I was on edge the rest of the day. By lunch time, I was ready to crawl out of my skin.

"Calm down." Hal put a firm hand on my shoulder.

"What if I got him in trouble?" I demanded. "Hal, I can't...I don't..."

I snapped my mouth shut. This was how anxious I was just thinking I might've caused Evan to lose his Blue status. But Hal had caused me to lose mine. He'd been living with that all this time.

"It'll be fine," Hal said, pulling me to a stop in the hallway, yanking me away from the crowd of students heading for the doors out of the building. "You really think Constance will fuck with a kid whose mom is funding his construction? He's petty, not stupid."

"But what if Evan's mom is okay with it?" I said.

"Then that's a whole different matter," he said. "Calm the fuck down. It'll be fine. It's just detention."

As the anxiety clawed at my mind, I reached out and gripped his arm. "You know I never blamed you for what happened, right?"

His expression twisted and he looked away from me. "It was my fault.I knew damn well what I said would get you to do what you did. You should blame me."

"I feel shitty right now, thinking I might've gotten Evan in trouble. If you feel half this bad for what happened, I can't stand that. We were both at fault for that," I said. "Fuck. Fuck, Hal, I know we already had our sappy moment for the day, but I can't stand the thought of you feeling like this for so long. Come here, you asshole."

I hugged him tightly. He put his arms around me, his grip just as tight.

"Whatever this is, I won't let this place hurt you," he said, his voice low. "Not anymore. Not ever again."

"Don't," I begged. "You can't control that."

"I can fucking try." His grip grew even tighter.

We slowly pulled away from each other. I squeezed his arm before letting it go.

"Stick together?" I said.

"Always," he said fiercely.

"I've got your back," I said.

"I know," he said.

We left the building, nothing left to be said. Whatever this was, we'd fight it together.

We went to the dining hall, and Wyatt waved us over to a table once we had our food. I frowned as we approached.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Evan got detention! They made a big deal of it. Even my grade knew," he said, looking upset. "They're trying to embarrass him, aren't they?"

"Likely," I said, sitting down.

"Why do they have to be so mean about it?" His shoulders slouched. "It's because he's being nice to the Maroons. It's stupid. It's...it's fucking stupid!"

"Watch your fuckin' language," Hal said.

"Screw you, Hal," Wyatt said.

Cara sat down with us. "Did you guys get detentions too? Sternberg made a huge deal of giving me mine and reminding me I fucked up again. I already called my parents though, and my mom was annoyed but she agreed it wasn't that bad."

I saw Hal relax at that news. Probably the only good news we were getting today.

"Hey," Evan said as he approached our table. I slid over so he could sit next to me. He held up his detention slip. "Are we in the same room?"

My face paled. "Oh, that's not good."

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

"Maroons and Blues rarely have detention together," Cara said, shaking her head. "Detention for Maroons is a lot more violent than detentions for Blues."

"Okay, well, then this should be interesting," Evan said.

"Evan-" I started.

Something in my voice must've given me away, because he turned to me with a reassuring smile. "Nah, don't sweat over it, Griffin. I'm not worried."

He should be. But I turned my head away. My stomach was competing with my chest for the tightest knot.

"Eat." Hal shoved my tray at me and gave me a look. "Even just a little, you son of a dog."

I reluctantly picked at my food until I couldn't bear to put anything else in my stomach. When lunch ended, our group headed back for the academic building. Evan tugged me to the back of the group and lowered his voice.

"It'll be okay," he assured. "I'm not worried. Really, I'm not."

"You don't know what Constance is capable of," I said.

Cara's friends had been causing him so much trouble lately. He'd probably want to crush us as fast as possible so he could focus on handling them.

The rest of the day seemed to simultaneously drag and rush by. When we were released from our final class, we went out into the hall and waited for Cara to catch up to us. Her roommate was trailing behind her.

"You sure you'll be good?" Mikayla asked.

"Yea, I'll be fine. It's just detention," Cara said. "Do me a favor, though? Do my math homework for me. My hands will be too broken to do it myself."

Mikayla scoffed. "Yea, right, that's ever going to happen. Catch you later, Cara."

"See you," Cara said, and turned to us. "Do we go get Evan?"

"Might as well," I said. "Your roommate worried about you?"

"Isn't yours?" Cara said, snickering when Hal knocked her to the side with his shoulder in irritation.

We went down the hall, and I was a little surprised. We found Evan, sure, but not alone. Jordan stood beside him, chewing his lip.

"I heard," he said to me as we walked up to them. "I don't like this. Something's off."

"It's not your fucking problem anymore," Hal snarled.

"We had a fight. That doesn't mean I don't care about you guys," Jordan said firmly. "Yes, Hal, even you."

"I'm fucking honored," Hal said dryly.

"Stop," I said, elbowing him in the side. "Did you hear anything, Jordan?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just the gossip about Evan getting in trouble. They wanted to humiliate him."

