𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘍𝘖𝘜𝘙𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕

(the cursed witch, act one)

EVERYONE WATCHED THEM AS THEY WALKED TOGETHER TO THEIR LAB TABLE. Nina noticed that he no longer angled the chair to sit as far from her as the desk would allow. Instead, he sat quite close beside her, their arms almost touching.

Mr. Banner backed into the room then — what superb timing the man had — pulling a tall metal frame on wheels that held a heavy-looking, outdated TV and VCR. A movie day — the lift in the class atmosphere was almost tangible.

Mr. Banner shoved the tape into the reluctant VCR and walked to the wall to turn off the lights. And then, as the room went black, she was suddenly hyper aware that Edward was sitting less than an inch from her. She was stunned by the unexpected electricity that flowed through her, amazed that it was possible to be more aware of him than she already was.

The opening credits began, lighting the room by a token amount. Her eyes, of their own accord, flickered to him. She smiled sheepishly as she realized his posture was identical to hers, fists clenched under his arms, right down to the eyes, peering sideways at her. He grinned back, his eyes somehow managing to smolder, even in the dark.

She could tell he was enjoying the effect he had on her.

The hour seemed very long. She couldn't concentrate on the movie — she didn't even know what subject it was on. She tried unsuccessfully to relax, but every time she did, his hand inched closer till it left their arms touching.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Banner flicked the lights back on at the end of class, and stretched her arms out in front of her, flexing her stiff fingers. Edward chuckled beside her.

"Well, that was interesting," He murmured. His voice was dark and his eyes were cautious.

"Best movie ever..." She responded in faux excitement.

"Shall we?" He asked, rising fluidly. She almost groaned. Time for Gym.

"It won't be so bad," He reassured her as they walked through the hallways, Nina letting him lead her to the gymnasium.

"Why is that?" She asked, holding in a groan.

"Emmett will be there."

"Great," She muttered. "The guy that fights bears. I'm going to die–" She went to turn around but he stopped her, laughing as he did so.

"You won't die. I already warned my siblings that if they hurt you, I'll cut their heads off."

"That's incredibly disturbing."

"It was effective though."

"Remind me not to piss you off."

After quick goodbyes, Edward's hand left hers before he departed down the hallway.

She walked into the gym, lightheaded and wobbly. She drifted to the locker room, changing in a trancelike state, only vaguely aware that there were other people surrounding her. Reality didn't fully set in until she saw Coach Clapp pull out a football.

Shit.

Emmett smirked at her from across the room.

Double shit. Goodbye, world. You were terrible but we had a good run.

The burly vampire walked toward her, grin still wide on his face, before he wrapped an arm around her. "Afternoon, little witch. Wanna be on the same team?"

"Definitely don't want to go against you, Griz, so yeah."

"Griz?" He asked, confused.

She shrugged, "Edward compared you to a grizzly bear and now it's all I can see."

He chuckled, "My favourite. Did he tell you I love it when they come out of hibernation and are all irritated?"

"The more irritated the better," She smiled cautiously.

The game soon started. Nina stood on the frontlines and watched as Jessica put in her mouthguard, staring her down with a dark, mischievous look.

"That's aggressive," She muttered, making Emmett who was tucked behind her, ready to catch the ball from her laugh. "The puny human won't kill you, Nini."

"She might," Nina argued, hearing the coach yell, commencing the game, before she threw the ball back to him.

"That was the worst day of my life," Nina groaned loudly, sitting on the bleachers with Emmett beside her. The rest of the class had left already which left the pair alone.

"It wasn't so bad."

"I'm pretty sure I just died."

He placed his pointer and middle finger on her neck. "Nope. There's still a pulse."

"I wish there wasn't," She grumbled, twisting around to lay down, leaning her head against the cold metal of the bleacher while her feet went on his lap. "Just bury me now."

"Eddy-boy would get mad."

"Screw him. I wish the mermaids ate me."

"Mermaids?"

"I'm not explaining it again."

