Grizzling, I hold the two strips of paper in place without speaking while Nina tapes them together.
‘I’ll fill out the first half, and you do the rest,’ Nina snaps.
‘Fine,’ I say, crossing my arms in a huff, the tension between us growing thicker with every passing moment.
Once she has answered the first eight questions, Nina aggressively slides the sheet toward me.
I pause, my eyes locked on her with a hint of regret. ‘What happened to us, Nina? We were getting along so well the other day, we almost, you know? And now we are worse than ever?’ I ask her, a note of sadness in my voice.
Nina keeps her eyes downcast on the table, and her body language is closed off. ‘The other day should never have happened. Besides, Moss asked me to be his girlfriend today, and I said yes,’ she tells me, her words making my heart and stomach sink.
‘Nina,’ I say, with sadness in my tone. ‘You only just met him. How could you go out with someone you don’t even know? What if he is some axe-wielding maniac or has bad intentions toward you?’ I plea, concerned.
Nina flicks her head up, staring at me incredulously. ‘Why do you care, Magnus? You have never cared for me. So, I think it’s obvious to both of us that you are being jealous,’ she states, her eyes challenging.
‘Jealous?’ I laugh, trying to deflect the accusation.
‘Yes, you are jealous of Moss and feel threatened by him. Otherwise, you would not have fought with him, and I highly doubt he is dangerous. If anything, he has been charming, loving, and caring towards me. You should be focusing on your girlfriend and go back to your old ways of pretending I don’t exist,’ she says, her words sharp, and she masks a hurt look that briefly flickers across her face.
I stare sadly into her eyes. ‘I don’t want us to be like this,’ I tell her softly, my defences crumbling.
Her eyes glisten as they well, and she tilts her chin defiantly. ‘Magnus, you are the one who made it like this. So now you get to live with it,’ she says harshly, and her words sting.
Immense sadness consumes me. With a sinking heart, I take the questionnaire and fill the rest out slowly. Mr. Thomson collects our sheets as the bell rings, and Nina rushes out of the room.
As I walk to English, my thoughts consumed by Nina, I unexpectedly come across Sean, the notorious school bully, cornering Pipsqueak, harassing her, and callously flicking her glasses off her face.
‘Now empty your pockets,’ Sean orders, his face an inch from Pipsqueak's, with a menacing sneer across his features.
Scared and trembling, Pipsqueak does as she is told, nervously emptying her pockets of coins. It's heartbreaking to see her so frightened and being bullied.
In an instant, I can't stand idly by. I swiftly grab Sean's neck and hoist him two feet off the floor, pinning him against the wall with one hand. ‘Got a problem with my friend here?’ I snarl in his face, my eyes blazing with anger.
Sean's eyes widen with shock. ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t know she was your friend,’ he stammers nervously with fear in his voice.
I glance at Pipsqueak, who is scared and shaking profusely. ‘How often has he been taking your lunch money?’ I ask her with concern.
‘Almost e-every day,’ she replies in her squeaky little voice, the fear still evident.
I turn my attention back to Sean, my dire stare deepening. ‘Empty your pockets,’ I tell him, my voice low and threatening.
‘What?’ He asks, attempting defiance.
‘You heard me. Empty your pockets, or I’ll make your face look as pretty as mine,’ I warn Sean, my grip tightening.
Sean looks over my bruised and banged-up face and quickly complies. I'm surprised by the amount of money that falls to the ground. He must have taken from dozens of students throughout the day already. I keep my gaze locked on Sean but speak to Pipsqueak. ‘Take it, it’s all yours,’ I tell her.
She stares at me, surprised but grateful, and hurriedly collects the money.
I release Sean with a thud to the ground. ‘If you ever go near Pipsqueak or any of her friends again, you will face my wrath,’ I warn him, my tone final.
Sean scrambles to his feet and bolts down the corridor, leaving me to continue my walk to class.
The onlookers admiring my actions. 'Handsome and heroic,' one student says to another with a smile.
‘W-wait,’ Pipsqueak says, running up to me.
I stop and turn to face her, my expression softening.
‘T-thank you for s-stopping him, Magnus,’ she stutters, but a genuine smile breaks through her fear.
‘No worries, Pipsqueak,’ I return her smile, acknowledging our friendship, and continue walking away.
I notice Nina with Josie waiting for their class door to be unlocked. They had witnessed what I had just done for Pipsqueak. Josie is smiling proudly over my actions and elbows Nina in a 'told you so' way, but Nina shows no sign of emotion and looks away.
‘Thank you again…,’ Pipsqueak shouts cheerily down the corridor behind me, her gratitude echoing.
It’s the end of the school day, and Josie and Flint meet at my locker. Both of them are in good moods.
‘Hey, bro, ready to go home?’ Flint smiles.
‘I’d rather our parents not see my face, but I don’t have a choice. So, I suppose we better get home so I can face the music,’ I sigh dismally, my shoulders slumping, not wanting to see my parents disappointed in me.
Nina arrives home before us, and, as expected, our parents are standing at the front door, looking as mad as the hatter himself.
‘Magnus, we received a phone call from the school today stating you got into a fight with the new boy and, from looking at your face, I’d say they gave us accurate information,’ Astrid says, unimpressed.
Dad approaches and places his hand on my shoulder. ‘Son, what were you thinking? You will be the Alpha soon, and here you are, beating up the new student. You have some explaining to do,’ he says, displeased.
My parents take in the regretful look across my features. ‘I may have accidentally nudged Moss at P.E., and it turned into a fight,’ I confess, my gaze shifting between my parents.
‘And why did you accidentally nudge him?’ My father, Ryker, asks as Nina exits the house.
I glance over Dad’s shoulder with sadness at Nina. Dad raises his eyebrow at her, then back at me.
‘I see…’ he says knowingly. ‘Well, I hope we hope it’s an incident you don’t repeat, but I’m glad you are okay son,’ he says, and pulls me in for a hug, whispering in my ear, ‘Next time, knee him good and hard in the balls, son. That girl is worth fighting for,’ he grins when we part.
Surprised at his advice but grateful, I contain my smile and give my father a slight nod.
My father's grin quickly dissipates as he glances at my mother with a faux displeased look.
'I'm sorry. I'll go to my room to think about my actions,' I say to my mother, surprising her by practically grounding myself, but truth be told, I want to be in my room so I can stare out my window to see when Nina returns home.
The entire time I sit on the window ledge, I wonder if she's meeting up with Moss or has just gone for one of her afternoon runs through the woods. Of course, I hope for the latter.