I sat alone in the room, writing down the last answer to my homework. Kaz and I had gone back to class earlier and hadn't spoken since then.

The bedroom door opened and Leo came in, skateboard tucked securely under his arm. Mikayla trailed in behind him.

Leo abandoned his skateboard on the floor and dug around his fridge for a water bottle. I set my homework in my backpack and wondered if anything was going to change now that I was part of Kaz's messed up crew.

Leo and Mikayla headed towards the door. Leo paused when he noticed I was still sitting, facing me in confusion.

"Come on," he said.

"Where?" I asked.

"Kaz's room," he said, as if it was obvious.

I pushed myself to my feet, recalling the humiliation from earlier today. It was best if I just followed them for now.

The three of us went down the hallway to Kaz's room. Leo gave two knocks before pushing the door open and leading us in.

Kaz and Beckett were on Kaz's bed together. Pete was lying on the floor with his head cushioned by a stack of notebooks. Beckett was playing with his yo-yo, but he nearly missed catching it when he noticed me following the others into the room.

"Kaz," he said, voice low and angry.

"Beckett, I will strange you to death," Kaz promised, reaching out and tapping his finger against Beckett's yo-yo.

Pete picked his head up to look at us and grinned. "Killian! Nice of you to join us here. I'd heard a little rumor you were running with us now."

"Yea, well, some people turn to cannibalism for survival and I turn to criminals," I grumbled.

"I'm not a criminal," Pete said defensively.

"Pete, buddy, you snapped a kid's arm for poking you too much," Leo said.

"Did I?" Pete furrowed his brow. "I don't remember that."

"You not remembering something? Big shocker." Leo sat on top of Pete's desk, legs folded beneath him and arms resting on his knees. "Anything new, Kaz?"

"Sternberg wanted vices, so we're going to give him vices," Kaz said simply.

"I love vices," Leo said, perking up.

"Good. Then you'll love our next mission," Kaz said. "We need Siggy."

"Will Siggy cooperate?" Mikayla asked.

"He better. But only if he wants to know where to meet Rogan tonight," Kaz said, shrugging.

"You brilliant bastard. That's why you were pissing him off in class today," Leo said appreciatively.

"Slipped the location to him in the middle of it," Kaz said. "Won't mean anything if Siggy doesn't know where to go, though."

"You help them meet up?" I said.

"He's so damn slow I want to hit him," Beckett grumbled.

"Hit puberty before you hit me," I said.

Kaz grabbed the back of Beckett's shirt before he could jump off the bed at me. Kaz gave him a hard shake and pushed him backwards.

"Yes, I help them meet up. Siggy lets us get away with things, and he can see his brother in secret. Everybody wins," Kaz said.

I just nodded, though that was disgusting. He was using the guy's brother just to get his own way. Kaz's personality was just as bad as his hair, and that was saying something.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing Cam. "Mikayla, you're-" His angry voice cut off as he spotted Beckett, and a grin spread on his face. "Well, well, well. What's this? You're not supposed to be in here."

"Try to make me move and you'll be leaving here with a bloody nose," Beckett warned.

"What will your father say when I tell him that I found you in Kaz Warrick's room again?" Cam said, growing even smugger.

"Hey, this is Pete's room too," Pete said, raising his hand. "I live here too. Casimir Warrick and Peter Lennox, two people listed to this room. I do not appreciate being forgotten."

Cam ignored Pete and moved into the room towards Beckett. "Let's go, Beckett. Man, I can't wait to tell your father and brother where I found you."

He reached out to grab Beckett and I watched in surprise as Beckett shot his yo-yo out. It smashed into Cam's face and he yelped and stumbled backwards, cupping a hand over his nose. Beckett snapped his hand out, flinging the yo-yo forward again so that it hit Cam in the throat. Beckett twisted his fingers so that the yo-yo came back into his hand.

"I warned you," he said, ready to throw his yo-yo again if he needed to.

Cam glared at him furiously, blood slowly leaking from his nose. He wheezed a little and rubbed at his throat.

"Oh, you're so fucking dead, kid. Siggy!" Cam called.

A moment later, Siggy stepped through the doorway, face emotionless as always. He surveyed the situation and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not getting near him with that yo-yo in his hands," Siggy said.

Cam reached out and grabbed Beckett's wrist, yanking him so hard that he would've fallen off the bed if Kaz hadn't caught him. Kaz pulled Beckett onto the bed and let his hand shoot out, tangling in Cam's hair.

Kaz got dangerously close to Cam's face. "Don't do things that you know piss me off."

"Drop it, all of you. Cam, let's go tell Mr. Townsend where to find his brat," Siggy said. "He can handle it. I like my nose."

Cam glared at Kaz and Beckett before storming out of the room. Siggy made sure he was out of earshot before turning back to us.

"I'll fix this, but you owe me," he said, voice low.

"I'll text you the location," Kaz said.

