MILO AND LUCA LOOKED like they'd rather be anywhere else but here and Gabriela didn't doubt it. There weren't many people voluntarily at a St Joseph camp, no matter how much fun most of them eventually had in a place without rules. Though she knew it was originally made to set them straight, nowadays it seemed to have strayed so far from it's purpose that it just felt like a place to let loose.

Though Amir seemed way too well-mannered for this place, Luca and Milo seemed made for it. Luca's cheekbone was shaded with blue and his knuckles were red with dried up blood, like he had hit something just before coming here. Milo however seemed more calm, his checkered pants and oversized blazer a sharp contrast against Luca's simple shirt and jeans. Both of them screamed danger though, just in a different language.

The crowd dispersed, all of them having lost interest, and she was just about to leave too when the principal called out to her.

"Gabriela, can you come here and help them on their way?"

In response she raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"

"You are good at getting new students to settle in," the principal smiled, his gaze wandering across Sahar," you've proven that." He shook his head then. "And Luca and Milo arrived so late that their groups already have formed one together in their absence. Can they stay with you until I manage to create a new one?"

His promise of getting her out of St Joseph flashed before her eyes and she nodded. Her future seemed like it was made of glass these days and she was a minute away from shattering. If she didn't get her scholarship she really wouldn't know what to do, though she knew that too would not go well with St Joseph's stain on her college resume.

This was not the time to worry about that though, so she shoved those thoughts aside and nodded. "Sure."

"How fun," Sahar beamed.

"Depends on your definition of fun," Gabriela shrugged, gaze absent-mindedly on the guys as they started walking towards her.

"My definition of fun is actually celebrating Eid with my whole family and cooking with my cousins, but I'll settle for this."

"You'll settle for what?"

A calculating smile tugged at Milo's lips, his eyes wandering across the two of them. Luca didn't deem them worthy of a glance though, his cold anger flickering with each clenching and unclenching of his fists, as if he was holding himself back from exploding any moment.

"It's nothing," Sahar said, extending her hand towards them," but it's nice to meet you! I'm Sahar, this is Gabriela."

Milo shook her hand, but Luca only looked at her briefly, a frown on his face.

"Are you so childish to ignore us?" Gabriela said coolly," or do you just not know how to act?"

At that he burned, spinning around towards her as he bared his teeth in a snarl. She didn't flinch at all, simply raising an eyebrow at him. Right when he parted his lips to speak, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, causing him to stop.

"You better calm down right now."

Though Mateo normally was always smiling, there was nothing of that amusement left now. He was quiet lightning now and when he spoke, the electricity was almost palpable in the air.

"Who are you?" Luca snarled, trying to shake Mateo's hand off but failing.

Mateo shook his head, clicking his tongue chastisingly. "I said calm down, you're not listening."

Luca looked like he was about to jump him, but before he could Mateo grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him against the grass, so fast he couldn't react. For a moment Luca looked stunned, his cheek pressed against the grass, and Mateo crouched down beside him, hand still pressing him down.

"This should have cooled you off," he smiled.

"Mateo," Gabriela said.

He blinked, temporarily seeming to have forgotten her presence, and jumped up to his feet, quickly straightening his back and clearing his throat. Jay was standing right behind him, a pitying look on his face, like he expected her to kill him.

"I didn't start it," he said.

"I literally saw you slam him on the ground first."

"A mere slip of the hand."

"Uh-huh," she said, before waving it off," anyway, get up. I have to get you two settled in and I don't have all day."

"What do you mean get up?" Luca hissed, though he did push himself up," your boy toy just assaulted me."

"Do you hear that, Nena?" Mateo grinned," I'm your boy toy."

"Do not get attached to that term," Gabriela said," it will not be used again after this."

"Awh, really? But it captures my charming, playful essence so well."

"Are we just going to ignore the injured guy in front of us?" Sahar said, before adding," because I'm cool with that, I just need to know."

