Chapter 10: Denial, Closets, and Misplaced Trust

Isaac had been avoiding Nina. Every time she so much as looked in his direction, Isaac would turn away and find an excuse to leave. With all the time Isaac had been spending at Anubis house lately, one would think that he'd get tired of running, but then Nina remembered that he was the captain of the track team and running was what he did for fun.

"Are you okay?" Amber nudged her best friend with her elbow, forcing the girl to look at her. "You seem kind of distracted."

Nina shook her head and returned her eyes to the large leather bound book in front of her, away from Isaac who sat a couple feet away at a table with Mick, laughing at a joke the blond had just told him.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "This research is just tiring. The words are all looking the same at this point."

Amber nodded and closed her own book. "Yeah, I haven't found anything on Eridres yet. Have you?"

"Nothing," she sighed.

"Maybe we should take a break," Amber suggested.

She stood up and looked over at Mick and Isaac. "Do you guys want to grab lunch?"

"I'm always up for food," Mick grinned and patted his stomach.

Isaac looked between the two girls, his eyes meeting Nina's for a moment before he turned away and set his eyes on his book. "You guys go ahead. I really want to get to the bottom of this."

"I'll stay with you," Mick offered.

Isaac shook his head and gestured toward Amber and Nina. "You were just saying a minute ago that you were famished. Go on."

Mick's smile dropped, but he didn't bother protesting as he stood up and collected his things. "I'll bring you back something."

He nodded in response and then returned to reading.

"Come on, Nina." Amber grabbed Nina's arm and attempted to drag her to the door.

"Actually," Nina slipped her arm from Amber's grasp and set her eyes on Isaac. "I'll catch up with you two later."

Amber shrugged, not in the mood to argue, and she looped her arm through Mick's, not catching the frown on his face as she walked them out the door.

Once they were gone, Nina took the open seat across from Isaac and closed the book in front of him.

Isaac sighed at the action and he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Can we talk?"

"You want to this time?"

The question hit her harder than he intended and Nina inched away from him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "That came out harsher than I meant it to."

She shrugged. "It's okay."

"It's just that I wanted to talk to you that night when we kissed, but you ran off so quickly," he told her.

"I wasn't really in the right head space to talk," she shot back at him.

Isaac leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his curly hair. "I know that now, Nina. You don't have to be nasty about it."

Her face softened slightly and she attempted to place a hand over his.

"And," Isaac carefully pulled his hand away before it could be trapped under hers. "You can't do that anymore."

"Okay," she frowned and moved her eyes back to him. "Let's talk then."

"You like me."

The statement hung in the air for a moment before Nina nodded. "I like you. I don't know. It's just a small crush. We'd been getting closer and I don't know. I guess I convinced myself that there was more between us then there actually was… because you don't like me."

"You helped me through a lot, Nina. I'm grateful to you as a friend, but you're right. I don't like you. At least not like that."

Another moment of silence hit before Nina pushed back the chair and stood up. "Okay, good talk."

She began to walk out of the room then, but before she could, Isaac called her back.

"Nina?"

"Yeah?" She didn't turn back after she said it.

She just waited as Isaac let out a deep breath and stated, "I'm gay."

Nina froze at the statement, all anger and sadness melting away, suddenly replaced with confusion. She turned back then, and her eyes locked on his.

"You're gay?"

"I'm gay," he repeated. "And it's not something that I was necessarily hiding about myself. I've just been taking my time telling people. I needed to trust you before I could tell you."

Nina didn't know what else to say. She opened her mouth a couple of times in a vain attempt to try and get something out, but every word died on the tip of her tongue.

Isaac's face dropped, and his eyes searched hers, desperately looking for some sort of sign that everything was okay.

"Nina?"

She gulped then and lightly shook her head, finally ready to speak. However, before she could get a word out, Mick and Amber entered the room once more.

"We got food to-go for all of us," Amber announced as she set a bag down on one of the tables.

Mick looked between the two teens and, sensing the heaviness in the air, asked, "Is everything okay?"

Nina opened her mouth to answer, but it was Isaac who responded.

"Yeah, everything is great. I actually have to head out, but I'll catch up with you guys later."

And then Isaac did what he did best.

He ran.

(***)

Isaac didn't exactly know where he was going. He just needed to remove himself from the situation before it got too messy. It was a bad habit of his, but it was one that had grown out of necessity.

