Agent Clark asks me shit about practically every fucking student in Casper High for what feels like hours but eventually, he tells me I'm free to go. He gives my phone and the rest of my shit back to me and then I'm following him out of the teacher's lounge.

While he starts for the gym, I pause by a row of lockers, digging my phone from my pocket. Danny told me to cause some kind of distraction and I think I've finally found the perfect thing. The entire time Clark was searching for answers and rambling on, I was trying to come up with something and it clicked toward the end of our fucked-up conversation.

To: Danny Fenton

White suit rambled on for fucking ever, I'm sorry. Working on distraction now. Get ready to disappear

I don't have any idea how he plans on slipping out of the gym and past the rest of those agents without being noticed but if what I have planned is enough… he won't really need much more than a few seconds. I just hope that I'm not too late.

My phone vibrates in my hand as I jog down the hallway and I only pause to read Danny's response once I'm standing in front of the pull lever for the fire alarm. I couldn't come up with anything else and if there's one thing that always gets everyone distracted, it's the sound of this alarm.

From: Danny Fenton

I'm ready. Thank you.

God, I can only imagine how freaked he must be. I'm not exactly the most observant person in the world but even an idiot could figure out that Danny knows what's going on. And whatever the fuck this is about, it's clearly freaking him the fuck out. Agent Clark kept asking questions about seeing strange things and from the way my heart was fucking hammering, he might as well have asked directly if Danny was somehow related to them.

My hands are sweaty as I reach out to the lever. I curl my fingers around it and take a final breath in before I pull it. The sound immediately rings throughout the school and ink spews from the pull lever, coating my palm. Shit, I forgot it did that.

I don't exactly have time to think about the ink if I'm gonna avoid getting caught so I start down the hallway again, my backpack thumping against me with every step. The sound of my shoes squeaking against the floor is louder to me than the alarm. I make it to one of the side exits just before the gym doors slam open and people start running out.

My heart is pounding so fucking hard but I continue to run, out of the school and to my car. I throw my bag into the backseat and slam my car into drive before I even have time to think. I'm shaking and halfway down the road beside the school before I remember to put on my seat-belt. The last thing I need is to get pulled over while I'm shaking like crazy.

Shit, did I really just pull the fire alarm to get Danny out of there? Jesus Christ, I didn't even wait for any kind of explanation. I just did as he asked me to cause… well… cause I can't stand the thought of anything happening to him.


I pull my car into a parking lot a couple miles from the school and focus on restarting my heart. I've been driving for nearly fifteen minutes now but I'm still shaky as fuck. I wonder how Danny's doing. He's the one that knows what all this shit is about, not me. God, I can only imagine how freaked out he must be right now.

There's only a few seconds of debate before I take my phone from my pocket again and type out a text to Danny. I'm usually pretty fast when I text but I spend so much time rewriting the message, it ends up taking me half a damn decade before I'm able to push send.

To: Danny Fenton

You okay? Make it out alright?

It still sounds too casual but it's not like I'm gonna confess my deep, dark, gay love for him over a text message. I like texts as much as any of my friends but there are some things that should be done in person. That is definitely one of those things. Not to mention this is clearly not the time to bring that shit up.

My phone stays silent for an agonizing two and a half minutes before his response comes through. It takes me nearly that length of time just to type in my passcode cause I'm so fucking nervous.

From: Danny Fenton

Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Dash. You have no idea what you just did for me.

I want to know what I just did for him. Besides the obvious, which is getting him out of the gym. Why were those agents there? Why the fuck did it freak Danny out so badly? And what the fuck was up with the game of twenty questions? And our principal was just letting this go on? What the hell did they tell her they were doing all of this for?

To: Danny Fenton

Can I come by your place? Kind of got a lot of questions

I don't know what I even want to ask him but so many things are crowding up my brain and I doubt it'll get any better until I'm with him again. I don't think he'll want to answer half of the questions I have and I won't have it in me to force any answers but… I gotta know at least a little something. He can't leave me in the dark like this.

From: Danny Fenton

No. I'm sorry.

Apparently he can leave me in the dark. I just pulled a fire alarm for him and he's not even gonna tell me why? God, I'm not asking him to get into all the messy details of this shit or anything, just… give me something. I can't wonder what the fuck I just did that for. I have a feeling that Danny's gonna leave me in the dark for a long time. A hell of a lot longer than I'm comfortable with.


Even though I send Danny half a dozen texts over the next two hours, he doesn't respond to any of them. I don't know what the fuck today was about but if he was freaking out just in the gym, I can only imagine how he's doing now. Throughout my text messages, I've told him that he can talk to me about anything and that I'm not gonna tell anyone anything. But I guess he's not going to either.

