January 10th, ???? | 10:51-11:00 PM

G.A.F. 'Khorne/Ariethous'/N.R.V. | 16/17 | AB/B+ | Male | Pain Adren/High Intel | Both | C Demi(HML)/Pan | Mentions; The Others(Ind. & Dir.)

The answer wasn’t exactly what it had wanted to hear about… After all, this promise had only been to not do anything stupid. The promise hadn’t been about not dying. But at least Cal had answered at all…

--

It watched Cal leave then, unsure if it should follow… It felt like it had something to do still… Text Jacob? That was the only thing that didn’t seem half bad that the voices seemed to be agreeing on… It still wasn’t too sure though.

--

It looked around for a moment, catching itself in the bathroom mirror. It cringed, not even noticing as it’s hands went into fists. The scarring on it’s face seemed so obvious to it, so no less than a miracle that Cal had never noticed… Maybe that was due to the hair? Or maybe that it was just that unimportant? Both seemed equally likely, so maybe due to both.

--

It huffed and then searched it’s pockets for a phone, it’s phone, as instructed from the numerous voices. As soon as it got the phone out, the screen lit up to show multiple messages from none other than a Jacob, the first one sent ten minutes ago.

--

Jacob; Where are you? I thought you were coming over tonight.

--

Jacob; Hello??? Khorne??? WTF! Answer please.

--

Jacob; Holy shit, Khorne. Fucking answer already, dumbass.

--

Khorne? Was it Khorne too now? Either way, it probably did need to answer… It doubted anyone would want to be left on read. So it typed out a text.

--

Khorne; Sorry. Must’ve forgotten… On a train right now.

--

It watched as time ticked by without any type of response, not even a read to show that Jacob had seen the message… And then a response was sent.

--

Jacob; You’re on a fucking TRAIN?! What the fuck?! Whatever. Where’re you going and when can I call?

--

It thought for a moment, more so that it could try and decipher the information being thrown at it by the voices.

--

Khorne; Anamosa. Can text once there so you can call.

--

Jacob; Anamosa? Fuck, for how long?

--

Khorne; Indefinitely…

--

Jacob; Shit, really? Fuck, can’t you just like… Run away or something? Come back?

--

It paused, unsure what to think… It decided to just do something that could stall.

--

Khorne; Maybe. Call later, right?

--

It got a simple read in return, and after a whole minute of waiting… It put its phone into its pocket and left the bathroom.

--

Nabih watched the scenes play out, keeping careful attention to make sure he didn’t incidentally look at the bottle of vodka. When Cal started tapping, he made extra effort to not immediately try to decipher it with morse code. And even more of an effort when Ethan started tapping back. Definitely morse code though. He could tell…

--

Everyone seemed calm now though… Ariethous still wasn’t back yet… His eyes caught the bottle and immediately he was looking away.

--

He needed to do something. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t be as bad if they had actually decided to use the vodka. But no- TJ just had to get his facts wrong and Axel just had to listen-

--

No. No. He was not going to get angry at his friends. Especially for something as simple as that. He’s changed. He took in a breath, hoping no one would notice, and then looked around the room again.

--

The fact was fairly obvious… The vodka wasn’t getting used as a rubbing alcohol anytime soon. Another obvious fact, most likely no one was planning on returning it… Last obvious fact, emotional situations like this weren’t his strong suit.

--

So without a second thought, he stood and grabbed the bottle by its neck. “I’ll go return this to the train attendees…” And then he walked out of the area just as Ariethous walked in- Just in time to hear TJ speaking about skills and limitations.

--

It took its seat and listened to what TJ had to say, trying to think of what it could say for itself… The voices had some rather… Interesting things it could say. Which, it guessed, were all true. It said the most often repeated one without any real thinking, continuing after with some more normal things. “Can win fights in underground arenas. Done so multiple times even. Brought some water, clothes, a book, phone, a lighter, cigarette pack, and a dagger. Got basic survival skills and know basic swordsmanship, knows some basic self-defense tactics… Any of that helpful?”

--

Nabih paused after he was out of earshot and eyesight, his own eyes continuing to keep glancing at the bottle in his hands… The others didn’t know. If they did then Leroy wouldn’t have even accepted the bottle. Not with him around. His hands shook with guilt, shame, and anticipation.

