"Listen up, everyone! Gather around!" Zoe announced as she pulled Teddy in front of the car, grabbing Fisher when he got close enough.

Fisher was holding hands with Howl while Zoe had Fisher and Teddy in hand, which meant the only people not holding hands were Howl and Teddy. Zoe looked up at her boyfriend and motioned toward Howl with a nod, silently demanding he close their little circle. Teddy frowned at Zoe and yanked his hand away when Howl tried to grab it. Howl reached for him again and Teddy slapped him away until they were in a childish fight of flailing hands.

"Hold his hand, Teddy! Come on! We've got a party to go to!" Zoe cried.

"Fine!" Teddy snatched Howl's hand, crashing their fingers in awkward positions. He snarled at Howl. "Don't be weird."

"I'm in love with you," Howl immediately replied, smirking.

Teddy tried to yank his hand away again, causing Howl and Teddy to fight like children again. Zoe and Fisher signed and groaned. When they both finally settled and were stood in their little circle, Zoe moved on.

"Okay, I just wanted to say..." Zoe looked from Teddy to Howl to Fisher. "We don't do well at parties. Like, collectively, we have a very bad track record. And I'm only bringing this up because there is a party on the beach, fifty feet away, and this is the last time we're all gonna be together for a few months. We gotta make this one count."

"My track record is fine. I don't know what you're talking," Fisher argued.

"Not true..." Zoe cringed, squeezing Fisher's hand. "You made out with that guy you didn't even know at that Halloween party, Howl caught you, and then you cried in the tub for a half hour. Not to mention, Howl caught you again, with Jonah, at another party. Not a very good track record."

Fisher shrugged. "That's fair. If those moments count, then I guess I have to count catching Howl and Brett making out in the bathroom at Joseph's party."

"You didn't catch me, Fish. I was being assaulted. That was a one sided attack," Howl argued.

"My point is—" Zoe interjected.

"You're the only one with a good track record." Teddy's eyes narrowed as he looked down at Zoe. "You're very... suspiciously perfect."

"Well, parties are my job, Teddy. I make money by hosting at parties. If I wasn't good, I'd be poor."

"You also model though, so you wouldn't be poor. Also, your parents are filthy, stupid rich."

"My point is—!" Zoe shouted into the circle, attempting to haul this train back onto the tracks. "We are going to a party, and we are not good at parties, so let's all watch each other's back. Teddy and I are gonna be gone for the whole summer so we have to do this one right."

"What if Fisher and I wanna go make out somewhere?" Howl asked, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows. Fisher responded by kicking Howl's shin.

"If you wanna go make out, go make out. Teddy and I will only step in if there's conflict of some sort," Zoe said.

Teddy shook his head. "I didn't agree to that. I hate all of these people. If you want me to step into conflict, we might as well give up on redeeming our terrible record now and go home."

Zoe sighed and hung her head. This little circle meeting was a bad idea.

"Fine. Let's just go. Just.. nobody die, okay?" Zoe pouted and dropped Teddy's and Fisher's hands.

"No dying!" Howl jokingly cheered as he thrusts his fists in the air. When Zoe rolled her eyes, Howl snickered and tucked Fisher under his arm to head toward the beach with him.

Zoe stepped forward to follow them but was stopped when Teddy grabbed her arm. He pulled her into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead. "No dying, and I'll be on my best behavior."

"Thank you. And you don't have to be the absolute best. I don't want to put you on a pedestal, that's not fair. I just—"

"I know, baby, but don't worry. There won't be any fighting or anything tonight. Besides, I can take all the guys in our grade with my eyes closed after training with Abe. Just ask Chuck."

Zoe frowned, peeking up at Teddy as they began to walk toward the beach. She didn't like the direction of this conversation. She didn't like that Teddy was bragging about his violent skills or that he was bragging about beating up her best frie—actually, ex best friend. That was still hard to get used to, even if they hadn't spoken in like in a few weeks...

"Forget I said that," Teddy whispered, pulling Zoe into his side and kissing her hair. "Let's just go have fun before we have to leave all this behind in two days."

"Okay. Let's go have fun." Even if Zoe was doubtful that they could make it out of this party in one piece, she still put on an optimistic smile.

Teddy and Zoe walked toward the beach hand in hand. The beach was littered with rowdy teens. There were multiple bonfires down the length of the beach and each one was crowded with Teddy and Zoe's peers. Instantly, a chill ran up Teddy's spine. He didn't even like being trapped in a classroom with these idiots. Being stuck with them out here, in the real world, was somehow worse. When he left school, he could escape these people. How had it flipped so suddenly like this?

Turns out, he really would do anything for Zoe, because this was Teddy's living nightmare.

"I'm gonna find the drinks," Teddy whispered, raising Zoe's hand to his mouth and kissing her knuckles. "You want anything specific? If I find it?"

Zoe shrugged. "Anything's fine. I'm not picky. I'm gonna find... someone on this beach to chat with."

Teddy beelined through the crowd a moment later, attempting to escape casual chitchat by occupying himself with drinks. Zoe wandered nervously on to the beach. She was specifically looking for Howl or Vanessa, so she wouldn't feel so weirdly out of place anymore, but there were a lot of teens. It was night but the streetlights in the parking lot, the bonfires, and the moonlight made it easy to see nearly everyone. And yet, somehow, Vanessa and Howl were nowhere to be seen.

Courtney popped up beside Zoe, purposefully scaring her. Zoe yelped and bashfully giggled as Courtney teased her. It was the first time they had spoken in awhile so Zoe was trying to appear as friendly and casual as possible, even though she felt a bit awkward. If Courtney noticed Zoe's awkwardness, she didn't say anything and simply dragged her across the beach to the rest of their friends. Everyone greeted her with open arms, some rejoicing and others pouting and apologizing for 'falling out of touch' with Zoe.

