It was stupid mostly because it sounded strangely velvety, and even surrounded by socks and the smell of detergent, she noticed it.
“No,” said Onny. “This is the part where you make amends after drinkingmylove potion.”
Byron frowned.
“Love potion?” he said. Understanding flickered in his eyes. There wasn’t a ton of room in the laundry nook, but Byron managed to give off the sense that he’d shoved an entire country’s distance between them. “You made alove potionfor Alexander?”
Why did he sound mad?
“Yes,” she said, crossing her arms. “Someof us are willing to open our hearts to the universe, but that’s not the point. The point is that you drank it and it was for him. Not you.”
Byron looked as if he were holding himself very still. “And?”
“And?” repeated Onny, shocked. “And now I’ve only got until midnight to make a new batch and give it to him,andI don’t know where my best friends are,andsince you’re the one who took my potion, it’s only cosmically right thatyou’rethe one who will help me remake it.”
Onny watched the minute changes taking place on Byron’s face. Expressions she couldn’t read flickered across his features. His jaw clenched, eyes narrowed. She could almost hear the mockery seething through him, and an answering panic rose inside her.
She’d been working toward this moment forweeks.
It was her grandmother’s last gift to her.
She wasn’t going to let some pessimist with a mechanical-pencil soul steal this from her.
“What will it take to make you help me?” she asked, grabbing the front of his apron. “Seriously, Byron, I’ll do anything. Well, almost anything. I draw the line at wearing a T-shirt with your name on it, but I’ll agree with your annoying points in class for a full week. Or, I could refuse extra-credit assignments because, let’s face it, I don’tneedthe extra points on my GPA.”
“I’ll help you,” said Byron.
The words came out so easily, Onny nearly lost her balance.
“I do want something, though,” he said.
Onny paused at the way he said it. Soft and thoughtful, not at all like how they normally spoke to each other.
“What?”
Byron watched her. Something else crept into his gaze. Wariness? Amusement? She couldn’t tell.
“I’ll tell you at the end,” he said simply.
“Fine,” said Onny. She stuck out her hand. “You’re going to help me remake this potion, and I will not be taking questions about the scientific method of how it all works at this time. Deal?”
Byron’s mouth twitched. Was that another attempt at a smile?
“Deal.”
They shook hands.
Above her head, the dimness of the light bulb flickered brilliantly to life, suffusing the nook in a warm, golden glow. Something deep inside Onny’s chest stirred and lifted.
It felt like an omen.
The moment Byron had agreed to help, the plan was simple. All they had to do was gather the three ingredients, put them together, and voilà. Day saved, faith restored, and true love initiated. For some deeply suspicious reason, Byron actually seemed upbeat for once. He didn’t bat an eye when Onny met him downstairs with a picture of herlola’s love potion on her phone. In fact, he seemed to be taking all of it remarkably in stride, which only made whatever he wanted at the end of this all the more suspect.
Onny stole a glance at him as he followed her through the garden. He hadn’t questioned where she was taking him as she led him through the back of the house, past the partygoers, and into the backyard paths that led to the family greenhouse. Torches blazed brightly, and even though there was no one here, Corazon had left out a small banquet table where miniature desserts and quiches and bottles of sparkling water lay beneath lit-up glass terrariums. Byron looked around, a touch of awe on his face. It made him look younger… a little more innocent somehow, and Onny turned sharply, feeling as though she’d intruded on something private.
She knew that Byron and his mom didn’t come from the same background as she did, and sometimes she felt awkward about how wealthy her parents were… like she had to explain that she could take zero credit for it or prove that she’d tried her best to be deserving of the things she’d been given in life. But there was no judgment on Byron’s face, and it calmed her. He might think she was utterly ridiculous, but he wasn’t going to hold everything against her. It was almost… nice?
“I know I agreed not to comment on the scientific method of this, considering that thereisno science, and I know better than to assume you know what logical rationale is,” said Byron.
