It was after school on a Friday that the guys decided to try their luck paying Amy a visit. As far as they knew visits might not even be allowed, but Ben figured there was no harm in trying. All it took was telling his mom that they were going to the movies for Ben to borrow her car. Now they were driving right past her parents house and straight for Amy's giant house.

The house itself was visible long before the mass of military tents came into view. Once they did, however, the first thing they noticed were the guards stationed at the entrance where the road enters the make shift camp.

"This is a bad idea," Johnny said.

Ben looked over at him from the drivers seat. "This was your idea," he reminded him.

"And it was a bad idea," he replied.

"Just cool it guys," Mark spoke up from the back seat of the dodge. "These guys aren't guarding Area 51. The worst they can do is just tell us to leave."

"Sounds good to me," Johnny said. Mark smacked the back of his head, which earned him a middle finger in return.

"Both of you sit down or, so help me God, I will turn this car around!" Ben threatened.

Mark and Johnny settled back into their seats and Ben took a deep breath, preparing himself. "Thank you. Now follow me and try not to look like you're about to puke in front of any soldiers."

He stopped the car just ten feet from the entrance, turned the engine off, and slowly stepped out. The guards made no move whatsoever, they only observed the newcomers. Ben, Mark, and Johnny walked up to them, trying their hardest not to look like someone you'd want to shoot.

The guard on the right was a younger, more intimidating person. He was the kind of troop that was fresh out of boot camp and was still used to the strictness that comes with months of doing what you're told without question. The second guard was maybe five years older, and more relaxed about his job. He was the kind of troop that was more broken into life in the military yet didn't bear the hardened look of a veteran who'd seen too many awful sights. Ben looked between the two, who only stared at him, and cleared his throat.

"Um, hi. We're uh," he looked back at his friends who only smiled and gave him a shakey thumb's up for support. Ben turned back to the soldiers. "We're classmates of Amy, and uh . . ." He cleared his throat again. "We were wondering if we would be allowed time to visit with her."

The younger guard addressed them in a neutral tone, that didn't convey an particular emotion. "Sorry. We were not given specific information detailing potential visitors outside of her parents. And until we are we must act under the assumption that no one else, aside from her parents, are allowed visiting hours."

Ben felt his hopes dropping, he at least wanted the chance to talk with Amy face to face. To warn her about the town meeting and maybe convince her to do something that would change the public opinion about her. The other guard seemed to notice the look on Ben's face.

"Lighten up Miles, it's not that big of a deal. Just get the Captain on the radio and see if he's got a problem with it," he suggested.

The younger guard, Miles, just shrugged and pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Captain Thompson. We have three high school students requesting permission to vistit Ms. Jackson." Buzzing could be heard on the other end of the radio, Captain Thompson talking. "What are your names?" Miles asked.

"Ben Lyons."

"Mark Fisher."

"Johnny Rice."

Miles repeated their names to the Captain, more buzzing could be heard. Finally Miles nodded. "Very well sir," he replied before clipping his radio back to his belt. "The Captain says it's ok, provided you are supervised."

The older man nodded. "I'll take care of this one," he said to Miles. "Follow me kids."

The three of them were hot on his heels, relieved that they had made it this far. Together they manuevered their way around tent after tent. Ben took in the sight off all of the troops who were doing anything from playing cards to cleaning guns.

"Isn't this a little . . . much?" he asked the man they were following. "I mean . . .I know Amy's big but this many troops is a bit overkill."

The man flashed him a grin. "I thought the same thing at first. Sure she's huge but she's still only a high school girl. She won't give us a lot of trouble. But then I realized this is only for show, just a way to make double sure she stays in line. Plus these guys have just been lounging around a base for a few weeks. Many of them were itching for a change in scenery. As far as many of them see it we're just here for some fresh air and a place to stretch our legs."

Ben hadn't thought of it like that, though the thought did relieve him a bit. Knowing that these guys were mostly here from appearence rather than actual combat, or something.

"I guess that makes sense. Thank you uh, sir." Ben said, not sure if 'sir' applied to him or not.

