Atticus and I jogged to his house slowly, both of us silently wondering what we'd find when we arrived. We could see his house from three blocks away because of all the flashing police lights, and he gripped my hand tightly as we stepped up to the scene together, both of us holding our breath.

"Mr. Atticus Thatcher?" a man asked, holding a notebook. Atticus nodded. "Are you aware of what's happened?" the man questioned sharply. Again, only a nod. Atticus glanced down at me, begging silently for me to explain. I smiled sadly at him and began.

"He came home from his after school job and found his aunt dead. He was terrified and heartbroken, so he came to find me," I defended.

"And who might you be?" the man demanded, leaning down to glare at me. I stared back defiantly, but my mind was racing.

"My girlfriend, Eris," Atticus slipped an arm around me, pulling me to his side. I controlled my blush and half-smiled up at him, hoping that he wasn't just making his answer up.

"I hope you understand that you are now-"

"Gabe!" I shouted, cutting the man off. I broke away from Atticus and ran towards my brother.

"Eris! What are you doing here?" he hissed, grabbing my shoulder.

"Doesn't matter. Why are you here?"

"Because our target's legal guardian just died," Gabe replied calmly with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm sorting out where he's going to live now. Alison thinks we should bring him straight to the Institute, but I think I'd been too strange for him to just disappear of the face of the earth. You know him, what do you think?" Gabe asked. I hesitated before answering.

"How about our cabin? Just for a while until I can get the others to trust me, and that should only take another two weeks. Is that ok?" I questioned. Gabe didn't seem very happy, but he had no other options.

"Fine. But do I need to remind you that he is your target?"

"Nope. Everything I do is for the good of the Institute. I'll go talk to At."

"Wait! He's here?" Gabe asked through clenched teeth. He was getting a little annoyed with me; I don't know why.

"Hello Gabe," Atticus muttered, stepping beside me protectively. Gabe seemed furious enough to strangle me, even though I knew he wouldn't.

"Atticus..." Gabe murmured in a daze. He turned to me. "Care to explain Eristina?"

I winced slightly. I hate when he calls me that. "When I went running, I saw Atticus and we started talking. He told me what happened and I decided we should head here and sort everything out," I clarified. Turning to Atticus, I said, "Gabe agreed to let you stay with us in our cabin for while, if you don't have any other place to go. It's not much, but we do have an empty couch."

"I'd love to. Thank you for having me, Gabe," Atticus reached out to shake Gabe's hand. After a moment of awkwardness, Gabe shook. I guessed it would be a long few weeks.

I waited in Atticus's room while he packed, grabbing things here and there and stuffing them in a backpack.

"You will be back, you know. We can run over, or Gabe could drive you," I offered.

"You never know who might break in and steal something, knowing that no one is home," he grabbed a frame from beside his bed and tossed it in, but not before I saw the picture of three people: a man, a woman, and a three year old. It had to be Atticus's family.

"I guess you're right. Do you want me to grab anything?"

"Can you stuff some shirts in there?" he tossed me a suitcase. I nodded and shuffled through his closet, tugging down sweaters and pullovers.

"So...I'm your girlfriend?" I asked hesitantly. Atticus laughed.

"Only if you want to be. To be honest, I've never had a girlfriend before."

"Neither have I. A boyfriend, I mean," I corrected myself. We both smiled a little, glancing at each other.

"Does this mean you won't judge me when I cry?" Atticus teased.

"Only if you'll sit with me at lunch again," I agreed, zipping up his suitcase.

"Deal," he stuck out his hand, and I reached to shake it. "So, what's with Gabe being here? I thought you guys just moved in; is he already working for the police?" Atticus questioned. I flinched slightly, wondering how I was going to lie my way of his question.

"He's worked for the government a long a time. When we moved, he just transferred. And you're bit of a special case, seeing as you have no known relatives besides your dad, and there's no way you could live with him."

"He works with the Family and Children Services then?"

"Sort of," I decided. Atticus shrugged, choosing not to push the issue.

"Let's go Kiddos, I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Oh, wait, this morning," Gabe groaned, stepping into the room. He tapped his watched and showed it to us, clearly displaying the time 1:36 a.m.

"Sorry Gabe. I'm ready now," Atticus apologized, slipping past him into the hallway and through the house.

"Took you long enough..." Gabe grumbled softly. I stomped on his foot and glared at him as I passed. In my opinion, Atticus could practically do whatever he wanted. He'd gone through so much loss in the last few years, no one would stop that sad puppy face he always seemed to have. "Ow! Sorry!" he hissed under his breath.

We got back to the cabin late, simply because the police didn't believe Atticus's story of running away to find me. I whispered to Gabe that it was completely true, and he pulled a few strings to let us leave. So it was around 2:57 when we finally pulled up next to the cabin.

I grabbed Atticus's backpack, and Gabe carried his suitcase. Atticus himself was so tired he could barely walk to the door.

I found some blankets and a pillow and set them on the couch for Atticus, knowing he'd probably get cold without them. He fell on it like a zombie and was asleep in seconds. I sighed and watched him a moment while Gabe bustled around, setting Atticus's suitcase aside and cleaning up the cabin as best he could quietly.

"You're lucky I'm doing this, Eris. I could have sent him off to the Institute and you know what they would have done to him there," Gabe huffed a bit. I nodded. They certainly wouldn't have given him a blanket, much less a couch to sleep on.

"You should expect a summon from Alison tomorrow. She won't be happy with you, or me, for that matter. I just hope..." he trailed off, muttering under his breath.

"Do you think she will take him away?" I asked, turning toward my room.

"I can't say for sure. But I will advise you to speed up your mission before this turns any bloodier," he called as I closed my bedroom door behind me. I took my shoes off and collapsed on my bed.

My last thought before going to sleep was my mission. How could I end this any sooner? The girls mostly trusted me, but they'd think I was crazy if I told them the real reason I was friends with them. Ryhan would just laugh at me, thinking it was a joke. But Aria...the only way to see would be to tell her.

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days! This week has been kinda crazy and I haven't had much time to finish my homework. Anyway, I should be able to post again soon if I find the time to write.

Again, please comment if you see any mistakes or anything!!! Thanks for reading!