Author's Note: Back wit anotha one!

Also, pervertedlemon: When it comes to ol' boy Juan...you might hate me for a few chapters (tee hee.) In fact, CxW fans might hate me too, but Juan is Wanda's ex for a reason, right? So, as the story plays out, we bout ta see why that is **evil laugh**

Anywho, let us continue.

Four weeks passed, and Cosmo, Wanda, Spike, and Susie all gathered around their usual table in the cafeteria, conversing about yet another Movie Night.

"I heard 'Fall of the Anti-Fairies' is good!" Cosmo spoke as he consumed a spoonful of his favorite desert, chocolate pudding.

"Dude, 'Fall of the Anti-Fairies' got 20 out of 100 on Bad Apples." Spike countered. "'World War Flea' had the most box office sales of all time!"

"Well, Wanda and I don't want to see some stupid horror movie, anyhow." Susie intervened, reaching for her apple. "What about 'Crazy Rich Pixies?'"

"That pile of garbage?" Spike refuted after a sip of his milk. "No way; Rom-Coms are for chumps."

"Yeah!" Cosmo excitedly agreed. "Chumps!"

"Okay, chumpeteers." Susie teased. "Is 'Grim Goblins for Life' more your speed?"

"Now that is the greatest thing you've said all day!" Spike replied with a cheesy grin. "Right, Cosmo?"

"Yeah! Totally! Right Wanda?...Wanda?"

Wanda held her chin in her palms, staring at the food she didn't feel like eating. She felt Cosmo poking her in the arm with a spoon, so she looked up to see all three of them eyeing her as if waiting for the answer to the question of life. "…what?"

Spike wondering why Wanda was so quiet. "What's wrong with you?"

"It's her parents." Susie answered for her friend. "They've been nagging about grades…as if Blonda doesn't have like two C's and a B."

Cosmo turned towards his girlfriend with concern etched in his face. He remembered her venting about it during one of their study sessions. Her parents had been griping about how low Wanda's A's were, completely overlooking the fact that Wanda had straight A's period. He hated when her parents did that; it made her beat herself up more than she already did.

"What can I do?"

Wanda turned towards her boyfriend, observing the worry in his eyes. No matter what it was, if he could see Wanda was upset, he always had to cheer her up, and if he didn't know how, he always asked. She hoped that aspect of him never changed.

"No, Cosmo, that's oka-"

Cosmo's screeched as Luther smashed his face into the tray of mashed potatoes, causing students to react the sudden rattle of plastic clashing against metal. Cosmo flailed his arms as Luther pinned him down headfirst, laughing maniacally. Spike and Susie tried reaching for Luther's arms to stop him, but as predicted, his goons Bozo and Dyno grabbed them from behind and restrained their arms behind their backs as they pushed them against the table.

"Stop it, Luther!" Wanda managed to tug one of Luther's arms off her boyfriend, but Luther took that same arm and shoved his hand in her face, holding her back. Cosmo felt a burning sensation in his eyes and nose as he struggled to breath from Luther's hefty grip in his hair. No matter how much he thrashed about, Luther showed no mercy.

"Do you not have anything else better to do?"

Luther lifted his head to see Juandissimo with his arms crossed a few feet away, Juanita behind him along with her best friend, Starr. "Juan!" Luther greeted proudly as he pinned Cosmo in his tray. "Wussup, amigo?!" He shoved Wanda away from him and pointed a finger towards his prey. "Want in on this?"

"No." Juandissimo responded firmly, no change in his stern expression. "I want you to stop."

"Awww, c'mon!" Luther griped mockingly. "Live a little!"

"Stop or I will make you."

Luther's arrogant smile quickly vanished, a few 'ooooohs' circulating from onlookers. Who does he think he is? Sure, he'd noticed how much Juandissimo had come out of that shell of his, but he didn't expect him to feel bold enough to stand up to him. All over some green haired idiot he never cared about before. How dare him!

With one more slam onto the tray, Luther let Cosmo go and flew to where he was face to face with Juandissimo. He stared at him, matching his glare as he puffed his chest. Apparently Juandissimo wasn't backing down. Wanda took this opportunity to console Cosmo as he coughed to catch his breath.

