allison shaw

Name: Allison Elizabeth Shaw Nicknames: Alli Age: 25 Height: 5′8″ Sexuality: Undefined/exploring

Max could feel the smile spread upon his face as she picked up on what he had implied. “Well, Dani told me I shouldn’t do this big reveal and make a decision by myself, so I decided to just tell you like this. You know, wine and dine you the way Allison Shaw deserves to be treated,” he said with a smile. He felt a wave of relief pass over himself as she seemed to at least consider the option of moving in together. “I mean, I don’t know I’ll ever be sure, but it’s worth a shot, right? I’m sure Pizza Planet would have me if I wanted to come back.

~

     He was such a natural charmer that sometimes Allison couldn’t believe it had taken them as long as it did to get together. Really, his refusal to acknowledge magic was the only holdout, but now he was working as diligently as either she or Dani to figure out their situation, completing their dream team; with him, everything felt possible. She squeezed his hand that still held hers, smiling, and replied, “I’m really proud of you. I think you’ll do really well working with Phillip—you might surprise yourself. But even if it doesn’t turn out to be your thing, I’ll still be here.”

Binx wouldn’t have been surprised if Allison had been suspicious of them — Max certainly had been the first time he confronted him. But Binx could only hope that Allison could take their word for it, hoping that maybe explaining from the very beginning would put her in their shoes and get her to understand. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

Allison’s question only brought up more for Binx to have to explain. After all, telling her their name wasn’t as simple as that, considering they had technically met before, as himself. “That’s okay, I haven’t been so eager to tell you my name, anyway,” the black cat admitted honestly. “We’ve actually met before, just not like this. I’m .. Thackery Binx.”

     The last thing Allison was expecting when she asked the cat for their name was for him to give her one she already knew. Thackery Binx. What? She couldn’t even pretend to have misheard or misunderstood; that was probably the most unique name she knew. But who would have ever guessed that Thackery was...a cat? This knowledge was more of a surprise than the fact that there was a talking animal in the first place. Alli already knew about magic—that was one thing, but somebody she knew to be a human being that talking cat was something she had never even considered.

Lydia couldn’t help but laugh. Bound with human skin. Was that really what people thought of magic? That would be some pretty dark shit by any standards. But hey, there were always extremists in everything, right? “You know, I should look for a book on magical serial killers. If you think real serial killers can be brutal, just imagine adding more power into the equation.” Lydia shivered, but couldn’t help the intrigue she felt. Anything dark always did easily draw her in. 

Shrugging her shoulders, she attempted to play more casual than she felt for a moment. “Oh, you know. It’s easy.” It wasn’t. It was actually stupid, and dangerous, but she trusted Allison. She had to, to get this far in a friendship with her. “Let’s just say I have my own version of magic. I’m really good at finding things.” And it was sort of true - none of Lydia’s things stayed lost for very long, and she always had a knack for finding misplaced items for others. Something odd and small but fun to boast about when it came of use. 

Still, the implication someone like Lydia would need defending against… was it true? Sure, Lydia was powerful, and getting stronger every day thanks to her dedication to her studies. But would she ever actually use her magic to hurt someone? No. Of course not. Someone else, however… “If you want to defend against witches, you need a lot more than that book.” A prayer, maybe. “I’m pretty sure the only thing that can beat magic is… magic.”

~

     When Lydia posited the concept of magical serial killers and how much more dangerous they could be than regular murderers, Allison almost shuddered. Because didn’t have to imagine. From what she knew about the Sanderson sisters, they were the worst of the worst: witches who literally sucked the souls out of countless children to maintain their youth and beauty. To think that she, Max and Dani had only narrowly escaped such a fate on that Halloween night so long ago still haunted her dreams.

     She wasn’t sure yet whether that experience was something she should share with Lydia; they were friends, sure, but most people would think she was either making up a story or on something if she described an encounter with some dark magical beings in a forest. That was, until Lydia claimed that she had her own version of magic. Alli couldn’t tell whether that was a real confession or just the woman being clever about her unusual skill for locating things, but it did give her pause. Lydia seemed to know a lot about magic for someone entirely unconnected to it. But it wasn’t nearly enough for Allison to just assume she was some kind of a witch herself.

Max felt his eyes widen as Allison’s filled with concern, and he shook his head as he squeezed her hand back. “Oh, it’s nothing bad. Nothing wrong,” he assured her, tucking a fallen piece of hair behind her ear. He braced himself before speaking again, sucking in a deep breath. “I’m thinking of leaving Pizza Planet,” he blurted, taking a sip of his wine before continuing, gaging her reaction as he sipped. “Phillip approached me again about taking a job at his company, and … I don’t know. I think I could do well there. I also thought that the bigger paycheck would be a help if, I don’t know … we ever wanted to think about a, uh, bigger place. For the two of us.” It was a lot at once, this much he knew, and Max leaned forward to place a peck on her lips before sitting back. “What do you think?”

~

    Allison allowed herself a breath of relief as Max assured her that there was nothing wrong, relaxing at his touch when he brushed some stray strands of her hair back. She wasn’t prepared for the news he did reveal, saying that he might be leaving his job and then pausing for a drink before continuing. She kept her expression neutral as he spoke, but by the time he reached the end of his explanation, Alli couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face. “Max Dennison...Are you asking me to move in with you?” she replied playfully before getting more serious. “If you’re really sure about the job—I mean, that sounds like a great opportunity.”

Binx knew Allison would be eager to see them again, and they had been eager to talk to the blonde again, as well. Though they weren’t exactly reliable when it came to finding her at the right moment — their cat self had been more sporadic and unpredictable, unsure where they even were for entire days. That was why it was so important to get close to Allison, Max and Dani; in a way, they were Binx’s last hope.

Finally running into Allison with no one else around, they walked up to the blonde and rubbed up against her leg, reminding her that they meant no harm. “What gives?” They repeated, slightly amused. “Okay, cutting the small talk, I see. I guess there really is no time to waste,” the black cat replied, sitting down and looking up at her. “Lots of reasons, if you have the time to listen. I said this to Max, but I’ll say it to you too: I don’t have any physical proof, so I just ask that you trust me. But,” they continued amusingly, “you’ve already proven to be easier to convince than your boyfriend, so I’m not too worried.”

     She tilted her head as the cat spoke, requesting her trust despite not having proof to back up his claims. As a matter of fact, there were probably reasons to be suspicious of the animal—Alli had done enough research on witches to know about familiars and the possibility that this black cat was a servant or spy for the Sanderson sisters, maybe even sent to lead her, Max and Dani off the true scent onto some wild goose chase—but considering that without its help, they had no lead at all to follow...She was going to take her chances and hope that even if her trust in the cat was misplaced, it might still bring them closer to learning about the witches than they would be otherwise.

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@maxdennisonn