-The Loophole-

The Becoming: Part 1

(AN) Sweeterthan-cake Thank you for letting me use your OC! Love you bestie <3

⚠️Also, if you haven't seen Rise of the Titans (ROTT), there are spoilers⚠️

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"TOBIAS DOMZALSKI."

That was the name that echoed through the canal this morning. It was off-putting. The only evidence of anyone being there with us was an amulet. Jim pointed it out. I thought nothing of it at first. That is, until I saw a bright glow radiating from it.

"Olivia, would you agree," I nearly jumped in my seat, looking up to see my history teacher standing over my desk, "with Heroditus' opinion on his tactics of war, as I've described?" I looked to my brother across the room for guidance. He just nodded and went back to his computer. Not knowing if he meant 'say yes' or 'you've got this', I took a stab in the dark.

"Um.. yeah..?" I asked. I earned some snickers in the background. Well, shit. This is what you get for spacing out. The teacher paid them no mind.

"Excellent. Which tactics, specifically?" He saw right through me.

"The, umm... ones that worked..?" I guessed. Surely this guy couldn't have every single tactic gone wrong, right? The class erupted in laughter as the bell rang. Well, that was embarrassing. I guess I deserved it, though. I was the one who wasn't paying attention.

"Alright, alright." The teacher called. "Don't forget, Michaelson, chapters four and five!" He leaned down and picked a pencil off of the floor, setting it on my desk. I realized it was mine.

"Thanks."

"May I have a word, Ms. Lake?" He asked. I felt a pang in my gut; I wanted to run. No. You may not have a word. Just let me leave so I can enjoy my Friday in peace.

"Sure. About what?" I asked, ignoring the feeling, picking up the rest of my things. Jim walked over, sitting on the desk next to mine.

"Something wrong, Strickler?" He asked with slight hostility. I shot him a 'shut the fuck up' look as the teacher seemed slightly confused.

"Actually, I could speak to you both. Olivia, you're distracted." Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.

"Yeah, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night," I lied. Unlike usual, I actually got a lot of sleep the previous night; it just felt like I hadn't slept in days for some reason. It was rare for me to sleep for as long as I did.

"Your attention wandered for the rest of the class. Quite frankly, I am concerned for your well-being." I laughed.

"I'm fine, really. Just tired." I slung my bag over my shoulder. "I've been busy, is all. Spacing off is normal for me." As I was saying this, the teacher had grabbed a post-it note off of his desk and had begun writing on it.

"I know it's just the two of you and your mother, and you want to help her." I was feeling very uncomfortable at this point.

"We make it work."

"I believe I'm overdue for a conversation with her. Have her call me, please." He handed me the post-it note. I wanted to leave now more than anything.

"Yeah. We'll do that," Jim cut in, grabbing my wrist, leading me out. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some things to get done."

"Of course. Wouldn't want to keep you. And feel free to pop by my office if you ever need to talk." Strickler gave us a strange look as we left. Toby was waiting outside the door.