As Conner opened his dorm door, he was surprised to hear voices. He looked towards Erik’s desk, listening to him laugh.  

Erik look up at Conner, saying, “Oh, hey!” he checked the time on his laptop screen, “You’re home early.”

“Ah…yeah. I skipped my last class,” Conner said, as his eyes met Tim Carter’s. He cleared his throat before muttering an awkward, “Hey Tim. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”

Tim glanced at Erik before standing. “Nah, that’s okay. I was just leaving.” A look of guilt passed over his face as he took a step towards Conner. “Hey man, listen, I just want you to know that I'm not friends with Mike or anything. Erik told me what happened, and I think that everything he said was really uncool.” He grimaced, looking at his feet. “It’s tricky, since he’s my roommate and all. I just didn’t want things to be awkward.”

Conner nodded, giving him a small smile. “Thanks. No worries.”

Tim grinned. “Great,” he looked at Erik, winking and giving him a thumbs up, “Well, I’m off E., I’ll email you my notes.”

Erik thanked him, waving as Tim left the room.

Conner dropped his bag and crutches, sitting on the bed. “What were you guys doing?” he asked, a spark of jealousy digging into his chest.

Erik gestured to his computer screen. “He was filling me in on what I missed so I don’t flunk the big exam at the end of the month. Thank god it’s just the beginning of the semester; hopefully the suspension won’t affect my marks too much.”

Conner fidgeted. “I didn’t really realize you cared so much about school—I guess since you’re here on scholarship, you must—you just always seem like such a rebel.”

Erik smirked, walking over to sit on his bed across from Conner. “I guess I am a bit of a rebel, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.” He shrugged, lacing his fingers together on his stomach as he slouched back into the wall. He looked at Conner, his eyes heavy half-moons. “There are just other things that I care about more.”

Conner broke eye contact, blushing. “Like what?” he asked.

Erik sighed, thinking about it. “There are a lot of things more important than school. Friends, family, happiness… I just want to make sure I’m able to support myself in the future. I guess I’m selfish in that way,” he smirked, leaning forward towards Conner. “So, how was class?”

“Actually…I told Jannet what happened,” he said, brushing down the hair on the back of his head.

“And how did that go?”

“Well,” Conner took a deep breath, “she wanted us to tell the police. I told her that we if we did, we’d need something concrete to go to them with.” Conner looked at Erik, biting his lower lip nervously as he said, “She came up with a really good idea…but I think if we get caught again, we’ll probably get expelled.”

Erik frowned, narrowing his eyes. “What idea, exactly?”

“Her theory is that whoever detonated the science department must have been trying to get rid of something. The fact that the school has it all blocked off might be because they’re trying to cover up whatever it was. She suggested looking back at the recordings and trying to figure out exactly what room the device was set off in…”

Erik raised his brows. “So, she’s saying we should go check it out before they dispose of all the evidence? If there's anything left, that is.”

Conner nodded. “Yeah…pretty much.”

Erik eyed Conner’s leg. “Your still injured. Not sure it’s a good idea going into a dangerous situations if you can’t run.”

Conner sighed. “And you already got suspended.”

Erik chewed his thumb, Conner beginning to notice it was a habit when he was thinking. “But she’s right,” Erik said, “they might be trying to get rid of evidence.”

Conner’s heart felt painful as he leaned forward and grabbed Erik’s hand.

Erik blinked, looking up at him with vague surprise.

“Don’t risk your future by doing something stupid,” Conner said, bravely squeezing his fingers before he let it slip away.

Erik stared at him, his hand limp on his knee. “I’d rather that than do nothing and risk everyone else’s.”

“I don’t want you to get in anymore trouble. Don’t make me regret telling you,” Conner pleaded, worried now that Erik was going to rush off alone to try and be a hero. “I’m serious.”

Erik gritted his teeth, standing with his hands on his hips. “All the cameras in the science department are probably fried, so there’s no point trying to tap back into surveillance.”

“And that probably wouldn’t be safe either,” Conner said, “since Mr. Nielson knows something’s going on. He might be waiting for us to do something. Our supervisor definitely won’t let us sneak out again.”

Erik looked at him, his dark hair shadowing his face as an idea sparkled in his eyes. “What if they aren’t trying to get rid of evidence…but trying to keep it hidden.”

