Two days have passed by since Eda enrolled Maxwell into Hexside so he can start next semester to learn magic alongside Luz and so he can learn to control this power he possesses. He felt comforted by the idea of going to Hexside next semester with Luz and to learn how to control this power he possesses so he wouldn't lose control and hurt someone. His plan to help Eda with her curse was still on his mind but he didn't tell anyone yet.
It was morning and all but Maxwell appeared to be awake. Luz walked down a hallway and met up with Eda as she did. Eda stretched her back and audibly smacked her big, full lips. She grinned at the sight of Luz.
"How'd you sleep, kiddo?" said Eda.
"I slept well. But I did have to go use the bathroom during the night but nothing to worry about. I did hear strange moaning from where Maxie sleeps." said Luz.
"Maybe he had a headache that needed time to subside. Enrolling him into Hexside made him tickled pink. The excitement could've got to his head, literally." Eda guessed.
Eda puffed up her cheeks and made her hands appear as if she was holding onto her head, making it seem as though it swelled up to the size of boulder.
"Oh man, my head. It feels so heavy. Why does my head look so huge." joked Eda laughing.
Luz giggled at this and Eda made a fake farting sound with her teeth pressed to her lips as she made her hands slowly come to her cheeks and made it look like she got her head to shrink back down to it's normal size.
"Oh that's much better. My head got so huge." joked Eda.
Both of them chuckled at the joke as they saw King at the bathroom door. King was knocking on the door as if making sure he didn't barge in on someone.
"Hey Maxie, you alright in there?" called King.
"What's going on, you little furrball?" said Eda playfully.
Loud groaning was heard from inside the bathroom. Since Eda, Luz and King were outside the bathroom door, they assumed that Maxwell was inside. They heard loud groaning, some slight coughs and loud retching sounds. They could tell something wasn't right.
"Hey Maxie, you feeling alright in there?" called Luz.
The groaning sounds were louder and they sounded like groans of pain of exhaustion. Eda walked towards the door and grabbed the door knob to jiggle it.
"Well, he didn't lock the door." said Eda relieved.
"Maxie, if your not decent, put something on. We're coming in." called Luz.
"Please don't be naked." said Eda hopefully.
Eda turned the door knob and opened the door. They walked in and saw Maxwell was on his knees and his head was hanging over the toilet. They saw that he looked pale from the face, he retched once more and they looked away as they could tell he was puking.
"Ewwww." they all said looking grossed out.
Maxwell stopped tossing it in the toilet as he successfully managed to get it all in the toilet and made no mess. He reached a shaking hand to push the lever and flushed the toilet. He let out a groan of discomfort. Luz walked over to him and lifted his head up from the side. Maxwell was looking pale in the face and from Luz's hand being placed on his forehead and cheeks, his face felt warm and looked like he was starting to sweat.
"Eda, Maxie's not looking so good. He's burning up." said Luz with a worried look.
Eda and King walked over and as Luz gave them some room to examine him, that's when Eda felt Maxwell's face and forehead. She felt the warm body temperature on his whole face.
"Maxie, how you feeling?" asked Eda softly.
Maxwell barely managed to shake his head slowly as if trying to respond to Eda. She didn't know what Maxwell was trying to tell her since he wasn't saying actual words and only made verbal sounds.
"Maxie, maybe you could do some good with some food in your belly?" King suggested.
Maxwell's stomach gurgled loudly and they backed away a bit as Maxwell retched and let out the vomit in the toilet. It was brief but Luz flushed the toilet for him.
"I'll take that as a no." said King looking worried.
Eda leaned over and pulled Maxwell up into her arms as she carried him out of the bathroom while Luz and King followed her. They went to the living room as Eda laid him on his back to the couch. They made sure there was a large bucket nearby in case Maxwell had to puke again. Eda felt Maxwell's face, his cheeks, forehead and she felt his belly which she could feel his body was warm in those areas.
King brought the first aid kit and Eda got out the thermometer and placed it in his mouth.
"Maxie, keep it underneath your tongue." instructed Eda.
