#eclipsingbingo

That didn't mean you let the glare on your features fall or had your back turned on anyone for too long. With brisk steps you passed through different sections of the Isle, never staying for too long. It was only when you saw the back of someone's head whom you never thought you'd see again.

"Jay?" You slowly question, your voice hesitant in case who you thought was in front of you was an illusion or just an insanely good look-alike whom you've never seen before that day. It was only when the boy's head of long brown hair turned and a whisper of your name left his lips that you knew it was him. "What are you doing here? I thought you had gotten off this island and were at Auradon."

"Some circumstances have changed," He muttered with a coy grin, bounding his way over to you. The fast approach made you take a few small steps back, trying to put distance in between the two of you in case he decided to try something, though Jay bypassed this easily, one of his strides making up for three of yours as he wrapped his arms tightly around you. "I've missed you. We all have."

You froze immediately as you were engulfed, not expecting the embrace and hardly knowing what to call it. The feeling that arose from being trapped within Jay's arms was odd, almost comforting. That didn't matter though as you kept your arms glued to your side, not raising them to return the gesture.

"I'm sure it would've passed," You mumbled, voice gruff as you remembered what it had been like before Jay, Mal, Evie and Carlos left the Isle. How things have changed since then. Your words caused Jay to finally pull back, which you were both grateful for since the action was weak, though also longed for it to return, the simple contact something you have never experienced on the Isle evoking something within you. It must have been some trickery Auradon had taught them. "You never did say why you were here. And if you're here, I'm assuming so are the others."

"About that," Jay trailed off, hand sheepishly going to rub at the back of his neck. The action instantly had you quirking an eyebrow, never before seen such an action from the taller VK. Or former VK. "Carlos actually sent me to come and find you. We were wondering if we could use your help. Like old times-"

"What do we have here?" A taunting voice called out, cutting off the end of Jay's sentence, not that you needed to hear the rest of it to know what he was asking of you. You didn't even bat an eye to the new voice, coming well accustomed to it in the past year, more so than before Jay and his little redeemed squad had run off. "Runnin' into ya two times in a day has got ta be a good omen."

Jay's whole deemer immediately changed at not only the sight of him but also the sound. Turning an annoyed glare that held more heat than you knew Jay could still muster onto the newest arrival, Jay greeted him with a less than pleased grunt, "Hook."

Harry Hook, in all his glory, came out from the shadows he had previously lurking in so the deranged grin he was flashing could be seen by all.

"Don't sound so sad ta see me," Harry's laugh felt as if a harsh bite had sunken into you. It wasn't unwelcomed but such a stark contrast to what Jay had offered you moments ago. His eyes fell on you quickly, blue irises sucking you in as he walked closer, sealing his spot at your side as he wrapped a tight arm around your waist and pulled you flush to his side. "I was wondering when the two of yer would meet again. It was only a matter of time I suppose."

Jay's eyes locked in on the hand on your waist, Harry's fingers flexing at the sight as they curled in tighter. The sensation didn't hurt, not when you've felt it before. It was almost comforting, though in a different way to how Jay tried offering it. You weren't oblivious enough to not understand that Harry was staking his claim, however, making it known to Jay how things were running this time around.

"I didn't know the two of you had buddied up since we've been gone," Jay had to drag his eyes away from where the two of you were connected, never taking his eyes off of you as he refused to look into Harry's.

"Things have changed since you and the others were taken off the Isle," You shrugged your shoulders up as you spoke, giving it to Jay plainly. After he and the others left you were without a gang to call your own, leaving you to resort to other means of getting by. "Not all of us were whisked away to be Princesses and Princes."

"I can see that," Jay breathes out as if the words were vile on his tongue. You weren't ashamed of this. Just because you had grown closer to Harry and his crew in his and the other's absence didn't mean you were going to flip a switch now that they were back. "It was nice catching up with you. If you want to talk more, you know where to find us."

"I'll see you around Jay," You bid your farewell, surprised that Harry was able to remain as quiet as he did. Not sparing you another word, though his eyes flickered down to where Harry kept his hold on you, Jay turned away so he could make his way back to the hideout he must've come from.

