Alice sneezed loudly as she applied her make up, nearly smudging her mascara as she held the wand in her hand. "Oh my god," she mumbled, thanking her lucky stars quietly since she was already running a little behind schedule.

"Hey, where are you going?" The sound of Candice's voice sounded from beside Alice as she walked into the bathroom, holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. She was dressed in sweatpants and a baggy shirt, her hair up and still a little messy. "Okay... it seriously annoys me how you manage to make a cold look cute."

"Thanks," Alice laughed, "and I'm going to meet my parents," Alice replied, fanning her eyes briefly before spraying her face with her setting spray. "For brunch." She added, turning to face Candice as she zipped up her make up bag.

"Oh, cool," Candice smiled, "Well I'm gonna go binge watch Grey's anatomy, I'll see you later!" She continued as she turned away, waving her fingers in a lazy wave then turning the corner.

"Bye," Alice cooed lightly, running her fingers through her hair as she looked back at her reflection, then sprayed perfume on her neck. She was dressed in a thick, lime green turtle neck and high waisted beige pants, feeling warm and comfortable as she flicked her hair to lie down her back and tucked it behind her ears... her make up was subtle, with natural tones but she'd deepened her blusher slightly to make her nose seem a little less pink.

Alice's phone vibrated loudly from where it was perched on the counter, and she grabbed it quickly, feeling her heart jump in excitement as she saw Magnus's name on the screen. He'd sent her a message that he was waiting down the road, and Alice smiled as she typed her response back, saying she was on her way...

After grabbing her bag, spare make up and some pocket tissues she left the Eno's property and walked down the for a couple of minutes before she saw Magnus's large intimidating car waiting. She could hear the engine rumbling as she approached, and could almost giggle at how his car seemed to stick out like a sore thumb on this residential road.

The day was bright and crisp again, with a soft breeze that tickled Alice's face and no sign of any rain clouds, that Alice was quietly thankful for. She climbed into the passenger seat and glanced over at Magnus, who was already watching her intently. "Morning," she smiled warmly, seeing his big cream knitted sweater and light blue jeans... his bright red beanie caught her eye and she smiled a little more, liking how he'd put his outfit together.

"Hi," he replied calmly, "Where to?"

"The park," Alice said softly, still watching him with a fond gaze as he put the car into gear and pulled away from the side walk.

"So you're still meeting Jasper?" He asked, flexing his hands on the steering wheel as he tried to hide his annoyance by keeping his voice level. He side glanced her outfit, irritated on how she looked so good meeting someone that wasn't exclusively him.

"Yeah, I mean that's what we agreed to last night," Alice replied, glancing at him and noticing how he was focussing intently on the road. "About the same time I texted you," she added, looking out the window now as she decided to pretend to be ignorant towards his evident dislike of her plans. "I... read that journal, you know." She murmured, still looking out the window to make it seem like she didn't think it was a big deal. "Veronica had a lot to say." Alice carried on, her name feeling alien on her lips as she tried not to gag as she said it.

"Mhm." Magnus replied, "What did she say?"

"Something about you starting a cult with a bunch of brain dead people and how you train them like wild horses to be like... I can't remember how she put it." Alice said bluntly, now turning to look at Magnus directly as they pulled up to a stop light. She saw him crack a smile and shake his head a little, evidently finding the accusation amusing. "You disagree?" Alice asked.

"Veronica was driven to delusion because I didn't like her back, she was obsessed with me to the point where she started making up shit to make me look insane." Magnus replied, "I'm not a cult leader, obviously...Why would I do that?" he continued whilst chuckling quietly, before reaching over to tap her arm sharply as if to remind her of something.

"What? oh," she breathed, remembering he hated talking about things like this in his car. "Um, yeah it kind of felt like I was reading a make believe story instead of factual... stuff." she continued, cringing at her own sentence as Magnus chuckled once in a very blunt way.

"Do you want coffee?" He asked, changing the subject. Alice nodded, feeling a little embarrassed that she'd forgotten his rules and stayed quiet as she watched Magnus turn into the road that would lead them to the starbucks drive through. He ordered her usual, which surprised her since she didn't expect him to remember it. After a few minutes they collected their drinks from the other window, and Magnus gave them to her to hold as he drove away and back onto the main road to take her to the park. "What time are you meant to meet Jasper?" Magnus asked as they pulled into the parking lot behind a few car and he turned off the engine, reaching over to take his coffee from the cardboard holder in Alice's lap.

"Half eleven, I think," Alice replied, before thanking him for paying for the coffee. "Do you have plans for the rest of the day?" she asked, wondering what he was going to do whilst she was talking with Jasper.

"No," he replied quietly, glancing out of the windscreen to see if he could see the tall brunette arriving. The park was large, placed in the center of town with a pond in the middle, surrounded by a collection of trees... there were places to sit comfortably and talk, some of them Magnus could see from his car, and others were hidden behind the trees. He hoped Alice would chose the first option so that he would be able to see her, for he didn't trust Jasper, even in broad daylight. Magnus spotted Jasper immediately, approaching a bench with a large coat on... he sat down and brought out his phone, evidently sending a message to Alice that he was already here. And as if on cue, he heard Alice's phone vibrate.

