The mouth-watering aroma of artificial butter and salt wafted up as Maura sank her metal scoop deep into the vat of hot, freshly popped popcorn, filling a large bucket for the customer waiting at the counter. "Luke Alert," Leanne whispered, sidling next to her.

Maura glanced over her shoulder. Their eyes met, and the corner of her mouth turned up. He didn't smile back. "Maybe he's here to ask you to prom," Maura said, returning her attention to the task.

"Me?" Leanne said. "Why would he do that?"

Maura bumped her best friend out of the way with her hip, shifting a foot to the right to pump a few extra shots of butter on top of the mountain of popcorn. As she rang out the customer, she whispered to Leanne, "Well, I kinda told him you don't have a date and that he should ask you. He said he wasn't going to prom, but maybe he changed his mind."

"Great. So I'm a pity date."

"You're the one who keeps talking about how cute he is. Unfortunately, his personality isn't any better than Brian's, but now we'll both have dates. Problem solved."

"I honestly don't know whether to kiss you or kill you," Leanne said.

"Maybe you should reserve judgment for later," Maura said, handing the customer her credit card and pushing a handful of napkins across the counter. "Luke seemed a little off this afternoon."

"I guess it's a good thing I know how to turn guys on," Leanne said.

Maura rolled her eyes. "Gross."

"Shh," Leanne said, elbowing her in the side. "Here he comes. Hi, Luke!" Leanne sing-songed, wiggling her fingers as he approached. He looked from Leanne to Maura, and it was clear by the expression on his face he had no clue who she was.

"This is Leanne," Maura said. "My friend I was telling you about. Remember?"

"Oh," Luke said. "Hi."

"Where's your sister?" Maura had scanned the lobby for Evelyn but didn't see her. That didn't mean the girl wasn't lurking nearby.

"You mean Evelyn?"

"Unless you have another sister I don't know about," Maura said. Luke didn't even crack a smile.

"Sooo," Leanne said, resting her elbow on the counter, chin in hand. "What are you seeing tonight?"

Luke stared at her for a moment, seemingly unaffected by her charms, before turning to Maura. "Can we talk?"

Maura's brows jutted into her hairline. "You walked out on me this afternoon with absolutely no explanation."

"I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." She checked her watch and sighed. "Well, in that case, my break is in twenty. We can talk them."

Luke nodded. "I'll come back."

Leanne scoffed beside her as Luke walked away. "He didn't even give me a second glance! I think he's broken."

Maura watched Luke disappear through the glass doors and into the mall beyond, where he sat on a bench and crossed his arms over his chest. "I think you're right," she replied.

The next twenty minutes felt more like forty as Maura wondered what was so important that Luke had to show up at her work. She doubted he had come all that way to talk about school, and yet they didn't know each other well enough to talk about anything else. Maybe Evelyn had mentioned their encounter in the parking lot that afternoon, though Maura didn't think that was it, either. Luke probably had no idea that his sister was on a match-making mission. Still, whatever the reason, he returned exactly as she was clocking out for her break.

"Thanks for meeting me," he said.

"No problem. What's up?"

Luke looked around. "Is there somewhere private we can go?"

"Private?" she said, glancing around them. At this hour on a weeknight, the lobby was practically empty. "Now I'm really curious. Follow me."

Turning, Maura made her way across the lobby and down the hall where she pushed open a door that said EMPLOYEES ONLY on the outside. She held it open, gesturing for Luke to enter before her. He paused just over the threshold, looking around the small, sparsely furnished space as if he didn't know what to do with himself.

"You don't have to stand," Maura said. "You can sit if you want."

She flopped down on the faded teal sofa, stretching out her legs in front of her. She expected Luke to sit next to her, but he chose one of the metal folding chairs at the table instead, turning it so that he could face her. He kept shifting in his seat as though he couldn't quite get comfortable and repeatedly opened and closed his mouth as if to say something, though not knowing how to start.

Maura made a show of checking the time on her cell as she cleared her throat. "I hate to be a party-pooper, but I have precisely twelve minutes before I have to get back to work. So, if you don't mind . . ."

"Right," Luke said, taking the hint. He inhaled deeply before blowing out his breath in a steady stream of air. "I need to talk to you about our English project."

"Our English project?" For some inexplicable reason, she felt disappointed that he actually did want to talk about school. "Don't tell me you want to start over," she said, panic setting in. "It's due in a week. At this point, I just want to get it done and turned in. Besides, Mrs. Raines liked our outline. Why would you want to change it?"

But Luke was shaking his head. "You don't understand. I don't want to change anything."

