I find myself in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, the entire point of forming my own gang is to claim west and south Franklin as my territory before another out-of-towner shows up to try the same thing. That means I should try and expand as fast as possible. On the other hand, expanding as fast as possible is a great way to get the attention of both the cops and the other gangs. Ultimately, I decide it's better to risk a short-term problem than a long-term one. Any rival black mask who tries to set up shop here will most likely be like Firestorm, weak and inexperienced. Even if I get unlucky and a rival shows up in the next few months before I'm established, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to handle them. What I can't handle is ABRA or the Syndicate deciding I'm a problem that needs to be dealt with before I turn into a big problem. The best thing to do is take things slow, stay cautious, and never let myself get complacent.

  Still, I do have to at least make an appearance, or people might start doubting there's even a magical in charge of the gang at all. After some thought, and with David's approval, I decide the smartest thing to do for now is keep things largely separate. My first potential recruits are all customers of my three suppliers, so I divide the gang into three cells. All the lower-level members will only know a single supplier, limiting the damage they can do if they roll over on me. I arrange three separate meetings, introducing myself to each cell independently.

  Jess and David are first. They've got six people interested in joining, including Cassie. At my request, Cassie is the only one I've actually met, to reduce the chance of being recognized. Only the customers they really trust ever get invited over to their house, so they decide to have the meeting in a park half a mile or so away. Like last time, I get there early, this time sitting in a tree while I wait for people to arrive. Jess and David arrive first, with Cassie in tow. I can't resist beaning her in the head with a pinecone; she curses and flips the bird in my general direction. She can't do anything else cause someone else is already approaching, so I keep my snickers quiet.

  It takes a little less than ten minutes for everyone to arrive. In total, there's four guys and two girls. Most of them look a little older, probably in their early twenties, but one guy looks like he's around my age. Hopefully he goes to Cedar Creek, since I definitely want people at both highschools in my soon-to-be territory. I let them all introduce themselves for a minute, then make my appearance, floating down from my perch, once again stopping still a couple of feet from the ground.

  "Good evening. I am Schwarzschild, leader of the Sun Eaters." I take a moment for them all to orient themselves around me. "I'm sure each of you has a reason for wanting to join the Sun Eaters. If you're here because you want money, you'll get money. If you're here because you want drugs, you'll get drugs. If you're here because you want to belong to something, we'll welcome you. But if you're here because you think being part of a gang will let you abuse anyone who isn't, then I suggest you walk away now and forget you were ever invited. Franklin is my home, not just a place where I do business, and I prefer my home to be kept pleasant and tidy. Is that understood?"

  There's nods and nervous mutters of agreement all around, so I continue. "Good. With that said, I'm sure each of you has something to offer the Sun Eaters as well. Introduce yourselves, and tell me how you think you can contribute. We'll begin with you, on the end," I say, pointing at Cassie.

  She plays her role perfectly. "Yo. Cassie. I go to West. If you're looking for someone to move product there, I'm your girl."

  I nod. "That is something I'm looking for. We'll go over the rules in a moment. First, though, I want to hear from the rest of you."

  I gesture to the guy standing next to Cassie, who startles for a moment. "Oh, uh, I'm Garret. I work at the corner store on 29th and Roosevelt. Sometimes sell a little weed to customers on the side, the boss is clueless. Could probably sell plenty more no problem."

  They briefly introduce themselves one by one. The boy I noticed does conveniently go to Cedar Creek, a good start, although I'm sure I'll eventually want more than one seller there. The other girl is a graffiti artist. I've already come up with a tag for the gang, a simple stylized black hole based on my hair ornament, but I'm happy to pay her a little for some more detailed art in prominent places. I intend to keep the name Sun Eaters fairly quiet for a while, so by the time people start to connect the tags with us, our territory should already be quite well-defined. The last two guys are similar to Garret, not having any particular connections, but I'm sure I'll still find a use for them.

  A couple of days later, I meet with Mark's recruits. He's got the most, a full nine. This time, I meet them in an old, run-down bar on the very west edge of town. It's owned by one of the recruits, a guy named Phillip, and is apparently struggling to stay in business. I reject his poorly thought-out plan to use the place as a money laundering operation, instead making him an offer to supply us with alcohol. The profit margins won't be as high as drugs, but it'll still sell well with everyone under 21.

