"Carly said they're going to the fire station tomorrow night to meet with the firefighters. They're having dinner with them and going over plans for the project," Bishopp said.

                We were sitting in the Social Action room, everyone on edge. We didn't know how long we had before Mallory told the police.

                "Did you make yourself obvious, Bishopp?" Tyson said.

                Bishopp shook his head. "No. I asked her about the project, pretended to be interested in it, and didn't linger on any question. I changed the subject to the fundraiser they did for cancer research two years ago," Bishopp said. "I made the whole thing sound like vague curiosity and praise."

                "So tomorrow we have to strike," Tyson said. "We don't know how long they'll be gone. We don't even know when they're leaving."

                "I thought that part out," I said. "You and I can claim we're going out on a date. Then your parents won't get suspicious. I doubt my Uncle will even be home, but it'll be my cover story if he is. We can watch the house for when they leave."

                "How romantic," Talon said, wincing when Nyssa kicked him.

                "It'll take us time to get there," Nyssa reminded. "And you can't move until we're there. You need the two of us to get you in, and you need Connor to make sure you're not getting caught on any video feeds."

                "I can't hijack the feed like I did at Alex's house. If Mallory can watch it from his phone, I'm sure he'll have an eye on it periodically. If he can't access, he'll know something's wrong and it'll blow the whole mission," Connor said.

                "So we have to avoid any security cameras?" I asked.

                Connor shook his head. "I might be able to play a loop feed. That's a big 'might', though. If Mallory can move the camera, he'll know it's on a loop. I'll only set it long enough to get you guys through any areas under surveillance."

                "This is risky," Farren said. "We have no idea how secure his house is. He could have video everywhere. He could come home at any time."

                "Then don't come," Tyson said. "No one is forcing any of you to do this. I'm doing it with or without you, though. If you're scared, don't bother. I don't need cowards."

                "You need a fucking brain," Farren said impatiently.

                "What do you want me to do, Farren? Sit here and wait for him to go to the police so we all have our lives ruined?" Tyson demanded. "I'm telling you that you can stay out of it and protect yourself."

                "And who's protecting you?" Farren said.

                "Not you, that's for sure," Tyson said.

                "Stop it," I said sternly. "This isn't going to work if we start fighting each other. We need to cooperate. So if you're going to pick a fight, don't join us. I know everyone is scared and on edge about this whole situation. But if we don't do it, Mallory wins for sure. This is our only chance. Unless someone managed to come up with another idea, this is all we've got. We're out of time."

                Farren reluctantly backed off of Tyson and switched his attention to me. "Do we have a backup plan?"

                "No," Tyson said.

                "We've got to put our energy into this plan. We won't have time for a backup," I said. "Listen, Mallory is probably security crazy, but I doubt he'd put cameras in his kids' rooms or any bathrooms. So we if we have to move quickly for Connor to loop the feed, we can hide in those rooms for a little."

                "He has video surveillance in the front, the back, and the inside," Farren said. "I talked to my dad last night. He said Mallory's been bragging about his security to protect his family. They have an alarm system if you try to force open any doors. I don't know anything about his windows, though."

                "So we don't force the doors open," Nyssa said. "We unlock them."

                "If Connor put a loop on the video system, sure, go for it. But you'd have to work fast," Tyson said.

                "I don't want to keep the loops up for long. If he notices anything is off, he'll come back home and we'll all be screwed," Connor said.

                "Talon and I can work fast, don't worry," Nyssa assured.

                "I can't believe we're really doing this," Talon said. "This is going to be great. I can't wait to see that dude's face when we...Wait, what exactly is the plan?"

                "We leave a threat for him," Tyson said. "Somewhere only he can see it."

                "We can't just threaten him at the school? We have to break into his house?" Farren said.

                "I want him to know that I'm serious. Also that I'm talented enough to break into his house and threaten him. I don't want him to feel safe in his own home," Tyson said. "We'll leave him a note. He can show it to the cops, sure, but then he'd be outing himself as a cheating fucko."

                "A cheating fucko who doesn't even pay child support," I said.

