Chapter 4 'The Third Visit Part II'

The two ended up chatting for a while. They had ordered another round of shakes, now that they were covered by the owner. They were currently hashing out Halloween was some talk amongst the group about maybe doing a group costume. Warren passed, but they figured they could still dress up as the kids from Recess.

It was the perfect costume for high school, it'd be a fun throwback but also didn't look too much of a costume for it to stick out. Magenta would be a shoe-in for Spinelli, but he didn't even know if she'd be coming with them to go to Larry's house party. But it turned out if she took her brother back home at a good time after trick-or-treating, then there was a slim chance she could go. Then, the conversation took a turn when they got into the pros and cons of going to a party hosted by Larry.

"The guy's a sleaze," Magenta asserted, "I'm worried if I showed some shoulder or worse… some ankle-"

"-How scandalous-" Zach joked.

"-The creep would be all over me,"

"Layla would die than let that happen," If there was anybody in the group that was a bigger hothead than Warren, it was Layla. It was difficult to piss her off, but if anybody came for her friends- all hell would break loose.

"I know. But there's most likely gonna be booze at the party too,"

"True. Might be cool,"

"Would rather try out some alcohol in better company,"

"He's probably gonna play shitty music,"

"Yeah, Will told me that he kept requesting Moby when he had that whole unsanctioned house party at his place,"

He threw a sugar packet at her, "Shut up."

In the midst of the laughter, he made the mistake of glancing at his watch and saw that it was half past midnight, "Shit. We should get back soon."

"C'mon, we've been here for nearly an hour. What's one more?"

"Maj, we got that test tomorrow," he reminded her.

She scowled and kept trying to drink from her glass that was clearly empty, "Yeah, that. Almost forgot."

Zach leaned over, his face creasing into an expression of worry, "You've been studying?"

"Nope,"

"How come?"

"Maybe there doesn't have to be a reason, Glowworm," Shit, he could tell by her tone that she was getting defensive.

"I could help you," he tried, "If we race back to my place right now, there's some time to study and sleep okay-ish for tomo-"

"It's fine. Really, Zach. It's fine,"

"No, it's not. It's a huge part of our grade-"

"Just drop it. Let me fail,"

A beat of silence passed before Zach just blurted it out, "Just because you cut class doesn't mean you shouldn't be prepared for the test-"

Her jaw tightened and she sat up into a more rigid position, eyeing him coldly,"Look, I have reasons for that. You don't need to concern yourself with my performance in this class."

Shit. He didn't mean it like that, she didn't let him finish, "I'm not trying to- I don't want to upset you."

"Too late for that," She slid her finished glass away from her and crossed her arms, "Look, it's something I don't want to talk about with you. So just get it through your fucking head!" Her eyes widened as soon as her outburst came out, her hands flew to her mouth.

Zach sank into his seat, backing away from her, "Ok then."

He should have expected it. They were getting to know more about each other, so the pushback was inevitable. But it just… hurt somehow this time. He knew it wasn't going to be easy being friends with her due to her reserved nature. He couldn't help but be frustrated- the emotional distance, the sarcastic remarks- it was taking a toll on him and he was trying.

They were doing so well, but he couldn't deny the way his breathing was starting to get out of sorts as he was feeling the weight of everything that had been said.

He shifted himself to leave the booth. He needed some space, "I'm just gonna… make sure we're really square with Teeny."

"Zach…" Magenta tried calling for him, appearing ashamed. But he… just needed to put some space between them for now.

He walked up to the counter where the owner was wiping down the bar near the register, conversing with a regular, "Hey, uh, Teeny." He cut in.

"Ah, kid!" The man greeted him warmly.

"Yeah. Are you sure it's on the house? I feel like I should pay-"

"Don't worry about it. I got you covered now and whenever you come in,"

Zach rubbed the back of his neck, completely floored by the guy's kindness and all for picking some good songs, "That's… wow. At least, lemme pay you back in jukebox fare next time I stop by,"

Teeny pointed a stubby finger at him, keeping up with that perma-grin on his face, "See, I know you's a good kid. But I gotta ask, as a responsible adult, why you out so late with your girl here?"

