~*~

"We have to do something." Elias ran his fingers through his hair, looking around the empty halls, frantic.

"Do what?" Sunshine studied him; a sunken expression on his face.

"We..." Elias paused. "We tell her." His gaze darted over towards the double doors.

"We tell her?" Sunshine asked disappointedly, stepping in front of his view.

"We have to." Elias took a step forward, but was stopped by Sunshine pulling at his sleeve before planting himself in front of him again.

"No." He struggled anxiously. "We can't do that."

"What are you talking about?" Elias furrowed his brows as he moved around him. "Of course we can she's right in-"

He was taken back by the aggressive yank on his arm. "We can't just..." Sunshine let go suddenly, pursing his lips as he squeezed the beanie on top of his head, turning away from him. "Hazel."

Elias watched him confused. He'd never seen him act like this. Clearly stressed and off-hinged; he always seemed so carefree. It all happened so fast, Elias couldn't discern it. Watching him standing there with his head looking at the ground and fingers entangled around his beanie, he couldn't piece together what he was missing.

"What's wrong?" Elias asked in a softer tone, and Sunshine gradually began to relax. There was an awkward silence before he broke it with a sigh.

Sunshine's small frame sunk for a second before he decided to turn around. "I-"

He paused; his eyes looking just beyond Elias. His body tensed and Eli could visibly see him swallow his words. Confused, Elias couldn't help but look.

The tall, pale figure was impossible to miss. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, one leg bent and the other standing straight, his head was held low with a few black strands hanging in front of his eyes.

"Pardon me." Cush said, without looking up. "I need to speak with Elias."

Elias wondered how long he'd been standing there listening. Shaking his thoughts away, he brought his attention back to Sunshine. His eyes were lower now; face blank. Something was very wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"Give me one second." Elias waved Cush off.

"No..." Sunshine spoke dully, stepping away. "I...I'm late for class anyway." Elias furrowed his brows.

"I thought you didn't like your...classes." His voice began to dissipate as he watched him walk away without another word. This wasn't like him at all.

Cush looked up as Sunshine passed him; they had a moment of eye contact between them, and oddly enough Elias could sense the tension. He wouldn't expect anything different. Cush probably looked at him the way everyone else does, and he wouldn't blame Sunshine for being intimidated. Hell, he struggled with it. But it seemed to last a bit too long before Cush decided to break it, tucking his hands in his pockets as he made his way over to Elias.

"We'll talk about this later." Elias called out to Sunshine who quickened his pace.

His view of him was blocked as Cush finally approached. "I'm cancelling tutoring today." His dark eyes stared somewhere off to the side as he continued. "Last minute appointment scheduled by my parents."

"Ok, cool. We'll just pick up next week." Elias nodded, trying to settle his mind. It was all over the place at the moment, and tutoring was the last thing he was worried about.

"Here."

He was so out of it, he hadn't noticed that Cush reached into his back pocket pulling out some lightly folded papers. Elias looked at them puzzled.

"What's this?" He asked.

"The reading and my responses." He unfolded them. "You said to have it done Friday, and due to my cancelling, I thought I'd give it to you now."

He suddenly remembered.

"The stuff I asked for Wednesday? This better be good." Eli gave a small smile.

"Do you want it or not?" Cush's dead tone confirmed he was unamused, which only caused Elias to chuckle, grabbing the papers.

"Good. This should tell me where you are with all this." Elias noticed that Cush was still gripping the papers tight; his eyes watching them firmly.

"Are you sure you're done?" Elias asked slow, giving him a look.

It seemed like forever before he spoke. "Yes." He replied low, finally letting go; his eyes meeting Eli's. "I'll see you next week." With that, he left Elias alone, walking straight outside the school through the glass doors. Eli watched as he sauntered down the sidewalk and into a black car parked outside the school. He recognized Benson in the driver's seat.

He wondered where he was going, but decided to leave off to his next class before Cush noticed he was watching him.

~*~

"Who did it!?" She screamed hysterically, maneuvering the barbie's arms to stand up straight. "We have to find who hurt your wife!"

The thunder boomed following the bright flash outside the window.