                Tyson nodded. "Exactly. Tell my mom to abort me, abandon me when she doesn't, whatever. But at least toss me a few dollars to buy some shoes or something."

                "I'll keep a lookout from the front yard this time. I'll warn you guys if they come home early," Farren said. "The rest is up to you."

                "He'll think we're too afraid to make a move," Tyson said. "He's the kind of egotistical man who thinks he's won before the results are in. We're going to take him down."

                "I think we should end the revenge service once we do," Bishopp said.

                Tyson surprised us all by nodding in agreement. "We should. We'll take Mallory down, and do one last small job. Then we stop. We leave the fight to you, Bishopp."

                "Me?" Bishopp said in surprise.

                "We're graduating. I doubt you'll find another group of kids willing or talented enough to do what we do. So it's up to you to build up a new Social Action Club and take on the bullying a different way," Tyson said. He grinned, that cocky grin of his that said he was in control. "I know how helpless you are without me, so I'll give you a hand building a new group. But once I'm gone, I'm gone. You're on your own next year."

                Bishopp looked down at his hand. "You're right. We'll find a new way to fight back. No more staying quiet about the bullying. We'll end it, no matter how long it takes."

                "Then we're done here for now," Tyson said, standing up. "Tomorrow we hit Mallory. Nolan and I will watch his house until he leaves and then get you guys there."

                The others gathered their stuff and started to leave. Farren got up and went over to Tyson, punching him roughly in the arm.

                Tyson rubbed his arm, wincing. "Don't be rude."

                "That's for ruining my life. If we survive this, you're never getting to have my dad's chicken for dinner again," Farren said.

                "Now that is a bigger threat than anything Mallory could come up with," Tyson said.

                "I'll see you tomorrow." Farren left his promise hanging in the air as he exited the room.

                "Are you coming over?" Tyson asked me as we left the room together.

                I shook my head. "No. I have something to do at my Uncle's tonight. But I'll text you."

                "Fair enough. See you tomorrow for our date. Who doesn't want to go on a date where they stake out their boyfriend's biological father's house to break in and threaten him?" Tyson said, unlocking his car as we reached the parking lot. "You got a winner."

                I pulled him close and kissed him before he could get in his car. "Lucky me."

                "Lucky you." He got in the car and I backed away, heading over to my own car.

                I drove to Uncle Brian's, not even surprised that he wasn't there. I went up to my room and shut the door, taking out my phone.

                I looked over Dylan's last message to me and took a deep breath. Backing out of my messages, I dialed my mom's number and sat on my bed as it rang.

                "Hello?" she answered.

                "Hi mom," I said.

                "Hi Nolan. Is everything okay?" I hated how nervous she sounded, like any moment I'd snap back to the boy I'd been when Dylan died.

                "Everything is fine," I said. "I just...wanted to apologize. I know I was hard to live with after...after Dylan died." I heard her sharp intake of breath. They'd tried so hard not to mention his death around me, a taboo that would send me spiraling back into my shell. "But you and dad were really patient with me. So thank you. I'm sorry about how hard it was back then. I'm better now, though, I really am. I've made friends here and I'm learning. Mom, I..." I took a deep breath. "I miss Dylan, and I'll never stop missing him. But I can miss him and still move on with my life without feeling guilty about it. So I'm going to do that. When this schoolyear ends, I'll come back home and I want to spend time with you and dad."

                "Oh, Nolan." Her voice was quiet, choked. "Nolan, we can't wait to have you back home. We love you."

                "I love you guys too," I said. "Thank you for everything."

                "Take the time you need to recover," she said. "Just tell us what you need. Please."

                Because I hadn't told them back then. They'd been struggling to figure out what I needed. But watching Tyson struggle, losing Dylan, losing myself...

                People couldn't help you if they didn't know how. You couldn't expect people to fix you if you didn't give them the tools. And you had to work at it, too. I hadn't been working at it. I'd let Dylan's death kill a part of me. I buried my life alongside my best friend.

                It was time to dig that up, though. Dylan was dead and I was alive and nothing was going to change that or make it easier to comprehend. Dylan would've wanted me to move on, but even if he hadn't, it didn't matter. I was alive. He was dead. Giving up my life to guilt wouldn't change that.

