As the 5th period ended, Fallon walked out of her class only to be stopped by the two boys who seemed to keep their word about meeting her for lunch. She wondered how they even found her class because she knew she didn't tell them, she figured she would ask those questions later.

     "At least you guys kept your word," She sighed as they walked out of the school. "Better make my off-campus lunch worthwhile."

     "Look who's sassy today," Lloyd chuckled nudging her a little as the students around stared at them giving them looks of jealousy. It was no secret that the two boys were the talk of the school today. They looked quite attractive and shared their familiar characteristics because of their genetics.

     "I'm not sassy, I just had time to think this over and I just want this to be over with so I can graduate." She sighed and swung her arms back and forth sheepishly. 

     "About that..." Lloyd replied pressing his lips together nervously as the three sat on a bench just outside the school. 

     "What?" She frowned at them. 

     "You might not be able to graduate- Ow!" Lloyd was quickly punched by Chris who shot him a cold glare before turning to Fallon with a small smile. 

     "This may be all of a sudden and I apologize again for what I'm going to say but, you're going to have to come home with us because of what happened this morning." Chris coughed up not letting her soak up the words. "I need you to not freak out because freaking out will tear this whole thing down, all eyes will be on you."

     "You guys think I like to joke around," she scoffed. "I don't joke with those I've just met, you can stop playing with me now."

     "He's not joking," Lloyd spoke up with a sad face, he turned to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "We're a part of a gang, the guy you saw is Lucas and he's the leader of another gang and we shouldn't- It's our fault you're in this. He saw you with us which means he'll think you're important to us, even if we just met he didn't see that- Please tell me you understand."

     Fallon froze and stared at the ground as the words flowed in her ear, she didn't move a single inch and she felt the air around her slowly suffocating her. She wasn't hearing that right, was she? Thunder cracked in the sky, she didn't even notice how cloudy the sky was at this point and she quickly ducked next to the bench in fear. Her hands clasped her ears as her eyes widened, she did not take the news well and she didn't take thunderstorms well either. She began to panic as her thoughts felt scattered, she looked all over the ground as she was trying to breathe in and out calmly. 

     "Hey! Look what you did, damn it!" Chris got up to hold her up, he got her to stand but she wasn't even focused on him. Her mind was set on the loud noises near her, the sky was turning darker. "Hey, look at me."

     His hand began to tremble a bit as he tried to make the girl face him, it was like she was in a trance and he was trying to stop it.

*

     "Hold it like this," Luke fixed the grip the girl had on her knife. "If you hold it like this, they won't think you're in the position to throw it at them."

     Stella felt her knuckles tighten in the knife as she turned to Luke with a small smirk, "Like this then?", she threw the knife at the target.

     "Not bad, but a shoulder wound won't kill your enemy," Luke nodded slightly, he walked towards the target and ripped the knife out passing it to her. "Again."

*

     "You're okay, you're inside," The steady voice snapped Fallon back into reality as she blinked profusely at the wall, the boys had taken her inside what seemed to be a coffee shop. 

     "Oh," She breathed out as she looked around seeing how calm it looked, the nice aroma of the coffee beans was stimulating her senses. She looked over to see Chris holding her arms which made her push him away. "What are you- what happened?"

     The boys looked at each other with a small sigh, Lloyd had walked up to the register to order while Chris stayed with Fallon at the table. She was able to calm down and Chris continued to stare out the window in silence. He didn't want to repeat his words to her if she would just freak out, and it was reasonable to freak out! Yet, he was still debating whether to be harsh on her or not, his crew was filled with men who he had to be harsh with but this was a girl. How was he supposed to be harsh to a girl? He hadn't come into contact with a lot of girls but when he did he had always acted so gentle with them, but he knew she needed to be strong to be in his crew otherwise it would be stupid to try to save her and protect her. 

     What are the chances of Lucas actually going after this girl? Chris knew Lucas was smart and caught on to things fast but by the looks of it, finding the information about Fallon would be harder to find. It didn't look like this girl even liked people, was her mother the same way? Most seniors would go out and party or ditch school most weeks because it's their last year, but this girl? This girl had connections with no one and it was a weird sight for the boys. 

     "You're safe okay?" Chris stared at her. "There's no need to freak out, it won't help you."

     "If I remember correctly, you need me to... come with you?" She stared blankly. 

     This was probably one the toughest decisions Chris has made in a while, why did he suddenly feel the need to protect a girl he just met? It's like he wanted to get to know everything about her like he was under a spell, heck- he didn't even mind if it was a spell maybe it would be easier to explain the connection he felt he had with Fallon. Deep down there was a question lingering inside, perhaps just maybe- she would open up to him and maybe he'd understand why he wanted to be around her. It's like he knew her, but how could he? Where had he seen her before? At the club? No, this girl wasn't like the others at her age going to clubs. She kept to herself and he had never been around a girl like her who kept to herself.

     The question was pressing against his head, it was like a brain-eating fungus making his brain rot every second that passed. She didn't owe him anything but it felt like she did, it would be so selfish of him to bring her along though- He couldn't do this to her. He was bringing an inexperienced girl into his crew just because he wanted to figure out more about her. 

     "Hot chocolate for everyone," Lloyd placed three cups on the table as he sat beside Fallon with a smile. "You didn't seem like a coffee person."

     She looked at him pursing her lips and blinking her eyes, Fallon took the cup and began to sip it slowly. Maybe drinking the hot chocolate could calm her nerves down, she felt the anxiety creeping up her spine and it haunted her. 

     "How would I even explain this to my mom?" She turned to Chris, her eyes faltered and anyone could see how painful it was for her. 

     "She already knows," Chris looked at his phone and saw the message from his crew. "You're going to have as little as 10 minutes to say bye, I have my crew to pack your things-"

     "No one is touching my things," She interrupted him as she stared at the table, both of her hands held the warm cup. "Absolutely no one."

     "It'll be quicker," Lloyd explained. "We don't know-"

     "I can be quick," She looked at Lloyd and shot him a sharp glare. "I promise."

     "But-" Lloyd was about to protest when Chris kicked his foot under the table, now both Chris and Fallon were glaring at Lloyd who raised his hands in defense. "Alright! I'll shut up!"

     The end of the school day came, Fallon got a ride home from the boys and she was beginning to forget about what was going on. Like, a 19-year-old is seriously going home to say bye to her mom and then join some gang in protective custody? Yeah, she's got to be going mad! It was the punchline of some sick joke, and Fallon didn't joke around a lot. 

     She was preparing herself as the car made a stop in the alley, her nails were bitten off from her anxiety but she was able to get in her focused headspace. She's got this? She's never felt the need to motivate herself like this, her mother did it for her so hearing that small voice inside of her fight? It was a new experience. 

     "You can take my clothes, but don't touch anything else or I swear I'll- I'll do something!" Fallon attempted to threaten the boys as she ran out and into her house. 

     The two boys sighed looking at each other before getting out and seeing a van pull up behind them with their crew inside, they were a bit confused but when it came to Chris they knew it was better to ask questions later. They all hurried into the house one by one as some stayed out to make sure they were in the clear, little did they know the actual reason for this mission was pure curiosity from the leader.