Juandissimo kept his demeanor as Luther looked him up and down. If he was honest, he wasn't sure why he was defending Wanda's boyfriend. Maybe because he somehow cared about Wanda enough to stick up for her boyfriend, or maybe because he was just sick of Luther's crap. Either way, he wasn't afraid. Luther did dumb things, but he wasn't dumb; Juandissimo knew they both knew who would win the fight if it came to that extreme.

"Let 'em go, boys." Luther instructed his goons, keeping his eyes on Juandissimo. "We're done here." Luther knew he was strong, but Juandissimo was stronger. Why would he fight over some loser? An arrogant side smirk curled his lips, backing away from his friend. "We actually do have something better to do."

Begrudgingly, Bozo and Dyno released their grips on Spike and Susie as Luther motioned for them to leave. Juandissimo kept his eyes on Luther as he flew passed him, him and his goons flying towards the cafeteria exit. Once Luther was gone, Juandissimo turned to see Wanda's questioning stare directed towards him. He held her gaze for a moment before flying passed their table to a random table in the back, Juanita and Starr quietly following behind as the atmosphere in the cafeteria slowly returned to normal.

Luther sat in the audience as Blonda and Treveston rehearsed one of their scenes of "The Magicbook" in the auditorium. They had made it into the point of the scene where Noah and Alexa's boat landed on shore with Alexa asking Noah why she didn't write her and that she waited for him for seven years. Luther prepared for the worst; he knew that infamous kiss scene had to come sooner or later. Why he ever agreed to watch Blonda's rehearsal was beyond him.

Production hadn't quite come along for all the special effects such as rain and wind, so it was just regular rehearsal without scripts in front of them. The character Noah explained how he'd written 365 letters, and that it still wasn't over for him. Luther watched in horror as Treveston pulled Blonda in for the on-stage kiss. He didn't appreciate how touchy feely Treveston seemed, his hands roaming the curve of her figure. It took everything within him not to run on stage and smack the taste out of that guy's mouth.

"Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd…..cut!" Mrs. Ravenclaw called out, Blonda and Treveston putting an end to such a sensual kiss. "Great job you two! Quite authentic!"

Yeah, almost too authentic.

"Now, let's reset for Act two, scene four!"

Blonda and Treveston exited stage left as the remaining cast and crew transitioned the set for the next scene. Luther rose from his seat and met Blonda halfway from the stage steps. He pulled her into a hug with his arms around her waist, eyeing Treveston as he watched the 'happy' couple.

"Thank you for coming to my rehearsal, babe!" Blonda expressed her gratitude. "Even though you didn't want to!"

"Anything for you, babe." Luther acknowledged her appreciation, rubbing her back as they embraced.

After a few moments, Blonda leaned in to give Luther a kiss. Luther's lips met hers, parting his lips in growing fervor as he deepened the kiss. Blonda melted in his affection, smiling as he gently bit her bottom lip. As their lips danced, Luther lifted his gaze to Treveston, almost as if to prove his 'manhood' over a kid like Treveston. No one can please Blonda the way he could, especially not some silver-eyed snob.

Treveston stood with a hand on his hip, controlling his urge to laugh. He could see straight through Luther's arrogance; he knew exactly what he was doing. It wasn't his fault his girlfriend found him attractive. If he had such a hold on Blonda, he doubted she would purposely flirt with him. A lot.

With a small smirk, Treveston flew passed the affectionate couple towards the auditorium exit, noticing Luther's eyes following him as he passed. His insecurity was almost pathetic; Blonda shouldn't have to waste her time with some immature punk.

And one of these days, Blonda would see this for herself.

Cosmo and Wanda ventured to their cliff after school, neither one of them with any desire to go home. Cosmo could tell how off Wanda seemed, so he suggested they meet at their cliff before working on any homework. As much as Wanda was reluctant, she accepted his suggestion, and after they poofed to their destination, Cosmo encouraged Wanda to express whatever she was feeling. He'd spent most of the afternoon into the evening listening to Wanda's complaints, occasionally rubbing her back in efforts to comfort her. Wanda knew she could always vent to Cosmo no matter if he understood the situation; he offered a listening ear, and sometimes, that was more than enough.

