I wanted to go to the cave immediately. I had a feeling that it would put a stop to all this madness once and for all. But I couldn't do this alone. Noah studied about all these magical things since Mitchell's death. He could contribute more to this quest than I could. I had to tell him what I had found at Salem. But still, there was a nagging doubt at the back of mind. I pushed it aside. One look at him and I couldn't doubt him anymore.

"Noah, I have to tell you something. Sit down." I said clutching the pearl box in my hand tighter. He looked at me warily but did as I was told. I sat beside him on the couch and turned to face him. His face was all tense. He had already expected that I was here with another sinister revelation. Then the words just tumbled out of my mouth like I had no control over them. I told him everything. From my visit to Carol to finding the diary to the cave on the Gallows Hill. He sat through it all without saying anything. I took a deep breath after completing my story. He was still quiet which was out of character for him.

Honestly, I expected him to jump to my aid immediately. But what he said was completely different than what I had expected and it threw me off guard.

"You didn't trust me, did you?" He said, shaking his head. "I thought we were past this. Apparently, I was wrong. You lied when I asked you what happened in Salem."

I was speechless. I didn't expect him to feel this way. Was this the whole thing he focused on among all the important things I had just told him?

"I trust you," I said being dumbstruck. "That's why I told you now."

He stood up from the couch and walked to the glass window in the living room.

"Now, you just need help. Otherwise, you would have hidden it from me even now." He said in a defeated voice. His whole body slumped against the window and I was surprised by what had gotten into him. Anger gripped me as I recalled how he lied to me for the whole length of our acquaintance. If someone in this room was a master in hiding things, that was him.

I stomped to the spot he was standing and turned him by his shoulder to face me.

"Look at me, Noah Carlson. Don't act so high and mighty. You lied to me until like five minutes ago. I told you the truth when I am ready. Don't you dare play the victim card here." I said and left him. He still looked like something was bothering him.

"I can't take things lightly with you, Naina," he said, taking a step forward, "I care about you too much to do that."

He leaned his head lower until it was level with mine. His lips touched mine tentatively and lightly just like a feather. I just stood there too shocked to react.

"I'm sorry. I thought you should know what I am feeling. I can't act like we are just friends when I am feeling we are much more." He said.

He was still rambling apologies when I pulled him to me by the collar of his shirt and kissed him. Not any feather-light kiss. But a real kiss, the kiss I always imagined with my boyfriend. My hands were hooked around his neck and I didn't know when we had stumbled to the couch. Our lips never separated. We kissed until all the tension dissipated, all lies forgotten and all the feelings expressed. At last, we separated gasping for air like fishes out of water.

"Wow, that was the best kiss I ever had," Noah said. It was good he thought that. It was the only kiss I ever had and I didn't want to embarrass myself by admitting this to him. I simply nodded basking in the thrill of my first kiss.

"I think now you believe I trust you," I said.

"I do." He said, giving me another swift kiss. I could feel tingles running all over my body and it was the most pleasant feeling ever. My mother came into my mind for a brief moment but I deftly pushed it aside. There was a lot of time for guilt when I went to my room and was alone. But right now, I didn't want anything other than to feel his lips and hands on me.

We spent most of the afternoon, making out, cuddling, and watching Netflix. Everything seemed perfect. I just fit with him. It was easy to assume that there were no evil witches and warlocks ready to murder me for the little pearl in my room.

"Do you want some coffee?" Noah asked, nuzzling my neck.

"Yeah," I said giggling. We skipped lunch today and my stomach was rumbling like a war was going on in there. He kissed me once again before getting up and sauntering towards the kitchen. I hugged my knees, looking at Noah's lithe movements mesmerized. He opened the fridge door and peeked in.

"Hey, we are out of milk," Noah called shaking the empty milk carton.

"Oh no." I facepalmed myself. "We have to do grocery shopping. It totally slipped my mind."

When you were worried about your potential murder and were drowning in romance with your roommate, you tended to forget about grocery shopping.

"Don't worry baby, I'll do it this time." He said heading towards his room to change. My heart tugged at that endearment. I could get used to this.

"No," I whined. I didn't want to share him with the world yet. I wanted to spend more time in this cocoon with him.

"I'll be back in no time." He said and went into his room to change. I smiled at how childish I was behaving. Of course, we had to get groceries. I could go with him but I was in no mood to put on jeans and go through the aisles of the supermarket now.

He walked out of his room in a few moments shrugging on his jacket. He looked hotter than ever and I wanted to pull him back on the couch. Alas! I couldn't do that. I stood up to see him out.

"Give your prayers to the Gods and ask for the success of your man on this quest," Noah said gravely, like a Spartan soldier heading for a deadly battle and I couldn't help but giggle. It was such fun to have a hot nerd by your side. I threw my hands around him and kissed him long and hard before letting him go.

I knew we were being overdramatic. This spell could be broken by the time he returned from the grocery store. Or this could be real and last long. I didn't know anything for sure yet. But I knew only this, I would do my best to keep this thing between Noah and me alive.

I watched him get into the elevator and the doors shut before him. I smiled to myself before closing the door and danced into the living room. I hadn't been this happy since the day I finally got out of high school. I was about to sit down when the doorbell rang full of promise. My legs rushed to the door as I imagined Noah standing there behind the door, couldn't get himself to go to the store without me. But when I opened the door, what I found was Mrs.Lewis standing at my doorstep. A frown formed on her slightly wrinkled face when she saw me.

"Are you alright dear? You look all flushed." She asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Mrs.Lewis," I answered cheerfully. "Come in."

She stepped in and after closing the door, we walked to the living room and took seats facing each other. I hadn't noticed in my state of euphoria earlier but Mrs.Lewis was looking terrible. Her face was as white as a sheet and she looked like she had aged ten years since last night. Her eyes were red as though she was crying for a long time.

"Are you alright, Mrs.Lewis?" I asked mirroring her question from earlier. She offered me a weak smile. A hopeless smile. I wondered what could cause the old lady such great grief.

"It's Arthur," She let out a sob. "Christmas reminds me of him a lot."

I didn't know what to do. It was not every day you had to console your friendly old neighbor about her long-dead husband. But I tried to do my best. I moved to her side and put my hands around her in a consoling gesture. No matter how worse a situation is, a hug can make it better, even by a small fraction. Mainly, in this case, it was loneliness that Mrs.Lewis was suffering from. We stayed there for a few minutes before her sobs subsided and her breathing turned to normal. I gently let go of her and stood up.

"I would have offered you a coffee," I smiled, "but we are out of milk. So, I'll bring you the tasty cookies you had made and then we would catch some old classics. How does that sound?"

Mrs.Lewis nodded and spoke, her voice sounding normal, "That sounds great."

I went into the kitchen to fetch her, the cookies. I knew this change in the plans would interfere in the romantic time I had envisioned with Noah. But I couldn't let Mrs.Lewis fend for herself on her own. She needed me now. Noah and I had all the time in the world.

I opened the top shelf, standing on my tiptoes to retrieve the cookie jar. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain at the back of my neck as I felt something prick there. My eyelids started to feel heavy. My hands shook and the glass cookie jar fell on the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. The world around me swarmed into darkness as I fell on the floor, my consciousness gone.