Midnight Magic, page 81
"It's not going to work if you're not looking at me," I say, trying not to sound too amused. I don't fully understand everything she's feeling, but I know how I feel without my glasses on, it must be ten times worse for her. I reach up to touch my own frames, though I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe just to reassure myself that they're there.
"I know. I'm just nervous. The only people I've ever looked at without my glasses on are other gorgons."
"And that's not a problem?" I didn't realise that was possible. I suppose it makes sense, otherwise gorgon procreation would be a bit of a problem.
She shakes her head. "We can't turn each other into stone."
"At least that's something. Now look at me," I say firmly, but also making sure that I don't sound too demanding.
She lifts her head and slowly opens her eyes. I make sure to meet her gaze and wait for whatever it feels like to turn into stone to happen.
Will it tingle? I'll admit that a part of me is curious about how it works. Not curious enough to try it on purpose, but it's safe to say that I won't be completely mad if I have to experience it.
"It worked?" I ask after a few moments of feeling no different than normal. I don't know how long it's supposed to take to turn into stone, but this is definitely a good sign.
"I mean, I think so. But maybe we should wait a few hours before I go in front of other people without my glasses." Cautious excitement lingers in her voice.
"Understandable."
Despite knowing she isn't going to turn me into stone, she puts her glasses back on, her shoulders only relaxing once they're in place.
"There's still more than twelve hours until the date event. So that gives us plenty of time to make sure I'm un-stoney," I say brightly, though I'm pretty sure if it was going to happen, then it would have already.
"Thank you." Her words are thick with emotion. Not that I need them to be to know how she's feeling, I can see it written all over her face. "You have no idea what this means to me."
"You'd do the same for me if you could," I point out. "You're my best friend, and I want to help in whatever way I can."
She just nods and leans in to throw her arms around me.
I hug her back just as tightly. Neither of us says anything as we embrace, there's no need to. I can tell how much this means to her, and I'm glad. I don't want her to have to struggle through something like this if she doesn't have to.
I'm lucky to have a friend like Thalia, and I want her to know for sure that I feel that way. I'm not friends with her because I feel like I have to be. I'm friends with her because something between us just clicks. She's exactly the friend I wanted to find when I came to Obscure Academy, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life being grateful for that.
CHAPTER 9
"Are you ready for this?" I ask Thalia, hardly believing that she not only went through with the blind dates yesterday, but has organised a second date with the guy tonight. I'm glad, because she really seems to like him, but still a little surprised.
"I think so."
"I'm going to be right here for as long as you need," I say, gesturing into the pub. At least I was already planning on meeting Owen, so it's not weird that I've come with her. "If you need me, just let me know."
"Thanks, I will." She smiles nervously. "Do you think the potion will really last?"
I nod. "You're good for another twelve hours or so, I think."
"Okay, wish me luck."
"Always."
"And enjoy your date with Owen," she says.
"I will." Though I'm still not completely sure that it's a date. I'm going to have to try and find out at some point during this date.
I wave her off to the bar and turn in time to see Owen enter.
Unbidden, my heart skips a beat and I smile just seeing him approach.
"Hey."
"Hi," he says. "I half expected you to not be here," he admits.
"Do many of the people asking you for potions not turn up for the owed drink afterwards?" I ask.
"I wouldn't know, you're the first one I asked for a drink."
My heart flutters. I didn't realise that. "Well, you're stuck with me. I need to be here in case my friend needs to get out of a date."
He chuckles. "Ah, chaperone duty. I've done that for my sisters a couple of times."
"You have?" I like that.
"Not very often, just when they didn't have a friend to do it for them."
"That's really sweet."
"I'm glad you think so." He seems to genuinely think that.
"I should get you the drink I owe you," I say, gesturing to the bar.
"I can get my own if you'd prefer."
"Absolutely not. A deal is a deal." And a part of me likes the idea that I'm the one buying the first drink.
I glance over to where Thalia is still at the bar, finding her standing next to the guy from the night before. I think his name is Evander. She glances in my direction and I give her an encouraging nod. Seeming rightfully encouraged, the two of them head over to one of the booths. I have to admit that they look right together, like they fit in a way I can't completely explain.
"A pint of your ale of the week, please," Owen orders from the bartender when it's your turn. He reaches out to touch my arm to get my attention. "What would you like?"
"Oh, a dry white wine spritzer, please," I add, reaching for my purse and pulling out my bank card to set it down.
"I take it the potion worked if you're chaperoning tonight?" Owen asks.
I nod. "Maybe a little too well, but I'm glad to see her happy. Did it work for your friend too?"
"It did. I think we can call that a success."
"Does that mean I can be your potion making assistant again?"
"I'd certainly like that. Though maybe next time I'll put in a request for brewing snacks that aren't crystallised ginger."
"I thought you liked it?"
"I did, but I also prefer those milk bottle sweets," he says.
I narrow my eyes at him. "I thought you were lactose intolerant?"
"I am, they don't have any milk in them."
"Typical," I mutter.
