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Raven lightly rolled over in her bed the next morning and then slowly opened her eyes. Her room was dimly lit from the sun shining through the dark blinds and from that she knew it was morning. She brought in a deep, refreshed breath and rolled even farther to check her phone on the side table. Clicking it on, she saw one new text message and that it was eight-thirty. She locked it. She would read the text message later.
After getting dressed and checking that she was at least presentable, Raven headed down the stairs.
Pietor was leaning against the couch, loading two pistols. He took out the empty cartridge and snapped up the new.
"Whoa. Planning to kill someone?" Raven asked, as she touched the bottom step. Pietor glanced over as he slid more bullets in to place.
"Maybe. David and I have target testing today. The President likes to make sure we keep up on our aim."
"David shoots?" Raven asked in surprise.
"Uh yeah." Pietor replied "How do you think he got in Convit presidency?"
"I honestly have no idea how that system works." Raven said, stopping midway to the kitchen "I thought it was because he was a hard worker and nice guy so people just kind of voted him in position."
"Well you're not wrong." Pietor said, tightening the holster that would sling around his shoulder "But we're also required to have some shooting skill."
"So is David good?"
Pietor sniffed "Very. You'd want him at your back on any mission."
"Really? I don't really see him shooting anyone." Raven said.
"David's not as innocent as everybody seems to think." Pietor said, then glanced up "I mean, he's not like a mass murderer or anything. He's like Diabolus. He'll shoot when he has too."
"Nice comparison." Raven nodded with a wince.
"Thank you."
She slightly rolled her eyes and carried on through the kitchen door. Pietor finished with his guns and followed her.
"But how do you keep the chocolate chips from completely melting?" Shelby asked as Iliana poured waffle batter onto the maker.
"You put them on right after you pour in on and then close it." Iliana said.
"They usually stay nicely in shape." Anastasia said, scooting around her to put the milk back away.
Nero and Darkdoom were sitting at the dining table; leaning back and watching the women bicker, only speaking something to the other when the situation demanded it. Wing and Laura sat near them, but as usual, Wing was silent and Laura shared a few words with anyone who spoke.
"Wow. That's a nice healthy breakfast." Pietor said, opening his fridge as Raven walked past.
"What's wrong with it?" Anastasia asked "We've got eggs, flour, and milk."
"And chocolate and sugar and syrup." Pietor said without looking over.
"Don't ruin my breakfast, man." Iliana said, waving a fork at him.
"I'm not." Pietor replied, walking over to her and grabbing a few of the little chocolate chips.
"What are you even worried about?" Iliana asked "I'm pretty sure you burn calories like ten times faster than anyone in this room, Thor."
"And why is that?" Pietor asked, throwing the handful of chocolate into his mouth.
"Oh I don't know." Iliana held up her arms and flexed "Probably that your body composition is like one percent body fat and muscle burns a lot of calories."
"That wouldn't be a good thing." Pietor said "That's not healthy either."
Iliana waved him away with her fork again, rolling her eyes. Pietor grabbed one of the plain waffles and let it hang from his mouth as he went to sit down.
"Dr. Nero." Laura said "Are we going to have to make up the work we missed?"
"Laura, shut up!" Shelby hissed, through clenched teeth. Nero looked at her, eyebrows raised and she smiled.
"Well if he's going to make us do it when we get back, I want to be prepared!" Laura snapped back.
"If you don't ask, he won't make us." Shelby replied and smiled at Nero again.
"Hmm…maybe it'll just be you doing all the make-up work." he said "If you think I'm that forgetful."
Shelby curled an unenthusiastic lip. "Make-up work for the Colonel. Eesh! Do you know how terrible that would be?"
"He's not that bad." Nero said, with a slight smile. He wasn't going to deny that the experience would be horrible.
"He's so mean in class…" Shelby whined "I can't imagine a one-on-one session with him."
"Look." Nero said "If you can answer this correctly, I will excuse you from the assignments. This was from our chapter one lesson."
"Okay shoot." Shelby said. Wing and Laura both leaned forward.
"What is the first thing you take care of after a failed break-in attempt?" Nero asked.