"I just can't win with them." Wanda vented, hugging her knees to her chest. "No matter what I do, they're never satisfied…"

Cosmo caressed her back, sitting next to her at the cliff's brink; it hurt his heart to hear such defeat in her voice. Her parents held impossible expectations when it came to Wanda. Not only did she have to have straight A's, they all needed to be at least a 95 or higher. When it came to Blonda, however, they praised her ability to manage a 3.2 GPA on top of cheer and drama club as if she had won a zappy. Cosmo didn't understand why Wanda's parents expected so much from her, but what he could understand was that their standards weren't evenly matched in relation to her sister.

The past few days haven't been easy for Wanda. The more her parents complained about her grades and labeled her a failure, the more stressed Wanda became. He noticed how much less she slept, how much less she ate, and how much less she smiled. Cosmo wished he could ease Wanda of her pain; she shouldn't have to suffer this much over ridiculous, one-sided standards.

Cosmo turned to Wanda and lifted her chin to where her fuchsia orbs met his shamrock. "No matter what…" Cosmo spoke as he smiled warmly. "…you'll always be good enough in my eyes."

Wanda returned her own warm smile, thanking Cosmo with a smooch on the lips. He then pushed Wanda gently to where her back pressed against the lush bed of grass, straddling her waist. Before she could react, he meshed his lips to hers, cupping her cheeks into his palms. His loving kisses sent flutters down her spine as he deepened the kiss further. Wanda drew him closer with her arms around his neck, parting her lips so his tongue could explore.

A buzz vibrated Cosmo's back pocket, distracting their make-out sesh. Groaning in disappointment, Cosmo reached for his phone as he maneuvered himself from on top of Wanda to right beside her. Wanda noticed Cosmo's expression quickly change from annoyance to anxiousness upon reading the name on the caller ID. "…who is it?"

"Mama." Cosmo replied, swallowing the lump in his throat. If she called, she had a reason to. Majority of the time, that reason didn't pan well for Cosmo.

Fighting back his nerves, Cosmo pressed the 'answer' button and placed the phone to his ear as he answered with a timid "…hello?"

"Get your butt home, now!"

"…y-yes, mama." The color drained from Cosmo's face from the menace in his mother's voice. Whatever he did, boy, was he in for it.

A quiver in his hands, Cosmo ended the call. He turned to Wanda with eyes of regret as he said "…I-I have to go…"

"Why?" For the most part, Cosmo has managed to stay on his mother's good side for weeks. Wanda couldn't think of how he'd somehow piss her off to the point of demanding him home.

"I dunno…" Cosmo honestly admitted as he rose from the grass. "…but I'll see you tomorrow before school?"

Wanda rose from the grass as well, unhappy that their time to breathe and just enjoy each other had been cut short. "Okay…" She kissed him one last time before saying "Love you, babe."

"Love you too, baby."

With a flick of his wand, Cosmo disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving Wanda alone in her despair.

Poofing into the living room of his house, Cosmo noted the dim light within the household. The only visible light appeared from upstairs, shining down as if the gates of Heaven. His heart paced with anxiety; his mother hardly ever left the lights off.

Unless something was extremely wrong.

As he hesitantly flew up the stairs, his heart raced in his throat. Breathing became a chore, and his hoodie suddenly felt like a thousand degrees. It wasn't until he made it to the top of the step that he realized the source of light came from his room with his door slightly ajar. She was in his room. That was not a good sign.

He approached the door, and his eyes grew wide at the sight in front of him. His mother sat on the foot of his bed, fury in her brow, holding a picture. A picture he thought she'd never find.

A picture of him and Wanda.

She didn't immediately acknowledge his presence, though Cosmo knew she knew he was floating in the doorway. It was when those turquoise eyes shot a glare directly into his soul that he truly began to panic.

"Uh…mama?" Cosmo squeaked, gearing up for the worst amidst his dread. "…w-why are you in my room?"

"You have no right to question me." Mama Cosma replied, her voice frighteningly calm with a hint of venom. "Especially when I should be questioning you."

That annoying lump in his through returned, or, at least he thought it was a lump. It could be his lunch threatening to upheave for all he knew.

"How long?"

