At least the bowling alley was mostly empty on account of it being morning.

Only two other lanes were occupied, not that Marvin had paid much attention. Ever since his going through the Albedo, or whatever it was that it was called, he found it difficult to concentrate on anything.

“Marvin? Are you alright?” Jacob’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. The boy was sitting opposite to him at the table, while Trevon was standing just outside the lane area where Marly was preparing to throw the ball.

“Come on Mallory!” he said exasperated. “You’ve been standing there for nearly one minute. You’ve missed your first shot and you’ll miss your second. I guarantee.”

“Shut your mouth shortstuff.” shot back Marly. “Watch and learn!” she said, throwing the ball, managing to knock down only five pins.

“Not bad.” tried to reassure Marvin. It was evidently unsuccessful as the girl just huffed as she sat down next to him.

“Still dead last.” she muttered, crossing her hands.

Marvin just sighed, looking at the scoreboard above them. She was indeed last, with Trevon being a worthy contender and Jacob taking the lead by a landslide. He was in second place, but unless he somehow managed a strike in every one of his shots,he didn’t have a chance of victory.

“Don’t worry, princess. Everyone looks like a loser in front of the champ here.” smirked Trevon as he nodded toward Jacob.

“Nonsense. I just happened to have a stroke of luck. That and your poor skills are a sure road to victory.” responded Jacob in his monotone voice, but the faint smile on his face told of another story.

“You sly little-” said Marly before letting out a loud laugh. Trevon snickered as well, and Marvin would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised at his friend’s behaviour.

He joined in the laughing briefly, before it transformed into a wince and he suddenly felt all eyes on him. Crap. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to assume something was wrong.

“Marvin?” questioned Jacob. “I will ask you once more, are you alright?”

“Yeah Marvin. Tight-lipped aren’t you?” said Marly, looking at him sideways. He hadn’t mentioned anything about his escapade with Ava and the Magesmiths the other day, and the look in her mismatched eyes told him that she wouldn’t let that go now.

“It’s-It’s nothing.” said Marvin, getting up from his chair slowly. “I have to head to the bathroom for a bit.”

Before anyone could question him, the dark haired teen rushed to the bathrooms which were upstairs, before anyone could question him. His headache just worsened, and he barely missed the people playing pool on the same floor, as he barely made it to his destination.

“What’s-What’s happening to me?” he said between breaths, steadying himself by putting an elbow in the mirror as he wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

“Isn’t that the question?” said a familiar voice from-from somewhere in the room.

After looking around, he found Maria Rockwell, dressed in a simple green shirt and jean shorts, was the one who had asked him. Steeling himself as much as he could in this scenario, he looked at the woman in the room’s mirror. A few months back that would have been enough to derail him, but now he wouldn’t fall to her, or anyone’s, tricks.

“Albedo is a bitch of a stage ain’t it?” she said, doing a mock southern accent.

“What-What do you want?” asked Marvin, unable to keep his voice from cracking.

“Nothing much. The others don’t know this, but we are enemies. You may not have picked a side yet, but I know your loyalties lie either with the Mallory girl or Eobard Kon.” smiled Maria, looking smug as hell at her deduction.

And it wasn’t an unfair one to make. It wasn’t easy to miss the people Marvin mostly associated with in this world. Even if Eobard did apparently seek Amdis’s help, the teen couldn’t hold it against the man. They both hated the vampire, as well as his female accomplice, and Marvin had complete faith in the man.

The same went for Marly. Or did it? There still was that burning sensation at the back of his mind that when the time came Marly would choose someone else over him. Everyone did at some point.

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He wasn’t worthy of the people he had next to him, that was the main reason he decided to dedicate himself to becoming the most powerful sorcerer he could. So that Kara’s loss wouldn’t be in vain. So that he could make all those he lost proud.

“Cat got your tongue?” smirked Maria.

“What’s your point?” asked Marvin, before his lips slightly curled upwards. “And why are you too afraid to show yourself?” He knew it was foolish to provoke her like that, but out of his foes, she was the only one he was sure he could handle in a straight fight.

