7. Linden
Linden
The cafeteria was packed, but it helped that I stood nearly a foot above most everyone. My bulk was enough to convince most people to get out of my way, which was good because I was starving. There were at least two cheeseburgers at the grill calling my name. Maybe three.
I was halfway through loading my tray when I heard the familiar sound of Nerion’s voice easily cutting through the cafeteria noise.
“Linden! Over here!”
I turned to see my best friend waving from a table near the windows, Teddy beside him with an amused expression on his face.
Teddy raised his hand in a more subtle greeting, which was very on-brand for him.
I grabbed my food and made my way over, dodging a group of first-year students who were too absorbed in their conversation to notice me approaching.
“You look happy,” Nerion observed as I sat down, the chair creaking slightly under my weight. “Did something happen? Did you finally—”
“No,” I said firmly, unwrapping my first burger. “Nothing happened.”
Teddy smirked into his salad. He knew exactly what Nerion had been about to suggest.
“Yet,” Nerion added, taking a bite of his sandwich with a knowing grin. “We’re gonna get you laid one way or another.”
I rolled my eyes and took a massive bite of my burger, effectively cutting off any further commentary.
But the truth was, something had happened last night.
Something I was still trying to process.
The way Cass had looked at me in that lab, the way his hands had felt in mine, the way my magic had practically hummed with satisfaction as I’d mixed that salve for him.
And the way he’d accidentally made it snow.
It had all felt... significant, I guess. Like there could be something there.
Which was stupid. He was a drunk idiot who’d destroyed my work. The fact that he was attractive and seemed to be making an effort didn’t change that fundamental truth.
“So how’s the forced labor situation going?” Teddy asked, mercifully redirecting the conversation away from my love life, or lack thereof. “Is he as incompetent as we’re imagining?”
“He’s learning,” I said, which was becoming my standard answer. “He doesn’t know much beyond weather magic, but after I yelled at him, he stopped being lazy. He actually puts in the work now.”
“So he’s hot, but a fuck boy,” Nerion translated, dunking a fry in ketchup.
“He’s just a guy,” I countered, but I was smiling despite myself.
“You say that,” Nerion said, pointing the fry at me. “But I saw you two last night, holding hands, whispering to one another.”
I put my burger down. “Are you spying on me now?”
“No!” Nerion glanced at Teddy. “Well, maybe a little bit. By accident.”
“By accident?”
“I told you I was going to come by for more painting inspiration,” he continued, as if it was nothing. “But when I got there you two were in the laboratory, mixing potions and rubbing things on each other.”
“He had blisters,” I sighed. “From working so hard. I made him a salve to help them heal. That’s all.”
“Sure thing,” Nerion winked, not believing a word of it. “I’m sure holding his hands for ten minutes really helped that salve kick in.”
“It wasn’t ten minutes,” I protested weakly, already knowing I wasn’t going to win this argument. Nerion had that gleam in his eye that meant he was going to milk this for all it was worth.
“Twelve then,” Teddy said quietly, and I shot him a betrayed look.
“Whose side are you on?”
“The side that gets you to actually do something about this instead of pretending it doesn’t exist,” Teddy replied, taking a bite of his salad with infuriating calm.
“You’ve been pining for a relationship for all of college, Linden.
It might be nice to actually act on attraction for once instead of always worrying about your plants. ”
“I’m not pining,” I said, but my cheeks were definitely warmer than they should have been. “And I’m not acting on anything. He’s here as punishment. In a few months, I’ll be graduating and he’ll go back to the frat house. It’s not going anywhere.”
“Unless,” Nerion said, leaning forward conspiratorially, “you actually talk to him about things that aren’t greenhouse-related. You know, like a normal person.”
I took another bite of my burger rather than answer, but my mind was already running through the possibilities.
What would I even say to Cass? He’d made it clear he didn’t care about plants.
He’d called them fancy dandelions, for fuck’s sake.
We had almost nothing in common. He was chaotic and reckless and sort of gorgeous.
I really liked those green eyes of his especially…
“See?” Nerion grinned. “You’re thinking about him right now.”
“I’m thinking about how annoying you two are,” I lied.
Teddy caught my eye and gave me a small, knowing smile.
He understood better than anyone what it was like to fight against feelings you didn’t want to have.
Both he and Nerion had done the same thing with each other for weeks before giving in.
And from what I could see, it had worked out pretty well for both of them.
“You know what?” Nerion pulled his tray closer. “I’m going to go set up my easel in the greenhouse this afternoon. You two can come help me, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll actually have a conversation with Cass that doesn’t involve debris or blisters.”
“That’s not—” I started to protest.
“It’s happening,” Nerion said cheerfully. “Teddy, you’re coming too. We’re making this happen whether Linden likes it or not.”
Teddy glanced at me, a question in his eyes. I sighed and nodded. There was no point in fighting Nerion when he got like this. He was relentless.
“Fine,” I muttered. “But if this backfires, I’m blaming both of you.”
“Fair,” Nerion said, stuffing another fry in his mouth. “Now, let me tell you what I know about this guy.”
“So apparently,” Nerion began, grabbing another handful of fries, “Cass Reed comes from one of those trying-too-hard witch families. You know the type. They’re always schmoozing at galas, always name-dropping connections they don’t actually have in an attempt to get somewhere.”