Cosmo apprehensively flew further into the room, pretending to misunderstand her question. "….um….h-how long wha-"

"Don't play dumb with me!"

He shuddered from her sudden outburst, cowering from her death glare as she sprung from the bed, flying towards him. "How long have you been with that girl?!"

Cosmo averted his eyes, yet he could feel the sting of her stares. He couldn't avoid the inevitable; he had to come clean. Otherwise, things could get much, much worse. Gluing his eyes to the ground, Cosmo spoke just above a whisper. "…two years."

Mama Cosma surged with rage as her blood began to boil. Two years? Two…years?! How could she have let this slip through the cracks? How could he…how could he do this? He must really disrespect her if he had the nerve to go date a Fairywinkle behind her back! She couldn't believe this!

Cosmo lifted his gaze towards her and Mama Cosma balled her knuckles, gradually floating towards her son. "How dare you disobey me!" Mama Cosma shouted, pointing a disapproving finger towards his face. "You break up with her immediately!"

What? Break up with Wanda? Why would he do that? Wanda is the best thing that ever happened to him; why would he give that up?!

"But…but mama!" Cosmo countered, attempting to mask the crack in his voice. "Mama I love her! Why do you hate her so much?!"

"Because Fairywinkles are lying, manipulative rats!" Mama Cosma argued, veins popping in her neck. "She's probably spoiled rotten like her equally as self-centered sister! That heartless baboon of a father and that stuck-up donkey of a mother raised those girls to be snotty, two-faced snobs! NO son of mine will EVER associate with the lights of them!"

"You don't even KNOW her!"

His head sharply snapped to the right from the sledgehammer of his mother's backhand to the face. "How DARE you talk back to your mother like that!"

He held a shaking palm to the pulsation of his cheek, shifting his eyes towards his mother once more. At first, his eyes grew wide in shock, sensing the skin of his cheeks beginning to swell. But then, his brow creased in ire, rage deep in his eyes, rage he didn't even know he had, because quite frankly, he was sick of her.

In the most assertive tone he could muster, Cosmo glared directly into her eyes and uttered the words "Wanda loves me WAY more than you EVER could!"

That…was not a good thing to say.

His vision faded for a split second as the ball of his mother's knuckles swung directly into his temple, knocking him to the ground. She proceeded to punch him as she straddled him, each blow smashing every inch of his face. His nose and jaw pulsated in agony as he almost chocked on the blood oozing from his gums. She grabbed him by the collar and thrusted him into the wall closest to them. Her vengeful fist collided with his chest, Cosmo gasping from the sudden crack of his ribs. Just as quickly as she threw him against the wall, she yanked a wad his hair and thrusted him back onto the ground, plunging face first. Forcing him onto his back, she used her heal to stomp onto his stomach, Cosmo wheezing with every crushing blow.

His entire body ached in torture as eyes stung with tears, yet his suffering fell upon blind eyes. He could feel the bridge of his nose snap under pressure as with each punch she heaved, feel the twinge of his stomach with each merciless thump of her foot. Through his tears could he see her eyes mad with fury, as if the mother within her fell prey to the ramped devil controlling her every move.

With another yank of his hair, Mama Cosma slammed his head against the wood of the floors with such force that his vision welcomed the darkness…

Darkness…so warm…so soothing…as if a blanket of peace…slowly fading…

Cosmo sluggishly lifted his eyes from their heavy fog, all senses returning in surge of pain. The throb of his mind, the twinge of his torso, the aches throughout his face, all horrible reminders of the events which previously took place. As his vision became clearer, he stared towards the ceiling above, realizing he was in his bedroom. With whatever strength he had left, he slowly lifted himself off the ground and dragged his beaten body to where his back leaned against the wall for support.

He could see tints of sun shining through the curtains of his window, indicating that nightfall had transitioned into the dawn of a new day. His mother had left him there, unconscious and battered, without as much care as to put him to bed or tend to the injuries that she inflicted. Hot tears swelled behind his eyes as hitched breaths wrecked his chest. Hitched breaths became anguished sobs as glanced towards the crumpled picture of him and Wanda next to him. Though it hurt to move, he leaned forward to grab the tattered picture and held it close to him. With arms wrapped tight around the picture, he allowed his emotions to take control, and waterfalls streamed down his cheeks.