  The rest of the recruits are again a mixed bag, guys and a couple of girls ranging from late teens to late twenties. I doubt most of them will be very useful right now, probably not making more than a couple hundred bucks a month each, but that's alright. It'll be good to have a few extra people on hand for when I need enforcers. There's also one other kid who goes to West, a senior named Ryan who I don't know, but that's actually a good thing. Aside from making it less likely that I'll be recognized, it also means he'll have less overlap with Cassie.

  I meet with Anna's recruits last. She only has three, and just holds the meeting at her house. The walls of her living room are covered with psychedelic tapestries, and aside from one couch, she's got big pillows in place of chairs. She's the youngest of my suppliers and definitely the least experienced, but I'm not real worried about it. All three of her recruits are apparently her good friends who already knew where she lived, so it's not really a risk. Two of them are a couple, a guy and a girl in their mid twenties who never got the message that hippies went out of style two decades ago. They've got lots of connections in the local acoustic music scene, though, something I know absolutely nothing about, so I'm sure they'll move plenty of product for us. The other girl is around Anna's age and has a bright blue mohawk; I'm sure she'll get along amazingly with Cassie when they're introduced.

  As Mr. Sterling predicted, my emancipation hearing is short and perfunctory. With the signed agreement in hand, the judge approves my application in less than half an hour, and I leave the courthouse as a legal adult. It feels like it should be more momentous, but it really doesn't change all that much for me, mostly just making sure I won't run into problems in the future. The only real difference is that I can start looking for my own place now. As much as I've enjoyed my time staying with Jess and David, it's safer to distance my civilian identity from them at least a little.

  I take a little bit of time, mostly so I can scrape together a little more cash. With my first couple of paychecks, the money Huntsman paid me for performing, and the first little trickle of income from the Sun Eaters, I've got about nine hundred bucks to my name. It's not enough to get myself a real nice place, not if they want first and last month or a deposit, but I'm not looking for a real nice place. I'm looking for a place that won't bother me or ask questions, and that kind of place is likely to be on the cheaper (and sketchier) side anyway. I can look for something a little more luxurious later, once I'm actually eighteen and have some kind of money laundering scheme set up.

  My original deal with Jess and David was that I'd be out by the end of September. Things have obviously changed since then, but I end up moving out well before that deadline anyway, in the first week of September. The place I find has a few advantages. First and foremost, it's cheap, just $350 a month, and they don't ask for proof of income or anything. Second, it's less than a mile from West Franklin High, and only a little further from Cassie's house as well. It's in a little complex called Shady Village, on the second floor. The single bedroom is cramped, only big enough to fit a twin bed realistically, but there's a tiny little balcony coming off of the living room. It's only ten or fifteen square feet in total, but it'll make coming and going by air a whole lot simpler. For what I need right now, it's pretty much perfect.

  Embarrassingly, I end up needing to borrow a little money from Jess. I have just enough cash on hand to cover the $500 deposit, but not enough left over to get, for example, a mattress. Thankfully, she's happy to help and doesn't make a big deal about it. The place is still pretty spartan afterwards, the living room consisting of a shitty card table and a pair of folding chairs, but I'll be able to furnish it properly soon enough.

  After helping me move in, Jess and David take me out for hamburgers to celebrate. I'm still gonna see them all the time, of course, since they're basically my main lieutenants, but it's still a little emotional. Then they drop me off, and I'm alone in my new home. I spend a while sitting on my bed, just… appreciating everything. It's a little crazy, that it's really only been two and a half months since my life changed so dramatically, it feels like so much longer. With a pang, I think of Emily. Lately, I've been going entire days without thinking of her, although there's still plenty of moments when I make a note to tell her about something later, only to remember that I can't. It's going to be hard, seeing her at school. I'm resolved not to try and talk to her, I know it won't accomplish anything and it'd be risky for both of us, but it's still going to be hard.

