Full Summary: A young thief meets a girl whose hair is purple and voice is bossy and demanding. The friendship is built on promises of stolen goods,secret meetings, and truths they know are lies.

The boy with snow-white hair sneaks out of windows to learn how to explode things. A girl with a dazzling smile and beautiful blue curls offers her friendship if he can teach her,too. Finally, they both had someone they could use.

At age 15 the thieves and scientists meet. The boy thief with long hair and dark eyes has blood dripping from his hands and the white-haired boy and his blue-haired companion stare wide eyed at the dead body lying beneath their feet.

The girl with purple hair speaks calmly, " You're in this now. Whether your like it or not."

At age 16 they make a pact. Friends that kill together, stick together.

At age 17, they go to live with the people who imprisoned them their whole lives and gladly announce:"The monsters have come out to play."

Complete AU. I kept a few ( very very few) aspects from the book. I rewrote everything else. I changed how they meet, how they become friends, what they do, etc. This is much darker because essentially they are in a prison and nothing good happens in prisons. And I think if the Isle of the Lost was written for YA instead of kids, it would be a whole lot darker with more truths. Because if you really think about it these kids are going to be all types of screwed up. And spoiler: When they go to Auradon they don't choose good.

This chapter is basically about how Jay and Mal meet with a short introduction to Carlos. Next chapter will be showing Carlos and Evies lives separately and then how they meet. Then the third chapter will be when the 4 of them all meet and then the adventure begins.

Also, it may not seem like it but this is a Jaylos centric fic. It will just take a couple of chapters for them to actually get together. I may throw in some background Malvie, but I'm not completely sure yet.

He is 12 when he first meets her. It's a dark and cloudy day and he is roaming the alleyways filled with smelly and dirty people, hoping to find something to steal so he doesn't have to go home empty handed. (He couldn't go home empty handed). He is about to give up, when he spots a flash of purple hair, and for some reason, decides to follow whoever the person is. As he shoves his way through the mess of people and finally sees who the hair belongs to, he smiles widely. It was a girl, probably around his age, and she was wearing a dozen necklaces and rings. He found his jackpot.

He slowly made his way up to her and slid around to her side. He tried to remember everything his father had taught him. He had to get something from this girl, he couldn't disappoint his father again. The girl wore so many bracelets and rings that he figured she wouldn't even notice one was gone. He stands far enough away, and lowers his hand down, eyeing to his left and right, before he swipes down and grabs at the golden chains around her wrist. She doesn't seem to notice at first, and he smiles wickedly, but as soon as he is pulling at the chains, she is screaming. The noise emitting from her is deafening, and he immediately jumps back startled. He wasn't sure what to do; no one had ever screamed before.

She whips around, looking for the person who had dared to try to steal from her. He immediately lowers his gaze to the ground and tries to wander off with the crowd, but he looks up for a split second, and he accidentally locks eyes with her, and she knows. He watches her face scrunch up into a scowl before she is lunging towards him. His eyes widen, and he backs up in fear, because she looked beyond angry.

" How dare you!" The girl screeches, eyes filled with an unexplainable fury. He wants to run off, but doesn't want to appear a coward, so he stays put in his place. When her fists are pulling and pounding on his shoulder, he gladly shoves her back.

" How dare you try to steal from me!" She yells again, acting as if he knew who she was. As if she was some sort of important figure that he had learned in history class. He had no clue who she was.

" It was just one bracelet!" He shot back, angry. She lowered her eyes at him and stepped forward, acting as if she were going to hit him again. One bracelet, he thought. That's all he needed to make his father happy for the day. All he needed to get out of a possible severe punishment.

The girl wrinkled her nose and stomped her foot before shoving at him again. " My mother's Maleficent," she growled as she flashed him bright green eyes. He had a feeling she did that to try to intimidate people. It wasn't working.