"Now wasn't that a lovely chat," Harry chirped, rounding on you once Jay was out of sight. His other hand came down to your hip, resting there tightly as he slowly began to back you up. "I was just on my way to warn ya as well of Mal and her little crew's arrival. Somehow ya always beat me to it though."

"I must just be lucky at sniffing out people with pretty faces," You say, not a second later your back came in contact with the wall behind you, a small huff leaving your nose at the contact. With a cruel quirk of your lips, you bring a hand up to pass through some of his hair. "Maybe that's how I found you all those months ago."

"Cute," Harry barked out a bitter laugh, bringing his face closer to yours. Some of that bitterness seeped into his face as he looked down at you, his next words coming as a sting. "Uma doesn't want ya going near them. Who knows what they've brought from Auradon. And we all know how close ya were with them before they left."

"Good thing Uma doesn't control what I do then," You dipped your face to the side as Harry tried to trap your lips in a harsh kiss, his teeth ready to make an appearance. Instead, a kiss was left on your cheek, the pirate recoiling back once he realised. With a smirk of your own, you leaned in, trailing feather-light kisses across his neck and jaw. Your lips ghosted his skin, never staying in one spot for too long. "Though I'm sure an exception could be made if you asked nicely."

"Stay away from Jay and his friends," Harry spoke lowly, lips chasing after yours as you continued to evade him. With a raised brow, you stared at him as if you were waiting for more, leaning back so he couldn't reach you. With an eye roll from his dark eyes, an abundance of eyeliner smeared around them, he grinned out, "Please."

You waited a few moments, bringing both of your hands up to cup his face. Dragging him slowly, you brushed your lips quickly against his, muttering before finally giving him what he wanted, "I'll consider it."

For a few seconds, she would hesitate, spotting you throwing her off kilter. In those few seconds, you would become aware of her presence, stopping whatever you were doing to stare her down for a few seconds.

What caught Lute’s attention the most and what hooked her in was how not a spec of fear could be seen on your face; your eyes instead blazing as you waited, almost daring her to try and kill you.

Of course Lute immediately took you up on that challenge.

Her wings spread out as far as they could reach, showing off their span before launching forward, her spear aimed and pointed at you as she got impossibly closer.

Though her Angelic blade never met your skin—much to Lute’s surprise—as you threw up what seemed to be an Angelic weapon of your own.

Lute couldn’t recognise it for the life of her. Looking back on it, she would blame it on the heat of the moment, never being met with a Sinner who had somehow gotten their hands on an Angelic weapon or who was that pretty. It didn’t help though that when buying it off an Overlord they had done their own tinkering to it.

The shock didn’t last long though. As soon as you started pushing on your weapon, trying to dig it closer to Lute, her senses came back to her and the current situation the two of you were in caught up to her.

No matter how pretty you were, she pushed all thoughts aside and focused on trying to dig her spear as far into your chest as she could, hoping to rid of you as quickly as possible so she could move on to the next sinner that needed retribution.

You didn’t make it that easy though.

With every thrust of Lute’s Angelic spear, you would block it with the blade of your own, never allowing her more than a few small cuts, deep red blood trickling out of them. But for every cut that littered your body, you made sure to return the favour with a sharper, more drawn-out one, golden blood making an appearance and beginning to stain the uniform she was made to wear.

The dance of Angelic weapons that the two of you seemed to walk was never-ending, a continuous walts of red slashes and gilded strikes. 

Neither of you would back down; Lute because she was an Angel and it was her duty to slay the Sinners that crossed her path on Extermination Day; You because it was your life she was after and to turn away could lead to a fate out of your control. Also, your street cred would be reduced to nothing if you ran away from an Angel, the lieutenant at that.

By the end of it, you were both covered in a mix of your own and each other’s blood. Red staining clothes while gold brightened the dim night as the day came to an end. 

It was only when a loud, almost roar-like screech filled the air, alerting everyone of what had just happened.

Extermination Day had come to an end, and you had survived even while fighting an Angel. 

