Wednesday morning during the astrology lecture, Josh couldn’t help but be distracted by Sara sitting a few rows down from him. He could see the back of her head and occasionally the mark on her arm. Sara, conversely, wasn’t entirely sure what Josh was thinking though she had caught him looking at her twice. It made it difficult for either of them to focus on the lecture and they ended up missing most of it.

After losing sight of Sara proved to be even more distracting. Josh couldn’t focus at all during either of his other two classes that day. His professors noticed too. After both classes they had requested that he stay behind for a minute. They had each asked him, in their own way and with their own words, if there was anything that he needed help with or if there was anything in another class that was taking up more of his time than normal. Both times, Josh had lied. He had given the excuse that he’d been under the weather and hadn’t had the chance to catch up yet. Neither professor had caught his lie, which was unusual, and both wished him well.

As soon as his third class ended and his professor had been satisfied that he wasn’t in any trouble, Josh made a break for his apartment. Ever since he had left it that morning he had been on edge. Against his better judgement, he had left the notebook with his depictions of the marks behind in his room. The thought of Kerry or anyone else coming across them had been in his head all day. If just seeing his shoddy renderings was enough to convey the dread he had felt in his dream to Sara, there was a chance that seeing either mark could effect someone who was otherwise normal. He might end up spoiling someone else’ life in the same way he had spoiled his own by eaves dropping.

Josh spent maybe two minutes at home. He ditched his backpack, thought better of it and shoved the notebook into his pack, used the bathroom, and then headed right back out. He grabbed something to eat from a vending machine on campus rather than make something at home. He refilled his water bottle from a fountain as well, rather than at the sink in his apartment. And rather than head directly to Sara and Connor’s apartment, Josh made a roundabout path across the opposite side of campus before ducking into a subway tunnel and then back out without boarding anything.

It wasn’t just the possibility of Kerry following him that had Josh worried, it was the possibility of anyone following him. Anyone could have noticed his strange behavior. Any class mate, teacher, janitor, or teaching assistant. And so he had opted to act even more strangely in order to lose the watchful gaze of the world around him.

No one was following him, of course. No one had even realized that anything was wrong with him. It was a tragedy of sorts that, though he knew he was relatively unattached to other people, Josh was a loner. Tragic because there wasn’t anyone that would notice his strange behavior, except perhaps Kerry; and Josh was making a special effort not to interact with Kerry. At least for the time being.

When Josh reached the Benedictine, the lobby was silent; as it always seemed to be. Josh was beginning to wonder if anyone else actually lived in the building or not. He had only ever seen employees there, and never any other tenants or plain clothes individuals. As he stood waiting for the elevator, something unpleasant dawned on him. There was a sense of finality in what he was doing. He would walk into the penthouse, explain his dreams to Margot, get her advice, and then learn from her. He had tried to make the arrangement with her easily navigable; but, the more interaction he had with Sara and Connor and Margot, the more he realized that he was only digging himself in deeper with them. There would be no turning back after a certain point and he couldn’t see if that point had already passed or if it was still ahead of him. Josh wasn’t even sure he’ be able to see it, whether it be before or behind him.

The elevator doors had dinged to let Josh know that the car was ready to take him up, but he had already wandered away. He wasn’t going to leave, but he needed time to think and that time seemed like it would be best found in the stairwell. But by the twentieth floor Josh felt that there wasn’t much more to think over and that if he didn’t sit for at least half an hour he wouldn’t be able to stand when self-defense training started. And really, it was the thought of learning how to defend himself better that calmed Josh down. He had been paranoid for the majority of his walk to the building, and most of the steps up the stairs had been underpinned by fear of someone following him and learning that he was associating himself with the people he had promised he wouldn’t.

It didn’t take the full flight of stairs to the penthouse for Josh to get his head on straight. Only the first thirty floors. Which was an accomplishment by his standards. He hadn’t been going particularly fast, but it was still more stairs that he had probably ever climbed. But after thirty floors, he took the elevator. First down to the lobby, then the elevator that went to the penthouse and the several larger apartments below it. By the time that Josh knocked on the penthouse door, his mind was completely clear. He wasn’t entirely sure where his course of actions would take him, but he was comfortable making the decisions he would have to make one way or the other.

“That’s Josh!” Sara voice was muffled behind the door of the apartment, but perhaps more so than if she was right in the living room.

“He’s early.” Josh heard Connor should back from somewhere closer to the door.

“Yeah, get the door!”

A moment later the apartment door creaked open and Connor peaked out cautiously. Upon seeing Josh, the door was opened wider and Connor nodded Josh in.

