Okiedokie, shit gets real in this chapter, and I do advise you enough that if you feel you may be upset by sensitive content, please do message me and request a warning list for this story. Aside from that, this is still one of my favourite chapters, so I hope you enjoy reading, and I will catch you on the other side - J


Chapter 8: You'll always be needed

The next week passed pretty much normally, by St. Trinian's standards.

Soph had to uphold her promise to Taylor and Andrea three times before they stopped trying to kill each other during the day; it wasn't remotely enough to clear up Darcy's legacy, but it was a strong start.

She hadn't seen her own bed once. She and Jones were actually getting very good at sneaking past everyone, with only three people even coming close to catching her moving around, and only Polly anywhere near suspicious.

Still, with the whole school still oblivious to anything going on between them, Soph and Kelly continued much as they had before. It was kind of impressive, the way the woman could flip from Head Girl indifference to… well, definitely not indifferent, in a split second. All business to a very different kind of business. It was oddly unsettling, seeing the different sides to the woman and the difference within herself when she was around her. She'd told herself she could keep it separate too, but she really couldn't help exactly how goddamn hot she found 'boss' Jones. Really, it was just unfair, particularly since it was distracting Soph from her task of bringing the woman down.

Though, she had to admit, for her last battle, this shit was certainly something to remember. Maybe that made it alright.

There were a few problems of course, Jones seemed unable to avoid glaring at Chelsea at times and Soph had developed an interesting urge to rip off Flash's legs and beat him to death with them whenever he started stammering an attempt to get Kelly to go out with him. However, they both had acceptable self-control, most of the time, so these issues were usually resolved by ducking into a nearby storage cupboard.

The last two rounds of School challenge had also gone by without problems; Celia's idea to drug Bedales was nothing short of genius and the Tottys plan to 'distract' the Eton boys to the point where they could no longer form a coherent sentence had... Well… It worked.

It did however inspire Jones to 'distract' Soph to the point where she could hardly form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence... For the next three hours. Not that she'd minded at all.

That was something that had… happened to them. Their little event on the roof had become a recurring thing. Not too often, just sometimes, and never when they went to bed. It was too weird, Soph couldn't deal with that sort of intimacy, and thankfully, Kelly seemed to understand her need to take it steady. So there was that, and she was definitely enjoying letting the other woman take the reins every now and then. So… No complaints there.

The next round was announced and Soph repressed an urge to laugh loudly as she read the name. Cheltenham.
This was just too good to be true. Obviously Thwaites wouldn't be on the team, she had the IQ of plankton, but it would still be so much fun to kick her schools ass on live TV, at the same time as she tore Jones from her pedestal.

The only question was, how would they win this time? Chelsea was up for using the same technique they had used on Eton but Peaches and Chloe did not seem too down for that. Fortunately, Polly and her girls came up with a good solution: Ear pierces. Celia would find the answers on the internet and tell them to the Tottys. Simple and effective.

So that was everything set, they just had to blow up some bars, get past security cameras, make their way through lasers and steal a priceless piece of artwork that they then had to sell to Annabelle's dad for half a million pounds. Not a problem.

Now though, her opportunity was coming. As the days counted down to 'The Heist' she counted down the days to her plan. On the odd morning she woke before Jones, she'd spend some time watching the woman.

It wasn't personal, not anymore. This was something she had come here to do, thrown everything at, but now... As much as she tried, she couldn't harbour any personal resentment toward her, this was business. Of course, she was under no illusions, after she did this there would be nothing but hate between herself and Jones. Obviously, the way she was doing this, Jones would be in prison, but once she was out, she… well, Soph wouldn't be very high on her friends list. Not that it mattered really.

Still, she was almost sad to bring it to an end. The woman was… More than she could ever have imagined.

She was snapped from her thoughts by the loud whirring of a power tool.

Soph knew why the hole in the bottom of the trailer was important but did they have to use a power saw? She cringed slightly at the sheer volume of the damn thing and glanced toward the curtain that Jones was getting changed behind. It was safe to assume she'd left that task to someone else since Soph doubted she'd approve the loudest saw known to man. Still, by some miracle they weren't discovered and the noise eventually stopped. Jones took this moment to reappear in full black stealth clothing and Soph took a moment to put her eyes back in her head.