No matter that the countdown had finished and a full year awaited until the Angel in front of you was technically allowed to kill you, you still kept your guard up. After spending years in Hell, nothing surprised you anymore, so if the Angel was to breach the agreement made by Heaven, you wouldn’t be surprised.

Lute only spared you with a look however, her spear still held up as she too knew not to turn her back on a Sinner, not when it was on their turf. 

Spreading her wings wide once again, with a powerful flutter she took off from the ground, racing up to the sky where hoards of other Angels were gathering. Lute made sure not to look back, not wanting to waste another second on you when you had effectively wasted a few hours of her Extermination, bringing her number of killed Sinners down. 

You didn’t bother to hide your staring, keeping your eyes glued to her until she grew too far away that she was nothing but a spec in the sky. 

Like any other Extermination, after all the Angels had vanished, you carried on with your day, having things to do and places to be.

Lute however couldn’t get you out of her head for many days–months–to come. Like a plague, you consumed her entire being, never leaving her alone for more than a few seconds. 

Not once did she bring you up to anyone, not wanting anyone to try and piece together the information that was keeping her so distracted. Only once was it almost weaselled out of her, Adam being too nosy as to why she wasn’t able to beat her prior year's record of Sinners killed. She was able to get herself out of that pickle. So to make sure it didn’t happen again, she kept her lips sealed as to anything including fighting a Sinner on Extermination Day.

She couldn’t help but look forward to the next one though, training just as hard to make sure she was up to par when the time came. Lute kept telling herself that if she reached a certain amount of kills in the first few hours of it, she would be able to create a small pocket of time saved just for you. 

Maybe this time Lute would even learn your name.

It wasn’t often that a gathering such as this was held. The monthly meetings were a bore of politics that Angel never bothered showing up for, sending his brother in his place so he could hear the conversation later on, but this was different. This was an event that only happened once a year, a gathering of everyone important with even the chance of one of the Deadly’s making an appearance.

Angel had a mission though, one he couldn’t afford to mess up while his father and brother were mingling in the crowd keeping Sinner’s occupied. Recently a chunk of their territory had been stolen, and with it vanished some of their profit all due to a certain Gambling Demon earning more confidence and attempting to reach further across the pentagram.

Though Angel hadn’t cared personally for the loss, his family had taken it as a personal attack, sending him to deal with the problem and what better place than the annual gala that he would attend? That’s why he was walking around the large hall looking out for the short demon while in the best dress he could find, hoping to catch his attention one way or another. 

It was a shame it was Angel who had to complete this mission since he would much rather spend the night getting drinks and mingling with some of the crowd but he couldn’t blame his family for being picked as he was the best choice for this job. No one could seduce an Overlord like he could, it was how he first started getting his family some recognition before they began climbing the ranks of Hell.

A quick and seamless job is all he could hope for but he wouldn’t mind if it got a little bit messy; That just came with the territory.

It wasn’t Angel who found the Overlord, instead, Arackniss came towards him, his pace slow as to now raise any alarm bells, simply making it look as if he had something to say to his brother that didn’t involve singling out an attending Overlord. Having to end his current conversation with one of the Vees who were trying to strike a fashion deal with him, Angel made room for his brother, waiting to hear the new intel.

“You’re boy is over by the bar,” Arackniss started, tossing the drink in his hand in a circle as he stared into it, subtly flaunting the liquor that Angel wasn’t currently allowed to drink. 

Though Angel knew better than to look over at the bar immediately, Angel couldn’t help but take a glance at who may be seated over there. Upon seeing the workers attending the event, he also caught sight of an overly red Overlord sitting beside his short but well-groomed target.

Beginning the short journey over to the bar while doing his best not to spark any unwanted conversation on the way over, Arackniss snorted from behind him, “Don’t fuck it up.”

“I’m not goin’ to,” Angel hissed over his shoulder, shooting his older brother a glare before he focused back in on his target. 

Making sure to rid himself of any prior annoyance, Angel sauntered his way over to the bar, situating himself on the other side of his small target before feigning as if he hadn’t noticed him, instead making a show of pondering what he might get from the drink menu provided.

