Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

Playing Third Wheel

October 21

    Mallory called me on Saturday morning. I was working on AP Calculus homework (because what other fun could a high school student have on a weekend?) when my phone rang. I answered the call. "Hey?"

    "Beantown," Mallory said. "So you know what I said about going to the extreme indoor gym?"

    "Yeah," I said.

     I could hear her exhale. "Well, guess what? Halfborn apologizes to me last night. It was actually really sweet and sentimental coming from him. He said our ancestors were both great warriors and that sometimes the Vikings won and sometimes the Gaelic tribes repelled them. Then, he said I was stronger than most Vikings would be and prettier and he really wanted to apologize."

    I found myself smiling. "That's great. So I guess you're going with him today?"

     "Yes," Mallory said. "We're girlfriend and boyfriend again."

     "Well, I hope you have a fun time," I said.

       "You'll know if we do or not," Mallory said. "I invited you. I'm not rescinding my offer just because Halfborn said something mushy."

    "But I thought you invited me because he wasn't going," I protested.

    "Beantown," Mallory said. "You're my friend; that's why I invited you. I promise Halfborn and I won't do too much PDA. I'd like you to come, but only if you want to."

   I blinked. "I'd be thrilled," I said.

    "Great," Mallory said. "Text me your address and I'll pick you up in an hour."

     She hung up the phone and I sat there, smiling like an idiot for several moments before telling my mother about my plans.

***

     I wasn't huge on athletic wear, but I had an inkling not to wear jeans to a gym, so I put on some sweatpants and a Nirvana t-shirt. Then, I applied some extra deodorant and waited for the text from Mallory that said she was here. When it arrived, I hugged my mother goodbye and went outside.

    Mallory and Halfborn were sitting in the front of Mallory's Prius, so I clambered into the back. Halfborn grinned at me. "Thanks for giving me that romantic advice, bro."

   Mallory rolled her eyes. "Magnus, you're better at giving romantic advice than following your own."

    "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

     The car was stopped now, waiting for a red light to turn green. "Well," Mallory said, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. "Have you asked Alex out yet?"

   I found myself blushing furiously and I dropped my gaze to my lap where the money my mother had given me for the gym and lunch was furled up. "I'm working on that," I said. "Besides, I don't want to rush it. I've never dated anyone before and I don't want to mess it up. Besides, Alex probably doesn't like me."

     "Oh please," Halfborn said. "You two are adorable together. You even have a good ship name: Magnex."

     "Huh?" I said.

      My friends had been talking about me and Alex without my knowledge? I didn't know whether to be offended or amused. "told you," Mallory said, turning the car. "Fierrochase sounds better."

    "But they're like magnets," Halfborn said. "They are attracted to each other, hence Magnex."

     "Fierrochase is the official ship name," Mallory said. "We already voted on it."

    Wait, what? It could only get worse if I found out they were writing fan fiction about us. "Ummm, guys," I said. "What's the gym like?"

    Halfborn's eyes lit up and he started talking about how it was the best gym in town and no other gym could ever compare. "Your normal gyms have weights, some machines, and a track. If you're lucky, they might have a pool. This place is not like that. It has indoor obstacle courses, a mini zip line, trampolines, and lots more in addition to the usual stuff. Our first date was here."

"No," Mallory said. "We were strictly friends then. Our first official date was the Homecoming Dance."

Halfborn looked like he might argue, but he wisely kept quiet. They had just reconciled and I didn't want to see them rowing again. When we got to the place, I had to sign a waiver saying I wouldn't sue the place if I accidentally got killed. I might've forged my dad's signature (if you're not part of my life for seventeen years, then I have all the rights to do so).

Then, we went into the gym. "Whoa," I said.

My jaw dropped. Halfborn was right: this wasn't a normal gym. The place was huge and I couldn't look at just one thing for awhile. I found myself gazing at the zip line, then the track overhead, then a ball pit. "Come on," Mallory said, breaking into my thoughts. "Let's go have some fun."

We started with an obstacle course. Most of them were designed for two people, but this one was big enough to accommodate three. Mallory whistled for us to go.

I ran forward. The obstacle course was an inflatable one and the first thing to do was use a rope to climb up a ten foot wall. I did so slower than my companions and I was gasping by the time I got to the top. Next, I was-scrambled, half-fell down the ledge before slipping through three hoops.

The next part was a forest of inflatable punching bag. I weaved my way through them, the stitch in my side getting sharper. Finally, there was a some hurdles to jump over and one last wall to scale. By the time I reached it, my friends were already at the top. I clambered my way up and then slid down the slide in relief.

Mallory and Halfborn were smiling as I reached the ground. "I won," Mallory said.

"Only by a second," Halfborn said.

"I'll beat you at wrestling," Mallory vowed.

"I'd like to see you try," Halfborn retorted.

My asthma was acting up and I found myself coughing. Both of their faces turned to me in concern. "You okay, Magnus?" Mallory asked.

I nodded. "Inhaler."

It took me a couple minutes to find the cubicles where we'd stashed our stuff. I took several breaths with the inhaler until my lungs started to relax. Halfborn clapped me on the back. "Take it easy if you need, man."

I nodded. "I think I'd like to watch you two wrestle."

They both grinned. "Well then," Mallory said. "We better get to it."