Maxwell obeyed as he could hear them. They waited for a bit and Eda pulled the thermometer out of his mouth as she saw what his temperature was. They could see that Maxwell was sweating a bit, shivered a bit from a possible chill, when King mentioned food, he didn't appear hungry.
"His temperature is a bit high. It's one-hundred and one." said Eda shaking her head.
Eda gave King the thermometer so he could disinfect it and put it away. Luz pulled out a rag and handed it to Eda so she could place it on Maxwell's forehead.
"Maxie, do you remember how you got sick?" asked Luz curiously.
"I think...it was...what I had for lunch yesterday. That Japanese dish, it tasted odd but I thought it was suppose to be that way." said Maxwell with a groan.
They remember that yesterday they had lunch somewhere but they tried out something they never had before because they figured it would be a good thing to try something new. Eda shook her head.
"I did sense negative vibes from that." said Eda with a sigh.
"I'm sorry Eda." said Maxwell sadly.
"You didn't know, Maxie. It's not your fault that you didn't know." Eda reassured.
Luz came over to him and placed her hand on his stomach as she was rubbing his belly, attempting to relieve some discomfort in his belly.
"Poor Maxie, I know being sick isn't fun." stated Luz showing compassion.
"I'm sorry, Luz." said Maxwell groaning.
"It's alright, Maxie. You didn't do anything wrong." Luz kindly reassured.
"I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner." said Maxwell with a hiccup.
Maxwell appeared to be showing a bit of fear when he told them this as if worried he'd be in trouble with Eda. They all went silent. What did Maxwell mean by not saying something sooner? Did he feel ill sooner than they discovered or was it something else? They didn't know. Eda started to look as though she caught Maxwell doing something he shouldn't be doing.
"Maxie, what do you mean you didn't say something sooner?" asked Eda firmly.
"I felt a funny feeling in my belly sometime last night before we went to bed. I would've said something but you all looked so tired and I didn't want to be bother. I know people get cranky from lack of sleep." explained Maxwell softly.
Luz looked as though a light bulb went off in her head. She blushed and now understood about the moans that she heard Maxwell making when she went to use the bathroom during the night.
"That explains a lot." said Luz understanding the signs.
"You're about one thing, Maxie. You should've spoke up and said something sooner." said Eda reminding him of what he should've done.
"I know and I'm sorry." said Maxwell agreeing with Eda. "Maybe it's true about what someone once said."
"About what?" asked Luz.
"Women being right. My mother told me she's always right, even when she's wrong, she's always right. I assumed that also meant women are always right, that women are wiser and that's why men haven't died off long time ago. I should listen to you two." explained Maxwell blushing from what he told them.
Eda smiled and somehow agreed with those words as if it was a form of flattery or as if she knew about this truth for a long time and was glad to hear a male admit it. Luz seemed to be touched that Maxwell agreed about what his mother said about her being always right. King seem to think that Maxwell was saying this about women ether because of his fever, fear of offending a woman and suffering their wrath or possibly to stroke their egos or he assumed that Maxwell was saying that because he was seeing the truth. Eda reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's chest.
"Well Maxie, you and your mom are right about that. Women are wiser and they're always right, even when they're wrong, they're always right." said Eda swelling with pride.
Maxwell felt as though that his body reacted the same when ever Eda would kiss him, place her hand on his chest, belly, face, praise him for his rebelliousness or when ever she would show him her kinder side. His heart would race a bit, blush a little and let out a hiccup.
"Eda, your not mad at me for not saying something sooner?" asked Maxwell hopefully.
Eda shook her head with a grin.
"Nope, I'm not mad. I will admit that you puking is a little gross yet better out than in. Your forgiven, big guy." said Eda kindly.
Maxwell let out a sigh of relief as if glad to know that he wasn't in any trouble at all. Eda was wondering what they should do as ideas formed in her head.
"Maxie, I think I know a potion that you could take for what illness you have." said Eda looking confident.
"I don't know. Making potions is one thing but actually drinking them when I got no idea what they'll do or no idea what's in them." said Maxwell with a gulp.
