I need alllllll the coffeeeeeeeeee.

DoggyPocky: Wanda definitely didn't think that all the way through. She may have been trying to spare Cosmo's feelings, but by doing that, she made things worse. It's also understandable to be neutral, especially towards Spike's mother. I like trying to present more than one POV with characters since they always say there's three sides to every story; your side, their side, and the truth. Of course, a man like Professor Cardician would be married. His charm certainly shows that, but sleeping with someone other than his wife, what kind of man is he really?

McSgwizzle: Cozzie and Wandie may or may not be treading boiling waters right about now. Rose really is such a gem in Spike's life and it's wonderful for him that she's there to pick up the pieces when need be. The little end twist, though cliché, definitely made Blonda's life as unnecessarily complicated as possible, cuz, well, why not?

Still clothed in his work uniform, Cosmo buried his face in his hands, seated at his desk. He lifted his head to his roommate, envious of his slumber. He thought the rigorous labor of his job would tire him out enough to cease the self-doubt reeling in his head, yet here he was. Not sleeping. Unfortunately thinking. Entirely too much.

Cosmo took out his phone, reading 2:00am across his screen. Maybe some fresh air could help ease his nerves.

Grabbing the wand from his desk, Cosmo harbored magic to poof himself out the room. Tucking his hands in his pockets, Cosmo wandered aimlessly, watching purple tree leaves dancing in the late-night breeze. School regulations made it to where any parties of any kind took place mostly off campus, perfect for a quiet stroll.

Cosmo wanted Wanda however he could have her because, as he used to believe, he'd rather Wanda be in his life than not at all, and at the time, he settled for just a friendship. He tried so hard to shove his true feelings aside, because at the time, he could tell Wanda was content overall in dating Juandissimo. Losing her out of fear of his mother, he felt he never deserve Wanda's love again. Regardless of how hard he tried, he didn't want to share Wanda with anyone else, and as selfish as that felt to him, he couldn't keep pretending otherwise.

Seeing Wanda with her ex triggered his assumption that, maybe, just maybe, he stole her away from someone she was happy with. He didn't bother returning to their study room after he walked out. All he could do was poof to his room to try and sleep it off until he had to work. He couldn't bring himself to answer any of her texts or her calls. The fear of being abandoned just to run back into the arms of Juandissimo consumed him, and as much as he really didn't want to admit, he suspected she wasn't completely over Juandissimo like she's said to him before.

Turning the corner from Taurus Hall, he flew down the walkway leading to the amphitheater. At first glance, his eye didn't recognize the lone figure sprawled in the grass, almost assuming said figure was dead based on the lifeless state. He then scanned his surroundings in search of an imaginary murderer, aware that if such existed, he'd have little to defend himself. When he chose to then ignore his paranoia for a closer second look, he realized that the lone figure on the ground was someone he rivaled for Wanda's love…

Observing Juandissimo staring mindlessly into the silver moon above them, Cosmo froze in his stance, a few feet away. Originally believing that apologizing to Juandissimo for what transpired between them fixed the overwhelming tension, Alewandro did tell him about Juandissimo's shady comments towards both him and Wanda. So much for squashing beef. He would have never pegged Juandissimo to be petty. Then again, he didn't know Juandissimo that well, just like Juandissimo didn't know a thing about him enough to have any right of judging him…

He felt a little sorry for Muscles Magoo though as far as the heartbreak he went through. The few times he did notice Juandissimo around campus, he looked…empty. Lonely, even. Something Cosmo suffered when he could no longer claim Wanda, a regard he also held sympathy. On the flipside, could it be that Juandissimo be trying to weasel his way back into her life? If Wanda truly didn't love Juandissimo anymore, and they've spoken more than once, then that could also mean Juandissimo was the initiator. Was he trying to win her back so she can dump her pathetic boy toy for a real man?

Deciding to figure out for himself, Cosmo advanced toward Juandissimo, harboring a warning.

There was no life behind Juandissimo's blue-violet orbs. He had lost his sense of being. His spirit had grown cold, his hole being felt numb. Happiness felt so far away as if to avoid him. The Spell he consumed just minutes prior couldn't kick in fast enough. He longed to numb his mind of nagging thoughts and painful memories…he loved the feeling, the sensation it brought, as if his blood thinned into water, limbs fuzzy and tingling in altered deadness. Continuing to live in this miserable reality, he might as well be able to enjoy the escape from feeling dead inside.

