An Unexpected Brew

by J E Mueller

  “You’re too stubborn,” was the best reply I could come up with.

  “Not nearly as stubborn as you.” He smirked.

  “I’ll gladly accept my title as Queen of Stubbornness. You may accept my title at any time.” I smirked back.

  “As Your Majesty wishes.” He laughed. Vincent’s phone made a few chirpy chimes before he sighed. “I actually do need to take that really quick.”

  I moved so he could get up.

  With another sigh he answered the phone. “Hi, Mom.” Ah, well that might be an important one. “Yes, I know. I’ve got just about everything packed.” He paused while I assumed his mom talked and strolled around my flat. “Yep, and yes, but can I–” There was another long sigh. “I’m actually going to have to call you tomorrow–” Vincent nodded a few times. “Because I’m spending some time with–” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, exactly. The girl I mentioned. Yes, so I’ll call–” With a final nod he finally closed it out. “I love you too. Goodnight, Mom.”

  “It’s probably about time for you to go isn’t it?” I stated. It was starting to get late.

  Vincent nodded. “Probably, but maybe we can manage another movie? Though you’re probably tired.”

  “You’re the one who has to drive tomorrow. I’ve got nothing going on.” I waved my casted arm. “Whatever is fine by me.”

  “Well, what do you want to do?” He asked, coming to sit back on the sofa.

  “Be greedy and keep you here longer,” I replied honestly. It was probably the least worst thing I had admitted all night.

  “Another movie it is.” He smiled.

  “Your pick.” I laughed. “My pick apparently wasn’t entertaining enough.”

  “I think it was a worthwhile distraction.” He smirked as he went and put on something different.

  “No complaints.” I blushed, glad his back was turned to me.

  After he joined me on the sofa, we cuddled together and watched the movie. Some of it, anyway. I knew I was getting too tired, but didn’t want to send him off so I could sleep. Instead we both fell asleep.

  I was surprised to wake up at three in the morning to find we were both still on the sofa. The movie screen was still happily lighting up the room. Carefully I nudged Vincent awake.

  “Wake up, sleepy head.” I yawned. Yep, I sounded convincing.

  “Hm?” He cracked an eye open at me. “Sorry did I fall asleep?” He yawned and finally opened both eyes.

  “It’s three.” I nodded and replied with another yawn.

  “Oh. Wow.” He glanced at his phone to confirm the time. “That was unexpected.”

  “You should get back so you can leave on time tomorrow.” My voice sounded way sadder than it needed to. I tried to smile to make up for it, but it faltered.

  “I’ll miss you too.” He hugged me. “But yeah. It’s way late, and I should pretend to be somewhat of an adult.”

  “It’s three a.m. Who really adults at three a.m.?” I protested. I could feel a yawn creeping back up. I was too tired to fight this silly battle.

  “No sane person.” He kissed my forehead. “You need sleep. I promise I’ll call.”

  “Okay…” I wasn’t sure how I felt, but I knew this was coming.

  Tiredly, we walked to the door.

  “I’m glad I could have such a great last night here with you.” Vincent hugged me tightly as we lingered for another moment.

  “Please drive safe.” I buried my face in his chest.

  “I will. Please be careful.” He hugged me even tighter for a moment. “You can call or message me anytime.”

  “Okay.” I mostly had responded to his messages. I guess I could initiate some. I looked up at him, not sure what else to say.

  Instead of more words, we kissed. A slow kiss at first, but it quickly built to a powerful goodbye. Finally, he had to go.

  Tomorrow was going to suck.

  9

  Except Callie didn’t give the day much time to suck. The second she called to arrange plans for thrifting, I filled her in on the details of last night. Few as they were, it was squee-worthy enough for her to be ready to go in half the time. With coffees in hand, we were quickly on the road.

  “I think this is going to be an awesome dance,” Callie mused as she pulled onto the highway.

  “It’ll be something for sure.” I laughed. “I’ve no idea how this will go. Having a date is one level of nonsense I wasn’t expecting, and it’ll be an extra notch of crazy with the prince there. How was his seminar thing, anyway?”

  “He’s fun. I loved his presentation. I bet it’ll go fine enough for any of us not pining over his attention.” Callie seemed to be in the same mindset as me about all that royal nonsense.

  “That reminds me, you never did show me it.” With all that had gone on this week, I had completely forgotten to ask.

  “It was great! He showed off some of his magic, too.” Callie pulled out her phone and handed it over to me. “It’s the last video I took.”

  I stared at her phone for a moment before remembering her unlock pattern. “Oh, that’s cool. Did he show off anything interesting?” I finally found the video and clicked on it.

  “Just watch.” She laughed and turned down the music.

  After watching for a few moments, I noticed something. “His voice sounds crazy familiar.”

  “Well, he has been around campus. It wouldn’t be surprising if you ran into him and didn’t know it,” Callie mused.

  “Very true,” I agreed, but couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that as the video continued on. “I wish you got closer, the sound quality sucks.”

  “Right? And I got there early. Geeze. I can’t believe how crazy it was.” Callie shook her head. “Oh well. We’ve got about a half hour before we get there, so let’s get this karaoke party started!” She flipped the music back on loud.

