Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Um, are you sure this is where my algebra class is supposed to be?”

“Kid, I’ve been here longer than you, of course I’m sure!”

Magnus stared at his best friend, Blitzen. Or, more like his brother. Adopted, basically.

“Blitz, you and Hearth are barely a year older than me.”

“A ‘whole year’ old enough to be your upperclassmen.”

Magnus glanced over to Hearth, who nodded his head. Hearth was tall for his age, and not to mention quite mature. In fact, Blitz was too. It was hard to believe they were only sophomores.

Blitz, on the other hand, was considered short. Though Magnus wasn’t sure how, because five feet six seemed to be kind of tall. Well, to him. Magnus was barely covering five feet four. He was always teased by the other kids back in middle school for his slow growth spurts. Those kids, they had already reached their peak height. Some of them a bit over five feet eight, others six foot two.

He was sure, though, that he would grow. His parents were tall people, and they always told him he would grow up to be strong, tall, and handsome.

He didn’t really believe the ‘strong’ and ‘handsome’ part.

His hair has always been long, barely touching down to his shoulders, and quite the bit messy. Like, the not-very-nice messy. His figure was scrawny and short. His eyes were a stormy grey, so deep that sometimes he scared himself when he would look in the mirror. They felt unforgiving and tempting. He knew people felt more drawn to his eyes whenever they spoke to him. He didn’t really mind that (occasionally) because then they couldn’t stare at anything else. But most of the time, he felt his anxiety spike up. He hated making eye contact with people, it made him feel too vulnerable.

Sometimes, when he smiled, he would immediately break it, and instead manage a weak non-toothy smile. He knew his teeth weren’t the best, and didn’t want people to see for themselves how bad they must have looked.

He didn’t really own that many clothes. His parents bought him enough, and he knew he didn’t need much. But nonetheless, it didn’t stop the kids from teasing him for wearing a jean-jacket two days in a row. Of course, he would wear a different t-shirt, or hoodie, but still.

Can’t stop kids from being brutally honest.

Now that Magnus was starting high school, he knew that things would (possibly) get worse. He had Blitz and Hearth to help him, but he knew that someday they would leave him, like in grade school, and middle school. Magnus had to go through his 6^th grade and 8^th grade years alone. Not that it was that bad, but it would have been 15 times better if he had his adopted-brothers with him.

He didn’t want to think about their graduation day. Today was his first day of freshmen year, at Valhalla High. He wanted to make his day better, not worse. And torturing himself with the thought of being completely alone would definitely make it worse.

Hey Hearth signed. Will be okay.

Magnus had learned some ASL a while back (when he had first met Hearth). It didn’t take him long; his father and mother would use it constantly with Hearth whenever he was around. Which was often.

Blitz knew too, so naturally Magnus picked it up quickly. Personally, he thought it was cool, since he knew another language other than English.

If only Valhalla High offered ASL as a language class, rather than just Spanish and French.

“Yeah, I hope,” Magnus said, cutting off his own train of thought. “Can you guys help me open my locker again?”

***

The lockers at Valhalla were different from those at Charles Middle School. Their lockers had the locks already in them, and the locks looked very different.

Here at the high school, though, the locks were separated from the lockers, and they were much smoother. It was a lot harder to quickly unlock and lock.

Magnus kept fumbling with the shiny new mechanism, and he just couldn’t get the combination right. You had to be very precise, and that’s what was causing him to become frustrated.

“Here, kid, let me show you again.”

“Okay.” Magnus sighed, stepping aside to let Blitzen work his magic.

“Hey, watch it.” A kid next to Magnus growled. Magnus had accidentally bumped into him while moving aside for Blitz.

He quickly apologized, and moved next to Hearth instead.

That was another thing Magnus was hating about this school. The lockers may be new, but the space they provided was horrendous. You could barely open the locker without it invading someone else’s personal space.

Hearth glared daggers at the boy Magnus bumped into.

“Hey,” Magnus lightly touched Hearth’s arm. Hearth snapped his head back to Magnus. “It’s okay. I know how to deal with rude people.”

Hearth just narrowed his brows more and continued to watch the kid.

“There, see!” Blitz exclaimed. “Easy peasy. Now you try.”

“Okay.” Magnus said, trying to remember what Blitz had done. He was still thinking about the boy.

Finally, after about three attempts, he opened the lock, and swung the door open.

“So, do I just put the lock in my locker?” He asked, clutching the opened lock.

“You could, but see this little bar—”

The bell for first hour rang, giving Magnus a little jolt. He honestly expected an old-fashioned metal bell, but instead it was a monotonous note over the intercoms.

It was still loud, though. And it already gave him a headache.

“Catch ya later kid! You know your way to your first hour class, right?”

“Yeah, I sort of do.” Magnus gulped.

Blitz lightly punched his arm. “Remember to text, if you need anything.”

“Okay.” And with that, Blitz and Hearth walked down the hallway, leaving Magnus to figure out which hallways to take, so he wouldn’t be late for his first class.

“Five minutes is not enough.” He mumbled to himself, shutting his locker and heading down the opposite direction.

