Elude

it's 4 am.

"Then I moved on," he says. "Became leader of Enderlin. A bunch of other stuff happened, then we ended up on the same side in the war. Truth was, I was afraid of losing. I betrayed everyone, and I deserved it when Matthew shot me. I should have died."

"Wow," Aidan says quietly. "Matthew, what's your opinion on this?"

"I shouldn't have shot my friend," I say. "But he wasn't my friend then, he was the enemy and the key to winning the war. I didn't mean to kill him."

"You didn't kill me," Caelan says.

"I didn't know that until a few days ago, though. I felt so guilty I let Jace take me to the Dome. I thought I'd killed you for six years. How glad I am that I was wrong."

"Thank you very much, both of you," Aidan says. "That's all the time we have for today. Please give it up for Caelan Prince and Matthew Emerson!" I grab my glove and we both walk off.

"I think our country's future is looking bright with these two!" I hear Aidan say.

• • •

I plop down on my couch and Caelan sits next to me.

"That'll give us some good publicity and also win over most of the viewers," Caelan says. "You have to let people know that you don't care if anyone sees your leg and hand, though."

"But I do," I say.

"Oh my god, Matthew," Caelan says. "Go put on some shorts."

A minute later, I come back wearing a pair of shorts that I found in the closet. I look in the mirror and frown.

"Your other leg is pale," Caelan says. "Really pale."

"Blame it on the Dome," I say. "There's no way I could have worn shorts."

"About the Dome," Caelan says. "You didn't tell me about Jace."

"It kind of slipped my mind," I say.

"You have scars from him, right?" he asks.

I nod. "I wish I could have been there when Winter gave him that huge gash on his face. That scar is ugly."

"How did I not notice your scars before?" Caelan says. "When I came into your room earlier, I mean."

I walk over to the window, trying to tune out the sound of my foot hitting the floor. "Can people see in?" I ask.

"No," he says. "We should do something now."

"Like watch me make a fool of myself on live tv?" I ask. "Or like sending someone to capture Jace."

"Like going down to get something to eat," he says.

We both go downstairs to the lobby. "Let's not go out," I say. "There's a place to eat in here, right?"

Suddenly I hear banging on the glass door. "HI, MATTHEW!" a teenage girl screeches and her friends squeal. "WE LOVE YOU!"

"Okay, let's go," I say and start walking to the restaurant.

Caelan follows me, but looks puzzled. "Why would they scream your name but not mine?" he asks.

"They probably took a picture of me," I realize. "I still have shorts on..."

We get to the restaurant and sit down. I glance down at my watch. A notification pops up-- Viral Photos of Matthew Emerson Accompany Interview.