People didn't always take it well when he told them about his sexuality. That was why he only told those that he was close to and even then, it took a while. After all, Isaac had known he was gay since he was 12. He told Danielle when they were 14 after his first taste of peppermint schnapps. He told his own family about it a week after that over a tense dinner that had ended with his dad slamming his wine glass down so hard against the table that it broke, staining his favorite table cloth. His dad didn't talk to him for about a month afterwards, and as a result Isaac had retreated further into the hiding spot he had built for himself in his mind.

It was about a year later, when Isaac was fifteen, that he told Officer Richards. At first, he didn't say a word, but then he let out a long sigh, stood up, and wrapped his arms around the troubled teen. It was what he had hoped his father would have done, and what he still hadn't.

It became easier after that, with Isaac eventually telling his teammates and a couple other friends. But then he met a boy, one that pushed him right back into the darkest part of his mind, and he stopped telling people.

He was sixteen now, one foot out of the smoke fogging up his mind and another blending into the darkness.

So when Nina had stared at him with a look that Isaac could only describe as a mixture of anger and confusion, he had fled. He could've given her the benefit of the doubt, but Isaac had dealt with enough rejection in his life to know when it was coming.

He sighed and began to slow down as he came upon the school's library. He adjusted the strap of his backpack and pushed open the creaky door. On weekdays, the library tended to be full of students, but only one student occupied the library when Isaac strolled in.

Fabian sat at the center table with a collection of books scattered before him. He lifted his head at the sound of the door slamming shut behind Isaac and immediately locked eyes with the teen.

"Uh, hey," Isaac smiled sheepishly and set his books down on the table. "You mind if I join you?"

Fabian was quiet for a second before he shook his head and moved a couple of his belongings to the side. "Not at all."

Isaac nodded and he took a seat opposite the other boy. He opened up the book he had been going through earlier and started his research once again.

"Isaac?"

He looked up at the sound of his name and found Fabian fiddling with one of the many pens he had in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

Isaac furrowed his brow at the statement and he suddenly closed his book. "Why?"

"I didn't say anything last week when you came to Anubis house," he answered. "I didn't apologize for the way I treated you."

Isaac shrugged and resumed his reading. "It's no big deal."

"But it is," he insisted.

Isaac lifted his head again and met Fabian's eyes. He could see his remorse written all over his face, and was once again reminded of how intensely Fabian expressed his emotions.

"I'm protective of my friends," Fabian stated, before hesitantly adding, "I'm protective of Nina."

"I understand," he assured him. "I'm the same way about the people I care about."

"But I don't just care about Nina," Fabian replied. His head was down now, his eyes refusing to look anywhere but the table. "I'm in love with her."

There was a long pause then and Fabian raised his head to see Isaac watching him carefully, an eyebrow slightly raised.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Fabian let out a deep breath and closed the book he had been studying. "I think that's why I acted the way I did, at least partly. It's just that you two got so close and I see the way that she looks at you. I mean, everyone sees the way she looks at you."

Isaac frowned at the statement, but he didn't say anything as Fabian continued.

"And how could I possibly compete with you? I mean, look at you! You're an athlete, your hair is always effortlessly messy and cool, when you smirk you look charming instead of like an asshole… you even have a tattoo!"

"Trust me, I'm not that great," Isaac insisted.

Fabian paused then, and he lowered his eyes once more. "I'm sorry. I'm sitting here complaining about something so pointless when you recently discovered that you were kidnapped as a child."

Isaac shrugged. "We all have our own problems and they feel differently to us then they do to the outside world. Plus, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think of Nina in that way. She's just a friend."

Fabian chuckled a bit and nodded. "Thanks. That actually does kind of make me feel better."

Isaac offered him a smile and refocused on his book. "Glad I could help."

"So…" Fabian stretched the word out for as long as he could before moving to a seat closer to Isaac. "Is there anything you want to rant about or get off your chest? I feel bad for making you listen to me. Maybe I can help you out with something."

He regarded him carefully before muttering a quick "screw it" and deciding to shove his book into his backpack. "I've been having trouble sorting out all of my memories. I think I've been doing it subconsciously for the most part, like while I'm sleeping I relive every memory my mind has stumbled upon. Before it was just my dreams, but now it's like everywhere I look I'm reminded of all the bad and then I get sucked into my past."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly do you remember?"

