Be Careful What You Wish For

Selene screams into her pillow. This is absolutely terrible. How can her aunt stand idly by and let her suffer like this. If only she knew where the sigil is. She’s looked everywhere for it. She’s checked under her bed. She’s checked all of her notebooks. She’s checked her closet. Nothing. Where else could she have stashed it? Ugh, her mom would have been able to find it.
Wait.
No.
She wouldn’t...
Selene gets up and goes over to her desk. Hesitantly, she picks up the picture of her mom and opens the frame. She did. It was right here all along. Her aunt has some nerve to have put this here of all places. How could she? How could she?! Selene rips the sigil to shreds. She is definitely going to have a word, or heated argument, with her aunt, but first... First she needs to connect to Jack again.This needs to end for both of them even if it won’t be permanent.
In. Out. Concentrate. Focus. In. Out.
What? That can’t be right. He feels so close. It’s almost like he’s right outside her door.
Selene’s head quickly turns to her door when she hears someone barge in. Rose? It’s her sister, Rose. A smile spreads across Selene’s face when her eyes find her sister, who looks rather pissed off. Rose is here, and she can help and- Jack? Jack Barakat? As Rose enters the room, a passed out Jack follows suite with the help of a levitation spell. What? How did- How did he get here? Was he able to track her down? Did Rose run into him on his way here? Or... Or did Rose know?
“Rose?” Selene’s voice is small just like a scared and confused child. “How is Jack here?”
Once Rose and Jack are more in the room, the door slams shut. She then drops Jack onto the floor. He groans but doesn’t come to right away. Selene wants to go over to him and see if he’s alright, but the look her sister is giving her is terrifying.
“Rose?”
“How the hell did you ever think this was a good idea?! You may not have had any training, but anyone could tell that this idea of yours was and is completely idiotic! How did you even come up with something like this? Didn’t you even make a connection? Didn’t you see how this would end?!”
Selene wants to run away from her sister, but she can’t. She’s scared, but at the same time, she needs to hear what her sister has to say. She needs to understand what went wrong. She has to even if it hurts her in the process.
“Selene?” She looks down to find that Jack is coming to. He looks at her, and finally sees her for the first time. He wasn’t expecting her to look like this, but at the same time, she looks so familiar and known to him. He looks up at the woman standing next to him. Yes, perhaps it’s because she looks so much like her. Jack looks back over at Selene to find the differences. Their noses are different. Selene’s is bigger than the other who has a rather skinny nose. Her small mouth also has fuller lips than the woman. Then he can make out some scars across her cheeks. There are also a few scabs there as well and a larger one on her forehead. Is that why she wears a mask? Is that why she didn’t want to be seen?
Jack starts to stand up, and as he does, he puts his hand to his head. The voice is no longer there, but his face kind of hurts from being dropped onto the floor. As he pulls his hand away, he notices the sigil on his wrist is starting to disappear. He looks over at Selene’s wrist and sees the same thing. This causes her to look as well. “They’re gone,” he says.
“Of course they are,” Rose says as she rolls her eyes. “They were meant to disappear once the two of you met in person.”
“How much do you know about the sigils?” Selene asks.
“Everything. I’m the one that put them there.”
“What?”
“Yes, I put the sigils there. I ran into him and saw that he had an issue with getting to his soulmate. The sigil was made to draw you two together, so you could finally meet. Of course, that didn’t go as it should have because of your huge fuck up of a spell. If I had known it was that bad, I never would have just ask the sigils and walked away.”
Selene shakes her head a few times in confusion. “I still don’t understand why it went so wrong. It was just a wishing spell, and I followed the book.”
