You had scheduled a meeting with Adam for today. You couldn't wait any longer. You needed to know where Wanda is. Your friends and Alex were already aware of the meeting so you were sure they wouldn't mind you leaving early. You wore the red jacket that you laundered the day before. You walked down the stairs and saw Livvie was in the mansion. "Liv." You softly called out in surprise. "What's going on? What are you doing here? It's early."
Livvie exhaled. "I need to tell you guys something." She glanced at Alex's room and saw Alex sleeping. "Quickly. Before he wakes up."
You nodded instantly. "I'm waking the others up." You hurried to your friends' rooms and woke them up, telling them to get ready because Livvie had something to say. To prevent Alex from waking up, all of you hurried down the stairs in silence.
When she heard you and your friends enter the dining room, Livvie, who was waiting there, turned around. "Sorry to say this, but I know you guys rely on each other, and I think it's important for you to know the truth."
"I already appreciate you coming to us." You reassured as you stood beside Livvie and the others gathered around the table. "What is it?"
Livvie sighed heavily. "Alex sold us out." She confessed, causing everyone to stiffen. You lowered your head down, placing your hands on a chair. "He made a deal with AWOL."
"Oh, shit." You whispered, shaking your head.
"Why would Alex do that?" Nico asked in disbelief.
"You gotta be kidding me." Chase scoffed before drinking his water.
"And that's not even half of it," Livvie replied but stopped when she noticed Alex had woken up and approached the room. "Livvie." Alex greeted in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
Livvie cocked an eyebrow. "Letting everyone know that you're a liar, who went behind our backs and made a deal with AWOL, all because you hate your parents."
Alex raised his eyebrows as he stepped closer inside. "You ratted me out?" He questioned.
"You're putting all of us in danger," Livvie exclaimed.
"How could you, Alex?" Karolina asked.
"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Nico added.
"He wasn't," Chase stated.
"Or I'm thinking so many moves ahead that you can't even keep up." Alex retorted. You scoffed as you pushed yourself away from the chair and faced your back to everyone and your eyes glaring at the drapes in frustration. "Well, if you could've told us your so many moves, we would've kept up." You argued. "We're a team here, Wilder."
Alex sighed. "I'm meeting with AWOL today, and he's giving me everything we need to ruin PRIDE." He explained. "Then we take it to a guy he knows at City Hall, someone that Flores can't get to."
"Sounds too good to be true." You commented with a scoff as you turned around and crossed your arms.
Gert nodded. "Yeah. And 'a guy he knows'? Do you know how IDTV that sounds?"
"How could you be this gullible?" Karolina scolded.
"What other choice do we have?!" Alex exclaimed. "We have to find a way to get over PRIDE's head!"
"So you're gonna let that asshole AWOL and his entire squad of assholes go free?" Molly questioned Alex in anger.
"Look... my strategy has never changed. Okay? I said I'm taking down PRIDE, so I'm taking down PRIDE."
"You're taking down PRIDE?" You questioned Alex in disbelief.
"Who are you right now?" Nico questioned as well.
"There's no 'I' in team, Alex," Chase argued, but you, Nico, Karolina, and Molly turned your heads to face Chase in confusion and incredulity. "Coach Alphona told me that one." He stated proudly.
Nico just slowly nodded while Gert continued to talk to Alex. "You made a deal with a criminal, Alex," Gert remarked. "Which is exactly what—what happened to—what happened to our parents, which is—which is—which is bad, is the point that I'm trying to make." Gert stammered causing Chase to stand up. "My tongue feels weird." She stated.
"Great job, Wilder." Chase scolded Alex. "She's already under enough stress with what's going on with Old Lace."
Alex's eyebrows furrowed. "What's going on with Old Lace?" He asked in obliviousness.
"She's sleeping finally, but she's been freaking out," Nico answered. "And you'd know if you were thinking of anyone else other than yourself."
"I never thought I'd say this to you of all people, but be smart," Chase stated. "You're still a TARDIS-loving dork who can't see without his glasses. You're not some gangsta."
"What about what you've done, huh?!" Alex yelled. "Stole a car. We robbed our school." He reminded. "Some of you have done a lot worse than that." Alex glanced at Nico and you quickly held your sister's hand while Karolina glanced at her girlfriend. "Alex, that's enough." You hissed.
"You know what? You're all a bunch of hypocrites." Alex scoffed before walking away. You clenched your fist before walking out of the room to follow Alex. "Alex!" You called out. You turned to face your friends after Alex didn't turn around and then started pursuing him once more. Nico sighed. "Why did she even date him in the first place?' She grumbled but loud enough for the others to hear.
"(Y/n)'s dating Alex?" Molly gasped.
Nico froze on her spot and looked at everyone. "Oh, shit. I thought you guys already know."
"Alex!" You yelled as the two of you got out of the mansion. "Alex Wilder!" You yelled louder and that was enough for Alex to stop walking. He turned around and sighed. "(Y/n), you can't stop me from meeting AWOL today. I already made a deal."