--

It’d been years. He thought he’d changed… He thought… No- He knew he’d changed… He bit his bottom lip lightly, taking deep breaths. He couldn’t tell if he was encouraging himself or trying to talk himself out of this idea. If it was the latter, then he was failing miserably…

--

He reached the closest single bathroom, going in and locking the door easily. He swayed slightly. He’d thought… Wasn’t relapse just as bad as withdrawal? The bottle was already being opened by his hands.

--

Not two seconds after he got it opened was a burning, bitter taste going down his throat. -Gods, he’d missed this- He couldn’t tell if it was the vodka or just shame… He guessed both. He pulled the bottle away from his lips and almost gagged for a moment. Years of being sober just went down the drain… He took another swig.

Cal ‘Collie’ Thi Lê | 16 | AB- | Male | Visions | Both | Questioning | M: Everyone (Dir)

Collie was genuinely surprised and happy when no one yelled at him. Not even Nabih commented. Leroy seemed happy that Collie wanted to beat someone up. It was surprising. Well, it was not surprising Leroy wanted to beat someone up, since it seemed like he always did. It was surprising Leroy actually smiled with him. He would pay to go back with Cal and beat the man up. Maybe the two could come to an understanding. A stupid smile crossed his face. It was stupid to be smiling like a dork at something like this. He knew it was, but he couldn’t help it.

Leroy didn’t totally hate him.

He hates you. He absolutely hates you.

Don’t trust him. You’ll get hurt by him.

Ethan’s was a lot better at Morse code than Cal ever could be. It took Cal a lot longer to process and he had to mumble quietly under his breath, but smiled once he had translated it all. Cal’s smile only got wider. A story would be nice to tell the others. Which one could he even tell? Before he could think of a story, TJ was changing the subject.

Cal didn’t hear what TJ was saying, but he saw his lips moving. TJ’s voice was replaced by other words which didn’t sound like his own and- was it snowing outside? It looked like it was when he glanced out the window, his eyes fascinated by the sight. It wasn’t snowing before was it? No, no it wasn’t. Cal was just seeing things again. He forcefully blinked his half lidded eyes. It was gone. It looked like there were… neon lights outside? Was that the arcade shop? Cal tried to focus his eyes out the window. It looked like it was. The only problem was the arcade shop he was seeing wasn’t in the town he just left. It was in an entirely different state, the one he had come from before moving to this shit-hole. No, no, no, no, no! He could not be thinking of this right now.

Cal swung his bag off his shoulders and fished in his bag for his orange pill container. He opened the container and popped a few pills in his mouth. It wouldn’t make everything better, but it would help. Cal swallowed hard, nearly choking before forcing down a gag, but he was used to the feeling. They were, quite literally, hard pills to swallow so they always hurt like this. Plus, he couldn’t waste water just to take a few pills. He had already given Axel a full bottle to help with Ethan so Collie shouldn’t waste more on this. Collie sank into his seat. Cal let out a soft sigh. His throat still burned as he pulled his bag closer. Cal coughed slightly, rubbing his throat before making an attempt to listen back into the conversation.

You need me. You’re pathetic without us.

TJ was talking about skills and whatnot. Fun. Oh wait they are talking about illegal stuff too. Great. Fucking dandy. Cal sank in his seat as he listened some more. Cal opened his mouth to talk. That was when Aries talked.

“Wait wait wait,” Cal interjected, holding up his hands as if to stop the conversation when he leaned forward. “You were a part of what exactly?” Cal stood up, letting his bag flop to the ground at his abruptness, looking Aries dead in the eyes and glared at him. “Do you know how bad that is? Is that how you got you-” Scars. Your scars. That was what he meant to say. He couldn’t bring this up. Not in front of the others. Everyone here had their scars. Forcing Aries to talk about this would be… It would make Aries hate him. It wouldn’t be right to begin with. Cal bit his tongue. “Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have gotten killed.” Cal sat down sourly, folding his arms. Cal leaned his head back into the train chair as he groaned loudly. “This is exactly why I worry about you and your stupid ass. Good god. One of these days you’ll give me one helluva heart attack.”

