The King of the Hill is a game with few rules and even less supervision.

There is one objective.

Take a card.

The Jack, The Queen, The King, The Ace and The Joker.

How you get the card is up to you, so long as you remain on school grounds, anything goes.

For three years, the five cardholders of the Hill have stood undefeated.

Many challengers give up, becoming regular students or leaving the school entirely. Student's who enjoy the game continue to fight amongst themselves for Territory.

Cheaters and people who ignore the rules... Tend to disappear.

Some people are willing to do just about anything to win.

Because being a member of the Hill when you graduate... opens all the doors.

The one thing all five of us on the Hill had ever agreed on, is that we could never let someone like that reach the Hill.

Not again.

"Framed, you say?" I heard Vain mutter, more to himself than to me, side-eyeing me as he thought. I could almost see the cogs in his head, turning as he considered the new information.

"And you were just going to keep this to yourself?" His eyes narrowed as he came to his conclusion.

I kept my mouth shut, unwilling to reveal more than I already had.

Vain knew about the Hill, what was involved. He had probably already considered the possibility that my sudden fall out with the law was somehow connected to my extracurricular activities.

He was just waiting for me to admit it.

Admit that he was right.

That joining the Hill, throwing myself into the violence and distancing myself from him had all been a mistake.

I gritted my teeth, turning away from his expectant gaze.

He might as well wait for Hell to open skating rink while he's at it.

Vain sighed my at stubborn silence, knowing better than to try and press me for answers. In one way, we had always been the same.

We are both too pigheaded to share our problems with anyone else.

Especially with each other.

"So, what do they want now?" He asked bluntly, loud enough for the group around us to hear.

He sounded calm, neutral, but there was a sharp tinge of sarcasm leaking through the words. "Since they were willing to attack me with a cricket bat, I'm guessing it must be something significant."

I shifted nervously on his shoulder, arms crossed and still refusing to look at him. "Uh, well... It kind of depends on your perspective of what is and isn't important. Some people would even say..."

"Let me guess." Vain interrupted, rubbing his temples tiredly. "I can thank the Hill for this horrible head injury I just recently acquired?"

"No..." I began, only to realise that I couldn't exactly deny it....since he had pretty much hit the nail on the head right there.

Vain's annoyed look said exactly how tedious and stupid he found this situation.

"Okay, yes, it's about the Hill. But it's not what you think!" I protested.

He raised an eyebrow.

"They cheated..."

I squirmed.

"... So it's not my fault?"

Vain's eyes twitched in a way that promised I would regret opening my mouth, but before he could speak, one of the girls from the group stepped forward.

"Hand her over." She snapped, drawing Vain's attention and possibly saving my life.

Still, I frowned at her, not happy with where this was going.

There was only one way to gain a place on the Hill, and that was to defeat one of the occupants.

Now that they had weakened me, obviously, they had come to finish the job.

Vain tilted his head.

It was a simple action, but I knew.

The scary switch had been flicked.

"I think..."

The fact that he was severely outnumbered and outgunned didn't seem to bother him as Vain took slow strides towards the girl who had spoken.

"You should..."

He closed the distance, staring down at her from his greater height. Not something he got to do all that often.

"Reconsider your tone."

Vain lent forward, and the girl backed up a step.

The calm expression never changed.

"Forgive me for not knowing all the details. Beyond my duties as a student council member, I take very little interest in the affairs of other students." He remarked in a business-like tone, reaching up a hand up, straightening his glasses.

"But do you really think that you can get away with assaulting normal students indiscriminately?"

"Yea, actually. "A boy to the left spoke up, smirking. "Hate to burst your false sense of security dude, But I don't exactly see anyone here stopping us."

Vain was silent for a long moment, blinking at the nervous girl in front of him before slowly turning his cold gaze over onto Mr Big Mouth.

...I almost felt bad for the guy.

"Hmm. When the Cat is away, the mice will play." Vain murmured his voice dangerously gentle. "But that's what mouse traps are for."

Vain reached a hand up to his mouth, showing him the blood that came off on his fingers.

"I am not a participant in your game and am in no way obliged to uphold your secrecy. That is likely the reason why they tell you not to attack the regular student body in the first place."

He had a point. If there was one thing taboo in this game, damaging the school's reputation and drawing attention to them was it.

Vain already had all the evidence he needed.

"If you want to keep this little assault in-house. " Vain took a step back from the girl. "I suggest you leave now, while I'm feeling charitable."

"Ah, Vain..." I protested, flinching at his words. It was impressive that he was standing up to them, considering the limited options he had, and if these guys had been the regular run-off the mill thug, his threats would have been enough to chase them off.

But there was a good chance that this could backfire on us if these kids were desperate enough to silence him themselves.

Considering what they had done so far, these guys really didn't seem like the backing down type.

Deep down, I had known the threat of exposure wouldn't be enough to keep people from attacking me while I was Vain.

From the very beginning, I had been prepared.

I could do this on my own.

Even if this, involved loosing horribly.

"How about you... Go get my cat from the oven." I placed a hand on my hips, waving my toothpick with the other. "I'll deal with this by the time you come back."

Smooth.

"Maddison... that's just insulting." Vain muttered, actually sounding a little hurt.

"Fine. Go the Hell away so I can get my ass kicked in peace. Is that better?" I hissed at him.

"Try saying please."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm going to kill you as soon as I'm back to normal!"

"You can't kill me if you die here." He sniffed indignantly. "That much should be obvious."

"They're not going to kill me. " I growled in frustration. "Just torment me until I wish I were dead. So shut up and get lost..."

Our bickering was interrupted by the sound of a roaring trumpet.

Vain jumped, and my stomach dropped at the sound.

Everyone in the courtyard turned, searching for the source of the sound, and finding it on the roof of the west corridor.

"Hello, everyone!"

An insane maniac, disguised as a high school boy, waved his trumpet down at us.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Oh Great.

I slapped a hand to my head.

The worst had officially happened.

"Not him!" I groaned desperately. "Anyone but him."

"You know him?" Vain asked softly as the blond boy skipped to the edge of the roof.

"That's Nigel," I told him, watching in dread as the boy flipped off the low roof.

Landing in the courtyard in a perfect crouch.

"He's the Joker."