Sorry about the wait guys, I've been working all week on nights so hope you enjoy x

Chapter Twenty

Effie's POV

The hours of walking had driven me over the edge. My body was weak and frail, nothing like it used to be- which gave me almost some determination to build myself back up. I wanted to be back to my old self, I wanted to be training and do normal things that I could barely do now. But on top of everything- I wanted to go home. But for that to happen I needed to be healthy- Hardy's orders of course.

I lay on the dirt floor as others were gathered around a fire. Harry told me that Hardy wanted to have a little gathering with a few 'friends' after Beck and Cole did so well hunting- couldn't say the same for Harry and I. Harry caught a few rabbits and squirrels on the way back- no Deer though. I didn't even care- I just kept walking at the time.

After showering a few hours ago I could feel myself becoming more and more tired by the second. I didn't want to be at this gathering, I didn't want to be around these people- I felt like today just wasn't my day. I had gotten myself worked up to the point where I could barely force a false smile or string a polite sentence together.

I just felt defeated.

I could hear them all laughing and joking around the fire- Harry, Zac, Niall, Louis, Liam, Zayn, Hardy, Natty, Ross, Cole and Beck.
I just felt out of place.

We would do stuff like this every Thursday back at home. My brothers would end up stealing liquor from my Fathers stash by the end of the night and in the morning we would always get found out- but it was fun. Grace and I used to skinny dip in the pond after the boys were to drunk to even notice- obviously I didn't want to skinny dip with my brothers because that's odd to say the least.

I missed my family.
I missed my friends.
I wondered if they missed me?

"You're extremely quiet over here.." Zac's voice pulls me from my thoughts as I feel him lay beside with a sigh before looking up at the midnight sky.

"Just tired.." I tell him softly with a small shrug.

"How was your day? I mean apart from falling off the fell of course.." he laughs making me smile almost. I'm glad someone could laugh about it.

Today was a blur to me.
So much fucked with my head I didn't know what to deal with first. So I guess I was just choosing not to.

"What do you mean apart from- that was the highlight of my day.." I tease glancing over at him as he laughs.

"Well you look like shit-"

"Wow thanks.." I laugh cutting him off.

"I'm serious, something's wrong- I'm not an idiot" he says sitting up slightly before leaning back on his elbows as he looks down at me.

"What does that have to do with me looking like shit?" I laugh frowning up at him in confusion.
He rolls his eyes shaking his head before giving me a look.

"You know what I mean.." he says causing me to shake my head.

I knew what he meant- yes.
But did I want to talk about it? Not really, when I tried to talk about stuff earlier today it didn't get me very far, so what's going to be the difference now?

I considered Zac to be my friend here- if you could call it that. He was the person I was closest to in a way- we just had this brotherly sisterly bond. I didn't care if he fancied me or that bullshit that Harry and everyone says- I don't like him like, it wasn't an issue for me. But if I'm looking for someone to confide in or joke around with I wasn't really spoilt for choice.

Hardy and Natty didn't have that relationship with me- they didn't know me.

Zayn, Louis, Liam, Cole and Beck all treat me like I was an outsider and didn't make any effort with me- which I don't find a shock.

Ross hated me with a fucking passion, something I was pretty much to terms with now.

And Harry, after today I was confused by him. I was confused by everything he did. He made me nervous yet comfortable at the same time. I couldn't describe the dynamic between us because I could barely get through the thick tension that had built up these past few days. Sometimes I feel like a burden to him, like he hates me but yet he saves my life, over and over again- for what reason? Because he cares? Was I stupid enough to believe that? I don't know, but part of me felt open to him and like there was something there- either it be trust or friendship, I didn't know but it made me want to find out.

That left Niall and Zac, the only people here who hadn't looked at me like I was a danger or an outsider. They welcomed me and offered their friendship out to me in ways others hadn't. Did I think the friendships were the best I ever had? No- but it was all I had right now, of course I was going to take it.

Just all of these different dynamics and relationships made me miss the simplicity I had at home- everyone knew me, I had real friends, real relationships- it was Home to me.
Today made me realise that even more.

