"Blythe? Are you listening?"

I blinked a few times, trying to bring myself back to the present. I'd gone to talk to Oak like Ant had said to, and he was right. She had been very receptive, outfitting me with my own little hut thing. But as for what we were talking about right then, I was completely lost. Still thinking about...things."Uh yeah. I'm listening," I lied.

Oak didn't seem to notice my lie, which was good. But then she said, "Okay, great! See you at 8!" Which was very bad, because where would Oak be seeing me at 8?

Whatever, I'd figure it out. Right then, I was just very, very tired. "Yep, sure. See you then," I said, trying to sound cheerful. I guess it worked, because Oak adjusted her glasses and beamed at me, trotting away and leaving me to explore yet another new environment.

Jeez. I'd always been jealous of kids who got to travel to a bunch of different places often, but now I wasn't so sure. I kind of just wanted to go home. Kind of.

I threw myself back onto the bed they'd given me. Oak said someone could take me home in the morning, I remember that much. But what to do until then?

I sat up. I'd had enough of wallowing, I knew that much. "Okay, Blythie, time to find something to do."

Outside of my hut thing, the place was bustling with centaurs. It was like an underground city, bustling with background noise and peaceful ambiance. The soft light from the fairy lights made it seem like the perfect peaceful evening rather than...

Wait, what time was it? I reached to check my phone, before remembering that I didn't have one, and that my dress didn't have pockets. I was getting more and more excited at the prospect of going home.

But for now, I was here. And if there was one thing I was good at, it was adapting.

I wandered along with the crowd of centaurs, looking around at all of the houses and shops. No one really seemed to take notice of me as I drifted along, and that was kind of nice. Refreshing, not to be the one "special" human in a house full of vampires and having to figure out why that was.

But really, why was that? Why had Liam said that? I mean, we barely knew each other. And he was...well, interesting. Even through all of my confusing feelings for him, I could admit that he was interesting. What the hell did I bring to the table?

I shook my head, mentally kicking myself. No wallowing. No depressing thoughts. I was a decent human being who was deserving of life and that was that.

I pulled out of the stream of centaurs (not before nearly losing a toe to a hoof), and stopped at a stand. The centaur present grinned and showed off her hot dogs. I was hoping for something a little more exotic, but oh well.

"Can I get one?" The centaur pointed to a sign behind her, indicating that hot dogs were 5 dollars.

"Shit!" I muttered. I didn't have any money. Also, five dollars for a hot dog was ridiculous, but mainly the thing about the money.

I wondered if Oak would let me borrow some, but I had no idea where she'd gone to. And honestly, finding one centaur in the massive group of them seemed sort of impossible.

"Blythe! You left your room!" Oh. Never mind, then. I turned around and found the giant centaur behind me, grinning. Her constant energy was...aggressive, to say the least.

"Hey, Oak. I was wondering if I could have some money for a hot dog." I asked. She tapped her chin and hummed.

"Weeelllll," oh god, what was it now. "I would give you the cash right now, but it's all the way in my house and I'm already pretty late for a meeting, so....hmm."

"Oh, well that's okay then. I'll just find something else to-"

"Oh, but you know what?" Oak interrupted. "Anthony keeps money in his little guard tent thing, and I don't think he's there right now. Just take some of that."

"That sounds like stealing," I said bluntly. Oak rolled her eyes and waved her hands.

"No! It's not stealing! I'll reimburse him later. He loves helping out humans, it'll be fine." I mean, if she said so. I nodded, and her big grin returned. "Great! The tent is right over there." She pointed over my head, back towards the prison area but a little before it. "Just make sure he doesn't catch you because he'll be pissed! Ta-ta, Blythe!"

This was definitely stealing. But I did want that hot dog sooooo....

I maneuvered my way through the sea of horse people and to the guard tent. But as soon as I arrived, I noticed strange noises coming from it, like thunder entirely within the confines of that tent. Curious, I poked my head inside to find that, of course, it wasn't empty at all.

Ant was there, standing on all four legs with his arms crossed. I shrieked a little, before I realized that his head was lolled to one side and his eyes were closed. Asleep.

I was about to turn around because no way was I risking that, before I noticed something small and shiny atop a desk in the corner. The keyring from before. A small, familiar, guilty feeling wiggled its way into my mind. Not so much about leaving Liam in there, I still wasn't sure about that decision. But leaving Helena? That did feel a little mean. She was the only person who'd been genuinely nice to me since I had gotten into this mess, and I just...left her there.

I didn't have much experience with being a good friend, but that felt shitty. Oh well. I suppose there was nothing to do...

Just as I thought this, I realized I was not in the same place as before. My stupid guilty conscience had pushed me forward, inching closer and closer to the shiny ring of keys on the desk. Which happened to be on top of a five dollar bill.

It was too perfect. And I was basically already there. Quickly, but slowly enough so that the keys didn't jingle, I swiped both items, turned around, and basically hopped out of the tent flap, my heart beating loudly in my ears as I did.

It seemed that, after so many days in trouble, I couldn't just let myself stay out of it for long without jumping right back in.