Chapter 2

"Good work, dork." Briana muttered in Tony's ear as they stepped out onto the pavement.

"I told you what I told him... it didn't seem that big a deal to me."

"He's probably embarrassed, you know how shy he is." She argued.

"No, he's probably feeling guilty, at the moment." Shawna put in, distractedly. "He really doesn't like to upset people. Was he singing when he left?"

"No idea, the band had started up again by then." Tony answered. "Which way's the quickest way back?"

"No... do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Elspeth asked, after a couple of seconds of patient waiting.

"Running water."

"Yeah, there's a little river at the bottom of the hill." Briana recalled from their orientation packs.

"He'll be there, he likes the sound of water, it calms him." She set off down the hill, and the others could only follow. Sure enough, on the little wooden bridge over the stream was Marcus. Hands flicking in the air beside his head, he walked in a small, tight circle, muttering to himself, and as they got closer they could begin to make out the words.

"Stupid, thick... didn't think... listen. Don't speak, don't do... think, listen, watch... don't get up on stage. Idiot..."

"Marcus?" Tony called, and he started a little as they neared, until Shawna turned and waved them away.

"It's OK, Marcus... it's just me."

"I wasn't ready for the stage, Princess..." he muttered, still walking the tight circle. A few locals stopped to stare at him for a moment, but either this wasn't unusual for students or they weren't interested in putting up with Briana's challenging look, because they quickly moved on.

"Sorry... you did good up there."

"I messed up again... again... didn't think, didn't listen."

"It's OK... you'll get the hang of it."

"Yeah... you keep saying that... they all keep saying that..."

"It's a whole new world, Marcus, it's going to take time." She held out an arm, letting his shoulder brush against her hand as he passed. "Calm down for me, Bullfrog... we'll get you back home." He brushed her hand again, she edged forward, made the contact a little firmer, kept muttering soothingly to him, and then he was stopped, wrapped up in her arms, still twitching, gently.

She looked back at them, far more serious than any of them might have expected, daring them to judge.

"Anything we can do?" Briana asked, quietly.

"Don't ask me," she said, firmly. "Ask Marcus, he's still here..."

"I'm fine... " he muttered, easing himself away. He kept his gaze down on the floor, though. "I'm... I'm sorry, Bri. I didn't think about..."

"Hey... it's OK. I've been through too much shit to worry about who doesn't like that." They all looked, except Marcus, but none of them asked. That got a tight smile.

"Not everyone would be so understanding though, would they?"

"Possibly not..." He nodded, and then started walking up the hill towards the house.

"Would anyone like a cup of coffee?"

"Only if you don't have anything stronger?" Shawna giggled, and suddenly she was party-girl again, wrapping her arm in Tony's and dragging him along. "Surely you've got something to keep a girl warm on a cold Autumn night?"

"It's still summer." Marcus pointed out, his voice flat. The others stared at the tone, but Shawna just ignored it, breezing on through.

"Summer, Autumn... it's dark, and it's cold."

"Look..." Tony cut in, "I'm not normally the cautious one in any group, but... what the fuck was that? Is that likely to happen a lot?"

"Tony!" Briana snapped at him.

"What, you don't have to live with the guy. If this is... Nick should have told us."

"He wanted to." Marcus stopped, turning to face them all. "I asked him not to, I thought I could leave all the talk and the names and things behind. I just... I haven't had a moment like that since, what... fifth year?"

"When Ally moved in." Shawna confirmed, with a nod.

"It's... I tried too much, too quickly. It's a little overwhelming."

"Too much what?" Elspeth spoke up.

"People... novelty... it's difficult to explain."

"Do you have a morning routine?" Shawna asked, urging them all to start walking again. Elspeth nodded.

"Well, Marcus tends to have a routine for just about everything. He puts them together like little jigsaw puzzles of time, building up his day out of them."

"Once I get comfortable somewhere I can be a little freer, just leave some spaces to do whatever I feel like, but... I'm not that settled here."

"So what happened? You just... run out of little... templates?"

"Yeah, I guess... sort of. Fell into a gap, and didn't have any sort of sense of what was coming next."

"So you go looking for something familiar, is that it?" Elspeth asked, pressing forward a little.

"Comforting. Water noises are comforting, and music."

"And his guitar." Shawna added, stepping side as they trudged up the steps to the door of the flat.

"Yeah..." Marcus smiled.

"Do you... um..." Elspeth paused, flushing, as Tony let them all in, and Shawna hurried over to stand by the radiator.

"Just say it." Marcus told her. "I'm not very good at picking up on hints. I won't be upset — I owe you some sort of explanation for all that."

"It's just... there was a girl at school that used to... cut herself. She said she was... it wasn't about hurting herself, she was just looking to control what was happening, something that she could sort of... guarantee?"

"I don't do that." He observed, settling down into one of the seats. It was only then that Elspeth realised he didn't have a coat on, just the short-sleeved shirt he'd gone out in. "I... it's not about controlling anything. Well, I suppose it is, sort of... it's about knowing what's coming next. I don't like surprises."