They could see that Maxwell was feeling a bit nervous when it comes to using a potion since he was a bit afraid of taking a disguise potion back when he was getting help with retrieving his bag but that was when he was reassured that nothing horrible would happen.
"Maxie, you've taken a potion before." said Luz remembering.
"That was when you guys told me what it was for and that nothing would go wrong, despite how hesitant I was." said Maxwell with a groan.
Another gurgle came from Maxwell's stomach and he groaned loudly. Luz would try to rub his belly to relieve any pressure but it was doing very little to relieve any pain or pressure.
"Maxie, your afraid, are you? Afraid that a potion could make things worse or what it'll do." asked King.
Maxwell nodded once and felt a bit of shame for admitting it.
"Maxie, what ever happens, we won't let things get worse. Your ill, you need to be cared for and that's what we're here for. We do anything for Luz and keep her safe, alive and make sure she's alright." explained King kindly. "We'll do the same for you."
Maxwell felt his fears fade a little and decided to relent.
"Okay, but you guys are going to need surgical masks and gloves. In case anything gets messy and gross." Maxwell advised.
"Way ahead of you, big fella." said Eda getting up.
Eda and Luz got up and began to go and get the masks and gloves while King volunteered to look after Maxwell as they did what they were doing. King would try to make Maxwell laugh by making funny noises such as fake farting sounds with his hand under his arm and his other arm would slap against his hand, making a loud and fake farting sounds. Maxwell would give a small smile and chuckle.
"Maxie's smiling." teased King.
Eda and Luz came back and both the three of them placed on blue gloves and white surgical masks. Eda had a potion in one hand and they even made sure they had plenty of clean rags in cause of a mess. Eda took the stopped off from the potion vial and was about to place the vial to his mouth but Maxwell was shaking from what looked like a chill or from nervousness.
"Open up, big boy." instructed Eda.
"On the count of three?" said Maxwell nervously.
They nodded as they figured this would help Maxwell feel better by doing that.
"One, two, three." they spoke.
Eda placed the vial to his lips and Maxwell swallowed the potion down as the liquid was green. He carefully down the potion as if trying to make sure not to choke. Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's belly while giving him a sympathetic look.
"That's our big boy." said Luz reassuring him.
Eda put the vial away and they waited a minute to see if things were going to improve or get worse. Maxwell was breathing in and out calmly but also tried not to panic.
"You've been sick before, have you Maxie?" asked Eda curiously.
He nodded once and felt his stomach was gurgling a bit more silent but he was waiting for the potion to kick in.
"I was always nervous around doctors. I just never liked the idea of them sticking me with a needle. They said it would only feel like a bee sting." said Maxwell shaking a bit.
"Maxie, you were traumatized when you were little when you had to see a doctor before, have you?" asked Luz looking concerned.
The aching pain in Maxwell's head and stomach was still there but slowly felt it dissipate.
"I don't remember much but I remember when I was four that someone told me a few graphic tales about what goes on in hospitals such as surgery or people who are seriously hurt, the said person got too graphic with the details, so many gory details that my mom saw this man was freaking me out. Last thing I remember was my mom going off on this man about what kind of person tells this to a four year old boy. I don't remember anything else other than that. I can't remember who this man was or what he looked like." explained Maxwell.
They all were a bit wide eyed from hearing this but they could tell that anyone telling someone at a young age scary little stories could have some traumatizing affects on them.
"If I was there and saw that guy was doing that to you. I'd be yelling at him and telling him what is wrong with you." Luz stated as her motherly instincts kicked in.
"I would've done worse to the creep." Eda chimed in.
Maxwell felt as though Eda and Luz were expressing how they would've helped Maxwell if they were there when he was at age four, going through that traumatizing event. He felt like this was a mother's love from their mama bear instrincts. But he did look a bit alarmed from what Eda said.
"I'm afraid to ask what you would do if you saw that happen to me." said Maxwell a bit afraid to ask.
"I would've set him on fire and ripped him apart. That or kick him where the sun don't shine." Eda stated with a confident grin.