I'm not sure if I can even blame Danny for not wanting to talk about whatever the hell went down today. I probably wouldn't know how to take whatever he told me.

The day stretches on forever and I've just finished eating a shitty microwave meal when my doorbell rings. For a few seconds, I can only stand in the kitchen and listen to the sound before I realize that if it's dad out there, at least I won't be alone anymore.

I ditch the microwave tray in the garbage can before I make my way into the living room, digging my phone out to check the time as I go. It's just after six and the only unread text message on my phone is Kwan's latest response. I half-heartedly type back "lol" to Kwan before I toss my phone on the couch and turn to the door again. I inhale deeply before I open the door, my hands cold around the doorknob.

Two police officers stare back at me and both flash their badges before I push open the screen.

"E-Evening, officers…" I stammer, my stomach hitting the floor. What the hell are two cops doing here? Shit, it's dad, isn't it? He's in some kind of trouble and needs me to come bail him out. No wait… he could make one phone call for that. And I doubt he'd call me. Shit, he's not… did something happen to him? Fucking hell, if these officers are here to tell me that dad is-

"Mr. Baxter, mind stepping outside with us?" the officer on the right asks. His nametag reads Garrett, and though it sounds familiar, I don't remember ever seeing him before. And I've been to the station tons of times in the past. Must be someone new.

I do recognize his partner, Toby Moore, but the smile he gives me does nothing to ease the worry quickly building in my chest. I step out onto the porch with the officers, pulling the door closed behind me.

"You want to explain why you pulled the fire alarm at Casper High this afternoon?" Moore questions, the smile disappearing as he folds his arms over his chest. My heart's pounding and I have no excuse prepared. I didn't think much beyond getting Danny out of the school.

When I can't manage more than a few broken stuttered words, officer Garrett takes a step closer to me, one hand going to his nightstick. He watches me carefully and after a few seconds of silence pass, he nods down toward my waist. "Hold out your hands toward me. Nice and slow."

My hands are trembling but I extend them out toward the officers, my palm and fingers on my left hand still coated in the ink. I tried to scrub it off when I got home and though it's faded a little, nothing really worked on it.

"Look, Dash. We've already seen the security footage and we know you're the one who pulled the fire alarm," Moore says, uncrossing his arms to place a hand on my shoulder. I'm still trembling as I drop my hands back to my sides and raise my stare to his but his expression is kind. "You can avoid the trip to the station if you just admit to it and we speak with your dad. I'd rather not have to do the whole ritual and slap a pair of cuffs on the chief's son, alright?"

Sh-Shit. I really like the sound of not having to go down to the station. I just want to stay home and forget that I was dumb enough to think that there wouldn't be some kind of consequences. But it's not like dad's here to handle this for me.

"M-My dad's out of town," I say, the breath leaving me as I speak. Shit. I can't believe I did something so stupid without thinking about it. Dad's not here to help me out of this situation and Jesus Christ, I don't know what to do.

Moore looks at his partner for a few seconds before he lets out a heavy sigh. He meets my gaze as he slides his handcuffs from his belt. "Dash Baxter, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and-"

He tells me my rights but I don't hear any of it beyond the first few sentences. My mind goes completely blank. Every bit of information he's telling me doesn't stick in my brain. I feel like I'm about to pass out as I feel one cuff around my left wrist. I sway a little when Moore turns me around to cuff my other wrist and then I'm being led to the squad car.

The last thing I notice before I'm pushed into the car is the old lady across the street. She's standing on her front porch with oven mitts clutched tightly in one hand and her other covering her mouth. I wonder if she's been baking cookies again. Maybe she would have brought some over if the police hadn't beaten her to my front door.


I watch the houses in my neighborhood streak past me like this is any other day. Like I'm not watching the scenery from the backseat of a police car. Like the officers in the front aren't talking into their radios about me. About what I did.

The neighbor that used to pick me up at the bus-stop when my mom was late with work is out in her front yard, trimming a few bushes. She must recognize me as the cop car crawls by her house from the way her head tilts to one side but I can't tear my gaze away from her as we pass. I wonder what she thinks about when she sees me like this. Handcuffed in the backseat of a police cruiser on my way down to the station. Listening to the non-stop hum of the goddamn radio.

"…copy that. Sending directions to your GPS now," a female voice crackles over the radio.

Officer Moore glances at his partner, nodding toward the GPS mounted just above the passenger side cup-holder. "What the hell do they want with this kid?" he asks, flicking his gaze to the rearview mirror to look at me.