The bartender sets down our drinks and I tap my card against the payment machine quickly, only taking it away when I hear the beep.
"When I was a kid, I ate a whole packet of them in secret and then got sick. I ran to Mum and told her that I was sick because of the lactose, but she just laughed at me and told me that it was because I'd eaten too much sugar in one go."
I try to smother a laugh, but I don't manage. "That seems like a classic kid thing to do."
"True. It was still a stupid thing for me to do." He sips on his ale.
"I once took the family sweeping brush and jumped off the top of the shed while riding it because I thought I could ride it like the witches from books."
He frowns. "I'm pretty sure that's possible."
"Only if you remember to actually enchant the broom." I pick up my wine glass and take a sip.
He lets out a loud laugh that fills me with a comfortable warmth. I don't know why it's so easy to be around him, but it's clearly not just in the lab. "Are you sure you're a witch?" he jokes.
I laugh lightly. "Unless my parents have some very big secrets they're keeping from me."
He holds his hands up in mock defence. "I'm just saying, but I've never seen you do magic."
"Believe it or not, I get that one a lot, mostly when people find out I'm bad at potions." I pull my wand out of my pocket and twirl it around, thinking about a small shower of sparks. They appear over us, just like they do in my head.
"All right, I'm sorry, I believe you." He's laughing even as he says the words, and I can't help but be caught up in the atmosphere.
He's easy to talk to, and we get caught up in conversation while we finish our drinks.
"So, there's a little late-night café down the road from here with a lactose-free dessert on the menu that I've been dying to try," Owen says.
"Is there? I've never been."
He lets out a low chuckle and swirls the tiny bit of beer left in his pint around his glass. "You're not always very good at taking a hint, are you?"
"Oh, you're suggesting that we go." Why am I so dense sometimes?"
"Only if you want to," Owen says quickly. "And if your chaperoning duties are over. I don't want you to abandon them.
I look over to where Thalia and Evander are sitting in time to see her grab her bag and get up.
Worry fills me as I wonder if she needs me to rescue her, but she just heads over to the bar.
"I could definitely eat." My stomach rumbles as if to back up my claim. "I can go check with her now, if that's okay?"
"Go for it." He offers me a genuine smile, not seeming in the slightest bit worried that I'm going to not come back.
I reach out and touch his arm gently. "Thank you. I'll be right back, I don't think she's going to want to talk to me for long."
I head over to where Thalia leans against the bar.
"You seem to be having a good time," I say.
"I am." She flags down the bartender, confirming my theory that she's just ordering drinks and not trying to escape from her date. "How are you getting on with Owen?"
"Well. I think we'll have a second date." If this is a date in the first place. I'm not completely sure about that yet. Neither of us have mentioned anything about it, but I'd definitely call our interactions flirty. "What about you? Should I be blocking off spots in my calendar for doubles?"
She glances over at the booth she's just vacated, a smile creeping onto her face when Evander waves at her. "Maybe. We'll see."
"Ooh, that's Thalia for yes," I sing-song, far more pleased than I've ever been for someone else in my life.
"He gets a say in it too," she reminds me.
"He's clearly smitten already." I have eyes, I can see how he's acting around her.
"Maybe he's just a really good actor."
"That seems unlikely. Especially as he's not trying to get you drunk or anything like that." I nod to the non-alcoholic drink the bartender has set down in front of her.
She pulls out her bank card and waves it across the payment machine until it beeps. "Time will still tell."
"Mmhmm. I'll be at your flat at ten so we have enough time for you to fill me in on everything before we go to Economics." Something I'm looking forward to much more than crunching equations and trying to remember theories about how different economic systems work. I'm only taking the module because Dad asked me to.
"Wait, where are you going now?"
"Where do you think?" I give her the most exaggerated wink I can muster, but only because I know it'll mess with her a little.
"Mickie!"
"I'm only joking," I promise her quickly. "We're going to go and get something to eat. I'm starving. You can come with us if you want?" I don't know if Owen will actually be okay with that, but I assume so.
She shakes her head. "I think we're good here."
"All right, then I'll see you in the morning. But if you need me to come rescue you, send me a text, I'll be checking my phone." No way am I going to abandon her when I'm the one who put her in this position in the first place.
"Thanks, Mickie. Enjoy the rest of your date."
"You too." I wave goodbye to her, already sensing that she wants to get back to her date. She seems so happy about being here and doing something so normal, making me glad that I pushed her into doing this. There have been a couple of times when I wondered if it was the right thing to do, but seeing how much fun she seems to be having with Evander, I know that it was right to.
I head back over to Owen, glad that I get to enjoy my own date too. The fact he's suggesting we go to second place is a good sign, even if neither of us have brought up the d-word. I don't want to spoil anything that might be brewing between us by asking too many questions. I'm just going to enjoy spending time with someone who seems to get me and go from there.
CHAPTER 10
The café is surprisingly cosy to say that it's a late-night one, but I like it. A server shows us to a booth at the back and I slide in, followed by Owen. It's surprisingly intimate, but something feels comfortable about it.