Siggy left the room, slamming the door as he went. Kaz let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Damn, there go our chances for tonight's mission. Cam will be on the prowl for us," he said.

"It's because he didn't lock the damn door," Beckett snapped, pointing at me.

"Whoa, hey, the door was unlocked when we got here. Besides, it was clearly you that they were after," I said, hearing the defensive tone my voice was taking on.

"Oh, right, I forgot the newbie doesn't know," Mikayla said, taking a seat on Pete's bed.

"Know what?" I demanded.

"Beck used to be a Blue," Pete said, wincing when Beckett threw a cell phone at him. "Oh, hey, I was wondering where Kaz's phone went." He picked it up and unlocked it, typing away at it and instantly becoming distracted.

"I'm so confused. I thought you all hated the Blues," I said.

"We do." Kaz tugged on the maroon vest that Beckett was wearing. "Does this look blue to you?"

"Not unless I've gone colorblind. I'm still confused," I said.

Kaz jumped off of his bed. "Take a walk with me, O'Malley."

"Kaz," Beckett said, glaring.

"I gave up my chance at some fun revenge tonight to save your sorry ass. Keep your mouth shut," Kaz said, and Beckett clenched his fists but reluctantly kept his mouth shut.

I followed Kaz out of the room and we left the dorm building together in silence. He started down a pathway and I followed after him.

"Beckett and his brother were both enrolled in this school as Blues as soon as they were old enough. Their father teaches here," Kaz explained. "Let's just say, he's not too happy that Beckett ended up in a maroon vest. Townsend really isn't pleased at who Beckett chose to be friends with."

"You mean someone isn't happy that their son is friends with an outstanding citizen such as yourself?" I asked in shock. "But you're such a good influence for an 11 year old kid!"

"I dream of a day you turn that sarcasm on a teacher," he said. "Anyways, Townsend made it clear to the Blues that they're to report directly to him if they catch Beckett with me. With any of us, really."

"How did he end up in a maroon vest?" I asked.

"It's a tragedy, really. He was the Townsend prodigy; incredibly academically advanced and mature for his age, gifted on the piano, even won yo-yo competitions. Did you even know that they have yo-yo competitions? But, in a heartbreaking turn of events, Beckett's temper got the better of him and he broke a girl's nose and nearly blinded her boyfriend. He also took a baseball bat to the piano in his house. His father thought it best to stick him with the Maroons until they whipped some anger management into Beckett," Kaz said, shrugging.

"His dad knows what goes on here and still put his son with the Maroons?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course. Figured it would do Beckett's temper some good and inspire him to behave so he'd be pulled back to the Blues. Of course, that also means some Blues and some teachers are afraid to touch him," Kaz said.

"Hitting kids and making them dead inside isn't fixing them," I said in disgust.

Kaz grinned. "Coming from the one who called us criminals."

"Well, you could use some behavioral adjustments," I grumbled. "You tend to come off as a sociopath."

"Do I? Okay, story time, O'Malley. When I was 11, my stepdad hit a deer while driving me to school. It's neck was broken, but it was still alive, and it stayed that way while we waited for a cop to come. My stepdad kept telling me not to look at it, but I did anyways. Later that day, when I came home from school, I asked him what happened to the deer. He told me the cop probably shot it because you couldn't fix an animal that broken. I made him drive us to the spot where it had died and we picked some flowers and put them there." His grin grew. "See? I'm not a horrible human being. Just a regular guy who occasionally steals things."

"And fights," I said. "There is no way someone who doesn't habitually fight can hold his own the way you do."

"I may have a past with some shady people," Kaz agreed. "Still, I'm not as bad as you want to make me out to be. None of us are."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "O'Malley, come with me. You're going to help me with my plans since Siggy can't."

"Oh no. I am not getting roped into this," I said sternly.

"Yes, you are. Because I'm not going to help you if you don't help me," he said. "Now, come on."

I mentally groaned as I followed after Kaz towards the academic buildings. Okay, good for him, he was sad he saw a deer get hurt. That didn't mean he wasn't a shitty person. Still, something about that story struck me as odd, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was.

We entered the academic building and Kaz moved slowly, making sure hallways were clear as we continued through them. He led me to Mr. Sternberg's room, which was, surprisingly, empty but unlocked.

Kaz slipped into the room. "Guard this door until I'm done. If Sternberg comes here, give me a warning. Distract him and anyone who tries to come in."

He shut the door as I stared at him in disbelief. Distract Sternberg? How the hell was I supposed to do that?!

I kept myself pressed against the wall coming up with excuses for why I was here in case anyone came by. Time seemed to crawl by painfully slow as I waited for Kaz to finish whatever the hell it was he was doing.

"Hey!"

I jumped and spun to face a janitor as he spotted me. "What are you doing there?"

