It had been Connor's first visit to the 404 and it was not a particularly proud moment for him. Even for a relatively small crime of swearing in front a teacher, it was still a mar on his otherwise perfect school record - well, barring a lunchroom incident a few years back. He didn't talk much on the way, and walked at the back in hopes of minimizing conversation with some of the other students. 

At least he had friends here for company.

Connor needed to take the bus home, and when conversation got to the subject of cutting through the abandoned construction site, he stayed silent. He was hoping that some students - particularly Ash - would take the shortcut so that he could peacefully take the long route with Gabi and Noah. No weird tension.

There was no way Connor was going through the construction site anyway. Five years back, a freshman named Laurence Neyman had gone in there and got stabbed in the leg. Needed 17 stitches. His parents got into a huge lawsuit with the city and the local news swarmed over it like flies. Nothing as prolific had occurred since then, but Connor was content to walk an extra ten minutes of safe, legal sidewa - Oh, [i]come on[/i].

[color=khaki]"Gabi?"[/color] She was doing something dumb again. Connor watched as his friend started climbing, the clinking of the fence sounding way too loud on the empty street. He looked at her helplessly, trying to figure out what to do.[color=khaki] "C'mon, get down from there."[/color]

Gabi was now on the opposite side of the fence. Great. [color=khaki]"Gabi. Gabs think about this. You could get seriously hurt in there."[/color]