"You need to place your order at the counter," the server says as she hands us a pair of menus.
"Thank you," I respond, taking mine and scanning down the list of desserts. Sure enough, there's a section for lactose-free ones. "There's a lot of choice," I say to him once she's gone.
"Isn't that what you want from a dessert café?"
"I don't know, I haven't been to one before," I admit. "But I like the look of it. What are you getting?"
"I'm not sure. You?"
"There's a ginger and rhubarb ice cream that sounds divine," I say. "Is it boring to get just ice cream?"
"You can get whatever you want," he points out. "Is there a reason you like ginger so much?"
I shrug. "I guess it's just one of those flavours where I'm confident it's going to be good. Don't you have anything like that?"
"Don't laugh."
"I can't promise that, but I'll try not to." I set down my menu and wait for him to answer.
"I like to order vanilla flavoured things," he admits. "I think you can taste whether they're well made or not."
I quirk an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have put you down for a vanilla kind of guy."
To my surprise a blush spreads over his cheeks and he mumbles something about looking at the menu again.
"I don't mean like that," I correct hastily. Though I also didn't not mean like that. "It's just that I was thinking it might be hard to order vanilla flavoured things because of the lactose intolerant thing."
"Ah, right. Well, yes, that's the problem. In general, things end up tasting strongly of almond or coconut a lot of the time. Though there are some good soy alternatives. You'd be surprised about how good a lot of the stuff is."
"I'm surprised that no one has come up with a remedy or spell that takes away these kinds of allergies," I muse.
"Or that as supernatural beings, we have them at all."
"I suppose we can't be infallible. That's just unfair to humans."
"It must suck to grow up human and knowing that all your friends have these cool abilities and you're just going to go through life having to do everything by hand," he says.
"Maybe. But there are advantages too. There isn't nearly so much pressure on humans to follow certain career paths."
"Very true."
"Ah." Understanding dawns on me. "That's why I haven't guessed what your dream job is yet. You want something human."
"Nice try, but no. potion making would be a weird choice if I didn't want to use magic," he points out.
I frown. He has a point there. "Maybe you just want to be well-rounded?"
Owen lets out a low chuckle. "Nice try, but you're wrong."
"I will get it eventually."
"I'm sure you will." The way he smiles at me makes it seem like he really does. "Is the rhubarb and ginger ice cream the one you want?"
"Yes, please."
"Great, I'll go order." He gets to his feet.
I grab my purse and start to pull out some money, but he shakes his head.
"My treat."
"But this is more than a drink," I counter.
"That's okay." He's gone before I can argue back. Does this mean that we are on a date? I keep thinking of it that way, but we haven't actually talked about it.
I pull out my phone to check if I have a message from Thalia, but there's unsurprisingly nothing there. She's probably too busy having fun with Evander. Which is a good thing. I'm glad she's managed to connect with someone over the blind dating. It's what I hoped for.
Owen reappears a moment or two later and slides back into the booth. "She said it would be five minutes."
"I guess quick food turnaround times are an advantage of coming in at a weird time."
"Precisely."
I take a deep breath. "Owen?"
"Yes?"
"Are we on a date?" It feels bold to ask, but it's the only way for me to stop fretting about it.
"Would you like it to be a date?"
"That's not what I asked." I need to know what he thinks. And what he wants. It's all very well him saying that it's up to me, but that doesn't actually mean anything if he doesn't want to be on a date with me.
"I'd like it to be. But if you're not comfortable with that..."
I reach out and place a gentle hand on his. "I am," I assure him. "I just wanted to know where we stand."
"Does that mean I can ask you out on a second date?"
"Wow, before this one is even over? What if you hate the way I eat or something?"
An amused snort escapes him. "I think that's probably unlikely."
"You never know. An old friend of mine had this thing where she hated the way people ate apples. What if you don't like something like that, but I eat apples all the time?"
"I don't think I've ever put much thought into how people eat apples," he admits.
"That's not the point."
"I know," he acknowledges. "And I understand what you're trying to say, but don't you think that's a bit superficial? There's a lot more to someone than the way they eat apples. Besides, it's not like I don't already know some important things about you."
"Like that I can't brew potions?"
"Maybe. But I was meaning things more like the fact you like to snack on crystallised ginger, you're there for your friends, even when it makes you uncomfortable, you're outgoing, work well with other people, you need proof that something is real before you believe it, and you're smart."
"You got all that from one day in a potions lab?"
"What can I say, I'm an observant person."
"I don't feel like I know you nearly as well," I admit.
"Don't you?" The expression on his face suggests that he doesn't believe me, but I'm not sure why.
"I mean, I guess I know that you're lactose intolerant, and you like things flavoured with vanilla so you can taste the quality...oh."
"Oh?"
"You want to be a chef, don't you?"
"Of sorts," he says. "You actually weren't completely wrong with your food potion scientist thing either. I want to develop recipes for major food retailers that cater to people with intolerances and allergies that don't compromise on taste. I know it's a bit of a lame thing to want to do with my life..."
