"Hocus Pocus!" - A Chesmandy Fanfiction

Chapter 3 - Another "Normal" Day

hello everyone, i am so sorry for not publishing! turned out wattpad had a connection problem with t the country i am currently in, so im using a vpn for now... chapter 4 and so on will be posted some time later since i have to edit !! again, i apologize deeply. ))

Everyone returned to the candy store the following days, so it went on like this. Zara, one of the most hardworking employees, helped a lot and got a promotion; some other employees came and went, but Chester never changed. He was still the same old troublemaker in town.

But one day, a week before Edgar's teasing, Mandy and Chester got into a heated fight. It got awful to the point the storage room became a mess, and Chester got injured and burned, but instead of Mandy making sure he was okay, she went out of the room, leaving Chester on the floor. A tear trickled down Chester's eye from his pain and how Mandy abandoned him like that; he was shocked and upset. How could she not help and "leave him to clean it up"? Does she hate him that much? He thought they shared the same amount of hatred-- but it seems like Chester never saw it that way.

Only Zara came to help Chester for a bit, wrapping a bandage around his injury until having to leave.

That night, he was lying in bed, thinking about what happened today, clutching his burning arm. He didn't know why; he wanted to cry. He was supposed to be making people cry— of laughter, of course, but this time, he genuinely wanted to burst into tears from the hurt he was. He buried his head into his pillow and tried falling asleep but couldn't. He, indeed, was heartbroken.

On the other hand, Mandy didn't think much of it and slept just fine. When Chester didn't even pull any pranks on her, she got curious and went up to him a few minutes before his shift ended:

"Chester?"

She asked softly as if she wanted to apologize. He turned around, slight hope in his eyes.

"Why haven't you pulled any pranks on me today? Are you finally trying to change?"

His mouth curved into a frown. He didn't say anything, just turned slightly to show her the bandage on the scar she made yesterday. She got mad.

"Are you giving me the silent treatment? Ugh, you jerk! I should have known you would never change."

"But Mandy, you hu-"

Before he could say anything, she has
already stormed off.

"...rt me."

————————————————————

The day after his shift, Chester walked and stumbled across the gift shop. He looked at the big logo above him for a bit before entering. Colette looked over to see who came in once the bell rang so late in the evening, just as they were about to close. She smiled her signature devilish grin.

"Hey, you work in the candy store, right? Gosh, I love your sweets! I had them a few days ago, and Edgar brought me some. You guys are the best!!" She squealed quietly to herself before taking a deep breath and asking, "How can I be of help?"

Chester looked at her with tired, sad eyes. "Just... looking for something." He said drowsily before shaking the emotions off of his face. Why was the situation affecting him so profoundly? He asked himself.

"Y'know, you don't seem alright, but I won't question it. Sometimes I get into people's business too much, I admit... but can I interest you in some things?!"

Chester thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Great!" She sprung off the counter she was sitting on and went over to a corner with Chester following. She took a pair of headphones and turned to him.

"Ever heard of music?"

"Of course, but I never understood what was so special about it. It's just a couple of instruments and some words."

She took her headphones out of her pocket, put one in Chester's ear and one in her own, and put a song on—a rather sad song.

"Songs can be sad?" He asked.

"Of course, there are so many types of songs! Endless!"

Surprisingly, it was... calming. It felt good; just listening to instruments merge together was... beautiful. He had never felt this calm before. He had so many thoughts in his head and felt his worries fade away for a bit. He felt as if he was being healed in a way.

Once the song ended, Colette looked at him again with her iconic smile.

"You like it?"

He was awed for a second before turning to Colette as she asked him a question.

"...Can I have them? I don't have any money with me right now... I... I'll pay you back, I promise, I need to hear that again, I-... I..."

"Of course." She gave him a fresh new pair. "Make sure you-"

Without Colette noticing, Chester was already gone. She chuckled, and her grin dropped to a sweet, adoring smile.

"-pay me back."