The eyes were driving him crazy. Here he was, sitting in this classroom alone with this guy who just kept staring. Stupid  dentention. Those deep dark brown orbs that were constantly on him, studying every single move he made, every breath he breathed, every time he licked his lips out of bad habit. It was absolutely insane, and it was starting to get to him.

It wasn’t as bad during actual school, when there were tons of bodies bustling around him. When his friends were there, talking and laughing with him, distracting him from the uneasy feeling he felt. The feeling was always there no matter what, but after two months of it he was used to being watched from a far, but this, this was completely different.

This kid would literally not take his eyes off of him. The world could be ending, there could be a fucking walrus flying through the sky shitting rainbows, yet his eyes would only be upon Ross. And Ross really thought he was going insane. What could be so interesting about himself that would make him stare? Yes, he was a pretty attractive guy. His hair was dark, his eyes were a bright blue that brightened up his pale skin. The contrast between the three colors were immense, creating this strange beautiful look when staring at him. But was it enough to stare at him endlessly every second of every minute of every hour of school?

So the senior sat uncomfortably in the almost empty classroom. His knee was bouncing up and down nervously, and every two minutes he would run his tongue over his lips out of habit. When would the bloody teacher get back from the bathroom? He snickered, knowing that the teacher was probably off in the teachers lounge snogging or maybe drinking a nice coffee.

The dark haired teen tried to let his thoughts take over, think of something. He had a lot of homework to get done when he got home. Plus he was invited to that party over at Ridge’s on Saturday, although after getting detention he doubted his mother would let him go. He might be able to sneak out, maybe she would have one of her boyfriends over and they would be busy enough for him to sneak out unnoticed.

“Your name is Ross, right,” a voice cut through the silence of the classroom. It was sort of deep, startling Ross and making him jump at the sudden noise. He turned around quickly to stare into those intense brown eyes that had been making him uncomfortable for two months. He gulped, why were they so intense to stare at, why did they make him feel a lot smaller than he actually was. In reality, Ross probably had half a foot over this guy, why was he so worried.

“Uhm yes, Ross Hornby,” Ross answered quickly and awkwardly, turning around quickly after getting a real look at his appearance. He was wearing a burgundy jacket, and grey skinny jeans. A green shirt was peeking out from underneath his jacket, and Ross couldn’t help but feel slight annoyance at the fact that the drawstrings on the hoodie were completely even. His hair was smooth, and looked like it was brushed regularly. After a moment of contemplating, Ross realized it probably wasn’t the best idea to give his stalker his full name, but shrugged it off when he spoke again.

“Ya think the teacher is snogging Ms. Cantwell,” he asked, cocking his eyebrow and a smirk appearing on his lips.

“N-No. She is way too hot for him,” Ross replied, making the teenager snicker slightly under his breath. He shrugged, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. What was with this guy? He was acting so… casual, yet a minute ago he looked like he was about to pounce on Ross.

“So, what are you in for,” he asked casually, a yawn following the last word of his question.

“You are acting as if we are in jail or something,” Ross chuckled, glancing back at the brunette and raising a questioning eyebrow. His knee still bounced nervously, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips again.

“Might as well be! We were sentenced here for four years of our life, forced to do harsh labor, the bathrooms are absolutely repulsive, the food is crap, sometimes we have to shower together, and it isn’t like we get a choice in the matter,” he laughed, making Ross nod in agreement.

“You could always drop out,” Ross suggested with a sigh, looking out the window to see an endless clouds of dark grey. It looked so gloomy and sad, yet somehow calming to the blue eyed teen.

“Yeah, but then even a job at McDonalds would be hard to come by,” the strange kid shrugged with a sigh,” Besides, I have good grades. Would be a shame to throw those away.”

“True, True,” Ross sighed, relaxing a bit in the cold plastic chairs and almost forgetting that moments ago he was absolutely terrified about being in a room alone with this guy.

“But seriously, why are you here,” he asked Ross again, kicking his legs up on the fake wooden desk.

“I forgot to do some homework for history. I got Mr. Linard so he gives detention for that shit,” Ross mumbled with a sigh,” What about you? Aren’t you a goody-goody and a show off when it comes to academics?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, sitting up slightly and running his hand through the back of his brunette locks, “I wasn’t aware that if you tell a teacher they are wrong, even if you are right, they will be a bitch and give you detention for talking back.”

“Oh, that must suck pretty hard huh,” Ross laughed, turning around completely in his chair so that his legs were on either sides of the back.

“Ahuh. My mum was pretty pissed when my teacher called, telling her that I was bitching. I just simply corrected her grammar and she got all pissed at me,” he laughed with a shrug, an innocent look upon his face.

Both boys were silent for a minute, before Ross realized something. “I never got your name,” the dark haired teen commented, breaking the silence.

