“Hurrrk!”

Amy Tucker’s sudden, violent reaction was so unexpected that Dan had to avoid biting down reflexively. She jerked her head back and twisted it away, breaking the heated contact so quickly that the resulting chill was almost painful. Dan was reluctantly prepared to release her if she intended to flee, but the arms around his neck and torso maintained their solid grip. At least there was that.

“Hey, are you …”

Before Dan could finish his anguished question, Amy gasped out an answer,

“Well, found the potion.”

It took several moments of her stocking cap pressed against the side of his head and her breathing heavily in his arms before Dan processed what she’d said.

“Potion …”

Amy shifted to look directly in his face with dark, glittering eyes.

“Geez, that was nasty. How do you even stand it?”

Dan’s mental gears ground slowly as a multitude of thoughts churned in his spinning head.

“Nasty … you mean the potion, or the kiss?”

A playful smack to the back of his head made him blink.

“The potion, silly. That kiss was amazing. I could kiss you all night. I … you thought it was nasty?”

Dan swiftly silenced her worried thought with a solid kiss to her lips. Only when he felt her melting back into his embrace did he pull away.

“Of course not. I could kiss you all night too.”

She gave a happy little hum and snuggled closer. Before the two of them could make good on an all night kissing session, a familiar voice rang out from nearby,

“Hey Higginbotham, where are you? Coach is looking for you.”

Frank Robertson, one of the Paris defensive linemen, was searching for him. Apparently Dan’s disappearance had not gone unnoticed.

Dan and Amy groaned in unison as the pair reluctantly released their embrace. While he picked up his helmet, she gave him a reassuring shoulder pat.

“I’m sure I’ve got a connection. You’d better get going.”

Oh, they’d gotten a connection all right.

“Hey, I’ll meet you back here after the game, okay?”

Dan couldn’t see her face, but he was certain she was grinning as she gave a ‘mhm’ in reply.

He was grinning as well as he trotted over to where Frank was searching.

“There you are, Higgs!” Frank planted a fist to each side of stocky midsection. “Where have you been? Coach is gonna rip you a new one for sneaking off like that.”

As Dan ran dutifully next to his teammate, he couldn’t help but think,

‘Totally worth it’

Amy had never been such a hot, giddy little mess. She knew her body wasn’t actually emitting any physical light, but damn it felt like she was glowing.

 ‘Now THAT was a first kiss!’

Honestly, that was far better than any imaginary scenario she’d come up with. It felt good not having reality fall flat against her expectations. It made her wonder if other dreams were within her reach. One that might start here in this same spot after the game.

‘Heeee!’ she squealed as she hugged herself in anticipation.

But, first things first. There was a potion that needed to be disenchanted.

‘Okay,’ she thought, ‘let’s get this done.’

She settled down into a cross-legged sitting position in the shadows as she mentally went through the steps Mrs. Thomas had drilled into her class.

Plan – Collect – Shape – Direct – Cast

Plan

Make a remote connection with multiple subjects to disenchant a low quality health tonic. The traces Amy still had on her tongue ‘heeee!’ would serve as focus material. A summoned spirit had been her first choice as spotter and transmitter, but Higgy would surely agree to assist.

Phew! Suddenly her far-fetched plan seemed reasonable, if not borderline certain.

Collect

The potion sample was ready and a connection firmly made ‘heeee!’ She pulled out a few talismans to supplement the energy that she herself would provide. A plastic toy, a hair tie, a dried flower, some dog hair. All little mementoes, each with a precious memory. They would lose their power and possibly even crumble away forever, but this was worth it. She laid them out in a half-ring around her, then closed her eyes.

Shape

This was the easy part. Disenchanting always came naturally for Amy. With just a thought, most of her available energy formed into the silvery threads that would cut apart the magical structure and energy of the potion. The remainder of the mana waited to become the ‘wifi’ that allowed a ‘call’.

Direct

Without any of her usual hesitation, Amy reached out. Almost instantly, she sensed a vibrant, healthy green aura before her. She imagined wrapping her arms around it, and the connection was made. Unlike the face to face embrace from before, this felt like her hugging him from behind.

‘It’s me, Amy Tucker,’ she whispered mentally to where his ear should be.

The aura shuddered with unmistakable joy, and she felt warm, ghostly arms wrapping over hers. Despite hundreds of yards and any brick and mortar separating them, they were together in spirit. Even better than a phone’s text or face time from a loved one from miles away.

It felt like Higgy was trying to reply, but Amy could only sense vague emotion and intent.

happiness - inquiry

‘I know you’re talking, but I can’t hear your words. Hopefully you can hear me well enough that we can break this potion together.’

disappointment - confident agreement

‘I’m sending you disenchantment energy. You should be able to target each person on your team one at a time. It just requires a physical connection.’

embarrassed hesitation

After a moment’s realization, Amy couldn’t help but laugh at the reason for his reluctance.

‘No, not like we did. I’ve focused energy in our hands. A touch from finger to mouth or chin should be enough. Skin to skin is best, though.’

relief - determination

Okay, time for the last step.

Cast