"Go ahead and ignore him," Milo said, glancing unimpressedly at Luca," he has been fuming ever since we got shoved on the bus for this trip."

"You got on the bus?" Sahar said," how come you were late?"

"This idiot escaped when we stopped for a toilet break," Milo said.

"Who are you calling an idiot, jerk?" Luca scowled as he got to his feet," and you didn't have to come with."

"And stay behind in a rowdy bus with irritating teenagers? I think not."

"How did you get caught?" Mateo asked, the animosity in his eyes already replaced with gleaming interest.

"Your principal," Milo sighed, running a hand through his hair," that man really knows how to run."

"He actually tackled me," Luca said.

"You shouted at him that he should go fuck himself."

"And if he had listened we both wouldn't have been caught."

Luca shook his head, looking annoyed again. When he wiped the grass off his cheek he flinched, the bruise there sharp on his skin. Jay glanced at it, something akin to recognition flashing across his face, but when he blinked it was gone.

"Got into a fight right before coming here too?" Mateo said with a nod at his bruises," you're dedicated, that's for sure."

"He's annoying," Milo said with an eyeroll," I've been stuck with him ever since that principal nearly tied us together to get us to become friends and ever since that time he's fought nearly eight times already."

"All those eight times were with you," Luca hissed.

"Our principal really is a great guy, right?" Mateo beamed, looking like he had completely missed their annoyed tone.

Jay seemed to inform him of just that with a few whispers then and Mateo's expression dropped, the need to hug him filling Gabriela. Still, she shook it off, focusing on whatever mess their principal had just thrown in her group.

"So," she said, ready to assess how bad it actually was," what did you two do?"

"Nothing that bad," Milo shrugged," apparently not being able to tolerate stupidity is a crime, who knew."

"You talked back to the teachers?" Mateo asked.

"Oh no," Milo said," I gave someone a concussion."

"Well, that explains that," Gabriela murmured, before glancing at Luca.

"I don't owe you an explanation," Luca sneered.

Mateo clenched his fist, but with a wave of Gabriela's hand he spread his fingers, tension flowing out of him as quickly as it came.

"You don't," she said," and I don't really care that much. Anyway, I'll show you around the camp."

Luca seemed taken aback, but she didn't pause to give him a moment, instead starting to walk towards the edge of the clearing. She didn't look back to see if he was following, but quickly after she heard footsteps behind her.

"I left my girlfriend behind for this," Luca complained behind her.

"I can't believe someone is willing to put up with you," Milo said.

"I'm going to give you a concussion if you keep talking like that."

"I'm going to steal your girlfriend if you keep talking like that."

"You couldn't even get her."

"I can get anyone," Milo drawled," it's just a question of the right words at the right time, it isn't hard."

"Do you two ever stop bickering?" Gabriela said with a glance over her shoulder.

"Not unless he stops talking," Milo said," but unfortunately, that doesn't seem possible."

"We can talk with our fists if you continue," Luca challenged.

"In what language?" Milo scoffed," irrationality? You may be fluent, but I'm not interested."

"If you keep throwing fancy words around I will actually knock you out."

At this point Gabriela really was wondering if the principal didn't like her. First he gave her the task of helping Jay and Sahar, now he was saddling her with these two hotheads? She wouldn't be surprised if they would start fighting any minute now.

She spotted Chase then, a smile on his face as he was avidly telling Amir about his digital plants. Amir was nodding, a friendly smile on his face, though his eyes wandered to where Jay and Sahar were walking, just a few steps behind her. They lingered there for a moment, but then returned to Chase.

If there was anyone who could get the tension out of a situation it was Chase though. Mateo had just started walking beside her when she did and he perked up at the mention of his best friend's name, though Chase didn't seem to hear her, too busy with his story.

"I got this, Nena," Mateo smiled at her, hand grazing against her cheek ever so slightly, before he parted his lips.

"Tyler! Chase Tyler, get over here!"