“Christopher Trott, call me Trott though,” the brunette smiled. Ross nodded… Trott. Trott, this hilarious guy was the one stalking him the whole time? Was it even considered stalking anymore? Isn’t it just… admiring? Oh please, don’t play it down. Why was he talking to this guy, who was a complete stranger and looking at him with hunger in his deep brown eyes earlier?

Suddenly, their teacher burst through the door, again startling Ross making Trott snicker under his breath. “You two are free to go,” he muttered angrily, holding the door open. Without hesitation, both boys raced out of the room, smiles on their faces as they were suddenly engaged in a race to get through the front doors of this hell hole faster.

They both made it out, breathing heavy and labored after having to run along that long daunting hallway. Ross hunched over, laughing to himself despite his lack of fresh air being circulated into his lungs.

“H-how come I’ve never talked to you before,” Ross asked finally, making Trott turn around towards the darker haired man. Good going man. You should’ve just shut up and gone home. Never talked to him again, what if he tries to rape you or something?

The brunette shrugged, but smiled nonetheless before he answer, “If you wanna hang out, meet me here tomorrow. Same time as today.” And with that he was off, running across the street and making a sharp right. Ross watched as he disappeared from view eventually before a smile appeared on his face.

~~~

Ross sighed, fixing his navy blue hoody for the millionth time whilst standing in the cold, outside of school, on a Saturday. He tapped his foot impatiently, sitting on the cement steps that lead to the front doors of the school. This was absolutely ridiculous, he had been waiting for thirty minutes now.

The strange thing about this whole situation is that Ross had much better things to do than be here. Ridge was having a party right now, that a lot of his friends were at right now. But he was curious about this guy, this brunette named Chris Trott that had previously seemed to have an obsession about him, but now just seemed like a pretty cool guy.

His thoughts were interrupted someone clearing his throat, making him jump and turn to see Trott standing there. He wore the same hoodie as yesterday, but today a blue shirt peaked out instead of a green one, and his pants were bright purple, and were cuffed up to show off his skinny ankles.

“You showed up,” the brunette questioned raising an eyebrow as the blue eyed teen stood up, crossing his arms.

“I have been waiting for you for thirty minutes, you twat,” he mumbled, waiting for an explanation that never came. All that he got was jumbled apologies, and the brunette grabbing his wrist and pulling him behind the school towards the forest.

Ross’ blue eyes widened, as he was pulled through the empty lot of dry grass and weeds that grew up to his knees. “Are we going into the forest,” Ross asked, trying to hide the quiver in his voice.

“Yes, don’t worry though,” Trott shrugged, turning his head back towards Ross and giving a small comforting smile before continuing on.

As they approached the thick line of trees, the leaves green and pine cones growing on their skinny branches. They stopped before the chain link fence that separated them from the luscious greens of nature.

“C’mon, now! Hurry up,” Trott laughed, jumping up and grabbing onto the top of the chain link fence. He pulled his feet up, sticking his shoes into the holes and using it as footholds. He seemed to completely ignore the big yellow sign that said in bold black letters: KEEP OUT PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING

“Chris Trott, you are absolutely insane,” Ross said as he watched him hop down to the other side of the fence. The brunette turned around, a mischievous grin on his face.

“I do this all of the time, don’t worry about it,” he laughed,” Don’t be a wuss.”

“I am not being a wuss, I am obeying the law,” Ross huffed,” What’s over there anyway that is so cool?”

“If I told you it would just ruin the surprise,” Trott teased, sticking out his tongue,” Now c’mon before I leave without you.”

The dark haired man looked behind him, seeing the empty field and the three story brick prison of education in the distance, then back at the brunette with the tempting grin on his face. He sighed, jumping up and grabbing the top bar of the chain link fence. He climbed up it, and upon reaching the top jumped over, landing on his feet. Again the shorter of the two grabbed Ross’ wrist, and began pulling him through the forest. They winded between the maze of tree trunks and deep green leaves. The scent of rain drifted through Ross’ nostrils, and he smiled slightly at the idea of rain. After a while of running, the two began walking through the forest. “You seem to know where you are going,” Ross stated in a questioning tone making Trott look back at him.

“Well, ya know I go here every day,” Trott replied with a shrug,” After a while you just sort of remember it. You will, eventually.”

Ross raised his eyebrows,” Who said this is more than a one time thing?”

Trott stops suddenly, turning around to face the much taller boy. Despite this, he seemed not to be fazed by his height at all. “You are allowing me to drag you into a forest in which you may or may not meet your death. Plus, I don’t think you will be able to resist coming back,” Trott chuckled, making Ross extremely curious.

Suddenly, the two teenagers stumble across a huge clearing in the forest, with two houses and an old pickup truck infested with rust. The houses were covered in greens, being claimed as the forest as the vines wrapped around their windows and doors. Both houses looked pretty in shape, despite the color being worn out and pale, they both looked fit to enter. And to be completely honest, it looked beautiful. Wild flowers covered the bright green grass that grew out of the ground, the sun somehow shined through the thick grey clouds right into this clearing. Everything was beautiful.

“Wow,” Ross gasped, following Trott towards the houses.

“Yeah, I know. That was his reaction to,” Trott laughed, making Ross stop in his tracks.

“Who,” the darker haired of the two asked curiously, also pulling Trott to a stop as he answered.

Trott froze mid-step and spoke with a sigh,” He was a friend. I don’t see him around much, anymore.”

“Oh,” Ross nodded, following Trott as he began walking again. Curiosity got the best of him as he asked,” Does he go to our school?”

Trott just nodded, a determined look on his face as he reached the front door of the larger house. “Um, this is it. I fixed it up a little bit, there are beds and stuff. The stove works too, and I stashed food and batteries in the basement.”

Ross nodded, as Trott opened the old worn out door. He walked inside swiftly without hesitation, and Ross paused for a moment. Just yesterday this guy was being a creep, and staring at him constantly. Was he really going to go into this abandoned house with him?

“Ross, are you coming,” he called from inside. Ross sighed. This was it, he was going to get raped or murdered. Maybe both, maybe tied to a chair and tortured.

The blue eyed teen took a deep breath, then stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He froze by the front door, taking in the house around him. Scanning his surroundings, he noticed the pale mint green walls and ugly wall paper that looked like it was from the 1970s. It looked tacky, and horrid. The wooden floors looked a little scratched up, but other than that alright. Upon looking to the right, he noticed a room that looked like a study of some sort, with book shelves and a comfy looking sofa. To the left, he saw a small kitchen and dining room table. The appliances looked old, although there weren’t that many actually there. An old stove, a toaster, an oven of some sort that looked complicated to use.