                "I need normalcy," I said at last. "I need a routine. I need my family."

                I wanted to spend time with Tyson, and I'd make sure that I did this summer. But a boyfriend wasn't going to fix me. As much as I wanted to stay with Tyson, I knew I needed to go home and build my life back up before I was ready for any really serious relationship. Until I got myself back together, I was just dragging Tyson down, and that wasn't fair to him. If he was willing to stand by my side while I struggled through this, I wouldn't stop him. It needed to be done with or without him, though.

                "We can do that," mom promised. "For now, focus on your new school and your new friends. When you graduate, dad and I will be there. We'll be there, Nolan."

                "Thank you," I said quietly. "I've got to go do my homework. I love you, mom. Bye."

                I hung up the phone and set it down away from myself. Tyson would understand. Maybe he'd need time to get his life back together over the summer, too.

                I laid back on my bed, folding my hands behind my head. If we wanted a healthy relationship, we had to cleanse ourselves, first.

                But that would come later. For now, we had work to do.

                                                                                                                ***

                The Social Action Club didn't have a meeting the next day. Everyone was going home to get ready for the strike against Mallory.

                Tyson and I had parked our cars near a quiet date-spot and caught a ride with Farren. Farren dropped us off near Mallory's neighborhood, and we crept along until we were hidden across the street. The house across from Mallory's was for sale, so we settled behind the bushes and peeked through to Mallory's driveway.

                "Can you do this?" I asked Tyson.

                "I'm here, aren't I?" he said.

                "The hardest thing I ever did was leave my hoodie at Dylan's grave. It was harder than going to his wake, than watching his casket get lowered into the ground at his funeral. It was me admitting that this was my reality. That the hoodie he'd asked to borrow would never reach him," I said. I felt Tyson's hand rest on top of mine, but didn't look at from the bushes. "I was admitting he was dead and I couldn't help him. I didn't help him. And this, Tyson, I know this is hard for you. I know you don't want to hurt your half-siblings. You don't want to hurt your mom. So going in there and leaving a note that threatens to reveal the truth..." I shook my head. "It's not easy."

                "Of course it's not," Tyson said. "But necessary and easy are separate things, and one is more important than the other."

                "You asked if we were the bullies when we targeted them," I said. "Are we?"

                "Maybe," he said. "Maybe by attacking the bullies, we became the bullies. Maybe by blackmailing Mallory, I'm no better than him. Those are just choices we have to live with. Sometimes right isn't always better."

                We leaned against each other, his hand still on top of mine. We didn't speak, just kept our eyes on Mallory's house.

                We didn't speak when Mallory's wife came home. We didn't speak when Mallory himself came outside to get the mail. We didn't speak when Mallory's daughter ran outside to get something out of the trunk of the car. We didn't speak when the whole family came outside, dressed neatly, and piled into a car together.

                Tyson finally broke the silence once the car was out of sight. "Connor, they're gone."

                "I'll call the others." Connor's voice came in over the earpiece. "Don't make a move until they're there."

                "So it begins," Tyson said, handing me my usual mask. We'd changed our clothes in Farren's car.

                Tyson didn't have his backpack with him this time. All he needed was the threat he'd written on a piece of paper, tucked away securely in his pocket.

                It felt far too long before the others were all gathered behind the bushes with us, dressed in their dark clothes and with masks in their hands. Tyson looked at each of us before pulling on his confidence.

                "Make it count and don't get caught," he said.

                "I'm ready when you guys are," Connor said.

                "Then let's go." Tyson tugged the mask on and stood up.

                We darted across the street, keeping to the edge of the lawn. It was late enough that the sun had gone down, but the sky was still too bright for comfort.

                "Loop feed is on, twins, you're up," Connor said.

                The twins hurried to the back door as Farren hid himself at the front of the lawn. Tyson and I watched anxiously as the door was pushed open. If the alarm went off, we were screwed.

                But it didn't go off. The front door had a code system, but the back door only triggered if it was forced open.