After getting over the initial fact that the girl's eyes had just glowed, he stared blankly at her before replying, " Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

The girl seemed shock, but covered up quickly, refuting, " Maybe not to you, but it will mean something to your father," She gave him a look-over before displaying a face of disgust, " Who I assume is Jafar?"

He backed up, suddenly defensive. " How'd you know that?"

She laughed, though it wasn't a sweet one. It was low, and mocking and he hated it. " You look like him," She wrinkled up her nose in disgust before continuing, " Your hair, and your stealing tactics. Only Jafar's son would be dumb enough to steal from me."

" I'm not dumb," he seethed. He hated that word. His father called him it every day and he hated it. He wasn't dumb. " I'm just not afraid of you. I'm not afraid to get things I want." He smirked at her, and she hated the way his eyes glowed gleefully, as if he had won some great prize.

" That makes you dumb. If you think your life is hell now, just wait until I tell my mother what you did!" She smiled at her threat and he deadpanned. He didn't like to be threatened.

" Would you say I'm a bad thief?" He questioned, and she stuttered, confused at the sudden change in topic. Her brows went down in confusion and he took the opportunity to wrap his fingers around the golden chain on her wrist, grabbing it before she could notice.

"What?" She looked at him, as if he could elaborate more. She thought a few more seconds before she scoffed and replied, " Yes. You're a horrible thief. Everyone knows you steal."

" Well," He smirked, holding up her bracelet. " I think I'm pretty good," He laughed as he spun the chain around his finger, claiming victory. She stares at it gawking, before she is scowling at the boy again and lunging at the bracelet.

He lets her take it back, and she shoves him again. He crosses his arms as he smirks down at her, and she rolls her eyes before biting at her cheek, deciding on what to say.

She runs a hand through her short purple hair before she is muttering, " Okay, look." He raises his brows in interest as she continues, " I won't tell my mother what you did if you teach me to steal." She may have ranted at him about how he was a horrible thief, but she had been lying. In fact, she was slightly jealous. Stealing was one skill she had yet to master, and she figured it to be the most useful, and what better to learn it from the thief boy himself.

He stared at her blankly, quickly stating, " I don't negotiate, sweetheart."

" Don't call me sweetheart," She practically growled. " You either negotiate with me, or I tell my mother what you did and she'll make sure your father knows, and then who knows what your father will do," She caught a quick glimpse of bruises and cuts lining the boys arms and locked eyes with him, " but we both know what your father decides to do to you won't be good."

He tenses at the threat, knowing very well what his father will do. He had been able to avoid any type of punishment for the past week, and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn't like the girl standing in front of him. She was trying to be in charge; demanding him what to do. He didn't negotiate, and he most definitely did not teach people how to do anything. But she was threatening him ( which was smart, he could give her that much. But he still hated her). So he didn't have much of a choice; it wasn't like it was that hard to learn to steal, anyways. He'd teach her for a month max and that'd be it.

" Fine. Deal," He ground out slowly. The girl's eyebrow twitched before she showed him her best smirk.

" Good choice," She smiled this time and he couldn't help but smile back. " Name's Mal."

He couldn't restrain from snorting and laughing lightly. Mal? Really? " So Maleficent is a narcissistic asshole, good to know." This time he smirked, but she didn't smile back.

Mal scowled before flashing him her green eyes again. This boy wasn't getting off to a good start. " Yeah? Well what's yours?"

The boy stood tall and stated proudly, " Jay." He liked his name. He thought it was a strong name, and represented him well, but Mal didn't seem to think so. She had been quick to chuckle as she flung her lilac hair behind her shoulders.

" Oh? Like that one's sooo much better than mine," She shook her head sarcastically as she folded her arms against her chest, in defense mode again.

" At least my name isn't anywhere in my dad's name. Your name could literally be your mom's nickname, Mal." Jay wasn't sure why he was antagonizing her so much. But he liked it. He almost thought they could be friends, at least what you consider friends on the Isle. Sure, he was only agreeing to help her because she was black mailing him, but he had someone he could talk to at least for the next two weeks. And that was better than anything.