He walked down a few flights of stairs until he finally recognized the hallway that had his Algebra class.

Magnus had just cleared the corner until he bumped into a group of students standing by another door. He really needed to work on not looking at the floor when he walked to places.

“Hey man, watch where you’re going.” Said a tall ginger boy. He was clearly an upperclassman, and all his friends suddenly swerved when they heard his voice.

“Great, more freshmen.” A blond kid next to the ginger said.

“Hey, you lost? You’ve probably got 30 seconds tops to get to your class.” Said another voice, this time female.

Magnus began to panic, and quickly turned around and ran to his Algebra class. He made a vow he would not be late to any of his classes the entire time he was in high school.

“RUN FRESHMEN! DON’T SLIP!” The ginger kid yelled, his friends all around him cheering Magnus on, some hollering and whistling. Magnus’s face was burning, and he felt like crying. He hadn’t even started first hour yet, and his anxiety had returned. He slowed down once he reached his class, and dropped his backpack on the ground, by his desk.

He decided that sitting in the corner would do him better than the back. The second bell rang out, and he slumped down in his chair.

First hour, and he already knew that the next four years was going to be rough.

Especially without his parents to encourage him on.

Chapter Text

“Stop picking at your food.”

“I’m not picking at it.”

“We can clearly—Blitz, can you tell him to eat his food!”

Samirah al-Abbas had been begging Magnus to eat his food for about 6 minutes straight (he kept count.)

But for some reason Magnus just didn’t feel like eating that day. Maybe it was because he got put in the latest lunch possible, and he never had any extra food to bring.

It really wasn’t his fault that his school days were headachingly long.

Plus, he just had a really, really rough day.

Around third hour, Magnus had waltzed into his academics-progress class like usual, avoiding people he didn’t talk to. The only friend he had in the class was Samirah (or Sam), and her desk was all the way in the back. Which meant Magnus had to make an even longer trip down the classroom, and feel the waves of anxiety kick in. He hated walking in between desks, he always felt like everyone looked at him.

“Hey Sam.” He said, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. Magnus’s hair had grown in over the past months, so now it fell past his collarbone. He walked with his head down, so his hair would always fall into his eyes.

“Hi.” She said, without looking up. She seemed to be working on some math homework, but Magnus could see some biology papers peaking out behind her binder.

Sam was one of the brightest people Magnus had ever met. She was already in honors pre-calc, and she was only a freshman. And the worst thing was, that a lot of students made fun of her because of her religion.

Her green hijab was wound around her head like usual, but a small strand of hair was sticking out by her forehead. Magnus had the urge to tuck it back in.

“Do you think you could help me with my algebra? I’m stuck on figuring out slope.” Magnus asked quietly. He felt a little embarrassed of the fact that, no matter how many times he asked his math teacher, he could never understand how to solve equations. Much less with graphs to accompany them.

“Yeah, that’s cool just give me one second.” She said, pulling out her calculator and punching in buttons faster than lightning.

“Magnus Chase.” A person called out. Magnus realized after a few seconds it was his teacher.

“Never mind.” He mumbled, heading back up to his teacher’s desk. Magnus had forgotten that today was ‘grade checking’ day, so a couple students had to go up and see their progress in their classes.

The class wasn’t called ‘academic progress’ for nothing.

Magnus found this class to be a complete waste of time, because students should be responsible for their own grades. Adding an extra 25-minute class to the school day was just wrong.

Not to mention he was stuck with people for another 25 minutes. And with his least favorite teacher.

“Good morning Magnus! Let’s see what we’ve got here.” His teacher said, while Magnus plopped down on the swivel chair. He tried to remain as far away from her as possible, because honestly? Her personality was rotten, and he was afraid that it would rub off on him.

“Oh no.” Her fake-cheery voice rang out. “Looks like you’ve got a D in algebra. Why is that?” She turned her face away from the computer, giving Magnus the most fake smile he had ever seen in his life. Only she was able to pull that off.

“I don’t know, I’ve asked for help and my teacher explained it to me, but I just don’t get it.” Magnus frowned at the floor.

“Well, maybe instead of chatting away with Samirah,” His teacher tried to subtly clench her teeth, but Magnus saw right through it. “You should go and study. Math is important. Without it, I’m sure you won’t be getting anywhere in life.”

“Y-yeah.” He said, trying not to cringe. He wanted to be anywhere else but there.

“Please, if Samirah cannot help you, then get a pass for your algebra teacher’s classroom. Even Sam doesn’t know everything, sometimes it’s better we ask for help from our superiors.”

Magnus nodded, though he debated arguing with his teacher that Sam was way more brilliant than his algebra teacher, and that she was easier to talk to. But Magnus hated talking back, and he didn’t want to linger in the front of the classroom longer than he had to.

He quickly got up and walked back, a small scowl on his face.

Sam noticed.

“Oh great, what did she say this time?” She asked, stopping all the work she was doing to speak to Magnus.

“It was nothing, just the usual passive-aggressive. And, calling me out for math.”

“Magnus, don’t listen to her. She’s too focused on trying to be perfect rather than helping students achieve their goals. Here, I’ll help you with your math homework.”

