Shadows and Secrets Book Three (A MCU FanFic)

Chapter 5: Contraband

Blyke's POV

"I think she should be awake by now, right?" whispered Blyke.

"Probably," shrugged Riku, letting her hair fall over her shoulder. "Come on, let's check on her!"

Blyke bit his lip. "I don't want to wake her up... Maybe we should wait for Rei."

"We are not waiting for my idiotic sibling," she huffed. "Besides, they said that Erik said to check on Marjorie this morning, but Rei's doing their lame elemental club thing."

Now that the twins had graduated, they didn't have to go to any classes. However, Erik had put Rei in charge of three of the beginner-level elemental classes—classes about controlling and using your powers, specifically targeted at mutants with elemental abilities. Blyke was a senior and still had classes, but currently it was his free period. He had Algebra 2 this afternoon.

Blyke stared at the locked door to Marjorie's dorm. It was around 10:20 am. "Maybe she wants to sleep in after–" Professor Lehnsherr had pulled the three of them aside to tell them Marjorie was here and why. He said not to tell any other students. Blyke lowered his voice "–you know. We could come back later—"

Riku rolled her eyes and knocked on the door.

Blyke furiously whispered, "You can't just—"

The door swung open.

"Hey, Marjorie," greeted Blyke casually. He was good at switching emotions quickly; he had loved theater for as long as he could remember. Maybe one day, Blyke would be the first mutant actor.

"You guys were standing out here for almost ten minutes," noted Marjorie. "I was starting to wonder if you were even going to knock, or just run away." She was casually dressed in a pullover hoodie and dark red leggings. She wore no makeup, and looked tired.

"Blyke was being a chicken," explained Riku. "He wasn't sure if you were awake yet."

Marjorie nodded in an unsurprised way.

"Are you feeling okay?" The concern in Blyke's voice was genuine.

She nodded again.

"Are you going to introduce us?" asked Riku. Blyke startled; he hadn't noticed the guy shadowing Marjorie, a few steps behind. He wore all black and a scowl.

"Oh, right. Bucky, Blyke and Riku. Blyke and Riku, Bucky." Marjorie guestured between them vaguely.

"It's nice to meet you," offered Blyke while Riku beamed.

"...Thanks." Blyke deciphered he wasn't the talkative type.

He wondered why he was already in her room. Blyke figured he must have beat them to it this morning.

"Did Erik send you two to check on me?" guessed Marjorie, letting them come in instead of standing awkwardly in the hallway.

"Us and Rei," confirmed Riku. "But we also wanted to see you."

"Oh," she said. "Thanks."

"I figured you might need cheering up," admitted Blyke sheepishly, "so I brought everyone's favorite contraband." He held up a DvD.

Marjorie's expression lit up.

"What is that?" asked Bucky suspiciously.

"Frozen."

"... I've never heard of it. Why is it contraband?"

"It's the first and only Disney movie with a mutant as a protagonist," explained Marjorie.

Riku jumped in: "It was banned in 30 countries, and taken out of stores and streaming services. Everyone watches it at least once when they first come to XSGY, but those two–" she pointed to Blyke and Marjorie "–have seen it, like, 80 times."

"83," corrected Blyke.

Bucky eyed the DvD like he expected it to attack him. "Is it a musical?"

"Oh, just wait until you hear Let it Go!" gushed Marjorie.

"It's legendary," finished Blyke with an almost religious passion.

Bucky's expression said "oh my God, there are two of them." Riku looked inclined to agree.

~

Sometime during the movie, Marjorie had moved to sit in Bucky's lap. Blyke exchanged a loaded glance with Riku: Marjorie hated physical contact. Even when she was dating Sofi, Marjorie avoided touching and Blyke only saw them holding hands once.

Though, when he thought about it, she looked slightly uncomfortable holding Sofi's hand. Marjorie must really like Bucky.

Blyke also noticed that Bucky rarely looked happy, and only occasionally smiled at something Marjorie had said. Even then, it was only a slight smile that faded quickly.

Blyke speculated on whether he was depressed, didn't like showing emotion, or someone who you had to really know to decipher emotions. He also had a suspicion that Bucky didn't trust him or Riku yet.

~

The movie finished a few minutes after noon—when morning classes ended and lunch began. (At XSGY, they had one class from 9:00 to 12:00, then lunch for an hour, then another class from 1:00 to 4:00. A week had 8 different classes and 2 free periods for every student.) Riku must have texted Rei with the time left in the movie, because three knocks sounded the second the movie cut off.

Riku sprang up to answer the door when Marjorie announced, "It's just Rei." Bucky had jumped, apparently startled.

Riku flung herself at them and Rei cringed away from the hug. They tried to untangle themselves from their sister's attack. "You okay, Marjorie?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I've only said it a few dozen times already." Blyke suspected she would say she was fine anyway, even if she wasn't.

Bucky inclined his head at Rei and they returned the nod.

"So, does everyone know I'm here, or just you three?"

"Just us," answered Rei. "Unless you two told anybody?"

"Nope!" Riku released them.

"Me neither."

"Marjorie–" Riku pulled her arm and Marjorie stood up with a bemusement. Riku released her "–I just remembered, I have to show you something."

"What?"

"Come with me!"

Marjorie looked alarmed. "Why?"

Riku started dragging her away. Bucky looked after them uncertainly, like he wasn't sure if he was supposed to follow. "I found the perfect color..." Her voice trailed away.

"What was that?" asked Blyke.

Rei checked the hallway to make sure they were gone before answering. "I asked Riku to distract Marjorie so I could do a favor for Erik." They pulled out a clipboard.

Bucky raised an eyebrow and Blyke blurted, "Is that a fire emoji sticker on your clipboard?"

"Yes, isn't it hilarious?"

"You should stop trying to be the funny twin," advised Blyke. "Riku has a better sense of humor."

They frowned. "You're just being mean, now. I need a lengthy description of Marjorie's physical and emotional condition as of date for Erik." They looked expectantly at Bucky, pen positioned to take notes.