Monday morning had arrived, yet Ryan’s mood hadn’t improved much. The sadness had made place for apathy in his heart. Just like yesterday, he was laying on his bed, having woken up from a tormented sleep, bags under his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the ceiling, random thoughts whirling in his head.

Ryan had had a lot of time to think about everything that had happened, and he'd finally concluded that there was nothing he could do. He’d given up. Ryan was done. For the past few days, he’d been able to see his web of lies slowly unravel before his eyes, his careful ministrations rendered to nothing. He’d fought and fought to try and hold everything together, but it had all been for nothing, it had all fallen apart. He was stuck with a curse that came and complicated his already impossible life. Thinking about it, he had no friends, no hobbies, no family. The only thing he’d been was a puppet for Becker, who used him when he needed him, and then discarded him like a broken toy.

He didn't care anymore. He was going to tell Sarah, consequences be damned.

-

Sarah was excited. Excited and nervous. A bit angry, too, if she was being honest with herself. Her weekend had been troubled, after the events from Friday. She’d simply glanced in Ryan’s direction, looking at him, when her gaze had been pulled towards the bracelet on his wrist. It had felt like something incredible had been before her eyes, but that she’d been unable to understand what. She’d kept looking, stealing glances at it. Every time she’d felt like there was something more to the bracelet, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what.

Deep down, she’d known something weird was going on. This hadn’t been normal. She’d known that Ryan had been struggling with something in his life, ever since Wednesday morning. Most people wouldn’t have been able to notice at first, but Sarah was different. She was extremely perceptive, and some of Ryan’s subtle body language had told her he’d been mildly troubled, that something was on his mind.

She hadn't thought much of it, at first. Everyone has bad days, after all. The next day, however, had been very different. All day long, Ryan had been distracted, Sarah could practically feel the anguish emanating from him. It had been so bad other people from their class had noticed something was bothering him, throwing a few glances his way whenever he would put his head in his hands or stare at his page, lost in thoughts.

Seeing someone usually so stoic lose his cool had made Sarah feel worried. Adding the fact that he didn't seem to have any friends, Sarah had decided that she should talk to him, and thus had gone to talk to him during lunch break. Unfortunately, he'd shut her down, and she hadn't wanted to pry too much, lest he became angry.

Then came Friday, and the bracelet incident with it. She’d tried talking to him again, and this time she had been the one feeling anxious. She’d needed to know what had been going on. Even though she’d tried to not think about it, the whole situation had felt eerie, almost unnatural, as ridiculous as it sounded. Try as she might, she hadn’t been able to get that thought out of her head. Her only solution had been talking to Ryan. She was certain that he knew something. Unfortunately, he'd practically ran away from her. But today was different. She was getting answers, no matter what. She wouldn’t go away until they talked.

That was Sarah’s mindset when she arrived in class. The first thing she noticed as she made her way inside the classroom was that Ryan wasn't there yet. He would usually sit down in the same seat, at the back of the class, but with his recent behavior, she couldn’t be certain he wouldn’t decide to sit elsewhere. Come to think of it, she wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to stay home. Her confrontation on Friday might have been the last straw for him. The thought made her heart sink. What if he didn’t come today ? She’d have to find him, she had to figure this out, but she didn’t know where he lived. She was desperate for answers, and wasn’t sure she could wait another day, let alone any longer than that.

Her fears were laid to rest when she spotted him entering the room a few minutes later. He looked defeated, Sarah thought. His movements were sluggish, though he was still trying to hide it, and there were bags under his eyes. He sat down in his usual spot, slouched and finally looked in her direction. They made eye contact, and Sarah swore she could see him get even more resigned. He sank in his seat even more, and glanced at his bracelet. Then, he looked at her, and nodded. 

Sarah sighed in relief. It seemed like she'd be getting the answers she wanted.

Morning passed really slowly for Sarah, and she was pretty sure the same could be said for Ryan. She had to make an active effort not to look at him or his bracelet, but she still stole a few glances his way from time to time, before wrestling her gaze back towards the teacher. The bracelet still had the same effect on her, which didn’t help at all.

When noon finally came, she couldn’t take it anymore. She sprang from her seat and made a beeline towards Ryan’s desk. A few of her classmates sent odd looks her way, but she was way past caring about that.

Ryan evidently saw her coming, and his expression told her he’d clearly been expecting it. When she was close enough, he stood up, and looked her in the eyes.

“Come with me,” he sighed, before walking away.

Sarah followed him, a bit outraged at his attitude, but quickly reeled it in. Whatever he wanted to tell her, it was obvious he wanted privacy. Together, they made their way outside, walking through the throng of students. Ryan led her to a nearby park, where they found a secluded bench.