Pietor clapped his hands loudly and pointed a finger at him. "Witnesses!"
The room went silent for a second. Iliana stopped stirring the batter and Anastasia mostly just looked up. Nero looked at him, eyes slightly wide with a hint of amusement, but mostly shock.
"Oh." Pietor waved a hand and turned away in his chair "Carry on."
Darkdoom started laughing, then everyone joined in.
"Well you know. You can't have people telling on you." Pietor said "Sounded right, but at everyone's reaction I guess it was way off."
"Well." Nero said, still smiling "I suppose you're not wrong."
"Just the way it came out." Iliana said "And you know, you're going to take care of them."
"Like a hit list." Shelby said.
"Yeah." Pietor slid out of his seat and got up "Iliana we need to go."
Iliana grumbled but didn't argue. She took another waffle and handed the whisk to Raven, who took it with that blank look. She turned and handed it to Anastasia, scowling slightly.
"Am I shooting today?" Iliana asked, grabbing her jacket and putting it on.
"Yes, ma'am." Pietor said. They started toward the kitchen door to head outside. "Goodbye."
###
About three hours later…
"So Pietor and David will try to get the President to surrender to them during the meeting." Nero said.
"And if not, that's what our men are for." Anastasia finished "Because the President is so secretive, we don't know exactly how many recruits he has there to guard him, if he has any."
"Then what am I doing during this time?" Raven asked.
"You and Wing will be patrolling the outer doors to ensure that if the President makes a dash, we don't lose him. And, I am fairly certain he will have many men with him." Anastasia said. They were sitting in the living room, discussing their actual strategy, while the students actually listened quietly for once. Well, Shelby for once, anyway. The Colonel had joined them for the plan discussion.
"So why can't I actually be in the meeting with them?" Raven asked "I could track his movements a lot better."
"Because having a strange face in there would put the President on edge, I'm guessing." Nero said.
"And these meetings are extremely private." Anastasia said "No one is allowed in except the presidency."
"Have you ever met the President?" Darkdoom asked. She shook her head.
"Pietor has twice and David multiple times I'm guessing. Nobody really knows much about him."
"So nobody else knows who their being ruled by?" the Colonel asked, scowling slightly.
"That wasn't all that different from G.L.O.V.E." Nero reminded him. Darkdoom nodded.
"Well no one has had any reason to suspect anything either." Anastasia said just as Raven's phone started to go off. The assassin twisted to pull it out of her pocket.
"It's Pietor." she said with a frown. Anastasia glanced at her as she answered it.
"Hello?"
"Oh hi. Why'd you call me?" came Pietor's voice over the speaker.
"Me? I didn't call you." Raven said. She put her phone on speaker and pulled down her screen to check her last few calls.
"Oh whoops." apparently she had accidently called him three times. "That was not on purpose."
There was a grouchy sigh from Pietor "I thought everyone had been murdered or something. You called me three times and didn't answer any texts."
"Well everyone's fine." Raven said "You needn't worry."
"Oh I wasn't worried." Pietor replied and hung up without a goodbye. Raven rolled her eyes and went to check her texts.
"Anyway." Anastasia said after a moment of amusement. "The Convit members pretty much rely on the first and second counselors for everything."
"Yes, I understand that, but what if in some situation the President ordered them to do something against the people?" the Colonel asked "What could they do?"
"They would tell the people and kick the President out of there." Anastasia said "The President would be smart enough not to tell their counselors anything remotely threatening, however." her voice was always a bit tenser whenever she spoke to the Colonel. He had always been the most distrusting of them.
The Colonel nodded at her and looked away.
"Oh my word." Raven said, looking at her phone screen.
"What?" Nero asked as Darkdoom leaned forward to see.
"Oh no." Raven shook her head, scowling
"What?" Nero repeated and the others all looked over, especially Shelby.
"David just asked me out." Raven said, looking extremely unenthusiastic "Well technically earlier this morning."
"How exciting." Anastasia said, but Shelby's face exploded.
"Yassss!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up.
"What did he say?" Darkdoom asked.
Raven leaned forward to hand the phone to him and he read it over.