Luz and Maxwell went silent and were a little shocked to hear this. Luz half expected Eda to say something like that but Maxwell was still a bit new to how a witch would handle things if someone they cared about was in danger and they'd help them.
"Is it normal that I'm a little afraid of that?" said Maxwell in a nervous tone.
"If I got to be scary to fend off anyone who hurts someone that is my own, than it's only to scare off the creep." said Eda with a laugh and snort. "But boy I would look fierce."
King cleared his throat and crossed his arms, looking at Eda with a stoic expression. He was motioning his head towards Maxwell as if pointing to him. Eda could see that Maxwell was a little alarmed by what she said as the young human male looked away.
"Okay, I'd probably just kick the creep where the sun don't shine. But I'd threaten him as a warning." said Eda trying to sound less scary.
Maxwell looked back and felt his body was feeling normal but his stomach gurgled as loud as possible and they could hear it. He let out a groan and looked as though he was about to puke or something worse as he felt a bit too weak to move at this point. Luz tried to rub Maxwell's belly to help relieve any pressure.
"Ohhhhhh." groaned Maxwell in pain.
"I think he's gonna throw up." said King looking alarmed.
"That's not what's coming out." Maxwell said weakly.
"Maybe we should burp him." Eda suggested.
"He's a teenager, not an infant." King argued.
"Back away." warned Maxwell his voice sounding dry.
They backed away a couple of feet and decided to heed his warning. Maxwell's cheeks puffed up as if he tried to stop himself from puking.
"He's gonna blow!" they said in unison.
Maxwell suddenly let out the loudest burp he ever let out and he breathed a bit of fire as a result. The burp eventually stopped but Maxwell laid back down and let out a groan, his body shook a bit, his face was still pale and his belly still felt discomfort.
"Did it work?" asked Luz hopefully.
Maxwell was hesitant at first but shook his head.
"I'm sorry guys." said Maxwell groaning.
They were relieved that Maxwell wasn't going to puke or have a very bad wound but they were slightly disappointed that the potion didn't work. Eda let out an annoyed groan.
"Well, that didn't work." said Eda annoyed.
An idea popped into Luz's head as she remembered something. Maxwell's healing power.
"Maxie, what about your healing power?" suggested Luz.
"I tried and nothing happened. It's like when Eda's curse comes back, she can't do magic when that happens. But I don't understand why I can't do it. I tried but I can't get any magic out of me." explained Maxwell looking confused.
They all looked worried about this as this has never happened before or at least they never saw this happen before with Maxwell or anyone who could do magic.
"Maxie, that man you ran into that told you if anyone asks, you never saw him. Did anything else weird happen when you interacted with him?" asked Eda looking as though she sensed something bad was happening.
"I told you everything already. Both when I first told you and when you were enrolling me at Hexside." Maxwell reminded.
Eda was thinking of other reasons this could be happening. If Maxwell couldn't do magic like when she can't do magic when her curse comes back, than she was suspecting that it could be many possibilities but only one of them could be correct.
"I wish I could say this could be a sign of Maxie being cursed but this doesn't look like the affects or signs of one. I know a thing or two about curses and this isn't a curse." explained Eda.
Maxwell looked towards Eda as he was hanging onto her every word as he was hoping to hear some good news. He felt a bit frightened at her words.
"Please tell me I'm not cursed." said Maxwell hopefully.
"Eda, I think this is scaring him a little." said Luz looking sympathetic.
"Relax, he's not cursed. But I think I know what this could be." said Eda trying to reassure them. "There used to be something known as a period of weakness for witches. During the period of weakness, they wouldn't be able to do magic during a moon cycle that happened every month, each time would last for three days. But than as time passed, the period of weakness was slowly disappearing, it was starting to become once a month but than later on, witches no longer had the period of weakness."
Maxwell hung onto her every word as his heart raced with fear and alarm. Luz came back over to Maxwell and placed her hand on his belly to show him some comfort.
"What about humans that can do magic?" asked Maxwell looking desperate.
