Love Potion

Kenzie's Scheme

Kenzie's wide eyes twinkled.

"You're not gonna steal it, are you?" I hiss-whispered.

"Steal?" said Morgaine suddenly, whipping around with a schwap of dark hair and much drama. "Oh- hello, Kenzie."

I glanced at Morgaine's blunt face for a second, and then at Kenzie. He smiled so his caramel-candy eyes crumpled.

I looked back at Morgaine. "No... teal," I told her. "As in, the colour of the dress."

Her gaze lasted on me for a second before she turned again with another flip of hair. I glanced back at Kenzie. His eyes were the question. I stepped away from the girls to husher with him.

"You cannot steal those dressrobes, Kenzie. And I won't help you."

"I'm not asking you to help me," he chuckled. "And we've done it loads of times."

"We?"

"Me, Tatiana and... Killian." He shifted his weight. "We have our own little trick."

"So you're a thief?" I sissled.

"No, no, understand, Cosmo: look at this place! You said it yourself - the price of a pair of knickers here could feed a family for weeks! It's just unjust. People, like me, can't afford that blunk - and we gotta look frinx-fresh for a balldance somehow!"

I gurgled a giggle; quickly, I put my fist over my mouth and regained my accusive stare.

He smiled to the side. "Come on, if their prices are high as this, they gotta have enough money not to miss a couple of balldresses..."

"But their clothes are so beautiful!" I gasped.

"Five gizros worth of beauty? Come on. The only thing of beauty worth that much is Boo." Boo was clearly his blue, spike-spined dragon that curled around his shoulders, and purred as he scratched its knobbled chin. He looked up to grin at me.

I exhaled through my nose, lips pulled. "You said 'a couple' of balldresses..."

"Yes! You are going to steal with me, and you are going to steal that beautiful blue dress that is so obviously meant for nobody else but you."

I gasped, but my lips were tickled giddy. "You're trying to flatter me!"

He beamed. "Yes!"

"I will not steal with you!" I held indignantly: but, I admit, in that moment I was more than tempted to.

He made a noise like 'psh!'. "It's hardly stealing... more like charity... steal from the rich to give to the poor!" It was the grin he made then that pushed me finally off the edge. "And if you reallly feel bad about it, you can just leave some money on the desk - what the dress's price should be, that is. Come ooon... don't be soft. It's just a bit of fun! You know you want to..."

I smirked a little 'v'. My heart was palpitating like waves on a shore. "I was going to say yes until you said you knew I wanted to..."

He flappered his hands and head. "Oh, no no no no... no, you definitely don't want to... I'm sure of it..."

I scrunched up my nose. "Fine! I will go."

He beamed and his eyes wrinkled again. "I knew you were fun, Cosmo... you could really be part of our group, you know." He said this somewhat lumberingly. "We could do with another member..."

I turned my chin. "Your group? As in, you and Tatiana and Viper?"

He winced at the name. "Yes."