“My skills,” Cal mumbled, thinking for a moment. He was still quiet since he was still frustrated with “I can pass for someone older than my age and I have gotten plenty of part time jobs before, so I can be the breadwinner I guess. I am okay at street fights and I am a pretty good pickpocketer. I am a lot better about shoplifting though. I have stolen a dog once though.” Cal grinned at the memory before getting excited. “Sorry to change the subject, but Ethan-” Cal glanced over to his friend before back at TJ- “suggested I tell a story. Plus, I think you’ll like the dog part of this! I will try to make it quick, I promise.

“So there I was, ten year-old me, a totally lovable kinda guy who everyone liked surprisingly. Well, not everyone. There was always my parents, Olive Mc Bitchface, fucking god damn Mark, and, of course, that one old neighbor who I am pretty sure either had a thing for kids or had a few burried in his backyard. This was back when I lived at Pency by the way.” Pency was the old town he lived at. Every time he talked about it he was either gushing with excitement or on the verge of tears. He talked about it so much so that the others of the group probably knew the name by heart. “Now, that man’s name was Mr. Butters. You’d think with his name he’d be working at the world’s cheesiest cow factory, pun fully intended, but no! He just sat there on his ass all day, staring at kids through his… What’s it called…” Cal’s voice trailed off, snapping his fingers as he thought of the word. “It’s not windows, it’s…” Now, Cal didn’t know every word in the English dictionary and neither did he the Vietnamese one, but when he would forget a word in one language he would say it in the other. “Kính! He always wore these large kính on his face like a goddamn cartoon character. He lived down at the last house this dead end road and every house looked haunted. Not kiddin’! They looked like they were all filled with ghosts with vines growing on the side and broken windows and chippin’ paint! Every single one of them had old people in it though so it is practically the same thing. Now, just behind ol’ Mr. Butters’ house, there was this dirt road that led to my school. No one else took that road, but it was a damn good short cut for letting me get an extra hour of sleep or extra hour of work.

“Now, Mr. Butters had this pitbull chained up outside of his house. He always was bark bark barkin’. A real yapper I am tellin’ ya!! Scared off all the other kids, but not me! No, no, no! I was dead set on being that dog's best friend the moment I saw him. The dog wouldn’t hurt a fly either. He only barked ‘cause he got so excited to see people. One day, the dog got out and was running outside the lawn, all happy and what not, and Mr. I-have-never-seen-the-light-of-day comes charging out and beats the poor thing! I was so mad. I was so damn pissed. Later that night, I came back and stole the dog while the man was on his hourly piss break. I am tellin’ ya! He literally only moved from his child peeping for his hourly bathroom stop or to go to sleep. That man was on a weird clock. So I picked the dog up and sprinted back to my house.

“Fast forward about an hour when I was getting ready for a murder and bed.” Cal chuckled at his own statement. “That’s always a good way to start off something bad, innit? Anyways, I was getting changed and brushing my teeth and the pitbull, who’s name I finally learned was Pippy, was laying down at my feet. I am brushing my teeth still when I hear a knock on the door. I look out the window and who do I see? Mr. damn Butters. I hear him talkin’ to my Pops and Ma so my brain instantly goes ‘oooooh shiiiiiiiiiiit.’ Guy even hada shotgun in his hand like he was about to shoot me or somethin’! I grab Pippy and I climb out the second floor window to the ground and just start sprinting. So at the time, there was this house down the block that was actually nice. Like, it had room for a pool and even had bushes. I might sound crazy, but those bushes always seemed cool as fuck to me especially since I could hide there with Pippy until crazy Mr. Butters goes back to his daily routine. So I decided to run down there. Mind you, because I was still getting ready for bed before Mr. Butters made his debut, I had no shirt on or any shoes this whole time I was running down the street so I must have looked mad. I still had my toothbrush in my mouth and everything! Anyways. So I get to the house an’ I am panting and ‘cause I sprinted the whole way there and I try to get in the bush, but because the bushes were too close together I couldn’t fit! Which was weird cause I was super short and even more skinny. So my brain is screaming at me and finally I’m all like: ‘okay plan B, hid in the pool,’ as one does when put in this situation. So I climb in the backyard and jump in the pool. Problem is, the pool was so freezing and I was so outta breath I nearly drowned. That’s right, I nearly drowned. I nearly drowned Pippy too so I was so mortified by the thought of hurting Pippy that I started crying once I got out of the pool. I almost started doing CPR on her but she was alright and looked to be just about as happy as ever.

