Try To Change Me

Chapter 25

"This is not a good idea," Hazmat insisted, leaning back in his chair, "It fact, it's the stupidest idea ever."

They had made it back to the van in one piece, after Austen had confiscated the wrench from Phitz, and had all easily fallen into a seat with a sigh of relief. When Mr Irving had announced that he was dropping them all home, the atmosphere had quickly changed.

Selena and Ebony had gone white, each sinking a little lower in her chair.

Ms Smith, Phitz and Austen voiced loud complaints, demanding to see the logic, but unsurprisingly the most boisterous opposition came from Haz and Carissa.

They had all calmed down once Mr Irving explained his position to them. All except Hazmat.

"There will be suits waiting at each of your houses," he continued, "You'll all be imprisoned by midnight." He sneered. "Or dead."

"It is the only option we have, Hazmat," Anthony growled, his jaw clamped firmly shut. "How do you propose we dodge the suits and the entire police force once six sets of angry parents ring up about their missing teenagers?"

Five, Ebony corrected silently, pushing her bag up against the window and resting her head against it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting their voices, if not the words, soothe her.

"We ran into a cop at the school, actually," Austen said, raising his voice to be heard over the thrum of the engine. "The same arse who keeps busting up our parties around town and who drug tested us that time before our game. He seemed to be working with them."

"Great," Haz said, perking up slightly, "The entire town wants your heads anyway, so you don't have to go home and placate the parents."

The coach was already shaking his head. "No. It's safer this way. This gives you and me tonight to come up with a plan for what to do tomorrow."

"A blokes bonding session?" he frowned. "Really?"

"Not just you two," Ms Smith said from the passenger seat, meeting Mr Irving's surprised glance evenly. "Just try and talk me out of it, Anthony."

Not bothering to hide his smile, the man looked back to the road.

Behind him, Hazmat was smiling too. "Ok, I'm in."

"What about the suits though?" Carissa demanded, "How do you know they won't be waiting for us at home?"

Rolling and cracking his neck, her teacher grunted at the question. "From the way they're operating, and what Hazmat said, it seems that they're trying to stay under the radar. They waited until it was just us in the school, they involved the police, and none of you have gotten any urgent phone calls from your folks... I don't think these guys want it known they're looking for you. So maybe they will be at your houses, but I doubt that they'll try and take you. They probably have a back up plan in place for tomorrow when you go to school or something. As long as you each get back out of your houses by then and meet up, they won't have a clue what's going on."

"It still seems like an awfully big risk, Coach," Austen said, leaning forward in his seat. From where he sat, he could just make out Ebony's peaceful expression and his gaze was somewhat fixated on that image.

"Something has to be done about this tomorrow, Austen. Until then, you deserve a relatively normal night at home with your parents to... how'd you put it Finn?... 'prepare'." Mr Irving's frown settled firmly back into place. "Besides, they won't expect it and they'll think they have the upper hand."

Selena squirmed in her seat. "Which gives us the upper hand?"

"Exactly."

Her face crinkled up and she licked her lips. "That theory is working with the concept of only two hands. In reality, our thinking that we have the upper hand because they think they have the upper hand actually gives them the upper hand. And it has infinite hands, because their thinking that that have the upper hand because we think they think we think..."

Without a hint of remorse, Finn slipped into the seat next to her and clamped a hand across her mouth. Her jaw stopped moving, hot breath puffing against his palm, and after a moment he lowered his arm. Selena looked at him, eyes wide and slightly dilated, and shut her mouth with a click.

Hazmat growled loudly, thumping his fist into the back of the empty seat in front of him. "It doesn't matter how you justify it, this is suicide! You're all gonna wake up dead tomorrow!

The silence that followed weighed heavily on each of them, and no one dared speak.

Ms Smith swallowed heavily, turning in her seat to face Anthony. Her seatbelt dug uncomfortably into her shoulder, but one look at his blank expression and strangle hold on the wheel had her forgetting the pain.

"Anthony," she murmured, leaning in slightly so she could speak more quietly. An unruly curl sprung free beside her ear but she brushed it aside, focussing on the slit of his eye she could see. "You need to calm down."

Far too evenly, he said, "I am calm Ella."

Shaking her head, Ms Smith extended an arm, gently grabbing his upper arm. He stiffened at the touch and she felt the muscles in his arm shift. "No you're not; you're wired. You need to relax a little bit and let some logic in."

Finally, he glanced at her, and let his shoulders sag a fraction. "Maybe you're right, Ella," he said, fixing his gaze back on the road, "But I am thinking logically."

"Are you sure?" she asked softly, biting her lip. "Is this really the best plan for tonight?"

"It's the only plan for tonight," he assured her.

It took a moment before Ms Smith realised that her hand was still on his arm, her thumb now moving in unconscious, soothing circles across the fabric of the jumper. She drew back instantly, but Mr Irving caught her hand in mid-air.

"Thank you, though," he said, a small smile licking his lips as he inclined his head towards her and met her eyes, "for your concern."

Ella blushed and he released her hand, raising his chin to call back to the others. "So, who lives closest?"

The teenagers all glanced at each other, and when Austen and Phitz met each other's eyes they nodded.

"Us."

"And Ebony lives in the same estate," Austen continued, "So if you hang a left here you can knock off three of us at once."

Ebony jerked upright at that, all thoughts of resting forgotten. In her shock, She didn't even reprimand him for his poor choice of words. "I do?" She looked through the crack in the seats to watch him nod his reply, but before she could ask another question, Carissa took the words right out of her mouth.

"How do you know where she lives?" the blonde snapped from the other side of the van, her devilishly pale blue eyes squinting at Ebony. The gaze burned into the other girl's temple, but she refused to meet it.

As he answered, the boy's eyes never left Ebony's. "Her brother is on the junior soccer team and I'm the manager. After late games, Mr Peters drops us all home in the bus."

"What a lovely anecdote," Hazmat grumbled. He had unbuckled his belt and was now sprawled across both seats, his injured leg propped up.

"Ok," Mr Irving said, ignoring the other man as he followed Austen's directions. "You three are first then."

These two updates are unaturally close together. The next one should follow soon, but after that I'm afraid I'll be dismal again. Terribly sorry, old chap.

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