"I...I had a question about homework for Mr. Sternberg. The door is unlocked but he's not in there, so I was just waiting for him to come back. I thought he'd get mad if I waited in the room while he wasn't there," I lied.

"Last I knew, he was in his office downstairs. You're better off going there to find him. He was busy with files," the janitor said.

"Oh, okay, thank you!" I said.

The janitor nodded and disappeared into a classroom to clean it. I let out a nervous breath and slumped against the wall. Oh, thank god that hadn't been a miserable disaster like the rest of my life was.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Kaz emerged. He looked around and grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the front of the building. He released my arm when we were a safe distance from the building.

"Good job, neither of us got caught," he said. "See, you can be useful."

"What were you doing in there?" I asked.

He smiled. "You'll see tomorrow, O'Malley."

"Someday you'll use my name," I grumbled.

"Not likely," he said. "I'm not a fan of your first name."

I stared at him. "Your fucking name is Kaz."

"Casimir, if you want to be technical about it," he said. "Kaz is just a nickname."

"Casimir is even dumber than Kaz," I pointed out. "You have no room to critique my name. What if I just started calling you Warrick?"

"I'd tell you to have a ball with it," he said.

He led me to the dining hall and inside. We both swiped our cards before getting food. Kaz led me over to a table in the back, where the rest of his crew was seated around a table.

"Make way," Pete said, noticing us. "The king and his servant are here."

"Wow, first day with you guys and you already call me a king," I said. "I'm flattered."

Kaz took a seat between Pete and Beckett. Leo gestured to an empty chair next to him and I sat down, placing my tray of food on the table and looking around.

We were in a quieter section of the dining hall. I could still hear the steady flow of conversation from around the hall, but the section we were in only had a few other occupied tables. I had been eating my dinners alone in the corners of the dining hall, but I guess running with Kaz meant the perks of not eating alone like a fucking loser.

"Where were you guys?" Leo asked. "Awful long walk."

"Some dogs enjoy their scenery," Kaz said, gesturing to me.

"You're trying to insult me, but you underestimate my love for dogs," I said. "I'm flattered to be compared to puppers."

"Kaz, what are you doing?" Mikayla demanded.

"Attempting to insult O'Malley and instead learning about his love for dogs," Kaz said. "Keep up, Mikayla."

"No, I mean...why? Why is he here? He's not like us," Mikayla said, gesturing to me. "He's different. He's here for different reasons and you know it."

"None of us know why he's here. But what I do know is that I've never let you down before and if you're doubting me that badly anyways, you might as well go help yourself to another table," Kaz said, leaning back in his chair and taking a bite of his food.

Mikayla glared at him furiously but didn't get up. Leo looked between the two of them as the table fell silent.

"Hey, Mika, you're making it awkward," Leo said, tone playful. "Leave that me."

She forced her attention away from Kaz so that she could talk to Leo. I pushed my food around the plate with my fork, wondering for the millionth time what I'd gotten myself into.

When we were done eating, we all left the dining hall and went back to the dorm building. Everyone went back to their own rooms since none of them had finished their homework yet. It was weird how concerned with their homework they were, considering the fact that they were here because of their troubles with the law.

Leo and I went into our room and he shut the door, going over to his desk. He pulled out of his homework as I awkwardly threw my body at my bed in an attempt to get on it.

"Sorry about Mikayla," Leo said once I was on my bed. "She doesn't really trust guys like you. You know, the ones who come in seeming all innocent."

"I'm in Conversion Academy, how the hell does that make me seem innocent," I said.

Leo shrugged. "She just used to be best friends with this guy who was, you know, the kind of guy who was nice and you weren't afraid to introduce to your parents. Guy turned out to be a total scumbag. She just needs time to adjust to you and make sure you don't turn out to be an asshole like him."

"She's worried about asshole," I said slowly. "Yet she runs with Kaz's crew?"

"Low blow," he said, laughing. "We're all assholes, sure, but there are lines we won't cross and she knows that. She just needs to make sure you won't cross them, either. Now, Beckett on the other hand, he'll probably always hate you. You never have to worry about running out of salt when you have his personality."

"Great. Very encouraging, thank you," I said.

Leo turned his attention to his homework and got to work. I picked up a book and laid down, flipping it open and trying to focus on the words in front of me.

Still, I was nervous for tomorrow. Kaz had done something in Mr. Sternberg's room, and he'd dragged me in as his accomplice. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about whatever he'd done, but I guess I'd just have to endure it until class tomorrow.

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A.N.- Alright so for those who forgot already, no, this story will not have consistent updates right now. It'll be about 3 more weeks before I can start having a regular writing schedule and maybe put out weekly updates. Until then, I write and post when I can find the time to, and if you don't like it, that's fine and you can move along to a writer with more time on their hands.

To those of you who are patient, thank you. I appreciate the feedback on this story and I love reading all the comments. So I hope you guys enjoy, and I hope the pace isn't too slow for you :)