"You've got to be kidding me," I mumble under my breath. Daniel, dressed in black cargo pants and a burgandy shirt, flashes a friendly grin at my mother.

"Hi, Danny," my mother says. I grit my teeth. I want so badly to jump Daniel again, but that wouldn't exactly go unnoticed by my mother. Then I realize something.

"Wait, you know him?" I ask my mom. I look to Daniel who's gloating more than he should be.

"Yeah, honey, he's here to help you get acquainted around the base camp," Mom says, unfazed.

My brothers snicker into their cards. I shoot them glares, but they ignore me.

I turn back to Mom, and I glare at Daniel, too, while I'm at it. "This is unbelievable," I mumble to myself.

My mom disregards my remark. "Why don't you show Ashley around, Dan. You said you met her already, right?"

Daniel nods politely, camouflaging his underlying arrogance. "Of course, Mrs. Cummins." He turns to me, the tone of his voice sugar-coated in a way only I would recognize. "Ashley, would you like to take a tour with me?"

My brothers snort, which catches Daniel's attention. I grit my teeth again, standing and kicking Matt in the back. He whines in protest to Mom, but she refrains from scolding me because of Daniel.

Mom shushes Matt as I aim another glare at Daniel's smirk. "Sure, Daniel. I would love to take a walk with you. Just try not to assault me this time," I say with a small laugh. "I actually though I was dead when I woke up in the hospital."

My mom's jaw drops open as I lead an awe-struck Daniel through the doors from which he came. I know Mom wants me to explain, but I have a better idea.

As soon the doors close behind us, my body attacks. A deep exhale and a clenched fist. I swing at Daniel's face. Hard.

"Ow, what the hell?" Daniel says on the verge of laughter as he rubs his cheek. I try to shove him and his dumb smirk against the wall, but he stumbles only a few steps. I switch to yelling instead of physical force.

"What is wrong with you? First you beat me and then you expect me to be your friend? What don't you get about staying away from my family?" My voice echoes through the nearly-empty hospital hallway. "And why does my mom like you so much?"

Daniel, as I expected, grabs my wrists and slams my back against the white wall, breathing right in my face. "Will you just calm down? You just don't understand, do you? My dad's the general for all the Renegades here. He assigned me to watch over you, so I will."

I strain against his iron grip, then just huff a few times. "I don't want your help, Daniel, and will you stop calling me by your stupid little pet names? I'm going to blow my brains out if you don't stop being so annoying, Romeo."

Daniel laughs tauntingly. "I'd love to see that, Juliette."

I sigh, then knee him in the chest and twist around his grip, which frees me. I massage my wrists. "Why do you hate me so much?"

Daniel expression falls blank, and without a word, he stomps down the hall. Over his shoulder, he says, "Are you coming or not?"

I roll my eyes and follow him. Daniel leads me down a gazillion hallways, telling me every detail of the hospital. I'm surprised that he spends that much time not yelling at me, but that doesn't stop him from using the annoying pet names.

Daniel leads me outside, sticky humidity washing over us. I hungrily inhale a breath of salt water air. I haven't been near an ocean since I was little.

Daniel shows me the way across the wide lawn to a two-story building. Along the way, I notice a few girls semi-gawk at Daniel. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him analyze them in return.

Ugh. I'm so done with this.

As we pass a guard in the entrance, Daniel explains this is where everyone sleeps. We climb up the stairs and go down a few halls to my room, a small space with a bed, closet, and even a tiny bathroom with plumbing. Actual flushing toilets like the ones in the agency. Daniel leads me back downstairs to his room, laughing about my fascination with toilets while my cheeks burn.

Daniel unlocks the door to his own room, swinging the door open. A spacious apartment unfolds in front of me, clean furniture and smooth flooring covering every surface.

Daniel motions for me to take a seat on the navy sofa, and I do so, running my fingers across the woven material. He relocks the apartment door and sits on a dull armchair adjacent to me.

As soon as he's settled in his seat, I can't help but comment, "This apartment is amazing."

"This apartment is amazing," he mimics with a high-pitched voice.

My grin fades. He shrugs.

"So where are we?" I cover quickly.

He sighs, paying his fingernails more attention than he does to me. He bites a hangnail. "We're in Hawaii, an island far from the mainland. Used to be a state, but now its our HQ."

Really? Huh. "So what's stopping the States from coming here?"

Daniel runs a hand casually through his short hair and leans back comfortably. "Well, for one thing, there isn't anything stopping them, but they won't. They're too focused on keeping their citizens under their control and not ours."