“Okay.” He said, already feeling glum.

They worked for a bit, Magnus occasionally pausing and sighing in frustration, and then continuing. Soon after, third hour ended, and he left the classroom in a rush, not wanting to be late for English.

He walked down the hallway, scanning for his locker number. But, sure enough, there was the usual couple right in front of his locker.

Fenris, and his girlfriend Heather.

Not a day went by without Magnus finding Fenris Weltch and Heather Peters somewhat making out right by his locker. He wasn’t sure if Fenris did this on purpose, or if it was something out of pure coincidence.

It was pretty nasty, because he could hear the wet noises of their kisses not even 5 feet away from them. And the worst thing was that his locker was right in front of his biology classroom, where the two science teachers always stood outside chatting. They have to had noticed the obvious right in front of them, but then again, Fenris got away with anything.

All the teachers adored him, and Magnus didn’t know why. He was this rude, self-centered kid who thought that yelling vulgar things during class was funny. Also, he loved to pick on Magnus for some reason.

And the absolute worst thing about Fenris, the one thing that Magnus really hated, was that his uncle, Prof. Loki, was his tenth hour algebra teacher. And Fenris was in the same class, and he always caused Magnus trouble. It wasn’t always out loud. Most of the time, it was just Fenris stealing his papers, or Fenris muttering things to his friends about Magnus. Or even kicking Magnus’s backpack away from him during lessons.

It really pissed him off, but Magnus just couldn’t bring himself to call out Fenris. Ever since his first day of freshmen year, Fenris would always remind Magnus of how lame freshmen were or ask him how fast he could run down hallways.

The stupid red-head was the bane of Magnus’s existence, but he was just too scared to tell anyone.

Well, anyone other than Sam, Blitz and Hearth.

He felt bad for Blitz and Hearth, because they had almost all their classes with Fenris. Dealing with him for more than one period would’ve killed Magnus. Maybe literally.

But either way, it was okay, because they were on their last week of freshmen year. And hopefully Magnus wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.

Magnus walked up to Fenris and Heather, feeling the anxiety build up inside his chest. He usually waited until the ‘one-minute warning’ bell rang, because then Fenris would leave.

“Excuse me, um.” He faltered. They didn’t hear him.

“Hey, Fenris, move your girl! Kid here needs to grab his crap.” Yelled a boy behind Heather.

Obviously, it was one of Fenris’s friends. Spencer Vand was one of the only people Fenris allowed (other than himself) to tell him and his girlfriend what to do.

“Yikes what we got here?! Maggie-pie!” Fenris said, breaking his sloppy kiss with Heather and laughing. Spencer began to laugh too.

The one-minute marker rang out, and Magnus’s eyes widened. He could not be late. He had an English project and he really needed the extra time to mentally prepare himself.

“Please move, Fenris. I need to get to my locker.” Magnus said, quite softly.

“What was that?” Fenris said, looking both ways and then leaning down to Magnus’s eye level. His dark grey eyes flashed, making his appearance seem more aggressive than playful teasing.

That was the thing about Fenris. He and Magnus shared the whole ‘grey’ eye color, but Fenris’s were more… sunken. It was a dull grey, with flecks of black. It made his curly red hair and ivory complexion pop out even more.

“Fenris move out of the way, Mimir is watching us. I don’t know about you, but if I get sent down to the deans again, I’ll get an ISS.” Heather said, grabbing his varsity jacket sleeve. She tugged on it. “C’mon let’s go.”

“Fine. Run freshman, hope ya trip on your way down the halls.”

Magnus just lightly gulped, and continued to look at the floor. Fenris grabbed his girlfriend’s hand, and walked down the hall ever so slowly.

He quickly fumbled with his lock, and opened his locker… only to find his binder missing.

“Oh no.” He said, hitching his breath. He blinked a couple of times, disbelief running through his head. That little blue binder had all his English notes, for the presentation he had today. In about twenty seconds.

He was never going to get to class on time, and now his entire project was gone.

“Hey, Magnus, are you okay?” Said a man’s voice behind him.

Magnus quickly turned around, his heart beating a million miles per hour. Mr. Mimir, (or just Mimir) had a concerned look on his face. His auburn hair was pulled into tufts around his head, and his hands were fiddling with Chinese handcuffs.

“Yes.” He said, trying oh so hard to keep his breathing under control. Tears pricked his eyes, and he had to blink a few times. He tried to look into Mimir’s eyes, but the floor was way more satisfying.

“Are you sure? I saw those kids hanging around you again. I doubt they were saying anything nice.”

“I mean, I just lost my binder.” Magnus said, not wanting to bring up the subject of Fenris. It wasn’t Mimir’s business nor fight to fight.

“Is it blue?” He asked, slowly moving back towards his classroom.

Magnus’s head perked up. “Yeah, have you seen it?”

RING

The bell rung, and all the kids standing outside of Mimir’s classroom filed inside.

Magnus felt his heart stop. How could he explain his tardiness to his English teacher when he was one of the first ones to present?

“Magnus, come inside.” Mimir said, beckoning Magnus to follow.