Daniel and Selik were extra apologetic, claiming it wasn't cool of them to avoid her and hold a grudge all because she disappeared for awhile without telling anyone. Zoe bashfully accepted everyone's apology, though it was a different story on the inside. She didn't really like any of these people, but she would be civil for now. Vanessa said they wanted to be friends again and Zoe was only here for two more days. She could entertain these people until she left. That civil arrangement would be shattered the moment one of them bashed Teddy though.

Zoe could bullshit her way through a lot of stupid gossip and false assumptions and jealousy, but she loved Teddy more than anything. She wouldn't tolerate any of that bullshit.

"Zoe," Chuck meekly called as he stood from the lawn chair he was lounging in.

Zoe met his incredibly crestfallen eyes and gave him a sweet smile. She stepped through the sand to wrap her arms around Chuck. He looked like he was desperate for her forgiveness and her approval and Zoe could falsely toss him those meaningless things.

"Long time no see," Zoe joked as she squeezed Chuck.

"I know, I'm such an ass." Chuck grabbed Zoe's shoulders and held her away from him, though keeping her close enough that their intense eye contact made her blush. "I'm sorry, Zoe. To be honest... I've liked you for a really long time, so I was a little butthurt when you suddenly rose from the dead and said Teddy was your boyfriend. I don't get along with that guy so well, so seeing him happy with my girl—I mean, you—it hit me pretty hard."

Zoe stiffly shrugged her shoulders, feeling helpless and awkward. "I didn't fall for Teddy to spite you, Chuck. Liking him and being friends with you wasn't the plan or anything. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know, I know. You're not a bad person, Zoe. In fact, you're the complete opposite. You're perfect, in every way. Seeing you, the angel, with Teddy, the devil, really just fucks with my head. That's why I have unfairly been avoiding you since you got back," Chuck explained.

Zoe fought a disbelieving guffaw from escaping as she stared into Chuck's eyes. She had never really noticed this before, maybe because they had never talked about all of this, but he was kinda weird. He hadn't been avoiding her since she got back. Zoe had been purposefully distancing herself from him and the rest of their friends. Maybe he was doing the same thing, but avoiding her implied that she had tried to speak with him. And she hadn't. Zoe could give Chuck the benefit of the doubt though. He could simply be flustered over finally talking to her again after a month and confessing his feelings.

"Well, Chuck," Zoe slapped her hands on Chuck's shoulders and flashed him a smile. "I'm glad we can still be friends after all of this. Even though we argued and then stopped talking to each other and I came back with Teddy as my boyfriend, we can still move on."

Chuck very obviously forced a smile. "Right... I'm glad too. I'm happy to move on."

"Then scram, asshat," Teddy growled, shoving Chuck back into his lawn chair as he grabbed the back of Zoe's neck and pulled her into an overwhelming kiss.

Everyone around the fire went silent as they watched Teddy devour Zoe in front of everyone. It was obvious he was marking her. There were multiple eyes on her that looked too wistful for Teddy's comfort, not to mention Chuck had his hands on Zoe. It flipped some kind of caveman switch in Teddy's brain that made him want to smash a rock over Chuck's head and carry Zoe away to his cave. Since Teddy was a civilized man though, he settled for kissing Zoe as hard as he could in front of all the other cavemen ogling her.

Zoe only indulged in Teddy's powerful, dominate, passionate kiss for a moment. The fog cleared as quickly as it arrived and Zoe parted from Teddy with a gasp for air. Her big eyes lifted to meet his and she frowned when she spotted his cocky smile. He was such a huge, dumb, embarrassing, idiot. And still, she somehow loved him.

"That was not your best behavior," Zoe quietly scolded, pressing a finger to Teddy's chest. His chest didn't used to be so firm with muscle, but it was now, and it was strangely hot.

"Should've made me promise first," Teddy teased. He knew he was being stupid and possessive, but he didn't really care.

"Ooh! The lovebirds are here!" Vanessa sang from behind them. Zoe turned to smile at her as she leaped over one of the logs and collapsed on to it. "Sit here with me before someone takes this spot."

Zoe let go of Teddy and collapsed beside her best friend. He handed her the drink he grabbed for her and she thanked him with a peck as he sat beside her. Zoe and Vanessa chatted easily with one another, completely ignoring the rest of the conversations around them. Teddy popped open his drink and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his eyes on the fire as he took a sip. He could feel someone's gaze locked on to his profile and it was making him restless.

Clenching his jaw and taking a deep breath through his nose, Teddy reluctantly turned to meet Chuck's gaze. They stared at each other, their conversation silent. Chuck was as angry as always and Teddy was as tense as always. Being in each other's presence activated some kind of chemical reaction in their brains that made them hate each other even more. On an atomic level, they couldn't exist this close to one another.

Chuck leaned forward, mirroring Teddy, and whispered venomously to him, "I don't trust you."

Teddy's eyebrow perked with intrigue. He glanced over his shoulder at Zoe, who was still in her own little world with Vanessa. "The feeling's mutual, Chuck. Always has been," he quietly replied.

"Don't hurt her."

"Don't you think you're crossing the line a little bit? She's my girlfriend, Chuck."

"She's too delicate and precious for an animal like you. If you actually have feelings for you, you'd be careful."

Teddy smirked and shook his head. Chuck knew absolutely nothing. Zoe was not delicate. She could easily put Chuck on his ass if she wanted to. She was precious though. She was precious to Teddy, more than Chuck would ever understand, so it was kind of hilarious to hear a lecture he didn't need. Nobody could take care of Zoe like Teddy could. Just because Chuck didn't believe it, that didn't make it untrue.

