The conversation with Brooke had gone smoothly — too smoothly. Alex had walked away from it feeling faintly off-balance, like she'd just stepped through a door that should have been harder to open. Brooke hadn't been overly eager, hadn't pushed or pried, but she'd agreed faster than expected, like she already knew enough to skip the hesitation most people would have. By Monday afternoon, they'd already settled on Wednesday evening — neat and efficient — and that, more than anything, was what bothered Alex. There had been moments in that conversation where Brooke seemed to be holding something back, some extra layer of understanding she never voiced. It left Alex uneasy in a way she couldn't quite pin down.
Not that she had time to dwell on it. Between investigating the rumor Riley had mentioned — which seemed to be leading nowhere — trying to shadow Jordan without getting caught (something that had already resulted in more near-disasters than she was comfortable admitting, including Magnus yelping himself invisible mid-stumble and one particularly chaotic incident involving Tony and a suspiciously coordinated group of squirrels), and, somehow, her own love life, her brain was stretched thin. Because as much as things with Magnus were still good — still them — ever since that stupid vision of Sofia walking in on them again, he'd been tense every time things started to get even remotely intimate. Which, unfortunately, made things just awkward enough to notice.
Now it was Wednesday morning, and they were tailing Jordan again, on her way to her favorite coffee shop.
At least, that was the plan. But in practice, it had been… an experience.
The entire time they were following Jordan, hoping not to get noticed, Alex was reminded exactly who it was she fell in love with — and why she had fallen so hard, so fast. It was like watching a hurricane, but in reverse.
A hurricane leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, while Magnus put things back where they belonged without even noticing. He absentmindedly held doors open for pregnant women or wheelchair users with a precision that made it seem more like accidents than conscious decisions. He saved lives without even breaking stride, probably entirely unaware he was even doing it.
Case in point: a kid was chasing a ball into traffic. Just as he was about to step off the curb, Magnus yanked the boy back by his collar and — with a flick of his other wrist — sent the ball "bouncing off" a lamppost on the other side of the road and into his waiting hand, before returning it to the kid and setting him back down on the sidewalk in one smooth motion. And Magnus wasn't even looking at the boy or the ball. Instead, he had been looking at Alex the entire time, complaining about Tony's training the night before.
But that wasn't even the worst of it. Or the most impressive thing, depending on how you looked at it.
There was a brief stretch when they had to keep out of Jordan's sight. They also happened to be near a crosswalk. From a nearby alley came a series of noises: dogs barking and growling, cats hissing. There was a metallic clang. A trash can, maybe?
Magnus scowled for half a second, glanced at the traffic light timer, then told her:
"Sorry, I'll be right back!"
Then he disappeared into the alley. There was more barking, more hissing. Alex suspected some of those sounds had probably come from her boyfriend. A few minutes later, a pack of dogs trotted out and turned to leave. Shortly after, a few stray cats slipped out and went in the opposite direction. Magnus emerged last, shrugging and scratching the back of his neck like he hadn't just singlehandedly prevented a territorial gang war between the neighborhood strays.
"Oh, hey, light's green!"
That was all he had to say on the matter before ushering her across the street.
As she let him lead her — his hand hovering protectively near the small of her back — Alex just stared at him as something uncontrollable rose in her chest. Pride? Maybe. Frustration and exasperation? Those too. Affection? Most definitely!
She wanted to kiss him right then and there — if they hadn't been in the middle of the street. Which, naturally, led her brain somewhere else entirely.
To the last few days. To every time they'd tried to get even remotely close… And how Magnus had stiffened. Hesitated. Pulled back just a fraction too early.
That stupid vision! His stupid new power.
He'd had a premonition of Sofia walking in on them again sometime in the future, and now…
Now he couldn't relax.
And Alex? She was annoyed. Extremely so.
At him. At the situation. At—
Her jaw tightened slightly.
At Sofia!
Which was ridiculous. She knew it was ridiculous.
Sofia hadn't done anything. It hadn't even happened yet.
And still—
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
Get over it, Alex!