He took a couple steps forward, his footsteps being the only thing that broke the silence and stillness of the house. It was so calm and quiet, and for a moment he almost forgot Trott was there with him. But when he remembered, he called out his name cautiously,” Trott?”

“Yeah,” he replied, coming from around a corner and making Ross jump backwards a bit.

“How did you…” But Ross trailed off and Trott walked towards him and grabbed his wrist tightly, pulling him around the corner from what he just came from. Ross noticed stairs, and as Trott began leading him up them he explained.

“My friend and I found it. We fixed it up, but like I said we don’t talk much anymore. He comes around occasionally, but I have to scare him off because he likes to burn stuff. I am… I am afraid he will try to burn it down and I don’t want that,” Trott trailed off, sadness in the tone of his voice.

Ross absolutely froze half way up the stairs. “Pardon,” he murmured, making Trott glance back with a confused look on his face.

“What’s wrong,” he asked, concern present in his facial expression.

“You friend will burn it down? Why on earth would he do that,” Ross asked, imagining this house burning down with him trapped inside. He shivered at the thought, but listened to what Trott said nonetheless.

“He has some issues, nothing too bad. Just a bit of a pyromaniac… hey if you see him don’t be freaked out. I know he can be a little bit intimidating, and well creepy, but he is a nice guy,” Trott laughed nervously, running his hand through the hair on the back of his neck. “He might be in the other house right now, or maybe in the basement getting food. He is quite the hungry lad, but he shouldn’t do anything. Just tell him you are with me,” Trott explained, making Ross feel a bit nervous and scared.

“So, I have to worry about a pyromaniac that might get upset if I am here,” Ross asked, nervously laughing near the end of his statement.

“Well, I should be with you the whole time, so no… but he is… well let’s just come upstairs and I will explain more,” Trott chuckled nervously, and resumed his trek up the stairs. Ross on the other hand, felt his stomach lurch. He still continued forward, following Trott to the top of the stairs and down the hallway. They walked past three doors before opening one on the left and stepping inside.

The inside was painted a navy blue color, making it look calm and nice.  An old metal bed frame sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room, an old mattress setting on top of it. Trott strode to the bed, sitting down and patting the spot next to him. Ross hesitantly stepped forward, then sat down next to the brunette.

“So uh… you have a pyromaniac friend,”Ross breathed out, raising an eyebrow and hopeful for some reasonable explanation.

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” Trott laughed.

“It IS a bad thing, he sounds absolutely insane,” Ross yelled, crossing his arms.

“Okay, before you go and assume things, he isn’t insane he just likes fire-”

“Fire, which is a substance that burns and kills people,” Ross questioned.

Trott narrowed his eyebrows,” Yes, but he just likes it. He has never hurt anyone with it, just burnt down objects and himself. Really it’s nothing to worry about, just don’t get him pissed because he is a lot bigger than you.”

Ross buried his face deep into his hands, rubbing his pale face and processing what he just heard. “Does he know I am here,” Ross asked.

“Of course, mate. I asked him before hand... he has actually wanted to invite you here for awhile,” Trott smiled, showing off his white teeth,"I just agreed ya know?"

“So he knows who I am,” Ross asked curiously.

Trott sort of tensed before answering, “Well yeah, he sort of saw you at school. He was the one that pointed you out in the first place, and wanted to recruit you.” He gave a comforting smile, making Ross feel a bit weirded out.

“Recruit me,” Ross asked curiously, gulping slightly at the new found closeness of Trott. He could feel the brunette’s breath upon his face as he answered. It was so warm in contrast to the cold breeze that went through the house.

“We want to recruit you for The Hats,” Trott replied, and then everything sort of slowed down for Ross, the words going through his brain slowly, but surely. The realization hit him like a sack of bricks, and it shocked him. He found himself temporarily frozen in place, his body paralyzed as it struggled to keep up with his brain that was processing things extremely fast now. He, Ross Hornby, age 17 have found the base of operations of The Hats, and was currently sitting across from one of the members. After a long while, which was actually only half a minute, his body caught up with his thoughts which were practically screaming: GET OUT NOW.

With that he hopped up, and lunged for the slightly open door. He ran into it, pushing it open and making it thud against the wall. The dark haired teen sprinted down the hallway, coming to a slight halt at the top of the stairs, before quickly running down. This was a bad idea. His foot missed the third from the last step, and he tripped, falling forward face first onto the hard wooden floor.

He groaned out in pain, his eyes shut tightly, “F-fuck.” He could hear the footsteps coming from upstairs, then stopping suddenly.

“Shit,” he whispered, beginning a descent down the stairs again.

Ross’ mind raced. Could he get up? Could he make a run for it? Should he pretend like he was unconscious? All of his thoughts were silenced when he heard a new voice.

It sounded a bit raspy, but strangely sounded nice in his ears. “What the fuck happened to him,” the voice asked.

“Haha- I told him we recruited him. Guess he wasn’t too fond of joining us,” Trott laughed nervously, looking down at the man that kneeled in front of Ross. He wore a black hoody, a green bandana covering the lower half of his face, and he wore dirty gloves. His auburn hair could be seen peeking out from underneath the hood, and his pale blue eyes were mesmerizing to look at

“Told you to wait for me, mate,” he chuckled, running his gloved hand over Ross’ pale cheek. He slipped it off quickly, revealing a calloused hand, his fingertips black and charred. He ran that over his cheek instead, and Ross visibly shivered from the rough feeling of his skin yet such soft and tender touch. The auburn haired teen just smiled, enjoying the feel of Ross’ soft skin.

“Sorry, Smith. Just couldn’t he was pretty smart anyway. Isn’t that why we recruited him,” Trott chuckled, coming down the stairs and kneeling by Ross’ “unconscious” corpse as well.

“Well, we couldn’t have an idiot join us, but that isn’t the whole reason. He has skills that we need, the information that we need to be exact,” the teen replied.

“True, how are we gonna get him to join us,” Trott asked, his brown eyes finding the pale blue of Smith’s.

“Dunno, but for now we should lay him down. He’s gonna have an awful headache when he wakes up,” Smith sighed, putting his arms underneath the tall teenager and attempting to hoist him up. “Damn, he really is almost as big as me,” Smith chuckled as he struggled to pick the “unconscious” teen upstairs.

“Well, what did you expect. He is only a couple inches shorter than you,” Trott laughed, putting his own arms underneath Ross to help Smith get up. After getting balanced, the redhead walked upstairs, Trott trailing behind and telling him to leave him in the empty room.

Smith laid Ross in the room that he had sprinted out of earlier, then walked out and closing the door behind him. Ross kept his eyes closed, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t lock the door, but after hearing the familiar sound of a lock, he sighed. No escape now…

