Finnegan was leaning into the isle of the van just to see out over the dash. Every now and the , mr Irving would ask him whether or not he had to turn.

"Finn...?"

"No, coach." The teen responded dully. He was quickly discovering that mr Irving was a very insecure driver who needed constant reassurance. He tried not to read too much into that.

"No, Finn," his teacher grumbled, pointing to the footpath. "Isn't that your aunt?"

The boys eyes whipped up, fixing on the woman lugging groceries down the street. It was definitely his aunt.

"Please pull over, sir," Finn begged as they passed her.

Mr Irving hesitated, but ms smith was already nodding. "We've all had a long day. Do it, Anthony."

Grumbling, the man obeyed. "What happened to 'we shouldn't split up'?"

"It's temporary."

The van stopped and Finn threw the door open, lunging out.

"Aunt Sara!" He called, jogging over to her. he tripped on the curb, but caught himself and kept moving.

The woman turned around and grinned at him, until she notice his uniform.

"What happened to you?" She asked as he got closer. Finn's arms wrapped around her in a tight hug.

"I thought i'd never see you again!" He murmured into her hair.

She was a short woman, Sara Watt, with thick black hair and chocolate skin. But, as Finn crushed her, she just laughed.

"Detention was that bad, eh?"

Finn considered telling her about his afternoon, for a second he really did, but he shook it off. "Is uncle Phil pissed?"

Sara loved her nephew too much to lie to him. "Yes. But he wants to hear your side of it!"

"After or before he yells at me?" For this moment, Finn could pretend that life hadn't spiralled out of control today.

"Probably both," she looked around suddenly. "Where'd you come from, my boy?"

Hesitantly, Finn pointed at the van, nervously rubbing his neck. "It's a friend's. We have a project to work on."

Sara frowned a little, her brow Puckering. "Avoiding your uncle for as long as possible?"

"Maybe a little."

She nodded, sighing. "I'll stall him 'Til you're done. Have fun."

Finn walked away a few paces before turning back. "I love you aunt Sara, and uncle Phil and the girls."

"I know that Finn," she grinned, winking at him. "We love you too."

As Finn trudged back to the van, Haz leant forward to talk to Carrissa.

"Aunt?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "his 'rents died in an earthquake years ago. Everybody knows."

Haz pretended to sniffle. "Your sympathy is moving, Carrissa." He said as he leaned back.

"If you're too nice to people, people aren't too nice to you," she muttered, studying her nails.

Finnegan climbed back in, shutting the door firmly behind him. Salena flinched.

"That was very final, Finnegan," ms smith commented softly as he buckled himself in, exchanging a glance with mr Irving.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, slouching into his seat, "if I've learnt anything today, it's always be prepared."

Me Irving frowned. "And what was it you just prepared for?"

"The worst."

In the tense silence that followed, the other two teens swallowed heavily.

Hazmat just shrugged at the back, crossing his arms across his chest. "Can't argue with that."

Sneaking into school was not nearly as fun as Phitz had ever imagined. In fact, it was just plain stressful.

"I'm going to look like my grandpa by the end of today," he muttered as he slipped around a corner, moving quietly ahead of ebony and Austen. They'd tried to go back in through the storage room but the window had been closed, locked, and they didn't want to draw attention by breaking it. The boys had shrugged it off, but ebony knew something about locks: they kept people in...or out.

Now, she lagged behind, following Austen and phitz exactly, if less gracefully. At Phitz's comment, she stopped.

"What?"

Austen turned back, making a large beer belly with his arms and hiding his teeth with his lips.

Phitz replied, "more salt than pepper."

His friend shrugged and kept moving, leaving a smirking ebony to follow.

They reached the front of the school and Phitz swore.

"The cars are still parked here."

"How many?" Ebony asked as she scrambled forward to see for herself. The six cars, all black, were parked hazardously in the parking lot around the roundabout drop-off.

Austen peeked around. "I count six."

Ebony nodded, still looking, and gave an outraged gasp. The boot closest them was open, the bottom folded out to extend the surface, and the contents arranged analytically.