"I remember being burned repeatedly along my back. I remember them slicing open my wrists and making me bleed out for a bit. I remember my head being forced underwater for what felt like hours. I remember being buried alive. And I remember the moment that I tried to escape it all."

Fabian gulped and he looked at Isaac carefully, taking in every out-of-place feature on his sullen face. He had bags under his eyes, his skin was pale, and his hands seemed to shake as he recounted his childhood. Fabian had the sudden urge to hug the boy, but he resisted, knowing that they weren't close enough for that, and Isaac would probably pull away. So instead he settled for asking the question that had forced his way into his head and out of his mouth.

"How did you try to escape?"

"With a lamp cord around my neck."

The statement came out too abrupt, too sharp, and Fabian felt himself recoil immediately.

"That seems kind of dangerous."

"That was kind of the point."

Realization suddenly dawned on him and he lowered his voice as he asked, "Are you saying that you… you tried to kill yourself?"

Isaac didn't say anything for a moment before he sat back in his seat and asked the question he had been wanting to ask since he had told everyone about his situation. "What would you have done?"

Fabian opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing the dim light in Isaac's eyes shook his head. "I can't answer that."

Isaac nodded, a slight hum leaving him, before he took back out his book and opened it up in front of him. Sensing the shift in their conversation, Fabian moved back to his original seat and set upon reading his own book as well.

The two remained in silence for about fifteen minutes, the only sound the turning of pages, before the library door opened.

Isaac's eyes looked up at the intrusion and he felt his heart drop at the sight of glowing red eyes.

"Fabian?"

"Yeah?" asked Fabian, all focus on his book.

"We have to run. Now!" Isaac threw one of the many leather bound books at the possessed girl, who effortlessly caught it and tossed it aside.

Fabian's eyes widened and he followed Isaac as he maneuvered his way through the rows of books until they reached a dead end.

"Damn it!" Isaac kicked the nearest bookshelf and immediately began looking around for a potential exit point.

"What exactly is happening right now?" Fabian asked, his eyes wild and full of fear.

"What's happening is that we are being chased by a girl that is under the control of an Ancient Egyptian god and has orders to kill me," Isaac told him.

"Oh," he gulped. "How quaint."

"This time you won't get away," said the girl as she blocked off the aisle they were in. She lifted her gun and pointed it in Isaac's direction.

"Wait," Fabian moved so that he was blocking Isaac with his own body and locked eyes with the girl. "Why do you want to kill him?"

The girl cocked her head at him, as if pondering the question, before she took a step closer to the pair. "He is the portal to Eridres. It must be closed."

Isaac's face perked up at the confession and he moved from behind Fabian. "Eridres? What do you know about Eridres?"

This time the girl didn't pause as she removed the safety from her gun and replied, "No more questions."

Isaac made a move to run at the girl, but before he could, Fabian held him back with a hand around his wrist and raised his other hand at the girl. "Just wait a sec-,"

A blinding white light suddenly flooded Fabian's vision and he blinked only to find himself back at the table from earlier, sitting beside Isaac.

"What the…" Fabian looked around the library before he turned to face Isaac.

Isaac appeared just as confused as Fabian and he looked down to find that he was currently in the process of retrieving his book from his backpack.

"Did we just-,"

"Go back in time?" Isaac finished for him. "Yep. Guess we finally know what your power is."

"Uh huh," Fabian gulped and looked down at his hands before Isaac smacked his shoulder, forcing him to look at him.

"Just out of curiosity, what exactly was your plan back there?" Isaac asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure," Fabian revealed. "I just kind of wing it in the moment and hope it works out."

"Right," Isaac laughed a bit before clearing his throat and suggesting, "Maybe we should leave before she appears."

Fabian nodded in agreement and the two quickly collected their things before rushing out of the library.

(***)

"Okay, spill," Amber demanded as she took a seat opposite Nina at the dining table. "What's going on with you?"

Nina remained quiet, refusing to acknowledge Amber's question.

"Nina?"

There was something different that time as she spoke her name. There was a desperate quality to it.

Nina knew that she had shut Amber out the past few weeks. She knew that her friend was worried about her. She knew that everyone was worried about her. After all, they had all seen her falling with no one there to catch her.

Nina let out a deep breath and finally fixed her eyes on the blonde. "I like Isaac…"

Amber nodded at the confession, no hint of surprise behind her eyes. "Is that all?"

For some reason, the question made Nina groan. It brought back every negative thought that had been circling her head after she had kissed him.

