Summer vacation : July to August 2012

Deucalion logged to his blog.

He may work as banker at the First National Bank of Beacon Hills, he still had hobbies on his free time. In case, having a quote blog created by himself. He didn't get paid but it'd be a pleasure if he would one day.

Sometime, others literaries would visit his blog and he could have intellectual conversation that he didn't have much with his flatmates.

This time, he was flooded by spam. A lot of ads about narcotics and others illicit products kept submerging his page. Some hacker got a job to ruin his passion. And Deucalion, as knowledgeable man, decided to find the perpetrator and made him regret his life decision.

Time to reintroduce his team to their old habbits.

Ennis received a call during his work. He stopped the hoist he was operating and grinned evilly after hearing what the speaker had to tell him. He cracked his knuckles and his neck then leaves the cab to do a more enjoyable job.

Kali received a text during her shift as barmaid. There weren't many customers so she checked who and what was it, when her grin evolved to something fearful to whoever was watching her. Time to call her assistant Alicia to resume her job, she had more important thing to do as manager of her own business.

Aiden and Ethan were working on some car when their phone chimed. Ethan stood up when recognizing Deucalion's ring, and because Aiden didn't want to stop tinkering with the bike he was on, then burst in laugh. Aiden will quickly find something more interesting than the bike.

Deucalion spread the word. They will return to their old habbit as criminals.

 

Nolan Holloway rolled his eyes at his dad's loud entrance.

His mom said to not mind him as he just quit the bar of the town and the barmaid scared the shit out of him (her words). His dad denied it, saying that as military man, he didn't fear anything. His wife made sure to make him scare of women for the rest of his life. And that is why Nolan didn't have any gilfriend, now at sixteen and entering in junior.

And it was absolutly not because he's awkward or his odd behavior or even because his constant moving thanks to his dad military job.

"Seriously, dad, when you said we're going to live in California, I was thinking Los Angeles and his hollywood studios and stars, not some lost town in the middle of nowhere!"

"You change your tone young man! Beacon Hills isn't in the middle of nowhere, there are 30,000 citizens, within the Beacon County of 500,000 citizens! And we're next to the Camp Oak Creek, a WWII military base and-"

"Who's abandoned," her mother added minfully.

"-And the Fort Jewett, used by the U.S army corp-"

"That you're not in." his mother once again supplied. 

"And the Beacon Hills high school got the R.O.T.C program!" His father ended after sending a reproachful look to his partner.

His mother just smiled brightly at him and Nolan rolled his yes again at their antics.

"Like I will follow your step."

"Then, use this summer break to go to their summer school! Your grade aren't the best if you don't plan to enlist!"

"Yeah, sure..."

Although, he was an odd one.

Especially when he didn't had the will to fight against his father even if he could totally dismiss him in conversation, or that he really didn't have the force to fight an idea if it meant making new friends. The thing was, he wasn't able to make friend.

"Hey, I'm Nolan," he introduced himself to the guy sat next to him in algebra class.

It was summer school, so most of the students were mixed whatever their age as they were sorted in academics level. And Nolan kind of suck in algebra, but the guy beside him would probably won't follow the same class back to school, they probably wouldn't even cross path. It was a bad idea to befriend him. Nolan thought that the guy got a loner aura and as birds of a feather flock together, they could bond over that.

"...Gabe."

Oh, maybe the guy was as alone as him.

Then, Gabe stood and made a move to leave the room as they were the only one here. At least, Nolan was smart enough to make a move at the end of the class to minimize the humiliation is he ever failed.

Both guys shared the same table at lunch and Nolan was glad to learn that Gabe was the same age than him and according to the course they had, they will share some class at fall.

