This chapter was originally going to be part of the story but it had no place in story that never had flashblacks into the past.

●One year ago●
☆Alex POV☆

Alex hadn't heard from Mary or Frances for some time. As weird as it was, he had ignored it up until now. Why was it everytime they saw him they would turn away from him. In the stores, in the streets. Why?

What did he do wrong?

It was time to end this awkwardness. Enough was enough. He had to see why they were acting so odd. What was going on with them? Maybe he was just scared to be alone. Isolation, Alex found out, is the reason his magic had gotten so strong in the past few days. Growing until it threatened to destroy him from the inside. Freezing him until he was nothing but ice.

"Where is Frances?" were the first words out of Alex's mouth upon entering the coffee shop. The small shop where Mary was sitting and drinking a latte.

After all, Frances hadn't been in town for weeks, and that wasn't normal. Frances always wanted to hang out with Alex, hoping to improve his skill with magic. Frances was never good magic-wise, but he more than made up for it with his willingness to learn. On the other hand, Mary was good but she never cared enough about magic to actually try improve it.

Right now, Mary didn't even look up from from her cell phone when she heard Alex approach.

Her short blonde hair now had neon pink streaks in it and her clothing was much more revealing. Her light blue eyes looked up at Alex with disinterest, and then back to her phone. She looked like a completely new person to him. It was like she had changed over night.

"Busy, I guess." Mary stated monotonous, giving him a shrug.

"Yeah," Alex muttered sarcastically, "busy at his mansion. I'm serious where is he? He isn't responsing to my texts."

Mary stayed silent, almost too long before she spoke up again. "He's probably out of town with our friend."

"Friend? Who?"

"Sa-" Mary started only to stop suddenly. "You know what.. Don't even worry about it, it's not like you're our friend anyway."

"Mary," Alex sighed. "What's going on?"

France was most likely still bitter that he couldn't control his magic. Last time they all hung out Frances' magic nearly kill them. He just needed to practice, that's all.

"Like, things got out of hand last time. Maybe.. Maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore, Alex. I mean, for your safety."

At that, Alex sat on an empty chair by Mary, "What do you mean, for my safety?"

"Look, I get you're trying to be nice by help me out with my magic since you're like a pro," Mary responsed, she was still avoiding his gaze. "but like, who gives a fuck?! It's not like it's important or anything."

"Mary, look I w-" Alex started, his voice rising. He stopped. The look in Mary's eyes wasn't disinterest, it was fear. Why? What was she afraid of? What was scary enough to make Mary, queen of ice and confidence, feel afraid?

"Oh well, looks like my blond boy toy is here. Peace out homie!" Mary fake laughed, standing up before Alex could say anything else.

He looked up to see Frances was at the door, his light brown eyes widened when he spotted Alex. His eyes held fear, and he was much more slimmer than Alex remembered him being. What was happening to them? What made them so freaked out?

It felt like there was so much left unsaid, and her fear proved they were hiding something from him. He sighed. Oh well. If they didn't want to listen it was fine. What's the worse that could happen?

Alex stood up so fast his chair fell back, earn him a glare from the dude behind the counter. Momentarily stopping, Mary looked back at Alex before turning back to Frances. Stop her, find out what is making her so scared. Protect Mary, protect Frances. They're like me.

Alex opened his mouth, but it was pointless. He didn't know what to say, what to do, or how to appeal to them.

If they leave, I'll truly be alone.

They were magical souls like Alex, but they no longer wanted to listen to his ideas on how this magic worked. Wasn't it last week they couldn't stop bugging him about learning more? What had changed all that?

Make them talk, make them stay. He froze up, letting Mary and Frances walk out of the coffee shop. If he knew that was the last time he would see them he would have done something, anything to make them stay.

Alone..

Alex's magic curling up in his chest, but it was nothing like true cold that would consume him for the next couple months of his life...

Isolation, after all, is the root of his magic.