"Didn't work," Evan said lazily.

"Yet," Jordan said. He sighed. "Alright, I'll keep an ear out for anything. Maybe talk to Caroline."

"Don't," I said. "Please, don't drag her into this."

Jordan nodded slowly. "Okay. I won't. But I will keep an ear out and let you know if I hear anything about this. Good luck, all of you."

We left him, heading for the room our detention was in. I kept stealing glances at Evan, but he seemed as calm as a person could be under the circumstances.

We entered the room, and my bad feeling grew worse. There were no other students in here. Detentions usually had a good amount of Maroon students.

The man sitting at the desk in the room was familiar enough. Mr. Devon, one of the teachers who taught Maroon juniors. He'd been Hal's teacher last year, and had a particular dislike of me after I embarrassed him in front of his class for striking Hal. I'd used my authority as a Blue to quite literally corner him and forced him to apologize to Hal.

I wasn't even supposed to be there. But, being a Blue, I often left during free times in my own classes to go sit in with Hal. Mostly to keep an eye on him. It's when I antagonized so many of the Maroon students and teachers.

"Sit," Devon barked at us.

"You're still here?" Hal said as we sat down together. "Senile hillbillies ignoring traders, thought you finally gave up after a 16 year old put you in your place."

"Henry Waymire," Devon said in disgust. "I certainly didn't miss having you as a student."

"It's Hal," Hal snapped. "Fuck, don't call me Henry, you underpaid prick."

"You know this guy?" Evan asked us.

"He was Hal's teacher last year. I very politely asked him to apologize to Hal after they had an incident, and he's never forgiven me," I said.

Hal snorted. "Politely. You damn well cornered the little son of a dog. It was glorious."

"Oh, I heard about that!" Cara said. "Yea, yea, I remember when that happened. Wish someone got it on video."

Devon's face was turning red, and he was glaring at all of us. We really weren't doing ourselves any favors here.

"Mr. Devon?"

I snapped my head around. Constance stood in the doorway, Caroline and her brother next to him. Caroline looked at me with pained eyes, but she didn't say anything. I guarantee that asshole brought her by just to torment both of us.

"I will be leaving campus early today to take my son to an appointment. I trust you can handle this group?" Constance said.

"Of course, sir," Devon said, and I got a cold chill at the expression on his face.

"Excellent." Constance looked to Evan. "I'm very disappointed to see you in here, Mr. Copeland."

"If it was that disappointing, you wouldn't have let them stick me in here," Evan said, charming smile on his face. "Forgive me if I don't take you at face-value, Headmaster."

"Perhaps you will by the end of the day," Constance said, his chilling smile emerging on his face. "Well, Mr. Devon, I expect a report tomorrow morning. Have a good evening, everyone."

"Bastard," Hal said, none too quietly.

Leon shot him a surprised look, but Constance put a hand on his shoulder and guided him away from the room. Caroline gave me an apologetic look, mouthed "stay strong", and followed her father.

"How dare you speak to the Headmaster that way," Devon snapped.

"I'll speak to you that way too. Bastard," Hal said.

Devon picked up a sturdy ruler from his desk, a favorite weapon of the teachers here. Freaking ruler festish around this place, I swear.

But instead of whacking Hal, the ruler cracked across the skin of my arm. I jerked in pain and surprise, and scowled up at Devon.

"Excuse you," I said, annoyed. "That was rude as hell."

He towered over me. "It is so very satisfying to see you in that Maroon vest, Mr. Flynn."

"Well, I'm aware I'm rather handsome in any color, but you're a little old for me," I said.

He smacked me with the ruler again. "Do you know how many of us complained to the Headmaster about you? Teachers, students, even some of the security. But he let you run free. Until, from what I recall hearing, Mr. Waymire here screwed you over."

"Mr. Waymire here has never hit me with a ruler, so he's got that going in his favor," I said, rubbing my arm.

Devon ignored that and turned his attention to Evan. "I spoke with the Headmaster earlier today. He said he's been in contact with your mother. She's worried you're using Mr. Flynn here to rebel against her. Something about replacing a girl named Lena with him?"

Evan tensed, but forced a smile. "Griffin's not quite as pretty as Lena."

I gestured to my vest. "If I can rock this, I'm sure I could rock that red dress of hers."

"Might be a bit snug on you," Evan said. "Just don't let Hal do your makeup."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, I messed up eyeliner one time," Hal said.

"It was way more than one time," Cara said.

"You," Devon said, pointing the ruler at Cara. "You will not speak this entire detention, or I will send a report home to your parents."

"What, to tell them that I spoke? I sure hope so. They taught me how to do it," Cara said, raising an eyebrow.

He let a grin stretch across his face. "How hard would it be to convince one of your teachers to report you for bad behavior?"

"I haven't done anything worth reporting in a while," Cara said, eyes narrowing.

"Would your parents really buy it if you claimed you hadn't slipped up again? All it takes is one report from what I've been told. So you'll be quiet, or you'll be reported," Devon said.