Ava looked up at Elias who was holding his male barbie stiffly in his hand. "Oh right--I mean yes. Let's do that." He cleared his throat and Ava giggled.

"You're supposed to be sad Eli."

Elias made a huge frown, pointing to his face. "Like this?"

"No." She laughed standing from her laying position, putting her barbies down and grabbing his. "Like..." She made the male hold the female who was laying on the ground. Elias didn't care to keep up with the names. "...this." She then proceeded to let out a very piercing scream of the word no. "See?" She asked innocently.

Elias slowly unscrunched his nose as the shrieking stopped. "I don't think my voice can go that high." He chuckled, and Ava returned to her barbies.

"Try." She said.

He leaned closer to her, opening his mouth as to do it. "No."

"Try!" She jumped, shaking him, and he sighed, dragging out a fine. He gave her a look. Suddenly, Ava snickered as his voice cracked, doing a very breathy version of her example. Elias couldn't help but smile as they continued.

"I know who!" Ava's female barbie declared.

"Who?" He asked.

"Who do you think Eli?" Ava gave Elias a look. He glanced at all the dolls before holding up his own.

"The husband." He shrugged. "He was with her all the time. I mean look at him." He pointed to it's face of stiff bright features; he cringed. "He has the face of a monster."

"No." She shook her head. "He loved his wife a lot. Look at the house he got her!"

"Well, who killed her then?"

"She's not dead." Ava gasped. "That's too sad."

Elias looked down at the barbie face planted into the carpet. "Right. Well, who hurt her then?""

"His brother." She held up her male. "He did it!"

"So..." he scratched his head. "He's the monster?"

"No." She shook her head again, and this time Elias was very confused. "He's not a monster. He was just lonely and jealous. I know when people feel like that, they get mad and do bad things, but he's not a monster. See, he's a man." She smiled innocently.

Elias paused, looking at her as she continued on with her barbies. He thought it funny, how she wasn't talking about him at all.

"You know what this story is still missing." He set his doll down with a sigh.

"What?" Ava asked.

"A monster!" He lunged forward with an evil laugh, tickling her. Elias couldn't help but join the laugh watching her body curl up as she screamed, kicking out her legs. He didn't stop until he noticed the woman through a crack in the door. Once she saw that she had been spotted, Brie opened it a bit wider.

"Sorry to interrupt." She smiled, struggling to hold in her laugh. "But we're starting soon."

"Oh!" Ava escaped from his grasp, scrambling to her feet, grabbing her pillow and blanket. Brie bent down as she rushed over to her.

"Daddy's waiting. Go join him and I'll be right down." She patted her back, sending Ava on her way. Brie stood straight noticing that Elias had already started putting things up. She let out a silent breath as she watched him a bit longer.

"We're having a movie night." She spoke tentatively as Elias glanced up at her. "If you want to join us...there's popcorn, ice cream, gummies--whatever you like. I mean, I don't know if you like that stuff, but um..."

Elias watched as she averted her gaze. He furrowed his brows before realizing that she was nervous to ask. He decided to keep the conversation going. "What movie?"

"Huh?" She asked, snapping her eyes back to him.

"The movie? What's it about?" He continued to clean.

"Uh, it's called Real Steel. One of my favorite movies." She laughed. "About an awesome robot who brings this father and son closer together."

Elias flinched at that. Father and son.

She laughed, touching her forehead. "I'm really bad at summarizing, but it's a great movie with alot of action--beautiful story."

Sitting through two hours of a movie dealing with the bonding of a father and son with his dad sounded like torture. His mind shut down, trying to process the amount of tension there would be. He didn't have the emotional charge to fight for attention he knew he'd never receive. Brie noticed his silence.

"Maybe next time?" She suggested, tilting her head. "I'm sure you're tired."

"Yeah." He refused to look at her. "Next time. I've got some homework to catch up on."

"Of course." She smiled, grabbing the door handle.

"Just..."

She paused, looking at the boy smiling to himself.

"Keep the barbies between you and me."

She laughed, nodding her head before closing the door behind her.

