Salem Falls

Maggie sat on top of her porch, her backpack still strapped to her bag, while she cupper her head in her hands. Her eyes were locked on the sidewalk in front of her, unwilling to move because her mind was too focused on other things.

Zayn was supposed to be meeting her in any minute, and she still couldn’t decide whether or not she wanted to speak to him. It didn’t seem fair that he had broken things off with her and then thought that he could just walk back into her life so easily.

She had to admit that a small part of her did want to talk to him, just because she felt so connected to him and she hated to let that go. There was something about him that attracted every part of her.

When she heard the faint sound of his footsteps approaching her, her eyes lifted immediately and were met with his brown ones. They looked soft and concerned, and Maggie was almost worried about what he was going to say next.

“Hey,” he said simply, stuffing his hands in his pockets while he looked down at her.

She cleared her throat and bit her lip gently. “Hey.”

Honestly, Maggie couldn’t believe how nervous Zayn suddenly made her. She’d always felt nervous around him before, but this time it felt different. It was a nervousness like she was afraid of what he was going to say. She was afraid that whatever it was would just be another way for him to end things between them.

“Can I sit?” he asked, motioning towards the open spot on the stair next to her. She gave a slow nod of her head, scooting over just a bit to give him more room. It was obvious that both of them had no idea what to do, and there was a nervous tension hanging in the air.

A few long moments passed without either of them saying anything, and Maggie decided that she couldn’t take the silence anymore. With a deep breath, she shut her eyes and forced herself to speak.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Beside her, Zayn took in a nervous breath, folding his hands in his lap. Maggie was still looking out at the ground in front of her, but when she felt Zayn turn to look at her, she looked back at him. His eyes were red with worry, and deep down all Maggie really wanted was to make him feel better.

“I have a secret, Maggie,” he said, letting out a deep breath. “A big one.”

Maggie’s eyes blinked quickly, her lips pursing in confusion. She knew that she hadn’t learned everything about Zayn in the time that they’d known one another, but she couldn’t imagine what kind of secrets he would have.

Taking a deep breath of her own, Maggie forced herself to speak without sounding too scared. “What is it?”

Maggie knew by the look on Zayn’s face that no matter how scared she was, he was twice as frightened, though she didn’t know if he was more scared of the secret or of telling it to her.

He stood up with a sigh, reaching his hand out to her, and she grabbed onto it without a second thought. When she stood with him, he led her to the backyard, which was surrounded by a large white fence. It was the perfect cover, so when the door latched behind them, he shut his eyes and used the simplest bit of magic that he knew.

With his hand still wrapped around Maggie’s, he lifted them slowly into the air, so they were hovering just inches off the ground. He could feel Maggie tense up beside him, but was too afraid to open his eyes and see the look on her face.

As he lowered them back to the ground, he forced his eyes open and was met with the most terrified look in Maggie’s eyes. Before he had a chance to explain himself, she was pulling her hands back and stepping away from him in shock.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, keeping her voice low but shouting at the same time. Zayn didn’t know what he had expected from her, but he certainly hadn’t expected her to yell at him. It took him a minute to respond because he was so taken back by it.

“Maggie, I –”

He reached his hand out to her, but she quickly stepped back, a look of fear in her eyes.

“What was that?” she asked again, taking another step back.

Zayn could tell by the look on Maggie’s face that she was simply terrified, and that was the last thing he wanted. With every second that passed, he could feel everything falling apart.

With his eyes shut, he took a deep breath before speaking soft and slowly. “It was magic.”

A few long moments passed with Zayn being too afraid to open his eyes. He was terrified of what he’d see when he opened them, so he didn’t until Maggie spoke again.

“How did you do it?”

Zayn’s eyes popped open slowly and he looked at her with more nervousness than he’d ever felt before.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “I just do it.”

Maggie paused for another long moment, her eyes looking at him with pure curiosity. She couldn’t decide whether or not to believe him or to assume if he was completely nuts. A part of her still trusted him, even though he’d broken things off with her.

She took a deep breath, looking at the hurt in his eyes, and she just wanted to make that hurt go away. She knew that Zayn had no reason to lie to her, especially about that, so with one final deep breath, she spoke. “Tell me everything.”

Zayn blinked his eyes quickly, almost as though he couldn’t believe what he was saying. After a short pause, he told her everything from the magic he knew to the coven he now singlehandedly ran to his worry that something bad would happen to her.”

The whole time he spoke he could see the confusion in Maggie’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything until he was finished, and he was more thankful for that than anything.

“And you’re worried that they’ll hurt me?” she asked, looking at him with her eyebrows furrowed.

Zayn nodded and took a step forward, hoping that she wouldn’t step away from him again. When she didn’t, he took it as a good sign and spoke. “I never meant for you to get caught up in all this. I tried to keep you from it, but it didn’t work. Maggie, you’re the last person I want to see hurt.”

Maggie gave a long paused, the emotion dropping slowly from her face. It took a moment for everything to catch up to her, and Zayn didn’t know what to do. He went with his gut and moved forward, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She fell immediately against his body, collapsing into him while her hands moved around his waist.

He could feel her hot tears landing against his shoulder and he hated himself for being the cause of it. All he wanted to do was keep her safe and make her happy, but he was doing an awful job at both of them.

“Maggie, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he whispered, clutching her more tightly to him. “I promise.”