" Whatever," Mal grumbled, suddenly realizing how idiotic and immature it was to be arguing about their names. " So do we have a deal or not?"

" Dude, I said deal like two minutes ago," Jay scrunched his face up in annoyance followed by a roll of his eyes. She sure was one annoying ball of fury.

" Just making sure you didn't change your mind," She grit out, mocking Jay with a roll of her eyes, too.

" Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart," Jay grinned, enjoying the frown on Mal's face.

Mal sighed heavily, playing with the gold chain around her wrist. After a small pause, she roughly pulled off her bracelet. " You're a douche, but here," She shoved it back towards Jay.

It wasn't something she was proud of, but after several seconds of thinking, she decided she would do something nice. She would never, in a million years ever do something for the good of the other. But Mal understood Jay's situation, and she would never get over the guilt of knowing she caused Jay to get abused by his father. So this wasn't for Jay. Not really. It was for her. To save herself from the guilt.

Jay gingerly took the bracelet between his fingers. He lowered his eyes at Mal, highly suspicious at the rare act. " What?" Was all he could think of to say. After ten minutes of arguing over the stupid thing she decides she wants to give it to him? He knew right then, she was the definition of idiotic.

" I'm not completely horrible," She tried to smile. " I know what your dad will do to you, so take it."

Jay 's eyes quickly flicked over Mal's face, then to the chain they both had their grip on. He scoffed loudly, shoving it back to her. " I don't want it. At least not this way. You don't give it to me, I take it from you." Mal scowled, tumbling back from the rough shove from Jay. " And don't pretend that you're doing this for me. We both know you're not."

" Don't be an idiot, Jay! Take the stupid bracelet!" She shoved it back at him. He thought about taking it and chucking it clear across the alley-way, but quickly decided against it.

The argument was silly, he knew that. But he wasn't going to take the bracelet, not now. He wasn't going to give anything to his father that hadn't been stolen. Mal was trying to come off as nice and considerate but he knew she was just doing it for herself. And even if she was doing it for him (but she wasn't. You never do something for someone else, unless you're being threatened) it meant she was taking pity on him. He didn't like pity and he didn't accept pity presents.

" I. Don't. Want. It." Jay ground out through clenched teeth.

" Take the damn bracelet!" Mal screeched, causing a few of the stray people in the alley to glance at them. " Stop being so stubborn. Who cares why I'm doing it. Do you really want any more bruises tonight from your father?" She watched gleefully as Jay tensed and seemed to go in thought. She stretched out her arm and waved the bracelet in front of Jay's face.

Jay stared at the bracelet for what seemed like an eternity, wondering if his ego was more important than a chance of getting more bruises. He flicked his eyes to meet Mal's and she smiled at him. He growled angrily, swiping at the bracelet before shoving it in his pocket. " Fine."

Mal smirked, putting one hand on her hip. " Finally," She looked around the alley quickly before looking back at Jay. " So, we meet here tomorrow, same time?"

Jay scowled at her, grumbling, " Yeah."

" Perfect." She smiled.

" Fantastic." He mumbled, turning around. They didn't exchange good-byes nor did they act as they knew each other as they brushed shoulders, walking out of the alley-way. Mal went left and Jay went right, neither realizing that this was the start of one major story that would forever define their lives.

Jay slammed into people's shoulders, hardly acknowledging their presence. He kept his eyes down and scraped his feet on the ground. He played with the bracelet in his pocket, but stopped, only being reminded of the stupid, insane, most annoying girl he had ever met.

Mal was exhausting. Jay figured that out only three days into the 'training'. She didn't want to listen to his orders and she thought her ways were better than his. And worst of all was, she wanted to get caught. Which made her even crazier, he thought.