Her brows pushed together. "Then what is it?"

"The story," he said. "Maura, I . . . I didn't make it up."

Maura shifted to the edge of the couch, her stomach plummeting. "You plagiarized? What the hell, Luke? I told you not to do that! We could get expelled!"

"I didn't plagiarize," he said.

Maura closed her mouth. "You didn't?"

"No."

She sank back against the cushion and pointed her finger at him. "Don't scare me like that. I've worked too hard, and we're less than two months from graduating. The last thing I need is to get expelled for ripping off someone else's work." She took a deep breath and said more calmly, "So, if you didn't plagiarize, what do you mean by you didn't make it up?"

Luke was quiet, and then: "The story is real, Maura. All of it. The baby that the faery queen stole . . . that baby was me."

"Is this another part of the story, like a plot twist? Because I don't think we should make it any more complicated than it already is. In my opinion, the best stories are the simplest stories."

But Luke had closed his eyes and was shaking his head again. "Listen to me, Maura. I was born a mortal a very long time ago. Exactly when, I don't know. The faery queen stole me from my parents and made me one of her court."

Maura's face was expressionless. "So . . . what you're saying is that . . . you were once a human . . . and now you're a faery."

Luke nodded. "Yes."

The side of her mouth formed a slow curve. Luke looked so serious, like he truly believed the words coming out of his mouth. She checked the time on her cell again, wishing her break were longer than fifteen minutes. She didn't know what Luke was up to, but her day had just gotten a lot more interesting.

"If you're a faery," she said, "where are your wings?"

Luke's shoulders slumped. "I don't have wings, Maura. None of us do. That's nothing more than a construct of human imagination. Though I'll admit that some of us can be pretty terrifying."

Maura laughed. "Ha ha. You got me, Luke. Good joke."

"It's not a joke, Maura. Everything I'm telling you is the truth."

The grin fell from Maura's face and she folded her arms across her chest. "What are you up to? Why are you doing this? Did you honestly think I would believe you?"

"Maura, I—"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. "What made you think you could come in here, the place where I work, and feed me this BS?"

"Evelyn is a faery, too," Luke said, as though she hadn't spoken at all. "She's the queen's handmaiden. She is not your friend, Maura. Far from it."

Maura stood. "I don't even pretend to know why you're lying to me, Luke. I know I'm not your favorite person, but I don't deserve to be treated like this."

"I'm not lying to you," he insisted. "You are in danger, Maura. You have to believe me."

Maura clamped her mouth shut and glared at him. "Fine," she said. "How am I in danger? Tell me."

Luke stood, too. "The queen—Siobhan—sent me to collect your essence."

Her lips thinned. "You're insane. Do you know that? Like, seriously insane." She started for the door, but Luke stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Look." He reached inside his shirt and pulled out the leather cord, showing her the glass vial. "It's exactly like the one in the story."

"That doesn't prove anything."

Luke released the vial and grabbed her arms instead, speaking through clenched teeth. For the first time, she felt afraid of him. "The queen wants you, Maura. She needs you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Maura pulled free and tried to shove past him, but still, he blocked her path. "Get out of my way," she said, her heart pounding. She wasn't above screaming for help. Or kneeing him in the crotch.

"Listen to me, Maura. Maybe it doesn't have to be this way. Maybe we can work together. I won't let her have you."

"I said move." Maura pushed him out of the way and wrenched open the door, startling Brian who happened to be walking by.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"Everything is fine," Maura said.

Brian's gaze cut to Luke and his eyes hardened. "Is he causing you trouble?"

Maura held the door open wider. "He was just leaving."

"This is an employees only lounge," Brian said to Luke. "You shouldn't be in there."

"Don't worry," Maura said. "I'm never talking to him again. We're officially over."

Brian split a look between them and then checked his watch, erroneously concluding that this must be a lover's quarrel. "You've got two minutes before your shift starts. Don't be late or I'll have to write you up."

When he walked away, Maura stood with her back holding open the door, focusing her attention on the First Aid / CPR poster tacked to the opposite wall. Her cheeks burned with rage.

"Maura . . ."

She held up her hand. "I am done trying to understand you, Luke. I will finish the project on my own. I'll even let you sign your name to it, but I don't want to talk to you anymore. Do me a huge favor and leave me alone."

With a heavy sigh, Luke trudged past her. But then he paused. "Your father . . . "

Maura's skin rippled as though Luke's words were electric. "What about my father?" she demanded. Time seemed to stand still as she waited for him to speak again. When he did, she was totally unprepared for what he said next.

"I think I know where he is."

*****

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