But he only chuckled and shook his head. "The name's Jordan."

So Jordan lead them over to the house where there was another soldier stationed by the elevator. Unlike Jordan and Miles, this guy was sitting around checking things on his smart phone. He stood up casually when they approached.

Jordan pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the three boys. "Got three visitors, Captain gave the ok."

The man nodded and took out his own radio. "Three visitors and an escort coming up."

I short buzz was heard over the radio and the guard nodded his consent. They stepped inside the spacious elevator and shot up at an amazing speed. In no time the elevator settled and the doors opened with a ding.

The platform itself was about the size of a football field, almost big enough to take the space of four classroom platforms at school. There were about a dozen soldiers just lounging about, their weapons put off to the side. Apparently they had decided very early on that a constant presence of weapons was unnecessary to keep Amy in good behavior. Like the troops outside they did whatever they could to pass the time.

Amy sat in a chair with her feet proped up on a gigantic desk, probably meant for homework. She seemed to be right in the middle of reading something on her tablet. When the elevator ding indicated people arriving she shut the lid of her tablet case quickly, as if she was afraid of someone seeing what it was she was reading. When she saw who it was that had arrived she appeared confused for a moment before brightening up. She walked over to the platform smiling, the carpet kept her footsteps from shaking the platform around. Amy stopped about twenty feet from the platform, which was a little less than the length of her forearm. She bent over a little bit so her face was closer to their level.

"Hey guys," she said in a soft, yet happy voice. "What are you doing here? I mean, after last time I thought you'd never want to come here again."

Ben stepped forward a bit. "As I recall," he said grinning. "The last time we were here we got an exclusive look at the real Amy Jackson."

"Hey," she protested. "Look I know you may not have enjoyed those games-," she began before Ben cut her off.

"Not that part. The talk that came after everything else."

"Oh," Amy said, blushing slightly. "You didn't tell anyone about that did you?"

Ben shook his head. Amy let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Look I'm really sorry for what happened when you came here but, uh . . . Just, thanks for not telling anybody."

Ben nodded, though he didn't quite understand. "You're welcome."

"How come you don't want us to tell anyone about when we talked?" Mark asked. His voice turned a bit sheepish as he continued. "No offense but I prefer that side of you vs. the side you normally show everybody."

But Amy just gave him a weak smile. "Because people are mean. And if you give them the opportunity they'll prove it to you."

"What about us?" Johnny asked.

Amy looked torn between different ways to answer them. In the end she just shook her head. "Why are you guys even here?"

"To let you know what's been happening," Ben replied. "There's going to be a town meeting sometime next week. Everyone's going to decide if you should be allowed to stay here or not."

When she heard the news Amy just shrugged. "Good, let them."

Ben was shocked at the way she handled the news. He would have thought she would have been upset or something. But she was acting like he said they were voting to take her homework away.

"Don't you even care at all?" he asked.

"If you leave you're probably going to end up leaveing with these guys." Johnny said, indicating to the soldiers around him.

"These guys are infinitely more honest than everyone else out there," she replied.

"What are you talking about?" Mark asked.

Amy sighed deeply. "Everywhere I go, people either try their hardest to ignore me, or smile and wave. But I know all of the smiles are forced, I know how they really see me." Her voice sounded slightly pained. "Well I'm tired of being the monster of the village and having everyone pretend like I'm the princess. At least these guys don't try and do any of that, and they've actually pointed guns at me."

Ben was at a loss for words. "Well . . . yeah, but-"

"Why do you guys even care so much anyway? Shouldn't you hate me more than anyone else?" she asked.

That question had caught Ben off guard. Of all the things he had considered saying to her this was something he hoped to avoid more than anything. What am I supposed to tell her? I've had a crush on her since ninth grade? She's a fucking giantess, how would we even date . . . What the fuck am I even thinking about! Ben's mind was racing to come up with something to say. Luckily Johnny stepped in before anyone noticed that Ben wasn't saying anything.

