Faith, trust, pixie dust

To Trevor: Um excuse you when’s the last time I gave you food poisoning? Exactly. Even the people on the food shows burn things! Fire happens, okay?

To Trevor: It’s not an immediate need, we can get buy for a little while without it. Gives me a bit of time to do some research instead of just buying one in a blind panic and ending up with a really shitty one.

To Trevor: That’s not to say that I’m saying that you would pick up a shitty pan.

To Mags: You should make “Fire happens, okay?” your tagline for everything.

“If I had to learn by trial and error than so do you. It’s like a rite of passage.” Maggie said, probably taking a bit more joy out of this than she should. But Maggie had made a lot of mistakes when she first started learning how to use makeup, and she still made them, if she was being honest although at this point she didn’t really care. Eventually though she took pity on Trevor. “Fine, fine. I’ll help you. But you’re going to owe me even more.” Maggie said, pushing off of her perch with a dramatic sigh. Stepping into Trevor’s space she put her hand on his chin, angling his head so she could get a better look at his neck. “You’ve really made a mess over here.” Maggie said, tsking as she got to work, using her fingers to try and smooth out the mess he’d made. She was quiet for a few moments as she worked, before finally stepping back, nodding to herself. “I think that’s about as good as it’s going to get.”

Trevor groaned in protest. “Hey you had to learn by trial and error because I didn’t know how to help you! When have I ever let you struggle with something I was able to help you on?” He looked at her big eyes, laying the guilt card on thick, and it eventually paid off as Maggie finally pushed off the door. He didn’t gloat though, and turned his head when nudged and didn’t say a word as she worked, wincing to himself at the pressure on the wound but keeping his mouth shut. When she finally stepped back, he turned immediately to face the mirror, craning his head one way and then another in the shitty lighting. “You’re a magician, Mags, that looks amazing!” Already the relief bloomed in his chest that he wouldn’t have to go to work completely exposed. “Thank you.”

Ronan: Lol I think you’ll be alright, you’re pretty enough to make it to the end of the movie

Ronan: Speaking of out this way, you’re overdue for a night off when are you coming over?

Trevor: Have you met me? I’m definitely the dumb blonde who dies first...

Ronan: Ur the best friend ever. And yea, nothin but trees and crabby old men for miles. Perfect setting for a horror movie haha

Ronan: Better go with the trusty 1234 pin just to be “safe”

To Ronan: I know, I know, you’re lucky to have me. 

To Ronan: Wow thats a glowing endorsement I will never be able to get out of my head next time I’m out that way.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” she said doubtfully. It would be awkward to carry out the armful of stuff, but she wasn’t gonna push him to waste a plastic bag.

“Me neither usually,” Heather felt the need to clarify, “but I’ve been coerced into a number of parties this year.” Well actually she had gone to Spencer’s party of her own free will, but she had a reputation to uphold, if only to herself. “You’re so lucky. Demetri was just annoying at Madison and Valerie’s party, but at the closed party he showed up and insulted us and just truly showed his whole ass.” Now she was getting a bit worked up thinking all about Demetri’s shit.

“Yeah no worries, I can juggle,” he joked, as he passed her his credit card to run. “Save the plastic.” 

“Reminds me of the reasons I don’t go to parties,” he returned, shaking his head. There were in fact, many reasons why he didn’t go to parties-- the first three being money for alcohol, years spent being the sole caregiver for his younger siblings, and the subsequent lack of a social circle that came from the first two-- but he didn’t really think it was the time or place to even start picking at that one. “There seems to always be one in every crowd like that. Glad you haven’t run into him any time since.” 

To Trevor: I mean, it’s like that John Mulaney bit. I also don’t want me to be doing it either, but here we are.

To Trevor: Probably the third, if we’re being honest. I was a bit of a disaster when I first started and we all know it.

To Trevor: I know. We all would have been more serious if it was more serious. At least it was the crappy pan and not the good one. It was getting to the end of it’s life anyhow.

To Trevor: But only if you’re sure. We can live without it for a little while, I know things are tighter around the holidays

To Mags: Haha fair enough.

To Mags: First started??? :P 

To Trevor: Are you saying you would have rather I just said I set the kitchen on fire with no context??

To Trevor: It was the filing. Cranberries on the stovetop. Like I said, I don’t really know what went wrong but we can assume it was the sugar

To Trevor: Well, yeah but I want to try it and it’s a Christmas recipe, so…

To Mags: I mean I’d rather you not have set the kitchen on fire in the first place if you’re asking me...

To Mags: Come to think of it, was this the second or third time? 

To Trevor: Well what would you have done if I said that I set the kitchen on fire but not to freak out??

To Trevor: I told you! Everything is fine!

To Trevor: We’re all fine, I opened all the windows and cleared us out, but there was no need to call the fire department! The only thing damaged is a pan and my pride

To Trevor: I don’t really know what happened but somehow the filing caught on fire.

