is it love? Mystery Spell- Love and War

Chapter 7: First Date and The Artimis

Sarah met me in town and greeted me with a warm smile.

"You were able to escape the lion's den!" she half-joked.

I rolled my eyes at her and asked her about coming to the Nightmaradeen concert.

She looked doubtful as she said, "I don't know...the Bartholy's and I don't get along..."

"Oh, come on Sarah!" I pleaded, "It'll be fun! The band is awesome and we can dance and drink the night away!"

She thought about it for a moment before nodding shyly, "Alright."

I hugged her gratefully and took her hand. Her face reddened a little and I laughed.

"Where should we go first?" I asked.

"There's a little boutique on the end of this street that I like," she replied, leading the way, "it's cool because the shop owner is a Wiccan, just like my family, and everything is natural and eco-friendly."

"I can't wait to see it," I smiled, squeezing her hand.

"You'll love it, they have such cool accessories, and you can buy these adorable homemade plushies!" she gushed.

I chuckled at her enthusiasm as we walked through the door. I could feel so much positive energy from this place, the atmosphere was warm and friendly, and the store owner smiled as soon as she saw Sarah walk through the door. She whispered something in her ear that made her blush furiously and the owner laughed. I looked at them with confusion before browsing around. I saw the plushies Sarah was talking about.

They were well made and soft to the touch, I wanted one for myself and Sarah, as a gift for being so nice to me. I saw two dolls that attached together with velcro, one was a pastel pink fox with a light blue kerchief, the other was a blue sloth with a silver backpack.  I picked them up with a grin and something behind them on the shelf fell to the floor.

"Shit!" I hissed, hoping I hadn't just broken an item.

I picked up what looked like a metal bar with intricate detail carved into it. It was surprisingly heavy and cool to the touch. I examined it for any damage, and luckily, there wasn't any. I put it back on the shelf and went to pay for the dolls while Sarah was lost in a world of cardigans and mini-skirts. I laughed at her as she came towards the checkout with a pile of clothes a mile high.

She looked away embarrassed and paid for her items. As we were walking towards a cafe laughing at each other's high school stories, the owner of the shop came running after us.

"Did we forget to pay for something?" I asked with concern.

"No, not at all," she panted, holding out the metal bar I'd knocked over earlier, "you forgot this."

"But, I didn't buy this," I explained, "if I've damaged it I'll gladly pay for it."

"No, it's a gift," she replied, "I have a strong feeling that you'll need this in the near future."

I took it from her with a skeptical gaze. What use is a piece of metal going to be for me? A paperweight?

Sarah and I arrived at the cafe and ordered our drinks. I told her about my movie night with Loan.

She scowled, "Loan is a creep! He only wants one thing!"

"He's been nothing but nice to me Sarah," I countered, "I can't just stand him up because of a negative comment from one person. If he does try anything, I'll leave and contact either you or the brothers."

"I'd prefer you call me..." she muttered.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head, "Nevermind. The date is a bad idea."

"It's not a date," I laughed.

"With Loan, it couldn't be anything else," she scowled.

"I'm not arguing with you Sarah, I'm going. End of discussion," I replied firmly.

She huffed and we finished our drinks talking about everything and nothing.

I went home and looked through my wardrobe at my clothes; what should I wear? I don't want to give Loan ideas in case Sarah's right and he thinks this is a date, but it's also been a while since I was alone with a guy...would it be so bad if this was a date? I was busy browsing my closet when Lorie entered my room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, scowling, "You'd better not be going on a date with one of my brothers! They're only allowed to love me!"

"No, Lorie, I'm going on a date with someone else," I answered, still looking through my clothes. Why did I call it a date?!

"Anyway, why would I be going on a date with your brothers?" I pressed.

"You wouldn't," she pouted, "you're not Peter's type, Lizabeth is."

I froze and turned to look at her with confusion, "Who's Lizabeth?"

"Peter's old girlfriend," she smirked, "she was girly and feminine and WAY prettier than you. She was elegant and graceful and actually had curves. You're a scrawny little twig."

I sighed and shook my head, "Good for Lizabeth. But I have a date with someone else to get ready for, so unless your highness is going to be helpful, please leave."

Lorie got up and walked over to my wardrobe and pouted, "I little gloomy and plain for my tastes, but do-able."

I looked at her with bewilderment as she picked out an outfit for me.

"This should do," she replied, "it's relatively cute, and it might even make you look presentable."

I looked at the outfit and I had to admit, it was pretty good. It was my style obviously, but it pushed me out of my usual comfort zone too. I thanked Lorie with a kiss on the forehead and went to shower before my 'date'.

I pulled on the black criss-cross crop top, skater skirt and cardigan with the tights and boots I liked, I put my hair in a high ponytail and grabbed my bag. I put on some jewelry and ran downstairs to meet Loan at our agreed location.

The living room door was ajar and I could see the brothers talking to each other, they looked up at me and I waved goodbye to them. I thought I saw looks of surprise on their faces but I was already out the door, texting Loan that I was on my way. The brother's calls sounded out from behind me and I turned to see them all looking somewhat disheveled in the doorway.

"Problem boys?" I asked, surprised.

They stared at me for a moment and I checked my outfit. Did I have something on it? No, my outfit was fine. I looked at them quizzically and said, "I'll see you all later then, I'll text if there's a problem."

Loan was already waiting for me outside the theatre and smiled as soon as he saw me.

"Hey gorgeous!" he grinned, putting an arm around my shoulders, "Shall we go pick a movie?"

"Yeah, what are our options?" I asked.

"It's a month away from Halloween so all the options are horror movies," he said, raising his eyebrow, "think you can handle a scare?"

I smirked back at his challenging look, "Oh, I can handle a scare no problem. I grew up on horror movies."

Not a lie. They helped me cope with seeing the dead all the time.

He chuckled and drew me closer to him as we selected a movie. It was due to start in 15 minutes, so we stood outside the theatre doors waiting to be allowed in. I was having fun. Loan asked about my job at the Bartholy's and how it was, he made sure I was being treated with respect there, it was all around a pleasant conversation.

We went into the movie screen room and sat down. He held my hand during the movie and I could feel myself relax. I rested my head on his shoulder and laughed with him at the jump scares of the movie. We left the movie laughing and joking at the obvious plot holes in the movie as we made our way to a nearby diner for burgers. It was the first time in a long time I'd been able to eat without the food tasting like ash. I realized how hungry I was.

"You're going to town on that burger," Loan laughed.

"Like you aren't?" I pointed out.

We continued eating and laughing. It was a pretty good 'first date'...