In the header is another amazing cover made by my angel @lustxnight Thank you once again 😘

I look around between the many cars, some old wrecks, some in a quite good condition, and a few new ones, some whole, some with the hood open, some in kit form... All those inanimate forms in this deserted yard under the daylight dimness of this November late afternoon could easily make this place sinister and scary, but no, there is a welcoming, friendly vibe in the area. So I keep going forward, entering the dull grey building whose large doors are open.

The scenery is the same inside the wide building: cars of all kinds and in all states, though it seems more lively with the distant sound of a radio set and some mechanical noises.

I scan the room, my eyes searching for a silhouette they're always drawn to. I quickly find it, my eyes caught by the strong back in leather jacket on the other side of the car repair shop, but my feet stop when they catch the dark-haired girl he's talking with. She is wearing a hoodie and some old ripped jeans, yet we can still see her beautiful curves underneath, and on her face, she is wearing a big radiant smile. I immediately feel plain and dull in comparison, a pang of jealousy and insecurity knotting my stomach.

The knots rapidly spread to my brain, and just as I'm contemplating the idea of turning back, the dark-haired girl notices me, and the radiant smile gets addressed to me.

"Hi, can I help you?" She gives me a nod.

"Elena?!" Alex's tenebrous eyes light up when he turns around and sees me, making my heart skip a beat like every time.

I smile shyly in response, walking up to them.

"Oh?! So you're the famous Elena?!" She grins.

Why does everyone keep telling me this? I'm more used to be invisible, yet it tickles my smile – actually it's more Alex giving me a smooth peck when I get to them that tingle them.

"I've heard a lot about you! I'm Mitchie, by the way."

My cheeks are burning under her twinkling gaze that navigates between Alex and me.

"Oh, Mitchie?! I've heard a lot about you too! Josh keeps singing your praises!"

I smile as surprise and a special shine cross her features along with a tint of red on her cheeks.

I definitely gotta do something to help these two... But before planning any Cupid mission, I have other things to take care of.

"Is there a problem? I thought you had something planned this afternoon?" Alex asks me as he wraps an arm around my shoulders.

His piercing eyes are observing me, reaching through my soul, and I feel my stomach shrivel into a ball of nerves.

"Yeah, but I've finished earlier. I need your help with something..."

"I'll leave you two alone. Work is calling me!" Mitchie nods her head to a customer who has just walked through the doors before quickly going to greet him.

"So, what do you need my help for?" Alex makes me turn to look at him as he keeps his arm around my shoulders.

Suddenly, in front of his penetrating dark eyes, I get some second thoughts; they're spreading through my veins like a blurring smoke. Though deep inside, the flames blazing make it very clear: I know it's the right thing to do, the only thing I can do. I've already written my heart out, but this is not enough. I gotta take action.

So I take a big breath, and encouraged by Alex's smooth caresses on the skin at the crook of my neck, I say, "It's about Judy..."

***

"So, are you ready, Miss Badass Cookie?" Alex's dark eyes dive into mine as his strong arms catch my waist to help me get off his motorbike.

I nod, finding courage in the intense brown shades of his gaze.

He takes my hand and leads the way. In the darkness of the night, I still recognize the car repair shop lit by a few street lights. There is still this scary yet cozy atmosphere, though my heart is thumping louder tonight.

We stop behind the building, by a car with two silhouettes waiting for us. This corner has even fewer street lamps, but I guess it's to our advantage.

I shiver from a mix of the cold air, the fear, and the thrill.

"Everything is ready?" Alex inquires.

"Yeah, I got the spray cans and toilet paper." One of the silhouettes dressed in black comes closer, and Josh's twinkling eyes come into view, looking like a child about to do a stupid thing. "And Mitchie got the hoods."

Just at this moment, the other silhouette appears beside him, revealing Mitchie. "Hi! When Josh has told me why you're doing this, I couldn't not join for such a great cause! I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all! It's cool to have another girl in the team!" I smile. Having more people with us comforts me in some way, though it may also be riskier.

"Girl power!" she replies, giving me a high five.

"I just don't want to get you into trouble, any of you guys," I let out with a sigh, looking at the three of them and biting my lip. That's the part of my plan that I hate the most, but even after having knotted my brain and my stomach in every way possible, I know I can't do it without them.

"Come on! These two are already trouble!" Mitchie laughs.

