Chapter Text
Wylan had heard many rumors about the people he went to school with. He didn’t believe most of them, instead chose to give his classmates the benefit of the doubt. Maybe if the rumors weren’t so outlandish, he would believe them. But the ones about the group that called themselves the Dregs, those he couldn’t believe.
First there was Kaz Brekker. It was rumored that no one knew where Kaz came from, everyone believed he crawled out of the polluted water down in the Barrel. Apparently Kaz could break into any safe; and make anything, or anyone, disappear. Kaz didn’t help the rumors any because the man always wore thick black leather gloves and walked with a crow-headed cane. Wylan was kind of afraid of him, but not because of the rumors. It was Kaz’s glare that unnerved him.
Next there was Inej Ghafa. Her rumor was that she was kidnapped from her home and forced to work at a brothel until Kaz freed her. Inej walked without a sound, could pass without anyone ever knowing she was near. She could also apparently steal any secret, which Wylan really hoped was false. She could apparently go anywhere without being heard, even if she had bells on her feet or you were listening for her. No one ever heard her coming up behind them.
Then there was Jesper Fahey. Jesper came from a farm and it was rumored that he had a bad gambling habit that forced him to join a gang. They said that Jesper could fire a gun with impeccable aim, he apparently never missed. He could even shoot around corners, which Wylan knew was impossible. People claimed that Jesper carried a pair of revolvers around with him everywhere he went. Wylan had never seen the man carrying guns, and Jesper didn’t look like a person that would shoot another person, at least to Wylan.
The other girl in the Dregs was Nina Zenik. People liked to say that she could control your heartbeat, another impossibility. They said that she could use actual magic and she could kill a man by slowing down his heartbeat. There even was a rumor that she could raise the dead at one point. Wylan had laughed out loud at that one.
Finally, there as Matthias Helvar. People said that he hunted people like Nina but ended up falling in love with her and ditching most of his teachings. Wylan could believe that he fell in love with Nina, he could see how Matthias looked at her when she wasn’t looking back. The man was huge, he looked like the cold wouldn’t bother him. He was from the North, so Wylan could actually believe Matthias wasn’t bothered by the cold much. But him training and handling wolves was something that he didn’t think Matthias did.
The most unbelievable rumor of all was that they all lived together in a place that they called the Slat down in the Barrel. Apparently, none of them had parental supervision, and they managed to live together without parents. Wylan couldn’t believe this one, because none of them seemed to have jobs, so how could they rent a place together, and who would let a bunch of teenagers rent out a place on their own. Even though Wylan knew all of these rumors were false, he didn’t hang around the Dregs. If by chance any of the rumors were true, mostly Inej stealing any secret, he didn’t want to tempt fate. If his secret got out, his father would kill him.
The reason that Wylan figured all of the rumors were untrue was because every rumor he heard about himself had been untrue. He always made sure to listen for his own name, because he couldn’t risk anyone finding out that he couldn’t read or write. His father promised that if anyone found out, he would send Wylan away. He swore that the Van Eck name would not be ruined because Wylan was illiterate.
Wylan never wanted to find out what his father meant by “send him away,” so he kept everyone at an arm’s length. If he wasn’t friends with anyone, no one could find out. He made sure to answer a few questions in class, so his teachers didn’t call on him for reading, and he avoided group work that he had to read or write for. He didn’t turn anything in for English though, it was the only class he was failing. He knew his father was disappointed he was failing a class, but it was better that than his secret getting out.
The rest of the student body was also scared of the Dregs, anyone who associated with them instantly had wild rumors following them and everyone else avoided them. When Nina had first come, some of the other girls had talked to her, but once she fell in with Brekker’s crowd, no one talked to her anymore. Nina didn’t seem to mind though, she seemed happy at their table. Wylan sometimes wanted to have friendships like they had, but it was way to risky.
Every class was lonely, and when he went home, he was also lonely. His mother had died year ago when he was eight, and his father had remarried a few years ago. Alys was just a few years older than him, so he didn’t really talk to her that much. Every time he talked to his father, he ended up getting yelled at. His father always screamed at him, throwing every fault back in Wylan’s face. Wylan hated it, he couldn’t wait to leave home. As soon as he was done with high school, he was leaving. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but he knew he needed to leave. He didn’t really have any skills other than Chemistry and playing the flute, but he was sure he would be able to find something that he could do. He just couldn’t bear to be around his father any longer than he had too. While Jan Van Eck was one of the most successful merchants and had a successful business, Wylan knew that he wasn’t going to pass his business on to him. His father made sure that he knew this.
When the bell rang, Wylan always felt sad. He really didn’t want to go home. He never did. He knew he would go home and do whatever homework he could, and then he would play his music. Sometimes Alys would come and play with him, and sometimes his father would come and yell at him to shut up. He never knew which it would be. As he was making his way out of the school, someone grabbed his arm and yanked him into an empty hallway. Wylan yelped as he was pulled out of the stream of students. He turned, only to be faced with Jesper Fahey. He instantly felt fear shoot through him, fear at the thought that he did sometime to piss of the scariest people in school.
“I heard your very good at chemistry,” Jesper said. There was a wide grin on his face. Wylan absently noticed that the man had perfectly shaped lips.
“What.”
“I heard you know how to blow things up.” Jesper repeated. Wylan was incredibly confused.
“Theoretically.” It was the easiest answer because he didn’t actually know if he could blow things up. He knew what would cause an explosion, but he had never done it before. He never even thought of it. Jesper handed him a piece of paper and Wylan knew it had writing on it, but he could figure out what it said.
“Come to this address tomorrow an hour after school.” Jesper turned to leave after he winked, but Wylan called out to stop him.
“I don’t know where this is.” It was the first lie that came to his mind. Jesper sighed.
“You really are a merchling. I’ll come by and get you. Just hang out in the library after school tomorrow.” After that Jesper turned to leave again and this time Wylan didn’t stop him. Of all places, Jesper had to choose the library. It was the one place that Wylan never went to at this school. It reminded him of the things he couldn’t do that everyone else could. Wylan wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow.