"Not another step." Alex stepped forward
Y/n looked at him her eyes glowing she rose one of her hands to push him away but Molly put her arm down and gave her a look.
"I got you people tilted, huh? Don't worry, amigos. I'm not gonna hurt you" Topher stopped him chuckling
"quién eres tú (who are you) Do I know you?" Molly asked confused
"No, muñeca. Not yet, Como te llamas (No, doll. Not yet. What's your name?)" Topher asked
"Did you follow her home? 'Cause I'll kick your ass right now" Chase stepped forward and got in his face
"Not quite fast enough, lindo" Topher stepped back
"Let's ask some questions first." Alex bargained
"Ah, the leader, eh?" Topher chuckled "I'd shake your hand,but doesn't look like we're there yet."
"Who are you?" Y/n crossed her arms
"He's an undercover cop." Gert started
"He's gonna bust us and send us backto our parents who'll murder us"
"or he's just a cold-blooded killer and he's gonna murder us right here, or he's a blackmailer and he's gonna demand money, which we don't have..." Y/n added
"We will end up murdered." Gert ended
"Everyone take a deep breath, OK?" Topher told them looking around "If you saw a little girl pick up a car, you'd check it out, muñeca (doll) , is a hero, for real."
"This guy on the street was messing with this lady, and I tried to talk him out of it... with my fists. I had to protect her." Molly explained
"You didn't think to mention this to anyone?" Y/n asked
"I'm mentioning it now." Molly defended
"When I heard them talk about the girl with the yellow eyes, I had to check it out. Did I think it would lead me to a...
mansion arruinada?" The intruder told them
"He means "ruined mansion." It's so poetic." Molly smiled
"But now that I'm here, you gotta give me the name of your decorator, 'cause this place is dope as shit!" He kept looking around
"Cone of Silence!" Nico told the staff "He can't hear us now. What do we do with him? Discuss."
"Let's get rid of him." Chase nodded
"I'm with Chase." Alex agreed
"Isn't he just like us?" Karolina asked "So what? We find safety, then we just abandon everybody else?"
"We are Brentwood people." Gert shrugged
"That's wrong. Let him stay." Molly said "The cops aren't even looking for us anymore."
"Who knows if we can even trust this kid?" Y/n told her sister
"Yeah. I mean, look at him. He's all..." Chase started
"Homeless? Dirty? Hungry?" Karolina finished
"Uh, hello? Gert,stand up for this guy." Molly scoffed
"In the 100-yard dash between my anxiety and my idealism, I'm ashamed to say my anxiety is winning. I'm a hypocrite. It's official." Gert defended
"Look guys, I'm sorry but I don't trust him something feels off" Y/n sighed
"Don't apologize. Why should we risk letting a stranger in here?" Alex told her
"You know, my parents invented something for this exact situation." Gert told them "Do you remember the cartridge we found at Graciela's house? Inside is a serum that will wipe your whole hard rive. That 17-page term paper you call your memory? Poof."
"Great. Let's do that, then." Chase nodded
" No. Let's not." Molly interrupted "It's from our parents, remember They're bad people."
"If we use it, especially on a kid, doesn't that make us just like them?" Alex sighed
"You guys." Nico looked at topher who's eyes we're glowing
"What the...?" Y/n started but got interrupted by topher breaking the barrier
"No. You guys, he's not going anywhere." Molly told them
~
"So... what is it?" Topher asked petting old lace
"It's a 'she.' " Molly told hom
"She's a rescue." Nico said blankly
"So her breed is unclear." Y/n added
"Pit mix, maybe?" Chase said simply
"So girls with glowing eyes, a witch with a magic stick, and now a stray pup who had Godzilla for a dad." Topher looked at them "Feels like I'm in the right place."
"Yes." Molly nodded "See, maybe I had to become a vigilante in order to find someone just like me. To bring in the eighth member of, you know, whatever we are."
"OK, Molly. Slow down. He's a stranger." Y/n stopped her
"He's got powers just like mine That can't just be a coincidence." Molly told them
"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's late, and everyone has a lot of questions." Y/n glared at topher before pointing to where he would sleep "You sleep there."
"She sleeps here." Gert pointed to a spot near him where old lace would be sleeping
"Yeah, I'm going to bed." Alex told them "My parents murdered my friend and cost me someone I really cared about, so this guy? Not that important to me."
~~~~
Y/n was sat up in her and chases bed biting her nails she didn't like the thought of topher being there and on top of that her headaches we're back. She looked behind her as chase sat up rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry. I woke you up. Did I wake you up? I'm sorry. Was it my worrying?" She frantically asked
"It does get a little loud sometimes." Chase told her
"I'm sorry. It's gert she's turning me into a person who says 'I'm sorry' all the time." Y/n sighed
"Hey. It's okay. It's not like time even matters anymore. I mean, do you have somewhere you gotta be today?"chase Asked
"I don't know. Let me check my imaginary smartphone for my imaginary calendar." She pretended to take her phone out of her pocket and check "Nope. Just being a runaway again."
"Which means you got all day. So... you wanna talk about it?" Chase rubbed her back
"Do you ever think about our old lives?" Y/n sighed "Like where we'd be right now if we weren't here?"
"I try not to think about my current life, never mind my old one." Chase sighed
" Cause I've never thought that I'd want to go to an SAT prep class or AP History. I even miss Eiffel and her stupid dance routines." Y/n shook her head
"It is starting to feel like it's all just Tuesday now. No, wait. Wednesday. No, wait, it is Tuesday." Chase looked confused
"Think it's actually Thursday." Y/n chucjled
"Whatever. This... is the new normal." He grabbed her face leaned in and kissed her.
"The new normal's not all bad." She smiled at him as they pulled away
"Yeah. It's got an upside, for sure." He grabbed her hand
"But it does mean I need to go check on Molly and the new guy" She smiled
"Say hi to her new bestie for me, I'll go back to sleep." He layed back down
Y/n walked out of the room and went to old lace and pet her
"Good guard-dino! You keepin' a monocular eye on our mysterious stranger" Y/n looked where topher was supposed to be "Topher?
After getting no answer she opened the blanket covering his area he wasn't there and a hole was by his bedb"Guys?"
~
Y/n walked down the stairs the others trailing behind her. She walked into the room and saw topher and Molly looking into a mirror talking about her parents
"Hey. Me and Molly whipped up some chow." Topher looked at them
"So this is why you left?" Gert asked "Explains the little remodeling job upstairs."
"We assumed you were gone for good. And by 'assumed' I mean 'hoped.' " Chase added
"You showed me kindness, amigo, and I'm showing it back. Had to get past your 'guard dog' first." Topher stepped up and saw chase holding a fistegon "What's this?"
"My guard dog." Chase said simply
"You people are muy interesante. (Very interesting)" Topher chuckles "Is there something going on here that I need to know about?"
"I think you know too much already." Y/n shrugged
"Sorry... but he might be my relative.
Isn't that nuts?" Molly told them
"Well then Molly where did your "relative" get all this food?" Y/n scoffed
"It's called urban foraging." Molly defended
"Is that like artisanal stealing?" Alex asked
"No, man. Stolen goods? That ain't me. I asked permission first. Go ahead, make yourself a plate." Topher explained "No? Look, I can see you guys aren't... sure about me."