"It's an important cause, so there's no doubt to have, and I assure you nobody will know it was us!" Alex says confidently.

"Now, shall we go?" Josh fakes a bow, opening the driver's door. "And please, the lovebirds, don't get dirty in the back because it's a car I borrowed from the shop!" he adds as we get in the car.

"Borrowed?!" Alex smirks, lifting an eyebrow.

"You wanted a car that would not get us spotted, you got it!" Josh retorts, starting the car.

The car ride goes quite fast. Between Josh and Mitchie joking and talking and Alex's strong arms around me, I don't get to think too much.

But as soon as Josh pulls over at the corner of the street, a weight falls on my stomach, the heaviness of stress taking over in a crushing pressure.

"Okay, so Dylan is at the match, apparently the whole family is there. He keeps an eye on them and lets us know if they leave," Alex announces, focusing down on his phone.

The heaviness in my stomach lightens up a little bit as I'm contemplating his handsome face lit up by the screen light, highlighting the angles of his chiseled jaw and letting guess the focused planning look in his eyes. I know he has everything under control; I trust him.

"I go first to shut down the security system, and you meet me in three minutes," he briefs us.

"Here your hoods." Mitchie hands us the black cloths.

I stare at the black, smooth fabric in my hands, and then I gaze up at the same piece of cloth on top of Alex's head. He's just put the hood on his hair to capture my gaze with his tenebrous one.

"Don't worry." He offers me one of his heart-melting smile and a quick kiss, before lowering entirely the hood on his charming face.

I can't find my voice; it is squashed in my throat, so I just give him a small, unsure smile.

"See you soon!" he shouts and gets out of the car, disappearing in the dark night.

The three minutes seem an eternity. My thoughts are spiraling out of control, going from regret and doubt to worry and guilt for dragging them with me, back to stress, and my brain is about to explode as I'm listening absent-mindedly to Josh, who is going over what we have planned.

The walk to join Alex is even worse, the silence of the cold night increasing the weight in my stomach until even my feet are struggling to lift off the ground.

I don't even pay attention to the surroundings. I feel Josh's presence in front and Mitchie beside me, but it's only when I hear Alex's voice that I get out of the vortex of my mind.

"It's open!" he announces with a big smirk and a gesture of his hand.

My gaze follows his hand, taking in the imposing white gate now open for us. The house is exactly the same as the others around: with a pale facade, which I can't really make out the color in the darkness, a well-kept garden, a low wall surrounding it, and a lit concrete alley. Yet one detail makes me gulp as I walk past it: the plate on the wall with written on it: 'Sheriff'.

"Okay, so Josh and Mitch, you take care of the outside. We go inside," Alex says, grabbing my hand and leading me away from the frightening detail.

When we arrive to the right side of the big house, I look up to the window on the first floor and swallow hard once again. Now I can discern the color of the facade; it is a creamy beige. But I also can note how high the first floor appears from here.

"A big tree just right there?! It's almost too easy!" Alex smirks, facing the opposite side: the large tree barely a few feet away from the wall, which I would have never thought of with my knotty brain. He holds out his hand for me, looking as confident as I am anxious. "You trust me?" He throws me a wink.

I smile and give him my shaking hand in answer.

***

"Wow!!" Alex chuckles, glancing around the room.

I follow the path of his dark eyes wide open. The desk and shelves are covered with toilet paper, empty of their stuff and things, sentimentally or monetary valuable, which have been thrown on the floor. The mattress is upside-down. The once plain blue walls are now decorated with words like 'pig', 'rapist', 'bastard', and some nice skulls and crossbones. A smell of rotten eggs permeates the place as the eggs and shells are scattered almost everywhere. It's hard to recognize the typical American jock's room we've entered minutes ago, and I hardly recognize myself when I think of what I've just done. Yet I've really felt myself as I've been doing it, not thinking, not doubting. The moment I've stepped a foot in this room, revolt, disgust, and anger have taken over like a fire engulfing everything, and now I feel so light, the weight on my stomach totally gone. When I look at it, I kinda feel proud of our work, though something is missing... The final touch...

I go to the desk, Alex following intrigued and looking over my shoulder as I'm writing my little departure note. The words are almost writing by themselves, the pen sliding easily and determinedly on the paper.

