I waited for Duncan outside of the school gates, near a blind spot to shield me from any lurking prefects. They hardly patrolled off campus grounds at this hour, and for this I felt secure. It was possible to pay them to keep from getting me into trouble should they catch me in the act of criminality, but surely they'd force me back to Harrington House afterwards. My purpose behind leaving later was largely for this, but the fact that I just didn't like Duncan had something to do with it as well. That Townie prat deserved to wait on me for... something. I wasn't entirely sure for what, but...

...let's just say he deserved it for being poor.

But I wasn't very enthusiastic about this; the last way I wanted to spend my Sunday night was with Trash Heap.

He had told Pinky and I to meet him outside of the school by eleven the night before, but I didn't even leave until twelve. He would have already been there a good hour before I finally arrived. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought to myself; Duncan standing there outside of the gates, alone and confused, waiting for me. I could imagine him torn between leaving, disheartened by the fact that I had not shown, and staying, still anticipating my eventual arrival, like some lost, pathetic puppy.

It was a bit sadistic, sure, but amusing nonetheless.

I took the route I normally would to sneak off of campus, down the path behind Harrington House and around the library after everyone went to their rooms. It was more convenient that way; the main gates locked after curfew and the exit through the parking lot was far too distant. And I went alone. Pinky had fallen asleep around ten-thirty, asking me to wake her when the time came. I agreed, but I hadn't planned on following through. I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, without any distractions. As much as I loved Pinky, she would just get in the way.

When the time came that I finally reached the school gates, I faced a situation I hadn't prepared myself for at all: Duncan wasn't even there. It definitely threw me off a bit, but what else could I have expected from stupid, lazy, Townie trash? I chuckled to myself. The fool must have left after a while of waiting for me to show. Just as one could have expected from someone like Trash Heap.

How very funny! I crossed my arms over my chest, grinning widely. Duncan wasn't here! He had shown up, waited for a long while, and then left, all of his efforts wasted. He was probably feeling very let down now, as the boy was likely to be looking forward to this. Poor people had nothing else to live for. But now he couldn't help me get that bike back because he left too soon! That's what he deserved for being lazy trash. Poor, poor Duncan.

Yes, poor Duncan, indeed.

My thoughts cut to silence.

Wait a minute...

I paused, sudden realization hitting me like a train.

Duncan wasn't here.

"Oh, damn it!"

Duncan wasn't here. That meant he couldn't retrieve his bike from the Greasers, which meant I couldn't trade it with Henry for Chad's bike, which meant Justin would destroy my reputation.

How could I have been so foolish? How could I have let him get away when he was fully prepared to assist me in saving my social status? I had ruined this for myself! This was terrible!

I forced myself to breathe. I shouldn't have been panicking. What are you doing, Gord? I had no clue what was happening to me. Some poor boy wasn't worth any of this. What I needed was to calm down and think. This wasn't so terrible. Perhaps I could tell Justin that I found Chad's bike in ruins on the side of a street somewhere. Justin would understand, wouldn't he?

Justin would understand.

Goodness, I was such an idiot. To think, even for a second, that Justin was capable of understanding was absolutely ridiculous. I should have known better than to come up with such a thing.

It was time for a new plan. I mean, what could Trash Heap have possibly come up with that I couldn't? I would simply sneak into the auto shop, look around for the bike, and take it to Blue Skies through the path Duncan had informed me of. Simple! The Greasers were probably in their dorm rooms anyways.

That was good, wasn't it? Even though I didn't have the slightest idea on where to look, I was still sure it could have worked.

Although there was always the chance that a Greaser or two was still there working late on a project or something. If that were to happen, I was certain they wouldn't greet me very kindly.

Oh, god, what was I thinking? That was a horrid idea. Going down there alone at this late of an hour? I was growing hot with anxiety.

"'sup, dude!" a chirpy voice sounded from behind.

I spun around on my heels in absolute shock to face my company. It was Duncan, slinging a backpack over his shoulder as he climbed off of a rusty bike, parking it against the school walls. He was smiling at me innocently, completely unaware of the emotional turmoil his absence had just put me through. But I don't think I'll ever be as relieved to see anyone as much as I was to see Duncan then.