  Speaking of school, it's weird that I'll be going back in just a few days. I'm committed now, dropping out would ruin the whole point of getting emancipated in the first place. It's worthwhile for a couple of reasons. I don't know how many black masks keep going to school, but I'm guessing the number isn't super high, so it'll help my cover. Having a diploma will probably help my cover later, too. We're also going to be doing a lot of our business at West and Cedar Creek, especially at first; Surf 'n Turf have mostly ignored the highschool market to focus on college kids. Being a student will make it easy for me to keep a personal eye on things.

  Mostly, though, I just want to. I want the chance to be myself, publicly and loudly and unapologetically. I refuse to just hide myself away in places where I already know I'll fit in and be accepted. I'm going to do the same things everyone else does, and anyone who has a problem with who I am can shove it. And who knows? Maybe I'll even learn something along the way.

  I go to another house party a couple of days before school starts, a smaller one, just a dozen or so kids. It's a nice, casual night with no drama, but it's also an important opportunity. "Yo, Cassie, you got any weed?" asks Shane fairly early on.

  "Sure do," says Cassie, grinning as she pulls out a ziplock bag holding a couple of ounces. "No free samples tonight, though. Thirty bucks for an eighth."

  Shane whistles. "Goddamn, that's a lotta green. You're going pro?"

  "That's right. Tell your friends about me, huh?"

  "Sure," says Shane, laughing. "Yeah, alright, hook me up."

  A few of other kids line up to buy as well, and Cassie ends up pocketing a full hundred and fifty bucks. "So what's the deal?" asks Tyler after all the sales are finished. "Is your supplier looking to expand or something?"

  "Yeah, something like that," says Cassie, still grinning. "You didn't hear it from me, but they've got a backer now."

  "A backer? You mean, like, a magical?"

  "Can't say anything else right now, sorry," she says, letting her smug expression do the talking for her.

  "Isn't that kind of, like, risky?" asks Katelyn. "You know, after what the Syndicate did to the Wildfire Boys?"

  "Eh, those assholes had it coming," says Cassie, shrugging. "Like I said, though, not supposed to say anything else right now."

  "Yeah, I guess if there's a new magical in town, it's smart of them to keep their head down," says Kate. "Just… Be careful, okay?"

  "Sure."

  "What about you, Gabby, you mixed up in this too?" asks Tyler.

  "Nah," I say, shaking my head. "It's not smart for a DJ to sell drugs. Too visible."

  "Makes sense," he says, nodding. "Well, make sure Cassie doesn't do anything dumb. Or, like, dumber than usual."

  "Hey!"

  "I'll try my best, but no promises," I say, grinning.

  The conversation drifts after that, once it's clear that Cassie really isn't gonna say anything else. I tell everyone about my new place, exaggerating how much I'm making from my DJing a bit, and promise to have everyone over once I can afford some furniture. We leave around one, and I fly Cassie home before flying home myself.

  To my mild horror, I find that my reduced need for sleep has turned me into a morning person. The first day of classes, I wake up at 6:30 without even trying. It leaves me with some time to kill, but I grudgingly admit it's better than running around in a half-asleep panic. My outfit is nothing special, just jeans and a crop top, but it's still something I never would've been allowed to wear before. It feels good. Eventually, I put on my backpack, actually filled with school things for a change, and head out. The walk is actually quite pleasant, just a little over twenty minutes, but I make a mental note to get an umbrella or something before the rainy season starts.

  West Franklin High is one of four public highschools in Franklin. It's a big white building with lots of halls, mostly one story but with a second in a few places. There's still almost half an hour before class starts, but plenty of kids are already swarming everywhere. I don't recognize anyone, so I head straight for the office to let them know about my change of address. The secretary is thankfully too busy to ask any questions, just giving me a little form to fill out and printing out a new copy of my schedule for me. Calculus first period, ugh.

  It actually ends up being no big deal, since I'm not struggling to stay awake. Funny how that works. I can't help but feel a little smug when I look around and see kids slumped over their desks, and oh god I really have become a morning person how did I let this happen? I regret everything. Shaking my head and laughing slightly at myself, I focus my attention on the teacher. He's not wasting any time, spending barely five minutes going over the syllabus before diving straight into limits. Unlike previous years of math, there's no time spent on review at all, but I don't have any real trouble remembering anything. Has my memory improved as well? I'm not sure; it's always been pretty good.

