𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅𝐈𝐒𝐇 | 𝐀. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 [𝟏]

➛⠀𝟮𝟵 | 𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧𝗦

After what occurred last night, your heart won't stop racing. Nothing worked for you when you tried to relax by watching a sitcom or reading a book. You exited your room to find Robert, who was holding a cup of coffee and a newspaper in Amy's room. "Good morning." He greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi..." You greeted back unsurely. "You're back."

"I know, it's strange," Robert stated as he approached you. "You know, me being home. Your mom is giving me a second chance."

'Oh?' Your eyebrows raised in surprise as you allowed Robert to continue. "I'm grateful." Robert slightly chuckled. "Even if she doesn't want me back in her bed yet."

"Don't we have a guest room?" You asked.

Robert chuckled again. "Nico said the same thing." He patted your head and kissed the side of your head. "I think she's waiting for you outside."

You nodded and headed out the door to meet Nico. You cast a glance towards Tina, who was sipping tea in the kitchen. She offered you a quick smile before returning her attention to her newspaper. When you got out of the home, you noticed Nico staring at her phone. "You called a Lyft?" You asked.

Nico nodded and showed you her phone. She was watching Janet's statement about her husband's health and situation. "Cancer." You whispered. You and Nico turned your attention to the upcoming car. "We both know it's not just cancer," Nico told you. "Something more awful must have happened."

"You could tell on Janet's tone of voice." You pointed out as you and your sister got inside the car. "You could tell that she's lying."

You leaned your back against the car while Nico looked down at your arm. "How's your arm? Chase must have twisted it very hard."

You shrugged. "It wasn't that painful. He was sure not to hurt me that much. Chase just wanted me to lose my focus."

"Looks like you've been practicing how to use your new powers," Nico whispered, making sure the Lyft driver wouldn't hear.

You glanced at Nico and looked down at your hands. "I'm so used to casting illusions, so, yeah, I need some practice with my new powers." You whispered back. "I want to protect everyone someday and not be a burden."

Nico shook his head and held your hand. "You're not a burden, okay? And I don't want you getting hurt."

The two of you arrived at school and got out of the car. You put your bag's strap over your shoulder and headed to Atlas Academy with Nico. Nico was listening to music through her earphones when you walked across campus. You spotted Alex, with a frown shown on his face, standing beside Gert and Karolina. Until last night, you had never seen Alex so enraged. You were even taken aback by his ability to fight back against Chase, a varsity player on his lacrosse team.

When you and Nico were near to Alex and the two girls, you could hear their conversation. "Got all of these people feeling sorry for him." Alex hissed annoyingly. "Doesn't need a hug; what he needs is a punch in the face." He stated as he angrily watched Chase being hugged by his friends from his lacrosse team.

"Another reason to miss Molly," Gert whispered.

"His dad is in rough shape, wherever PRIDE has him." Karolina defended.

"His dad is just as bad as the rest of our parents." Gert retorted.

"And Chase destroyed the only chance we had to put 'em away," Alex added.

"It still might work." Karolina tried to convince and defend. "I'm not saying what he did was right..."

"Please do not try and defend him." Alex scolded Karolina.

"Even if you did hook up with him," Gert muttered, who crossed her arms.

Karolina snapped her head towards Gert. "Could you please not tell everyone that?"

"What, like Nico hasn't already told them?"

"How would Nico know unless you told her?"

"Why would it bother you if I did?"

Alex sighed. "Yeah, no worries, right now, Nico isn't even talking to me." Nico managed to hear Alex's statement when she removed her earphones and stood beside Gert. "He speaks the truth," Nico replied, crossing her arms.

Alex gave you and Nico a quick glance before returning his gaze to Chase and his friends. You locked your gaze on Chase and recognized Lucas, the same man who had stared at you a few days before, staring back. You averted your gaze and crossed your arms uneasily. Alex noticed Chase approaching the group. "And I'm leaving."

Karolina grabbed Alex's shoulder. "Stay." She urged. "Let's talk through this."

"I've got a busted laptop that says we're past the point of polite conversation," Alex argued.

"Wilder, I said I was sorry," Chase told Alex, stopping in his tracks when he was in front of him and the others. Chase glanced at you and your arm. "And I'm sorry for twisting your arm."

You shrugged quietly while Alex glared at Chase. "Are you sorry, Chase?" He questioned. "Tell me, what does that change, exactly? Thanks to you, we don't know what our next move is or if we even have one. We can't win, not anymore."

"My dad says he has a plan." Karolina beamed.

Alex rolled his eyes, softly scoffing. Nico stared at you and her friends. "So, what are you suggesting? That we all break up? Again?"

Gert shook her head. "No. No, we can't disband the group. We never even gave ourselves a cool nickname." Chase managed to smile a bit at Gert's statement.

"How about the Runaways?" Alex proposed, glaring at Chase. "For all the kids, we couldn't save or avenge."

Chase looked down in shame while you bit your inner cheek, disturbed. Karolina shook her head. "Too dark." She commented.

"Even for me." Nico agreed.

"Why don't we just go nickname-less?" Gert mumbled sadly.

Alex walked away, making sure to bump his shoulder towards Chase's. You and the others followed Alex and walked through a crowd around Eiffel's table. "Last chance to get your tickets before the dance tonight!" You heard her yell.

Alex looked at the pamphlets on Eiffel's table, stopping him when it caught his attention. Eiffel cocked an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, this does not concern you." She hissed.

You saw Alex roll his eyes and was ready to walk away. You and the others continued to follow Alex until Eiffel stopped Chase. "Chase, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad," Eiffel said. "You know, sometimes a bad thing has to happen for something good to come of it."

You and the others stopped for a moment, watching what was going on. You crossed your arms and intently watched Eiffel. You could feel her getting nervous from your gaze.

"How about a free ticket?" Eiffel offered the free ticket to Chase. "I'll even save you a dance." She winked.

Chase nervously chuckled, glancing at you and his friends. "Um, I'm not sure I'm going."

Eiffel huffed and looked back at you and the rest. "You want one?" You tilted your head while Karolina raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The water polo team will be there, in case you're looking to diversify."

Gert scoffed and took her wallet out. She slammed her cash on Eiffel's table. "We'll take six tickets, you hateful bitch." You smirked and held your head high while Gert scoffed at Eiffel, whose jaw dropped. "We're all going together."

Gert turned around, facing you and the others. "If there's nothing left for us to do, then let's dance." You grinned with the others while Chase looked down at Gert lovingly and proudly.