She exhaled, forcing the thought away.
Focus. Jordan. Mission!
Not her increasingly complicated—
"Uh… Alex? Where's Jordan?"
Magnus's voice snapped her back to the present.
She blinked. "What—"
"She's gone."
That got her attention. "What do you mean she's—"
Alex's head snapped forward. The sidewalk ahead was… empty. Alex's eyes narrowed as she scanned the street.
People moved past in steady streams. A couple of storefronts. The entrance to the coffee shop just up ahead.
But no Jordan!
"…Okay," she said slowly. "That's not great."
They both scanned the area.
Left. Right. Then—
Two hands landed on their shoulders.
"Looking for me?"
Magnus jumped. Actually jumped. For a split second, Alex was convinced he was about to panic and turn invisible right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Somehow… he didn't. Instead, he blurted, several octaves too high:
"Hiiiii Jordan!"
Alex coughed loudly — half choking on her own saliva — and brought a hand up to rub her temple. Behind them, Jordan raised an eyebrow, utterly unimpressed.
"Okay," she said, leaning forward slightly, eyes flicking between the two of them, "what are you two up to?"
"Would you believe us if we said we were just out on a date?" Alex offered, deadpan.
Jordan stared at her. Let out a half-laugh. Then squinted.
Then she looked back and forth between them like she was trying to decide which part of this was more insulting — the ridiculous lie, or the fact that Alex had the audacity to say it to her face.
Finally, she scoffed. "Do you think I'm eight years old, Locke? Actually, no. You know damn well I wouldn't have fallen for that even when I was eight."
Before Alex could come up with a response, Jordan had already tightened her grip on both of their shoulders and started steering them forward. "Both of you are coming with me."
"Wait—what? To where?" Magnus blurted, because of course he would.
"Why the reluctance now? Thought you two were so interested in my morning routine?"
Magnus and Alex shared a look. But neither of them said anything. Because, really…
They had absolutely no defense for that.
***
They barely made it five minutes inside the café before Jordan snapped.
She didn't even sit down properly. She just dropped her bag onto the table, slid into the chair, and fixed Alex with a look that could have cut glass. "Oh no you don't, Locke."
Alex had just opened her mouth. She closed it again, face twitching.
Jordan pointed a finger at her without breaking eye contact. "We've known each other too long. I can't trust a single thing that comes out of your mouth right now."
That statement went both ways. Jordan knew exactly which button to push. She was using "Locke" on purpose, knowing full well Alex couldn't retaliate with "Vanessa" with Magnus present. Or maybe Jordan didn't know that and was gauging how much she actually trusted him — testing whether she would retaliate with him there. Either way, it made Alex think twice before trying anything.
So she leaned back in her chair, hands up in surrender, expression… annoyingly calm on the surface. But her voice betrayed a hint of barely contained emotion when she replied:
"Fair."
Then Jordan turned. Locked onto Magnus.
"You," she said.
Magnus, who had just picked up his cup, froze mid-motion.
"…Me?"
"Yes, you, Chane," Jordan leaned forward slightly, eyes sharp. "Why have you two been following me for the past two days — three, counting today?"
Magnus blinked.
"I—what—"
"And don't even try to pretend you weren't," she cut in. "Or use whatever excuse she prepped you with." A small, humorless smile. "You're terrible at lying."
Alex winced. This was not going well at all!
Magnus made a small, strangled sound that might have been agreement.
Jordan waited. Silently. Patiently.
Magnus looked at Alex. She huffed in frustration but very deliberately did not help him. He looked back at Jordan. Both girls could practically see his brain scrambling in real time.
And then he recalled… something. On the day they had learned that his System knew Jordan's full name — the same day it had forced him into this monthly quest — they had talked about what Jordan liked and hated.
"What if she asks why?" Hypothetically, he had asked Alex. Her answer had been, "Then we don't lie. We just don't tell her the whole truth."
Not the part about the System. Nor the part about the monthly quest. Jordan knowing about those would be catastrophic.
But Jordan hated lies and coercion, so if he had to give her something, it would have to be the truth.
