My fingers curl around the soft blanket on top of me, my eyes squinting from the sunlight pouring in from the window. It takes a moment for my eyes to focus but soon my gaze is fixed on the young man lying beside me.

It had been two months since our fateful kiss, and I was already beginning to spend the night…

There wasn’t much said after the kiss other than the ‘how long have you felt this way?’ and to my surprise, Ravi said he felt something a year ago.

He told me he kept wondering why he never liked seeing other boys hit on me… And he eventually he found his answer.

He was shocked from my answer; our entire childhood.

I smile to myself as I finally have the boy of my dreams to myself; I was his girlfriend and he was my boyfriend and I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that.

Well, maybe magick.

I still hadn’t told him… How could I? He didn’t believe in any of that stuff so how in his right mind could he stay with me if I were to tell him I was a witch.

My fingers play with the pieces of hair that rest on his forehead. He doesn’t make any movement when my fingers brush his slightly bronzed skin. He’s always slept like this and I swear the only thing that could wake him would be if I pounced on him.

Would it be so bad if I told him?

I keep my gaze on him until the buzzing of my cellphone is in my ears.

I turn to the night table and take it in my hands; the caller id reads ‘Stupid’ and I chuckle to myself. I lift myself from the sheets, Ravi’s baggy shirt and shorts covering me as I leave the bedroom.

“What do you want?” I greet with.

“Hey, is that anyway to talk to a friend?” The voice on the other side laughs.

“Whatever Ken,” I yawn before continuing, “What’s up?”

There’s a pause and suddenly I am filled with anxiousness. I make my way to the kitchen, my feet quiet in hopes to not wake my sleeping boyfriend.

He coughs but no words are filling the silence.

“Ken…?”

I stand in front of the coffee maker, grounds put in it from the night before. Pushing the button, I look behind me once before pointing my fingers at the cupboard furthest from me. My fingertips highlight themselves with a blue glow before the cupboard door opens and one coffee mug begins to float from it.

It’s halfway to where I am when Ken starts speaking finally.

He sighs softly before speaking, “Your mom came by the shop… She brought your stuff.”

I freeze, my heart pounding as I assess his words. All magic in me stops and the cup falls to the floor, a loud crash bouncing off the walls of the kitchen.

“And?” I inquire.

“She said… She said to stay with Connor now.”

Tears prickle my eyes and I look to the cup in dissatisfaction.

“I-”

He cuts me off, “We can talk about it in person, okay? Come back to the shop later and we’ll talk about everything she said.”

I nod.

“Seraphina?”

“Uh, yes, sorry… I’ll come later.”

I shake my head in disbelief before he tells me goodbye, the click from the other line ensuring me that he had left. I take the phone away from my ear and place it on the small table that sat in the centre of the room and trudge towards the cup that lay in pieces on the floor.

Tears quickly fall from my eyes now that Ken has left me to my silence but all I seem to crave is for someone to hold me.

My mother had disapproved of my love of magick after my father had died and she was unusually cold to me for the past three months after I told her I didn’t want to pursue College anymore but learn witchcraft instead… I didn’t think it would get to the point where she would abandon me though.

Should I wake Ravi up? But what do I tell him…? My mom and I fought so badly this time that she was getting rid of me?

I kneel down in front of the cup, the cold floor greeting my knees with harshness. I pick the pieces up and place them in my hands as my thoughts consume me.

Ravi knows that we fight all the time… But I always brushed it off like it wasn’t a big deal. I could just say it was a mutual agreement for me to leave.

I yelp in pain and when I look down, I notice blood dropping from my index finger. There’s a shard on the floor that has blood across it and I sigh in frustration, tears furthering making their way down my cheeks.

“What am I supposed to do?” I whisper, not expecting an answer.

“Use a broom.”

I blink in surprise and turn to the source of the voice and my tear blurred vision meets with Ravi’s.

He chuckles a bit, “It’s just a cup, Sera, don’t worry.”

I give him a sad smile as my gaze falls to the pieces on the floor. I hear his feet and soon he is kneeling beside me.

“Hey, you’re bleeding.”

His fingers curl around my palm and he brings my finger tips to his face.

“You should be more careful, sweetie,” he breathes with a sigh before placing my finger in his mouth.

I blush although my tears don’t leave.

His eyes search my face for a moment, and when my melancholy doesn’t lift he pulls my finger from his mouth.

“This isn’t about the cut, is it?”

I shake my head before my eyes fall to the floor.

“Seraphina, what’s wrong?”

I sob quietly before answering and he lifts my chin to look at him.

“My mom… We fought and she doesn’t want me anymore.”

It’s a half-truth… He just doesn’t need to know the other half as of yet.

“What? I’ll talk to-”

“No, Ravi… Please don’t. I think it’s for the best.”

I pull myself away from him and drag myself towards the closet in the kitchen, pulling out a broom and dustpan to sweep up my mess.

“I’ll just… I’ll just move in with Connor for now and hopefully get a job.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea… Sera-”

“It’ll be fine, okay? I promise.”

I nod nervously before sweeping up the broken pieces now piled on the ceramic floor. Ravi stands up, watching me as I dump the shattered mug into the garbage pail.