"Oh, she's- she's not mine. Not mine," He spluttered, turning a light shade of crimson.

"Ah, ok, ok. I get it," The older man kept bouncing his focus between him and Magenta sitting in the booth, "testing the waters?"

The blonde grimaced, "Not exactly smooth sailing."

"Never is. For the ones that are worth it. But I think I should be that responsible adult and tell you to get her home. Stat,"

"Yeah. Just about to head out,"

"Lemme get you some fries for the road," He hunched over, scribbling away on a notepad before Zach could protest. He went to hand it off to a nearby employee but it seemed like they were all busy, "Shit."

Then he heard the bell rang as someone donning the signature blue waitress uniform strolled through. Teeny put a hand on his heart, in relief, "Oh hey, thank goodness for the schedule, ammirite? Amber, can you help me out with something, please? Can you hand over this ticket to the back while you're at it?"

"Can you shave that beard while I'm at it?" The girl, who looked to be in her early twenties, tied up her dark hair that was streaked in dark reddish-oranges, snatched the ticket from her boss's hand, "On it, big guy."

"Just sit tight. They'll be out soon,"

"Thanks," He turned around and was about to alert Magenta that once the fries were out they were gone. He had been already anticipating an awkward, silent ride back but he became alarmed real quickly when he found the table empty, apart from the discarded sugar packets and the empty milkshake glasses.

Forgetting about their little spat, he sped around the diner, even asking some nearby patrons if they had seen a girl about 5'2'' with purple hair wandering about. He had even considered knocking on the women's restroom to see if she was there, but luckily he caught a flash of purple outside near the bushes.

He burst through the doors into the cool night air and maneuvered through a sudden influx of new customers to get to the girl waiting anxiously behind a bush near the bike rack. She appeared distressed, and she kept sneaking looks at the diner window but mostly concealing her face in her hood. The moment she saw Zach approach she seemed relieved and she tugged him closer to her with a sense of urgency.

"We need to go. Now,"

"Why? Teeny is hooking us up with fries," Then Zach was being led to his bike. Magenta was expecting him to unlock it.

"Please, we need to hurry back right?"

Zach was confused. A second ago, she didn't want to leave. Now, she was in such a hurry to get out of here. "What the hell is going on?"

The bell rang once more but Zach attributed it to a weird number of people entering the store at this hour, he could see a bunch of cars pulling up into the lot.

"Hey kid!" He turned and saw the waitress, Amber, come towards them with a paper bag, "your fries are ready-" She stopped and narrowed her eyes at them, "The fuck are you doing here?"

"Shit," He heard Magenta growl. It was when he realized that Amber was zeroing in on her.

"You… know her?"

The shapeshifter sighed and threw her hands out, gesturing towards the other girl, "It's my fucking sister."

What?

Zach mentally face-palmed himself for not catching the similarities. They had the same piercing dark eyes and now seeing them together, clearly pissed at each other, they even pulled off the agitated expression the same way. And not just the physical appearance, after hearing Amber in the diner earlier, she was just as snarky too. And if what Magenta had said was true, about her being the nice one, he'd better watch out.

Amber stormed over to the two, practically shoving the bag of fries into Zach's hands before grilling her young sister, "You're supposed to be at home."

"So I don't have to see you work here instead of going to night school like we all fucking thought?"

"Who do you think gives you lunch money? Certainly not Pops," Then the older girl finally took notice of Zach, who was wishing he wasn't a part of this, "- And who the fuck is this ?"

Magenta tried to physically cut in between Zach and her sister, "None of your business."

The older girl stared him down, and he nearly cowered at the iciness he saw in her eyes,"You're the glowy one, aren't you?" she deduced.

"Uh, yeah?" Zack nearly kicked himself for sounding so meek. Geez, he was at 2 feet taller than this girl.