“All outta nowhere, I hear someone scream from inside the house. I look over and I see these girls staring at me from the other side of some glass doors. They must have had a sleepover or somethin’, cause it was a Friday night and whatnot, so my cheeks go bright red at the fact that I stumbled into their backyard. Especially when you consider I was shirtless, covered in twigs and leaves from tryin’ to fit into their bushes, with a dog in my hand, crying, covered in water, and with a toothbrush and foam coming from my mouth because of the toothpaste. Out of sympathy, Kendra, the girl who lived at the house invited me inside. She was super nice, if I remember right. Dumb, but had the biggest heart in the world. She once offered me to stay with her a few nights when my parents got in real heated debates and shit. Shit, I am getting off topic. So her dad comes down, pistol in hand, and I thought I was about to die. Her pops was the Gym teacher at my school, so he recognized me immediately and never raised the thing at me. Somehow, that whole fiasco made Kendra convince her dad to let me stay the night. Like I was some injured pup or whatever. After that point, Kendra and I were joined at the hip during school hours. She was one of the few girls I hung out with and it was nice to get not only a dog but a friend.

“Moral of the story,” Cal chuckled leaning back in his chair with a happy sigh and smile, “good things come to those who steal dogs from undeserving owners. Especially since Kendra managed to convince her dad to let me on the middle school track team even in fifth grade. I made my best friends there at that track team and even got my leather jacket there!” Ah yes, his leather jacket. The one he wore everywhere along with his NYC baseball cap. There was a fun story behind that too, but he had enough with talking for the moment. The only thing that would make this better would be to hug Axel or get to rest on Aries.

January 10th, ??? / 10:55-11:05

Leroy Hall/Ethan Brimstone/Axel Founte

16/B-/O/A/Male/Trans male/Water/Aura Sensing/Quicker Healing/Both/Pansexual/Gay/Asexual Panromantic

"For now, we need to know what we have and what we're going to do. What did you all bring? Clothes, food, water, money? Any skills? Are there any jobs you can work? What about crime? Can any of you pickpocket or lockpick? Anything that could possibly be applicable, spill it."

Axel opened his mouth to answer when he felt his chest tighten. He immediately closed his mouth again but knew he couldn't hold the coughing down any longer. He had been trying since they met in the ally. Giving up, the small boy doubled over, coughing violently.

The fit lasted about thirty seconds, not the worst he'd ever had, but certainly not the best either.

"S-sorry," Axel mumbled, wiping his mouth. At least there wasn't any blood. He swallowed hard, taking a deep breath to make sure he wasn't going to cough more before looking up again. "W-well, I'm good with medicine, a-and I can track p-pretty decently too." The last fact was one that not many people knew. The truth was that Axel, who had no friends in school, would head to the forest after school and find deer tracks to follow. He never hunted, he hated guns and violence, but he would sit and watch the deer graze for hours at a time, coming home with the excuse that he was out with friends, making up names to make it seem even more realistic. It made his parents worry less, believing that he had people his age taking care of him. His parents still had no idea that he had lied to them all those years. It helped that they met Ethan a few months back. He really did convince them that Axel hadn't been lying.

Not to mention the guy was sweet as hell, the second his mother laid her eyes on him she practically adopted him, inviting him to dinner and fussing over him. E took it like a champ, Axel thought he might even secretly like the attention.

Speaking of Ethan, the mute was looking at him with worried eyes. "I-I'm fine, E." Axel said quickly, smiling for effect. Ethan nodded but didn't seem convinced.

“Can win fights in underground arenas. Done so multiple times even. Brought some water, clothes, a book, phone, a lighter, cigarette pack, and a dagger. Got basic survival skills and know basic swordsmanship, knows some basic self-defense tactics… Any of that helpful?”

