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❝𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔢, 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰; 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔴𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱❞
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𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑. Sleeping in an extra ten minutes could lead to something drastic like missing a bus and losing your job... or taking a shortcut instead of the safe route you always took. One small decision was what ultimately lead Marcus and Nikita to Master Lin. It had not been an easy recruitment, as he had half expected, and Liam Harding had been the one to volunteer himself into getting the two teenagers back into the school. That had consisted of getting Nikita on board first, knowing she could sway Marcus into following her. Nikita, now under the false pretence that Liam could and would help her find out the whereabouts of her former student father, had also been told by the boy that if the answer to joining the school was going to be a no then she would have had until midnight to run before Lin set every cop on her and Marcus—orders sent and set by Mr Valdemar himself.
It was a small lie, but Liam liked to justify it by maintaining the fact it was not a lie... just a version of the truth. The order that had actually been set by Mr Valdemar was that Master Lin was to see to it that if Nikita did not join the school, that she was at least settled somewhere safe and somewhere that would benefit her. Technically, a prison met those requirements—it was a bed, meals, and a roof. Perhaps not the safest, but there were at least guards. As for it benefits, perhaps she could make new friends... start a business or ring among the jail, or even take up a new hobby.
Nikita, of course, did not believe it at first and questioned the male why her father would risk it all when she would happily give him up to get some kind of deal for her and Marcus—only that idea was shot down when Liam asked her how she would give her father up if she did not even know where he was or where he could even remotely be. It was with that and some thinking that prompted Nikita to go after Marcus, who before Liam joined the blonde, had left her himself with no goodbye and just a false promise he would find her later.
Nikita had shed some tears over Marcus' actions in response to seeing the police surround the camp they had returned to in order to take back their belongings, hearing her fathers voice in her head reminding her that crying over someone else was no way to behave. But in reality, she wanted to drop to the ground and cry until there were no more tears left, her heart sinking as she started to wonder what was wrong with her—what it could possibly be that made everyone either leave her, or her lose them.
Her grandparents, her own parents, the few friends she had made but never could keep due to her father's travel and work commitments... and then, to add to that list, Marcus had not wanted her either. When Liam had approached the girl, he did not realise she was in fact sad or had been crying, until he decided to walk around and face her seeing as it seemed she was not going to look at him if he continued to stand behind her. All of his training had told him not to care about the tears he saw glistening under the street lamp, but something in him could not help but feel for the girl, knowing that she quite literally had nothing and no one.
The walk to the location Nikita had guessed Marcus would be was mostly quiet, a few passerby's greeting Liam and Nikita and offering them candy. The teens had taken the sweets, not daring to eat them and instead throwing them into trash cans or passing them on again, knowing there was a high chance they were in fact laced with something or were drugs not candy. Perhaps they were both being a little too paranoid, but seeing that each other were doing the same thing gave them a sense of comfort and assurance.
When Nikita had stared up at the Coit Tower that overlooked the vast expanse of the city, Nikita swore that her heart had stopped beating as she saw a dark figure up on the ledge. She had left Liam behind and requested that he stay put, and the blonde made her way up the tower to its rooftop, praying that she would make it up in time. She also prayed that perhaps she had been seeing things... and if it was no figment of her imagination, she hoped that it was not Marcus standing up there. However, panic and disappointment had set in when she realised it was definitely Marcus, his trademark red and blue jacket giving his identity away.
When the two friends both stood on the ledge of the tower, making one another equally nervous, they both realised they only had one another—and seeing how desperate the police were to arrest them made it seem like having one person was not enough... Nikita's quest to find her father seemed like nothing more than a dead end to the girl, and the blonde wondered that if he was meant to be found, he would have made an effort for it to be possible.
Everything the two teens owned was now gone for good, memories being the only valued possession they now had and they could not be robbed of. It was some of those memories that had brought Marcus to the top of the tower, and how Nikita had tracked him down. The blonde could vividly remember crying the day Marcus had explained why he was at the home, and how he had witnessed the tragic death of his parents.
