To have and to hold. [Sequel to 'Till death do us apart'.] DISCONTINUED

Chapter One - Group D.

Chapter One - Group D.

Riley awoke to someone shaking her arm. She jumped upright, looking around wildly, eyes wide. Her time in the Glade had taught her to wake up fully alert and prepared for anything.

A teenage boy stood in front of her, staring at her in equal confusion as she was him. He had dark, messy hair and dark eyes to match. He appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen, and looked confused, angry and scared, all in one. As Riley gawped at him, she realised he was familiar, in some way. She knew him, but she couldn't quite put a finger on who he was.

"You're a heavy sleeper." The boy noted. "I thought you were dead or something."

Riley blinked. Once, twice. "Who the shuck are you and why are you in my room?"

The boy held his hands up in surrender. "This is going to sound crazy." He started.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I've had my fair share of crazy."

"I can't remember anything. Just my name. Flashes of memories and faces. Nothing else. I-I don't even know how old I am. I just woke up in here." He said, looking perplexed. Riley was amazed at how calm he was - when she lost all her memories, she had been a mess for days.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, amnesia seems to be going round. I guess since you're here, it's for a reason. What's your name?"

The boy gave her a strange look, and Riley had a gut feeling that he recognised her, too. The way his dark, intense eyes nervously scanned the room, the way a lock of hair would fall into his eyes - it was all so familiar. "I'm Axel."

"Axel?" Riley repeated. She frowned, and, for a split second, a memory flashed across her mind. It was gone within a millisecond. She shook her head. "Sorry, nothing. Just sounded familiar."

Axel looked dazed. "Yeah, can I just ask, why are the bedsheets all crumpled on that bed over there?" He pointed to the bed, which was empty.

"Oh," Riley said. "That's where Teresa slept." And then it hit her like a sack of bricks. "Shit. Oh, shit. Teresa. Where's Teresa?!"

She pushed her blanket aside and hopped down from the bed, running over to Teresa's bunk. Nothing. It had obviously been used - the blankets were all ruffled, a pillow hanging from the side of the bed - but there was no sign of Teresa anywhere. And it wasn't like she was going to be hiding under the beds or something; there was literally no place to hide in the small dorm room.

Axel looked confused. From what Riley had seen so far, the only expression this kid had was confused. "Who's Teresa?"

"My friend." Riley snapped. "Who was right here when I fell asleep last night." She paused, her gaze trained on Axel. She took a menacing step forward. "I swear, if you've so much as laid a finger on her-"

Axel held his hands up in surrender. "I haven't, I swear it. It's like I told you - I just woke up here."

"Fine. But if you're lying - heck, I don't even need to finish that threat. You should probably have gotten the gist."

Before the boy in front of her could respond, the door was flung open. Newt, Minho and Thomas stood in the doorway. Thomas looked confused, as always - Riley couldn't help but think that him and Axel might bond over their mutual stupidness -, Newt looked relieved, and Minho just looked plain bored. "Riley." Newt muttered. He took a few long strides towards her and engulfed her in a hug. Riley stiffened for a second, but then let herself melt into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

For a moment, Riley let herself imagine that she was just a normal teenager, hugging her boyfriend, and not some troubled lab rat who had the fate of the world in her hands. That was, until Axel awkwardly coughed behind her. She pulled away from Newt, and the loss of his warm body was immediately noticeable. He gently laced his fingers with hers. She couldn't bring herself to let go.