Cara opened her mouth to argue, but reluctantly shut it after a moment of thought. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring as she waited to see what happened.

But I knew what was happening.

There was blackmail number one. If Cara stepped out of line, even slightly, the teachers would fake a report to send to her parents. No more soccer camp for her. I didn't understand the desire to go, but it was obviously important to Cara, and not something she wanted to jeopardize.

One out of four down.

Devon sat on the desk in front of me and leaned forward a little, ruler dangling from his fingers as he swung it back and forth. "Tell me, Mr. Flynn, what are you without Mr. Waymire?"

"Grumpy," I said.

Devon looked thoughtful now. "You were attacked on campus. The Headmaster told me your father contacted him, very concerned about your wellbeing. As you know, this Academy has never expelled a student before. We're very capable of handling the worst of you lot. However, for your own safety, the Headmaster doesn't think it would be hard to convince your father to take you to Ireland with him and enroll you there."

My blood ran cold.

"Good luck with that," I said, desperate to keep my voice normal.

Devon tapped the ruler against the chair his feet were resting on. "Your father said he was worried all his traveling was harmful for your wellbeing. But his business is in Ireland. I'm sure it would be best if he could just move there."

It would be. I knew it would. I'd heard him mention it to my grandpa before, when he thought I was sleeping.

"I don't want to take him away from his life here, but this is straining our relationship," dad would say. "I hate being away from him. Maybe it'd be best to move now, while he's still young enough to make a fresh start over there."

He'd brought it up vaguely to me, but never pressed the issue. Had he asked the Headmaster for his opinion?

"All your rebellion leaves us to wonder if you're seeking attention," Devon said. "Certainly something we should report to your father. Moving there so he could be with you all the time would be the best for your health."

"Like hell," Hal snarled.

"And Hal Waymire is clearly a bad influence on you, Griffin," Devon said. "All your trouble seems to stem from him. It'd be wrong of us not to bring this up to your father."

"Feel tough, threatening a kid?" Evan said, his voice hard. "You're all righteous here, claiming you'll fix kids or whatever. All you do is abuse and hurt them. You're all sick."

"There's not much we can do about your rebellious behavior, I'm afraid," Devon said, attention flickering to Evan. "But if Griffin is gone, that'll be best for you."

Evan's face paled a little. "Did she...? No. No, she knows you're doing this. My mom knows you're doing this to him, doesn't she?" Evan let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, shit, I'm going to scream in about five seconds. Fuck this. Fuck you."

"Just things to think about. Mrs. Copeland is very displeased with your friendships here, Evan. And if she keeps pushing...well, the Headmaster was already thinking of contacting Griffin's father on this. I'm sure that kind of pressure will only encourage him to go through with it," Devon said, standing up. "And so long as Hal's behavior stays so aggressive towards staff and students, it'll only be more encouragement to remove Griffin from him."

With that, he handed us each a sheet of paper and put up lines on the board. "You'll write that, over and over. Repeating it in your head so you get the message. Absolutely no talking."

I wrote and wrote, if only to distract my desperate thoughts. This was all such a tangled mess.

When detention finally let out, Devon smiled at us. "Remember what I said, students. And may this detention be quite an important lesson for you all."

I knew it was, because Hal didn't tell him to fuck off as we left.

We quietly left the building. It was Cara who put out an arm to stop us.

"We need to talk about this," she said.

"Not now," I said. Everything hurt. I felt so tired. My brain wouldn't shut down.

"Griffin," Hal said, looking anxious.

"Let him be on his own. He has a lot to think about," Evan said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We all do."

I gave him a thankful look. I looked to Hal.

"I'll be back," I promised him, because he needed to hear it.

"You fucking better," Hal said, but he sounded a little afraid.

"Take care of him. Please," I mumbled to Cara as I walked away from them. She nodded and walked up to Hal.

Evan was already heading away from our group. I wandered to the path off campus, taking out my phone as I did so. I dialed the familiar number and held it to my ear as it rang.

"I need you," I said as soon as the phone was answered. "The hill. Please."

I hung up. Wet my lips. Swallowed around the lump in my throat a few times. Cracked my knuckles to fill the silence.

The hill gave me a place to put my thoughts as I focused on making it down without tripping. At the bottom, she was waiting for me, like she always would.

"Whatever you need," Anika said, opening her arms.

She folded me against her body. What I needed, she couldn't give me. But she could give me this, and it made it easier.

If Evan kept hanging around us, and if Hal kept being aggressive to the staff and students, then the Headmaster would convince my father that taking me with him to Ireland was the best choice. Cara had been collateral damage in all this, but now she couldn't speak out without fearing a faked report to her parents.

It was the perfect way to trap all of us and make us obey.

We were tangled in a web of our own mistakes, and the more we struggled, the worse we became trapped. I couldn't see a way out of this one.

Anika held me tightly as I cried.