Drop's of rain water trickle down the large window's that line the front of the coffee house. Stepping out the door, I open my black umbrella under the small overhang. The rain beats above me like angry drum's, drowning the noise of my boot's, wide stepping the pavement. It's dark, too dark for New York (which I've come to learn is always lit no matter the time) this gives me the upper hand at shielding myself from, Avery's watching eye's. I can't see him, but I know he's there. Somewhere that he can't been seen by me, or anyone who would notice a man watching a woman. Standing in the shadow's, his hood falling just above his green eye's, hand's stuffed into his pocket's, just staring at me. Someone with a heart would notice. So I imagine he's camped out in a building, out of the rain, waiting for me to do something punishment worthy .

I hurry and step into the diner where I met, Ava before and go into the bathroom. If he's in a bulding I'll be out of here before he can get out the door. In the bathroom I pull from my canvas bag a long black wig that, Ava left behind the toilet of the coffee house bathroom. I look in the mirror, a small spider web crack sit's in the corner, I adjust the shining lock's. I then pull on a long yellow raincoat, also from my bag. It comes below my knee's, hiding all hint of my clothes underneath. The door open's a crack, and I peer out with a single eyeball. No sign of him, I scurry from the bathroom and through the kitchen. I find the back door, metal and heavy. Just like, Ava said. I swing it open and run into the rain.

The drop's begin to drench my fake hair, so I pull the hood up letting the long hair hang from the inside. A way of showing that my hair is not in fact blonde.

Ava's apartment isn't far, five minutes by foot, I stand under the fire escape and toss a small stone. It hit's the metal landing with a ping, the light's inside a window flash on and then off. The signal to come up. The cold metal of the slick ladder is too familiar, I want to vomit. I hoist myself up each level until my boot loses it's footing with a rubbery squelch. Luckily my firm grip on the side bar's catch me before I can plummet to my watery death, I can imagine my open eyes; still, and filling with falling rain. I finally reach her window level, and climb in.

I step into the tiny apartment, although I wouldn't call it an apartment. Maybe hotel room would be a better choice of word's. There's nothing that show's an ounce of personality. I look around the room with a curious eyeing, slowing pulling the soaked raincoat from my shoulder's.

'It's not much, but it does it's job." Ava say's from the couch where she sit's perched at the edge. A puff of cushion the size of a cotton ball shows itself from a crack in the fabric of the sofa. I would poke and prod at it if it were my couch.

I sit, as she goes to the window I crawled into and pull's the shade down. Ava takes her seat back beside the puff ball, the fold's her hands in her lap. The moment fall's awkward with no talking, while I gaze around the room.

"Did you want to talk?" I finally ask.
"There's something I've been wondering." She tells me, poking at the cotton fluff. Lucky
"Yeah?"

Ava stand's, and begins pacing the floor rubbing her hand's together, lost in thought trying her best to find the word's. I pull the strap of my bag over my shoulder, and let it's heavyness fall to the floor beside my feet with a clunk, then shift in my seat, finding a more comfortable position. I watch as, Ava strides from one side of the room to the next, then back again. She stops at the small protruding counter that divides the kitchen from the living room. Her shoulder's rise as she plants her hand's on it's surface, letting her neck stretch while she lower's her head. Her hair, a tangled mess, spread's around her hand's.

"What does he have on you?" Her is voice rough, as she turn's her head to the side at me.
"I have a scholarship, without it I can't be here."
"Me too." She turns her attention back to the kitchen. "I want to be a chef, that was the dream. With a scholarship, of course."
"Could you sit...please? You're making me nervous." I ask.
Ava find's her seat once more, I can see tear's in her eye's. Swimming, waiting to fall.

"How long?" I blink my own tear's away.
"Too long." Ava croaks, I rush to her side and throw my arm around her shaking shoulder's.
"He shouldn't be able to do this!" Ava grit's her teeth. "He need's to pay, that's why I wanted to talk. I need your help, Chloe and you need mine." She says, shrugging away my comforting arm around her, turning to face me, and taking my hand's into her's. I give them a strong squeeze.

