WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
Includes mentions of young carers, toxic masculinity and emotional distress.

"Wow, this place is massive!" gasped Eloise.

The teens stared in awe at the grand Pepperden building. The red-brick building was large and imposing–much like those that inhabited it.

"I can't believe we're going to steal a trophy from them! Aren't any of you regretting fighting for Zee's honour like this?", asked Elliott, desperately hoping they'd abandon this mission soon.

"No way!", exclaimed Eloise, with Spencer and Rowan nodding in agreement. "As long as we don't get caught, we'll be fine. I don't need Kerry and Callum on my case."

"Nervous and panicking–yes. But I don't regret sticking up for Zee", replied Irene.

Zee wanted to smile, but Atlas hadn't said a word to her. Hadn't looked her way. Not since she pushed him away when he was trying to help. Granted, she hadn't spoken to him either. She knew she should apologise. She would apologise. Whenever the time was right.

Stepping through the doors was like exiting a time machine. Everything felt so much grander and regal. Rowan couldn't help but stare at the lavish decorative pieces on the walls. Walls that weren't chipped and covered in graffiti.

Glistening chandeliers clung to the ceiling and, hanging near them, were banners of the school's crest—- a shield split into four quadrants (a book, dove, lion and Laurel wreath.)

"Don't doves represent peace and integrity?", questioned Irene.

"Ironic considering they're the ones that started this whole prank battle", said Atlas.

"We should hurry, most of the students are gone, but I'm sure some will still be in clubs", reminded Rowan.

"Do you think they have a jousting club?", asked Spencer.

"Or like water polo?", added Atlas.

Elliott shifted uncomfortably. He knew his brothers wouldn't be there, but sneaking in and stealing something so valuable to their school felt like he was betraying them.

"Ugh, this place reeks of sandalwood and entitlement", remarked Eloise.

"Compared to our school which smells like...?", queried Eliiott.

"B.O and failure?", teased Spencer.

"And what sweet smells they are", said Eloise.

"Isn't failure your signature scent?", asked Elliott.

She whacked his arm. "Don't be a snob."

"Let's focus on the task at hand", reminded Rowan. "Where would they keep their trophies?"

"A place like this probably has a special room full of them", said Zee.

"So I guess we just walk around until we find it?", suggested Spencer.

"Oh yes, because that's a fantastic way of not getting caught!", Elliott sarcastically quipped.

Spencer furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Elliott, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

SLAM.

Heads turned to face the sound. A trio of boys sauntered down the hall, talking amongst themselves. The group sprung into action—Irene, Spencer and Elliott hid underneath a wooden table that was adorned with framed certificates and candlesticks. Rowan had turned a corner, becoming one with the nearby wall. Eloise jumped behind a glass cabinet.

Zee froze. Her face burned as she stared at the boys. Flashbacks filled her head. Of them circling her. Pushing her into the storage room. Taunting her as she tried to force the door open.

"Zee! Hide!", hissed Elliott.

A pair of hands grabbed her, pulling her underneath the nearby stairwell. She turned to see Atlas, whose hands were back by his side, his eyes facing forward.

"Th-thanks", she whispered, earning a simple nod from him.

The footsteps got closer, the smacking of the boys' boots ringing through the hall. Their hearts hammered in their chests. Rowan was eyeing up the nearby empty classroom, in case he had to make a run for it. Eloise shuddered at the thought of her foster parents having yet another thing to hold against her.

Sensing exactly what Eloise was worrying about, Spencer silently crawled towards Rowan, pointing to a small navy bell in the room across from him. He knew what Spencer wanted him to do. He hated it, but he knew what had to be done. What he had to do.

Rowan stared at the bell, inhaling deeply. He ran forward and seized the bell, pulling his blazer over his face when Spencer pointed to the camera at the end of the hall.

Letting out a loud shriek, Rowan rang the bell, running for his life. "Pepperden sucks!"

"What the–who said that?", called out one of the boys. The tallest one slapped his shoulder. "Come on, let's find them!"

The trio took off, following the sound of Rowan's shrieks.

As the group emerged from their hiding places, Irene let out a confused and shocked gasp.

"I had no idea he'd start shrieking", said Spencer.

"Come on, let's find this trophy room", said Atlas.

¤¤¤

Meanwhile, back at Marleyport school, Aahan and Paige were in the staffroom.

"I think I'll have to barricade the music room door so those pesky Pepperden kids don't do anything to the instruments", said Paige.

"Do you think they would? I mean, isn't that taking it too far?"

Paige shrugged. "Wouldn't put it past them", she replied, her expression softening when she thought about her next words. "Um, speaking of taking things too far... has Eulan given you any trouble today?"

Aahan glanced at the door, expecting him to barge in at any moment. "No. I haven't seen him around."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell Michael?"

"He'd probably just think I'm whining."

"No he wouldn't!" she protested. "He's very caring."

"To you."

"To a lot of people."

Aahan sighed. "Honestly, I just want to forget that it happened."

She shrugged, throwing her hands in the air. "It's your call. Look, I've got to get going, but if Eulan does ever try anything, let me know."

