a bunch of hocus pocus

Species: Cursed Human Sexuality: Heterosexual  Pronouns: He/Him Favorite song: Trouble — Cage the Elephant Big three: Taurus sun, Gemini moon, Aries rising

☾

It had been weird between them, understandably. She knew once they broke up getting back whatever they once had would be next to impossible. That was a past she couldn’t even recall and for so long it felt like that piece needed to be replaced. Since coming back into their lives Allison was coming to realize that might not be entirely true. If they had all fallen into this with each other once, it felt like trying to figure it out was bringing them back together again. A part of her knew she felt it when she met Daisy and when she thought about him being with someone else. Then she’d stop herself, knowing it must be the past talking and allow him to move on. Allison felt as though she’d held him back for long enough. 

She offered a smile, knowing he didn’t feel quite as hopeful about their search as they did. “It’s worth a shot, right? Even if we don’t get our memories back at least we can figure out what we were close to that someone wanted us to forget. Whatever it is must be big if they felt the need to wipe our heads clean of it.” Allison figured a skeptic like Max was the least likely to believe in this but she had to try. There was something there, if they were close once she knew she could be again. Not very often was she able to share a quiet moment like this with him and feel like for a moment something was normal, or well, normal-ish. She couldn’t explain the void that Dani and Max filled in her life but knew it was good to have them back. “I think I need to nose around work, if it’s true about the mayor then there’s got to be something around there. I can probably get us in one night to take a look around, you know, if you’re brave enough,” she said giving him a smile and a mischievous wiggle of her eyebrows. 

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It had taken Max to finally branch out and stop sulking around for him to be able to talk to Allison without it hurting too much. Perhaps it was because he was spending more time with Daisy now, but he didn’t consider that a bad thing. Dani obviously disagreed, but the siblings hardly agreed on anything nowadays. It didn’t help that he went back and forth on his feelings, too. Sometimes, he did want Allison back as more than a friend — other times, he wanted to completely move on. It made his and Allison’s relationship that much more complicated for himself, and Dani didn’t hesitate to bring her up constantly and remind him of what he no longer had.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, guess we just gotta keep looking around to figure out what it is.” He didn’t fully agree nor disagree with Allison’s view on it — he knew she was right, that it could be something big that had been wiped from their memories, but he wasn’t sure if whatever it was would be worth the digging. Either way, it was clear that neither his sister or his ex planned to give up, so there was no way of just dropping it. He smirked at her suggestion, giving her a knowing look. “Of course I’m brave enough. I’m not gonna be scared of your work of all places.” It was always Allison who could easily persuade Max to do something that he wouldn’t typically do. “Just tell me when, and I’m there. But — we should probably leave Dani out of this one.”

“Knew it.” Smirking a little more she kept her eyes on her drink. She was certain she was suppose to do something else, say something else, but Dusk was never the best when it came to flirting. If that even what this all was. Truthfully she just liked their banter and competition when it came to the drums. It came naturally, but now she was at a moment where she knew she had to do more and instead she just chugged a bit more of her drink. “You’re right I do, busy now? I still have my set in the back if you’re feeling brave enough to show something worthy on spot. I’ll even be nice and let you use my nice sticks.”  Setting her empty glass now from the first drink she bought down on the counter she hummed softly to herself. “Vodka Redbull please.” 

.

It was hard to say if Max was actually flirting intentionally or not. He still had Allison on the back of his mind no matter what, and Daisy had also been on his mind frequently. Whatever the case, he’d been having fun lately, and didn’t want that to end. He knew whatever conversations he had with Dusk was a little more than just playful competition, though. He just chose to ignore the obvious and stay in denial for a little longer. He had too much going on with researching with his sister and ex, anyway. “Right now? Really?” He asked, surprised but not against the idea. “I’m shocked you’re willing to let me use your drums.” He paused for a moment to order them both drinks, a beer for himself and the vodka redbull for her. “Alright, let’s do it. We can take the drinks back there with us.”

[ 𝙳𝙰𝙽𝙸 ]

Of course it took Allison for Max to actually take her seriously. Dani had tried to tell her brother about what she thought to be magic, but she hadn’t gotten the hang of any of it at the time, and she hadn’t been able to prove it. He wouldn’t have even noticed the lights flickering had it not been for Allison pointing out that she’d done anything to begin with. “Well, I–I tried telling you, in my defense,” she protested, pointing at Max. “You didn’t buy it, and I didn’t want to try and spill the beans again until I’d practiced enough.” Though Dani had been getting more of a hang of things, it still hadn’t been close enough for her to feel comfortable enough revealing that she had magic in her.