"Chuck, I've been taking care of Zoe since she first walked through the doors of our school and I will continue to take care of her until I'm dead and in the ground. In no reality are you qualified to tell me how to handle our relationship," Teddy firmly retorted.

Chuck's eyes narrowed, showing clear suspicion of Teddy's bold claims. He was surprised to hear Teddy devote himself to anything until death. That was wildly unexpected. He was obviously obsessed. He had been hovering over her like a guard dog since Zoe appeared in their lives. And poor little Zoe let the psycho manipulate her into believing he had actual feelings for her. That was dangerous. This freakishly strong, aggressive, ruthless prick had tainted the most pure and innocent girl in their school.

"I think we should talk," Chuck calmly stated, his eyes never leaving Teddy's.

"We are talking," Teddy argued.

"Away from Zoe," Chuck clarified.

Without another word, Chuck raised out of his chair and took a few steps toward the parking lot, gesturing for Teddy to follow. Teddy clenched his jaw as he stared suspiciously at the blonde haired freak. It wasn't a good idea. It was a very, very bad idea. But Teddy had a lot of things he wanted to get off his chest and Chuck obviously felt the same way. They hated each other. They could probably argue and fight until one of them was dead. Teddy told Zoe he would be on his best behavior though. As much as he wanted to, he wouldn't be killing Chuck tonight.

Teddy rose from his spot of the log, ready to follow Chuck, but Zoe caught his arm before he had even taken a step. "Where are you going? Why are you and Chuck looking at each other like that?"

Teddy sighed and looked down at his girlfriend. "We're going to talk in the parking lot for a minute. We both have things we want to say."

Zoe's eyes widened as turned desperate as she pulled on Teddy's arm. "No, please! You said you'd be good! Don't start a fight. Don't do this. Please, Teddy. You said—"

"Don't worry, baby." Teddy bent over to stroke Zoe's hair and caress her jaw as he placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "I'm not gonna touch him. There will be no fighting. Not physically, anyway. I might yell a little bit if he ends up pushing my buttons."

"Please, Teddy," Zoe whined, jutting her bottom lip out and making her eyes as sad as possible.

"I'll be right back," Teddy confidently insisted before he pulled away and followed Chuck.

Zoe sulked as she watched the boys walk off the beach. She wanted to have a good night. Teddy agreed to make this month as soothe and stress free as possible. So far they had accomplished that. For a month, they had been living easy and living happy. So why, on one of their last night here, was Teddy trying to start a fight with his arch enemy? Not only was that a bad idea on his end, but it was also going to stress Zoe out too. And if a physical fight broke out and ruined their vacation, she'd ring his neck herself.

"Just let them get it all off their chest," Vanessa advised, looking through the trees to the two boys talking back and forth under one of the street lights. "Chuck has had an insane crush on you since you got here and now you're in love with the only person he hates. After they talk and reach some kind of understanding, they'll finally leave each other alone."

"Some kind of understanding?" Zoe scoffed, her eyes glued to Teddy. He looked relatively calm but he was also visibly tense. "They're too stubborn and mean to even agree to disagree. The only good outcome here is if they don't start punching each other."

Vanessa gave a helpless shrug that Zoe didn't catch. She had a point. Their hate for one another ran too deep. One conversation in a parking lot wasn't going to fix that.

Zoe watched Teddy and Chuck chat with worried and impatient eyes. Chuck was the first one to begin gesturing like he was pissed. His arms flailed and his head tilted and Zoe could see his mouth moving at quick, passionate speeds. Teddy seemed to respond pretty calmly. He looked stiff, at least. Zoe couldn't tell if he was so pissed that all his muscles were locked up or if he was so unbothered that he wasn't moving. It wasn't until Teddy stepped up to Chuck and starting pointing his finger in his face that Zoe realized he was, in fact, raging. That made her heart race.

"Don't even look, Zoe. You're stressing yourself out for nothing," Vanessa said.

"They're gonna hit each other any second now," Zoe said with an anxious sigh, impulsively running her fingers through her hair. "Oh god... I'm gonna have to pull them off of each other so one of them doesn't die."

"No. Absolutely not. Their problems are not your problems," Vanessa declared.

Vanessa set her and Zoe's drinks down in the sand before she grabbed Zoe's arm and pulled her from the fire. Zoe tried to protest, but Vanessa hooked their arms together and started towards the shore. The only light toward the water was the moonlight dancing in the calm waves. Zoe groaned and tried to look back over her shoulder, to make sure Teddy and Chuck weren't strangling one another, but Vanessa yanked her forward.

"Going for a swim, Princess?" Howl's yelled from not too far down the shore. When Vanessa and Zoe looked, he was ankle deep in the water with Fisher.

"Just going to kick around until Teddy and Chuck are done arguing like little boys," Vanessa replied, patting Zoe's arm that was locked in hers. "Do you mind keeping an eye out to make sure they don't kill each other so Zoe can relax?"

Howl looked up the beach, squinting as he searched for Teddy and Chuck. When he spotted them, he sighed. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Princess. I'll go take care of your boyfriend."

"Thank you, Howl!" Zoe yelled as he jogged up the beach, leaving Fisher to join Vanessa and Zoe.

"Now you can relax now, yes?" Vanessa asked as she looked into Zoe's eyes, clearly patronizing her for worrying so much.

Zoe dropped her tense shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Yes. I feel better."

