Chapter Twenty-Six: The Scarlett Secret
Part Two
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"Please, please I- I didn't- I wasn't thinking!" Seth whimpered as he backed himself into the lockers with Magnus and Charlie stood in front of him... cornering him. Both their faces were unamused, blank, bordering on furious and yet still somehow expressionless... "I wasn't thinking!" Seth repeated, sweating nervousness like his life depended on it. His hood had fallen, now revealing his unwashed hair with some strands sticking to his forehead.

"You just tried to shoot me half way through my last game," Magnus spat, stepping forward so Seth pushed his back into the lockers. "I know you weren't fucking thinking." He spat in a sharp, low voice, grabbing his jaw and shoving his head back into the locker door and holding it there. "This is the third time you've confronted me about your stupid fucking friends. I didn't even care about them, so imagine the shit I'm gonna do to someone who really fucks me off." Magnus hissed aggressively, holding his face close to Seth's so he could hear every word.

Suddenly he lifted the gun and held it to Seth's temple, who seemed to release a loud whimper and squeeze his eyes shut as the tears poured out from the cracks. He was shaking like a leaf caught in hurricane winds, and flinched as Magnus flicked the safety off the gun, making it click eerily. "Please," Seth cried, spit coming from his mouth as he tried to fight the sobs but couldn't. "P-Please, I'm- I'm so-sorry," he sobbed, his words almost slurred with the intensity of his despair.

"I don't give a fuck." Magnus spat in an strangely dark whisper, before pushing the gun into Seth's temple.

"Please don't hurt me, please, please," Seth begged, almost resorting to type and returning to basic humanity in which fear of death completely took over the body. Magnus wasn't sure what to call the sound people made when they were truly, purely, terrified for their lives, but everyone seemed to make it when their reality became clear... Seth released the noise over and over again, annoying Magnus who was about to act out because of it, but... at the same time both Charlie and Magnus smelt it, and Charlie groaned and stepped back, placing his finger under his nose.

"Did you just piss yourself?" Magnus asked, leaning away and letting Seth drop to the floor since his legs gave way. "Christ do you fucking drink any water?" He spat, holding his nose as Seth seemed to slump into a heap...

"I think he passed out." Charlie muttered, still holding his nose as Seth suddenly turned limp and went quiet. "Dude I don't think he just pissed himself, that's fucking vile."

"You know what," Magnus muttered, holding his hand in front of his nose. "He's not even fucking worth it. It would be like killing a mutt." He scoffed, turning away and throwing the gun into his locker and chucking a garment of clothing over the top before closing it.

"Jesus Christ." Charlie muttered, still shocked by the smell before laughing in disbelief. He nudged Seth with his foot, shaking his head when he didn't respond. "Out fucking cold." He murmured, noticing that Magnus had already walked off and begun eating his nutrition bar... but something still felt off. It felt too quick, too careless, so Charlie turned back to Seth, and searched his pockets... getting the feeling something was waiting to be found. He found his phone tucked into his jeans, and lifted it out... noticing now that Seth had been recording their entire confrontation with an audio app.

Charlie released a short breath through his nose and shook his head, stopping the recording and deleting it before resetting his whole phone so that it would delete everything else too. He was angry as he put Seth's phone back in his pocket, thinking about what could've happened if Charlie hadn't checked his pockets.

He stood back up, glancing around him before he noticed something he could use.... and grabbed a half drunk bottle of beer someone and left peaking out of their gym bag and poured it over Seth, waking him up. He coughed and spluttered, then gasped in panic as his brain reminded him of what had just happened... Charlie knelt down, grabbing Seth's face so that he was sure he was listening. "If I see you near us or anyone we know, or if you speak about this to anyone... It's not Magnus you're going to have to be worried about, it's me. I've got some real fuckin' issues." Charlie hissed, his eyes wise as he tapped his temple and his expression scared Seth into complete silence. "Just take a look at your friend Jack." Charlie whispered close to his ear. "Now get the fuck out of here. You smell fucking disgusting." He spat, shoving Seth away from him before standing up and walking off... he decided not to tell Seth his plan to capture Magnus didn't work, but would tell Magnus what he had found out, since he knew he would reconsider his offer to let him go untouched now that this had come to light.

