The group piled out of the truck and stopped to stare at the house that Logan had secured for their charade.

"It's a friggin' dump!" Lenny complained.

The small, single-story house with faded, peeling paint the exact color of one of Stevie's more noxious boogers was exactly what Lenny had proclaimed it to be. A friggin' dump. The lawn was non-existent; it was long dead, and dust in the wind to leave behind dirt with small patches of weeds. A few of the decorative shutters were hanging precariously from what appeared to be a single screw. More than eighty percent of the shingles were curled up at the edges and appeared to be drier than the Sahara Desert. They were all secretly hoping it didn't rain because it was very likely the roof would leak.

Logan stepped up beside them, the stub of a cigar clamped between his teeth. "What's your point, kid?"

"That was the point!" Lenny grumbled as he headed for the door of the less-than-desirable house and tripped on the cracked walkway, nearly sprawling on his face.

Logan shook his head and removed the cigar from his mouth. "The point we're trying to make is that I'm a less-than-desirable guardian, which is why the four of you are looking for trouble. This house proves how unacceptable I am as a guardian. You need to remember that." He shoved past Lenny and flung the front door open.

Ziva chuckled as she passed Lenny and stepped into the house. "Do we at least get our own rooms?"

Logan stopped beneath the arch that led from the hallway to the living room. "Well, sort of."

"I'm not sure I like that answer."

He propped a hand on his hip and stared at her. Only he could manage that pose without looking the least bit feminine. "Why do I need to keep repeating this for you kids? Bad guardian." He pointed at himself. "Teenage couples." He gestured to the four of them. "Do I need to say duh?"

"Whoa, hold up, we have to share rooms? Like ... sleep in the same bed?" She eyed Craig.

"In appearance only or Storm will murder me. Craig's things will be in your room, and Skylar will be in with Lenny, but you and Sky will still be roommates. Each room only has one bed, for obvious reasons, I got a couple of inflatable mattresses, you can take turns using them, remember to stow them in the morning just in case."

"I get the master bedroom, stay out of my room," he told them, stepped out of the archway, and meandered down the hall toward his bedroom.

"Well, I guess that means we need to go unpack," Ziva told the others.

Ziva and Craig took the first bedroom, and Skylar and Lenny took the next one. Ziva was a bit uncomfortable with this situation, and standing in the room unpacking with Craig was plain weird. Even if they weren't actually sharing a room, it felt very strange to even think about sharing space with him.

The paint on the wall was no longer white, it held a yellow tinge, and the carpet ... well, the less said the better. The furniture had likely come from a thrift store, at least that's what it appeared. She was glad that Logan had at least sprung for new mattresses. The double bed took up most of the small room. A battered nightstand stood to one side of the bed, and an equally battered dresser with a cracked mirror stood to one side of the door. It was goodthat  they hadn't brought much with them; space was at a premium.

When he stepped up beside her, she slammed the top drawer of the dresser shut and glared at him.

He frowned. "What?"

"I was putting my underthings away." She was a little surprised when his cheeks flushed. He was even more adorable when he blushed. She shoved that thought away.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize ... I was going to put some of my stuff on top of the dresser." He held up a couple of old football trophies and some pictures of his parents.

"Right, sorry," she mumbled and stepped out of his way. She watched as he carefully arranged the items on top of the dresser. The pictures of his parents told her how much he cared about them. There had been a time when she loved her parents with that kind of intensity. That was difficult to get past after her mother tossed her out. There was a lot of confusion, tainted by anger. Her heart ached for a time that she could never get back, and she took a seat on the edge of the bed and stared down at her hands.

"We should go find a park and maybe a mall or something and go take a bunch of pictures of us together. It would be weird if we didn't have any, we're supposed to be a couple," he said.

Her head snapped up, and she stared at him, but his back was to her, and he was fixing one of the pictures of his parents. The words he spoke had been casua,l so she would have to accept that he was simply attempting to make their ruse as real as possible.

"That's a good idea. Do you have a camera?"

He pulled out his phone. "Always," he replied with a grin.

"Right, of course. Stupid question."