"Help with what?" I pull the wig from my head.

"With taking him down, Chloe."
I snatch my hand's from her,

"What? I can't. I've worked too hard to lose my full ride. My professor promised me a slot in his show next month."
I frantically shake my head. Ava's grip slams into my shoulder's, halting my shaking hair.

"Chloe." She look's me straight into my eye's, "I've seen your work."

"You have?"

"Yes! Your pirate ship painting hung in the entrace of the coffee shop for a month before the term started."

"It wasn't a pirate ship, it was just a wooden ship. Wait...It was hung at Lava's?" My thought's start to jumble together. I'm so confused. Ava jiggles my shoulder's to snap me back to Earth.

"Look, my point is you're a great artist." She firmly keep's hold of my shoulder's, attempting to persuade me,
"You dont need some fancy art degree to be an artist. You just need talent. Avery has got to be stopped. Only we can do it.

She let's my shoulder go, I slump back into the couch and let the offer wash over my senses. It does sound nice to take him down, save any future victim's that will fall into his trap.

"Why can't we just go to the police?" I ask.
"Because his father has them in his palm. He donate's like a ton of money to the police department. You can find his smug face on the front of the Time's, once a year, shaking hand's with an officer and holding a big check.

"Oh." My voice fall's, "What about the dean?"
"Same, basically. Avery's dad, and the dean were Omega President and Vice President. They're like best friend's." Ava fall's back into the couth as I had.

We stare blankly in silence for a long time, dead staring at absolutely nothing. Listening to the rain outside the window ping onto the fire escape. I do want to seek revenge, and I guess she is right in some way about not needing a degree to be an artist, but it's the thought of having something I worked hard for to back my talent.

"If we do this..." I begin. Ava makes the couch rock as she sit's up, her eye's round ìn surprise.
"I said if... we would need help. We would have to tell someone. We can't do it on our own." I offer.

Ava nip's at her thumb with her front tooth, thinking it over. "Who would we tell?"

***

"I didn't know you guy's were friend's?" Kat cocks her head to the side, eyeing Ava and I. We glance at each other, "Recent friend's" Ava tell's her.

Ava and I sit at the tip of my bed opposite, Kat like a mock job interview. Kat sit's on her own bed with a small keyboard across her lap, headphone's wrap around the back of her neck and rest just under her wispy chopped hair.

"Did you cut your hair?" She asks me.
"Do you like it?"
"It look's good, frames your face better." She compliments.

Ava gives the side of my rib's a little nudge to hurry things up. Just like pulling off a Band-Aid, we need to just rip it off and tell her.

"Kat. . ." Ava gulps, "We need to tell you something."
"What's up? Wait, are you guy's. . .together?" Kat smile's, her entire face follows and brightens. The light in her eye dies, and fills with water. Her hand leaves the keyboard and reaches her mouth. I can tell she wants to devert her eye's, but like a car wreck; you can't just look away. Ava and I sit stripped, only our bra's covering our torso's. The scarf gone, our jacket's unzipped and thrown to the floor. Exposed, and vulnerable we let her unravel at the sight of our beaten bodies.

"What..what happened to you?" Kat's voice shakes. She lift's herself from her bed, and places the keyboard on the floor beside the jacket's. She hold's out a hand, it shakes too. She uses her finger's to gently dab Ava's deep set scar's on her cleavage. Perfectly shaped teeth that have left their mark in her skin. I stand up on wobbling knee's. Ava know's what he done to me, but I haven't shown anyone my body. The thought of someone seeing me in such a shape is horrifying. Once standing I slowly turn, tear's soak my cheek's. I want to throw my jacket back on, and run to the shower room. Scrub the pain away. But I need this to happen, I need them to see what he done to me.