After that, Nolan just started picking up stray kids to put in his group. The first of them, Lucas, introduced them a club, Sinema, where he started (shyly) hooking up with a guy, that also went to Beacon Hills High School, Corey. Nolan befriended a stoner, Josh, who's schooled to BHHS too. And Gabe nearly hooked up with the regular dancer, Brett, who did not go to BHHS, but enrolled at the private school not even in Beacon Hills, Devenford Prep. Nolan kind of want to explore his sexuality with him, but he quicly flew the place when he nearly knocked the waitress in shift and her plate of drinks, she was about their age and almost tore off his head when the drinks swelled more than normaly. Gabe joined him fast enough that Nolan felt a little guilty to have break his moment.

"No, he was kind of a smug bastard, anyway."

Still, a sexy body's a sexy one.

Thanks to this night, he got Josh's contact and forced the guy to enroll summer school too. And if Lucas' absent the following day, Nolan found his old friend Jiang. Who would have know that his childhood friend of (surprise!) Beacon County go to BHHS?

(Probably his dad, or he wouldn't have choose Beacon Hills in the first place.)

 

Scott McCall left his house to drive to the Beacon High on his motorbike.

Usually, Stiles would pick him up for the summer school, but his best friend couldn't make it today, so Scott will go by himself. Not that he's complaining, he liked riding his bike, especially if it could be a good reason to take his girlfriend.

Sure, mr and mrs Argent would probably frown at his idea of romantic, but he only got this way and Allison wasn't some cheesy girl that fear of riding bike. Actually, she's tougher than he could ever be.

Lydia and Harley were already waiting for them on the school ground, both sort of chatting and bickering. Something only snarky girls (and Stiles) knew about.

"Where's Stiles?" Harley huffed.

Lydia rolled her eyes, something that she kept from her mean girl time but lost some harshness now she broke up with Jackson and was friend with Allison's friends (a.k.a her boyfriend Scott and his friends Stiles and Harley).

"He won't come today, he had to visit his mother."

Harley's mood changed as she nodded, like remembering something. But then, the mood changed again when Isaac came from behind the ginger girl and kissed her promptly.

"Hi, Martin, didn't think about greeting me?"

"Keep down, Lahey. You just had to use your foot and come find me."

Isaac retorted something sassy that Scott didn't hear. What he meant about something only snarky people could get.

Isaac wasn't always like that, or maybe he was but Scott didn't know as he always saw him as a calm lacrosse teammate. He changed his behavior about last year, when he showed up one day at school with a brand new bike and started hitting on Lydia, who had broken up with Jackson then and was sort of flirting with Stiles.

At first, because of bro code, Scott was rooting for his best friend since Stiles did have his chance with Lydia, but then, after several dates, the two remained friends and Lydia started hooking-up with Isaac, who kind of became part of their clique.

Even if most of the time, to avoid any feud, he would eat with others lacrosse player at lunch. Like, Jackson, Danny and Matt, his friend.

(But now, in summer school, without the players, Isaac would sit with them. Even when Stiles' here.)

Scott didn't have the best opinion on them, because not only they played in first line, Jackson and Matt both showed interest to Allison. He nearly lost her to the first one when they temporaly break-up (and OK, he may have kissed Lydia during this laps of time, where Stiles was mad at him, but he was just heartbroken) but thanks god, this is all in the past.

Well, hopefully. He didn't want a newcomer to wreck his couple while he's studying to enter UC Davis to become tech vet.

(Unless he could turn him gay and made him OK with a threesome.... )

 

Malia Hale sighed when her cousin and sister Cora started mumbling about the class.

I mean, like, she would understand if Cora was muttering about her course during school period, but it's still summer, and school wouldn't start in another month (half a month, would her mother Talia remind her), so she didn't see the point of panicking now.

"Malia, you do know that with your grades you should be in summer school?" Cora took a break to taunt her sister.

She only got a hiss as answer, which made her laugh heartedly.

"Come on, you wild one. At least help me gather my stuffs. I can't believe I'm going to move out and I'm still not ready."

"Didn't college start late september? Why are you so stressed?"

"I just told you, I'm moving out! I rather have all my stuffs ready in the dormitory than took an apartment and had to work and pay a rent that I could not afford."