“Mom said there was witch shit in our genes, so I tried researching, and I didn’t really find much after that book went missing. So, I’ve kind of been practicing, okay? Not a big deal.” She shrugged it off, pulling down more books from the shelves. The best thing to do was play this nonchalant. It had been Max’s idea to bring them to the house, after all. What the hell did he expect to get out of it? “Look, I don’t know what you were looking to get from this little field trip, Max, but it’s nothing different from what I’ve been trying to tell you.” @saltciircles​

☾

Allison didn’t know what stood between Max and believing in something as it looked him straight in the face. She knew it was also strange to be excited like she was but it felt like this was a breakthrough in this whole her life had for ages now. Not to mention, she wasn’t worried for Dani, knowing if anyone could handle this it was her. Even without her memories Allison knew she was even more knowledgable on all things hocus-y and pocus-y than her. “Hey, all that matters is that we all know now,” Allison said a little louder to speak over both of them. As much as she tried to sit back there came a point where they simply struggled to see eye to eye and it was as simple as that, she knew it wouldn’t be easy but they’d get Max on board. “Now we know so we might as well use it to our favor. She’s got the memories we don’t, we have to do this as a team. The more we fight the more we turn into a horror movie with an ending not as happy as others,” she said with a small smile coming to her lips as she tried to lighten the mood. Allison looked at Dani first and then crossed behind her over to stand by Max, holding out a book for him about witches. “It doesn’t have to be all as crazy as you want it to be. Magic would be normal to us all if we saw it everyday.” 

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It was hard to put together all the things Dani tried to explain to him lately. It all seemed to mesh together in his brain, no longer able to distinguish his own memories from things Dani had said. Reality and fantasy seemed harder and harder to differentiate nowadays. “Do you blame me?” He asked his sister genuinely. He was sure if he tried to tell Dani he had magic ( which he didn’t, thankfully ) she’d be the last one to believe him. It was weird to think that Dani had been practicing magic behind his back. It was just another weird thing coming out of all of this that he had to get used to.

He could tell Allison was trying to keep the peace between them, and he didn’t blame her. Listening to the siblings bickering back and forth probably got old really quick. He tried to brush his frustration aside, giving Allison a light smile as she handed a book to him. He knew she was right — he’d heard about the magic in other parts of Animania by now, now that New Salem wasn’t isolated like it used to be. It didn’t make it feel any less crazy to him, though, but he was trying to adjust to the idea. As he opened the book, it immediately opened to a page with a small note stuck inside of it, recognizing the handwriting as his and Allison’s names were written within a giant heart. His fingertips brushed against the note, as if the touch of it could possibly help him remember something from it. When it didn’t, he crumbled the paper up and shoved it in his pocket, not wanting either of the girls to see it. “Well, I’ve definitely read this before, but I’ll probably have to do it again,” he sighed again, closing the book. “If these aren’t helping us remember, what do you think will?” @daniiidenniiison​

Daisy had a feeling he wouldn’t remember much from the night they’d spent together based on what she’d given him to drink. All the best ones in Wonderland could make anyone black out after just one if they weren’t careful. Thankfully, she’d gotten used to the effects during her time working there that she had remembered everything.

With a small laugh, Daisy played along, slipping her arm into his. “Not to worry, I probably don’t remember hearing it.” Another white lie in the bucket, this one more harmless than the others. What would he tell her now that he had more control? “I would never make fun of you. Those drinks at the club can be pretty strong, I probably shouldn’t have given you so many,” she admitted, letting out an innocent laugh. “So, what did you go out looking for? Find anything good?”

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Spending more time with Daisy felt like exactly what Max needed, his mind so cluttered with the bullshit about witches and his memories. It was hard to escape any of it with his sister constantly bugging him about it. Not to mention, her begging him to remember how much he’d loved Allison. It was painful to try to re-live, and more painful to realize he still didn’t fully remember. 