The ditzy dress may have made him look clueless, or the fact that he was almost unrecognisable as an Overlord since he almost never attended meetings, but the golden eyes of his target turned to his, Alastor turning to shadows as the attention left him. Angel continued to ignore him, waiting for the Overlord to speak up before letting him fall into his trap.

“If you need help I can see if they’ll let me whip something up for you,” His gruff voice pierced through Angel’s ears, making him slowly turn his gaze towards him. Schooling a drink of his own that was almost empty, the Gambling Demon stared up at him, half a smirk lacing his features. “Of course, I’m sure anything on their menu will do.”

“I bet you’d be able to make me somethin’ perfect if you’re offerin’,” Angel took him up, taking a slow seat as he watched the Overlord shoot one of the workers a look, gaining approval which the Sinner would’ve been foolish to deny before he was rounding the counter and taking a look over the stock that the bar had. 

Using the time it took the Overlord to place a martini glass in front of him and begin throwing different alcohols in a mixer, Angel took in his appearance. He wore clean black dress pants paired with some slacks, a slightly lighter suit jacket lined with gold covering a simple white shirt, all of it being topped off with a golden bow. Angel couldn’t help but admire how his hair was slicked back or how the red of his wings almost glowed in the lighting.

“So, what brings a guy like you to one of these parties?” The Overlord questioned as he slid the drink over to Angel, not a drop of it spilling as he came to a stop. Bringing the drink to his lips and taking a slow test sip, making sure the glass or the liquid didn’t actually touch his lips, Angel felt the eyes of the Overlord on him as he swallowed. “I don’t think I’ve seen your face at one of these things before.”

“Oh, my brother invited me. He’s recently started workin’ for one of the Overlords and is apparently ranked high enough for the both of us to turn up here,” Attempting to act as if it were no big deal Angel flapped one of his free hands around, waving off the status he held to lower the Overlords guard. “But what about you mista? What’s a fancy little kitty like yourself doin’ up here?”

“I’m one of the Overlords that’s meant to be trying to bargain for more territory or some sort of deal,” He acted as if the title was a pain in his ass as if it was more hassle than it was worth as his eyes quickly skittered around the room, easily tracking the other Overlords that were doing just that. Pushing one of his hands forward, he offered it to Angel, waiting for him to take it before bringing it softly to his lips where he placed a delicate kiss on the back of his hand. “Where are my manners? I’m Husk, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Throughout the whole interaction, Husk kept his golden eyes locked with Angel’s two-toned ones, both an intimidating aura surrounding him that radiated power as well as a comforting glow that wanted to reach out to him. It was almost as intoxicating as the drink Husk had made for him. “Angel, it’s nice meetin’ you.”

“Hm, fitting,” Husk hummed, his smirk growing if that was possible. Remaining on the opposite side of the bar, Husk leaned forward, resting his forearms on the countertop as he stared up at Angel through lidded eyes. “Who did you say your brother worked for, again?”

“I didn’t,” Angel muses, finishing his drink before he sets it down and leans into one of his hands, resting his head there as he matches Husk’s expression. Doing what he did best, Angel propped his chest fluff up as his dress opened up, one of his fingers toying with the stem of his drink as his lashes fluttered. A quickly raised brow from the Overlord pulled a chuckle out of him, adding, “But he works for the Mafia Demon I think. I tend to tune him out when he rants about work.”

“Maybe you should start paying attention,” Husk spoke slowly, his deep voice gruff around the edges as the words were almost purred to him. Angel couldn’t help but wonder if there was an underlying meaning to Husk’s words. “You never know when he might say something important.”

“I’ll start payin’ attention when he starts talking about somethin’ interestin’,” Angel responded in a purr of his own, bringing a finger up to trace down the fur that lined Husk’s cheek. It wasn’t often an Overlord allowed him to get this close and personal, especially not when they knew who he was. “I ain’t got time to worry about which goon he chased after or whose debt he’s out collectin’. This however is quite interestin’ and seems worthy of my time.”

A huff of laughter snorted its way out of Husk, glee lining his golden eyes as Angel stared into them. He couldn’t help but work his charm; If the old sucker fell for it then that was on him. 