~~~

Ross sat up, looking around the room frantically. It was dark now, the sun outside had gone down behind the horizon and left the moon with the job of lighting up the sky. He put his knees to his chest, hugging them close while going through his phone. They were apparently so deep into the forest nobody bothered to put up telephone towers, so he settled for playing minecraft on the device. Draining the battery, sure, but what would he need it for when he was dead. Surely the Hats would kill him..

The Hats were very well known criminals in the small town they lived in. Every now and then, a body would pop up burned to as close to ashes as possible without being a powder. They were completely black, but they were also cut into, dissected, as if somebody was studying them. They would leave a top hat on their heads, covering their face, but when the hat was lifted up the face was the most horrific sight you could’ve seen. They wouldn’t even show it on the news. Besides the murders, they were also graffiti artists, known for robbing something as small as a home to a bank, and pyrotechnic displays.

He shivered at the thought of ever doing something like that, to just kill someone for no reason. Surely he would never, even if there was reason, just cold heartedly murder someone.

Ross leaned his head back on the metal bedframe, and felt his stomach grumble yet again. “Fuck,” he muttered, feeling the gnawing of his stomach, the  aching feeling complete and utter torture. I guess you really shouldn’t deny the food offered to you every hour, but being him he did. He was not going to eat some cannibalistic, disgusting, meat or poisoned vegetables. No he wouldn’t risk it.