Wait. Magenta's sister knew him? It meant that she had least mentioned him to her family at home. She talks about me? - which would have been real flattering in any moment except this one.

Amber shook her head vigorously as if he said something she clearly did not want to hear. She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Jesus, Maj. Jesus Christ, Lord from above- fuck," she pointed at the smaller girl, practically poking her, "Dad is gonna have a meltdown if he finds out you're not

home, and that you're out with a boy. With him?"

Zach was going to try not to take offense to that. But he did wonder why him in particular was going to get Magenta in huge trouble.

Magenta scoffed, "Yeah, but I don't think dad's gonna like the fact that you've been lying about still being in school!" she shot back.

"Definitely beats going to your freak academy. Do you actually learn anything up there?"

Zach was definitely backing away now that the conversation got more heated. Again, he did not grow up with siblings so he wasn't sure if he should step in. And quickly recalling their conversation in the diner, Zach wasn't sure if he should be inserting himself into Magenta's business anyway.

But he could see that as much as Magenta was exuding clear signs of anger, he could tell that she was more betrayed than anything else. But luckily the exchange of low blows was interrupted by Teeny who came out the front door.

"Hey Amber, we need you up front!" He called but read the tension in the air. He furrowed his eyebrows,"What's up, kiddo?"

"It's just my brat of a sister. She's supposed to be home" She grabbed Magenta by the shoulder, intending to pull her in the direction of her car, "Do you think I can take her home real quick before starting my shift?"

"I would any other night, but we are getting kabobbed out there. Like skewered. And Kev's out sick," Then the slightly rotund man had his sights set on Zach, "Why can't Picks just take her home?"

"Picks?" Zach and the two girls chorused.

"Yeah, cuz he sure can pick 'em tunes,"

Amber sighed, knowing she was put in a tough spot. She addressed her boss, "You vouch for the kid?"

"Met him tonight. But I think he's standup. Why don't you ask your sis? She knows 'em better than I do," Then Teeny waved them off before returning inside to manage the influx of customers.

Magenta wriggled out of her sister's grip to stand by Zach's side. "He's right. Just go. Zach will take me back." In the midst of her sentence, he felt her hands gently bunch up his jacket sleeve as if she was worried her sister was gonna take her away again.

Amber was shocked, to say the least. He was too, for Magenta to trust him into taking her home safely, for her to be so adamant in going with him. But the alternative didn't prove to be so promising- a possible grounding by her parents for sneaking out, so he shouldn't take it so personally.

She shared glances with Magenta as if they were having a silent conversation. Must be some other sibling thing he didn't know about but he assumed Magenta gave a good telepathic argument because Amber groaned, finally relenting.

"Ok. Fine! I didn't see you here tonight."

"Same here,"

But before Amber could re-enter the diner, she marched right up to Zach, poking at his chest more aggressively than he would have liked,

"You make sure she gets back in one piece or so help me, no super-duper shit you got going on would stop me from kicking your ass. You're lucky it's me and not our dad that you have to answer to right now. Because he is much worse," And she made her way towards the doors before pivoting around, "And no funny business with my sister!"

Magenta banged her head against Zach's arm, "Amber."

"Don't die shit-face!"

Magenta raised her head from his jacket, "Can you bring some mozzarella sticks home?" Without looking, he just knew that she was sporting a shit-eating grin.

"Fuck you," was her sister's response before she headed back inside.

The ride home was awkward. It wasn't much of a ride when not too long after they started, Magenta hopped off the handlebars and just started walking so Zach had no choice but to walk the bike alongside her. It wasn't safe for them to be out this late and now that he needed to take her home and it was a little ways away from his place, it was going to take longer to get there.

"You good?" he called out to her, "I know it's not comfortable, but we don't have the basket anymore,"

"It's fine," she strode, ahead, arms crossed but still holding the bag of fries.

"I was going to suggest maybe we can switch places. You ride and I get to be on the handlebars. Seems fair," She stopped and he saw a hint of smile on her face, or it was more of a grimace. He couldn't tell in the low lighting. Then she resumed walking, and he trailed behind her.