"My bag!" She muttered, mouth hanging open.

Austen shook his head, quickly looking from side to side before sprinting to the vehicle. Neither of the other two saw him move before they saw him at the car.

"Ballsy bastard, isn't he?" Phitz commented to thin air as ebony dashed after his friend. Phitz made a face. "Third wheel much."

He followed and overtook ebony easily, arriving beside his friend in a few seconds. Ebony stumbled over as Austen was shovelling her belongings back into the bag.

"Hey," she snapped, "be nice to my stuff."

Austen cast her a look and kept going. "Thank you so much Austen," he murmured in a high voice, "for risking your neck to get my stupid little bag."

Licking her lips, ebony felt a twinge of guilt in her chest, and she laid a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry," she said, "thank you." The words came out rushed as she noticed something over his shoulder.

"Movement," she gasped, grabbing his arm and hauling him to the other side of the car. Phitz followed closely, snatching her bag out of the boot.

He passed it to her as they rested their backs against the car. Ebony rolled over, trying to peer through the tinted glass, but it was futile. She threw her hands in the air.

"Now what?" She hissed, slipping her backpack on. If they had to run, she was not going to leave it behind.

Austen grunted and dropped to the ground, laying flat on his stomach. Ebony and Phitz stared down at him in confusion until he wriggled forward, craning his neck to see under the car. They squatted down beside him.

"Is it a suit?" Phitz asked.

Austen couldn't make out the full figure, but a pair of black, leather lace ups were approaching steadily, so he nodded.

"Looks like."

The shoes stopped for a second and Austen's breath caught in his throat. One foot at a time, the man turned to the school driveway.

"Someone's coming from the front," he whispered, scrambling to his feet. He looked a little desperate until his eyes focused on the garden not two metres from them. "Come with me."

He rose into a hunched position and darted for the roundabout, diving over the waist high hedge. His feet stuck out of the corderlines for a heartbeat before he tucked them in. The only sign of him was a faint swaying in the vegetation, easily mistaken for a slight breeze.

"Show off," Ebony muttered. Phitz chuckled at her before completing the exact same action as his friend.

Ebony heard a slight yelp - Austen obviously hadn't made enough space for his larger friend - and then silence.

She rolled her eyes. "Like I'm gonna pull that off."

Austen pushed his friend's leg off of his with a grunt. "Move it, you oaf!"

Phitz was laughing too hard to do that, the expression of horror on Austen's face as he landed on him engraved in his mind. It didn't help when ebony ran up and tried to straddle the hedge, bracing herself with a hand. The leaves gave way and she flipped over, tangling herself in Austen's lap.

Blushing furiously she tried to move, as a shocked Austen tried to help and ended up making it worse. He went to grab and lift her waist but she wriggled and her backpack hit him in the privates.

Austen grunted.

"Oh my..."ebony quickly slipped her backpack off and frowned daintily at him. "I'm so sorry."

He just shook his head, lifting her by the waist. He moved his legs so she was sitting between them rather than on them.

"Let's just not move for a moment, yeah?"

Ebony nodded, blushing.

Phitz tried to stop laughing but had no success until they heard a car pull up. A door slammed and Austen dragged himself and ebony closer to the edge of the hedge. Looking awkward and very pink in the face, ebony cocked her head to the side, listening.

"Who are you?" A man demanded.

Much closer to the teens, there came a cough. "Police."

Phitz sat up straighter, looking around a thin tree to meet Austen's eyes: They knew that voice. His friend shook his head at him, urging him to stay hidden.

Ebony angled her head back so her mouth was by his ear. Her breath was warm, and he shivered slightly as she spoke.

"Did we ever try calling the police? Did we even think to try to calling the police?"

His chest rumbled again her back as he laughed. "Don't you watch tv? There are always good reasons not to call the cops."

The suit grunted and came closer, his shoes grinding loose stones into the bitumen. "About time you got here."

