Paul pulled up to the same bar he picked Marcus up from. Both men sat inside Paul's car with calm expressions.
"So," Paul said as he looked over to Marcus, "same place tomorrow?" He asked.
"What, you mean this bar?" Marcus asked, gesturing towards the bar with his thumb.
Paul nodded, "Yeah, I'm thinking seven, Does that work for you lad?" Paul asked curiously.
Marcus nodded, "Yeah that's fine, but what are you going to do in the meantime?"
"I got some things to move around, I want everything prepared for that 'favor' tomorrow," Paul said, crossing his arms as he leaned back In his seat. "I suggest you take the rest of today to rest." Paul suggested, "Because what you'll be dealing with tomorrow, it's not for the weak-hearted."
Marcus scoffed, a grin playing on his lips. "I'll keep that in mind." He joked, before exiting Paul's car.
Stepping outside, Marcus gave Paul one more wave before leaving. Marcus procured a taxi and took it back to the academy.
He was excited to see Luna again. Throughout this entire debacle, her bright face was still hanging in the back of his mind.
Marcus looked down at his bloodstained uniform. Though it was resistant to damage, it wasn't immune to it. His uniform was riddled with rips and cuts that were covered in dap blood.
Kinsley would definitely press him about this, attempting to understand what happened.
Marcus then frowned, he didn't want to listen to Kinsley complain, but all of his clothes were in her room.
He could probably buy some more clothes, but why waste the money?
At this point, he'd just have to bear her concerns.
Upon reaching the academy, Marcus made his way through its gates and onto the campus. He pulled out his phone to call Kinsley, in an attempt to find out where she was.
— — —
Kinsley and Kira went their separate ways, both girls going to their fourth-period class.
Luna tagged along with Kinsley, holding her hand and curiously studying the hallways of the building.
Just then, Kinsley's phone began ringing.
She paused in her tracks and fished it out of her pocket. Looking at the caller I.D., a small smile played on her lips. She answered it and was met with Marcus's tired voice.
"Hey, I'm back from… work, where are you?" He asked with a soft yawn.
"I'm inside the main building, heading to my fourth-period class," Kinsley said, looking around the hallway briefly, before continuing. "Do you want me to meet you outside?"
"Won't you be late for class or something?" Marcus replied, "I could just meet you at your classroom."
Kinsley blushed, "No, that's not necessary, I will meet you outside the main building." She then chuckled softly, "Besides, do you even know the building layout?"
Marcus sighed softly. "Alright, I'll uhm, I'll... Luna!" He exclaimed loudly, causing Kinsley to pull the phone from her ear, "where is she?"
"She's here, with me," Kinsley answered, looking down at Luna, who had a curious expression. "Do you want to talk to her while we meet up?"
"Yeah," Marcus answered quickly.
Kinsley smiled as she handed Luna her phone, she accepted it gracefully and placed it against her ear. "Hello?" She said softly.
"Hey Luna, are you ok?" Marcus asked.
"Yes I'm fine, how was work?"
"It was interesting, made a lot of progress, meet up with Mayflower…. And got into a brief 'confrontation'." Marcus said with a soft chuckle, "But I don't want to talk about work, what did you do today?"
Luna smiled warmly. She then went into detail about her day and the various conversations she had. Marcus listened attentively, commenting every now and again.
It wasn't long before Kinsley had escorted Luna outside to meet with Marcus, finding him sitting on a bench near the entrance.
Upon seeing him, Luna walked over with a small smile, though as she grew closer her smile disappeared.
"Marcus, what happened to you?" Kinsley asked worriedly as she ran over to him, her expression filled with concern and worry. "Do I need to call an ambulance?" She asked, examining Marcus's bloodied uniform.
Marcus shook his head as he pocketed his phone, which had surprisingly survived that whole ordeal. "It's fine, but can you unlock your room, or like could I have the key maybe?"
Kinsley frowned. "Marcus, are you seriously ignoring me? This is the second time I've seen you like this, what the hell have you done?"
Marcus groaned as he slumped down on the bench. "Please not now…" he said with a sigh.
Kinsley frowned, "if not now then when?" She asked in irritation. "You show up like you've just fought off a pack of wild dogs, then expect me to just ignore it."
"I would like that," Marcus muttered under his breath.
"Are you seriously doing this Marcus?" Kinsley asked with anger seeping through her tone, "Are you trying to hide something?"
Luna, who had been quietly watching the two argue, spoke up. "Marcus' job requires him to get his hands dirty sometimes, but it's nothing that he can't handle, I'm sure of that," Luna said in defense of Marcus, grabbing Kinsley's hand.
Kinsley looked back at Luna with a sympathetic expression, "Luna, I know you care for your brother, but what he doesn't understand, is that walking around looking like a corpse makes people ask questions, me included."
"Why, it's not like it's anyone's business."
Kinsley snapped at Marcus. "Do you seriously believe that?" She said in disbelief and anger, "and this isn't even mentioning that you tried to drag your little sister into this mess this morning, what would've happened if I hadn't kept her while you went off and did god knows what?"
Marcus rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Luna would've been fine, you're blowing this outta proportion."
Kinsley opened her mouth to respond, but she caught a glimpse of students walking nearby, slowing down as they stared in her direction.
Kinsley narrowed her eyes at them, and the students quickly sped off.
Kinsley then turned her attention back to Marcus, reaching into her pocket and fishing out her room key. "This conversation isn't over." She whispered angrily, firmly placing the key in his hand.
Marcus sighed as he accepted it. "Sure, whatever floats your boat." He then looked over to Luna and gestured for her to follow.