"Don't be silly, girl. I will help you pay the rent," Talia hummed.

"That's what I want to avoid, mom," her last one groaned.

"If I live alone, I want to work and pay the rent by my own."

"If? You're so sure mom would let you live in the house till you're thirty, baby girl," Laura mocked her.

"Look who's talking. Aren't you 28 and still single and living in the house?"

"Watch your mouth!"

"Ladies," Talia called them out. "Well, Cora, you could room with your brother and his girlfriend, they're family."

"Sure, mom, I will live with Paige while I'll see her during world history class and it wouldn't be awkward especially when Derek would be there."

The sass. That's what it is to be the younger sibling.

Malia wasn't really part of them. Well, Talia actually raised her more than her father did, now he's in jail (that was seven years ago after he was caught seeling drugs, to Derek's girlfriend nonetheless! and Talia had to be the one that sue him because of how her son was broken. And between her baby boy and his corrupted brother, there wasn't long hesitation). But Malia was closer than Cora than Talia's other children (all adults), and now, she will be alone at school.

She should had set to be homeschooled inside of the Hale mansion, at least she wouldn't have worries like now. But beccause Cora wanted to go to college (and the community college of Beacon County), she had at least got some GPA so the girls enrolled to Beacon Hills high school last year. They didn't make any friends, as it wasn't their plan. But Malia befriended Kira Yukimura, a girl that didn't even go to this school, who was there because she was intending an history exposition the school set up.

Sure, Kira would come back this year too (for another history expostion, what kind of matter is this, anyway? To have a new yorker come in this lost town), but most of the time, Malia would be alone.

"What about you work for me for the rest of the summer? I just got new employee and he's about your age. You could make friends!"

"No offence, Laura, but the dinner you ran is the kind of place I would never step in by my own if I had a choice."

"Then, I don't give you choice and demand you to work for me!"

"Nu huh, you won't make me your waitress if I had a say."

"Ungratful kid."

Knowing it was just a playful blow, Malia stuck her tongue to the young woman (not that young, actually) before going out.

If she won't make any friends at school, she could at least go to party on her spare time and enjoy herself. And Sinema sounded like a fun place.

 

The bar Alpha Pact was closed, but the light of the back of the building was on and inside were six people that wasn't reunited for a drink. Or, five of them could be while the sixth must undergo all the torture the others will give him.

Deucalion stood in front of the kid, because it couldn't be mistaken. Even though the boy was build like some athletic model and the twin could be passed as high schoolers (which they did last year so they could graduate with passable GPA), the hacker that ruined his blog was underage.

Because Deucalion did his own research.

Theo Raeken.

The boy said he hacked whenever some people paid him to. So he wouldn't be arrested without bringing the perpetrator with him, but since he was able to not be caught, he never had to sell his debtors out. Well, that was until he accepted to hack Deucalion.

And Deucalion wasn't anybody, he got a dark past too. He wasn't always the gentleman anyone would say of him when they crossed his path. Six years ago he was known as the most manipulative man that could started a war thanks to his network. He worked with hackers too, hence he found quickly who's the reckless newbie and made Ennis retrieve him, using by force if need or let the twins torture him till he spoke in the back of Kali's bar.

But now, knowing he's still a child, Deucalion thought about using a more soft methods.

"You know, what you're doing is illegal and could sentence you to jail. And I know Beacon Hills' attorney, a really smart woman that will make sure to put you in the worst juvenile center, then give you an endless community services and some forfeit I doubted you could afford."

The last point landed. According to Ennis who found the boy in some motel room, the boy didn't have a lot of possessions and was only doing hacking (and cracking and all the cyberthing) to earn money. So, if Deucalion really sue him (using Talia Hale's services), he would lose everything he worked for.

"It's some Argent that contacted me. He said it was something between you two."

And he will especially not lose his affairs to someone like Gerard Argent.