                We entered the house together, the twins staying hidden by the backdoor. Tyson grabbed my hand and pulled me through the living room into a bathroom, hiding us behind the door.

                "Connor, let us know when we're good to go," he said.

                "This is too easy. I don't like it," Connor said, and I could hear him typing away. "Alright, you're good. Hurry."

                We darted out of the bathroom and up the stairs. Tyson pulled us into a bedroom, hiding us next to the bed.

                "We're in Simon's room," he said. "Tell us when we can go."

                His head turned as he looked around the room. I put my hand on his shoulder as his gaze came to rest on two pictures hanging on the wall.

                It was a family picture, Mallory with his arms around his kids, his wife next to him. Next to that was a picture of Mallory with a young Simon up on his shoulders, both of them looking happy.

                "I bet he never took Simon fishing," I said.

                "I hate fishing," Tyson said, but dragged his gaze away from the pictures. "I just do it to make my dad happy."

                "Farren said a car pulled into the driveway," Connor said in alarm. "Hide, hide. Twins, shut the back door."

                Tyson grabbed me and yanked me under Simon's bed, shifting several boxes so they blocked us from view. We pressed our backs against the wall and fell silent.

                It was a few minutes before we heard the front door open. A man's voice drifted up, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

                "Who is it?" I whispered.

                Tyson shook his head. "No idea. Don't talk."

                Whoever it was moved around downstairs. When his footsteps finally started coming up the stairs, I prayed I could be the Invisible Boy just one more time to make it through this.

                "-just saying, this is paranoid, Patrick," the man said, moving stuff around in the room next to us. We heard a door squeak open, some rustling noises, and the door clicked shut. "Tell Carly to clean her closet, it's a mess in there."

                He entered Simon's room and I hoped he couldn't hear my heart hammering. Tyson put his hand on my arm, his gaze fixed on the boxes in front of us.

                The closet door opened and shut. We heard a light thump and the sound of the covers on the bed shifting.

                "Simon has so much shit under his bed, a burglar couldn't hide there if they wanted to," the man said, his voice far too close. "What? Patrick, this is insane. There's no one in your house. All the doors and windows are still locked. I've been watching the cameras and I haven't seen anything."

                I curled up as I heard a box near my foot shift. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying I was hidden enough.

                "I moved some of the stuff under his bed. No one is hiding in his room, or Carly's room, or downstairs. I know, Pat. I'm checking your room now." His voice faded just a bit as he left the room.

                Tyson was gripping my arm so tightly it hurt. He didn't loosen his grip, though, just kept silent and still.

                It felt like eternity before we heard the man's voice again. "I checked the whole house. There's no one in here. Yes, I'm positive. No, there was nothing suspicious around. I'll check the house again in an hour and watch the cameras until then. I still think you're being paranoid. Yea, well, you're lucky I love my niece and nephew enough to go along with this. I'll call you if I see anything, Patrick."

                He walked down the stairs and we waited until the door shut. Neither of us dared to move, the Alex ambush still fresh in our minds.

                "It was just him, and Farren said he's getting in his car," Connor said.

                "Mallory's brother?" I asked Tyson.

                He shook his head. "Mallory doesn't have siblings. It must be his wife's brother."

                "You're good to go. But now we only have an hour, maybe less if Mallory is paranoid enough. Be even quicker. He's watching the cameras, which means there's a good chance he'll notice the loop," Connor warned.

                We got out from under the bed and hid by the doorway. With Connor's okay, we hurried out and checked several rooms until we found what looked like a study.

                We shut the door and Tyson looked around. "Anything in this room?"

                "Nothing that I can tell," Connor said. "If you're in Mallory's study, I doubt he keeps it under surveillance. If he did anything he didn't want anyone to know about, he'd keep it as private as possible."

                Tyson pulled the note out of his pocket and flipped through papers on the desk. He picked up a thin folder with papers in it.

                "What's that?" I asked.

                "Information about the project for the police and fire department," Tyson said. He looked at his note and put it in the folder, setting it down. "I bet as soon as he gets home, he'll come fill these forms out."

                "Let's get out of here," I said.

