The pink, sparkling tendrils of magic wrapped around my fingertips. There, it was comfortingly warm. I continued the spell, focusing hard, my eyes narrowed; letting the familiar, electric force flow through my fingertips, a buzz down my spine.

I was good at this. I was born for this. And this was the one thing that he wasn't going to take away from me.

I came from a long line of powerful witches, and I wasn't one to disappoint my parents. I studied hard, worked overtime, and made it to the top of my class in highschool; earning myself valedictorian and a spot at the most prestigious college in the country. I was on a sure track to become president of my father's company, just as he'd always wanted for me.

But then there was Jasen. A werewolf with too much brawn for brain, who'd only recently transferred to my university mid-semester. Although I was still top of my class in basic magic and conjuring, any competitions the campus held ended up with me and Jasen as final contestants; and every time, he gave me a smug grin and won effortlessly.

Just the other day, he'd done exactly that. Our classes had held a powers competition, in which each student would achieve a goal by using our ability. In each round, our goals would become more difficult, and by the final round, Jasen had climbed a tall tree as a wolf; and although I'd completed my goal of growing a tree from the ground with a spell, I'd completed it only a second too late.

Those competitions always ended like that. I'd succeed — but always a mere few seconds too late. Jasen was just too quick, even faster than the other werewolves. It hadn't even been a fair competition. Paws or no paws, climbing a tree would always be easier than growing one from scratch.

I still recalled the way he glanced over at me as his crowd of fans ran over to congratulate him. That same smug smile, wide on his pretty face.

The girls had fawned over him. Especially Layla. And it seemed that Jasen had set his sights on her; clearly not because he actually liked her, but solely to get under my skin and beat me one more time. As if he purposefully wanted to rub it in my face that he was better than me at everything he did.

Well, not this time. I'd liked Layla for years; and now, with the glittery, bright pink cloud at my fingertips, there'd be absolutely no way he could win her over. Finally, I'd come out on top. I'd have a beautiful girlfriend, and I'd get to see the look of disappointment on that cocky wolf's face for the first time.

I was getting excited just thinking about it.

It was a simple enough spell, although a forbidden one. The law was clear: no magic which could alter the mind, and that included love spells. But Layla would have fallen for me naturally if not for Jasen being in the way; certainly, that justified the spell in my mind.

If this was the only way to beat Jasen, then so be it. If I had the girl, then maybe he would lose the attitude just long enough to let me defeat him in our next competition.

And finally, at long last, my father wouldn't be disappointed after a match.

I'd asked her to meet me here, in the magic lab, in about 30 minutes. After I finished my spell, she'd walk into the room; and that was all that it took. She'd be mine.

Easy as cake.

I was just about done with the spell when I heard the door creak open. She was early.

I scrambled with the magic on the desk, glancing over to face her in the doorway, the light of the hall illuminating her outline.

Except it wasn't her at all. The outline was of a broad-shouldered, tall werewolf, and it was Jasen staring at me with his perfect face and perfect hair. That same smug look, as if he knew he'd just caught the star student doing something forbidden. His eyebrow raised, his lips peeled back in a devilish grin.

But I couldn't focus on what he knew. I had to focus on the spell, which was supposed to work the second the door was opened. I hadn't anticipated anyone else coming to this room after class; much less Jasen, who spent absolutely no time on extracurriculars, clubs, or tutoring like I did.

And although it wasn't quite complete, the spell was intact. Already, the glittery magic was floating through the air in his direction. Like a bullet, it flew out of my hands.

My stomach dropped. I had to stop the spell before it reached him, but there was no time to take back what I'd already casted. I'd have to somehow turn it into a different spell.

I let the power continue to flow through me, but this time, it was relentless in a fast-flowing panic. My eyes wide, my heart a quick drum in my chest. I tried to weaken the spell, tried to make it so insignificant it wouldn't affect Jasen at all; or better yet, I could turn the spell onto myself, and then reverse it later. I tried both simultaneously, and watched as the pink shifted to orange.

Orange wasn't right. It was wrong. Terribly wrong.

I watched in horror as the magic rammed through my own heart, coiling like a snake. It split down the middle in a Y shape, the other half colliding with Jasen's chest. And then, he was staring from the doorway with a confused, almost concerned expression.

The magic dissipated just as fast. Only a few seconds had passed, but everything had changed. I already felt it, tugging at my skin; the spell I had weakened, and also casted upon myself in my panic to change its direction.

