Chapter One: Do You Believe In Magic?

"I have my mark to make, I have words to say. Let others hear the words I speak, and take self-doubt away. An it harm none, so be it." I check nervously to make sure the candles are burning, and that the bathtub is the right temprature, and that the bracelet is properly floating there and not soaking wet or touching any of the leaves. Spells this complicated aren't really my strong suit, and neither are enchantments, but I have to at least make an attempt at this spell. Apparently, Sunhee's feeling nervous about her first day of school, and it's my job to fix that.

"I just - everyone thinks I'm nice," she'd said on the phone, her voice small.

"That's a great reputation to have," I attempted to reason. Sunhee's pretty, and so smart, and nice to boot; maybe she's kind of shy, yeah, but that's definitely one of her charm points, not one of her bad ones.

"I know, I know." She sighed. "I just wish I could be a little more confident. It's our junior year. I want to be able to talk to people I'm not friends with first without freaking out on the inside."

I nodded, though I realized halfway through the action that she wouldn't be able to tell. "That's understandable. But you'll be fine, Sunhee, I promise."

"I probably will be. But venting to you always makes me feel better, Layla."

"I'll always be here to lend an ear, promise," I replied, nodding. "I gotta go - Amy needs some help at the shop. See you tomorrow?"

"See you!" she said, hanging up the phone shortly afterwards.

"I have my mark to make, I have words to say. Let others hear the words I speak, and take self-doubt away. An it harm none, so be it," I repeat, checking the candles and the bracelet and the water temprature and the leaves for about the hundredth time. Why is enchanting so hard? All the individual elements have to be absolutely perfect and you have to say the words so many times before you can get to the actual magic part of the magic, which is the part I'm good at. I like easy spells and alchemy, not enchantments and complicated spells with words to memorize. But there aren't easy self-confidence-boosting spells, apparently, and most of them work better if harnessed through some kind of object. 

I repeat the incantation again, this time holding my left hand out over the bracelet. I close my eyes and try to focus, thinking about how happy Sunhee's going to be when she sees I got her a back-to-school present, and how she's going to have this newfound confidence and how she's going to feel fantastic - 

When my eyes open, the bracelet is hovering just under my palm, and it's glowing brightly. I can't help but smile as I grab the bracelet and start putting out the candles; I won't know if it actually worked until tomorrow after Sunhee puts the bracelet on, but by some miracle, nothing is on fire. I'm about to punch the air in celebration, when suddenly, I'm interrupted.

"I don't really think you need any more self-confidence than you already have," Amy said, smirking. Amy Lynch owns the teashop that I live above, the Cypress Cafe. While my parents are teaching at the University of Glasgow for a year, she's been kind enough to let me stay with her. And, yeah, she's a witch too - the cafe doubles as a potion ingredients shop, when it's not actually being a cafe.

"I don't," I agree, nodding, and attempting to seem like I wasn't about to pump my fist in the air. "I already know just how awesome I am. But this is for Sunhee," I explained.

Amy's lips formed a silent O. "How long until you don't have to serve her anymore, again?"

"Not 'til I'm legal," I reply, shrugging. "But it's not a big deal, Amy, really."

"If you say so.  Need me to drive you to school tomorrow?" Amy asks.

"Wonwoo's picking me and Sunhee up, and I'll just teleport if he forgets."

Amy frowns; by the way her hands ball up and find their way to her hips, I can tell there's a lecture on the way. "Layla, you really need to rely less on magic. You might not always have it, you know."

I sigh. "I'm not relying on it. I'm using it as it conveniences me. It's not a big deal."

"Except it is. You know your mother let me take you in because she wanted me to teach you that you might not always have magic?"

"Then she shouldn't have sent me to live with the most stereotypical witch ever," I argue, trying to keep my head. 

"I'm not stereotypical -"

"Amy, you have a black cat. Named Hecate." 

Amy sighs. "Alright, so maybe I have a black cat named Hecate, but you're a teenage girl with dyed hair who dresses in flannels and dark colors. You're like something out of a fantasy teen movie. Neither of us are in the clear here," she says with a laugh. "Anyways, you should go to bed.  Big day tomorrow."

"Not that big," I reply, yawning - it really is pretty late at night. "All that matters is if this bracelet works or not. But, yeah, I'm going to bed," I say, stepping out of the bathroom. I snap my fingers to clean up the mess of leaves and melty wax and walk into my bedroom. "Goodnight, Amy."

"Goodnight, Layla," Amy replies, smiling. "And remember, actually sleep, okay?"

"I'll try!" I reply, closing the door.

Wonwoo Jeon was the only other magic kid in the neighborhood I grew up in, and he's one of the closest friends I have. He's...well, honestly, he's really good at everything. Enchantments, alchemy, practical magic, healing, illusions, hypnotization - you name it, it's a thing he's good at. But the most useful thing about him is the fact that he can drive.