                Tyson was looking at the desk, though. "He has so many pictures of them. So many pictures of him with his kids and his wife." He shook his head, clenching a fist. "How can he claim to love his children when he abandoned one of them? How can he claim to love his wife when he cheated on her and shattered my mother's heart?"

                "Tyson," I said gently, putting a hand on his back. "It's over. It's been over since before you were born. You'll never get those answers."

                "My mom didn't deserve it," he said, voice trembling with that rage he was losing control of.

                "No, she didn't. But people don't always get what they deserve," I said. "Mallory deserved hell, and he got a wife and kids and success. You can be angry about that forever. Or you can remember that your mom got her heart broken, but ended up with a son and husband she loves. You can't spend your future being angry at your past. You'll be stuck in place forever."

                Tyson brushed his gloved fingers over the folder. "He'll find it tonight."

                "And while he's reading it, stomach dropping and fear eating him alive, you'll be at home with your parents, learning how to cook and rolling your eyes every time your mom threatens to murder you," I said. I guided him towards the door. "Don't be stuck in place forever."

                He moved his legs, carrying himself towards the door without my help now. "Let's leave."

                With Connor's help, we slowly snuck our way to the back door. The twins had it open again, hiding just outside of it.

                "We had to lock ourselves out so that guy wouldn't find us," Talon said.

                "I think it was Mallory's brother-in-law," Tyson said as we left the house. "We left the note."

                "Let's go," Tyson said. "I'm supposed to be on a date right now."

                I rolled my eyes as we hurried away, creeping through the neighborhood until we were safely away. We ditched the masks and gloves, pulling our dark shirts off to reveal regular T-shirts so we wouldn't draw as much attention. Farren hid our dark clothes in his backpack as we walked.

                "That felt too easy," Nyssa said. "Are we sure about this?"

                "The short loops are probably what saved us," Connor said. "If I'd hijacked the feed or left it on loop, we would've been caught for sure. I bet that's what he was counting on after the job at Alex's house. I hijack the feed, and he immediately sends his brother-in-law over to catch us. Besides, Mallory's brother-in-law did a full sweep of the house. I'm surprised he didn't find Nolan and Tyson."

                "Yea, you and me both," Tyson said. "It's done now. I'll see you all tomorrow. Everyone hope we don't get arrested tomorrow, and have a lovely night."

                "Always encouraging," Nyssa said, shaking her head.

                "I guess tomorrow decides our fates," Farren said. "God, it's going to be the longest day of my damn life."

                We parted ways, Tyson and I heading back to where we left our cars. Tyson took my hand and pulled me past our cars, though.

                "We're on a date, remember?" he said.

                I let him lead me along to a quiet pond. There were three benches around, all of them empty. We sat on one of them, shoulders touching together.

                "We're not safe yet," I said.

                "No, we're not. But we've done all we can do. If this is our last day of normal life, I'm not wasting it," he said. He hooked a finger in the collar of my shirt and tugged me forward so he could kiss me.

                "I called my mom," I said, putting my hand on his cheek. "I'm going home after we graduate. I need to get my life back in order."

                "If this plan goes well, it'll be a long summer," Tyson said, fingers playing with my collar. "You're right. I've been stuck in place too long. I want to find somewhere new to rest. I'm tired of being so angry all the time."

                "Start at home," I said. "Start with your parents."

                "A vacation is what I'm thinking," he said. "Is this you breaking up with me?"

                "I'll stand with you if you'll let me," I said.

                "You do whatever you want." He was trying to hide his smile. "I'm not done teasing you, either."

                "Then we work together. We build ourselves and our relationship," I said, kissing him again.

                "We have to get through tomorrow first." He pulled me close, hugging me against his body. "I'm glad you were the spy they sent, outcast."

                The pressure was weighing down on us, time had run out, and everything could end tomorrow.

                But tomorrow wasn't today. Today was a step towards a new place. Today was a kiss by the pond. Today was staring our demons in the eye, unflinching as we finally confronted the tragedies defining us. Today was tearing that page out of the dictionary and writing our own meaning.

                Today was me, Tyson, and a chance at something better.