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"So what can you tell me about yourself Alice?"

"Um," Alice hummed quietly, sat in the middle of the large pale yellow couch of Dr Cote's office that was placed on the high street next to a small family owned spa that was fairly popular with high school seniors. Her eyes carefully scanned the interior, seeing the calming soft duck egg blue walls and large window with a view that looked over a stretch of garden at the back , its colours beginning to fade as the sun set. Everything inside the room followed the colour scheme of calming pastels with the occasional white or grey tone to blend it all together, Alice thought the pale colours would calm her, but they made her skin feel slightly cold and uncomfortable. "I guess I'm a fairly calm person." She said slowly and looked back into the eyes of her therapist as she shifted in her seat.

"Mhm," Dr Cote nodded, her short dusty blonde hair brushed to one side as she looked at Alice over her clear rimmed glasses and waited for her to elaborate. They were sat opposite each other, in a way Alice believed to make the discussion more relaxed... but there was nothing relaxing about this room... there was a faint citrus smell in the air, that smelt cheap and overused... as if the candle that was emanating the scent on the desk behind Dr Cote had been left burning for weeks at a time.

"My parents suggested it was a good idea for me to come here and talk to you." She continued, flicking her hair back over her shoulder without using her hands. Alice's heart beat slowly and steadily, and her eyes wandered again and glanced down and the notebook Dr Cote was writing in before looking back at her face. She thought about what observations that Dr Cote could be making about her and let her mind drift to thoughts about what Magnus had told her about when he'd read his own file.

"And why do you think that is?" Dr Cote asked, noticing Alice glancing at the candle again.

Alice sighed and adjusted the way she was sitting once more as she looked at the certificates on the wall behind Dr Cote's glass desk, her attention was drifting... she didn't want to talk about her feelings, she didn't want to talk about what they meant, she was too interested now in figuring out who this Dr Cote was behind the fancy glasses and notebook. "They think it's a good idea for me to talk openly to someone who isn't them," Alice said gently, but the tone of her voice was slightly hostile, which was something that Cote noticed immediately.

"And you don't agree?"

"I don't think it's-" Alice stopped and stared vacantly at a discoloured patch on the cream carpet by the desk for a moment, remembering something Magnus had said when she had been interviewing him just under a week ago. Tell them what they want to hear. "Maybe it is," she sighed and laughed a little coyly. "I've just been really stressed because of school and stuff... I just was ignoring my problems and I kind of shut down, which obviously stressed out my parents."

Dr Cote noticed the subtle yet sudden switch in the way Alice spoke and made a note of it. "Shut down?" She questioned, writing her observation down still and underlining it and added a question mark.

"I get a little distracted with my thoughts." Alice smiled, tilting her head slightly to the left. "How do you do it?" She asked suddenly, causing Dr Cote to raise her eyebrows briefly.

"Do what, Alice?" she asked with curiosity as the innocent faced sixteen year old seemed to stare at her without blinking.

"Keep all the secrets... from all your patients." Alice said, her voice a little softer now. Dr Cote felt the air change in the room, and even though Alice was still smiling, it seemed to get a little colder. "Don't you ever get the urge to tell someone? What if it slips out in conversation? Do you ever feel guilty?"

"Let's talk about you," Dr Cote said gently, seeing that Alice was deflecting whilst she placed her hands together on her lap and looking at her carefully. "... Why the sudden interest in keeping secrets, Alice? Do you have some secrets you need to keep?"

"I have a few," Alice murmured, looking distant suddenly as she sat back against the couch and sighed whilst she looked around the room again. Her eyes focused on dust particles floating lifelessly in the air around the window in the faint beam of orangey evening light. Dr Cote expected her to carry on... but she sat there in silence and let the air grow slightly tense... and still didn't feel the urge to speak.