“Say, why don’t we get out of here?” Husk offered, one of the corners of his lips ticking up in a smirk. Staring up at Angel with hooded eyes, mischief poorly concealed behind them, Angel knew he had the Overlord right where he wanted him. The way Husk leaned forward before speaking as if sharing a secret, told Angel everything he had to know. “Away from prying eyes. Somewhere it can be just the two of us.”

“I think… that’s a brilliant idea,” Angel paused deliberately, taking a second to think over his next words as if this had all been a spontaneous encounter. Taking a look around the large hall that they were currently in, Angel’s eyes landed on his father's and Arackniss’s, both of them watching him and Husk’s every movement. It hardly did anything to light Angel’s nerves on fire, instead turning back to stare into the warm glow of the Overlord turned bartended in front of him. “Too bad I don’t know any places nearby. I wouldn’t want to keep a pretty thing like you waitin’.”

“I’m sure I can figure out something for the two of us,” Husk shrugged off Angel’s feigned worries, his posture remaining confident as he stared up at Angel from where he leaned. “I do after all own the building we’re hosting this in.”

That piece of information had been something Angel missed. He wasn’t certain if he wasn’t listening close enough when he was being debriefed on the mission or if it had been something his whole family had missed. Regardless, Angel hadn’t a clue he was standing on enemy territory until a few seconds, nothing having given away since the building was located on what could be considered neutral turf. “Why don’t you leade the way then, Handsome?”

As Angel spoke to him, a challenging glimmer sparked to life in Husk’s eyes. Chancing a glance over Angel’s shoulders for a few seconds, locking onto something before they flicked back to Angel’s. Leaning up for a kiss, pulling Angel down slightly so he could reach Husk’s elevated height from where he was leaning across the bar counter. Husk made a show of licking his lips, savouring the taste of Angel on them. All Angel could think about was how he had just taken a dose of the poison that laced his lips, the reason he had avoided anything touching his lips all night.

“Shall we?” Husk offered Angel his hand as he rounded the bar once more, standing as tall as his short frame would allow. Angel placed one of the hands from his top set of arms in Husk’s, slowly raising himself from the stool. With the additional height of his heels, Angel stood at almost double Husk’s height, towering over him. That however did little to deter Husk as the shorter Overlord began leading the way through the large hall, weaving their way to one of the many exits. 

As Angel trailed behind them, his eyes locked onto Arackniss’s, giving his brother a clear nod as they passed by one another even if Angel was sure he had witnessed Husk planting a kiss on his lips. The job was done. Whatever happened after this wasn’t up to Angel. 

Husk had led him to a hidden door that blended with the hall's walls. He easily pressed a concealed pressure plate as two doors slid open, revealing an elevator. Holding the door open for Angel, Husk allowed Angel to walk in first before he stepped in moments later, the door shutting behind him. As soon as Angel was sure the two of them were alone, his hands were immediately on Husk’s, trying to smear his lipstick from the Overlord’s lips.

“You idiot,” Angel hissed. Husk stood stock still as Angel fretted over him, wiping his thumbs over his lips and trying to eliminate any of the remaining pinkish colour. His efforts didn’t matter too much as Husk had already tasted the lipstick, making that clear right after they had kissed. “Why would you kiss me? You knew the lipstick was poisoned.”

“To make sure your family got off your back,” Husk’s hands fumbled for Angel’s, putting a stop to his frantic attempts to clean his lips. Husk didn’t take into account Angel’s other set of arms or even the third set that were kept hidden most of the time. A new pair of hands were instantly on Husk’s face, attempting to do the same thing that the first pair had failed to do. “We had to make sure they saw you give me the poison so they couldn’t blame you for me not dying.” 

“You didn’t have to go lickin’ your lips to rub it in their faces though,” Angel almost shouted, panic seeping into his words. Husk stared up at him with a small smile on his face despite it all, only pushing Angel further on edge as he turned frantic. “Now you’ve consumed it. Quick, how many fingers am I holdin’ up?”