"Skylar probably brought her Polaroid with her too. She never goes anywhere without it. That will give us some pictures to hang in our lockers at school. We should bring a couple of changes of clothes, so we can make it look like everything was taken at different times."

"Good idea. I'll go tell Sky and Lenny, I'm sure they'll want to take some pictures too." She scooted out the door without looking at him.

***

"Get your butts in here or you're leaving without breakfast!" Logan shouted from the kitchen.

The four of them dragged into the dingy little kitchen. None of them were ready to face a day at a normal high school.

Ziva eyed the plate in the center of the scratched, cracked, pea-green Formica table. "Are those supposed to be Pop-Tarts?"

"They are Pop-Tarts. Now eat," Logan answered.

"Dude, seriously, nice breakfast. We didn't know you could cook." Lenny snatched one of the Pop-Tarts off the stack and bit into it. He yelped and stared at the pastry before he whacked it against the table.

Craig chuckled. "Man, what did you do to them?"

Logan growled at him before answering, "Eat your damn breakfast."

"Seriously, did you microwave them? They're called toaster pastries for a reason."

Ziva spotted Skylar covering her mouth to hide a giggle. Craig dodged Logan when the claws came out and ran from the room.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Storm is gonna have a fit if Logan kills Craig on the first day."

Lenny dropped the Pop-Tart back onto the plate, dusted off his hands, and started after Logan. "I guess I'll go save Craig's butt."

It was a good ten minutes before anyone was able to calm Logan down. They piled into the truck and headed for the school

"Can you drop us off a couple of blocks away?" Lenny asked him.

"What's the point of me being a crappy guardian if no one sees it? Suck it up, kid, I'm dropping you off out front."

Lenny groaned as Logan pulled the piece of crap pickup to the curb in front of the school.

"Watch each other's backs in there and keep your eyes open. Remember, we think the dealers are mutants so if you think you know who they are ..."

"Don't be afraid to give them a little show?" Lenny asked with a grin.

"Yes, but don't make it obvious for the entire school," Logan warned.

"We aren't stupid," Craig replied.

"That's debatable," Logan shot back as they piled out of the car.

Skylar slammed the door. "Don't worry, we'll be fine." She blew him a kiss and turned away from the beat-up-ancient-built-in-another-decade-should-have-been-crushed-into-a-cube pickup that had more rust on it than paint and looked ready to crumble into dust any second, truck as it pulled away from the curb.

None of them had wanted to ask where he got the truck. The one thing that was a blessing was that he knew cars, which meant it probably ran better than it looked, and he could probably fix the thing if it conked out.

Ziva sighed and clutched the strap of her backpack a little tighter. "I suppose we need to get our butts in there."

They began walking toward the school. As they passed by, students stopped to stare at them.

Craig fell into step beside Ziva and dropped his arm around her shoulders. He hugged her a little closer when he felt her tense, and leaned down. "Hey, we're supposed to be a couple, remember?"

"Sorry. I'm just not used to being close enough to anyone to let them touch me. It's a defense I guess."

"Totally understandable. Just don't zap me," he replied with a grin.

She grinned. "I'll try not to."

He bent and placed a kiss on her temple as an excuse to speak quietly to her. "This looks like it's going to be interesting." He dipped his head in the direction of the three girls who were standing at the top of the stairs near the doors.

The three looked as if they were holding court there, surveying their kingdom from their position atop the stairs. It appeared as if they were either approving of or dismissing their subjects as they passed. People scooted past them, shooting them glances before hurrying inside.

Ziva sent Craig a look of glee. "This is going to be sooooo much fun." The tone she used said she was going to love putting those girls in their place. Which could only be below her.

The three girls eyed them as they hit the top of the stairs. The leader of the little trio raised her lip slightly in a sneer as she took in Ziva's torn jeans and well-worn leather jacket. Her eyes hit on the purple streaks in her hair. Her gaze went over Craig, then moved to Lenny and Skylar.

"Wow, like what freak show did you four escape from?" the girl sneered.

"I'm sure it's the same one that has voted you their mascot," Ziva replied politely as they shoved past the girls and entered the school.

"Circus freaks!" the girl shouted after them.

