As Marcus hammered away at the punching bag, each strike not only echoed his resolve but fueled it.
As the sweat dripped down his forehead, he vowed to keep the same resolve through everything he would now face.
With one last punch, Marcus bore through the synthetic fabric that held the punching bag together, revealing the smooth plastic beads inside.
Yanking his fist out, the beads began spilling onto the floor like a hole in a dam.
"Damn, dude!" The guy with the beard from earlier said in amazement.
Marcus looked over in his direction, there he was greeted by not just the tall bearded man but a small crowd that had gathered around him.
"Are you a boxer?" Another guy asked with a proud chuckle, "Because that was unbelievable bro."
"No," Marcus said with a shake of his head. "I'm just a guy with a lot on his plate, I decided it's finally time to eat, at least a little."
"Well remind me not to piss you off dude." The tall bearded man said with a chuckle. He approached Marcus with an outstretched hand, "Name's Blake by the way."
"Marcus," Marcus replied, accepting Blake's hand.
Marcus gestured towards the punching bag. "So…"
Blake smirked. "Don't worry about it, we have like eight of these."
Marcus smiled in response, "Thanks Blake, I appreciate it."
Then with a quick nod, Marcus turned on his heel and began walking out of the gym. As he reached the door, he glanced back at the punching bag and the men surrounding it.
"Hey I want my money, Blake, you lost this bet."
Blake chuckled. "I'm broke dude."
Marcus chuckled at their conversation, he felt a sense of satisfaction and relief. Working through his thoughts managed to put a lot of pieces in place, he knew what he cared about, and what he didn't.
Marcus continued walking, eventually reaching the football pitch. There he saw Kinsley and her teammates practicing a drill. He then looked towards the bleachers, where he saw Luna, Cora, and Kira sitting together.
Cora looked to be comforting Kira, rubbing her back gently as she whispered to her. Luna watched the two girls with a concerned expression, before eventually turning her gaze onto Marcus.
She smiled upon seeing him.
Marcus approached her with confidence in his stride. He could feel the glances of those surrounding him, but he didn't care.
He eventually reached Luna, sitting beside her with a smile. "Hey, Luna," Marcus said with a small wave.
Luna giggled as she looked up at Marcus. "Hi, Marcus." She said with a giggle. "How was the gym?"
Marcus smirked. "It was productive."
Cora looked up at Marcus, her expression complex and unreadable. "D-did you hurt Kira?" She asked.
Marcus frowned as he looked over to Cora, his eyes narrowed as he furrowed his brow. Cora looked as if she wanted to flench, but remained defiant.
"I don't know, do you consider sticking your hands down someone's pants and groping them to be hurtful?" Marcus asked.
Kira nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Well Kira, do you want to tell Cora what you did, or are you going to keep playing the victim?" Marcus asked with a chuckle.
Cora frowned as she turned her attention to Kira.
Kira looked up with a defeated expression. "I-I touched him, and he… he didn't… he…" Kira stammered over her words, struggling to put a sentence together.
Cora's eyes widened, before filling with disappointment.
"Again, how could you?" She asked angrily.
Kira sighed as she wiped her tears. "He…"
"I won't lie and say I didn't like it, hell I loved it." Marcus chimed in, "But I'm tired of her antics."
Kira looked at Marcus with a confused expression, "You… what?" She asked in disbelief.
"I said I liked it, I enjoyed every second of it," Marcus answered. "But I'm spoken for, and I won't throw that away for you, no matter how you make me feel."
Kira looked shocked at his admission, her eyes wide with confusion and relief. "You enjoyed it?" She asked, "But you got so angry, you…"
Marcus sighed. "Because it doesn't matter how it felt." He said coldly, "I'm with Kinsley, and even if that's a mistake, even if I enjoy how you touch and kiss me, I have to hold myself accountable."
Cora looked at Marcus with concern while Kira began to smile. "You like it?" She repeated, softly smiling through her tears. "I-I knew it." She whispered.
Marcus sighed as he looked down on Kira. "Just keep your hands out of my pants, and stay quiet about this entire situation."
"O-okay." She stammered with a smile, quickly cleaning her face as she sat up. "But if you liked it, why did you get so angry?" She asked curiously.
Marcus frowned. "That anger… it wasn't met for you, you just, reminded me of someone I despise, how you were so sure of yourself, how you acted as if you knew me, who I was."
"Dr. Fletcher." Kira said in realization, "Is that who I reminded you of?"
"So you went through my phone?" Marcus asked in an annoyed tone.
Kira nodded, her expression riddled with guilt. "I-I did, but only because I was curious." She explained. "You ran out of the room so fast, and I thought that, maybe it would hold a clue to who you are, who you are."
Marcus remained silent.
"You're lonely Marcus and you're hurting inside, I know it's not easy, losing your family and friends, but hiding it from the world is not good for you," Kira explained, leaning closer toward Marcus. "I understand I was wrong, and I know you don't want anything to do with me, but you should at least open up to Kinsley."
"No," Marcus replied sternly. "It's my business and I already told you enough about what I do, and that was only because you found out," Marcus answered. "But this stays between us, if either of you tells Kinsley anything, I won't hesitate to abandon all of you."