"You're right. We aren't." Y/n gave a fake smile
"So I'm gonna be honest. I know who you are. You been all over the news. Pretty hard to miss, you ask me." Topher looked at them all
"You should leave." Chase put on a fistegon and stepped closer
"Oye! Calmate, hombre. (Take it easy man.) Think about it. You know why you can trust me Because I don't need you. I've already got this whole street-life thing wired. You guys? You need all the help you can get." Topher shrugged
"We're doing fine, thanks." Y/n rolls her eyes
"Are you? You can't even say yes to good food. That kind of pride is just some rookie shit. Us street kids, we stick together. We give and we take... and that's how we survive. I have skills, knowledge you can use..." He continued
"Oh, yeah? Like where to dumpster dive?" Chase asked
"Damn straight. This ain't Brentwood, you fool." Topher chucked
"OK, so what's in it for you?" Chase continued
"I like sleeping indoors... in a bed." Topher looked around
"Thanks for the offer. We'll think about it." Y/n went to leave
"Look, I'm just saying. Rich kid runaways... you gotta be extra careful. You're like housecats out in the wild." Topher shrugged
"What that supposed to mean" Y/n turned back around
"I remember this one dude... Good-looking, deluxe family... but when folks on the street found out that there was a reward on him, they didn't hesitate to collect. He just... hadn't built that loyalty out here, you know? Not that I would do that, you know? It's just, not everyone is as trustworthy as me. Enough of all that, please. Who wants quiche?" Topher asked them
"I think this one's gluten-free." Gert picked one up
"I saw him eat one of these. It's not poison." Karolina told y/n who was glaring at the food
"Yes. I knew they'd come around. Come on." Molly smiled "Let me give you a tour of your new home.'
"Lead the way, muneca. (doll) " Topher smiler
"Don't get lost."Nico told him
"Or do." Y/n added
"You're not hungry either?" Chased asked y/n who played with a muffin on the table "There's something about that guy that makes me lose my appetite."
"Maybe you're just jealous... or threatened." Karolina shrugged
"What? Why would I be jealous?" Chase chuckled
"Because he's handsome, and street-smart, and a really good provider." Karolina added
"Chase is handsome" Y/n said as the group looked at her she grabbed a muffin and bit into it "This is so good."
"We should all feel threatened. He's hiding something." Nico told them
"Whatever he's done, it's nothing compared to our parents." Alex shrugged
Y/n left the room the muffin in hand
~~~~
"Hey, you okay" Chase said as he walked to y/n who was sat on their bed "you seem a bit upset"
"Well wouldn't you be upset when all your sister wants is a relative and your not good enough to fill that spot" Y/n sighed
"I don't think she See's it in that way, she didn't even understand her powers and he has exact ones like her" Chase explained from the doorway
"Guys I need to talk to you all" Alex called from downstairs
"I just don't want her to think she dosn't need me anymore" Y/n stood up
"Don't worry, she will always need you" Chase grabbed her hand as they walked downstairs
They saw the rest of the group sitting on the stairs so they said next to them. Alex explained why he needed them
"All I need is an 18-core, 36-thread processor chip." Alex told them
"Oh, good. We have so many of those lying around here in our ruined mansion." Nico sarcastically stated
"I know exactly where to find one." Alex told them
"Where? And how much is it?" Nico continued
"It's free." Alex told them "But you are not gonna like what we have to do to get it. We're goin' back to Atlas Academy."
"What?" Y/n asked
"Oh, my God."
"And what do we do with him?" Y/n asked
"Topher? He's the one that's gonna get us inside."
~~~~
"Where are we going?" Molly panted
"Are we jogging to Brentwood?" Y/n asked
"Awesome!" Molly said as they stopped at cars
"Wait. Three cars?" Chase asked "We don't have the money for this."
"You don't need any. I got a gang of free vouchers from a Hollywood Hills party I crashed.Alex, you and Gert get in the first car. Chase, you go with Molly. Y/n And Nico, you're with me." Topher said to them then looked at Nico who didn't wanna go "Come on. Your girlfriend isn't here anyway."
Nico glared at him before grabbing y/ns hand and pulling her into the car
~
"I know you guys don't like me, but I'm cool with it." Topher told them
"It's not that we don't like you. We don't trust you." Y/n looked out the window
"I see that. You're both cold to me." Topher nodded
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not warm to anyone." Nico scoffed
"I like your guy's honesty." He nodded
"We don't do it for you." Y/n scoffed
"Maybe that's what I like about you." He added
"I don't really care what you like." Nico told him
"What do you care about?" Topher asked "Wicca? 'Do what ye will, and ye harm none.' "
"What do you know about Wicca?" Nico asked
"I know what a spell is. When you take symbols and action, turn them into some... power." He shruggged "Something like that."