It’s quiet as I take two more mugs, using my hands this time, and placing them on the counter in front of the coffee maker.

I feel a shiver run through me as I calm my tears and I feel vulnerable as Ravi watches me… What was I supposed to do now? Have no family at all?

I sniffle once and before long Ravi’s arms are wrapping around my mid-section.

“Seraphina,” He breathes against my earlobe before kissing it softly.

I let my arms rest over top of his and smile fondly at the contact.

I couldn’t lose him now…

The bell chimes a fond tune as I open the door to the shop I was so familiar with. On the outside it comes across as modern, an everyday steel structure, a spell casted by Connor to fit in architecturally as time goes on. Inside it’s darker, antique like furniture and potion bottles scatter throughout the store front. There’s magic from every culture in here and it warms my heart as I gaze at it.

The corners of my mouth lift when I see a black cat perch itself on the counter adjacent to the door, a book opened near the creature. The smell of old parchment fills my nose and I walk towards the feline.

“N, are you keeping watch for some reason?”

I pat the cats head once before taking a step back, my eyes fixated on him as he stands on all fours, stretching before he leaps from his spot.

There’s a whirl of black smoke that surrounds him and in mere seconds there is a man a few inches taller than me, clothed in black jeans and a grey sweater, standing in front of me.

His hair is dark black and slightly wavy; he has curious eyes and a smirk on his face.

“Sera, you’re finally back.”

“Oh, stop. It’s been two days.”

He chuckles before turning around to walk through the space beside the desk and I follow him quickly.

“Connor is upstairs with Ken.”

I nod while I follow him up the narrow stairway. This place was so familiar to me, it was more my home than the house my Mom and Dad had raised me in.

I halt my steps immediately when we come to the top landing where normally one door lies.

“What’s going on?” I mutter with my eyes on N as he turns to face me.

“It’s a surprise! Connor used a bit of magick to extend the house… Well, certain floors.”

N claps his hands together before grabbing a hold of my wrists and pulling me forward down the hallway.

There are now six doors in my vision, each one having a number to mark it. He pulls me down the dark hallway to the sixth door and raps on it once. There are some footsteps before I hear Ken answer.

“Come in!”

N is quick to spin the door handle open, pushing it excitedly to reveal a room big enough for one person to sleep in. It has both a dresser and vanity and when I’m done roaming over everything I take note of the two figures standing inside of it.

Connor looks to be in her forties, although she is well over two hundred in Earth years. Her hair is a soft brown and almost always tied back into a tight bun. She is in a purple dress that reaches the floor with a pair of brown leather boots that peak out from underneath. A white scarf is wrapped around her neck and just underneath of it is a black stone hung from a black ribbon. She’s always felt like a Mother to me… Even though I had known her less than my blood Mom.

I move my eyes from her and give Ken a questioning look. He’s taller than me and has a muscular build. The pink button up shirt he is wearing is paired with a pair of blue jeans and white vans, one of his typical outfits.

“What-”

Connor coughs before I can ask anything.

“This is your room; I hope the colours are enjoyable.”

She smirks at me before pushing past me, pulling N along with her and just as they are about to close the door Connor pokes her head back in.

“Sera, don’t ever let your Mother come here again.”

The door slams and my eyes widen before turning to Ken.

“Well, roomie-”

“Wait… Roomie?”

He laughs a bit, “I took one of the rooms down the hallway… It’s easier for all of us in my opinion.”

“Do I have to pay rent…?”

He shakes his head lightly before answering.

“No, we both do so much work for her that she said it was alright to stay here if we work around the shop.”

I smile weakly, trying to forget my Mother and the act she just did… Ken still had some explaining to do.

“Ken… What did she say?” I enquire.

His face falls slightly before he ushers me to sit beside him on the bed to which I follow his instructions. His legs are pressed against mine and as per usual, I find it quite comforting considering the situation. I had known Ken since I was fifteen, after he had come here seeking out aid for alchemy training.

Connor at first, of course, declined, telling him he was simply too young, only two years older than myself at the time but he insisted… Telling her his story of his ill-fated lover.

Ken talked of a girl named Melody often, smitten with her brown locks and oaky eyes and even more so her bright personality… But she was cursed; he told us of a sorcerer who cast a spell on her to punish her Father.

Her Father owed a powerful sorcerer a debt and because no payment could be made, his daughter was forced to become something other than she is. She was turned into a fox, small and feeble in strength, and would have to adapt to the Earth, although fortunate enough to turn human on the nights of the full moon. The sorcerer, out of complete disgust, further worsened the deal by telling Ken and her Father that if the curse was broken, he would come back and hurt her Father.

Ken was, and still is, driven to break the curse on his soul mate and he is convinced there is an alchemic potion, combined with witchcraft, that will help him break said curse.

He was one of my best friends and I helped him as much as I could with this, finding spells or concoctions that might help him in his fight to save his lover.

“Well…” Ken says, breaking me from my thoughts after minutes of silences.

I perk my ears in interest as he begins to explain his morning.