One week in and Jay had thought she had been ready to swipe something from someone's pocket. He had been wrong. Very very wrong.

" Chat him up," Jay had reminded her, " Compliment his coat, then slip your hand in. There will probably be a couple of coins, take those." She had smiled widely at him, eagerly agreeing.

He had fixed himself on a side wall, trying to blend in as she made her way over to the man. Jay waited for her to start talking to him, but instead she tapped on the man's shoulder. Jay stood straighter, wondering what she could be doing. The man turned around, Mal said something, but Jay couldn't be sure what. Then suddenly Mal flung her hand in the man's coat pocket, grabbed at whatever was in it, and then turn and ran.

" What the!" Jay had yelled, throwing his hands in his hair. The man had began shouting, gaining the attention of several others. Soon everyone was realizing what was happening. Jay saw a blur of purple hair and felt a gush of wind as Mal rushed past him. She was laughing.

" Run!" She yelled giddily as she passed Jay. Jay yelled angrily before removing himself from the wall and dashing towards Mal, trying to ignore the group of people running behind them.

" Why did you do that!" Jay had yelled breathlessly, trying to stay at Mal's side.

" It's fun!" She had responded.

" You're such an idiot!" He had yelled angrily. " We have to make sure they don't catch us."

" I want them too!" Had been her surprising remark.

That was when Jay realized that Mal loved fighting. She would take any situation and make a fight out of it. That's just what she had to do.

After the particular stealing incident, Mal ended up with a bloody cheek but still got the prize. Jay ended up with nothing aside from anger. If his dad had found out about the incident, him and Mal were both dead.

Mal's training wasn't going as planned. What was supposed to be a week turned into two weeks. And then into three weeks, and suddenly Jay found that it had almost been a full year since the agreement.

Their situation was a little weird. Jay wasn't training Mal anymore, not really. Technically, once a week he would maybe teach her a new technique, but that was it. They didn't have a reason to see each other regularly anymore, but for some reason they did. They had gotten used to meeting each other late at night on a random roof to discuss plans. Jay didn't really want to talk to Mal, but he still found himself almost every night making his way over to their next meeting spot.

Mal would somehow manage to sneak into his window and scare him so that he banged his head on the shelf that was always settled above him. She would only visit him if she had some fantastic prize to brag about or when she wanted to go wreak some havoc. She was crazy, that was for sure. And Jay had to always watch her, keeping her from getting in some terrible mess that she wouldn't be able to get out of. He was almost like her babysitter, and he kinda hated it.

And no they weren't friends. And: " No, dad! Mal and I don't have an arrangement." He didn't understand why his dad had even asked because one: He was 13. And two: Gross, it's Mal. While they weren't friends, they weren't really enemies either. They hated each other, and fought constantly, but Jay found himself helping Mal out of fights, and on occasion Mal would bring Jay some not totally disgusting bread, so that had to count for something, right?

And Jay actually had someone to celebrate his birthday with. He had turned 13, and he knew what that meant. His dad had another big list of regular responsibilities he would now have for his dad's 'shop'. His life would from then on would be an even bigger hell. He was sitting on the floor, reading through the list when his bedroom window creaked open and Mal stepped in wearing dirty black boots and a wide smile.

" Happy Birthday. I didn't get you a present," She brushed down her shirt and lowered her gaze to the boy sitting on the floor." But we can go steal you one."

Jay smirked, tossing the list aside. He hopped up and pushed Mal back towards the window. Not bothering for a thank you, he shouted, " Let's go!" They both scurried out the window and somewhere deep down Jay was really happy that someone Mal had remembered his birthday.

On Mal's 13th Birthday Jay did get her a present. Well, he found it on his way to go to her house for her birthday. It was a new looking knife with a silver handle and it had just been lying in the corner of the alleyway, practically calling his name. He didn't need a knife, he already had one, and he knew even his dad couldn't get it to sell for much in the shop, so he might as well give it to Mal.

