Next section… Disclaimer: Disclaimers are over rated.

"Well Jonas?"

"Huh?" Jonas snapped back to the conversation that he was supposed to be participating in.

Rosemary rolled her eyes and sighed. "Teenage boys," she muttered in a hopeless grumble.

Jonas didn't know what teenage meant but he knew it wasn't said with a positive connotation.

"I apolo-" Jonas caught himself. He continued hurriedly, "Sorry, I guess I'm tired."

She eyed him suspiciously before saying evenly, "I wanted to know where you and Gabe came from."

Jonas sighed. He knew she would ask this sooner or later. He wore a frown at the memory of the community. Living there had subjected him to internal torture. Yet, running away, as he did, left a gaping yearning hole in his heart.

"Jonas, I need to know," she urged. "Why did you ask my age? Why did my name frighten you so?"

Jonas had avoided the topic for days but now it seemed to confront him in a rushing front. He looked down. Don't cry, thought Jonas to himself. Leaving was for the best.

"The Community," sputtered Jonas. Those words said it all for him. Rosemary gasped. Jonas saw recognition of the word flash behind her pale eyes. Was it sadness, anger, or yearning that Jonas read on her face? She turned and looked up.

When she twisted back to him, her face was austere, stone hard. "You cannot stay here. Wandering away from the community was a dangerous act on your part, let alone taking your brother. I will drive you back tomorrow. If you are lucky, you will not be released. I will say that I found you by the river and that I nursed you back to health."

Jonas was horrified. Was this some warped joke? There was NO way that he could go back. "Rosemary NO! You don't understand what it's like living there!"

She looked emotionless. "It's a perfect community devoid of fault. You should go back immediately."

Jonas turned. This was not the Giver's Rosemary. He had no intent of going back to the community.

"Jonas" her stiff manner held.

"Why must I return when you obviously didn't?" Jonas glared at her.

"What?" Rosemary looked ashen. Her stern façade faltered. "What have you heard about me Jonas?"

"I heard that you came from Elsewhere. To me, this IS Elsewhere! So you must have come from a community! Why didn't you return? Hmm?" Jonas didn't mean to get upset but he wasn't going anywhere without an explanation!

"Jonas… it's complicated..." she said in a reluctant voice. "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh no! Not me! Traveling through cold and pain, how could I know? Starving myself so Gabe could eat whatever food we found, leaving the only people I grew up with and loved, not knowing if I would live the next day- that's nothing compared to what you've experienced!" sarcasm spat from Jonas like venom.

"Well, in reality," she said blatantly, "no, it's not."

…..

End of chapter. Thanks to my one reviewer (Cylo) so far. lol I feel loved.