"Seriously, nobody gets that." Nico looked shocked
"I do." He nodded
"I think, um... maybe... I misjudged you." Nico told him
"Nico, really" Y/n whispered to her
Nico gave her an apologetic look
"Tell me something, though. What's in that vial you carry around?" Y/n looked at topher
"Come on, now. I've seen what you guys can do." Topher chuckled "Um... are all of you holding?"
"Holding?" Nico asked
"You mean like with drugs?" Y/n rose her eyebrowd
"Oh, I get it. Playing dumb." Topher looked at them "OK, I got you. You want to keep all your shit to yourself. It's cool.
"You want me to share with you, don't ya?" Nico asked "Because us kids need to stick together."
"That's right." He nodded "So we're friends now?"
"N-" Y/n started
"Ok" Nico nodded
~
"We got 15 minutes while everybody's in all-school assembly." Alex explained
"I even miss all-school assembly." Y/n sighed
"Once you're inside, straight down the hallway. Then go up to the second floor." Alex told them
"Take the main staircase." Molly told them
"Shouldn't he take the side stairs?" Gert asked
"Then he'll run into the Vape Team." Chase explained
"The kids with vape pens." Y/n nodded
"Oh, they're so annoying." Molly groaned " 'Sick clouds, brah.' "
"You guys, stop." Alex told them "First door to your right is the computer lab. Back of the room there's a wood cabinet. Inside is a safe. 19-3-26, right, left... Give me your phone, I'll write it down." Alex told topher and looked at him before grabbing the phone "Do not speak to anyone."
"Not that anyone here has anything to say." Nico told them
"It's not that bad, Nico." Chase defended
"It's not that good, either." Y/n shrugged
"Got it?" Alex asked
"I survived foster care, no? I think I can handle a bunch of fresas." Topher nodded
"Fresas. It means spoiled rich kids." Molly told then
"Like us?" Gert asked
"Like we used to be." Molly nnodde
~~~~
"Another earthquake" Y/n panicked
"I've got you. Stay calm." Chase told her
"Nobody move." Gert yelled
"Topher's stuck in there!" Alex told them
"OK, that... wasn't too bad." Nico sighed
"You OK?" Chase asked y/m
"Not even in theory." She sighed
"I loved it." Molly smiled
"Okay, that alarm means we got about two seconds before earthquake protocol kicks in." Alex told them
"All students proceed to the parking lot for mandatory head count"
"There's Topher!" Molly pointed
"We gotta get that computer." Alex reminded
"We gotta get Topher!" Molly added
"OK, come on, you guys, we're going in." Nico told them "Keep your heads down, we'll disappear into the chaos."
"Chase and I will head to the lab." Alex told them
"Molly, we'll go to the parking lot. Y/n and Gert..." Nico started
Y/n got pulled away by someone she looked over and let out a breath of relief seeing who it was
"Gert?"
~~~~
"Gertrude Yorkes?"
"Oh, my God!" Y/n jumped
"Sorry! Wow! You really startled us." Gert panted
"Whoa. Hang on a second. Is this your guy's first day back?" The nurse asked
"Yes. Yes!" Y/ nodded
"And that earthquake... really got me shook." Gert sighed "Sorry about the pun. It just really shows how emotionally fragile I am. Which is why I actually came to see if you have any of my anxiety meds here? There... There should be a big bottle of them with my name on it... And y/n's meds for her headaches somewhere back there."
"Usually I'm notified when kids who've been through something traumatic return to school." The nurse told them
"You... Oh, you mean the fugitive thing-" Gert started
"Hmm. Um, that probably sounded a lot worse than it actually was. We were never actually suspected of murder." Y/n finished
"You know, fake news. Can you check on our medicine, though?" Gert reminded
"Just a moment." She went to the phone "Hi, it's Nurse Wilson, I've got Gertrude Yorkes and y/n Hernandez here."
