The Magic Between Us

State of Grace

If you were a non-magical person wandering the city streets, you would have never noticed the entrance to the Academy of the Occult and Other Sciences. AOOS, for short, the prestigious college for young witches and wizards skilled enough to pursue both magical and non-magical degree studies, sat in plain sight. Any non-magical person would have seen a simple New York City brownstone tucked away in a borough that no one ever went out of their way to visit. But with every step closer to the entrance, I could feel the hum of magic awakening deep within my veins.

"I can't believe we're seniors," Tate muttered from beside me. A strand of hair fell from the ponytail hiding underneath her AOOS baseball cap. She sat her brown leather trunk down beside her, TATUM still written in gold on the side. You could tell where she had tried to rub the M off and transform the U into an E with magic our freshman year.

"I can't believe summer is over!" Gemma groaned as she exited the black car that had pulled up behind us. The driver brought her trunk over and set it next to the steps. I watched as Gemma smoothed out her black skirt before checking her lipstick in a compact mirror that appeared out of thin air with a quick snap of her fingers. She sauntered over to me and started fussing with my hair.

"You really should start pulling your hair back with something other than a ribbon." I rolled my eyes as she fiddled with the ribbon. She's been trying to get me to change my hairstyle since we became friends, but that doesn't stop her from fixing it every time.

"I can't believe the boys are late... again," I said as Gemma and Tate both let out a laugh. As if on cue, Micah and Weir appeared at the end of the street, their bodies melting through the lines of existing and not existing with ease.

"Why can't you just take a car like a normal person?" Gemma chided as they sauntered up to us. Weir pushed his black-rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose.

"Or the subway," I added, trying to ignore the butterflies that appeared in my stomach upon seeing Weir again for the first time in a few months.

"One of these days, you're going to be seen doing that. And then what?" Gemma pushed on as Micah put his arm around her.

"And by then I'll know a spell to erase memories and it won't be a problem." He planted a kiss on her cheek with a cocky smile and Gemma softened at his touch, signaling the end of their play fight on the matter.

"How was your summer, Em?" Weir asked as he wrapped me in a hug. I tried to think about anything other than how I could feel his heartbeat with his chest pressed against mine.

"I spent the summer in Alaska at a cabin in the woods. I'm sure it was nothing compared to yours." Weir had spent the summer in Washington, D.C., at an internship.

"Being in the magical service of the President has its moments, but to be honest it was mostly just a lot of studying." A moment of silence stretched between us and for a moment, I thought Weir was going to say something else, but Micah threw his arms around us before he could.

"Shall we, then?" He gestured his hands towards the Academy entrance.

I looked around at my friends. It was hard to imaging that at the end of this year most of us would go our separate ways after graduation. I wasn't even sure where I was going yet, but I knew it would be away from the people that had felt more like home than any place ever had. We stood before the door knowing that behind it our campus would unfold before us, blooming like a flower in spring, and none of us was ready to walk through that door.

"I'm not ready to start goodbye," Tate said so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.

"Me either." I offered in support, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Well, per my calculations, we have approximately 20 minutes to spare before we're actually late." Micah offered.

"Coffee at the Magic Beans?" Gemma asked as she flashed everyone her signature smile. The one that it seemed was always getting us out of trouble. She grabbed Tates's hands and pulled her down the steps with a laugh. I can practically smell the scent of their signature Lavender Vanilla Latte as Gemma mentions the name we've been hanging out there ever since we all met freshman year.

"I'm in if you are," Weir asked me with a soft nudge to my shoulder. Without saying a word, I waved my hand over our trunks, shrinking them all into little keychains. I couldn't help but smile as I passed them out.

"You guys always were my Achilles heel." I didn't know what the year was going to hold for us, but I knew I would do anything for my friends. These were my people, and I loved them all with a ferocity that made my head spin. I looped my arm through Weirs as we walked down the block towards the coffee shop.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note from the Author:

Thank you so much for checking out the first installment of The Magic Between Us. At the end of this project, I'm hoping to have at least 19 chapters all based on songs from the Red album by Taylor Swift. These will be posted in the same order as the original album list.

Up next is Red! This is a story between Gemma and Micah and includes cutesy friends-to-lovers vibes with some magic thrown in! I plan on posting every Monday! So be sure to come back Monday, November 1st for the next installment!

-Darrian