Jack Edens was looking at the pictures on the magazine. It felt strange, because he would never be photographed that way. He wouldn't have models half his age hanging off his arm -- and not just because people half his age were literally children -- and he would have never worn that carefree expression, winking at the camera as if the whole world belonged to him.

Still, to an untrained eye, the man on the page looked just like the one who was staring back.

If people got past the first glance, they would notice how the man in the pictures was older. They would notice that his brown hair didn't have rich hues of copper, and that the eyes were darker, too. They would point out that the older man had an expensive and manly haircut, and that his clothes were tailor-made, in the best fabrics from Padoa, no less.

Then, they would notice that Jack's hair needed a haircut really bad. It was messy, uneven, and it was almost shoulder-length, not on purpose. They would see that the suit he was wearing, despite being in bold pink and green stripes, was a cheap imitation he'd found in a charity shop.

But, when most people didn't pay attention, and Jacob Edens Senior was the most well-known man in the whole Everende island, and, according to some, the richest -- so rich, that he was supposedly among the top ten of richest men in the whole world, Jack had soon learned there was nowhere he could hide the resemblance.

So he didn't.

Jack's classmates were among the few people who would have noticed the difference, given their line of work, but, since there were so few of them, and Jack had worn the suit to attract the extra attention, he smiled smugly at their stares. 

Jack sat down next to his boyfriend Leo Collins. He made a conscious attempt of sitting with his legs closed, despite his favorite zine, Masculinity for Amateurs, MFA for short, claimed he should have them spread open. His father sat that way in the rare pictures where he was actually sitting. Jack didn't like it.

Heath Corrigan was doing a poor job of pretending his left eye wasn't twitching as he took a long look at Jack's colorful suit. It was no secret that Heath thought that Jack was tasteless, and a show-off. Jack didn't care for Heath even though he was the Laoch. He could preach all he wanted about Jack's lack of sobriety, but he still had obnoxious pink hair, and it was common knowledge that all of his favorite authors had written incomprehensible paperbacks whilst on drugs.

"You're late," the Professor, Paul Robert Tenney, pointed out. "I was just about to say how much you have all improved as a group of people. I, however, would like to choose a temporary leader for our next expeditions. I resolved to choose the best student, but I was left with a tie. Both Jacob Edens and Heathcliff Corrigan are equally qualified."

Leo snorted at hearing Heath's full name, though he did already know it. It took a little weight from Jack's chest. He didn't like to be called his father's name, so much that he had insisted on people calling him Jack instead of the more common Jake. He'd heard his father was known as Jake to his friends, and, according to rumors, would probably never grow out of it.

Ken Fallon sighed. Jack had never paid too much attention to him, since he was a friend of Heath's. However, being the student group only formed by five people, he still knew too much about anyone, and Ken was a headstrong, reliable guy, who would have just loved to lead the expeditions.

Jack contemplated saying no, because there was no way he would have the brains to lead anyone, and nobody would have the desire to follow him, anyway. Then, he figured he might just give this thing a try. After all, if he won, it would be one thing he could take from Heath.

"I'm flattered," Heath replied. "But please, Professor. Let's stick to our formal names like we've previously discussed."

"I did notice the disturbing fact that you all have pet names," Mister Tenney sighed. "Very well."

"With all due respect, I don't, sir," Norma Murray blurted out. Norma had joined the class a little later, when the Professor had been so impressed by her skills he could no longer stay true to his desire to only train boys. However, he often forgot about her, which was pretty hard to do, since Ken talked about her all the time.

"Mister Corrigan and Mister Edens," the Professor continued, discarding their first names entirely. "I want you to compete for the spot. You will be given full details later, for now it is enough that you divide the class into two separate groups that you will lead momentarily in extra curricular activities."

Predictably, both Norma and Ken immediately chose to be a part of Heath's group. Jack was stuck with Leo, and a disapproving glance from the Professor.

"Let's hope you two will behave," he only commented. Jack wondered if it had something to do with the fact they were boyfriends -- they were both adults, and they didn't conceal it from the people who knew them -- or if it was simply implied that, since Jack's father could not keep his hands to himself, then the son must have inherited the same disposition.

