A/N: there's going to be some modifications about what happened in vegas between Maria and Marcus. They never went as far as they show on the episode, they just kissed but it won't change anything more.
It's been a month since Vegas, and everybody was freaking out for various reasons. The main issue was, we were all on edge because of Maria. Wecouldn't really blame her, but we did blame her. She was acting out, keeping a low profile was no longer working, and people knew about the whole tension between Marcus and Chico. Words were being spoken, and soon accusing fingers would follow.
Personally, I haven't talk with Marcus during the last month. He's busy keeping Maria sane, but he tries. He tries to corner me sometimes, to make me talk to him. It's not like I was trying to avoid him, I was trying to save him the jealousy attacks Maria tends to have, but he's not getting it. He even tried to guilt Billy into talking to me for him. Which was unpleasant, as I've spend the last month glued to him and Petra, occasionally Saya too.
But I had bigger more important things to worry about. It's been a month and a day since I last heard about Henrik. Part of me wanted to deny the truth, convincing myself he was okay, unharmed, alive. But I knew better, if he was still alive, the kind of pain and torture he'd have endured, I couldn't bring myself into thinking he was alive. It would be selfish to hope that, he didn't deserve the pain that came with it.
I talk with my father more now, our monthly call turned into weekly or daily, depending on our mood. He was in New Orleans, dealing with some business we had to dodge, thanks to my lovely mother and her betrayals. He wanted to come and see me, but I always tell him no, it wasn't a good moment for the DuBois getting together, not without our missing piece.
"Girls are like Schrödinger's cat." I hear Billy say as I walk to the yard, where he and Marcus are smoking. "They both do and do not want you to do the exact thing they asked. It's like religion. God asks you to do a bunch of arbitrary shit, like not eat shrimp or let linen touch wool. If He asked you to do things that you'd do anyway, where's the faith?"
"Is there some advice hidden in all this?"
"What he means, Romeo." I tease leaving the backpack on the ground and graving the joint form Billy's mouth. "Is that if you want to you know, make her happy, give her something. But not something you buy, something meaningful like music that makes you think of her, girls like that."
"You're talking to me now?"
"And that's my cue; I don't want to see this." Billy says, patting my shoulder as he passes me. I lean back; watching him as he nervously takes some steps near me, standing dangerously close.
"I've been busy, the world keeps moving, you are not the center of mine, Arguello."
"I tried talk to you."
"I know. You shouldn't. Trust me; your girlfriend won't like it."
"So this is what it's about?" he asks chuckling. "Look I wanted to explain myself."
"You don't have to. We weren't dating, you don't have to explain anything, what happened, messing around, it was nothing but harmless fun."
"It was something for me." He strongly says before taking a deep breath. "Look, in Vegas, something happened and I freaked out, I ran to the room and Maria was there. We talked and for a second, half a second, I wanted to kiss her and I did. But then I- I tried to push her away when things got out of hand, and that's when Chico came." He explains moving his hands nervously making me chuckle at his nervousness.
"Hey, breath." I try to calm him down. "Marcus, you're dating her now, focus on that."
"I like you, Hela." He finally says his voice shaking and breathy. His hand goes to my cheek, caressing it carefully. "And sure, Maria is nice, but I like you. Since the party, since you told me to cry it out.I like you. It's you."
"You're cute." I reply moving my head, taking another hit of the joint before looking back at him. He's confused, but still, his eyes are fixed on mine. "Maria needs you, Marcus. She's not okay and she's not going to be okay. She needs you. And if you don't feel the same, you shut up and you play pretend, you'll like her at some point."
"Are you fuck-" he starts to curse, but I grab his tie and pull him into a kiss. It's short but it relaxes him, he's fast to kiss back but before he can get a hold of me, before it starts to mean something I pull away.
"Yes, I am serious. There's a lot you don't know, Marcus." I mutter before throwing the joint to the floor, grabbing my backpack. "That was closure, by the way. Be there for her, Arguello. All our necks depend on it." Walking inside the school again, I leave him behind staring at me.
The rest of the classes are boring and normal. We all notice the thick atmosphere with the new woman, the one who has been interrogating us. Well, everyone but me apparently. I didn't know why, and I didn't like not knowing why but my guess was that my father's influence was being it, and it pissed me off.
Atypical combat skills was my favorite subject, it was just fun. Missions never go as you plan it, and there's always something that fucks it up or makes it longer than intended, you have to improvise and that's what this class was about. It remembered me when my father sent me for some missions, before I joined Kings and during summers, the thrill was something I wish I'll never stop feeling, it was addictive.
