This is the last completed chapter so far. But I'm very keen to continue, so hopefully new chapters won't take very long to churn out around my shitty work schedule.

Title: Carry On - Fun.

16 – Carry On

Afterwards, it went a little like this.

The four of them scattered like mice, the sense of an unknown yet imminent danger being the driving force. But in the end, Newton didn't really know what had happened to the others. Zero, of course, had already fled and was presumably being hunted down by Soper. Trixie had stormed in the general direction of the bathrooms, wild-eyed and fuming. Vin had just . . . stood there, stunned and confused, and honest-to-God not knowing what the fuck was going on, before simply turning on his heel and leaving.

Newton was lost.

'Damn it, you're all morons,' he whispered furiously, blinking back tears. 'Morons.'

What was he supposed to do?

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, rolling back and forth on his heels anxiously. This always seemed to happen, by some means or another, and he was always the one left behind, damn it. He was tired. He had been getting tired for a long time now.

And he was sick of it.

'Seriously, fuck you guys,' he hissed to himself, picking his backpack up from where he'd dumped it on the floor. 'I am not letting everything fall apart at the last minute. Nuh uh. Not me. No way.' Scowling, he shouldered it, thinking about his options.

Trixie. First he had to go find Trixie, and then he could go from there. But she was always difficult to talk to when she was cranky, so he was just going to have to bite the bullet on this one.

He was going to fix this. He was going to fix this, god damn it.

She had known this was going to happen eventually. Fuck, there was no avoiding it anyway. She was lucky to have made it this long.

'What . . . what I don't understand,' Soper said softly, pacing the room, 'is why you didn't tell me.'

He glanced over at Zero, who was sitting in one of the office armchairs, knees drawn up to her chest and arms crossed defensively over them. She didn't dignify him with an answer, scowling and looking at the floor.

'I mean, obviously something like this was going to happen eventually,' he admitted. 'It's a school, for Christ's sake, but . . . I really hadn't thought it would be you. And I'd hoped that I wouldn't be dealing with it so soon.'

She snorted irritably at that, making him glance over at her.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'This is going to be very hard on you, but . . . we're going to have to talk about this. You know that.'

She didn't reply.

A minute passed, and he let out a heavy sigh, drawing up a chair to sit slightly to the side of her. 'I think,' he began slowly, 'I'm going to have to ask about your home again.' He paused, lacing his fingers together. 'And I'm not going to be content with the sub-standard answer you've been giving me the last few years.'

Feeling nauseatingly tense, Zero tightened the fold of her arms, refusing to meet his gaze.

'Zero.'

'What do you wanna know?' she gritted out, digging her nails into her biceps.

'I want to know if your father has ever physically abused you. Even once.'

She swallowed, feeling her heart hammering in her throat. She let out a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes shut, before deciding "fuck it".

'Yes,' she muttered finally, voice barely audible.

There was a pause. 'Has he ever sexually abused you?'

She didn't reply. By some miracle unbeknownst to her, she somehow managed to keep from flinching. Though it always wrenched something deep within her to lie to Soper, she shook her head ever so slightly.

She heard him shift slightly in front of her, and she reluctantly opened her eyes again. Though his face was impassive, there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher.

'Alright,' he said softly. 'Thank you. For that honesty.'

Damn her conscience. It took all her effort to keep guilt from showing on her face.

'You already knew,' she said lowly. 'Don't pretend you didn't.'

'I had my suspicions,' he agreed. 'But you were very insistent otherwise. When he was arrested a few months ago, I believed I might have to take some action in the future. But, I won't lie, I was more concerned about handling the legal repercussions in order to keep you here. Safe.'

She didn't deny that.

'Much of your behaviour over the years has reflected this, you know.'

'Wouldn't surprise me,' she muttered, glaring at her boots. The corners of his mouth twitched unhappily.

'Zero, you know I'm going to have to put this in your file. There's no avoiding it.'

She let out a heavy exhale. 'Yeah . . . I know.'

'Okay.' He shifted uncomfortably. 'Can . . . Do you know how long you've been . . . ?'

She blinked for a moment, thrown by the change in topic, before frowning slightly and counting off on her fingers. 'I, uh . . . seven – eight. Eight weeks.'

'Eight,' he repeated. 'And you're -'

'I'm keeping it,' she interrupted, tightening her grip on her arms. 'I – I've already figured that out.'

'Alright,' he agreed. 'Okay. Will you tell me who the father is?'

She felt her brow furrow into a frown at that, and she immediately shook her head. 'No. No way.'