"Who knows?" Officer Garrett responds, exhaling out a breath as he turns out of my neighborhood and onto the main stretch of road in this town. He glances in the rearview mirror a couple times during the drive but neither officer says another word.

We pass buildings and places I recognize for a long stretch of silence but the longer the car rumbles along the badly paved highway running through Amity Park, the closer we get to the county line. Buildings with faded lettering on the outside pass by my window and it hits me that we're not headed to the police station anymore.

My throat is dry and scratchy as I swallow but I find steel-tipped courage in the bottom of my gut. It takes every ounce of my strength to draw on that fleeting feeling gnawing away in the pit of my stomach but I manage to long enough to speak.

"H-Hey… I thought we were going to the station," I mumble, all that strength flooding from me when Officer Moore meets my gaze in the rear-view mirror. Shit.

He glances toward his partner before he turns a little in his seat to look at me. His eyebrows draw down and he chews on the corner of his lip. "We were. Got a call to reroute you somewhere else instead." Moore hesitates a second before he lets out a low breath. "Did you know-"

"That's enough, Moore. You know chief told us to cooperate with Division on this case." Officer Garett cuts his partner a look, roughly shaking his head before his gaze returns to the road.

Moore grits his teeth, letting out a breath. "This is his kid, Garrett. Don't you think he'd want to know that they're interested in him?"

Garrett shrugs and keeps his stare on the road but his grip on the steering wheel tightens. Moore sighs heavily, shaking his head as he turns around in his seat. He spares a final glance at me in the mirror before the silence settles over us again. Anxiety is rising in the pit of my stomach, quickly smothering the fleeting courage I felt only moments ago. Where the fuck are they taking me?


The parking lot Garrett pulls to a stop in is vacant and in the shadows of the last rays of sun, the sight sends chills down my spine. The building in front of the car is looming and the thousand windows on the front reflect the sun back at us. A line of trees are planted along one side of the building, the grass in front carefully manicured. Two tall columns flank either side of the door and the sheer vastness of the place makes my gut clench.

Garrett exchanges a look with his partner before they both open their doors. Moore opens my door and waits for me to climb out. My hands are still cuffed behind my back so it isn't exactly easy but I make it out in one piece. I just hope I come out of whatever the fuck this is the same way.

We walk in silence across the lot and up the barren sidewalk – free of any of those annoying grass sprouts that always seem to make their way through every crack in the pavement. The inside of the building is well-lit and a lot less creepy than I thought it'd be, judging from the outside. There's a receptionist behind a desk dead ahead and elevators off to either side of her.

Moore heads for the receptionist and I start to follow after him but Garrett grabs my arm. He points to a handful of chairs in front of a row of windows and tells me to sit. I'm almost grateful for the hard plastic my ass collapses onto cause my legs are shaking and my heart is pounding. All I did was pull a fucking fire alarm, what the hell is all this for?

I keep my gaze on the ground, trying to remind myself how to breathe, and Garrett sits down in a chair next to me. He's instantly on his phone and I crave the distraction mine would give me. But my hands are cuffed and the most I can do is stare at the floor.

Footsteps are approaching the two of us and I look up to watch Moore heading our way, quickly followed by a guy in a white suit. He's not the one I talked to at school earlier but he's one of them. A government agent. My stomach fucking plummets as he glances between Moore and Garret, who's gotten to his feet somewhere during my panic.

"On behalf of everyone at Division, we thank you for your services to our mission," the agent says, nodding at the officers. "Gentleman, I'll take it from here."

Moore glances in my direction with a concerned stare before he lets out a breath. "Agent Smith are you sure this isn't some kind of mix-up? At the debriefing, our chief told us what your team is doing here but… Look, I know this kid, alright? I can vouch for him, I don't think he's what you're looking for."

Agent Smith shuts him down with a cold look. "Again. Division thanks you for your help. We'll take it from here."

Garrett shares a look with his partner before they both turn to leave. Cold shivers run up and down my spine when the exit door closes behind the officers. I can barely breathe as the agent tells me to follow after him and my legs threaten to collapse with every step I take. What the fuck is going on?

My chest is constricting painfully and the silence stretches over the two of us as we cross the floor toward the elevators. I try to keep myself from shaking but it starts in my hands and spirals up until my entire left arm is twitching uncontrollably.

Agent Smith steps inside the elevator and I somehow force myself to follow him. He hits the button for floor 7 and the elevator door slides closed. The tremors are rocking through me and I know I'm not the only one that can hear how fucked up my breathing is. Shit, what am I doing here?