It was during the time Reagan had cut all the funds that helped the facilities catering for those affected with mental health issues, giving those facilities no chance of survival and no choice but to release hundreds of patients back out into the public and onto the streets before they were even ready to leave. Her heart broke even more as Marcus recounted how his father had told him wise words about life not being a dress rehearsal and making the most of each day... which ended up being some of his last words, ironically enough.
One of those released patients had been an older woman, named Barbara Salinger. She was both schizophrenic and suicidal, and on that fatal day, she had taken a swan dive off the top of the tower and had fell right onto Marcus' parents. They had died from the impact, and when the court had announced Marcus was to be put into the care of a boy's home, he felt nothing more than disappointment.
No one could ever replace his mother and father, but as a nine year old he had hoped he would be given a new family, one that could keep him safe... and that was just the way he thought the world worked. That someone would take pity on him and welcome him into their home, instead of being thrown into the deep end and stuck in a prison-like environment that had all the boys living in it working on a sweatshop line—and that was not even the half of it.
The only good things Marcus could tie to the home were Nikita, and getting out of the dump. Though both things were not particularly surrounded with good or positive circumstances, they still felt like miracles after the things he had been through and seen happening. Nikita had managed to talk Marcus around, both leading him off of the tower and to the school.
Liam, Nikita, and Marcus had spent the taxi ride back to Master Lin mostly in silence and piled into the backseat of the yellow vehicle. The three teenagers had been watching the rain dripping down the windows of the car, whilst a Top 40 radio show played the current hits the nation were hooked on and the driver was not opposed to humming along with. Nikita had sat in the middle seat between both of the younger males in her company, and if Marcus had been a little more trusting of the male sitting beside the opposite door, he would have allowed himself to fall asleep.
The driver and Liam had ended up starting a conversation, only it was in a language Nikita could not be bothered to guess so she could decipher what they were saying, and one Marcus did not understand at all. Instead, the male watched the passing scenery and slumped slightly in his seat, staying still as Nikita gently rested her head against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, the girl felt nervous—thinking she had lost Marcus for good, thinking she was going to wind up in jail, seeing Marcus on the ledge of a building and now heading off to a school for the deadly arts were all wreaking havoc on her mind and her thoughts.
But, with Marcus beside her, it seemed like no matter what happened it would all be okay.
As the taxi reached its destination and Marcus and Nikita were welcomed into the school, the friend had decided and agreed upon one main thing—King's Dominion was like John Hughes' vision of America, which was then re-imagined by John Carpenter. The hidden away school was dimly lit, giving off a creepier feel than the Monks dressed in long brown cloaks with hoods who often appeared out of nowhere. Marcus and Nikita had been through the induction at the school, having much needed showers and taking pictures for their student ID cards, proceeding to receive the necessary items for all students from the old lady working in the library—who seemed just as excited as Nikita and Marcus about the items, which was amusing given her age and the fact she looked like a naive old granny who would have no clue what each item would or could be used for.
Unfortunately for the teens, seeing as the student body were mostly out or away for the weekend, they were stuck in a temporary room that looked more like a storeroom or janitors closet until a room each would be available. Their current one was dark, dingy, and cluttered... but for the teens who had been on the street recently, it was like staying at a Hilton Hotel. A door, a bed, a roof—it was all a little overwhelming, and upon glancing over at Marcus as he lightly bounced on his own bed to test it, Nikita caught him smiling to himself which instilled relief in her as she saw how content he was.
The male had fallen asleep not much longer after that, his notebook on his chest and pencil still in his hand as he slept away with music playing through the headphones connected to his Walkman—one that was technically Nikita's, as proven by the many stickers covering it, but had been gifted to Marcus when his love for music had been made apparent.
Unfortunately for Nikita, she could not seem to get to sleep, prompting her to place the book she had been reading down and head across the room to where
Marcus was. Carefully taking his book and pen away, Nikita put them in a safe spot before very slowly and very carefully taking his headphones off and pressing the stop button on the Walkman. Picking up the blanket folded up on the end of the bed, Nikita shook it out into the air before letting it gently float down onto Marcus and cover him in warmth. Seeing him sleeping peacefully made her happy, crouching down and gently placing a kiss on his forehead. She hoped he knew how much she loved him, and how much it meant to her that he was there with her... but unfortunately for Nikita, it was that love that would tear them apart in the vicious world of King's Dominion.