To Mags: There was no situation where that information would not have caused me to freak out. 

To: Mags: Good I’m glad you guys are okay. What the hell were you making that could catch fire like that?

Bridgette groaned as the situation just seemed to keep getting worse and worse. She stepped back as Trevor began to gather all the cables attached to her car. Trevor was right. In a town like Edgewood, there wouldn’t be a 24 hour tow truck company and AAA would take way too long and she didn’t want to wait around for it. She glanced down at her watch, seeing how late it was. By the time she waited for AAA to come around and fix her car, it’d be way later than she wanted to be out since she had work the next day. 

As she tried to think over her options, Trevor motioned to her to follow him. “What?” She furrowed her eyebrows at him and tilted her head to the side, genuinely confused that he was offering to give her a ride home. It was one thing that he just tried to jump start her car, but it was another thing for him to offer her a ride home. A part of her didn’t want to say yes, given their history, but seeing as there were no other options… “Um, no. No. Don’t call anyone,” she said, grabbing her bag from her car. She locked the doors and then followed Trevor to his truck. She hopped into the passengers seat and put on her seatbelt. She pushed her hair behind her ear and waited for him to get in the truck.

This certainly wasn’t ideal, partially because it was mixing of business and personal that tried to shy away from in his less than legal line of work. The less he interacted with his customers the better, especially in case they ever got caught with anything, there would be less of a trail back to him. But it definitely wasn’t ideal considering who she was, how much he was pretty sure she hated him, and how much he held against her still. And yet. He leaned on his open door, waiting for her decision. He wasn’t sure if he’d been hoping she’d tell him to call Charlotte and then piss off. 

But after what felt like an hour, she turned and locked her own car, and crawled into the passenger’s seat of his sedan. So they were really doing this. He got into the drivers side as well and turned the key, starting up the car once again. “I’ll send one of the guys back here first thing tomorrow to pick up the car,” he promised, reassuring her both that her car would be taken care of and that she wouldn’t have to see more of him. “Where do you want me to take you?”

“It’s not the exact same shade. And look, I’m not the one who came up with the trend, but it doesn’t hurt to have it.” Honestly Maggie wasn’t really a fan of the nude lipstick look either. If you were going to go through the trouble of putting on makeup then it should be visible.  Maggie laughed as Trevor snatched the tube from her. “Oh, I have no doubts about that, I just wonder how it’s going to turn out.”

She frowned down at all the eyeliner pencils she’d piled onto the counter. How’d she end up with so many of them? They were all too worn down to justify saving ‘just in case’. She looked back up at Trevor. “Remember that less is more.” She said, inspecting his work. “Yes, you blend it in. You can use your finger or a Q tip.”

He let Maggie laugh at him, too grateful for her help to be upset at her mockery. Besides, he was more shook up about the mark and the missing time than he’d like to admit, so her teasing was a good distraction. “Now you tell me,” he sighed, looking at the glob he’d already heaped onto his neck. But what was done was done, and he went to work rubbing it in with the pad of his index finger as best he could. Even he could tell he had too much on, so he scooped the extra and wiped it on the back of his free hand, before returning to try and blend. But no matter how much he swiped at his neck, he just couldn’t seem to get it even. Finally he turned his head to glance at his sister. “I’m clearly floundering so any time you would like to jump in and take over...?”

          She eyed the man in front of her. Madi knew to be wary of strange people. She tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, but when it came to magical things she was far more cautious. Besides, not even her best friend knew about her magic, she didn’t want to tell a complete stranger. Didn’t matter who that person was, the warlock should have known better than to use her magic in public. “I thought so too or at least a place that wasn’t so… dark,” she replied with a shrug. Even if it was evident, she was keeping the lie up. 

          Madi looked down at the book. She should have cast it on her pen, but she’d gotten so distracted. What book had she even been looking at? Madi looked down at it, though couldn’t read the title. “I don’t know. I guess we can leave it. I assume it’ll… stop?” She always dispelled light after casting it. Though the spell did have a time limit, the warlock didn’t know it. “Who would we call? I don’t know that the librarians are equipped to handle a glowing book. Is there la person we call about strange stuff? Other than the police.” 

Trevor’s thoughts went briefly to Fernando, but he didn’t offer the name aloud. Somehow he didn’t think they’d appreciate being offered up into the middle of a Magical Incident. “Not that I know of, maybe a priest?” he quipped instead, before shaking his head. “You’re right, it will probably stop. Eventually.” Reaching out with one leg, he nudged the glowing book over to the side of the aisle with his foot, where it would be out of the way of anyone else wandering in this direction like a moth to a flame. “There. Fixed.” 

He started to back away from the aisle, keeping half an eye on whether she was going to follow or stay near the book. He was still pretty strongly sure it was her magic that had caused it in the first place. “Well the book I was looking for isn’t in this aisle either so, I’m gonna head back that way,” he offered in explanation, hooking one thumb over his shoulder. “Hope you have luck finding what you’re looking for, it’s at least much easier to see now,” he joked. 

