Marcus ran out of the lecture hall and into the closest bathroom. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.
He darted towards the sink and began running cold water, he then grabbed several paper towels from a dispenser and dampened it with the sink water.
He then began cleaning his pants and shirt, scrubbing them fiercely. "Fuck me man…." He said to himself. "I can't catch a win for shit."
His mind raced as he continued to clean his clothes, he wondered what drew Kira to him and why she was so adamant about being with him. "It doesn't make any sense."
It didn't help that she was such an attractive girl, it was hard to resist her, even when he thought about nothing but Kinsley. He barely understood what he felt for Kinsley, he knew he liked her, but there wasn't a reason for it.
It was just how things were.
But Kira made things difficult, to an unbelievable extent. She was everything he craved, but he couldn't have her.
He had a relationship with Kinsley and that was final.
If he didn't hold himself accountable, there would be nothing separating him from the animals.
Now that Marcus thought about it, he was going to double down. He was going to promise his loyalty to Kinsley.
Marcus finished cleaning himself up and then stared into the bathroom mirror.
He studied his appearance, frowning at his disheveled state.
His curly hair was coarse and tightly coiled, his clothes damp and wrinkled, and his skin was dry.
"Look at yourself Marcus, is this who you want to be?" He asked himself. "Panicked and crying at every turn, only to lose yourself when it becomes too much?"
Marcus shook his head.
"That's right you have to stand up for yourself, just like Kinsley said. You have a loving girlfriend who cares for you. Felix, he's your best friend, no he's your brother, and Luna, who would destroy worlds of you."
"We may be on the low end now, but you will rise again Marcus, yo–"
Suddenly the bathroom door creaked open, and an older man around forty, stepped inside the bathroom.
The man and Marcus quickly locked gazes, he watched Marcus with a concerned expression. His eyes slowly studied Marcus's damp clothes and strange pose. "You alright lad?" The man asked worriedly.
Marcus felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.
He almost began to apologize profusely, but then something happened, almost like a switch being flipped.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied casually. "Just had to handle some business."
Marcus then pocketed his hands and gave the man a quick nod before exiting the bathroom. Stepping outside Marcus felt around in his pocket for his phone. Tapping his pocket he realized it wasn't there.
"Shit… did I leave it in the bathroom?" Marcus whispered to himself.
Thinking back on it Marcus didn't recall taking it out in the bathroom. The last place he used it was in an empty lecture hall, where Kira caught up to him.
"I dropped it," Marcus said with a sigh. He quickly began picking up his pace, until he was running back towards the lecture hall.
As Marcus ran through the hallway, he began planning how he'd approach Kira. He had to be stern and leave no room for her to weasel her way back into his pants.
Literally.
Upon reaching the lecture hall, Marcus was met with the faint sounds of soft sniffling. He looked around to see Kira sitting in one of the seats with her head in her hands crying.
A pang of guilt struck Marcus as he imagined that it was something he had said to her. "Kira?" He called out, slowly approaching her with hesitant steps.
Kira looked up from her hands with a distraught expression. Her makeup was ruined and her eyes were red. "Marcus." She said softly, wiping her tears. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you." She apologized, her voice trembling with emotion.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "You're… sorry?" He asked skeptically.
Kira nodded, "yes, I am." She answered, her voice still shaken but clearer. "I'm a terrible person Marcus and what I've done, it cannot be forgiven."
Marcus nodded along, but he didn't believe her in the slightest. Marcus thought that she was just putting on a show to gain sympathy. "Save your act for someone else." Marcus said sternly, "And give me my phone because I know you have it."
Kira nodded. "It's right here." She replied, taking it out of her lap and showing it to Marcus.
Marcus nodded. "Alright give it here, but throw it to me, I don't want you getting any closer than you have to."
Kira hesitated for a moment, she looked from the phone in her hand to Marcus. "Marcus I'm real–"
"I don't want to hear your lies," Marcus said with an irritated sigh. "Just toss it over."
"But Marcus–"
"Just give me my damn phone!" Marcus shouted.
Kira flinched at Marcus's sudden outburst, her petite frame trembling with surprise and fear. Her eyes widened, and she looked at Marcus with confusion and concern.
Marcus narrowed his eyes. "Now."
Kira remained frozen in place, causing Marcus to grow increasingly infuriated. "Marcus, what's wrong with you?" Kira asked worriedly.
Marcus furrowed his brow. "What's wrong with me?" He asked with a sarcastic chuckle. "Bitch, are you fucking delusional?" Marcus pointed a finger and Kira. "You, you are what's wrong with me, you mess with my head and feelings, you ambush me regularly, violate me at every chance you get, and then you dare to cry like you're the victim?!?!"
Marcus then slapped his hands on his chest. "I am barely functioning right now, BARELY, and you still have the nerve to fuck with me!" Marcus then laughed, but it wasn't a laughter of joy, it was of hatred. "I can't stand women like you!" Marcus finally said, "You and that whore Anna, I couldn't care less if either of you up and died tomorrow "
Marcus then hunched over and laughed as he grabbed his face, in fact, maybe I should just kill you myself!" He said manically, "maybe then there'll be one less manipulative bitch in this cruel world!"
