"I need your help."

Isaac couldn't believe the words that left his mouth. A week ago, if someone were to tell him he would be asking Alice for help, he would have laughed. In which situation would he need a witch's help? None. His life was perfectly fine without any magic, and he didn't want anything to do with it. He was popular, part of the swimming team, and he was sure he would go to a prestigious university by the end of the school year. At least, that was him a week ago.

Today, he wasn't so sure.

"Let me guess," she closed her locker and turned to face him with an amused smile, "you need my help to improve your grades. What subjects?"

He laughed. Yes, he sucked at most subjects, but he would never study more than necessary. He didn't need to improve his grades; he just had to be sure he wouldn't fail any class. That, and his outstanding performance in the swimming team would get him far.

"That's not the case." He cleared his throat and glanced around the corridor, moving closer to her. Suddenly, he didn't know how to bring it up. "I need your help with other things."

"Such as...?"

"Such as... magical things."

Alice rolled her eyes, annoyed. "I don't sell drugs. If you want that, find someone who's always high. Not me."

She fixed the strap over her shoulder and turned around, leaving Isaac behind. He blinked slowly, trying to understand what had just happened. Yes, he expected Alice to reject his offer at first, but after mentioning magic, he at least expected her eyes to shine. Instead, he got the cold shoulder, and now she thought he was into drugs.

Great, he thought. What now?

He pondered for a while, glancing between both ends of the corridor, wondering if he should go to his car or after her. His urgency to solve this matter spoke louder. Isaac sighed and went after Alice, half-walking, half-running until he caught up to her.

"What do you know about merfolk?"

She glanced at him sideways for a while and shrugged. "The same as everyone else. They have a fishtail instead of legs and like to swim. They probably live in the ocean, I don't know. Merfolk are not of my interest."

"Why not?"

"Why do you care, Isaac? Did you bet with someone that you could annoy me for a certain amount of time before I lost my patience?"

He knew she was deflecting answering his question, probably to keep her identity hidden. Isaac knew Alice was a witch. Everyone knew. Even if she didn't walk around showcasing her abilities and doing magic tricks for everyone to see, she had done it in the past. That's what he heard, at least.

When it came to Alice, people liked to spread rumours, and her being a witch was one of them. How people came to that knowledge, he didn't know, but right now, Isaac wanted desperately to believe that one was true. He was betting his life on it.

He gulped and glanced at the corridor again. If he got caught speaking with her, he could kiss his hard-earned reputation goodbye. No one spoke with Alice. No one. He was starting to understand why. The rumours didn't help, but her personality was bad too.

Isaac took a few quick steps forward and stopped in front of her, causing her to almost trip on him. He caught the brief surprise in Alice's dark eyes and held her gaze for as long as possible. It could help assert his dominance over the situation if he wasn't so focused on how dark her eyes were. He couldn't distinguish where her irises started and her pupils ended. He was looking at a pool of darkness, disrupted by the occasional reflection of the fluorescent lights that reminded him of stars. He had never noticed she had such pretty eyes.

Truth be told, Isaac never lost much time staring at Alice. She moved like a shadow, and he rarely noticed her. Until recently, that was.

"Now we're doing a staring contest?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I have somewhere to be. Don't make me waste my time, please."

"I know you're a witch, and in this case, you're the only person who can help me," he whispered, hoping his voice carried all the urgency he was feeling. "I need your help to deal with... a situation."

Alice's expression grew sombre. Whether she was upset, disappointed, surprised, or all of the above, Isaac didn't know. However, he wanted to hide. Perhaps asking for her help while exposing her origin had been a bad idea.

Her eyes traced the space around his figure as if she was outlining him. Isaac gulped and fixed his posture, puffing out his chest to appear taller than he was. He wasn't short by any means, but the way Alice studied him was excruciating and it made him feel small.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she stared straight at him.

"You're a merfolk. How fun." It didn't sound fun coming from her, though.

His eyes widened and he took a step back, shocked. "How do you know?"

"I just do." She shrugged. "Besides, you asked for my help and mentioned merfolk. It could be a coincidence, but we both know you'd never ask me for help unless you didn't have any other option."

"Do witches read minds?"

"Are merfolk always annoying?"

"I don't know." Isaac rubbed the back of his neck in frustration and paced around. How had she been able to read him so quickly? Was that some sort of spell? How powerful was she? "Are you inside my mind right now?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I don't read minds. Witches can't read minds." She cleared her throat and fixed her posture. "What do you need my help with anyway?"

"I need you to help me not turn into a merfolk every time I come in contact with water." When she raised an eyebrow, he shook his head, ready to reassure her. "I can pay you. I can do what you want. I can make you popular, introduce you to Liam, pay you with money, anything. Just please, help me."

