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'Magic separates us from the world; let nothing separate us from each other.'
Matteusz always looked forward to coming back to Watford. It wasn't the magic that he missed (it was impossible to miss the magic when he carried it with him constantly). But his parents were strict and he had somehow gone the whole summer without talking to his friends. He even found himself missing Ram, even if his roommate was a slob.
But six weeks with no Ram or April or Tanya was unbearable.
It was Charlie he missed the most, who was his own category. Matteusz couldn't tell exactly what Charlie was. He wasn't just a friend (Charlie wasn't just anything). But he wasn't his boyfriend either.
"You do not have to wait for me."
"I don't mind Matti. Besides I won't see you in the summer. That's a whole forty-five days without my favourite person."
"I am your favourite person?"
The same gates he stood outside of now was when he last saw Charlie. They had been leaning against the gate (they probably weren't supposed to be doing it, it was a magickal artefact) waiting for his parents to pick him up. (Charlie didn't have anywhere to go. He stayed at Watford over the summer because his parents were part of the Coven and too busy to be parents.) Charlie had been saying something clueless, as usual, and then Matteusz had leaned over and kissed him.
"Promise you will read Narnia over the summer? I think you will like Susan."
"Is that in Canada?"
It was probably a stupid thing to do. But he'd spend the whole year pining after Charlie. A whole year hoping that Charlie would notice how good he'd gotten at love spells and figure it out.
"You are a dork."
"You make it sound like a good thing."
He'd looked at Charlie then, as the sun shone on his hair. And then he rested a hand on his cheek and leant in.
Matteusz had a hundred excuses ready for when Charlie pulled away.
Except Charlie hadn't. He'd stayed in place, letting Matteusz kiss him and reaching out to touch his face, to keep him there.
"Matti?"
"Yes?"
"Look at me."
It would have been the perfect moment if his parents hadn't shown up then. They had dragged him away and cut off all communication with anyone. They probably would have locked him in a tower if they had access to one.
Matteusz had spent his summer hoping Charlie wouldn't pretend to forget about their kiss. It would break his heart.
He'd stared off into the space where they'd sat for too long. Matteusz picked up his bag and walked into Watford.
"You're okay!" April almost launched herself onto him. She was the shortest person in their group but she still managed to be intimidating, even with hugs. Her chinky rose-shaped ring dug into his back. "Matteusz we hadn't heard from you all summer. Charlie's been so worried! You're all he's been talking about!"
"Charlie?" He felt himself start to smile.
"You seem surprised. He's your best friend."
Friend. The word stung. It meant Charlie hadn't told them. He made himself smile again but it didn't feel right anymore. "Yeah."
"Come on," April said, almost dragging him to their table. She was a force of nature at times. The silver flower on her finger glinted. It was her vessel of magic and despite it looking simple, April was powerful. They all had vessels to cast spells and control the magic inside them. It was the only requirement to get into Watford: magic and a way to control it.
Matteusz used a woven leather bracelet to cast his own spells. It was old and passed down though his family for generations. His grandmother had given it to him before he had even started school. (In Poland he'd gone to a Normal school, which made Watford seem even more magical.)
"What happened to you?" Tanya demanded. For an outsider, the youngest of the group taking charge like that would be surprising. But Matteusz had two years of Tanya experience already. She and April were both forces to be reckoned with, some of the most powerful mages of their class. The most powerful in their group too.
The most powerful Mage of the century used to be Simon Snow - the Chosen One (even Matteusz had heard of him from a different country) - before he lost his power completely. It was the worst thing that could happen to a Mage and the Chapel was still off-limits. Rumours that some kind of dark magic had gone down and now it was cursed. Matteusz wasn't sure if that part was true but it certainly seemed like something evil had happened. The results of that December night had changed the magickal community forever. It had been nearly impossible to convince his parents to even let him into Watford at all.
“I spent the whole summer with my parents telling me I was their greatest disappointment.” Matteusz winced at his words.
"You're not a disappointment. Not to me," Charlie said quietly. It had been their first communication since the Kiss; Matteusz had missed his voice. He had sat in silence, which wasn't unusual. Charlie was shy most of the time, it was why his spell casting wasn't so great. They had ended up sitting next to each other but Matteusz didn’t have the courage to look directly at him until now.
Charlie was the same as usual, same bright eyes, nervous grin, although his hair was a little overgrown and messy. He resisted the urge to fix it for him.
"Thank you."
"Yo girl, keep it together," Tanya cast, using her ornate staff, fixing a tea stain on her shirt no one else had noticed. It was a waste of magick but she was powerful enough to use her magick on little things.
"Too good for Shakespeare now?" Matteusz asked. 'Out, out damn spot' was the most commonly used cleaning spell. Tanya mostly cast it on Ram, who always ended up covered in mud (football) or blood (he liked the Wavering Woods).
"Just trying new things," Tanya answered. "And Matteusz? I agree with Charlie. Completely. Next Summer you can stay with us. I mean not me, you know what my mum is like. But we’d be happy to help out somehow.”
"Me too," April seconded. She wore the anxious friend smile. (She had the perfect face for it; big, blue eyes that were always full of worry.)
"Do you-" Tanya started.
Matteusz shook his head. "I'd rather not."
"Got it." Tanya changed the topic. That was something he couldn't help liking about Tanya. She may be blunt and witty but she knew when to change the atmosphere. "Any ideas for seventh year spells?"
He'd forgotten about that. For their last year projects they were supposed to invent their own spell. Matteusz wasn't looking forward to it. His English meant his magic wasn't easy. He could invent a spell that worked in Polish perhaps but nothing jumped out to him as a good starting point.