~

... Back out in the early evening air the boys seem to just make it back in time. The coach waved them aggressively onto the field, shouting at them to hurry up and get into their positions. Alice watched from the sidelines, seeing a particular look on Magnus's face that she recognised... the void was there, lingering behind him, just out of her eye line, seeming to peek out before darting away and vanishing... she looked to where the boys had just come from, and furrowed her eyebrows... but decided to let the curious thoughts go since the game had just started again.

Magnus was more aggressive this half, shoving his opponents out of the way or tackling them to the point where they'd be lying on the floor recovering for a few moments before getting up. "What's up with him?" Fei asked, stood next to Alice with her Pom-poms attached to her hands.

"I don't know," Alice mused, lifting her own and shaking them a little as a few of the others cheered. After fifteen or so minutes the referee blew the whistle, bringing the game to a halt before he marched over to Magnus to tell him to fix his attitude after the opposing teams coach complained... There were boo's from the bleachers, and Alice watched intently as Magnus was threatened with being sent off, but only if he didn't improve his behaviour.

Alice could see the smirk playing on his lips as he nodded, throwing his hands up as if he was saying he'd back off. But she could almost hear his dark chuckle as he watched the referee walk away to restart the game with the blow of a whistle...

Magnus didn't improve his attitude. And it was as if he was only provoked to act worse now that he got told to calm down. Alice was watching intently with the rest of her team as she sipped water, watching as one of the team members from the other school made a run to make a touch down, there were wary cheers as everyone prepared to either celebrate or boo as the runner got closer, but as if out of nowhere Magnus charged into his side, using his shoulder and full force of his run to almost throw the player to one side within metres of him reaching the line.

Alice gasped, nearly choking on her water as the whole bleachers winced and went a little quiet... "oh my god," Alice whispered, covering her mouth since it was obvious that Magnus's actions were purely fuelled by violence and not the game. The player lay on the floor still, evidently knocked out for a few moments before some of his team ran over to check him. The silence made the hair on the back of Alice's neck stand on end and she stared in shock as Magnus walked off the field, purposefully walking right passed the referee whilst staring at him, after he'd snatched off his helmet.

Something was wrong. And Alice glanced back at the scene of carnage Magnus left behind before seeing him storm back into the boys changing rooms. From what she could tell the player he'd injured was waking up, but it didn't stop the low murmuring of complete disapproval she could hear from nearly every row in the stands as she decided to follow where Magnus had just gone.

She knew there were eyes on her, but she kept her own gaze ahead as she hurried out of sight and into the changing rooms through the field door. There was a long hallway, dimly lit and she could hear the electricity from the cheap lights whirring above her head as she walked quickly down the concrete slope into the locker rooms... "Mags?" She called, but it was quiet. So quiet in fact she just knew he was being silent on purpose.

She braced herself for him to be around the corner, but as she made her way into the changing rooms she didn't see him. "Baby?" She asked in a softer tone, glancing down the rows of lockers until, finally, she saw him. He just disappeared round the other corner down the aisle and Alice sighed, aware that he was ignoring her calls now. She didn't say anything else and followed, her hair bouncing as she walked with purpose. He'd stepped into the shower room, or bathroom, she wasn't sure. Since the door between was now just closing... it was quiet again as she hesitated, but decided to open it even though she had a strange feeling about the mood he was in.

"Magnus?" She whispered, easing the door open and seeing that it was in fact a shower room, with tall tiled cubicles with a curtain across each one. She heard the squeak of a tap turning on, then the rush of water and sighed again, stepping inside... "I just want to know if you're okay," she said out loud, projecting her voice gently so it could be heard over the rushing of the shower water.