Paige was sweet for caring so much. It made Aahan think that he might actually have a chance with her. One day. In the far future. When he mustered up courage and confidence.

The door opened.

Aahan chuckled. "Did you forget some–"

Staring him in the face, was a tearful Eulan.

"What are you looking at? Get out!", he yelled.

Aahan scurried to the door, slapping his hand down against the door handle.

Stay. Don't run away.

Aahan had no clue why the voice came. Or why it was intent on seeing him getting pummelled. But he didn't leave.

"No", he said, turning around to face him. "I was here first. I came here to finish marking, so that's what I am going to do."

Eulan's eyes almost fell out of his head. His nostrils flared, his piercing blue eyes glazed with anger.
"Ah, you think you're a big man now, do ya?"

"What is your problem with me? Have I done something to upset you?"

"Yes! You're here! All the time! All up in my space, always acting weak and pathetic."

Silence lingered in the air, tension slicing straight through it.

"Oh, forget this! I'm leaving", huffed Eulan, pushing past Aahan and grabbing the door handle. He pushed down on it, shaking furiously when the door wouldn't budge.

"What's wrong?"

"It's locked!"

¤¤¤

Back at Pepperden, the teens were huddled together in the trophy room, huge trophy-filled cabinets towering over them.

"Atlas, Zee–keep lookout", instructed Eloise.

"How will they let us know someone's coming without drawing attention to themselves?", asked Elliott.

"Maybe one of us could text them?", suggested Irene.

Eloise nodded. "Great idea! Text in the group chat."

Once roles were established, Atlas and Zee hurried into an empty classroom right next door. Atlas' eyes were glued to the hallway, while Zee studied his expression.

"Atlas, I'm sorry for how I treated you–"

"We need to stay focused, let's not do this."

"I'll only take a minute."

"I mean, let's not do this at all."

Zee's eyes widened. "Atlas–"

"I just, I don't have the energy right now, Zee."

She frowned, looking down at her hands. "Ok."

Her arms had crossed, her usual unreadable expression now plastered on her face. Every wall that she started to drop came up taller than before.

Meanwhile, the remaining teens were deliberating on which trophy to take.

"Let's go for the biggest one–-the football tournament one", said Eloise.

"Oh wait, this one looks good", suggested Elliott, pointing to the smallest 'Spelling Bee' trophy, won by the youngest students. "Easy to steal."

Easy not to miss more like.

"That tiny one? No. We need to hit 'em where it hurts. Make them regret their stupid prank on Zee", responded Eloise.

"Wait, what are we even going to do with it after? We can't exactly take a stolen trophy back to our school", said Elliott.

"We'll just dump it somewhere."

"We gotta move quick!", exclaimed Spencer.

He prised open the cabinet, while Eloise reached in and grabbed the football trophy.

"Come on, let's get out of here", said Irene.

Elliott pushed the door open, stopping in his tracks when he was face to face with a Pepperden student. He recognised him as a classmate of Jacob's.

"Hey, we gotta keep move—", called out Eloise, getting cut off by Eliiott slapping a hand over her mouth. She readied her hand to swing at him, before spotting the boy approaching. She jumped back into the room.

"There's a guy coming towards us", she whispered.

"Oh gosh, we're so dead!", panicked Irene. All she could see was the look of pure devastation on her dad's face when they'd break the news to him.

Eloise grabbed her shoulders. "Keep it together, woman!"

"How are you not freaking out?", she asked.

"Caw-caw!", whisper-yelled Atlas.

Spencer's eyes widened. "Why are you caw-ing?"

"No one's looking at their phones!"

Amongst the chaos, Elliott had approached the boy, whispering something to him. Zee tried to read his lips, to no avail. The boy nodded, before turning around and heading out. Elliott walked back to the astonished faces that gawped at him.

"H-How did you...?", was all Eloise could manage.

"I lied and said my brothers went here", he said, mustering up all his power of deception. "There was a class picture with names in the trophy room, the boy was on it. Just chose a random other name from the list."

Even Zee was mildly impressed.

"Nice work, Elliott!, beamed Eloise. "Now we just need to find–"

"Guys! Angry teacher incoming!", yelled Rowan, running towards them with his blazer tied around his waist, bell now discarded on the floor. "Run!"

¤¤¤

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Eulan was slamming his coffee cup into the table, huffing loudly.

"Seriously, how long until Paige gets here?"

Aahan shrugged.

"Did you even ask her?"

"No. I really fancied the idea of being locked in a room with someone who tried to beat me up", an annoyed Aahan quipped.

Eulan scoffed. "Don't be soft. It wasn't that bad. If you can't handle a bit of scrappin', this world will eat you up."

"Do you solve all your problems by fighting?"

Eulan's eyes narrowed. "What problems? What have you heard?"

"Nothing", he replied, holding his hands up. "That phone call you took at the pub seemed pretty intense though."

Eulan leapt towards Aahan, pointing a finger at him. "That phone call is none of your business!"

"I don't understand why you're so defensive about it. You're not the only one with problems."