"Are any of those secrets... shutting you down? Do you think?" Dr Cote asked and Alice smiled slightly. Her gaze moved slowly to the University degree on the wall... and saw that it wasn't a top university that was known for psychology in Canada, instead it was only number four. She'd seen the price Dr J. Cote was charging her parents per hour and scoffed quietly, adjusting the way she was sitting and refolding her legs so they had switched.

"That's a good university that you went to." she commented, noticing how it was hung with such pride on the wall. Her eyes moved around the room carefully, analysing the pictures of town celebrities, visually expensive looking centrepieces on the book case... her eyes suddenly focused back on Dr Cote and her lips stretched into a close-lipped smile. Dr Cote returned the smile, seeing the calculating look Alice was giving her and felt the hairs on her arms begin to stand on end... she was taken aback silently, since none of her patients had ever made her experience such a reaction when in her presence. She was being analysed intently by a sixteen year old... and she could feel it on her skin... it was making her uncomfortable, although she made no effort to show that on the outside.

Alice analysed the clothes her therapist was wearing, the calming pastel colours seemed to be a personal favourite since the blouse and suit pants matched the aesthetics in the room... The material was evidently expensive and matched the aura of the room too. Alice noticed the holiday pictures of Dr Cote and her wife on the desk and their daughter, who was not of the same ethnicity as either of the mothers. She noticed carefully that Dr Cote had chosen many things in her office for a reason, to show off her wealth, her kind, helpful nature or intelligence... even though her degree wasn't the best of the best, she chosen to subtly show that off too. Materialistic was a term that came to mind when Alice looked at Dr Cote more... Arrogance, too. This office, her clothes, the pictures, were all her way of subtly bragging... Although there was nothing entirely wrong with any of those things, Alice found herself making her own mental notes... "What are you thinking?" Dr Cote asked, breaking the silence in an attempt to encourage Alice to talk.

"How many young patients do you have?" Alice asked, tucking some of her light blonde hair behind her ear.

"We're here to talk about you, Alice." Dr Cote said calmly and saw irritation flash across Alice's eyes very quickly before she politely smiled again. "Do you find it uncomfortable to talk about yourself?" she then asked, noticing how Alice was now reluctant to speak immediately.

"I want to be a psychologist too." Alice replied, evidently avoiding the questions as her eyes focused on the view outside the window. She watched as a small bird flew directly towards the glass, its small wings making it flutter up and down erratically, its speed making it look as if it was unaware of the glass that was there... "I like to analyse people sometimes... and find out what makes them tick," she said quietly, silently counting down the seconds until there was a loud thud against the window... she didn't flinch and stared intently at the small splatter of blood on the glass opposite her face since she could see her reflection behind it... making it look as if the blood was splattered across her own skin. "I like the idea that i'd get to listen to their secrets, see how their mind works... see how it pieces together..." she mumbled, her gaze fixed on her own reflection as she raised her hand to touch her face as if she wanted to wipe the blood away. "You know?"

She heard Dr Cote clear her throat and looked away from the reflection and back at her therapist with a smile, her eyes a little wider than before. "I think that's enough for today." Dr Cote said gently even though she could see the quiet storm beginning to form behind Alice's vibrant blue eyes... She had a strong feeling that this fresh faced sixteen year old might not be as innocent and sane as she looked... but was interested to hear what she had to say anyway.

There was something about Alice Murphy that stood out to Dr Cote... she gave off a powerful aura, and maybe wasn't even aware of it herself as she politely shook Cote's hand as she said goodbye. A wolf dressed in sheeps clothing perhaps... the phrase crossed Dr Cote's mind as she watched Alice leave her office...

Alice left the psychologists office and wandered down the stairs to sign out just as it begun raining.... she could hear the quiet pattering of the raindrops falling from the sky and onto the pavement as she scheduled another appointment for next week. The bell on the door to the office reception chimed as Alice signed her name in the registry book and turned towards the waiting room to sit down and wait for her mother...