They looked at each other panicked
~
The two ran to the bathroom panicked
"Oh, my God, there you are. Where have you been?" Alex asked then
"We tried to score some meds out of the nurse's office." Gert told then
"Nurse Nightmare? Why would you risk that?" He shook his head "Did anyone see you?"
"Uh... no." Y/n shook her head "No! I don't know. Possibly. You never really know."
"We should probably hurry, though." Gert added
"What are you doing outside of the gender neutral bathroom?" Y/n asked
"Waiting for Chase. He's in there getting a key to the computer lab. He should be out any second." Alex explained
"Can I just quickly note how weird it is that I just used to walk up and down there halls taking central heat and air conditioning for granted?" Gert told them
"Dude, hurry!" Alex nocked on the door
"I'm gonna go in." Y/n said
"No, no, you might not want to do that." Alex pushed her back
Y/n looked confused then a second later chase came out with the keys y/n stared when she heard Eiffel
"Bye, Chase!" Eiffel walked out of the bathroom "Hi, Alvin, Gort, Other person."
"Come on, let's go." Alex ran awsy
Y/n stood still for a second
"Come on." Chase pulled her
~
"Our parents are here!" Molly yelled to the others as they tried to get into the room
"They just rolled into the parking lot in their motorcade of evil." Nico panted
"This'll take one second. Hold on." Alex struggled
"Too late." Gert told them
"They're in the building." Chase looked at them
"Run! Run!" Y/n ran "Wait, Molly. Over here. The secret stairs."
"It's locked." Molly tried the door
"Alex." Chase called
"I've got it" He unlocked the door and they went in
~
The group climbed back to their meeting spot
"Ay, dios." Topher welcomed them "Where were you, fam? Mission accomplished."
"I thought we weren't supposed to say that anymore." Get asked
"How did you get this?" Alex asked
"I walked into the computer lab.Dialed 19-26-3. And here you go. You're welcome." Topher handed the computer to Alex
Chase looked over at the people in the parking lot as the rest left
"Chase, you coming?" Y/n asked
~
"The best thing was when we finally get over the wall, and there you were, holding the computer." Molly gushed
"It was all Alex. I was just following his directions." Topher told her
"Sorry I gave you such a hard time." Chase told him
"You totally came through." Y/n nodded
"It's OK, I know how it is." Topher nodded "Who can you trust, right?, How's the hotspot working?"
"Game-changer." Alex told him "I've already started flooding the security at the dig site with multiple spoofed addresses."
"Keep the phone." Topher told him "I can get another one. No problema. Consider it rent."
"Thank you. Seriously, we couldn't have done this without you." Alex told him
"I told you." Molly smiled
"That's how we roll, right, hermanita?" Topher smiled
"S?, hermano." Molly smiled
"Do you think we can go back to Atlas Academy and maybe this time we break into the nurse's office?" Y/n aksed
"Hey, one thing I'm still wondering about." Alex stopped topher "How come your eyes turned yellow?"
"I think it maybe runs in my family. I don't know." Topher shrugged walking away
"Can we talk to you?" Y/n said as she stopped him he went to kiss her but she backed away and looked at nico
"Alone?" Nico added
"Is this what you were looking for?" Y/n showed him the vile
"So that's why you were so friendly in the car." Topher scoffed reaching for it but she pulled it away "I'm just playing."
"And we are not." Y/n told him
"This is why your eyes turn yellow, isn't it?" Nico asked
"Is that mine, or are you finally ready to share?" Topher asked
"I'm finally ready for the truth." Y/n told him "You're nothing like Molly."
"You get high off this stuff, don't you?" Nico asned "So what is this?"
"And where the hell did you get it?" Y/n added
~~~~
3758 wirds
All the translations are from Google Translate 💀