A/N

So I've a question. It's totally unrelated to this book but it's really important to this universe, so just humour me: How many of you actually ship Callum x Scout? If you're answering this, thank you very much in advance for your feedback!

x Noelle

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2 5

the one with the fallout

RIVERTON'S WINTER CARNIVAL was like none other. Of course, there were far bigger events throughout the year. But most activities in Caverly happened during summer, so the winter carnival was a highly-anticipated one.

"—but you can't call it a Winter Carnival when it barely has anything winter-related," Brielle said beside me. She'd tagged along to 'see what the fuss is all about', though I knew that this was her way of showing her support for Miles's efforts.

Carson, who generally avoided Caverly events, had followed. And he'd brought along his friend Enzo Fernandez, who seemed just as bored as Brielle was.

"If you want a successful Carnival, you have to go big," she continued. "A prize wheel from sponsors, a great bar with cheap beer, an ice rink—"

"Bri, it's not even snowing," Carson cut in.

"Then make it snow," she insisted, slipping her arm through his. "They should come up with something better than this, which is anything but—"

"Isn't this great?" A shriek made us turn, only to see Flo headed towards us in a whirl of pink and white balloons. She also had a stuffed blue unicorn under one arm. "Best day ever!"

Brielle stared at her, aghast. "Are you high?"

"And what the living fuck is that?" Enzo asked, pointing to the stuffed toy.

"This?" She shoved the blue unicorn at me. "Oh, I won it. First prize and all."

"Where?" I asked. "My Little Pony express?"

"I don't know—some stall. Point is, I won without even having to play the game. I just told the dude I was from Ursa and he gave it to me. And his number! Which I gave in exchange for a snowcone, because I thought it was money." Flo giggled as she tied a pink balloon to my braid. I didn't even think about stopping her,  because we were too busy trying to keep the rest of the balloons from floating away. "And yeah, I'm totally high. Who isn't?"

"The rest of us?" said Carson.

"That's because none of you know how to appreciate this—"

"What?" Brielle asked. "The travesty that is this Carnival?"

"School spirit! I don't care what your boyfriend says about those hazings," she said to me. "Riverton—best school ever!"

"Yesterday, when you weren't high as a freaking kite, you said that Riverton and its stupid frats could go rot in hell," I pointed out. "Also, I'm from Linville. And we're the better school."

Enzo stepped up beside me with a smug look. "Agreed."

Flo turned to the other two, and Carson shrugged. "Hey, don't look at us. I didn't go to college, and Brielle went to Cambridge. She's got us all beat."

Brielle smirked. "You know it. Now come on, I want to watch Darcy's boyfriend destroy these frats, and then we have to go back to Caffeinated." She and Carson turned towards the huge tent, and the rest of us followed.

By the time we arrived, the tent was filled with people. Rows of chairs had been placed in front of a viewing screen and a podium. Miles's dad was already in the middle of his address, but I could barely hear him amidst the rumblings of the crowd.

"Hey, isn't that your boyfriend over there?" Enzo suddenly said.

I turned to look. Miles stood near the back, with Nate Johnson by his side. His face was grim; his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. Nate noticed me and nudged Miles, who turned in our direction. His eyebrows rose when he saw me and I smiled back, until I realized that he seemed amused by something else altogether.

That damn unicorn and the pink balloon tied to my hair.

My cheeks went red. Behind me, I heard my friends snigger. I spun round and shoved the unicorn back at Flo. "I hate you."

"But that's your noble steed! How else will you and Mr Hot-Shot CEO ride back to his castle?"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Miles with a self-deprecating smile. With a nod towards the stage, I mouthed, "Go get 'em."

His lips lifted in a hint of a smirk that made my breath catch. No hesitation or second-guessing. All arrogance and daring. This was not the boy who'd been bullied, but the man who'd returned with a vengeance. He would tear apart the very system that had tried to destroy him.

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"On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think this is?" I turned to Nate, waiting for his reply.

The fallout had been everything I'd anticipated and more. I hadn't a clue how Miles had done it, but he'd cut right through a video from one of Riverton's alumni: Hank Guilford—the head of Corvus when Miles had tried to pledge. Hank's speech had been cut short, only to be replaced by footage from the flash drive.

It was just as bad as the first time I'd watched it. The atmosphere didn't help either. Horrified gasps and angry shouts. As the public pushed closer to the screen, some of the kids tried to get out. To his credit, Miles had blurred out the faces of the ones involved. But the respective frat jackets were still plain as day.

Midway through the screening, both Miles and his dad had left the tent. I didn't think anyone noticed, but I did. So had Nate. They'd stopped near one of the empty storage areas, where Miles's dad immediately confronted him. Nate and I had hidden behind the crates like the two stealthy eavesdroppers that we were.

"I'm going to say twenty," Nate whispered back, in response to my question. "His dad sounds mad as hell."

I bit my lip. "I feel bad for Miles. This was my idea, after all."

"Couldn't have picked a better one, huh?"

"What would you have done instead?" I shot back.

"Probably the same. I like watching drama unfold," he added, with a smirk.

I opened my mouth to respond, only to stop when Miles's dad raised his voice again. "—how many enquiries I will have to respond to come Monday?" Mr Callaghan shouted, and I winced. "Did you even think this through? Not only have you ruined two fraternities, you've ruined the lives of everyone involved! My school, my teachers, my students—"

"Your students?" Miles's tone was sharp. I didn't need to see him to know exactly how he looked. Jaw clenched, knuckles white; every inch of him wired taut to keep a tight rein on his anger. "What about me, Dad—your son? Or had you forgotten that you even have one?"