I paused mid-chew, processing this information. “How do you know that?”
“I have my sources,” Nerion said mysteriously, which probably meant he’d been snooping or drilling Teddy for information about the upper echelon of witch society.
“But here’s the interesting part. His parents are absolutely desperate to climb the social ladder.
They seem to want him to be just like the kids from the old witch families.
To make connections, get rich, and marry well, all that boring elite witch shit. ”
Teddy nodded, adding, “Which means he’s probably under a lot of pressure. He might be acting out against them.”
I thought about that for a moment, remembering how Cass had mentioned not wanting to go home.
At the time I’d assumed it was just normal college kid avoidance, but now it made more sense.
If his parents were constantly pushing him, constantly expecting him to be someone he wasn’t, no wonder he’d rather stay at Widdershins and work off a punishment than face them.
“That doesn’t excuse burning down the conservatory,” I said, but my tone was softer now.
“No,” Nerion agreed. “But it might explain why he was so desperate to impress those people at the party. He probably needed to feel powerful. Important.”
I hated that Nerion was making sense. I hated even more that I was starting to feel sympathy for Cass, which only complicated things further.
“So what, we’re supposed to feel bad for him now?” I asked, trying to keep the defensiveness out of my voice.
“We’re supposed to understand him,” Teddy said quietly. “There’s a difference.”
The cafeteria noise seemed to fade into the background as I sat there, turning this new information over in my mind.
Cass had called down lightning without thinking about consequences.
But maybe it wasn’t just recklessness. Maybe it was desperation dressed up as showmanship.
Maybe he was just as trapped as I was, but in a less visible way.
“You’re doing it again,” Nerion said, waving a hand in front of my face. “That thinking-too-hard expression. It’s very attractive, by the way. Very brooding himbo energy.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, but I was already thinking about tonight. About how I could maybe approach things differently with Cass. Not as his supervisor, but as... what? A friend? Something else?
“We’re definitely setting up in the greenhouse this afternoon,” Nerion announced. “Teddy, you have to be there too. I need you to help me make sure Linden doesn’t act all awkward and weird around this guy.”
“Are you still trying to get me to date this guy?” I asked. “Even after all the stuff you found out about him?”
“No,” Nerion corrected. “I’d like you to fuck him first before you decide to date him.”
“Doesn’t that seem a little backward?”
“Not from my point of view,” he said with a dismissive wave. “Sexual chemistry is important. Even if you like each other, the dick still has to be good. If it’s not, things won’t last. Right Teddy?”
Teddy thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. That seems about right.”
“Wow. You two are so romantic.” I laughed despite myself, shaking my head at both of them. They were ridiculous, but in that way that made me love them anyway. “You two are impossible.”
“But we’re right,” Nerion said, raising his glass of juice like it was a toast. “Which is what matters.”
We finished lunch with Nerion laying out his master plan for the afternoon.
Apparently, he was going to set up his easel near the western section of the greenhouse where the light was best, and he wanted both Teddy and me there to “help.” What he really meant was he wanted an audience and probably some moral support while he tried to orchestrate whatever he thought was going to happen between me and Cass.
I wasn’t going to stop him. Part of me, the part I’d been trying to ignore for the past two days, actually wanted to see Cass again.
Wanted to talk to him about something other than our work together.
Wanted to understand why someone with that much raw power would waste it on getting drunk and showing off instead of learning to be something worthwhile.
“I should get back to the herbalism building,” I said, checking the old mechanical clock on the cafeteria wall.
It was one of the few clocks on campus that had been enchanted to never need winding.
“Professor Paulson wanted me to help with some of the salvaged specimens before we do the full restoration work.”
“Of course she did,” Nerion said, already standing and gathering his tray. “You’re basically running that department at this point. They should hire you on full-time.”
“I’m just a senior,” I protested, but we both knew he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Professor Paulson had been leaning on me more and more as the semester progressed, especially now with the greenhouse situation.
Part of me was wondering if there would be a job offer after graduation.
Professor Paulson was getting on in years.
Teddy walked us out of the cafeteria, his schedule taking him toward the academic buildings on the other side of campus. Nerion peeled off to grab his painting supplies from his dorm, leaving me to make my way alone toward the greenhouse.
The day was cold but clear, the kind of January weather that made everything look sharp and defined.
The snow crunched under my boots as I crossed the quad, and I found myself thinking about what Nerion had said about Cass.
About the pressure he was under, the expectations from his family.
I wondered if that was why he seemed so angry all the time.
Not at the world exactly, but at himself. At the situation he was trapped in.
I could sort of relate, being bound to the grove that was my home.
Having to go back every few weeks meant I could never really settle anywhere else or just get lost in a new place.
I always had to go back to replenish myself, my power, and care for the trees that were just as much a part of me as my hands or my head.
But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. At least I knew where I stood. At least the grove wanted me, needed me. Cass seemed like he didn’t know what he wanted at all.
Maybe, if Nerion got his way, he’d want me…
At the very least, it might be fun. I’d never tried the hookup thing or casual dating. But as the end of my time at Widdershins grew closer and closer, I realized I didn’t want to leave without cutting loose at least once. And Cass was definitely cute enough that I was happy to give it a try.
Now I just had to not fuck it up.