"What are you doing tonight? I was wondering if you wanted to head out to dinner." Darkdoom read out loud Raven scowled.
"Why'd you read it out loud?" Raven asked in annoyance. He held up his hands defensively.
"That's the best." Anastasia said "David is so perfectly calm about it so you don't need to stress. It's just David."
"What should I say?" Raven asked, tapping a finger nervously on her phone screen.
"Well, do you want too?" Anastasia asked.
"Well. Sure." Raven said.
"Then say" Anastasia waited for her to get her phone back out "'as far as I know, I'm not doing anything tonight! Dinner sounds great! When and where?' How's that?"
"That's not how Natalya texts." Darkdoom said, shaking his head.
"That's fine." Raven said.
"Then you can just wait until he replies." Anastasia said, sitting back.
Raven nodded and sat back. It took a few seconds but his reply came and she looked at it.
"He says 'Any time after five is good for me and it's your choice! You're the visitor!'" Raven looked up "I'm a visitor apparently and I don't know where to go."
"Well is it going to be casual or formal?" Anastasia asked.
Raven opened her mouth, then ducked and typed on her phone again.
Raven: Well would you enjoy casual or formal more?
David: Well me personally am much more casual, but we can do whatever you want. Anything is good and don't worry about cash, I've got it completely covered wherever you want to go. ;-)
Raven: Casual is great and I honestly don't know any restaurants in the area.
David: Then it's a surprise! Pick you up at five?
Raven: Perfect
###
"I think that's Pietor's truck." Anastasia said, glancing back with a smile and Raven grumbled. She'd been the dreading the moment Pietor would return because she just knew he was going to tease her about the date tonight.
"Do I get to tell him?" Shelby asked sweetly and Raven scowled at her.
"He probably already knows. Why would you want to tell him?"
"It's just funny." Shelby said, with an embarrassed smile. Raven narrowed her eyes and didn't say anything.
There were a few minutes of silence. Drake came trotting down the stairs at the sound of his master's arrival as he usually did. The door opened and Pietor came in, with a good sized box in his arms.
"Present time?" Shelby asked sweetly as he set it down beside the door. Anastasia shot her a look of amused fascination, surprised once again at the girl's confidence with her brother.
"Not for you." Pietor replied, leaning back and straightening up. He rubbed his dog's head as Iliana, who seemed to be making the Furan's place her second home, came in the door and slammed it.
"No really what's in the box?" Anastasia asked.
"Nothing you need to know about right now." Pietor said and Iliana came over.
"Oh hey, new person." she said, looking at the Colonel. She went to shake his hand and they did, although the Colonel's face was a bit puzzled at her.
"Colonel Francisco." he said, with a nod. She tilted her head.
"Iliana. Great to meet you!"
The Colonel nodded slowly as she whipped back around. Anastasia stood up and the Colonel mouthed something at Nero, who tilted a hand back and forth surreptitiously.
Anastasia was heading toward the package, apparently to curious to bear. Pietor waved her off irritably.
"What is it? What did you buy?" she asked.
"Psst! Back off." Pietor said "You'll find out in one and a half months."
Anastasia's mouth dropped indignantly and Pietor pushed her away by the shoulders.
"Oh yeah, that's your birthday isn't it?" Iliana asked happily and the others glanced over.
"Uh no. I had my last birthday about ten years ago." Anastasia said "I prefer not to keep count now."
"You're not dead." Iliana said "Thus far, you still have a birthday."
"And then you have Pietor here, who buys presents about two months earlier just to torture you." Anastasia said, leaning to look around her brother. He folded his arms and waved her on with a twiddle of his fingers. When she turned finally, he followed to sit on the couch.
"By the way." Iliana said, beckoning the dog over with her as she walked to them "Where are you and David going to dinner tonight?"
Raven grumbled quietly "I don't know. He said it was a surprise."
"What?" Pietor asked loudly and Drake went over to him excitedly.
"He said it was a surprise!" Raven said back just as loudly.
"Casual or formal?" Iliana asked.
"Casual." Raven said.
"I know where he's going." Iliana confirmed.
"Huh?" Raven asked, scowling "From that?"
"You will have fun. Are you doing anything else after?" Iliana asked, without answering her question.