He trailed slowly behind him, and once he reached the classroom, he noticed some of the kids staring at him.

Most likely staring at his hair, and attire. Today, he wore the school’s dark green hoodie, with Valhalla spread across the chest in big gold letters. He loved that hoodie, it was super comfortable and warm. He also had his usual skinny jeans and worn out white converse, some dirt along the bottom edges.

His hair though, was its usual long messy self. His bangs were covering his face again, and the back was caught in the hoodie. He quickly brushed the hair away, and tried standing up straighter. He wanted to at least look presentable to his biology teacher, and his fourth hour class. His face, though, felt hot and he wanted to cower away again. But it was too late now.

“Here, one of my a-prog students found this today. I think you left it during biology. Can’t go to English without your English binder!” Mimir said, chuckling.

He handed the binder to Magnus, and Magnus gingerly took it.

“Here, I’ll write you a pass to your next class. What is it?” He asked, jogging over to a drawer on the other side of his long desk, simultaneously tossing the Chinese handcuffs to a student sitting in the front row.

“English.” Magnus said, still staring at his binder.

“Oh! Wow how convenient. Do you have your passbook?”

Magnus nodded, quickly pulling out his yearly school planner. The back contained a series of pages used for passes, if the student needed to go somewhere or be excused. There were at least 7 pages worth, each page containing at least 50 of the little grey rectangles.

Magnus barely used any of his pages; the most passes he used over the course of the year were about 8.

He handed the little book to Mimir, and he quickly signed it, handing it back to Magnus.

“Thanks, Mimir. I’ll see you later.” Magnus said, barely looking up.

Mimir gave him a warm smile. Magnus tried to smile back, but was only able to produce a weak one.

Magnus rushed out of the classroom, down the hallway and straight to his English class.

***

“Magnus, you gotta eat. You’ve been doing this for days.” Blitz said, pushing Magnus’s tray towards him.

“I’m fine Blitz, just had a rough day.” He replied, placing his fork down, on top of the mashed potatoes. Or, the cream mush the school decided to call ‘mashed potatoes’. They were usually way better, but today nothing seemed appealing to Magnus.

“Magnus.” Sam said, concern rippling across her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He grumbled.

“Was it from a-prog? Mrs. Grita is always like that. You’ve gotta learn to ignore her.”

“No Sam, it’s just been all day.”

Magnus explained his day, starting with a-prog, since Blitz and Hearth weren’t there. Then he told them about English and his encounter with Fenris.

“Again? Kid, listen, if you need me to pick a fight, I will!” Blitz said, his face turning a deeper and deeper shade red.

“Blitz, it’s cool. It’s not like he shoved me in a locker or anything. Besides, violence isn’t really the best path to take.” Magnus said, his eyes wide.

Hearth nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow at Blitz.

“What, you silly elf? I’m not going to kill him.”

Blitz had started referring to Hearth as his ‘elf’, which Magnus found cute. It was most likely because Hearth was quite tall, very pale, and always sprouted at least two tiny braids in his spikey white-blond hair. To Magnus, he could totally be considered an elf. Though he was sure there was a variety in what an elf could be, not just limited to Hearth’s looks. Nonetheless, it was an adorable thing they did.

Hearth signed back to him. Stop promoting violence. Not good example for M and S.

“It’s okay Hearth, I promise I won’t be killing people.” Magnus said, laying a hand on his shoulder. Hearth simply stared back, then shifted his focus to Blitz.

“Well, if anything Magnus, I think you should talk to someone, like Mimir, if you’re having trouble with Fenris. He seems to be looking out for you. That’s a good thing, since he’s someone at this school who is respected and thoughtful. Plus, he could seriously get Fenris in trouble.” Sam said, pulling out a few pages from her folder.

“I guess.” Magnus replied, looking down at the dark wooden table. He was playing with some crumbs that fell from Sam’s sandwich.

“Ew, Magnus. Don’t play with those crumbs.” Sam said, poking his head with her pencil. She was giggling now, which made Magnus lightly smile.

Sam’s laugh was one of those laughs that makes everyone laugh along, or at least smile. It always sounded genuine and happy, and it always made Magnus feel better.

“There’s the Magnus we know.” Blitz said, smiling along with Sam. Hearth was smiling now, too.

Suddenly, a group of upperclassmen passed by their table, one of them sporting Arabic tattoos all over his biceps.

“Hey Sam!” He said, sending a warm smile their way. “Hey Magnus.” Magnus looked up and waved.

“Hey—Hey Amir!” Sam stuttered, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. “How are you?”

“I’m great. But I gotta go, catch ya later?” He said, running a hand through his clean cut black hair.

“Y-yeah. Bye!” She waved. He waved back, and joined his friends again.

“You’ve still got a crush on that junior?” Blitz asked. Sam gave him a harsh stare back.

“Yes, it’s nothing important.”

“You sure?” Magnus teased. “Your cheeks say otherwise.”

“Shut up. Like I said, it’s nothing. And Blitz, his name is Amir.” Sam instantly replied, clearly flustered and speaking quickly.

