𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐳𝐞

Tara was having loads of fun hanging out with Sirius. She had been dragged to the assembly against her will since he had wanted her to experience the tradition of seeing all of the higher class members mimic the Dean in her speech.

She had actually loved the dean of the university. The dean was everything Tara had wanted to be, classy, powerful, and kind. She was also bold, with a sleeve of tattoos running down her arm, flowing like ink.

"Wow." She mutters, following just a tad bit behind Sirius. Sirius gazes back at the wondrous girl, instantly feeling sympathy for what she had in store for her.

"Did you like the dean?" He asks, slowing down his pace so the smaller legged girl could catch up. Tara nods,

"Yes, she was super cool. And the tattoos! They looked so unique and I love that she was brave enough to show them off to all her new students!" Tara walks with a skip in her step.

In order to secure her backpack, she tightens her hand on a strap, the various syllabus that she had gotten from her class, making a soft rustling sound with every step.

Out of the corner of Sirus's eye, he spots a group of young women with a pink bandana tied around their hair staring daggers at Tara. He eyes them, daring them to continue their nonverbal assault.

The girls shake their heads and start to approach the duo, Sirius gritting his teeth. He throws his arm around her shoulder and looks down at her, he would be damned if he let someone other than ACE get the girl.

"Yes?" Tara asks Sirius, wondering why he was staring at her. He snaps out of some type of trance and looks down at her,

"How are you getting home?" He asks, getting a surprised look from her. Tara had wanted to explore more of the campus, see more of the life since she wasn't living on campus.

"I'm not going home right now if that's what you're asking Sirius." She rolls her eyes at him as he stands frozen in place. This girl had just literally found the hidden meaning behind his words, something not many were able to do.

Sirius internally cringes for what was about to come out of his mouth,

"Why not?" He whines clinging to an amazed Tara. She had never been in contact with anybody who switched moods this frequently.

Tara's shoulder raises awkwardly in confusion as she slightly pats the taller man's head like a puppy. She nods her head, eyeing the group of girls glaring at her in the corner of her eyes.

Had she done something wrong?

Was Sirius in a relationship with one of them?

Or even worse, married?

The thought of someone thinking that he would be cheating on his significant other with her made her start sweating.

She didn't want to ruin anybody's relationship.

Tara nods her head, snapping out of the trance she was stuck in. She exhales, noticing the two girls coming closer,

"I should go." She mutters, pushing Sirius and waving down a taxi, the yellow cab quickly zooming away along the horizon.

"What made her leave so quickly?" Sirius wonders, combing a hand through his hair, pausing midway when he sees the group that had been death glaring at her earlier.

"Of course." He mutters, discreetly pulling a dagger out of his jacket. He holds it close to him and steps up to the leader of the posse.

"Can I help you?" She asks, crossing her hands and propping all her weight on her back leg. Sirius shakes his head,

Wrong choice.

Sirius swipes her front foot from under her, causing her to fall butt first on the ground.

"You-" The girl points her finger at him, ready to curse him out. Sirius quickly interrupts her,

"Let me help you up." He plasters a fake smile and starts to help her up. As soon as she starts standing up, he presses the knife lightly into her torso, daring her to try to escape.

"What do you think you're doing?" He mutters through clenched teeth,

"Taking our dinner?" He continues pressing her, digging the knife in a little more. She lets out a wince and rolls her eyes,

"Fine, we won't touch her. Sorry, I won't touch her, I can't promise anything else." She mutters, causing Sirius to push her on the concrete, wiping his hands on his jeans,

"How pathetic."

*

"Eww, Atlas! When was the last time that you did your laundry?" Maurice pinches one of Atlas's dirty flannels. Atlas groans, picking the flannel off from his best friend's grasp, throwing it into the washer. He uses his hip to close the door just as Maurice gets a call from someone.

Maurice steps aside, pressing his phone to his ear. Atlas sneakily creaks behind the nearest wall so he could eavesdrop on his boss. This was a very tricky thing that Atlas was attempting to do, he could get fired or even get killed.

"What?" He overhears Maurice say as he leans closer, desperate to overhear some part of the conversation.

"Ugh!" He hears a slight crash and Atlas winces, knowing it's his phone.

"You can come out now Atlas. For a mafia member, you really have bad surveillance skills." Maurice mutters, causing Atlas to freeze in place.

"What was it?" Atlas asks, this time causing Maurice to freeze in place,

What would he tell Atlas?

No, he wouldn't tell him at all.

"It's nothing." He cooly says, getting a shake of the head from Atlas. Atlas slaps Maurice's back, laughing loudly,

"You're a mafia leader and you suck at lying. What's really going on Maurice?" He asks, covering his mouth to attempt to cover the laughs coming out as a result of Maurice's terrible lying skills.

Maurice sighs, and decides to tell Atlas the truth,

"One of my sources had just told me that ACE and EQUAL are having a peace meeting right now." Atlas instantly stops laughing and stares at Maurice with bulging eyes,

"A peace meeting?!" He asks, his eyebrows raising into his hairline.

Maurice nods, getting a rapid shaking of the head from Atlas as he hovers his hands over his gun,

" I call BS. Those two could never want peace, both think without consequences, especially Cai and CO. And on top of that Sienna Fin hates Cai and wouldn't even go near him after what he did." Atlas yells, causing Maurice to nod in agreement,

He was true, both groups hate each other and they desperately weren't having a peace meeting.

So then what were they doing together?

As the thoughts rattled around in Maurice's brain, something hit Atlas. He instantly facepalms for not thinking about this earlier and twirls around to look at the picture of Tara that was hung up in the bedroom.

"Crap, the picture Maurice. They want to find out who Tara is to me." He sighs out, flopping down on the nearest couch to try and relax. Maurice gives a sigh in return just as the door opens,

"Guess who's back!"

Sorry for the late update! 

School was being a butt and hadn't followed the schedule. It was so confusing. But, ANYWAYS, I'm back and ready to update!

- Sky