"I was thinking about something related to music. I listened to a great folk song last week. It goes like-" April started singin g "-'Cos I'm here and I'm outside your window, rain is soaking to the skin-"
April was more than just a fantastic Mage, she was also a great musician. (She played five instruments varying from the cello to the ukulele. Ram swore she could cast spells with her violin bow but they weren't sure if it was actually true. Ram could get a little over enthusiastic when discussing his girlfriend.)
Matteusz caught Charlie's eye. The song reminded him too much of the painful months of summer where he was torn about thinking about Charlie and trying to convince himself to not think about Charlie. He couldn't decide which part had been worst.
"Hey," Charlie whispered. Just one word. It was more than enough. He shuffled closer to Matteusz and took his hand under the table. It felt a little strange at first, for a second, until it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Charlie had held Matteusz' hand throughout lunch. April and Tanya had been too distracted by Ram's arrival to notice (he was a force of chaos). Or maybe they had noticed and Matteusz had been the distracted one; Charlie had been tracing patterns on the back of his hand and it was putting him into some kind of bliss related trance.
They were due a big talk (and more kissing if that talk went well). It was almost ironic how Matteusz could cast spells in two languages but struggled to know where to start. ('I love you' was too big and they'd already used up their 'heys'.)
"I should unpack," Tanya said. "Clove isn't here yet so we won't fight over bookshelf space."
"Nerds," Ram said, although fondly. He said it so much, it was surprising that it wasn't a spell already. That's how phrases became spells, with the right emphasise and continued usage. (It was hard to pick up if you didn’t get the language or culture of a place; Matteusz had started off at a disadvantage.)
"You should unpack too April," Tanya suggested. There was a glint in her eye that gave her intent away. "Ram, you can help me carry my stuff."
"How much stuff do you have?"
"You'll see." Tanya winked at him, which was mostly awkward. "We'll regroup later." She spoke like they were still at war (they weren't but they had all grown up with the Humdrum sucking up magic from the atmosphere, they had grown being ready to protect each other because the Chosen One wasn’t always reliable).
"Sure," Matteusz replied. They waited for their friends to leave in silence.
"They're rooting for us," Charlie said, breaking the silence. The dining hall was mostly empty; the term didn't start for another week.
"What about you?"
"I've always been rooting for us." Charlie smiled like it was painful. "Your parents - that was my fault."
"No. That was their fault. Their prejudice is their problem. And they won't scare me off."
"Nothing could scare me off now," Charlie said softly. "Do you want to walk outside? The flowers are starting to bloom."
"Lead the way." Charlie held out a hand. Matteusz took it gladly and held on tightly. He wasn't lying that no one could scare him off from Charlie. That was something he didn't need any magick for. (But if there was a spell to tie their hearts together, he’d use it.)
The welcome-back picnic was Matteusz' favourite Watford tradition. He liked the fireworks although they weren't till the end of the night, when it got dark.
Tanya dragged her roommate over, despite her protesting. Clove was shy and carrying a book bigger than her head. She used a lilac wand, although Matteusz had never seen her use it, which was tucked into her vibrant red bun. Clove only sat with them when Tanya dragged her over and usually spent most of the time blushing. She had a crush on Ram last year but now Tanya seemed to be the source of her flustered cheeks. It seemed mutual; Tanya kept looking over at her and smiling giddily.
"They grow up so fast," Ram muttered to them, as the girls slipped away in search of a picnic blanket.
"And they were roommates," April added, laughing. She had a flower tucked behind her hair, as part of her own tradition. She had picked it on her first day and kept it fresh using 'April showers' since. Ram kept retucking and kissing her. April swatted him away but she had a traitorous smile.
All his friends were loved up already. And with the Humdrum gone now (but how?) they actually seemed to be able to enjoy their relationships. Matteusz glanced over to Charlie out of habit, who was satisfying his sweet tooth by skipping sandwiches and going straight for the cakes. (April sometimes cast a 'sweet enough' on him so there would be enough sugar left for the rest of them.) April and Ram weren't the only ones who were loved up. (They’d be a disgustingly cute couple, he had decided, they deserved to be.)
"I hope there's a spell for tooth decay."
Charlie smiled, wiping a smudge of chocolate from his mouth. "I'll think of one. Maybe I'll ask my parents to put it to the Coven. They're always complaining that the meetings are too boring now all the wars are over."
"I think they're the only ones."
Charlie was still smiling which was a good sign; usually just mentioning his parents ruined his mood. "I'm just happy to be here. War’s over, the Humdrum is gone and picnics."
"Are you drunk?" April asked. Matteusz had forgotten she was there; it happened sometimes when he got too wrapped up with Charlie.
"That was only one time. And I haven’t touched any magickal liquor since. I’m just glad to be here after such a long summer."
"Me too," Matteusz agreed.
Charlie reached for his hand, which he had been doing a lot. Because they could now. "We're together now." There was something about the way he said it that made Matteusz feel soft on the inside.
April and Ram were probably looking at them suspiciously but he didn't care.
"Are you though?" Ram asked. "Together?"
"Subtle Ram." April rolled her eyes. "It's their business."
"Whatever."
Charlie was blushing. "Give us time." (Matteusz would stop time if that would take.)
"Meaning?"
"Ram." April elbowed him and laughed. "Ignore him guys. Take your time."
"Yeah. Take you time," Ram repeated. “But not like too much time because Tan and I-“
"Shut up."
"Sure sweetie."
April turned an interesting shade of pink and went back to her tea. "Idiot."
Charlie laughed and leant into Matteusz. "I feel really happy."
Matteusz squeezes his hand in the dark. "Me too."