Chapter 113: The Week That Just Keeps on Giving

Five minutes somehow ended up being more than five minutes, mostly because Ethan’s screen had frozen mid-snack and they had to wait for him. When the grid finally filled back up, Harper cleared her throat and gestured for attention.

“Before we begin,” she said, “now that you’ve all had a chance to calm down, I’d like to address Maya’s earlier proposal.”

Maya shrank a little on her tile, pulling her knees toward her chest. Chloe’s hand reached out from off-camera to rest quietly on her shoulder.

Harper looked around her living room, then at the laptop screen. “While Maya’s idea wasn’t a good one, like all of you had pointed out, you should all take a step back and think about why she’d suggested it. Those of you who had shot it down, you’re either very logical, or you’ve met Alex in person since after…” She paused, letting the heavy silence finish the sentence for her. “Most of us have not seen it with our own eyes yet. We’re operating solely from what you’ve told us, and that’s going to be harder for some of us than others.”

Nobody interrupted. On the couch beside Magnus, Naomi stared down at her hands.

“Maya wasn’t thinking about amnesiac Alex when she suggested that,” Harper continued gently when the room stayed silent. “She was still thinking about the Alex who’d called everyone here two weeks ago. And I’m sure she’s not the only one among us. Because, in a sense, she’s still our Alex, in every way but a crucial one.”

Harper took a soft breath. “Maya operates on instinct and heart. And if we were dealing with the Alex who remembers loving Magnus unconditionally, Maya’s idea wouldn’t even be crazy. And let’s be honest, none of you would have opposed that plan if that were the case. Because that Alex would have laughed it off. But the painful reality we all have to accept—especially Maya—is that the girl on campus right now isn’t our Alex when it comes to Magnus. She’s a stranger who treats him like an ex she just dumped.”

For a long moment, Maya didn’t speak. When she did, her voice was smaller than Magnus had ever heard it.

“I… I didn’t even realize I was doing that,” she said softly, “until you pointed it out.”

“I know,” Harper said, her tone softening. “Your heart is both your strength and your weakness, Maya.”

From the campus bench, Sofia shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her neck. Tony had dived into the bag of chips between her and Jordan now.

“I’m sorry I raised my voice earlier,” Sofia said softly. “I know you mean well, you just… didn’t see her last night.”

“I’m sorry, too, Maya,” Magnus added from the couch. “I should have done a better job at explaining—”

A firm hand landed on his shoulder. Dash shook his head. “No, don’t take this on yourself, Magnus. No one can explain what happened to the point everyone else can just believe it. It’s not something you can just accept unless… like Harper says, you see it for yourself or are just more logical than emotional.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Ethan said, leaning so close to his camera his face distorted, “Aaron is just a heartless robot?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Really, Ethan? Trying to pick a fight, you clown?”

Camila smacked her boyfriend’s shoulder hard enough to rattle his webcam. “Shut up, Ethan!”

“Hey, I’m just trying to lighten the mood… and get us back on track!” Ethan rubbed his arm with a wounded expression. “Are we continuing this brainstorming session or what?”

Jordan let out a dry exhale from the quad. “Hate to say it, but Zhang’s got a point. We should get back to it.” She paused, looking away for a second before meeting the camera again. “…And hopefully coming up with something that actually meets Alex where she is now and not where you remember her from a week ago.”

“Zhang et al. strikes again!” Ethan declared, raising a triumphant fist.

“Shut up, Ethan!” multiple people shouted across the grid in unison.

***

The second brainstorming session was shorter, tighter, and infinitely less criminal than the first.

They systematically ruled out the obvious: trying to force physical proximity or engineer a romantic moment between Magnus and a girl who currently maintained a strict five-foot boundary was a non-starter. It wouldn’t just fail; it would destroy whatever fragile baseline they had left.

“If we can’t revoke the power quickly,” Rachel reasoned from her tile, “we minimize the potential triggers. Reduce her chances of encountering animals as much as possible while Magnus works on getting closer to her through the Hannah Coburn thread.”

“It lines up with what we were planning to do anyway,” Valeria agreed, her pen clicking against her clipboard. “You know, Operation: Get Them Back Together or whatever Camila was calling it—having Naomi help Magnus with trying to rebuild their baseline and everything. We just need to do that while also keeping Alex occupied and away from anything with fur or feathers.”

“Exactly!” Harper nodded. “We don’t need to solve everything immediately. We just need to contain the situation, keeping it from getting worse.”

“Killing two birds with one stone.” Ethan clapped his hands together. “Nice!”

“Please don’t say ‘birds,’” Sofia muttered.

As if on cue, Tony nodded sagely. “Any plan that involves killing birds is a good plan!”

It sounded like a solid plan. For about thirty seconds, it felt like they finally had a workable strategy.

Then Naomi tentatively raised her hand.

“Um, guys…” She had gone slightly pale. “There might be a huge problem with that plan…”

The room turned to her, and several faces on the screen leaned closer.

“Alex volunteers at an animal shelter every Wednesday,” Naomi pointed out, her voice shrinking under the group’s gaze. “It’s where she and Magnus had a lot of their dates last trimester.” She glanced shyly at Magnus. “I was even invited to that shelter a few weeks ago.”

Magnus’s palm slammed directly into his forehead. On the campus bench, Sofia executed the exact same synchronized facepalm.

“Right, that! I forgot about that!” Sofia groaned into her hands. “Yeah, we can stop a few animals here and there on campus. But she walks into that place and it’s all over.”