Daisy’s sweetness was reassuring, still getting used to getting this close to someone else besides Allison. He definitely didn’t want to screw this up. “That’s alright, I still had fun, anyway. I hope you did, too,” he smiled, gaze meeting hers as they headed to get a drink together. He let out a soft sigh at her question. “Just some stuff about the past, I guess, at the old Sanderson house. My sister showed me some shit that I’d apparently seen before, but I still don’t remember any of it.” It was frustrating, to say the least. “We’ve been fighting about it a lot, and it sucks. I wish she’d just get off my back sometimes.”

Since the last few times they fought, Max was really trying to be supportive of Dani and whatever it was that she was trying to show him. He was still trying to wrap his head around all the magic and other hocus pocus, but he did his best to keep his mouth shut and not voice his complaints. He wasn’t sure how he felt about heading straight into the woods, though. “I’m trying,” he replied with a soft sigh and a shake of his head. “Levitation?” He repeated, surprised. “We might as well have just brought a Ouija board out here, don’t you think?” He ignored her question but continued to follow. “Even if all of this does work, how’s it gonna help us? Do you actually have a plan?” @daniiidenniiison​

Despite the circumstances, it felt good knowing that Max wasn’t alone in this. If he’d been the only one with lost memories, stumbling through life with a big piece of it missing in his head, he would surely believe he was crazy, but Allison was going through the exact same thing. He wished he could remember their relationship at the very least, his heart ached to remember it. Allison and Dani seemed to believe they were closer to figuring it all out, but Max wasn’t so optimistic; he felt like they were just closer and closer to reaching a dead end. 

He nodded despite his negative outlook, a familiar feeling washing over him as Allison grabbed one of his hands — even if he was moving on, she still seemed to make his heartbeat speed up at the slightest touch. “Well, I know you and Dani aren’t giving up anytime soon, so I hope you’re right,” he smiled. It hurt hearing the word together, because they weren’t together the way he once wanted them to be. At the end of the day, they were still exes. Dani seemed to think finding the missing pieces would bring him back to Allison, but he wondered why the missing pieces were necessary for that to happen. Once him and Allison were broken up, it was hard to see her side of things; he didn’t think any memories needed to be found to prove how they felt for each other. His hand still lingered on hers, but a small part of him wanted to pull it away. He didn’t. “So .. Where do you think we go from here? What’s next?” @saltciircles​

It seemed like the more that she pressed, the less Max wanted to even try with Allison. She recognized a healthy bit of rebellion, and Dani was afraid that, by trying to pull he and his new point of female interest away, he was going to be even more determined to get to know her better. Dani just couldn’t believe that he would be so petty and immature enough to actually pull that kind of shit on her. “I don’t know, because you can’t remember anything about it?” she asked, asa though it were obvious. Dani rolled her eyes, sinking into the passenger seat as she saw Max’s knuckles turning whiter in the street lights. 

“Oh, my god–it’s not a mystery, Max! This is life, I don’t know what else to do to fucking convince you! I’ve been miserable and lonely for the past year and nothing I say makes you believe me.” With her fingertips pressing into her forehead, Dani let out a frustrated sigh. “You don’t give a shit about my opinion on this girl, and I thought what I showed you at the house would make you see that I’ve been telling the truth about this whole Sanderson bullshit, but apparently, you don’t care about anything I say.” With a huff, Dani opened the door and slammed it, storming to the front porch where she stood helpless until Max trailed behind with the key to the house.

.

Max hated fighting with his sister, which sucked when they butted heads often. They were both on different levels, it seemed, and he wasn’t sure if that was just part of growing up, or if it truly was because of the missing memories and other things that came along with that. It was almost like the two were arguing with each other, but neither was fully listening to the other. He’d heard out Dani when they went to the Sanderson house with Allison, with some complaints along the way of course, and he was putting his feelings aside to try to get to the bottom of everything. What he couldn’t keep putting up with though, was Dani trying to push him back with his ex. He’d already been hurting about his ex long enough, he was tired of being the sad, heartbroken guy pouting in a corner. He wanted to live his damn life already.

“It’s not a mystery?” He said with almost a laugh. “Then why don’t we have our memories back? Why don’t you know how to fix this? None of us know how to fix it. Whether I believe you or not doesn’t matter, what matters is nothing’s changed. So if I wanna start seeing someone else, don’t try to hold me back. I don’t want to be stuck in the same cycle for the rest of my life,” he huffed. If he were honest, he didn’t not believe Dani. He saw the proof of being at that house before when the three of them went — but he didn’t think that particularly made a difference.

