(I'll probably come back and edit this later but I thought I'd get most of the general ideas down.)

(Please ignore that fact that this sucks lol I promise it'll get better)

"No please, you can't!"

"Sorry kid. You'll just have to watch your steps after this. Don't mess up again and you'll be fine."

Dylan's eyes welled with fear and sorrow as he helplessly watched the officer add the second strike to his name. There was no going back from this. He messed up, again. It took all his willpower to keep his tears from falling as he waited impatiently for the officer to finish.

"Alright you're free to go kid. Be careful, okay?"

Dylan nodded and walked away as calmly as he could manage. He waited until the officer was out of sight before hiding his face and sprinting off.

***

The grass was always an odd feeling to have against your skin. It pokes and prickles anywhere it can reach. Yet at the same time it's nice change to feel something other than the plastic that the school seemed to fill itself with. Plastic chairs, plastic plates and forks and knives, plastic pencils. Ariella wouldn't be surprised if the people were plastic too.

"Why does she always lay there?"

"I heard she has two strikes but committed way more crimes than just that."

"Really? I heard she's never even gotten one strike and just never gets caught."

"That's impossible! How could someone who commits so many crimes never be caught?" 

Ariella smiled to herself. They made up the weirdest ideas! She closed her eyes but was soon pulled from her thoughts by the feeling of someone staring. She reopened her eyes and glanced over to see a guy she didn't know watching her. He looked afraid of something- probably me, she thought- and he hid his blue eyes under his black bangs, which would normally only cover his forehead, when he saw her looking.

She thought nothing of it and went back to daydreaming. 

***

Throughout the course of the day, Ariella had repeatedly noticed the same guy again. She couldn't tell if he normally walked the same paths as her and she was picking him out of the crowd only now, or if he had changed his usual routine to follow her. Either way he had sparked her interest and she thought she ought to at least learn his name.

Upon leaving school that day, she decided to test her theory that he was following her. So when she left through the main doors, instead of taking the boring walk home, she delayed her trip by turning around and jogging to the back of the building. She leaned against the wall and waited patiently for something to happen.

Sure enough, those who wait are rewarded, as the boy with the bright eyes and dark hair cautiously turned around the corner, yelping at the sight of Ariella standing there.

"So," she started, "you come here often?"

"Oh uh n- no." He stuttered, obviously not catching on to the joke.

She sighed, annoyed by his uneasiness, and offered her hand for him to shake. "I'm Ariella."

He nervously accepted her offer while studying his shoes.

"I'm Dylan." He let go of her hand but still didn't dare to even glance up. Ariella found it extremely displeasing, but decided to hold her tongue.

"So then, Dylan," she crossed her arms, "why have you been following me?"

"I wa- I well I-"

"Come on, spit it out!" She raised her voice, growing impatient with Dylan.

His head snapped up from the surprise of her sudden outburst and he raised his own voice in return.

"I need your help!" She raised her eyebrows at his distressed expression.

"With what? Rumored criminals have lives too you know."

"I- It's complicated." She sighed.

"I'm gonna need a bit more than that."

"Wait so does that mean you'll help me?"

"I'm depends. Would you care to elaborate?"

"It's embarrassing." She rolled her eyes and flicked his head.

"Do you want help or not?" He flinched at her tone but held a hand over his forehead without complaining.

"I- I have two strikes."

"So?"

"Well one more and I'm killed on the spot."

"Yeah that's normally how it goes. I'm not seeing the problem here."

"W- well I'm scared."

"Okay and what do you want me to do about it?"

"I need these two strikes gone."

"And what makes you think I can do that?"

"I- I just thought-"

"It's fine I can help. I have nothing to do this weekend anyway. Meet me at the school park tomorrow and if I haven't changed my mind we'll talk then."

She pushed past him and walked back towards the front of the school.

"Wait!" She turned back around and looked at Dylan while her face showed bland boredom. "T- thank you."

"Don't thank me yet."