Conner frowned. “You think that’s why they have the building quarantined?”

Erik shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean I’m sure the explosion and fire did damage the building’s integrity—”

There was a loud beeping coming from Erik’s laptop. Erik walked over to it, bringing it back to where he sat beside Conner. “Hey Anthony, what’s up?” Erik asked as he answered the video chat. "Conner's here, too."

Conner waved awkwardly, cursing himself.

Anthony looked concerned, saying quickly, “So, Jannet told me you filled her in on everything that happened. I showed her the surveillance files, as well as the picture I took in the shed. I don’t even know how she spotted this; take a look.”

Erik opened the attachment. It was a screenshot from one of the surveillance cameras of an empty science classroom.

“What exactly am I looking at here?” Erik asked, squinting. “Is this before the fire?”

“Yeah, I accidentally sent her the wrong the file. I didn’t even think this was important.” Anthony typed something, clicking around on his computer. “Look at the whiteboard. I’ll send you a closeup.”

Another attachment.

Erik and Conner stared at the slightly zoomed in photo, not sure what they were supposed to make of it. Conner sucked in a small breath, grabbing Erik’s laptop so he could see better. “Oh my god,” Conner said, slightly shocked, “It’s another pattern… There’s another encryption.”

Erik leaned in, his arm pressed against Conner’s back. “It’s different… Damn, I can’t make out the numbers. And it’s cut off.”

Erik and Conner exchanged a look. “Do you think it’s still there?” Conner asked Anthony, his heart pounding.

Anthony shrugged, pursing his lips into a hard line. “I have no idea. Honestly, I haven’t logged back into the system. They’ve really ramped up security.”

Erik nodded, saying, “We thought as much. What we really need is someone who isn't being watched to go and check it out in person...”

The three of them exchanged hesitant glances, all thinking the same thing. Conner shook his head, protesting as he muttered, “She wouldn’t do it.”

Anthony thought about it, “I don’t know… It was her idea and she’s definitely not being watched, she's such a golden student. It’s just us three that are under suspicion.”

Conner looked at Erik for guidance. “What do you think?” he asked, seeing how Erik’s eyes reflected the screen.

“She’s your friend,” Erik said firmly.

No one wanted to call Jannet.

Conner sighed, moving his fingers across the mouse-pad and added her to the chat.

There was giggling as she appeared on screen, at least four other girls behind her. “Hey guys!” she said cheerfully to Conner, Anthony, and Erik.

There were multiple voices commenting on the attractiveness of Erik and Anthony, asking if one—or both—was her boyfriend. 

Conner felt a twinge of jealousy and exclusion, though he supposed-thanks to Michael Farley-a large portion of the school probably knew he was gay. 

Jannet replied teasingly as she put her earbuds in and secluded herself in the bathroom. Her face became serious as she said, “So, what did you guys think? It’s like the thing you found in the shed, right?”

They nodded. “Exactly like it,” Conner said, then he took a deep breath, staring into the small camera so Jannet would see he was meeting her eyes. “We can't make it out on the screen and have no way of knowing what it says, or if it’s even still there. With the three of us being monitored…” his voice trailed off, a pang of guilt in his stomach.

She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to go look for it? Alone?”

“You can say no,” Conner said, his entire body feeling shaky.

Anthony interjected, “We could be on the phone with you.”

Conner could see her thinking, looking apprehensive. “I don’t know you guys…” she grimaced, “I don't want to go into an unstable building filled with chemicals on a crazy hunt for some weird cipher.”

“I’ll go with you,” Anthony said, leaning back in his chair. 

She looked surprised. “Really?” she asked, hopeful. 

“Sure. It will be interesting to see it first hand. Won't hurt to have a prime with you,” he grinned, “Besides, Conner’s still hurt and Erik’s suspended for punching Mike, even though that really deserves a medal of honor.”

Erik smiled at Conner, making Conner’s heart fly up into his throat.

Jannet contemplated this. “You’d bring filming equipment?”

Anthony nodded. “I’ll even sync it so that it’s automatically recorded and backed up. That way no matter what—”

“If we get caught,” Jannet translated, rolling her eyes.

Anthony laughed. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

Everyone waited as Jannet took a few deep breaths. She nodded, scrunching up her face in a nervous cringe. “Okay... Okay, I’m in.”