There was no response again, and Alice moved some strands of hair from her face as she walked towards the cubicle she assumed he was in, considering that was the only one with the water running. She felt disappointed, considering they'd had such a nice moment out on the field during her dance and now... it all seemed to come crumbling down around her feet. She edged towards the cubicle and placed her hand on the curtain, wanting to ease it back just to make sure he was actually in there...

She peered in, murmuring his name but suddenly noticed it was empty. Her eyebrows furrowed and she snatched the curtain back, revealing an empty cubicle with the shower running. "What the-" she began quietly, but suddenly got that feeling. Quickly, she turned around, and Magnus was stood behind her but a little way back. He was holding a tissue to his lip, his eyes dark and blank and he just stared at her. Alice's heart jumped a little, but she exhaled and walked towards him. "Why are you sneaking around?" She mumbled, "Did you hurt yourself?"

Magnus didn't say anything as Alice got closer and reached up to take the tissue away from his lip, but he swatted her hand away. "Leave me alone."

"Why?" Alice asked looking at him with confusion as the edge of her hand stung from where their hands had made contact, but she didn't make a point of it.

"I just want to be alone, Alice." Magnus replied in a blunt but low voice, like he was trying not to patronise her or speak to her in a voice like she wouldn't understand.

"... is this because of last night?" Alice asked and Magnus stared down at her in silence. "But..." she began, but trailed off since Magnus seemed to look at her in a way she hadn't really seen before. "Fine." She muttered, not knowing what it meant and began turning away and making a plan to make her way back to her friends to see what was happening with the game. She'd walked across the shower room, feeling a lump forming in her throat but she heard Magnus clear his throat after a few moments of silence...

"Something happened." He said plainly but Alice stopped to turn and look at him. She had worry and nervousness all in her eyes but her expression was calm.

"Okay?" She asked, keeping her arms by her sides.

"That Seth kid tried to kill me." Magnus said without looking at her, "and I let him go."

"What?" Alice asked. "What?" She asked again, the level of panic rising in her voice as she moved quickly back over to him and grasped his face. "What happened? Are you okay? What do you mean you let him go? I swear to god if I see him I'm gonna rip his face in half." Alice spat, feeling a mixture of fury and worry, and her voice went from soft to a harsh hiss that seemed to want to make Magnus want to bring her closer.

"He pulled a gun on me but left the safety on," Magnus replied, and Alice's eyes widened with shock, "He was obviously on something... Fucking idiot."

"Oh my god," Alice breathed, feeling her eyes well up at the thought of what could've happened if the safety had been off. "Oh my god." She whispered and suddenly hugged him, wrapping her arms around his middle and breathing in his scent and trying to memorise it. Magnus sighed, placing his hand on the back of her neck to comfort her... but he didn't want the affection in that moment, he felt tense and angry, and wanted to push Alice away from it so she wouldn't be in the firing line since he knew what he was like. He wanted to hurt Seth, he'd already planned how he would do it, and the thoughts kept spinning in his mind and completely enveloping everything else. He was furious he couldn't do it now, and that he'd had to give up the opportunity considering it was definitely the wrong place and the wrong time.

"I'm fine babe, relax." Magnus murmured, appreciating the concern but he didn't really feel like dealing with that either in that moment.

Alice pulled back and turned away from him, barely hearing his voice and his tone as she felt an anger rise in her as she thought about it again. "I'm gonna fucking kill him. You let him go?!" She stressed but didn't seem to raise her voice, causing Magnus to make a face since he was annoyed with her tone. "You let him go?!" She repeated angrily. "Are you fucking insane? He tried to shoot you!"

"It was pointless and stupid. What would I have done?" Magnus asked, feeling his temper rising. "Gut him and just store him in a locker till I'm done playing sports? Great fucking idea."

"Or the ditch the game and deal with him and this whole fucked up situation?" Alice asked, "He tried to kill you in the middle of a game, he's obviously not stable right now what if he comes back in ten minutes and tries to put another bullet in your head when you're not expecting it?" She asked as if she couldn't believe he was handling this the way he was. "I think this is a little more important than throwing a ball around." she added even as she saw Magnus's face harden.

