I Love You/I Hate You

✧Chapter 17✧

         Gavin was leaning against his chair, playing a game on his phone. He tilted the chair back a bit when Nines stopped him, placing his hand on the back of Gavin's chair. Gavin looked up at Nines. "What, tin can?" He seemed to whine. "There's another report on the graffiti." Nines handed him a tablet. Gavin sighed, taking the tablet and reading through it. "Huh. That's the store we stopped by yesterday." He leaned forward, still looking at the report. "Exactly, that's why I think I saw who did it, and it wasn't one person." Nines responded. Gavin looked at Nines, interested. "I saw three kids run into the alleyway next to the store. I didn't see them carrying anything, but I also didn't see them leave." Nines told Gavin. "Okay, first, if these are kids, how old are they?" Gavin asked. "Around sixteen and seventeen." Nines answered. "Okay. Second, you waited till now to tell me or just someone in general?" Gavin questioned. "They didn't seem suspicious or stressed about getting caught in any way; they looked like they were just messing around. Even in my scan, they seemed fine." Nines responded, leaning towards the desk. Gavin sighed. "Okay." He grabbed the tablet, putting it aside for now. "What did they look like?" Gavin asked, getting on his computer. "The first girl had light brown hair. When I saw them, she was wearing a black band hoodie and ripped jeans. Her name is Clara Evans." Gavin looked up the teen. She seemed to be clean of anything crime-wise. "Second was a boy. He had black hair and wore a black hoodie, except his was plain. Most noticeable was the scar on his jaw, reaching to his cheek. Jesse Stiles." Nines continued. Gavin looked him up, seeing the only reports he had were getting suspended from school for fighting some other kid. Nines looked at the report. "Reminds me of you." He joked. Gavin punched Nines' shoulder. "Shut the fuck up." He glared at Nines. Nines chuckled. "The last girl had split-dyed hair. One side was pink, the other side was black. She wore a purple shirt that hung off her shoulder a little. Katrina Hopkins." Gavin looked her up too, seeing she had no bad reports either. "That's one hell of a team." Gavin looked at Nines. "They're good at sneaking, I'll give them that." Nines looked at Gavin. "But not good enough to escape those annoying scans of yours." Gavin smirked. "Unless they knew and played it off." Nines said, standing up. "What do you mean?" Gavin lifted his legs up, resting them on his desk. "They're smart kids, they could've known and played it off as nothing." Nines suggested. Gavin thought for a second. "Either way, we have three suspects and should probably let the others know." Gavin pushed his chair back again, tilting it. The wheels rolled, making the chair almost fall back. Nines grabbed the chair and looked at Gavin. "I agree, also stop doing that with the chair. You're going to fall and probably get hurt." He set the chair back down on its wheels. "Jeez, you sound like my teachers when I was in school." Gavin whined. "I'm going to tell others, if you fall, it's on you." Nines grabbed the tablet and walked away. "Make sure he doesn't get hurt because he's tilting a rolling chair back like that." He told Connor. Connor giggled quietly. "Okay." He looked over at Gavin. Nines took the report to Fowler. Gavin started to tilt the chair back one more time, the wheels rolling again. Connor caught the chair, looking at Gavin. Gavin looked at Connor. "Fuck off." He pouted. Connor giggled, letting go of the chair and walking away.

Gavin sat on his couch, continuing to look at the reports of the graffiti. He knew this was good art, but he also knew that this was huge property damage to the stores. Officers kept a lookout around the city, driving past stores. They especially kept an eye out for those three teens. Clara watched outside her window. "I think we need to lay low for a little." She said, looking over at her computer. She was facetiming her friends. "You think?" Jesse complained. "If we go to juvenile prison or something because of this, I might scream." Katrina spoke. "We'll be fine. Just lay low and everything will be fine." Clara sat on her bed where her computer was, turning it to face her as she sat down. "If we do get caught? What then?" Katrina asked. "Uh." Clara thought for a second. "There's no point in fighting if we get caught. Our parents definitely wouldn't worry, and we all know that." Jesse complained. The girls sighed. "We know, Jesse." Clara responded. Katrina went silent. The others noticed. "Katrina?" Jesse asked, confused. "Shut the fuck up." Katrina whisper-yelled at him. She listened closely. "My dad's home." She whispered finally. "I should go. Bye." She quickly hung up, closing her computer and putting it back on her desk. She jumped into her bed, pretending to be asleep. "Kat!" Clara yelled, still trying to keep her voice down too. "You better be okay." she said, worried. "I'm sure she'll be okay. We should go to bed too." Jesse spoke. "Hopefully. Also, I agree." Clara looked at Jesse. "Goodnight." Jesse spoke, smiling softly. "Goodnight. Hey, wait!" She said, stopping him from ending the call. "Yes?" Jesse looked at her. "I love you." Clara smiled. "I love you too." Jesse rolled his eyes, smiling. They ended the call, putting their computers away. "No, because I actually love you." Clara sighed plopping on her bed. "And I hate it." She continued. She rolled over onto her side, grabbing a plush fox she had. She held it close to her chest, holding it tightly. "I love you too, Kat. Please be safe." She whispered to herself. Jesse laid in his bed, staring at the plush wolf he held in front of him. "Kind of wish this love wasn't platonic. For both of you." He sighed. The wolf plush slipped out of his hands, landing on his face. He let his arms fall to his side. "I deserved that, universe." Meanwhile, Katrina was still pretending to sleep. Her dad knocked on her door. "Katrina? Kat?" He called, opening the door. He saw her laying in her bed, asleep. He rolled his eyes. "Are you actually asleep?" He asked. "Kat!" He yelled. Once he didn't get a response, he left. Kat's mom walked out of their room. "Would you be quiet? The baby is trying to sleep!" Her mom whisper-yelled. "Oh fuck off." Her dad stormed off. Once she felt it was safe, she snuck out of her bed and out of her window. "Tired of this fucking house." She climbed onto the roof. She laid on the roof looking at the sky. "I'm tired of this fucking world." She teared up. She grabbed something on her way up here. Her cat plush. She held it close, holding back from crying.