As soon as Dani got out and slammed the door, Max groaned, “Goddammit.” He had to keep himself from slamming his own car door, getting out of the car. “Could you not slam my door, please? I had to pay for this car, you know.” The keys jangled in his grasp, but he wasn’t letting Dani inside until they settled this. He walked up to the front door but stopped in front of Dani, crossing his arms over his chest. “Look, I don’t wanna fight with you. We’re both obviously getting worked up over all this bullshit. If you want me to see your side, I need you to see my side, too.”

[ 𝙳𝙰𝙽𝙸 ]

Dani knew from the moment Allison looked at her that she knew exactly what was going on. She wasn’t sure how to answer the question: was she supposed to just fess up to thinking that she was actually a witch, or would her friends think that she was crazy, dangerous, even? “Me? No. The lighting in here has to be faulty.” The way that the blonde pointed at her, then the lantern made her terrified to admit the truth, but it was clear that Allison saw right through her. There was no way Dani could lie her way out of this one and hope that she was dumb enough to buy it. “I mean–I didn’t mean to, okay? I don’t know, that … it happens sometimes,” she argued, folding her arms over her chest defensively. The only person who knew about this was Binx, and with the way that Allison and Max had been reluctant to believe anything she was saying, she was sure at least Max would blame it on the house, not her. 

“Well, I went to the new museum part a while ago, and Sarah was there. I don’t know if she knew who I was, but she didn’t seem like she did. I mean, she’s kinda dumb, anyway.” She could tell that something was clicking with Max now that he saw his own handwriting on the paper. “I told you. There are probably more papers in these books, too, with Allison Dennison doodles in there, too,” she added, mumbling the last part to herself as Dani turned back to the bookshelf. Maybe there would be some sort of proof that they did love each other in there, too. 

☾

This whole thing was over their heads but here they were. If they really had gone through it all before like Dani said then this should come back to them like riding a bike or so she hoped. Allison had been racking her brain trying to think of anything that could be beneficial as they figured this thing out, disappointed to come up with nothing again. If only this mind of hers could remember something. Sure she didn’t have all her memories from the aftermath of all Dani talked about but she knew enough lore to have picked up on the light. “Are we not going to talk about that?” She asked quickly throwing her hand out towards the light, looking at Max then back at Dani. “Of course, of course it all makes sense. This is why you remember everything, isn’t it?” Allison didn’t need much convincing but knew Max wouldn’t be as sure. “That is like, so cool,” she looked to the younger girl now with a smile so at least she knew one person was on her side.

Allison tried to not laugh but it couldn’t help but slip out. “She’s kind of like that and she’s been trying to like hang out with me all the sudden which is super weird.” Her voice trailed off as she thought about it to herself. Maybe more of the happenings around here made sense than she thought, pieces of this puzzle now starting to fall together. “I guess we better start looking,” she said while going to the self to grab her first book to flip through. 

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Perhaps Max would have picked up on the flickering light quicker, if Dani hadn’t handed him the paper that linked him to all of this. Instead, Allison had to be the one to practically spell it out for him, along with his sister suddenly acting sketchy. His eyebrows narrowed, gaze moving between the two girls as he tried to figure out what the fuck was going on. Max’s mouth dropped. Allison seemed thrilled to hear about this, but Max was far from that.

“Hold on, hold on —” Max stopped the girls’ conversation, piecing everything together. “So not only are we basically on a witch hunt right now but ... Dani’s also somehow connected to this? With magic? Dani, how long have you known?” He didn’t blame her for not going to him straight away, he wasn’t the easiest to convince, but how could he know if that was the only thing she was holding from him? There could have been all sorts of other things she was hiding, for all they knew. As Allison eagerly began looking through the books, all Max could do was huff a sigh. Even if they were getting closer to the truth, it felt like him and his sister were growing further apart. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really any way to get out of this; he’d been the one to drive them there, after all. He just didn’t expect things to take a turn this way. He grabbed a book and silently shuffled through it, ignoring his racing thoughts that were starting to give him a headache. @daniiidenniiison​

-

Sarah was oblivious to his turmoil. She often was when it came to others. She didn’t try to be so unobservant, she just had so many things on her mind that she couldn’t be bothered to making certain things aware to her. She also was too enthralled in the thrill of speaking to the forbidden. Max really was a little cutie pie. It was a shame he had almost destroyed her family. “Just a water? Silly. There are so many good things here! Do you want some recommendations?” His question was a little weird, but Sarah took the time to think out a good lie. If she messed this up, Winnie would surely have her head. “We are…childhood friends. Went to school together. Why are you so dreadfully curious about my relationships? I would rather focus on this one. A growing friendship is always a good thing to have, don’t you think?”

