A/N: Here's chapter 1. Enjoy, people.

Iris dug her right hand's nails into the ledge, heart slowly went back down to normal rhythm. She gazed through the car window, regretting all life choices she'd made leading up to that moment.

"See!" Julian grinned, his cheeks flushed with adrenaline. "That wasn't so bad!"

Iris made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob, looking back at the rest of the West-Brown boys. Damien had won the rock-paper-scissors contest to sit behind the driver (the safest seat, apparently) and was practically hugging the seat in front, with a dead-eyes Elijah next to him looking like a drunkard on a particularly bad night out. Oscar was pressed against the door, knees tucked to his chest in the foetal position while muttering something in Latin— Iris thought it was a prayer, but it could very well have been a curse on Julian. Will and Brandon were in a tight embrace in the very back seats, actual tears running down their face as if they'd both sprinted to Hell and back.

"Who..." Iris took in a big gulp of air. "Who the hell gave you your provisional license?"

"The government." Julian shrugged, lowering his window and leaning out to the speaker. "Hi, can I have a—" he rattled off the order, with multiple interjections from Oscar.

They parked away from the main building, and Julian distributed the food. Iris had lost most of her appetite from her mission, and could only stomach a small batch of friends— which were salty enough to leave a strange taste on her tongue, but could quickly be washed down with some Coca Cola.

"Alright!" Julian rubbed his hands together as the engine hummed in the background. "Where to now? We can go—"

"I tried to infiltrate Meredith's hideout earlier."

Julian froze. He switched off the ignition and turned to Iris. "What?"

"Uh, just to confirm," Brandon called from the back, "is this the same Meredith whom that girl— Mia?— said killed Elise? And the one Chief Wright said is dangerous and you shouldn't go after?"

"Correct."

"Alright, just checking." Brandon nodded. "Now, what the hell were you thinking?"

Iris brandished a fry. "Well, I mean, I had help! I even met an old friend— you remember Jax? His older sister was undercover there, and I had James DeLesco and Cole future DeLesco help me."

Damien frowned and spoke through a mouthful of burger, "How did you manage to get the— wait, that's not what's important right now."

Iris leaned back, biting back a wince as a bruise blazed on her shoulder. "They owed me a favour after what happened in Germany."

"What happened in Germany?" Oscar asked through a mouthful of burger.

Iris' eyes widened and she shook her head. "We don't ever talk about what happened in Germany.... Elijah, are you okay? You've been staring into distance for some time now."

Elijah blinked as if stirring himself from a stupor. "I just... I'm just processing what's happened in the last five minutes. Why didn't you tell us? Or me?"

"Well... I thought you guys would try to stop me." Iris shrugged and sipped her drink to avoid his gaze. "This was something I needed to do, but it didn't matter anyway. Meredith wasn't there."

"Obviously not." Damien rolled his eyes, finally putting his phone down. "Why would you immediately trust Mia's word? She could have been lying to you. Really, I thought you were smarter than that."

Iris' heartbeat echoed in her ears as dread knotted in her stomach. "She wouldn't lie to me. She's my friend— "

Is she?

Iris slumped in her seat, staring out of the window at the row upon row of cars in front. She felt like they were laughing at her, and a wave of shame crashed over her. Rookie error. Trusting the word of a girl who had no reason to tell the whole truth, putting her entire faith in someone she didn't know. It didn't just risk her life, but James and Cole too; her actions had even blown Tracy's cover. Her stupid pride had caused this.

"Next time," said Brandon, "ask us to verify information. Hey, we'll even do it at a discount for you."

Elijah glared at him.

Brandon chuckled nervously. "Heavy discount?... Okay, fine, for free. Stop looking at me like that."

Iris blew out through her nose, a sudden ache spread across her left side where she'd body slammed a guard earlier. "Fine. What's the plan?"

**********

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)