Pulling herself away from Marcus and switching the lamp in the room off, Nikita carefully stepped over the boxes in her way to the door before taking one last look at the sleeping boy before leaving, quietly closing the door behind her and heading off down the hall. She did not care much for her appearance, a King's Dominion gym class hoodie keeping her warm and pulled over the nightdress she had been given from the lost property box.
Which, she later would find out, was the property left behind by the students who had either died during their time at the school or had been kicked out of it with no chance to collect their things. With her ADIDAS sneakers travelling across the halls and towards any sign of something interesting to do, Nikita took in her surroundings once again, wondering how her father had felt when he was a student.
As far as she knew, he had been one of the Preps and upon a big falling out he had created the Royals—which, as the years went on, become like a hall of fame for infamous kids and true legacies. After receiving drunk directions from a group of students sneaking back to their dorms, Nikita found herself in the quiet diner that was one of the schools many fronts.
Luckily for her, it was a safe zone, away from police and people like Rory.
It was to her understanding that students got to eat free, and after sliding into a booth, the girl felt overwhelmed as she stared at the menu in her hands. Across the brightly lit restaurant, Liam looked up from his cigarette as he put it out in the ashtray on his table, eyes falling on a girl he was surprised to see. He wondered how she even had found out about the place, but to see her face again he sure was not complaining.
Wrapping a hand around the cold milkshake glass that had been brought out to him minutes ago, the male slid out of his seat and headed towards Nikita. He ran a hand through his light brown hair as he felt it flopping forwards, startling the girl he approached as he placed his drink down and sat across from her without an invitation to do so—though deep down he knew she would not mind, and as she gave him an expression that did not entirely tell him to get lost, he felt confident in presuming he was right.
"Can't pick?" Liam raised his thick eyebrows at the girl, who placed her menu down with a small sigh and shook her head, unable to recall the last time she had a choice in what she wanted to eat or drink "The milkshakes are always a good place to start... and, you can never go wrong with fries and hamburgers" the boy offered some guidance, smiling faintly as he mentioned the same drink he had ordered before taking a sip of it.
He was not sure what he had expected the child of the Aleksander Valdemar to be like, but so far Nikita was surprising him. From the outside, she seemed like a typical preppy or valley girl, but really she was tough and caring... and Liam was starting to think he was in love. Perhaps it was a little too soon for him to say, but she was everything he could want in a girl, and after years and years of wondering if she even existed... she was right there in front of him, living proof that the stories about Aleksander having a secret child were true.
It seemed everyone knew that rumour but Marcus, who had still been trying to make sense of all the things he had heard in the meat locker he and Nikita had been taken to the first time they met Master Lin that night, wondering if Nikita did not trust him enough to tell him the things that seemed to be common knowledge for complete strangers. Though, she did want to tell him... she just did not want to make him a part of it all and jeopardising his freedom with burdening him with the ins and outs of her father's criminal activity and her true backstory.
Not the one in her file that Liam had recounted to her, the only true things being where she had been born and how her father had boarded a plane with her to the US and essentially dumping her in San Francisco with an estranged grandmother who ran a boy's home.
As Nikita placed her order, and Liam made one of his own again, the slightly older waitress gave them both nervous smiles before she headed back to the kitchen. She knew the school was beyond the restaurant, and she had seen many things you would not see working at any old diner, but the late night shifts were always a worry. The added pressure of her customers being Royals did not help, either, and she prayed she would make it home that night in one piece.
The Royals were the number one gang at King's Dominion, after all—their affiliations were clue enough that they were the untouchables who could fuck up your life no matter where you were, where you hid, or who you had to protect you. They had more connections than there were students in the school... serial killers, mass murderers, past students whose pictures were up in the halls and in the newspapers scattered across the country, people on the most wanted list, and quite possibly the most deranged people you could ever imagine.
Had he not been so desperate to be a civilian and not a prisoner once again, Liam probably would have taken more care into the vehicle he had entered under the pretence it was a friend picking him up after his release from juvenile detention, but instead a group of kids his age had whisked him away and he had made it more than easy for them to do so.