That morning she'd dawdled a little, spending more time than necessary getting her clothes on, and maybe pulling Jones back onto the bed more than once to remove them again, before they finally made it down to breakfast. Hell, she was only human, and knowing this was the last time she would ever be able to do this sort of thing... It fuelled a gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach that had been growing and pulling at her for the last week.

Jones gave her a knowing smirk as she met her gaze, just briefly, but ultimately she was in business mode. They all moved to look through the hole as Andrea opened the sewer cover and there was unanimous disgust as the smell hit them.

She felt a wave of sympathy for everyone going down there and was suddenly a very glad not to be going with them. To get away from the hole, she knelt down next to the twins to help them pack the explosives into their bags.

Everything in her head came to a screeching halt as Tania pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering two to Tara. She opened her mouth to say something, but Kelly beat her to it.
"Tania! What are you doing? You're ten… And you're carrying high explosives." She frowned down at them and Soph smiled internally. She had nothing against the twins at all, over her time at the school she'd spent some time with them, teaching them a few things and helping them improve their skills. She wasn't really sure why, but they were sweet little menaces really. Jones certainly felt some kind of sisterly affection toward them, the few times she'd found Soph working with them she'd gained a sort of… odd expression.
"It's not what you think Kel'" Tania pulled an innocent look onto her face and Soph raised a brow, The twins 'innocent' looks generally implied great mischief, but in this case… maybe not.

What else could they want them for?

"It's for the smell, we saw it on CSI." They ripped off the filters and used them to plug their noses. She supposed it made sense, at least to block out the worst of it.

The twins climbed down and they all gathered around the computer to watch through the cams.

BOOM

Silence reigned in the trailer, the explosion had shaken them all and the cams showed naught but static. A hand closed over hers and Soph glanced out of the corner of her eye to find Jones staring at the screens, sheer horror in her eyes. She swallowed hard as one of the cams regained picture. Tania was staring at a pile of rubble.

Where the hell was Tara?

Her heart thundered a mile a minute and she gripped Jones' hand tighter, clenching her jaw against the urge to run down the hole. Before she could move, the rubble shifted slightly, she hadn't realised she was holding her breath until Tara was out of the rubble and both girls were commenting of how brilliant the explosion had been and she let it out in a long sigh. Jones' hand vanished from hers and she ran it through her hair, taking a few more shaky breaths to steady herself.

"Alright girls, let's rock and roll." Jones smirked to the group at large and Soph forced a smile as she watched them go, her eyes on the crossbow settled on Andrea's back. She'd already made her move, over an hour ago, she slipped a blade across the zip wire. It would break when they used it, hopefully after Jones was already across, but either way, they'd be caught in the act and the whole team would be fucked. She stared at the hole for a long moment before heaving a sigh and dropping into the chair beside Polly, pulling on a headset and turning to face the monitors. All she could do now is wait.

There wasn't much to do for a while so she and Polly spent some time answering some questions to school challenge. So far, Polly had five, she had three, but she was hoping to claw her way back up.

By the time the girls made it to the gallery it was a tie, six – six.

They watched and reported the all clear as the camera was pushed up through a grating but as the group were getting out, footsteps started coming toward them. Soph smirked as the twins distracted them with tears and sweetness, feeling no sympathy for the poor guards thrown way off their game by the disarming kids.
"Remind me to let them into the firing range when we get back." Jones chuckled down the line and Soph laughed with her.
"I'll make a note of it." Her smiled faded as she considered 'after'. There wouldn't be one for Jones.
"You okay?" Polly cast her a questioning look and Soph blinked out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, just on edge." She offered half a smile and the Geek nodded.
"I know that feeling."

Suddenly there was massive feedback through the system and Soph gave a hiss of pain, yanking her headset off and shaking her head about as though it could clear the ringing in her ears.
"What the fuck?!" She and Polly turned to the monitors to find Chelsea floundering mid question.

