Alice stepped out of the shower into a room clouded with steam. It was two thirty in the morning on a Saturday, and Alice couldn't sleep anymore. She'd managed to close her eyes for a couple of hours but when she'd woken up she couldn't help but think about what she had discovered repeatedly in her head.

Magnus, a killer? Surely it must have been a prank. Some kind of disturbing inside joke between them all. Each name on that list had been a missing person, a public missing person... if either Magnus or Veronica knew anything, why didn't they tell anybody?

Alice sighed heavily as she wiped the condensation from the mirror... why didn't she tell anyone about Veronica's body either? She rubbed her lips together as she stared into her own eyes... the innocent blue gazing back at her as if she didn't know enough about her own mind to give herself an answer.

Minutes ticked past as she stared, her mind drifting back to the phone with the names, dates and locations of all these missing people. Her instinct whispered the truth to her, and deep down she knew everything was just how it looked. But she wanted to know more, she wanted to be certain. A thought crossed her mind that she could possibly go searching for these people in these locations, but the Park was huge and the rail way stretched for miles... they could be anywhere.

She wrapped the towel around her body and walked back into her room, careful to leave the main light off so that no one would have a suspicion she was awake. Even though she knew her parents and her younger sister were asleep, there was something about keeping the lights off that comforted her when she knew she was doing something she didn't want to get caught for.

Alice sat down at her desk and opened up her laptop, the screen sprung to life quickly and illuminated her face with a blue glow as she opened the internet and logged onto Facebook. She typed in Magnus's name, chewing her lip nervously as she noticed that they weren't friends. He looked so normal... at least he used to. Ice hockey photos, smiling pictures with friends, some photos of himself that others had taken of him...

She flicked through the photos she had access to and could almost see them changing before her. His eyes never seemed to mirror the emotion he was portraying on his face. It sent a chill down her spine and immediately she clicked off his profile and closed the lid of her laptop. Suddenly... an idea struck her.

Alice didn't have the resources or the time to check the locations Veronica left on her phone, but the police did... she snatched open the draw to her left and pulled out Veronica's sparkly iPhone and turned it on. She began to write down the list on a pink sticky note, making sure the writing was only written in a way she could read...

... at the same time a laptop chimed, catching the attention of Noah Wilson, who quickly spun around in his black swivel chair and pushed up his thick rimmed black glasses. "Ah," he hummed in a surprised awe, seeing his map software pinging the location of Veronica Greens iPhone. Quietly played electronic music flowed from the computers speakers as he leant closer to the screen, "There you are," he murmured to himself, sat in the dark attic room of his parents house, the room slightly smokey from the rolled up questionable cigarette he had dropped into an ash tray to his left.

His eyebrows furrowed close together as he stared at the location on the map, not sure of where exactly it was whilst he picked up his phone and opened his messages.

He typed quickly without looking at his phone screen and locked it again after he'd sent the message. Noah zoomed in on where the little red dot of Veronica's iPhone was pinging from and changed the visuals on the screen to satellite taken images, he zoomed in more as his mind explored different scenarios as to why her phone had ended up so far away from where it was meant to be. He found the address easily and typed it in on google, finding the property and who it belonged to within a matter of seconds.

"Richard Murphy," he murmured again, reading the profile of the up and coming Summerland Architect and his family. Noah's phone vibrated and he snatched it up quickly as he stared at the family picture of the Murphy family... his eyes now especially focused on the pretty doe eyed, pouty lipped teenager he recognised from Veronica's Christmas party; Alice Murphy.

Noah glanced down at the message from Magnus asking where the phone was then looked back at his screen. What did Alice Murphy have to do with this? From what he had heard and the little he knew about her, it as obvious that she had nothing to do with any of this. She had nothing to do with their friendship group, he didn't even know how she knew Veronica well enough to be invited to the Christmas Party. She was an innocent, barely broken out of the mould sixteen year old with normal friends and a normal life, why would she have Veronica's phone?

At that moment Magnus felt his phone vibrate, he was sat in the darkness of his own bedroom, the wide flat screen television opposite his bed playing an old black and white movie he had barely been paying attention to. He lifted his phone and glanced down at the screen the illuminated his appearance... his hair was messy and falling into his eyes slightly since the hood he was wearing had pushed it all forward. He read Noah's message and furrowed his eyebrows, "Alice Murphy." he murmured under his breath and glanced away from his phone. He had known there was something about her that had caught his eye... and it seemed she was a little different to what he had expected. Maybe those wide innocent blue eyes weren't as innocent as he had previously thought.

He threw his phone to one side again began to smirk a little to himself. It wasn't that he was amused with the situation... he wasn't angry, annoyed, calm or unbothered. Inside, he felt nothing... there was just a void of darkness that seemed to never end, but there was an opportunity here that could not go unnoticed and as Magnus settled back to watch the movie just as a woman on the screen screamed in that old hollywood dramatic way, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest spark of excitement at the site of a new target on the horizon...

