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Tess was too stunned to speak at first. She looked down and I could see a million thoughts swirling behind her eyes.

“You mean…you think you might…have magic or something?” she asked, “like a witch?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what it is. I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is I am totallyfreaked out, and nothing makes sense anymore.”

“Well, you know what we have to do, right?” she asked, meeting my eyes once more.

“Uhh…no. What do we have to do?” I asked, my grip on the steering wheel so tight my knuckles were turning white.

“We have to try to cast a spell,” she replied simply, a small smile creasing the corner of her lips.

“You can’t be serious…” I trailed off, shaking my head. But maybe…maybe she was right. Maybe the only way to tell what was going on with me was toreallyput it to the test.

“Yes, I am serious,” she replied. “We absolutely need to see what you can do, or if this is all some kind of freaky coincidence that you’re imagining. Tonight. Your place. I’ll bring the candles.”

“Candles?” I asked, throwing her a comical look.

“In the movies they always light some candles before they do spells. I don’t make the rules.” She shrugged. She started to gather her things to head into the coffee shop.

“Whatever is going on, Diana, we are going to get to the bottom of it.” She gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before heading into The Daily Drip for her shift. Maybe she would get more information on the wolf attack from Mr. Madden that she could share with me later tonight.

I released a deep breath, realizing I could not keep this tension bottled up inside of me. I didn’t want to believe any of this was real. I used to dream of the paranormal, and my friends and I used to pretend we saw ghosts and had magic when we were younger…but it was just that, pretend. None of it was real. Could there really be magic in the world? There was a piece of me that wanted to believe it, wanted itsobadly. Could it really exist?

I felt my phone ding in my pocket, and I reached to grab it out of my jeans.

Have to work late…Jake is sleeping at a friend’s. You are on your own for dinner. Love you xoxo Mom.

Perfect. That meant I wouldn’t have to confront her about the glass incident from last night and face my own guilt for at least another day. That also meant that the house would be empty tonight, perfect for spell casting, if that’s what we were really going to do.

Now, I just had three hours to kill.

IlefttheSubaruparked on the street in front of the row of shops and decided to hit up the new bakery in town to study and kill some time.

The downtown area had lots of new shops and restaurants, but still managed to stay quaint and cute without feeling overcrowded. The shops lined both sides of the street with pristine brick walkways and brand-new painted store fronts. There were tall lampposts decorated with fairy lights. It gave the whole downtown area a magical feel against the melting snow.

I walked past The Daily Drip, heading further down the street towards the bakery.Buttercreamwas decorated with a cute pink sign and a small Parisian style teal table set out front.

The inside of the bakery had a large case filled with all sorts of sweets, with seating tables on the right-hand side complete with matching decorative teal chairs. I swung the door open, and my nose filled with the sweet scent of cupcakes and cookies. It was quiet. There were only a few other patrons scattered at the tables enjoying their sweets. This would make a great study spot, and I made a mental note to tell Tess about it later.

I reached the counter and ordered a hot chocolate and a chocolate cupcake with Oreo buttercream frosting. I grabbed my treats and found a table by the big front window and settled in, taking out my biology notebook. A little self-care was exactly what I needed to take my mind off all the craziness that had been going on lately. A little alone time to re-charge and get some homework done, and some much-needed comfort food.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate, careful not to spill any on my notebook. It had a thick and rich flavor. Yup, this was going to be my new favorite place.

My first bite of the chocolate cupcake confirmed it; I was in heaven. I dove into the chapter I was behind on and took some notes, taking my time to ensure I was being neat and thorough. The cupcake was gone in no time, and so was half of my biology assignment.

I took another sip of hot chocolate, finishing the last page of the chapter, as I heard the bells on the door chime as someone entered.

I felt a bump on my knee as someone sat down in the teal chair across from me. I slowly dragged my eyes up from the page to see Nik sitting there, arms crossed, a smile plastered across his face that was becoming all too familiar. I glanced around the bakery to see that it was now completely empty save for the girl working at the counter. She sat in the corner, scrolling through her phone. I hadn’t heard anyone else leave, but now we were alone.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused.

“I came to get a cupcake. What else would I be doing here?” he asked with a winning smile.

“I don’t know. Maybe…following me?” I responded with a cocked eyebrow. “You don’t seem like someone who eats cupcakes, or hangs out in a bakery,” I added with a wave of my hand, indicating how out of place he looked sitting across from me.

He wore the same black leather jacket and ripped jeans he had on earlier today at school. He had black bracelets clasped at his wrists and when he leaned forwards to shuck his jacket off, I caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his upper chest. It reached up his neck and across the back of his shoulder. I hadn’t noticed that he had tattoos before, but he was always wearing long-sleeves or jackets at school. He crossed his feet at the ankles and leaned back, crossing his arms again. I wondered how many other tattoos he had and where they might be. I shook my head, trying to clear that thought from my brain. I couldn’t be thinking about that right now.

“Now, now, that is downright stereotypical. Just because I’m a bad boy, I can’t enjoy a cupcake?” he asked, feigning offense. He clasped his chest with both his hands and gave me his best puppy dog eyes.