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  As I walk the halls between classes, I can't help but constantly scan the crowd. I tell myself I'm just looking for people I'm friendly with, but I know I'm really looking for Emily. It's strange and unpleasant, desperately wanting to see her while simultaneously dreading it. At lunch, I stop just inside the cafeteria, searching the crowd. I spot Cassie, Tyler, and their other friends right away, but there's no sign of Emily.

  "Holy shit, Gabby?"

  I turn. "Oh, hi, Noah."

  "Uh… Hey. I, uh, I wasn't expecting to see you."

  I cross my arms and try to push down any automatic hostility. "Why not? Not like going to school's optional. There's no law that says you have to go to church."

  "Uh, yeah, I guess. I just, uh, they told us…" He shakes his head. "Nevermind, I guess."

  Part of me wants to ask what they told him. I crush the urge. It doesn't matter. "Sure," I say, shrugging.

  "Well, uh, I guess I'll see you around then."

  He turns to leave. There's an urge I can't push down. "Hey, Noah. Have you seen Emily around at all?"

  He turns back and looks at me for a few seconds before answering. "Her parents pulled her out of West," he says eventually. "She goes to Saint Maria's now."

  "...Oh." Again, there's an unpleasant mix of relief and crushing disappointment. "Alright, cool. See you around." He nods and leaves.

  Saint Maria's is a Catholic school, the only private highschool of any real size in Franklin. There was never any chance of me going there; as far as my parents were concerned, even a degenerate public school was better than Catholic school. Apparently Emily's parents have decided it's a tradeoff worth making, to be absolutely sure she stays away from me. I take a deep breath and let it out. It doesn't matter, it's probably for the best anyway. I made my choice, and I have to live with it.

  I get some shitty cafeteria pizza and head over to Cassie's table. "Hey, Gabby. Everything good?"

  "Yeah, everything's good."

  "Cool, cool. So what classes have you had so far?"

  "Uh, American Lit, Spanish, and Calculus."

  "Fuck me, you're taking Calculus?" She shakes her head. "Well, you'd better be planning on helping me with my Algebra II homework, you big fucking nerd."

  I snort. "Sure, as long as 'help' doesn't mean 'do it for you.'"

  "And I thought we were friends!"

  Even though I've been hanging out with them all summer, it still feels a little weird sitting with them openly instead of with… with the people I used to sit with. It's nice, though, being able to say "fuck" without worrying about someone telling on me, or even talk about which girls I think are hot. It's what I wanted, so I do my best not to focus on what I don't have anymore.

  The afternoon goes pretty smoothly. I say hi to people I'm friendly with, although I keep any talk about my summer vague. My last class of the day is Sports and Games, the easiest thing I could sign up for to fulfill my phys ed requirement. I might've signed up for something else if I'd known I'd suddenly be given the body of a professional athlete, but it doesn't really matter. It's probably best not to show off in that department anyway.

  When I go into the locker room to get changed into my gym clothes, I find myself wishing I had taken a different class. Theresa is a year older than me, and I've never liked her. Unlike Noah, she doesn't look surprised to see me, probably having already heard I was here through him. Instead, she glares silently at me for a few seconds when she notices me, then deliberately gets up and goes around to the other side of the lockers to finish changing. I scowl slightly. As long as she ignores me, I don't care, but I suspect she won't.

  I'm proven right almost immediately. We spend the first fifteen minutes of the class sitting on the bleachers, listening to the teacher read through the entire syllabus. When he's finally done, he asks if there are any questions. Theresa quickly raises her hand. "Mr. Hudson, I don't feel comfortable getting changed in the same room as a homosexual."

  Mr. Hudson stares at her for a second, then sighs and massages his forehead. "I encourage everyone to report any inappropriate behavior in the locker room to me or another teacher immediately, but West Franklin High School does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."

  "What's the point of having separate locker rooms for boys and girls, then?" challenges Theresa. "We shouldn't need to worry about being looked at like that when we're in the shower."

  "Don't worry, Theresa, no one wants to look at you anyway," I snap. There's a few scattered laughs and 'ooohs' from the rest of the class.

