In the old history classroom, the half of the mismatched group at the school that day gathered. Vicki had explained why they were there in a much kinder way than Shane had with the popular bunch—kindly requested their phones, informing them of Stephanie's intention of going through them, of course, with their parent's permission. At the same time, she also enlightened each about the social media storm revolving around them, something it was clear they were aware of but had so far ignored due to correctly identifying it as unwanted drama.
"Makes you wonder how Hunter's gonna handle it," spoke Drew from near the window, waving at Cameron when she spotted them. Vicki had tasked each with making welcome folders and put on some music to help the time go quicker. It was clear from the way Vicki acted they weren't in trouble, at least not yet. For now, Stephanie wanted answers about what was happening between the two groups; the more they cooperated, the quicker the issue would be solved, and each could be on their way again. "He's got most of our precious Darklings to deal with. Don't imagine that's gonna be easy," he added quickly, even more so when they all knew how tense things were going to be.
"At least Seth will be distracted. He wasn't thrilled when he realized his psycho ex was on the opposing team," commented Renee, recalling how broken Seth had been following the betrayal of his childhood friend and subsequent breakup with Lacey. The torment after only added to the pain, to his suffering, and was part of the reason he shut himself off from dating until Echo. Deep down, Renee knew Seth kept his distance from the gothic teen because he knew what it was like being in her position and how hard it was to open up and move on from it.
"I don't think Hunter's intervention will be about Serenity's drama," called Roman, casually tying his long hair into a man bun, if only to keep it out of his way. "Aside from Brie and maybe Fearless, the rest have nothing to do with it. Especially the Darklings," he added with a confident tone. He knew Serenity wanted him; she wanted to hurt Summer, to have what Brie once had. "Plus, we all know Hunter has a soft stop for our Darklings."
"If not Miss Dramatic, then what?" asked Becky, regretting her question almost instantly. Even more so when it suddenly hit her. Hunter, like Michelle, had been a huge supporter of their found family. When things had become unstable between them, Hunter had given the Darklings access to the NXT hall, whereas Michelle had taken the rest and given them a place to hide. A spare classroom that was rarely used by anyone.
"Hate to break it to you, Bex, but Seth and Echo are yet to talk about what happened and move on", started Carmella with a sweet tone. "Throw in Seth, obviously harboring feelings for you too; he's confused. Then toss Damian into the mix with his feelings for Echo; you have a messy relationship pudding," she added, showing how observant she could be. Although Seth hadn't spoken of his feelings, it was apparent he was confused, torn even between the two teenage girls he held some love for. Damian, on the other hand, was more challenging to figure out; it had taken Carmella some time to work out that he held affection for the gothic teen. But instead of telling her, he waited patiently for her to be ready to give love a shot again.
"I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that awkward intervention," voiced Miz, Maryse at his side smiling widely as she tried to imagine their wrestling coach going into Papa Bear mode. To help them move forward. "Wait, does that mean Vicki's in on the plan, and this bit with Serenity and her baboons is just the beginning?" he added, wondering at which point Michelle would appear to go Momma Bear on them. It wasn't long before Summer reappeared, fury written across her otherwise perfect features. Vicki followed behind, taking Renee with her when she left again.
"You can rival Demon with that glare," commented Corey, noticing the similarities between the two glares. Although he'd admit Echo's was colder and could send a shiver down his spine, Summer's was far scarier, especially when he knew how kind and gentle she was any other time.
"Sorry. Just trying not to head over to where Shane is keeping the wannabe queen and her brats," spoke Summer, her voice on the verge of breaking as tears welled in her eyes. So many questions ran through her mind; the persistent one was simple. Why? "The social media posts being made, she's claiming I'm bullying her, that I stole Roman and you lot away from her, tried taking over her life, and set the Darklings on her when I couldn't get my own way. She's also alluded to the Homecoming incident with Maryse, claiming that it was her covered in paint," rambled the leggy blonde, wanting to get everything off her chest.
"Can you steal people?" asked Cross, a playful tone running through her voice, her words shortly followed by her iconic laughter.
"I'm trying to wrap my head around me dating her," commented Roman, noticing how all attention instantly landed on him as Drew and Corey moved to block the door to prevent Summer from attempting to murder Serenity and those helping her. Summer sent the Are you serious look in his direction while Maryse questioned if Roman had lost his marbles at some point.
