"The assassination of Julius Caesar" oil painting by Vincenzo Camuccini, 1805

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"Are you ready to go?"

I glanced up towards Hayden, squinting my eyes to readjust my focus; the papers beneath me having been my minds only companion these last few hours.

I looked beyond him and to the large stone wall. Already drawn downs its length were the grid lines and strings that would map the sketches within my hands. I turned my head to the side looking for Ms. Lexington but she was nowhere to be seen.

"She left an hour ago," Hayden said evenly as he watched me beneath him.

"She did?"

"Yes. You were just too lost in your drawings to notice."

I frowned at him. My eyes drifted down to the pencil in my hand, already worn halfway down. Gingerly I began to stand up, but my knees and hips ached and protested after having been sitting for so long. I glanced to Hayden again.

His long sleeve shirt had been pushed up to his elbows, and his hair seemed to have been disheveled from running his hands through it. I titled my head slightly, "Did you do all the work?"

He smiled slightly, "She might have a creative eye, but she has no care for actual manual labor."

I raised an eyebrow slightly, "Why would that make you laugh? That just means more work for you."

He gazed at me silently before finally shaking his head. "It's only fair I do this, after all you will be the only one truly painting the mural."

"Yeah, but your true work was never supposed to be in here but out there- helping me get damning evidence and information on the school. I know you'll have to pretend to work when others are around.... but I honestly figured you'd stop and focus on getting evidence while you could."

"I still am, don't worry."

My brows creased together as I noticed him take a small step forward, but he stopped suddenly. My eyes must have been clearly wary for he made no more move to get closer, but he did tilt his head as he gazed down to me.

"You really thought I was going to make you do all the work on this mural?"

"I don't know." I said honestly and readjusted my grip on the journal. Hayden stepped closer now again, still slowly, all the while gauging my reaction. I didn't back away so he finally he reached out grabbed the book gently away from me. He clearly was still unsure if I'd bolt from him again now that we established we both knew parts of each other's dark pasts

He slowly opened my journal, skimming through each page, absorbing every graphite image I had drawn.

With a guarded gaze I watched him unsure. Why was he so fascinated with my work?

"It will only be us working on this mural, and yes the means me actually working too.  Though the school could adjust our elected classes to become this, Ms. Lexington apparently can't suddenly stop teaching her classes this last semester, so it was agreed upon to check in periodically after each class period. And then again, one last time, at the end of the day to finalize a school requested approval for each section."

"Oh." I said. That would work great for us. I had assumed I could only paint small under-planes at a time, but with the extra time we would have I'd be able to do far greater portions while Hayden stood guard.

"Yes." he stared at my face, "So all of the miscellaneous tasks like these will fall upon me, otherwise none of this will get done. You just need to design the mural." And again, his eyes drifted downwards to the book within his grasp.

"You left large parts blank for a reason correct? You don't know how they'll look yet because you don't know what the real foundation will be." he murmured and I nodded my head. His eyes flickered up to me, "Do you have any idea what the underneath mural is going to look like?"

My teeth tugged on the side of my lip as I thought about it. "Kind of." I whispered back. I glanced over my shoulder and skimmed the entrance as a precaution that no one had appeared suddenly. I pictured Mr. Rodriguez standing upon the far door with one head titled in.

"No one will hear this." Hayden gestured the space around us. I stepped a little closer, still cautious of the far door, but when I looked towards Hayden- he had a strange look upon his face, almost as if he was surprised.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing. Tell me about what you have guessed about our school."

I creased my eyebrows unsure but, in the end, continued on. "I've never looked too deep before. I mean, I've seen some our teachers cut corners and some even have misplaced their fundraising funds, but it hardly seemed important, I figured with how obvious it was to me surely others had noticed too?"

I looked at my hands as I thought about the more horrible secret Karri and I had discovered, "Karri and I suspected Jackson recently, but seeing how Shannon seemed to taunt him, Karri thought better to report him at the end of the year to spare Shannon the humiliation. We both could guess she hadn't actually done anything with him, but on the off chance she had...." I paused in defeat, "I only agreed, but not because of sparring Shannon, but because accusing him beforehand when he hadn't actually done anything yet could be dangerous. If there was nothing to prove; there was no crime to be held accountable for.  He would learn to better hide his nature and continue along later." I finished.

"So, you were actually waiting for the end of the year for something to happen?"