Looking down at his phone again, he saw that it had shut itself off, all out of power. “Perfect,” he mumbled, shaking his head and chuckling. Guess this is where he ends, even if they don’t murder him, maybe he can just starve lf. Yeah… then when the police find his body, he will be thought of as a hero, of course. Starving to death instead of accepting a job to murder people.

“Hey, Ross, open up mate,” a voice from outside the door spoke suddenly, startling Ross and making him jump.

“Go away you fucking asshole… a-and don’t call me mate you shits,” Ross shouted as loudly as possible,” I won’t eat any of your tainted food!”

Outside the door, Smith looked back at Trot confused, whereas Trott just shrugged. “He is pretty smart and stubborn, Alex. I did warn you,” Trott sighed.

“Ross, it’s not tainted, it is mac n’ cheese from a box… we will show you the box if ya want,” Smith sighed, pulling up his bandana slightly as he felt it slipping.

“How about you show me to the door, I won't tell anyone,” Ross spoke after a while, obviously trying to come up with a witty comeback.

“We aren’t idiots either, Ross. We aren’t going to hurt you, we would never think of it,” Trott finally spoke up, alerting Ross that there were indeed two of the murderers outside his door.

“See, why would two of you come to deliver a small bowl of macaroni,” Ross asked suspiciously, getting up from his bed, and sort of just standing there in place.

“Why are you so damn stubborn,” the auburn haired man growled from outside the door,”C’mon just let us in already, mate, otherwise we will come in without your permission.”

"Smiff- No," Trott yelled in protest, elbowing the auburn man hard in the ribs.

“No! You are going to burn me, don’t even lie. I know you won’t just let me go if I don’t agree to join your stupid criminal colony shit,” Ross jumbled on, making Smith outside the door groan.

“Forget it, Trott you get him to eat,” he muttered, handing over the bowl and walking off, stomping down the stairs and off to who knows where.

“See… that was uh, what I was talking about earlier Ross, don’t get him upset,” Trott explained, chuckling a little bit. After seeing the horrified look on Ross' face he added,"Just joking!"

“So, is he gonna kill me then,” Ross asked suspiciously.

Trott sighed, frustration starting to kick in,” No, Ross. Might burn ya a bit, but I doubt he would do anything right now when we are trying to get you to join us.”

Ross nodded, hearing his stomach growl again and feeling the rumble accompanied by it. “I-is he still out there,” he asked hopefully.

“No, mate. He’s not,” Trott replied.

There was silence, and Ross Hornby was hesitant for a moment before giving in. “Then I suppose you can come in,” he whispered, hoping that maybe Trott wouldn’t hear and then wouldn’t come in. But the second the words fell from his mouth, Trott burst through the door, a bowl of macaroni and cheese in his right hand and a bottle of water in his left.

“Look, the bottle ain’t even opened yet,” Trott smiled, answering the forming question in Ross’ mind before he could get it out.

“Thanks,” Ross smiled, hesitantly grabbing the food then sitting on the hardwood floor. He leaned up against the dusty mattress, sitting criss-cross applesauce with his bowl in his lap and his water by his side.

Trott smiled, showing off his set of white teeth before saying,” Call me if you need anything, alright?”

Ross stopped mid-bite,” Wait, you aren’t going to stay?”

“N-no… why would I? You surely don’t want me to, do you,” Trott asked, holding back a knowing smirk.

“Well… it wouldn’t be too bad,” Ross whispered, shooting Trott a tiny smile,” My phone kind of died so…”

“So you want me to be your entertainment? I will strip for twenty,” Trott chuckled, making Ross spit out his food nearly choking on the cheesy noodles.

“Wh-what? Oh god, no please,” Ross laughed, patting the spot in front of him for Trott to sit down.

He must be absolutely insane. Here he was, again trusting this guy that was previously his stalker. He licked his pale pink lips anxiously, his eyes darting around the room until they settled for looking deeply into his bowl of golden pasta.

"Ross, we weren't able to explain ourselves before," Trott finally spoke after a long while of silence.

Ross looked up, a curious yet irritated look upon his face. "Really? We are gonna play this game," he chuckled sarcastically and shook his head," Go ahead, make all the excuses you want for "recruiting" me to be a part of a criminal league, and holding me here against my will."

Trott's brown eyes widened with every word, but by the end of Ross' sentence, he felt himself becoming a bit guilty. "Ross, you don't get it," Trott settled for.

"I don't get it," Ross laughed," OF COURSE I DON'T GET IT! EXPLAIN IT TO ME, TROTT. EXPLAIN TO ME WHY IT IS OKAY TO MURDER INNOCENT PEOPLE?"

Trott felt himself covering his ears as Ross' words got louder and louder. What he did was not murder... And the thoughts, plus the worry, and the stress, the feeling of being yelled at it suddenly turned into anger. He stood up suddenly, and stared at Ross brown to blue.