He'd experienced plenty of beatings before, but never to this magnitude. He couldn't recall a time where his mother had beaten him so badly that he blacked out. She had never achieved that level of wrath in his life, and now that he'd seen it for himself, he never wanted to experience that again. Then again, should he have been surprised? He knew his mother wouldn't take too kindly to know that her son courted the offspring of her worst enemy.

Still…the fact remained; she didn't beat him as a means of discipline, she beat him to reprimand him. It wasn't to teach him anything new, it was to remind him of the lessons he should have already learned. As Cosmo lowered his head, he closed his eyes in overflowing with misery as he hugged himself tighter. His ribs drew pain with every shaky breath, and his migraine throbbed in his sinus to the rhythm of his heart. He realized that love could hurt, but he didn't imagine it hurting this much.

His back pocket vibrated once, reminding Cosmo that he still had his phone on him. Fighting the pain, he shifted his weight to where he could reach behind to retrieve his phone. He opened his phone to see a new text message from Susie. Wiping fresh tears from his eyes, Cosmo opened the message to read "Coz, you okay? You didn't show to the meetup point and we didn't know if anything happened to you."

Right; it was the next school day. No way could he function at school in his condition. No way could he pretend to be okay around his friends, around Wanda. He couldn't do it; his body ached too much. His soul ached too much. He wasn't strong enough to deal with all the questions; he wasn't strong enough to leave his room knowing his mother was out there.

As new tears formed, Cosmo tapped the keys on his keypad to type "Not feeling well. Staying home. Go without me."

Once he pressed the 'send' button, he tossed his phone to the side and curled his knees to his chest. He felt so lost, so conflicted. He didn't know what he was going to do now. His mother knew about Wanda, and she hated him. His own mother, hated him, because she condemned who he loved. As his body rocked with cries, a frail, faint whimper escaped his lips.

"…Wanda…"

…Cosmo…Wanda thought, mindlessly playing with the beads of her bracelet. I hope you're okay…

While Juandissimo scribbled a few notes from a scholar's scientific study of magic from the supernatural view, Wanda's mind was elsewhere. When Susie informed her that Cosmo wouldn't be in school, she of course immediately became concerned. He was fine yesterday for the most part, so how could she not worry? She couldn't go see him, she couldn't text him, she couldn't call him…she had no idea what was going on. Even though Spike figured he was probably sick, Wanda doubted that hypothesis. The fact that his mother called him home and he's absent from school the next day…something didn't sit right.

Juandissimo shifted his gaze from the scientific article to the distracted fairy in front of him. He found it less difficult to focus on other tasks than the memories that haunted his mind, though he occasionally had his slips into the past. He could see she had her textbook open, yet he knew she wasn't reading. He could see her expression fixed in contemplation, staring into paragraphs unread.

She seemed more reserved than usual throughout the school day, even amongst the company of her friends. He also noticed her verde boyfriend's absence; did something happen between them? He wasn't sure if it was his place to pry, but since Wanda was his science partner, he figured he'd try to see what was up.

In attempts to grab her attention, he waved a hand in front of her absent eyes. She jerked in her seat, startled back to reality as Juandissimo asked "Something wrong?"

Wanda stared at him, taken aback by his unexpected concern. Despite how stressed she'd been, she managed to camouflage it from Juandissimo when they met to work on their project. She didn't want him worry about her problems, especially when he had his own trials to work through.

Lowering her gaze, Wanda continued tangling her bracelet as she sighed "It's nothing."

Juandissimo knew she was lying. "Does not seem like nothing."

"I'm fine." Wanda replied, a little more assertive than she attended. "Don't worry about it."

He stared into her eyes, transparent to her tough exterior. He figured if it was that important, and if it were any of his business, she would talk about it. They were mere acquaintances after all. "Okay." He averted his eyes back to his notebook. "Lo siento for asking…"

Wanda cursed herself, putting her face in her sweaty palms. Unease shook her core, her throat dying of thirst. Her right leg became restless with nerves, involuntarily bouncing underneath the table. She felt as if she might implode from stress, the beat of her heart pounding her eardrums. She needed to get a hold of herself; she can't lose it…not here.