.

Max’s mouth felt dry, eyes glancing toward the exit as if desperate to find a way out. There was a part of him wanting to leave as soon as he could, but another part of him told him to stay. If this really was who Dani warned him about, should he take the chance to get some information out of her? He’d been butting heads with his sister so much lately, he didn’t know if staying with the blonde woman would make her appreciate his efforts or hate him more. “Uh — Sure, yeah, what do you recommend?” He was hardly paying attention, though. He’d been here before to know what they had. At least his attempt to come off causal was working, for now. He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t grow up around here, so it’s .. cool to hear about someone who did,” the lie slipped from his lips. Something about her was off-putting, but also strangely alluring, but he tried to stay focused, forcing another smile. “Alright, then tell me ... About you, instead. Can’t really be friends if I don’t know anything about you, right?”

⋆⋆⋆ ☾ ⋆⋆⋆

Aurora wanted to experience as much of life as she could now that she was able to. It turned out that music was actually something she was not only passionate about but she wasn’t half bad at. After meeting Max she ended up taking him up on that offer of helping her learn, excited to take up something she’d never have the opportunity to otherwise. He was really good, a natural, and she had a lot to learn from him. She listened and tried to be a good student but she knew there would be a learning curve she had to forgive herself for. Aurora was starting to pack up her bag after their lesson when she looked over her shoulder at him, tucking some hair behind her ear. “I thought about finishing this book I started yesterday at a coffee shop or something, nothing serious.” Having a new friend was nice, enjoying his company so far. “Only if I can pay, a thank you for listening to me mess up for the last hour,” she said with a soft laugh. “I owe you for helping me out and teaching me like this anyway.”

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For a beginner, Max didn’t think Aurora was as bad as he’d expected her to be. He’d heard her musical talent when they first met — she had some natural untapped talent within her, he could tell. Besides, it was actually really fun teaching someone else how to play. He’d spent all of his time in college learning about music, so now he could share his knowledge with someone else. He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “Alright, I guess I can’t say no to that,” he chuckled, “If that isn’t going to cut into your reading time, of course.” He was sure to add afterwards, “And don’t worry, you actually did alright. It’s to be expected with a beginner.” Even Max was still improving his skills, something he realized as he met another drummer recently. Dusk had made him realize he still had a lot to learn. “Have you been to The Black Cat?” He asked, grabbing his keys. The place sort of gave him the creeps because of the owner, but it probably wouldn’t be so bad with someone else there with him. “It’s just down the street, and the food isn’t terrible.”

☾

Maybe it was silly to be spending so much time around a life she didn’t have anymore but it had been nice. Her heart had missed spending time with Dani and Max. Even without her memories that part of her still knew how important they were to her life. She knew it was only a matter of time now before she had to watch as Max met someone new and Dani stopped going to her when an exciting clue came about. Allison was waiting for the ball to drop on the life she was just starting to get back but she’d be certain to enjoy the ride. She couldn’t lie that she’d been having more fun recently than she had in the last year. “Oh no, I’ve done it now,” she said with a soft laugh of her own. Allison had always been curious what made him have such a distaste for the holidays, that being her first real impression of him when they met. “You can’t blame it all on the day, it could’ve been any day, if anything it’s what brought us all together.” She shrugged her shoulders, it feeling so simple to her. Instead, she raised her glass to give him a cheers. “To new beginnings then, it’s no secret that we could use one.”

.