Sarah felt pity when she looked at Ryan. He hid it well, but he was shaking slightly, and was shying away from her. He was looking down at his feet, breathing a bit hard. It looked like he didn’t know where to start. Sarah decided she should help him.

“What is that bracelet, Ryan?” She asked, keeping her tone gentle.

He looked up at her, a bit surprised, before gazing back down again. He mulled over his words, opening his mouth and closing it a few times, still shaking, before taking a deep breath.

“It’s called a focus, it’s magic.” He said. His voice wavered on the last word, and he was holding his left arm for comfort.

 “Magic?” She asked, still keeping her tone gentle. She wanted to put a hand on his arm, but was afraid it would scare him off. At the same time, Ryan’s words were troubling her. She almost didn't want to believe it, but yet also knew that whatever was happening couldn't be normal.

Ryan was obviously struggling with the conversation, but the words didn’t seem to want to come out of his mouth. His hand was gripping his arm tightly know, his knuckles turning white. Finally, when Sarah was about to speak again to try and help him, he exhaled and the dam cracked. He told her everything.

He started by telling her about magic, how it had awakened within him when he was a kid. He told her about using it, discovering most people can’t see it, then figuring out how it works, and starting to enjoy it. Then he told her about Becker, who found him using it in public a few years later, how the professor had screamed at him for using it where others could see, how Becker had agreed to teach him its usage in exchange of his help. He told her about the strange forest, how no one can go inside besides magic users, the creatures within that he must fend off, lest they come and attack people, how Becker made him help and taught him to kill creatures thrice his size. Finally, he told her about the bracelet, how a strange man had given it to him in a strangely forgettable place, how it was cursed and threatened to reveal his magic to everyone around him.

The only thing he hadn’t explained was the curse itself, something Sarah had picked up on. When Ryan finally stopped talking, he looked to be on the verge of tears. She gave him a bit of time, to regain his composure, mulling over his story in the meantime. During his tale, she’d interrupted a few times to ask for clarifications, and she’d been impressed. He had been clear, and quick to answer every single question, often adding even more details than she’d asked for. Sarah’s skepticism was beginning to fade. Creating that kind of story on the spot with so many details was nearly impossible.

When she again looked down at the bracelet, she realized something was different. This time, she thought she thought she could see light in it, swirling in patterns. Even more, she felt instinctually as if the bracelet was attached to Ryan. She knew, somehow, that it couldn’t be taken off easily. The thoughts confused her. Where had they come from?

She adverted her gaze, trying to focus on their conversation again. She needed to ask him about the curse, and thus the bracelet. It had been what she’d wanted to know about all this time. She was worried the curse was affecting her, pulling her towards the bracelet.

“Ryan,” she said, her voice soft. “As strange as that is to say, I think I believe you.”

Ryan looked up at her, obviously relieved but still a bit surprised.

“But I need to know about that curse,” his gaze turned desperate at that. “Whenever I look at your bracelet, it feels like there is something more about it, I almost can’t look away. Is that part of the curse you talked about ?”

---

Ryan was feeling confused. What was she talking about ? His questions about her ability to tell the bracelet was magic were coming back to his mind. She obviously wasn’t a magic user, she should have figured it out years ago, otherwise. The power within him had become almost impossible to ignore over the years, it should have been the same for her if she’d been one. Still, she could see there was more to the bracelet than a mere decorative accessory. So what was it?

Banishing his questions from his mind, Ryan’s thoughts came back to her own. He’d tried to avoid telling her about his transformation, but she was way too sharp to not figure out there was more to the bracelet. Resigned, he decided he needed to show her. She wouldn’t let him keep it secret, anyway.

“I can’t show you here,” he said, looking around, “There are way too many people. We need to go somewhere more private, and the only place I can think of is the forest. That way, I can also show you some flashier magic if you want.”

---

Sarah couldn’t agree faster. Real magic ! She was going to see real magic ! Plus, she would learn about the curse and get rid of the remaining skepticism that plagued her.

Unfortunately, Ryan didn’t have his car with him, and his parents were still on his case, so he couldn’t just go get it and come back, it would be too late in the afternoon by then. They would need to wait tomorrow to go to the forest, a fact which brought a lot of anxiousness to both of them. They also needed to go back to school, classes were about to start again. They’d both forgotten to eat, but they had much more important things on their mind.

They stood up, and Sarah put her hand on Ryan’s shoulder to try to reassure him. He smiled uncertainly back at her, something she realized she’d never seen him do before. Together, they made their way back to school, thinking about what tomorrow would mean for them.