The battle was quick. Hardly four hundred experience points. It was a long, slow climb to level seven, even with fighting every day. The real number they kept track of was how many monsters were still on earth. Evelyn watched the number go down, even as her unease was still there. Sure, a group in Europe managed to get rid of a lot of large rats that might have brought the second bubonic plague. And sure, it was large enough that it marked a good fifteen rats off their list, but Evelyn was starting to think that fifteen rats weren’t as terrifying as one kraken in the ocean.

  Unless, of course, those rats actually did carry the second bubonic plague. Then Evelyn was happy to see them crossed off. They didn’t need that happening next June.

  Evelyn walked into the house, the keys of the car feeling like they were burning a hole in her pocket. She knew now what that cost. How long had Nick known about this? How long had he protected her from this knowledge? She felt slightly betrayed by this. He didn’t want her hitting Walt, but… she should know. He was her father, too.

  Nick opened a drawer, grabbing tape and scissors before pulling out a notebook and heading to his room. Evelyn sat down at the couch with her phone, going through her social media, lost in the rabbit hole that was.

  Lost, even as her mind wandered. She knew Tyler only cared about her like a sister. Her face had been flush even at Tyler’s slight horror that she’d do something more. It was both heartbreaking and comforting at the same time. Tyler didn’t care about her. She knew he didn’t care. He practically admitted as much. It was as he said, there was absolutely nothing between them.

  She really needed to stop finding excuses to hug him. If he ever figured out she had feelings, things would start to be unbearable in the group. Let alone the fact that he clearly had a girlfriend he adored.

  Her finger paused on a picture of Tyler and Charlotte at a concert on campus. There were a few examples of the pictures, the last one of Tyler staring right at Charlotte like he adored the ground she walked on.

  Evelyn turned off her phone, rubbing her eyes. “Oh my god, I’m a child,” she muttered. There was absolutely nothing Evelyn could do to catch Tyler’s gaze, because he was looking somewhere else.

  Not that she wanted it. Obviously, she was sixteen. If Tyler kissed her, she would have slapped him. Tyler didn’t want her. And she didn’t want him to want her. Unless she was twenty.

  God, she was exhausted.

  “Hey, Evelyn, it’s about bedtime, don’t you think?” Walt asked.

  Right. She was a child and had a bedtime. Evelyn grabbed her phone, brushing herself off. “Hi, dad.”

  Walt raised an eyebrow, because despite the kind words, Evelyn’s tone was frosty.

  “Do you have something to say to me?” Walt asked.

  “Yeah,” Evelyn said, glaring at Walt as she pulled out the keys. “Really, dad? You took me to the nicest used car lot and not tell me that it was Nick’s money I was spending?”

  Walt did not look scared. Despite Evelyn punching him a week ago, her father was not concerned about being in the room with her. It infuriated her. To his eyes, she would always be a child. Her hits and slaps would be nothing more than that of a small child. Nick had tried for ages to get Walt to treat him like an adult. She was getting a taste of it now, even though it was something she’d been mired in all along.

  Not needing to worry about getting a job. Patting her hand as she made purchases for her skin care and nail polish. Sighing as they handed over money for her to go on a shopping spree. She realized how spoiled she was, and it was always done with a tendency toward her parents treating her more like a child. Which culminated in Walt using her to ruin Nick’s life. And if Neal hadn’t stepped in and saved Nick, she would have been more of a mess than she was now.

  Well, if giving her father a black eye wasn’t going to change how he looked at her, perhaps she needed to do something far more intellectual.

  “You’ve told Nick that when he left in April, he could only take the things he bought,” Evelyn said quietly.

  Her father, it seemed, did not take long to connect the dots. The slight smile on his face flickered. “Evie…”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “He bought the car. Therefore, he takes it with him in April,” Evelyn said.

  Walt’s eyes narrowed. “You honestly think we’ll get you a new one when he leaves?”

  “No,” Evelyn said. “But I honestly think my friends will have my back if you try anything, because I don’t light bridges on fire everywhere I go.”

  Walt rolled his eyes and walked down the hall. Evelyn didn’t care. She almost went into her room when Walt stopped at the door of Nick’s room. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Evelyn scuttled toward Nick’s room to make sure he was alright. She realized he was doing a full on art project in his room. He had placed multiple paper chains against the wall near his empty doorway. Each paper chain had twenty links, and there were six chains dangling to the ground. They were all made out of notebook paper, though perhaps now was not the time to suggest Nick used colored paper for a project he was almost done with.