"Stay away from my girlfriend."

Turning his eyes slightly, the figure of a green-haired fairy appeared in his vision, those same green eyes glaring down to him. Unfazed by Cosmo's 'tough guy' exterior, Juandissimo muttered "…tell tu novia to stay away from me."

"If I see you around her again," Cosmo kneeled down, soft in his speech yet defensive his dialect. "I won't be so nice about it."

Juandissimo subtly directed his attention back to the glittering stars, far past the point of caring. He didn't need some tonto verde spouting empty threats over a girl he no longer held ties to. "…sure."

Cosmo scrunched his brow; what happened to the Juandissimo he remembered? The one ready to stand his ground, backing down to no one who crossed him. The one who could have easily beaten him within an inch of his life with his bare hands? Where was that fight in him? "…is there a reason you're on the ground?"

"…no."

"…Sooooo…" Cosmo droned, arching a brow. "…you're just…laying here for no reason."

Juandissimo irritably groaned, shifting his eyes back to Cosmo. "What else is it that you want?"

Cosmo scoffed, glaring down at him. "As long as you keep what's mine and my name out your mouth, I want nothing from you. I don't want anything to do with you, so do me and my girlfriend a favor and make it easier for us to forget you exist."

Rolling his eyes, Juandissimo directed his stare to the sky. He could honestly care less at that point. "Whatever."

Just as Cosmo stood to leave, a sudden thought popped in Juandissimo's mind. "Before you go…"

Stopping mid-flight, Cosmo kept his back turned, deciding to listen to whatever that irrelevant scum had to say.

"I just have one question."

Turning around, Cosmo hovered back to where he lay, kneeling back down to his level as he sighed "…what."

"Back when you tried…did you truly want to die?"

Cosmo paused. No amount of therapy will ever make this moment okay. "…Are you serious?"

"Si." Juandissimo confirmed as if obvious. "That is why I asked."

Mulling over what answer he would give, Cosmo's eyes wandered in thought. Should he tell the truth? To a fairy he wouldn't trust with his life? What was his objective? His motive? Whatever the case, lying probably wouldn't change anything. "…yes."

"Why?"

"Um…" Cosmo paused again. Thinking about his suicide attempt wasn't exactly on top of his 'to-do' list. "Cuz I thought everyone would be better off."

Sometimes he still wondered if everyone would be better off.

Sometimes he'd find himself doubting whether he was worthy of a second chance at life. Was the vison of his father correct in saying he had so much life ahead of him, that it wasn't his time yet? Invectives of his mother shrouded his mind in so much unwarranted doubt…was he just making Wanda's life and everyone else's lives worse?

Losing himself in his thoughts, it took a moment for him to realize Juandissimo grew silent, and when he turned to him, he noticed something suddenly felt a different vibe from him. "…Juandissimo?"

The world around him swiveled, air rippling in his vision. He rolled himself to his agitated stomach, failing to push his weight with waning arms. Burning and freezing sensations rushed through his veins, feeling a wash in his brain. His eyes struggled to focus, a half-tone brick in his head. With every effort he made to stand, he stumbled back to the ground, almost like magnetic gait. Keeping track of how much Spell he'd drink in one sitting wasn't something he did, but perhaps drinking three-quarters of 16 ounces wasn't as good of an idea as it seemed at the time. Instead of swimming in bliss, he felt like the waste dumped in a sewage tank.

Cosmo saw Juandissimo as someone who always had it together, so to see him so 'out of control' puzzled him. "…You need help?" Cosmo questioned Juandissimo's drunken stupor. "Like...of the medic kind?"

Juandissimo shook his head, finally bringing himself to his knees. He might as well be floating underwater from the swelling of pressure in his skull. "…no…" he slurred. "…leave me alone…"

Cosmo shrugged, standing to his feet. He didn't have to tell him twice. "Suit yourself."

Floating back in the air, Cosmo stared at his rival with fixed eyes before continuing his aimless journey, leaving Juandissimo doubling over with his face in his palms, attempting to stop his surroundings from wheeling.

"…Susie?" Alewandro laid a hand over Susie's, her hand over the transmission of her car. "¿Estas bien?"

