Damian, Emile, and Ewen walked side by side back towards the classroom, when Becky ran up behind them.

"Have you guys seen Anya? I can't find her anywhere!"

"Hey, watch where you're-" Damian tried to say, but it was too late. Becky grabbed the front of his uniform with both of her fists.

"I seriously can't find her! And I tried calling her, but she's not picking up!"

"Calm down Blackbell, I'm sure she's just in the bathroom or something," said Ewen effortlessly, and gave her a gentle nudge to detach her from Damian's shirt. Thankfully, she didn't fight back, and she stepped away from Damian, although she held her fists stiffly by her side.

"Or maybe she's in the library?" said Emile, trying to be helpful.

"I checked the bathroom, and the library!" Becky's voice trembled, while she was on the brink of tears.

"Okay, well, she knows that class is about to start, right?" said Damian. "We'll just wait for her there."

"Desmond is correct," boomed a voice behind them, and Damian could recognise that deep sonic signature anywhere. "Anya knows the class schedule. She'll be fine."

"Oh, Bill!" Becky sobbed, and crushed his arm to her in a hug. "Thank goodness you're here! I need the reassurance!"

Damian stepped back in surprise, and shared a glance with Ewen and Emile. Since when did Becky call him 'Bill' rather than 'Watkins'? And was it just him, or did they seem to look really close?

As if sensing their thoughts, Becky and Bill sprang apart. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I got carried away, I'm just so worried that there's something wrong…"

Becky's face darkened with a look. "What if she got her last Tonitrus Bolt and she's finally been expelled and we didn't even get a chance to say goodbye?"

"Like that would happen," Damian said, and his voice boomed with confidence. "She's not even on her seventh Bolt yet!"

Becky turned to Damian so glacially slowly, that a pit started to form in his stomach.

"R-Right?" he stammered, and when he saw the gaunt look on Becky's face, his stomach clenched even more. "She didn't have that many Bolts yet, right?"

Becky stared Damian down with a grimace. "She got her seventh Bolt defending you after the party. Didn't she tell you?"

Damian's stomach dropped. "I was there but I didn't know, I didn't realise… you mean that was her seventh?"

Becky nodded sagely, and the boys sagged as one.

It could have happened. Anya could have been expelled. And Damian couldn't help but feel like it was his fault somehow.

"Well," he said, trying to pick them all back up again. "We don't yet know what really happened, so all we can do is wait to find out. If she wasnt expelled, then she'll join us back in class."

The students nodded together, relieved that Damian thought it through logically, and Bill added: "I also want to hear if she is alright, please let me know when you find out."

"I'll text you," said Becky casually, then flinched at the boys' surprised stares. "What? I've got the numbers of everyone at school. It's not suspicious!"

"Sure," Damian said as he rolled his eyes. Whatever was going on between Becky and Bill was none of his business, but he wasn't about to make it weird for them.

Even though he had just put on a show of bravado to reassure the others, Damian couldn't help but worry about Anya. It was entirely possible that something happened during lunch that she was immediately expelled for, but it wouldn't help to get dramatic about it now. He knew how important it was to wait things out, before leaping to conclusions.

They went to class and waited.

They sat during the roll call, and waited.

While the rest of the class got to work, they still waited.

When Anya still didn't show by the end of the school day, the knot in Damian's stomach twisted even more.

Finally, it was time for Becky to take her chauffeur back to her mansion and go home. She waited until most of the class had gone to their dorms before she approached the boys.

"We'll keep each other updated, yeah?"

They nodded in agreement, and Damian stood with Emile and Ewen while they watched Becky's chauffeur drive her away.

"What do you think, bossman?" said Emile tentatively. "Do you really think Anya is expelled?"

"I don't know," said Damian, and he meant it.

The boys retreated to their dorms for the evening and tried to distract Damian with some gossip or games, but it was difficult to escape the sullen and dejected atmosphere. They still hadn't heard anything from Becky, so there was every chance that she hadn't heard from Anya, either.

It wasn't until it was almost bedtime, and the boys got changed into their pyjamas, that the boys' dorm of Cecile Hall heard an almighty ruckus from the front of the school. They poked their heads out collectively of their rooms, and peered down the corridor. When Damian, Emile, and Ewen saw the source of the noise, they stilled.

"What are Anya's parents doing at the school?" Ewen whispered, but they shared an unspoken worry that whatever the reason was, it had something to do with Anya's sudden disappearance at lunchtime. The three boys shared a worried look, before the sound of raised voices snatched their attention away.

"What do you mean she didn't turn up for classes?" Loid said icily, and the chill in his voice put fear into Damian's veins.

"And what do you mean she wasn't accounted for on the bus home?" Yor fretted. "We've been waiting all night and she hasn't even called! If she wasn't at school, then where the hell is she?"

Damian leaned forward. If Anya's parents hadn't seen her either, then something really bad was really going on.

The housemaster of Cecile Hall, Professor Henderson, regarded the Forger's calmly with his palms held outwards towards them in a defensive stance. "Mr and Mrs Forger, I am sure we will manage to find Anya. It's not unusual for her to get up to some adventures during the day, but she does usually return by the right time-"

Yor flared up. "Usually? Well it's past the right time!" She took a menacing step forward. "It's bedtime! Anya should have been home hours ago! If she isn't at home, and she isn't here, it's because you failed your duty as a housemaster and a guardian, and she is lost because you haven't been keeping an eye on her!"