Vanessa and Zoe took off their shoes and left them in the sand, joining Fisher in the water. They stayed in the shallows and the water only reached their knees when one particular aggressive wave brushed passed them. Zoe stole a few glances toward the parking lot, but they were too far away to see anything. All Zoe could see was three silhouettes beyond the trees and it didn't look like they were fighting, so she tried to tell herself not to worry. Teddy said he would be good. She had to trust him. Howl was there too. He was a really good friend to Teddy and would make sure nothing happened.

"You hate Zoe for months and then suddenly there are pictures of you kissing her forehead all over the internet? In Los Angeles of all places? Who even are you? I don't trust you! You're fucking sus!" Chuck shouted.

"Don't ask me who the fuck I am like you have ever had a single clue," Teddy retorted, a scowl permanently etched across his face.

"I should know, shouldn't I? We've been in the same classes almost all our lives!"

"That doesn't mean you know shit! All you do is make up rumors about my family and attack me when you're pissed! You really think you know anything about me? You think you know enough to tell me whether I'm good enough for Zoe? Are you delusional?"

Howl sighed and lowered himself on the curb, crossing his arms lazily over his knees as he watched Teddy and Chuck play verbal tennis. He could tell this was going to be awhile and they hadn't touched each other so he didn't have to be on alert. He would just sit and babysit until things got too heated.

"I know the worse sides of you better than anybody, Teddy, and I don't want that shit around a girl as perfect and delicate as Zoe."

"You don't know shit about me. Get your head out of your self-righteous ass. If anyone knows my good and bad sides, it's Zoe. She's seen all of me and she still managed to fall in love with me. Doesn't that say something? Doesn't that mean she thinks I deserve her? Who else could make that decision, if not Zoe?"

"She doesn't know any better. You're manipulating her or something. It's probably blackmail. You've abused her. She's scared. I don't know, but you can't convince me—"

"I've abused her?" Teddy ground out, his fists clenching at his sides as the muscles in his jaw repeatedly flexed. "You think I'd lay one harmful finger on the girl I'm in love with. Do you have a death wish?"

Chuck blanched as he took in Teddy's rigid stance and his terrifying tone. He didn't let his scowl waver though. "I've seen you push her down before. I've seen you yell at her and call her a bitch. I wouldn't be surprised if you put your hands on her."

Teddy was on Chuck less than a second after the words left his mouth. Just as quickly though, Howl was up and grabbing Teddy's arms to pry them off of Chuck. He could understand Teddy's anger at a claim that stupidly outrageous, but they agreed to be on their best behavior tonight. So Howl pushed Teddy off of Chuck and placed himself between them, catching Teddy again when he tried to tackle Chuck through his best friend's body. Teddy was clearly seeing red, yet despite the fact that he was fully capable of removing Howl from his path, he was holding back.

"Calm down!" Howl shouted as he gave Teddy one last shove. Teddy stumbled back, his eyes over Howl's shoulder and digging daggers into Chuck's head. "You told Zoe you'd be on your best behavior! You know how much that means to her!"

Teddy silently seethed with rage, flexing his hands at his sides. When Howl was sure Teddy wasn't going to attack again, he sighed and ran a hand over his head.

"So Zoe does know your bad sides," Chuck commented from behind Howl, who rolled his eyes at the sound of his voice. "Is she trying to fix you or something? She's really going to waste all of her time and potential on a hopeless mutt like you?"

Howl spun around and delivered a sharp right hook into Chuck's temple, causing the blonde to stumble back and fall onto the pavement. He cried out at the pain, pressed his palm against his brow, and shot a nasty glare up at Howl.

"I said I'd be on my best behavior too, but I'm not her boyfriend," Howl said with a shrug. Teddy smirked. Howl placed his hands on his knees, lowering himself so he was nearly eye to eye with Chuck. "You're not Teddy's dad and you're not Zoe's dad, so you clearly have no say in their relationship. I can tell you from personal experience that they love each other so much that it has perpetually grossed me out. You have no leg to stand on in this argument. Zoe is going to date and love Teddy, he's going to do the same, and it's absolutely none of your goddamn fucking business, dude. Find a hobby or something."

Chuck stared at Howl, contemplating those bold claims and whether he believed any of it. It was hard to wrap his head around. Teddy had been nothing but horrible since they met. Their record was tainted with blood. How Teddy could have such a good relationship with someone so pure and good was so confusing to Chuck. He didn't trust it. He couldn't. Zoe deserved someone good. She deserved the best of the best. He had never met someone more worthy of perfection, and Teddy was far from perfection. It was all so wrong. It didn't make sense.

"I just want the best for her," Chuck solemnly admitted, dropping his hand from his brown to check for blood. There was none, but the area of impact was on fire. "She's perfect. I don't want anyone to ruin her."

Teddy forced himself to relax, even if Chuck's words did piss him off. He loosened his tense shoulders, licked the back of his teeth to force his jaw to move, and dropped his fingers from his palms. When Howl was stood again and out of his way from looking at Chuck, Teddy spoke again.

"Do you wanna know why Zoe fell in love with me? Why she was on my heels from the moment we met?" Teddy reluctantly asked. He didn't want Chuck to know anything about their relationship, but he needed him to understand how wrong he was for all of this. "I never put her on a pedestal, Chuck. Everyone she has ever met thinks she's a saint and she's not. She has flaws and she makes mistakes and she has regrets. She's human, Chuck. She's certainly perfect, but I don't mean that the same way that you do. I deserve to love her because nobody else can love her like I can—like she wants to be loved. Deal with it."