"I've never forgotten that! But that has nothing to do with what you did—"

"It has everything to do with it!" Miles snapped. "I've told you that these two frats needed to be shut down. I told you when I started at Riverton and heard rumors about what Hale did. I told you when I went through the pledging process myself. And I told you again weeks ago, when I refused to take over whatever position you've offered me at your precious school. But have you ever listened? Have you ever done anything to stop it?" he hissed. "Instead of saying that it's 'serious' or 'worrisome', say it like it fucking is: it's wrong! It's wrong and it needed to stop—because there are tons of kids like Hale at Riverton beating the shit out of kids like Miles, and they are all your students. And since you never lifted a finger to stop the hazing, I did."

There was a pause, followed by some murmuring that I couldn't catch. Moments later, footsteps drew near. Nate and I scurried farther behind the boxes, and I caught a glimpse of Mr Callaghan as he strode past. I waited until he was out of sight before I peeked out, only to find Miles still where he was. "I should go check on him," I said to Nate.

He made a sound of agreement. "You do that. And don't let him come back to the office or he'll just overwork himself again."

Nate headed back to the tent, while I remained where I was. How could I approach Miles without making it known that I'd overheard the conversation earlier? I was still deep in thought when he unexpectedly spoke.

"I know you're there."

I stepped out of my hiding place and shot him a tentative smile. "How did you...?"

He pointed to something behind me. Or attached to me. I spun round and realized, belatedly, that the pink balloon was still attached to my ponytail.

Shit.

"I've been walking around like this the whole time?" I shrieked. "Do you think anyone noticed? Do you think Nate knew all along?"

"Probably. But if it's any consolation, my dad didn't notice. He didn't even know you two were there." His lips turned up into a bitter smile. "He doesn't notice a lot of things."

I let out a breath and settled down beside him. "I'm really sorry I got you into this mess—"

"Don't be sorry," he cut in. "It's a mess I wanted to get into, and I couldn't have done it without you."

My reply froze on my lips when he reached over to me. His movements were slow and gentle, with the same focus I saw on him whenever he did anything important. He unwound the string from my ponytail and tugged the balloon down.

He looked down at it and sighed. "I used to be terrified of these when I was a kid."

Just when I thought I knew everything about him, he surprised me yet again. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think I was about five when my dad brought Hale and me to this fair. Took us to a clown and got us each our own balloons. Hale burst mine right in my face. I think the rubber must've snapped back, because it hurt like hell. I came back crying about the giant welt on my cheek."

"Typical Hale Callaghan," I muttered under my breath.

Miles shrugged. "Later, my mom found out I'd developed a fear of balloons. So she took me back to the same fair the next year, to the same clown and got me the same balloon. I hid behind her half the time—that's how scared I was. After that, she took me to the park, sat me down on her lap, and gave me the balloon. And she said that, sometimes, other people might seem scary because they're so much bigger and full of it. But even they have weaknesses. And once you find it, they're just—"

His fingers dug into the balloon and it snapped with a loud pop. Even though I'd anticipated it, I flinched at the sudden sound. We stared down at the remnants of the balloon in his hands.

"—this. Broken, empty, vulnerable. Just like the rest of us," he added. "But I guess, when I grew up, these balloons became bullies and I started to fear them again. And when I returned to Caverly, I was so paranoid about finding everyone's weaknesses that... I don't know. I think I forgot to be everything my mom taught me to be." He dragged in a slow breath. "I miss her," he said at last, his voice so quiet that I barely heard it.

"I know you do," I returned softly. "Come here."

Before he could say anything, I pulled him towards me. I curled my arms around him, and tried to ignore the warmth of his body pressed against mine. He remained still for a moment, before he let out a slow breath. His arms came around my waist in a loose grip. Not for the first time, I found it strangely comforting. I'd always been the one to shield him from the world, but when he held me like this, it felt like the opposite.

"I know this has been rough on you," I continued. "But you still have me."

He lifted his head at my words. His eyes searched mine, as though he were trying to figure out whether I meant what I said. Up close, I realized that they were a darker shade of blue than I'd ever remembered before. I swallowed hard, acutely aware of the slow heat rising between us. His gaze darted down to my lips, and I knew that his thoughts weren't that much different from mine.

But as he leaned in, I blinked and placed my palm on his chest. "Wait, I don't think—"

He flinched back and he dropped his arms, and I couldn't help notice the glimpse of hurt that crossed his face. "Right, I'm sorry—"

"No, don't be! It's not that I want to— It's just..." I tightened my grip on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "You're really vulnerable right now, and I don't want this to be a spur of the moment thing. I need you to be sure this isn't something you'll regret or take back, because I definitely won't."

He opened his mouth to reply, then seemed to think the better of it. He swallowed and nodded. "No, you're right. I shouldn't have."

"It's not that I don't want you to—"

"Darcy." I blinked at his unexpected use of my name and he met my gaze. "It's fine. Now come on, we should probably go," he added, as he straightened. "I'll send you back."

I followed him to the parking lot. As we passed a trash bin, I noticed him toss the remaining balloon pieces into it. My footsteps faltered. So he no longer had a mom, or a brother. But he still had a dad. An absent, stubborn and proud one—but still a dad.

Maybe this is something I can fix.