The gym doors suddenly opened, making Nina glance over. "Damn. Should have killed me sooner," She muttered. "For vampires, you guys really are just a bunch of bitches."

"I love her," Emmett grinned. "Can we keep her?"

Edward rolled his eyes as he walked toward them, flicking Emmett's forehead before nudging Nina's shoulder. "Can't keep her. She's mine. Come on, Sabrina. Time to go home. Bella's waiting for you."

"But I'm dead."

"So am I, darling. Too bad. Not special."

She opened her eyes to glare at him. "I will set you on fire. I can do that now."

"If you kill me, you can't do magic anymore. It's my own safety net," He grinned before he pulled her, unwillingly off the bleacher, forcing her to stand.

"I hate you so much," She groaned against his shoulder. "Save me, Griz!" She called out as Edward dragged her with ease out of the gym, the bottom of her feet barely touching the ground.

She took over five minutes to change back into her normal clothing and she slowed down even more when she heard his foot tapping impatiently against the ground outside.

When she exited the locker room, she saw Edward standing next to the fire extinguisher.

"Relax, Eeyore," She chuckled, pulling him away from the contraption.

They walked out of the school calmly, Edward keeping his hand wrapped around her waist, only tightening it when they passed miscellaneous puddles of mud. It was early May now, making Nina incredibly happy about the switch in weather. No longer was there snow and ice rain, instead there were only gentle mists of rain. Though it was continuously cloudy seemingly no matter the season.

He saw Bella waiting for her, leaning against her orange truck. Stopping at his car, he pulled her back, stopping her from going any further.

"I'll be on your doorstep bright and early Saturday morning."

"What time exactly is 'bright and early'?"

"Don't worry about it," He smiled.

She let it go. She had made Bella wait long enough and it looked like she had been surrounded by both Mike and Kit.

His hands trailed down her arms, only stopping when they reached the tips of her fingers. "Have a good night, Nina."

"Are you going to check on me again?" She asked. She never thought she would be hopeful to have someone watch over her while she slept.

"I don't think Bella would appreciate the intrusion."

"We could put a wig on you," She tugged at his short hair. "I think you'd suit it."

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her hand that had been in his hair. "Never going to happen."

"You say that now," She grinned mischievously, quickly going up on her toes and pressing a chaste kiss against his cheek before turning on his heel faster than he could react. "Night, Eeyore!" She called, waving at him with two fingers, not looking back.

"Kit. Michael," She greeted as she reached Bella's truck, unable to wipe the dopey grin off her face.

"Why do you look like that?" Mike asked nervously.

"Like what?" She smiled.

He shivered.

"Oh, calm down. I'm only smiling."

"She's going to kill me! Bye, Bella. Bye, Kit!" He yelled before running away.

"What was his problem?" Nina asked, confused, though still grinning.

Kit tilted his head as though he were examining her. "It is a little odd. I've never seen you look like that before."

Her brows furrowed. "I'm only happy."

"Huh... Happy looks good on you."

She slapped his arm, "Cool your teenage boy hormones. I'm a taken woman."

She knew Edward was seething across the parking lot. It only made her grin widen.

She didn't want him to actually kill Kit, though, so she moved closer to the truck. "See you tomorrow. Bells and I got loads of girl talk to get to."

During the ride to Nina's home, the two girls talked aimlessly about their school days. Bella complained about Jessica cheating off of her on a communications test she had and Nina complaining about her almost murder; gym class.

"Mom?" Nina called out when she and Bella walked inside, both girls taking off their shoes before setting their backpacks down. "I brought Bella over, is that alright?"

"Bella's here?" Natalie's voice called out excitedly before she walked into the living room to join them. "Bella!" She said happily as she pulled the brunette human in for a hug. "You should come over more, sweetie. I fear my Nia spends too much time on her own."

The human grinned. That was what Natalie was under the belief of. She clearly hadn't been informed of her nightly house guest that slept in her daughter's bedroom. "I hope it's alright if I stay. Charlie's gone fishing."

