Sitting down behind Dr. Roberts' table in the school's infirmary, Owen eyed his accomplices. Phillip was sitting quietly on the other side while checking his phone and Sean was beside him, eating a plate of apple pie with vigor.

Calling for their attention he started the meeting, "Dr. Roberts, do you have any news to report?"

Putting his phone back in his pocket he started reporting "Of course, Owen. All the background checks that you've requested have arrived, both on Miss Sang Sorenson..." Finally we know her full name... "...and on the boys." He concluded looking pretty grim.

"And what are the results?"

"Well, starting by the boys, they are all suffering a form of abuse in their homes, which the Academy is being adamant in fixing. According to school records they are all grade A students with a lot of potential. We have orders to handle their families ASAP and bring them in if possible. They are not the priority thought. The academy is more worried about Miss Sorenson. We've found out that the girl is a ghost, boys. Aside from school records there is no other register about her."

The boys are stunned. None of them expected this. Owen couldn't decide if this new development was good or bad. In a manner, the fact that she was a ghost would be a great asset if she remained in his team because she would be called on missions that earned more favors'. On the other hand, however, these missions were the sort that had a raised risk, which was why the academy needed someone who couldn't be traced to handle them. Then there was the fact that it would be incredibly hard to convince the academy that she should stay with him and his family, for they would want to put her in a bird team.

One thing he knew for sure is that the academy's idea of priority wouldn't go well with her. That girl would want that the boys' problems to be sorted out before her own. She hadn't said as much yet, but Owen could see it in her eyes.

"We will need to consider the situation carefully and talk with Miss Sorenson before we make a move." He tells them. Asset or not he would do what she wished. If Sang wanted to get in the Academy he would help her, if not he would still do his best to help her get away from her family. She wasn't his mother and he wasn't a helpless little boy anymore, he would be able to help this time. "What about you, Sean?"

"The bullies that were causing trouble have been taken care of. A little visit from our Russian friend has convinced them that changing schools and dropping their bullying tendencies were the only way to stay alive." Sean reported with great amusement.

"Very well. As for my part, I've spoken with Miss Sorenson and she has expressed the need to help the boys. She wants them all out of danger. Also, she admitted to eavesdropping on our conversations here in the infirmary and is aware of what we are and can do."

Both Sean and Phillip laughed at this, "That girl is smart Owen; she is going to give us a run for our money." Said the good doctor.

"Of course she is, Doc! Our Pookie is definitely academy material." Sean said proudly.

"So she is, gentlemen. But this isn't the time to sing Miss Sorenson praises. We still have a plan to devise. I doubt she will accept academy help until the boys are all sorted out so we must start by them. Let's us begin in the planning."

......

Tuesday morning...

Watching Dakota Jameson Lee cross the courtyard with his friends following behind, Sang can't help but think that he is the true leader of that group. Most people would look at him and see only a nerd guy. They would have missed the way he always stood upright, shoulders back with a cool confidence. Sang knew for a fact that he suffered abuse at home, but it didn't beat him down. It made him stronger.

Victor was a smart guy, and the guys all deferred to him, but the weight of leadership was so heavy at his shoulders that sometimes she could see him slumping. Dakota would be more suited for the role of leader but he'd never take his friend's place, not unless someone convinced him that it was for the best.

......

Sitting in the very last table on the science laboratory, Sang was startled from her thought when the chair beside her was pulled back. Looking up she met with emerald green eyes outlined by black frames.

"May I sit here?" he asked, while smiling politely at her.

Blushing, she answered. "Of course you can, Kota."

Sitting down and putting his bag beside his chair he said "it is nice to meet you Sang."

Chuckling she said, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too. By the way, I always wanted to compliment you on that experiment that you made for the school science exhibition last year, it was pretty cool."

"Thank you." His emerald green eyes were gorgeous, and so was the soft smile that appeared on his face while he blushed. He was so cute when he blushed that I felt the overwhelming need to pinch his cheeks. Creepy! I am becoming an old aunt! At this rate I will end up alone and caring for cats!