'Zero -'

'I'm not a sell-out, Jesus -'

'That's not why -'

They were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door, followed by a call of, 'Sir? Are you in there?'

Soper let out a breath and stood up, crossing to the door and pulling it open. 'This really isn't an ideal time – Vin -'

He stepped back suddenly as Vin barrelled his way into the room, eyes wild. 'It's not her fault, Sir, I swear -'

'Vin!' Zero snapped, stumbling to her feet in surprise. 'Don't you dare -'

'It's my fault too,' he protested, hurrying over to her. He glanced down at her hands and pried her nails out of her biceps, revealing half-moon crescents that were already beginning to purple. 'Don't make this harder than it needs to be.'

'Vin, what are you saying?' Soper asked heavily, going to sit down behind his desk.

'I think you know, Sir.'

There was a long pause, before he closed his eyes, tenting his fingers and resting his forehead on them. 'Alright. I hear you.'

Zero then realised that Vin hadn't ever really let go of her hand, and reluctantly tugged it out of his.

'It is not your fault,' she bit out, scowling up at him. 'You didn't know. Don't you dare -'

'Yes it is -'

'I'm the one who practically jumped you -'

'No,' Vin snapped, tone suddenly very sharp. 'No. If I didn't consent, then yeah, it would be. But I did. I absolutely did. So it's just as much of my fault as it is yours -'

'Stop it, both of you,' Soper cut in, firm and loud. Both of them startled around, having forgotten he was even there. He looked between the two of them, jaw tensing as he thought.

'Do either of you,' he began, 'have even any idea what you're going to do next?'

'No,' Vin admitted reluctantly. 'But . . . I've only really known a few days. Sir.'

'It's my problem,' Zero interjected, scowling at him. 'Sir, I don't expect -'

'If that sentence ends in a way that would suggest that you intend to deal with this by yourself, perish the thought.' Soper's tone was flat, leaving absolutely no room for argument. Zero felt herself draw inward in response to that, shame pooling in her gut. 'If Vin wants to do his part here, he has the right to. Legally and morally.'

'I know that -' she began, shoulders hunching defensively.

Soper held up a hand, and that small action alone was enough to silence her. 'I am also, in the meantime, your current guardian. Therefore, anything you need, I am more than happy to provide. I would advise that you consider scheduling a doctor's appointment.'

Her jaw tensed at that. Fuck, she hadn't even considered details like that. How was she going to afford it? No way was she letting Soper pay -

'Thank you, Sir,' Vin said quietly, cutting into her thoughts. 'I – uh – if you wouldn't mind, we could really use some time to discuss this.'

'Of course, Vin,' Soper said, rising to his feet and opening the door for them. Vin's hand carefully curled around hers, tugging her from her chair before she could protest. 'We'll resume this conversation later. I – I have some calls I need to make.'

It was seeing both of them so damn prepared to give up anything to help that drove the final pin into place.

Elizabeth's deal echoed through her mind, leaving her sick to the stomach. She was so ashamed.

Ashamed that because she was so damn weak where her friends were concerned, she caved – just like that. That she went to Vin and told him to get lost. That she let the argument with Trixie escalate into a full blown fight (Please, she had a better grip on her anger than she did when she was younger. She could have walked away if she wanted to.), and God only knows what she might have done to Newton. She wasn't going to make any of them have to deal with her problems. Maybe one day she'd see them again, when they were older and had their lives sorted out. Maybe.

But right now? She had to go.

So she nodded along with Vin as he spoke, as though she were listening and agreed with him entirely; let herself be pulled from the room, didn't say a word as his hand slipped around her waist in a loose approximation of a hug. She let him, and loved him for it while she still could.

For after all, the Devil always collects, and now was her time.

'Trixie.'

'Trixie, please let me in.'

'Trixie.'

'Trixie.'

'Trixie.'

'It's important.'

'Trixie, did your mama really raise you to ignore people? What would she say if I told her about this? "Hey, Mama Moore, your daughter is being an utter limp noodle and won't answer the door!" You don't think she'd have a thing or two to tell you?'

'Coming from someone who has hacked the government mainframe on more than one occasion, it would be really bold of you to presume I wouldn't pick this lock.'

'I'm picking the goddamn lock, Trixie. It's your responsibility to ensure you're appropriately dressed to spare my poor virgin eyes.'

'The lock's been picked; I'm opening the door.'

And so, Newton shoved aside his sanity and promptly flung open the bedroom door.