Truth be told, Jack had had practice -- with both men and women. He had a reputation to live up to, and people liked him easily enough, before they found out he was poor, and he hadn't seen his father in person ever since he was a small kid. He liked it better this way -- it was a reminder that he would never get his heart broken, because he couldn't.

"The two candidates should brainstorm with one another," the Professor added. "At the end of the lesson, I would like to know which names you've chosen for your teams, and which activities you're going to take part in."

"Isn't that too easy for you?" Heath asked him. It sounded like he was truly curious. "Or will you get bored of Leo once you spend all this extra time with him?"

"You have a point there," Jack conceded. "You do know Leo and I are only together because he made a Deal."

"I wonder what he has given up for it," Heath challenged him. "I wonder why would anyone make a Deal to be with someone."

The someone sounded a lot like you, in Jack's mind, but he didn't take the bait. Heath's eyes were easy to read like an open book sometimes. He saw he had another, unspoken question. Why would anyone feel okay to be paired up with someone else by a Deal. Jack wasn't going to answer either.

"Let's brainstorm, then," Jack suggested cooly. "What are you three going to do? Form a book club?"

"Actually," Heath coughed. "Norma is a great engineer, and Ken is a skilled fighter. I have a good mind for plotting, so we thought we'd try to teach each other."

Jack hadn't really wanted to know, but Heath hadn't seemed to understand.

"Leo and I are just going to waste our time," he replied, equally truthful. "None of us are particularly good at anything."

"You know it's not true, otherwise you wouldn't be the top student."

"Even if it was true, I doubt I have the patience to teach Leo anything, and he sure hasn't the knack for learning."

"I have an idea," Jack suddenly laughed. "I could teach him all the tricks I've done on expeditions before. The rule-breaking kind of ones."

"And the Professor would agree with that because..." Heath appeared puzzled.

Jack didn't know which side of Heath he hated more. The one who was still incredibly naive, no matter the kind of things he'd already seen, or the one where he pretended to be, because he thought it was more agreeable of a Laoch to never get his hands dirty.

"Is there any chance we can turn this into a discussion?" Jack asked. For some reason, putting Heath down made him feel better. Probably because Heath hated all the things Jack was unsure of about himself.

"No," Heath's jaw was set. "You can't do this every time, Edens."

"It's not my fault I can't even look at you," Jack teased him. "I can't stand your pink hair. It almost makes me puke. It almost makes me cry."

"You're one to talk," Heath bit back, and gave Jack's suit a look that could convey more insults than words.

"I don't even know why I'm wasting time talking with the great Laoch," Jack sneered. "The magic everyone likes you for has probably gone to your head."

"People don't like me for my magic, and if they did, it's still better than being liked for being a cheap imitation of..."

"Don't," Jack growled. "Don't say that."

"A cheap imitation of everything that disgusting FAM stands for," Heath gracefully sidestepped the obvious comparison he was about to make.

"MFA," Jack corrected him. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's Masculinity For Amateurs, not For Amateurish Men."

"Same difference," Norma interrupted them. "I've come to check on your progress, and, of course, you're fighting. Anyway, I'm calling that damned zine Toxic Masculinity from now on, try not to get your feelings hurt, Edens."

"Also," she added. "Don't dress up like your father if you don't want people to compare the two of you. It's simple, really."

She'd added the last part loud enough that everyone could hear. Jack noticed how sorry everyone looked. 

"Have you made a decision?" the Professor asked them. "It is unfortunate that Ken's grade in the last exercise wasn't high enough -- I'm beginning to reconsider my initial offer."

"Leo and I are called the Rogues," Jack supplied. "We're going to learn how to add lowlife tricks to espionage. Pickpocketing, fighting, the occasional punch in the face..."

"The occasional justified murder," Heath rolled his eyes.

"Do you have any proof that any of this methods is worth learning?" Tenney seemed more interested in the conversation than Jack had initially hoped for.

"Sure," he replied, not missing a beat. "I frequently engage in bickering and full-blown fights with Corrigan, and this has, over the years, taught me more about his character and mannerism than I wanted to find out."

