RISK✵ lrh

4 | Insane or Pragmatic

Luke and Michael had found their passion project, but unlike certain celebrities who went down that path, the boys weren't destined to fail—and they latched onto it like a tic to a dog. Call it a case of the sophomore slump since researching and falling down a deep rabbit hole about secret societies became the highlight of their day.

Luke had a genius idea that had a 50/50 chance of working. It involved offering a particular girl a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have Luke and Michael be her wingmen in exchange for her help getting them into the scene – although, realistically, the boys' odds were 30/70 and it was a considerable risk to bargain with Mia, considering she made it clear she wanted nothing to do with Luke.

Michael, for once, knew what it was like to be the voice of reason when Luke pitched the idea. He didn't see Mia as the type of girl who would exchange secrecy and integrity for a boy – let alone Ashton – but Luke knew that if Mia wanted something bad enough, she'd jump at the opportunity to get it.

Again, Mia didn't have to call in a favour so Ashton could 'look through the library archives,' but she did. Mia didn't have to search for articles and papers for an hour and a half, but she did. And Mia doesn't have to accept Luke's wild – and low-key– immature offer, but she will. He was sure of it.

Or perhaps his judgement was clouded by the two energy drinks he had downed in the past hour, which left him buzzing on a concerningly unhealthy amount of caffeine in his system. He was an animate representation of Michael's mystery board, a mess with withering strings linking all the thoughts in his mind.

Speaking of, the bulletin board had grown, the surface overflowing with messy handwriting, printed photos of (assumed to be confirmed) members, photo-copied clippings that documented clear signs of the ever-changing society symbol, and more. Red yarn chaotically covered the expanse, wrapped around pins and striking lines through faces and letters.

Information about (almost) every individual was jotted on a sticky note underneath their picture. They ranged from Mia to Calum to the guy in one of Luke's tutorials, who they learned was named Harry– typical, and Luke should've guessed, considering there were about a hundred Harrys within a mile radius.

The boys had gone on a deep dive, discovering far more information than they should have in the past three days since the library, such as the society's name. How? Well, Michael went down to that dirty alleyway and found a faint carving on brick – he would've ignored it, but he didn't have enough time to 'think like Luke' since he was at risk of being late for a lecture.

Luke and Michael had everything they needed, and more importantly, they had everything to alarm Mia into working with them. Was it grim and harsh? Yes, it was, but a simple conspiracy and thought became real, and that 'what if' became desperation and uninhibited purpose.

Luke should've known they crossed a metaphorical line from interest into obsession yesterday afternoon when a package arrived at the door, and Michael revealed he'd bought a whiteboard. And obsession became mania when they discovered where Mia would be later that day.

The blond scanned the mystery board, filling the accompanying whiteboard with Michael's scribbles. He could feel himself crash down to earth and reality as he leaned back on the couch and sighed. "Do we really want this that bad? Or are we just bored?" He should've kept himself in check instead of slipping through the cracks of the teenage fantasy of wanting to feel part of something exclusive and cool.

Michael shook his head, "We're in too deep to back out now," he said, pointing his marker at Luke, "but yes– to both." Looking back at the board and everything he had created and figured out – with some help from Luke – he spoke again, "Dude, I feel like I'm part of Jump Street right now. It's crazy."