'If you ever assault a girl again, it's not your room I will destroy next time.'

"I knew you were a badass, but wow! Remind me to never mess with you!" His sparkling gaze finds mine again.

"I just did some justice." I shrug.

"I don't know if I should be scared or attracted..." He leans closer as his voice drops lower. "But it kinda turns me on." He grabs my hips and pulls me to him.

I don't know if he realizes, but he has no reason to be scared, seeing how I'm turning into putty between his hands.

As my eyes are hypnotized by his intense ones, he lifts slowly the bottom of my hood and kisses me intensely. Our lips, the only part of our bodies not covered in black fabric, are dancing together and spreading another rush of adrenaline in my veins.

"Thank you," I whisper, breathless, as we pull away. "For all of this." I gesture around when I see his eyebrows knotting together.

"It was your idea! You're the badass! We're just the workforce!" He grins.

"We did a pretty good job!" I smirk back.

His chuckle gets lost when his phone vibrates. "We better get going!"

He grabs my hand, and we escape, two silhouettes dressed in black, two outlaws, like Bonnie and Clyde, soon joining the rest of the gang: Mitchie and Josh.

***

"The police are searching hard apparently."

"What are you talking about?" I ask quickly when I hear Judy and Tory talk in front of the classroom.

"You didn't hear the news?! Wes's house got vandalized," Judy replies, a small smile on her lips, as I try hard to hide the one tugging at my lips and I fake surprise.

"Really?! Well, it serves him right!"

"It looks like it is! Because they vandalized only his room and the outside." Judy nods.

"Look, Tom sent me a pic! It was tagged in big 'How can you defend justice when your son is a rapist?!" Tory adds, showing us a blurry pic on her phone, though I recognize easily the creamy facade behind the red painting and toilet paper.

Mitchie and Josh have really done a great job outside! The whole house is decorated like a Christmas tree with toilet paper tinsels and eggs and tags as the baubles.

"Do they know who did it?" I ask, trying to sound as detached as possible and clasping my hands to hide their shaking.

"No, but the Sheriff is really pissed off, so they're investigating seriously," Tory explains.

I swallow the lump of anxiety in my throat, trying to push away my worries and the what-ifs my nervous mind is imagining, and I focus back on Judy.

"And you, how are you?"

"Alright, this news made me feel a little better!" She gives me a smile. "Luckily, I was at my grandma's last night, because the cops already popped up at my house this morning!"

My eyes widen.

"Though I'd have loved to do it! And I really don't know who it could be." Her smile widens, and I recognize the Judy I know, even if I can still see a shadow in her light eyes.

"Anyway, if they helped make you feel a little better, that's all that matters!" Tory notes, and I nod, not regretting what I've done.

"Oh, that's not only this, there's also the article of the 'Silent Voice'. Did you read it?!" She searches in her bag.

"Yeah, I read it. It's great," I reply, biting my lip.

"It's better than this! It's amazing! Maybe, it will help change things a little." The hope I glimpse in her eyes clears my worries.

"Maybe it's the 'Silent Voice' who vandalized Wes's house!" Tory suggests jokingly.

We're interrupted by the teacher arriving and making us come in, so we don't get to finish this conversation, and I don't get to stress more about last night's incident.

The classes go by uneventful until the last hour of the morning. We have a lot of work, and that's the best distraction for my worried brain.

I don't even hear the knocks on the door, too focused on my math problem, but I'm startled by a tap on my shoulder.

I lift up my head and freeze when two policemen are standing just before my eyes, talking with the principal and the teacher. Paralyzed, I hear vaguely Alex behind whispering in my ear to not worry and to keep his jacket, and next thing I know I see Alex following the policemen. My chest grows so tight that it's hard to breathe. I want to follow them, to stop them, but Alex's gaze stops me before I can even move. His penetrating eyes order me to not interfere, and I can only gulp, watching him leave with his unfazed mask on his face, while I'm left helpless, my mind and my stomach battling with guilt and worry.

I clench Alex's jacket in my hands, only realizing now that I have it on my knees.

Cliffhanger!! ;) Don't hate me, please! Do you think Alex will get in trouble?

And what do you think of Elena's revenge plan? Did you expect something like this?! She's got a dark side too! ;)

I hope you like this chapter, please let me know what you think in the comments and vote! I love hearing (well reading) your feedbacks! :)