“And who says I’m not already on my way there?” chuckled Maria, fully laughing as Marvin’s eyebrows raised. “Someone is bound to need the bathroom, so I leave you with this. Your little cousin is coming. And her babysitter is coming with her.”

“What did you say?” said Marvin, flinching as his head hurt because of his loud tone.

“Your aunt and uncle aren’t parents of the year, but they do offer nice vacations. Any other young woman might have refused, but this just makes the whole plan easier.”

“Touch a hair in her body and I’ll-” The door creaked open, and Marvin turned to see a man whose face was obscured by his hood-who was wearing a hood in the middle of the summer-entering the bathroom. Turning back to see what happened to Maria, he saw that she vanished.

“Hey.” came a voice from behind him.

Turning to the man, he found cold fingers squeezing his throat as his head was banged against the wall. Looking at the face of his aggressor, he saw-holy crap.

Johnny Lloyd.

“Jo-Joh-” he gasped and coughed, unable to say anything out of his shock from seeing his hated bully, and because he was currently choking him.

“Been a long time Marvin. How do I look?” he asked, removing his hood.

There was no word to describe how awful Johnny looked. His eyes had bags under their bags, his skin was almost as pale as a vampire’s and due to his snarling, he could see just how rotten his teeth were. Even his hair was shaven, and he could see what was practically a crack covering his scalp.

“What-What happened?” said Marvin, grasping for breath. He could fight Johnny, he knew he could, but he also couldn’t help but revert to the weak boy who barely managed to stand up to any of his classmates without them beating him senseless.

“You wanna know what happened?” growled Johnny, pulling Marvin into a stall.

Inside it, Marvin managed to break out of his enemy’s hold, but they didn’t have any room to keep struggling in the stall itself.

“You ruined my life!” spat Johnny, pointing a finger at Marvin. Even with his long sleeved hoodie on, the dark haired teen could see just how unnaturally thin his hands were.

“Johnny.” breathed Marvin. He needed to be calm about this. There were people outside. His friends. Marly could probably handle him, but Jacob and Trevon, or any of the other civilians, couldn't. He looked weak, but Marvin could tell there was something off about him.

Something supernatural.

“Let’s try to figure this out.” said Marvin diplomatically, trying to diffuse the teen.

“No!” snarled Johnny. “I had it all! Friends, half of the girls at school wanted me, my parents loved me! And then you left. You left and suddenly half of the school population grew a conscience. They all ignored you, laughed at you, beat you up. But suddenly, because I’m the only one with the balls to admit what I did, I lost it all. My friends gave me up and I lost everything!”

“You’re insane.” breathed Marvin.

He knew that.

He logically knew that.

So why did it all feel like his fault. Like he should have prevented it all somehow. He didn’t owe Johnny a thing, so why was that little voice in the back of his head just adding it to the pile of things he did wrong.

Suddenly, a golden glow engulfed the stall. “Finally.” growled Johny.

The mad teen grabbed Marvin, yanking him out of the stall through the door, which miraculously didn’t break. He was stopped by the wall on the other side, as he stumbled to dodge Johnny’s last attack.

“Fine.” growled Marvin. He never could fight back physically when he was younger.

He may still have a headache, but this wasn’t Atlanta, and it wasn’t his old school.

“You want a fight? Snow Blade.” he said, a heptagram in his right hand materializing the white sword in his hand. The small snow-like particles came off of it once more, and he found himself dodging Johnny’s strike once more, slicing him at his chest, causing him to fall to his knees.

For a moment Marvin was worried he had gone too far, before Johnny stood up removing his torn shirt. The large wound in his chest was sealed-not completely noticed Marvin, rather just to the point where it looked like a thin cut that didn’t seem to bother Johnny at all.

“What are you?”

Johnny laughed at this.

“Maria Rockwell sends her regards. She said that I’m no vampire, but I am enough to beat you.”

Maria Rockwell? His grip on his sword tightened. He never liked Johnny, and he was a jerk at the best of times, but never like this. Marvin wasn’t going to let her get away with doing whatever she wanted.

“Bring it on then.” he said, bringing his sword in a high guard.

“Don’t you get it Marvin?” smiled Johnny. “This is the day you die.”