"If that's a joke, it's a bad one," replied Maryse, her tone serious as she looked over to Roman, temporarily forgetting about the welcome pack she was working on. "Your triss with Miss narcissistic is the reason why Summer practically told you to go screw yourself, not to mention the breakups and group split," politely added the french-Canadian, suspecting Roman was likely trying to block that out, or was at least trying to deal with the guilt. After all, so much had changed since then, and not all things broken had been fixed.
"We weren't dating," voiced Roman, adamant that whatever happened between him and Serenity wasn't labeled. In his mind, he and Summer were still an item then; she was the one he wanted, not Serenity. Yet thanks to Serenity's manipulation, he had royally screwed that relationship up and that of several friends. He'd jeopardized friendships but felt like he wasn't in control, felt like he couldn't fight against Serenity as she had him under some spell.
"Don't make me hate you more than I already do," warned Summer. "Even if you weren't dating. Whatever happened still occurred while we were together. So, at best, you treated my heart like a worthless toy; at worst, you cheated on me. Either way, you were just as responsible as she-who-must-not-be-named."
"Think we have a new contender for the coldest pair," spoke Cross from the window, bouncing on the spot as she buzzed with energy. A round of chuckles soon followed as others caught on to her words. "Bex, spill, how did you and Finn manage to stay on friendly terms?" spoke the Scottish teen, beginning to move around the room, being careful not to make too much noise so as not to disturb classes actively taking place around the room they had been confined to.
"I don't know. We talked about what happened. After that, he avoided Seth and me for some time, splitting off with the rest of the Darklings. After a few weeks, he just sent a text. Just slipped back into old ways. I think admitting we missed each other was a big part of it, and both agreed we didn't want to put any of you in the middle of our trouble," admitted Becky, thinking over what happened. Finn had originally chosen to leave due to being unable to handle being around Seth or her. He'd taken Echo with him upon realizing she was in a similar position. The Darklings had done the same as the rest to ensure both were supported. Then, out of nowhere, Finn had sent her a message: Hey, I miss there, everything fell into place.
"Well, we're waiting on Seth and Echo to talk through things. Summer and Roman, have you two talked about yours? Roman, have you apologized properly?" asked Miz. He knew if he and Maryse were in that position, they would have made up by now, talked things through, and found a way to move on. Whether together or independently, it would always be what's best for both rather than one.
Summer snorted at Miz's question. Displaying no such discussion had occurred outside of her ending their relationship the day their found family started their reunification. Roman looked almost surprised, although he would admit he hadn't tried to talk to Summer about what happened between them. He knew he was being selfish, but he didn't want to admit the truth to himself; he was still in the denial stage like he assumed Echo was. Deep down, he knew Serenity was only a part of the problem; he was the other. Summer had been caught in a cruel game of cat and mouse between Serenity and himself; she'd been hurt because he was unable to let her go, unable to be who she deserved. He couldn't stand up and say what he wanted to the manipulative brunette.
"Why y'all looking at me like that? I'm not the only one in denial," asked Roman; upon noticing, all eyes were again on him, with the exception of Summer, who now seemed content glaring out the window to Serenity, pacing back and forth nervously. "Last I checked, Echo's not talked to Seth despite his efforts," he added, hoping to push some of the attention away and remind them there was another pair still in the unknown. Although he would admit, everyone already knew, Echo and Seth had yet to talk about what happened and decide where they would go.
"Except Echo's not in denial or avoiding Seth," spoke Dom, recalling the many times one of the Darklings had asked her. Each time, she stated she was aware she had to speak to Seth and figure everything out with him. If only to put both out of their ongoing misery. She explained she didn't want her past to repeat itself again. From there, she'd told the story of an ex from her previous school in England, revealing Seth wasn't her problem; letting go of her fear was. "She's trying to work through something before she has the talk with said Architect," he added, almost laughing when he noticed how the room had fallen into silence.
"Long story short, it's something from her past in England, also involving she-who-must-not-be-named," commented JD, showing there was a long past between the cousins and one that wasn't to be envied.
"So back to Roman and Summer," voiced Carmella, understanding quickly; there was little anyone could do for Echo but be there for her when she needed them. It soon dawned on her that Seth was likely already in the know, hence why he hadn't pushed the subject but let Echo have her space. Despite the pain both were in.
"Oh my god! There's nothing to talk about," commented Summer, making it plain she felt there was nothing more. "Our relationship is over, I can't trust him in that way again, and he's not going to own up to his dumbass actions. In that regard, she-who-must-not-be-named won. I tolerate him for our family, and he can't be bothered to admit his part, let alone apologize for what he did," she added, anger flooding her voice again as it became clear how difficult it was for her to be around the Samoan, hence why she spent so much time with the Darklings, even when she was the opposite of them.
