"Thanks for dropping me off," Alfie said as Morlen pulled up outside his house. Koda had stayed behind to clean up. Morlen told him to stay because he wanted to ask Alfie questions in private. Not because he was his son's boyfriend, but because he was a medium.

"Wait a second," Morlen said when Alfie reached for the door handle. "Can I ask you something about Enya?"

Alfie turned. Morlen's subtle vulnerability forced him to wear his medium hat. "Of course."

"Why doesn't she want to talk to us? We have to find out who murdered her and by doing that, we need all the information we can get from her. Doesn't she want to solve it so she can move on?" Morlen paused, realising he answered his own questions. "She doesn't want to move on, does she?"

Alfie sighed and twisted the ring on his index finger. "I haven't been able to reach her. I can feel her when I'm around Koda but she blocks me from summoning her. I think you're right. I don't think she wants to move on. Either that or she doesn't want her family in any danger."

"Someone broke into our home and killed my wife. I'd say we've been in danger this entire time." Morlen's jaw clenched at the same time his fists did. His exposed sorrow turned to hot anger in no time at all.

Alfie started to feel uncomfortable. He was good at not showing it. "I can try to summon her by myself."

"I want to be there." Morlen crossed his arms, sitting up straighter. He eyed Alfie with a titled head. It was cute when Koda did it, but disturbing from Morlen.

"Okay. How about tomorrow?" Alfie suggested, moving his hand back towards the door handle.

"Fine." Morlen started to frown. "I don't want Koda to be there. He has too much to think about. He needs to grieve for Enya. Summoning her to ask about her murder won't help him."

Alfie started to frown too. "I can still tell him what we're doing though, right?"

"No."

"But-"

"I said no. We're not telling him. Now get out it's getting late." Morlen put his hands on the steering wheel and stared at the road in front of him.

"I don't want to go behind his back."

"Alfie, he needs to get over his mother. There's nothing wrong with us figuring out how she died so she can move on. When she's ready to go, then we can involve Koda. But from now on, this needs to be between me and you. Got it?" Morlen seethed.

The harshness to Morlen's tone made Alfie agree, just so he could get out of the car. "Fine, but I don't like this idea." As soon as the door shut behind the medium, Morlen sped off down the street.

Alfie was left standing under a streetlight, drowning him in an orange glow. He didn't want to not include Koda when summoning his mother, but it did always upset Koda to the point where he could barely get himself out of bed. Maybe it was best for Alfie to leave it to himself and Morlen. Though deep down, Alfie knew it wasn't fair.

* * * * *

The next day at college when Alfie stepped through the exit, the strong wind made him stumble right into Koda. Thankfully, Koda always stuck himself to Alfie's side when they were in college. Koda felt a little protective of the medium because unwanted attention was always near.

"If you wanted a hug, you could've just asked," Koda swooned and put his arm around the medium. Everyone who was smaller than 5ft4 and lighter than 120 pounds was getting blown back a few steps when the wind hit them. "Are you getting picked up today?"

"No," Alfie breathed, turning away from the wind and clinging to Koda who could stand his ground because he was so big. "I gotta walk."

"Then I should walk you home, otherwise you'll never get there with this weather."

"You don't have to do that." Alfie mentally kicked his insides for saying that. He peeled himself from Koda and straightened out his hoody. The wind was nipping his skin and he wished he wore something warmer.

"I don't mind-" Koda's voice cut off by the wind that fiercely changed direction and Alfie was blown a few steps to the right. He bumped into someone but couldn't move away from the wind pinning him there.

Before Alfie had the chance to see who he had blown into, he was shoved backwards and lost his footing on the stairs. The next thing he felt was stone edges in his back as he rolled into the pavement. The air had been knocked out of him from whoever had pushed him away. Alfie wanted to curl up and scrunch his eyes shut, but he was still aware that many students would've seen him fall down the steps and he sat up as quickly as he could.

Two guys were yelling at each other in front of Alfie and it took him a long few seconds to realise that Koda and Chris were moments away from punching each other.

"What the hell is your problem?" Koda barked in Chris's face, pushing him hard against his chest.

Christ stumbled back but he was in Koda's face again quickly. "Your freak touched me."

Katherine taunted Koda's anger with a sneer and a finger pointed at Alfie sitting on the floor.

"The wind blew him into you. You didn't have to push him down the steps!" Koda smacked Chris's hand away when he tried to rest it on his shoulder.

"He had it coming," Chris muttered and Koda's ex-friends laughed.

"Because you're that jealous?" Koda growled. "He replaced you and you can't handle it? Well, how pathetic."

Chris pushed Koda as Alfie struggled to his feet. Searing pain zapped down his back. His chest ached too, and his head screamed to the beat of his heart. He could feel slight wetness on the back of his head and wondered if the edge of the marble steps had cut it. He had only fallen down four steps, but it felt like a million.

"You better back off or you'll regret it," Koda threatened. His fists clenched and straightened.