“Stop with that bullshit,” Husk had to drag another one of Angel’s hands away as he attempted to check his pulse to make sure it was still beating smoothly. Rolling his eyes at the low squeak that erupted from Angel as he was dragged around, being pulled out of the elevator doors once they opened as sat on a plush bed after they walked through a long hallway. “I’m the one who gave you that drugged lipstick, don’t you think I’d make sure I’m immune to it first?”

“Oh,” Angel came to a slow end, sitting on the edge of one of Husk’s beds, his two sets of arms being held by Husk, a soothing thumb running over the back of both of them. Angel guesses he should have thought of that. Husk hadn’t become an Overlord off of pure luck, even if that was his trademark. Though, now that the worry had fled from Angel’s being, a firey annoyance filled it instead as he glared at Husk. “Why’d you scare me then? You could’ve said somethin’ sooner so I didn’t freak out.”

“I’m sorry Legs,” Husk murmured, finally releasing Angel’s hands so he could use one of his own to cup the spider’s chin. His hand alone almost dwarfed Angel’s face, just like most things in comparison did–other than his height, of course. “Didn’t think you’d work yourself up so much over it. But since we’re up here… we might as well put this room to good use.”

A large grin split across Angel’s face as he wound a hand up Husk’s suit, tangling the Gambling Overlord’s tie within his fingers before tugging him forward, bringing their faces within inches of one another. “I like the sound of that Whiskers.”

It was only when a wickedly familiar laugh ran out around him, bouncing off the walls as Carlos was flipped around, his eyes landing on Harry Hook moments before he was slammed back, going crashing into the wall behind him as the air was knocked out of him and his vision went foggy for a few short moments. 

“What the hell, Harry?” Carlos spluttered once he was able to suck a proper breath of air into his lungs, his brows narrowing down into a glare as he did so. In the few years that Carlos had been aligned with Harry, he had become accustomed to his out-of-pocket actions, all of which were rough and without much warning, but that didn’t mean he favoured any of them. 

“Don’t act so surprised, Pup,” The nickname was whipped at him with a hiss, making him flinch back at the words. His reaction seemed to pull another laugh from Harry’s lips, knowing all the right ways on how to get under Carlos’ skin. Pulling Carlos from the wall and tucking him into his side with an arm hooked over his shoulders, Harry began to lead them in a new direction, helping them weave their way to whatever end destination Harry had in mind. “Uma wanted yer now and yer were takin’ too long to get yer boney arse over to the fish an’ chip shop. Someone had to come and get yer.”

“I was literally five minutes away. You’ve probably wasted more time going out of your way to do all this,” Carlos bit out, trying and failing to shoulder his side into Harry’s, the taller and bulkier simply smiling sharkishly down at him for his attempt. Though the two of them had come to tolerate one another, it didn’t mean Carlos could put up with him most days. “What’s so important anyway? Normally Uma would just scoff at me if I was late.”

“She wants the lot of us to go onto little ol’ Mal’s territory and stir up some trouble,” A bark of laughter shot out of Harry, echoing off the walls as if he were a hyena. It only worsened when he got a glance at Carlos’ face. “Don’t give me that look. We aren’t goin’ to kill anyone, just lightly wound. Besides, you’ll hopefully get to just sit pretty for us since Jay will be there.”

“What does Jay have anything to do with me being there,” Carlos grumbled, already feeling his face heat.

“Because that boy seems to be infatuated with yer,” There was an obvious amount of disgust in Harry’s words as he spoke, the ‘infatuation’ between the two bringing up vile into the back of Harry’s throat, the very idea of it being almost blasphemous. “Yer just have to bat yer eye and he’ll be rendered useless for a few minutes. Now come on, Gil and the others are goin’ to meet us there.”

Carlos wanted to say more, object to his words about Jay and even his presence at whatever this clash was meant to be, but instead swallowed his words and allowed Harry to pull him along. The best-case scenario was they didn’t run into Mal and her crew, or he was able to slip away when they did, hopefully, if Harry’s words were true, Jay would let him do so easily. Worst-case scenario Carlos was forced to fight and hopefully not get his arse kicked too much.

The closer the two of them got, the more Carlos doubted anything good would come from this. When they met up with Gil and some more of Uma’s crew it only solidified Carlos’ worse hopes. 

