Rain clattered down across the Murphy household as yet another thunder storm clouded the skies above Summerland. Alice lay awake, staring at the digital clock on her nightstand until the red boxed numbers hit seven on the dot and began to ring loudly. She stopped it seconds later and got up, making her way towards the shower to start getting ready for her day.

It had been a month since her return from the tropics with Magnus, and since then she'd obeyed her household rules perfectly. No phone... no laptop... no friends after school... no allowance, and no boyfriend. Her life had been quiet, uneventful, repetitive... Grey and dreary. She got up, went to school, socialised as much as she could before she returned home, wrote up her assignments and hid away in her room to read on her own.... occasionally with the company of her sister or the family dog, Polly.

Alice stepped out of the shower and stared at herself in the mirror with a blank expression staring back at her... her eyes looked emotionless but something strange danced behind them quietly, and she could hear the quiet rumble of thunder from outside as a storm brewed inside her too. She stayed silent, and suddenly smiled... as if she was practicing for the up and coming day, only to drop it moments later, and continued to stare in silence for a few seconds before drying herself off and leaving the bathroom to change.

She'd asked Magnus to stay away from the house and let her handle this on her own... She was aware that she'd behaved badly, she's been disobedient and disrespectful, she was aware that if she continued to behave like that it would only work against her instead of in her favour... So she'd stopped, regrouped, and made an effort to be good in the eyes of her parents... but she felt numb doing it, like she'd put her colour wheel to one side and returned to painting in black and white.

And they didn't seem to care that she barely spoke, or smiled, or spent much time around them at all... as long as she was doing what they said, they left her alone. She'd gotten her phone back, but only for the evenings before she had to give it back before she went to bed. The small talk was almost painful at breakfasts and dinner, and she missed the excitement of waiting for Magnus to appear at her window at night to sleep over like before. But this is what she had to do now. Behave better. Be better. Be the daughter they used to have instead of the one they were growing to fear.

She knew that's what it was.... people fear what they can't control and Alice used to be fine with being controlled, being normal, being quiet and polite and doing what people asked of her. She did it reluctantly now, and had been experiencing a constant battle with herself every day for the past month... just sneak out... steal your phone back... they can't take your stuff like that, take it back... just break something... make living this house a nightmare...

There was a knock at her door close to eight o'clock causing Alice to jump as she pulled herself out of her head, only to realise she'd been staring at herself again with her mascara wand hovering in front of her eye, "Leaving in ten." She heard her father say through the door and she stared at the white wood for a few seconds in silence before carrying on applying her make up.

When it was time to leave Alice descended the stairs, whilst pulling on a white beanie and her coat, her bag tactfully wedged under her arm. "Alice, Jesus Christ. You are not leaving the house like that," Richard scolded,

"Excuse me?" She asked as she pulled her hair out from under her coat and it fall down her back. She felt her temper flare but took a subtle deep breath to calm it down.

"Your skirt is way too short and since when did you wear that much make-up?" Richard said in an accusatory tone, causing Alice to furrow her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

"I always wear this much, and I'm wearing tights." She replied quietly, walking past him to go stand by the door. She waited in silence as her father stared at her, and Charlotte looked confused as she stood between them holding her book bag with both hands... She could feel the tension in the air and shifted uncomfortably, but Alice said nothing and continued to wait as she stared at the door, playing ignorant, even though she'd purposefully worn one of the shortest skirts she owned.

"Alice, go upstairs and change. The length of that skirt is inappropriate for school." Sophie said from the kitchen as she rubbed her growing baby bump and sipped her tea. Alice couldn't see her mother from where she was stood, but could already tell what her facial expression was.

"Why?" Alice asked, blinking her eyes twice and continuing to play ignorant. "I'm wearing tights." She added. Richard glanced over at Sophie, wondering if what he was hearing was correct as Charlotte adjusted the way she was holding her book bag and began to chew on her bottom lip as she watched her older sister. She couldn't hear the lightness in Alice's voice, but when her lips moved, she could feel the sharpness in her invisible words and wondered why she was feeling so angry.

"If this is because of the dress code that was indirectly written to control women and pander to horny teenage boys who are so easily distracted by a little show of skin, I could not care any less than I do right now. The male race should learn how to control themselves. I'll dress how I want to." Alice continued after a few seconds, holding up the light hearted tone but she could feel her skin burning. She wanted to shout for some reason, but held it back tightly.

Sophie said nothing, and lifted her mug of tea to her lips so that she didn't have to speak as Richard stared at his daughter in silence. A few seconds passed before he sighed angrily, knowing that if he pushed the disagreement any further he'd be late for work and the girls would be late for school. So he let it go, and the three of them made their way through the rain to the old Land Rover parked on the gravel just next to the porch.

Once at school Alice couldn't wait to get out of the car, before the vehicle had even stopped she'd opened the door to step out onto the side walk, not caring if it was pouring with rain or not since she had her yellow rain coat on to protect her. She didn't say bye, and closed the door and walked off, hearing the light but quick patter of rain on her hood as she made her way across the parking lot, avoiding the larger puddles, and towards the main entrance to the school.