"No I don't think so." Raven said.
"Are you nervous?" Pietor asked, raising one eyebrow.
"No, not really." Raven replied, giving her the same look back. Iliana and Anastasia were both beaming at her with amusement.
"What are you dying to say?" Raven asked, throwing a pillow at Pietor. After a moment of not replying, he begun to chuckle quietly.
"Whaaaattt." Raven groaned.
"Nothing." he looked up, face completely serious again. "I'm not going to say anything."
"Where is he going to take me?" Raven asked Iliana with one suspicious eye still on Pietor.
"One of three places." Iliana said "Just be excited. You will have fun."
"Well I'm not always good at talking to people." Raven said "I'm just worried I'll say something stupid."
"Do you think David would care?" Darkdoom asked.
"No."
"Do you think David would ever make fun of you? Or anyone…?" Iliana said "Yeah uh probability of that? Uh…zero."
"I suppose so." Raven replied "But what if it's awkward?"
"Don't make it awkward." Anastasia said. The Colonel waited until Raven looked away a bit before leaning over to Nero.
"Do you think it's funny that Anastasia is acting like it's easy when she never taught Raven anything about it?" he asked quietly. Nero waited a second before bobbing his eyebrows slightly in reply with tiny nods.
Unbeknownst of them, Anastasia overheard the comment. Her face hardened a bit and she closed her mouth.
"Just be yourself and don't tense up." Iliana said. She looked around at the men. "Any suggestions?"
Pietor ignored it, and the other three glanced at each other. After a moment of complete silence, Iliana rolled her eyes.
"Thank you. Best advice ever." she whacked Pietor "You."
Pietor looked up and around, then spoke "Out of anyone in this world, I am the last person you should ask."
"Why?" Anastasia asked, smiling at her brother.
"Yeah, why?" Iliana scoffed "You've been on a date."
Pietor looked at them for a second, lips pressed together before he gave a simple shake of his head.
"Anyone?" Iliana asked in annoyance.
"Don't look at your phone the whole time." Darkdoom said.
Iliana clapped "Good."
Raven rolled her eyes "When do I ever?"
"David will take care of you." Shelby said, hugging herself adorably.
"Gee thanks." Raven said.
"Well let's start getting you ready." Iliana said, standing up "Come on Anastasia, I need your help!"
Raven folded her arms and looked up at her irritably.
"Because I have stuff she needs, not because you need the help." Anastasia said with a smile "I'll be up in a minute.
Raven heaved herself up with a growl as Iliana beckoned her eagerly.
"Alright, never mind, I am nervous." she said. "I totally do not know what to do on a friendly date."
"Look. If you liked it, let him know. And give him a sign you want to go again." Pietor said "Otherwise he will feel stupid."
Raven paused and looked at him abruptly "Wow." she tilted her head "That's a really sweet idea."
Pietor gave a nod "I have my moments."
###
About four hours later, almost 5 o'clock.
"Natalya, stop fussing with it." Anastasia said. "You look gorgeous." she pulled Raven's hands away from her face.
"I don't wear makeup." Raven said irritably.
"Just stop touching your face." Iliana said.
After many objections and protests, Anastasia and Iliana had successfully gotten Raven to put on mascara. They still sat in Anastasia's bathroom, where a very big mess had accumulated on the counter.
Downstairs, everyone still sat together, mostly silent except the few conversations between the students. There was a knock on the door and Shelby half-squealed. She tugged at Pietor.
"Get it! Get it!"
Pietor looked down at her, a fierce scowl on his face and she stopped, still smiling. He got up with a roll of his eyes and went over to the door, swinging it open.
"Hey." David said, smiling at his friend "Is she ready?"
"I hope so after all the time they spent up there." Pietor replied with a glance at the stairs.
"Uh oh, is she nervous?" David asked.
Darkdoom leaned, with a grin "Probably."
"Really?" David asked, still smiling "I'll try not to wear her down."
Pietor nodded "I have to say, you are snappy."
"Snappy?" David asked. He pointed a finger "Good or bad?"
"Ehh…it's both." Pietor said David raised his eyebrows and made a face.
