𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞: 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞, 𝐕𝐢 𝐗 𝐎𝐜

chapter three

"we should hit them back!" sevika shouts over the table as she slams her fist against it, causing some coins to clatter "we've got the numbers to beat them!" she adds

"yeah let's teach them what it means to mess with us!" another, seemingly drunk, man bellows from the front of the room raising his fist, gaining an uproar of approval from the crowd.

vander strikes his match on the side of the bar, bringing it up to light the pipe he was holding with his other hand. "you sure that's what you want?" He asks, smoke floats into the air with each word "we crossed that bridge once before.." he pauses seemingly lost in thought for a few seconds before continuing "we all know how that ended"

"your just trying to protect your kids" a man near the front retorts as vander looks at us stood in the doorway "I'm protecting our people" he sighs, his stare becoming a glare as he looks at the man "I'd do the same for any one of you," he reassures "we look out for each other. its the way it's always been" he says sternly, looking over the room.

"this will blow over, we just need to stand together" he assures all of us, standing up a little straighter.

"the vander I knew, the one who built the underground, wouldn't be afraid to fight" sevika spits back, he walks up to her so their standing face to face as he inhaled smoke from the pipe in his hand.

"do I look afraid?" vander asks, blowing the smoke in her face "no, you look weak" sevika hisses back with a glare before moving back from him and making a sharp whistle sound causing a few people from the crowd follow her out the door.

"why isn't he doing anything?" claggor sighs from beside me "we kicked the enforcers asses with just the four of us" powder points out "imagine what the whole of the lanes could do!" She exlaimes "jeez even powder wants to fight" mylo scoffs walking downstairs as we start to follow him, I smack him across the back of the head.

"so why aren't we?!" Vi scoffs in disbelief. I'm about to answer when vi puts her head back round the door seeing ekko stood there with a guilty expression.

"spill it ekko" she orders, crossing her arms waiting for him to speak. "um okay well..." He starts hesitantly "um... vanders got a deal with the enforcers" he mumbles

My mouth opens in disbelief "he's what?" I ask making sure i heard him correctly "what deal?!" vi asks, her voice a mix of worry, shock and annoyance.

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"and so then she rejected me" Mylo rants in disbelief, i think hes talking about some girl he met in the last drop but i cant really keep track of how man girls hes been rejected by at this point. hes been on a rant for about an hour now, nobody is really listening though. Vi is leaning on me while looking half asleep and bored, claggor is reading in the corner and Ekko and Powder have completely given up and gone too look at powders most recent bombs.

"speaking of rejection have you spoken to Izzy about me recently?" he asks me "no why would i speak to her about you?" i snort raising an eyebrow at his question "Because you should be helping me out with this" he grumbles "and why is that?" i question him crossing my arms as i watch him complain. "friendship" he says flatly glaring at me, which makes me start laughing.

"you know she is in a relationship?" I laugh "is she though? because we've never actually met her girlfriend" mylo says with a cocky grin "i just don't think that she's ready to handle someone like me" he shrugs leaning back in his seat.

"someone like you?" i repeat with a snort "yeah maybe im just too hot" he says casually making me and vi burst into laughter "what?!" he frowns looking at us both "i promise you that isn't why" Vi laughs into my shoulder "Hm. i think it is. that's why she made up a fake girlfriend" he tells us in an over confident tone.