Control yourself Sang, don't be a creep, she thought to herself while silently chanting in her head, I am not going to pinch his cheeks... I am not going to pinch his cheeks... "So, how are things going with you and the boys?"

"Have you been watching all of us?" he asked curiously.

This time she was the one who blushed. "Yup, I've been stalking all five of you." She said with a straight face.

He laughed. "You know that I didn't mean it like that. And to answer your question, we are as fine as we can be, considering the situation we all are into." He finished seriously.

That teacher walked into the room and we quieted to pay attention to class. When she passed a questioner for them to answer they worked together and finished the work quickly, gaining some free time to talk during class.

"So, Victor asked me to tell you that he is got the "package" and expects the proper "payment" to be made in music class. Any idea what he was talking about? I hope it wasn't drugs." He teased.

Widening her eyes she practically squealed, "Of course not! Good god, Kota! What have you been watching on the Tv? He is lending me some books and I will lend him my CD with some music."

Chuckling he said, "I know Sang, I was just messing with you. I must be spending too much time with Luke. He is the prankster of the group."

Smiling while thinking of the mischievous blonde boy she commented, "I could see that. He is also very observant."

Looking curiously at her he asked. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, it is just that it seems like he is always diffusing the situation. I notice that when someone in your group is getting mad or sad he tries harder to make everyone smile."

Thinking back to all his interactions with his most bubbly friend Kota saw that she was right. Luke was the only one among them that had a mostly normal household, he lived alone with his uncle, and so he spent a lot of time by himself, but he wasn't abused or neglected really, his uncle gave him as much attention as he could. That didn't mean that he didn't suffer and feel lonely, he just hid behind his smiles and jokes, working hard to make himself and everyone around him to see the brighter side of life.

"You are right." He mused distractedly. Looking back at Sang he said. "Thank you for sharing that with me." She just smiled at him.

When the bell rang, Kota walked Sang to her next class, Arts.

Entering the classroom she spotted Gabriel sitting in the same place that they had the other day and sat beside him. Jumping in his chair as if startled by her sudden presence, he closed the sketchbook in which he'd been drawing quickly and said, "Oy, Trouble! Why must you be so fucking quiet while walking? Do you want to scare the shit out of me?"

"Sorry, Gabriel. I didn't know that I was doing it. It's just a habit of mine to walk so quietly. Tell me, what is it that you were drawing?"

Looking at her sitting beside him he frowned, ignoring her question, and stretched his arm, palm up with fingers flexing in a "gimme" gesture "What the hell, Trouble? Why is your hair in a fucking clip? A braid or ponytails is okay, but clips no. it's ugly. Give it to me."

"What? No, don't be a meanie Gabriel! I need it to keep my hair from my face and I didn't have time to braid it today."

Turning around and reaching for his bag he pulled out a comb and a rubber band from inside. "Turn around. I will braid it for you."

Eyeing the brush in his hand warily she raised her eyes to his very determined face and decides to agree. Turning around she felt him remove her clip and then gently run his fingers through her hair, before applying the brush. She didn't remember the last time that someone had brushed her hair for her, it felt very comforting.

Braiding her hair quickly and efficiently he tied the end with the rubber band and she turned around. "Where did you learn to do that, Gabriel?"

Blushing slightly he said, "Sometimes I help my stepmom in the salon where she works. And I am not fucking gay!" he added quickly.

"Of course not, knowing how to do hair don't makes you gay, it makes you pretty cool." She said smiling at him.

Blushing even more at the compliment he ducked his head and mumbled a shy "thank you" under his breath before the teacher started the class.

Looking at his red face she starts her internal chant once more. I am not going to pinch his cheeks... I am not going to pinch his cheeks... God! He is too cute!

......

When recess started Sang went off with Gabriel to meet with the rest of the guys.

They were all already sitting in their usual table, talking quietly, some doing their homework and others observing the people and happenings around them.