Susie eyed her grandmother's home through the windshield, fidgeting from the flutters in her stomach with her other hand tight around the steering wheel. "…If it weren't for Gammie, I wouldn't be here…"

Susie wanted no ties with her father, nor could she stomach being in his presence, but in recent months, her grandmother's health had deteriorated quite a bit. Her Magicabetes worsened from Type II to Type I which resulted in numerous bouts of shortness of breath, and her hypertension became harder to control, landing her a few visits to the ER just over Christmas Break alone. Her grandmother's health worried her, and despite being so far from her at the Fairy Academy, Susie always made it a point to go check on her at least once a week.

Though, it was easier to do so before Bernard reared his imprudent head…

"…thank you." Susie mustered a smile. "For coming with me."

Raising her hand to him, he gave it soft peck of luck. "Gracias for bringing me."

Stalling long enough, Susie and Alewandro exited the vehicle, and with a couple beeps of locking her doors, Susie and Alewandro flew along the paver stone walkway to the chevron hinged front door stained in clear knotty adler. Grandma Cocoa expected their company, so Susie took out her old house keys from her jean jacket and unlocked the door. The young fairies entered into a home void of artificial light, dimly lit by afternoon sun gleaming through the sheer voile curtains over the four front windows and the two in the kitchen connected to the living room by a rounded archway. Susie called ahead of time letting Grandma Cocoa know to expect her; if she knew they were coming, wouldn't there at least be a couple lights on?

"Gammie!" Susie called out. "Gammie, we're here!"

She called out a few more times, yet silence greeted her. Bernard also appeared to be missing.

"Do you think they went out somewhere?" Alewandro asked.

"Neither one of them have any transportation." Susie replied, floating to peer behind the archway down the hall in between the living room and the kitchen. "And Gammie's too weak to use her magic to poof them both anywhere."

"Bernard maybe took her somewhere with his magic?" Alewandro assumed.

"He lost his wand a long time ago and hadn't gotten around to get a new one…"

"Soooo do you think she may have gotten tired and went to take a nap?"

At two in the afternoon on a Saturday? Not unlikely.

Susie flew into the hallway to her grandmother's room, seeing the door ajar, and Alewandro followed behind as Susie went inside. She found Grandma Cocoa in her bed, propped with a pillow behind her back. Her head slouched over her chest in an uncomfortable angle, and her arms hung limp beside her. Falling asleep upright wasn't too out of the norm…sleeping with her head drooped like she'd gotten the lights punched out of her was.

"…Gammie?" Susie went to give her grandmother a couple shakes, thinking she'd wake up that way. "We're here."

Shaking and calling out to her had no effect, something else outside of the norm as Grandma Cocoa was no heavy sleeper. The slightest bristle of a tree branch against her window would wake her.

Alewandro flew to the other side of Grandma Cocoa, leaning to listen to her breathing. Her breaths were unusually thin and shallow, and when he set her palm over her heart, he noticed the rapid, uneven pacing of its beats. "…she is not breathing normally." Alewandro noted, also finding how sweaty her palms were.

Susie rushed to the bathroom connected to Grandma Cocoa's room, remembering that when her blood sugar dropped, she needed to raise her levels before things got dire. Her insulin and needles would normally be in her medicine cabinet, only to find that both absent. Grandma Cocoa had forgotten to restock her supplies in the past, but never did she go longer than half a day without. Susie always helped her stay on top of her medicine, sometimes refilling her prescription on her behalf. Being away at the Fairy Academy, she couldn't monitor her grandmother as closely as she wanted, and with her trying to take care of Bernard, she may have forgotten to take care of herself, no telling exactly when she ran out of insulin and needles.

That could only mean one thing, and they had to act quickly for the sake of her grandmother's life.

. . . . . .

As his ride drove off, Bernard rushed to the front entrance of the hospital. Upon his return to his mother's house, he found a note from Susie informing him of Grandma Cocoa dire condition. The news of this shocked him. He'd only been gone of all of thirty minutes; he knew of her complications with Magicabetes but wasn't aware that her condition was so dire.

Entering through the automatic sliding doors of the ER, antiseptic entered his nose and he brought his arms around him from the chill in the air. Medical infomercials repeated across the screens of mounted TVs, unwatched by the other occupants, while the receptionist shuffled papers over her desk. He spotted his daughter seated beside a male with his arm over her shoulder, both unaware of his arrival until he called out to his daughter.

