"you might not be such a bad guy, arguello"

Andi and Maria were still at the mall, trying on the abundance of dresses they collected. The dressing rooms were empty aside from them, so the two girls were having fun creating their own fashion show. Maria exited her fitting room in a medium length, crimson dress. The neckline was deep, showing off a decent amount of cleavage and the black bow, cinched at her waistline, drew attention to her figure. As soon as the Latina stepped in front of the mirror and did a little twirl, Andi knew it was the one.

"If you don't get that dress, I'm going to smack you," Andi told her. "You look hot!"

"You think?" Maria asked with a smile.

"Definitely. It's so you and I love how it flairs out when you spin. Plus, it'll look perfect with your signature red lipstick."

"Uh, you're right. Now, you have to go try on that light blue one I picked out for you. Go, go," the brunette said, shooing the blonde back into her changing room.

Andi went back in and pulled on the dress Maria was referring to. It was a little shorter than the crimson dress Maria was wearing but still tasteful. It was such a light blue that it could almost be mistaken as white. Halter straps wrapped around her neck and the sweetheart neckline accentuated her bust. It tapered off at her waist before billowing out with tulle.

She exited the room. "What do you think?" she asked her friend.

Maria let out a small squeal, "That's the one! I told you it would be and you doubted me."

Andi did. The blonde was not sure how she felt about the tulle but after seeing the dress on her, she changed her mind. It made the girl look so innocent, like an angel, which she was anything but.

"I know. But, I have to say, I love it. I think I'm going to get it."

Maria gave her a sly look. "You know who else would love it... Marcus."

Andi waved her off, reentering the changing room to change back into her own clothes. She could hear the door shut next to her, telling her that Maria was doing the same.

The blonde hoped Maria would drop the subject but that was not the case. It was not that she disliked the topic, she just did not want to continue talking about her and Marcus like they were dating when they were not. Sure, she liked him like that, but it was far from what she felt she was ready for.

"I'm honestly surprised you didn't just say screw you to the 'Legacies Only' thing and bring him to the dance with you," Maria continued. "I mean, that's what Viktor is doing with Petra."

Andi cringed at the thought. She had seen the Russian boy courting the goth girl during the past week after their hookup at Shabnam's party. He did a fantastic job as coming off innocent, but Andi was not buying it. A Legacy inviting a Rat to the Legacy Dance was a bit fishy to her. A part of her wanted to accept it without being suspicious, for Petra's sake, but she could not bring herself to.

"And leave you and Saya," Andi said, faking shock at the thought, "On girl's night? I would never." Maria laughed in the next stall. "Besides I'm a little concerned about the Vik and Petra thing..."

"Oh, that's just Simon rubbing off on you," the Latina joked. "He always sees the worst in that 'damn commie,'" she continued, mocking Simon's accent, which sounded entirely ridiculous as her fake British accent mixed with her natural accent.

Andi laughed at the attempt nonetheless.

When they were finish changing, they hurried to buy the dresses. On their way to check out, they passed the electronics section of the department store, specifically the Walkmans.

It suddenly occurred to Andi that after their rendezvous in the bathroom at Shabnam's party, the blonde forgot to give Marcus his Walkman back. Feeling like an ass, the blonde quickly snagged one and carried it over to the register when they were checking out. It was the least she could do since she was the reason he lost his in the first place.

The two girls finished paying for their items and returned to the car to drive back to the academy. They were belting the lyrics to some pop song on the radio, which Maria insisted was them "practicing" their vocals for the dance.

"You know," the blonde started, glancing at the other girl from the corner of her eye. "Simon is still gonna be at the dance. I know I won't mind, and Saya won't either if you ditch us for a bit to spend time with him while Chico isn't hovering over you like a fucking helicopter."

Maria gave a wistful smile before it faded. "That would be great. But, even though Chico is not coming that doesn't mean the rest of the Soto Vatos won't be there. They'll definitely report anything back to him."

The blonde hated that Chico had such a hold on Maria, such an effect on her life that even the mention of him was enough to bring her mood in a complete one-eighty. "If you ever decide to drop the fucker, whether that means just breaking off your relationship or something more, know that I'm with you, all the way. I'm not afraid of the cartel."

It may seem naïve of her. It may seem foolish, but she really was not afraid of the cartel. What she was afraid of was a lot worse. Ouroboros was a lot worse.

Maria gave her a strange look at the comment, confused about how someone could be so brave in the face of some of the most dangerous people in the world. Instead of voicing her concerns though, she tried to make light of the situation.

"That sounds an awful lot like me trusting you and you doing the same in return," the brunette joked.

Andi was silent for a minute as she parked Simon's car along the sidewalk. Because of what happened between her and Abaddon, she had never allowed herself to trust people again. Her mother had always ingrained in her that trust was dangerous, and Abaddon had only cemented that fact for years. But, the biggest way to show that sick fuck that he did not control her life would be to deny any influence he had over her, to trust people. Did you learn nothing? That was what he said to her on the phone. And she had learned a lot from their relationship and other relationships she had formed since then.

Not everyone was Abaddon.

Not everyone was a psychopath. Not everyone was waiting for the next opportunity to victimize someone. There were good people out there. She accepted Maria, Saya, and Simon into her life a long time ago. They were her friends and to be friends there was a certain amount of trust involved.

The truth was she trusted Maria, Saya, and Simon, and she had for a long time now.

"That's because I do," Andi said, taking Maria off-guard. "I do trust you."

The Latina was shocked that Andi was admitting it aloud. That she was capable of trusting people. The girl was closed off from the start, only ever letting people, even her friends, know so much about who she was before King's Dominion.