Alfie looked from his chest when he felt the darkness rising up his throat. A horribly cold tightness formed in his stomach like he had swallowed ice cubes that don't melt.

"And what are you gonna do about it? We've bullied Alfie since we could walk and you turned a blind eye. Now you want to help him because he's good in bed?" Chris said with a patronising smirk.

Alfie pretended that Chris's words about Koda not caring throughout his childhood wasn't true and butted in. "What a nice compliment," he said, holding his chest like he couldn't breathe too deeply.

Chris's face turned hard and he stepped towards Alfie. The frown from his face was knocked back when a fist collided with his nose and Chris spun from the force with blood bursting from his nostrils.

Alfie jumped back with wide eyes. Koda had punched Chris in the face and didn't stop there. He punched him again until Chris was on his back with a bust lip. The darkness swarmed Koda and Alfie could've sworn Koda smiled with satisfaction when Chris yelped in pain. The sidekick within him had taken over. Alfie should have been stopping them, but he couldn't deny that it was almost a reward to see Chris getting beat up. He only worried about Koda's poor knuckles.

When Koda punched Chris again, Alfie almost intervened. He was a second too late when the teachers were separating them and yelling at Koda who had his eyes still on Chris, trying to get back to him to cause more injuries.

"He hurt Alfie!" Koda objected and almost pushed the teacher away. He stopped himself before getting kicked out of college.

"Mister Birch's office, now!" the teacher yelled and motioned for Alfie to follow as he and one other tutor dragged Koda and Chris away.

When they reached the office, the boys were forced to sit in each corner of the waiting room to prevent any more fights or arguments. The teachers informed them that they were phoning their parents and left them to sit in silence.

Koda glared at Chris, Chris scowled at the floor, and Alfie stared hopelessly at Koda. The boys stayed that way until the door opened again ten minutes later. Morlen was guided through the door, looking perplexed for once.

Morlen marched to Koda right away and Alfie had to bite his tongue to stop himself from smiling. Chris had visibly stiffened at the sight of Koda's dad.

"They told me you were in a fight," Morlen hissed. "I thought they were joking."

Koda stared at his knuckles; bloody and bruising badly. Quietly, he told Morlen what had happened. He didn't tell his father how he wanted to yank Chris's soul from his body and stare into his eyes as the life faded from him. He didn't tell his father about how he wanted to kill Chris and do it with a proud smile on his face.

Alfie watched Morlen's features churn with livid emotions. Today, Alfie had learnt that Koda could throw a mean punch and Koda looked just like his father when angry.

Morlen sat forwards and stared at Chris who dared to stare back. "Big mistake," Morlen said and cracked his knuckles.

Koda and Alfie then glanced at each other, sharing the same glint of pride.

The next people to enter the waiting room was Chris's parents. The father shot daggers at Morlen and Koda knew it was the beginning of a battle. The mother held her head up high and sat down next to her son, ignoring him despite his lower face covered with dry blood.

Molly entered soon after with paint in her dark hair and all over her clothes. She rushed for her son and cupped his chin. "What's going on? They said a fight had happened and you were involved!" Molly turned his head left and right. She could tell he was in pain but covering it up.

Alfie cleared his throat and thought it was best to tell Chris's parents about what happened, and also his mother. "Well," he said clearly and with his best sarcastic voice, "being a very windy day and all, I was blown a few steps away from Koda and into Chris. It was completely unintentional but Chris being the bully he has always been, took it as a personal attack and pushed me down the stairs. Koda, being my boyfriend, responded to that how any boyfriend would and got defensive and angry at Chris who showed no remorse what so ever. I added to their shouting and Chris took a step towards me. If Koda hadn't punched him then who knows what Chris would have done. He was capable of pushing me down the stairs." Alfie knew he spoke loud enough for the head of the college to hear them. The door to his office was slightly ajar.

Molly's head slowly turned in the direction of Chris. Alfie pursed his lips, knowing hell was about to be unleashed. "You pushed my son down the steps?" Molly said calmly, too calmly. Chris couldn't call her son a freak in front of the parents. It amused Alfie to see him left without anything reasonable to say.

"Well," Molly said after the silence spoke for him. "I'm going to make sure that you're dropped from this college without finishing any of your courses. If you think it's funny or cool to hurt my child, then we'll see if you're still laughing when you have no future."

"Now hold on a-"

"No," Molly interrupted Chris's father. "How dare you even try to defend that bully you call a son."

"Koda hit him first."

"He was defending my son who your son pushed down the stairs! And we all know Koda isn't a violent person but if you ask me, I think punching him was a long time coming."

Alfie's love for his mother was through the roof. Even Morlen looked mildly pleased.

Chris's father had nothing left to say and it took all of Alfie's willpower not to go and laugh in his face. It wouldn't make the situation any better, especially when he had to now plead with the head of the college to not kick Koda out too. Fighting was like handing every teacher a goodbye note. Alfie would have no reason to go to art class without his Koda.