"God, you're so annoying." He suddenly spat with fury without thinking, turning away from Alice to aggressively throw the tissue he'd been using to put pressure on the cut on his lip in the trash. Alice felt her mind go silent and she parted her lips to respond but found she had nothing to say... her cheeks warmed a little and she retreated slightly... Magnus paused, hearing the silence echo back to him, and turned back around to face her. "I didn't mean that." He then said in a calmer voice, seeing her face.

"Yes, you did." Alice replied quietly too before turning away to turn the shower off since the added noise was annoying her. "So, just get it off your chest. Why do you think i'm annoying?" She asked in a calm, but still quiet, voice. She was tense and he could see it, and cursed himself silently since this was what he was trying to avoid. Alice was more in touch with her emotions than Magnus was, and in times like this he knew they would clash since she would have an emotionally driven response and he would not.

Magnus stared at her, wondering if the trap he could see her holding open for him was actually there or if he was just being paranoid. "Well?" Alice asked, shrugging her shoulders a little, she was growing impatient and increasingly anxious about what he was going to say.

"Nah, it's just..." Magnus began, rubbing his cheek. He didn't want to do this now, but it seemed that last night's argument had made a second appearance, demanding to be finished. "You get over protective, like I can't look after myself or like I don't know what I'm doing-"

"Excuse me?" Alice asked, obviously taking offence.

"If I could finish..." he murmured and Alice pressed her lips together and folded her arms now too. He was glancing over her, reading her body language as he spoke. "You give me advice as if I don't know what I'm doing, like I've had no experience with any of this and you feel you need to advise me on how I should-"

"It's because I care about you," Alice interjected, stepping towards him. Magnus looked into her eyes without moving his head, his gaze flashing an angered emotion across them.

"Shut up for a second," he spat angrily and Alice felt herself going red and her chest to tighten. "It's like you can't even see what's going on here, you're not even listening to yourself, are you?" he spat whilst tapping his ear to emphasise his point. "I don't need your help. I'm the one who knows how to handle shit like this properly and you can't even take advice from me, so why the fuck should I listen to you?" he snapped angrily, letting his temper get the better of him as the level of his voice raised.

Alice stared at him, feeling her expression crumbling slightly as she felt tears threatening to arise. "I just..." she began, breathing in carefully to try and push down the urge to let her lip quiver. "I was just saying." she mumbled, taking another careful breath and clasping her hands together.

"Don't fucking cry." Magnus snapped again and Alice relaxed her expression slightly but the tears were forming regardless. She wanted to be sad, but anger was beginning to push through the barrier aggressively now and she squeezed her hands together to try and relieve it. "I shouldn't have told you." he muttered, turning away slightly and shaking his head. "I asked you to leave me the fuck alone, now look."

"Wow," Alice spat quietly, her eyes watering more but her hands were flexing as if she was trying not to clench them anymore and hurt herself. "Alright," She laughed softly, confusing Magnus so he turned back to look at her. "You.... self centred.. ass." she spat slowly and quietly, letting the tears slip down her cheeks. "You have been nothing but complete asshole to me since last night and I am sick of it already," She hissed very quietly before angrily swiping the tears off her cheeks. "I have been patient, I have given you space, I have refrained from firing back at you because I don't want these to be a huge thing but I really don't see why I should just stand here and take this. So you know what? I'm fucking out. You can deal with whatever the fuck this is, on your own." she spat before turning away and walking off.

"You're out?" Magnus called after her, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" He asked, following her out of the shower room and back into the quiet changing rooms, they could hear the game still going on out on the field, the muffled cheers and the echoing of the marching band's songs wafting towards them...

"It means what it means," Alice shot back at him, throwing her hands up and making a bee line for the locker room doors that led onto the hallway. She wanted to go home, curl up in bed and hide away from reality for a while, but Magnus didn't seem to want to let that happen. He felt alarm bells ringing in his head and caught up to her, grasping her by the arm to pull her back