In all his playthroughs of how this conversation would go, in none of them did Isaac expect to sound this desperate. He expected to be calm and collected, make a joke to get her to smile or gain her trust. None of that was happening. Alice had him in the palm of her hand, and Isaac hated it.

"No." Her answer was so blunt that Isaac took a bit to process it. "Don't you ever attempt to ask me for such a thing ever again."

"But... but you can help me."

"I can't."

"You're a witch!"

"And you're refusing to accept your true origins."

"It could ruin my life!" he said, trying his best to keep his voice down. "Look, I'm part of the swimming team, and I haven't shown up for practice in a week. If I skip two more weeks, I'm out. I can't afford that. I have worked too hard for this, and I'm not willing to give up now."

"Were you expecting me to feel sorry for you?" She muttered something under her breath as she walked closer to him. "You're not asking me to help you. What you are asking me to do is to betray my values for you, which is something I won't do. I barely know you."

"Everyone knows me," he said, slightly offended. Then, he thought better of it and added, putting on his best charming smile, "As I said, I am willing to compromise."

She shook her head and moved past him. "I'm not interested!" she yelled, picking up her pace.

Isaac went after her. "Just help me out. Please."

"No."

This was why she didn't have any friends. She was too demanding and lacked basic understanding and compassion for other people. Alice might have pretty eyes, but her personality was the worst.

He reached for her hand, attempting to stop her. If she could hear him out and understand his situation, then he would probably convince her to help him. He had to try again. Just one more time. He could afford to beg for her help once more before his self-preservation senses kicked in.

As soon as his hand touched hers, Isaac was taken aback by how warm it was. When he blinked, he was in a room surrounded by shelves with books, strange vials and containers. The low light burning from the candles made it hard for him to make out more shapes but he spotted a large table at the centre and some flickering lights floating here and there. The scent of fresh flowers overwhelmed him, and he couldn't think properly.

Someone wrapped an arm around Isaac's neck and he blinked again, finding his blue sneakers against the school's grey flooring as Liam laughed.

"Thinking of skipping practice again?" his friend said.

Around them, more people chuckled and laughed. Isaac battled his friend for a while until Liam loosened his grip around Isaac's neck and let go of him. He fixed his clothes, his eyes darting everywhere looking for Alice's figure.

"Who are you looking for?" Liam asked, following Isaac's eyes. "Do I know them?"

"You don't," Isaac lied, but he wouldn't be caught explaining what had happened.

He ran a hand over his face, trying his best to register what had happened. One minute he was here, the next he was somewhere else, but when he returned, she was nowhere to be found. Had Liam seen him with Alice? If he had, he would have commented by now. That offered Isaac some peace of mind.

For a while, at least.

"You got stood up?" another one of his swimming team colleagues asked, smirking. "You should have seen your face, dude."

Everyone laughed, giving Isaac blank stares, trying to emulate his expression from earlier. He laughed it off, trying to seem relaxed amongst his friends, but he was still freaked out. The worst part was that he couldn't tell them about this.

He couldn't tell anyone. If he did, his life as he knew it would be over.

"Let's get to practice," Isaac said and fixed the sports bag hanging from his shoulder. "I'm still sick, but I can watch. Does anyone need a ride?"

"Still sick?" Liam asked as his blue eyes scanned his features. "You look fine to me."

"Maybe he's lovesick." More laughter. More awkward smiles from Isaac.

He rolled his eyes and kept walking, followed by his friends as they made him the victim of their jokes. He could deal with that. Soon enough, they would forget all about it.

Isaac, however, would not.

"Are you coming to my party this Friday?" Liam wrapped an arm around Isaac's shoulders. "Maybe you could invite this mysterious girl that has you like this."

"There is no girl," Isaac said. "There is no one."

He dared to glance over his shoulder to where he last had spotted Alice. If she was there, would he leave his friend group to try and ask her again? Isaac simply couldn't stop trying. He needed her help.

Isaac didn't find Alice at the end of the corridor. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Some other time, then. He bumped his shoulder against Liam's, trying to focus on something that didn't turn his stomach upside down with desperation.

"You can count on me at the party," Isaac said, earning a huge grin from his best friend. "You know I never skip them."

"And that is the only way to properly live, my friend!" Liam laughed and everyone else agreed. "I have so many plans for it this time around. You're not going to be disappointed, I can assure you!"

They left the school building and walked to the parking lot. Isaac laughed at his friend's stupid jokes about the upcoming party, slowly returning to his usual self.

In the commotion of their excitement, Isaac didn't notice the shadow that followed him from a distance.

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