“You didn’t take into account that you were already suffering from a spell gone wrong. That spell you cast should have allowed you to have your soulmate in your life. The easiest way for a spell to do that if the distance is great is through dreams, but it wasn’t able to do that. You haven’t been having any dreams because of that anti-nightmare spell. I’ve heard of it going wrong before. It’s common that someone without practice would end up taking all of their dreams away. Your connection to him was completely one-sided. The spell connection you in every way that it would then. I’m surprised it didn’t make you both feel the same things all the time. Although it seems like it would have eventually, especially since my sigil just applied it. My sigil should have just made the connection stronger and more clear, but it couldn’t because that spell had made everything foggy. It ended up making everything worse.”
“I... I had never thought of any of that.”
“Of course you didn’t. You haven’t been trained. Although even new students know not to tamper with these kinds of things like wishing spells. Things like these can have terrible consequences if they go bad. Why else do they have things like that in movies? It’s expert level magick. Even I wouldn’t attempted a wishing spell like that. If I had wanted to connect with my soulmate, I would have found a spell that would do just that and double, no, triple check everything. Magick must be precise. If it isn’t, things like this happen.”
“Well, I would have used a different spell if there was one.” Selene’s voice starts to rise in volume. “All I had was our mother’s grimoire, and I’m pretty sure that it’s only one of many. What else was I supposed to do? I was so lonely.” She starts to tear up. “I didn’t have anyone. It’s not like Aunt and Uncle talk to me or even care about me. I never talk to you anymore, and I’m too socially awkward to make any friends in school. What would even be the point of making friends in school anyway when they would just leave me when the school year ended? I had no one, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I thought that there had to be someone that would be there for me. There had to be someone that would stick by my side through it all. That’s when I thought about having a soulmate. I knew that they weren’t just some story. They do exist. Mom and Dad were soulmates after all. I just... I just... I was so lonely.”
Rose’s anger starts to die down. She hadn’t thought about how her sister was feeling with her away. She knew that she was a bit lonely without her, but she didn’t realize that she was this lonely. Rose had thought that Selene had made a few friends in school. She knew that she talked to some people. If only she knew that Selene only had acquaintances that she occasionally chatted with at lunch. If only... If only she had been there for her sister instead of doing her own thing for years.
“I... I’m sorry, Selene. I didn’t realize that you were hurting so much. I wish that I had been there for you.”
“Well, you weren’t.”
“Rose, what are you doing here,” says a voice behind them. The three of them turn to find a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair frowning at them. It’s their aunt. “And who is this?”
Rose sighs. “Selene used a wishing spell to meet her soulmate. Things didn’t go the way that they should have, and it resulted in me making sure that they finally met in person.”
“So this is the magick that has been used in this house? Disgusting. Is he even from the magick world?” Rose shakes her head. “So not only have you disobeyed me, you have brought an outsider into our world. That isn’t allowed anywhere.”
The eldest sister can’t stop herself from nodding. “That is true. Although I believe that the exception would apply. Partners for life and soulmates can be brought in. Selene is not breaking the law, but doing so without thinking about it is definitely frowned upon.”
“Whether she broke the law or not, it is all the same in my eyes. I wanted to keep you away from magick, but it seems that you cannot keep yourself away from it. It seems that I have no choice but to send you away to a magick college.”
“What?” Selene’s emotions start to boil once more. “Now you finally decide that I should go?”
“Yes, and you shall stay there until you’ve finished.”
“Stay there?”
“Yes, as in not leave at all, and you will have no contact to the outside world.”
“What? You can’t do that!”
“It can be done to people that are a danger to the magickal community. Exposure is not something that is taken likely.”
“It’s my soulmate though!”
“Yes, and I’m sure that at least one of his friends now know about the existence of magick if he went through anything like you did while trapped in here with that sigil, which I noticed you finally found. Pity you found it far too late.”
Selene can’t stop herself from throwing three of her notebooks across the room in frustration. She may not know anything about the laws or policies, but Rose isn’t arguing, so her aunt must be telling the truth. What is she going to do? She finally met her soulmate in person, but now she is going to be taken away from him? This isn’t right. None of it is right. The tears start to make their way down her face again.
“College doesn’t start until the fall,” Rose pointed out.