Ebony felt Austen shrug as if to say 'told you so'. She knew she should be more scared than she felt, but with Austen pressed against her, warm and comfortable, it was hard to muster the right amount of 'frightened'. With his arm left looped loosely around her waist she finally felt wanted. Or at least protected. Somebody had noticed her.

The cop grumbled something and Phitz frowned. He tugged his phone out of his pocket, surprised to see several missed messages, but ignored them. He quickly turned on his camera and started the video. Holding it in his palm, the boy raised it to above his head, keeping it below the hedge top.

Ebony cast him a confused glance but he waved it away, listening.

"... Help us find them." The suit ordered.

The other man snorted. "How did you lot manage to lose a bunch of teenagers?"

"Don't pretend you know what the hell is going on," the suit snapped, with a noise that sounded suspiciously like a finger being jabbed into someone's chest. "You're in way over your head and once we've got these little shits you'll go back into oblivion."

Cutting off the other man before he could protest, the suit continued. "Remember that." He made a noise. "Now get your fat arse back in your car and call your friends. I want those kids found yesterday."

In a manner that Phitz thought very unwise, the cop laughed coldly. "What's it to me what the hell you want? I'm following my chief's orders and he said to stay here."

Ebony bit down on a gasp as they heard knuckles collide with bone. There was a yelp and the cop hit the ground.

"I'm no one to you," the suit agreed, "but my boss has your chief's balls in a death grip. So, you do as I say."

He spat. "Who the hell are these kids anyone? What'd they do?"

"They were born, and then sixteen years later this shit happened." A pause. "Get up and get lost."

There was a heavy scramble and then the sound of a slamming door. The car kicked to life and drove off, leaving the teenagers breathing slightly easier.

"Come out, come out, you little gits."

Ebony jolted where she sat, but Austen leaned forward, hushing her gently. Phitz lowered his arm, heart beating several trillion times faster than normal.

The suit continued after a moment. "The idiot cop is on his way looking for them and he'll soon wrangle some of his friends into the exercise."

There was a pause as the teens breathed a sigh of relief and a muted voice replied to him.

"Yes, ma'am. What do you want me to do in the meantime? I've removed most of our equipment from the school...the exits? Yes, ma'am."

Ebony smiled softly at Phitz as he saluted, smirking.

"Will do, boss."

The suit walked away quickly to the great relief of ebony who hung her head. Austen pulled his arm away and rested both his hands on her waist. She flinched but didn't move away.

"I guess we should go before he comes back," he commented as Phitz ended the video. He frowned at his friend. "What was that for anyway?"

"Evidence," he shrugged, "proof we're not all nutballs? Plus I couldn't hear them for a bit. Hopefully this baby did."

Austen nodded. "I'm impressed."

"I am very impressive."

Ebony sat up suddenly, digging her fingers into the mulch. "I hate them."

Phitz coughed. "You hate them?"

"The suits," ebony nodded, not looking angry, to Phitz's concern, but dazed. "I hate them. I've never hated anyone before." She shrugged, "except Carrissa of course."

Austen stiffened behind her, but ebony was oblivious. She grinned suddenly, scaring Phitz, and rummaged through her bag. Pulling out her first aid kit, she snatched something out.

Ducking away from her arm, Austen breathed, "woah. Watch where you're waving that thing."

"It's for removing splinters," ebony explained, showing him the metal tool. It was only ten centimetres in length with a sharp point at one end and a hook at the other.

"That may be, but what are you going to use it for?" Austen chuckled, brushing his head aside.

Ebony smirked. "I feel like I could slash some tyres."

A loud guffaw from across the garden had Austen and ebony hushing their friend as he tried to stifle his laughter.

"What?" She demanded indignantly, scowling at Phitz.

"I just can't wait to see you slash a tyre," he said, wiping tears out of his eyes.

"Ha. Ha." Ebony scrambled to her feet. "You pair can't talk."

"Hey," Austen followed her up, "you don't get to be us without pulling a few pranks. Over the years several wheels have fallen prey to us."

She crossed her arms in challenge. "Name one."

"Coach."

"You slashed mr Irving's tyres?"

