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Arden slipped on a dress and heals, getting ready to go to Gideon's house. She didn't want to be the only one showing up alone so she decided on bringing Ted, another worker at AllSafe, to come along with her. He gave off bad vibes, but she wasn't left with much of a choice as Elliot had recently announced he was in a relationship.

•••

"Why are you all standing outside, come in!" announced Gideon as he saw everyone patiently waiting outside the large doors.

The couples all walked in to see an expensively furnished apartment, and Gideon's partner cooking in the extravagant kitchen. This came as a shock to Arden due to Elliot and her living in such dilapidated apartments, yet they all worked at the same company.

The night mainly consisted of awkward glances between Elliot and Arden. At one point Elliot and Gideon stepped out, which prompted Arden to finally approach Shayla, as she was no longer next to Elliot.

"Hey, I think I'm going to leave soon, I feel so out of place" Arden whispered to Shayla.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Shayla questioned.

"No, it's okay. I'll see you later tonight" Arden replied.

She apologized to Ted for dragging him out here, to which he did not seem to care as he always wanted to be one of Gideon's prodigies. Arden said quick goodbyes to everyone, making up an excuse for her departure.

Once she was outside waiting for a cab, she saw Elliot emerge from the back of Gideon's house. He did not see Arden and he quickly made his way down the street, the opposite direction of their apartments. Arden, sparked by curiosity, decided to follow him.

The walk was long, and Arden started to feel stupider and stupider the longer she followed him. Finally the end was in sight: Coney Island.

She followed him all the way to the abandoned arcade, having to duck and cover whenever he turned back to check his surroundings. She watched as he went down the alley next to the arcade, entering the back door.

She slowly walked down the alley way, taking off her heals to minimize the noise she created as she slowly opened the door. She squatted down onto the ground behind a popcorn machine as she analyzed the scene in front of her: Elliot, two other men, and two other women typing away at laptops and monitors that they had set up in the abandoned fun society. She watched as one of the women approached Elliot.

"Elliot you're late! And you were stupid enough to let someone follow you" she said. Arden's eyes got wide, she'd been caught.

"What are you talking about Darlene" He replies confused.

"I can see you dumbass, just come out already" Darlene said as she watched Arden try to hide herself more.

Feeling embarrassed, Arden's face became red as she slowly stood up, revealing herself.

"A-Arden. You followed me?" Elliot questioned, hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" She said, all other words had escaped her.

"Elliot you totally compromised our position! The plan is ruined because of your fucking groupie!" Darlene yelled, enraged at her older brother.

"Darlene, shut up. I hacked her already I know everything. She could be useful to us, either that or I blackmail her" Elliot admitted.

"You what?" Arden said marching over to him.

"It couldn't have been easier" he said thinking back on it.

Arden Pyra. New neighbor. New person to hack. Her password was surprisingly complicated for such a simple girl. It took Elliot 5 minutes to figure out, as opposed to the 30 seconds it normally takes him.

Once inside her digital mind, he scanned through all her social media accounts and everything seemed normal. What caught his eye was her messages and government records. She had ordered a restraining order onto a person named Katelyn Wade who had assaulted Arden multiple times in high school.

Elliot also found that her family was rich, but Arden had chosen not to be apart of the wealth because she found their rise to be corrupt. From her text message fights with her father, Elliot learned that the Pyra's gained their wealth from being the owners of one of Evil Corps pharmaceutical companies, but the pharmaceuticals had multiple allegations against them, stating that they had worsened the conditions of patients. These patients were the ones effected by the Washington Township scandal. One of the patients being Angela's mother.

"That's illegal, you asshole!" She shouted at the boy.

"Your family has access to Steel Mountain, if you can get us in, I'll keep your location from your family a secret. I know they are trying to find you" he said.

"You can help us put an end to Evil Corp" he said holding out his hand for a handshake. A gesture that shocked everyone in the room, knowing Elliot's reputation of hating to be touched.

Arden looked around the room at the people staring at her. They couldn't have been more of a rag tag group of hackers. She didn't have much of a choice as she shook Elliot's hand.