"It's nothing... I just-" I look away from him turning my gaze back to the stars that littered the black night.
"I'm missing home a little that's all" I say honestly.

"Hey, you know you're gonna be home in no time- don't worry about it" he says and I can almost hear the sweet smile in his voice without having to look at him.
"You know they aren't keeping you here as a punishment, they are doing it so that you're healthy and can see your family again.. look at it as a positive thing" he tells me as I feel my chest ache at the thought of never seeing my family again.

"I know.." I nod trying to let that feeling sink in.
"It's just hard when I-" I stop myself trying to think of the right words to say.
"When I'm treated like a threat or a fucking criminal.. like I just feel so far away from home here that it's hard for it not to hurt.." I say all too honestly.

"Give it time.." he says as I look to him.
"You've been here, what? A week? Give it chance to get better.. you never know.. in the end you might wanna stay" he says with a teasing smile making me laugh.

"I highly doubt that" I roll my eyes laughing along with him.

"What are you guys whispering about?" I hear Ross yell over to us causing Zac and I both to sit up.

What the fuck did he want?
I really was not in the mood for him right now.

Neither of us reply to him knowing full well he didn't actually care what we were talking about.
Would be a waste of breathe.

"I know-" Ross gets up grabbing a bottle from the cooler box beside him.
"Let's play a game" he says as he walks over to where we were sitting.
I watch his every move as the group goes quiet.
"Drink Ella?" He stops offering the bottle out to me with a smirk on his lips as he looks down at me.

I don't know why he hated me so much, I had done nothing to him. He was the only person here who I really didn't know or understand what he was quite capable of.

But I wanted to find out.
He didn't scare me.
If he wanted to push my buttons, why couldn't I go the same back?

I say nothing as I push myself off the floor standing up as he laughs lightly stepping back.

"I'm good thanks.." I push his hand back away from me as his eyes glare into mine.
"Think I'm gonna call it a night..." I say flashing him a false smile as I brush my hands against my thighs trying to clean myself up a little.

He says nothing, only looks at me knowingly with a humoured look on his face as he seems to eye my every move.

"I'll walk you back.." Harry announces as he steps out from behind Ross clearly have been listening in.

My eyes move to him as he pats Ross on the back before moving past him.

"Come on.." he mutters to me, grabbing my arm lightly turning me around as we start to walk away.

"Early night for tomorrow's big day Styles?" Ross calls out as we get only a few feet away him. I stop shaking Harry's hand off me as we both turn around.

Tomorrow?
What was going on tomorrow?

I look to Harry with a confused frown on my face, only to find him with an unreadable expression plastered on his.

"Take that as a no then ey?" Ross laughs before taking a drink from his bottle.

Harry looks away as he stuffs his hands in his pockets- why wasn't he saying anything?

"What's tomorrow?" I ask as I fold my arms over my chest.

"Nothing- Ross leave it.." Harry sighs shaking his head.

"She might be the star of the show Styles, how can I not give her the heads up?" Ross laughs as he steps closer to us slowly. The smirk on his face telling me that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was not going to be good.

"Heads up for what?" I press as my gaze flickers between the two of them.

I watch as Ross smirks, taking a last glance to Harry who shakes his head at him before Ross turns his glare back to me.

"If Harry wants it to be a surprise..." Ross smirks shaking his head before holding his hands up innocently.
"I won't say..." he laughs stepping back from the two of us.

He was clearly toying with the both of us.
Like it was a game to him.
Like all of this was a game.

"Come on-" Harry goes to grab my arm but I shake him off staying put.

My eyes don't move from Ross as he laughs to himself whilst taking a sip from his drink.
He was really getting under my skin at this point.

"She wants to know mate.." Ross laughs as he shakes his head knowingly.

"Effie he's winding you up-" Harry sighs as he looks down at me trying to get to walk away.

"What's going on?" Cole now appears behind Ross cutting Harry off before he could finish his sentence.

I say nothing, waiting for one of them to tell me what the hell Ross was talking about that made me so worried.

