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“Puck and I will share a soda so I figured you and Nik wouldn’t mind doing the same.” Tess turned to me with a wink as the attendant put our sodas down on the counter and turned to get our popcorn.

“Back to you…what is this news you have been so secretive about?” I asked, hoping to turn the subject off me and Nik as I grabbed one of the sodas and two straws.

“Easier if I show you.” Tess smiled, reaching her hand out to grab the other soda. Instead of grabbing it, her hand hovered over the glass of the snacks counter and the soda shot forwards, closing the distance between her hand and where the attendant had left it sitting on the counter. She turned to me with a smile, her eyebrows raised.

“What. The. Hell,” I whispered, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen. “Ididn’t do that.”

“I know. I did.” Tess threaded two straws through the top of the cup and took a sip, a satisfactory smirk plastered across her face.

“You—you have magic!?” I asked grabbing her arm as the attendant turning to us with our popcorns. We left the line, but with my hands full, I motioned to Tess to step to the side before rejoining Nik and Puck.

“Now you’re the one who needs to spill,” I said. “That day at Buttercream when the chair shot out—that was you?”

“I think so.” Tess nodded. “I confirmed it with Puck. It’s just like with you and Nik, you spending so much time around him awakened your dormant magic. The same thing happened to me. And since you’ve awakened, I’ve been around all these magic users. I don’t think I’m specialized though, like you or Nik. But it’s still pretty damn cool. The question is…which one of my parents is the secret keeper?” she mused. “Or is it both?”

“Are you going to ask them?”

“Hell no. What if they spellbound me, as someone did to you? My magic should have awakened a lot earlier than this. I may be closer to my parents than you are with your mom, but I’m not crazy. They’ll think I’ve lost it and send me to college abroad or something, even if one or both of them is secretly a witch,” she replied, bringing the popcorn bucket to her mouth and grabbing a piece between her teeth. “So far, I’ve only been able to move things, but I have to admit I feel less left out now.” She laughed.

“I can’t believe it. What are the chances? Nik and Puck come to town, and now you and I both manifest powers. How many other kids at our school are witches that we don’t know about? What, is Silver Oaks a secret refugee for witches or something?”

Now that I thought about it…it must be the portal that attracts witches here. Nik had said it was such a powerful magical location that witches would seek it out, even subconsciously. Is the portal the reason for Silver Oaks becoming a hot spot for witches and magic? Were there more witches in Silver Oaks than we ever realized? Had they settled here after coming through the portal after the war?

“What are you ladies talking about?” Puck asked as he crept up behind Tess, plucking the popcorn bucket from her hands and looping his other arm around her waist.

“I was telling Diana about my newfound magic,” Tess said, trying to wrestle the popcorn bucket back.

“Yourwhat?” Nik asked over my shoulder. Apparently, he hadn’t known either. He sounded equally as surprised as I was. I felt guilty that I had been spending so much time with Nik that I hadn’t realized Tess was manifesting magic of her own. I had been so wrapped up in my own magic that I hadn’t even noticed the times she may have blatantly used magic in front of me, like at the bakery that afternoon. I was happy that Puck could be there for her as she discovered it, the same way Nik had been for me. We had a lot to catch up on later when we were alone.

“You heard right.” She smirked, successfully trading the soda to Puck and grabbing the popcorn. “Nothing fancy like you and Diana, but magic nonetheless.”

Puck and Nik met eyes, a silent message passing between them.

“Care to fill us in?” Tess asked, glancing from Puck to Nik, then back again.

“It’s nothing, darling,” Puck replied in his most exaggerated British accent. “If we don’t get going, we might miss this movie that Nik and I areoh so excitedto see.” He plastered a fake smile on before escorting her down to the ticket taker.

“You know, Tess isn’t my favorite person, but I’m glad you can share this with her,” Nik said quietly in my ear as he reached across and grabbed the soda with its two straws. I gave him an exasperated look as we handed our tickets off and entered the theater.

“She will grow on you, I promise.”

“Like mold”—he scrunched his face up in mock disgust—“that’s what I’m afraid of.”

I gave him a playful shove as we took our seats, and he immediately grabbed my hand and brought it into his lap.

“Youaregoing to have to share some of that popcorn, you know,” he teased as he gave my hand a playful squeeze. The lights dimmed, the movie starting.

We had made it through the movie without a bathroom break, but by the time the credits rolled, Tess and I were about to burst. A large soda had been a terrible idea, even if we had been sharing it. We left the boys in the hallway and ran to the bathroom in a fit of giggles. I had never imagined a time where Tess and I could be on a double date. Tess was always the one with boys wrapped around her finger, and I was always the one with my nose buried in a book.

I met Tess back at the sink and we burst into another fit of laughter as we caught each other’s eyes in the mirror. We heard another stall door open and tried to quiet ourselves as we realized we weren’t alone.

“Ms. Finch, it’s good to see you. We’ve missed you in art class,” Tess said, drying her hands off as she watched Ms. Finch move to the sink through the reflection of the mirror.

It had felt like weeks since we had seen Ms. Finch. Fletcher had been teaching our art class the past few weeks and keeping a close eye on us. We weren’t sure when Ms. Finch would be returning, if she was at all. She rinsed her hands off quietly, a quiver in her jaw. Her hair appeared unbrushed and frizzy, her glasses sitting askew on her nose. She didn’t look…well. No wonder she had decided to take some time off. Was she having some kind of mental breakdown as Tess had suggested?

“It’s…nice to see…you too…dear,” she replied, drying her hands off slowly. Her words were short and choppy, as if they were being dragged out of her. “It’s unfortunate that it had to come to this.” Her eyes met Tess’ in the mirror, then mine as she turned towards us.

“Come to what?” Tess asked, confused.