Chuck shook his head as he struggled to come to terms with everything Teddy was saying. There was a sincerity in Teddy's eyes that he never expected and his words were wise, but it was unbelievable. Treating Zoe like a human made sense, but Chuck had never considered the fact that he didn't treat her like a human. Zoe was perfect. What kind of guy would he be if he treated God's Angel like a lowly human? Zoe deserved the best. Didn't that mean she had to be on the pedestal and he had to be worshipping it? Maybe not if Zoe didn't like the pedestal. Obviously she didn't if she fell for Teddy after he treated her like shit.

Chuck didn't understand Zoe. He never did.

No wonder Teddy had his girl. Chuck had been chasing her blind.

"Fine. I surrender," Chuck sighed, staring shamefully at the ground. "She's yours."

"Don't treat her like a trophy that you can hand to anyone you deem worthy." Begrudgingly, Chuck looked up to meet Teddy's heavy gaze. "She is mine, but only because she said so, not because you did."

Chuck waved a dismissive hand as he pushed himself off the ground and walked off. Like any of it mattered. He lost. He just wanted to walk away so he could lick his wounds in peace. Teddy had rubbed enough salt in them already.

Howl and Teddy watched Chuck walk through the trees and return to the bonfire. He picked up a new, cold can when he sat down and pressed it to his brow. Howl was about to tell Teddy they should return to their significant others before a pair of headlights in the parking lot flashed twice. They both turned toward the car, ignorantly curious. The headlights were close and aimed directly at them, so it must've been a car nearby, but they couldn't tell which car in this darkness. Luckily, the car flashed their lights again and drew Teddy and Howl's directly toward it.

And then people were climbing out of the car. It was a group of men. They all kept their eyes on Teddy and Howl as they got out, shutting the car doors and fixing their jackets. Teddy's eyes narrowed as he tried figure out who it was. He didn't recognize them, but their car sure was fancy. Too fancy. It wasn't until Teddy tilted his head and watched a reflection swirl around the giant S on the hood that he realized it was a Sensation. That meant it was a group of henchmen. Mission Z, maybe? Why would they be here? Why wouldn't Abe simply text or call him if he was trying to get his attention?

"They look like they wanna talk," Howl suspiciously noted. "You know them? Are they friend or foe?"

"I'll find out," Teddy said and stepped further into the parking lot. He could hear Howl's steps behind him and quickly spun to stop him with a hand on his arm. "Stay here. You don't want anything to do these guys."

"So they're foe?" Howl asked, cocking a curious eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter. Friend or foe, they're not the real enemy. I don't want Rin getting her hands on you." Teddy let go of Howl's arm and pointed toward the beach. "Go back. Don't get involved."

"You're asking me to stay out of trouble?" A smile spread across Howl's face as he sidestepped Teddy. "You don't know me at all, Theodore."

Teddy caught Howl's arm again, holding him a bit tighter. "I'm not joking, Howl. She'll ruin your life. You know that. The second you poke your nose in her business, you're a dead man."

Howl sighed, giving Teddy a hopeless look, as if Teddy didn't know any better. "I've seen what they've done to you, Teddy. I'm not scared. You're my best friend. If you're gonna die in the war, I might as well sign up and die beside you."

"I don't want you to do that. Not for me."

Howl pried Teddy's hand off of him and stared him in his black, stubborn eyes. "You need someone watching your back and I'm the only one doing that. That's not going to stop now. Deal with it."

Teddy gritted his teeth, tempted to argue with his best friend over his relentless companionship. Moments like this was when Teddy was reminded that him and Howl hadn't always been this close. It wasn't until Zoe came around that they somehow drifted closer together. Teddy didn't know how it happened, but they were basically family now. Teddy had fought for Howl and Howl had fought for Teddy. They were loyal to each other, to a fault. It didn't help that Howl's fault was his insatiable desire for trouble. Teddy loved having Howl as his best friend, but letting him risk his life for their friendship was too much.

"Don't die," Teddy warned. "Or I'll kill you."

Howl flashed his usual, smug, charming smirk. "I promise."

Reluctantly, Teddy stepped back. Putting his best friend in the way of danger made his stomach churn, but Howl was choosing his own fate and Teddy wasn't going to convince him otherwise. Howl was a stubborn guy. When he decided on something, that was it. There was no turning him away. So if Howl wanted to walk into this life with Teddy, he was going to do it, no matter what Teddy said. Just like Howl said, he would have to deal with it.

Swallowing his nerves, Teddy started toward the Sensation car and all the men surrounding it. Five guys were standing around the car. As Teddy got closer, he realized it wasn't the Mission Z guys. That made Teddy's shoulders stiffen. They weren't even wearing suits, not a single one. Abe didn't wear a suit, he wore jeans and a leather jacket, but he at least looked professional and put together. These guys looked like pimps from Las Vegas or something. They wore cheap jewelry and snake skin shoes and at least two of them had face tattoos.

"What do you want?" Teddy asked as he stopped in front of the car, his eyes carefully looking over each guy. He didn't see any signs of weaponry, yet. That didn't mean he was letting his guard down.

"Teddy Morgan? Mission Z? Rin's newest recruit?" One of them asked, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Who's asking?" Teddy shot back.

"Who's this?" The closer one to them asked as he stared at Howl.

Teddy glanced over his shoulder at Howl, who looked surprisingly disinterested. "A friend," Teddy stiffly answered.

"A friend?" The guy scoffed. Teddy stared him down, unamused by his cocky attitude. The guy tossed his jacket from his hip to reveal the handle of a handgun. "Does your friend have somewhere else to be? We have business to discuss."

Teddy stepped in front of the man showing off his stupid gun, completely unafraid of it. He stared the man directly on his eyes cold, dead eyes with a straight face. "He's gonna stay here, with us," Teddy confidently stated. "Now what do you need?"