The doors part too soon and the agent steps off, waiting until I follow him, before he starts down a hall. I have no fucking clue where I'm being led and I have the urge to run. To slip past all of the agents we pass by on our way further down a never-ending hallway and just fucking bolt.

I stop when Smith does in front of a large metal door. He leans down next to the door handle and it's like some kind of fucking spy movie just came to life in front of me with the way his retina is scanned and he's granted access to the room.

"Have a seat, Baxter," Smith instructs me, his expression cold and unreadable. I step past him into the room, taking in the four white walls around me, without a single window anywhere. The only furniture this room boasts is four white chairs and a matching white table. I've been inside the police station enough times to recognize that this is some kind of interrogation room. I expect the agent to follow after me as I take several steps inside but he doesn't. He leaves, clicking the door shut behind him and I expel out a low breath, collapsing into one chair.

My nerves are eating me alive and I try to focus on keeping my breathing steady. It's not exactly easy when I can't stop thinking about why I'm trying to stay calm considering where the fuck I am. And I still have no fucking clue why I'm here. I pulled a goddamn fire alarm, does this really warrant bringing in the fucking government?

The door opens and agent Smith is back, accompanied by another agent, who he introduces as Davis. She's a tall, lean woman with short black hair, her expression just as cold and unreadable as Smith's. She's clutching a small computer against her chest along with a stack of folders. I try to school my expression into something a little less freaked out but I lose that battle when Smith settles down in the chair opposite me.

"Dash Baxter, you spoke to one of our agents at Casper High this afternoon, agent Clark. Do you remember talking to him?" Smithasks as Davisopens the computer. She taps a few keys and I watch her in silence, trying to calm the fuck down.

Smith snaps his fingers a few times, his hand inches from my face. "Answer my question."

I let out a breath, the nerves clawing at my insides. "Y-Yeah… I remember talking to him."

"What did the conversation entail?" Smith asks, darting a glance toward the computer next to Davis. She taps something onto the keyboard and leans closer to the screen before they're both looking at me again.

Davis's eyebrows draw down and she flips open a folder, rifling through the contents. "Baxter, you'll do well not to hesitate on your answers," she says, leaning forward to drop something on the table in front of me.

My breath catches at the two photographs she's dropped onto the table. They're both grainy as fuck but I can tell that it's dad in the first one. There's a timestamp in the corner of the photo, telling me it was taken earlier today. He's heading out of a hotel, his gaze on his phone, and I feel like I'm gonna fucking vomit. The second photo is of mom, just as grainy as the first one. She's stepping into some kind of office, looking down at several papers in her hand, with a frown clear in her expression. The timestamp on her photo matches the one on dad's and I feel a lump growing in my throat.

"You love your parents, don't you?" agent Davis asks me, giving me a sympathetic look when I glance up. "Of course you do. You wouldn't want anything to happen to them, right?"

I swallow thickly, turning my gaze to Smith who raises an eyebrow in question. I exhale out a breath, briefly closing my eyes in an attempt to push the anxiety far away from me, before I respond, my own voice gravelly to my ears.

"We… talked about school. A-And my friends," I mumble, feeling the nervous tension roll over me at the thought of these agents doing anything to my parents or anyone else I care about. What the fuck am I doing here?

Davis types something onto her keyboard before she gathers up the images of my parents, spreading out a stack of photos on the table. "Who are these people?" she asks as Smith leans forward to prop his elbow on the table, watching me intently.

I spare a glance at the photographs laid out in front of me, my mind spinning as I try to make sense of this fucked-up situation. I pulled a fire alarm. It happens all the fucking time in this town. So why the fuck am I sitting across from two government agents?

The photos are of my teammates and students in Casper High and I start rattling off names as they come to me. Agent Smith sorts the photos into two piles but I have no idea how he's deciding what belongs where.

Agent Davis slides more and more pictures in front of me until we've gone through every student and teacher currently attending or teaching at Casper High. It feels like hours have passed by the time I've finished listing off everyone I can remember the names of and I have no fucking clue how long it's actually been. Even though I inwardly hope that they'll let me go now, I already know that they're nowhere close to finished with me.

"In Casper High today, you pulled the fire alarm," agent Davis says, tapping a stack of papers against the table until they line up. "You were trying to create a distraction, weren't you?" she asks and I drag in a slow, measured breath. I have to claw at the edges of my sanity to come up with a convincing lie. Of course I pulled that fire alarm to cause a fucking distraction, what else was I supposed to do?