"To change the subject," spoke Renee upon re-entering the room; in her hand was the match list for the second round of the wrestling tournament. "Vikki gave me the match list, and she said we better be preying for ours to win," laughed the blonde Canadian, returning to her seat mere moments later with the A4 leaflet. Those in the room with her gathered around to read the listed matches, some chuckling while others commented on the matches, noticing almost all were tag matches.
"Some good matches on there," spoke Miz as Michelle entered the room, a small smile appearing on her lips upon seeing the group getting along, although even she would admit something was missing besides the other half of the group away for the tournament.
"Come on. You lot are my helpers, the wrestling team display," called Michelle, laughing at how quickly the group moved. However, she was unsure if it was because of the new task or the chance to escape the room for a little while. "You can tell me about your troubles if you want to, or you can listen to me ramble about the good you've all done together, even if it's without realizing it," she added, leading them down the corridor toward the front staircase near the stairs. Mere minutes later, they passed the classroom the popular bunch were confined to and Shane's office. The deputy head appeared at his wit's end as he dealt with Eva and her side of events.
"So what exactly will you be doing?" asked JD, finding it odd they were recruited, although he wasn't complaining. Anything was better than being stuck in the classroom, with all the tension building between Summer and Roman. Tension that was going to blow sooner or later.
"Making information snippets for the displays. There are eleven members, all of whom have some association with your found family. Stephanie believes as you're all friends with them, you'd be the best people to make the displays regarding them. That and all of you have a passion for wrestling," replied Michelle, entering the empty Business Study classroom. She'd already spent time setting things up for the group; her care was obvious. "You get to design the displays and choose the fun facts for each. You have to keep it clean, though, so no saucy jokes or anything embarrassing," she emphasized, suspecting there would be an inside joke or two somewhere.
"Wait, our headmistress trusts us lunatics to create displays about the wrestling team? She's giving us free rein in the creativity department?" asked Drew to confirm he'd gotten the gist of everything correctly.
"Yup," replied Michelle
"What's the catch?" questioned Becky suspiciously, as if expecting the other shoe to drop. As if expecting more details to be added at the last moment.
"No catch. Just Stephanie's way of distracting all of you for a while," responded Michelle, knowing the group of teenagers wasn't as daft as many wanted to believe. "She doesn't believe Serenity's accusations. All of you surrendered phones without any trouble, and when questioned, you all had the same story. Plus, she's been watching; she knows Serenity is the cause of most, if not all, of the drama. So until the investigation is complete, she's making sure all of you are kept occupied and out of Serenity's line of fire," explained the motherly teacher, knowing deep down Stephanie just wanted to protect the group of teens. After all, each had admitted to their wrongdoings upon realizing what all the hassle was about. Not one tried to blame another for their actions to retaliate.
"She believes us?" asked Corey as if surprised by the knowledge. Not only were several teaching staff in their corner but so was the headmistress herself. "But we've done things too," he added as if bewildered by the idea someone was fighting for them and not just taking everything those drunk with popularity said at face value.
"Do you think we don't know what the cheerleaders and jocks did to earn Echo's wrath junior year?" asked Michelle, recalling the incident well. JBL had shared his opinion of Echo's actions being cruel, even when he knew all she had truly done was retaliate and make those responsible for hurting her regret their decisions. She could recall several, including Stephanie, saying it was deserved. The darker teenager had become a pro at the game of war. And doing it in such a way, her actions could easily be missed for what they were at first glance. "Do you not think we know what happened with Roman and why he up and left the wrestling team, what Serenity has been up to this whole time, and why she left Sacred Heart Academy?" she continued, noticing how Roman appeared to want to disappear now, almost as if he'd previously believed everyone believed his words and excuses before.
"All that matters is you lot do good when you're together. Need proof? Look at Dominik and JD. Both were lost before. Rhea all but dragged Dominik into her family, and all of you welcomed JD as if he'd always been here. Look at the students in the years below you; so many didn't know where they belonged, felt outcasted or different, and as if they had to change," spoke the blonde business study teacher, looking to each of the students before her, wishing she could say her words to everyone apart of the family like unit the group created. "Until all of you were not only brave enough to come together but to show your friendship and family bound proudly. You may not have realized it, but you inspired so many students and taught them it's okay to want to be themselves, to be different, and to be proud of who they are," she continued calmly; she wasn't ashamed to show her pride for them, as if they were her children and she their mother.