"So your sister… she seemed nice. Apart from the yelling and sneering,"

He tried to keep the vibe light but he wasn't sure if he was making it worse or not. He could tell that she was getting too caught up in her thoughts. He was so much to unpack from her interaction with her sister.

Some heavy stuff. Back at the diner, he had figured she was close with her family. It was a comforting thought because if she wasn't willing to open up to her friends maybe she could at home because it wasn't good to bottle stuff up. And he knew that from experience.

But there was that initial animosity between them and the secret-keeping, it seemed that there wasn't much open dialogue at home either. He just hoped it was better with her brother.

After no response from her, he kept going, "So she has streaks too," he said, lamely.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't she?"

He scrunched his nose in confusion, "Was dyeing your hair some sort of sister bonding thing?"

Then it was Magenta's turn to be confused before it dawned on her, "Oh. Shit. Um... no. That's her natural hair. This," She tugged at her purple locks "is my natural hair."

He nearly stumbled into his bike in surprise. "Really?"

"Why do you think my name is Magenta? All of us have it. But not my dad since he's the civilian and my mom's the Super. Some genetic mutation. Probably it was a way to tell that it's us when we shapeshift and not just some regular animal,"

He thought back to the 'freak academy' comment Amber made, "But she doesn't have powers."

"Neither does my brother. I'm just lucky, I guess."

Zach rolled in front to block her from going any further, "Maj, can you please get back on the bike? I need to get you back,"

Magenta nodded and wordlessly slid onto the handlebars. He pushed on and they rode in silence for the rest of the trip. They continued up until they neared Zach's place, it was on the way towards her house but he needed to take a detour because he was getting a bit exhausted. It was tough to operate the bike with the added weight of another person.

They got off the bike and Zach went to go sit on the curb, rubbing the sweat off his face. Magenta went to join him, looking at the ground, fiddling with her fingers.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

"It's fine. Just not used to riding with another person,"

"No. I was being a bitch earlier. You were trying to help."

He sighed, "I was being pushy. I shouldn't expect you to tell me your whole life story. Like you said, it's your business. I shouldn't be all over you,."

"You were being a good friend- I just… made it weird. I didn't know… how to go about it."

Zach took her in. It was not the first time he had seen Magenta get uncomfortable and awkward, but this was new. Her arms crossed, as if she was shrinking herself up as she would to transform into a guinea pig, and her refusal to meet his gaze as if she was admitting something she normally wouldn't.

Then he remembered all the stuff he learned tonight about her. She hadn't told him directly, but he had an inkling that Magenta had some sort of sheltered, troubled upbringing.

With all the stuff about her not going out as much, not seeing much of town, and the way she talked about family- his heart sank at the thought, but would he be wrong to assume that maybe Magenta didn't really have friends before Sky High? The way she clammed up when they were getting a bit too close, not recognizing boundaries at times but then keeping too much distance during others- it explained some stuff.

He would have marked down Ethan as Magenta's friend before coming to Sky High, but Ethan didn't know much about the girl after having lived near her and attending the same school for 3 years. She had probably stuck with him due to familiarity- she probably hadn't expected Ethan to be jumping the gun and befriending a Stronghold and being roped into a group of really sociable people.

"It's not… it's not weird," The blonde assured her, "It's just something to get used to because I'm always going to be concerned. I'm always going to care about you…." The girl lifted her head and stared at him.

"I mean," he stammered, "that's just how I am with my friends. But as your friend, you can tell me when I'm being a nimrod and overstep. You know, you don't have to tell me everything that's going on with you if you don't want to. But if you really need help, just ask. I'll help you. That goes for Will, Layla, Ethan, and Warren too- we got your back. No judgement or anything,"

He knew that it wasn't an easy fix. She was still going to be closed off and be reluctant to tell him anything. But he needed to let her know that he was still going to be there for her. Tonight had been a wake up call.