“Anyways, maybe this’ll cheer you up Magnus. My brother is gonna start attending Valhalla high next year!”

“Wait, you have a brother?” Magnus asked, taken by surprise. “I’ve known you for how long and I’m just finding this out?!”

“Yeah, I know, I know. I should have told you earlier, but the news just came to me, so I thought it would be best to break it to you guys now.”

Next year? He won’t be confused? Hearth signed.

“No, I don’t think so. He’s smart, and I’m sure you guys will like him. Just to clear it up though, he’s not my full brother. Half-brother, but still the same.”

“Okay, that’s cool. Can’t wait to meet him.” Magnus said, imagining what Sam’s brother looked like.

The bell for 9^th hour rang out, and Magnus quickly gathered up all his things and shoved them in his backpack. His health class was right by the cafeteria, but he still liked to be early. He hated walking in right before the bell rang, because he felt like everyone would stare at him.

“Bye Sam, Blitz, Hearth.” Magnus waved to them, and Sam yelled ‘bye’ back. Blitz and Hearth smiled and waved, which made Magnus feel a little bit better.

But, his smile faded as soon as he turned around and walked out of the cafeteria. Right after 9^th hour, he had to go to algebra and deal with Fenris all over again. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to.

Chapter Text

“And so, now you have to do is move X over to the right…”

Magnus had only started his last period of the day, algebra II. He wasn’t very sure how he got into a higher math class; he was never very good at it. Almost everyday he would ask Sam for help, and in the end, even she could hardly break the barrier Magnus had in his mind.

He always thought he was better at science, which was funny to him, since science contained quite a bit of math.

Well, the only science he really enjoyed was biology and ecology. He loved learning about nature and life, and how it worked. It always reminded him of his parents. They loved nature as much as he did, if not even more.

A lot of times when Magnus was younger, his parents would take him out to little hikes here and there. Eventually, as he got older, they became less frequent, since Magnus’s asthma got worse. That, or because apartment rent kept going up, and they needed to work more to sustain the small lifestyle they had.

Magnus didn’t come from much, but he was happy with what he had. Sure, quite often he would be reminded on how little he was given, but in the end, he was still content.

From time to time, though, he would feel sad. It got hard when people were constantly reminding you of what you don’t have. Even if it’s not intentional.

Magnus tried his hardest to not let his feelings slip out in front of others. He felt like people would make fun of him. That’s why he only trusted his small friend group.

But then again, sometimes they even reminded him of what he lost, and he certainly knew it was never on purpose.

His friends all had lost something, and that was probably why they eventually found each other. And Magnus was so grateful for his friends; they never left his side and tried to encourage him as much as they could.

Except in algebra. They weren’t in the same class as he was, so he was left to deal with his problems alone.

The biggest problem being a curly haired red head named Fenris.

Today, Fenris decided to disrupt precious work time to announce that Magnus was doodling flowers along his notes.

Magnus wasn’t afraid to draw on his notes, since nobody else but him looked at them. He was drawing some carnations and tulips, his favorite flowers. They lined the border of the page, detailed and lustrous. He was really proud of his work. Fenris, though, thought it was a joke, and another opportunity to break Magnus’s self-esteem.

“Cute flowers Maggie-Pie! Hey guys look at the cute little flowers Mag drew!” Fenris slipped the paper from under Magnus’s hands, crumpled it up, and chucked it across the room to Spencer. He caught it, unraveled it, and began to laugh. He then passed it down to some of the other kids who were friends with Fenris.

“Wow this is so gay.” Said a kid named Michael. He crumpled the paper back up and threw it at Magnus’s head. The paper fell to the ground, right under Fenris’s desk.

Magnus just lowered his head, his hair covering his face again. He liked that, because his face felt so hot and he was sure his eyes were tinged red.

He tried to grab the paper, but Fenris was faster. He kicked the paper away from Magnus, and also kicked his hand. Magnus bit back a squeak, trying to keep his head down as long as possible.

“Nuh-uh Maggie. This isn’t yours anymore. I think it belongs in an art museum!” Fenris grabbed the ball of paper and threw it across the room again, making a straight shot into the trashcan. All his friends began to whoop and howl, and Fenris smiled his unforgiving malicious smile. Sometimes, it reminded Magnus of a wolf. There was nothing human about him.

Magnus took a deep breath, and pulled out a sheet of loose-leaf paper. He didn’t know what to do, since his notes were gone, so he decided to try his best and wing the problems in his text book.

“Hey Magnus! What’s with all this hair anyways?” Fenris called out. Magnus had his head lowered again, his nose almost touching the desk. Fenris turned around and grabbed a lock of Magnus’s blond hair.

“You’re sure not impressing anyone with it. Ew, I think I got grease on my fingers.” He tugged on Magnus’s hair, pulling out a few strands. Magnus felt more tears in his eyes, not sure of how much longer he could take it. Fenris was being extra malicious today. Maybe because the year was so close to being over.

Suddenly, the bell rung, and everyone stood up and started to leave the classroom. Magnus tried to linger as long as could, so that nobody could see his face. He quickly wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand, and shoved everything into his backpack.