The tension in the air was thick as Teddy stood tall and confident in front of the dangerous henchmen. Eventually, the guy in front of him let go of his jacket and concealed his weapon as another lit himself a cigarette. Teddy didn't cower at the mention of a lethal threat. They were somewhat impressed enough to relent. The tension in the air was thinning, but it was still present.

"We want to discuss your career moving forward," the man in front of Teddy admitted.

"My career?"

"Yes. Where do your loyalties lie?"

"My loyalties?" Teddy's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes bounced from one guy to the next. There was only one exclamation for their obvious question. "You're not Rin's guys are you? You're Hiro's."

"Ding ding ding!" One guy chimed, snickering as he looked over the top of the car and sought validation from the others. The one smoking snickered with him.

"Takashi," the one in front of Teddy said as he held his tattooed hand out to Teddy. "We haven't formally met."

Teddy glanced at the man's hand, unwilling to shake it. As far as he knew, they weren't suppose to be friendly with one another. Abe had explained to him the unspoken beef that Rin and Hiro's guys had with one another. They were like rivaling step siblings. Not to mention, Hiro's men were the ones protecting Ezra when they showed up to kill him. Whatever loyalties this guy was curious about had nothing to do with him or any of his pals. So Teddy was not going to shake his hand or act friendly.

"What are you doing all the way in Ohio, Takashi? Hiro or his men don't come around here often," Teddy said.

"I told you," Takashi flashed a charming smile as he tucked his rejected hand into the pocket of his jeans. "We're here to discuss business. You're the most intriguing member of our fucked up family, Teddy, and we just wanted to... pick your brain, I suppose."

"Pick my brain about my career and my loyalties? What do you get out of them? You could ask anyone of Rin's guys about my loyalties and the answers would be the same. I belong to Rin."

"Oh, come on, Teddy. We both know that's not true. The only people that wants to be near Rin is her little puppy dogs, and you're not one of them. You're Zoe's puppy dog. Don't your loyalties lie with her, alone?"

Teddy suspiciously looked Takashi up and down, trying to decipher his angle. Why was he here, asking these questions? What kind of answers and information was he looking for? Was he just trying to trip Teddy up so he could run to Hiro or Rin and rat him out? Was this another game or test that he was unaware of?

"Don't bring Zoe into this. She has nothing to do with my career," Teddy retorted.

"Of course she does. Rin uses her to get to you and uses you to get to her, because even she understands she doesn't have your loyalty. Wouldn't you say that's true?"

Teddy stared suspiciously at Takashi. He was trying to get Teddy to admit he wasn't loyal to Rin. This had to be a trick.

"Don't worry, Teddy," another man, the one smoking, blurted from the other side of the car. "We're not here to toss you under the bus. We're Hiro's men. We're not loyal to Rin." He flicked the ash off his cigarette as he paused. "Are you loyal to her? To the woman using your girlfriend against you and parading her around like a lap dog?"

"Thank you, Donnie," Takashi said with relief, looking from the man with the cigarette to Teddy. "That's what I was trying to get at. You don't seem like the kind of guy that would give up your soul without a fight, especially not when your soul belongs to someone else—Zoe."

Teddy hesitated for a moment, keeping the cautious calculations running through his head. "Why do you keep bringing up Zoe? What do you want with her?"

"What do we want with her? Absolutely nothing. We came here under the impression that you want something with her. A future, maybe?" Takashi asked, tilting his head at Teddy, who remained silent and suspicious. "Do you think you can have a future with Zoe when her mother is looming over you, waiting and waiting for the perfect opportunity to toss you to the sharks?"

Teddy hesitated. "We're... going to make it work. We'll figure it out."

"The two of you? Alone? Working against Rin's interest? Sounds like a suicide mission."

Teddy frowned, carefully eyeing Takashi. He was leading up to something, Teddy could feel it. There was suspense lingering in his words.

"Your special relationships, like with Zoe, are what make you so unique, Teddy." Takashi explained. "Rin spent so much time gathering every gun and stripping their bullets from their chambers, so that she may never be shot in the back, that she never realized the sword she picked up might strike her down. You're the sword, Teddy. You just need to be wielded correctly, and frankly, I don't think you'd ever be capable of striking someone so powerful down by yourself."  

Teddy's eyebrows furrowed even tighter in suspicion as he stared at Takashi. Everything this guy was selling sounded so fishy. Was he trying to persuade Teddy into rebelling against Rin? Did he think Teddy was stupid? Teddy was in an unique situation, he knew that. People reminded him all the time that nobody, who worked for Rin, had gotten so close to Zoe. That did put him closer to Rin than others seemed to be. That didn't mean he would be able to pull a fast one on her. She wasn't stupid either. But it did seem like these guys were offering their help. Help that Teddy certainly hadn't asked for.

"You want me to kill her? Do you always try to trick the new guys? And you thought I would be stupid enough to take a risk that huge, for no reward?" Teddy exclaimed in shock.

"Who said there was no reward?" Donnie asked, his eyes on Teddy as he took a drag of his cigarette.

Teddy stared carefully at Donnie, the other three guys, and then at Takashi. They weren't an easy bunch to read. They had good poker faces with blank stares and stoic features. If anything, Takashi had a slight, suggestive pop of his brow. He wanted to see if Teddy would take the bait. Teddy had no interest in murder—not after the emotional rollercoaster of Ezra's death—but their was obviously more to the plan that they had in mind. Maybe they could compromise. Maybe it was hopeless and would end up being nothing. Either way, Teddy was intrigued.

"You would reward me for taking out Rin? How so? Do I get the house?" Teddy joked.

"Which one?" One of the men asked, playing along with Teddy's joke.