Jay didn't have to sneak in windows to go to Mal's place. Her mom didn't care, as long as Mal was learning to be evil just like her. He walked into Mal's room and spotted what he figured was supposed to be a cake. It was a small heap of crumbly bread with a layer of something purple on top. Jay couldn't believe he was jealous of a crumbly, most likely moldy, piece of bread. But really, he would kill to have anything like that for his birthday.

After gazing at the cake, Jay looked around Mal's room. It was dark, but she had a nice big window and a bed. Items littered the floor, and Jay thought if his room ever looked like Mal's did, he would never see the light of day ever again. After gazing around her room he spotted her standing by her window. She was wearing her usual black boots, a pair of white pants with several holes in them, and a plain black t-shirt.

" About time," She muttered as she stepped away from the window and towards Jay.

Jay glared at her as he handed her the knife. " Happy Birthday, this is for you, blah blah blah."

Mal snatched it quickly. She held it up in the light coming from her window and examined it.

" Wow," She began, but was very quickly cut off.

" Don't thank me. I found it in the alley." Jay didn't want her getting the wrong idea. He wasn't nice, and he didn't give gifts.

" Okay. Well, it's super nice," Mal stated, fitting it in her pocket.

" Don't kill too many people at once," Jay joked, knowing how Mal was.

Mal gasped dramatically before smirking. " I would never! Not without you, of course." Jay tried to refrain from smiling but five seconds later they both burst out laughing.

Jay got a glimpse of the knife two weeks later. You could no longer see your reflection in it. It was stained red, fading to a pinkish color in some parts. Jay didn't know if he should be mad or proud. He wanted to help, too.

Jay technically meets Carlos De Vil when they are both 14.

It's in the middle of a summer night and Jay had just fallen asleep when he heard his window open quickly. It took him a moment to fully wake up. When his eyes adjust to the darkness he sees a pair of boots in front of his face. Mal's boots.

" Jay," She whispers desperately. " Jay, Jay," She rants again, crouching down to his level. " Wake up, please wake up."

" I'm awake," He snaps, wondering what her problem was now. He groans as he scoots out from his 'bed' and flips a light on. Both teens flinch at the sudden light and it takes Jay a moment to comprehend Mal's appearance.

Once his eyes are done burning he notices scrapes of blood on the side of Mal's face. He is no longer feeling sleepy and turns alert immediately.

" What the hell happened!" He shouts as he moves Mal's hair out of the way, which he finds has blood matted in it.

" I pissed off some guys," She grins, but it falters quickly. " So I need help."

Jay groaned as he leaned back against the table, rubbing at his temple. " What did you do?"

Why do you always have to fight with someone? He wanted to say.

Mal bites at her lip as she fully sits on the ground. " I stole some booze. Like five bottles and they caught me."

Jay's eyes went wide, wondering why the hell her face would be marked up in blood over some alcohol. '' Jesus, Mal! You risked your life for fucking alcohol?" He understood why she had taken it, he had stolen some, too. But only a bottle because he knew someone would probably be after him if he took more than two bottles. It was a rare occasion for alcohol to make its way over to the Isle, but when it did only the best got it, unless someone else managed to steal it before they did. And that someone else just happened to be Mal.

" Yeah." She replied bluntly.

Jay eyes the side of her face again before he speaks. " So what's the problem? Why's your face have blood on it?"

" When they caught me they tried to take it back and I may have used one of the bottles to smash over the guys head. Other guy attacked me, I guess some shards of glass hit him because he was bleeding and it got on me," She paused a moment to take a breath before continuing. " Two bottles ended up getting destroyed and I'm not giving back the other three. So I have to pay them back what the alcohol would've been worth."

" Oh my god," He mutters in disbelief. How could she be so fucking dumb. " How are you going to get the money? When do you owe them?" He paused a moment, then nearly shouted, " Why don't you just give back those three stupid bottles?"

