Chapter 23
The next day at lunch, Mel kept glancing up at Riya as if she was a haunted porcelain doll liable to bite.
Which, frankly, was fair.
After a dozen awkward looks, Riya finally let out a sigh and set down her sandwich. “Just say it.”
“Oh, thank God, because I’ve been dying over here,” Mel breathed. “But also, just to be clear, I was trying to be respectful
of your boundaries.”
Riya raised an eyebrow. Mel could try harder—but she appreciated the attempt.
Mel stirred her yogurt with unnecessary force. “Anyway, about yesterday. You don’t have to tell me anything, obviously. But
if there is something? I’m available. Eager. Emotionally attuned.”
“There’s not much to say.”
“Not much to—? RiRi, I can think of a hundred things. For example, how Kian is really into you. Like, really, really, really—”
“I get it.”
“Really, really, really, really, really—”
“Mel.”
“—really into you.”
Riya’s appetite had left her. “It’s probably just hormones.”
“I don’t think hormones make someone willing to literally fistfight the Student Council president. And I think you know it, too. I’ve never seen you look that shaken.”
Mel wasn’t wrong. She had been shaken. Not just by the near fight, but the way Quin mentioned a love spell. Even if they weren’t
serious, it was like they’d thrown a rock through the fragile glass house she’d been living in.
Mel spoke again, gentle now. “I mean . . . look, I don’t know exactly what’s going on. But whatever it is, it’s clearly eating
you alive.”
Riya looked up.
“Yeah, that look,” Mel pointed her spoon at her. “It’s the same one you get when you’ve silently declared yourself Keeper
of the Universe and decided no one else is allowed to help.”
Riya’s brow knit. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if you hold everything inside, and shut everyone else out, I get worried.” Mel stared down at her yogurt. “But I’m your best friend. Right? If you don’t let me be there for you, it makes
me feel . . . useless. And I know I can get annoying. I know I might not be the most reliable person. But I do really care
about you. I want to help, if I can. And if I can’t—at least let me listen to your problems.”
Useless. Riya had made Mel feel useless.
She’d told herself she was protecting Mel. That magic was messy, and dangerous, and hers to fix. But maybe that was just another
excuse. A way to convince herself she was in full control.
Riya swallowed hard. “You’re right. I have been shutting you out, and you don’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
Mel covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my God. Did you just . . . apologize to me?”
“Don’t ruin it.”
“Sorry. It’s just—I’m happy? Is it weird to be this happy?” Mel sniffed. “You know I love you so much, right?”
“I’m aware. It’s mutual.” Riya took a long breath. No more stalling; Mel deserved to know. She deserved to know all along.
“The truth is . . .” She swallowed. “I didn’t cast a love spell for you and Andrew. I tried. But I was angry. At Kian. At
everything. And the spell . . . it warped. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Mel dropped her spoon. “What?”
Riya forged ahead, the words tumbling out in a rush. “I accidentally put a curse on Kian instead. It’s why he’s been acting
like this. The curse is making him fixated on me, and if I don’t break it in the next six days—before the next full moon—it’ll
stick. Permanently. I’ll have ruined everything. His Berklee audition, his future. All because I couldn’t control my emotions.
And yet I had the nerve to yell at Kian for not being able to control his. Except he has an excuse. I don’t.”
Mel stared at her, wide-eyed, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and amazement.
“Mel?” Riya’s heart thudded painfully. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all.
“You cursed Kian,” Mel said slowly, as if tasting the words. “Kian Kho. The school bad boy. The guy who knocked Jake Townsend out in one punch.”
“I know. I really—”
Mel’s shoulders began to tremble—at first, Riya assumed with anger. Fury, even. But then she realized: Mel was laughing.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny—and I’m taking it seriously, I promise. I’m just . . .” She finally leaned back, exhaling.
“I guess I’m just relieved.”
“Relieved?”
“I kind of suspected something was happening. You were acting cagey, even for you. Plus, you try casting a love spell, and the next day, Kian’s writing
you love poetry? Come on.”
Riya blinked. “Wait, so you knew?”
“I didn’t know-know,” Mel said. “But I had a pretty strong hunch. I just figured you’d tell me when you were ready. And . . .
you did.” She gave a small smile. “Eventually.”
Riya almost groaned. She didn’t love how readable she was, at least to Mel.
Mel nudged her foot under the table. “Thank you for telling me. I know this is serious. I know you’re scared. It is a big
mistake, I won’t lie. But you’re not alone. And, Riya?”
Riya lifted her head.
“You’re going to fix it. You have to believe that. The first step to solving any problem is believing you can solve it.”
Riya’s chest tightened. “And what if I don’t?”
“You can’t even entertain the thought,” Mel said firmly. “Trust yourself. Kian, too. And the people who care about you.”
Riya blinked. Maybe Mel was right. She wasn’t alone. And maybe it was time to stop acting like she was.
Sirah khala was still halfway across the world, unreachable—but for the first time, the thought of calling her, of telling
her everything, didn’t fill Riya with dread.
Mel’s smile returned, like blinding sunlight. “And hey, despite everything, I have very exciting news. Andrew and I got some
alone time after all. After Kian ran off and you went to the bathroom. Quin left after that, too.”
“And?”
Mel burst into a squeal. “We exchanged phone numbers!!!”
“Mel!” Riya felt her mouth curl into a smile. “Good job. You did good.”
Mel beamed. “I almost can’t believe it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it—but actually telling you in person makes
it feel real!” She pulled out her phone to show her contacts list.
There it was: ?Andrew?, which Mel had adorned with sparkle emojis.
“It all worked out in the end. Just like everything else will.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Riya said softly.
As they finished lunch, Mel debated aloud what she’d text Andrew tonight when she got home (Do I send a selfie? Can you think of a good joke, maybe?).
But Riya’s mind had already drifted back to Kian. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d flinched when Quin joked about
their lack of any relationship.
He’d looked at her like he was waiting for her to deny it. She hadn’t.
Please don’t look at me like everyone else.
She owed Kian an apology. It didn’t sit right with her that she’d scolded him like that. She’d even let him believe they were
nothing. That without the curse, there was nothing.
And yet, the unfamiliarity of that truth—the possibility that there might be something—unsettled her. Like stepping into murky
water, unsure where the ground might give.
Still. She found herself wanting to try. To meet him halfway.
That was the strangest part.