Salem Falls

Alexa Devereaux couldn’t believe it. Her eyes were trained on the large, crow-looking bird as it toddles forward, before spreading its wings and flying away like it wasn’t just on death’s doorstep a moment ago. Her blue eyes nearly bugged out of her head as they slid over to the figure that had definitely just had its hands clasped around that bird. He was standing there, his back to her, watching the bird much like she had just been.

Never one to let an opportunity slip by, she pulled the elastic from her long brown hair and shook it out. After pulling her shirt a little lower to show off some cleavage, and pushing the girls up a little just incase, she walked over to the guy. If he heard her coming he didn’t act like it and Alexa was there in just a few short steps. This is it, she told herself as she tapped him on the shoulder.

The guy turned around so suddenly that Alexa was stumbling backwards and he was quickly reaching out to steady her. His eyes fixed her with a cold stare and she found herself wondering if this was really the guy she wanted for this. But then he was smiling and there was a dimple popping out in his cheek and those thoughts were gone just like that.

“Teach me,” she blurted quickly before she could stop and think about it.

The guy in front of her frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “What?”

“Teach me,” Alexa repeated, her voice much more confident this time. She stood up a little straighter and held her head a little higher. “I saw what you did. Teach me.”

“What?” The guy before her repeated again. “Even if you saw something I really can’t teach you.”

Alexa crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring him completely. “You definitely just did magic to save that bird,” she ground out, her excitement dying out and her patience wearing thin. She’d been waiting for this for as long as she could remember so of course when she finally found someone they had to be totally useless. “And I know you can teach me.”

The boy sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, fine, you did see that,” he said quickly, shaking his head as he went, “but even if I wanted to teach you – and I don’t – I really can’t.”

“Why not?” Alexa asked a frown. She felt like he was lying to her but she couldn’t be certain; the only things she really knew about magic she learned through the grapevine.

“Because you have to already have it in your blood,” he stated simply, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. “And if you did, you would have learned it already.”

Alexa rolled her eyes as she laughed. “Trust me, I’ve got it in my blood. So teach me.”

“What’s your name?” The boy shot back, his eyes squinting as he scrutinized her.

“Alexa Caroline Devereaux” she told him easily even though they were in the middle of the woods and it was getting darker by the minute.

She watched as realization washed over his features and happiness surged through her. Now she could finally learn what she’s spent years wondering about. But then the boy was frowning and shaking his head vehemently.

“No,” he said, still shaking his head. “No way.”

“Why?” Alexa asked quickly.

“Because…” The guy trailed off before letting out a soft sigh. “Because your family is banned.”

“You-you know why?” Alexa’s hopes were sky high.

“No,” the boy shook his head. “But I’ve heard things. Whispers. The Devereaux family was the first ever to be banned.”

Alexa’s face fell. That sounded about right. But she didn’t know why and any time she had asked when she was little she was shushed and ushered out of the room to go play with dolls. Magic was a forbidden topic in the Devereaux’s household. And now the one practicing mage she’d managed to come across in her life didn’t even know why.

“Who are you?” She asked after a moment, once she regained confidence and remembered the real reason she approached this guy.

“Harry Styles,” he replied hesitantly.

The name didn’t sound familiar at all. “Okay,” Alexa nodded. “Teach me, Harry? Please?”

Harry stared back at her for a long moment and Alexa truly believed he was going to use some kind of spell on her. Or do something just to get her to go away. But then he finally nodded after a long moment. “I’ll think about it,” he said slowly. “But you need to tell me what you know first.”

He sat down, his back to the nearest tree and he motioned for her to join him. She did, moving to sit in front of him with her legs crossed. Their knees were nearly touching and Alexa could swear she felt something there, something like electricity, something crackling but also thought she felt a lot of things so she pushed it aside.

“So?” Harry prodded as he swept his curls to one side with his long fingers.

“Right,” Alexa nodded.

She knew it was stupid, spilling all of her secrets to a complete and total stranger, especially one who could easily be a very evil being. But someone had also told her that sometimes you had to just make the leap and hope that there’d be something cushy to break your fall. So that’s what she did as she launched into everything she knew about magic.

She told Harry about how her family was ostracized from the sixth circle when she was really, really young. She explained how her brothers and sisters told her about how it felt and how much they hated not being able to do anything. She even told him that she had no idea what happened, that every time she tried to get answers everyone shriveled up and the subject was dropped so she eventually stopped trying within the Devereaux family. And Harry listened, he didn’t seem bored or annoyed as she went on about how much she wanted to learn magic, to actually do something with the power that she could sometimes feel swirling within.

“You really don’t know?” Harry asked once she was finished, his head tilted a little to the side like he was trying to figure out whether or not she was lying.

Alexa shook her head. “Do you think I’d be searching for someone to teach me magic and giving away all my family’s secrets if I did?” Harry shrugged and Alexa shook her head again. “I wouldn’t. But seriously, teach me?”

The curly haired boy leaned back against the tree he was sitting in front of and closed his eyes. “I’m going to regret this,” he muttered before lifting his head to look at Alexa again. “Okay. But two conditions.”

“Of course,” Alexa nodded excitedly. “Anything.”

“One, you can’t tell anyone. Not your family, not your best friends, not anyone.” Alexa nodded and Harry continued. “Two, we can’t be seen together in public. Ever. When we meet it’ll be here, in the woods. You can’t tell anyone you know me, we can’t be connected, nothing.”

Alexa frowned but nodded again. “Yeah, alright, makes sense. When do we start? Now?”

Harry shook his head. “No. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do and my best friend’s dad died. Next week, maybe. Give me your number and I’ll text you when.”

Alexa nodded and took the phone he was holding out. She punched her number in and then launched herself at Harry. Her arms wrapped around his neck and squeezed him tightly before stepping back like nothing happened. “Thank you.”

The curly haired boy nodded. He was trying to look angry, like it was no big deal, but Alexa could see the beginnings of a smile playing at the corners of his lips. She watched as he walked away, further into the woods and it took everything in her not to skip as she made her way home. She was finally going to get some answers.