Kira frowned. "Marcus that's not healthy, you can't just hide your wounds and think they'll heal on their own."
"Kira I'm done talking about this."
"But Marcus–"
"Be quiet!" Marcus hissed as he grabbed Kira's lower half of her face, covering her mouth as he reached over Luna. "Just shut the fuck up."
Kira's eyes widened in shock and fear as Marcus gripped her face.
Luna and Cora were both equally surprised at Marcus's actions. But while Luna remained stunned in silence, Cora began to his Marcus. "Let her go!" She said angrily, hitting Marcus's arm as hard as she could.
Marcus frowned as he removed his hand from her face, not because of Cora's hits but because of the attention they were drawing from the other students who sparsely filled the bleachers.
Kira breathed a breath of relief as she leaned away from Marcus. Her eyes welled with tears once again.
"Marcus, what's wrong with you?" Luna asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Marcus answered, "But Kira needs to learn her place before I put her in it."
Cora frowned at Marcus. "I don't know what happened to you, but that's no excuse to hit a woman, you need to calm down because something is wrong with you."
Marcus groaned, "Just stop with all this nonsense and yapping, be quiet and we'll all be fine."
"Marcus I know you're hurting, but you need to talk to someone." Kira said between her tears, "You need help."
"That's rich coming from you," Marcus said with a laugh. He then closed his eyes as he leaned back, crossing his arms. "I'm fine." He said, his words hanging in the air as a tense silence fell over the group.
Kira narrowed her eyes as she stared down the calm Marcus. "You're a coward." She said defiantly, "your nothing but a worthless coward who will do everything but face his problems."
Marcus sighed, "Keep talking and you won't have a jaw anymore."
Kira wiped her tears but remained silent.
Cora for her part continued to comfort her, rubbing her back as she quietly consoled her.
Luna silently studied Marcus, her expression a mixture of sadness and fear. She touched Marcus' arm, gently rubbing it. "I love you, Marcus." She said softly. "I hope you're ok."
Marcus' expression stiffened up, a mix of hurt and sadness. It lasted for a brief second before his expression hardened again. "I love you too." He replied.
Marcus sat in the silence, enjoying the distant sounds of Kinsley and her teammates practicing drills. As his mind began to calm, Marcus allowed himself to drift to sleep.
The three girls watched Marcus with a wide array of emotions painted on their faces. "I picked the worst man to fall for," Kira said with a nervous chuckle, wiping the last of her tears.
Cora looked at Kira with a concerned expression. "You… you still like him?" She asked in disbelief, "he's not normal, that's not even a human anymore, he's one bad day away from killing one of us in cold blood, and you still like him?"
Kira nodded, "I don't just like him, I love him, I love everything about him, I know it's wrong, I know I'm wrong, but I want him, he's all I want." Kira then smiled as she stepped over Luna, getting closer to the sleeping Marcus. "I can fix him, I know I can, but he's stubborn, so, so stubborn." She whispered as she sat beside him.
Cora and Luna's eyes widened.
"You… what?" Cora asked.
Kira giggled as she touched the side of his face. "He's so interesting, so mysterious, so dangerous, he's better than Felix ever was." Kira's breath grew heavy as she touched him. "I can't help myself, I know he likes Kinsley, I know he can kill me with the snap of his fingers, but, I don't care, I… I would die for him."
"Y-you're insane." Cora stammered in shock. "You're insane."
"Get away from Marcus," Luna said defensively, crawling over his lap as she tried to pry Kira's hands away from his face. "Get away from him right now."
Kira sighed as she removed her hands from his face. "I'm sorry, I know, I know it's bad." She said softly. "I just can't help it, I don't know what's wrong with me."
"I don't know what's worse, the fact that Kinsley is unknowingly dating a psychopath, or that her best friend is not just a psychopath but also wants to steal her boyfriend," Cora said, her tone showing her perplexed thoughts.
The trio fell into silence once more. The tension had faded slightly, with Luna protecting Marcus from Kira, and Cora silently watching the playing field.
Time continued to tick by, with Kinsley oblivious to the situation that befallen the group. She was as focused as ever, completing her drills and excelling at them.
"I wonder what's going to happen," Cora said softly, finally breaking the silence that had befallen the group.
Kira looked over to Cora with a curious expression, "hmm?"
"With Marcus." Cora said as she turned to face her, "he's not well, not by a long shot." Cora said with a sigh, turning her attention towards the sleeping Marcus. "What's going to happen when he reaches his limit, when the lid that holds his anger falls off, what will he become?"
Kira raised an eyebrow curiously. "I don't know, but It would be violent if I had to guess."
Cora nodded with a sigh. "I don't want him dating Kinsley anymore, she deserves someone better, someone, who isn't a ticking time bomb."
Kira nodded in agreement. "He's not what she needs, Kinsley has an entire career ahead of her, if she keeps trying to make things work with Marcus, she'll only hold herself back."
Cora shook her head, "you only agree because you want Marcus for yourself."
"Two things can be true at once, just because I love him, doesn't mean he's not bad for Kinsley," Kira replied. "Besides, I don't care about my future anymore, I only pursued fashion because of my brother."
Cora nodded. "Then I'll help you." She said with determination, "I'll help you get with Marcus, as long as we get Kinsley away from him."