“Yes but-”
“So she can’t be there until then unless you wanted to bring more people into this situation which I know you are avoiding. Selene has this last month of high school and then the summer. Surely, she can use this time to talk to Jack. They are soulmates after all, and she isn’t going to be able to see him during her time at college.”
“That is true. Although I don’t like it, I will allow the two of them to talk until then. I know what it’s like to be away from your soulmate more than most. I’d give anything to have my Ethan back. If only his love for magick didn’t take him away from me. Yes, the two of you can talk and what not until then. Although it has to be on the phone. I don’t want any spells in this house anymore.”
“I think they can manage with that.”
“I have a suggestion,” Jack says. “It might not be the best idea, but maybe Selene could come on tour with me? We’re going on tour in a couple of months, and then we’d be able to be around each other more before she leaves. It’s not the best idea. Tour is, well, tour. I’ll have to watch myself and try to behave...”
Rose shrugs. “I don’t see a problem with that. I mean, as long as you do behave and everyone around her does as best they can as well. I’ve seen Straight to DVD, and I’d prefer my sister not getting into too much trouble or seeing too many naked people running around.”
“What?” Their aunt is bewildered by this.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure if something happens, I can come by and kick Jack’s ass myself. It’s just up to Selene.”
All eyes turn to the teenager. “Um, sure. I mean, I’m sure that we can make it work, and I would love to actually get to be around Jack before I leave.”
“Then it’s settled. You two will talk on the phone like most people do, and then when it finally comes time for the tour, I’ll drop you off at the tour bus. Just make sure to send me the info beforehand. I’d hate to have us be late or be stuck with having to drop Selene off at one of the shows. Now I really need to be heading back soon. I’m going to have a chat with our aunt about college and such, and you two can talk for a bit. I’ll be taking Jack back home. I’m pretty sure he’d rather not have to take a plane back. I brought some extra teleportation crystals with me, and I’m sure I can use his memories to get him home. Anyway, I’m going to leave you two for a bit.”
Rose walks out of the room along with their reluctant aunt. Jack and Selene just stand there in silence for a minute. Although they’ve been talking, this really will be their first conversation in person. Jack’s not really sure what to say especially after all of that. Selene finds herself going over to sit down on her bed. She motions Jack over to sit down next to her, and he does. Truthfully, she has no idea what to say either. This was all a lot easier when they were both masked and just not really together.
“This is different,” is what ends up leaving Selene’s mouth.
“Yeah,” Jack agrees.
“I had a feeling that you were actually, you know, you and not some other Jack. It just seemed too unbelievable, so I ignored it.”
“Yeah, I saw that you’re a fan of our music. I’d be shocked to if I found out I was the soulmate of, um, Mark Hoppus or something.”
Selene chuckles. “That one would be quite a shock. I mean, I’ve heard of groups of soulmates, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t the case.”
“Groups?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of polyamorous soulmates.”
“Interesting.”
“Yeah.”
The two of them go quiet for a few minutes. This time, it’s Jack that breaks this silence.
“So, this is the first time I’ve seen you without a mask.”
“Yeah, I wish that I had known that Rose was bringing you. I don’t like to even leave the house without concealer. I just- I just hate what I do to my face. I can’t stop myself though.”
“What? Do you scratch your face or something?”
“Yeah, I’ve been doing it for years. I do it without thinking. That’s where all the scars come from. I’ve thought about using magick to get rid of them, but not only was there no spell for it in mom’s book, but I was scared of what could happen. I mean, two spells gone wrong. It would make sense if a third one did as well.”
“True. You know, maybe your sister can help you out now that she’s here.”
“She could. I’m not sure if she could help with the scratching though. Healing isn’t her specialty, but she might be able to help or at least find a way to help.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah. Hopefully she can help before tour starts. I don’t really want to have to wake up before everyone just to put makeup on.”
“I mean, no one will care.”
“But I will.”
