A- Villain

Chapter 27 - The hero is a thief

Em takes Kennedy's seat without a word, but her furrowed eyebrows tell me she's confused by my outburst.

"So I change the probability. We'll figure it out together Beck," she sets her coffee cup down and grabs my hands in hers. "Listen, we're going to win. I'm not going to let you take on the responsibility for this alone. My role working for the SEA isn't exactly noble and I need to be part of the changes too. This isn't about your assignment anymore or you capturing me. Let that guilt go. We have work to do."

I take in her appearance from head to toe, admiring her tenacity and her beauty. That's when I realize what she's wearing.

"Is that my shirt?" I'm utterly confused as to where she got it and also why she's wearing it.

She looks down and pulls on the black t-shirt with a picture of a gorilla on it with the words, There is no need to be upset written on it. It's faded out terribly, but I know that shirt is mine without a doubt, because I distinctly remember my dad hysterically laughing when I found it in our attic cleaning things out before a move. He said it was some joke from his highschool days, so I kept it because it was vintage. He didn't appreciate me calling it vintage.

"Oh, I spilled coffee on mine, I found this."

I'm trying to hold back a cheesy grin because she looks so cute in a simple way in my t-shirt and black leggings. "It's way too big on you. Also, you went through my bag?"

She raises an eyebrow, "Are you keeping secrets again?"

I let out a laugh, "No I'm trying to keep my clothes!" I pull her barstool closer to me so I can wrap my hands around her waist. "First my hat, then my heart, and now my shirt? The hero is a thief, who would've thought?"

Em chuckles, "I don't think I ever confirmed it was your shirt."

I roll my eyes as the corner of my mouth turns up, "Is it my shirt?"

She purses her lips, "Ok yes but Beck -"

I chuckle, "I'm just teasing. You look adorable Em. Feel free to steal more of my shirts."

She then rests her head on my shoulder and after a beat of peaceful silence passes, she points to my notes and asks "What's the plan, boss?"

"This is what I have so far:

Step one is I have to keep up the act of being hypnotized and keep reporting back to The Undergrounds. I'll tell them I've captured Jenga and I'm holding her hostage somewhere. Then when it's time to bring Jenga to them, Grayson will go into The Undergrounds pretending to be Switch and you will go in as Jenga. At this point, Geo will create an earthquake as a distraction and I'll be making sure the power goes out. We'll use this distraction as a time to kidnap Professor Hayes."

Em nods along, absentmindedly twirling her hair as she looks at the plans. When she realizes I've come to a stopping point, she sits up straighter and blurts, "Oh you're done," I must not be great at hiding my hurt, as she adds, "It's great so far! I'm just wondering what do we do with Hayes after we kidnap him?"

I let out a loud sigh that I didn't realize I'd been holding in. "I don't know, Em. I just wanted to reverse the roles on him. But maybe we can use your probability powers to change the odds of him basically wanting to brainwash other students."

A few seconds of silence pass between us as we study my makeshift outline.

Then I look over at Em, who simultaneously looks up at me.

"You know, it is kind of weird how he's so good at brainwashing students to get involved in his operation. Do you think that's his power? Maybe he's related to Jessie!" I barely breathe between sentences.