"Yor!" Loid tried to reassure his wife. "That's enough! We can't expect Professor Henderson to have a close eye on everyone at the school!"

Yor ignored him and barrelled ahead. "My precious Anya is somewhere, maybe all alone, and scared because this school failed to protect her!"

And then Yor growled with such ferocity that Damian felt a primal instinct in his body tell him to run.

Her eyes were as dark as a storm, piercing the room with a crackling intensity that Damian trembled under, and he consciously told himself to stay where he was. He had seen Anya's mother at some parent-teacher events, but he had never met her properly, had never spoken to her, and he hadn't learned that much about her from Anya apart from the fact that she was physically strong.

He had no idea that she was this terrifying.

A small voice in his head reminded Damian that this was the woman who had supposedly been training Anya in combat and physical athleticism, and his throat tightened in fear.

Fire blazed from Yor's fierce glare.

"I swear on my life, if anyone hurts my child," declared Yor in a chilling whisper. "It's your head."

Damian froze.

That voice. That voice commanded millions of years of evolution in his body and told him to run away and hide like he had never run before.

He had only ever heard of bears in books, movies, and stories, but now Damian felt that if he ever saw a real bear, they would be only a fraction as dangerous as Yor Forger.

"Yor, darling," said Loid calmly, and suddenly Damian could see why Anya admired him so much. "That's no way to speak to Anya's professors."

Yor blinked, and seemed to come to the present as she realised what she had just said. "Oh my! I am so sorry!" She punctuated every word with a sincere bow. "Please forgive me!"

"My, er," Professor Henderson took a fearful step back at the sudden change in this woman's demeanour and presentation. "There's no need to be so apologetic, I assure you that it is natural for any mother to be worried about their child-"

"But that still leaves us with the question," Loid interrupted, and Damian got the distinct impression that Loid was trying to move away from Yor's threatening behaviour. "Of what we do now. If our daughter is not at home, and is not at school, and none of her friends have heard from her, then that means that she's officially missing."

"Well," said Professor Henderson gravely. "That would mean that the next step is to call the authorities…"

Damian stepped away from the door.

"Bossman?" said Emile, tentatively.

"What are we going to do?" said Ewen. He looked between the two of them, and Damian just knew that they were waiting for him to make a decision.

He was their leader. Their boss man. He always made the decisions, always told them what to do and led their group to their goals.

But this time, Damian found himself at a complete and utter loss. Anya was officially missing? This meant that whatever happened next, he had zero control over, zero idea of what to do, and how to help.

Damian chewed his lip. What to do, indeed? The adults were going to call the police - the same adult that rescued Damian from attempted kidnappers. If Mr Forger didn't have the skills to find Anya like he found Damian, then what hope did they really have?

Damian looked down at himself and his black school uniform pyjamas. What could he, a normal school student, do?

His brain turned over several impossible ideas, before he was forced to admit that his brain came up embarrassingly blank.

"I'm going to my room," Damian mumbled, and walked away. It was a few minutes before he noticed that he was being followed.

"Emile, Ewen, you don't have to-" and he stopped.

It wasn't Emile or Ewen.

Damian didn't have to try too hard to remember the boys' name in his mind. He reached for it with the tip of his tongue. "Adrian," Damian said cautiously. "Do you know something?"

Adrian looked quickly away. "I wasn't following you or anything."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Sure you weren't," and he closed the door of his room behind him.

He shivered. Something about that boy always made him feel like the temperature had dropped. He walked over to his phone, and opened up the text message chain to the one person in the world he loved more than anything.

Hey! I'm waiting for you. I got peanuts.

Peanuts? Omg you're the best! Thank you! You always know how to make me smile ^.^

What can I say? I've been paying attention :)

Damian smiled as he looked through the texts they had been exchanging for the past few months. The others didn't know of course that they had been keeping in touch like this - it was just their secret. And it made Damian feel like there was a part of Anya that he could have all to himself.

I forgot to do the homework! Can I copy yours?

Absolutely not, shrimp. Gotta earn those Stellas :P

Not fair! I'll get you a juice at lunch?

You think a juice will cover you when you get found out for cheating?

Okay fine. Last minute study session?

Can do. Meet me in the library at lunch :)

Damian scrolled through the messages, smiling at all of their exchanges. But as he reached the end of the text chain, his smile fell from his face. His thumb hovered over the keyboard, and he typed out a quick message.

Hey. We're all pretty worried about you. You ok?

Damian stared at the screen for a bit, then clicked it off and put the phone under his pillow. If it rang, he would definitely hear it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I'm sorryyy!

And also, yes they have been texting in secret. I thought I would give you guys a small Damianya treat to soften the pain :')

I realised when I brought in the phones in chapter 7/8 that the 60s didnt have phones (duh! obviously) but I will admit this was an error on my part, but i decided to keep this detail because I think phones/texting can be an interesting plot device. So, thanks for your continued suspension of disbelief lol

Thank you everyone for your lovely reviews/comments, I read them all and I love seeing your thoughts!