Luna released Kinsley's hand and began to approach him, but she was stopped by Kinsley.
"Now what?" Marcus said sarcastically, "You gonna tell me to brush my teeth too?"
"No, but Luna stays with me," Kinsley answered sternly.
Marcus frowned, his aloof attitude turned serious. "That's not how this works, I let you watch her when I was working, but I'm off now."
"Doesn't matter." Kinsley said coldly, "You need to think about your actions, alone."
"Luna is mine." Marcus said with a snarl, "Let her go."
"Luna is your sister, she isn't some yes man, I know the moment you two are alone, she'll do nothing but coddle you like a baby." Kinsley frowned, "I'm not letting that happen.
Marcus could feel his frustration rising. He had done everything Kinsley wanted of him. She wanted to become friends, and he obliged, she wanted him to call and text her when he was abroad, and he complied. When his job brought him back to England, she was the first person he told.
And what did she do?
Practically forced him to stay in her dorm room, and he obliged!
His frustration had risen so far that it wrapped around to becoming acceptance.
What was he doing wrong, why was Kinsley so persistent in pressing him so far? It was just a little blood, he was practically fine.
Marcus sighed deeply. "You know what, fine, keep her." He said with a wave of his hand, "I'm tired of all this nonsense."
Marcus walked away, hands in his pockets and head dropped low.
Luna moved to follow Marcus, but Kinsley kept her back. "I'm sorry Luna, you'll see him later today, but for now he needs to think about how stubborn he's been."
The two girls watched as Marcus walked into the distance, disappearing into the dormitory.
Luna frowned. "Do you not like him?" She asked angrily, "Marcus has done nothing wrong."
Kinsley sighed. "I do like your brother, but he's…" She looked down at Luna, "Luna we need to talk about selfish behavior."
"Selfish?" Luna said angrily, "Do you know what Marcus has done, what he's been through?" Luna asked, snatching herself away from Kinsley, "you…" Luna looked to be struggling with what to say, her soft features wrinkling with anger and frustration. "Why does everyone hate him….." Luna asked softly as her expression fell.
"I don't hate your brother." Kinsley said softly, "But please, let's not do this outside."
Luna frowned. "Is it because you're embarrassed of us?" She asked with a hiss, "You don't want people to hear? That's funny considering that Marcus can't keep secrets from you."
Kinsley frowned. "That's not the point, what we discuss shouldn't be aired out for the world. I only ask questions because I care for Marcus, same as I care for you." She explained, "What would've happened if Marcus had brought you along like he wanted to this morning, what if you would've gotten hurt."
"I wouldn't have gotten hurt," Luna responded frustratedly.
"You don't know that," Kinsley said softly as she approached Luna.
"So you do?" Luna asked sarcastically, "Even then, what was the point of keeping me from Marcus just now?" She asked, backing away from Kinsley.
"Because you only would've coddled your brother," Kinsley explained, pausing in her tracks. "It's obvious that you care for each other, and that's a beautiful thing." Kinsley then sighed softly, "But just as love heals, it can blind you from the things that cause pain."
"What's wrong with that?" Luna asked, her expression softening, "I make him happy, and he makes me happy."
Kinsley slowly nodded. "And there's nothing wrong with that, but you're his sister Luna, not his caregiver." She said softly, "Marcus needs to understand that what he's doing is wrong, he isn't some mysterious superhero, he's human, just like you and me, and humans are fragile creatures." Kinsley explained as she approached Luna once more. "Marcus can't bottle his emotions and run to you for comfort, that's how deep problems start."
"Marcus doesn't have problems." Luna whispered softly, "You're the problem, it's you and this world, Marcus may make mistakes, but he's just a kid." Luna said, her voice softly cracking as she held back tears. "He's just…"
Kinsley lowered herself down to one knee and gently embraced Luna's small frame.
Kinsley gently rubbed her hand on Luna's back, "If he's a kid, then you're still a baby Luna." Kinsley said softly. "You're his little sister, I know he'd do anything for you, but what you need to do now is let Marcus process his emotions on his own, ok?" She whispered softly, still tightly holding onto the trembling Luna.
Luna did her best to hold back her tears.
She slowly shook her head as she closed her eyes. "I don't want to." She said softly. "I want to comfort him. besides, I tell him when he's being bad, or sad, or mad…"
"But do you help him work through those feelings, or do you tell him everything is ok?" Kinsley asked.
"I…." Luna opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came. Luna slowly closed her mouth as she lowered her head. "I don't like this and I don't like you," Luna replied.
Kinsley softly chuckled. "I didn't like medicine when I was younger, it was bitter and made me feel icky. And back then If I had the option, I never would've used it." Kinsley then pulled back from the embrace to look at Luna, "but luckily, I had my dad force me to take it, and because of that, I'm both stronger and healthier."
Luna remained silent for a brief second, before opening her eyes and staring at Kinsley directly, her silver eyes studying Kinsley closely.
She then sighed softly. "It's that what you're doing?" Luna asked. "Is this…. Is this medicine?"
Kinsley nodded. "That is exactly what this is, right now Marcus needs to be alone, that's his medicine." She explained, she then smiled, "but guess what."
"What?" Luna asked softly.
"You always get a treat after taking medicine, so how about we greet Marcus with a treat when I'm done with my classes?"
Luna hesitantly nodded, "a treat." She repeated, "Can I pick it out?" She asked.
Kinsley smiled as she rose from her knee. "That's the plan." She said with a soft laugh, brushing a strand of hair from Luna's face, "but first let's finish up with my classes, then I'll take you to a shop."
Luna nodded as she reached for Kinsley's hand. "Ok." She whispered softly.