Kira's eyes widened with fear as she hurriedly stood up, clutching Marcus' phone tightly. She trembled and shook with fear as she looked upon Marcus, "Marcus I'm sorry, I didn't know how you felt, I'm sorry I'm so sorry–"
Marcus held up a hand as he approached Kira. "I truly don't care about what you thought, or how you thought it." Marcus said with a cold chuckle, "I just want my property back."
With those icy cold words, Marcus grabbed his phone from Kira's tight grasp and yanked it from her. He examined his phone with a glance, then turned his attention back towards Kira, his eyes tracing every inch of her trembling body.
Marcus frowned as he looked Kira in the eyes.
Kira immediately averted her gaze.
"You're pathetic," Marcus commented emotionlessly.
He then turned on his heel to leave, his steps slow and deliberate. Upon reaching the door he stopped for a moment, then glanced back at Kira with a side-eye. "Stay the hell away from me and Kinsley."
Kira slightly nodded.
With that, he walked out of the lecture hall.
Marcus smirked to himself as he pocketed his phone. This was it, he was never going to feel sorry for himself ever again. He'd grow stronger, faster, better, he'd become better….
As Marcus approached the lecture hall Kinsley and Luna were in, Marcus took a moment to collect himself. Wiping his face and calming his nerves, he took a deep breath before slipping in.
Kinsley looked up to see Marcus approaching with a smile. "Marcus, what took you so long?" She whispered.
Marcus smirked as he sat between Kinsley and Luna. He reached an arm behind Kinsley's back, and slowly lowered it towards her ass. "My call took longer than expected, sorry about that," Marcus whispered, squeezing her ass.
Kinsley's cheeks flushed as a wide smile crossed her lips. "What's wrong you idiot, we're still in class."
Marcus shrugged. "Who cares what anyone else thinks, you're mine, remember that."
Kinsley blushed harder, averting her gaze as she covered her face. "I'm going to strangle you Marcus."
Marcus chuckled as he closed his eyes. "I like the sound of that."
As Marcus and Kinsley conversed, Luna looked over to Marcus with a concerned expression, however, she remained silent.
The rest of the day seemed to pass by in a flash for Marcus. But for Kira it crawled second by agonizing second, dragging her through a hell she couldn't handle.
By the day's end, Marcus, Luna, and Kinsley all made their way out of Kinsley's last class.
"Are we going to pick up Kira and Cora now?" Luna asked, walking between Marcus and Kinsley, holding both their hands.
Kinsley nodded. "Yeah, I wanna check on them before I head to football practice." She answered.
Marcus licked his lips as he averted his eyes. Focusing his attention on the flow of students walking the halls. "Does this place have a gym?" Marcus asked, "Like a traditional gym, with weights and punching bags?"
Kinsley nodded. "Yeah, there's a building on campus just for that." She replied with a chuckle, "Why, you rather go there than watch me practice?" She teased.
"Something like that," Marcus answered.
Kinsley pouted, "Well If you insist on running off, at least meet me at the end of practice."
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I got you."
It wasn't long before Marcus parted ways with Kinsley and Luna.
He made his way towards the gym, following the directions Kinsley gave him.
Stepping into the gym Marcus was greeted with the sight of various exercise equipment and the smell of sweat and metal. As he walked around, he noticed various other students all lost in their worlds.
Marcus crossed his arms as he searched for the punching bags. He eventually spotted them, in the far back corner along with other boxing equipment.
Luckily, none of it seemed to be in use.
"How convenient," Marcus said to himself as he walked over to the equipment. He approached the large red and black punching bag that hung from the ceiling.
Tapping it, he was surprised at how sturdy and heavy it was. "Yeah… this should work."
"Yo, dude I wouldn't recommend starting with that one." A tall shirtless man with a thin beard and long hair jogged over to Marcus. "That's heavy-duty, you could break your hand if you haven't worked up the muscle."
Marcus chuckled. "I'll be fine, trust me."
The man sighed. "Alright dude, but I'm warning you, the academy doesn't cover for outsiders getting hurt."
Marcus nodded as he took a step back from the punching bag, he then raised his fist as he took a few deep breaths. "I'll be fine." Marcus then tightened his fist as he thought back to not just Kira, but everything that had caused him pain and anger.
His frustration and hatred began to boil, he began channeling that raw emotion into energy, and with a swift pull of his fist, he began working the punching bag.
He continued punching the bag, each punch thrown was powerful and sent the bag swaying back and forth.
The more painful the thoughts became, the harder and faster he pushed himself. He began falling into a rhythm, punch after punch he lost himself deeper into his thoughts.
Lance, Kael, his family, piece after piece, his life continued to fall apart. And throughout everything, people continued to manipulate and destroy his mind. Dr. Fletcher and her secrets, Kira and her constant harassment, hell even Luna was keeping something from him.
The stress had grown to become so overwhelming that he couldn't function properly.
Marcus's punches grew faster and more intense with each passing second.
Marcus knew he had to change, to become self-reliant and stronger. He had to become the same Marcus he was before, fearless, unbothered, and powerful.
But this time he would do it consciously and he would stay that way.
Dr. Fletcher would be in for a surprise the next time she comes across him, he was done being a simple pawn for some larger scheme.
From now on Marcus would determine his fate.