"NO! SHUTUP AND LISTEN YOU TWAT! WE AREN'T MURDERERS, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND A COLD HEARTED KILLER," Trott yelled suddenly, making Ross jump slightly. The taller never thought that Trott would scream like that... But here he was.

Ross' response was silence, his jaw clenched slightly as he stared up into the deep spheres of brown waiting for the so called "explanation."

Trott caught his breath from yelling, allowing his anger to settle a moment before letting out a deep breath. "Stay here, I'll prove it to you... I'll go get my journal... My journal has everything. Run for it for all I care... You can't remember how to get out of here anyway and people will think you are crazy for accusing us," Trott spoke in broken sentences and babbles of words, before speeding off behind him leaving the door wide open, and Ross' bright blue eyes wide open in shock.

Ross' was just frozen. Sure he could move, in fact any sane person would've moved, would've run for it. But luckily Ross wasn't a sane person, he was so insane he was actually smart about the situation. He would just end up dying in the forest, and even if he did make it back he couldn't exactly tell everyone that a nerdy kid and a freak ganged together to murder a total of 52 people by themselves, not to mention pull off huge bank heists and such.

So he just sat there. He just sat there and waited, waited for Trott to return with this so called "proof." For some strange reason, Ross was now questioning his thoughts from before. Could Trott be telling the truth, I mean he seemed pretty passionate about it. So much so that Ross was still slightly frozen from the shock of hearing him yell.

The teen groaned, putting his forehead into his knees. How did he get himself into a such a mess? How come he hasn’t gotten himself out of it already? How did this… How did it happen?

He felt like he was in one of those crazy TV shows where they talk about unbelievable crimes. The ones when it turns out the husband is a top ten murderer, or that the wife had five different husbands and had been stealing their things the whole time, or cannibalism. His story would be in one of those TV shows, how he was abducted by a huge crime gang without even knowing it, and then being forced into a partnership with them.

The stomping up the stairs alerted him that Trott must be back, followed by the fast approaching footsteps down the hallway getting louder and louder until they stopped in the doorway. There the brunette stood, now wearing glasses and panting heavily. “I lost it for a moment, got a bit worried,” he chuckled, striding over and plopping down in front of Ross. He handed over the worn out leather journal. The bright red color was fading and tearing to the point in which the cardboard base could be seen. The spine was falling apart, not doing the best job of keeping the book together.

Ross turned the first page in the book, bringing him to a whole page of information. His eyes scanned the writing, sketches, pictures that were pasted into the lined pages. The first one showed a familiar name- the name of the first person of many that was abducted and killed, found two days later. At the top of the page it listed his name, then went down with information about the man, information that was quite shocking.

Name: Robert Goode

Age when killed: 23

Place of Abduction: Bus Stop on Honeydew Lane (teehee); October 1, 2013; 8:33 AM

Place of Death: Headquarters; October 1, 2013; 11:34 PM

Reasoning: sexual harassment of Charlotte Trott (age 17) without proper punishment.

Place of Corpse Removal: Under Garbage Bin in alley b/w Ken’s Diner and the Drug Store

He looked up slightly to still see Trott sitting there, his eyes glazing over the words and pictures himself, nodding every now and then as if agreeing with what was written. But hadn’t he written it himself?

Ross shook it off and turned the page to see a girl.

Name: Leanna Brite

Age when killed: 17

Place of Abduction: School parking lot; November 21, 2013; 4:56 PM

Place of Death: Car; November 21,2013; 5:02 PM

Reasoning: accusation of robbery towards James Smith for money

Place of Corpse Removal: her home backyard; specifically hanging from the tree

Each new page, Ross’ mouth fell open reading everything. They had killed these people, that had done something awful that ruined somebody else’s life. Cheating the government, cheating others, theft, murder, rape, harassment… if they got away with it, they didn’t for long. But it was never mentioned on the news that these people were involved in serious crimes and were proven innocent, even if they really weren’t.

“H-how do you know if they actually did it or not,” Ross spoke after a while, lifting his head and looking at the brunette across from him.

“Watched them happen, mate. I get around a lot, I know my information. Observation… Researching… you know,” Trott shrugged, flashing a quick smile before sighing. “For justice… It started with my sister being harassed and the police not doing shit about it. Took the matter into my own hands… and Smiff’s I guess.”

“Oh,” Ross muttered, unsure of what else to say. Justice? Justice was his justification for murdering all of these people? Was that okay? I guess the police were sort of lying to them, but if they were proven innocent, how would the police know that they were all guilty?

“We left notes,” Trott muttered, making Ross jump slightly with surprise realizing he was mumbling to himself.

“Notes?”

“Yeah, they said things like: You know they were guilty! Shit like that, and apparently the police didn’t want people standing up to them so they… tampered with the crime scene...made us seem like cold blooded killers,” Trott explained, his eyes making direct contact with Ross’ the whole time.