"We care because a few days ago when you brought us here we saw a completely different side of you. You're vulnerable, lonely, and you feel like a freak. We feel like that all the time too," he said.

Mark spoke up as well. "We're just trying to reach out because we know how bad it feels to be alone in a world full of people."

Amy just crossed her arms. "Then do us both a favor and stop. You're only making things worse for me."

"Worse for you!" Ben blurted out. He had finally snapped back to reality and was surprised at the volume of his voice. "How the hell are we making this worse for you."

"Because you had to be the goddamned hero!" Amy yelled back.

At the sound of her yelling the soldiers all lept to their feet and looked to be heading for their guns. Ben turned towards them. "Please, don't! Just let her talk! She won't hurt us!"

The troops stopped and cast a look at Jordan, as if asking him how to proceed. Jordan was technically the same rank as any of them, yet he appeared to be the oldest, even if by only a few years. He looked between Amy and Ben, considering Ben's sense of judgment, before nodding at the troops. They, in turn, settled down yet never returned to what they were doing before. Instead they kept a close eye on Amy, ready to leap to their weapons should they need to.

All in all that happened in under a minute. When Amy started speaking again she was still mad.

"You know this wouldn't be so bad for me if you guys hadn't come along!" she shouted. "Sure, the military might have still come along and taken me away, but that would have been ok. I would have left thinking nobody here wanted me around in the first place, it wouldn't have been that painful. But then you," she pointed at Ben. "Had to be some fucking hero in front of everyone. You had to act like you weren't afraid of me. You had to treat me like I was some normal person. Make me feel like I'm not a freak!"

Tears were starting to fill her eyes, and saddness her voice. "I am a freak, ok! Nobody wants me around, and it's better if I do go. But then you guys tried to act like you cared, like you were my friends. And now I'm going to leave, no matter what you do, and it's going to hurt. Because I feel like I'm leaving behind people who care!"

By now Amy had to stop talking in order to choke down the sobs. Meanwhile everyone on the platform just sat there in stunned silence, even the troops. It hit them all pretty hard, everything Amy was going through. One soldier looked at the wall where his RPG was placed and grimanced. Another soldier took out his wallet and stared at a picture of him holding his new born daughter, he made no attempt to hide the tears. Jordan just looked at the ground, but his mind was somewhere else, somewhere personal.

And all the while Ben just stood there, taking the full force of it. All of her anger, all of her rage, her grief, her loneliness, all of it. He didn't flinch when she shouted, he was content to be her punching bag. Not a punching bag as a bully might use someone as, but as an object to channel her emotions towards. Something to strike out at until there was no more desire to strike. He knew he wasn't smart enough, or experienced enough, to offer any comfort. So he readily accepted this role as a lightning rod for her grief.

After about a minute of sobbing Amy just looked down at them, secretly grateful for allowing her the peace and quite needed to get herself together. "I will always appreciate what you've tried to do for me," she said in a soft voice. "But I want you to just go home. Go home and forget me, while I try to forget you. Hopefully by the time I have to leave I'll be over it and it won't have to hurt when I go."

Then she walked back over to her bed and laid down with her back to them. Ben looked over at his friends. "We're done here. Let's go home," he said in a weak voice.

They nodded, not saying nothing. Ben looked over at Jordan, who looked him straight in the eye as if he were reading him. A look past over his face, Ben wasn't sure what it was, maybe respect. Saying nothing, Jordan escorted them out of the house and to the place they first entered from. Standing at the entrance they saw someone talking with Miles, the guard from earlier.

The man was fairly tall, with salt and peppered hair, and a bit of a beard. He wore a casual long sleeved shirt and jeans. When they approached the man shook hands with Jordan.

"Good afternoon Jordan. Are these the young men I've heard so much about?" He had quite the deep voice, yet he spoke in a friendly and pleasent manner.

Jordan nodded. "I believe they are."

The man smiled. "Thank you Jordan." Then he turned to Ben, Mark, and Johnny. "Would you guys mind coming inside with me for a few minutes? I'd like to talk to you about my daughter."