"That's him," Alice said out loud, checking her phone then glancing at Magnus. "I'll see you later, okay? I'll text you when I'm done." she continued, smiling warmly at him and seeing him looking at her with a reluctant expression even though it was hidden behind his usual blank one. She had begun to be able to see the variances in his emotions behind the stone faced mask he wore constantly, and felt a little proud of herself that she was able to do that now. To, in someway, reassure him, she leant across the space between their seats and kissed him gently, her lips pressing against the edge of his for a moment or two.

He felt a warmth radiate from where her lips touched his skin and hummed very quietly as she lent back, his eyes watching her intently, wanting to pull her back for her to do it again but she was out his car already. Alice walked around the back of Magnus's hummer, deciding to take the long route into the park to make it seem she'd come in a different entrance, and not draw attention to where Magnus was parked not so subtly. She wanted to giggle to herself at how obvious he wanted to be, and it brought her tiny sparkles of happiness that he was showing his jealousy so openly, if she could even call it that.

Before she approached Jasper, Alice discreetly put her phone on record, thinking it would be a good idea to have what he was going to say on record. Discreetly, she slid it into her bra so that it was close enough to hear what they were going to be talking about and rounded a corner, seeing Jasper sat on the same bench where he had been before. "Hey," she smiled as she closed the distance between them.

"Hey," Jasper smiled, standing up to greet her politely with a hug. She found it interesting how she'd previously thought that the hugs he gave were comforting, but now that she knew what she did, she felt completely different... and almost uncomfortable at the physical contact. "So why the park?"he asked as they sat down next to each other, just as a cold breeze washed over them and Alice wondered why she didn't bring a coat.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear then sipping her still steaming hot coffee.

"Like I could've just come to Candice's or like... you could've come to mine. Unless you're afraid to be alone with me," he joked, but Alice smiled stiffly, which Jasper noticed. "My text made you feel awkward, didn't it."

"A little," Alice confessed, remembering to play ignorant, as if she didn't know everything she did. "I don't know how you expected me to react, to be honest. I have a lot going on right now and i feel like you kind of sprang this on me because of what happened the other night." she continued, looking Jasper in the eye. "And you saying stuff like; I'm not a good guy like... what was that supposed to mean?" she laughed gently, trying not to sound like she was mocking him or being too serious.

"You're right, it was kind of random." He said, glancing away from her and at the pond that was over the other side of the path from where they were sitting. "But... I was being honest. And I felt like we were really going well until... your birthday. And then that thing with Magnus happened at Candice's house. I don't know what happened... he was just so... Jesus, I don't know what to say right now."

Alice wanted to roll her eyes at his tone, but held it off, knowing that it wasn't going to help if she caught an attitude with him so quickly. She was evidently bias, and knew it... but she also knew everyone had their reasons for behaving like they did. So she couldn't really blame Jasper for... being Jasper. "Can you tell me what you meant by that text then?" She asked, putting her gentle voice on.

"Yeah, sure... that is what we met up for today," he murmured, his tone making Alice squint for a moment since he sounded annoyed briefly. "So, you know my family is Greek, right?" he asked and Alice shrugged, for she didn't know his specific family background. "I come from a long line of, uh, Greek business men, that emigrated to the U.S and Canada a few generations ago-" Jasper continued to explain as Alice thought about if her phone was picking this all up clearly.

"What's the business?"Alice asked bluntly, causing Jasper to look up at her so she put on a smile. "You said business men so... I was just asking." She explained.

"Pharmaceuticals." He replied, causing quiet alarm bells in the back of her mind, telling her that he was in some way manipulating the truth. "Anyway, um, most of my family had lived in America for a while, but they had a alliance with this other, um, company, that was making business easier... but there were a few, uh, owners of the company that wanted to leave the business and that, um, damaged things a little." Jasper continued, making Alice shift where she was sitting and start to wonder why he was speaking so... strangely. "Before I was born, though, this other owner... left... the area, for good, but they had all this information about the business that is, um, very delicate... and because of the nature of our... uh, two companies, my family just wanted to make sure they were... out of business and not starting up their own to compete. And it was only recently that they were found to actually be... here in Canada."

"I'm confused." Alice murmured, "So you're saying that your family's pharmaceuticals business had an alliance with another company, but then because some owners left you're worried that they're going to set up a... similar business, i'm assuming? And your family's business wanted to make sure, even though the other company left the area, that they were truly out of business instead of... what, plotting to compete?"

"Something like that." Jasper replied, "Because being in that area of business, it's hard to, uh... compete. It's not easy to be selling the same thing when the other company is taking all your customers since things were more international than national so it didn't really matter where the base was."

"Right," Alice murmured, having her own idea about what Jasper was suggesting his family's business was.

"Yeah so, my family didn't want the other company to come back, so uh- This is really hard to explain." Jasper grunted, rubbing his forehead. "Basically my family wanted to make sure they wouldn't have to face that competition again, so when they got wind of the company having moved to Canada... we... moved to Canada."