  "Enough!" says Mr. Hudson tiredly. "If you're unhappy with this class for any reason, you're free to switch to a different one before the end of the second week. But I won't tolerate bullying from anyone, for any reason. Is that clear?" There's a general murmur of ascent.

  I catch her shooting repeated glares at me while the class plays Bump. Honestly, why is it so hard for some people to just mind their own fucking business? She doesn't say anything else during class, but I'm sure I'm not finished with her yet. Back in the locker room, I go to change back out of my gym clothes. I'm actually not gonna shower anyway, the advantage of having gym last, and it's not like I even really worked up a sweat. But I wait to pull my shirt off as I notice Theresa headed towards me, also still fully clothed. She shoulder checks me as she passes by, not very effectively, and then snarls, "Keep your hands to yourself, dyke!"

  I turn to her, crossing my arms with a sigh. I'll give her one chance. "We don't have to do this, you know. We could just ignore each other."

  She laughs contemptuously. "I'll happily ignore you once you've crawled back into the gutter where you belong, whore."

  There's a few ways I can handle this. I decide on the direct approach. I grab her by the neck and slam her into the opposite row of lockers, a couple of nearby girls hastily scrambling away. I know my strength better now, I'm careful to only use a fraction of it, but I'm still not remotely gentle. "I'll keep my hands to myself if you keep your opinions to yourself. That sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?"

  She tries to hit me. I easily bat her hand away, and squeeze just a little tighter. She grabs my wrist with both hands, trying and failing to pull me off. "Again, this doesn't have to go any further," I say, leaning forwards. "You pretend I don't exist, and I'll happily return the favor. But if you really wanna start shit that bad? I will fucking bury you in it."

  I wait another couple of seconds, then let her go and step back. She staggers against the lockers, gasping in a few breaths and massaging her neck. "You- you assaulted me, you psycho!" she says, glaring, but there's fear under it now. "I'll get you expelled for this!"

  "Assaulted? I didn't see anyone get assaulted." I turn, finding a tall girl I don't know standing next to me. "All I saw was you throwing slurs around. The school takes discrimination pretty seriously, you know. Feel like starting the year off with a detention?"

  Theresa glares for a second longer, then spits out, "Fine! I don't even want to be in this class anyway." With that, she stalks away, doing her best not to look like she's fleeing. I hear her locker slam a few seconds later, and she rushes out of the locker room without even changing.

  The new girl laughs a little. "Goddamn. I always fantasize about doing that, can't believe you actually did it."

  I grin, taking a moment to give her a look over. She's a good few inches taller than me, probably close to six feet. Her hair is light brown, a little curly, and real short, especially on the sides. She's not wearing gym clothes, just baggy jeans and a tight tanktop that shows off her, uh, sizeable biceps. And her arms aren't the only thing that's sizeable, either. Okay, moving up, up is safer. She has really bright blue eyes, I mean like really pretty eyes, shit, up is not actually safer. Am I blushing? I'm definitely blushing.

  "I'm trying out a new policy of not taking shit from anyone this year," I say before the silence can get awkward. "Seems like it's working out pretty well so far."

  She laughs again and grins back. Something warm and bubbly falls into my stomach. "Good policy," she says, sticking out her hand. "Alexis, but I go by Alex."

  I shake it. She has a very firm grip. "Gabrielle, but I go by Gabby."

  "Seriously though, if that bitch gives you anymore trouble, I've got your back."

  "...Thanks," I say after a moment. I'm sure I could handle it by myself, at worst I'd have to call up Mr. Sterling and have him scare the everliving shit out of the principal, but having help would be genuinely useful.

  "And, uh… No pressure or anything, but I'm taking leadership of the GSA this year, if you want to drop by sometime. We meet at lunch on Mondays, room 218."

  "You mean, like, Gay-Straight Alliance?" I'm vaguely aware of the club, but never actually looked into it for obvious reasons. I'm pretty sure I first heard about it from Theresa herself talking shit. But Alex being the club president has some, uh, implications. The warm and bubbly feeling gets warmer and bubblier.

  "That's the one," she says, nodding.

  "I might take you up on that." I will absolutely be taking her up on that. I guess the club might actually be cool, too. "I, uh… I've only been out for a couple of months, and it wasn't exactly voluntary."