"You think it's stupid, don't you?" she asked. "It's stupid that I'm letting myself get worked up over a boy that months ago I didn't even know existed."

Amber frowned and shifted closer to her. "I don't think it's stupid, Nina. I just feel like you've been keeping so much in lately. You were bound to explode."

"That's the thing though," Nina began, a sad smile on her face. "I wasn't keeping it in. He was there for me. He listened to me and I thought it meant something… I thought it meant more than it actually did."

"He doesn't feel the same?"

"Nope," Nina spit out, a bitter laugh suddenly escaping her lips. "It turns out that I'm not his type."

Amber raised an eyebrow at the way the sentence was said and she leaned forward even more. "What do you mean 'not his type?'"

"I mean, that I'm a girl," she paused then, contemplating whether or not she should follow through with her next action, before adding, "and he's gay."

Amber's eyes widened and she looked around them to make sure they were alone. "He's gay?"

Nina nodded and let her head fall into her hands. "I'm so stupid."

"Nina-,"

"I fell for him even though there were so many red flags."

"You didn't know," Amber reminded her. "How could you have known?"

Nina didn't say anything then. She just let Amber's words wash over her before looking up at her friend. "I reacted terribly."

"What could you have said?"

"I don't know," Nina sighed. "I just know that I shouldn't have said nothing… I should've said something."

"Maybe you can say something now?" Amber suggested.

"Like what?" she asked.

Amber shrugged. "I can't tell you what to say, but I suggest saying something soon if you don't want to lose Isaac as a friend."

Nina considered Amber's words carefully before nodding and standing up. "Thank you. I'm sorry it took me so long to talk to you."

"Don't worry," she assured her. "We've all been going through a lot."

With the end of their conversation, Nina turned away. She exited the room, and headed to Isis house.

Amber left the dining area as soon as the door to Anubis house closed.

Once the sound of Amber's heels could no longer be heard, Mick sat up from where he lay unseen on the couch. He gulped and tried to make sense of everything he had overheard between the two girls.

"Guys!" Fabian's voice filled the room as he entered Anubis house, breaking Mick away from his thoughts.

Isaac followed behind the teen as the two stepped into the living area.

"Hey," Isaac greeted.

Mick merely nodded back, a lump in his throat preventing him from speaking.

"Where is everyone?" Fabian asked.

Mick pointed to the stairs and Fabian didn't wait for him to say anything else before going off to collect everyone.

"You okay?" Isaac asked. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Mick shook his head, still at a loss for words. He wanted to say something, but with Isaac's dark eyes fixed on his, every thought in his head turned into hot air.

Isaac narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Fabian rushed back into the room, people now in tow.

"I hope you have a good reason for disturbing my afternoon nap," Alfie pouted.

Fabian turned to face his housemates and opened his arms wide. "I know what my power is."

"And?"

"Time manipulation!" he exclaimed.

"Cool, can we go now?" Patricia asked.

Isaac immediately stepped in front of Fabian and cleared his throat. "Okay, so Fabian here is just a tad bit excited, so I'll fill you in on the important stuff. We were at the library-,"

"Together?" Eddie interrupted, an eyebrow raised. "And you didn't kill each other?"

Isaac rolled his eyes at the statement and continued to speak, "when a girl came in with glowing red eyes and pointed a gun at me. Fabian asked her why she was trying to kill me and she told us that I am the portal to Eridres. Then Fabian proceeded to rewind time and here we are, alive by a mere fifteen minutes."

"So what you're saying is that this girl is still out there, walking around campus with a gun?"

"Err," Isaac hesitated at the sentence before nodding. "Technically yes, but-,"

"What if she comes here?" Mara asked.

"She can't," Fabian replied. "This is Anubis house. A servant of Set could never step foot in the house of the one who banished him."

"Are you sure about that?" Jerome questioned.

"Uh…" Fabian thought for a moment. "It's a working theory I have. I'm like 85% sure."

"85!" Patricia shouted.

"I can round up to 90%," he offered.

"Okay, let's just say, hypothetically, that she can't enter the house. What about the campus? We do have classes," Mara pointed out.

"Well, technically, she only wants to kill me, so you guys are safe," Isaac answered, a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Not funny," Joy replied.

"Eh, it was a bit funny," Jerome grinned, earning him a smack on both his arms.

"Don't worry. I'll look out for myself," he insisted.

