Rose shot Faith a look which seemed to say, 'Sorry mate, but I'm really not in the mood for all this,' and was about to leave when Marcus flew in and changed in that triumphant, smug way animagi always do when showing off their power to someone for the first time. His windswept look just made her ball her hands into tighter fists, and yet the sight of those chiselled features made her want to curl up in a corner and cry forevermore. Why did she only seem to fall for guys who delighted in hurting her? Gary had hurt her so much; Sammael was always hurting her, physically and mentally; but Marcus had to be he cruellest of the lot. He was human, that's why.

Jumping as she saw the boy, she had spoken to him a few times before and this must have been the boy she went to 'deal' with her problem. "Afternoon," She spoke softly before turning her attention back to Alex, shifting as she pulled her knees up to her chest and loosened her blue tie around her neck as she flashed her adorable smile to him, "It is beautiful especially when you can see a storm approaching," She mused, frowning at how rude Rose was being but paid no attention, if she wasn't going to reply then she couldn't be worth her time for now. "I think Edward is out hunting, I like him to do it regularly so he doesn't get that feeling where he feels the need to bite me, It is quiet amusing at times." She laughed softly, her eyes glistening from the light.

Alex smiled weakly, Rose always seemed to make him nervous, as though she would lash out at him at any moment. Slowly he rose to his feet, "I'm sorry, I've just remembered I have some potions to do. I'll see you later, okay?" He said to Faith, picking up his notebook and his bag he descended back into the hustle and bustle of the school.

On hearing more people entering, Marcus thought it best to leave. He pushed off on the balls of his feet and leapt out of the window again, transforming back into bird form. He hadn't even noticed that one of the people to enter had been Rose, so caught up in his daydreaming had he been. But his thoughts turned to her as he fly through the air. He wondered why they hadn't spoken recently, or why he hadn't seen her around. Perhaps it had been him who hadn't seen her, rather than the other way around. But either way, he knew that he wanted to see her now. They had had such a good time killing 'him' and they had never properly celebrated.

"Alex! Alex wait!" She shouted after him as she raised an eyebrow to Rose as if to say, 'Well bloody done, good one.' She rolled her eyes and ran after him as she picked up her pace, tripping and stumbling down the steps as she panted as she tried to let her eyes pan around the clusters of students, pushing them out of the way as she tried to catch up with him, her calls were carrying and she knew that Alex could hear her voice.

And now they'd all gone. It wasn't her fault that Alex hated her so much that he couldn't stand being in the same room as her. No one wanted to right now. Marcus hadn't even looked in her direction, let alone acknowledged her presence. She would have been happy even with knowing that he was ignoring her for whatever reason, but this was worse. She was a ghost again, just when she thought things might be getting better. She buried her hands deep into her black hair and crawled under the table - the only floor space not covered in owl droppings - where she lay for a while with her eyes closed, contemplating her situation.

Marcus landed on the ground and transformed, smiling to himself. That was right, he would surprise her tonight. They could go down to the Hog's Head and have a drink, then wander up to the Room of Requirements and....celebrate.... He smirked as he thought about all the things they could do together. It had been a long time, after all. Yes, he would make her feel special and good about what they had done together. His mood having lifted incredibly, he began to whistle to himself.

There was a faint melody from outside, but it was more imagined than heard. Everything felt imagined now; she wondered whether she'd simply made up all her love affairs - that would explain why they were all so fantastical and why Marcus didn't notice her. Perhaps one day she'd just seen him in a corridor and then imagined the rest, only snapping out of it now Alex had shattered her idyllic world. No, Rose, no - it isn't Alex's fault. It's just justice. All dogs have their day, all wh*res get what they deserve. Her eyes burnt with the sensation of hot, angry tears building behind them, but she bit down hard on her forearm. She wouldn't cry, she'd cried enough, she wouldn't cry, shebaouldnt cry...

Marcus stopped abruptly. "Damn it!" he cursed, turning around and rushing back up to the tower. He climbed the stairs two at a time and burst into the room. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw is book on the windowsill, just where he had left it. He smirked and picked it up but as he turned around to walk out of the door, he caught sight of someone. He frowned and peered under the table, a smile spreading across his face as he saw who it was. "Rose!" he cried, smiling brightly at her. "What are you doing under there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Well this was just perfect! Now he could invite her out for a drink tonight and they could celebrate together. 'Thank God i forgot my book!' he thought, thinking of how long it would have taken to find Rose in the whole of the school.

She - with eyes closed and teeth clamped tightly around the skin on her forearm - shook her head as if to say, 'In a minute,' or, 'Not now,' or something similar. The tears were almost gone thanks to the pain of biting herself, but Marcus' unusually cheery voice just seemed to rub everything in. Finally composing herself she opened her mouth and checked how deep the tooth marks were before gracefully climbing out from under the table. "Spotted me now, have you?" she asked darkly, frowning and walking away from Marcus towards the window. "Finished playing your stupid tricks for darling Alex, have you?" Not Alex's fault! Not Alex's fault!

Marcus frowned, "Who's Alex?" he asked, "And what do you mean by 'spotted you'?" He followed her, confused by her tone and her actions. It must be the fact that they hadn't spoken to each other in a few days. He hadn't spoken to her, and she hadn't spoken to him. He wasn't sure exactly why that had been, thinking that perhaps the murder had shaken Rose more than she let on. So he had left her alone, thinking that she had wanted some space. Clearly he had been wrong. 'People confuse me,' he thought, still frowning, 'Girls more so.'