"Kind of," I agreed, "I will sound like a monster for saying this, but Shannon was notorious for teasing him all for a better grade. You could see his resolve was running thin though. I figured come finals; he would finally put her in a corner for something actually real. That's what I was waiting for, because that would be the only way for our accusations to be taking seriously. I was going to wait until I saw the ultimatum, saw the moment Jackson carefully watched Shannon waiting for her answer, and even if she hadn't decided, it would be enough to accuse him of something. Karri would tell the principal she saw Mr. Jackson promising a better grade in return for sexual favors and that would hopefully be that. But even that plan wasn't sound, it all could have been dismissed."

"Except now," Hayden whispered "something else clearly happened, you clearly know or saw something, otherwise he wouldn't have come lurking after you, begging you not to tell anyone."

I glanced to the far wall, to the stone mural I would soon cast his face against. "What changed is Shannon wanted revenge. What changed is Karri and I happened upon her giving him a blow job in the parking lot, all to convince him to go after Karri for the posters she made. He was why Karri was expelled. He found the loophole, that if any harm came to anyone; the prank was no longer a prank. That's why the girls pretended to self-harm." My blue gaze returned to Hayden's, "I had no proof of what I saw between him and Shannon, expect he saw me there right afterwards. In a split moment, in the chaos of finding out Karri was arrested, I confronted him and forced him to protect Karri and to say he heard the other girls planned on faking it. It was the only way to save Karri. I couldn't accuse him of his crime. I had no proof. Shannon would never admit to it. My accusations would look suspect. The only thing I had.... was Jackson's guilt. So, I used it against him; had him, behind the scenes, try and correct what he had done."

"But part of that agreement was.... you'd keep his secret?" Hayden finished.

"A lie," I whispered, " I was going to somehow someway reveal it. I knew I couldn't do it too soon, otherwise it might interfere with Karri's transition to a new school. But until you I had no idea when or how to get that revenge and tell the world what happened."

Hayden pondered my words for a long while. Finally, he moved on to the next unwilling participants of the mural. "What about the students?" He said, his eyes tracing my face; absorbing any telltale emotion I had to show. It riddled my flesh with goosebumps.

"Besides what I have drawn?" I asked. He nodded. I thought about it for a second, picturing any legal or dangerous lies they had concocted. But my mind was relatively blank. I knew Shannon and Ashely had framed a kid last year. The only problem? Others knew too and no one had cared. Even when Karri tried to tell the faculty.

Shannon, Ashley, Maggie, and Michelle were obviously part of the fraudulent accusations against Karri this year. It wouldn't be too hard to paint the truth into the mural since so many students and staff had already seen through the guise of their "service".

Finally, something that no one knew yet was that Shannon gave Mr. Jackson a blow job in order to get revenge on Karri. I would paint that truth in as well, but I had no proof of it other than what I saw.

That was only three things. I wanted to show more of the fucked up world around, to show how the whole senior class turned away, but the above wasn't enough to incriminate the other people around me as well. Everyone else is my notebooks were drawn based on their personal secrets, but I doubted the public would fully understand the imagery behind it. Even worse, even care if it was a true reflection.

"Not much more than you already know." I admitted softly, suddenly ashamed that I only had their social atrocities within my grasp, and nothing of actual tangible merit that would hold them accountable of something.

Hayden watched my face before he sighed. "Well, that, I suppose, is where I come in."

I titled my head and watched him. He began tightening his jaw slightly, something dark suddenly building behind his eyes, and I felt my heart rate rising. He was mulling something around in his mind, undecided if he actually wanted to say it. But he finally gave in.

"Do you remember a student named Jason from our sophomore year?" his rough voiced asked mildly.

Flashes of memoires broke through my subconscious; Hayden standing upon the stairwell, Jason on the floor beneath him. That utter malice that stretched upon his lips as he descended those final steps to the once famed soccer captain.

"Yes." I said breathless. I could still feel the cold gaze of the man before me sweeping through the crowd until they finally met mine. But unlike the memory, they didn't look away here. Those cold, glacial orbs bore into my mind as he stood above me.

"I remember you." He said suddenly.

I swallowed dryly but tried to continue his story, "What about Jason?"

His eyes narrowed just a fraction of an inch as he no doubt noticed my diversion. But for whatever reason, he finally relented.

"Sophomore year, he had paid off the referees for our State game so that we could get away without fouls, penalties and misconduct flags. It was a way for us to play rough and secure our State Championship without fear of penalty marks favoring the opposing team."

My eyebrows creased together unsure as I watched him.