"What was that?" He asked, quickly. His voice gruff; less amused than normal. "What did you just cast on me?"

I hesitated, standing up from the desk, "Nothing." But my hands trembled at my sides.

"It wasn't nothing." He scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "Was that a love spell? Who was it meant for?"

He was talking so loudly, and the door was still open to the hallway behind him. I quickly rushed across the room, pulling him into the lab and slamming the door shut behind him.

"Don't say it so loud," I hissed.

That casual look of his returned with a smirk and chuckle, "Practicing forbidden magic? I guess even Cade himself has some secrets."

I glanced away, "It wasn't meant for you. Obviously. It was meant for Layla. She was supposed to meet me here."

"Well, I'm not in love with you. So clearly, it failed."

"It didn't fail," I snapped. "I saw it was you, so I tried to weaken it. You don't... feel anything?"

He shrugged, "No, I don't."

I sighed with relief, letting the weight melt off of me. Maybe I had weakened the spell enough for it to wear off quickly; or to not work at all. Since it had turned orange, I had almost begun to think I had casted a proximity spell of some type — and that definitely wouldn't have been good. The magic should have been white, more like smoke. It clearly had done something; I felt the slight itch of my skin as if under a spell. But it would more than likely wear off in a minute or two.

"Thank God," I finally said.

"What? Couldn't stand the idea of being in love with me?"

"First of all," I scowled, "It would have made you fall in love with me, not the other way around. And second of all, absolutely not. I'd literally rather die."

Jasen let out a short, dry laugh, "Right. Well, I thought you'd cast the spell on yourself, too? It looked like it went to you."

"Just an attempt at making it weaker," I said bluntly. "I tried to cast it to myself instead of you. Then, I could have removed it later."

"Well," he said, "If it had worked on you, I'm not sure you'd have wanted to remove it later. Since, you know... you would have been in love with me." He leaned against the doorframe now, towering over me with that same grin. I wished I could punch it right off of his face. I could only glare up at him, feeling myself bristle.

"Whatever," I said, unable to keep the venom from my tone. "Just text me if anything weird pops up. You can leave now."

He raised his eyebrows, "Is that your clever way of asking for my number?"

"I take it back. Just get out of my face already. If anything weird happens because of the spell, you're on your own." To make my point clearer, I opened the door for him; he'd been leaning his shoulder against the frame, so he nearly toppled over when I did so. I had to hold back a laugh. That calm composure of his would break soon enough; I was determined to beat him in our next competition, and that would finally shut him up.

He walked out of the room, taking his sweet time to glance over his shoulder and give me an eyeful. I only rolled my eyes, slamming the door shut behind him. I was so sick of seeing his face. How he even managed to get into this college, I would never know.

I walked back over to the desk. Laid out was my spell book; although I didn't need it at all. I knew every spell by heart, and then some. I slowly closed the book with a dull thud, sliding it off of the wooden desktop and putting it into my bag. There was no time to try again with the love spell; and besides, it had probably been a bad idea, anyways. I could earn Layla's affection the natural way just as easily. That smug werewolf had nothing on this prestigious witch.

I dusted off my jeans and black tunic, taking a moment to fix my hair; I never worried too much about my appearance, but if I wanted to win Layla over, I'd might consider styling my hair a bit more. Jasen's hair was brown and shorter than mine; mine was thick black, small curls down past my shoulders. His was a well-kept ruffle on top of his head, buzzed down the sides. Was it the hair that made seemingly every woman look his way? Or the outfit — skinny jeans and a fitted T-Shirt, always showing off the well-defined muscles he kept beneath.

But I didn't have much time to think about my hair or clothes; the door swung open again. I almost groaned, thinking it was Jasen; but I turned and my eyes widened at Layla's form. She was heaving, eyes wide.

"Come quick!" She said.

I didn't have time to ask questions; I left my bag on the floor and raced to her. She led me down the hallway where a cluster of students had gathered around a body on the floor. To my shock, it was Jasen.

I felt the immediate panic creep in, a cold hand with claws digging into my chest. Had my spell caused this?

I pushed through the crowd, crouching on the floor beside him. He looked faint, but fine. His eyes flickered open, clearly groggy.

"Jasen," I said, a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently awake. "Jasen, are you okay?"

Slowly, his eyes widened, and he sat up.

"I'm fine," he said, shrugging me off. "I must have passed out or something."