Aaron pushed his glasses up his nose. “So, we really only have two choices: Either Magnus somehow kisses her before Wednesday afternoon, or we have to stop her from going there.”

“Suddenly,” Ethan remarked, leaning back in his chair with a sly grin, “Maya’s plan doesn’t sound so bad, now does it?”

Camila drove her elbow square into his ribs. “Too soon, Ethan! Too soon!”

“Or what if Magnus turns invisible and kisses her?” Ethan wheezed, completely undeterred by physical violence. “Operation: Invisible Prince Charming?”

Camila immediately reached over and playfully strangled her boyfriend, shaking him by his neck. “Why are you like this?”

“I’m kidding, geez!” Ethan batted frantically at her arms. “We’re obviously going with the stopping-her-from-going-to-the-shelter plan. That first choice was never a choice at all, if you think about it. Aaron just likes to be technical about everything.”

Aaron opened his mouth to dispute it, hesitated, and sighed. “…Okay. Fair.”

“Alright, moving on then!” Valeria tapped her pen on her clipboard. “Dash, Emily, couldn’t you two just, I don’t know, assign Alex something to keep her away from the shelter—a mandatory Student Council task or something on Wednesday afternoon?”

Emily hesitated, glancing at her boyfriend. Dash folded his hands, his expression turning sharp and analytical.

“We could,” he said. “But there’s a risk. Alex is sharp, independent, and already hyper-vigilant about her friends acting strangely around her. If we try a fake excuse, a clumsy schedule manipulation, or a blatant lie, her alarms will ring instantly.” He looked directly at the camera. “And the higher her walls go, the more wary she’ll be around Magnus, making our ultimate goal even harder.”

Sofia nodded solemnly from the bench. “He’s right. She’s been watching me and Jordan since last night. She’s probably keeping an eye on Emily and Dash as well.”

Magnus looked up in alarm. “She has? Why?”

Sofia snorted. “In her eyes right now, you’re probably the most dangerous ex she’s ever had, Magnus.”

Magnus stared at the screen.

“Dude, think about it,” Sofia continued. “No other guy she’s dated has managed to turn her closest friends against her. And last night, both Jordan and I took your side over hers. So, of course she’s intrigued.” She paused. “…That’s actually a good thing, now that I think about it—her curiosity could work to our advantage. Still, we can’t overdo it, or it could backfire and antagonize you in her eyes instead.”

Magnus blinked. “Come again?”

Sofia rolled her eyes. “She already knows you’re the guy whom her closest friends choose to hang out with even after she decided on a break up. That’s why she’s watching all of us. If she sees that we’re still her friends and still have her best interest at heart, that’s a good thing. But if she thinks you’re turning us against her, then you’re turning into the bad guy.”

“Huh,” she added after a moment. “That’s probably why I reacted so strongly against Maya’s earlier idea, actually. I hadn’t even realized I was doing that. Sorry again, Maya. I should have articulated myself better earlier.”

“No. No. It’s my fault,” Maya said. “Now that we’re all on the same page, I understand why you all reacted that way.”

“Anyway,” Aaron said, clearing his throat, “we should get back to the topic.”

“Yes, about that. I’m not saying we won’t help,” Dash clarified smoothly, “just that whatever reason we end up using to actually keep Alex away from the shelter, it needs to be valid. Or the costs may outweigh the benefits.”

Ethan tapped his chin. “What if we arrange something shelter-side instead? If the shelter cancels Alex’s shift, would that work out better? No lies on her end—she just gets an official notice that they don’t need volunteers that afternoon.”

Sofia considered that. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

“Could be worth looking into,” Jordan agreed.

“So we have two approaches,” Aaron summarized. “Either find a way for the shelter to cancel on Alex, or find a legitimate reason for the Student Council to keep Alex occupied.”

“Why not prepare for both?” Naomi suggested. “I mean, if one doesn’t work, we’d still have the other.”

“That makes sense,” Dash agreed. “Emily and I can look into what we can reasonably assign her on Wednesday. But I’d rather not commit to anything until we know whether the shelter option is viable.”

“And in the meantime,” Sofia said, “Jordan and I can look into the shelter angle. See if there’s a way to get her shift cancelled without raising any suspicions.”

Jordan nodded. “I guess we can handle that.”

Harper turned to Magnus and Naomi. “That leaves the task of running interference between Alex and any animals around campus to you two, then. Think you can handle that?”

“Yeah.” Magnus nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m okay with that.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Naomi said. “We’ll need to be in her general vicinity to recreate their history, anyway. And I’ve got tons of experience watching Alex from afar without her knowing.” She blushed. “I swear it’s not as creepy as it sounded.” A short pause. “Okay, maybe it is, but this time, it’s for a good cause.”

Harper glanced at the time. “Alright, it’s getting late—almost lunchtime already—and I’m sure you all have other obligations. So, if there’re no other emergencies, I think we can end the meeting here.”

A chorus of agreement rang out.

Magnus let out a long breath, staring at the screen as the call began to disconnect, people wishing him luck and saying their goodbyes.

Wednesday afternoon. That gave them barely forty-eight hours.

Between keeping Alex from discovering she could hear squirrels talk, navigating Student Council politics, and trying to get her — who currently viewed him as a mildly annoying ex — to fall for him all over again, the week was shaping up to be an absolute nightmare.

Still, Magnus thought, rubbing his temples as he stood up from the couch, at least we're not breaking into her bedroom at 3 AM. Small victories.