"Hi, David!" Shelby called.
"Hi, Shelby!" David called back, leaning to see her.
"Where are you going to take her?" Pietor asked.
"Oh I'm sorry, that question is not in the binder right now." David replied "You'll have to wait and hear."
"But hey." Nero said, also leaning, "I must tell you, she has a curfew. Midnight." he smiled.
"Perfect!" David replied with a thumbs up "I will try to have her back by then."
Raven and Iliana came around the corner, then Anastasia and all three came down the stairs. Raven walked straight over, arms tensely out to her side.
"Okay." she stopped "Let's go." she slipped out the door. David speedily looked back and forth where she had come and gone, eyes wide. He smiled, then stood straight.
"Okay." he gave a mimicked tense wave to all the others "Bye." he gave an exaggerated heavy breath and turned after his date, smiling.
Pietor slammed the door and held up his fingers to count to three silently, before everyone burst out laughing. Iliana especially.
###
"SO." David said as they pulled out of the Furan's place. He looked at her "How are you doing tonight?"
"Great." Raven said.
"Great!" David exclaimed with overly ambitious happiness and Raven jumped. After a moment, she smiled too and they both chuckled, her tension fading.
###
"Alright, I need to get some energy out." Iliana said, still tingling from her laughter after Raven left.
"Go run a mile." Pietor said.
"Do you think she'll die?" Iliana asked, standing up.
"Actually I think she'll love it." Anastasia put in.
"Let's dance." Iliana said. Nero glanced at her scowling slightly. Darkdoom smiled at her abruptness.
"Dance?" Anastasia echoed, waving her head slightly.
"I am not moving." Pietor said.
"No like Just Dance or something. I want to exercise." Iliana said. "Let's do it on the big screen."
"Whoever wants to exercise?" Shelby asked.
###
Anastasia poured some drinks for Nero, Darkdoom and the Colonel, who had come in the kitchen once the dancing had commenced.
You could hear the shrieks of laughter coming from the other room, mostly from Iliana and Shelby.
"They really don't run out of energy, do they?" Darkdoom asked.
"They do not." Nero agreed.
"I think they even have Pietor in on it, right now." Anastasia said, handing them the drinks.
"Oh dear, Natalya will be sad she missed that." Darkdoom smiled.
"Well, I've got to see it." Anastasia said, taking a sip "You don't miss these once in a lifetime things." she turned to go out of the kitchen.
Nero frowned slightly at her hasty farewell. Darkdoom looked confused as well, but they shrugged and followed her back out.
"I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sit quietly, agree politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything"
"This is not appropriate dancing." Pietor said loudly over the music, who was standing next to Iliana, who was busting some nice moves. Wing watched Shelby from the side, head tilted, and Laura stood next to her friend, occasionally doing a weird move.
"What's wrong with it?" Iliana shouted, waving her hands up in the air.
"This is not right." Pietor replied "Just watch her." he pointed up at the screen with the remote. Iliana smiled and twirled around in a circle, arms up.
"Do it, Pietor!" she screamed over the music.
"Ahh." Pietor slowly turned himself around, slowly shaking his head at the others who had come out. Anastasia laughed although she couldn't be heard over the song. She went to lean on the couch and watch them.
"Now I'm floating like a butterfly
Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes
I went from zero, to my own hero
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Get ready 'cause I've had enough
I see it all, I see it now"
"Remind me again why Shelby came to H.I.V.E." Darkdoom said loudly to Nero. He just shook his head, eyes wide.
"You know, we could leave her here." the Colonel suggested.
"And ruin the Furan's celebration after the Convits gone?" Nero asked "Oh I wouldn't be that cruel."
Darkdoom smiled, squeezing his eyes shut.
There came the point in the song where you joined hands with your partner and spin. Laura absolutely rejected Shelby at that point, putting her hands up.
However, Iliana and Pietor were completely on top of it. They leaned back, using each other's weight to remain upright as they twirled around. Anastasia's face was flat into the cushion, only her shoulders shaking.
Pietor let Iliana go and fly into the couch. She collapsed laughing so hard she was silent.
"Da!" he said as the song ended.