Heather nodded as she took the card and pulled the Sudafed off of the shelf behind the counter. When she turned back around, he already had his driver’s license out, which she appreciated. Hm, Trevor Wells. He did look like a Trevor. She didn’t know any other Wells’s around town though. His identity and age confirmed, she handed him the medicine with a “Here you go.”

At his comment that sounded like he was maybe gonna hit on her–and he had been such a polite customer up until then–she almost groaned, but held back and only gave a small frown. At the mention of “that weird guy”, Heather’s professional attitude flew out the window. “Pfft, yeah, that asshole.” Thankfully she hadn’t seen Demetri in a couple months, and she hoped he had skipped town to leave her the fuck alone. Though that would be very inconvenient in continuing to investigate him as a potential suspect. “You haven’t seen him at any other parties, have you? He crashed another friend’s party a month or so later.”  

Trevor took his license back and slipped it back into his wallet, pulling out his credit card in anticipation of the next step “Oh, thanks.” He reached out and took the box, offering her a polite smile and nod as he did so, and added it to the rest of the pile of his purchases. “I don’t need a bag for any of this, by the way, I can just carry it.” 

For a moment when the woman frowned, Trevor thought he had gotten it wrong, but when she visibly relaxed into a more casual demeanor, he had to laugh. “Sounds like you were very familiar with him.” He hadn’t known anyone at that party, which wasn’t much of a surprise, but the pharmacist and the two guys nearest to him had seemed to know each other previously. Whether that was a good thing or bad thing he hadn’t known, though her reaction certainly spoke volumes. “No, honestly, I don’t get out to many parties,” he admitted. “That was the first and last time I’ve ever bumped into him. Sounds like a serial party crasher?”

Ronan: Plz do, now im curious 

Ronan: Folks aren’t exactly lining up out the door to work in a townie bar but hey if you find any one, send them my way.

Ronan: Hahaha intense is one way to put it. I dont think she did……. but im changing the passcode just in case

Trevor: Can honestly say I’ve never paid much attention to bathroom graffiti, but for you, man, anything.

Trevor: Oh yeah. Forgot you’re in the middle of nowhere...

“Well, if your luck continues you could do both things.” Spencer then held up his free hand, fingers crossed. “Let’s hope I didn’t jinx you,” he said with a smile. He shook his head before replying. “Don’t worry and I was glad to help, even if I’m sure you would have managed well without me. I should be going though, still got some stuff on my to-do list,” he grinned and took a step backwards. “Do let me know next time we meet what you decided to do with the TV,” Spencer said and said his goodbye before walking away.

“If I win one more TV I’m definitely selling it. Or opening a psychic shop. Or both.” He shook his head ruefully, before stepping back as Spencer did the same. “Yeah definitely, I will let you know when I figure it out! Good seeing you man, see you around.” Trevor lifted one hand in a wave, then turned back to the cart and set about returning it to the store.

          So it was probably a dumb idea to even use her powers in a public setting. That’s how people ended up seeing things they weren’t supposed to see. That was the kind of thing that her parents warned her against. But Madi wasn’t stupid. She knew how to not get caught doing something. And really what was the point of having powers if she never got to use them? She didn’t agree with her parents anyway and she was an adult. Except she sometimes made careless mistakes. It seemed that most people in Edgewood were used to strange things happening. The town was weird and had it’s quirks, but the residents seemed more into magic than she expected. Honestly, the warlock wanted to find more power and get on with life. She didn’t want to use it unless she needed to, but it was difficult finding the information that she wanted and she was growing frustrated.

          Obviously, she was lying. She wasn’t a great liar. This person was a stranger however. Even if Madi didn’t agree with her parents, strangers didn’t need to know about her magical powers. “Yeah, I was curious. So I investigated. You’d think they’d just fix the lights instead.” She laughed nervously, as if charming a book to light up when someone walked by was a normal thing. “It’s like the lights in the frozen food section at Target.” 

Trevor wasn’t exactly sure what type of magical being was in front of him right now but she didn’t appear to be vengeful or angry at being interrupted-- so that was a start. “Yeah the lights back here are pretty rough. I was about to call it quits and head home myself. I followed the light hoping it was a flashlight or something...” he shrugged, not needing to finish the statement of what he’d found instead.

He nodded along with the other woman as she parroted back his own story back at him, and snorted at her description of the book on the ground before them. “Yeah it’s pretty bright,” he agreed, as they both just stood there looking at it like it was the most normal thing in the world and not a glowing freaking book. Trevor mentally noted that she made no motion to pick it up again. Maybe she was waiting for him to leave. But he couldn’t exactly get out of there easily without tipping his hand that he suspected she had done it, and pissing off a magic user was not how he had planned to end is day. “So do we just... leave it there? Or should we call someone?”