Ziva raised her hand and flicked her fingers in the girl's direction.

Skylar muttered and shoved Ziva further from the door. "Ziva," she hissed. "What if someone saw that?" She glanced back and saw the girl wailing as she attempted to fix her wild, frizzy hair.

Ziva shrugged. "Like I care? She deserved it. If she wants to see a freak, she needs to look in the mirror. I mean, did you get a good look at her and her Barbie lookalikes? I bet they're all cheerleaders."

"They totally are. Brittney is the cheerleader, as in the head of the cheer squad, and you just made her your number one enemy, sweetheart."

They turned to stare at the boy who was slouching against the lockers. His pose was meant to appear casual, but his attitude destroyed that illusion. His eyes darted around as if he were keeping watch over everything happening in the halls around him. He shoved away from the locker and moved closer to them, so he didn't have to shout.

Ziva gave his bad boy getup a once-over and dismissed him as any kind of real threat. He was quite possibly a frontman, or he could simply be playing the part of a gangster. Nothing more than a wannabe. The leather jacket, though worn, was designer. The shoes were top-of-the-line basketball sneakers that appeared to be almost brand new. If this guy was any sort of hardcore gang member, she'd kiss Lenny full on the lips. She could pawn the watch the guy was wearing and pay rent for several months.

She propped her free hand on her hip and gave the wannabe tough guy a look that had caused more than one real gang member to back off. When she'd been on the street, she had learned that appearance mattered, and even if the toughness was a façade, if it was good enough to fool people, that was enough. She stepped into his personal space. "I don't care if her daddy owns the school. No one talks to me that way. Ever. She does it again, and next time she'll end up bald." The boy took a giant step back from her, and her lips lifted in a smile. "Wise choice, buddy." She tugged gently on Craig's hand. "Come on, Crai,g we need to get our schedules."

"Right, baby." He gave their would-be advisor a nod and let Ziva pull him away.

Skylar and Lenny trailed them. Sky looked back and saw wannabe lift his phone to his ear. "Lenny, hold up, I'll be right back." Before he could form an answer, she vanished. She wasn't fond of possessing cell phones. They tend to mess with your nervous system. But they needed some intel on this guy, and knowing who he was talking to could be important. She popped into the phone and listened to the conversation.

"Hey man, I've got some information for you," he told whoever was on the other end of the phone.

"It had better be something damn good. I don't need any of your bullshit. You had better not be calling to tell me you let another customer die," a deep, male voice answered.

He looked around quickly as if he believed someone could have heard his boss' comment. "No, honest, no one has died. Four new kids just arrived, and one of the chicks is a mutant. I mean, I think she is. It don't look like she cares who knows. She's pretty badass."

"What about the other three?" the man asked.

"Not sure if they have powers. The badass chick has a boyfriend, but he seems like a clean-cut jock taking a walk on the wrong side of the tracks. The other guy might be on board, not sure about his girl, she seems a little too glee club."

There was silence from his boss as he thought things over. "Keep an eye on them and see what they can do. I want the girl with the powers on the team."

"I haven't even told you what her power is."

His boss exhaled hard. "Fine, what can she do?"

"Not exactly sure, but she made Brittney's hair look like a tumbleweed. It was like she zapped her with a ton of static electricity. It was funny as hell to see."

Skylar swore she heard the man on the other end of the line grinding his teeth. "Fine, whatever, just get her on our side. Understood? We need someone with real power. Someone besides Deek and his fuckin' venom, which is not working well as a saleable drug. I need results. Now!" The line disconnected before Wannabe could answer.

She left the phone quickly in case he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Lenny turned to look at her when she reappeared. "Well?"

She told them what she'd overheard as quietly as possible. "It definitely sounds like he's our guy."

Craig scowled. "I don't like how interested in Ziva he is. It doesn't sound much like they're attempting to build a drug empire. Why are they marketing this guy Deek's venom as a drug? I mean, if it's killing people, why bother?"

"Those are questions we need to find the answers to," Ziva said.

"Not by putting your butt in the line of fire!" he snapped.

"It's my butt so I think I should get to decide!" she snapped back.