  Laughing, I turned off the video with the intent to watch it another time and joined in. Nothing made a road trip better than an overly dramatic duet, filled with terrible car dancing, and singing in octaves no one should attempt. In no time at all, we arrived at the first location.

  And on the day went.

  Callie was the dressmaking mastermind and so many times I just stared at something she’d pick up and wonder how she was ever going to make it work. Of course after the first two locations you’d think we’d be good. That’s not how things worked with Callie. She wanted backup items and ideas in case something ripped or ended up not looking as she had planned. Five thrift stores and two craft stores later we finally headed back home.

  The next few weeks became a mess of trying to help Callie with making dresses, holding still while she pinned things, class work, self-lead magic practice, and talking with Vincent when we were both free. Trying to both be free was more of a late evening adventure, making random messages throughout the day the best way to communicate. Or complain about school and life.

  Finally, I got the message I had been waiting for.

  “So, pending on some nonsense at home, it looks like I’ll be back Wednesday the 9th.”

  Inwardly, I was cheering. “Awesome, the day of my illusion final. If I don’t survive it, please know that Callie helped to make an awesome dress for the dance. Or made the entire thing with little of my help…”

  It didn’t take long for him to reply. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. You’ve been keeping up with practicing and you’ve read over my notes at least a dozen times. You’ve got this.”

  “Maybe read it like eight dozen, but still. It’s going to be a tough final. I really don’t think half the class is going to make it.” That much was true. I really wouldn’t be surprised if a third flat out failed and half got D’s which wasn’t a passing grade by far. Most of the schools I had been looking at wouldn’t even accept the transfer credit unless it was a B or higher. Doing fine wasn’t going to cut it.

  “You were already more than ready for this final before I left. I have no doubt that you’ll pass it at worst
, and ace it at best. There’s not a single technique you’re struggling with.”

  I couldn’t really argue it. There wasn’t anything I was struggling with, but I wasn’t confident enough to say I was good enough to ace this class. Still, I had been working really hard and hoped it would show.

  Instead I chose to go back to the original comment. “So Wednesday? :)”

  “Yes, if all goes well here, then Wednesday.”

  “The ‘if all goes well’ part isn’t very reassuring.” Yeah, that’s not happening then.

  “At the worst it’ll be early Thursday. That shouldn’t be the case, though,” he replied.

  Worst case would probably make the most sense. It was finals week, the week of the ball, and I’d finally getting to see my new boyfriend again. Thursday was totally going to be it.

  “So, what would keep you?” I asked curiously.

  “A complex set of preparations that make sense only to my mother. If a mother can make a bigger deal out of a dance than necessary, she will.” Now, that I could believe. I had already seen Henrietta the step monster going mad while finding Diamond the perfect dress, setting up appointments with the best hairdresser she could find, getting a makeup specialist, and making sure all the little odds and ends of tanning, nails, and whatnot were all in line. I was more than relieved they paid me no mind. I doubt they even knew I was attending. How could they when no one had bothered to ask?

  “It’s just a dance, it’ll be fine,” I finally replied.

  “If it was just a dance then who’d make a big deal about it? Clearly, this is going to be one of the biggest events of a lifetime. LOL.”

  That was exactly what the majority of the school and town population were thinking. At least it should be fun with everyone actually putting some effort into it.

  With finals to prep for and take, I didn’t worry much about the final details of the dance until after everything school-wise was said and done. I had helped Callie all I could with the dresses. I was reasonably confident that I could do my nails, hair, and makeup well enough – and if need be, I would resort to my magic. Illusion magic was the perfect backup plan. Not that many eyes would be on me, anyway.

  Thankfully, they would be all on our guest star, the prince, and anyone who might dance with him. I wasn’t sure how someone could handle that much spotlight. Lucky for me, that wasn’t my problem to know.

  Once finals were over on Wednesday I felt like I could finally breathe again – and my cast was finally off! It felt so good to finally have full range of movement back. I decided to shake off the physical funk my arm was in and work on some sketching. It would probably still be several days before things felt normal again, but this was a great start. I was a third of the way through trying to figure out how to get a hand to look right when my phone went off.

  “I’ll totally be here today, but not until late.”

  Well, that was no surprise. “What is late?” That was the important question.

  “Maybe ten. So, I’ll have to check in and stuff.” The lame truth about how hotels work.

  I wanted to convince him to stop by after, but I was sure he’d be tired. “Since school’s done, what about breakfast?” I wasn’t back on the schedule until next week, so I might as well enjoy this extra bit of freedom while I could.

  “I’d love nothing more,” was his response followed by a quick second one. “All right, back on the road for me. I’ll message you when I get in. Maybe we can talk if you’re up.”

  It was an excellent plan, except for the part where I fell asleep. Instead, I woke up when the sun was already shining brightly through my curtains and my phone was ringing happily away.

  “‘Ello?” I mumbled, still trying to get the sand out of my eyes.

  “Morning sleepy head,” Vincent’s amused tone came through.

  “Why are you so happy in the mornings?” I grumbled, my brain not catching up with the fact I should probably be happy.