Ethan nodded slightly again, watching as Cal swallowed his pills, rubbing his throat. The idiot didn't use water. Sighing softly, E tapped lightly on the seat. "Cal." He handed his water bottle over to the other boy, his eyes warning Calvin not to disagree.

After this, he sat back and listened as everyone spoke, both Axel and Ethan seemed interested in the stories, and a little surprised. Dang, TJ. Like, really.

Leroy sighed when the stories were done. "Great, wonderful job both of you, you're both good people." He huffed. "Now, can we get back to what might be helpful? I can win a fight, I'm good with weapons, good at knife throwing especially. I can also pass for someone older and I can scare the shit out of people if I have to." Leroy stated, none of this was boastful, rather said in a very matter-of-fact tone. He knew what he was doing.

Seeing that no one else was speaking up yet, E decided he could probably contribute now. He clicked his tongue softly for attention. Then he started tapping again. "Cal, can you translate? Thanks. Okay, I'm good at moving quietly and going unnoticed." He hesitated a moment, what he was about to admit would shock some people, no doubt. "I can pick-pocket and shoplift quite easily, I can also pick locks and get out of situations involving police or any federal figures. I can also lie easily."

Yes, he had just said all of that. Admittedly, the kind, quiet boy sitting with an injured arm, side, and scars, had shoplifted, pick-pocketed, lied to the police, and picked locks.

An explanation was needed, E decided, so he quickly started tapping again.

"I pick-pocketed and shoplifted in order to get food in a... harder time. I've lied to the police to get... Val out of trouble. Also to get myself out of trouble for pick-pocketing once. It worked. And picking locks was a skill I learned in an abusive household. That's all."

January 10th, ???

Eva Yates

16/A/Female/Uncontrollable Strength/Both/Bisexual/Mention: Everyone (Dir)

Eva stepped onto the train along with the others who carried the injured Ethan in. She took a moment to look at the--admittedly bland--interior of the train car, before heading further inside. The interior reminded the girl of a murder mystery game she had played a few years back, it was a pretty standard game with nothing special to it. The only reason she remembered it at all was that her brothers had taken 'inspiration' from the game's murder methods in their torment. "Unoriginal pricks, don't have a creative bone in their bodies." Eva thought, a scowl appearing on her face to hide the shiver that racked her body at the memory. Sitting down with the nature freak and Nabih, Eva set her bag down onto the train floor, leaning back into the seat and closing her eyes as the group walked around the car, probably being more useful than the lump of flesh that was Eva. "What could I even do in this situation? I'm not some kinda health wiz, I barely know how to wrap up a cut!" She thought, listening in to the conversation happening around her, most of it related to how to help Ethan so he didn't, you know, die or something stupid like that.

Cracking open her eyes a smidge, she caught a slight glimpse of everyone, following their eyes towards the injured boy. Seeing the scars that lined the boys' body, Eva quickly shut her eyes once again. Scars were one thing that always made the girl feel...afraid. Violence, pain, homicide, most dark things, she had grown somewhat desensitized to from both games and her personal experiences but, scars were different, more personal.

Eva contemplated what to do next, if she kept her eyes closed then they would probably just think she somehow fell asleep in the few minutes they had been on the train, effective but boring. Another option was to open her eyes and start playing her game again, sure, everyone would probably think she was an insensitive and useless ass for not helping the hurt mute out but they already thought that so not much harm is done. However, she would rather not piss anyone off too much, lest they drop her off in some alleyway to get mangled by stray dogs. "I mean, it's not like a WOULDN'T deserve it, but whatever." HEaving a silent sigh, Eva opened her eyes and leaned forward in her seat, listening in on the current conversation.

"For now, we need to know what we have and what we're going to do. What did you all bring? Clothes, food, water, money? Any skills? Are there any jobs you can work? What about crime? Can any of you pickpocket or lockpick? Anything that could possibly be applicable, spill it." Eva opened her mouth to speak before clamping it shut once more, an involuntary scowl appearing on her face at the interruption. Quickly shrugging it off because of the realization that she was slightly far away from the group and nobody was looking her way, the girl walked a short distance towards the others, standing around with her hands in her pockets.