He walked up to the front of the classroom, and was about to grab his notes from the trash, when Prof. Loki came up behind him.

“Magnus, what are you doing?” He asked, a slight sneer on his face. His autumn leaf colored hair was combed over in a neat pompadour. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Magnus didn’t remember a day throughout his freshmen year that Prof. Loki didn’t look classy.

“My um notes. They’re in here…” He weakly pointed to the trashcan.

Prof. Loki’s sneer only deepened.

“Magnus, I know you really don’t care about math, but don’t waste my papers. This is probably the reason you’re failing my course. If I see this once again, it’s a 50-minute detention. Are we clear?”

Magnus didn’t know how to respond. He wasn’t even the one to throw away his papers. It was all Fenris’s fault—

“Magnus.” Loki snapped his fingers in his face. “Are you deaf? I said. Are. We. Clear?”

“Y-yes.” Magnus replied, instantly looking away from his math teacher’s eyes. Just like his nephew, Loki’s eyes held a sort of dullness. They were bright blue, but nothing kind nor understanding could be found in them.

“Good. See you tomorrow.” Loki said, turning around and plopping down at his desk.

Magnus took the opportunity to quickly grab his crumpled notes from the trashcan, and rushing out of the classroom. He decided to take the elevator upstairs; he didn’t want to see people at the stairways.

He walked out of the elevator, looking at his shoes as he walked, and tried to find his locker. Unfortunately, there was already somebody there. He wasn’t sure who it was, since he refused to look at their face, but he hoped it wasn’t Fenris.

“Hey Magnus—oh, what’s wrong?” Rang out T.J’s cheerful voice.

Normally, Magnus loved hanging around T.J. They got along very well, and it was safe to say T.J was his best friend, tied in with Hearth and Blitz. He always confided in him, if Hearth and Blitz weren’t around. Thomas Jefferson Jr. knew almost everything that went on in Magnus’s life, especially anything concerning Fenris.

But today, Magnus didn’t feel like talking to him. He just wanted to go home, shut himself in his room, and sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

That, or paint.

“Nothing, just stressed.” Magnus said, scooting slowly over to his locker, trying to avoid T.J’s eyes. But T.J could read him like a hawk.

“Nah, stressed doesn’t seem right. C’mon, what’s wrong? You know you can trust me.” T.J leaned on the lockers next to Magnus’s. He did that whenever he was talking seriously with Magnus. Most likely to get to his eye level.

“No, it’s—Fenris. Stupid notes in math. I just had a rough day all day, T.J. I just want to go home.” Magnus’s throat felt like it was closing up, and his eyes stung.

So much for not wanting to talk to T.J. Now, Magnus wanted to open up and let his feelings out. Everything seemed to be going downhill for him, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.

“Hey man it’s okay! Don’t cry. Let’s go grab a sundae. It’s on me, don’t worry.” T.J’s voice softened.

“I—I don’t know.” Magnus said, a small hiccup escaping his throat.

That wasn’t something Magnus usually did. He never let his feelings out in public, much less in front of his friends. It was rare he actually stayed and let T.J sooth him. If it were any other instance, he would have left and locked himself in the bathroom.

“Please? Mallory and Gunderson are gonna be there.”

Magnus took a second to decide, then shook his head.

“Can you just take me home, T.J? I don’t want to walk.”

The time read 2:56, way past the last bell. Most of the students from Valhalla high were already gone, which meant they were busy clogging up the sidewalks.

“Yeah, that’s cool. Can you call Mallory and tell her I’m gonna be late?”

“Okay.” Magnus said, softly. He rubbed his nose and grabbed his lock, attempting to open it. But he just couldn’t concentrate. He gave up, and decided that going home without his Spanish binder wouldn’t kill him. That meant he could take more time painting.

After walking down the bare hallways, T.J tried making small talk with Magnus, but nothing seemed to work. Magnus’s mouth stayed shut.

He felt bad about it, but he was so devoid of energy that even walking to T.J’s car was hard.

Once Magnus clicked his seat belt into place, he pulled out his phone to call Mallory. But instead, he found a few text messages from Sam and Blitz.

Hey, where were u? Didnt see u after 10^th.

Magnus!

Magnus!

Magnus!

Ok fine im going to Ollie’s. Mal and G r there too. If u wanna talk we’ll be there.

Blitz’s read: you going to Ollie’s?

Sam says to answer her texts, she’s fuming.

Magnus ignored the messages, and instead went to dial Mallory’s number.

It rang and rang, but she didn’t pick up. He decided to text her instead, still leaving the messages from Sam and Blitz unread.

Hey TJ says hes gonna be late. Hes dropping me off at home.

Sorry.

He locked his phone, then slipped it into his pocket. T.J, thankfully, remained quiet during the car ride.

Once Magnus reached his apartment, he quietly said goodbye to T.J and ran inside. He had a lot of sulking to do.

***

Nobody was home. As per usual.

His aunt, Freya was busy working at the town’s most popular salon, the Red-Gold Maiden.

Magnus wasn’t sure how she handled all the stress, since she was literally never home. But then again, she wouldn’t be manager if she couldn’t take it.