Shit.

A rock dropped into her gut as she realised what had happened; the earpieces were down.

There was nothing they could do until the ad break, so for now, the team were on their own. Coms were still up with Kelly, Andrea and Taylor so they pulled the headsets back on and carried on as planned. They could still beat Cheltenham in the second half… Hopefully.

Soph's hands gripped the desk as the zip wire was tied into place, there it went, her plan in motion. Jones went first, as Soph knew she would, and she swallowed hard. What if it broke in the middle of her crossing? That was a damn long way to fall and fucking hell… she didn't want to kill the woman. Her breathing eased a little as she made it across and Polly's hand appeared on her shoulder.
"They've got this." She smiled reassuringly and Soph forced a smile. Taylor and Andrea made it across and she almost frowned, had she not cut deep enough? Honestly, she had no idea whether she was disappointed or not.

She watched without really seeing as they ran through the halls and navigated the laser grid. Eventually she was startled out of her thoughts by Polly's voice.
"Time for a little prayer." Soph stared as Jones placed her hands on the painting, lifting slowly.

After what seemed like hours, the painting was clear from the wall.
"Everyone, we have lift off." Polly grinned and Soph had to join her. Against everything else, she had to admit she was impressed with the whole lot of them. Orchestrating this… it was amazing even by her standards.

Time seemed to move in fast forward as Andrea and Taylor went ahead to get across the zip wire but it screeched to a halt as they arrived safe on the other side, catching the wire and causing it to finally snap.

Kelly was stranded.

Soph leapt to her feet without her brain even telling her to as she watched the older girls face. It was hard to see across the gap but she could imagine the furious working of thoughts in her head, the cogs turning rapidly as realisation dawned that she was trapped.

Soph felt like an icy fist had jammed into her gut and seized it tight.

She did this.

"Why do you do it?" Jones' voice came from the bed behind her and Soph glanced back from her perch on the windowsill. The cool night air sweeping past her and cooling heated skin.
"Do what?" She arched a brow at the older girl, who gestured to nothing in particular.
"Hop schools. They can't all have been that bad and knowing you… You could have run any of them." She smirked and Soph chuckled, turning back to the window as she considered the question. How much of the truth could she tell? Jones had been pretty good about not pressing her further than she could go. In the end she decided she could handle some of it.
"After Cheltenham, my mum shoved me off to some 'disciplinary' school. Claymore Institution. There was a teacher there, horrible bitch, took out some kind of personal vendetta against me." She paused to pick up the bottle beside her and take a drink.
"I took it for a while but… it went too far. I fought back, set her up to get hurt. It worked." Her tone turned dark as she remembered and she took another drink.
"I was caught and shipped out, on to the next one. After that I was pegged as trouble. Everywhere I went they looked at me like some kind of psycho. Never saw much point in trying to prove them wrong." She stared down at the bottle in her hand and jumped as arms wound around her waist from behind, but she couldn't help but relax as lips pressed to the side of her neck.
"You're no psycho, Soph." Lips brushed her ear as Jones whispered and Soph swallowed hard against a lump in her throat.
"You're one of us." There was a smile in her voice and the arms around her waist pulled her back tighter, but nothing was as tight as the crushing grip in her chest.

This woman would be the death of her.

"What am I supposed to do?!" Jones voice came down the headsets and Soph pulled hers off, running both hands through her hair, gripping the ends.

She'd done it, she'd won. Jones would get caught stealing a priceless painting and her life would be fucked.

She'd won.

So why did she feel like her heart was falling out of her chest?! For fucks sake, she put so much time into all of this, everything she had left. Her eyes burned as she glared at the screen, the blurred shape of Kelly Jones blacking out everything else.

Fucking hell.

Every muscle in her body trembled with the strain of the war in her mind. Someone was saying her name nearby but she couldn't focus on it as her grip on her headset tightened until she felt it snap.