Wanda rose from her seat as she closed her textbook. "I-I'm…gonna take a bathroom break." Wanda announced, her throat on fire. "I'll be back, okay?"

"Si."

Wanda floated from their table towards the double doors. She pushed the doors open and headed towards the nearest restroom, struggling to control her shallow breathing. Her surroundings seemed to stretch into an unknown focal point, lockers and walls warping into odd shapes and structures, as if the world became a giant fisheye lens.

Though relatively light, her body felt ten times the force of gravity. Her hearing seemed muted, yet noises and sounds around her amplified in her ears. Breathing became hitched gasps for air, numbness tingling her fingers and toes. Dizziness made it more difficult to fly, leaning onto nearby lockers to support herself from falling. Luckily no one else was in the hallway; she probably looked inebriated. She didn't know what was happening, why her head was spinning.

All she knew, was she was losing control.

Spike threw his Math textbook inside of his locker during the transition from third to fourth period. To say the past two days practically bored him to death wouldn't be a total lie. Susie seemed pre-occupied with her new 'beau' Alewandro, and Wanda…well, she mostly spent her time sulking by herself. Without Cosmo, Luther had little desire to have anything to do with Spike, and because Luther exerted his energy to other poor, defenseless souls, eight hours of school felt like an eternity.

He spent most of time alone, studying alone, sitting through forty-five to fifty minutes listening to monotonous drones of teacher lectures alone, even eating alone. Spike never thought he'd actually miss that green-haired halfwit's company. For some reason, however, Cosmo's phone had been turned off, rejecting any phone calls or text messages.

After re-locking his locker, Spike turned to the direction of his English class. Out of his peripheral, he noticed a somber figure flying towards him; his shamrock green hair appeared disheveled, blackish-purple bruising seeped from beneath his nose cast, and other reddish-purple contusions painted his partially swollen facial features.

"Cosmo?" Spike flew over to his friend, observing him hug his ribs with one arm. "What happened to you?!"

Cosmo's injuries healed significantly since that awful evening; however, certain wounds hadn't quite healed completely, and his ribs were still awfully sore. The only reason he was at school now was simply because Mama Cosma was tired of him laying around the house. He'd still be in bed now is she hadn't literally thrown him out of bed and demanded him not to miss anymore school than he already had.

Cosmo met Spike's worried gaze and replied softly, his voice faintly trembling. "Mama…s-she…she knows…"

Spike put two and two together and shook his head in disappointment. He stared into Cosmo's eyes; he was hurting because of his own mother. "Well, what are you gonna tell Wanda?" Spike questioned. "She hasn't heard or seen you in two days; she's gonna wanna know what's up."

Almost on cue, Cosmo flinched as Wanda approached from behind him, squeezing him as if to never let go. "Oh Cosmo!" She pressed her cheek against his. "I've been so worried about you!" When she eventually released him, her joyful expression soon switched to that of great concern. "Oh…Cosmo…" she examined the damage on his body, Cosmo wincing as he hugged himself. "…what happened?"

Instead of answering her question, Cosmo flew passed her in the opposite direction into the crowd of other students, holding back his tears. Wanda attempted to fly after him; however, Spike stood in front of her, stopping her with both hands on her shoulders. "I wouldn't if I were you." Spike advised. "He's pretty messed up."

"Why?" Wanda needed answers; she doesn't see him for two days just for him to run away at the first sight of her?

"His mom…" Spike began, releasing Wanda from his grasp. "…she found out about you guys and…well…she did a number on 'em."

Her heart sank into her stomach. She should have known; why else would he have all those bruises? Her lungs burned as if underwater and breathing grew more difficult the more constricted her throat became. The beat of her heart rang in her ears, increasing in tempo by the second. Vertigo whirled inside her head, her surroundings warping into fisheye distortion. Just peachy; she was losing control again.

"Breathe, Wanda." Spike encouraged as he cupped Wanda's face into his palms, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Just breathe, will ya?"

Wanda closed her eyes to keep her head from spinning, fighting through hyperventilation to focus on her breathing. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse…

Her worst fear came into fruition.