Approaching the table she started to feel extremely nervous. Would they accept her presence? What if they didn't want her around?

Her fears were assuaged when Victor lifted his head and his fire eyes centered on her, warming her from inside out.

"Hey guys." She said quietly.

Nathan, who was sitting beside Victor looked over at her and smiled, Kota and Luke turned over on their bench to look at her and smiled too.

"Hello sweetie." Said Kota, pushing his glasses up with a finger.

"Hi. I'm Lucian, but everyone calls me Luke. You're Sang, right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you." I said while walking around the table to sit beside Victor. Gabriel sat across from me, beside Kota, and started to make crazy faces at me, which set me off with giggles. Someone snorted and soon we were all giggling like crazy people.

Calming down after a while Kota turned serious eyes at me and asked. "Sang, it's not that we don't like having you around, but I sense that you're trying to do something. Care to tell us what it is?"

Looking into his emerald green eyes I said "Well, I've already come this far."

"I have an abusive home life and I've spent these last few months searching for other options other than running away or calling the police. Last week I found one. The Academy. It's not something that I can explain to you boys because it's not my secret to tell. You'd have to ask Owen and Sean for the details, but for now suffice to say that it is a group of people who dedicated their lives to help others much like you boys do here, and they have means to do things that other people don't possess. "

Looking around herself she sees that the boys all have thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Focusing back on her Kota tells her that they need to think about it. Right then the bell rings signaling the end of recess.

......

Tuesday night...

Her time at home that day was not pleasant. Apparently Marie had seen her hugging Owen during recess the other day, which means that her mother found out and went a little crazy. She was now locked in her room without food or water after having been made to drink a huge glass of lemon juice mixed with vinegar.

Tired of staying coped up inside she went down to the kitchen and made some hot chocolate, serving it in a thermos for later, she grabbed her backpack and put the thermos inside along with a couple of cups, some cookies and a book for her to read later, going back to her room she opened her room window and went out in the roof, crawling on her hands and knees to the very edge she swung her legs down first and held on to the edge with her hands. From there she dropped down, hitting the ground and rolling to relieve the impact, her bag held safely in her arms.

Leaving her house she saw that the lights were still on in what she knew to be Kota's house. Walking over there quietly she saw that her friend was being beaten by his father. Thinking fast she grabs a rock and throws it in the window, breaking the glass. Running to hide, she watches from the shadows as Kota's father leaves the house and searches around for the offender. Finding no one he goes back inside and screams for his wife to clean the mess, saying that he is going out to meet with his friends.

Erica cleans the glass and taps a piece of cardboard to the hole, then, once her husband is gone she turns to her son and starts to check his injuries and treat them, all the while crying and apologizing.

From outside Sang could hear Kota telling his mother that everything would be ok, that he didn't mind the beatings, that it was best for him to take them than her or Jessica.

She begged him not to tell anyone, she was afraid of losing them. He promised not to tell and she sent him up to his room to sleep.

Sang comes out of her place of hiding and scaled the wall to Kota's bedroom window. Seeing the boy crying alone in his bed she knocks on the glass. He startles and looks at the window, seeing her outside he rushes to open it.

"What are you doing out there? It is dangerous! Come inside, how did you get here?"

Entering the room she said "Calm down, I've done this a million of times already. And I live in this street too." Her voice was low and scratchy because of the concoction that her mother had made her drink.

"What? Where?" he questioned startled. She moved over to the window seat and sat with her knees raised in front of her chest, her backpack beside her.

"Across the street in the grey house, I've always lived there, but my mother doesn't let me come out to play with you guys." She said and started rummaging in the bag, pulling off the hot chocolate, the cups and the cookies.

Offering him a cup he accepted and took a sip.

"Well, that might explain why I've never seen you before around here." He mumbled quietly, sitting beside her in the seat.

Raising her hand to his cheek Sang wiped his tears. "I don't like to see you crying alone Kota." Approaching him slowly she took their cups to put on the sill and tentatively gave him a hug, her arms going around his waist, her head resting in his shoulder.