"Passed out?" But already, I felt my blood run cold.

I stood up, facing the crowd, "Everyone, give him some space."

They hesitated, and then slowly backed away; most of them leaving to go about their business, but keeping an eye on Jasen. He was a fan-favourite here, so everyone would be worried.

Layla was at his side then — because of course she was.

"Let me take him to the nurse," she said.

"No," I said, though the word spilled out too quickly to go unnoticed. Jasen eyed me warily, and Layla flashed me a confused glance. "I mean," I tried to save myself, "Let me take him. I'll know what to do if he passes out again."

But that seemed to ease her worries, and she nodded, "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will," I said. I didn't have to help Jasen to his feet; he already seemed to be feeling better, which only confirmed my worries.

"I don't think I need to go to the nurse," he said. "I just must have locked my legs or something."

"Let's take you in, just to be safe," I said. I could see the question flicker behind his eyes, silently asking me if I had anything to do with this. Still, he didn't protest as I walked with him down the hall. I could still feel Layla's eyes on us from behind, but seeing Jasen walking as normal must have eased everyone's worries, and the crowd had completely dispersed to go about their business.

"Is this from the spell?" He questioned me, his voice low.

I nodded, pursing my lips, "I... think I may have weakened the love spell into a proximity spell."

"A proximity spell? What is that?"

We continued to walk, my shoes making small clicks against the tile floor.

I hesitated, "...Basically, we can't get too far away from each other..."

"Or else what? I pass out?"

"...Something like that."

His eyes darted around us; a few students still walked the halls, packing bags from lockers or heading to their classrooms or dorms. We turned the corner, and this hallway was empty.

In a flash, he shoved me by my shoulders, pinning my body to the wall. My eyes widened as I stared up at him, and he wore an expression I'd never seen before; one of pure intensity — almost rage. I felt the fear tremble up my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

"Something like that?!" Although his voice was still lowered, I could sense the strong anger behind it. The way his nails bit into the skin beneath my sleeves. "What exactly did you cast on me, Cade?"

I couldn't look at him. Instead, I glanced to the left. "...Well, in a proximity spell, there are stages. If you get too far away, you get sick — faint, like you did. But if you get really far away..." my throat was thick. I couldn't get the words out. I couldn't believe this was even happening at all; this was ten times worse than a love spell.

"Then what, Witch?"

"Then we could die."

He faltered. I felt it through his hands at my shoulders, his grip so tight the knuckles were white. His entire body slumped back slightly, and he hung his head between his shoulders.

Almost defeated, he asked, "How do we break the spell?"

And this part was even worse than the last. I swallowed hard, preparing for whatever came next, for whatever his reaction might be.

Tentatively, I answered his question, "Um... true love's kiss?"

His eyes widened, and almost immediately, he pulled away from me. My body felt numb, and I almost fell to the floor without him holding me up.

"What?!" And he didn't bother to keep his voice low. It came as a shrill, surprised shout. "What do you mean true love's kiss?!" He almost laughed at how ridiculous it certainly sounded. But magic was like that — always with fairy-tale style rules that made it a pain for anyone to master. It was one, small way that magic could remain disobedient; almost mischievous, as if it had a mind of its own. And sometimes, I believed that it did.

I tried to shush him, "It's fine! It's fine. I'll figure out a way to reverse the spell."

"We should just ask one of the higher-ups to do it for us."

"Are you crazy?!" I hissed. "If we do that, then they'll know I was making a love spell. I could be expelled!"

"So what? I'm sure any other college would be happy to take you."

"You don't understand," and I felt the familiarity of the tremble in my voice. "I can't go to another college. It has to be this one. My dad..." I couldn't even think of my dad. I already knew what he'd say; what he'd do. His disappointment, and his anger. Both I was already familiar with — and equally afraid of.

But with a bit of surprise, Jasen's expression softened.

"Do you think you can reverse the spell?" He asked.

I hesitated, "It will take some time, but I know I can do it. We'd just have to... be together for a short while." I was desperate; I couldn't let any of the higher-ups know about this spell. I wasn't sure how to reverse a proximity spell, but I knew that it could be done. I just had to study it and figure out how.

He sighed, pinching his brows between his fingers, "Okay, fine. I'll try it. But you better be right about this, Cade. If you figure out that you can't reverse it, then we have to let one of the higher-ups help us."

"I can do it," I said, although at that point, I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince Jasen, or myself.