I exhale out, a shiver running through me as I shake my head. "I did… pull the alarm. A-And I was… trying to create a distraction. Cause I'd been talking to that agent for a long time and…"

Davis leans forward, her eyebrows raised. "And?" she prompts.

Her stare is intense and I run my tongue along my teeth in the silence, letting out a heavy breath. "After all that talking with the agent… I was bored as fuck and decided to sacrifice myself in order to set the rest of the student body free. So they wouldn't have to suffer the way I did."

Smith starts a little, exhaling out an irritated sigh. "This isn't a game, Baxter. People are getting hurt. Our men are working around the clock to gather the intel we need." He leans forward, leveling me with a glare when I sigh. "You aren't making this any easier on yourself. We are prepared to take this as far as we need to in order to get answers from you."

"You know I'm underage, right?" I snap, pushing out a breath. "Aren't you supposed to have one of my parents here? Y'know, so you don't get your ass sued?"

Agent Davis clears her throat before Smith has a chance to answer. She folds her hands over top one another, staring at me intently. "We're the government, Baxter. We play by an entirely different set of rules. Especially with this situation."

"God, what situation?" I demand, leaning forward in my chair. "Why am I getting shit for pulling a fucking fire alarm? It happens all the time, since when does the government get involved in this kind of shit?"

"Since you impeded our investigation into Casper High this afternoon," Smith responds, pressing his palms against the table as he leans across it, his face close to mine. I can smell the lingering scent of coffee on his breath as he hisses out another empty threat. "We will keep you here all night if that's what it takes to get you to talk."

I groan, leaning back in my chair with a sigh. "Can you at least take the cuffs off of me?" I question, rolling my shoulders out of the position they've been in for the past few hours. Or… what feels like hours anyway. I have no fucking clue how long it's actually been.

"Not until we're finished," agent Davis responds, raising an eyebrow when I shift my gaze to her. "What do you know about the phantom?"

What… the fuck?

My expression must read like I'm not willing to talk because she leans back in her chair. "We can do this all night, Baxter." She shrugs, tapping the tip of a pen against the table.

"I don't… understand," I slowly respond, shaking my head. "You were… that's why you were at school today? For this whole phantom thing?"

Smith shares a look with the other agent before he pushes out a breath, looking back to me. "At the moment… we're looking into the case. We believe the phantom may have an accomplice at Casper High. Now answer the question. What do you know about the phantom?"

"Uhh… practically nothing. My dad's…. mentioned a few things about sightings and I've heard shit on the news but..." I trail off, shrugging a little. "I don't know, nothing that really matters, I guess?"

Davis types on the computer as I talk, glancing at Smith when I fall silent. They have a conversation with just one look and he shifts his gaze to me again, clearing his throat.

"Who told you to pull the fire alarm?" he questions, oblivious to the irritation quickly growing in me. Shit, no one told me to pull that damn fire alarm. I did it myself. Cause I wanted to- …protect Danny. I… pulled that alarm for him. Shit, that's not why he asked me to cause a distraction, is it? Is Danny… helping the phantom?

I shake my head, putting on my best confused expression. "No one. I told you… I-I pulled the fire alarm cause I was bored," I tell them, pushing out an irritated sigh when neither one of them look like they're gonna believe me. "I don't know a goddamn thing about the phantom, okay? I'm just a kid. I'm not some kind of an accomplice in a stupid case or some shit. I'm on the football team. I work at an auto-garage. I don't know what the fuck you're looking for but I can guarantee, I'm not it."

The agents share another look and I groan, pushing out my breath in a sigh. I don't think they're gonna let me go anytime soon. All cause they think I know some shit cause I pulled a fucking fire alarm.


I'm pretty sure days pass in that windowless room but eventually, the questions stop and the agents start gathering up their stuff. Davis closes the computer and Smith gathers the papers into a neat stack, sliding the images into a folder.

Smith lets out a breath before he looks at me. "Sit tight. An officer will be along to collect you soon," he says, pushing his chair back from the table. Wait, what?

"An officer?" I ask, looking between the two agents when they stand up. "To take me home?"

Davis shakes her head, shifting the weight of the computer to her other arm. "To take you to the station. You're off the hook with us for now but you still have the police to answer to for your actions today. You can't expect to get away with what you did."

My breath escapes me and I stutter on the few words I manage to choke out. "I-It's a misdemeanor… wh-why the hell am I-"

"We don't make the rules, Baxter. We enforce them," Smith says, nodding at the other agent before they're both heading for the door. Just before he steps out, he turns back to me, a smirk lifting up one corner of his mouth. "And just so you're aware, when we're finished, the police will be charging this as a felony."