You stood in front of him and clenched your fists. "I'm really fighting the urge to slap or punch you in the face right now." You said as you stared at him. "I don't know how one of the smartest people I know got so dumb and became so irrational just because he got blinded by revenge on his parents. It's like I'm looking at a different Alex."
Alex's face dropped. "(Y/n), come on... I'm doing this for all of us. For you. But I'm going to handle this alone because I started this mess."
You stepped back and shook your head. "I won't stop you, fine. But don't talk to me until you finally come to your senses." You walked away, leaving Alex alone.
°•○●○•°
You stood there waiting for Adam in the same convenience store where the two of you have met for the second time. You lightly kicked a stray small rock as you leaned your back against a pole. "You look stressed." You turned your head to the side and saw Adam smiling warmly at you. You chuckled and nodded. "So much stress. I'm stressing over Wanda's well-being, I'm stressing about my boyfriend's irrational decisions lately, and I'm stressing about my mental health."
Adam's smile dropped instantly after hearing your statement. "Wait, boyfriend? You have a boyfriend?"
You scrunched your nose as you looked at Adam. "Oh, yeah, recently. Sorry that I didn't mention that."
Adam slowly nodded in understanding. "Oh..." He softly said. "Well, I'm glad you have one now. Just a little hurt that... you have one now."
You pressed your lips together as you looked down at the ground. "Why?" You asked in curiosity.
"Well, I actually kinda like you. I'm serious about that. But it's understandable that you don't like me since we rarely meet."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Adam sighed before bringing his arm out. "Come on. The files about Wanda are in my house."
You blinked in surprise. "Wait, what about your parents?"
"They're rarely in the house. Come on."
You hesitated but you slung your arm around him as Adam led you to his car. You sat in the passenger's seat while Adam went to the driver's seat. He started the engine and began driving. You looked at Adam worriedly when you saw him being nervous and upset. The car ride was unexpectedly quiet, but you couldn't blame Adam.
To your surprise, it was already evening after you and Adam arrived at his house. Once Adam had parked his car in his house's driveway, you noticed the other houses were a bit far away from his. Adam opened the door for you and you got out, seeing his home for the first time. "Wow..." You exhaled.
Adam opened the door to his house and you gave him a quick thank you before going inside. The first thing that caught your attention was a bunch of mirrors hanging on the walls. "Wow. That's, uh, a lot of mirrors."
"That's what happens if your father owns a furniture company and your mother is obsessed with mirrors." Adam sighed as he closed the door.
You saw a big portrait of Adam and his parents by the end of the hallways and saw the names of his parents. "Philip Jones and Arcanna Jones." Your smile faltered. "Wait, why is your name Locke, then? You don't use Jones?"
"Yeah. Locke is my second name. My mom said it was for safety. Whatever the fuck she means."
You followed Adam to a room, but just as Adam was about to open the door, you and Adam heard footsteps. "Ah! Adam, you're home." A woman, who you presumed to be Adam's mother, greeted loudly.
"You're here early, mother," Adam stated as he stared at his mother. "I thought you..."
"I couldn't wait!" Arcanna Jones giggled as she approached you and her son. "Especially when you mentioned you were bringing (Y/n) into our home."
'She sounds like...' You blinked your eyes in surprise. "You know me?"
"Of course, dear!" Agnes grinned. "I know everything about you."
You looked at Adam as you felt a sudden discomfort from Arcanna. You looked back at Arcanna who was still smiling widely at you. "Come, come! I'll tour you around the house."
Arcanna led the way while you and Adam glanced at each other. "I've never seen my mother so cheerful before," Adam whispered to you.
You cleared your throat as you opened your mouth to say something. "Sorry for the unexpected visit, Mrs. Jones." You quickly apologized as you and Adam followed Arcanna. "The reason why I'm here is because I just want to know where my sister Wanda is. That's all."
"Oh, you poor thing." Arcanna frowned. "So determined to see her long-lost sister. I admire that. Philip has no interest in finding me whenever I'm out of the house." She said in a joking manner but you got more uncomfortable. "Don't worry, we got all the files in the room. Adam, I'll give you an errand later."
"What? Why? I—" Adam tried to talk to his mother, but Arcanna shushed him. "Anyway, this is our humble abode." Arcanna raised her arms elegantly to show the pristinely painted walls and hanging big mirrors. You looked around and smiled at Arcanna. "You have a lovely home, Mrs. Jones."
"Ah, you can call me Arcanna, dear." Arcanna grinned. "And you can stay for tonight. I'm sure you're quite tired. Unless you don't mind touring you around our humble home first?"
You kindly smiled and nodded. "Yes, please, I don't mind."
"Splendid!"
-•-°-•-°-☆
Finally! An update. Just know that this won't be a daily update since school has started and I'll be busy from now on :')
p.s. Since I just finished writing FRAUGHT, I was confused about why there was a Nico in this book 😭 I was like, "why is Nico Russell here?" and then I remembered that it's Nico Minoru :'D