"Hey guys. Where have you two been? Soul's been worried sick about you." Maka said, and I felt my heart hammer my ribs.
"Home. Kylie got sick." Riley said.
"Are you okay now?" Tsubaki asked.
"I'm great." I smiled. "So, uh, Rye, are you going out with Crona?"
Riley's face grew red as the whole table looked at him, then Crona.
"Why are you going out with Crona? She's not symmetrical!" Kid said.
"You aren't either." I pointed out, and Kid fell down, crying.
"I'M TRASH! I'M A PIG! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" Kid shouted as Liz and Patti tried to help him.
"He really needs therapy." Riley said, putting me down on the ground. I walked over and sat by Soul, who wasn't looking at me (in fact, he seemed to be glaring at Maka.) I wonder why.
S.
Leave it to Maka to hint at the one uncool secret I had. Yes, I was worried about Kylie because I like her. I mean, I know she's really young; I know that Riley would probably beat me into oblivion if I asked to go out with her. But I really don't care. Kylie's cool, and I'm going to ask her out soon, no matter what people think. After clearing it up with Riley and-hopefully-surviging.
R.
"So, Rye." Kylie said. "What have you got me for my birthday?"
"Um..." I mumbled. "What month is it?"
"It's October, you goof." Kylie said.
"Really? Huh. Your birthday is on Halloween, and today is..."
"The twenty-first." Maka said.
"Oh...On an unrelated note, I have to go shopping, and would extremely appreciate it if a girl came with me. Not to get presents, of course. For other stuff." I said.
"Obviously." Kylie said, patting me on the top of the head (I bent down so she wouldn't have to struggle to reach the top of my head. I swear Soul seemed jealous for a moment, but then he just went back to acting cool.)
"Hey, uh, Riley." Crona said, her face red (I have to admit, her face is adorable when she's embarrassed. Or happy. Or just breathing, really.) "Didn't you say something about Frank McJacklin a while back?"
I looked at her in surprise. I had no idea she listened to what I had said. Then I turned to Kylie and said "Eh, Kylie, I got this mission, right? Well, I wanna get an afreet egg from an old serial killer. Frank McJacklin is from Ireland, so you get to go to Ireland, and we also get to-"
"I know what missions are, Rye." Kylie said, rolling her eyes-rolling her eyes? Wasn't that something teenagers do? Oh crap! She's going to be a teenager in, like, ten days! "When are we going to do the mission?"
"After you buy me presents." Kylie said, smiling deviously.
I sighed. "Alright. I'll get ya' presents. Ya' don't get to see them until your birthday, though."
"Alright." Kylie said, smiling and putting a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
I have to admit, I was worried. My baby sister probably wouldn't want to be carried on my back when she: A. Had a boyfriend. B. Was older. Or C. Got embarrassed when I carried her. Though, I was happy: Kylie seemed to completely forget that she might die if we rebelled against Medusa. And if Kylie was happy, I was. I took a drink of what I thought was my drink, watching Black Star and some bald kid fighting, only for Kylie to reach for her drink and find my water bottle.
"Rye! That's mine!" Kylie said.
"What?" I asked, then noticed that the bottle had a 'K' on it. "Eww!"
C.
No, this wasn't the best plan. Yes, this would put Riley, who I admittedly had a crush on, in mortal danger. But this was the best I had for now. I chanted to myself after switching out their water bottles (everyone was distracted by Black Star and Ox fighting), and used powers I'd inherited from Medusa to transfer the snake to Riley (I'd put Medusa's snake into the water; putting it into Riley was much harder.)
'Sorry.' I thought. 'That's all I can do for now.'
"Crona, are you okay?" Riley asked me.
"I-I'm fine!" I said.
"Alright then." Riley said. "So, who wants to help me shop for totally-not-presents?"
"I will." Maka said.
Riley smiled and I felt jealous. "Thanks."
A/N: Yeah, I know, Crona hasn't shown any witch powers in the anime or the manga (as far as I know), but she has some in this story, 'cause that's just how it worked out.
-MN1