He slams the door closed behind him and I'm left in stunned silence. What the fuck? A felony? What I did wasn't even that bad, why the fuck are they going after me like this?

I groan, sliding down further in my chair despite the way it makes the cuffs chafe against my wrists. When I pulled that fire alarm today, I wasn't expecting the police to show up on my doorstep. I wasn't expecting fucking government agents to haul my ass in and question me. I was just doing it to protect Danny. I have no idea why he asked me to distract everyone but I managed to do it and I've always told him I want to help. But goddammit, I never expected to get involved in all of this. Whatever the hell this is.

It doesn't take long for an officer to show up and I doze off in the backseat on the way to the station. He's pulling the car into a space in the parking lot when I wake up and I try to shake off the sleepiness as he opens my door.

The booking process takes forever and I'm left in the cell for way longer than I have the patience for. My head is pounding by the time the officers let me have my phone call and the ringing sound is making the ache worse. I lean my forehead against the wall, letting out a breath just as the call connects.

"Hello?"

I can hear the sound of the garage going on in the background of the call and I guess Alex is still at the shop. I hate pulling him away from work but I don't have anyone else to call. Whoever comes to pick up my stupid ass has to be an adult, so Kwan's out. And no way in hell am I asking him to have his mom come get me. I might love her cooking but I draw the line at having her bail me out of jail.

"H-Hey, Alex. I-It's Dash," I mumble, my voice shaky on the response. I don't want to drag this out so I get straight to the point. "I need your help."

Silence ticks away for a few seconds before he asks. "Yeah? What's going on?"

God, I really hate doing this. I wish there was someone else I could call right now. I don't want to take Alex away from his work and whatever else he had planned for tonight. Fuck, why did this have to happen when dad's out of town?

"Dash?" Alex questions, snapping me back to reality and reminding me that I don't have long.

I exhale out, lifting my head from the wall to run my hand through my hair. "I-I'm kind of… I'm at the police station. I need you to c-come pick me up. Might… have to sign some things for me." I hope that he gets the unspoken, "I was arrested" so I don't have to say that part out loud.

He's silent for a few seconds but just when I think he's gonna tell me to explain the situation, he responds with a sigh. "Jesus, Dash. Alright, I'll be there soon."

The line goes dead and the weight of the phone suddenly feels so much heavier as I hang it up. I'm escorted back to my cell where I'm left alone again and my headache slowly gets worse. I don't know how I manage to get myself into these situations but leave it to me to end up spending a night being fucking interrogated by government agents and sitting in a holding cell.

An officer comes to get me about half an hour after my phone call and leads me down a long hallway. I see Alex before he sees me, taking in his tense posture as I continue walking toward him. He's talking to an officer and gesturing pretty frequently, a frown obvious on his face. He lets out a sigh and shakes his head, catching sight of me with the movement.

He closes the distance between us and the officer undoes the handcuffs around my wrists. Alex brushes his fingers against my skin and I know he's surprised by the irritation there. The marks barely hurt but I don't stop Alex from making sure I'm okay.

The officer comes back with an envelope that has my shit inside before Alex and I are leaving the station together. The silence is killing me as our footsteps sound across the gravel and I can't think of anything to say. 'Thank you' sounds so hollow in my mind and it's not like I'm gonna explain what the fuck just happened.

My hand closes around the door handle of Alex's Challenger but he stops me from opening it by placing his hand on the door. I raise my eyes to his and he searches my expression, slowly shaking his head.

"What happened?" he asks softly, looking more concerned than angry. I wish he'd just be angry. I know how to deal with angry people. They're a hell of a lot easier to handle, even if they can be a bit unpredictable. At least I know how to take someone's anger. Their concern? Fuck me.

My hand drops from the door and I stare down at the pavement, trying to come up with a way to explain. There's no point in lying, I'm sure he'll hear about it soon enough. But if I tell him the truth, I'm afraid the rest of the story is gonna come out. And I'll tell him about the government agents. About the phantom case. About how Danny might be a fucking accomplice to one of the biggest cases to hit Amity Park.

"Dash, what is it?" Alex asks, lifting my chin so I meet his gaze.

Shit. Maybe I can explain everything to him. Tell him that I pulled the fire alarm cause Danny asked me to create a distraction. And I did it simply cause he asked me to. And that there's something special about him. I don't know what it is but he's so fucking special. I want to spill my fucking guts but if I do, Alex will ask for the whole story and I'm exhausted.