"Morning, Layla," he says, with a small smile, as he opens the door for me. "You excited?"

"For what, the first day of school? Not whatsoever," I reply. "You don't realize how much summer vacation screws up your sleeping schedule until you're awake at 6:00 AM. At least I have wake-up tea."

"I know. At least this year I can slack off some. Senioritis, baby," he says, smirking, as he starts the car and begins driving. 

I frown. "Isn't senioritis only supposed to happen after you've already gotten into your dream school?"

"I already have," he replies. "Didn't Amy tell you? I could've sworn I told Joshua, and there's no way he didn't tell her..."

"She didn't tell me anything," I reply, trying to hide my hurt. Of course I'm a little mad that he didn't tell me directly or right away, but I won't let it bother me...well, I won't let it bother me too much. "What was it again, your school? The Bucharest School of Alchemy?"

"The one and only," he confirms. "I'm so pumped. You know they have actual philosopher's stones there? Real ones? I mean, they're forbidden as hell to use so nobody turns immortal, but they're real." An excited tone creeps into his voice, and I can't help but laugh at it - Wonwoo's got this intimidating aura and a piercing gaze, yeah, but he's about as warm as a baby duck, and it's kind of adorable.

"That's so cool," I say, with a sigh. "You'll come back and visit, right? Just because you'll be legal next July and off in a European country doesn't mean I'm not going to need your mad magic skills-with-a-z." 

He smiles gently, though he's keeping his eyes on the road. "I know, I know. I'll write letters, text you...something. I'm not going to fall out of touch with you."

"I know. But I had to make sure." I smile back, in full force. "Anyways, do you think you could check something I enchanted for me? Sunhee was doubting herself, so I tried to enchant this bracelet, but I'm kind of worried it didn't work."

"Did you get the words right?"

"I think I did."

Wonwoo glances at me for just a second. "Then you'll be fine. You're a better witch than you think you are."

"No, I at enchantments. I like instant gratification with my spells, thank you very much. And I hate memorizing things," I add, as an afterthought.

"Then why do you like alchemy so much? Alchemy is all about memorization."

"But it's cool memorization," I explain. "It's symbols, not words."

Wonwoo laughs. "I guess you're right."

"You know I'm right," I correct. "We can't all have your IQ, Wonwoo."

He shakes his head as he pulls up to the high-class apartment building that is Sunhee Lee's home. "Like I said, you're a better witch than you think you are," he repeats, a little bit softer this time. "Can you text Sunhee?"

"Already on it - she said she'd be out in a sec," I reply, putting away my phone. Sure enough, Sunhee walks out the building's door about four seconds later, smiling brightly.

"Morning!" she says, as she steps into the backseat of the car. "Thank you so much for the ride, Wonwoo."

"No problem," he replies, with a small smile. 

"I got you a thing," I say, by way of greeting, as I rummage through my backpack for the bracelet; when I find it, I throw it into the back seat. 

Sunhee smiles widely. "Really? This is so pretty!" she says, putting on the bracelet and admiring it on her wrist. "But you really didn't have to get me anything."

"I know. But I saw it and was like, 'hey, this is a thing that Sunhee might like', so I got it for you," I reply, with a shrug. 

"It's really pretty," she repeats with a nod. "Thanks, Layla. You excited for the first day?"

"Why does anyone think I'm remotely excited for getting way less sleep than I would've otherwise?!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up as far as they can go in Wonwoo's car. Wonwoo and Sunhee start laughing, and even though I'm completely serious, I start laughing, too. 

Sunhee sighs. "Just when I get excited about school, I realize I have algebra first period."

"Sorry," I say, shrugging and sitting down at one of the classroom's tables and motioning for Sunhee to do the same. "At least we'll be suffering together?"

"At least we're together," she agrees, nodding. "And at least we're here early, so we can sit together!" she adds, with a smile.

"Looks like we weren't the only early birds, though," I say, gesturing towards a boy I don't recognize at a back table with both headphones in his ears. "You know him, Sunhee?"

"Why do you just assume I know people?" she asks, not sarcastic, just genuinely curious.

I shrug. "You're extroverted and stuff. Doesn't that mean you know a lot of people?"

"Not necessarily," she replies. "But I mean...he's kind of cute. It wouldn't hurt to know him, right?"

"He could be a freshman."

"He could be a really cute freshman," Sunhee replies, grinning, and before I can protest, she's walking over to his table with a little spring in her step. I can't help but smile to myself; my enchantment worked, yo.

"Excuse me," she says, tapping the boy on his shoulder; he takes out one of his headphones and looks at her curiously. "Are you a freshman?"

"No," he replies, in a voice lower than I was expecting. "I'm, um, a junior...I'm new here, though."