"Oh, nonsense. You can stay whenever you like." She smiled, turning over to see her daughter. Nina smiled softly and opened her arms. Natalie held her daughter for a moment too long before letting her go. She was happy her daughter had forgiven her.

"Dinner's on the stove. And there is chips and chocolate in the cupboard. Eat your dinner first though. And don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow–"

"Mom, we get it," Nina smiled, stopping her mother's rant.

"I know, honey. Have a good night, girls. If you need me I'll be in my room."

After eating their dinner quicker than they should have, Nina and Bella retreated into the witches room, which, like Bella had expected, was laid out differently from the last time she had seen it.

"He really did rearrange your room, huh?" She asked, pushing against her vanity which didn't budge at all. "Jesus. What is he? Hercules? This thing weighs like a tonne. What's even in this thing?"

Nina didn't look up from her phone. "Oh, that's my rock collection," She explained simply, still looking at her phone.

"You have a rock collection?" Bella asked, laughing calmly as she opened the drawer and saw a bunch of rocks of various sizes and colours.

"Of course I do. What else would I collect?" She asked, putting her phone down.

"Pokemon cards? Figurines? Literally anything that isn't a pebble?"

"Boring, meaningless objects. I like my rocks."

"Why rocks though?" Bella asked, slumping down on the witch's bed beside her.

Nina grinned, "Each rock contains a little bit of magic. Well, everything in nature does, but rocks are easier to collect than trees and oceans."

She stood up and pulled out a rock and a potted plant that looked half dead before sitting back beside Bella. "Sit up. I'll show you."

"Won't it hurt?" Bella asked, worried for her friend as she watched her place the stone in the potted dirt before she rubbed her palms together above it.

It had been around 15 minutes since she was next to Edward. She was going to take her chances though. She needed to find out her time limit anyway and having a helping hand near would be nice.

"I guess we'll see." She handed Bella her phone after clicking on a phone number. "Just call that number if I pass out."

Before Bella could ask whose number it belonged to, Nina had begun to mutter a language she didn't recognize.

"Phasmatos tribum, veras regenera. Phasmatos tribum, veras regenera..."

Bella stared down at the plant as the witch continued to chant softly. It was an orchid, she soon realized as she watched multiple new growths shoot up from the dirt and soon form into dark purple with yellow centred flowers.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever watched, seeing as the flower completely came to life in only a few short moments. The scent of the flowers was stronger than any flower she had ever smelled. The scents of spice and vanilla filled her nose each time she breathed in.

"That was incredible," She smiled when Nina's chants died down.

"It's a cattleya orchid," Nina smiled. There was no pain in her hands, even as she pulled them away from the newly grown plant. "They're my mothers favourite – hence why there are so many in the house."

"I can see why. It smells amazing," Bella committed, still astounded by what she had witnessed. She knew Nina was a magical being, but she never expected magic to be so beautiful.

"It wears off with time," Nina explained. "When the magic wears off, the scent goes back to its normal amount."

"So the scent is from you?"

"Partially. It is affected by the witch that does the spell, but mostly it only amplifies the plant's original scent. It's why most witches don't work with corpse flowers."

"Do they smell like corpses?"

"From what I've been told, they smell like rotting flesh and death while blooming. And they aren't the prettiest."

Bella smiled, grabbing the witch's warm hands. "This is amazing, Nina. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," The witch smiled. "Just a little warm, but that's normal. No pain, not even a little burning."

"Is this because of a certain brown haired Cullen?"

Nina blushed but nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"Damn. He's stealing you from me. I thought if we were both still single by the time we were forty, we'd get married."

"Don't worry. That deal is still on the table. But... Why don't you try meeting up with Jake again this week? The boy is practically in love with you, Bells."

Bella's face quickly turned red to match the witch's. "Do you think it would be smart of me?"

"You convinced me to let myself be happy. You convinced me that I deserve to feel loved. You need to do the same for yourself. You deserve good things. And if you want Jacob, do it. There is nothing stopping you other than your own mind."