"You wouldn't even spin with me!" Shelby yelled at Laura.
"It makes me dizzy!" Laura said loudly in defense.
"You two shout too much!" Pietor shouted at them and they both jumped incredibly high at his very loud voice, which he smiled in satisfaction.
"Whoa, chill out, man." Shelby said, tossing the controller onto the couch.
"I killed her." Pietor said, waving a hand at the limp Iliana on the cushions.
"I'm dying!" Iliana rasped mockingly.
"I will save you!" Pietor said, going to jump on her, but he stopped before he jumped as Iliana grabbed her knees and squealed. He rolled his eyes with half a smile and she got up quickly.
"Again!"
###
About an hour and a half later…7:30 P.M. or so…
"Do you think Raven will get back anytime soon?" Iliana asked "I mean, I want to see how it went." she didn't look away from the screen, from which she was intently playing Call of Duty against Pietor and Shelby.
"I'm sure anytime soon." Anastasia replied, leaning back. Their group had just finished dinner and the plates remained on the table in front of them. "I mean, we beat them eating."
"You shot me." Pietor said to Shelby. She glanced at him scowling.
"That's the game!"
"You do not shoot me. We're supposed to on a team."
"Until you betrayed us and joined the other team." Iliana said, looking at him.
"You guys kept getting killed, what did you want me to do?" Pietor asked.
"Help us. We are not assassins." Shelby said, patting him on the shoulder for a second.
He pressed his lips together before retaliating and wrapping an arm around her head and neck. Shelby made a weird squawking sound, immediately dropping her controller.
"You want to try that again?" he asked, without loosening his grip.
"Eh! You're gonna break my neck!" Shelby said, unable to push him off.
"No, don't break her neck." Nero said, wincing "That would be expensive."
Pietor tilted his head back and forth, face agreed at that. He let the girl go reluctantly and she fell back.
"Ah!" she grabbed her neck and shot Nero a look "Thanks!"
"I thought it would get him off you faster." Nero replied, with a slight smile.
"Well only because I'm expensive apparently!"
"Eh. Children are replaceable." Pietor said.
"You are a jerk!" Shelby exclaimed.
"And you are an annoying brat." Pietor replied without raising his voice.
"Well you couldn't even catch the Wraith for your job!" she replied hotly.
"And you can't even cover your tracks well enough."
"And you are arguing with a twelve year old girl." Iliana said, throwing herself in.
"I'm fifteen!" Shelby said indignantly.
"You don't act it." Pietor said.
The back door opened, saving the others from another long argument. They glanced back and Raven came in. Her eyes widened slightly as everyone was looking at her and she waved.
"Hi."
"Welcome back." Nero said.
"How did it go?" Anastasia asked. Raven put up her hands for a second.
"I'm going to get changed." she turned and started toward the stairs.
"And then you have to come straight back down here and tell me how it went!" Iliana yelled. Raven glanced back slightly, but she didn't say anything.
"Uh oh. Max is this bad or good?" Iliana asked.
Nero smiled and shook his head slightly.
"She either sounds embarrassed or really upset." Iliana said "This is not good."
"Don't jump to conclusions." Darkdoom said "She's probably putting on a show."
"Do you think they kissed?" Shelby asked quietly.
Pietor looked at her "On the first date?"
"Well maybe Raven is extremely frisky and we just don't know it." Shelby said.
"Well David's not that frisky." Anastasia said.
"I like that American word." Iliana said "Frisky."
They waited a couple minutes until Raven showed up and started to come down the stairs again.
"So?" Iliana asked, turning and pausing the game "Tell us all about it."
"There's nothing to say." Raven said "We went out to dinner and that's it."
"Hm." Pietor nodded and turned back around "Let's play."
"There's more to it than that!" Iliana said, snapping her fingers a couple times "Come on."
"Tell me one thing though." Darkdoom said "Were you that tense the entire time?"
Raven looked at him "Was I tense?"
"Shh!" Iliana shushed him "Just start from the beginning."
"There is nothing to say."
"Natalya!" Iliana exclaimed.
Raven let out a breath, then slowly smiled "It was really fun."
Remember these chapters with all your heart…
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