It didn't take long for Elias to finish up and head down the hall to his room. Sitting on his bed, he blew through his lips, looking around. He really didn't have homework to catch up on, and desperately needed something to do before it was time to head over to Sunshine's. That's when he remembered the work he'd gotten from Cush earlier and decided now was as good a time as any to look over it. Looking through his book bag, he pulled out the few sheets and made himself comfortable at his desk. He skipped through the first couple of pages of reading and went straight to the responses. He narrowed his eyes as they met the paper with writing.

"What the hell?" He held it closer to his face before laughing.

His handwriting was terrible. Elias couldn't take it seriously. An artist like him had the crappiest penmanship he'd ever seen in his life. Letters flying above the lines and some hanging below for dear life. This had to have been a joke. No way Cush took this seriously. After letting his eyes linger a bit longer, he noticed that a few of his letters were backwards and even upside down. Some of them were barely recognizable. The booming thunder against the house snatched him away from his thoughts, directing his attention to the rain pounding against his window.

He furrowed his brows. This would take more work than just writing it out straight. Why would he do this?

Later that night...

Elias cursed under his breath as he closed the front door behind him. Watching the rain fall off the roof of his house, pit-patting onto the stairs, he knew his prayer that he did ten seconds prior for the rain to stop didn't work. The storm had gotten a bit aggressive with the howling wind taking complete control. Being under a roof didn't matter as the rain still found a way to fly under, hitting his skin like tiny bullets. Shrugging on his hoody, he jogged down the few stairs beginning his way towards Sunshine's house. He instantly began thinking about the conversation they had struggled with earlier and wondered if Sunshine would even want to see him. Though they were supposed to meet with the group tonight, he still didn't want there to be tension. He just remembered him being so upset--

Eli's thoughts came to a halt as his eyes landed on the short figure looking inside of the yellow car parked outside. The orange beanie was always such a dead give away. It didn't take long to approach him, although it was clear rainbow boy was oblivious of his presence. He didn't blame him; the weather was wild tonight--Eli could barely hear his own thoughts.

"Hey Sunshine--"

Bonk!

"Ow!" Gripping his head, he slowly backed out from the car, his eyes suddenly meeting Eli's. He scrunched his nose. "I thought we weren't supposed to scare each other."

"I didn't." Elias chuckled at him. "What are you doing anyway?" He stood against the old yellow car, tilting his head at the feet dangling out of the driver side door as Sunshine crawled back in.

"I just...need...one!" Rainbow boy grunted, struggling to reach inside the glove compartment over all the junk in the way. Eli pinched the bridge of his nose. The rain had already managed to tackle the few hairs in front if his face that couldn't fit within the hood. By the time they'd get to the hideout, he'd be completely drenched.

"Why don't you go to the other side?" Elias walked around the car as Sunshine replied,

"The handle's broken on the outside now. She said...a tree...hit her." Sunshine finally opened the flap as Elias furrowed his brows, examining the damage of the car. The paint was badly scratched with the mirror hanging by a thread, rocking from the wind.

"The tree hit her?"

Sunshine looked up at him through the passenger window. "Yeah." He said. "That's when I knew she was drunk." His face fell blank for a second before he sprang up in excitement. "Found them!"

Elias sighed at the box in his hand. "All this for cancer sticks?"

"Don't call them that." Sunshine gasped.

"Oh, I'm sorry, does that--does it ruin it for you?"

Sunshine put one between his lips, talking out the side of his mouth. "Kinda yea..." He proceeded to light it up.

"Good." Elias rose both brows, leaning closer to the window. "Cancer sticks."

Sunshine smiled, taking a puff before blowing it at him. Elias moved away as the window became consumed in smoke. He could hear his muffled laugh behind the glass suddenly change into a coughing fit.

"Exactly." Elias chuckled turning away. "Hurry up Sunshine. We should've left by now." He leaned against the car, crossing his arms as his foot played with the damp rocks and pebbles littering the drive way. "Hey, Sunshine?"

"Yeah?"

"About Charlotte...look I know--"

"You were right." His voice was masked behind the window.

Elias paused.

"I knew you were right. I just didn't want to accept it, you know? It's--she..." The rain took over the conversation for a moment. "She's happy. After all she went through...she's finally happy. I didn't want to be the one to take that away. Telling her this, it's going to scare her. It's going to bring back memories. I just don't want her to get...the thoughts."