"Okay," he blurted. "So—uh—you know how I, um… talk to animals?"
Jordan's expression didn't change.
"That's—okay, that's real," he rushed on. "Like, actually real. But, uh—not in a 'Disney princess' way or anything. I can't actually—I mean, it's just—mostly they don't listen, and they get distracted, and it's kind of a mess, honestly—sorry, that's not the point—"
He dragged a hand down his face. "The point is, that's not the only thing."
Jordan's eyes narrowed, just slightly. Magnus swallowed.
"I, uh, also apparently get premonitions. Recently. Like visions of the future—or maybe one possible future, I guess?" He winced. "Which sounds suspicious on top of sounding insane. I know. I know it sounds insane and suspicious."
He gestured vaguely between them, words tripping over each other. "But from one of those visions, we have reason to suspect something bad might happen to you—an accident of some sort. I don't know when or where, just—something might go wrong, and it didn't look great, and—yeah."
A beat.
"So we've been, uh… following you," he finished weakly. "In case it happens."
Silence.
"…Right," Jordan said flatly.
Magnus nodded, because that was apparently all he could do now.
"And you didn't think to just tell me this," she continued, "because…?"
"Because it sounds insane," Magnus said immediately. "You probably wouldn't believe us. And we don't fully believe it either. Yet. Completely. I don't even understand how the power works yet. So. Yeah."
Another pause.
Jordan leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. She stared at him. Long enough that Magnus started to regret every life choice that had led him here. Then she exhaled through her nose.
"…That is," she said slowly, "the worst explanation you could have gone with."
"Yeah," Magnus said, deeply miserable. "That tracks."
Alex facepalmed with both hands, trying very hard not to laugh or cry despite all her frustration. Jordan didn't look at her.
"Next time," Jordan went on, tone dry, "just say you're stalking me for fun. It'd be more believable."
Magnus opened his mouth—
A sharp clatter cut him off.
All three of them turned.
One of the baristas — dark circles under her eyes, movements just a little too slow — had fumbled a tray.
It tipped. A full kettle and two freshly poured cups went flying.
Time seemed to stutter.
The lid of the kettle popped loose. A splash of boiling water arced outward…
"Watch out!" someone shouted.
The barista flinched back.
A guy at the pickup counter froze.
Jordan half-turned in her seat… But because of the direction her body was facing, she wouldn't be able to react in time—
Magnus's body moved. His chair scraped back hard against the floor.
Both of his hands shot out, grabbing Jordan and Alex by the arms and yanking them out of their seats toward himself, out of the line of fire.
At the same time…
The arc of liquid… jerked. Not naturally. Not like gravity. Like an invisible hand had slapped it downward mid-flight, swatting it away from everyone nearby.
The boiling liquid slammed into the floor instead of into people. Steam burst upward. A few drops splattered harmlessly against shoes.
Silence followed.
A stunned, collective inhale.
"…Holy—" someone whispered.
"You both okay?" Magnus was already saying, still holding their arms, eyes darting between them and everyone else in the café.
The barista stared at the mess, pale. "I—I'm so sorry, I—"
"It's fine," someone else said quickly. "It's just an accident, and no one got hit."
A few nervous laughs. Adrenaline bleeding off.
Magnus let go of Jordan like he'd just realized he was still touching her — and of Alex more reluctantly, because this was probably not the best time for PDA. Alex, however, decided to reach out and squeeze his hand lightly before letting go.
"Sorry," he said, a little breathless. "Reflexes."
Jordan didn't answer. She was looking at the floor. Where the water had landed. Then back at him — slowly, carefully — like she was re-evaluating something she thought she understood.
The café noise started to come back, low and uncertain. They had sat back down again; other customers resumed what they were doing while waitstaff were cleaning up the mess.
Jordan leaned back in her chair. This time, she didn't cross her arms.
"…Okay, Chane," she said.
Not dismissive. Nor sarcastic. Something else entirely.
Her gaze stayed locked on Magnus. "Start talking again."
Above her head, the System menu flared: Interest: 19%.