Connor was well into the living room and slumped down on the couch by the time Josh had walked in and removed his shoes. “Make yourself comfortable, Sara’s just getting out of the shower.”

As if on cue, Josh heard a hairdryer turn on and create an odd humming ambient noise that echoed throughout the apartment.

“What are you reading?” Josh asked casually as he found his way to an armchair across the living room from Connor.

“I am reading”—Connor flipped up a stack of papers from his lap like an old man reading a newspaper—”a graduate thesis on a potential method of reversing pancreatic damage to people suffering from type one diabetes by altering the mitosis stage that the cells in their pancreas undergo. It’s like the opposite of a stem cell answer to diabetes. They take your own cells in small batches, alter them, and then attempt to implant them back in and hope they take over and produce insulin.”

Josh didn’t really know how to react to the explanation. Connor always seemed far too relaxed to have serious interests, but that was probably the most serious response Josh had ever heard in response to such an innocent question.

“That’s…”

“Really dull, right?” Connor chuckled. “I’m not even diabetic, thank goodness”—Connor leaned over to the table in the middle of the room and gave it a solid two knocks—”but out of the box medical solutions fascinate me. I mean, this probably isn’t going to go anywhere, but it has implications.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Yeah, that sounds dull.” Josh shrugged. He might as well go with it. “So you’re not diabetic?”

“No. But I have allergies. Not that the word allergy does it justice.”

“And that’s not weird to talk about?”

“Eh. I’ve had to deal with it for twenty-ish years, I make my own food, and my friends know what’s up. I’m adjusted. Just don’t pity me.”

“Fair enough.”

All this time, Josh was taking a closer look at Connor. He hadn’t paid much attention to Sara’s roommate because he was usually so quiet and direct. It was normally like being in the room with a piece of furniture that had googly eyes glued to it. And while Connor wasn’t exactly opening up, Josh had an actual reason to look in his direction. His hair was a dark mess that dangled just below his ears, his clothes were cheap and basic, and his frame looked far more solid than Josh remembered from when he had helped them move in. Maybe it had something to do with Connor only wearing basketball shorts and a tank top now, leaving his shoulders and legs largely exposed.

“Is Margot not here yet?” Josh had looked away from Connor to clear his head and realized that the apartment was mostly empty except for them.

Connor looked up from his reading with a look of casual surprise. “Oh. Weird. She isn’t. I guess she’ll show up soon.”

“She doesn’t let you know when she’s coming over?”

“Margot doesn’t have a phone dude. She just comes and goes. Getting her to be in the same place at the same time on a regular basis is nearly impossible.”

For a moment Josh felt bad about requesting a weekly meeting with her, but then it dawned on him how outlandish it was. Not having a phone on its own was strange, but having a pattern of just showing up and leaving at odd intervals was bizarre.

Connor caught on to the bewilderment on Josh’s face and chuckled. “I wouldn’t freak out about it so much. She’s reliable, even if she tries not to be. Staying off the gird is just her defense mechanism.”

“Riiight…” Josh let out a deep breath as he uttered the word.

“But really, shes trying to help you. You can’t see it very well because you haven’t seen how she treats strangers, but you’re getting the royal treatment.”

“Why would I be getting special treatment?”

“Because Sara likes you, and trusts you. Because I like you and trust you not to do anything stupid. And probably because you tried to keep pace with her. There’s a respect for that.” Connor smiled as he spoke.

There was something about the way Connor said ‘I like you’ confused Josh. It was said with such confidence with so little to back it up. There wasn’t any reason he would have a strong enough opinion of Josh, and yet he did. Worse still, it was so casual.

Unbeknownst to either Connor or Josh, Sara had quietly made her way out of the bathroom and was leaning on the doorway that opened into the main space of the apartment. “Connor, are you flirting?”

Josh went wide eyed and red faced. Connor did not.

“Nope.” Was his simple reply, and Connor went back to reading.

Rather than look at Connor, out of unexpected embarrassment, Josh looked to Sara. Doing so was a worse idea. Sara was standing in the doorway in what appeared to be just a towel. If Josh’s face could have gotten redder, it did. It was even worse for the split second between when Sara dropped the towel from around her and when Josh realized that she was mostly clothed underneath. Mostly. Short shorts and a baggy tank top certainly wasn’t the most conservative ensemble. It definitely wasn’t what Josh was expecting in either sense.

“That’s mean, Sara.” Connor chided his roommate as he glanced up at her.