Eulan scoffed. "What weak-arse problems have you got?"

Aahan frowned, looking down at the ground. "F-Forget it."

Eulan rolled his eyes.

Aahan scoffed. "You know, I have no clue why Eloise likes you so much."

Eulan's face softened. "She said that?"

Aahan nodded.

"She's a good kid."

"She's mature for her age."

"A lot more mature than she should have to be", said Eulan.

"I guess we've got her dad to thank for that. Absolute scumbag."

"Most dads are."

Aahan caught Eulan's eye. The blue eyed man's intake of breath hitched in his throat, his eyes glaring in defense.

"Mine pretty much turns a blind eye to anything bad that happens to me", admitted Aahan. "My siblings were ready to fight you, but he said I shouldn't rock the boat."

"Your old man didn't teach you to fight?"

Aahan shook his head.

Eulan stared at him a few seconds more, his expression softening just a little. "So... you learned to hide?"

Aahan shifted uncomfortably. He hated the idea of someone who despised him knowing such deep things about him.

"Me da was a vicious bast*rd, but the one good thing he did was teach me how to fight."

"He must be so proud of you", he responded, dryly.

Eulan frowned. "Ain't spoken to the man in years. Cut him out of my life after I got married."

"You did? That... must've been hard."

Eulan scoffed. "Erasing every mark he left—-that was hard. "

Aahan paused, trying to find the right words.

"Your partner... they must've helped you."

Instead of the flash of anger Aahan was expecting, Eulan's bottom lip trembled as he tried to compose himself.

"Uh, almost all my siblings are married, so... I know how helpful a supportive partner is."

Eulan finally looked at him. "What about a cheating one?"

Aahan's eyes widened. "What?"

Eulan chuckled dryly.
"You know, I used to be like you. Soft. I cared too much about what people thought. Me da thought it made me weak. Spent years trying to unlearn all that bull he fed me. Met a nice man who helped me. Then he goes and messes up our happiness for some cheap affair."

Eulan let out a strangled sob, inhaling deeply, desperate to pull all the sadness back in.

"I-I... maybe I could've tried harder to be better."

"Did you love him?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Did you support him, make him laugh, listen to his problems?"

Eulan nodded.

"So how exactly could you have been better?", asked Aahan. "Sounds like he needs to be better."

"Y-Yeah?" responded Eulan, his voice soft and unsure.

"Look, I know I'm soft. I used to get stick for it all the time in school. But my dad never, ever made me feel bad about that. Caring, being vulnerable, isn't weakness."

Eulan exhaled sharply. "You... you ain't that bad, Patel."

"Wow, such high praise", he replied sarcastically, making Eulan chuckle.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry for treating you so badly. I looked at you, and just saw how I used to be. Everything I had started to hate again."

"It... it's ok. And listen, don't let your husband's cheating erase all the work you did to unlearn what your dad taught you."

Eulan nodded. "I'll try."

"Also, to make it up to me, could you sort the food out for the football rally?"

Eulan chuckled. "You sneaky–"

"Hello? Hello! Aahan, Eulan, I'm getting you out"!, called out Sandra, shoving the key into the door.

"Sandra? Where's Paige?", asked Aahan.

"Don't worry, she's dealing with the troublesome teens that locked you in. Stay put!"

"Where does she think we're going to go?", asked Eulan.

¤¤¤

Wet grass smushed beneath their feet as they all ran as fast as they could, desperate to evade the teachers. A student finding them was nowhere near as bad as a member of staff catching them with a stolen object.

"El, ditch the trophy!", yelled Spencer.

They all stopped when Eloise found a flower bed. Using the trophy as a scoop, she dug out soil.

"No, just leave it like that! If they spot the trophy, they can just take it back, no harm done", said Irene.

"Yeah, it'll look less intentional", said Rowan.

Eloise was panting heavily, running her hands through her hair. "They're so going to catch us! Ugh, I'm so stupid!", she exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. "Kerry's going to kill me! She... she's already having doubts about fostering me."

"What? She is?", questioned Spencer.

Zee looked around at all the panic and stress the others were under. They only did this to get revenge for her. Now, they were all facing serious trouble. How would Irene be able to face her dad? Eloise stood to lose so much if they were caught.

All for her.

"Come on, move those butts! My house is down the road, we can hide out there!"

_______

Hi!

I loved writing this chapter! I've realised that, when it comes to writing stories with the found family trope, and a group of friends, I really love including chaotic scenes! Cases in point: the chaotic dinner the AI Club had, and now the crazy trophy heist.

In this chapter, we also finally got to learn more about Coach Eulan, and why he was so hostile. It doesn't excuse his actions by any means, but it does offer an explanation. The culture of toxic masculinity that's being taught and ingrained in young boys and young men is really damaging. Eulan is an example of that. Moving forward, we'll see how their dynamic now changes.

Atlas and Zee's friendship is in a pretty rocky place right now. Will Atlas forgive Zee?

The next chapter is called World's Collide——Zee's carefully guarded life is set to be exposed. How will everyone react to learning about her home life?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

niallhoranslovebot

Tornado-Jockey