"I-I pulled the fire alarm in school," I mumble, my left hand twitching a little with the confession. Alex's eyebrows draw down and he drops his hand from my chin. He stares back at me like he's trying to figure out if I'm lying or not.

"You were arrested for that? You weren't given some kind of warning?" Alex asks, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't understand, it's not like you have some kind of criminal record going against you. Why would they arrest you for something like that?"

I don't have an answer for him cause this whole damn mess wouldn't have happened if those government agents weren't at school today. They were pissed that their search and find was interrupted and decided to take it out on me cause why the fuck not?

"Why'd you do it?" Alex asks and my sharp inhale isn't exactly quiet. "You can tell me anything. You know that, don't you?" He uncrosses his arms to place them on my shoulders and I feel obligated to look up at him as I nod.

I manage to hold his gaze as I shrug and mumble my half-assed answer. "I was bored."

The look Alex gives me is some cross between 'are you serious?' and 'I call bullshit'. The latter half easily wins out and he raises an eyebrow, apparently waiting for the truth. Shit, Alex. I don't have any truth to give you. This whole fucked-up situation is too weird to even think about right now.

"I don't know, alright? I was just… I was walking around during my free period and I got bored. I've never pulled the alarm before so I wanted to see what it was like. I didn't think anyone would catch me," I lie, taking a step backward and pushing his hands off me.

We hold each other's gaze for a few seconds before I look away, gesturing to his car. "Look… I'm exhausted. Can you just take me home now?" I really don't want to freak the fuck out in the parking lot of the police station.

Alex doesn't respond but he backs away from the door and I quickly open it before settling down in the passenger seat. He crosses in front of his car as I slam the door shut behind me, and soon enough, he's sliding into the driver's seat. He twists the keys into the ignition before turning to look at me. I try to pretend like I don't see him looking but after a few seconds of silence, a stuttered exhale leaves me.

For some reason, Alex decides against calling me on it and just tells me to put my seatbelt on before he's pulling out of the parking lot. I send up a silent thank you to whichever god was looking out for me. I really don't want to lie to Alex but I still haven't processed even half of the shit that went down today. I pulled that alarm to protect Danny but… does that mean I'm protecting the phantom too?


I watch storm clouds gather in the sky and streak past the windows for a long time before Alex pulls the car over, the engine idling quietly. We're still a couple miles from my house and Alex speaks before I can question it.

"I want to help you. And I'll do everything in my power to do so," he says, his gaze out the windshield. I try to follow his line of sight but there's nothing there. He's just staring so he doesn't have to make eye contact with me. Probably a good thing, considering I'd look away the second he does. "But I need to know everything. The whole story, from start to finish."

Fuck, Alex. I can't. I turn my gaze back out the window with a sigh, watching the lightning flash in the distance. If I tell anyone that I pulled the alarm to get Danny out of school, they'll ask why. And I can't have any questions directed back at him cause… I don't know the fucking answer. I was just arrested and questioned by government agents for doing a favor for Danny and I still have no idea why I did it.

"That is the whole story," I lie, not bothering to try to disguise the exhale that comes along with it. I can't have this conversation. I don't know what to say and what not to say. I can't implicate Danny in any way and I really don't want to fucking lie to Alex.

Alex slams the heel of his hand onto the steering wheel. "God, Dash!" he yells, suddenly turning to look at me. He lets out a frustrated sigh, breaking the previous silence. "How the hell am I supposed to help you if I don't know what's going on? Do you really expect me to believe you did something so stupid just because you were bored?"

He doesn't give me a chance to respond before he's taking off his seatbelt and turning to face me. "It isn't like you. And in case you missed it, the police aren't taking this lightly. They've labeled it a felony. A felony, Dash. This could potentially go on your permanent record, hinder any college acceptances, hold you back from-"

"It's not like it even matters!" I respond, a hell of a lot louder than I meant to. "You don't have to tell me how serious a felony is, alright? My dad's a cop, I know how serious this is. But it's not like I can do anything about it now."

"You could at least act like you give a shit!" Alex slams his hand against the wheel again and I can't sit here while he's angry. My left hand is starting to twitch. I was wrong. I'm used to dad being angry. I know how to deal with him but…I don't think I can handle seeing Alex like this.

I pull my seatbelt off and open the passenger door, almost falling onto the grass as I get out of the car. Alex calls out to me but I cut him off by slamming the door closed. I start down the side of the road, moving away from his car and after only a second or two, he gets out of the car and slams the door closed behind him.

"Where are you going?" he calls out, his footsteps quickly following after me. I don't bother responding, there's no point now. I'm sort of going home but I'm mostly just going away. As far as I can from Alex.