"Calm down, Maxie. With humans that can do magic, well, since Luz has shown she may be able to do magic, in the old way witches used to do magic and possibly the new way. The period of weakness shouldn't happen to a human, well, only humans that can't do magic. But for humans that can do magic, it shouldn't be possible for them have that happening to them. But if that were to happen, which is highly unlikely, than it should only be for about one whole day or one whole night. But this has never happened to a human before. We only theorized it but if it's a human that can do any and all magic, than it would most likely happen to them, but a witch who doesn't know much magic yet like Luz, no offense there Luz. Than it wouldn't affect them." explained Eda.
"No offense taken." said Luz.
Maxwell let out a sigh of relief as he felt his fears about being cursed disappear. Luz felt relieved as well as she rubbed Maxwell's belly to try again to relieve any pressure in Maxwell's stomach.
"What other options should we take? The potion didn't work." said King.
"I could try another potion or if nothing else works, than I could take him to a healer." suggested Eda.
An idea formed into Luz's head and she winked and smiled at Maxwell.
"Well, we may have to do things the human way, this time." suggested Luz.
Eda and King looked towards Luz and were confused about this. They didn't know too much about how humans did things but they've heard rumors about some things they do.
"What's the human way of doing things for this?" asked Eda looking lost.
"Well, it's ether medicines humans use or let nature take it's course." answered Luz. "I'll be back, I think I got something in my bag."
Luz got up and walked out of the room and headed for her room. They waited for a minute or two and Luz returned with her bag. She had a bottle of water in one hand and her bag in the other. She placed the bag down and pulled the zipper. Luz pulled out what looked like a bottle or two of pills, opening the lid to each one of them as she gotten a pill from them and once she closed the bottles up, she placed the pills in one hand and turned to Maxwell.
"Come on, Maxie. Open up." instructed Luz.
Maxwell opened his mouth and Luz placed the pills in his mouth and got the bottle of water out. Twisting the lid off and placed the bottle to his lips so he could swallow the pills with water, he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water as Luz put the bottle of water down and twisting the lid back on it. Eda and King were a bit lost at this as if they were witnessing how humans treat any and all ailments for the first time. It was like a new learning experience for them.
"Luz, have you done this before?" asked King curiously.
"I picked up a few things or more from some experience or from what human doctors have advised." answered Luz. "He'll have to stay hydrated, get plenty of rest keep his body temperature cooled down."
"That we can do." said Eda.
"What if he has to, you know?" asked King.
They knew that King meant that if Maxwell was to puke again, they need to know what should be done since the living room and the bathroom were a distance away and they suspect that Maxwell wouldn't be able to hold it for that long.
"A bucket. We'll need a bucket for that." suggested Maxwell with a groan.
"I got that." Eda told them. "Don't worry, Maxie. Everything's alright."
Eda left the room and came back with a bucket that was a big one, she set it down near the couch and came over to Maxwell to feel his forehead, she could feel it was still warm but the sweating had lessened which she placed the rag back on his forehead.
"Maxie, I'm sorry that you're going through this." said Eda softly.
"I'm in good hands." said Maxwell with a sigh.
Maxwell started to try and clear his throat which sounded dry. Luz got the bottle of water and began to let him have a bit more to drink. Maxwell swallowed enough water that left the bottle half full. He let out a little burp afterwards.
"Maxie, if you were feeling ill since last night. What did you feel that started this?" asked King curiously.
"Headache, my belly started to feel uncomfortable and I felt hot all over." explained Maxwell with a groan from his stomach gurgling.
"Well, than Eda's right about something. You should've said something sooner, big guy." stated King. "But don't sweat it, we know you meant well."
Maxwell felt as though being cared for this way by people like Eda, King and Luz was something he longed for since his relationship with his own father was a horrible one, his loving mother deceased from natural causes and that he wasn't kindly cared for by anyone in so long. Everytime he was afraid, they'd comfort him. Everytime he made a mistake, they'd forgiven him and were patient with him. Everytime someone was bullying him, they were at his side to help him. They cared for him like a family should. He felt touched. Yet that touched feeling was short lived as he felt his stomach gurgle loudly again and groaned from it. Luz would rub Maxwell's belly again to help relieve any pressure or discomfort.