"I saw your letter…" Bernard approached them, hoping they would have the answer to his question. "What happened?!"

His body had been forced backwards by Susie's hands as she shot from her seat to shoved him. "I knew it!"

"Susie, I don't understand…" In that instance, Bernard knew not why he was on the receiving end of Susie's hostility.

"Her needles were gone and so was her insulin!" Susie stabbed a finger into his chest, backing him away steadily. "You stole from her again to get your next fix, didn't you!"

Bernard raised his hands in defense. Drug addicts will do anything for a fix, but Bernard knew better than to stoop that low, not after realizing what harm it caused to his family. "I knew she ran out when she kept complainin' how tired and dizzy she was and hadn't taken her insulin since yesterday and she didn't eat very much today…." He tried to explain, speaking from honesty. "I left to go get more, but it took longer than expected-"

"Oh, please! I wasn't born last night!" Susie ignored Alewandro's attempts to calm her down from making too big of a scene. "How do you expect me to believe that?!"

Reaching into his trench coat pocket, he revealed a paper bag, showing new needles and insulin from the local pharmacy. "…I got a ride from a friend in rehab, and momma let me go fill it for her." Judging by her skeptical glare, he could tell she didn't want to believe him, even with evidence right in front of her. "I swear…"

"Ms. Sprinkle?"

Dr. Studwell came from the double doors leading further into the ER as the trio acknowledged him. Noting the optimism in the doctor's expression, Susie took this as a good sign for good news.

"We were able to give your grandmother some Dextrose IV which helped raise her blood sugars almost instantly." Dr. Studwell relayed politely with his trademark smile. "She's going to make a full recovery."

"Thank goodness…" Bernard sighed in relief.

"She's awake now if any of you would like to go see her." Dr. Studwell offered.

Susie's anxious eyes looked back to Alewandro, almost as if asking permission. Reading her mind, Alewandro took Susie's fingers into his.

"Go ahead." Alewandro softly encouraged, stroking her hand. "She is probably waiting for you."

After thanking him with a kiss on the cheek, Susie followed Dr. Studwell as he led her through the double doors into the corridors of the ER. Alewandro waited until Susie and Dr. Studwell disappeared before turning to the older gentleman beside him, noting the striking resemblance to his girlfriend.

"…you must be the boyfriend." Bernard began, hearing about Susie's relationship through his mother.

"…you must be the father." Knowing nothing but horrible things about the father who abandoned their daughter, Alewandro still wanted to be polite. It wasn't his place to judge him.

"Bernard." Bernard extended an arm.

"Alewandro." Alewandro shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Kinda wish it wasn't under these circumstances." Bernard admitted lightheartedly.

"Neither do I." Alewandro shrugged. "Pero, what can you do?"

"Verdadero, man…"

Alewandro stared at him in slight surprise. "¿tu hablas español?"

"More like Spanglish." Bernard chuckled. "But my homie, Quandero? He's the one who dropped me off. We got real close in rehab…taught me a lil' somethin'."

"Nice."

Bernard licked his lips looking away for a second. Leaving his daughter at four years old, returning fifteen years later to meet the boy she'd been dating for over a year after just coming back in her life a week ago. It felt so weird to him, felt out of place. He missed so many of her other milestones…he didn't feel like a father meeting his daughter's boyfriend. He was hardly a father at all.

Definitely not according to Susie.

She harbored so much animosity to accuse him of jeopardizing his own mother's health for his own personal gain, and that tore him inside. He wished Susie loved him as a father like she loved Alewandro as a partner. He had that love once, and he betrayed that love. Now he had to show both his mother and his daughter that he chooses family and loves them more than anything in the world.

He had a lot to prove.

The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground, slanting rays of sun setting into warm rosy-orange hues in the sky. Susie kept her empty stare down to her buckled platforms, occupying the vacant garnet surface of the amphitheater.

After her grandmother was released from the hospital back into the care of Bernard, Susie felt conflicted. It made it difficult to accept his efforts to change, yet a part of her needed him just as much as he needed her. She remembered growing up with the sense of missing a key piece to solve the puzzle in her life, a hole in her heart that never seemed to fill no matter how many positive influences she had around her. The little girl in her yearned for his presence, his unconditional love, his deep, abiding caring for her as part of him.