"If we, in theory, helped you take took down such a big name," Takashi blurted. "Hypothetically, you wouldn't just get the house, or the cars, or the money, or the girl... but the company and the fame too."

Teddy could feel all the blood drain from his face at Takashi's shocking words. He would get everything? Literally everything? How would the even be possible? Teddy would fully replace Rin? He would take the throne? That was nonsense. That was a fairytale. Teddy promised himself he would become untouchable someday, but he was referring to status closer related to Kenneth or Abe. No part of him had ever considered murdering Rin and taking over. That sounded too Game of Thrones for him.

Teddy gulped but tried to keep composed. "H-How would that even be possible? If Rin died and someone took her place—someone like me—there would be questions. I would be lucky to end up in jail instead of lynched by one of her Hives."

"We have been calculating those details for years now. Everything would be secure. The cover story, the financial technicalities, the puppy dogs. All of the holes have been filled in. We are only missing one thing; a weapon. There is no moving forward without one."

Teddy's mouth was suddenly feeling extremely dry and his heart was racing. This was too surreal. Too good to be true. It didn't make sense.

"I'm the weapon?" Teddy asked. Takashi nodded. "I'm only one guy. What makes you think I could kill her, all her goons, and then take over the company? That doesn't add up."

"I told you, Teddy—" With a smug smile, Takashi placed a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "You're in a very special position. You can stand up to Rin without having your head blown off because you have Zoe as both a shield and as leverage, if necessary. Not to mention, I've heard rumor that Abe and his guys have a soft spot for you. You have loyalties you can use to your advantage. You can turn men away from their oppressor and toward you. We would need that. We can't fight with our numbers as low as they are."

Teddy was close to hyperventilating, but kept his breath at a steady pant as he stared at Takashi. Half of him kept screaming not to get roped into this and not to believe a single word of this nonsense, but the other half of him was trying to calculate the logistics of it all. Takashi was making a few good points. Not enough to start a war and commit murder, but his logic wasn't completely irrational. Teddy was in a unique position. He did have leverage, if used correctly. Although, Teddy could never use Zoe against her mother in some sick game of power. That was off the table.

Teddy thought about Abe and the Mission Z men. Abe and him did get along well. He trusted Abe. Even Rin admitted that Abe gave him high praise in her presence. He didn't know how close he was to the other guys, but he could get closer. If he looked at it from a strategic, political perspective, it was all about the art of trust and persuasion. He could gain the favor of as many men as he could and then offer something in return for their loyalty, if they came out of the war alive. After all, Rin wouldn't be their queen anymore. If they supported Teddy in his mission to take her place, he could promise them anything.

This could also go very, very badly, however. The people Rin hired weren't idiots. If they sensed Teddy was starting a revolution, they could easily rat him out and then Teddy would be dead. Or worse, Rin would go for Carmen, since that would hurt even worse than death. If Teddy talked to the wrong guy, like one of her Hives, he would be dead in seconds. Even if he did manage to convert a few guys, there would still be a war. People would die. Hives, Mission Z, Hiro's men. There was no way of knowing or ensuring who would come out victorious.

"No! No, no, no! This is insane!" Teddy exclaimed as he stumbled back, his hands cupping his head as his mind reeled. He couldn't believe he was even considering any of this. "You guys are talking about  war! And that's if you make it far enough in the plan! The odds are—"

Takashi calmly cut Teddy off, saying, "the odds were nonexistent before you showed up, Teddy. We had no advantage against Rin and her men. But with you, the possibilities of success are... possible, at the very least."

Teddy shook his head. "No... It doesn't add up. How can I even trust you? How do I know you're not going to stab me in the back after I do all your dirty work? How do I know you won't take the throne and execute me after I go through the trouble of killing Rin and all her Hives?"

"Would you like the throne?" Takashi asked, looking more surprised and intrigued than he has since they started talking.

Teddy's eyes widened. "I don't fucking know! It's what you promised me! I'm just playing along here!"

"Okay, okay..." Takashi calmly said, clearly trying to soften the high intensity of Teddy's panic by acting concerned and submissive. "You don't have to take the throne. If you don't want the company or the houses or whatever, we could figure that out. If you do, it will only take one finical meeting for my guys and I to be happy. The others will probably just be grateful if they're free to return to their families. If you agree to spearhead this hypothetical plan, you have our collective word that you will be taken care of after all is done."

Teddy looked toward Howl, hoping he had a logic response to all of this. Howl looked just as shocked. He didn't meet Teddy's gaze as he stared at the men, his brown eyes bouncing around as if he couldn't keep up with his thoughts. He was precisely calculating this plan, just like Teddy was trying to. There was a lot at stake here, but there was also very obvious benefits they couldn't be ignored. Howl was simply trying to make sure he was looking at this from all angles, in case they missed a loophole of a trick or a basic downfall in all of this madness.

"What happens if we attempt to kill Rin, fail, she flees the country, and we end up in jail or something?" Teddy asked, returning his attention to Takashi. "You say I could have the whole company, but if she makes me a public enemy for attempting to murder her, that would be impossible."

"We could still—" Takashi cut himself off and let a smile spread across his face. "I think I should give you some time to think carefully about this plan, Teddy, before I divulge too much information to you. You worry about me betraying you, and I admit, I worry about such things as well. Until you've made your decision, this entire conversation is completely hypothetical. It's nothing but a fantasy. No harm done. And if you don't want trouble, I advise you keep all of this under your hat. Not a word can be spoken outside of this circle until a plan is established."