  “Because, I get to see you today. Isn’t that enough to be a morning person for a moment?”

  “I’ll let you know when I’m awake.” I yawned. I was excited to spend time together again, but this grogginess was clinging to me something terrible.

  “I’ll take that as you’re excited but need some time.” He snickered.

  “Yeah, maybe like…. No, make it an hour. That should be good enough.” I nodded to myself.

  “And I’m guessing picking you up might raise a bit of a problem.” I could hear the caution in his voice.

  “Probably. The easiest way would be just to wait in the parking lot. If you can just disguise your car to look like Callie’s that’ll be enough.”

  “Easy enough. Now, onto the next concern.” Vincent hesitated.

  “Probably the one where everyone in town knows me and we don’t want another ‘oh em gee, There goes Arnessa stealing Di’s boyfriend again’.”

  “Ugh, that is still vile to hear.” Vincent sounded repulsed by the thought.

  “Isn’t it? But yeah, I’ll just use some illusion magic, be done with it. Any other worries?” I couldn’t think of anything else.

  “Nah, I think that covers it all.” He sounded a lot happier now that things were decided.

  “Perfect. I’ll see you in an hour, then.” With that, we ended the call and I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for the day.

  Somehow, an hour went by too fast. The magical time warp called a shower was never the fifteen minutes I intended but somehow I was ready on time. I even had a chance to fix up my hair, which was more than I had done in weeks thanks to that lovely cast.

  It was still a toss-up in my mind if I just misstepped on ice, or if magic was involved. From how happy my lovely stepmom was about the whole aftermath, I had a feeling she was involved. I wondered if there was any way to combat her on that level. Even if there was, did I want to be in a battle against her?

  Nope.

  She wasn’t worth my time. There were too many things I wanted to accomplish. That I needed to accomplish in order to get where I wanted to go. She could delay me, but I was never going to let her stop me.

  “Here.” The lovely text chimed at me. With a happy spring in my step I headed downstairs.

  “What are you so smiley for?” Diamond asked as I passed by the register.

  Ummm, none of your business… but I bit my tongue. “Finishing things up with Callie. Gotta be ready for the dance tomorrow, right?” I shrugged and continued on.

  “Why are you even going?” Diamond’s face distorted with disgust as she contemplated me doing anything fun.

  “Because I want to?” I thought this wasn’t going to be a big deal. “We never have anything exciting in this town. A dress up night should be just the right thing to end the school year. I doubt you’ll even notice me there.”

  Diamond nodded, her face shifting back to normal. “True. It’s not like you have anything worthwhile to wear. I’ll at least have more than a shot with the prince.” Her smug expression said it all.

  Oh, there was no way I’d let her see the dress. I wasn’t big on fashion, but to me, it rivaled the ones I had seen in magazines. Callie had done an incredible job.

  “Have fun with that.” I waved her off and headed outside.

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I sat down in Vincent’s car. I could not see the prince of all people being interested in anyone from this town, let alone the demon like creature my step-sister could be.

  “What’s so funny?” Vincent eyed me curiously.

  “My sister is claiming she’ll be dancing with the prince.” I tried to shake off the laughter.

  “Ugh, no.” Vincent looked repulsed for a moment before leaning over and hugging me.

  “Right?” I hugged him back. “How have you been?”

  “Better now that I get to see you.” He flashed his ever charming smile.

  As cheesy as it was, I blushed. “So, um, what are you in the mood for?”

  “Whatever you like. Your last suggesti
on tasted amazing.”

  While it was an easy cop out, I knew it was true, but sadly there wasn’t a way to top it. I wasn’t expecting us to ever become a thing. “Umm, I don’t know what else will be amazing, but I’ve got an idea that is pretty good.”

  With that I navigated the way to another local fav, but this time made sure an illusion was in place before we got there. Auburn hair, hazel eyes, and some extra freckles were good enough.

  “You’re gotten really good at that,” Vincent commented as we pulled into a parking spot.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. “I hope so. I have been practicing. Not to mention I had a really great tutor.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m that great a tutor. You just needed some extra practice and to have some fun with it. That classroom setting here is really lame for what should be a great class.”

  “Glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.” I smiled at him. “Shall we eat then?”

  The inside of this restaurant was small and it was always busy. We were lucky to get seated right away. As we sat down I noticed Vincent taking in the decor. They were trying so hard for a modern vibe but it felt forced. Every couple of years the family who owned it switched things up. The ones that stuck out in my mind were a country homestead a-la little house on the prairie, under the sea with an old divers suit and far too many starfish, and farmers market with so many plastic fruits and vegetables hanging all over everything you hardly saw wall space.

  “This place is… different.” He continued to glance around.

  “Yes, yes it is. The menu will make up for it.” I nudged his closer to him.

  “Sure, why not.” Vincent laughed and opened it up. “Sometime I’ll have to return the favor. There’s some great unique restaurants around Rosewood.”

  “I don’t know how I’ll ever make it up there.” I sighed. Sure, it was the city right by the college of my hopes and dreams, but still. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

  “We’ll make it work out.” Vincent flashed a confident smile.

  “I’ve no idea how.” Was this guy ever unsure?