It had taken a week to change his mind from being against the school to being for it, and after falling back into bad habits, Master Lin had used Liam's criminal record as a weapon and promised the boy he would never set foot in a prison or police station ever again if he would join the school. These days, he was a lot more reformed than his younger self, and that was partly due to the fact his father was a notorious mass murderer—giving his son the Royal title he wore with pride, despite the fact most people would not exactly be proud of a family member being responsible for the deaths of countless people.
"You know, it's not very fair that you know everything about me and I know nothing about you" Nikita spoke up after her drink had been placed down on their table, the fact she had actually thanked the waitress had made the worker feel a slight boost in positivity about the night. Taking a sip from her milkshake, Nikita placed the glass back down and leaned forwards slightly, propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her closed fist "Other than the fact you were in juvenile detention..." the girl recalled the detail Liam had given her earlier that night during his attempt to get her back to Master Lin so that he and his friends, or even Billy for that matter, would not get kicked out of the school.
"What are you hoping to hear? That I like long walks on the beach?" Liam quizzed the girl, and just like many other students at their school, he was not an open book.
Nor was he about to spill everything to the girl, no matter how much he liked her, or the fact they were in the same gang.
"Tell me something no one else at the school knows, not even your friends—you know, so then we're even" Nikita challenged the boy, her hopes perhaps a little too high, considering who she was talking to.
If all else failed, she would find a way to get into the student files and read his, seeing as he had already done the same with her file thanks to Master Lin giving it to the males who had come to collect herself and Marcus off of the streets.
"... I hooked up with Brandy Lynn at a party" Liam's answer was equal parts boring and disappointing, amused at the fact Nikita's shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh, not liking the fact all of her business was now his yet none of his was hers.
"Lame. I don't even know who that is" Nikita leaned back in her seat, rolling her eyes once more, wondering if the girl in mention was a Rat and that was why he was seemingly ashamed or had not told anyone.
Though, one look at Liam, and he gave off the impression that he was a ladies man. Too bad he was currently going nowhere with the one in front of him.
"Well, when you do, you'll be surprised then... won't you?" Liam quirked an eyebrow, a smug look on his face as he sat satisfied with his own answer, as well as being amused at the thought of the interesting dynamic that would come out of Nikita and Brandy meeting one another.
The waitress soon returned with the orders the two teens had placed, and as she looked at the large plates, Nikita found herself feeling more guilty than she was hungry. She thought of Marcus back inside the school, fast asleep and probably hungry, whilst she was there with food that had been lovingly cooked and not sat stewing in a large pot for days on end and slopped onto trays. Memories of the home lunches were never fun, and Nikita hoped the school would be an improvement, and part of her wondered if all the kids were treated the same or if there was a preference for certain students. Thanking the waitress again, Nikita gave her a kind smile, as if she were some kind of saviour for bringing her hot food.
However, as she looked back at her plate again, Nikita could not get Marcus off of her mind. Even if she knew full well he would not mind one bit that she was currently sitting in the comforts of a diner with a plate of food, she could not help herself.
"Don't worry, it's not going to moo" Liam reassured the girl, as if that was what she was worried about.
When, instead, as she stared down at the burger all she could picture were the half-eaten ones Marcus used to have no choice but to eat out of public trash cans.
"Thanks for that visual" Nikita glanced up at the male as she answered sarcastically, reaching for the ketchup bottle on their table and squeezing some onto the side of her plate so she could dip her fries in. Liam watched as she started to shake salt over the fries, amused at the amount she was putting on—however, it was out of habit, having many a day eating the food at the home that only salt could make it taste borderline tolerable "What brings you here so late, anyway? Shouldn't you be out trick or treating or something?" the blonde continued the conversation, rolling the sleeves of her hoodie up slightly, before picking up her burger.
"I was at a party for about ten minutes, got bored, and come back here" Liam shrugged in response, realising his answer would probably make him sound lame, but if Nikita had been at the party he knew she would have understood completely.
She was surprised with his answer, but then again the parties she had gone to almost seemed like they were wild on the account the home was so boring and traumatising for a young child who had never stayed in one place for longer than a few months—and even then, she was too young to remember a majority of the places she had gone to, considering her father had been on the move since she had been only a few months old. She had tried to drag Marcus along to as many parties as possible, and they'd drink in parks and sit around campfires or turn up at warehouses or run down houses being kids and having fun.