“She came into the shop with an old trunk, asking to speak to Connor… When she came out your Mom told her that if magick was to be your path, that… That she didn’t want to have anything to do with you. Saying magick ruined her life.”

I scoff quietly… What magick? She had turned away from it the moment Dad died, telling me to give it up as well. I can feel tears welling in my eyes as I think about my Father’s sweet smile but I keep them on Ken’s face as he finishes the story.

“She pushed your trunk to the front desk and Connor asked if this was her final decision regarding you… She only nodded so I took your trunk from her, pulling it to the stairs. After that I heard her footsteps, but then Connor stopped her.”

“She… what?” I ask in bewilderment.

Ken began to chuckle and I feel somewhat shocked as he shakes his head.

“Well, Connor doesn’t have the best mouth… So she threw a flask at her and told her she was an awful Mother.”

I smirk at this, although there is a larger part of me that feels guilty thinking my Mother had to endure Connor’s wrath.

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay… But I guess this makes us more of a family then?”

I muster a smile and he only smirks in return, putting an arm around me to comfort me.

“You’ll get through it… You’re one of the strongest girls I know.”

I nod in response as I lean my head on his shoulder, ultimately hoping Ravi could be here…

“What did you tell Ravi?” Ken asks.

I sigh, “Well… That I fought with my mom to the point where she kicked me out. I guess it’s not a complete lie.”

We sit in silence for a while, and when the air has calmed Ken begins to question me.

“Speaking of Ravi… You didn’t go home last night.”

I lift my head from Ken’s shoulder and find him smiling down at me with raised eyebrows and I instantly flush.

“We didn’t have…”

He laughs again, his entire upper half rattling from it.

“Why are you so nervous?”

I shrug a bit, “Well, we just haven’t – I mean, I’m really nervous to…”

He scoffs quietly and I turn my face from his to let my gaze fall on the golden rug beneath my new bed. I know my cheeks are red but there’s really no reason I should be so embarrassed to talk about this with him.

“Sera, it’s not like you’re a anymore,” he begins with, taking a moment to put his fingers under my chin all while turning my face to him, “Don’t tell me I have to reteach you?”

I roll my eyes although his fingers don’t leave my chin.

“Ken that was a long time ago… And you and I both know those times didn’t mean anything.”

He winks at me while giving me a goofy smile and I’m reminded of being seventeen again...

Other than when my Father had died, I experience the worst period of my life. Ravi had finally gotten a girlfriend and I couldn’t seem to accept the fact that I might have to move on from him.

It was also around this time that I was studying late with Ken three nights a week, who was understandably depressed… He reached an incredibly rough spot where he felt there was no way to cure Melody of her curse.

I remember we had been sitting on the floor, reading out of a textbook together when Connor made a comment.

She said, ‘You know, you look just like my husband and I did while we were young.’

We both flinched, maintaining eye contact for a few moments before dismissing her comment. There was no way that could happen – we both had someone we loved.

It wasn’t until shortly after when Ravi had told me he had with his girlfriend… and a part of me fell apart. He lost his ity to her, at the age of seventeen, so she must’ve meant something to him.

I acted nonchalantly about it, only telling him to make sure he protected the both of them, but when I left I couldn’t control my tears and my jealousy.

The tears had dried when I met with Ken for our study session that night and for some reason I felt this insatiable need to kiss him… It almost felt like it was out of revenge, but how would Ravi ever find out?

Ken was hesitant at first, but when he responded his lips were soft and he was tender in his kiss. He was nineteen at the time.

I didn’t tie myself to it romantically, but only rather friendship and trust. Other than Ravi, there was no other male I trusted as much as him.

As our study nights began to end out with heavy make-out sessions, my body was beginning to want more than just kissing.

“Sera… Are you sure about this? You love Ravi...” Ken had asked.

“And you love Melody… What’s the difference here?” was my immediate response.

He only nodded, kissing me more intimately and for the next couple of months we used each other to fill our ual desires… Until we both began to feel a more heated passion for the others in our lives. When he realized he felt he was betraying her, and when I realized no matter who Ravi was with, I was still going to love him. Fortunately, Ravi’s relationship ended after six months… You couldn’t blame me for being happy about it.

I don’t regret this part of our friendship… Ken was someone I could trust and losing my ity to him wasn’t something I was angry over.

I’m pulled back to the present and I quickly stick my tongue out at him.

“You taught me well enough, now let go of my face.”

He laughs, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of my bedroom before letting go of my chin.

“Not to pester either… But he should find out eventually.”

My breath catches at his words.

“He needs to know your world if you’re going to be together long.”

I nod steadily, “I know… Eventually he will.”

He nods, a satisfying smirk taking over his features.

“Now, how about we have a look at some more potions for your lovely girl? It’s going to be a full moon in a few days.”

Ken smiles brightly, happy with the prospect of seeing her in her human form once again. We both stand up and as I’m walking towards the door I turn to ask him a question.

“The study room… Still on the second floor?”

He chuckles, “Yes.”

We both wander into the hallway and I smile to myself as I think about how my new life will be spent. Something I hope I could share with Ravi... Could he really fit in here?