He groans, his stride never breaking as he follows after me. "Dash, come on. Let me take you home, alright? I'll shut up and take you home, just come on."

Not having to walk home sounds better than this but I don't think I can get back in the car with him right now. I think I need to be alone or maybe just not with him. God, I've barely had time to think about the shit that went down today before Alex asked what happened.

"Whatever's so horrible, you don't have to hide it from me. I thought you trusted me," he says, continuing after me. I try not to turn over his words in my mind a million fucking times but it's like telling myself not to breathe. I can't help it, it's just what I do.

I stop, turning around to give him a glare. "Oh really? The way you trust me, huh?" I ask, scoffing when he has the fucking nerve to look confused. "Come on, don't play dumb. I heard you and Anastasia the other day. There's something you're supposed to tell me?"

Alex's eyebrows draw down and he slowly shakes his head. "Dash, now… isn't the time to talk about that. It's not…" He looks away from me, blowing out a breath in the silence. A few seconds tick by before I turn away from him, starting down the sidewalk again. If he wants me to be honest with him, he should fucking be honest with me.

"You know you can't always run away from everything, right? That doesn't work like you think it will," Alex calls softly after me, and his words send liquid fire coursing through my veins. Run away? What fucking right does he have to talk to me about running away?

Something in me snaps the way the thunder cracks in the air, the sound deafening the both of us. I turn to face Alex again, my heart hammering in my chest and lodging in my throat at the same time. I don't know what makes me say it and I regret it almost as soon as it leaves my mouth.

"Like you're one to talk. Can't even have a fucking conversation about your ex-girlfriend," I spit, hating the expression that takes over Alex's face. We're frozen, holding each other's stare as the first few drops of rain hit the pavement between us and splash onto our skin.

Alex just stares back at me and I wish he'd say something. I wish he'd be angry with me for bringing up Kendra, or pissed off that I won't just get back in the car. But instead of being angry, he just looks hurt and confused. Fuck, don't look at me like that, please just don't look at me like that.

"Did you pull the fire alarm for Danny?" Alex asks and another thunder clap sounds, drowning out my strangled gasp. Why the fuck is he asking me something like that? Am I that fucking obvious in the way I care about Danny? Does he already know that I'm at the point of doing something illegal for him if he simply asks me to?

I don't know what to tell him and the rain is picking up. It's sure to drench the both of us and the longer I look back at Alex, the more my chest aches. Because I pulled that fire alarm for Danny but I have no reason why. I created a distraction because he asked me to. That's all I ever needed to know.

My hands are shaking as I turn away from him and I start down the sidewalk again. Alex calls after me a couple of times but the thunder drowns him out and I don't stop moving forward. Because I can't stick around long enough to try to scramble for some kind of explanation why I did it. How am I supposed to explain something I don't even understand myself?


A/N:

Dun dun DUN!

Yooo, welcome to chapter 46 – a whole new brand of hell for this fic ;P

SO HOW ABOUT THOSE GOVERNMENT AGENTS, HUH? Poor Dash NEVER saw this coming. (Kudos to those of you that did, I was grinning so much reading all of your reviews and comments on the last update) Also, can we talk about how Dash thinks Danny's helping the phantom? I swear, that boy needs to buy a clue

Speaking of Danny… what do you guys think of him refusing to give Dash any kind of information? Dunno about you but if someone asked me to distract a bunch of government agents and refused to tell me why, I think I'd be pretty pissed off. But Dash is too busy dealing with said government agents and Alex to think about being ticked off at the lil space nerd

And SPEAKING of Alex… how'd you like that sneaky mention there about shit still being a mystery on his end? ;p Oh boy, Dash has NO idea what's coming for him with that situation

Things have really started moving with the plot and I'm so happy that so many of you have hung on from the very beginning. I know I bring a whole new meaning to the term "slow burn" and I appreciate all of the support you all have continued to give me regardless of that fact. Seriously, it means the world to me

The title of this chapter comes from This Is War by 30 Seconds to Mars. And actually, I realized that another song fits as well. I listen to a lot of music while writing and realized that along with This Is War, Death Valley by Fall Out Boy also really fit the theme of this chapter. I found myself listening to both of those songs while I was working on this chapter.

I'm not sure when I'll post again… my birthday is next Saturday so you might see an update the night before if I decide to or it might be another two weeks again. Who knows?

Thanks for sticking with this story, I really appreciate all of you coming back for every update – means the world to me! I hope you enjoyed this angst and I'll see you guys next update!