"About this Saturday," Bella began as she chewed on a spoonful of cereal early that morning. "Do you mind if I cancel?"

Nina shrugged, sipping her apple juice. "I was actually going to ask you the same thing."

"Really?" Belle let out a breath of relief. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings but I was thinking about it last night and I might ask Jake to come."

Lips parting into a wide grin, Nina looked at her friend. "That's great, Bells! I know he'll say yes."

"You think so? If he doesn't, I'll probably stay home. I still have to start that new book I got... Why do you need to get out of going to Seattle, though? Is Edward taking you to the dance now?"

"I don't really know where I'm going," She admitted before she took another bite of food.

"But it'll be with him?"

Nina blushed. She seemed to be doing that more often since she had met him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Bella chuckled.

As soon as Bella turned off the orange truck's loud motor, the passenger door was opened and Edward stood with a grin on his lips.

"Good morning, darling. Good morning, Bella." His voice was silky.

"Hey, Romeo," Bella smirked. "Now get out of my car so I can lock it."

Nina chuckled as she grabbed the hand Edward had offered her and jumped down the foot and a half gap between her and the ground. Bella left quickly, she was happy Nina was happy, but that didn't mean she wanted to watch the lovesick puppies in heat.

"How are you today?" His eyes roamed over her face, as if his question was something more than simple courtesy.

"Good, thank you." She was always good — much more than good — when she was near him. His gaze lingered on the circles under her eyes.

"You look tired."

"I practiced magic for a little bit so I'm a little drained and then I couldn't sleep," She confessed.

"Neither could I," He teased, happy that she had been able to do what she loved without pain. She laughed. "I guess that's right. I suppose I slept just a little bit more than you did."

"I'd wager you did."

"So what did you do last night?" She asked.

He chuckled. "Not a chance. It's my day to ask questions."

"Is it now? What do you want to know?" Her forehead creased. If there was anything of interest about her, he already knew it.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked, his face grave.

"Green."

He snorted, dropping his serious expression. "Green?" He asked skeptically.

"Sure. Green is calm. It reminds me of when my mom and I used to go shopping for Christmas trees when I was little." She didn't mention that it also reminded her of him.

He seemed fascinated by her little rant. He considered for a moment, staring into her eyes. "You're right," He decided, serious again. "Green is calm." He reached over, swiftly, but somehow still hesitantly, to sweep her hair back behind her shoulder.

It continued like that for the rest of the day. While he walked her to English, when he met her after Spanish, all through the lunch hour, he questioned her relentlessly about every insignificant detail of her existence. Movies she'd liked and hated, the few places she'd lived and the many places she wanted to go, and magic – and the endless spells she knew.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd talked about herself so much. More often than not, she felt self-conscious, certain she must be boring him. But the absolute absorption of his face, and his never-ending stream of questions, compelled her to continue. Mostly his questions were easy, only a very few triggering her easy blushes. But when she did flush, it brought on a whole new round of questions.

Such as the time he asked her favorite gemstone, and she blurted out topaz before thinking. He'd been flinging questions at her with such speed that she felt like she was taking one of those psychiatric tests where you answer with the first word that comes to mind. She was sure he would have continued down whatever mental list he was following, except for the blush. Her face reddened because, until very recently, her favorite gemstone was hematite. It was impossible, while staring back into his topaz eyes, not to remember the reason for the switch. And, naturally, he wouldn't rest until she'd admitted why she was embarrassed.

"Tell me," he finally commanded after persuasion failed — failed only because she kept her eyes safely away from his face.

"Don't make me say it," She sighed, shaking her head.

"I wanna hear you say it." He had already heard her think it. He just wanted the pleasure of hearing her admit it aloud.

"It's the color of your eyes today, jerk," She sighed, surrendering, staring down at her hands as she picked at her red painted nails.

"What kinds of flowers do you prefer?" He fired off. She sighed in relief, and continued with the psychoanalysis.

