Spells on Shelves

Chapter 5 || An Unwelcome Customer

Keeping a careful eye on his silhouette, I fumbled for the switch at the side of the wall. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The overhead lights came to life, revealing Paxton lounging in my chair, his right ankle propped on his left knee, dressed in faded gray sweats and a navy-blue shirt. He wore a bored expression as if he'd rather be anywhere else, but the faint shadows under his eyes added an unsettling intensity to his gaze.

I stifled the instinct to back away. His apparent fatigue and homeless attire didn't fool me. He was dressed to shift at a moment's notice, which meant he came here expecting trouble. Or a fight.

The ward hummed in response to my growing anxiety, ready to snap up in front of me like a shield. Yet, I still sensed nothing, as if the chair in front of me was empty. Outside my turf was one thing. But in here? I should've known as soon as he crossed the boundary even without the barrier up.

Paxton spoke in a measured, amused tone, "You want to keep this up in front of the whole town? The rumors are already flying."

What did he have to do with the rumors?

Ah.

He was talking about my supposed interest in him. Livvy had hinted at something along those lines. Since he called me out on it, my little show hadn't had worked as well as I had hoped.

Damn it.

One thing was sure. Continuing to act would only make him more suspicious of me.

I let my smile drop and squared my shoulders. "What gave me away?"

His face remained impassive. "You didn't keep up the charade when I wasn't around."

Had he been watching me?

Crossing my arms, I leaned against the doorframe. "What do you want then?"

"Relax," he said, stretching the word. "I'm not gonna do anything."

And yet he didn't answer my question.

"Right," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. "That's why you're lurking in the dark like some cheap horror movie villain."

He studied me lazily, raising his arms behind his back. "My bad," he said. "I forgot you need light to see. Maybe you should've kept some of the glowy stuff the kids had."

Forgot, my ass.

So, he had been watching me. That was bad. Somehow, I had to convince him that I was harmless without making it seem like I was trying to convince him. This was already giving me a headache.

"Jumping from creep right to stalker. Careful or one might think you are interested in me."

He gave a shrug. "In a sense, I suppose."

He was playing with me, and the fact that I couldn't pinpoint his real purpose pissed me off even more. What had changed? Why would he come here? Why now?

Was it the potion incident? But that wasn't my fault. I neither broke nor force fed those three potions. So what—

Wait a second. "Dissatisfied with my test results?"

There was no notable change in his posture, yet his shoulders seemed more tense, the muscles in his thighs more pronounced, stretching the fabric, like he was reading himself to pounce.

Or maybe his sweats were a bit on the smaller side and I was imagining things. I hoped I was imagining things.

"You're surprisingly quick-witted for a witch," he remarked, his gaze turning cold.