“Why do you dissect them, then,” Ross asked, his voice slightly unsteady when saying “dissect.”

“I am a naturally curious person. I mean, they don’t need their body anymore, might as well dissect, and I sketch it down. I’ve been working on a full scale drawing of a human and male body. Averaging out heights, widths, bone structure, fat, organ size, to make the completely average human beings,” he smiled, seeming proud of his research.

“Wait… how do you pick your people you are going to…”

“After hearing stories of cases, I hack the databases. I look ‘em up, decide for myself with evidence provided, spy, poke around a bit, then if I feel like they are guilty and have sufficient proof, I watch them for a bit. Their natural patterns, schedules, their daily lives… then I pick the perfect moment to herd them in, Smith helps me with the actual killing… it is actually quite humane, just shocking them directly in the brain like the old days. After I finish up, Smiffy just experiments with fire. I have actually sat in with some of his things, and they are quite interesting. He is passionate about his work, as am I, I admire him for it… I believe that is why we both work so well together.”

“I am still confused though,” Ross started, looking up at Trott before going on,”Why you would need me. I don’t have any skills or helpfulness to your team. You both seem fine, why do you need me?”

“Actually, Smith was the one that saw you at school. He said that he felt something about you, you were just so trustworthy… luring. You would be good for luring people to the killing destination, and you get a day with them to do whatever you like. You can even kill ‘em if you want, and Smiff can just do cleanup.”

“I-I don’t know…” Ross whispered unsurely, licking his pale chapped lips and let out a groan. “This is all too overwhelming, for me to process so quickly.”

“I get it, you can stay the night and think on it, if you like,” Trott offered, a genuine and comforting smile on his face.

“Wait, what if I say no,” Ross asked.

“I don’t think Smith has the heart to kill you,” Trott mumbled, pausing slightly, but Ross cut him off before he could continue.

“Why? He seemed absolutely furious at me earlier,” the teen laughed, slightly interested in the topic.

Trott just smirked,” Like I said, he is the one that saw you. He had other things to say about you, Rossy, and I agreed with some of those things.

Ross visibly tensed, gulping slightly at the realization at what he meant. “Oh,” he whimpered slightly, making Trott burst out laughing.

“It’s a compliment mate,” Trott laughed.

“A b-bit of a surprising one,” Ross chuckled awkwardly.

“What? That you are attractive, how is that surprising to you,” he asked, leaning backwards against the wall and giggling. “He went on for hours about you… Well maybe not hours but you get the point.”

“That’s… good to know,” Ross nodded, thinking that: They are both gay… Holy shit.

“Anyway, it’s late. Already midnight, why don’t you go to bed,” Trott suggested standing up and going towards the door,”Night.”