He kicked his shoes off, letting them tumble into a lazy mess. He then dragged himself into the kitchen, aiming for the ebony cabinet. Grabbing his two mugs, he quickly slammed it shut, and then trudged up the stairs.

He tossed his bag onto the bed, not realizing that his dog, Jack was sleeping right under the spot it had landed on. Jack’s whine was so high pitched, Magnus nearly dropped the mugs. 

“Oh! Jack, I’m so sorry! What are you doing under there?”  

Jack, obviously not being able to talk, just stared at Magnus with his big blue eyes. His tail was tucked in between his legs.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you under all those blankets.”

It was funny, because even though Jack was huge, he acted like he was a small dog. Magnus only had his aunt’s cat to blame. Jack grew up with the cat, which Magnus was sure influenced his behavior.

He still remembered the day he had gotten Jack.

It was after his parent’s accident.

Frey and Natalie Chase had decided to go up hiking for their anniversary, to the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

It was only going to be for a week. Magnus was sent to stay with his aunt.

Of course, he was devastated. He loved hiking with his parents, and the White Mountains were his favorite. Every year they’d go, and every year Magnus would come along. Though his asthma would cause him to struggle during the hikes, he still loved them.

But he respected the fact that his parents were celebrating a special moment in their life. Even if he complained out loud about it.

“But you guys can do it again next year! Anniversaries are annual!”

Natalie chuckled, leaving Magnus to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Why are you laughing?”

“Magnus,” Frey leaned down, resting both hands on Magnus’s shoulders. “You’re almost twelve now, and I’m sure you understand that your mom and I want to take a trip alone for a bit.”

Magnus pouted. “Yeah I know… But we always go together! As a family!”

Frey’s eyebrows knitted. “How about a compromise; when we come back, we’ll plan a trip to Blue Hills, for your birthday. A family trip. We can take Annabeth along.”

Magnus’s face lit up. “Really?!”

“Yes, really. But you have to promise us you’ll behave while we’re gone.”

“I promise. But now you guys have to promise me something.”

“Oh boy.” Frey said, standing up straight, a laugh slipping from his lips.

“What is it, pumpkin?” Natalie said, grabbing both of Magnus’s hands gently.

“You have to swear you’ll come back.”

Natalie and Frey both turned to look at each other, a silent understanding passing through them. Oh Magnus.

Natalie smiled. “Magnus, why would we ever leave you?”

“Promise!”

“We promise.” Frey said, scooping Magnus and Natalie into a huge hug. Magnus was laughing, as he held onto his mom and dad.

“Okay, then I guess I’ll see you in a week.” He said, trying to escape his parent’s arms. But Frey’s grip was strong.

“Bye pumpkin!” Natalie said, breaking the hug and grabbing one of the suitcases by the dining table. Her and Frey began to pull on their winter jackets and boots.

“See you in a week.” Frey said, after gathering their belongings. Natalie walked over to Magnus and kissed him on the forehead. “Freya will come to pick you up in ten. Be the good kid we know.” She said, with her signature wink.

“Bye mom, dad. I love you!” Magnus said, watching them exit their apartment door.

“Love you too kiddo.” Frey said.

Magnus waited until the door closed. As soon as it did, he ran up to his room and threw open the curtains. He saw his parents loading their suitcases into the trunk of their car. Natalie caught Magnus watching them. She waved, tugging on Frey’s coat to get his attention. He waved too.

Magnus waved back, a huge smile on his face. He couldn’t wait until they came back; he loved having family trips with Annabeth.

He watched the car drive off, light snow falling on the street. It was dark already, and the street lamps reflected a golden glow off the snow. Magnus was sad, but felt something unusual too. Something like fear, in his gut. Magnus was always taught to respect his gut feelings.

He shrugged it off, worrying about gathering his art supplies for his week-long stay at Freya’s.

“Magnus.” Freya called from the living room. “Can you… come downstairs please?”

Magnus was confused. It had only been three days into the week his parents were gone, and Freya usually didn’t bother Magnus while he was painting. But the tone in her voice was different. It sang out with grief and worry.

“Coming Aunt Freya!” Magnus yelled, rinsing his paint brush in the mug. He gently laid it on a paper towel.

He ran downstairs, wondering all the possible things that could have come up. Maybe his parents came home early, or Freya was going to surprise him with a pastry from the bakery next door.

But instead, he was greeted with Freya clutching a tissue and her cellphone. Her eyes were red, and tears kept slipping down her cheeks.

"Aunt Freya, what’s going on?” Magnus said, a wave of panic surging through him. What was going on?

Suddenly, her doorbell rang, causing Magnus to jump. He was sure she wasn’t expecting anybody.

Freya rushed to the door, opening it to find Fredrick Chase and Annabeth. Annabeth had flowers in her hand, and tears streaming down her face.

“Annabeth!” Magnus yelled, running over and grabbing the bouquet. He laid them on the table, simultaneously grabbing a few napkins and handing them to Annabeth. She took them, then pulled Magnus into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she said, gripping Magnus’s shirt tighter.