Mal growled and shoved hard at Jay. " I spent nearly two hours staking out and sneaking my way into that stupid delivery truck! I learned two new spells and punched six guys just to get on the damn truck. I'm not going to even tell you how much trouble I went to to then get off the truck with the bottles. I'm not giving them back. And I owe them by tomorrow night."

" Tomorrow night!" Jay shouted, forgetting that his father was in the next room. " And if you don't get the money to them by then?"

Mal smiles even though she is slightly terrified. " They said they would gladly take a knife and slit my throat. "

Mal was screwed. She had finally dug herself into a hole that she would now be forever buried in. And she was trying to pull him down in it too.

" So how are you going to get the money?" Not with my help, not with my help. Jay pleaded in his head. He was not going to help her this time. He had been doing it for the past two years and he was done. D.O.N.E

Mal grinned widely and Jay finally realized the bag that she had at her side. " That's why I came here! You're going to help me, no buts. You owe me for covering for you a couple days ago." She opened her brown bag and began pulling things out of it, causing Jay to raise his brows in confusion.

Mal pulled out two masks. One that was yellow and one that was grey. They were simple and plain, but they did the job of covering up their faces. " I heard that Cruella De Vil has like a gazillion coats. If we get just one of those and sell it, that'll be more than enough." Jay frowned slightly but took the mask anyways. " We'll wear these, in case we get caught, which is unlikely." She fished something else out of her bag, grasping it tightly. " And this is to smash the window in."

Jay gaped at the crowbar in Mal's hand. " That's not very discreet. "

Mal tossed the crowbar in her hand, catching it as she spoke. " But it's fun."

Jay rolled his eyes as he took the mask and placed it on his face. Mal was quick to shove the crowbar back in her bag and slide the mask onto her face. As Mal situated her bag on her shoulder Jay slipped on a pair of boots and grabbed his knife- just in case.

Mal slid out the window first, with Jay following her. Jay took a quick glance around to make sure no one could see them. Mal took a step down from the fire escape, causing it to rattle loudly, echoing down the alley.

" Shut up!" Jay seethed quietly. Mal didn't respond as she continued her descent. Jay rolled his eyes at her slow departure and took the easier way out by grasping at the railing and flipping onto the ground below. He landed with a soft grunt and stood up before Mal had even made it down the stairs.

" Show off," She muttered as she reached him, hitting his shoulder with her own. Jay smirked in reply.

Mal adjusted the bag on her shoulder, walking quickly towards their destination.

" Do you know where we're going?" Jay questioned in Mal's ear. She shoved at him, and if her mask hadn't been on he would've been able to see the glare she gave.

" Obviously."

000

It hadn't taken long to get to the De Vil house. It seemed to be isolated from other buildings, which Jay took for granted. It was just as dingy as every other building. What used to be red brick was now faded to a gross brown that was slowly chipping away and could at any possible moment collapse. Mal took no time in memorizing the building. She quickly strutted up to a window with a green frame that was peeling away on the sides.

" This is it." Mal whispered quietly. Jay didn't bother in asking how she knew that.

Jay waited impatiently as Mal undid the button on her bag and pulled out the crowbar. She took a step back, preparing to smash the glass in. Jay had a sudden thought and shouted, " Wait!"

Mal jumped, dropping the weapon. " God! What?" Jay didn't respond as he quickly jumped forward and grasped at the bottom of the window. Using his hands he pushed hard at it, causing it to move. After one more push it opened all the way, giving them enough space to squeeze through. Jay motioned for Mal to follow as he hopped inside.

" You're no fun," Mal muttered. She waited for Jay to get inside completely before moving her way in.

Once they were both in they stood in silence for a second. The room was cold and drafty and when Jay tried to take a step forward, the floor board creaked below him.

" I can't see anything," Jay muttered as he tried to squint through his mask and the darkness.