"I hate cheating," he shrugged, though the move was for my benefit. It looked odd on him, something he didn't normally do, because it in no way matched the closed-off expression against his skin. I realized Hayden had probably never had to explain himself before. People just took whatever he said as fact.

I smiled slightly, but regretted it when his eyebrows creased together and he focused in on it.

"And what, Alys, may I ask is so funny?"

"Your moral compass." I lied.

He thought about it for a second more before he shook his head, "I already told you. My crimes and sins are far less than the frauds around us. "

I awkwardly tucked a blonde strand of my hair behind my ear, "So you stopped him?"

"Threatened would be a more apt term."

I frowned at him disapprovingly. "And that's when the fight happened?"

"Oh no, it's more complicated than that. He ended up contacting Mr. Hashimoto, my soccer coach from freshman year."

"The one who tried to punch you our Freshman year?" I remembered. For weeks leading up to that incident, the school was tense under the scrutiny of the school board members. I didn't know what they were looking into at the time, but then suddenly Hayden was assaulted by his coach, and that promptly ended Mr. Hashimoto's carrier.

Hayden smiled, a devilish smile, but at least it was genuine. "The very one. This might be confusing so I'll try my best and explain. Mr. Hashimoto had a son who was a junior at the time and played center field. Despite being a Freshman I had beaten him skill wise, I was supposed to inherit the position on Varsity. But, of course, that didn't happen because of his nepotism. After I challenged Mr. Hashimoto about it, threatening to report him to the school, he researched for valid information that would prevent me from joining Varsity; perhaps looking for failing grades, suspensions, whatever he could use against me to keep me from joining varsity and keep his own son in that position. During his investigation into my past, he somehow realized I needed a power of attorney in order to complete any of the standard parent/guardian permission slips that would need to be filled out."

I wondered instantly why his uncle wasn't considered his legal guardian; a power of attorney meant someone else carried that right, yet I knew his uncle was all he had. So, who was Hayden's guardian? I forced my face to remain passive. If Hayden noticed, he didn't show it.

"I was no longer able to travel to any of the State tournaments that year as nothing had been signed."

"So, what did you do?"

"There were already rumors about our coach going around; things like how he pocketed extra trip money or drank on the job. I had a friend investigate those rumors further. A thorough background check revealed dirt on Mr. Hashimoto; fraudulent checks that had yet to be cashed, gambling problems, booze in his desk, and so on. I mailed him copies of all the documents, all of his past transgressions. He thought he could fuck me over, but in the end, he lost everything."

"Everything?"

"Yes. I destroyed his career, stone by stone, while he watched helplessly."

The way he said it, so calm, so logically... made my skin crawl. But the way he was looking at me, patiently watching my every move, made me suddenly wonder if this was a test. I was the first person to ever know this side of him, and he seemed up for assessing my reactions at every turn. But the way he did it, the way he threw it in my face, made me wonder why he wanted me to think the worse of him.

But something didn't make sense. I licked my lip slightly as I watched him.... I destroyed his career, stone by stone, while he watched helplessly.

Watched helplessly?

"You're lying" I realized.

His eyes widened a fraction of an inch and a slight crease appeared upon his brow. "What?"

"Yes, you destroyed his carrier..." I thought about that ongoing tension- finally realizing where it had come from. It was from Hayden threatening Mr. Hashimoto with those documents that a friend had obtained. But if he was threatening his coach, it meant he wanted a resolution of the situation- not the end of his carrier. Hayden used those documents in order to fix the damage the other man had done; "You gave him a way to fix everything, didn't you? A second choice."

Hayden didn't say anything as my mind raced out of control.

"It didn't have to end the way it did. But he was too scorned, too stupid, wasn't he? Instead of using the second chance you gave him, he tried to assault you? And that's why you really don't care. You have no regret because it was his folly not yours. " In a sudden, unsure moment... I realized that might be the same case for them all. Jason, Mr. Kinsley, everyone. "You gave them all chances, didn't you?"

His jaw was tense, this wasn't what he wanted me to realize. Or perhaps he had not fully realized it himself.

But I could see it now, Jason must have realized Hayden was responsible for Mr. Hashimoto snapping and trying to punch him before being fired. After their own argument, Jason contacted his old coach for help and was informed that Hayden had threatened Mr. Hashimoto with something. But Mr. Hashimoto had dirt of his own; a piece of Hayden's past, and now Jason knew that same piece.