“Yeah, I guess you will. Insecurities and such, right?”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t want the others to see me like this. You’ve already seen me, so I don’t see a point of hiding it from you.”
“I almost forgot about the others. It’s going to be so awkward introducing you to everyone.”
“Why?”
“Well, Alex knows everything that has been happening. If magick isn’t suppose to get out, I can’t really go around telling everyone how exactly we met, and you’re so much younger than me.”
“I’m eighteen. Will that be a problem?”
“I mean, you are an adult. I don’t mind the age gap. It’s just something I’ll have to get used to. Everyone else will too. I mean, I’m sure they’ll love you once they get to know you, but they will have to get used to the idea of us with you only being barely legal.”
Selene hadn’t really thought about any of that. It seems that Jack has thought about their relationship a lot more than she has. She has mostly just found that she has feelings for him, and he has already imagined what at least part of their future will be like. It’s something she wasn’t expecting. She does not comment on this though.
“The only one that I can think of that would have the hardest time is Alex. He saw the worst of that spell, and I don’t know how fast he’ll forgive you or get over it, but besides that, I think it will be fine. I at least hope it will be.”
“Me too.”
Jack sits there in thought for a second. His eyebrows scrunch up, and then he realizes something. “I’ve been talking about us as us, but you haven’t even told me your feelings, and I haven’t told you mine either.”
And there it is. “Yeah, we haven’t talked about it.” Selene finds herself blushing. This is all so nerve wracking as well.
“I like you. It’s probably not surprising with the whole soulmate thing, but yeah, I like you more than just a friend.”
“I have feelings for you.”
“Alright. Um, so will the ‘us’ be us then?”
“Um, sure. I’ve never done anything like this before though so...”
“Oh, OK. I’ll go slow then. We’ll be talking on the phone for awhile anyway.”
“Yeah.”
And then Rose makes her way back into her her sister’s room. “So, are you ready to go home.”
“Yeah, just let me...” Jack goes to pull his phone out of his pocket but finds that he doesn’t have it. Well, that would explain why he hasn’t heard it go off at all even though he left Alex like that. “I, um, left my phone at home.”
“It’s fine,” Selene says as she makes her way over to her desk. Jack follows closely behind. She rips a page out of the last notebook on her desk and writes her number down on it. “Here. Just, you know, let me know it’s your number before you try calling or anything. I don’t pick up numbers that I don’t know.”
“Alright. I can do that. So, I guess I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Yes, definitely.”
That later didn’t take long. Jack texts her as soon as he gets back and vaguely explains things to Alex. Selene and Jack end up talking to each other until they both pass out from lack of sleep.

Notes

I was not expecting to write up the next chapter so fast... I was just going to write up the first part, and I just couldn't stop. So two chapters up in one night/morning. This is a nice and long one too even if it is mostly dialogue. Finally all of those little things are cleared up. Selene's spell went back because of the other spell, the sigil went wrong because of the spell, Rose had already appeared in the story, and I did end up putting in the real reason why their aunt hates magick. I wasn't planning on that last bit. It just kind of happened.
The next part of the story will be Selene's time on tour with them. I've written two tour fics before, and they aren't my best. This part of the story won't be as long. I'd like to have at least five chapters for the tour. Then a chapter or two at college, and then finally an epilogue. We'll see how that goes though. lol.
I'm going to start working on coming up with that goes in what chapter later. I know the big picture of the tour. I just need all the smaller things. At least the next chapter will be easy. lol.
I look forward to the next part of the story. I didn't think I would make it to anything after this moment. Even when I started this fic three years ago, I only had an idea of all of what happened. I had no idea what would happen afterward especially since I was working on more than just one story. It's so interesting to see how the story has changed though and not just the original version of this to this version. I've realized who I am throughout the years, and that has really shaped this story and what's going to happen.

Anyway, that's enough notes from me. lol. Thanks for reading this far, and again, I look forward to the following chapters. Hopefully everything pans out well since it is going to get personal. Anyway, see ya!