At lunch time Willow and Faith walked arm in arm to the playground. Going towards the tree they saw that frost and Xander were already there. Willow stopped.
"What's the matter?" Faith asked.
"Those are boys. Boys don't like me."
"Why?"
"I don't know. They just don't."
"Have those two ever made fun of you?"
Willow paused. "No. But those two keep to themselves. They don't get along with the other boys."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, a few months ago Simon Baxter, a mean boy, was throwing rocks at Mrs. McAlister's cat. It's grey with black paws and is so cute. It likes to play with this ball of yarn and it gets tangled up and looks so incredibly cute. I want a cat just like it but my grandmother's allergic." Willow went on babbling for a full thirty seconds on one breathe. When she stopped to take a breath Faith cut in.
"What about Simon Baxter?"
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, Simon was throwing rocks and kept almost hitting the cat. Mrs. McAlister is a little old lady and was afraid Simon would throw rocks at her. She started calling for help. Alexander and James were riding by on their bikes when they heard what was going on. They rode over and started beating Simon up until he ran away crying. It was pretty funny." Willow said with a grin.
Faith laughed at that. Anyone who was mean to animals deserved to get beat up. "How old was Simon?"
"Ten."
"Come on, let's sit down."
Willow still wasn't moving. "What if they don't like me?" she said shyly.
"Give them a try. If they start making fun of you then they can do without me too."
Knowing that Faith would be with her made Willow smile. Squaring her shoulders she joined Faith as she walked to the tree.


As they were walking towards the boys, the boys were watching. Especially Xander, who seemed nervous.
"Hey, you're girlfriend's friends with Faith."
"She's not my girlfriend."
"You want her to be, though." Frost said, grinning.
"Do not. I just said I thought she was pretty. She's a first grader, anyway."
"So?"
"So, I'm in second."
"I say again, so?"
"So it's just not done."
"When do you think it will be okay?"
"High school." He said with a smile.
"Alright, I expect you to be dating her in high school."
"Deal. And I expect you to date Faith." Xander said with a smirk.
"Deal. Hey, what are you talking a bout?"
"Oh please. 'Why don't you join us for lunch.' My alcoholic father would notice. You like her."
"I was just being nice. What, should I have just let her be lonely?"
"You like Faith. You like Faith." Xander began to sing before he was abruptly cut off by Frost's flying body. The two boys wrestled around on the ground until they rolled next to two pairs of feet. Looking up, they saw Faith and Willow watching, trying their best not to giggle.
"What are you two doing?" Willow asked, blushing a bit.
"Rassling." Xander answered, his voice squeaking.
"Why?"
"Because James likes…." Xanders mouth was covered by James's hand.
"Twizzlers. I said twizzlers were better than twinkies."
As Xander and Frost untangled, Faith and Willow sat down. Over the course of the next 25 minutes they ate as they talked ands goofed around. Xander and Willow gradually got more comfortable with each other, as James and Faith got to know one another. Later in the day during recess they once again got together. By the end of the school day the four had become fast friends. When school let out the four could be found walking across the playground.

