Wednesday

Isaac was lagging towards the back, sulking about for one reason or another. Who knew with him? Max shrugged the thought off and tried to tune back into whatever Isabel was rambling on about. She was excited about something, but he could still see the bags under her eyes. There was an underlying fear each word. She was acting more gung-ho than usual, and he was sure that it had to be about the same thing that had him losing sleep last night.

The Monsters.

Were they accessories to murder, then? Was it even murder? No, it would have been self defense. Max groaned. The entire thing was giving him a headache. It was way too early in the morning to question the morality of the situation. He'd figure it out in time- they all would.

The familiar two-second tone of a bubble popping sounded from his pocket, and Max whipped his cellphone out to check who'd messaged him. His breath hitched to find a picture of his dad, holding two identical shirts up for the camera, smile awkward, yet endearing had he been in a better mood. He must have had somebody else take it for him, presumably a passing customer in the same store, and he could only imagine he'd made the poor sap take the picture eleven-hundred times.

Dad: Which one do you think she'd like?

He snapped his phone shut and stuck it back in his pocket, but not without Isabel's snoop of a nose peeking over his shoulder. "What was that?"

"Nothing," He glanced at her from the side, her chin still deathly close to his shoulder; she wanted more of an explanation. "My dad has a date this weekend."

"Oh, cool!"

Max sighed. "Yeah."


"Children!" Spender was on all three of them as soon as they stepped into the clubroom, and Max could tell he was hiding- what, he didn't know- emotion, deep and strangling and rocky, under a huge smile. After all, Isabel and Ed had to learn it from somewhere. They were hardly in the door before he was up and out of his desk chair, sound so sudden that Isaac took a startled step back. Max felt his own heart skip a beat, and he raised his voice to the same pitch with intent to be just as obnoxious.

"What! Children what!"

Spender's shoulders slouched, just the smallest bit, enough for Max to notice. "Ed is already on patrol! You should join him," the corners of his lips faltered "considering…"

Considering? Max frowned, and Isabel took a step forward beside him.

"Wha-?"

"No time to talk!" Spender's hands were on their shoulders, twisting them around and pushing them firmly out the door so fast that they both nearly stumbled into Isaac, who'd still resigned himself to hanging out at the threshold. "I'm sure Ed would love your company! Have fun!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Max squeaked. "God, you have the push of a flipping bulldozer!"


Isaac wasn't entirely surprised when they came down the north hall and heard screaming- that was normal for Ed. The boy was the epitome of chaos wrapped in a short, crazy-eyed spectral. The surprise, and it wasn't even a huge surprise, was that all of the screaming was coming from within the girl's restroom. The doors to both bathrooms were wide open, and in the reflected light, they could see the shadows of Ed doing… SOMETHING that was freaking the girls out.

Max got to holding his sides, bending over, tittering to himself, while Isabel rushed in after him, spectral aura flaring at her fists. "Ed! Ed, what are you even doing?" Isaac came to stand beside Max, hands in his pockets, eyebrow raised, waiting patiently for their "teammates" to return. Something crashed in the bathroom. He rolled his eyes.

The screaming came to a stop, and Isabel emerged with Ed in toe, one hand around the collar of his shirt, fist clenching the material so firmly Ed was stumbling to keep up. She stopped mid-stride and turned around, head turned to address the other girls. "Sorry about that! Just grab him and throw him out next time, I promise he's harmless!"

It might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw Ed's face plummet.

Isabel kicked the notch keeping the door open, then forced it closed with the same foot. When she was sure the girls were more preoccupied whispering amongst themselves, she turned to face Ed. Her cheeks were puffed and so was her chest, eyes wild and wide- exasperated. "Ed, what did you think you were doing?"

He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the bathrooms. "There was a poltergeist. I was trying to catch it."

Isaac's brows furrowed. "And you couldn't wait until Isabel got here to take care of it?"

He'd never seen Ed go red in the face, but his cheeks were the color of the brightest apple on the brightest red desk; even his nose, scrunched up and pointed down as he stared at his feet, turned cherry. Ed shrugged it off, but turned his head to the side.


One thing was becoming abundantly clear: Max had the sort of relationship with Isabel he'd wished Max would have with him. He and Ed were left to trace their footsteps, follow each turn they took when they should have all been side by side. Instead, they were a few feet ahead, laughing to themselves like everything was fine and they weren't ignoring the other half of their little "club". Isaac could feel his insides beginning to burn, feel his fists clenching at the straps of his bag.

Max was cackling at something Isabel had said- what is was, he couldn't hear, he was lagging too far behind. Ed began to slump beside him, fingers twiddling at his own straps, one hand in his pocket with his chin nearly resting upon his chest. He wasn't even sure Ed knew where he was going anymore. Isaac sighed and brushed the familiar feelings off.