"You aren't bulletproof," Mick informed him, finally breaking his silence from where he sat on the couch.

"I only have track practice left today," he told them. "I'll come straight here after it's finished."

The others looked around, waiting for someone to protest. When no one did, Isaac put on his best smile and said, "I guess this meeting has been adjourned."

Everyone began to scatter then, returning to their rooms, until it was just Mick and Isaac.

"Let's head to practice!" Mick exclaimed as he shot up from the couch. Without looking at Isaac, he began to head to the door.

However, before he could walk past him, Isaac stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Mick nodded and shrugged off his hand. "Of course. Let's go."

Isaac frowned at him, staying put for a moment, before reluctantly following him out the door.

(***)

It didn't take Nina long before she reached Isis house. She stood outside its door, her hand hovering over its wooden surface, as she went over what she was going to say in her head.

After everything the two had been through together, the thought of losing Isaac as a friend scared her. He was the guy that had saved her from a bullet. The guy that had almost bled out with his head against her lap. He was the guy that had tried so hard to push everyone away, before he finally decided to let her in.

Nina wondered whether her developing feelings for him was inevitable considering the circumstances, but she tried to push that thought away as she finally racked her knuckles against the door.

It only took a second for the door to swing open, revealing Danielle. The blonde leaned against the door frame and eyed Nina warily before asking, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Isaac," she answered as she tried to sneak a peek past her shoulders. "Is he here?"

Danielle pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest. "No."

"Oh."

"Do you want me to relay a message?" she asked.

"No." Nina shook her head and stepped back, ready to walk away, when suddenly another thought occurred to her.

She stepped forward again and Danielle narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Actually, do you have a moment to talk?"

"What about?"

Nina hesitated then, unsure if she should proceed considering the way Danielle was looking at her. She had thought that the two were friends, but the way she had stiffened when she had seen her on the other side of the door suggested otherwise.

"I know," she began before letting out a shaky breath. "I know that Isaac is gay."

Danielle's face softened and she immediately forced herself to fix her posture, no longer leaning against the door frame. "You know?"

Nina nodded. "Yeah. I just wanted to know if that's what you were going to tell me that day at the café before we were interrupted."

"No," she shook her head and dropped her arms to her sides. "I was going to tell you to be careful. I would never expose Isaac's sexuality to someone. That's not my secret to tell."

Nina found herself lowering her head at her words. She was quiet for a moment before looking back up at her. "You wouldn't?"

The soft look in Danielle's eyes disappeared in an instant, suddenly replaced with fire. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Nina insisted. She began to back away from Isis house, a heavy feeling settling in her chest. "I have to go."

Nina walked down the gravel road then, refusing to look back at Danielle.

(***)

"Okay, explain it to me one more time," Amber stated as she scribbled words down on a notepad.

"I just raised my hand up and there was a white light. Next thing I knew we were sitting at the table again as if we had never finished our conversation."

"And you said that Isaac was aware of the time shift?"

Fabian nodded. "Yeah. He knew immediately what had happened."

"How is that possible?" she asked.

He shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "It could have something to do with our close proximity or maybe he was able to sense a change because of his own powers, being that he can see the past and the future."

"Alright." Amber closed her note pad and set it down on the dining table. "That just leaves Alfie and Joy as the unknowns of the group."

Amber made a move to get up then, but before she could, Fabian called her name.

"Ams? Do you think I can ask you a question?"

She turned back to him and offered him a smile. "You know you can ask me anything."

"What do you think is going to happen when this is all over, assuming that it will be?"

She furrowed her brow a bit and leaned in. "What do you mean?"

Fabian sighed and said, "I mean, do you think we'll be able to go back to the way things were?"

It was a simple enough question, yet Amber found herself hesitating. She wanted to ease her friend's worries, but she also knew that in less than two months everything around them had changed.

She met his eyes and lightly shook her head. "No, I don't think we'll be able to go back to the way things were, but I also don't necessarily think that that's a bad thing."

"I don't understand."

"I think that we've all kind of changed… for the better," she told him.

Fabian considered her words for a moment before asking, "How so?"

"I don't know," Amber shrugged. "I just feel different, and not just because I can freeze things with a flick of the wrist. What we're involved in now is so much bigger than us. It just puts things in perspective."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds before a half-smile appeared on his face. "That was well-said, Amber."