"It's a very nice butt and it would be a shame to get it and the rest of you killed," Lenny put in.

"You are not allowed to comment on my butt, Aquafina!"

Lenny held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying that Craig has a point. We're supposed to be a team, and putting one of us in danger isn't how we'll get this done."

"Fine, we'll ask Logan about it when we get home later and see what he has to say about it," Craig told them.

"What are we, part of the alphabet crew now? We have to ask the senior agent for permission to move forward?" Ziva mocked.

"Let's just get to class before we're late," Skylar told them with a sigh.

Ziva spun around and stomped away.

"She'll calm down," Skylar told Craig before she and Lenny headed for their classes in the opposite direction.

Craig nodded and went after Ziva since they had first period together. He caught up to her and grabbed her hand. "Girlfriend, remember?" he whispered.

"Right." She slowed her pace and remained by his side. Though she'd rather leave him in the dust right now.

They strolled through the door of the history classroom they shared, and surprise, surprise, Wannabe was in their class. He was slouched against a desk, speaking to another student.

Craig pulled her in closer.

She sighed and shook her head. He was determined to make certain those creeps got the message that she was his, even if she truly wasn't. "Calm down, I can take care of myself."

He relaxed slightly. "Sorry. I don't like how this is playing out, that's all. We already have whoever is out there trying to get their hands on you."

She nodded but didn't respond.

Craig vowed to himself that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. How and when he'd become so protective of her, he wasn't certain. Perhaps it had been right from the start, from the moment he'd seen her standing behind the counter at that diner, throwing off her tough girl's vibe to protect herself. The little girl, whose mother had thrown her away when she discovered she was a mutant, tossed her out as if she no longer held any worth. It could have been when he held her in his arms in the back of the car on the way to the school. She looked so small and fragile. Vulnerable. Yet, he knew she wasn't any of those things. She could kick his ass any second of the day. A single touch and she could stop his heart before he could form a thought.

He spotted Wannabe as he leaned down and spoke quietly to his buddy when he spotted them. The other kid nodded, and Wannabe smiled and straightened back into his slouch. He motioned them over with a wave.

"This should be interesting," Ziva commented as they made their way over to the two.

"Listen I know that you and your friends are new to the school, so I'd be happy to give you a few pointers about the school and some of the people here," Wannabe told them with a huge grin.

"Pointers?" Ziva asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, yeah, you know like who it's okay to talk to, who's a snitch, a loser, geek, jock, all of that stuff you need to survive high school."

"I think we're smart enough to figure all of that out for ourselves. Thanks," Craig replied with as much sarcasm as he could pack into the statement.

Wannabe immediately abandoned his slouch to step up close to Craig. It didn't seem to matter to him that Craig was four or five inches taller than him. "No, you aren't, trust me. Things here aren't exactly what they seem, friend."

Craig's smile was much less than friendly. "Trust me, friend, you don't want to mess with me. I'm not what I seem. Do not get in my face because you won't like the results."

Wannabe glanced at his buddy and then back at Craig. The smile faded, and a sneer took its place. "You expect me to fear you, preppy jock boy?" He poked Craig in the chest.

"That was the wrong move, buddy." Craig's hand shot out, and his fingers wrapped tightly around Wannabe's wrist. "Sorry, but you're gonna miss class. It's a shame really, history can be so damn interesting." A surge of energy rippled through his body, and for a moment, wannabe's eyes widened before they rolled back, and he crumpled. Craig used his hold on the boy's wrist to shove him toward his buddy before he released him. The other boy scrambled to catch him before he hit the ground.

Ziva looked at Wannabe's friend. "He's all yours. Leave us alone. Come on, Craig, let's go sit down." They moved to the other side of the room and took seats.

Craig leaned in close to her as if he were kissing her neck. "You think that was enough to get their attention?" She nodded and added a giggle for show before she planted a quick kiss on his cheek, using it as an excuse to look across the room at Wannabe's friend.

The guy was rapidly texting while darting looks in their direction

"Oh, yeah, it definitely was enough. It's only a matter of time before they contact us. Maybe hours, who knows? Now, get your lips off my neck before I zap you."

He backed off with agrin.