He winces, then picks his thumb nail again. "We could invade their territory instead, but the best we can do is slowly take our people back. The Silence Act has everyone manipulated pretty badly."

I shrug. I wouldn't use the word manipulated, but alright. "When are the Renegades going to attack?"

"I don't know." Daniel pauses, reminding himself to be mean to me. "Are you done with all the question, babe?"

My calm persona evaporates. I let out a frustrated noise. "Stop doing that!" I exclaim. "I'm not your babe or anyone else's."

Daniel scoffs.

I blow off his commment. "Conceited much?"

He grins, playing along. "Not at all, darling, but there's more important things I haven't told you yet."

My blood pressure rises at the word "darling." I can't come up with another comeback, so I just say, "What?"

"You're going to be a Clarifier for the Renegades."

My heart drops as Daniel's blue eyes gloat. "Oh, lovely. First I'm supposed to forget the 17 years of fear I've had of the Renegades, and now I'm supposed to be one of you people?"

Spite seeps into Daniel's voice. His head bobs to the side. "Yeah, pretty much. The sucky part is we're partners. Training starts tomorrow."

I falter for words. How should I be feeling about his recruitment. Shocked? Honored? Scared? The Renegades might or might not have a good cause, but I'm not willing to help them. I know nothing about being in Hawaii let alone being a Clarifier. "Do I have a choice?" I ask.

"No," Daniel says. His blue eyes lock with mine, and the corners of his lips turn up into a smirk.

"Ok, then why? What even is a Clarifier?" I deadpan. "Can't you just say something from start to finish instead of leaving me with pieces?"

My stomach growls so loud that Daniel laughs. He rises from his chair with his ego flying high. "Seriously, do you even have a filter?"

He walks towards the apartment door, whipping it open and boasting about getting food from the cafeteria. As expected, I roll my eyes and follow him into the hallway, closing his door behind me.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

After reaching the cafeteria, Daniel ditches me at the doorway, scurrying to join a group of rowdy guys. I can only imagine all the terrible things they do or say. Have they killed States citizens? Bombed empty buildings? Or just make fun of each other like middle schoolers do?

I scan the large room for my family. Navy walls, long metal tables packed with bodies. People from every age crowd around bowls of food. I also notice the guards at each doorway, unarmed and stiff.

I spot my brothers at one of the long tables, and I hurry to join them. I plop down on the metal bench next to John and melt at the sight of the food. As I reach for a large chunk of meat, Finn grabs my arm.

"Only allowed one slice of bread and a half of an apple. And maybe a slice of meat, I'm not really sure."

I look at him, stunned. That's less than we each ate back home. "Finn, c'mon. I'm hungry, we're all starved."

He shakes his head as Matt looks up from his apple. They direct their eyes to the guard standing nearby, and I nod. Sighing, I take a slice of bread with a thin layer of butter on it. Conserving resources is, after all, a good idea. Avoiding the guards' attention is even better.

"So where's your boyfriend?" Matt asks with a smirk.

I glare at him. "I don't have a boyfriend, Mattie Cakes."

Matt and Finn laugh. John follows suit like a good little brother. "So then why is he staring at you?" Matt retorts.

I turn around in my seat to face all of Daniel's friends staring at me, except for the beloved Daniel himself. Gosh, this is like high school all over again. I roll my eyes, and the boys laugh loudly. Too loudly. Daniel hasn't turned around to look at me. He probably put his friends up to it.

"Boy problems?" Finn asks when I turn back around. I roll my eyes at him, too. I don't understand why Daniel is making everything so stressful. Aren't we all here to fight against the States, not each other?

As I chew my bread, I think about all of the fear Daniel managed to put me through in the interrogation room. I 100 percent believed him to be possessed by a Renegade, even though it was fake. He eludes me each time I think I understand what he does and why.

Then again, acting angry or exhausted isn't all that difficult if a snotty government worker like me is electrocuting you for every word you say.

Guilt settles in my stomach, making me feel slightly sick. Maybe there's a little Renegade in all of us. Maybe we're all born Renegades, the revolutionary kind and the evil kind.

I don't dwell on the thought for too long. I take a final bite of my bread, ignoring the dull conversations around me. I am completely sure of only one thing:

Daniel is a Renegade.

* * * * *

lol, that piece of bread that was mentioned above is literally making me hungry. but anyways,

danny is such a jerk... and thats why i love him so much.