Chapter 3
WINDY
I make it home about an hour before we are supposed to leave, my mind reeling with all that I’ve just found out.
I can break the curse.
I can be in control of my magic.
But where the hell am I going to find this magical flower?
Falling in love and kissing someone?
Three someones? Easy-peasy!
But this flower… something tells me I’m not going to find this magical bloom walking around campus.
I take a quick shower, the water reminding me of the strange wind that seemed to pour down on me. I wonder how I managed to do that spell without it exploding like my pens… maybe because it was less of a spell and more of a phone call.
And why did my grandmother show up instead?
Maybe goddesses simply don’t exist.
Maybe my mother was right.
After blow-drying my hair, I seemed to have cleansed myself of the anxieties and tension plaguing my body.
This is just another adventure — an adventure to reclaim my magic. And once I have my magic? I can finally be myself.
Charlie had sent me a text that everyone was going to a club instead of Wallace’s place. I decided to go all out, pulling out an outfit I had got for a concert last year. I adjust the strap of my heeled sandals, glancing at myself in the mirror one last time. The silver dress clings to my form, shimmering in the soft purple-pink light of my room. I take a deep breath, gathering my resolve.
As much as I want to believe kissing three people will be easy, the truth is, it’s not as easy for me to fall in love. And heaven knows it's even harder to get someone else to love me back.
My eyes sting with the tears I’ve held back ever since Joshua and I broke up last summer.
No, Windy, you can’t go there.
However, it is true - how can I control someone else’s feelings for me? Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe finding the flower will be the easiest part of this after all.
“No,” I whisper to my reflection, admonishing her doubt. We have no room for doubt.
“Tonight is about adventure, about taking chances.”
This is an actual quest, after all. A quest for true love’s kiss, not once, but thrice.
What better way to get over your ex you’ve been secretly sulking over than getting under the lips of someone new?
“Ready to go, Windy?” Charlie Anne calls from the living room, her voice tight with frustration.
Strange, usually she’s falling over herself to please people. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her annoyed.
“Almost!” I reply, grabbing my purse and checking its contents—lipstick, cellphone, and an empty notebook. Sure, I won’t fall in love overnight, but I can keep a list of potential targets.
Charlie rolls her eyes as I emerge from her room. “You know, not everyone’s life is a fairy tale waiting to happen.”
I frown. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She sighs. “I just want to get there on time.”
“Why is that?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.
“There’s just someone I want to see, that’s all.”
“Oh?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay!” she huffs.
“Okay, okay!” I raise my hands. “But you know what, Charlie? You’re wrong about one thing. Life is a fairytale waiting to happen. And tonight is the night.”
“Yeah for you,” she mutters before shaking her head, clearly exasperated. “Whatever. Just remember, not everyone is so blessed in this life.” Her eyes look me up and down, and I frown.
Blessed?
I almost snap that just seconds ago I was trying not to cry over my ex-boyfriend, but what good would that do? Charlie is the only friend I have… and she never acts like this.
Charlie Anne’s frame is small, almost frail-like, sure, but she is beautiful. Her vibrant green eyes are almost unnatural in the most ethereal way. She reminds me of the Fae my grandmother would tell me about. Only Charlie isn’t magical — I’m sure I would sense it if she was. She also has severe health issues that have sent her to the hospital on several occasions. No, Charlie was human… but she is still magical in her way. I just wish she could see that.
I dismiss her self-deprecation by pulling her into a tight hug. “Whoever you want to notice you tonight, will. You look like a goddess.”
The party is in full swing by the time we arrive, pulsating with energy and music that vibrates through the floor. I can see this upsets Charlie, and I try to tell her it’s better late than early when it comes to these things, but this only annoys her even more.
I scan the room, spotting Charlie Anne’s co-worker, Wallace, leaning against a wall, a drink in hand. He catches my eye and smiles, raising his glass in a silent toast.
“Hey,” I call out, waving at him to come over.
I turn around and Charlie is off sulking in a corner.
What is wrong with her?
“Hey,” Wallace says. “Where’d Charlie go?”
“She’s… over there,” I say, nodding in her direction. I’ve never seen her act this way, and the last thing I want to do is to upset her even more. “I think she’s having one of those days. I wonder if we should just drag her to the dance floor…”
“I wouldn’t,” he says. “She was a downright bitch at work today.”
