Chrysalis

Chapter 9

Notes: Here is another chapter! In time for once :) Thanks a lot to the people who liked and especially commented this story, I'm horribly awkward at saying thank you but your support means the world to me.

Disclaimer: Credits for the cover art for this chapter go to サオリ (pixiv member ID=205491).

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Chapter Nine

October's crisp air slowly gave way to November's more rigid and rainy weather as winter came closer.

A pleasantly unexpected routine had filled Maggie's days. Defying her expectations, her new acquaintances hadn't forgotten about her once the novelty had died down – on the contrary, the more time passed, the more she found herself involved in the group. By that point, Maggie had grown used to Feliciano's improvised lunches – now that it was too cold to stay on the roof, they usually took place inside an old, unused music room – and to the afternoons spent at the park or studying together at the library. With the excuse of group projects, Maggie had even managed to spend a couple of times at Alfred's place when Steve was home.

Alfred had become a constant presence in Maggie's life, flooding it every day with his cheerfulness and vitality. It was almost a dream-like sensation, part of Maggie still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that what she had been living during the last month had been real. Part of her was constantly waiting for Alfred to ignore her one morning, turning his back to her and refusing to answer her greetings, but it never happened, and Maggie was slowly becoming accustomed to the thought of having Alfred around.

Of course, Maggie couldn't claim that everything was going completely smoothly.

Her heart leapt into her throat as her eyes fell on a seemingly innocent folded piece of paper when she opened her locker. Maggie could already feel her breathing speed up as her stomach coiled, but she knew Alfred was about to arrive. She couldn't risk him getting a glimpse of the note.

Trying to focus her thoughts on Alfred's warm smile, Maggie resolutely turned her eyes from the piece of paper and took out her books.

That day, however, Alfred never showed up. Maggie lingered a bit next to the locker, her stomach knotting with uneasiness, but she eventually had to start heading towards her class, dragging her feet.

Has the day finally come?

Maggie should have expected it, but the sour realization didn't hurt any less, squeezing her lungs in a cold grip.

At the same time, she couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with the picture. It wasn't only the fact Alfred hadn't waited for her at the locker as he always did any time they didn't share the first period, it was just... nothing about it was like Alfred. As nice as he was, he wasn't just going to ignore Maggie like that, he would probably distance himself more gradually... and seeing how he had gone out of his way to be present at her hockey match the previous day, it surely didn't look like so.

What if there was something wrong? Admittedly, it wouldn't be the first time Alfred was late for school. However, the previous day Mikkel had mocked Alfred's clumsiness recounting how he had ended up spilling his coke all over himself, and concentrating a bit, Maggie thought she could recall seeing a glimpse of him without a coat... for how much Alfred always bragged about his immune system, spending an afternoon completely still and probably wet in a cold ice rink wasn't going to cure cancer. Maggie's suspicions were furtherly confirmed when she came across Feliciano, who stopped her for a moment to ask if she had seen Alfred. By the time Maggie got to her class, the uneasiness in her stomach was due to a completely different cause from the beginning of the morning, but there was no time to concentrate on that.