True cleared her throat, forcing her eyes up to Orion’s. With a shaking hand, she reached into one of the pockets of her dress and pulled out the love potion Onny had given her.Only drink it with the one you’re sure about,she’d said.
True held out the fragile glass bottle to Orion, the pink liquid sloshing softly inside. “This is a potion Onny gave me,” she said seriously. “I’m only supposed to drink it by midnight with someone I’m sure about. And if there’s one thing I’m sure about right now, it’s you.”
Orion was studying her cautiously, as if waiting for her to burst into laughter or yell “Psych!” When she didn’t, he stood up slowly, towering over her. “You’re serious?”
True nodded once and gulped. “As deadly serious as radiation, like my friend Marie Curie would say. But you should only drink it if you… if you’re sure about me, too. They say it’ll bind us together. And, you know, after the way I’ve acted tonight, going back and forth like a pendulum… I’d understand if you didn’t want to drink it with me.”
Orion came to stand in front of her, his neck bent so he could meet her eye. “True Tandon, I’d love to drink that potion with you.”
“Really?” she whispered, looking up at him.
He rubbed a thumb softly over her lower lip. “Really. I’m sure about you, too. It’s completely wild and downright ridiculous, but you had me the moment you told me you were Marie S-curie.”
“Maybe… maybe ‘wild and ridiculous’ aren’t such bad things in this instance.”
Her hands still trembling, True took out the silver stopper and put her lips to the bottle. She drank half of the slightly sweet liquid and then handed the rest to Orion. He didn’t hesitate: tipping his head back, he downed the potion in one quick swallow. Setting the bottle down on the sink, he turned to True, bringing one warm hand to her cheek. “What changed your mind? You said you weren’t meant for love.”
True leaned into his hand, her eyes closing briefly. “So many things happened tonight that I can’t explain. I kept bouncing from scientific rationale to scientific rationale. And I just realized… it doesn’t matter. I can come up with a million reasons to turn down love if I want to. But there are amillion and onereasons you’re right for me, Orion. I’d be a fool to overlook all of those.”
Smiling, Orion brought his mouth down to meet hers. “I’ve barely known you for an evening, and I’m a fool for you, True Tandon,” he whispered. “I can’t explain it and I don’t really want to. Is that all right?”
“It’s more than all right.” True laced her hands behind his neck and pulled him even closer. “It’s perfectly magical.”
As their lips finally met, the grandfather clock in the hallway began to strike. It was midnight. True love had arrived.
EPILOGUE
True hurried onto the balcony at ten past midnight, half worried Wicked Wynona’s ring would be gone. Once she and Orion had finished their, um, kissing session, she’d realized she’d been too worried about Orion to realize that Wicked Wynona’s ring had flown off her finger in the scuffle with Bradley and crew. And sheknewMr. Brightside would not be happy about his precious witch being divested of her accoutrements.
But her worry was for naught: True saw the ring on the balcony floor right away, glinting in a beam of silvered moonlight. She hurried forward to pick it up, not wanting to be away from Orion an instant longer than she had to be.
He was headed downstairs to say goodbye to his friends; he and True had decided to take a little romantic midnight drive around Moon Ridge to get to know each other better. She was going to show him the work she’d been doing on Hocus-Pocus. True smiled at the thought. She’d expected to end the night curled up in bed with some Netflix and buttered popcorn (with some Whoppers thrown in for good measure; like father, like daughter), but this was going to be so, so much better.
Bending down to get the ring, True noticed a piece of paper fluttering under it, as if the ring had been used as a paperweight. Frowning, True picked up both ring and paper, the latter of which turned out to be a note.
Three friends on this night
Have learned three lessons true:
1. Love does not bend to human will.
2. Love favors the brave.
3. The magic of love blooms in the air.
Now I return to the one who waits for me,
But remember dear friends, your lessons three.
~LOMR
“Truuuuuue!”
True turned to see Onny and Ash rushing onto the balcony. They’d both taken off their masks at some point, and their faces were glowing, their eyes feverish with bliss.
Onny cleared her throat and held up a solemn hand. “Announcement, and everyone brace thyself… but I think, no, I know, I don’t hate Byron Frost’s face. It might actually be on my list of favorite faces!”
“And Cassidy and I are together-together,” Ash said shyly. “She told Logan she can’t go to Sadie Hawkins with him, and then she asked me if we should make it official, since, you know, she and I are both already halves of the same painting.” He gestured at his costume and blushed (the boy had no shortage of blushes when Cassidy was the topic of conversation).