"Oh! We're in the same grade, then. I'm Sunhee Lee," she says, smiling. "Wanna come sit with me?"

"S-sure," he replies, standing up. "I'm Hansol Choi, by the way."

"Hansol," she repeats, walking back to the table and sitting down. "It's a really nice name. This is Layla Kang, by the way," she adds, gesturing to me. I wave at the boy - Hansol - and smirk.

"So where'd you live before you moved to Maple Hills?" I ask, not quite curious, but willing to give Sunhee an in.

"Korea - South Korea," he replies, nodding. "Hongdae. Actually, I lived in New York for a while...but I spent most of my time in Korea. I know my English isn't great."

"Your English is fine," Sunhee says, with a giggle. "But New York? That's pretty cool. And my older sister Sunhwa lives in Hongdae - she says it's pretty nice. But Maple Hills must seem pretty boring compared to those places."

Hansol shrugs. "I don't know, I like it. The people are nice here. Or, well, you...you guys are."

Sunhee smiles at him - it's a smile I've seen her give to the 5 Seconds Of Summer poster in her bedroom millions of times. "Yes, we are. You're pretty lucky we found you, huh?"

He turns a little red and looks down at the table; I can tell he's smiling, though. Perfect. You're one helluva witch, Layla, I think to myself, with a smug (miniscule, but smug) grin. 

"I'm not helping you make a love potion, Layla."

"But it's not a love potion!" I protest, crossing my arms. "It's just so this new guy will start liking Sunhee faster. It's accelerating the natural process."

Wonwoo raises his eyebrows. "So a love potion...?"

"Maybe it's kind of a love potion."

"It's a love potion." Wonwoo sighs and leans back to stretch. "I mean...why can't you do this yourself?"

"For one thing, I need it done as soon as possible. Amy's apparently hosting a book club at the cafe so I can't ask her to make me one, and you can drive and go get the stuff we'll need." I think for a second before continuing. "We can just do it really fast after school. There's that empty classroom in the band hall, remember?"

"We'll get caught, though, won't we?"

"Illusion spell. I'll just make it look like we're studying or something," I decide with a shrug. "That'll work, right?"

"I...I guess," Wonwoo replies. "But why do you need my help?"

I pause. "Full disclosure, I have no idea how to make a love potion," I admit, shoulders slumping. "But you do, right?"

"I know how. I've just never done it before."

"Then it'll be good practice for the both of us!" I sigh,  reaching across the lunch table to grab one of Wonwoo's hands. Maybe it's just my imagination, but he flinches for a split second. "C'mon, Wonwoo, please?"

"...A-alright," he replies, finally, drawing his hands back. "I'll pick everything up next period and meet you after school in the band hall."

"Yay! Thanks a ton, Wonwoo," I say, grinning widely. He grins back at me.

"Enchantment's done. Anyone who walks in here should just see you tutoring me. So what's the order the ingredients go in, again?" I ask, leaning over the small, black cauldron (full of ice-cold water) curiously.

"Rosemary, black tea, thyme, nutmeg, mint, rose petals, lemon leaves, sugar and honey," Wonwoo replies, emptying the contents of his bag onto a desk. "You're paying me back for all of these."

"Gladly," I reply. "But hurry. I really want to get this done."

"Potion-making is really exact," Wonwoo says, shrugging. "Let me measure the ingredients first. You can memorize the words in the meantime."

"By the light of moon waxing, I brew this tea to make Hansol desire Sunhee," I say, shrugging. "It's not really a tough spell to memorize."

"You forgot the disclaimer," Wonwoo replies, not looking up as he measures out the lemon leaves. 

"An it harm none so be it," I add, as an afterthought, and I stick out my tongue. "Come on, hurry -"

"Layla?" a voice says, suddenly - I look up, and there's Hansol, peeking through the door. "I was looking for the gym."

"It's to your left," I reply, boredly stirring the cauldron and turning my gaze to it. 

"Oh," he replies. "Thanks." Then he pauses. "But what are you doing?"

"That's Wonwoo, Wonwoo Jeon. He's my algebra tutor," I explain, shrugging.

"Is this what algebra is at this school?"

I look up again, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're...you're stirring something and he's cutting...leaves." To prove his point, Hansol gestures at Wonwoo, who's carefully going over the rosemary and cutting it into small pieces.

And then I realize what he means. "Wonwoo, the enchantment is on, right?"

"You did the spell perfectly," he replies, putting down his knife.

"So then why is it that he knows what we're doing?"

Author's Note: This is so looooong. >< And this is only chapter one. We're just getting started.

But like...chapter one, yo. I looked up spells online and then actually got help from my mom to make sure they were accurate. She's really into stuff like that. And so here's chapter one...I hope you liked it! It took me SO LONG to write. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. ...Well, any attention on this fic at all is appreciated~