SUBJECT NINE | KIRIN O'CONNOR

PROLOGUE

PHINEAS THREW THE leaflet across the bedroom, over onto Frances' bed with a scoff. He quickly gained the girls attention, making her put down her books and turn to look at him with furrowed brows.

"I'm not fucking doing it." He ran his hands through his dark hair and tugged on the ends.

Frances picked up the leaflet that read 'Passage ways'. She flicked through the leaflet, the first page explained that it was a team building event. The second page had a list of different activities they'd do each day. And the third and final page had different pictures of people from the years before.

"Did you even tell mom to come and speak to the principal?" Phineas questioned angrily.

"Of course. I practically waved her off." Frances stood up, angered slightly at the fact that her brother would think that she didn't convince their mom to speak to his principal like he asked.

The blonde looked up at her brother and then back down to the leaflet in her hand. A curiosity was building inside her, so much so that she just had to ask,

"Why do you have this?"

"Principal Thatcher thought it would be good for me." He laughed. "Good for my challenging behaviour." Phineas raised his hands to put quotation marks over the word challenging.

Frances had to remind herself to stay calm. She knew what her brothers anger was like. And if she raised to his level or even looked at him the wrong way, he would black out.

"I knew I should have called dad." He muttered, slamming his fists into the door, causing a loud bang that made the blonde jump.

She slowly moved back to sit on her bed, placing the leaflet down and pulling up her legs into her chest, resting her head on her knees as she looked towards her brother.

Phineas' chest was heaving and his knuckles were clenched. He took in a deep breath before turning and facing his younger sister. He let go of a sadistic laugh as his eyes flickered towards the abundance of books on her bed.

"I bet you'd love that shit." He effortlessly pointed to the leaflet. "The Hawaii. The bonding. The activities."

Frances shifted uncomfortably at the fact that her brother knew her that well. She would love the retreat. The idea of spending a few weeks doing different activities in Hawaii sounded like a holiday to her. Much better than being at school.

"So, I'll go." Frances offered.

Phineas' hand clutched his stomach as he laughed at the ridiculous idea. He quickly stopped laughing once he realised that Frances was just staring at him with a blank look, that said she was entirely serious about what she suggested.

"And how would that work? Your a girl and it's a boys retreat." He rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair opposite her bed. He had calmed down a little since he got home.

"I'll pretend to be you." Frances paused as she watched Phineas' face screw up in confusion. "God, Phin, you've watched 'She's the man' with me multiple times."

Frances stood up and made her way over to her wardrobe, pulling out a hoodie and throwing it on. She then grabbed a hair clip to hold her blonde hair back before pulling up the hood.

"See, it's not that hard." She said deepening her voice. She let go of a small giggle after her imitation of Phineas.

Phineas muttered something under his breath that Frances didn't hear exactly what he said, but she just decided to ignore him anyways.

"You can teach me to be like you." Frances slouched back, shoving her hands deep into her joggers. "Walk like you." She began to strut across the room. "Talk like you." The girl deepened her voice once again. "And act like you."

She then turned to face the mirror and pretended to check herself out, much like he did every morning. Phineas chuckled at the girl, he stood up and wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

"You don't have to do that." He muttered.

Despite having anger towards the situation, he loved his sister and he knew that she would do anything for him, just like he would her. She was the only one that didn't treat him any different despite him having IED.

"If you don't go, what happens to you?" Frances pulled away from her brother before turning to face him.

Phineas let out a groan as he sat down on the girls bed, he pushed his floppy dirty blonde hair out of his face and clenched his jaw. His leg began to anxiously bob up and down, making Frances furrow her brows.

"I get kicked. Not just from the team. But from school. Dad says he'll stop paying for the car and mom says I won't be able to go to see Calli anymore."

Calli was Phineas girlfriend of 3 years, she lived in Minnesota. Phineas was only allowed to go see her once every six months, she visited more often than him, but she hadn't been to see him in a while since money had become an issue for her after she was fired from her job.

"And not going isn't worth it." Frances hummed. "So, I've got some money saved up, you go stay with Calli and I'll go in your place. A win win for both of us." She gave the boy a toothy smile.

"And where you gonna tell mom you are?" Phineas raised his brows, almost not believing that Frances' plan would work.

Frances scoffed at the fact that her brother underestimated her. He acted as if she hadn't thought of every loop hole.

"I'll be staying with dad." She smirked. "Mom and dad don't talk anyways, so she's not going to check. She'll think I'm there. He'll think I'm here. But most importantly, they'll think you're in Hawaii."

"You, Frances Dalling, are the smartest person I've ever met." Phineas stood up, wrapping his arms around his sisters waist and spinning her around.

He was grateful for her. Although they didn't always get along and he could often lose his temper towards her, she was always there for him.

And he would do anything to protect her.

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