The day that Megan arrived at Brakebills was the day her life turned around for the better. She had been hiking to the top of a cliff (in order to jump, but she'd never tell anyone that) when she pushed through the brush on to the lawn of the school. There, an older student lead her to an exam room where she sat at a table next to a tall thin man with a mop of dark black curls and a pocket watch in the pocket of his vest.
He gave her a small smile as a test was sat in front of them. They were the first two to finish, and while they waited in the hall together he introduced himself as Eliot. He told her about his telepathy, and she told him that she had grown up knowing about magic as well, though she didn't divulge how.
She saw him again the next day as they both wondered around the campus. He was escaping an annoying roommate; she was escaping an empty room. They decided to escape together and wound up stumbling upon a summer party with free flowing alcohol. The bar was unattended, so Eliot stepped behind it and began making a drink.
"Where did you learn to bartend?" Megan asked, sitting down next to Eliot on a log by the fire.
"I taught myself." He shrugged, ending the conversation.
They sat next to each other in silence, conversations trapped beneath secrets they were both desperate to hide. They got drunk with each other. They helped one another back to the dorms, and Eliot passed out in the empty bed in Megan's room.
She saw him every day for a week. They're weren't becoming the best of friends, but Megan enjoyed his company. His movements were flamboyant, he judged her outfits lovingly, and his comments were saturated with sarcasm. For someone who mostly lived alone, being with Eliot was nice.
They were together a week before she came back from a lunch by the river to find a roommate unpacking in her room.
"Hi, I'm Margo." Her outfit and makeup were perfect, and Megan could tell by looking at her that Eliot was going to love her.
Up until school began, the three of them were inseparable. They gave Megan a makeover, Margo and Eliot talked about boys, and the three of them managed to make their way through a mildly alarming amount of alcohol. Megan even managed to hook them up with some magical drugs. Once classes started though, Megan pushed herself away from the group. This new constant use of magic was draining her reserves, and she couldn't hurt her friends again.
When the time came for her to refill, she hunted down an alumni that no one would miss who didn't even want their magic anyways. The next morning when she made her way back to her dorm she was greeted by Margo's raised eyebrow.
"Where were you last night? You look like you're glowing."
"I just went out. No big deal."
"Without us? That's no fun."
"Next time, I promise."
"Alright. I'm headed to class. Catch you later bitch." Margo squeezed Megan's shoulder as she headed out the door and towards Eliot's room.
Megan relaxed and slipped the stolen alumni key underneath her pillow. She quickly got ready for class, and slipped out the door.
The first year, just that one was enough. That first year Megan was able to keep her friends relatively close. The second year is when she started to loose her grip.
By the end of the second year Megan was four people in and her friends barely knew her. They were still nice to her, but they had risen to the highest ranks of popularity, and Megan did her best to be invisible.
The following year they all got placed in the physical house and became housemates. That made things easier and harder all at the same time. Usually Eliot still checked in on her from time to time, but since the beginning of the third year he and Margo had been too busy focused on their new third; a shaggy haired, rumpled looking boy named Quentin who came with his own set of issues.
One afternoon Megan was napping on the couch after she finished a group project with Eliot when she felt someone sit back down on the couch. She sat up and opened her eyes, fighting exhaustion.
"What's going on with you Megan?" Eliot asked, sitting a drink down in front of her.
"Nothing. Late night. What makes you think something's wrong?"
"You're struggling. You look like you haven't slept in weeks. Talk to me Megs."
"I'll be fine tomorrow, I promise." She drained the drink that Eliot gave her, and then stood up. It was time to go.
"We haven't forgotten about you Meg." Eliot called out after her as she headed out the door to the library. She turned around and flashed him a smile.
Megan didn't see Dean Fogg until she had almost run into him.
"Megan." His deep voice and the hard lines of the features of his face made her face pale. She knew it was just a matter of time until he caught her.
"Yes sir?" She swallowed hard, and felt as though she was shaking.
"Come with me. I think we've finally found something that can help you."
He turned around and walked off, not giving her much choice but to follow him. He led her straight to his office, where Professor Sutherland was waiting.
"These bracelets should allow you to suck small amounts of power from around you, no longer forcing you to-"
"How long have you known?" Megan cut off Professor Sutherland as she put the bracelets on. Almost immediately a small stone began to glow, and Megan could feel her strength and power beginning to return.