" No shit," Came Mal's muffled response. She looked around when she spotted a door. " You think that could be the closet?" She tapped Jay's shoulder and pointed towards it.

Jay shrugged his shoulders. " Might as well try." Mal grasped lightly onto Jay's arm and they slowly tiptoed their way to the other side of the hallway to the door. Jay reached it first and opened it as quietly as he could. He peeked his head in and looked around, though he couldn't see much in the dark.

" Looks like the closet."

" Okay, then go!" Mal shouted quietly pushing Jay and her into the small space. She shut the door when suddenly there was a loud clang.

" Shit!" Jay exclaimed quite loudly.

" Wha-" Mal began before she felt her leg get caught on something. She pulled it back as quickly as she could but she felt a sharp pain as she did so. " Fuck!" She cursed.

" Where's the damn light!" Jay muttered, stilling in his spot.

" Maybe it's over there-" Mal began as she went to step forward.

" No! Don't!" Came a third voice from inside the darkness.

Mal nearly screamed and Jay couldn't refrain from shouting, " Holy fucking!"

Suddenly the dark space was filled with a blinding light, causing Jay to stumble forward. Mal flinched back and grabbed at her head, " Ow. Jesus."

Jay blinked rapidly, highly confused. His eyes adjusted quickly so he could see the sight before him. In front of them on the floor laid a few stray pieces of clothing and he could see silver peeking out from it. On both sides of the wall hung coat upon coat. And then his eyes met a strange sight in the corner, that neither Mal or him had been expecting.

" You didn't tell me she had a kid!" Jay shouted towards Mal. In the corner was a grungy, brown looking mattress. Sitting on it was a boy with snow-white hair. After a moment of staring Jay was able to see the freckles that littered the boy's face. He was probably their age, maybe 13. He didn't look familiar to Jay, but he never really did pay attention to his classmates.

The boy was hunched up in the corner, gazing at the two teenagers who were standing in his bedroom. After analyzing them he stated bluntly, " What the hell are you wearing?" He was used to people trying to break in, but he was not used to teenagers coming in with ridiculous looking masks while wearing sweat pants and combat boots.

Jay lowered his eyes at the boy. " What the hell are you..wearing," He responded lamely, quickly cutting himself off.

The boy blinked several times before responding slowly, " Pajamas..." Jay rocked back onto his heels, unsure what to do or say next.

Mal groaned, bored with the banter. She went to step forward again, and both Jay and the boy shouted, " Don't!"

Mal groaned. " Why not!"

" Those are bear traps," The boy stated. " Either of you take another step forward and I promise you one of you will leave here without a leg."

" Harsh," Jay laughed, staring down at the traps.

" Okay, well look. We're taking one of these coats, thanks." Mal said nonchalantly as she slowly maneuvered her way around the traps.

" No!" The boy said as he bolted up from his mattress, nearly tumbling into the coat racks.

" You don't get a vote," Jay laughed as he followed behind Mal. He didn't understand what the kid was so worked up over, it was just one coat.

" Please don't take it," The boy pleaded, jumping in front of both Mal and Jay. He tried to use his arms to block the two of them, but it didn't do much aside from anger them.

Mal shoved at him so Jay could go around the boy. " Look, if we don't get this coat, this person right here," He jokingly pointed towards Mal, " will be dead tomorrow night." Mal laughed as she sifted through the heavy coats. There were so many to choose from, but to her half of them all looked alike. It was white coat after white, then red, and then a row of black.

The boy stepped forward again and lowered his voice, nearly shouting, " Don't take one of these fucking coats or I swear to God I will make sure you both end up dead tomorrow night!"

Jay almost wanted to take his mask off just so this kid could see the glare he was sending his way. Mal looked behind her shoulder to gaze at the boy, pausing a moment to see if he would say anything else. When he didn't she went back to looking through the racks.