After listening to their surprisingly criminal, yet useful, skills, Eva thought for a moment about her skills, if she had any that is. "So, I'm just going to throw my personal opinion out. We're runaways now, which means the cops are already looking for us. And illegal is almost always faster. It will make it easier for us to start doing petty crime in the beginning. Besides, some of you are probably going to want official documentation for more opportunities in the future, and I don't know about you, but I don't have any government identification. That means we're going to need to get faked papers somehow unless you'd like to head back to steal your actual documents." Good to know that she could be somewhat useful here "Ah, well, I'm pretty much useless here buds. Unlike y'all, putting my hands in some dude's chest when he's bleeding out sounds fucking creepy, I'll pass." She scoffed slightly, a bratty tone that she didn't mean to add made its way into her voice. "BUT, if we're cool with crime then, making a fake ID is no biggy. Some guy I met on an online game taught me how. He was a real shady fuck, but I'm not complaining when the IDs he taught me to make worked." Shrugging her shoulders she shifted her eyes away from the group, tapping her foot uncomfortably from admitting to a crime so casually even if they all weren't exactly 'law-abiding citizens'.

"Other than that, I can do some basic coding and I know some stuff 'bout electronics. I can hold my own in a fight, but I'm not some deviant though so knives and all that are out."

"As for supplies, I've got chargers and UNO. If y'all wanna 'draw 25' someone into submission then I'm your gal."

Cal ‘Collie’ Thi Lê | 16 | AB- | Male | Visions | Both | Questioning | M: Everyone (Dir)

When Axel coughed, Cal got a gut feeling in his stomach. A terrible ‘oh shit are you going to die??’ gut feeling in his stomach. His eyes went wide and his head turned over to him with a worried look. Was Axel going to be okay? Of course he was. This happened a lot. Axel was okay. He had to keep telling himself this. Axel knew his limits, his problems, and how to deal with said problems. Cal gave a small smile to the sickly boy.

He’ll be okay. Just relax.

Before he knew it, Ethan was offering water. Cal opened his mouth to refuse, but Ethan’s eyes held a dangerous glare. Cal swallowed hard. He didn’t really need the water now, but Ethan looked like he’d gut Cal if he refused. Taking the water hesitantly, he flashed an awkward smile. Cal waited for Ethan to stop watching him like a hawk before he placed the water down by Axel, hoping neither of them would notice or force him to drink it.

Cal was kind of… not jealous but envious of TJ? No, envious was worse than jealous. What was the word? Cal wasn’t even sure if there was a word for the feeling. Cal was disappointed, in a sense, that TJ was so amazing. That Cal was not as good as TJ. Cal was just trying to tell the others a funny story. One to lighten the mood especially after all of this. Cal had almost made everyone late. Twice now at this point. Once with his dad finding him and getting all pissed with him and the second with starting a fight. And getting Leroy and Ethan hurt. Jesus. He felt a helluva lot of guilt for that. No matter what the others said, he still felt guilty for that. Of course, Cal can never do anything right it seems so Cal must have said something that made TJ flash out the ol’ ‘I did this thing that is a lot cooler and better than whatever you did’ card. Great. It was an interesting story though. Honestly, how could anyone have not only done that but gotten away with it without the police even finding you? It’s crazy. Real crazy. It almost was unbelievable and Cal would have questioned it had it been anyone else, but TJ didn’t seem like the kind of guy to lie about that. That was the thing with that guy. He was some crazy justice forest warrior. A goddamn legend. Cal couldn’t help but stare with amazement, his eyes trained on TJ and his mouth closed. That’s how you could tell Cal was interested in something. When he stopped talking and just listened. Tyler is just a pure legend. No doubt. Cal on the other hand? Just a fucked up city boy. Hell, he barely had any cool stories compared to everyone else. He knew all the others had a worse past so there wasn’t even a reason for him to act the way he does. And here he was just trying to make the others happier.

TJ just meant it as a friendly thing… I am sure of it.