"It's true — we don't wrap anything for Christmas for him... it's the weirdest thing to watch him get presents."

"Aren't you cold?" Briana asked.

"I don't tend to notice it much."

"He's half-penguin, I'm sure of it." Shawna finally shucked off her fur-trimmed jacket. "Wait until Spring, I'm still in winter thermals and he's out in shorts."

"I don't mind the cold, so much." Elspeth joined in. "But then, if you don't like cold in Inverurie you're going to be pretty unhappy."

"I'm a Summer guy," Tony put in, placing the first cups of tea on the table.

"Uh-huh," Briana put in, taking her drink, "short-skirts and tight-tops, right."

"Hell yeah."

"Have you got the legs for a short skirt?" Marcus managed, breaking the mood, and the conversation settled after that. They joked around for a while, decided they could all tolerate one another reasonably well, and then, suddenly, Marcus stood up.

"I'm heading for bed, now." And as quickly as that, he was gone.

"Did we say something to upset him?" Briana asked, as he disappeared into the bathroom.

"No, it must be 11:45." Shawna pointed out, checking her watch. "He'll go to bed, read for about an hour and a half, fill out his diary, and then lay down to sleep about 2 in the morning."

"How did he know the time?" Elspeth asked. "I didn't see him look at his watch... there isn't a clock."

"Doesn't wear a watch, doesn't need one. He's usually right to about two minutes." Shawna reached over, grabbing her jacket from the radiator. "Listen, guys, I'm going to head off... you wanna walk back to the dorms?"

"Yeah, it's getting late." Briana acknowledged, putting her cup back down. They were quickly jacketed up and ready to go.

"Look, do you guys want a lift?" Tony asked. "It'll be a bit of a squeeze, but I've got a car."

"Car?" Briana snorted. "You've got a flatbed van, Tony, and a rattly one at that. I think I'm safer walking in the dark on my own in a strange town than getting in that death-trap."

"It's MOT'd and everything... there's nothing wrong with it."

"It's alright, we'll walk." Shawna told him, leaning forward to peck his cheek. "Thanks for the offer, though. Listen... if Marcus isn't awake by about seven, call me, yeah?"

"Sure... but... if he isn't bedding down until two..."

"He sleeps about four hours a night, usually. If he stays in bed he's either ill or upset."

"OK, no problem."

"Isn't he going to need your number for that?" Elspeth pointed out as she turned to leave.

"He's already got that. I scribbled it on the notepad by his phone." She smiled at him, arching her eyebrows.

"Damn, girl, you work faster than he does!" Briana laughed. "Tony Richardson's finally met his match."

"Hey, guys." Briana knocked on the partially ajar door, "everybody decent?"

"Never." Shawna replied. "I'm dressed, though."

"Come on in, Bri." Elspeth called, from the bathroom.

"So... I got talking to a few people this week," Briana pushed the door closed, flopping into the easy seat by the door. "Seems there's a club over on Graham Street we might want to check out."

"What's wrong with the café?" Shawna asked.

"Well... it's a bit... mixed."

"Ah."

"One of those clubs." Elspeth shouted through.

"Hey, you're one of those remember." Briana laughed. "I was going to check it out tonight, I wondered if you guys wanted to come along."

"Sure." Elspeth didn't hesitate, though her face did look flushed when she emerged.

"What brought this on?" Shawna asked. "You normally just tag along with us... we cramping your style?"

"No... I wanted some friends around, that's all. There's a girl in one of my Spanish classes that seems to have been paying a lot of attention... I'm just testing the waters, and I wanted some support."

"I'm out with Tony, tonight." Shawna commiserated. "I'd ask him to change plans and come with, but... " Briana waved her away.

"You still coming?" she almost begged Elspeth.

"Of course. Sounds like it might be fun."

"Cool, I'll go get changed, pick you up about eight?"

"Sure." She slipped back out the door a sight more relaxed than she'd arrived, and Shawna eyed Elspeth in her mirror as she dabbed on her eye-shadow.

"I'm surprised..." she ventured. "I thought you had a thing for Briana."

"She's... I like her, but I think I need a little more time. She's a bit full on."

"Bri? That's a front. She's as scared as you are on the inside. I'd say she's got a strong hunch she's reading this wrong, that's why she invited us. Let's face it, first date you don't take friends along with you."

"We have to, too often. It's not until the second date that you know you've got one of your own."

"Bullshit. If you like 'em, ask 'em. If they say no, it just means they aren't right for you. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them."

"But... I'm always afraid I'm going to ask someone who's straight."

"And? If they can't see the compliment in someone finding them attractive they have the problem..."

"It must be nice to think like that."

"Couldn't say, it's the only way I think."

"So... you want me to wait with you, or do you want me to stay out of the way and just sort of be around?"

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Briana giggled, feeling nervous as they strolled down the steps into the basement club.

"I went to an all-girl school, I was always running lookout for friends meeting boys from St Luke's."

"I don't know... sort of... be around. Maybe pop off and get a drink when I see her arrive? It gives you an excuse to come back if I need you."