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise and instinctively looked up, but saw no one but the white and light blue aesthetic of the waiting room still completely empty. Alice glanced back at the receptionist who was typing away on the computer, and wondered if she had heard the bell to the door chime... but the receptionist paid no attention, and behaved as if she hadn't heard it. Alice's eyebrows furrowed as she wondered about whether or not she had imagined it, since there was no one here but them.

Alice went and took a seat, deciding to pull out her phone and distract herself since sitting silently on her own in a therapists waiting room felt a little strange to her... It was five o'clock in the evening on a Thursday and the January sun was setting quickly... Alice was usually picked up on time, and noticed immediately that her mother was late by almost fifteen minutes. She waited patiently, scrolling through social media to distract herself even though she could feel her skin starting to prickle as if there were eyes on her... Although every time she looked up to check, there was no one there but the receptionist... who was still typing repetitively.

At that same moment, Noah sat in a coffee shop a little way down from the Psychologists office... the cafe was almost empty, since the evening rush had settled and dispersed into just a few lingering students hanging out with friends after extra curricular school activities had finished. Noah sat with his back to a red brick wall, his black beanie low on his head as he watched something intently on his screen. To any passerby he would've looked like he was watching an intense TV show... but in the reflection of his glasses, you could see the grainy CCTV live feed flickering with its dull grey scale colour scheme.

He watched Alice Murphy wait to be picked up just down the road from where he was... She did nothing but sit on her own and check her phone constantly... and his mind obsessed over if she was talking to Magnus or not. The thoughts of them together infected his mind constantly and he sighed, closing the live feed window and revealed a file of saved videos on his laptop, all labelled with dates and times. His jealousy and strange protectiveness over her motivated him to keep an eye on her... and he'd managed to convince himself he was doing her a favour since Magnus Johnson wasn't someone you'd leave your daughter alone with in a room, or even let near your house... and he felt that his presence would somehow help her. Just in case.

His blood boiled as he remembered watching her interview him... the way he'd watch her face with an eerie intensity, like he was picturing what he could violently do to her. Alice hadn't seen the darkness on Magnus's face... he disguised it well with lust and a subtle playfulness and she liked him too much to see it when he was affectionate towards her... whenever she looked away he would glare... and she'd be smiling and at ease around him and be completely unaware of what was happening right beside her. Noah remembered hearing him say that he was going to kiss her all too clearly... then he heard or saw nothing else until fifteen minutes later when her hand had slapped down the lid of her laptop aggressively and everything went black.

Noah knew what he was doing was wrong... watching her every move like this... but he knew what Magnus Johnson was capable of. He'd known girls who had fallen for it... and he knew exactly where they had ended up. Dead. And buried in the woods because they'd succumbed to his charm... when all Magnus was after was the hot, red liquid in their veins that he yearned to have covering his hands after he was done with them.

"Are you done with this?" A voice suddenly asked as Noah watched a replay of Magnus glaring at the side of Alice's face as she fiddled with her books on the desk. The sound made Noah jump discreetly and he pulled out an earphone,

"Yeah- thanks," he said, picking up his coffee mug and handing it to the waitress.

"Just to let you know... we close in fifteen minutes," The waitress said nicely and stepped away holding the used mug to return it behind the counter. Noah closed his laptop and began to pack away his things... noticing how the cafe was suddenly empty...

Outside it was dark now, and it seemed strange how quickly the light had faded. Just by chance, as Noah examined the large window that looked out onto the high street, he noticed a familiar face walk past the window...

Magnus walked with a purposeful lope and seemed at ease in the dark as he walked past the cafe without looking inside, and obviously not noticing Noah. He glanced down at his phone, seeing the little red dot of the location signalling where Alice's phone was, and saw that it was about fifty yards ahead...