It didn’t take long to locate Mal, Jay and Evie, the three of them with some kids their age that Carlos hadn’t seen before, a rare occasion due to how small the Isle was. He was sure if he had learnt their names he would recognise them more easily. 

He didn’t pay attention to the words spoken between the two groups, his focus set on slipping away until his eyes landed on Jay. It seemed he had been staring at him since Carlos had first arrived since he seemed shocked that their eyes had finally met, his widening a little bit more. Taking him in quickly, Carlos seemed to notice every minor detail that made Jay up, seemed to not be able to pull his eyes away until someone’s fist came knocking into his arm, telling him to get ready.

That easily tore his eyes away, sending Carlos whirling back as he got prepared to back away. He didn’t mind if Jay noticed since he seemed to always have his eyes on him. It was the rest of the people he was met with that mattered. If someone on Mal’s side noticed him trying to dip out then they would surely point him out or try to go after him. If Harry or someone in Uma’s crew noticed they would either pull him back in or would make him pay for it later. Sneaking away had started to become more of a challenge than it had once been.

But as the VKs started getting fired up, each side only taunting the other more and getting ready to bring the worst out of one another, Carlos used this opportunity to slip away, making his moves quick and dashing as he slunk back, disappearing just before everything had gone to shit. 

Slipping in between buildings and reaching for a fire escape that was haphazardly attached to the brick wall, Carlos had all of seventeen seconds before two large hands were gripping his shoulders. A hiss was the first thing that escaped his lips as he tried craning his shoulder away from the hold as fingers dug into some newly arising bruises thanks to Harry. It only occurred to him that he should try and figure out who had grabbed him when both hands had quickly vanished, reattaching themselves lower and around his waist. 

“What are you-” Carlos cut himself off as he turned around, his eyes meeting with Jay’s almost instantly. Having to crane his neck back to meet his face, Carlos couldn’t help but stare as he felt the warmth from Jay’s hands spread across his midsection, almost burning. In a breathless whisper, Carlos said, “Jay.”

“Carlos,” Jay greeted with a nod. It looked as if his lips wanted to curve upwards but Jay had to stop himself. His hands didn’t leave their perch even as Carlos stared at him with questioning eyes. Jay should be worried that he was this close to Carlos since he was part of Uma’s crew, but he couldn’t help but not feel the slightest bit threatened as he stared into Carlos’ eyes. “Funny seeing you here. I thought you tended to keep your nose out of turf wars.”

“Normally I would,” Carlos agreed, his voice slightly spooked from the proximity, though he did nothing to change it. “You just happened to catch me at a bad time.”

“Really?” Jay asked, earning a hum in return. The white-haired boy seemed to almost lean into him as they stood close, breathing in each other's space. 

Jay had so much he wanted to say, words waiting to spill out of him as they burst at the seams. For someone he should’ve hated, Jay couldn’t help but be interested in the shorter stray. At every opportunity he would steal glances at him in the crowd, would purposely not start anything just so he could attempt to steal some moments with him, most of which didn’t work out.

He wanted to say more to Carlos but didn’t have the opportunity as some imploding voices rang out around them, silencing him.

“Where’s Carlos?”

“He must have gone after Jay since that meathead went missing.”

“If that’s the case then I’m sure we’re going to hear some very entertainin’ stories from the Pup when he gets back.”

Harry’s voice was easily recognisable, making Jay’s teeth grind together. They seemed to have a similar effect on Carlos as he took some hurried steps back, both hiding from the voice even though they were out of sight and dislodging him from Jay’s light hold. 

“I have to go,” The words rushed out of Carlos as he began looking for an escape room. Jay couldn’t help but wish he would stay longer. Once his eyes locked on a way out, he almost began running immediately, though he took a few seconds to turn to Jay, a half smile that looked both a little too strained but genuine. Carlos said before racing off, not waiting for Jay’s response, “I’ll see you around Jay. It was nice seeing you.”

That's why you were hurridly walking down the school corridor, not even bothering to look over your shoulder as you could hear their pig-squeal-laughs as they followed. As you went you could see heads start to turn when they heard the parade of cheerleaders, their eyes only setting on you after they realised what was happening. The more heads that turned, the more you began to realise just how doomed you might be.

