Denzil Kelly's class was the final group of students to leave the building.

He walked along the corridors with his classmates in stony silence. Whilst he didn't know what was going on, getting out of science was the best thing that had happened to him all day.

Suddenly, Earl jumped out from an empty classroom, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him inside.

"What's going on?" Denzil grumbled, his voice filled with panic as he yanked his sleeve out of Earl's grasp

"I was just going to ask you the same thing!" Earl shot back

"I don't know! They told us to get our stuff, go outside and be dead quiet" Denzil shrugged

Earl sighed heavily

"Right, come on, let's see what's happening" he decided, grabbing Denzil by his sleeve again and dragging him over to the door

Earl poked his head out, glancing left and right down the corridors.

Once he was sure they were empty, he started walking, dragging Denzil along with him. Neither of them knew Eddie had come back inside to do a final sweep of the building.

The two brothers snuck into an empty classroom on the second floor, hiding under the Teacher's desk. They stared through the tiny gap as the door swung open, Mr Lawson's footsteps echoing through the room.

Denzil held his breath as Eddie approached the desk. Earl had the gun clutched tightly in his hands. It felt like hours before Mr Lawson's footsteps finally retreated from the classroom.

Earl knew this was about the gun. Paul and Bolton had reported him to one of the Teachers. He wasn't going down for this, no way! He just had to be clever and come up with a plan.

One came to him immediately when he looked at his innocent, naive little brother.

Once they were certain Mr Lawson had gone, they stood up, heading back down the stairs. As they walked, Earl put the gun into Denzil's hand.

"What are you doing?" He frowned, stopping dead in his tracks

"You need to take it, Den" Earl told him softy

"No, I don't want to!" Denzil cried, his eyes widening in panic

"You need to, Den, for me" Earl responded simply

Denzil shook his head frantically

"I don't want it! They'll catch me with it!" He whined

"It's better than them catching me with it!" Earl argued

"No!" Denzil whimpered

Earl resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was going to be more difficult than he'd originally thought.

"Yeah, Den! You're a little kid, they'll just slap your wrist- it'll be a laugh!"

"How?" Denzil frowned

"You know, they'll slap cuffs on you and that, take you down the station" Earl shrugged

"Don't sound like a laugh to me" Denzil mumbled

"Yeah, well, no one will be calling you thick around here anymore Denzil. Denzil, mate they wouldn't dare! Because then you'd be dangerous, just like me" Earl reasoned

Denzil's worried look vanished from his face. Earl was winning him over easily now. His little brother's naive, defenceless nature and deeply rooted insecurities were finally coming in useful.

"Go on, do it for me?" Earl requested

Denzil still wasn't fully convinced

"See, if they catch me with it, Den, well... you won't be seeing me around here for a while anyway. Then who's going to look after you in this dump, eh?" Earl snapped, growing impatient

"There's our Marley," Denzil answered

"What? You really think he cares about you, do you? Because if you do, you're more stupid than you look!" Earl snarled, pushing him toward a locker

He tilted Denzil's chin so he was looking at him. He needed this plan to work.

"I'm the only one that looks out for you round here, Denzil. You know it." He growled

"So go on, take it" he added, pushing the gun into Denzil's hand

Denzil gave in, wrapping his fingers around the handle. Earl smiled at him smugly.

"Nice one" he hissed, ruffling his bald head before walking away

Denzil had never felt so frightened and so powerful at the same time. The gun was cold and heavy in his hand. He'd never touched or held a gun before. He liked the feeling of it in his grip. It baffled him how such a small contraption ignited so much fear in people and could cause so much damage.

As he continued to examine the gun, an injured Donte Charles was walking through the corridors, confused as to what was going on.

Outside, the final lot of registers were being taken and the bag checks had been finished.

Earl joined the crowd of students, answering his name just as it was being called out. Denzil's name had been called out and met with silence. Earl grinned.

Bolton and Paul were stood in front of him, guilt etched on their faces, their body language communicating their discomfort.

"Wonder what they're looking for?" Earl taunted

Paul flinched. Bolton shifted uncomfortably.

"They haven't said anything yet" Paul stated, trying to keep his voice calm and steady

"Well whatever it is, it's got them worried" Earl shrugged, smirking

"Yeah" Bolton agreed

"Well, it's not them that need to be worried is it? It's whoever's been shooting their mouth off!"

He laughed coldly at his own pun

"Do you get it? 'Shooting their mouth off'?" He sniggered

Paul and Bolton didn't move an inch. Earl instantly stopped laughing.

"But it could still happen, believe me" he added, walking away

As Earl walked away, Marley approached him, a panicked look on his face.

"Earl? Where's Den?" Marley asked, concern laced in his voice

"How should I know?" Earl spat

Marley huffed, walking away. Earl smirked. He couldn't believe how well his plan was playing out.

Back inside the walls of the school, Denzil walked along the corridor, his eyes fixed on the gun in his hand, examining every detail.

Donte walked at a brisk pace, looking at all of the empty classrooms. What had he missed while he'd been working on the van? There wasn't a student or staff member to be seen.

He walked through another door, wincing at the throbbing and burning pain in his hand which was bleeding profusely.

When he saw Denzil, he breathed a sigh of relief. Finally someone who could tell him what was going on!

"Oi! Do you know what's going on?" He called to him

Denzil jumped in fright at Donte's booming voice, accidentally firing the gun into the air. It went off with a deafening bang, the sound echoing through the halls.

The gunshot was heard instantly outside. Staff and students screamed, immediately running for cover.

Rachel froze, the noise chilling her to the bone. The screams from staff and students were drowned out by the sound of her heart thudding against her chest. The world around her was spinning. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. This was something you saw in a Film or TV show. It couldn't be happening here at Waterloo Road.

But it was.

She felt someone stagger passed her, clutching a hand to their chest. When she looked over, it was Donte.

Before she could react, Eddie was by his side, Chlo Grainger screaming as she was held back by Tom Clarkson a few metres away.

"Have you been hit?" Eddie asked him, panicked

"No, I'm fine. There's a kid in there with a gun" Donte explained breathlessly

At Donte's words, Rachel suddenly snapped out of the daze she was in.

"There's a kid in there with a gun"

She leapt into action without a second thought, dashing back into the school building.

Eddie turned around, realising she'd gone back inside. He panicked. He couldn't lose her, not now.

"RACHEL!!"