"I've known the entire time. I brought Professor Sutherland in on the project after the attack with the Beast. How are you feeling?" Dean Fogg was looking in her direction, but Megan knew that he couldn't see anything.
"I think it's working, thank you." Now she wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone anymore.
Megan could feel her strength returning as she walked back to the physical cottage. She nearly jumped out of her skin as Todd walked up behind her.
"How do you do it?" He asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a stop.
"What the fuck are you talking about Todd?" She pulled her arm out of his grasp and crossed it in front of her chest.
"How do you get them to like you?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Eliot and Margo. How do you get them to like you?" He reached out to grab her again causing Megan to take a step back.
"Fuck off Todd. I don't have time for this." Megan turned and continued stalking toward the house.
"Please Megan. Everyone talks about how you were in their group first year. You still eat lunch with them. Tell me please!"
"There's nothing to tell you Todd."
"Will you at least tell me why they kicked you out?"
"They didn't kick me out. I pushed myself away."
"But why? You had everything. You were at the top of the food chain and now you're a nobody."
Because I didn't want to hurt them. Because when I get close to someone they tend to die. Because I break everything I touch. Because I'm a freak among freaks. Because I'm a monster.
"I'm more focused on my school work than my social status. You don't become second in your class serving drinks behind the bar."
"Eliot does."
By this time, they had reached the door to the physical cottage.
"Goodnight Todd." She walked inside and shut the door in his face.
"Boy trouble?" Margo purred from the couch where she was draped over Eliot's lap.
"He wishes." Megan laughed, walking over to the bar to pour herself a Jack and Coke. "How's your fresh meat?"
"Quentin? Mixing with the wrong crowds, getting himself into the most trouble imaginable, and attracting bad luck like a magnet." Eliot ticked off points on his fingers while Margo nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like he's perfect for you guys."
"Are you joining our party tonight?" Margo asked hopefully.
"You know," Megan looked down at her bracelets and smiled, "I think that I might."
As the bracelets satisfied Megan's need for a source of magic, she was able to being integrating herself with her friends once more. She joined Margo (and, much to her dismay, Todd) on the annual spring break trip to Ibiza, and she helped them keep up with school work while they helped Quentin with whatever his problems were. All was good until one day; everyone vanished.
Every came to Megan asking about Margo and Eliot, but she had no idea where they went. After a week (and multiple complaints from the other students) Megan stepped into Eliot's post behind the bar. Todd took over the position as host, and suddenly Megan found herself grudgingly thrown at the top of the popularity chain.
Months passed, and then one day she saw Margo in the cottage.
"Margo!" She ran over and wrapped Margo in a hug, grateful to see that one of the only friends she had ever made was alive. "Where have you been?"
"It's a long story, and I don't have that kind of time. Long story short, I'm the High Queen of Fillory, and I need your help. Can you get me this list of things?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
Megan helped Margo gather all the things on the list, and then gave her one last hug before she left again.
"Tell me, is El okay?" Megan asked, holding on to Margo's shoulders.
"He's better." Margo gave her a small smile. "He's getting there."
With that, she vanished.
Megan saw Margo around a time or two more as time went on, but she noticed Quentin more than anyone else from the group that disappeared.
When the first brown out hit, Megan thought she was dying. A searing pain ripped through her body, causing her to fall to her knees in the middle of her bedroom. She lay gasping for breath until the magic came back on. The second time it happened she was in Sutherland's class, and Sutherland rushed her to the infirmary. There they studied her, and her secret was out among the hospital staff.
"Since it's only half of your DNA you might live, but there's really no way to tell." The nurse told her while she recovered once magic came back.
"I understand." It was better than what Megan was expecting.
Before the issue could become too pressing, the brown outs stopped. Magic was back stronger than ever, and Megan felt the best that she ever had. For a few weeks, everything was great. She even got news from Margo that Eliot was getting married and she was invited to the wedding.
Then one day while she was in class time froze. A man in a plumbing outfit showed up, and opened an invisible door. He made some adjustments, and walked away.
As soon as time began again, Megan's heart felt like it was ripping in two. She grabbed at her chest and gasped for breath. She heard Sutherland burst through the door and run over to her, while the class professor asked what was wrong.
"She's half succubus, and magic has just been turned off. She's dying."