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon when Alice got back from a jog along side her mother. Her cheeks were bright pink as she stood outside the front of the house to stretch as her mother went inside to grab some water. Birds chirped enthusiastically in the trees surrounding the house, obviously enjoying the bright crisp cold day more than Alice was. The road had been slightly icy and she had fallen a few miles back and scraped her knee, it wasn't bleeding anymore but it was still bright red.

As she stretched with her right leg outstretched before her, she noticed a large black SUV cruising slowly down the road out of the corner of her eye. She ignored it at first, but it seemed to take longer than usual to pass and the birds around her seemed to have quietened down. Alice looked up and stood up straight, feeling a wave of discomfort wash over her as the car slowed down almost to a stop a few metres down from where she was standing but then sped up as she tried to look into the tinted windows. The car was unmarked, with no obvious brand and a license plate that looked altered with black tape.

Alice's felt the nerves begin to pool in her stomach as she watched the SUV drive away and turn a corner calmly without signalling. Suddenly her phone ringtone sounded from her pocket, causing her to jump a little. Immediately she pulled it out and answered, seeing Candice's name and picture on the screen. "Hello?" she answered, feeling a little out of breath as the video for Facetime started.

"-So Trey is having some friends over this evening because my parents are out, so i invited Olive and Georgia over just now, do you want to come too? Its just a chill thing apparently, but there will be alcohol." Candice offered, holding her phone under her face as she walked. It was evident she was in the mall from the clothe shelves around her.

"If its chill, why are you buying a new outfit?" Alice asked, glancing up and down the road just in case the SUV was circling round.

"I always buy new outfits," Candice replied, grinning down at the screen then looking back up. "So are you coming? Should i get you your usual?" she carried on to ask, referring to the alcohol that she drunk.

"Yeah i'll be there, what time?" Alice asked as she began to walk back into her house...

~

... Later that evening Alice's father's car, a land rover discovery, pulled up outside Candice's stylish home, the gate open yet Richard Murphy knew deep down that being dropped off at the door by a parent wasn't the way any young teenager wanted to make their entrance. "Text me when you're ready to be picked up, alright? No later than midnight, though."

"Okay, thanks for the lift," Alice smiled, tucking both sides of her blonde hair behind her ears before she got out of the car and hopped down onto the road before she shut the door. Dressed in tight thick black leggings, a long sleeved olive coloured ribbed textured turtle neck, with a black leather jacket covering and her newest and favourite orange faux fur coat Alice slipped through the side gate and walked up the path to Candice's front door. She could hear the muffled slow thump of music from through the door and pressed the doorbell, hoping to herself that she wasn't about to walk into a full blown house party.

The opened a few moments later to a beautifully dressed Candice who had her full lips painted red to match her nails, her hair brown curled to perfection and her own black jeans and Tommy Hilfiger bandeaux top showing off her stomach. "Quick," Candice hissed, pulling Alice in with her right hand since the other was holding a red cup. "You won't believe who is here," she said quickly as she dragged to the Kitchen and poured her a drink.

"Who?" Alice asked, trying to recognise the song playing from the living room. There seemed not to be that many people in the house... probably below fifteen since she had barely seen any apart from one person walking to the bathroom behind them a few moments ago.

"Magnus," Candice replied, seeing Alice's eyes suddenly widen. "Down it," she added as she handed Alice the drink. Alice obeyed instantly and downed the strong rum and coke mixture and put the cup down beside her as she tried to resist the urge to gag. "He is actually terrifying, he's barely said a word since he has been here and its been like half an hour." Candice continued, "More?"

"No, i'm okay," Alice whispered, reaching up to smooth her hair down whilst she let out a heavy breath.

"Okay," Candice sighed too, "Let's go through, I don't want to leave Olive and Georgia alone for too long, I honestly thought one of them was going to cry when he said hello,"

"God," Alice murmured under her breath as she shrugged off her coat and placed it over a bar stool by the breakfast bar and left her purse there too. She followed Candice through to the living room where there was a large fire place, state of the art sound system and large glass windows that looked out over their styled down to the last blade of grass garden. The furniture was all cream and dark wood, giving the room a rustic modern aesthetic.

Alice fought the urge to look at Magnus first as she entered the room after Candice, "Guys Alice is here," she grinned as the sound of Blossom Dearie by Ravyn Lenae flowed from the speakers gently, filling the room with a calm aura.

"Hi Alice," A round of voices said, some low and some slightly higher. Alice smiled as her greeting and let her hair fall slightly in front of her face as she sat down on the long L shaped cream couch and placed her hands in her lap as her eyes scanned the room. She was sat next to Olive who had her legs crossed underneath her with Georgia on the floor in front of her with the coffee table opposite. The couch was taken up by the four junior girls who had begun their own conversation that Alice had just caught on to.

On the other side of the room Trey played foosball with a three other of his friends, who Alice recognised to be Charlie, and two other boys she didn't recognise. One of which happened to be Noah Wilson whose signature black beanie and thick black rimmed glasses seemed to stand out against the usual jocks appearances, considering one of them was even wearing their ice hockey Jersey in the schools deep blue colour. There were some girls present that Alice recognised but had never spoken to properly... she realised she was surrounded with a small portion of the schools social elite seniors and felt her stomach twist slightly with nerves, however there were only about twelve of them. One of which was Magnus Johnson, who her eyes landed on last.