"You and your parents?" Alice asked and Jasper nodded. "So that's why you moved here four years ago? To follow this company?" She asked more intently and Jasper nodded again. It clicked quietly in her mind just what was going on in the shadows of Summerland and hummed lightly. "People aren't meant to know you're here, are they?"

"A lot of people aren't meant to know my parents are here. Specifically my dad, not so much me." Jasper said, clasping his hands together as Alice remembered Magnus saying to her that Noah had his computer stolen. "And that kind of leads me into... recent stuff." He continued, pulling Alice out of her daze as she absorbed information. "We've been following the family- I mean company." He rushed, making Alice raise her eyebrows. "My dad wanted me to... get involved somehow."

"Get involved? Like what, get an internship?" Alice asked, playing along.

"Not exactly, but more like... become a partner?" Jasper replied, seeming unsure of his choice of words. It annoyed Alice how he couldn't come right out and say it, but maybe because of the nature of his family's business he'd be punished for confessing to an outsider.

"I don't understand," Alice said quietly, "Your parents wanted you to... to what?"

Jasper sighed heavily and sat back against the bench, looking around him as if he was physically searching for the words to use. "You know that girl, Veronica Green?" Jasper then asked, and her name made Alice's skin prickle.

"Yeah." She said quietly.

"I knew her..." Jasper mumbled, "and I think I got her killed." He added, glancing up at Alice as she widened her eyes a little bit.

"What?" She whispered,

"She was involved in this like cult thing... where like all the members would kill random people, film it then get paid for it... and they had one guy leading the whole thing, telling them who to kill and when. But the thing is, this guy has life changing shit on all of them. And none of them knew how he found it out but he told them if any of them spoke out against him, they'd die and he'd reveal all their secrets and they wouldn't even be alive to defend themselves." Jasper said in a hushed, rushed voice then glanced around himself again. "This one night, Veronica told me everything after I convinced her to spill because she was so... I don't even know how to describe it she was like shaking and freaked out... she told me all this shit about Magnus and all his weird friends... then the next day, literally, she's missing... then I found her body like a month later when I was walking my dog."

"Wh... that was you?" Alice whispered.

"Yeah I walk my dog in those woods all the time." Jasper replied then hesitated, "Wait, what do you mean; that was you?"

"Um," Alice hesitated, feeling her heart thudding. "There were rumours, that's all." She replied, wondering how this all fit together. Jasper had been the dog walker that had found Veronica's body in the woods. "So how does this involve your business?" Alice then asked, her choice of question causing Jasper to furrow his eyebrows and sit up a little more.

"Veronica's dad kept meeting with someone after dark, I thought it could've had something to do with that company I was telling you about, since I heard they own a lot of land and property around here." Jasper replied, "I got to know Vi to see if she knew anything. She didn't. Or at least she didn't get to tell me."

"Oh," Alice whispered, now figuring out which company he was talking about. The Johnson's owned a lot of land, but as vineyards, and they did own a lot of property, she knew people that rented from them though estate agents as well... Alice shifted in her seat, recording her legs as she tried to fight the intense urge to protect Magnus from Jasper even though she knew he could defend and protect himself, it annoyed her intensely that Jasper was sniffing around after his family. "So did your father put you up to this?" She asked, her voice low but Jasper didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, it's the whole reason I live in this stupid town." Jasper replied, "but they're so hard to pin down that's why we've been here for so long. And what she told me about Magnus doesn't stand up, there's no evidence. I've checked." He carried on, and Alice remembered what Magnus had said about Noah's computer.

"Right." Alice mumbled, "So you're here purely to make sure this company is...out of business." She continued and Jasper nodded a little unsurely at her tone, "and you got to know Veronica so that you could find stuff out about her dad, but you ended up finding stuff out about Magnus, and you couldn't find any evidence, even after the computer you stole." She murmured and Jasper furrowed his eyebrows, wondering how she knew that. "Are you using me?" She asked, turning to look him in the eye. She could feel her pulse thudding against her chest and in her veins, her temper rising as she realised what she could've done if she stayed trusting Jasper for too long.

"What? No-"

"Because it feels pretty calculated, Jasper. You move in when things with me and Magnus go sour, and now you're here confessing all this shit after you get humiliated by him, to what; try and get me to see you as this-" she stopped herself, feeling her attitude crawling out of her throat. "It was fucked up to use Veronica like that." She snapped, "You get her to fall for you so that she spills all her secrets to you? And then you try to do the same shit with me? That's fucked up, Jasper!"

"Says the girl that's fucking a serial killer!" Jasper snapped loudly and Alice gasped, and before she could stop herself, her hand threw the rest of her coffee over him. She stood up seconds after, not feeling an ounce of regret or guilt as Jasper stared at her after wiping his face, his eyes showing her a whole new version of him that she felt intensely uncomfortable around, even more so now than before.

"I am not fucking a serial killer," she hissed angrily, refusing to expose Magnus even when she was furious. "How dare you say something like that about him, what's wrong with you?! Just because you're jealous I don't want you!" she snapped, feeling the acid burning her lips from the words she was saying before she walked off, not waiting for him to respond... but Jasper wasn't done.