Jack didn't add that, unfortunately, the opposite was also true. Heath had never had patience for him, but the situation had grown worse after they'd started their feud. Now, the other man knew just how much of a sad, desperate, adrenaline junkie Jack really was, and also that at least fifty percent of the things he said and did were coping mechanisms for something else.

Jack was grateful he would never learn his secrets.

"You may have a point," the Professor conceded. "And even if this was just a waste of time, your real worth will be tested in the three tasks that lies ahead."

Heath smiled smugly, as if to say he expected something like that to be revealed. Jack was feeling better, too. There was no way he could steal the leadership from the Laoch with his stupid Rogue idea, but he was a good student, and if the tasks were like the exercises the Professor put them through, he stood a real chance.

"What about you?" Mister Tenney asked Heath.

"Norma, Ken and I are going to be called The Purpose, like the group of children raised in the cult where Timothy Lewalski supposedly grew up in his fictional biography," he said. "Though it is not my favorite book, I like the word Purpose itself."

He then proceeded to explain the same ideas he'd already pitched to Jack.

"This could have interesting results," Mister Tenney admitted. "Though there is a reason why I'd never come up with it myself. I think it's outdated to believe that people can excel in everything, and I personally like to know that each one of you has a unique set of skills."

"Norma," Ken said. "Norma can excel in everything, sir."

"The rest of us," he added hurriedly. "Can try."

"Kenneth," the Proffesor scolded him, switching to his full name. "The one reason why I haven't asked you to become a leader wasn't your grades -- I'm afraid I might have told a white lie earlier, but only to spare you from an harsher truth. A real leader has to care about the group's well-being as a whole, not to prioritize their partner's life above everything else. I wish you could learn to be as uncaring as Jack is towards Leo."

Leo was equally uncaring towards Jack, but people never mentioned it. First of all, nobody expected anything from Leo. And secondly, everybody knew about the Deal. They figured he must have been in love or something akin to that to have made it, so they supposed he was shy in manifesting his feelings.

Jack knew Leo didn't love him, though he didn't know why he'd go such great lenghts to go out with him. It was fine -- Jack had many faults, but he wouldn't want to lead on somebody who really had feelings for him, he'd never done that.

And this was the reason Jack hadn't been shy about experimenting either, though Leo was the jealous type.

Heath looked sorry that the Professor had called his idea 'outdated', but he tried not to show it.

"We'll divide the two groups now," the Professor decided. "The Rogues can go to the gym until it is time for lunch."

Though the boarding school had only five students and one Professor, the building was very vast, and it included extra rooms where the help could sleep. There were a lot of people working in the kitchens and as cleaning staff, and Jack knew that Tenney was criticized for not paying them as much as he should have. He was thankful he hadn't met any of them on his way to the gym. He suddenly felt self-conscious about his suit. It rarely happened with his clothing, or his exhuberant attitude -- truthfully, he used to think nothing of both before Heath had pointed both of them out, but he had noticed that, for as many people who found him charming, there was more who thought of him on the tendecy of ridicule.

"Who knew," Leo said. "That I'd be admitted to the great Tenney's School for Spies, and that I'd be dating you. It's all my parents can talk about. Of course, they call you Jake Edens Junior to their friends. They're all quite delighted."

"Why not call me Jake Edens directly, then?" Jack was being annoying on purpose. He'd long ago guessed that, if normal people were briefly enchanted to meet the son of the prestigious man, Leo had had to go one step further and secure him with a Deal.

"Gross," Leo rolled his eyes.

"Since you like dressing like him," Leo went on. "I can show you pictures of him that I like. Not in that way, of course. So that you can imitate him."

Jack was beginning to hate the conversation. Anything would have been better at this point, even that one time where Jack was looking at barely dressed paintings of women and Heath had tried to make conversation singling out the one he preferred, and he had to tell him it was his grandmother.

Well, he tried to banish the memory. Maybe not that one.

"Are you thinking about Heathcliff again?" Leo asked him, the annoyance clear in his voice.

Jack didn't reply.

"I'm glad we're against him in this stupid competition," Leo commented. "You know, I think the world doesn't need a Laoch. Maybe we should kill him and make it look like an accident."