Biology was a complication again. Edward had continued with his quizzing up until Mr. Banner entered the room, dragging the audiovisual frame again. As the teacher approached the light switch, she noticed Edward slide his chair slightly farther away from hers. It didn't help. As soon as the room was dark, there was the same electric spark, the same restless craving to stretch her hand across the short space and touch his cold skin, as yesterday.

She leaned forward on the table, resting her chin on her folded arms, her hidden fingers gripping the table's edge as she fought to ignore the irrational longing that unsettled her. She was startled by how easily attached she had found herself – how quickly she had come to be comfortable in his presence.

She didn't look at him, afraid that if he was looking at her, it would only make self-control that much harder. She sincerely tried to watch the movie, but at the end of the hour she had no idea what she'd just seen. She sighed in relief again when Mr. Banner turned the lights on, finally glancing at Edward; he was looking at her, his eyes ambivalent. He rose in silence and then stood still, waiting for her.

They walked toward the gym, making small talk, like the day before. But, unlike the day before, he pulled their intertwined hands up to his lips, placing a longing kiss against her warm skin before he turned and walked away.

Luckily, they weren't playing football again that day. Instead, they were playing badminton. Paired in pairs, Emmett and Nina stood across from each other, aimlessly hitting the birdie between themselves.

"My brother testing you?" He asked, gently smacking the birdie.

She hit it back to him. "Is that what all these speed round questions are?"

"He's excited. He's been alone for a long time now. You sure took your time coming around."

She cracked a smile. "How long exactly?"

"Much longer than you have," He explained vaguely. "But I'll let him tell you the year to date."

She changed hurriedly after the class ended. She was exhausted after the long day but she was excited for what might come. Walking out of the locker room, she held a grin when she saw him standing there with a matching look before he launched into more cross-examination.

His questions were different now, though, not as easily answered. He wanted to know what she missed about each home she had lived in, insisting on descriptions of anything he wasn't familiar with. Asking about the difference in townships and cities and how it was to move from province to territory and back.

They sat in her bedroom for hours, as the sky darkened and rain plummeted around the home. She had a blanket tucked around her shoulders, the fluff of it occasionally rubbing against her jaw while he sat on her desk chair.

She tried to describe the impossible things like the scent of beaver tails in the fall time – cinnamon and sweet but one of the most tasty treats she had ever had. The crows that constantly sat by her window when she lived in Ontario. She sounds of Niagara Falls rushing down from her apartment window. The snow that had piled up ceiling high in Nova Scotia. The northern lights and the midnight sun in Dawson City, the city she had been born in. She found herself using her hands as she tried to describe it all to him.

His quiet, probing questions kept her talking freely, forgetting, in the dim light of the storm, to be embarrassed for monopolizing the conversation. Finally, when she had finished detailing her favourite scents, he paused instead of responding with another question.

"Are you finished?" She asked in relief.

"Not even close — but your mother will be home soon."

She sighed, looking out at the rain-darkened sky, but it gave nothing away. "How late is it?" She wondered out loud as she glanced at the clock. She was surprised by the time — Natalie would be driving home now.

"It's twilight," Edward murmured, looking at the western horizon outside of her window, obscured as it was with clouds. His voice was thoughtful, as if his mind were somewhere far away. She stared at him as he gazed unseeingly out the window.

Nina was still staring when his eyes suddenly shifted back to hers. "It's the safest time of day for us," He said, answering the unspoken question in her eyes. "The easiest time. But also the saddest, in a way... the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?" He smiled wistfully.

"I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars." She frowned. "Not that you see them here much."

He laughed, and the mood abruptly lightened.

He moved to stand, walking over to the bed and perching himself on the edge of it. Her hand instantly caught ahold of his, letting her warm fingers play with his cold ones.

Can you stay?

Edward smiled and nodded. "I'll come back when your mother goes to sleep. Leave the window unlocked for me?"

She agreed silently and just as the headlights of Natalie's Cadillac came round the corner, parking quietly in the driveway, he disappeared.