"Just so you know... I don't believe what they're saying. I know how much you loved him." Brandy says, bitching as always. For our bad luck, we had to pair up with her. If there was anything that pissed me off more than the sound of her voice, was that stupid cheerleading uniform. "Everyone could see it. I'll tell you, the... The time when I really saw it was during that pop quiz... 'Cause I lay there, and I watched you give the antidote to everyone except Chico. There you were, sitting over him... As he was choking and dying, and you waited an eternity to give him that leaf, and I know you did that because you just... Loved him so much." She pouts and fake cries, making Maria clench her jaw under the traditional Mexican make up she always wore when fighting. "I mean, what else could it be? You thought I was just some dumb hillbilly and couldn't put two and two together?"
"More like a racist dump piece of shit, but a near guess." I comment, balancing one of my knives on my heart finger, looking at the shining light contrast my dark clothes.
"My daddy thought it would be one of my brothers who took over killin' for the Dixie Mob. And he didn't think shit about me until they both got blown the hell up."
"What a coincidence...." I tell but something catches my eyes, a shadow on the twist of my knife. "Girls, stay sharp. And for fuck's shake shut up already Brandy, no one cares."
"Did I let his estimation define me? No. I stood up, took their place, and now here I am, poised to win the big prize. Stereotypes run both ways, sweetheart."
And the glorious moment she shuts up, we hear someone fall behind us. I turn around and throw the knife I held at one ninja, hitting the chest and making him fall down. Two more appear next to me, as I slide down, kicking one on the leg and grabbing his head, smashing it into the ground a couple of times.
When the other ninja's sword comes down, I roll over and grabbing another knife I stab him in the ribs, punching him on the face and making him fall down coughing blood before I kick him on the head, making him unconscious. Another ninja comes running, but I throw him the knife that gets nailed on his head.
At my right, I see Brandy sticking her leg, making Saya fall down as she goes for the ninja. Being the assholes she is, she attacks Maria too, making kicking her from behind her back. As she gets ready to kill the ninja, I throw him a knife that goes straight for the head. Over my dead body, Brandy.
"Congratulations. You survived an attacking gang of generic ninja dudes. Ninjas get everywhere. Sometimes they swarm. Sometimes they attack... Conveniently one at a time." Master Zane says as he steps into the picture, all the class following behind.
"That the fuck was that, Brandy?" I scream at her, before I can get face to face with her, Saya garbs my arm, preventing me from killing that bitch.
"Hela calm down." Zane says making me roll my eyes. "Okay, marky-marks... Maria, you get a C. It was very pretty, but give me more, more, more with that slicey-slice. Saya, you took out three ninjas... Another A. Hela, you took out four and the one that Brandy wanted for her, you get an A+." he says and winks at me making me smirk and look at Brandy who has her eyes buried on mine. "Brandy... You fail."
" What? But I should get the best grade! I-I won! I-I took down the most of them! T-they didn't even put a hand on me!"
"Hela took most of them actually, but we're training assassins here, not pieces of shit." He states making everyone chuckle. I loved this man, for reals. "Now, I realize you come from garbage people, you come out of the woods, you see a Mexican and an Asian, you get distracted, you attack them. But in my class, you act like a piece of shit... And you will fail."
"Ideology is comfort food for the weak." The woman says, stepping away from the wall and walking next to Brandy. "In our work, you complete your mission by any means, or you die. Brandy is the clear victor."
"Victory by dishonor is the lack of professionalism." I say, stepping away from Saya's grip. "Amateurs rule by bloodlust and arrogance, she's no victor."
"She is, Miss DuBois." The Asian woman hisses my name, making me clench my jaw.
"Finally, someone who sees through the prejudice and favoritism at this school. Look, I'm not saying there's something going on between that one and Lin, but where there's smoke, there's daddy issues sex." Brandy gossips, looking at Saya making me want to punch her stupid face, that girl had a gift for it.
"Sweetheart, I've been teaching this class for 20 years, and I..."
"Will change Brandy's grade to an A. Saya should've seen the attack coming. Fail her. Hela should know not to challenge her superiors, fail her too."
"You're not my superior."
"What? No, that's bullshit. I earned that grade." Saya argues at the same time I talk, but my eyes are fixed on the woman, I hated her more by the second.
"Don't worry about it." Zane dismisses looking at us.
The woman walks towards us, passing me she grabs Saya's arm and twists it. Maria sends me a warning look to not react to it, not wanting me to do something I'd regret later.
"Twice in a day you were caught off guard. Let the pain be a reminder, you're nothing special." She whispers to Saya and gets up, looking at my eyes when she passes us and leaves.
Marcus and I go and help Saya get up and out her arm back to its place. I feel Marcus's brown eyes fix on me, but I ignore it and help her go to the infirmary to get her arm secured. What I don't miss either is the look Maria sends me, making me internally sight in frustration.
Odin knew I had more important matters to keep track of, but no, I was about to be in the middle of a jealousy fight over a boy, fucking great.