"Shit!" She cursed as she tossed it at a wall and threw a fist immediately after it.
"Oh... Goddamn it all to hell!" She roared at nothing in particular and moved to the bag of spare gear, finding what she needed in half a second and in the other half she'd crossed the room and dropped down the hole.

The show was drawing to a close and they were running out of time, but she thought of nothing but her goal as she sprinted through the dark sewer. With no light, she caught her arm on some brick and hissed at the sting but didn't slow up as she caught sight of the grating in the distance. She was almost there.

Listening for anyone above her, she made a break for it, racing through the gallery. Her footfalls rang in her ears but the mood she was in, any guards in her way were about to get taken down, she didn't care who it was. She bolted through the corridors, prize gripped tightly in hand as though her life depended on it. It wasn't. It wasn't hers on the line, it was Kelly's. If anything, she was sure that made her run faster.

Faster than even she could have expected, she skidded to a halt beside the two girls. She wasted no time on explanations, they barely had minutes. No-where near enough for the girl to crawl across and certainly not enough cover to hide the noise.

With astonishingly steady hands she loaded the second line she'd brought with her into the crossbow, making sure the knot was secure to the bolt before turning to her would-be victim. Jones was staring at her in sheer disbelief, maybe something else too but Soph didn't look for long. Her eyes moved up to the ceiling and without hesitation she fired, lodging the bolt firmly up there. She dropped the now useless crossbow on Taylor and hopped up onto the rails, wrapping the wire around herself over and over before finally securing it was a knot. It was now or never; the show was ending, Chelsea had answered the last question right and she did not have time to think about exactly how. She jumped, a breath escaping her as the wire supported her weight without breaking. She swung through the air, reaching out her free arm as Jones leapt up onto her railing, preparing to jump. Time slowed to a crawl as they reached for each other.

She made it, with an arm wrapped securely around Kelly's waist and the other girl's hands gripping tight to her shoulders, they swung back over. She practically threw Jones across to Andrea and Taylor but had to take another couple of swings to cut herself loose and jump off, rolling her landing as her legs didn't quite take the impact. She lay on her back a moment, her mind reeling from the impact of what she'd just done and semi-exhausted from the massive effort she'd put into it.

A hand appeared in her line of sight and she looked up to find Jones standing over her, an odd look on her face. She gave a solemn nod and Soph swallowed hard, reaching up to accept the help. Jones pulled her to her feet.
"Let's go!" Andrea and Taylor took off running but as Soph made to follow, Jones stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"Hey…" She turned her carefully to face her and Soph hesitantly met her gaze.
"Thanks." She spoke quietly and Soph forced back the emotion from her face, drawing a half smile from somewhere deep within her.
"What would you do without me?" She smirked but she could tell it wasn't all that convincing as Jones' hand found the side of her face, keeping her still as she pressed their lips together. Soph winced at the immediate pain in her chest, lancing its way through her. She recoiled but forced a smile.
"Damned if I know." Jones smirked and grabbed her hand as they ran after Taylor and Andrea.

They made it back to the trailer, where they met the Tottys, who were happily celebrating their new found 'intelligence'. Soph knew that Chelsea was actually quite clever, but she doubted the other two were that much smarter than they seemed.

Hugs starting being thrown around so Soph buried her turmoil and played along, seeing Jones off to go deal with Flash and making sure everyone piled onto the bus. She could keep it together. She could do that.

On the bus, she spoke with Annabelle, getting the run-down of what happened between her and Verity. She was damn proud of her cousin, facing the girl on her own and getting in a shot right between the eyes. That took both guts and some badass hockey skill. She said as much and the girl had beamed and blushed the rest of the way home, pulling Soph into a tight hug as they arrived back at the school.

With Jones away, she put everyone to bed and did the rounds, but as the building fell silent, she found herself on the roof.

It was only there that she let herself break down.

It came like crashing wave, knocking the wind out of her and buckling her legs faster than a punch to the gut. She'd fucked it up, her whole plan. She'd thrown everything she had into it and at the last minute she'd chickened out; given it all up. For what?

Kelly fucking Jones.