“Night,” Ross murmured back, sitting there for a moment just taking in his situation. Was justice a real reason for murder? That should be the first thought that came to his mind, but it didn’t. Instead, the first thought that came to his mind was: Wow, these guys are really nice. Well at least Trott, but if Smith has taken a liking to me then… He also thought about how he was about to just… go to sleep, and how he wasn’t worried about being murdered. He felt safe… maybe they would let him go home tomorrow.

~~~

"You are gonna just... Let him go," the redhead asked, taking a sip of water from an old water bottle he just happened to find on the counter.

“Why not,” Trott asked,”It’s not like he can find his way back here. Plus, you really think anyone will believe you and I did all of that?”

“Trott, the burns, my hands. The fact that I hide lighters all over every place that I call home, including my clothes. You with your journal, if they find that we are screwed,” Smith shook his head,”You must be absolutely insane to let him go home.”

“Smiff, what we do is for justice. What we are doing, keeping him here against his will, that is a realy crime we can get in trouble for. I am sure we can convince to not talk, and who’s to say he won’t come back and hang? Or maybe he will want to join us,” Trott offered.

“Pfft. He’s got better friends than us, Trott. Did you not hear how he reacted when you complimented the guy, he freaked. You could see it, it was like he thought you were going to rape him!”

“Smith, come off it. Look, you are stressed and worried. This is weird, I am usually the stressed and worried one, not you. Just relax,” the brunette reassured him, getting up from his place at the dining room table and striding  over to the much taller red head. He pulled down the green scarf that covered the bottom half his face and sighed, running his fingers over the extremely dry and chapped lips of Alex Smith, completely ignoring the scar that from his ear across his cheek and down wards.Around them it was all red and irritated, the skin rough and dry. “Thought you said you’d use chapstick,” Trott sighed, bringing his much softer hand to rest on the teen’s cheek. He had to stand on his tip toes to do so, but Smith had wrapped his arms around the shorter brunette to support him.

“I forgot, keep losing the chapstick,” Smiff chuckled, pressing Trott up against himself with a sly grin. Trott imagined it pained him to move his lips like that, but he never showed it.

“I am starting to think you just like it when I scold you,” the smaller of the teen smiled, taking his other hand and cupping Smith’s slightly stubbled face.

“And if I do,” Smith chuckled, his chest vibrating against Trott’s, making the smaller of the two’s breathing hitch. The taller leaned down significantly, leaving only a centimeter between their lips.

The smaller gulped, realizing he was completely trapped. Two strong arms had wrapped around him from behind, his now ungloved hands slipping into his back pockets. Trott silently questioned when he had taken the tan gloves off, but was interrupted by chapped lips against his own.

The kiss was soft and sweet, but also longer than usual. They both knew they had a very special guest upstairs, that would be thoroughly confused if he walked downstairs. Trott pulled apart first, reaching back towards his pockets and pulling out Smith’s hands and holding them in front of him for inspection.

Smith whined at the sudden contact, biting his lips and furrowing his brow and lip into a pout. “Jesus, Smiff. What happened to the lotion I got you, and using gloves,” Trott gasped, his brown eyes wide whilst staring at the raw fingers and calloused palms.

“A freak accident,” Smith hissed as he felt Trott’s gentle fingers running over the skin.

“Sorry,” Trott mumbled,” I will get you some medicine alright?”

“Trott nooo,” the red head whined, not wanting to feel the pain of contact and then have his hands bandaged by very flammable fabric.

“I don’t want them to get infected Smiff,” the shorter argued, as always being the responsible one. “Maybe Ross will be a little less reckless than you,” Trott huffed, striding off down the hallway towards the dysfunctional bathroom where they kept the medical supplies.

“Are you comparing me to Ross,” Smith gasped, faking a hurt look,”Wishing he was your boyfriend already?”

“Not at all,” Trott called from the bathroom, coming back. “Besides, under the circumstances we are in a completely doubt it. For one: he is straight. Two: We should asked him to join a “crime gang.” Three: He is absolutely terrified of you now.”

Smith scoffed,” I don’t get why he is.” The red head held out his burned hands, bracing himself for pain that was soon to come.

Trott laughed, pulling the taller teen along towards the dining room table and sitting him down. Sitting across from him, he set down all of the medical supplies then reached for the peroxide. He poured in on the major cuts without warning, making Smith groan in pain. “Fuck, you could warn a guy,” he hissed, closing his eyes from the almost unbearable pain on his hands. “How am I supposed to set fires when my hands are sore?”

“Maybe take a break from it, and Ross will get used to you,” Trott suggested with a sigh, now reaching for some ointment and putting a glob onto a large cloth before rubbing it into the burns.

“Mmmm. That hurts like shit,” the redhead groaned, then added afterwards (his voice slightly pained),”Why are you assuming he will hang around? Like I said he has much better friends, and he seems pretty prominent on not joining us.”

“Well, at the moment he is sleeping in a room upstairs soundly after eating food we offered and having a full blown conversation with me. I think he is more afraid of you than me, doesn’t believe you won’t burn him alive…”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“Don’t blame him. Imagine being in his shoes, you would be like that too. Listen, Smith, I am sure it will all work out,” Trott smiled a genuine hopeful smile, although in the back of his mind he still felt slightly guilty and worried.

~~~

The two chatted blissfully unaware of a big issue arising right outside their window, enjoying their time together and joking around as they usually did. Upstairs, Ross Hornby had tied a rope to the window seal of a window propped open in another room. He had found it in the closet, and realized that this was his only chance of leaving without being stupidly persuaded into staying.

So the dark haired teen cleverly hopped out of the window, sitting on the small awning that was luckily right underneath the window. He took a deep breath, then carefully sat on the edge, turning himself around and grabbing the top of the rope before falling backwards. His hands gripped the rope tightly as he swayed back and forwards, his feet also somehow finding their way onto the rope.

“Deep breaths,” he muttered to himself as he moved his hands and feet downwards, climbing down the rope closer and closer to freedom.

After a long while, or what seemed like a long while, his feet touched the ground. He smiled triumphantly as he hopped backwards, now on the dirt ground in the middle of the woods at night time. He would surely be able to make it back… and with that he turned on his heels and strode off a bit overly confident in his navigating abilities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well holy shit this is done. Or chapter one is done after 3 fucking days. Whew. OKay, how was it? Good I hope. If you aren't a fan of hatfilms... GO NOW! GO NOOOOOOOOOW. NOOOOOOOOOOOOW! GOOOOOO. WAIT: vote for this story first... THEN GOOOO. So, there will probably be a couple more parts, but I just breaking the first chapter off here before I got too carried away with myself and wrote a whole fucking novel. BLAH OKAY. HOPE YOU ENJOYED, TELL ME IF YOU DID. ALSO! THAT WAY SOME OF YOU MAY KEEP READING, I AM DEBATING ON SMUT. IF YOU WANT SOME, I WILL TRY. But listen... three ways are complicated as fuck to write so don't judge if it is suck ass. If you really want my to write some tho, I will. okay? okay. Love y'all byyyyeeee