She laughed bitterly. "So you don't even know his name and you're flirting with him? Dear God, I must be a real old hag," she said, spitting the words out as if they were poisonous to her. Normally she would have just put this down to transferrence - putting her anger about Gary and Sammael onto Marcus - but she knew there was more than that. She really was furious at Marcus for leaving her so alone, and now, in her mind, for flirting with Alex. Wonderful, wonderful Alex, the golden boy.

Marcus spluttered slightly, "Flirting?! Who said anything about flirting? I said all of about 4 words to him." He rubbed his temples, closing his eyes, "Rose i'm very confused as to why you're angry at me. I haven't spoken to you for a couple of days because i thought you needed some space after the murder. I assumed, seeing as you didn't speak to me, that that was what you wanted. If i was wrong, then i'm sorry. If it's something else, then please enlighten me."

"But you thought he was cute, didn't you?" she cried, turning to him fiercely, clutching at straws to find some evidence against him. "Better than me! Because he is!" She took a few deep breaths, then collapsed into Marcus' arms, weeping in exhaustion. It was just so confusing - everything was. "I'm sorry," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and crying onto his shoulder. "I'm really sorry - I can't...tell if this is real or not. It seems so fake and I don't know whether I'm dreaming or hallucinating or just plain delusional."

Marcus snorted, "I thought he was cute? Rose, darling, i'm definitely not gay." He sighed and wrapped his arms around Rose, "Trust me, Rose, this is real. Don't you remember what happened at the weekend? All of that was real, and this is too." He smiled and kissed the top of her head, stroking her hair soothing, "It's going to be ok," he said, softly. Then as an after thought he asked, "Have you been taking your medicine?" he asked, still stroking her hair.

"Of course I have," she replied pathetically, wiping her eyes. "There's just...there's been a lot going on, and sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed. The spells only stop the moodswings, they don't stop me getting confused. What with what happened at the weekend, and...Sammael bit Alex - Alex is Gary's boyfriend - and it's all too much. I don't feel guilty about killing him," she added in a quieter voice. "But that's what's upsetting me - I should feel something, shouldn't I? I shouldn't just have accepted it so easily, should I?" Even though this was worrying her, everything felt better with Marcus' strong arms around her. She kissed the side of his neck affectionately and pulled him closer, pressing herself tighter to him, unwilling to let go any time in the near future.

Marcus frowned briefly but smiled, "Not necessarily. It's quite natural to not feel anything after killing someone, especially if you've wanted to for such a long time. Perhaps the satisfaction will come later, when it truly sinks in. But you shouldn't feel guilty, Rose, he deserved what was coming to him." He smiled and leant away slightly so that he could place a kiss on her lips. "I know i'm not good with the whole talking thing, but i'm a reasonably good listener. I'll always be here for you, Rose. What is it that they say? Don't suffer in silence? Something along those lines."

"But a problem shared is not a problem halved. It's a problem doubled. That's what I say, and I was set to do my maths exams two years early," she mumbled. It was useless to attempt to explain the muggle examination system to Marcus, so she left it at that. His kiss had been a surprise - she'd assumed that no one wanted to come near her, let alone kiss her. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's just that...if I'm not there to have my deal with Sammael, then what's my purpose in life? Nothing. And now he's bitten Alex...not only has he destroyed our deal, but he's basically told me I can throw myself in the lake for all he cares. Everyone tells me I shouldn't worry about what he wants, but I can't help but feel insulted, can I? I thought I was enough for him, but there must be something I can't do." She broke away from Marcus and went to the window again, climbing onto the sill and sitting with her legs hanging over the edge. "Look at me - I'm repulsive. I hate it all. There must be something wrong with me; you didn't want me after the murder, you didn't want me for days, Sammael would rather have Alex than a stupid little girl like me, and Gary doesn't even want to speak to me. Being a girl's so rubbish - we're not pretty at all."

Marcus frowned, "I thought you needed some space to let the killing sink in," he said, quietly, "I wasn't avoiding you." He walked over and stood beside her, resting his chin on his hand. "From what i've heard about Sammael, it would seem that he only cares for himself. He was probably just messing around with yours and Alex's heads. People like him like to watch the ones they love suffer. Trust me, i lived with one for most of my life. They love you deep down, but nothing gets their adrenaline pumping more than making you feel like sh*t. I'm sure Sammael is just having a laugh...except that he's the only one laughing." He reached out and took ahold of Rose's hand in his own, entwining their fingers together. "You don't repulse me and i personally think you are beautiful." His words wouldn't make a difference, he knew that, but it was worth a try.

She didn't pull away from his hand, but her fingers just seemed to slide out from between his. "I could jump from here," she said, a dull, empty look in her eyes as she stared down at the ground. "But it wouldn't make a difference either way." She hadn't listened to a word Marcus had said, preferring her own, bitter opinion instead. "No one would mind much - I'd only consider doing it to make a point. And if no one minded, no point would be made, would it? No. I'll just keep going, behind the scenes, and one day there'll be something I can do to show them all." Show them all what? She didn't really know. "You know I'm leaving school when you do," she said in a brighter voice, turning to him. "So we can run off together, if...if you still want to do that. I don't mind if you don't - I'll go to Penzance or Land's End or somewhere like that by myself, and go and see dad. I don't mind. But I am definitely leaving at the end of this year."