It was due to trying strawberry wine for the first time and too young of an age that Nikita had her drunken first real kiss with an equally as drunk and very inexperienced Marcus during a game of spin the bottle when they were both twelve, and though the story was not the most romantic neither teen would have it any other way.
"What kind of party was it if you got bored...?" Nikita scoffed, wondering what kind of company he had been in, or if perhaps he was either a teetotaller surrounded by drunks—or a drunk surrounded by teetotallers.
"Prep assholes. Don't believe in alcohol or fun" Liam shuddered as he thought back to the party, feeling like he had walked in on a dinner party for middle-aged adults bored with their lives and needing to see other people so they could brag about how good they had it and gossip about others so they could feel better about themselves.
The Preps liked to think they were one in the same as the Royals, believing their families prevalence and financial status made them just as - if not more - important and worthy of the top spot at the school. The Royals usually lead them on, letting them think that was the case, and then grades would be released and the Preps would realise they underestimated the top gang on campus.
"Tragic." Nikita shook her head, before she started to chew on some of the fries piled up on her plate.
When she was younger, her father would always rearrange them into funny words or figures for her, as a way to get her to eat her food—he did it with everything she refused to eat as a fussy child, mostly with her anti-vegetable eating views, but of course the male coaxed her into clearing her plate each time. Sometimes, he even wondered if she only faked disinterest in the foods, just so he would make mealtimes fun.
"What about you? I almost didn't recognise you without Marcus joined at your hip" Liam quizzed the girl whilst making a joke, causing Nikita to roll her eyes playfully in response.
"He's sleeping" Nikita explained, reaching for her glass and taking a sip of her milkshake before placing it back down and gesturing to the boy "And I don't expect you to understand, but when someone else has been through the exact same shit as you... it tends to make you inseparable" the blonde shrugged, seeing no shame in being close to the boy in mention.
"Shit really went down in that home, then, huh—?" Liam could not help but frown, wondering what kind of level of bad it had been... though, considering there was a big fire and a massacre, it was safe to assume it was very very very bad.
Nikita dropped her gaze from the boy, looking down at her half eaten meal, the thought of having to speak about the school with someone other than Marcus sending her mind into a meltdown. There were still things he did not know, and she sure as hell was not going to tell Liam those things. Hands sweaty and heartbeat rising, Nikita picked up her napkin and dabbed at her mouth, before setting it back down.
"I should get back, I—" Nikita began to shift in her seat, her words and movement prompting Liam to reach a hand out and place it on hers with an apologetic look as if he understood that the home was a no-go for conversation.
"Hey, hold up... you haven't eaten properly in God knows how long, just stay and finish your plate." Liam sounded like he was a parent talking to a child, however Nikita was too distracted with the fact his hand was on hers to take note of the tone he was using "You're a Royal now, Valdemar. Means everyone looks out for you, and you do the same for everyone—whether you or the other person likes it or not" the male pointed out to Nikita, knowing she needed to understand how the school and their gang worked.
Somehow, he would have to pull her further away from Marcus, knowing that people would only see her kindness towards a Rat as her weakness—which people would see as the Royals being kind to the Rats as well, which would then make them outcasts and bring them hell.
Despite the fact they were on top and could do whatever they wanted, no one ever wanted to be associated with a Rat by choice.
"That better not have been your way of asking me to spill about the home..." Nikita eyed the male suspiciously, taking her hand back and settling into her seat again.
"It was my way of saying if you did want to speak about it, you have a gang of people to listen to you... or, just one" Liam gave her a sincere look, a genuine but faint smile on his face, knowing he had his work cut out for him by having her as his pledge.
Nikita took in his words, and if she was not in public and a student at a school for the deadly, she just might have cried.
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A/N: thanks for reading & i hope you enjoyed!
there was a lil bit of a time jump in this chapter, but i did not like the chapter i had with the second part of the recruitment and stuff so some of it is in here and the rest will be mentioned in other chapters.
next update will be the first day of school and that's where all the fun and loads more nikita/marcus goodness starts ;)
comments/feedback/votes are always greatly appreciated <3
[ unedited ]