Teddy stared for a moment longer before he finally began to nod. Takashi was right. He had to think about this before he made any kind of decision. It was extremely unlikely that he would agree to this bullshit suicide mission for stupid morons, but the chances of accepting the risks weren't nonexistent. That very realization made Teddy want to throw up. This entire conversation made Teddy want to throw up. Escaping Rin had always been a dream because Abe said nobody ever escape. It was literally suicide to try. So why was he even considering the realities of it?

"Should I give you my number?" Takashi pulled his phone from his pocket. Teddy looked at the phone, which was covered in a snake skin phone case, and then up at Takashi. "Or should I take yours? So we can discuss this at a later date?"

Teddy was silent for a long, handful of seconds before he finally uttered his phone number to Takashi. Howl stared at him in shock as he did. He couldn't blame Teddy if he was curious, and that's why he was going along with this, but it was the glint of hopeful longing in his eyes that made Howl worry. Teddy wasn't just curious, he was considering all of this. Teddy was seventeen and contemplating starting a bloodthirsty war of greed with his girlfriends mother. Howl knew Teddy had it rough with this whole Rin thing, but this was miles from Howl's worse expectations.

"I hope I speak with you again, Teddy," Takashi politely said, as if saying his professional farewells at a business meeting. He even smiled at Howl, pointing at him as he glanced back at Teddy. "You even have outside resources. Not a lot of us have that. You have a lot of potential, Teddy. I hope you won't let it go to waste."

Teddy and Howl glanced at each other but didn't get to say anything as Takashi and the others loaded back into the car. Howl and Teddy stepped out of the way of the car and watched it roared to life and drove swiftly out of the parking lot. Both of them were still stood in complete shock when the Sensation and the men inside of it were gone. How could they not be? What just happened in the last few minutes was something neither of them ever expected to happen. It was hard for them to wrap their brains around it, Teddy especially.

"You can't go through with that," Howl said. Teddy met his eyes, still frozen in shock. "They were talking about murdering your girlfriend's mother. Her mom, Teddy! The one who birthed and raised her."

That was a good point.

Like.. a really fucking good point.

However, Rin was a witch. She a menace. She was a virus of misery and evil. She was satan reincarnated. The woman literally blackmailed hundreds of men with their family members, just so they would kill people she didn't like in secret. She used her daughter as a prop. Rin didn't see Zoe as her own, independent person. Zoe was nothing but a doll that she put fancy clothes on and paraded in front of people. Not only that, but she actively manipulated Zoe into thinking she loved her. Zoe had witnessed murders, had endured psychological torture, was convinced her mistakes and her flaws made her a monster, all because of Rin. That woman wasn't fit to be Zoe's mother.

Teddy shook his head and buried it in his hands. He couldn't use all of that to justify murdering Rin. If she were to die, Teddy wouldn't be all that upset about it, but he couldn't dig the knife into her chest himself. That was fucked up. He couldn't ask Zoe to love him after that. That would be insanity. All of this was insanity. It was impossible. Considering any of it for a single second was delusional.

"My head is spinning," Teddy mumbled as he violently rubbed his temples.

"You gave that guy your number," Howl said after a moment. He carefully studied Teddy, as if he were someone he didn't recognize. "You want to go through with it..."

"No! Howl, I don't! I-I don't fucking know!" Teddy threw his arms hopelessly out, his eyes wide. His chest rose and fell quickly. "I want out of this mess. I want everything to go back to normal. I want a simple life again. I had a momentary lapse of judgement. Sue me! But I know I'm not going to have a normal life if I murder that woman! I'm not actually going to consider this."

Howl stared, disbelieving of Teddy's declarations. Teddy could see the disbelief written all over Howl's face and it made him want to throw up even more. His head was spinning so fast that a headache was already forming right behind his eyes. This was all so ridiculous. All Teddy wanted to do was shove it out of his brain and forget about it forever. That would be impossible though. If you're stuck in a hole and someone offers a ladder, you're not going to refuse it, even if that ladder is precarious.

Teddy started trudging back toward the beach as he ran his hands all over his head and his face. "I could really use a drink right now. A strong one. Anything capable of wiping my memory."

Howl followed Teddy, unable to take his eyes off of him. He was full of concern. "You don't drink."

"I know I don't.." Teddy groaned.

Returning to Zoe's side was difficult. Teddy purposefully walked slowly and stopped at the log they were previously sitting on, reaching to down his non-alcoholic drink. He had to tell Zoe about this. They didn't keep secrets from one another or lie. That was the entire foundation of their relationship. Besides, Teddy had been caught in his lies and his secrets before and it ended very, very terribly. It was stupid of him to try that again. Not to mention, a bunch of guys were just explaining a plan in which Zoe's mother is executed so her slaves could run free. That was probably something Zoe had the right to know about.

Teddy waded into the water without taking off his shoes. He was in autopilot, trying to get to Zoe before he ran for the hills. He captured her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her shoulder. Zoe squeaked with surprise when he hugged her and stroked his arms around her waist. He could hear her soft, little giggle and could feel his heart squeeze at the delightful sound. How could he possibly tell her that someone just proposed he kill her mother?

What kind of fucked up, deep shit had he stumbled into? Why was this his fate? Was he Hitler in his past life or something and karma was having fun whooping his ass?

"Hello, my love! How did it go with Chuck? Was it bad? Did you fight? You talked for awhile?" Zoe asked, blissfully ignorant.

Teddy groaned and hugged Zoe even tighter. He couldn't get himself to say anything. Not a single word dared to reach his throat. Part of it was because he couldn't bare telling the woman he loved that people were out to murder her mother, and part of it was gut-wrenching guilt.

Because he might be one of those people.

This chapter was so hard to write, but I have a feeling that every chapter after this is going to be just as difficult... 

What do you guys think Teddy should do? 

What do you predict will happen?