And then, Max just had to go and say something stupid:

"I'm surprised Isaac didn't go into a whole speech about how morally wrong it was for Ed to charge into the girl's restroom."

Vexation returned, and Isaac couldn't see himself shoving it down again this time. His eye twitched, and he glowered at Max's back. "His intent wasn't malicious, of course I wouldn't."

Max halted at his next step, turning around to watch Isaac with a smug little grin on his face. Isaac clenched a fist. "So you can still talk! I was starting to think you went brain-dead."

Really? So that's how it was gonna be. Isaac's chest ignited. "If anyone's brain-dead here, it's you! You're the one doing all of that stupid parkour without a helmet!"

Max raised an eyebrow, and even Isabel, who'd continued walking, turned around to catch the conversation. "At least I look cool when I'm falling, which is more than you can say, ever."

Maybe he shouldn't have gone for such a low blow, maybe if he hadn't taken the dirty shot things would have gone differently, but Isaac was so beyond his limits, so beyond caring anymore, that he wasn't thinking about Doorman, or the potential consequences that may come to bite him back; he just wanted to hit Max where it hurt. "Cool, huh? Is that what you call crying like a little baby in gym these days? Cool?"

He'd done it, then. The patronizing smirk that'd been on Max's face fell through, leaving only a curled snarl. His aura grew inches above him, flickering just above his shoulders. "I wasn't crying, Stormageddon! And even if I was" he gestured to his arm, which he'd been wearing laced up in bandages for the last three weeks "I had a friggin' broken arm!"

Isabel had turned around completely then, eyes narrowed, legs positioned to move should she need to. Ed took a step back, falling out of line with Isaac as his blue aura, which he hadn't even realized was flaring, began to grow and take up the space he'd been.

Isaac scoffed, and when he spoke, he spit the words out. "What the matter, Max? Afraid we'll know how chicken you actually are?" The lowest blow he'd take, the worst one, and it still wasn't enough to break Max. "Why don't you just admit you can't even handle your old man going on a date?"

Max's aura flared, higher than any of them, higher than the ceiling, seeping into the floor above. His eyes went wide, fists so tight Isaac could see them going pale. And then he bared his teeth, one step toward Isaac.

"You think you know me that well, huh? That's really cute, Isaac, because I've never cared less about a person in my life. You think you can read me the way everyone else can read you? We're not even friends" Isaac felt everything in him fall from its place, every organ collapsing as though there'd been nothing to keep him together at all. "We never were."

He was moving before he even knew was what happening. One moment Max was standing a few feet from him, and the next, his fist was within centimeters of Max's face. Isaac gaped, fist trembling in Isabel's hand, wrapped like a snake around his own. His gaze followed the trail of his sleeve up to his fist, then to Max- Max, who was pale, and still, and watching Isaac like he was scared of him.

No. Oh no.

He looked to Isabel, who was staring him down the way he'd seen her stare down aggressive spirits. Her eyes were dark, dark and paralyzing, and they were daring him to step out of line again. Her hand clenched his fist, a silent warning.

He would not cry. He would not cry.

He wrenched his fist out of her hand and brushed by the both of them, eyes falling anywhere else. "Whatever," he mumbled. "I knew that."


He should have been the one to step up and hold Isaac back. Instead he'd stood in the background and watched it all like some stupid kid too stupid to help anyone. If Isabel hadn't been fast enough, what would have happened? Would Max and Isaac have gotten into a fist fight? Who would have won?

Ed sighed and shook his head from side to side. He brought his chin up so he could better see Isabel, who was walking a few feet ahead, shoulders back, head squarely on her shoulders. She was confident, and strong, and smart- and Ed was just, well, Ed. He was scrawny where his hands grasped his arm, and weak-willed in the face of confrontation that he couldn't just beat down. He was a coward, and here he'd promised himself he'd be a man for her, to fight for his place at her side. Of course she was getting tired of him; he didn't deserve to call himself her best friend, let alone live under the same roof. How could she care that he was leaving for another dojo? He wouldn't miss himself if he wasn't around.

But, in the new dojo, he could become a man worth missing.

Of course! Ed stood straighter, a smile inching from one side of his face to the other. How had he not thought about it before? With a new dojo, he could grow into a master spectral! He could become the best spectral the paranatural world had ever seen! If he worked hard enough, he could become strong!

He could become a man worthy enough to stay by her side!

"Ed? What's got you so excited to get home?"

She'd noticed him when he'd passed her by, bolting down the sidewalk with a skip in his step, spirit refreshed and mind replenished. He turned to look over his shoulder, slowing to jog in place so she could see his face. "Just excited for dinner, is all!" Isabel chuckled under her breath and raised an eyebrow, but followed him when he began once again with a spring in his step.

"All right!"