Cole and Ross clearly both knew what they were doing- Cole obviously had been listening in on the conversation at this point.

I could see Zac eyeing the situation from the sidelines as he still sits round the fire with the rest of the group who were talking. He looks to be with a raised brow, almost checking if I was alright to which I look away from- tightening my jaw as I begin to loose my patience

"Just tell me.." I try stay as calm as possible as Harry gives up, turning back around to face Ross and Cole once again. He looked annoyed and frustrated- the expression on his face telling a complete different story of which the other boys did.

"Anytime today Styles.. -" Cole laughs as he pushes Harry with his words as his eyes move between Harry and I.

"Come on.. pit nights a big night for our newbies, it's only fair she knows mate..." Ross says with a smirk as he raises a brow at Harry.

What the fuck is 'pit night'?
I had never even heard of it before. Was it like a normal thing or something new that was exclusive to Novena? I was so confused, I couldn't hide it off my face either.

"Ross you know that's not happening-" Zac says as he gets himself involved by entering the conversation

"Oh yeah?" Ross rolls his eyes as Zac stands beside me.
"I'm pretty sure it is, it's a Novena tradition" he laughs lightly shrugging his shoulders as Cole nods along with him.

"Come on, let's just go-" Harry says quietly to be as he tries to move me along again.

"What tradition?" I ask causing Harry to sigh as I stay put once again.

The vibe seemed off. Why were Zac and Harry defending me almost? Like they were trying to protect me? If it was just a tradition what would I need to be protected from?

"Oh you'll love it" Cole says with a smile making Ross laugh too.
"If you win that is.." he laughs.
"Can't say the same if you don't" he nudges Ross as they two of them laugh to themselves.

"That's enough, come on-" Harry spits grabbing arm dragging me away before I could react.

He pulls away from the group, not letting go of my arm as I hear Zac trailing on behind us.

"What the fuck Harry? Get off me!" I try wriggle myself out of his grasp but to no avail.

"Bro I thought Hardy got that shit called off?" Zac calls from behind causing Harry to stop.

"Clearly not!" He snaps at Zac, squeezing tighter on my wrist causing me to wince.

"Harry you're hurting me..." I say softly as I try pull my wrist away from him again.

He stops looking to me in confusion before looking down at my wrist between his fingers. He pauses for a second before looking to be with worry clear in his eyes.

"Sorry I- Um.." he pulls away letting go of me as he steps back dropping his gaze from my own.

I instantly know that he feels bad.
I could see it.
In his eyes, in his expression, in his body language.
Made me feel bad at the same time.

"It's okay.." I say softly as I rub my wrist just as he glances up at me. I smile at him ever so slightly in reassurance before Zac's voice interrupts the moment.

"She can't fight Harry- no way.." Zac says as he comes up beside me with a worried look on his face.

"What?" I gape in confusion.

"No ones fighting anyone-" Harry goes to say but Zac cuts him off.

"Try telling Ross that.." Zac rolls his eyes.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" I look between the two of them waiting for one of them to spill what the hell they were talking about.

I watch as they glance at one another within the moment silence that had fallen after I spoke, before Harry sighs shaking his head.

"We have this tradition for new arrivals-" he starts as he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It's been going on since this whole shit started really.. just for a bit of entertainment to be honest.." he sighs shaking his head as I listen carefully.

"Okay.." I nod not knowing where this was going.

"Once a month we put all the new arrivals from that month into a draw-" Zac starts to tell me as Harry looks away.
"If your names drawn you enter the pit" he sighs heavily making me frown.

Why was this such a big deal?
If it was- why hadn't I heard about it before?
How was this so bad for me?
And why did they care?

"What's the pit?" I ask as I shift awkwardly.

"You're not doing it so it doesn't matter-" Harry starts rolling his eyes as avoiding eye contact at all cost.

"Of course it matters.." I cut him off firmly.

He looks to me as his jaw tightens ever so slightly, I couldn't really tell what he was thinking all I knew was that he was withholding this information from me and I was going to get one way or another.

"You get drawn- you fight the other person that's drawn alright? End of" Zac says but my gaze still says fixed on Harry's.