Hugging her back he asked quietly "Was it you who broke the window?"

Looking sheepish she answered, "I'm sorry about that. I couldn't think of any other way to get him away from you."

"It's ok." He said, and hugged her tighter, hiding his face in her neck. Soon she felt the wetness slipping down her neck and shoulder and he started to tremble.

Sliding one arm up to rub his back and the other to hold his head in place, Sang asked "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." He said quietly, sounding so lonely and hopeless.

Letting go of him she stood up, grabbed his hand and led him to his bed, pulling out the comforter she told him "Lie down."

Once he obeyed she pulled the comforter over him and lay beside him on her side, their heads sharing the same pillow, her hand holding his.

Turning on his side he faced her. She was so tiny, so warm and so strong. Stronger than him and she didn't seem to know it. He knew she had problems at home too, he noticed the way her voice was breaking when she raised the volume. But he was afraid of asking what was wrong, afraid of breaking the spell and making her uncomfortable, wanting to leave. He needed her comfort right now, a friend to share his pain.

"I don't know what to do Sang."

"You do, Kota. The question is, what are you willing to do for those that you love?"

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"Take the lead, stop holding back. Accept the help that the academy is offering you..."

"I can't. The others aren't sure that they want to go. I don't want to push."

"You can. You are a true leader, Kota. Wherever you go all the others follow behind. Victor might be the one making the decisions right now, but we both know that he hates it no matter how good he is, and you are much more capable of handling the responsibility of taking care of them. You already do it at your home; the academy will give you the means to keep them all safe."

Rising from the bed she bent down and kissed his brown. "It's late, sleep now. Think about what I said."

Leaving through the window she went back to her house and finally fell asleep.

......

Wednesday morning, recess...

Again I was sitting with the boys today, Nathan to my right and Gabriel to my left, Victor, Luke and Kota sitting across from us.

I was eating my sandwich quietly when Victor asked me how I was feeling; I hadn't uttered a single word the whole morning. I told him I was fine, but he obviously didn't believe me by the look on his face. Gabriel turned to me and said. "Oy! What's wrong with your voice trouble? It's all fucked up!"

Sighing I told them about what had happened at home last night, about my story and my life with my family. When I told them about how I was abused at home they looked mad and sad, when I told them about how I thought about running away before they looked at me admiringly, and when I told them why I choose to stay they became grim and hopeless.

Looking around her she could see that they were freaking out, these boys didn't like the fact that a girl might be going through the same things that they did at home. Nathan looked ready to kill someone, Victor looked exhausted, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, Gabriel was cussing up a storm and Luke looked lost while Kota analyzed the situation quietly.

Seeing their sad and resigned faces made my heart hurt. These boys were strong and kind like no others, always trying to help those around them, but they didn't know how to help themselves. Maybe they'd let her teach them.

......

Seeing that Nathan was about to lose control she put her hand over his and he stilled automatically. He couldn't stand up and begin punching people left and right like he wanted to in that moment. It was wrong and he didn't want to scare Sang and make her think that he was as bad as his dad.

Kota looked around at his friends and saw complete chaos. Nathan was struggling to keep his temper with Sang sitting beside him, looking scared, she was the only thing keeping him still, Victor was so tired that he looked ready to drop, he'd come home from school the other day to find out that he would need to play another concert that night, which means he had gone through school like one of the zombies from Nathan's movies, Gabriel was cursing without stopping while trying to hide the fact that he was crying and Luke was looking everywhere desperately, waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Seeing this he remembered Sang words from last night... What are you willing to do for those that you love, Dakota? Looking at her again he makes his decision.

Standing up from the bench where he was sitting Kota faced his friends with his head held high, decisive. "That's enough. Sang, call your friends, please. I am going to accept their help." He says with command and a passion born from the need to protect.

The other boys looked up at him and nodded their heads in agreement. If Kota was joining the academy then they would follow him.