“What? Why?” He said into her shoulder. Annabeth had always been an inch taller than Magnus, but that never really bothered him.

“I—I can’t.” Annabeth started sobbing, each hiccup causing Magnus’s heart to rip into pieces.

“Annabeth what’s wrong?” Magnus said, feeling tears prick his eyes. He pulled away from the hug, and stared into the stormy grey eyes identical to his.

“Magnus,” Fredrick said, lightly grabbing his hand. “Your…” He wiped a tear away from his eye.

"Me? Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” He said, anger boiling inside. Even though he was young, his parents always told him anything that was going on. Good or bad.

“Magnus, your…” Freya continued, letting Fredrick sooth Annabeth. “Your mother and father got into an accident.” She covered her mouth, a few seconds passing before she spoke up again. “Your father is in the hospital. And…”

“And Natalie.” She deeply inhaled. “Your father is in a coma, we don’t know for how long… And your mother. Natalie was killed. There—there was an accident.” A sob escaped from her throat, and Freya swallowed.

"I’m so sorry Magnus. I’m so sorry.” Uncle Fredrick whispered, letting Annabeth scoot near Magnus.

Dead.

His mother. His dad. An accident.

Silence filled the room, and Magnus felt all the blood drain from his face. Everything was too still, too quiet.

They promised.

His parents promised.

“No,” Magnus whispered. His throat felt like it was constricting with every breath he took. “No. They’re okay. They promised me.”

His eyebrows were knitted, and his eyes were wide open with disbelief.

"They promised me! THEY’RE COMING HOME!” He yelled. Nobody said anything in return. Freya tried walking up to Magnus, but he kept backing up.

“WHERE ARE THE—” His voice cracked, and he fell to his knees.

He couldn’t believe it. No, his parents, his mom was fine. They were okay, and this was just a bad dream.

He felt someone’s arms around him, not realizing it was Annabeth’s until he saw the lock of blonde hair.

"Mommy… dad.”

Magnus pushed his palms into his eyes. He hated remembering that day, but it surfaced up as often as it could.

He couldn’t believe two years had already passed. It always felt like it happened yesterday.

He quickly composed himself, wiping his nose on a paper towel he had on his desk.

The only (sort of) good thing that came from the accident was his dog. Freya had her job, so that meant Magnus was left alone almost all day. Annabeth begged her dad to move to Boston, but it wasn’t something possible for his family.

So, about a week after, Freya took Magnus to the local shelter to pick out a pet. She kept trying to convince him to get a cat (so that hers would get along with it), but Magnus didn’t listen.

He spotted a puppy in the far corner, curled up and fast asleep. Its cage seemed relatively new, so Magnus assumed it was a recent drop off.

He walked over to it, hoping he wouldn’t disturb its peaceful sleep. It didn’t really work, since it immediately popped its head up once Magnus reached the cage.

Its eyes were a deep blue, something unusual from the dogs Magnus saw almost every day in Boston.

Its coat was thick and golden, with a few patches of mocha on its back. Its tail was long and fluffy, the entire thing golden-brown too. This dog was so odd, but Magnus took a liking to it.

“You like him?” Someone asked. Magnus realized it was one of the shelter’s employees.

“Yeah.” Magnus said, holding his gaze with the puppy.

“He’s a mutt you know… We found him nearly drowned and frozen to death on the streets about a week ago. He’s been refusing to eat and drink. Are you sure you want to take responsibility…?” The employee’s voice faltered. Magnus didn’t realize. But Freya was giving the worker an icy stare.

“Well, as long as you’ll love him, I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

Magnus turned his head, giving Freya a pleading look. “He’s the one.”

Freya’s face softened, and she nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be a great addition to the family.”

Magnus turned back to look at his new dog. The puppy locked eyes with him again, this time wagging his tail slowly. Magnus smiled, feeling a small pang of happiness. He didn’t know how, but he knew he felt some kind of connection with the pup.

Once all the paper work was done, Magnus was allowed to hold his dog the entire car ride.

“What kind of dog are you?” he whispered.

“Apparently, he’s a golden retriever and husky mix. Isn’t that the weirdest thing?” Freya said, silently laughing.

Magnus didn’t even know how that was possible. But nonetheless, he loved the dog.

“You look like a… Jupiter?” The dog remained still in his hands.

“How about Jack?” This time, the dog’s ears perked up, but that was it.

“Jack it is.” Magnus said, burying his face in Jack’s small form.

And now, Jack was here, huge and sleeping.

“What a weird dog.” Magnus mumbled to himself, eyeing Jack as he found a new spot on Magnus’s bed to sleep.

Magnus placed the two mugs on his desk, then went to pull out a few boxes from under the bed. He used to have a bag to carry his art supplies, but after a year his collection grew, and Freya kept pestering him to use boxes.

He pulled out a few brushes and paint, and tossed them on the table.

Today, he was going to paint flowers. His mother’s favorite, daisies.

Maybe later, he could go and visit his dad in the hospital. Even though he couldn’t see his art, Magnus tried to bring something new every few weeks.

As he began to paint, he tried to imagine the day his dad would wake up and see all the paintings Magnus left for him.