Amber grinned at his praise before leaning back in her seat. "It still doesn't get rid of the fact that I'm scared about what's coming. What about you?"

Fabian laughed at the question and resisted the urge to break down in front of her. "Me? I'm freaking terrified."

"So what now?"

"Now," Fabian paused and let his eyes wander around the room before they landed on a stack of books at the end of the dining table. "Now we help figure out what Eridres is."

Amber nodded in agreement and she went to retrieve the books before the two got to work.

(***)

After track practice, Mick found himself alone in the locker room with Isaac. The two stood side by side as they entered their combinations into their lockers.

Isaac got his unlocked before Mick's and he carelessly swung it open, his hand brushing against his in the process. As if he had just been shocked, Mick snatched his hand away and took multiple steps back, the backs of his knees hitting the benches behind him.

"Okay, what is up with you?" Isaac asked. "You've been on edge since we left Anubis."

"It's nothing," he insisted.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at him, not buying his denial. "C'mon, I'm sure whatever it is isn't that bad."

Mick gulped and he forced his eyes to meet Isaac's. "Why didn't you tell me you were gay?"

Isaac's face dropped, but he tried to hide any trace of being caught off guard as he cleared his throat and asked, "Where did you hear that?"

"I overheard Nina and Amber talking about it."

"Oh."

"It's just… why didn't you tell me?" Mick repeated his initial question and he watched as Isaac's face drained of all genuine emotion and reverted back into the mask he had worn while in Peru.

"Why would I?"

"It just seems like a pretty big detail about yourself."

"I didn't think it mattered," Isaac shrugged as he turned back to his locker.

"Of course it matters!" he accused.

Isaac scoffed at the statement, his eyes back on Mick. "Really? Why would my romantic and sexual preference matter to you?"

Mick turned pink at the question, but he didn't let that stop him from shaking his head. "No, I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh yeah?" Isaac laughed as he took a step closer to Mick. "Then how?"

"I, I don't know," Mick stuttered.

Isaac rolled his eyes at that and said, "Right. Are you one of those guys Mick? You think because I'm gay I'm going to try and make a move on you? Well let me assure you, you aren't my type."

"I'm not?" Mick asked.

"No, I tend to avoid homophobes," he spat out.

Mick raised his hands in defense. "This is all just coming out poorly. You're my friend, Isaac. It doesn't matter to me. I was just surprised to hear it from someone that wasn't you."

Isaac took a deep breath then and he forced himself to take a seat on the bench. His head immediately found its way into his hands as he tried to calm himself.

It would be easier if Danielle were there, he thought. It would be easier to have her hold his hand as he confessed his deepest darkest secret. He knew that. Hell, he wanted that, yet he still found himself pushing the thought away, his argument with her still fresh in his mind.

"I'm sorry," Isaac muttered.

"You shouldn't be apologizing," Mick told him as he sat beside him. "I handled this terribly. I'm sorry."

Isaac didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded.

Mick made a move to wrap his arm around him, but decided against it last minute, and stood up.

As he headed to the door, Isaac said, "I trust you, Mick. It's just that sometimes those you're close to abuse your trust which makes it hard to share things about yourself… real things."

He turned back to him, a frown settling on his face. "I'm sorry people have done that to you."

Isaac merely shrugged and gave a short laugh. "Don't worry. It builds character."

His words didn't do anything to ease the slight guilt in his chest and he remained put as Isaac stood up and grabbed his gym bag.

The curly haired teen paused on his way out and placed his hand on Mick's shoulder. "You're a good friend, Mick."

"Right," Mick nodded and watched as he walked away. "Friend."

(***)

It didn't take long for Isaac to find Nina. She was sat with a couple of other Anubis residents, laughing over something Alfie had just said.

He took a deep breath and adjusted the strap of his bag before approaching the group.

"Isaac, my man, how are you?" Alfie grinned up at him and Isaac offered him a small smile before focusing his attention on Nina.

"Do you have a minute?"

Nina tried not to look worried as she nodded and followed him a couple feet away from the table.

"Isaac-,"

"No, I'm talking and you're listening," he cut her off with no hesitation and Nina's face fell. "All I've done since I've met you, is trust you. Despite all the bullshit that I have gone through, I put my prejudices aside and decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. It didn't matter that I'd been shot or that I'd been strangled because you told me that no matter what you were going to be there for me. Maybe it's my fault for taking the word of someone that I'd known for less than two months. Maybe I'm to blame for it all.

