𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ℂ𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ➶

𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖: 𝕄𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖

"I'm beginning to feel like a walking, talking encyclopedia!" CC complained. When in actuality she was more like a walking, talking gossip column in a newspaper. Did Nevermore have a newspaper? It wouldn't hurt to look into that. Valentina needed to know who were the winners, the losers, the movers, and the shakers.

"This is the last thing I'll ask!" For today, at least. "Please, CC, this is a request from Morticia Frump herself. Plus, it benefits Larissa too."

"I'll tell you what I know, but be warned that it's not much. Larissa is a pretty private person. I doubt she'll even allow your meddling in her love life, matchmaker or not.

"Larissa Weems is tall, blonde, a shapeshifter... She's Morticia Frump's roommate. Also, her ex. They were a thing freshman year but must have had a falling out. Larissa still seems pretty bitter about it. Morticia acts like the whole thing never happened."

"They remained roommates after breaking up?" Valentina asked incredulously. After her first break-up, she considered switching schools just so she didn't have to see her ex in the hallway anymore. Her mother had to sit her down and explain just how silly she was being.

"Yep!" CC answered, popping the 'p.' "Anyway, Gomez Addams transferred to Nevermore a short time after their break-up. Both girls were smitten with him. Hell, all the girls were smitten with him. Before he started dating Morticia, he was a bit of a player. He really knows how to woo a girl... And he can keep it up, too. He's never stopped courting her, even now that they're together."

God, poor Larissa. She was really having a rough go of it.

"Is there anyone she's holding a flame for right now?"

"That's the thing! She's still hung up on Morticia and Gomez. Other boys and girls have tried asking her out --hell, even Deuce-- but she's turned down every one."

So the trouble wasn't finding someone to love Larissa. Valentina just needed to make her fall in love with someone. Anyone, really.

Valentina's fingertips itched.

"Thank you, CC. You've been a tremendous help," she told her roommate.

CC rewarded her with a fanged smile. "What are friends for?"

~~~

One of the first things that her mother taught her in the beginning was there was no right or wrong approach to matchmaking. Nothing was black and white, and that included magic.

The argument could be made that all magic was immoral. It was a short-cut --a cheat-- of sorts. But the price was as high as if you'd done it by regular means, if not higher... So the scales balanced out.

Love magic --the conjuring of romance-- was widely seen as some of the most invasive, though, considering it messed with the personal relationships between people. Most witches and warlocks turned their noses up at love spells, potions, and rituals... Or at least they did until they fell in love with someone who didn't return their affections.

Valentina didn't need a psychic to tell her what camp Larissa belonged to.

For the first week of classes, every night she knelt before her altar to Venus and performed a special ritual. It was all she could do for now. It would be a disaster if she were caught trying to slip a potion into the tall blonde's food or cast a spell on her in public.

She kept her ear to the ground but heard no news. Her prayers and rituals bore no fruit. And she was getting impatient.

Her mother made her first match on her first day at Nevermore. She'd heard the story a million times. But her mother also employed other methods of making matches. She didn't anymore, not since she passed those powers onto her daughter, but she did a lot in the beginning.

It was getting so bad that Valentina's fingertips itched almost constantly.

You see, as Cupid's envoy, she had the ability to materialize a golden bow and arrow at will. Whoever that arrow struck would fall madly in love with the next person they laid eyes on.

Ever since she came into this power, the responsibility that came with it was repeatedly stressed. She grew up believing it was for emergencies only. But she was at the end of her tether. Despite her best efforts, Larissa was just so resistant.

So she did something stupid.

During lunchtime that Saturday, she found herself perched atop one of the buildings surrounding the quad. The rooftop was easily accessible, but no one ever came up. Just in case someone spotted her little sniper's nest, she wore a black balaclava to hide her identity.

Like a lot of the cliques, Morticia's posse always ate lunch on the green. Today was no different. Larissa and a few other friends --all single-- were already seated. The king and queen of Nevermore were approaching but hadn't arrived at the table yet, which made now the ideal time to act.

Valentina took aim, pulled back the bowstring, and let love's arrow fly.

"Larissa!" A familiar voice cried out. That's when Morticia lunged forward, threw herself in the arrow's trajectory, and took the blow for her roommate. The arrow lodged itself deep in the back of her right shoulder.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

"Tish!" Gomez yelled, racing over to his injured beloved. He reached up to grab the arrow, perhaps to pull it out, but it dematerialized in his grasp. But the poison was still in the wound, and the wound wouldn't heal.

Morticia didn't look at him, though. She didn't look at Larissa either. Instead, she turned her head in the direction the arrow came from... And locked eyes with Valentina.

Well, fuck.

Valentina immediately turned tail and ran, nearly tripping and falling down the stairs in her haste. She needed to put as much distance between her and the scene of the crime as possible. Her bow dematerialized on its own. She ripped off her balaclava and threw it in the first trashcan she passed.

Her mistake would have consequences. She just didn't know yet what they might be.