"Well, since today, we've got nothing to tend to for now. We'll at least be able to make sure Maxie is recovering from such an illness." Eda chimed in.
"And he's got such a soft belly like King." said Luz cutely.
Hearing this made Maxwell blush and feel his heart racing as he grew fond of Luz's motherly instincts. King came over and as Luz pulled him up in her arms, that's when King would make silly faces and silly noises to make Maxwell laugh. It worked as he managed to laugh a little.
"I love making this boy laugh. That's why I tickle him so much." laughed King.
King had crawled towards Maxwell and laid on his stomach, he would place his paw like hand on his soft belly in a brief poke. This caused Maxwell to laugh a little, he poked his belly again and stroked it slowly, causing Maxwell to giggle and squirm a bit.
"King, don't do that." giggled Maxwell.
"Oh what, don't do this?" teased King.
King would poke at Maxwell's belly and stroke it again, causing him to laugh and squirm a bit more. King eventually stopped to show a little mercy. Luz took hold of King and began to tickle his belly a little, causing the little wolf male demon to squirm and laugh.
"Whose got a soft belly and cares about others, you do." said Luz in a cute and excitible tone.
"I'm ticklish, hahahahahaha." laughed King squirming.
Luz eventually stopped tickling King and hugged him, pulling her surgical mask off and giving him a kiss to his forehead. King was giggling from this. As they got up and were about to walk off, that's when Luz was stopped when Maxwell lightly took hold of Luz's gloved hand. She looked back at him and so did the rest of them.
"Don't leave me alone." said Maxwell looking a bit afraid.
"It's alright, Maxie. We'll be in the house if you need us." said Luz reassuring him.
"Promise?" said Maxwell looking hopefully at her.
"I promise." said Luz with a grin.
Luz went to give Maxwell a hug and a kiss to his forehead, even rubbing his belly once more which was reassuring him enough to calm him of any fears.
"That's our big, brave boy." said Luz encouragingly.
Maxwell gave a small smile and nodded as he laid there to rest. As Luz, King and Eda walk off, Eda hung back for a bit as she looked towards Maxwell.
"Maxie, your alright?" asked Eda looking concerned.
"With you guys being with me. I'll live. But Eda, I know your the adult and what the adult says goes and I know your looking out for us. But could I suggest something?" Maxwell said hopefully.
"I'm listening." said Eda showing she was listening.
"Luz seems to know a bit about the sickness I'm going through and I know you do too. But please, listen to Luz on this one. I'm not trying to argue or start anything negative. I'm just suggesting something to try out and see where it goes." said Maxwell kindly.
A smile spread across Eda's face. She knew that he was only suggesting a solution and was trying to be nice about it without offending her.
"Okay, little guy. I'll try doing that." said Eda kindly. "Also, if you have to, you know, blow chunks, try to make it into that bucket. I may be grossed out when someone barfs like they got food poisoning, but better out than in."
"Thank you, Eda." said Maxwell relieved.
"Just don't go sneaking a bunch of hot girls in here. Unless you want them to paint you in red lipstick all over." joked Eda with a laugh and snort.
Hearing this joke from Eda left Maxwell blushing very deeply while letting out a loud but nervous cough. Eda could sense that he wasn't epecting her to joke about something at this time.
"Don't worry, little man. I'm kidding." Eda told him.
Maxwell let out a sigh of relief and managed to smile a little. Eda walked off and as Maxwell laid there on the couch to rest and recover, there was something or more on his mind. Since he's been with Eda, Luz, King and even Hooty, he feels safe with them and feels loved and cared for, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Yet the main thing on his mind was his feelings for the one person his heart would pump faster for, Eda.
"My heart, it only beats for her." said Maxwell to himself.
Through out the day, one of them would come back to him to make sure he had some water. He would eat a little bit as Luz would feed him a bit of soup. King would feed him an apple or more and Eda would at least let him eat a banana or two, she had it chopped up and she did follow what Maxwell suggested by listening to Luz during his time of illness and she found out that Luz knew what she was doing. Maxwell was in caring, loving hands as the day went by as he was recovering from his illness.