It was only when your eyes landed on some guy you had never seen before. He stood tall as he opened his locker, shoving something into it that vaguely looked like some teddy bear that had poorly been impaled. Your eyes quickly scanned over him, trying to put together the puzzle pieces as to who he might be.

You have never seen him before in one of your classes, which could just mean he was in the year above but you didn't think so. He seemed too fresh, unaware of what he was getting himself into to be familiar with this place.

That was when you remembered what Billy had been telling you. Some new kid was being recruited into this school. Some child killer. The orphanage killer, or something like that.

You had no idea what this killer was meant to look like. Billy had told you stories but even then he hadn't said anything about the boy's features. How could he? He had never seen him before last night or whenever it was that the green-haired boy slunk off with his skateboard and too much excitement flickering through his bones.

You couldn't help but count this as a win as you realised this was the boy who set that orphanage on fire. Never had you thought you would say those words in your head.

Changing the course of your walk, you head straight for the new kid, placing a heavy hand on the locker next to his head and staring up with a large smile. Eyes were instantly on the two of you. If someone hadn't been staring at one of the two of you before, they definitely were now.

"Look who finally decided to show up after my months of begging." You exclaim, saying the first words that come to mind to make it seem like the two of you had known each other previous to joining the school. His head snapped towards you when the slam of your hand had first sounded, face full of shock which now morphed to confusion at your words. "You could've told me you were coming."

"Do I know you?" The boy said, voice not as loud as yours. It seemed he was trying to keep his words on the down low so as to not embarrass you in case you had made a mistake. How sweet.

"Don't be silly," You laughed, your voice calming but still loud enough for any onlookers to easily hear. Lowly though, your teeth bared in a smile to try and not draw too much attention to your next words though, you say, "Just play along."

He blinked almost owlishly at you in return as if your intentions still weren't setting in. You rolled your eyes, your irises landing on the teddy bear that had in fact been stabbed in his locker, a not stuck to it. You sniffed at that. Seems like you were right.

"Oi, cunt," One of the girls--one that you had never bothered to learn the name of--yelled from not too far away, her and her pack catching up to you.

That was the only kickstart you needed to reach up and grab onto the boy's face, pulling him down so he reached your height and smashing your faces together. Your lips moved quickly, almost in sync as he finally realised what was happening.

Reaching a hand up to place on your hip, the other awkwardly hanging in the air before cupping your cheek, he angled your face up slightly so it would be easier for him to kiss you back.

You could hear the sudden stop of shoes as the group after you stopped a few feet away, watching with wide eyes as you kissed the boy's home killer. Someone whistled, probably some lowlife or one of your friends who were also lowlifes. You didn't care though, not when you heard the muttering or the laughing, not when a horde of footsteps kept walking, acting as if nothing had happened.

It was only when the bell rang did you pulled back, taking a big breath of air in as you looked up at the boy through hooded eyes. Hopefully, you didn't share any classes with him or this was going to be an awkward few hours.

"I'm Marcus," The boy says, blinking at you with a smile on his face as if he couldn't believe what just happened.

You returned his smile, grinning up at him sharply. "Hi Marcus, you just saved my arse." Slowly, you push yourself off the locker you had been leaning against, ready to go about your day as if nothing had happened. Marcus didn't seem to like the sound of that.

"What, no name?" He teased, shutting his locker and trailing after you, not caring if the storage unit was actually locked. "I did just save your arse, according to you."

"Don't you think it's a bit too early for me to give you my name?" You joked, walking down the hall without stopping or waiting for him to catch up.

"Well, you did kiss me," Marcus pointed out, grinning cheekily as he fell into step next to you. "I think that you should count for something."

"I don't kiss and tell," You said simply, leaving him to wonder for a little bit longer.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me your name," He started, pulling out a folded piece of paper from his blazer pocket. Unfolding it, he turned it around and showed it off to you. "Could you at least tell me where my next class is?"

You take one look at the piece of paper and say, "Fuck."