Even if Max and Dani were still butting heads when it came to the truth of his and Allison’s memories, there was something that Max had realized — now that Allison was less of a stranger again, it made the heartache of their missing memories hurt less. With her around, whether as a friend or more, it was easier to get by with what they were dealing with. Sure, forgetting what they had together wasn’t ideal, but maybe there was a reason for all of this. Something had to make sense about it. He smiled as he heard her laugh, a sound he surely could never forget. “What? You asked,” he laughed in return. “It’s all a money scheme, you know. I bet you after tonight, there’s already gonna be Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Day shit in stores. They don’t even give us a minute to breathe in between.” He wasn’t sure if he agreed with Allison on not blaming the day. Halloween had already been something he didn’t care for, but with their problems all circling around that day, it only made his distaste for it grow. “Yeah, I don’t know. From what Dani’s said, it seems like the day itself was pretty important.” Something about Halloween, full moons and candles, he recalled vaguely. He smiled, holding his glass up to clink it against hers, “Agreed. To new beginnings.”

It took a great deal of her not to roll her eyes at his smug little smile on his face. Dusk felt almost weak at the fact that she had taken his advice and walked over here, like she needed anything other than the mystery gang and her band. But, here she was - still feeling at least a little above him given she’d proven her worth on the drums. She had that going for her at least. Shaking her head softly she looked around. “We tend to have a strong fan base, for all I know you haven’t missed a show and have posters of us above your bed. So might have expected you a little.” Letting her laugh mix with his she nodded. “That you do , and you seem pretty determined to get me that drink. I’d simply be a fool to deny a free drink.”  

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Max couldn’t help but smirk. “You got me. My room is filled with all your posters,” he admitted teasingly with a small laugh. He motioned for her to follow so they could head to the bar for some drinks. “Your set really was great, though. I’ll definitely be checking out more of your shows. You still have to check out my drumming, though,” he pointed out as they reached the bar, ordering himself a beer before asking Dusk, “What’s your drink of choice?”

Max wasn’t as excited to see her as she’d hoped, but Daisy knew she could fix that. All it would take were a few more drinks and maybe a dance or two in his system. “Of course I was looking for you, silly, why wouldn’t I?” she asked, as though it were obvious. Truthfully, she would’ve much preferred to find Charlie around, but Max was the far easier target. Now, though, he seemed a bit more preoccupied than the last time she’d seen him, and he hadn’t even needed to confirm why.

Daisy already knew exactly who the blonde was, but it was different hearing it come from Max’s lips. He was hesitant, as though he was either embarrassed to be seen with his ex or still lingering on something, maybe the feelings he still had for her. “Yeah? Figuring out what?” Daisy questioned, pretending to sound more intrigued than she was. “Wanna tell me all about it over a drink?” With her best pleading grin, she tipped her head in the direction of the bar.

.

His smile remained, easily remembering what it was he liked about Daisy. She was breathtaking, her voice sweet like honey as she admitted looking for him. Suddenly, any thoughts of his ex or his sister were on the back of Max’s mind. 

He couldn’t exactly remember what he had and hadn’t told Daisy the night he got too drunk with her ( not that he was complaining ). He shrugged his shoulders, as if playing it nonchalant despite that he was eager to have a drink with her. “Alright, I can do that,” he smirked, sticking out his arm so she could link hers into his. “I’m gonna be honest, I don’t remember what exactly I told you last time we hung out,” he chuckled, “So try not to make fun of me if I start repeating myself.”

So he did know that he wasn’t over her. What was stopping him, then? Just because Allison didn’t remember anything, either, didn’t mean that they couldn’t try to start new together. It was frustrating to see her brother throw away the best thing that had happened to him just because of some stupid curse, whatever it was, that the Sandersons had caused. “Of course you’re not! No, I don’t want you to be miserable, but you guys were so happy before things went to shit! I don’t care if you don’t remember, because I do, and I have to fix this.” The anger was turning internally, Dani growing more annoyed with herself that there was nothing she could say or do to convince Max that what she was saying was the truth. “And if you don’t remember, then what? You’re just going to settle for some mediocre girl you found at a club because you can’t convince the one you’re supposed to be with that you’re in love with her?”

.

Max was frustrated, and clearly so was Dani. The curse really had torn the two apart, making them butt heads more than ever before. He almost wished he could just slap himself out of it — maybe a hard hit to the face would wake him up and he could remember everything again. That would surely get Dani to finally shut up. Instead, he was stuck with his sister’s constant bickering. He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he just wanted it to be dropped already; it was still a touchy subject for him. “If we were so happy Dani, why didn’t we stay together then?! It doesn’t matter if things out of our control went to shit. If it was meant to be, we wouldn’t fucking be here now.” He shot her a look to show that he was serious. He didn’t want her to keep bugging him about this anymore. “No. You’re not fixing anything. There’s nothing to be fixed, alright?” She wasn’t getting the hint though, continuing to push and push. His mouth dropped slightly. “First of all, you don’t know anything about my life. How do you know she’s mediocre? You haven’t met her. Second of all, you don’t get to decide who I do or don’t belong with.” His knuckles were turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, glad that they were finally about to pull up to the house. “I don’t care if you and Allison are all buddy-buddy again and want me to help solve some crazy ass mystery, but please for the love of God, stop trying to control my life.”