She wanted that and more, yet she didn't want the protected glass of the little girl in her to shatter again.

"Why all by ya lonesome, Seuce tha goose?!

Susie veered to the familiar voice approaching her, recognizing that signature cobalt high-fade mohawk from a mile away. Half a smile curved her lips, not surprised by his weird sense of humor from her new nickname he came up with. "What? Is it not normal to be alone?"

"For you? Not exactly." Spike amused, taking his seat next to Susie. "Usually you're with Wandro, double dating with Wands and Cozzie, kickin' it with the gals or, y'know, with the squad. Haven't really seen you all alone before."

"Well for all you know, I do enjoy my time alone." Susie teased back.

"Suuuuuuuuuure." Spike scoffed before repeating his question. "So wussup with ya?"

Susie eyed him with a grin. "Why are you so eager to know?"

"What?" Spike smirked. "I can't be concerned 'bout one of my best friends?"

"Best friend?" Susie and Spike didn't always see eye-to-eye in the beginning, so she found it strange for him to refer to her as such.

"Well, considering you're one of my first real friends," Spike casually explained. "I say that counts."

"Oh woooooooooow." Susie pretended to be shocked. "I'm so flattered!"

Spike's response came in a small laugh, peering out to the dew of the purple grass before them. "Don't flatter yourself, Seuce."

When silence befell the two, Susie observed Spike quietly, recalling the situation with his estranged mother that practically mirrored her own with her father. In knowing Spike for almost two years, the longer she knew and took the chance to get to know Spike, the more she learned how much they actually had in common. Growing up as an only child in single parent households, one parent abandoning them for their own selfish needs, sharing their belief that expression of emotions equaled weakness.

Aside from their more obvious differences, Wanda would joke at times how Spike could be the male version of her.

"…hey, Spike?"

"Yeah?"

She looked away briefly, finding herself in unfamiliar territory. Conversations between just her and Spike usually never went below surface level, like what bands to listen to or rating different movies. However, in a sense, he was possibly the only one to really understand what she was about to ask the most. "…should we always give someone a second chance?"

Considering her question, Spike's answer came with a small shrug. "Depends on whether they deserve it."

"But how do we know when they truly deserve it and when they don't?"

"…well…think of it like this." He shifted his sitting position to where he could face her. "If you wronged someone you care about, and you apologize and say you'll change and what not…but you don't really change and you keep committing the same wrongs, would you feel like you'd deserve a second chance?"

"I probably wouldn't expect one if that was the case." Susie thoughtfully admitted. "But…if it's the other way around…how would we know that when someone tells us they'll change, they mean it?"

"Actions always speak louder." Spike reminded. "You can tell someone's learned from the wrongs of their past in how they uphold themselves in the present and the steps they take to never make the same mistakes in the future."

"So, for example…" Susie hesitated, unsure if Spike would want her to tread those waters. "…you think your mom deserves a second chance?"

Hearing Susie ask out loud what he had questioned within himself for weeks, Spike held her wondering eyes with a serious gaze. His animosity towards her wasn't ready to face her the way his father wanted him to. Was she even the same woman that wanted absolutely nothing to do with him the first seven years of his life? Would his father express so much disappointment in his son's behavior towards her if his father saw no change in her?

Knowing as much about Susie's father as she knew about his mother, he hoped answering her question with his own wouldn't make him sound too defensive. "What about your dad?"

Recalling the amount of suffering she faced at a young age because of her 'sperm donor', did he actually deserve a second chance? Her grandmother seems to think so, but what about her? Did her grandmother consider how hard it would be for the daughter her son basically neglected? Sure, all is in the past, but past traumas damages more than just a person's mind...

Returning from his study group, Cupid used his keys to go inside his room only to find it dimly lit from the moon's glow shimmering through his window beneath his raised blinds. He could see Juandissimo sleeping on his stomach with one of his arms hanging off the side of his bed, and from his lax features, he was out cold. Cupid took out his phone to check the time; what college student goes to bed before 8:30 on a Saturday night? Then again, he couldn't be too surprised. Juandissimo's sleeping patterns seemed pretty sporadic lately.

