Author's Note: So not really that popular, but whatever, I'm glad some people do like it and enjoy reading it. It'll get more interesting, I promise.
Chapter Two: Ain't Got Rhythm
"You're kiddin' me, right?" Deborvak said. "That's the girl he likes?"
Deborvak's favorite form, when he had to choose an inanimate form, was a pin on her shoulder strap. This allowed him to see nearly at eye level with normal humans, and kept him alert of the others. At the moment, they could see Timmy drooling over Trixie at his locker and talking to his faeries. Poof, disguised as Timmy's pencil sharpener, looked straight at Deborvak and Deborvak smiled, forgetting for the moment Tootie's concern about Trixie Tang. No matter how hard his heart might grow, he'd always have a soft spot for children.
"What's she got that I don't have?" Tootie huffed.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" he said.
"No..." Tootie deflated. "I just wish Timmy would give me the right time of day once in a while."
Deborvak held up his wand and Timmy broke off his conversation to call to Tootie, two classroom lengths away, "It's 12:45! Hey, wait, why did I say that?"
Tootie glared at the button. "Too literal."
Deborvak grinned mischievously. "Would you believe I knew what you meant and chose to do that anyway?"
She groaned. "Cosmo and Wanda would know if I put a spell on Timmy, wouldn't they?"
"Seeing as it's their godchild, an' they'd notice if he started acting like a lovesick zombie, yeah, I'd say so," he said and twirled his wand. "Wouldn't stop me, though. To hell with the rules! ANARCHY!"
Timmy whipped his head around. "Is Tootie's pin saying something about anarchy?"
"You could be a little less conspicuous," Tootie whispered. Deb rolled his eyes.
"And take all the fun out of life?" Deb snorted. "Surely you jest."
"What happened to all your other godchildren?" she whispered.
"Oh, you're my first. Bit of a trial run, if you ask me. Jorgen didn't say I got to return you if things got bad, so here's to hoping you won't be past the expiration date with my receipt. Cheers."
"I'm your first?" Tootie gasped.
"You know, you're not the first girl to say that to me...but you are the youngest."
Tootie's mouth dropped. She smacked him with her palm and Deb smirked, generating a small shield but rendering it light, so Tootie thought she'd struck him. He kept his eyes peeled to Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof, despite his mood. He didn't like other faeries, he didn't like being around other faeries, and the last time he had been, it rubbed him the wrong way.
"Don't you have books to get for class?" he said.
"I want to talk to Timmy," she said.
"He reserves the right not to talk to you," he said and his stomach somersaulted. "I'll see you in class, Toot."
"Don't you want to see how this turns out?" she said.
"No, not really," he confessed. "You'll give me a play by play in class?"
"What is up with you being afraid of other faeries? Cosmo and Wanda won't hurt you, and Poof's only a baby," Tootie said. "Don't be a wuss, Deb."
"Did it ever occur to you there's a perfectly good reason I don't like other fey? And that it has nothing to do with Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof personally?" Deb said. His dark purple, almost black button leeched color, turning gray. "Tootie, play fair."
"He's getting away," Tootie protested and dashed to Timmy. Deborvak sighed and held up his wand to add Tootie's books, which she'd forgotten, into her bag. This close to Cosmo and Wanda, the adult faeries smiled at him and Deb forced a smile back. He glanced at Poof, who giggled at him. Deb remained vigilant, digging his sharpened pin edge into Tootie's shoulder bag. He hated other faeries, hated them.
"Timmy," Tootie chorused, rocking back and forth on her heels. "How are you?"
"Hey, Deb!" Cosmo said. Deborvak, unable to incline his head in greeting in pin form, projected his face a bit off the pin to nod.
"Long time no see, Deborvak," Wanda said. Deb flinched and nodded again.
"You're not very big on talking, are you?" Cosmo asked. Deb sighed and looked at his godchild. Up close, he could feel the faint faerie magic within her, magic that should be worked upon and allowed to grow. Except, of course, she was too distracted by Timmy.
"Are you going to the dance tomorrow night?" Tootie asked.
"Not with you," Timmy scoffed, slamming the locker door. "I've already asked Trixie."
"And she already turned you down," Cosmo said. "That's...five hundred nos, and one yes."
"What was the yes to?" Wanda asked.
"Yes, I don't want to go with you!" Cosmo announced.
"We don't have to go as a couple," Tootie said. "It'd be fun."
"No," Timmy said. "And stop following me!"
"I wish you'd go with me!" Tootie said.
"You make him go with you," Deborvak said in an undertone, "an' he'll be miserable the entire night."
"Fine, then I wish he'd go with me, and so would you, Cosmo, Wanda, and Poof!"
"...You're kidding me. You are f-in kidding me. Tootie-"
"No choice," she said with a smug smile. "You're my godparent."
"I can't believe I have to go to this dumb dance," Timmy muttered. "Are you guys sure you can't find a loophole out of this?"
"Nope," Cosmo said. "Tootie thinks she's in love with you, she thinks it's true love, and plus...I've never seen the kind of spells this guy can do."
"It's like he's working with a completely different brand of magic," Wanda said. "Maybe we'll be able to ask him at the dance."
"If he'll talk," Timmy scoffed. "Didn't you guys say he's really quiet?"
"I don't know if it's quiet..." Wanda mused. "I asked Jorgen about him and didn't get much of an answer."
"Well?" Timmy asked. "What did you get?"
"He avoided Jorgen..." Cosmo said. "And…what else?"
"That was about it," Wanda said. "In terms of actual power, he appears to have very little, but...he may be concealing it."
"Why would he do that?" Timmy said, dressing in a rush and not caring how he looked because he was upset Tootie had wrangled him into this.
