hair. Keaton had told them about what Sori had said to him, and then what he thought about Fallow and the other members. "You can't tell anyone."

"I kind of already told you guys," Keaton pointed out with a small smile. Dare reached over and smacked his friend's forehead.

"You know what I mean!" The boy clenched his light blue eyes, pulling in a breath. "You know you can trust us. The 13 members are anomalies. And this is serious! You're trying to accuse Nix Fallow, runner of one of the most successful Subject programs, of poisoning a subject with a mutated version of tomorsis. That's not something anyone will take lightly. Hell go after you, K," his voice shook a bit, taking on a worried tone. Rette, who up until that point had been silent, walked over and placed a hand on Keaton's shoulder.

"I think Dare's right. This is Nix Fallow. And don't forget," she warned, "that if you accuse him without substantial proof, you could lose everything. You could lose Tyris." As if remembering their relations, Keaton paled.

"They'd probably kill Sorsasta, if he really was involved."

"Can you really trust 13? They're like Fallow's pets. His most prized possessions." Keaton stared at the two of them, incredulous.

"You're forgetting that I'm part of 13. I'm a member, and the others are supposed to be like family to me. After you, some of them are the people I could trust most." He paused, adding, "Along with Tyris," as an afterthought.

But that conversation did impact him. They talked it out, and came up with a plan. He just had to give it time.

Which is what he'd been doing. To see if he could trust the members wasn't the only reason he was getting to know them. He actually wanted to get to know them. If he'd be working with them all the time, he'd need friends. Which is how he met her.

During his "tests" he'd singled out one person who he felt a strange bond with. And she was probably the nicest person he'd ever met. After a bit of time, he came to the decision that he would tell her about Sori. Dare and Rette had agreed to it. They'd even met this girl.

Jara Grewen. 

Now, in the halls of Shaw, he looked frantically for her, not wanting to hold the truth in a second longer.  He walked past an intersection, pondering which way to go, when a familiar flash of red caught his eye.  Heart pounding, he called out, "Jara!"  She turned, eyes lighting up when she saw him. 

"Keaton!"  She skipped over to him, and placed her hands on his shoulders.  Her smile dropped upon really surveying him.  "You like tired.  There are bags under your eyes."  One of her pale fingers went to trace the lines under his eyes.  He shivered.  "What happened?  Is everything okay?  Is it Rette?  Dare?" 

Chuckling, he grabbed one of her hands, aiming for soothing.  "I'm fine.  Rette and Dare are fine. Want to take a walk? I have to tell you something." Anyone else he knew would've demanded to know what he needed to tell them, but not Jara. Her dark blue eyes only brightened, and she nodded hastily.

"Sure! I hear the greenhouse is lovely this time of day." She smiled. She loved nature, and everything about the greenhouse calmed her. That's where she was Placed as her cover up, but it couldn't have been a better match. But it was too bad Jara would never breathe anything other than the artificial air floating inside Shaw.

For a moment, Keaton thought of bringing her to the landing outside of the observatory, before immediately throwing it aside. It would be like a slap in the face to Tyris. Even if she had been avoiding him since the night he learned of Sori. Keaton felt a small tinge of guilt. This wasn't Tyris's fault. Her dad probably had her locked away somewhere.

Tuning back into the conversation, he found Jara babbling on about some flower. An orchid, he thought she said. Whatever that was. "The purple ones are nice, but the white and yellow are just superb! They're my favorites." She shot Keaton a grin, so contagious that he just had to beam in response.

They walked a few corridors, chatting mindlessly, when they came upon the double doors of the greenhouse. "Well," again, Jara smiled. "Here we are." She placed both hands against the door, pushing.

And Keaton found himself transported.

The walls were covered in green. Not a single bit of eggshell covered walls showed through. The greenhouse extended beyond what he had imagined. He couldn't see the end of it.

Plants and flowers of every shape and size lined the floor, allowing only two paths to walk on. Keaton felt his mouth drop. He had never seen so much life in one place. "Woah..."

Jara giggled, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the back of the greenhouse. Her hand was warm on his, and Keaton felt his gaze drift upward. Again, his breath was taken from him. The ceiling was made entirely of glass, seeming to not even be there at all. The glass allowed him clear passage to the night sky, which was a brilliant dark blue, dotted with stars.

It took a while for him to realize that Jara had stopped, and was now looking at him, a half concealed smile on her face. With a start, Keaton found that the color of the sky matched her eyes perfectly. "Your eyes look just like the sky." The girl blushed.

"Okay, come on, Sailor." They continued on, his hand still enveloped in hers. 

Eventually, they reached a secluded corner in the back of the greenhouse, vines with small white flowers surrounding them.  Jara offered a small, reassuring smile.  "So.  What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Keaton told her everything, and by the time he was done, she had paled, and the light was out of her eyes.  "And- and you're sure?" she questioned, voice low. 

He gave a shrug.  "I don't know if I'll ever be sure.  But Sori said he did this to her."  Again, he lifted his shoulders.  "If it's not Fallow, I don't know who it is."  Jara nodded, obviously thinking things through. 

"I'm with you."  She nodded, slowly at first, and then becoming more sure of herself. 

"W-what?" Keaton stuttered.  She wrapped a piece of her long, red hair around her finger. 

"I'm with you, Keaton.  I want to help.  Sorsasta could've been any of us and she deserves justice."  She let a grin slide onto her lips.  "And I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me.  First, I might add."  Keaton blushed, unable to help himself, finding that he was at a loss for words.  Jara laughed.  "I'm just playing.  Maybe."

He joined in her giddiness.  "Haha, Jar, very funny." 

"I know."  She looked around the greenhouse, wishing there were more hours in a day.  She looked up at him, all seriousness.  "Promise me, Keaton Sailor.  Promise me that we'll meet again tomorrow."

"Of course," he answered instantly, honestly.  Jara laughed a little at herself, before taking one of his hands and giving it a squeeze.  "Let's go.  Mind if I sit with you guys for dinner?" 

He smiled.  "Not at all." 

•

A/N: Hey guys!  I know it's been a little while since I updated, but this took a bit of time.  Sorry.  There were some plot points I had to work out, and my mind has been going into overdrive, coming up with ideas and handling my school work.  I've also had two major projects due these past two weeks, but that's done now, so I'll have a lot more time for wattpad, and, consequentially, Subject.  Yay!

Back to the story, there's a change I'm making.  I felt it would be better for the plot if the characters were older.  So, that's what I did.  Anything referring to ages in previous chapters has been changed, but if I missed something, please let me know!  Keaton is now chronologically 18, but physically and mentally, he is 20.  The same is for Dare.  Rette is chronologically 17, but physically and mentally 19.  Everyone else is around that age.  Cyran is older than the three of them.  Tyris is seventeen.  Jara is the same age as Keaton and Dare.  All of the other thirteen members are older than the three primary characters.  Some, like Ralnor Omodan, is older than Cyran.  The other members - Riniya and Martyz, are younger than Cyran. 

Okay, I'm done now. 😂  Thanks for letting me get that out.  And I think I'm going to keep doing these author notes.

Until next time...
Jordan