Deucalion should have knew. This old scoundrel wouldn't let him go as easily. Before Deucalion was corrupted (and then he corrupted Ennis and Kali and the twins), he was a honest man, thus him knowing someone as rightful as Talia Hale, but after meeting Gerard Argent who forced him to steal and sell drugs for him, he fell into the vicious circle that could have aimed high schoolers and was stopped by an English teacher (Kali's ex) a year ago, and with Talia's help, he's put on the right path again (alongside of his team). And he left the unlawful business and Gerard Argent behind him. However, the old felon didn't forget him (or maybe it was because his cancer worsened and he wanted closure).

"What will you do?" Kali asked him once she aknowledged the name too.

None of them knew the man personally, but they did know he was the cause that made them fell so low.

"I deal with that."

"What about the boy?"

"Do you want us to hide his body?"

Theo tried not to flinch, because even if he knew what he was doing was dangerous and reprehensible, he made sure that look like a job. Editing image, text, coding, all the small thing (and sometime stealing infos) that could him earn him money. He never done some carding (because it was a personal issue for him and he would have live more wealthier), or cyberpimp (he didn't fall that low and he's still a child himself) but a crime was still a crime and he had to be punished. But killing him just because he attacked a blog (it was just a stupid blod about quote!), would be a little too much.

But, well, he didn't really have a say in that, he's their captif and a poor underage that no one would miss if he vanished. So, maybe death wouldn't be that bad.

"No, death would too easy for him, he had to learn something from that, don't you agree?"

Four evil grin matched Deucalion's own smirk. They will make the boy drudge.

So, for a whole month, he helped either Ennis on his contruction site (building him his body more than work out room) or the twins worked on bikes and cars (knowing a little more about mechanics) and did all the chores at the bar's closing (sweeping, taking out the trash and the late washing-up) all for free (of course). In exchange, Theo was allowed to sleep under their roof, a flat customized by Ennis and his construction skills and Kali's architectural sence, and had free foods.

He didn't know why they were so liberal about living with him, until he had to help them do some cyberjobs. He guessed his cyber skills won't go on waste.

Theo must admit that he started to get use at this kind of days, he was ready to live like that for the rest of his life (like they all settle to have this peaceful life after a criminal life to some degree), but then Kali let him work for her, as in to serve the customer some drink for the night shift, as Alicia (Kali's only employee) worked for the morning shift being a lady.

"She had to work so she could make the end and feed herself and his high school borther, you know," Kali told him once.

And Theo thought about his own big sister who didn't contact him after he left the Raeken house, of maybe the Raeken didn't even told her as she's in internship, and nodded distractly because he certainly didn't understand how usual sibling bonds were working.

Tonight, he was serving this regular woman, that usally came during afternoon to make a chat with Kali about annoying customers (she must be working as waitress too), when she suddenly asked if he was even in age to serve her drinks. He panicked and lied badly. It all went wrong starting there.

Long story short, Laura (the woman's name) made a deal with Kali and was now employing him as waiter in her family dinner in the center of Beacon Hills. None of his flatmate see anything wrong and let him be, so now, he was working and being paid, like some normal teenager. Except, unlike the teens that were working to have cash, he wasn't a student.

Laura was surprised, she rarely met drop out kids. Especially someone so witty as Theo. And she must touch some word to Kali, who talked to Deucalion because the man talked to him one night. He proposed him to enroll BHHS this fall.

"Why do you care?"

"Well, we wouldn't like to be reported by holding an underage in forced labor."

Theo rolled his eyes at the man's snarks.

"I droped at 16, nothing to worry in this case."

"But you didn't graduate, did you?"

His marks were good and he passed his SATs a first time before his sophomore year (because he knew then he will be dropping school) with 1530 points and since he dropped at the moment he got his sixteen, it wasn't enough to calculate his GPA.

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah, of course."

It was then settle, he was enrolling to Beacon Hills High School this fall, while still working part-time for Laura Hale's dinner and doing chores to Kali's bar Alpha Pact.

 

Part 2