I don't know but I felt almost as if I took Harry's word as golden.
Not that trusted him more than or anything like that, but he just had this way about him that made me look to him in that sense.

"Why is that so bad?" I ask as my brows furrow in confusion.

"It's not just a fight Effie.." Harry says as he makes an annoyed face at me before looking away.

What the hell was I missing? This all just seemed so stupid to me- why couldn't they just tell the truth out right? What was there to hide?

"I don't understand" I frown.

They both fall silent for a moment making eye contact with one another, communicating without saying anything in the moment.

Harry sighs as Zac looks down at the ground.

"You only way you leave the pit is if you or your opponent is in a body bag- understand now?" Harry snaps at me sternly making firm eye contact with me.

At first I felt like this was a joke.
It had to be.
But the look on their faces and the energy surrounding the subject made me think otherwise.

"A fight till the death?" I almost laugh not knowing how to react.
Was I scared?
Was I in disbelief?
How could this possibly be happening to me? Why can't I catch a fucking break?
"What is this? Fucking 1820?" I laugh nervously looking away as I run a hand through my hair.

This couldn't actually be happening, shit like this didn't happen in reality- I refused to believe I was hearing the truth.

"It's not funny Effie, if you didn't notice you're exactly not in the best state to fight right now.." Zac says sternly as his gaze meets mine.
He wasn't laughing, he didn't even find it remotely amusing and neither did Harry.

How could I accept that this wasn't a joke?
I didn't know how to react, what to say or how to feel- I just couldn't deal with this at the moment.

"Who says I would even get picked? Its a fair draw right?" I frown as I feel a slight sense of worry set in, but not enough for me to show it on my face.

"Ross runs the draw.." Harry says as he stuffs his hands in his pockets, looking bothered by this whole situation.
"You think it's going to be fucking fair?" He laughs in disbelief shaking his head.

Of course Ross would run the fucking draw- just my luck.

"I thought you told Hardy to call it off?" Zac turns to Harry with a confused expression on his face.

"No matter what I tell Hardy, Ross is gonna do what he wants anyway, what am I supposed to do?" Harry laughs before running a hand through his hair looking stressed in the heat of the moment.

How did Harry not have a say in these antics? I was confused because this whole time I thought he was the one who called the shots. What was so different this time round?

"Fucking something! You're in charge at the end of the fucking day Harry!" Zac snaps at Harry, clearly annoyed now.

Harry frowns looking a little taken back by Zac's outburst- he didn't look impressed by it at all.

"You know I don't get involved with that shit, Ross and I agreed I would have no say-" Harry tries to say in a calm tone but is quickly cut off.

"Bullshit! If it was someone you cared about in danger you wouldn't be saying this shit to me right now!" Zac cuts Harry off yelling over him.

I frown as they both fall silent.

My gaze moving from a pissed off looking Zac, to a confused and angry looking Harry. Not just that- Harry even seemed shocked by Zac's words and if I didn't know better I would say almost hurt by them too.

I didn't know where to place myself.
I knew Zac cared about me, he was my friend of course he was going to care- I understood where he was coming from.
But after today with Harry, part of me almost wanted to believe that he cared about me in some sort of way too. I don't know if it was quite on the friendship level, but he said he cared and actions like saving me today showed that.

But obviously Zac didn't see that.
He isn't going to know what happens when he's not around. He doesn't see when Harry let's me read his books or makes me sandwich because I haven't eaten in days, he doesn't see the moments where we actual share a little laughter or when he saves my life. I wasn't sticking up for Harry but I was trying to understand both sides of the situation right now.

"What?" Harry laughs with a pissed off underlying tone.

"Zac just leave it-" I try to say as I see Zac getting even more worked up- only for him to cut me off.

"He doesn't give a shit about you Effie! If he wanted the pit to be called off he would have- if you haven't noticed, what he says goes around here- it's not fucking rocket science" Zac cuts me off looking me dead in the eye as he gestured to Harry with frustration.

I look to Harry not knowing what to say.
Zac's words