  "Ah shit, that sucks. Are you… Well, you don't have to share anything you don't want to."

  "It's okay, I'm doing good now. Everything pretty much worked out."

  "Good, I'm glad. Anyway, uh, I should probably get changed, here."

  "Do you do, like, a sport or something?" The final bell rang a couple of minutes ago, so she's obviously not here for a class.

  "I go to the weight room every day after school."

  "...Oh. Um, I can tell."

  "That's what I like to hear," she says, grinning and flexing. I'm definitely blushing again, and I only just stop myself from asking if I can watch.

  "I guess I should get changed too, then." A sudden impulse seizes me; I refuse to be the only flustered one, here. I casually turn back to my locker, then pull down my gym shorts, bending over just a little more than necessary. I look back as I step out of them and find her bright red and staring. She quickly jerks her eyes away the moment she realizes she's been caught. Gotcha. "Well, if you come here every day after school, then maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask as I pull my jeans back on.

  "...Uh, yeah, maybe you will," she says, staring determinedly at the wall a foot to the left of my head.

  "Cool, guess I'll see you then." I put my hands under the hem of my T-shirt, but I pause for a moment before I take it off as well, raising an eyebrow at her.

  "Yupseeyouthen!" She's already turning, scrambling down the aisle to the other side of the locker room. I grin. Victory is mine.

  I'm still grinning as I leave the locker room, and have to double check a couple times to make sure I'm not accidentally floating. I'm not super picky when it comes to girls, I think almost all of them are cute or pretty or hot in their own way, but Alex is… I've never met a girl who's actually buff before, and, uh. Apparently I like it. She could totally pick me up, right? I bet she could even bench-press me. Aaaand I'm blushing again, aren't I?

  "There you are," says Cassie. "What's with you?"

  "Oh, I just, uh, made a new friend."

  A huge grin splits her face. "New friend, huh? What's her name?"

  "Alex. She's, uh, tall. And buff. Also, I'm going to the GSA meeting next Monday."

  Cassie cackles. "Gay-Straight Alliance, right? So that means I can come too and watch you stutter and blush and make a mess of yourself, right?"

  I roll my eyes. "Yes, you're perfectly welcome to come too. Honestly, I bet you'll like her anyway."

  The next day, I'm constantly scanning the halls between classes again, but this time I'm looking for Alex. It feels… better, although there's still a little bittersweet undertone to it. I don't see her, but that's okay; I can be patient. I meet up with Cassie at lunch, but we're intercepted before we can get our food. "Hey, uh, your name's Cassie, right?" asks a guy I don't know.

  "Yup, that's me," she says. "Need something?"

  "Uh… I heard you could maybe hook me up?"

  She grins. "I might be able to. Here, I know a spot we can talk. I'll catch up with you in a minute, Gabby, okay?"

  "Yeah, sure," I say, grinning back. Looks like business is already off to a good start.

  I head into the cafeteria alone and grab some food, then head over towards the table Tyler and his friends are at. It's a bigger group than yesterday, and I vaguely recognize some of the kids from parties over the summer. I take an empty seat next to one of them. "Hey, Lisa, right?"

  "Uhuh. You're Cassie's friend, right? Sorry, I'm totally blanking on your name."

  "It's all good, it was a crazy night. Gabby."

  "Right, thanks. Yeah, some totally killer parties. Can't believe summer's over already, I've already got a shitload of homework. Oh, hey, Anja! Where were you yesterday?"

  I scoot over to make room for the new girl, who I also vaguely recognize. "I stayed home yesterday, wasn't feeling good," she mutters. She does look kind of tired, honestly, and sounds like it too.

  "Damn, that sucks. Guess it's an extra day of summer though, right?"

  "Yeah, I guess."

  "You doing okay now?"

  "Sure, I'm fine."

  She doesn't sound completely fine, but maybe that's just how she is. I try and remember our brief meeting, probably at the same party Lisa was at. Oh, that's right, I tried to hit on her and she completely shot me down. And then later, after that asshole Jason tried to make a move on Kate, she was the one who told us-

  …Ah, fuck. I killed her brother, didn't I?

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