Just because he was nice and took her out for milkshakes didn't mean he was entitled to her secrets. He needed to be more patient with her, and if or when she decides to confide in him, then he'd be there.

"Ok," She said, appreciating the sentiment, "I'm still sorr-"

Zach echoed her words from weeks ago. "There's nothing to apologize for," He rose from his spot and extended a sweaty hand her way to help her up, "C'mon. We need to get you home."

He moved for his bike but the girl tugged him back, hands still grasping his, "Um… Zach?"

"Yeah,"

She sighed before asking, "Is it ok if I study with you? Could use some help catching up on what I missed."

Zach nodded. He knew that it wasn't easy for her to ask. He didn't think he could recall a time when he heard her directly ask for help and he didn't think she was ready to do so with him just yet. But they were on a time crunch and it was a big test, she couldn't deny that she was in a tough spot.

Ten minutes later, after silently returning the bike to the garage, they were back in his room. They came back they way they snuck out- Magenta taking her usual route via tree and Zach quietly entering through the back door and heading up the stairs.

He immediately had her look through his notes- his penmanship wasn't the best but Magenta claimed it was still readable- and picked out the chapters that she wasn't familiar with. He wasn't a total idiot and he wasn't a Grade A genius like Ethan, but he did his best walking her through the different concepts and equations. They were able to talk through the ones that tripped the both of them up like graphic inequalities.

They were gathered around his desk, textbook open, scribbling down old equations to practice with while munching on their cold fries. He should have gauged his energy and called it a night after yawning too many times in a row at around 2, but he still needed to make sure he knew the material too. Teaching Magenta was good for him, acting as a bit of a refresher for those particular chapters.

It had been hours since they started, it was now approaching 3 and the bus came at 7. They had to close up shop and need to book it to Magenta's house. Zach made her tiptoe downstairs with him instead of letting her climb onto the roof. He saw how bleary-eyed she was, she might not be able to make the jump onto the tree or down the roof gutter let alone turn into guinea pig form.

They resumed what was now their usual biking position, and he managed to keep his eyes open and his wits about him when riding down the streets. Good thing Magenta didn't live as far away as the Tubthump and was able to roll up to her street in a record of 5 minutes.

He parked the bike in front of Ethan's house actually just so they wouldn't be spotted from her place. Nobody should be awake, but he needed to play it safe.

Magenta wobbly set herself down on the ground as soon as Zach stopped all while taking sharp glances back at her house. Unlike Zach's room, her room was facing the backyard so it would be her parents' room facing the street instead he came to find out later. She made her way around the bike and without warning, planted a kiss on Zach's cheek.

"You're pretty cool, you know that, Glowworm?" she remarked just as he turned scarlet from the kiss.

"Um… well… I…" He tried to form words but he wasn't sure it was it because he was dead tired or the fact the girl he had been pining over had just laid one on him that he was just slurring his way through his sentences, "I try."

"I know. And that means a lot," She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she walked backwards towards her place, "Thanks, again."

"Anytime," But despite his weary state, he knew he meant it. He'd be there for her anytime. Even at 3 o'clock in the fucking morning.

"See you in a couple hours,"

All he could do was wave at her as she crossed the street and scurried off to her house. He stayed there, grinning like a total idiot.

He wanted to ride back to his place, howling into the night, pumping a fist in the air like Judd Nelson at the end of Breakfast Club and reveling in this post-kiss high right up until he crashed due to exhaustion.

Any other night, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, he would have been up, replaying that over and over in his head- like he would everytime after she made one of these bedroom visits. But now he had a whole night's worth of events he could look back on.

He didn't have time for that right now though. He was going to make the most of 3 and half hours of sleep before roughing out a 6 hour school day. He swung the bike around to head in the direction of home. Pedaling on through, he thought:

It was totally worth it

A/N:

This was Part 2 of The Third Visit. It was super long I had to cut it into two parts. I thought it was very important to learn a little bit more about Magenta. Hope you enjoyed!