"Jason tried to use it against you, didn't he?" I worded in wonderment, gazing up at Hayden's alert face, "In order to keep you quiet and let him proceed with paying off the referees. But that was the day at the cafeteria..." And it was only then that Jason must have realized Hayden didn't need documents or blackmail to threaten people. He could do it just fine on his own. "That was why I saw your hatred."

The memory of Hayden whispering one last thing to Jason presented itself into my mind, like the final piece of evidence that he never meant for me to gather. "But you didn't you tell anyone what he did..." I remembered Jason leaving his friends for a new school a few weeks later, telling them that he felt crowded here. "You gave him a way out."

This whole time I thought Jason was the victim and that his life had been ruined. But I realized only now... Hayden had spared it. Just like Mr. Kinsley who too was allowed to bow out after crossing Hayden and whatever his darker past was.

Every reason... every profound fear I had for hating Hayden was suddenly shattered. But before I could delve into the uncertainty of my brain, Hayden interrupted my thoughts.

"Stop." He whispered suddenly in front of me, "You're making me into something I'm not. Yes, I let these people crumble with their own choice, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. I didn't bring up Jason to make you think I'm not the monster you thought I was. I am. I would gladly fuck over this school and still intend to... without giving them a chance."

He was clearly angry with me right now, and ran an agitated hand through his hair. He finally glared up at me, staring intently into my eyes, "I brought up Jason because it was thanks to him that I did my own investigation into the soccer team. I hadn't checked since Freshman year. Half our funds were missing, and though we'd won most our games- who's to say someone else hadn't rigged the system?"

"How... did you investigate this?" I would have assumed the information was locked down and hidden in the main computers somewhere. But yet his words before.... "a friend helped".

He shrugged again, "I asked an old acquaintance who currently worked in the computer tech class."

"You had someone hack into the system?"

"Crack," he corrected, "Hacking is done by breaking the system and changing things on this inside. Cracking is done without breaking down firewalls and it takes patience and skill to slide through. You also don't change a thing on the inside, just take a peek."

I shook my head dumbfounded, "Hayden, that's illegal. What we are doing here is not, but that is!"

He glared at me suddenly "And how did you expect to get this information Alys? For it to just fall into your lap!"

I opened and then closed my mouth. Finally, he sighed.

"You will be provided with this anonymously, okay."

I lowered my eyes unsure, before warily looking to him again, "So... you think there is more to these missing funds?" Tim was going to cry when he realized his beloved team had some dark shadows of its own. But I couldn't deny Hayden's words. Everyone at this school was aware of the constant, and practically annual, investigations. Though someone high up must be constantly turning their head the other way

"So, we uncover them?" I murmured. But before he could answer I looked high up to the stone wall. "When the achievements wash away; those words that represent the foundation to this school....in its place will be the true endeavors; the proof, of the secret numbers to this school."

Hayden nodded his head, gazing at the stone wall too. "We'll get the documents, and paint them in. Only after will you paint the illusions over them."

"Then surrounding those documents will be the other photos of the more illegal activities?"

"Yes. And only after that, once there is no disputing the integrity of the base mural, can you paint freely what our school truly looks like."

I met his gaze dead on. "Even without proof for the other things I paint, they will still be taken seriously due to the amount of evidence we will have as a whole?" my fingers began to thrum by my sides, "we'll hide it all under a cloak of those smiling teachers and students who did not help Karri. Those bastards who instead accused her of assault, arrested her, and destroyed her future."

He nodded his head again, watching me intently. "She really meant that much to you?"

"She saved me." I looked away from his ever-probing sight. "And besides... this whole place is fucked up. The fire she caused only ignited the papers in my book. And with you revealing the rest to me..." I shook my head suddenly, "I've always hated institutes like this. I've always hated the State. So, showing the corruption I've always despised feels liberating."

I reached my hand out for the journal, keen that he still had it tight in his hand. He seemed caught off guard for a second longer before he finally handed it to me.

"Are you ready?" He held on long enough that I couldn't walk away, my journal stuck in his grasp. Again, he wore that blank, nothingness upon his face. But there was still something different about his eyes. I gazed at him unsure, deciding if he was still angry that I knew more stuff about him than I should. But that was two-way street.

"For what?" I asked.

"For our date of course. School's out."

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AI inspired shots
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A/N:

Only two more weeks until South Korea! Woo! Guess what though my peeps, I am officially done with one of my massive school projects. I can now spend more time not only with this story but on my others. Thank god.

So again I leave Friday April 3rd and I MIGHT be able to update the Thursday night before. But then after that, you won't hear from me until (at the soonest) the 24th. Let the count down begin.

-Helium