Elias furrowed his brows. "What thoughts?"

Sunshine didn't respond. He only took another puff, looking down to his fingers. "But you're right." He said. "Her safety is more important. She's a mother after all."

Elias nodded his head, returning back to his pebble. He could see what he meant. Her story was so hopeful--complete with a happy ending. This would be like saying wait there's more, and honestly there's no telling how she would handle it. It's almost like snatching the hope away from her story all together. Elias glanced over to the rainy blurred image of Sunshine through the glass. That's what rainbow boy really wanted from it. The sustaining comfort of hope.

Clayton Blackmore wasn't just a rapist. He was a thief. A stealer of choice, innocence, and hope.

Elias cringed at that. Disgusting.

For this thought, it was nearly impossible not to look over towards the house. His eyes trailed along the crack in the siding that ran along the outside down to the withered garage. As his mind continued to wander, he almost didn't catch the slight humming from the door over the roar of the clouds.

Unsure, he did a double take, before squinting his eyes. It didn't take long for him to realize it was moving up, and there were legs standing on the other side. His heart dropped. Out of panic, he opened the back door of the car and hopped inside quickly closing it shut. Rainbow boy noticed him struggling, and immediately began laughing.

"Whoa, did you forget what you found back there?"

Elias ignored him, clambering against the trash and clothes.

"What are you-" Sunshine was interrupted by the boy roughly climbing over him, grabbing the driver door handle.

"Hey--"

Elias quickly snatched the cigarette out his mouth, tossing it outside before pulling the door shut.

"Ow!" Sunshine cried out from the sharp pain in his boney thigh caused by Eli's knee; too weak to shove him off, he resorted to hitting. "That hurts!"

"Sunshine would you--" Elias yell-whispered, gritting his teeth at his frail jabs. "Stop--look!"

Sunshine suddenly noticed the look in Eli's eyes, and wasted no time in twisting his body to where he was looking, ignoring the pain. The garage was completely open now, and Clayton had made his way out into the pouring rain with his head down.

"It's him." Sunshine said quietly.

"Yeah." Elias clenched his jaw as he watched him go around the side of the grey car.

"But--um." Sunshine patted his leg lightly, trying to hide his pain under a hushed voice. "It still hurts Hazel."

"Elias." Eli corrected him, moving to the back of the car without breaking his glare on Clayton as he hopped into the driver's seat.

"You think he's..." Sunshine's voice faded away as they both watched the rearview lights cut on.

"Definitely." Elias gave a defeated breath. "Where else does this creep go?"

"And she has no idea." Sunshine turned around, laying his head on the stirring wheel. "It's my fault."

"No. It's not." Elias watched as the car slowly backed out into the street before pulling off; his breath getting heavier with rage my the second.

"You know what."

Elias could hear some noise coming from where rainbow boy was sitting but couldn't break his eyes away from the street. "What?"

"It's not..." Sunshine had a bit more conviction in his tone. "...too...late." After hearing the on going commotion, Elias finally looked back just as Sunshine started the car.

"Whoa, what are you-"

The wind was knocked out of his chest as he was slammed against the front seat. The car shot out into the street before screeching to a hault.

"Whoa!" Sunshine laughed, hopping up and down. Elias sat up wide eyed and breathless.

"Do you even know how to drive!?"

"Of course I do! What do you think Racer Death Track taught me? How to put on a seat belt?" He shifted it to drive.

"Wait..." Eli huffed. "Isn't that an arcade game?"

"How hard can it be?" He shrugged, slamming his foot on the gas. Once again, Elias was sent flying into God knows what on the seats. He could hear the long whoo leave Sunshine as the car zoomed down the street. Elias struggled to sit up straight, just barely catching the glimpse of the yellow street light turning red as the car zoomed under.

"Dude! You just ran a light!" Elias finally lodged himself between the two front seats.

"Well, I can't see clearly! It's too much rain!" Sunshine yelled.

"Turn on the wipers!"

"Racer Death Track didn't have that!"

"God damnit Sunshine!" Elias grunted, rolling down one of the back windows. Sticking his head out, he squinted his eyes through the rain. "Make this right!"

Sunshine didn't hesitate making an abrupt turn rolling over the