Jones had won, she'd had her right where she wanted her and in the end, she hadn't been able to go through with it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the low wall she usually stood beside. This was it, she was done, there was nothing more to do here. Camilla and Jones were out of the building, now was the best time for her to take off.

She wouldn't trash the place, she owed her aunt too much for that, but she couldn't stick around. Not anymore. Jones might be right, she might not need to keep skipping schools, but she couldn't stay here. Slowly, she got to her feet.

Was there anywhere she could go? She burned all her bridges with her mother, so home wasn't home anymore. Camilla would likely take her in but that would mean staying here. She could call her dad, but his missus would make her life a living hell, not to mention those two half siblings of hers would be miles away from happy to see her... No, going to her dad was out, going to her mum was out, and it was her aunt's place she was trying to leave. She supposed she could try Carnaby, but even if he gave a flying fuck about her, he was going to be in the shit and broke for some time.

So she had nowhere to go, and, while she wasn't exactly broke, certainly not enough cash to make her own way for more than a month or so.

She'd thrown her last lifeline at this… What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

She was still staring into the middle distance when the sky began to turn pink and purple with the dawn, searching her mind for another path, something, anything, she could do now. She started drinking at some point, the bottle now sat empty beside her. Her gaze landed upon it and she reached out, a tremor in her hand as she prodded it. It wobbled and she nudged it again. It rocked once, then toppled over the edge. She watched as it tumbled, almost in slow motion, down, down, down, until it smashed upon the distant concrete.

She didn't realise she was crying until she spotted the wet drops landing on the stone wall she leaned upon, then she couldn't stop. She was so fucked, and the worst part was that she'd done it to herself. She'd painted herself into a corner and there was fuck all she could do about it. She'd been so focused on fucking over Kelly that she'd ignored everything in her head telling her to stop. She'd warned herself, time and time again, and now what? She'd called this her last one... So maybe... Maybe she'd known this would be how it would end. No way out, no escape routes, nothing to come after...

The end of the line.

She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, light catching the broken glass so far below her. Her self-preservation had always been her strongest instinct, but since arriving here, she'd ignored it to the point of insanity.

Maybe this was what she'd wanted.

A voice behind her called her name and she spun around without thinking.
"Annabelle-?" Her voice cracked and her cousin's confused expression turned to shock as she met her gaze. Within seconds the girl had rushed forward, pulling her into a tight hug that Soph didn't have the will power to resist.
"Are you okay?" She sounded upset, worried. Soph almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it.
"No." She didn't even know what she was right now, but okay was far from it. Her legs gave up again and she crumbled to the floor. Annabelle came with her and as they hit the concrete she burst into tears, sobs wracking her body as she curled inwards on herself. She didn't even want to think about what Annabelle must think, but the other girl simply held onto her, rocking her gently as she wept.