Yeah. Yeah, TJ wasn’t trying to be rude, not that he was being rude to begin with. Cal was just misreading the room. TJ probably just heard Cal’s story, thought it was cool, and decided to add onto it. Cal smiled slightly, holding his bag close to his chest as he began rocking slightly with contained excitement. The others probably liked his story! Of course, Leroy didn’t though. That thought made his shoulders shrink at Leroy’s words, but then again, Leroy hated everything that wasn’t Axel so he was sure it was nothing.

“Aw hey, come ooooon!” Cal pouted, puffing his cheeks like a child as Leroy talked about his stories not being ‘helpful.’ Well, the story wasn’t that helpful, buuuuut it was still fun to tell the others. Even if they hated it. “My story was totally helpful!” Cal relaxed more in his seat as a smirk popped onto his face. “Lets you know I like dogs more than cats! And hey! Don’t get me wrong, still love those little hair balls of evilness that radiate Leroy energy, but dogs are where it’s at.” Leroy energy. That was basically anything that was always angry but secretly had a heart of gold. That was Cal’s terminology for it at least. This surprisingly described a lot of things. Most notably cats and Leroy himself. “Dogs, man. You gotta love ‘em.”

“Wait seriously?” Evie was always interesting to him. Like, how in the fresh hell did she know someone who could make fake IDs. She might act stand-of-ish and bratty, but she was really cool. Come to think of it, everyone in his group was cool! Hadn’t he already said that before? Well, he was going to keep re-stating it like a broken record because it was true. His group was cool. “That’s super neat!! That will make a lot of that easier than… so what kind stuff do you need for it? I am sure we can get you more materials. It should be pretty damn easy too with the amount of shoplifters and pick-pocketers we got. Or we could just get it the legal way if everyone can contain their urge to wreak havoc and commit crimes for five minutes. I mean, we’ve been together for a little under an hour, right? So far, I am pretty sure at least half of us have somehow committed a crime in some way already.” Cal paused and chuckled nervously. “I am getting off topic, aren’t I? Well, if talking was a crime, I guess I would be on the FBI’s most wanted list.”

“Mhm? Oh, translation?” Cal had gotten used to Ethan using him as a google translator. As soon as Ethan clicked for attention, he had guessed what he needed even before he started to tap. It took him a while to translate, mumbling silently under his breath before nodding slowly with a wide grin. “He says he is good at being quiet, pick pocketing, shoplifting, and uhh… lock picking? Oh, and lying to the police. Did I get that right? Also that’s so weird that both lock picking and- Shit, I am getting off topic. Right, focus.” Cal paused as he listened to what Ethan had to say. Cal frowned. Did Ethan want him to say that last part? Cal glanced nervously at the others before turning to Ethan and tapping on the seat. “Do you want me to say that? The others didn’t say their reasoning. I didn’t either. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. The whole thing with Val though…” Cal smiled and cracked his knuckles, implying- showing- he was more than ready to go back and beat that man up for Ethan. “I’ll gladly beat him up for you if you want.” Cal almost forgot he was saying those words out loud until after he said it. It didn’t matter though. Everyone knew who he wanted to beat up. You know, Cal needed to make a Hit List of people like Val. He wouldn’t necessarily kill the people in that list, just make their life miserable.

Wait a minute…

Axel, Ethan, Aries, Leroy, TJ, Evie, and…

Where was Nabih?

“Hey uhh…,” Cal rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. As he looked around, standing a little out of his seat to get a better look around the train. “Has anyone seen Nabih? I haven’t seen him since I got back…” Nabih was usually the most responsible one out of all of them. Surely he was off doing important stuff. Still, Cal couldn’t help but worry. He was just a big worry wart like that. Cal might try to act lazy and care free, but he really just worries and gets paranoid over everything. Problem was he never even knew when his nervousness was valid. Nabih was probably okay. Probably. “Hey erm… Leroy? You’re on better terms with Nabih than me, right? Like, as in, you are pretty close with him right? I mean, Evie you’re close to him too, right? I don’t know really. Well, I am not sure who is the closest with him or who he likes the most, but one of you two should probably go get him at this point… Do you mind going and finding him? Just so we know he is alright? Nabih is smart but…,” he let his words hang around in the air for a minute before trying to crack a smile, “he forgot to use the buddy system.”