" You're not scary kid." Partial lie. Jay forced a laugh, hoping the boy wouldn't be dumb enough to shout so loud that it woke up his mother.

The boy frowned, visibly slouching in defeat. He bit at his lip, when suddenly, spoken so low Jay wasn't sure he heard it, the boy said, " Please. I'm in charge of the safety of those coats. If you take one of them my mom will know and she will take one of those bear traps and force it onto my leg. It won't matter how much I scream or beg, she won't stop until I've lost enough blood. Until I know what will happen next time if another coat is stolen."

Jay froze in his spot. He doesn't know why he did it, but suddenly his brain just came up with an image of one of those traps chomping down onto the poor boys leg, and blood pooling everywhere. And he had a feeling it had been done to him before. And Jay couldn't do it. Let that happen. He didn't know this boy, or his story, but he felt it was similar to his. And as much as he hated it, he couldn't help but feel sorry.

" Boo-hoo," Mal muttered, continuing her search.

Jay stepped forward, stating loudly, "Stop." When Mal didn't listen he grasped her hand and stated again harshly, " Stop." Mal roughly pulled her wrist from his grip, confused at his actions.

"What the hell?" She shouted confused. " I need this!" What the hell was Jay doing!

The boy took the moment as an opportunity to speak. " If you really need a coat that bad, there's a couple of my moms coats that she doesn't want anymore. That way I don't get in trouble, and you don't die. It's a win-win."

Mal and Jay exchange glances. " Not like it matters," Mal mutters. Jay nods and turns toward the boy who is still awkwardly standing in front of the pair.

" Sounds good." Jay says as the boy steps toward a rack. " But you can't tell anyone about this."

The boy quickly grabs a black and white coat and hands it off to Jay. " Yeah, obviously."

Jay and Mal take the coat from the boy and examine it thoroughly. It was big and fluffy and had what Mal assumed was real fur lining the bottom of the coat and on the cuffs of the sleeves. Mal could pay off a lot of guys with half of the coat.

" Cool, looks good," Mal states, pulling the coat closer to her body.

The boy looks between the two, who seem glued to their spot. " Leave my house," He motions towards the door. " Now."

Mal and Jay immediately shuffle away from the racks and go around the traps again. They don't say anything to the boy as they leave the closet. They don't bother to be quiet as they jump out of the window and out into the night.

There's a light coming from the sidewalk that is illuminating their view and Jay can see how ridiculous they actually look with their masks. He was surprised that the poor boy didn't shit his pants when he turned the light on.

Mal took off her mask, breaking the silence with " You showed mercy."

Jay cringed, not wanting to be reminded of that moment ever again. But he knew Mal would probably never let him live it down. " Shut up." He eyed the ground and got sight of Mal's leg. Blood was slowly seeping down it. " You're bleeding," He said calmly, pointing toward her leg.

She frowned, bending down to examine it. She took her finger and wiped up the blood, jumping slightly from the sharp pain. " Yikes, must've been from the stupid traps." She held up her fingers and tried to decide where to wipe the blood off. She decided leaving bloody fingerprints on the green window pane was a good idea.

Jay gazed at her still semi-bloody fingers and then at the white coat she was carrying. " Here," He motioned towards the coat. " Let me hold it, or you're going to get blood all over it."

Mal raised her brow at Jay before hugging the coat tightly to your chest. " If I give it to you, you're not going to give it back. You're going to take it and sell it and keep the profits and let me fend for myself. I know you."

Jay stuck his hands in his pockets. " Damn." He sighed dramatically as he kicked at the stray rocks on the ground.

" Good right?" Mal laughed, pushing at Jay.

" Eh, whatever."

" Alright, you big baby. I'm going home." Mal walked backwards behind Jay, wrapping the coat around her neck.

" I better not find your dead body tomorrow," Jay joked as he watched Mal walk through the darkness, headed for her lovely fortress.

Mal raised her hand in the air as she shouted, " No promises!"