She couldn't have said how long it was before she stopped, but when she did, Annabelle was still there.
"What's going on, Soph?" She spoke quietly, Soph took a shuddering breath.
"Nothing, not anymore." She muttered back and shifted away, moving to lean against the wall; sitting in the shade to avoid the rising sun.
"Not anymore?" Annabelle moved to sit next to her and Soph gave a bitter chuckle.
"I came here to help you, kid." She shot her a rueful smirk and the other girl looked taken aback.
"Get pay back for the video, help you settle in…" She ran a hand through her hair.
"I figured Jones would be the target to go for, being head girl and everything. Fuck, was that a mistake." She huffed but Annabelle still sounded confused.
"What did you do?" She frowned and Soph laughed.
"Spent ages trying to get her to trust me. Made a deal that the hazing would ease up on you if I helped her out with Head Girl stuff." Annabelle looked almost touched but Soph dropped her bitter smile.
"I worked so hard, cut ties with my mum, threw everything I had into it. And it all worked out, I sabotaged the zip wire so she'd get stuck over there." She met Annabelle's gaze and she looked appalled for a long moment, before realisation dawned.
"But you saved her… Why did you…?" She frowned in confusion and Soph pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I… got too close. We… Got very close." She huffed as Annabelle gasped in surprise.
"You didn't?" She seemed almost pleased before she realised the connotations.
"Sophie. You didn't sleep with her for-"
"No!" Soph cut across her, distinctly offended by the implication.
"Fucking hell, even I wouldn't stoop that low." She went back to putting her head in her hand and continued her explanation.
"It was an accident, really. I mean, have you met the woman? I never stood a fucking chance." She chuckled humourlessly.
"I fought like hell against it, did everything I could but impulse control was never my strong suit. I made it clear to her I wasn't doing it for any kind of angle, I'm not that cruel, I wanted to rip her life apart, not her bloody mind." She felt a hand appear on her shoulder and squeeze gently.
"When she got stranded in that gallery, I panicked. Couldn't bear the thought that it was my fault. I had to save her, make it right. Now she's got more power than ever, the Head Girl that saved St. Trinian's, and I'm trapped here with no-where else to go." She ran her hands through her hair and Annabelle squeezed her shoulder once more.
"Why can't you stay here?" She shifted slightly closer and Soph huffed.
"Because I can't. I planned to fuck up the heist and if that gets out I'm worm food, I started something with Jones that I have no idea how to finish and fuck knows I can't stay at that woman's mercy. I'm getting in too deep and I have no idea how to fucking swim." She heaved a shaky sigh and Annabelle's arm came to rest about her shoulders. They were silent for a long moment before her cousin spoke.
"I couldn't either. When I got here…" She began slowly.
"I begged daddy to take me away, tried to find my feet but it was… hard." She shuddered at some memory.
"Aunty helped me settle in a little, taught be not to be so… controlled all the time. But I suppose you had more to do with everyone being nice to me." She frowned and Soph shook her head.
"I just cut the hazing, you made friends on your own." She shot the woman a serious look and she seemed pleased for a moment.
"You didn't even need that. You cut out your own hazing, and even you have to know you've made friends here." Soph blinked in confusion and Annabelle laughed.
"Really? Oh come on. The twins practically bounce off of the walls whenever you spend time with them. You're one of the only people Andrea and Taylor listen to, Polly placed good money on you to be one of the few who actually got decent grades in the end of year exams. Chelsea was saying how well you were doing here, how much help you were. You've made a hell of an impact here, and yes, you may have done it all for some twisted reason but why not stick around and enjoy it? You know if you left everyone would be out like a hunting party to drag you back, kicking and screaming, before the end of breakfast." She shot her a look and Soph couldn't help a slightly sad smile.
"Like it or not, you're a St. Trinian. Worse yet, you're a Fritton. You're as much doomed to this place as I am." She gave her shoulders a playful squeeze and Soph chuckled before heaving a sigh.
"What happens when there's nothing useful for me to do? They all like me now while I'm helping to save their asses. But what about in a week or so when everything goes back to normal?" She kept her tone blank; she'd done enough emotion for one morning. Annabelle rolled her eyes.
"Never had you pinned as one to be scared of anything Sophie, let alone what other people think of you. But you really don't need to worry, this is St. Trinian's, something is always happening around here, we're never going to stop needing you." Sophie sighed at her reasoning, and Annabelle laughed.
"You belong here. So stop fretting about where you can go and focus on what you can do while you're here. And what you're going to do about your girl." She smirked and Soph felt a flash of panic at her choice of words.
"She's… She's not my girl." She looked away, feeling the blood rush to her face. Annabelle chuckled behind her hand and Soph shot her a dark look.
"Yes she is. And you're in deep." She let go of her and stood, offering Soph a hand up. A little reluctantly, she took it, scowling all the way.
"I may kill you one day, kid." She frowned jokingly and Annabelle punched her shoulder.
"You can try. Now come on, better to have a shower before everyone gets up."

She glanced to the edge one more time as Annabelle left the roof. She wouldn't follow the bottle today, she supposed.


I'm not sure how happy I am with this. It's better than last time but I'm not really sure I managed to bring across the seriousness of the situation there. I may re-write it one day, but for now, it will do. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever be done writing this bloody story, but the version we have for now is the best I can do with my current skill set.

I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next week - J