Setting his backpack by his bed, Cupid opened his phone to text Sapphire back, letting her know he would be ready to leave once he picked his outfit. He and the triplets planned on attending a frat party, half to get drunk and dance the night away, and half for Cupid to flirt with some cute guys.

Cupid heard Juandissimo's phone on the floor, some distance away from his backpack and his leather jacket sprawled next to it. Cupid found it odd that his phone would just be laying open randomly on the floor, so he flew to see that Mrs. Magnifico was calling. He looked over to Juandissimo, realizing his ears were deaf to his ringtone, and took the phone to bring it to his ear. "Hey, Mrs. M."

"Hola, Cupid." Cupid loved when he finally met Juandissimo's mother. He found her kindness to be so adorable. "How are you?"

"No complaints here. How're you?"

"Estoy bien, gracias for asking. Is Juandissimo around?"

"…um?" Cupid turned to his sleeping roommate. "I can try to wake him up for you."

"Oh, no-no." Mrs. Magnifico respectfully declined. "Mi hija expressed some concern about her last conversation with him and I was calling to check on him."

"Are you sure?" Cupid insisted, relating to their concern. "It's no problem."

"It is quite alright, Cupid." Mrs. Magnifico ensured. "She told me he sounded awfully tired when she spoke to him, so I will just let him rest."

"Oh, okay." Cupid looked around Juandissimo's area in search for the mysterious white bottle. "I'll let him know you called."

"That would be great, gracias Cupid."

"No problemo."

Exchanging goodbyes, Cupid ended the call and Juandissimo's phone on his desk. He didn't find any white bottle in his trashcan, nor had he seen it the whole week. Maybe he stopped drinking whatever it was, or maybe he got smarter as to where he kept it.

Just as he was about to turn around to his closet for some party clothes, he heard faint, incoherent mumbling. He hadn't heard Juandissimo talk in his sleep before, and he also found it strange for Juandissimo to be sweating with from just a thin sheet covering him.

Floating closer, Cupid placed a hand on Juandissimo, his forehead hot to the touch. He moved his hand down to his neck and just above his wings, feeling heat radiating off his body. He was burning up, and Cupid had no idea as to why. His first instinct was to try and wake him, though he knew he wouldn't stir if he shook him. Using his wand, he materialized another spray bottle, and with a few squirts, Juandissimo awoke with a jerk, rolling over on his back as he wiped his face. The bottle soon disappeared, and Juandissimo sat upright in his bed, both palms over his eyes.

"…why do you keep doing that?" Juandissimo grumbled; this was the fourth time he woke up to water on his face at the hands of Cupid.

Cupid set his hands sassily on the hip of his diaper. "You literally don't respond to any other stimuli!"

Holding his pounding head, Juandissimo met Cupid's blue gaze with tired blue-violets. "…why did you wake me?"

"Well one, your mom called." Cupid replied "And two, you were burning up and I got worried."

Juandissimo noticed his tank top layered in his own perspiration, feeling his body temperature higher than normal. He himself couldn't pinpoint the cause…he barely remembered coming back to his room, not after finishing well over half a bottle of Spell hours prior. The last he really recalled was hanging out behind the Leo Hall building. No one else around, he drank as different cars passed by on the road behind the barbed fence, and the more he drank, the fuzzier his timeline of events became.

"I am really worried about you, Juandissimo." Cupid sincerely admitted, finding no life in his friend's stare.

Lowering his eyes, Juandissimo simply muttered. "…there is nothing for you to worry about…"

"Juan…"

"Drop it."

A small frown falling in his features, Cupid didn't want any hostility, so he chose to respect Juandissimo's wishes. "…fine."

Cupid left to pick an outfit from his closet, while Juandissimo bent his knees to bury his face in his folded arms. Opening his closet, Cupid looked back to Juandissimo, saddened by how miserable he seemed. He wanted to be Juandissimo's light, but what good was he when Juandissimo refused to open the blinds over his heart to let light in? In agreeing to be his roommate, a small part of him believed this could give them the chance to grow closer. Sharing the same space with a different soul, to some, had that tendency, but so far, that hadn't been the case. It almost seemed as if Juandissimo shut him out more than when they were mere acquaintances. For whatever reason this was, Cupid had to back off, though this wouldn't change how much he cared…

He could only hope that one day, Juandissimo would let him in.