He was lent against the wall next to the fire, engaged in a one-sided conversation with Juniper Welsh who had bright red hair and an extremely sporty background. There were rumours that most of her family made it to the winter Olympics for Canada. Alice slowly drank in Magnus's appearance, his dark black jeans and an olive loose green t-shirt that seemed to be in the same shade as hers yet his looked substantially more expensive. His arms, that were on show, were covered in tattoos that made her skin warm, so she looked away before she could even look over his face.

The gathering was just like Candice had said, calm, relaxed, no intense drum and bass music or EDM like those parties she usually attended where she would leave too drunk and with a headache. Alice drank a little, knowing that she would have to face her parents at the end of the night encouraged her not to drink as much as Candice was. "Come to the bathroom with me?" Olive asked as she stood up from the couch and unravelled herself from a thick blood red blanket.

"Okay," Alice murmured, needing the loo herself but didn't have the confidence to leave the hub of the gathering on her own. It seemed as they wandered together out of the living room that the level of intoxication of the seniors had increased, they were talking louder and laughing more than before.

"Have you ever felt like more of a child?" Olive scoffed as they tried the door of the downstairs bathroom closest to the living room, which turned out to be locked. "I mean... i've been drinking cranberry juice all night because I have Church tomorrow... and I refuse to turn up hung over," she continued, "I had to tell Lucy Bazely that there was vodka in it because i was scared she was going to like, make fun of me or something."

"We're only sixteen... well, you're seventeen but still." Alice replied, "I don't see why we have to drink alcohol as much as they do,"

"Yeah-"

"Maybe they're all just depressed." A voice said from behind them, causing them to turn around. Magnus stood there with a playful subtle smirk, his hair pushed back neatly again and his eyes glowing golden in this light. As if on cue everyone in the other room began to chant Push me to the edge, all my friends are dead, which was the famous chorus line from XO Tour Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert. Olive chuckled nervously and Alice just stared blankly back at him with an unreadable expression. "Is this the queue for the bathroom?" he then asked with that same smirk playing on his lips as if he knew something they didn't whilst he lifted a beer bottle to his lips and took a sip.

"There are other bathrooms upstairs," Alice replied almost instantly, causing Magnus to tilt his head to the left a little. She felt Olive nudge her in protest to her slightly hostile response.

"So why are you here then?" he asked, challenging her as he stared into her eyes with an unfaltering gaze. "If there are other bathrooms." he added. Alice stared back and felt her heart beginning to thud as she felt slightly intimidated by not only by her crush on him but the information she knew and their height difference. He could easily overpower her, he had thick muscles in his arms and shoulders but they weren't overdone and didn't stand out too much if you looked at him from a distance. But up close... there was so many details she was just noticing.

"Um," she said quietly, but was saved from replying as the bathroom opened and Juniper popped her head out,

"Mags? I thought i heard your voice! Charlie's got coke," She grinned as Charlie's head also appeared from behind the door, his pupils were huge and his hand was pinching the bridge of his noise. "Get in here," Juniper added, her voice quick and excited.

"Excuse me ladies," Magnus replied smoothly and stepped passed Alice and Olive and slipped into the bathroom with closed sharply in their faces. The two girls were left in shock and hesitated before they turned away and decided to go to another bathroom upstairs.

"Mags?" Olive repeated in a whisper as they climbed the stairs to use the bathroom in Candice's room to avoid coming across anyone else. "His nickname is Mags?"

"I like it," Alice replied, picturing his face as he looked down at her with that expression a few moments ago.

"Of course you do," Olive chuckled. "God he's so intimidating, I don't understand it," she continued as they entered Candice's room and got on with what they were wondering away from the gathering for in the first place...

Only a few moments earlier the bathroom door had reopened, Magnus slipped back out of the bathroom, not having touched a speck of what had previously been offered to him by his friends. His expression had changed back to the vacant stare as he left the hallway outside of the downstairs bathroom and walked carefully through the house towards where the stairs were. He listened to Alice and Olive walking up them, talking about him quietly for a few moments before he continued on in the dark hall and made his way silently to the kitchen.

He left the lights off as he walked towards where Alice had thrown her coat of the back of the bar stool. He searched the pockets quietly... and when he found nothing he put it back as he had found it. He then moved onto her purse and opened it up, dipping his left hand in carefully and feeling around for that slither of technology that he was looking for... a few lingering seconds ticked by but he didn't find Veronica's phone. Instead, he pulled out Alice's and stared down at it for a moment. He smiled eerily and pulled out his own phone and unlocked it, then opened up an app a close friend of his had developed which meant he could unlock anyone's phone by waving his own across the screen.

Alice's iPhone unlocked with a quiet click and he went onto her settings, turning all the location finders on so that wherever this phone would go from now on, he would be able to find out. Before he put her phone back he scanned her messages, her notes and pictures... looking for something that would tell him if she had told anyone about what she may have found on Veronica's phone. He knew she had it... and he was determined to get it back without the contents of it being spilled by any means necessary.