  “Nick? I’m not going to ask you again,” Walt said.

  Nick grabbed the end of the longest paper chain and tore off a link. He then crumpled the paper while looking right at Walt, gesturing with his head toward the wall. “That’s how many days you have left, old man.” Nick tossed the torn-up chain in the garbage. “Then I’m gone.”

  Nick walked further into his room, and Walt was left staring at the paper chains. He rolled his eyes again and headed for his own room. Evelyn smiled, looking at the curtain of chains. Her eyes lingered on the six chains, and having them all out like that made her realize there really wasn’t a lot of time left. Six chains of twenty circles. He was almost out. Four more months, almost to the day. His freedom was getting closer, and with the call from Neal, it was all but assured.

  ***

  Derek dropped Milo and Grizzizzik off at Mr. Anderson’s room early Friday morning. They had gone in their usual disguises, Milo using his disguise self to pose as a student he’d seen often coming late to school. Grizzizzik used the hat of disguises from Akshi to change into Nick. The deadline had been shortened, and therefore everyone could see them. They were two adults entering a high school, and they needed to disguise themselves accordingly. Nick knew not to be around Mr. Anderson’s room, so it worked out fine.

  They had arrived earlier than usual, mainly because Derek’s stomach was one big knot of nerves. Milo was excited to get to work on green mana, Derek wanted to go early, and Grizzizzik was just there. Once those two entered the lab, Derek made his way to the theater room. Despite the somewhat early hour, most of the kids were hanging around the list taped up to the side of the door. Mr. Jensen wouldn’t send out the electronic one until tonight, so this was the best way to get the news fast.

  Derek ran his finger down the list. He didn’t have to go down far.

  Gaston – Derek Perez

  Derek’s smile flickered into existence, and all the stress melted off his body. Sure, he nailed his audition, but that didn’t necessarily mean he’d get it. Art was subjective that way. And it also did not help his anxiety in the slightest.

  He glanced through the list well enough to see Emma had gotten Belle, to no one’s surprise. He was surprised to see Jackson, a Junior, as beast. Fascinating.

  He took a picture of the cast list to send to his other friends in drama, and to study it more later. He walked into the classroom, seeing Mr. Jensen.

  “Hello, Jensen. Also, question,” Derek said.

  Mr. Jensen glanced up from his book, raising an eyebrow. “Hello, Derek. I’m assuming you’re not here to make me change my mind?”

  “Absolutely not. It’s what I asked for,” Derek said.

  “I know. But I also know my line of work,” Mr. Jensen said.

  “Uh, yeah. Okay. Anyway, I was thinking. The musical is in March, right?”

  “Middle of March.” Mr. Jensen started to look a bit terrified. “You… don’t have a conflict, do you?”

  “No, no. Sorry, no.” He realized his drama teacher no doubt tended to also shoot for the worst-case scenarios when given an option. “I… I’d actually like to build some muscle. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I think it’d be fun.”

  Mr. Jensen paused, then seemed to run his eyes down Derek’s frame before giving him another scrutinizing look. “In three and a half months?”

  “Worth a shot, right?” Derek asked.

  Mr. Jensen closed his book, then leaned back. “I don’t want to discourage you by any means, but I also don’t…” he sighed, closing one eye. “I don’t want you to put your body through any unneeded stress for a part in a high school play. People have really hurt themselves trying to bulk up for a part. You got the part because you could portray Gaston’s essence. We’ll have a body suit if you really want it.”

  “I appreciate it. Really, Mr. Jensen. It means a lot. But… I also want to try.”

  Mr. Jensen sighed, then lifted a hand. “Not on your own. Please. At least give me that.”

  “I have a friend on the football team. Do you think I could train with him?” Derek asked.

  Mr. Jensen let out another sigh. “Let me talk to some of the other football coaches and see if they can let you go on weight training day. If you had a solid week with them before the break, I suppose I’d let you train with your friend.”

  “Sick. How many days does the football team do weight training?” Derek asked.

  “I have no idea,” Mr. Jensen said before gesturing at his own body that wasn’t exactly muscular. “All I do is ride a bike to work.” Derek snorted. “Promise me you’ll listen to them and not overexert yourself. You were excellent in callbacks, and I don’t want you to get hurt. And if you try for a week and don’t want to do it, that’s fine, too. We have a body suit to make you look bigger.”

  Derek didn’t like that idea. He hadn’t ever since he thought about playing Gaston. He wanted it to be as realistic as possible. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to get in shape. There was an apocalypse he was trying to prevent, after all.