Josh nodded in agreement as he tried to collect himself again. “I’m… that’s. Yes. I don’t know how comfortable I am with that kind of practical joke.”

Sara registered a faint blush. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking too hard about it. I know you’ve had a rough time, I was just trying to lighten the…”

Sara was cut off in her explanation, and she was grateful for it. She didn’t enjoy admitting that she had just made something of a fool of herself. So when her mother started unlock the door and enter into the apartment, it was a welcome reprieve. Everyone relaxed slightly as Margot made her presence known.

“I feel like I just walked in on something.” Margot narrowed her eyes first at Josh, who shrank back, then at Connor, who had no reaction whatsoever, and then at Sara. “We’ll talk later, sweat pea. But for now, you’re here early, Josh.”

“Right, sorry.” Josh was still stammering. He had thought he would be calm and collected, he thought he had mentally prepared himself for this, but he hadn’t been able to prepare himself for a single thing. “Something happened, and I asked Sara about it and she said I should talk to you.”

Margot seemed to shift into a much more serious stance, her eyes taking in the people around her in a whole new light.”Is this a private conversation or an all of us conversation?”

“Uh… mostly private?” Josh looked to Sara for help but only got an encouraging nod. “Not Connor. No offense.”

“Hey, none taken.” Connor replied coolly from the couch.

“And somewhere less… open?” Josh was floundering, he didn’t want to show the things he’d drawn where just anyone that came into the apartment could see them. “Like an office or bedroom…”

“There’s a third bedroom that’s mostly empty.” Sara tilted her head back to the more closed off portion of the apartment behind her.

Margot nodded, and made her way past Sara without a word. Her boots echoed loudly with each step she took on the hard wood flooring. As soon as she was out of eyesight the three remaining in the living room all shared a look, a silent exchange of ‘good luck’ and a response of ‘we’ll need it.’ Without much else to convey, Josh followed Sara back down the hallway behind her and to the second door on the left.

The third bedroom was almost completely empty. It was furnished with a bed and with a simple wooden armchair. It made the room feel out of place compared to the rest of the penthouse. Margot was sitting on the side of the bed, and Sara joined her on the other side. Josh defaulted to the armchair and regretted it immediately as he realized the height difference between the chair and the bed.

“What happened?” Margot’s voice was cautious.

Josh took a deep breath and collected himself as quickly as he could before he launched into his story. “I had a dream that I don’t think was normal.”

The more Josh conveyed about his dream, the more still Margot became. It was almost as if she had stopped breathing after a certain point. And when Josh reached the end of his recollection of the dream Margot stopped him with a sudden hand gesture.

“Show me the marks. Both of them.” Her commanding voice wasn’t new or unexpected, but it still put Josh on edge. “You brought them, yes?”

Josh produced the notebook and stood to hold it out to her. “I did. And like I said. I drew them from memory. Including the one I can see on your arm right now. I drew it without looking at one.”

Rather than comment on what Josh was saying, Margot took a moment to analyze the drawings. Her silence was nerve wracking. She didn’t respond at all. When she was done she handed the notebook back and gave Sara a look that Josh didn’t quite understand.

“It’s strange… right?” Josh was desperately hoping he hadn’t made a fool of himself and made a bigger deal out of a dream than it was.

Margot turned her gaze to Josh, and, rather than exchange a cryptic look, addressed him in gentle words. “That is strange. Not the strangest thing I’ve heard of happening, but not anything I’ve heard of happening either. And I can guess at what you experienced, but I don’t have any easy answers for you.”

“Could you get close? I feel like I’m going crazy. If this is the sort of thing that happens when someone that can see marks gets too close…”

“No. That’s unlikely.” Margot interrupted. “It could be related to marks, but I highly doubt this is some sort of exposure response. If anything, it probably has to do with your fate. It could be your future, it could be your past. It could be an echo from another life, or a million other things. But I can almost assuredly tell you that it isn’t because you’ve been startled into seeing marks. At least not entirely.”

“Do you think this means he needs to go a little faster?” Sara asked.

Josh wasn’t entirely sure what Sara meant by ‘go faster’ but he assumed she was using phrasing that left him in the dark. If she was really willing to help him in the way that he’d asked, that would be part of it.

“That’s entirely up to him”—Margot paused to let out a long held breath—”not us. But I think, I want to be sure before I suggest changing anything.”

“Be sure of what?” Josh was getting the feeling that things were going to get more complicated.

With a simultaneously mischievous and sad look on her face, Margot turned to Josh. “I need to run a test of sorts.”