The energetic blur of voices talking filled her ears as soon as she entered the hallways and took off her coat, making her way past groups of other students talking and towards her locker to pack her bag for her first class. Someone caught sight of her quickly, for he had been waiting across the hall for her to show up, stood in a clearing in the forest of students with his hands tucked into his pockets, before he moved to cross the hallway with students moving out of his way again. His hands reached for her waist from behind and Alice gasped softly, feeling familiar hands on her seemed to ignite some welcomed enthusiasm for her day. "Morning." Magnus murmured, leaning down to place his face in her neck... His affectionate behaviour earning some glances from around them. Her hair smelt freshly washed and sweet, and he breathed in subtly to enjoy it.

"Morning," Alice replied, leaning her head back against his chest as his arms wrapped themselves around her body. He'd been extra affectionate for the past couple of weeks or so, and whether he was sweetening her up for something or not, she was unsure, but she knew that she wouldn't waste this time overthinking his intentions and enjoy the feeling of his surprise hugs. They made her weak in the knees and tingly all over and she sighed happily.

"And good morning to this little skirt..." Magnus then said quietly, pulling away and turning her around by her shoulders as he looked down at her outfit. She grinned happily, letting him turn her for a playful twirl before she faced him again.

"So you watched it?" She asked excitedly.

"Bridget Jones? Yep." He replied, since the reference to the little skirt had been in the first movie he'd been ordered to watch by his girlfriend. "I don't think I'm like Darcy, at all."

"I just meant with the very, like, calm way of behaving and he's really smart." Alice smiled, tucking one side of her hair behind her ear. "You don't agree?" She asked seeing his facial expression.

"I think I'm way smoother than insulting someone I'm interested in and running away from my feel-" He paused and smirked suddenly, "Okay I get it," he murmured with a smirk as Alice smiled, gazing up at him with a fairly intense doe eyed look. He gazed back, drinking in the ocean blueness of her eyes as his hands caressed her waist... "Let's go somewhere." He murmured again, his voice lower and quieter than before.

"The bell-" Alice protested half heartedly just as the dreaded bell rang for first period.

"C'mon... you've been little miss goodie two fucking shoes for how many damn weeks already. Blow one class off for me... please." Magnus replied, tilting his head and gently digging his fingertips into her waist in an encouraging squeeze. Alice stared into his eyes and felt her body give in almost instantly.

"Fine." She agreed softly, "Okay," she murmured again, watching as Magnus smiled and reached behind her to close her locker for her after he'd taken her bag from her to place it in there. He took her hand, leading her away from the bustle of students making their way to class and in the opposite direction to where they were walking. Her hand warmed inside his grasp as their fingers linked and she felt tingly all over again, especially when she saw people staring at their affectionate hand hold.

She'd somehow grown more fond of him over the past month than she had on vacation, and she thought that was going to be as good as it got. But the stolen kisses between classes, the hiding out in the janitors closest during lunch to make out or the secret sessions behind the bleachers that never seemed to get very far, considering she felt strange doing anything too raunchy outside and on campus in worry that someone, somewhere might be watching...

She admired his patience, and would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't of expected him to get tired of getting no access, but he hadn't mentioned it, not one exasperated sigh, not one passing comment... She'd underestimated him it seemed, but she also couldn't help wondering if she should be worried about whether might he be getting access somewhere else.

Alice's expression faltered for only a second but she kept up with Magnus's strides as they moved through the school hallways and made their way to the auditorium above the gym that was saved for sports equipment and storage. Magnus closed the door behind them, turning the lock as a subtly seductive look crossed his expression and he turned to Alice, backing her into a comfy looking corner where a desk was covered by what looked like a slightly old blanket.

He lifted her onto it and with no words exchanged, he pulled her close, standing between her thighs and leaning in to kiss her. Alice wrapped her arms around his neck, moaning softly as their lips locked and she felt his body close, the softness of his lips and the smell of his cologne wafting around her. The blood inside her veins seemed to thicken as her body warmed and pleasurable tingles danced through her muscles... she lent into him, letting what she was feeling ooze out through her lips and her body language... Magnus picked it up quickly, tugging her closer by her thighs as the heat between them ignited at an alarmingly fast rate. His body seemed to mimic exactly what she was feeling, and a groan escaped his mouth as he grasped her thighs that were either side of his hips.

They kissed sensually for a minute or two, with Magnus caressing her thigh and gently grasping her flesh... They were both enveloped in a thick pink cloud of pleasurable feelings.... until his lips hesitated as he squeezed her upper thigh again, his mind suddenly distracted as a thought past through, and he pulled away slightly and squeezed her thigh a little harder. "Ow!" Alice gasped, swatting his hand off and looking at him accusingly. "Why are you pinching me?"