[ 𝙳𝙰𝙽𝙸 ]

While she looked toward her brother, who still seemed like he was struggling to wrap his head around all of it, Allison sounded more excited than ever about what she’d said. At least someone was open to listening to her theories. “Of course it is. All the stories are true. That’s what we were pretty much getting at before all your memories got wiped.” With a huff, she went toward the shelf of books, trying to remember which ones they had recorded things in before they stopped coming to the house. “No, it’s not just a political scheme, Max, I don’t know how many times I have to explain it!” she snapped, and out of the corner of her eye, Dani saw a light glow brighter than it was meant to as she grew more frustrated. 

In a panic, Dani pulled one of the books off the shelf, praying that there would be something in it to distract from what had just happened to the light. There was no doubt that she had caused it, but maybe Max would be too distracted to notice or bring it up again. “Here,” she said finally, pulling out a piece of paper with her own brother’s handwriting on it. “Is this enough proof for you? I think the Sandersons … well, Winnie, really, wanted to run for mayor but no one would elect a witch. No one can remember them from before–they just say they’re relatives of the original sisters now. We knew so much more, though, and that has to be why you can’t remember anything from here: you can’t remember anything about them.” @saltciircles​

☾

Allison knew this wasn’t anything that would interest Max but these had been stores she grew up hearing about. The Sanderson Sister’s were a legend around town and to hear confirmation from Dani that they’d been trying to uncover the truth behind it all made her feel warm. She was glad that even in the memories she no longer had that Allison never stopped believing. Max had been the skeptic, she was happy to confirm Dani wasn’t either. “Were we close? Do you think someone didn’t want us figuring something out we were getting close to?” Her tone picked up as she felt herself get excited at the knowledge she was gaining already. This was the break she’d been looking for and then it all halted. She saw it, only out of the corner of her eye and immediately she locked her gaze to Dani. Something strange as afoot. “What was that?” Allison listened to Dani as she continued to explain while stepping closer to the flame. “Did you do that?” She pointed before looking to her friend with a hint of curiosity and bewilderment in her eye. 

The note was what brought Allison back over to Dani’s side where she exchanged a quick glance with Max. That was his handwriting that was for sure, though she didn’t need much more convincing. “So what like they just appeared? No background information, nothing?” Maybe she could start digging around behind the scenes at work so long as she didn’t get caught. There had to be secrets there that could help them figure this out. “Even if we don’t have the memories we found the information once, guess we’ll need to again. There has to be something we left for ourselves here.” Allison was notorious for leaving herself breadcrumbs, maybe it was all the true crime she watched that influenced her own researching. 

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Max had a feeling that the more that Allison got involved in all of this, the more she and his sister would be on the same page and outnumber Max. Part of him almost missed the simpler times, where he didn’t have to worry about being the only one who thought all of this hocus pocus was nuts. However, he knew this was better than suffering with the memory loss. For once, it sort of felt like they were getting somewhere, even if he was still pretty lost.

Distracted by Dani huffing and puffing about explaining things over and over again, he didn’t notice the flickering light as she grew frustrated. It wasn’t until Allison made a comment that he looked around, trying to pinpoint what she was referring to. It felt like there was so much happening, and soon enough Dani was shoving a paper into Max’s hands that, sure enough, had his own handwriting on it. It felt completely foreign to him, the paper in his hands, and he stared at the familiar writing. He didn’t get it — even if he was looking at the paper, why wasn’t any of it clicking? He handed the paper to Allison to check out herself, shrugging his shoulders. “Even if we find what we were looking for again, what are we supposed to do with it?” He said, unable to believe that he was sort of buying into this now. Maybe he really had hit his head and lost his sanity along the way. It would at least explain the missing memories, too. “It’s not like any of us have magic like some witches.” @daniiidenniiison​