Behind me I hear the sharp gasp's of Ava, and Kat catching the first glimpse of my torn back. Still scabby, and swollen it's freshly ripped apart. Failing against my constant shower's to properly heal.

"Chloe..." Ava stand's. "It's time to tell her." We turn to, Kat. She can't fight the twisting on her face, or the puzzled tear's. "Who done this?"

"It was, Avery." We say in unison. Kat takes a few step's back with her hand at her chest. She steps back until a desk chair trips her, she falls into the seat, and stays there.
"Avery?" She sit's back, "Why would he do this? To both of you?"
We zip our jacket's back up and sit on the bed. Now feeling more nude than ever.

"He took us somewhere, a basement at an old house across from Omega." Ava tell's her with her knee's pulled to her chest. She hugs her leg's, and rocks back and forth. "He chained us up, held us for day's. He beat us, raped us, and now he constantly watches us. He makes sure to pop in for a surprise choking, Leaving his teeth mark's and his hand print to remind us that he own's us." Ava says through gritted teeth, not minding the hair that has fallen in her face. Silent stream's flow down her face, but she doesn't show a sign of wanting them to be wiped away. Hate, fueled by prolonged fear is rising within her. I let her anger flow into me, infecting me with a mimicking hatred.

"He threatens to have our scholarship's revoked," I mirror, Ava's demeanor, "but we have come to a crossing. We want to take him down, but we can't go to the police."

"Because of his dad." Kat slowly nods putting the puzzle together, "I'm so sorry you guy's." She cries.

"We need your help." I tell her, "We need proof, and he has it. He took picture's, recorded the entire thing."

"Guy's, I'm not sure what you're asking me to do."
Ava let's out a loud sigh, "We need you to break into Omega House, and steal the evidence. Or else nobody will ever believe us."

Kat stands from the desk chair, and starts pacing the dorm room with her arm's tightly crossed. "Ava, Chloe. . .I'm not... 'sneaking in' material." She tucks her hair behind her ear, "But I have a better idea." She points a finger. "From what you're saying I'll bet anything the picture's and video are all on his computer..." an excitement comes to her face.

"Yeah? So... steal the laptop." Ava tell's her.
"No. You don't understand." She sit's in the chair, and lean's toward us.
"Understand what? You sneak in, you take his laptop and get outta there." I tell her, now annoyed.

"No, you guy's just listen...If they are on his laptop, they are in The Cloud." Kat hold's her open palm's up in the air, "So... we just hack his ICloud account." She tells us.
I look to, Ava who look's pleased. "Kat, you're a genius."

"Not a genius, but I do know one who can hack into his computer. I'm a musician, not a hacker." Kat stand's and shrug's her coat on, followed by her scarf and gloves. She walks to the door to leave while we just sit and watch, confused about her sudden exit. "Well? You coming or what? Let's go hacking." Ava and I throw our poisionous scarf's on and follow behind, Kat. We walk two block's to a high rise, the door man greet's us with a sweet hello as we walk past him. We take the elavator to the tenth floor, a long creaking ride, my empty stomach thumps at our destined floor. Kat lead's us with a protective confidence to a door.

She knock's once and bounces on her feet. I can't tell if she's nervous or excited. The door swing's open with a gust of wind.
"Kat?" A young boy ask's. His black hair stand's at full attention in hard spike's. I recognize him from the party, he introduced Kat when she sung a song while, Avery tightened his claw's into me. Up close I see that the spikey hair belongs to a young boy; too young to be at frat parties. He can't be any older than sixteen.

"We need your help." Kat tell's him. The boy looks to Ava, and I.
"Then please come in." He tell's her. We step inside, it's beautiful. High class New York living.
He lead's us to a bedroom, inside it's a teenage boy paradise. Video games are everywhere, takeout boxes liter the dresser, and night stand. It's a glorious mess that reminds me of, Zen.