The next few weeks went by without incident, the only rough patch seeming to be that Blair kept wanting Max to tell Jackson and Caleb who he really was. Max hesitated to do so for several reasons. It wasn't as though he was bound by the Law, like his father Alec was; he could freely tell whomever he wished. But telling mundanes about the Shadow world without cause only put their lives in danger, something that he didn't want to happen to either of the guys. He was also simply worried about their reaction. Just because Blair's reaction was fine, that didn't mean that everyone around him would always react the same.
Max knew the stories of his father's, his stories of growing close enough to people to finally tell them who he was, only to have them turn away in disgust. He wasn't sure that he was ready for the possibility of losing someone he cared about simply because they no longer saw him as human. He was terribly content with continuing to live a life in which everyone around him was on a need-to-know basis.
He and the guys were currently out and about, just having a "guy's day out" as Blair had phrased it. "Max?" it was Jackson's voice who pulled him out of his thoughts. "You alright? You seem to be doing an awful lot of thinking. Don't strain yourself."
Max flashed a sarcastic smile back. "Thanks for the concern," he said, his voice not unkind. Over the past couple of months, he and Jackson had grown much closer. Max had begun helping Jackson with Spanish, a subject that gave him endless grief due to his dyslexia. Together, they had worked relentlessly to bring Jackson's grade up, Max giving him full support no matter how frustrating things became, knowing all too well how painful it was to fail at studies after giving it your all, even if his studies had been of the magical sort. Their study sessions had become and odd sort of bonding experience, one that Max looked forward to each day.
"Dude, seriously though," Jackson began, glancing over at Max as they were walking. "Has anything been going on at school lately? It seems like Kellan has really laid off these past few weeks." Max considered this for a moment. He'd be so caught up in the other things that were going on that he'd completely forgotten that he had been the main victim of the petty school bully just a few short weeks ago.
"No, nothing's been going on," he began slowly. He was going to say more, but he paused, evaluating the situation before him. "He's been perfectly quiet," was all that he finally settled on.
"Maybe he just decided to stop, then," said Caleb, a terribly hopeful lift to his voice. Max couldn't help but snort. People like Kellan didn't just stop, they kept going until something caused them to stop. It was that thought that began to make Max feel sick with worry, realizing that he was likely not out of the woods yet.
"I don't think so," he spoke slowly and carefully, still thinking things over. "It's been too quiet. I just hope he's not planning something." Max followed when the guys decided to head for the park, saying that the fresh air would likely would like cheer them all up.
Max stared in disbelief when he saw Kellan standing just a few yards away from them at the park. He thought of turning around but immediately thought the better of it, knowing from the way Kellan was looking at them that they had been seen, knowing that walking away would only make things worse for the three of them.
"Well, well, well," Kellan announced rather loudly as he neared them, two of his friends following right behind him. "This is a rather queer date, isn't it?" He smirked as his friends began chucking. Max refused to step down, so he flashed a bright smile.
"I see you've expanded your vocabulary. I'm proud, really." He had to concentrate for a moment to keep his glamor up, so fully of anger that his focus began to waver. Max felt both Jackson and Caleb step up closer behind him, a gesture that said they were with him no matter what, a gesture he knew was as much for him as it was for Kellan.
Instead of responding, Kellan stepped forward as well. Max easily zeroed in on the fact that he had a knife held low in his grasp. The problem was that he wasn't headed toward Max himself, he was headed toward Jackson, a look of murder in his eyes.
Max started forward and then paused, a warning his father Alec had given him replaying in his mind. When Max had begun training, Alec had explained to him that he should never physically engage in battle with a mundane, especially a mundane without knowledge of the Shadow world because his strength would be easily noticed.
Instead of listening to his father, he started forward once more, knocking Kellan's hand away just as he reached up to swipe at Jackson with the knife. He held back a bit, knowing that using all that he had would cause suspicion. Max idly noticed that Kellan's friends were no longer in the picture, something that pleased him considering the fact that Kellan seemed to think he had never-ending loyalty from them.
Kellan immediately changed course for Caleb, something that didn't catch Max off guard. The problem was that it caught Caleb off guard, and he moved the wrong way, placing himself directly in the path of the knife. Max knew he couldn't get there in time despite his superior speed, knew he couldn't physically do anything to protect Caleb. Without thinking, he used his powers to jerk the knife out of Kellan's grasp.
The world seemed to stand still as everyone paused to look at him in disbelief. Max immediately stepped forward and hit Kellan, possibly a bit too hard. He hoped with all his might that the boy would wake up and think that what he had seen had been a figment of his imagination.
When he turned back toward Jackson and Caleb once more, he saw they shared identical expressions of confusion. At any other moment, it would have made him laugh, but the thought of what was facing him kept his expression grim.
"I know that you both think your minds are playing tricks on you, but believe me when I say that what just happened was real." He looked back and forth between the two of them, searching for some sign that they would be okay with what he was. "I can explain everything to you if you want me to, but you have to know that I never would have revealed my powers to you without good reason. If he hadn't been about to hurt one of you, I never would have done it."
"Powers?" Caleb immediately demanded. "You mean like magic?" Max simply nodded, trying to swallow the lump that was quickly forming in his throat. He risked a glance over at Jackson to see that his expression had somehow turned from one of confusion to one of curiosity.
"Max? What are you, exactly?" It was Jackson who asked this, his voice soft, as though he knew the situation was painful to Max. Instead of responding right away, Max let his glamor down for the two of them, allowing them to see what he really was.
At this, Caleb stepped back in surprise. Jackson simply stared at him, his expression unreadable. "I'm a warlock," Max said, keeping his voice was even as possible. "I can explain things, please. Just give me the chance."
Jackson was about to say something when Caleb stepped forward once more, a look of outrage now clothing his face. "Explain things? Why would we ever want you to explain anything to us? Just look at yourself. You're disgusting, unnatural. You're a monster." Max watched with tears stinging at his eyes as Caleb turned and walked away.