"To appear less of a threat, I'd imagine..." Wanda said.
"Or maybe he's just afraid of us," Cosmo said. "Anyway, don't you think you should let us do your outfit? You look like a hobo found a suit at the dump."
"Fine," Timmy scoffed. "I wish I looked nice for the dance."
"I don't believe you," Tootie scoffed. "You're just coming up with excuses not to go to the dance with me."
"Tootie," Deborvak sighed. "I don't want to go. I don't like other faeries, an' I sure as hell am not spending my entire evening with them."
"Wanda's a good faerie," Tootie said defensively. "And even if Cosmo can be a jerk sometimes, he is too. Poof's just a baby. What is your problem?"
"I told you, I don't like them," Deborvak retorted. "Would you like to spend an entire evening with Vicky, even if she was forced to tone it down?"
"No..." Tootie said.
"Then there you have it."
"There you have what?" she asked.
"You don't want to be with Vicky, and I don't want to be with Timmy's faeries. Have a good time at the dance."
"I wished you had to be there, so you have to be there," Tootie said. "You can't weasel out."
"Watch me," he said and shifted into a weasel. "Tootie, I don't want to go an' you won't like me when I'm upset."
She scooped him up by the nape of his neck and scoffed. "Why, what'll happen? You'll go Hulk on me."
Deborvak looked pained. "I set things on fire when I'm unhappy."
Tootie stared at him. "You're kidding me."
"No, I'm not," he said. "You don't want your date on fire, right? I won't go. Have a good time, tell me how it all went down-"
"Oh, no," she said. "The only way you can get over your fear is to face it."
"It's not a fear," he muttered, shoved into her purse. "It's an overwhelming unease with faeries and spending time with them will not help in the slightest."
"You're coming, no choice," she said.
"Too bad I can't set you on fire," he muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing..."
Tootie had dolled herself up and looked, in her opinion, like a knock out. Still, Timmy only had eyes for Trixie, and it was Deborvak's magic that kept him at Tootie's side. He'd try to run to Trixie, and then he'd snap, like a boomerang, back to Tootie. Tootie found it amusing. Timmy grew irritated and tried to undo Deb's wish, but it didn't work. Cosmo and Wanda couldn't figure out why.
"Well, talk to him," Timmy hissed. "Get him to get Tootie to unwish this so I can enjoy myself!"
Deborvak, in concession with Tootie's wish, had hidden himself around the room. Cosmo and Wanda frowned, unable to locate him. Normally, they'd be able to tell where another faerie magic source came from. But Deborvak had cloaked himself so well his energy readings might have been a blip on their radar passing in and out. Hell, he put out less energy than Poof, which shouldn't be possible.
"We can't find him..." Wanda said, frowning. She was the punch bowl and Cosmo was the ladle. Poof was Cosmo's handle.
"I wish Deborvak was right next to you so you could talk to him!" Timmy snapped. Deborvak appeared, dazed, as a cup beside Wanda. He narrowed his eyes at Timmy.
"I really hate that," he said.
"When I come back, I expect the wish gone," Timmy said and walked away to rejoin Tootie. Deborvak watched him and then shivered, looking away at Wanda's direct gaze.
"So...how'd you magick it so we can't change it?" Cosmo asked.
"We've been trying for an hour and nothing works," Wanda added.
In a quiet voice, not looking at either faerie, he said, "It's partially fueled by Tootie's magic. You'll have to convince her to break the rest of the enchantment."
"Okay..." Wanda said. "You want to go talk to her, Cosmo?"
"Shouldn't you do it?" Cosmo said. "You're a girl, after all."
"Deborvak," Wanda said. "Tootie's wish is making Timmy miserable. He can't leave her side and he can't enjoy himself."
Deborvak looked away.
"Hey, don't you answer when someone talks to you?" Cosmo said.
"I heard you," he said softly. "I just don't see how this is my concern. I warned Tootie not to wish it, she did anyway, an' she dragged all of us here to witness it."
"Can't you get her to change her mind? You have to have some sway over her as her fairy godfather," Wanda said.
"I suppose..." Deborvak said and vanished.
"That was weird," Cosmo said.
"Do you get the impression he doesn't like us very much?" Wanda asked.
"Poof poof?" Poof whimpered, looking at the nearly black faerie now perched on Tootie's wrist as a corsage.
"I don't get it either, Poof," Wanda said.
Timmy didn't know what Deb had said to Tootie, but the spell thankfully vanished before too long. Without it, he was free to enjoy his night, and thoughts about faeries flew completely out of his head. Wanda, however, couldn't stop thinking about how strangely Deborvak had acted. Even when forced to be physically close to them, he'd held himself apart. All faeries liked to cluster together and be chummy. Plus, there was a matter of his peculiar elfin ears, which she'd never seen on a faerie before. He'd called himself a half breed...
"Wanna dance, Wanda?" Cosmo asked. She blinked. He'd shifted into a human child and held out his arms to her. Like Timmy, he wore a white tuxedo, except he'd used a green undershirt instead of pink like Timmy's.
"I'd love to," she said and changed into a human child too. She held out her arms and Poof changed into a mini corsage on her wrist. She wore a pink dress with ruffles and Cosmo twirled her in his arms. Then he drew her close and kissed her, running his fingers through her hair.
"I love you," he murmured.
"And I love you too, Cosmo," she said.
"Poof, poof!" Poof asserted.
"We love you too, honey," she said. Cosmo cradled Wanda like a precious jewel and she glanced across the floor on a whim. "I just wish I knew what was up with him."
"Who cares?" Cosmo snorted. "Let's party!"
He twirled Wanda again, she laughed, and he kissed her on the lips. ((I love you so much, baby.))