'Trixie Jocelyn Moore, what the FUCK is wrong with you?'

Trixie, who had been sitting moodily at her desk chair with about five textbooks balanced on her head, scowled at him from beneath the tottering weight. 'Get out, Newton.'

He arched an unimpressed eyebrow. 'What the fu - And you didn't think to say that while I was making speeches outside your door?'

'I didn't think you actually had the balls to follow through.'

'Prey on my cowardice, why don't you.'

'Go away, Newton. I don't want to talk about it.'

'Who says I'm gonna talk about it?'

'You're not subtle.'

He wrinkled his nose at her. 'Well, you're wrong. I don't think you could possibly guess what I'm about to show you.'

The scowl didn't lessen in the slightest. But she did reluctantly remove the books from her head, dumping them back on the desk. 'What is it?'

With a flourish, Newton whipped his phone out of his pocked and pulled up a browser, punching something in before handing it to her. 'Behold.'

Taking the phone, Trixie held it before her, frowning at the picture. '. . . Uh . . . ?'

'Thoughts?'

'What is that?'

He made an offended noise. 'Monty Python!'

'Well sue me! Why are you showing me this?'

Newton made grabby hands for the phone, saying, 'I am going to introduce you to King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and I promise they will make you cry with laughter. Or confusion. Both work.'

Still confused, Trixie eyeballed him as he loaded up the film. 'I still don't understand.'

'You need a break. Stress relief. Something therapeutic to keep you occupied. That's where I come in.'

'But that doesn't explain why – is that a rabbit?'

He beamed at her.

Many would claim that Trixie didn't have a sense of humour. For the most part, they would be right. Newton, however, knew her better than those people. He was right when he said she would cry. Of confusion.

To be more accurate, she sobbed.

That sobbing played part in an even larger meltdown, but she was so damn stressed out she felt that it was justified. Sort of. Watching film comedy simply started that avalanche.

Newton seemed more than a little alarmed when she initially burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

'Oh shit,' he mumbled, dropping the phone. He made some aborted attempt at a hug, hands flailing slightly, before giving up and awkwardly patting her shoulder. 'Trix?'

'I f-fucked up,' she hiccuped, desperately swiping at her streaming eyes. 'I fucked up s-so bad -'

'Hey -' Newton interrupted, grabbing her wrist. 'I mean, I wouldn't say that exactly; the violence wasn't necessary, but -'

'I was – I was just so w-w-worried about Vin, you know?' she babbled, clutching at that hand like an anchor and hanging on for dear life. But Newton wasn't like Vin; he wasn't prepared to deal with any sudden onslaught of emotions – they seemed to scare the ever-loving crap out of him, actually. (Of course he didn't, he just tried showing her a film from the eighties.) It was a wonder that he hadn't bolted the second the waterworks started. 'I – I'm scared she won't treat him r-right, and he'll get hurt; you know how he is -'

'Trixie, that's not your battle -'

'- and she's being so – so goddamn stubborn -'

'Pot, meet kettle.'

' - and I've got n-no clue how to fix it!'

'Trixie.' Not letting go of her hand, he kneeled on the ground beside her. 'Look, Christmas break starts tomorrow. You're either going to want to figure it out now, or take the next week to stew on it for when we get back. I think that's the first priority.'

She blinked incredulously at him. 'What do you mean, take the week? I'm not kicking them out over Christmas, I've got to fix it now -'

'Okay, okay, my mistake. We'll fix it between now and tomorrow, yeah? I just need you to calm down enough to think about it rationally.'

'And this was your solution?' she asked hysterically, gesturing to the screen, which stared innocently back at them. Funnily enough, it wasn't very helpful.

'Maybe?' Newton tried awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. 'I dunno; British comedy always makes me feel better about life.'

Trixie stared at him for a beat, her head spinning. 'Fuck,' she mumbled. 'You're too good for this world.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' he asked indignantly.

'Exactly what it says on the tin. Bless you.'

'. . . That was the idea?'

'Hmm.' She sighed, scrubbing at her tired eyes with her palms. 'Alright. Give me an hour, I'll work something out.'

She leaned back against him, and he resumed the video.

This whole situation was a mess. A tragic mess, wrapped in barbed wire, and tossed into a flaming dumpster, and she knew it had to be fixed somehow. If that meant shoving her pride in a box, well, then she could do that.

There was no way she was giving up on them now. Burning dumpster mess or not, this was still her family, and she had taught herself long ago that family was everything.

And damn it, she was going to fight for that.

12/12/2021