I gasp, and just as I’m about to defend my friend, I realize that Wallace would never say anything like this if it wasn’t true. “What do you think is going on?”
“Her brother is supposed to come to town,” he says. “Maybe it’s that?”
“Maybe… She did say she wanted to get here early to see someone, but she wouldn’t tell me who.”
“You think it was her brother?”
“No, I mean… I think she wants to see someone she likes.”
“Charlie Anne likes someone?” He pretends to gasp and laughs. “Honestly, I’ve known her forever, and I’ve never seen her so much as flirt with another guy. Or girl, for that matter.”
“And I’ve known her even longer…” I say, the realization that never seemed so strange before makes me feel sad. We’ve never talked about boys. She’s never dated anyone that I’m aware of. I briefly wonder if she likes girls and isn’t ready to come out yet. “So is there anything in particular we’re celebrating?” I change the subject, occasionally sneaking peeks at Charlie.
“Charlie didn’t tell you?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“It's my birthday…”
“Oh!” I gasp. “Happy Birthday!”
I pull him into a hug, trying to make up for my faux-pas. Somehow what is meant to be a quick hug, shifts into an embrace that sways to the music echoing around us.
“That’s why I invited you…” he murmurs.
Is this happening?
I am so taken aback by this sudden display, that I almost wonder if my grandmother orchestrated this, or some other divine force led me to break this spell.
As his hips push against me, and his right hand resting on my lower back pulls me closer to him, I realize I don’t care. I don’t care about breaking the curse. I haven’t felt like this in months. All I care about is the way our bodies melt together.
I peek over his shoulder to see if Charlie is still standing against the wall. She is gone.
Maybe she found the person she was so eager to see. I smile at the thought. Both of us have our happy beginnings.
“I’m glad you invited me,” I whisper, finally. I want to ask him how long he has felt this way, the curious cat in me demanding to know everything. Instead, I focus on the way his long, slightly curly dark brown hair cascades down his shoulders, and his dark brown, almost-black void of eyes hold me. It’s not that I’ve been oblivious to Wallace’s appearance, but when I was with Joshua I was blind to anyone but him… and after? Well, after, my world has been black and white.
I allow the music and the electric atmosphere to fill me with more confidence than I have, our bodies moving together in a rhythm that seems to echo this new fiery connection. I can feel Wallace’s breath on my neck, his hands gentle but firm on my waist. I look up at him, my eyes searching his for a sign, a hint of what’s to come.
Just as our lips are about to meet, a shrill sound pierces the air—the fire alarm. The music cuts off abruptly, replaced by the urgent voices instructing everyone to evacuate the building.
“Looks like our moment will have to wait,” Wallace says, disappointment evident in his voice as he reluctantly releases me.
I nod.
Here I’m thinking fate is leading Wallace and me together — guess fate has other plans tonight.
I scan the crowd trying to find Charlie, but it's hopeless. As we exit the building, I still don’t see her anywhere, even in the pool of bodies leaving. It’s not until I look toward where we parked, I see her sitting on the hood of her car.
I cross the street and wave at her, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “Charlie!” I say, waving my hands in front of her face once I reach her.
She blinks. “Hm?”
“Are you okay? How long have you been out here?”
She looks around. “A while. What’s going on over there?” she nods toward the venue.
“I don’t know. A fire alarm went off… are you okay?”
She nods, but she won’t even meet my gaze.
“Charlie… I know I might be crossing a line in our friendship, but I was thinking… I just want you to know that I would be so supportive of you with whoever it is that you like.”
“Like who?” she asks, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.
“Like a girl?”
She scoffs. “It’s not a girl I like, it’s…”
We’re both cut off as Wallace is stumbling towards us in the most graceful way a man can stumble over the raised sidewalk he didn’t see. “My girls,” he calls out. “Glad we all made it out safe. They said it seems to be a false alarm, but they’re shutting things down tonight.”
Charlie slouches as she hops off of the car, refusing to even address Wallace’s presence.
That’s when I realized: I am a terrible friend.
Charlie Anne likes Wallace.
Her co-worker.
And so do I.