"You've lost weight." Magnus said bluntly, staring into her eyes intently and shamelessly as he reached for her arm and grasped her bicep. "You've lost weight." He said again and Alice pulled her arm free of his grip carefully.

"So?" She asked softly, moving her hair behind her shoulders and shrugging them slightly.

"Are you not eating?" He asked, his unfaltering stare making her look away for a moment.

"I am eating, it's just super awkward to eat in my house," she replied honestly, whilst looking carefully back at Magnus."It just stresses me out with the small talk and the tension and shit, so I get caught up with being stressed instead of eating. It's not that big of a deal."

"Its not that big of a deal," he seemed to mock her before he carried on, "Why didn't you tell me before?" He asked, moving back a little so he could look at her properly instead of being so close to her body.

"I don't know, you've got exams next month... I didn't wanna bother you with this." Alice replied calmly, watching as Magnus sighed and lifted his hand off her leg to run it through his hair. He had several things he wanted to say in that moment, and felt the tension in his chest as he replayed what she'd said in his head. His frustration seemed to peak quickly, considering he had a lot of energy built up from not really being able to release it in his preferred way. "What?" Alice asked, seeing as he'd said nothing for a few moments now and had looked away from her, but it was as if she saw the darkness and the void already present even after just one blink. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," he replied immediately as the void raised its head and focussed on its target with a calculating stare. "No, you didn't." He continued, looking back towards Alice's ocean blue eyes and staring into them. He had his own suspicions as to why Alice's parents had put her on such strict house arrest, but it had obviously come to the point where she felt stressed and uncomfortable in her own home. They'd barely hung out for almost four weeks, only spending an hour or so together during the week and never on the weekends since she had asked him to stay away, for a reason he was unsure of. It seemed as if she was afraid to piss them off again and thought back suddenly to a specific moment a few weeks ago. "That cut you had on your cheek, where did that come from?" He asked suddenly.

"Which cut... oh- you mean? I walked into the door frame by accident, I told you." Alice replied, as a flush formed in her cheeks and she reached up to rub it. Magnus noticed the body language to show she was lying quickly and felt his expression harden.

"Okay." he replied bluntly and blinked once. Alice glanced at each of his eyes as they watched each other, wondering what he was thinking as her own subconscious seemed to smile. She knew what she'd just done, and she knew exactly why she'd done it... she felt the thrill tingle through her limbs and twisted her lips and looked down, knowing she'd be unable to hide her joy that he'd taken the bait. She'd waited long enough, weighing herself each evening, hoping that he would notice since she knew he paid very close attention.

The kind of calm, ice cold and calculated rage she felt had disguised itself well... She felt normal, she felt somewhat good, slept okay, but if someone pulled back a few layers of Alice's consciousness, between the everyday thoughts and nature's basic needs ingrained into her instincts, they would find the thick, gooey, jet black intentions of her rage dripping like tar from her subconscious. She'd lost her appetite, and barely wanted to eat anyway, she was quiet, and seemed to stare into the distance every now and then as if her mind was staring into the void itself. The rage... it seemed to eat at her flesh from the inside out, and had been triggered by the sudden drop from her high of the vacation to her punishment and having almost everything taken away from her in less than twelve hours. It had felt like she had everything, and then suddenly nothing. Maybe it was the quietness of isolation and fear of missing out that was creeping up on her, making this feel worse, she knew her friends had been out at parties, she knew Magnus had been to a few as well, she kept playing it off like it was fine but... something wasn't right.

Of course her friends understood, they were supportive and spent as much time with her as they could during lunch and for the few minutes after school before her father arrived to pick her up... and Magnus... she worried he'd get bored of not being able to be around her so much a lot at night, but he was still there, every morning by her locker. And yet still... the collection of disappointments, betrayals and trauma she'd experienced that year alone had piled up, and seemed to have finally come crashing down over her head. The slap seemed to have flipped the switch that had held down the trigger, and she'd felt it as if something had broken inside her mind and begun to seep it's toxic contents through the cracks of broken glass into her consciousness.

Over the next hour Magnus and Alice spent it alone in the auditorium talking the past four weeks over until making their way to the library together. Alice has explained, some truthful, some a little exaggerated for her motives, what life had been like living in the Murphy household. She was truthful about how it was like her parents had almost turned into different people, how her memories of them even from last year and before had distorted into a dream like haze and the people she looked like now didn't have the glossy, shine like finish she used to see them coated in. Her mother was an adulterer, who was having a baby with another man who was one, not her father, and two not even the man she married and her father... who wasn't even her biological father but just the man that raised her, now seemed to reinvent himself... he once was the kind, calm natured, loving parent and now... maybe he was still all those things but it didn't seem to make Alice feel the same way as it once did.

In the library the pair joined the rest of Magnus's friends in the glass study room where they were spread out across the long table with their laptops and various other notebooks and textbooks spread across the surface. "Well if it isn't the happy couple," Charlie mused with a smirk from where he was sat across the table, watching as Magnus held the door open for Alice to walk through, then followed. "I assumed you guys would be somewhere fucking,"