"Either way, I trusted you, but you broke that trust when you took the most intimate detail about myself and turned it into gossip."

"Isaac-,"

"You had no right!" He shouted. "It took me years to tell Danielle about it, to tell me own father about it, but I told you in a matter of weeks. I guess that's on me though, for believing that you were someone that actually cared about me and had my best interest at heart."

"I'm so sorry. Please just let me-,"

"You just don't get it, do you? It's not as simple as sorry," he spat out. "What you did was fucked up. People have gotten beaten, killed for what I told you, and you just shared it nonchalantly, like it was nothing."

His voice was shaking at that point, and he fought to maintain his composure. He knew that everyone in the area could hear him, but he no longer cared.

"Why'd you do it anyways? Revenge for not reciprocating your school girl crush on me?"

"Please," she begged and Isaac faltered at the way her lower lip quivered and tears streamed down her face.

It should have made him feel guilty, yet the longer he looked at her, the more rage he felt.

"Earlier today, I told you that I didn't want to be your boyfriend. Now, I don't even want to be your friend. I'm done."

Without waiting for her to speak, Isaac turned his back to Nina and walked away.

As soon as he left the courtyard, Nina felt her legs give out and she fell to her knees. Choked sobs escaped her mouth as Amber's arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her to her chest.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered into her ears.

Nina wasn't listening though. She was staring in the direction Isaac had gone, hoping he would come back.

(***)

Every one of Isaac's limbs felt as though they were on fire as he stormed through the campus. A part of him wanted to turn back and apologize for being so harsh, extinguishing the flame around him. The other part of him wanted to keep running until the fire reached his heart and burned him up completely.

He groaned, resisting the urge to scream and release the anger and frustration building up in him.

It'd be so easy to just fall apart right then and there. It'd be easy to burst into tears and sink to his knees. He wanted to rid himself of the heaviness in his chest, but a numbness was settling over him too quick. All he could do was take a seat by the abandoned fountain in front of him and try to catch his breath.

"No running now."

Isaac's eyes shot up from the floor and focused on the red-eyed girl standing a couple feet away from him, a gun pointed at his head.

He gulped and raised his hands in surrender. "Why are you doing this?"

"No time for questions."

Isaac stood up, his hands still up in the air. "There's always time for questions. Right, Set?"

Something seemed to flicker in the girl's eyes and Isaac took that as a sign to get closer. "You can hear everything that's happening, can't you? You're in that girl's head, just like you were in that doctor's head."

The girl slowly lowered the gun and cocked her head to the side.

"Just tell me something." Isaac shrugged, finally bringing his hands down. "Why not make this a fair fight?"

"He's intrigued."

His heart unclenched slightly at her words and he nodded. "I just want to know about Eridres. That's all."

"Eridres is the land of the shadows, the land of the in-betweens. Nothing and everything exists in it all at once."

Isaac frowned at her answer and he took another step forward. "What does that mean? Why would someone want to go there?"

"Secrets lie in the shadows," she replied, her face giving nothing away. "Don't you know your myths?"

"But Eridres isn't mentioned in the myth of Ptah and Set."

"There's more than one side to every story. In order to know the truth, you must obtain every piece of the puzzle."

Isaac hesitated for a moment before he narrowed his eyes at her. "Why kill me then?"

"Some secrets are best left unfound."

She lifted the gun then and Isaac found himself taking a couple steps back.

"Don't do this."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to bother negotiating with the gods?"

He heard the click of the safety and he watched as her finger began to press against the trigger, but then her eyes began to flicker.

Isaac furrowed his brow and he approached the girl cautiously.

"Hel-," She began to speak, some semblance of control showing in her eyes.

However, before the sentence could leave her lips, her eyes went red again and she straightened up.

"Foolish mortal."

And then she raised the gun, pressed it to her head, and pulled the trigger.

Her body crumpled to the ground immediately, like a puppet who's stings had just been cut, and Isaac stood frozen, only a foot away.

Isaac didn't know how long he stood there before a couple stumbled upon them and screamed.

All he knew was that the police showed up soon after that and Officer Richards wrapped a blanket around him, guiding him to his car and driving him to the station.

AN: Hey guys! It's been awhile, but as I said, I am updating this on a scattered schedule. I have been reinspired though, so new chapters may be coming at a more steady pace. I hope you enjoyed because I have a lot planned for this.

-Karina