"Sorry I'm late, Rich Boy," he began. "I had other things to do first."

I let out a breath I had been subconsciously holding. "That's fine, Duncan." I hardly cared that he had arrived so late. All I could think of was how happy I was that he had actually shown.

He looked to me, still grinning, and I couldn't help myself from grinning back. That stupid smile was contagious, even with those obnoxiously crooked teeth. It was nice to know he hadn't given up on me. All of the anxiety and stress I felt prior to him arriving was immediately nullified by the fact that it really was for nothing. Ordinarily such a thing would have only angered me more, but I couldn't stay mad at Duncan. There was nothing to be mad about. He was late, sure, but-

Hang on a minute.

I paused for a moment, processing what he had said. He was late? "What do you mean you're late?" I demanded.

His grinning expression faded into one of confusion. "Uh... well, I got here later than you. Sorry for making you wait so long."

So that would mean that all this time, I was the one waiting on him? Despicable! I wanted to puke at the thought.

I felt the need to rectify this. "N-No, you got here before me, left after finding I hadn't shown, and then came back just in case because you didn't want to disappoint me." That's what had to have happened. High class individuals such as myself never waited on poor people, regardless of whether or not we realized it.

Duncan snorted. "Yeah, alright, dude," he responded sarcastically. "Henry's waiting for us, so you ready for this?"

I groaned. "Fine." Ready to get it over with? Yes, most definitely.

Trash Heap and I rode to the auto shop's back entrance together up the school driveway, me situated on my usual spot atop his handlebars. No one was out at this time, not even the Bullies, for which I was grateful. For one thing, I didn't want anyone to see how stupid I looked sitting on Duncan's handlebars like some child, and for another, I didn't want anyone to see me with a Townie, period.

As annoying as this was, I continuously reassured myself that it was worth it; I was doing this for a good reason. And I continuously reminded myself that Duncan was here to help me. I was the higher power here. I was in control of him.

I did believe myself at first, but with his constant orders and directions ('Come over this way,' 'Go wait over there while I unlock the garage door,' 'Hand me my bag,' 'Quit looking so pissed off,' do this, do that) it became a difficult belief to hold.

Trash Heap had some nerve, showing up so late and then proceeding to make all these demands on me. I mean, he wasn't demanding with his demands. In fact, he was actually quite kind. But it was the principal that got to me; poor people didn't order around their betters. It was an unwritten rule that everyone should abide by.

But Duncan didn't care for rules. Once we achieved entrance to the second repair bay - the one Pinky and I failed to check the day before - I mumbled to myself, "This is so criminal."

Duncan laughed at that, prying open a bike locker lining the back wall with a crowbar he had produced from his bag. "Y'know, Rich Boy," he began. "Sometimes I start to feel bad about the things I do."

He worked on a very specific bike locker, the second one from the right, completely ignoring the others. I assumed he had done this many times before. He seemed to know exactly how to go about it.

"But then I remember-" The locker door swung open. "-I don't care!"

I huffed. "Of course you don't care. It's not like you have a reputation to be concerned with or anything. I do."

He was ignoring me. "A-ha!" Duncan gestured me over to his side once he had the locker opened.

I don't know why, but I was surprised. Inside the locker was his bike, exactly as I had last seen it. I suppose that I was expecting it to be taken apart or something, but it was in perfect condition. Well, perfect as in not any different from how I left it. "How did you know where it'd be?" I asked with astonishment.

He shrugged. "We used to take bikes from the Greasebags all the time. I guess it never hit 'em that they should move their inventory."

I shifted in place, unwilling to admit that I was somewhat grateful for his help. Not only to him, but to myself. Having Duncan help me with something as delicate as my reputation was one thing, but appreciating him for it afterwards?

It just... felt so wrong.

Duncan and I made our way to the exit with so much ease that it almost felt unreal. We didn't run into any obstacles; no Greaseballs, no authority figures, no other students, nothing. Honestly, if I were in possession of a crowbar, I would've been more than willing to do this myself had I known how easy it'd be.

He discontinued his orders, as well. He didn't make me wheel the bike for him, which he did himself, using that same 'I'm a gentleman' reason. At least he was capable of some courtesy. Attaining the bike was over with, thank heavens. The final part to this nightmare was next to come: trading it with Henry for Chad's.

