Lucien wanted to wallow in his misery alone, but he secretly appreciated Sebastian for chasing him down to make sure he was okay. It had been a very long time since he'd lost control of his magic like that. He'd spent many years perfecting his craft to prevent such incidents from happening, as nothing less was expected from the Cromwell children.

"I'll have to pay to replace all those potion bottles I busted." Lucien sniffled, and he hurried to wipe his nose on the back of his sleeve. "I didn't mean to do it. I just got so angry and upset with him. Orick has no clue what kind of hell we endured to be good enough for our folks, and then he says all that crap about Charlotte..."

"Orick's full of horse shit. You know that, right?" Sebastian asked. "Come here. Dry those pretty eyes. That wretched man doesn't deserve your tears." His icy fingers tenderly wiped Lucien's rosy cheeks, cool healing magic seeping through his face to help ease the aches.

It was a stark contrast to the warm flow of magic that Castor normally used, and Lucien realized he had grown far too fond of it. He wished Castor had followed him too. Maybe that was selfish of him because he knew his friend couldn't just abandon his family's shop after he left it in such a wreck. Certain potions weren't meant to mix, and if left spilled like that, there was no telling what kind of horrible reactions would result from it.

"I disappoint everyone." Lucien trembled like a leaf in the wind as Sebastian guided him over to a bus stop bench when a couple crossed by them, casting uneasy looks toward Sebastian.

"You haven't disappointed me," Sebastian pointed out.

Lucien bit back a laugh. "Not yet."

"You shouldn't care about Orick Mandrake's approval. He's just a bitter old jackass."

"Even Castor's disappointed in me."

"Disappointed? What makes you think that?" Sebastian frowned.

"Didn't you notice how he acted this morning? After he found us in his bed..." Lucien trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm used to disappointing everyone in my life. Especially my family. But never Castor. He never looked at me like that before."

Sebastian tilted his head, resting one hand on his chin as if contemplating the entire morning himself. "Can I be honest with you? Vampires have a very keen sense of smell, and occasionally there are certain emotions we emit that we're not aware of. What I got from Castor this morning was not disappointment."

"It wasn't?" Lucien asked.

"Maybe toward me," Sebastian admitted with a chuckle. "But Castor was jealous. That's not a scent many men, vampire or mortal, can hide very well."

"Jealous?" Lucien folded his arms around himself as the fall wind nipped at his warming face. "You must be mistaken. There's no way Castor would be jealous."

"You're the main thing that guy talks about when he visits me, you know that?"

Lucien furrowed his brows. "No, I didn't."

"Always going on about how cool you are and how powerful your magic is. He told me how you've always stuck up for him and his family when nobody else would. That means a lot to him."

"Really? He said all of that about me?" Lucien's face lit up like a child's on Snowfall Eve.

Sebastian nodded. "He sure did. I can see why now. You're both very protective of each other. Reminds me of how our covens can be with each other."

"That's nice how close you all are. Castor's always been there for me, ever since we met back during our first year of wizardry school." Lucien smiled at the memory, finding it hard to believe how much time had passed by. He couldn't even imagine not having Castor in his life. "I hope he doesn't hate me after what I did back at his shop."

"I don't think Castor could ever hate you." Sebastian gently touched his arm, his lips curving in a comforting smile as he reached down to check his pocket watch. "It's about lunchtime by now, so why don't we dine somewhere? Well, obviously you'll be the only one eating but I do enjoy the smells of delicious mortal foods."

Lucien had always been a stress eater, so the moment Sebastian suggested they find somewhere to grab lunch, he perked up. It wasn't like Sebastian knew what kinds of eateries they had in Briarwood, but Lucien was horrible at making decisions. Normally, he just let Castor pick a place for them to eat or ended up at Charlotte's bakery.

The first thought that came to mind was Castor's dad's restaurant. ~name~ Yet Castor had a sneaking suspicion that his friend might have the same idea and Lucien wasn't quite ready for that conversation yet, nor was he sure he could face any of the Vales' after he quite literally vandalized their shop and ruined their supply.

Guilt gnawed at him with each passing shop and eatery, unable to stop thinking about how upset Mrs. Vale would be with him for destroying such precious potions. He remembered what had happened back home when he lost control of his magic and accidentally broke one of his mother's favorite porcelain vases. Six spellwhips to the back. Lucien cringed at the phantom pains that marred his backside, inflicted by harsh spells that never healed properly because his mother wouldn't let them.

Lucien found himself standing outside Blissful Bites bakery, the cute plaque of a cat-shaped cupcake only a cruel reminder of how his sister didn't even get to run the place for very long. Some nights when Castor was curled up close beside him, he couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't him who died in her place. She had so much to live for. Their parents took pride in her magic and Orick Mandrake never had a cruel thing to say about her.

All her festive Harvest decorations remained up. Lucien hadn't returned since the day she had died, remembering how she was still trying so hard to keep up appearances for their family. No matter what she said or did, she couldn't convince him to celebrate Harvest Fest at his house. Maybe she'd still be alive if he'd listened just that once. Or maybe it would've been his pitiful soul dying on the sidewalk, gasping for his last breaths.

"Do you want to eat here?" Sebastian let his slender, icy fingers brush against his.

Lucien nodded. "Yeah, I think I do."

Sebastian stepped ahead and opened the door for him. "After you."

Something brought him to the bakery. Perhaps it was a way for him to feel closer to Charlotte because he really wished she was still with him so he could tell her everything. Orick's ridiculous words had gotten to him earlier, but he knew deep within his heart that Charlotte could never be disappointed or disgusted by him.

It was weird to Lucien how nothing had changed, as if her murder never happened and he'd approach the counter to find her working like she always did. Lucien never understood how she balanced such a normal life with her council duties, but working at Blissful Bites with Seraphina had made her happy. He saw it in the way her face lit up when he stopped by for sweets, despite how exhausted she'd be at the end of her shift.

He smiled at the festive paper bats held by invisible wires above, wondering how someone who hunted vampires could even dare use such decor. Everything he'd thought he'd known about Charlotte was wrong.

Lucien was almost tempted to bolt back outside when he reached the counter and an employee took his order, a young girl still in wizardry school since she still wore the school's crest on her apron like a badge of honor. Charlotte had the same pin, as it was given to those with exemplary grades and spellcraft.

After Lucien settled on what he wanted to order - a latte, six frosted sugar cookies shaped like pumpkins and black cats, along with three glazed cinnamon twist donuts, he pulled out his wallet to pay. However, Sebastian's quick reflexes beat him to it as he handed her some coins.

"Don't worry, it's all on me. And you can keep the change," Sebastian said.

"You didn't have to do that, but thank you." Lucien awkwardly tucked his wallet back in his pocket.

"It was the least I could do." Sebastian smiled, even going the extra length by carrying Lucien's sweets and latte over to a booth.

Despite the melancholy that hung over him like a dark storm cloud, it brought out the tiniest of smiles from him. Lucien had never gone on a date before. So having a handsome man like Sebastian buy his lunch and even carry it all the way to their booth brought such a warm and fuzzy feeling to his chest. And he quite liked it.

Lucien understood the danger of being enchanted by a vampire more than ever, and maybe he didn't mind being wooed one bit.