Austen smirked. "Yep. And the next morning he had a check and a bottle of brandy waiting for him on his desk."

Ebony shook her head. He seemed almost proud. "Oh no. How ever will I be that badass? This will be difficult."

"I have no doubt that you can be badass when you want, Ebbie," he smiled, picking her up by the waist and hoisting her over the bushes, "but you need to be quick about it."

She darted away, frowning at him. "You can't keep doing that."

"Doing what?" Austen asked, stepping over the hedge. Phitz shook his head and decided now was as good a time as ever to read his messages. It certainly beat being any closer to the other two right that second.

Ebony ground her teeth. "Just... touching me." Now that she said it, she felt awkward and looked away. "Not like...just...you know what I mean."

"Actually," Austen rubbed the back of his neck. "I have no idea." Behind him, Phitz face-palmed.

"Let's say," ebony suggested, dragging her hands through her hair. The braid had entirely fallen out so she grabbed the tie and fixed it in a ponytail. The splinter-remover came dangerously close to her eye. "Just for the fun of it, that we survived today, the others too. Let's pretend my mum won't kill me when I get home and that tomorrow we're back at school with all of this behind us."

"Ok, sure..." Austen was nodding slowly.

" if all of that happens," she frowned softly, shrugging, "we're never going to speak again and Carrissa will spend the next year and a half making my life worse than it is."

With no response to that, Auz just locked his lips, looking away.

"Exactly." Ebony took a breath. "So if you could keep your hands and your smiles to yourself, I'd really appreciate it."

She looked each way and then hurried to the nearest car, squatting beside the wheel. Raising the metal, she brought it down with all her might into the rubber. Very little happened. The tyre didn't deflate and the instrument stuck out pointlessly. Ebony groaned and tried to pull it free, but it refused to budge.

Austen gathered himself. He walked over, grabbed the remover and tugged it out with ease.

"I think that's stupid," he told her. Phitz, who had been halfway through joining them outside, sat down again.

"Well i think you're stupid," ebony snapped as he rammed the metal into the tyre. The rubber popped with a hiss and began to deflate as he withdrew. "And I can do this myself."

She snatched it back and moved to the next car, but Austen caught her elbow. "Well if you don't slash a second tyre, you're the one who's stupid. Most people had a spare tyre - it's the second that screws them over."

"What if I don't want to screw then over?"

"I thought you hated them?"

Ebony frowned, and reefed her arm awary. "I do. Now let go if me and Shut up."

Shaking his head, Austen grabbed the instrument back. He bent in half and scurried around, quickly slashing every tyre he could see. Ebony watched him in outrage.

"God! You're insufferable!" She hissed, turning to Phitz. "How do you put up with this arse hole?"

One leg either side of the hedge, Phitz gulped. "I'd rather not comment."

Austen straightened. "Thanks for leaping to my defence, dude." He swivelled to ebony. "And I don't know what your problem is! I just helped you - a thank you might be in order."

"Thank you," ebony growled, "for ruining my already dreadful day. Really... Icing on the cake."

"Stop it," Austen's voice went low, his eyes narrowed in anger. "Enough of the freaking 'girl-drama'. Just. Grow. Up. I don't know what weird thing you have going in with Carrissa and to be honest, I don't want to. Today or tomorrow I will not have you or her dictate who I can and cannot smile to or help. That's just stupid."

He took a deep breath, pointing down the driveway and out of the school grounds. "Now, we need to get the hell out of here before we all die because you decided to go all 'pms-y' in the middle of a fight or flight situation. Both of you move your butts down this street."

"What did I do?" Phitz pouted.

"Get out of the garden and move."

Ebony was fuming, her breath coming in shallow, sharp bursts. "Pms?" She leant over the hedge and grabbed her bag, shouldering Austen roughly as she followed Phitz.

"You twerp."

Austen let out a breath, running his hands through his hair. "I do not understand girls."

Longest chappie ever - so proud!! I like Austin better in this chapter. He's becoming a 'ballsy bastard'. *wink*