"I hadn't expected the bike to be there," I admitted to him. "I thought they would have dismembered it or something like that."

Duncan furrowed his brows as he situated himself on the bike he had arrived on, me on the one we had just taken. "Why would they do that?" he asked.

I shrugged, pushing the bike off to a start after him. "Well... I thought that's what they did with bikes. Take them apart to put back together, you know?"

"Take them apart to put back together," he repeated flatly. A chuckled escaped his mouth. "That's stupid."

"Well... what else would they do with the bikes they acquire?"

"Uh, I don't know. Ride them, maybe? Sell them for parts?"

Erm, well, I guess that would make sense. I looked downwards.

He laughed. "Me and my friends used to tell people that they would have sex with them."

I grimaced. "Why?"

He shrugged. "It was funny, I dunno. People actually believed us for a while."

Duncan and I kept our pace slow while on those trashy bikes. He reminded me that they were older, and the wheels were too noisy when moved faster. Strangely enough, I really didn't mind taking things slowly. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, but it was somewhat relaxing riding this late at night. There were no car horns, no other people. It was just me, Duncan, and the quiet whistle of the late-summer night breeze.

It was nice until Duncan extended his arm in front of me, skidding to a stop when we were about twenty feet from the arch. I stopped suddenly before his arm, practically falling forward. Startled by the abrupt stop, I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Looks like we got company," he said.

I looked forward, my heart skipping a beat. He was right. Standing in the arch was a tall figure shrouded in darkness, framed by the glow of the street lights behind them. I gulped. I couldn't tell who it was, but I assumed they were some teacher or other authority figure waiting to give me my punishment. This wasn't good.

The figure stomped towards us, fists clenched at their sides, leaving a trail of anger behind their steps. Duncan sighed. "Welp, I guess we're screwed."

I hesitated. No, not when we had already gotten this far. I wasn't giving up that easily. Instead I began to plot an escape route. The dirt trail to Blue Skies was so close. We could easily dart that way, avoiding the figure and all consequences. I doubted whoever they were could fully recognize me or Duncan in such darkness anyways.

"Duncan," I murmured, tugging at his shirt. "Let's take the dirt path!"

"Gord!" the figure screeched to me, shattering any escape route I had come up with. I knew that voice all too well.

Damn.

I cleared my throat as she approached us, completely recognizable at this point. "Erm, Pinky!" I laughed, nervous. I was in trouble. "Wh-What are you doing out here? I thought you went to sleep!"

Pinky looked as though she had been awake for only a short while, her hair tied up and sporting navy blue Aquaberry sweat pants with a matching hoodie. She didn't even bother to accessorize. She was carrying a plastic bag on her shoulder like a tote, but I couldn't tell what was in it.

That was the least of my concerns, however. Pinky was not happy with me. She crossed her arms over her chest. "And I thought you were going to wake me! You promised!"

"Hey, Rich Girl!" Duncan greeted her.

Pinky's expression and tone changed for him. "Hi!" she greeted back, as cheery and peppy as her normal self. Then she turned her attention back to me. "I waited all day for this, Gord! You remember how excited I was, don't you?"

It was true. All day long, she would speak nonstop of how exciting and dangerous this would be. She even picked out an outfit for the occasion; a black wool sweater with dark wash skinny jeans. Very 'Angelina Jolie', as she described it.

I thought all of her excitement was silly, but this meant a lot to poor Pinky. I needed to stop lying to her.

I searched my head for a lie to cover up my carelessness. "Well, I was going to wake you, Pinky, but you looked so peaceful in your sleep. I didn't have the heart." I pouted.

She looked down on me, scornful and upset. I doubted she believed that. The girl wasn't stupid.

"Wanna come, Rich Girl?" Duncan offered.

Pinky perked up, clapping her hands together and bouncing in place. "I already have my bike out! Wait here!" And with that, she darted off towards the front of the school.

Trash Heap grinned at me. "You're girlfriend's cute."

I didn't even bother responding to that.

[[a/n: i procrastinate a lot, even when it comes to things i want to do, so this chptr took me ages to finish. i hope it was worth the wait.]]