"And trust is a two-way street. I've been holding a lot in since I got to King's, like a dam in my mind. I had locked it all away and thrown away the key. Yesterday, when you saw me, I was breaking, literally. Everything I spent the last few years pushing away suddenly came rushing back."

Maria listened intently to everything Andi was telling her. "What happened, Andi?"

"I got a call from someone who made my life a literal hell. He goes by Abaddon, but I knew him as Erik."

Simon was on the move. He had been wanting to speak with Marcus since earlier that day. The two were well overdue for a conversation.

The Londoner tracked the Rat to his and Shabnam's shared room. He did not bother to knock, simply walking into the dorm room. Shabnam was at the computer while Marcus was scribbling away in that notebook of his. Simon never knew what he was so engrossed in all the time, but he was not overly interested in finding out.

When the tall Prep barged into their room, the spectacled boy jumped and met his eyes. "Out," Simon ordered him sternly. Shabnam furrowed his eyebrows.

"But this is my ro—," he tried to argue, but Simon cut him off.

"Out!" Simon said sternly, louder than the last time. Shabnam grumbled and grabbed a few things before vacating the room.

Marcus looked up at the British teen anxiously. When Simon saw the look Marcus was giving him, he rolled his eyes. "Relax, Marcus. I'm not going to maim you or anything. I just want to talk." The Nicaraguan boy set his notebook aside and sat up. Simon took Shabnam's chair from the desk, straddling it to face Marcus.

"Okay..." Marcus answered hesitantly. He was not the biggest fan of Simon, and their last conversation was not great. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Andi was really distant earlier, but Saya said that they two of you were talking after Atypical Combat today. She hasn't said anything to me and I'm worried about her. I was wondering if she mentioned anything to you. You don't have to tell me anything specific if she did. I just want to make sure she's alright."

Simon's sincerity was evident in his words, stunning Marcus. If the teen had one redeeming trait, it was how much he cared for his friends, specifically Andi. "Uh, no, she didn't say much of anything. I don't know why she was upset today, but if it makes you feel any better, she was in a better mood after Atypical Combat than she was in Fundamentals of Psychopathy."

The Arguello boy was a little concerned that even Simon had not known what was going on with Andi today. Marcus knew Simon was Andi's closest friend. When the girl had been distant earlier—which admittedly, she was—Marcus assumed Simon had some idea why. His assumption had been wrong though.

"Maybe she was just having a bad day," the Latino boy tried to reason. "Everyone is allowed to have a bad day."

Simon was not convinced though. "Yeah, maybe..."

There was an awkward lull in the conversation before Simon snapped out of his thoughts that were going a hundred miles per hour. "Thanks for what you did in Psychopathy today too. Andi and The Slasher usually have this back and forth routine where they harass each other for a bit, but I can tell what he said really bothered her this time."

"What was that about? A snake eating its own tail? I didn't understand any of that," Marcus wondered.

Simon was in the dark on that too. "I have no idea. It was bizarre. Andi definitely understood it though. I wish she would tell me so I can help her, but... Anyway, thanks again."

"It wasn't a big deal."

"No, it was," the taller teen insisted. "The Slasher might have finished his piece with Andi by the time you two went at it, but you standing up to him was kind of awesome... and stupid, but mostly awesome. The whole class would've been talking about him and Andi but then you told him off right there." Marcus was unsure how to take the compliment. "It's about time someone told these assholes around here to fuck off."

Marcus narrowed his eyes, "Aren't you one of those 'assholes?'"

The Arguello boy was surprised when Simon let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, but I'm the lovable kind."

"Keep telling yourself that," Marcus joked.

"You might not be such a bad guy, Arguello."

Maria embraced Andi in a tight hug as they said their goodbyes. The Latina had been very understanding as Andi vented to her everything that had happened and what was currently happening. It felt good to finally let it all out.

But, Andi was not done for the night.

After talking to Maria about it, the blonde knew that she wanted to let Simon know too. He had been there for her since the very first day. He never pushed her for more information. He protected her, despite her lone wolf status. He defended her to the other gangs, even though Kendall always wanted to overthrow him as leader of the Preps and kick him out for spending so much time with her instead of them. He was her rock.

If she was to get through all of this, she needed him by her side like he always was.

So, after saying goodbye to Maria, she made her way to the London teen's dorm, hoping that he was the only one inside.

She knocked and waited for him to answer. A few seconds passed and the door opened with the familiar, tall boy standing on the other side. "Hey, Andi. What's up?"

"Are you alone?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

The blonde sighed, "We've been friends since my first day here, but I've never been entirely open with you. You were always okay with that, waiting until I was ready to talk to you, but now I think I am ready to tell you what's been bothering me. Can I come in?"

Simon nodded. "Of course. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me."

"I am too."

So, this chapter is a bit shorter, and a little boring in my opinion. But, it has a very important element in Andi finally deciding to open up about her past and the phone call with Abaddon. For so long she was struggling with her trust issues, but despite believing that she wasn't trusting people, she was.

I kind of drew on this from some of my own trust issues. I haven't gone through anything nearly as traumatizing as Andi, but I did have something happen between myself and all my friends when I was very young that left me with no friends and soured me when making future friends. Even though I got along with them very well, there was always something that kept me from completely trusting them. I was kind of just waiting for them to decide they didn't want to be friends with me anymore. But as time went on, I realized that I was attached to them despite not wanting to be and that if they weren't my friends anymore I would be really upset. So that is my inspiration behind Andi's thoughts and actions. They are purposefully kind of confusing because human thoughts and actions do not necessarily have to make sense, especially for someone as emotionally conflicted as Andi.

Anyway, that is why I ultimately had Andi tell Maria and Simon, the two people she is closest to, what is actually going on.

I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think and don't forget to vote!