"So, when are your mom's showing up?" Xander asked the girls.
"Our moms will meet us at home." Faith answered.
"So you're going to walk home and then spend several hours alone?" Xander asked.
"Yes." Willow answered. "I'm okay with it. My grandmother should be there in about three hours."
"Yeah. I'm used to being left alone. Mom should be home before I go to bed." Faith added.
James and Xander looked at each other.
"Wait right here." Xander said. Then the two walked about ten feet away and bowed their heads in quiet conversation.
"What do you think? Should we?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. They seem cool. Plus we can't just let them go home alone."
"So we're going to do it? We're going to let them both join the Rogues?"
"I don't see why not. It would be a lot more fun with more than two members. Plus then you could be closer to your girlfriend."
"Don't start that again. You know you'll lose."
They returned to the girls.
"If you don't have to be home for a while, want to come see our club house?"
"I don't know. I really should get home and wait for my grandmother." Willow said.
"Why?" asked Faith.
Willow honestly couldn't answer that question.
"Okay. Let's go."
The four set off towards James' house . They walked for roughly twenty minutes until they reached a large house. Entering the house, James led them to the kitchen, where a very pretty woman in her thirties was cooking. She had a lean look to her, like she was used to more active activities. She was obviously James' mother, given that her hair was the same silver/grey color.
"Hi mom."
"Hello honey. Hello Xander. How are my favorite little rogues doing?"
"We're good, mom. I mean ma'am." Xander said sheepishly.
The woman's grin seemed to make the room light up. "Xander, you can call me mom if you want. I don't mind."
"Thank you." He said grinning.
The woman raised her head to look at Faith and Willow. "And who are these two lovely little girls?"
"Mom, this is Faith and this is Willow." As their names were called they waved. "They're going to join our club."
The woman's face became a little more serious. "Are you taking them to the clubhouse?"
"Yes. And I know to be careful. We'll be back before it gets too dark."
"Alright honey. But take Kahn with you. He needs some exercise anyway."
Just then the front door opened and a built man in a police man's uniform came through. "Honey, I'm home. Hey Frosty. Good to see you X-man. Where's your mother?"
"I'm right here." She said, giving him a peck. "What are you doing home? I thought you had to work tonight."
"I do. I'm just stopping by before my second shift to see how my families doing. And who are these two?" He asked, nodding to the girls. Introductions were exchanged, where Faith and Willow learned that James' father was a captain of the Boston PD. "Well, you kids be careful. I don't thin k you'll have any trouble tonight but better be safe than sorry." He then went into the kitchen to talk with his wife.
Turning to the trio, James asked if they were ready. As they walked outside they were greeted by a huge black wolfhound. Kahn walked just behind the children.
"This is Kahn. Don't worry, he's friendly." The two girls began petting Kahn, who turned from a menacing figure into a huge puppy, leaning into their scratches and making little happy noises.
As the four children walked Willow turned to Xander. "Why did you call her mom?"
Xander's face turned red, which he tried to hide. "Let's just say that my parents barely acknowledge me, so James' have sort of adopted me. I kind of think of them as my parents."
"They sound like nice people." Faith said, a little forlorn that she didn't have such people in her life. Willow had a similar look on her face.
 "Don't worry." James said. "If you hang around the house for more than a few minutes they'll try to adopt you too." This seemed to brighten their moods.
"So why were your parents so worried about us going into the forest. Is it too dangerous?" Faith asked.
"Not during the day. It's when the sun sets that you have to be afraid."
"Why?" asked Willow.
"I think it's the vampires that worry them the most." James said.
"Although the demons seem to worry your dad the most." Xander added.
The two boys kept walking until they realized that they were alone. Turning, they saw that the girls had stopped a few feet behind, Kahn right behind them.
"There are no such things as vampires or demons." Willow said. "They are a fabrication made up by people to explain things they can not explain."
  The other three looked at her as if she had! a second head. "What?"
"I have never met anyone our age who talks like that."
Willow grinned sheepishly. "You've never been around my parents when they bring they're colleagues to dinner."
"Anyway, Red's right. They don't exist."
"Yes they do." Xander said. "All kinds of things they say aren't real are. Vampires, demons, werewolves. All go bump in the night."
"Then why don't more people know?" Faith asked.
"They don't want to." James answered. "It's too hard for them. My mom says that people would rather pretend it doesn't exist than do something about it. Kind of like people who abuse their kids."
"How do your parents know all this, then?"
"They used to be hunters." Xander answered. "They'd go hunting for the monsters until they were gone. His dad got hurt though and they had to stop."
By this time they had reached the club house, although it was in fact an abandoned cabin. Most of it was overgrown with ivy. The girls were in awe, while James and Xander grinned like idiots. "Cool, huh?"
They spent the next half hour exploring the cabin, the boys showing them cool things and where they had hidden things. They told them the reason nothing had taken up residence was because the boys had been known to stay there overnight, making it impossible for vampires to come in.
Faith, always a little impatient, cut to the point. "So what are we going to do with this club?"
"I'm not sure. What do most clubs consist of?" James asked.
"Oh oh. We have to promise to be friends forever." Willow said.
"And we have to promise to always be there for e ach other." Faith added.
James looked  at Xander, who looked back. "Sounds like a good idea. All in favor." Four ayes were shouted. "Opposed?" Nothing. "Then I christen us The Rogues of Boston." And with that statement, their fates would always be intertwined.

Note: I am looking for betas for this story. Your sole job would be to read and tell me if it's sucks or not. Anyone interested send to Lordofdimlight@aol.com

Note part 2, first blood: I have a yahoogroup. Come join us. groups.yahoo.com/group/WarriorsintheGrey/

Note part 3, second blood:  Two things.  I have never been to Boston, so I'm making it up as I go along.  And I can't remember what it's like to be 7.  Don't worry, this won't be a problem for long.

The most evil nice guy in the world, Dark Jester