He'd barely used the tracking app since he'd hacked her phone just over a month ago at the Eno's gathering, but recently he felt like she was avoiding him... and he wanted to know where she was without making it too obvious. He didn't feel like making her believe she had an affect on him just yet... he wanted to hide that knowledge from her and keep it all to himself since he was unsure of how she would handle it... She'd been turning the other way in the hallway all week and refusing to maintain eye contact when he saw her. He wasn't one to chase but this small game of cat and mouse seemed to ignite something in him and he found himself constantly thinking about where she might be and what she could be doing. He knew he was playing into what she might want, but he couldn't help it and his impulsiveness lead him right up to the moment where he was waiting to bump into her.

When they'd last spoken at the sports field, he didn't know why he'd gone up to congratulate her, or why he was even interested in her activities anyway... considering he'd left her high and dry only a few days before. But seeing her radiate sexy confidence and skill seemed to stick in his mind. He still hated the affect she was having on him... it annoyed him how he couldn't stop thinking about her. He wanted to confront her and ruin the connection they'd seemed to have developed but when he approached her, he ended up saying something kind and wanted to see that smile stretch across her lips and for her to gaze at him like she normally did when she thought he wasn't paying attention...

He had confused himself... since her reaction wasn't what he had expected and had thrown him off. Did he want to push her away? Or pull her forwards? He didn't know. But what he did know, right then, was that he didn't like her avoiding him like this, since he wasn't the one making the decisions anymore.

His hair was pushed back neatly and he subconsciously ran his hand through it to make sure it was still out of his face as he walked. He was dressed in all black and seemed to smirk to himself with anticipation. Noah gathered up his things quickly and hurried out the cafe to follow, knowing that just two minutes down the street Alice Murphy was alone... and potentially vulnerable to Magnus's snake like charm.

At that moment Alice's phone rang, the sudden sound of her ringtone breaking the silence of the waiting room... "Hey mom, where are you?" Alice asked after seeing that it was her mother calling.

"Hey sweetheart, would you be okay waiting for your father to come pick you up? For some reason my car won't start, the mechanics are coming over soon to see what's wrong," Sophie explained as she stood next to her VW beetle and looked it over with confusion... she'd tried to start it several times, but all the car did was wheeze erratically as if the engine wasn't working. It seemed strange since the car had been working perfectly fine that morning.

"Fine. Sure." Alice agreed as she glanced at her watch, seeing it just going quarter to six, which means her father would be done with work in just under half an hour. She could walk to his office, but that also meant walking alone down a nearly deserted street to get to the building just off the main road in town...

"Okay, call me when you're with your father. I'll see you at home!" Sophie said and hung up the phone just as she saw the mechanics truck pull up along their street.

Alice sighed and stood up, smiling a little at the receptionist as she waved goodbye politely whilst she made her way to the door to leave. It wasn't raining as hard now, but the wind had picked up... and as soon as Alice stepped outside, she felt the cold wash over her and send a shiver down her spine. "Fuck sake," she muttered to herself and turned left, deciding to take the long route to her fathers office since the shorter route lead through some questionable alley ways. Whilst hugging her faux fur orange coat around her body Alice walked with purpose, her blond hair bouncing along with her steps and she kept her head down to keep the wind from sliding down her neck.

The light jingle of bells above the door caught his attention quickly... and within seconds he had eyes on her already, since she was difficult to miss in her brightly coloured coat and light hair... He looked up and down the road before crossing, knowing that he'd be able to walk into her as if it was an accident and start a conversation he'd been obsessively thinking about for the past four days... Why was she avoiding him? Why did he care?

Alice's mind was elsewhere as she walked, and she pulled out her phone to subconsciously check her messages and distract herself from the darkness and the cold wind. A body suddenly thumped into her, causing her phone to slip from her hands, "-No!" she gasped, but another, larger and obviously masculine hand caught it just in time. Alice saw the edge of the sleeve of tattoos and knew instantly who it was, and her eyes darted up to his face just as he smiled slightly eerily.

"Sorry," Magnus murmured, holding her phone out to her as Alice stared at his face and took her phone back gently. "My mistake."